Your Guide to Disneyland Paris--Disney's Most Beautiful Park

Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios are both totally possible to enjoy in one day but be warned that you’ll be getting your steps in!

As a little context before we dive in: this recap covers our visit on June 30, 2025, during a heavier tourism season.

After our late night, we were grateful to be staying on Disney property in such close proximity to the parks. Walking at a leisurely pace brought us to either park’s gates within 15 minutes, and we enjoyed passing through the scenic Disney Village on the way. We did go back and forth from the hotel to the parks a couple of times during the day, and while this would have been a hassle navigating the bus system at Disney World, the much smaller footprint of Paris made this accessible and stress-free. If you’re traveling with young children who need a nap or just want a break from the heat of the day, this layout is ideal. While our hotel (and most of the Disney accommodations) offered a free shuttle, it was faster for us to walk than to wait for the shuttle to loop back around.

Coming from the pleasantly cool and luxuriously long summer days of the Netherlands, France was noticeably and uncomfortably warmer, but if we had to make a comparison to Orlando summers, we’d take Paris without hesitation. Given that the lines for attractions were generally manageable, we weren’t baking in the sun. Orlando does get points for having more cooling areas throughout the park, but these would be a waste with France’s milder seasons. I was pleasantly surprised by how uncrowded the parks felt during a busy regional travel season. Yes, we did run into some waits, but aside from the fireworks show, we didn’t get the feeling that the parks were packed. This helped to relieve some stress and “go-go-go” mentality and ultimately saved us significant money when it came to purchasing Disney Premier Pass (Paris’s version of Lightning Lanes aka Fast Pass for those old enough to remember the good old days). If I were only visiting Magic Kingdom for a day in late June, I would feel forced to buy a Lightning Lane package to avoid languishing in hour-long waits in the volcanic sun. In Paris, however, we only purchased a couple of passes (at a much less eye-watering rate), and if we had structured our morning a little differently, we could have skipped doing that altogether.

One of the main reasons that we chose to stay in a Disney-owned hotel is that we wanted to take advantage of the early park entry time. Hotel guests can enter the parks at 8:30AM rather than 9:30AM, and our goal was to hit two of the most popular rides during that extended hour. While I’ve seen plenty of early entry and rope drop videos for Disney World and experienced the crowds myself, I can say that early entry for Paris felt more relaxed and less rushed. Yes, there were still lines, but it was very manageable and made the extra time feel well-worth it. We weren’t just standing in line; we were able to ride 2 popular attractions in 2 different parks. However, keep in mind that we were able to fit multiple rides into the late afternoon the day before without dipping into Premier Pass or waiting even half an hour. It’s not a walk-on park that magically has no lines, but it’s refreshing to see how much you can do without paying extra for line skipping, even in the summer.

 Reddit was a big help for me as I researched our ride strategies, and people pretty much unanimously advised doing Crush’s Coaster in Walt Disney Studios first. The Finding Nemo themed ride takes you on a turbulent, spinning adventure that Tom enjoyed but I opted out of. While he loves thrills and adrenaline, I stick with the calmer coasters. So while he waited less than half an hour for a ride that averages an hour’s wait, I walked over to Ratatouille (just further along the path in the World of Pixar) on the single-rider line for a walk-on experience. The ride is mostly in French and is the same as its American counterpart. This is a highly sought after ride in EPCOT, so it was a pleasant change of pace to just walk-on. Tom and I would later use the single-rider lane to have a 5-minute wait; we luckily ended up in ride vehicles that were only one apart in the queue.

Regionally themed food booths

The theming outside of Ratatouille is very reminiscent of the French pavilion in Epcot. There are various stands offering foods, beers, and wines that represent the different regions of France, and we took advantage of these more unique, upscale snacks in the afternoon. We later found out that these food booths are seasonal, so our timing was fortunate to get some more “premium” and unique food offerings.

As of the time of our visit, there were only three sections to Walt Disney Studios: World Premiere Plaza, Worlds of Pixar, and Avengers Campus. The rides are a mix of family-friendly and more thrilling attractions, but there was not enough at this park to occupy you for an entire day. However, there is major construction happening to transform the park into Adventure World. There will be a new Frozen ride and an Olaf animatronic that's inspired a lot of buzz. There will also be a Tangled ride that seems reminiscent of the classic teacups and a new nighttime water and projection show. I anticipate the wait times are going to skyrocket, especially with all of the publicity and influencers.

My number one priority for the day was to ride Big Thunder Mountain because it is the most unique and purportedly the best of the Big Thunders around the world. So, we hustled all the way over to Disneyland Paris (yes, you can see the entrance of Disneyland from Walt Disney Studios, but there’s still a lot of walking within the parks) to get in line before the parks officially opened.

The wildest ride in the wilderness

We ultimately waited about 40 minutes for Big Thunder, and it was well worth it. The ride’s theming is the same as the Orlando edition, but the ride is situated differently. You begin and end on an island, so there is a new thrilling sequence through a dark, underwater tunnel to re-enter the boarding area. The tunnel’s darkness makes it feel as though you are descending endlessly into a new space, and even though I don’t love the dark or the feeling of falling, I thought it was a brilliant and creative use of space and track. The theming is fun and more colorful, the ride is still the wildest in the wilderness (and yes, even wilder than the one I know and love), and it thoroughly lives up to its hype.

Once we finished, the parks had officially opened, and we were both hungry for breakfast. Our club-level rooms came with the benefit of free breakfast in a dedicated lounge, and we were excited to fill our plates at the buffet. As I mentioned previously, the walk back to our hotel was a short and pleasant one and having an included all-you-can-eat buffet was well worth the detour.

The spread of food was impressive and varied between American classics and more French-inspired dishes. The Mickey-shaped soft cheese was a particularly Disney-touch. I got a Mickey waffle, cheese, a croissant, the makings of an English breakfast, and a bowl of fruit. Overall, the food is what you would expect from a buffet, with the Disney World waffles edging out their French counterparts.

I was wearing my birthday button from the previous day, and the cast members went above and beyond to make my birthday special and memorable at breakfast. Honestly, this experience was in the top highlights of our time at Disney; it’s this kind of warm hospitality that makes Disney the happiest and most magical place on Earth. The waitstaff surprised me with a full serenade of “happy birthday,” a chef’s hat, a signed card from the entire staff, a special dessert with a candle, and a personal “happy birthday” message from Mickey Mouse himself over the phone. I could not stop beaming from ear to ear from these thoughtful gestures that really exemplify what makes Disney so different from any other theme park.

Couldn't stop smiling with all of these birthday surprises

Once we were finished eating, we took a short break in the room. Tom had some quick work tasks he needed to address, and I was craving a nap before our loaded afternoon. Feeling refreshed, we headed back through the Disney Village where the giant balloon caught our attention. I am not normally one to embrace heights, but there was no line, and the view seemed hard to miss. Rather than being a traditional hot air balloon, the ride had many ropes and pulleys to bring it up and down again, and we had a great view of the entire property. It was just Tom, me, and the ride operator, which made the experience extra special for us.

Next, we popped into the Lego store before visiting Walt Disney Studios again. While we were there, we both rode Ratatouille. We then made our way over to Avengers Campus where Tom rode Avengers Assemble: Flight Force, a Marvel themed Rock n’ Roller Coaster. While I waited for Tom, I got a giant cup of fresh mangos at the WEB Food Truck to help keep me cool. There’s lots of places to get food and drinks throughout the park, and the only downside is that the dollar to euro exchange rate isn’t advantageous for Americans right now.

The overall theme of Avengers Campus feels modern and urban, but I wish it was a little more immersive in the vein of Galaxy’s Edge. There are some themed restaurants inspired by Tony Stark and Ant-Man that offer a surprising number of vegetarian and vegan options for a theme park, but I was disappointed overall with the limited aesthetic, especially with how diverse the superheroes are. However, Avengers Campus is home to what quickly became one of my favorite rides: Spider-Man W.E.B. Adventure. It’s similar in concept to Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios because you compete with your ride vehicle to shoot webs at invasive robots. You make Spider-Man’s iconic web-slinging gestures to shoot your virtual webs, so it’s quite the workout! I loved that Tom Holland gave the introductory video, and the line had the immersive theming I had been searching for. This was one of the few rides we bought a Premier Pass for because it was a priority for me, and the line was getting a bit too long to fit into our afternoon.

Premier Pass is Paris’s version of Fast Pass, and we loved how easy and relatively affordable it was. You have the option to either buy the Premier Passes individually for specific rides that you want or to go all-in for a Disney Premier Access Ultimate to give you one-time access to all of the rides. The over $200 price tag for this service is absolutely not worth it, especially with so many rides having short wait times. Buying them individually helped us bypass a couple of long lines, and there wasn’t the pressure to book ahead of time or “play the Disney slots” to try and maximize your daily schedule. We only booked Premier Passes after checking on wait times in the afternoon, and we could almost immediately hop into the shortened lines. Meanwhile, in Disney World, your Lightning Lane might make you wait hours to line up for your favorite rides, and you can start reserving your rides days ahead of time, adding to the pressure to be on your phone and planning. Paris allowed for less stress, more spontaneity, and a fuller wallet as we didn’t need to commit to a Fast Pass package before scoping out the wait times ourselves.

Tom loves Tower of Terror, so he rode The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror while I waited in the shade (unexpectedly dropping multiple flights down…no thank you). He also opted to do RC Racer solo, and while I sat nearby waiting, another park guest took a picture of me to scratch off something on their friend’s scavenger hunt game. Glad to randomly be of help as I looked for shade!

By this point it was close to 5PM, and I needed a more substantial snack to get me through the rest of our day. We enjoyed duck crepes, charcuterie in a paper cone, potatoes absolutely smothered in cheese, and cider from the regionally themed stands outside of Ratatouille. Sure, I also bought your classic theme park fries, but if I have the opportunity to eat a fancy crepe, I’m not going to turn it down!

Our last ride in Walt Disney Studios was Cars Road Trip, which was very reminiscent of the old Hollywood Studios Backlot Tour. It’s a family-friendly leisurely drive with a temporarily raging fire in the middle. If you have young kids, they’re going to love this. It’s located alllllll the way in the back of the park, so we had quite the trek ahead of us to Disneyland Paris in search of short lines and some classic fantasy magic.

The castle is a work of art both inside and out

Buzz Lightyear and Pirates of the Caribbean were both sadly closed for maintenance during our visit, but we were able to enjoy It’s a Small World, La Cabane des Robinson, La Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant, La Taniere du Dragon, and Peter Pan’s Flight. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is unique for its level of detail and craftsmanship. Stained glass and tapestries tell Sleeping Beauty’s story, and the lower level of the castle takes you to a massive animatronic dragon. Its eyes glow a menacing red as it fitfully rests in its watery cave and bares its sharp teeth at visitors. It’s a stunning contraption that is surprisingly lifelike and thrilling to watch. Disney is famous for a few of its large and lifelike animatronics, and this dragon deserves way more attention and fanfare. There are a lot of these “walkthrough” attractions in Disneyland Paris, and they are well-suited for families that want the chance to walk and explore between waiting in line for rides. It’s a Small World was beautiful and as catchy as ever, and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was a nostalgic attraction to walk through again after many years. We got a Premier Pass for the Peter Pan ride and were able to squeeze it in just before Fantasyland closed early for the fireworks show. The ride was bumpier/jerkier than I remembered it being in Magic Kingdom, but it was largely the same otherwise. For whatever reason, the Peter Pan ride in Magic Kingdom has notoriously long waits, so it was nice to embrace the magic and a much shorter line.

The stained glass and tapestries were beautiful

We picked up our dinner again at Casa de Coco and made our way out of the parks to beat the fireworks rush just in time. The following day we’d be leaving early to head to London for the following week, a dream trip of mine for as long as I can remember.