Disneyland is a magical place. Even in the middle of winter. It’s actually very magical with a light dusting of snow, which is how we found it on our first day. And while the crowds were reduced because of the snow, there are a few things that I wish I had known before planning my trip to Disneyland Paris in Winter.
I was fortunate to be able to visit Disneyland Paris before it had to close down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The park has been open and closed off and on again since then and is still struggling to operate with the prevailing conditions and travel restrictions across Europe. It is my hope that they will be able to reopen again soon. I was looking through the photos of my visit and thought I would share my experiences for posterity.
Disneyland Paris is a compact park and is easy to walk around. The rides and attractions are efficiently placed and walking between the “lands” doesn’t take very long.
The lands are uniquely themed and decorated. You really do ‘feel’ that you are in different locations for each of the sections.
There are just a few things that I wish I had known before I had planned a visit to Disneyland Paris in Winter.
Because this is the off season, many of the street shops, rides and attractions were closed.
Any trip to Disneyland will usually find one or two of the attractions closed for maintenance at any one time. But there were quite a few closed during our visit. There were still enough rides to fill a day. Many of the shops around the streets were also closed.
Most of the restaurants were closed.
This was disappointing, and really inconvenient. The ones that were open were understandably full, but this offered little comfort to grumbling bellies.
There are not many gluten-free food options.
There was very little choice of food to purchase, and even less that had any gluten-free option. It’s not that I went to Disneyland for the sole purpose of eating, but it would have been nice to be able to buy something to snack on along the way! In fact, there may have been some cheering and a hand-clapping happy dance done when I stumbled across the Galette vendors’ cart outside the Ratatouille ride!! (Galettes are made from buckwheat and are a gluten-free crepe) When the Galette didn’t touch the sides, I also may have also noshed down a tartiflette from the other cart….
You can get cold soaked
Because the restaurants were closed or full, there was very little respite from the biting cold weather. There’s no going in to a nice warm restaurant to have a hot chocolate and warm your bones a bit. If you can find a vendor cart to buy something from, you still have to eat it standing out in the cold weather. (Hot food goes cold very quickly.) The key point to take away from this is to make sure you are suitably dressed to stay out in the cold weather most of the day.
Smoking areas are located right outside the toilet blocks.
To get to the toilet, you have to walk through a thick cloud of the noxious smoke. Probably no problem if you are a smoker, but not so great if you have allergies. This was the worst part of the experience for me.
There are not many hours of daylight in a Paris Winter.
I was really caught off guard with this because I had never travelled to Europe in Winter before. The sun doesn’t rise until about 8:30 am and it is getting dark again around 5 pm. It was a little bit surreal travelling to and from the park in the dark.
The rides that were open during our visit:
Adventure Land and Adventure Island
The swinging rope bridge on the way to the island.
Pirates of the Caribbean
A relaxing indoor boat ride. Nice way to get out of the cold!
Big Thunder Mountain Railway
My all-time favourite ride ever! It’s fast at times, but doesn’t have the nasty plunges that leave your stomach up in the air behind you.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril
I am a total baby when it comes to roller-coaster rides. This was my least favourite ride with its sudden plunges and a full stomach-churning loop in the middle. By way of explanation, I was coerced into going on this ride. Someone who knows me too well managed to put the thorn in my mind that I couldn’t come all the way from Australia to Disneyland Paris, and not try every ride at least once.
It’s a small world
Mainly for kids, but worth a look at least once for adults. A boat ride through different lands where there are dolls dressed in regional costumes, and all singing the song “It’s a small world”. Plus, indoors out of the cold.
Star Tours
Probably because of the snow, there were not many people in the park on our first day. We did the start tours ride about six times in a row, with the only time between rides taking the time to walk from the exit door and round through the entrance ramps to the next ride. That was pretty awesome.
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
I have no guilt. This ride is a blast. Haha, oh dear…
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
You can go up inside the castle and out on the balcony. There are some lovely stained glass windows on the upper level.
Hyperspace Mountain ( being renamed to Space Mountain )
Mad, nasty rollercoaster in the dark that starts with being launched at warp speed out of a cannon. No, I have no first-hand experience with this one. (I’ve been on the Space Mountain ride at Anaheim in California. Once. I considered that advanced standing.)
So I sent an enthusiastic volunteer in my stead, and they happily reported that it was an exhilarating experience.
Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups
These are a fun ride for kids (small kids, as well as big kids). You can make the tea cups spin while you are on the ride. You should make the cups spin while you are on the ride!
Ratatoullie: The Adventure
Very clever ride that combines carts moving on tracks with a 3D screened experience. ( Also where the galette cart is…. )
Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop
We found this at the end of the second day. Tired, cold, hungry, waiting in the line and it started to rain. I found my limit and we decided to give it a miss.
Disney Studio 1
Interesting way to experience special effects.
Backlot Production Courtyard
We watched a live show in the production area. It was very entertaining.
Is Disneyland Paris Open?
Check the Disneyland Paris website for up to date information about opening hours and available rides.
Where should you stay?
We stayed in an apartment close to the Val d’Europe RER station which was a short train ride from the Disneyland park. There is a large Auchan shopping centre there and it is very convenient. I would highly recommend this location for a visit to Disneyland.
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Have you been to Disneyland Paris in Winter? What experiences did you rate best and worst for your visit?
Thanks for sharing your perspective on visiting Disneyland Paris in the winter. Even though the closed shops and cold weather both sound like a good reason to wait for a visit during the regular season, it must have been magical to see the park dusted with snow.
I have always wanted to visit Disneyland Paris, especially to see Ratatouille: The Adventure. I’m thrilled to hear that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will be opening at EPCOT in October. That’s a closer location for me, but I’m still keeping my dream of visiting Disneyland Paris.