If you are reading this article, I am guessing you are exploring the possibility of a Disneyland Paris trip. The more you plan and research, the more the costs build. In fact, the price of a Disneyland trip is eye-watering. So we decided to test it and see if we could do Disneyland Paris in a day on a budget.
This not only meant we saved A LOT, but we were able to travel out of term time. We chose a weekend in March that was not peak, thus keeping the cost down.
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How We Did Disneyland Paris In A Day And Kept Costs Down
- Choose a low-traffic weekend; this will be in term time.
- Book Flights Early to save.
- Shop around for Disney tickets to get the best price.
- Staying in an apartment saved us a whopping £616 on the cheapest Disney Hotel.
- Take snacks and breakfast.
- Take a plan.
Think About The Best Time To Go
We chose a weekend in March away from special events and peak holiday time to give us the best chance to get on the rides. Plus off peak tickets are cheaper.
Booking Flights To Save Money on Our Disney Trip
Have a plan for when you want to go and book the flights as soon as they are released. We did this with Easyjet and booked five return flights from Manchester to Paris for £276.00. Karen picked the girls up from School and I met them at the airport for our Friday night flight and we booked an early flight back on Sunday, so we could all get home and chill ready for Monday.
Shop Around For Day Tickets For Disney Paris
We were astounded at the difference between booking prices. And found that for the one-day/two-park tickets, we saved £45.50 by buying them at attractiontix.co.uk. The tickets cost us £472.35 for five adults. Note children 12 and over have to pay adults prices.
When you purchase your tickets, you are given a booking code, add the code to the Disney app and your tickets will appear in the app. We also added our tickets to our Apple wallet.
About Our Apartment Near Disneyland Paris
We had originally booked Davy Crocket Ranch, but then discovered we could save £616 by staying in an apartment. We found a gorgeous apartment that was a 30-minute walk from the parks and cost us £361.16 for 2 nights, see the full review here.
The cheapest Disney hotel we could find on site for the same two nights was € 1,905 to stay at Disney Santa Fe in two rooms or € 2096 to stay at Disney Hotel Cheyenne again in two rooms which we couldn’t guarantee would be together. We have stayed onsite a Disney several times and love the atmosphere and benefits. But on this trip we decided to book the apartment and enjoy the saving.
The cheapest Disney hotel offsite was € 978 at Disney Davy Crockett this looked great (and you got the extra magic hour) but there was no transport provided and you’d really need to drive/book a taxi to get to Disney Paris as you had to cross a busy road. Our apartment although farther was a walk through residential roads and felt very safe with no busy roads to cross. There was also a bus stop close by.
We also packed breakfast bars so we could grab a quick snack in the morning. Although we did also stop for coffee and pastries en route.
Airport Transfers
The apartment owner recommended a company to pick up and drop off from the airport. This for us was so much easier and cheaper as train tickets from Charles De Gaul Airport to Disney cost on average £20 each way. The transfer was comfortable 8 seater, the driver met us at the airport gate and cost £84 pounds each way. So more convenient and we saved money. You can also fly into Paris Orly airport and transfer from there.
Plan Your Day To Manage Disneyland Paris in A Day
Disneyland Paris is doable in a day, we arrived 30 minutes before park opening and got in the queue for Walt Disney Studios with the aim to do the Avengers rides first. This meant when the park opened we were able to head straight to Flight Force and get on with no queuing.
We also found that using the single ride lanes cut down on the queuing time dramatically. Single rider allows you to queue in a separate queue and slot in to fill ride spaces. This is such a great option on rides with longer waits. Obviously the kids need to be older but it worked for us.
We spent the morning in Walt Disney Studios then head over to Disneyland Park at 1pm where we grabbed lunch and dinner whilst riding all the rides on our list, some twice. We didn’t leave the park till 10.20 pm after the Electric Parade and Fireworks which were worth staying late in the parks for.
Rides At Disneyland Paris With Single Rider Lanes
Disneyland Park Single Rider Lanes
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril
- Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
Walt Disney Studios Park Single Rides Lanes
- Avengers Flight Force
- Crush’s Coaster
- Ratatouille
- Spider-Man Web Adventure
- RC Racer
- Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop
Our Favourite Rides
- Lily, Thunder mountain
- Eve, Avengers Flight Force
- Izzy, Space Mountain
- Sarah, Tower of Terror and Thunder Mountain
- Karen either Tower of Terror and Space Mountain
Our Top DLP In A Day Tips
- Download the app before the trip
- Get there early and get in the queue
- If you suffer from motion sickness, take a travel sick pill. I did this and rode all the rides with no problems
- Take a water bottle and refill just outside the restrooms
- Head to Marvel first and do the rides whilst it is quieter.
- Do single-rider lanes where possible to get on the rides quicker
- Don’t miss Cars Catastrophe Canyon. It looks sedate, but it’s fabulous
- Head to Au Chalet de la Marionnette in Fantasy Land for dinner. It is quieter than the other quick-service restaurants and serves half chicken and chips
- Try the chocolate-covered strawberries
- Pirates of the Caribbean is quieter at night. There were no queue’s around 40 minutes before the fireworks
- Take layers it was cold at night
- Pack lightweight ponchos in case or rain
A Summary of What We Spent
- Flights Easyjet, £276.00
- Transfers to and from the airport to the apartment, £84.00 each way
- Apartment £361.16
- Disneyparis 1 day 2 park tickets, £472.35
- Snacks £54 (We had 2 each during the day)
- Quick service lunch and dinner for 5 £120
We spent a total of £1367 on our two night 1 day adventure to Disneyland Paris, so £273.40 per person. Yes it was a whirlwind trip and we walked 24,000 steps. But we had the best day, it was a real adventure in which we made some fabulous memories. Would I do it again? Yes in a heartbeat, we did Disney in a day at the fraction of the cost of a longer trip.
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We just took the 19ex bus from CDG to Torcy RER for 2.5€, takes an hour, it’s quicker and a lot cheaper than the train
That’s a great tip thanks for sharing.