2 1/2 day itinerary Disneyland Paris / Walt Disney Studios - Take 2

[kathy884]

I got such overwhelming responses and help on this forum when I posted a proposed itinerary earlier this year and have taken so many great suggestions to heart. With our trip coming up in just a few weeks I'm posting a revised itinerary for input suggestions. On this trip it's me (63) and DS (28) who are both HUGE WDW fans (about 30 trips for me and about 15 for DS). And we've also hit the parks in Disneyland, CA. This will be our first time to an overseas Disney park. We have 2 1/2 days allocated after a trip to Paris and we are following the Disney portion with a new nights in Belfast.

DS is a picky eater so what we are doing for dining probably won't be of much appeal to others, but we've looked at all the menus and know what we are doing.

Tuesday Sept. 26th -- partial day
After checking into the Sequoia Lodge I expect we will be at Casey's Corner around 1 p.m. for lunch
Our plan is to find out entertainment times and try to hit
-- The Disney Stars on Parade Parade
-- The Dream and Shine Brighter Stage Show
-- Disney D-lights and Disney Dreams

Where we have extra time between these activities thought we'd hit a few Fantasy Land attractions. What we don't get to we will do on Wednesday. DS and I are both really sad that the Dragon is closed for the duration of our visit, but I know we'll enjoy the parks despite that.
-- check out the castle (inside if open)
-- do Snow White
-- do Pinochio
-- check out Alice's Curious Labyrinth
-- check out the little Storybook ride (Le Pays des Contes de Fees)
-- do It's a Small World

-- At some point we'll go to the Village and have dinner at Annette's diner

Full Day Wednesday Sept. 27th (We are staying at the Sequoia Lodge so will have early entry)
food -- we'll just to counter service when we feel like it
-- Rope drop Big Thunder
-- Phantom Manor
-- Lion King show at the Chaparral Theater
-- Pirates (side note: (Indiana Jones is closed during our visit)
-- Hit anything on our Fantasyland list from the previous day we didn't hit
-- check out Adventure Isle
-- Space Mountain (might buy pass if line is long) This is a HUGE one for DS and he really wants me to go on it too, so I will try (will wear those wrist bands people sometimes take on cruises and take Dramamine an hour before as I hear this is so much more intense than the WDW one)
-- Mickey's Philharmagic
-- Any entertainment we might have missed the day before
-- Assuming we go to do the entertainment we wanted on Tuesday the 26th check out the Avengers Power of the night show

Full Day Thursday Sept 28th
food -- we'll just to counter service when we feel like it again.
-- Rope drop The Tower of Terror -- my favorite ride
-- Spiderman Web (this will be new for both of us) -- We'll skip the rethemed Rock n Roller coaster
-- RC Racers -- DS only if he is interested
-- Mickey and the Magician show
-- Pixar Musical Adventure show
-- Single line or purchase pass for Crush -- DS only -- I will skip this
(Looks like we'll have plenty of extra time if we missed anything, want to do something else, want to go to the Village, or want to go for a swim). We honestly just like chilling out at the parks so will play it by ear, but for our one and probably only visit ever we wanted to prioritize things we really want to do and do those first as we may not pass this way again.
-- Up to DS, but I would almost bet he'll want to go back to Disneyland Paris for the nighttime shows there again for his last night. He loves the Disney nighttime entertainment.

We won't be using our fourth day as we have a ride service picking us up and taking us to the airport on Friday September 29th. Belfast, here we come.

 

[kathy884]

I should mention that Ratatouille would have been on our list but it isn't running during our stay. We did, though, have the opportunity to do that at Epcot on our last visit to WDW world. Went for the 50th and have now and then photos of the same place 50 years apart as my dad took us there the first year WDW opened and pretty cool (Dad at 86 joined us for the 50th anniversary trip too).

 

[Karin1984]

Looks good!

For Casey's, you will be in the middle of lunch hour. You can try to make mobile order work. I have never tried it myself, I have heard when they started there were issues with foreign credit cards.

Other option, as you get through the village, maybe pick up a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich or Starbucks?

Between 6 and 8pm is primetime for dinner. One strategy to beat the crowds is to watch Stars on Parade from Main Street (stay on the side of City Hall) and leave the park to go the Disney Village to eat at Annettes.

Also keep in mind that if you want/need you can buy guaranteed access for Mickey and the Magician and the Lion King show. It will save you time queuing.

 

[wannabee]

where do you find what is closed during your visit?

 

[kathy884]

where do you find what is closed during your visit?

Here's the website that shows park hours that also reports on closures. To the right of the park hours click on the date you are checking. Select your park. Select what you are looking for (e.g. attractions or entertainment). And then put in a filter for open attractions or closed attractions. https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/calendars/park-hours/

 

[kathy884]

Looks good!

For Casey's, you will be in the middle of lunch hour. You can try to make mobile order work. I have never tried it myself, I have heard when they started there were issues with foreign credit cards.

Other option, as you get through the village, maybe pick up a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich or Starbucks?

Between 6 and 8pm is primetime for dinner. One strategy to beat the crowds is to watch Stars on Parade from Main Street (stay on the side of City Hall) and leave the park to go the Disney Village to eat at Annettes.

Also keep in mind that if you want/need you can buy guaranteed access for Mickey and the Magician and the Lion King show. It will save you time queuing.

Thanks Karin,

We will try the mobile ordering. We've done that at WDW (and that saves a ton of time), but I'll have to see if our credit cards will work or not. I've always wanted to try Earl of Sandwich too, so maybe we'll just have lunch in the Village and try Casey's on a different day. Disney has my favorite junk food lol. A chili cheese dog from Casey's sounds heavenly and on one day I have to have a Mickey Bar (if they have them at this park). I know I could buy a whole box of Mickey Bars at Walmart for not much more than buying one at the parks, but the problem with that is that I would eat all of them. Best for me to make it a one time special treat on a Disney trip. These days I stay away from sweets except for birthdays and special occasions -- and I count being on Mainstreet USA.

Thanks for the tip about where to watch the parade to exit for dinner.

It seems like we've been planning this for years -- We were supposed to do this in 2020, but that got canceled due to Covid-19, so I'm excited to say that it looks like this trip is finally going to happen and is just around the corner.

I'll pay for access if need be to the shows too. I love the Lion King show and we want to see Mickey and the Magician. From what I have heard it's a lot easier to do the pay to access stuff in Disneyland Paris vs. Lightening Lane, etc. at WDW. Our last trip to WDW though was at spring break due to so many teachers in our extended family group. Sounds like midweek Sept. at Disneyland Paris in comparison will be a quieter time.

 

[Louise97]

Sounds like a great itinerary! For your Tuesday plans, just remember Fantasyland closes about an before the fireworks, though you might be heading to grab a viewing spot by then.

I think you have a good balance of things you want to do and time to enjoy the parks. Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop isn't on your list but it's fun - you get great views across the park!

 

[kathy884]

Sounds like a great itinerary! For your Tuesday plans, just remember Fantasyland closes about an before the fireworks, though you might be heading to grab a viewing spot by then.

I think you have a good balance of things you want to do and time to enjoy the parks. Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop isn't on your list but it's fun - you get great views across the park!

Thank you Louise! Thank you for the suggestion for Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop. It wouldn't have been on my radar except for your recommendation. And I see it's one that's not in the US parks. I love drop rides and DS when he was little rode the froggy hopper (a little kid drop ride at Cedar Point - another favorite amusement park of ours) over and over, so I think this will be a fun addition for us and am adding it to our plan. It doesn't spin either, so this 63 year old should have no problem with it.

 

[ratherbeshiny]

You've planned a super fun trip, I hope you have the best time!

I love Dream and Shine Brighter, had to say goodbye to it during my last trip.

 

[Karin1984]

You've planned a super fun trip, I hope you have the best time!

I love Dream and Shine Brighter, had to say goodbye to it during my last trip.

I had the same, I was there last weekend of August and thought: this is the last time I'm going to see this show
It's so good! And one thing where DLP really outshines the US parks. I don't think a show like this is possible in Magic Kingdom or in Disneyland Anaheim. Its much more 'traditional' in their entertainment.

 

[ratherbeshiny]

I agree, they have that extra something special. My trips have become very entertainment focused!

 

[zavandor]

In case you don't know: in Paris the Tower of Terror has been taken over by the ghost of a small girl. The three elevators (left, center and right) have slightly different stories and drop cycles. Differences are minimal, I don't want to oversell it but since it's your favorite, it may be worth doing it multiple times to try and experience call of them.

 

[kathy884]

Just reporting back to say I had a wonderful time and to say thank you for all the tips.

I have heard negative reviews, but we loved the Bambi themed Sequoia lodge (no disappointment at all). I loved all the trees they actually planted there and the bird noises they have. I got a kick out of the ranger uniforms of the staff too. We got over to the pool one afternoon also. We loved the perk of getting to go to the parks an hour early before offsite -- could usually get three or four more major rides in before the larger crowds came in. It was so nice with the Village and the parks being walking distance.

And my favorite thing -- OMG -- (and I know it's no longer running now - stopped at the end of September) -- I adored the "Shine Brighter" Parade -- the song and the dancers were so uplifting to me. The song has been going thru my head for the past week now. I normally don't care for WDW parades, but this one was so much fun for me. Saw it three times.

My son's favorite was Space Mountain which is his favorite at WDW and this one is even more exciting. He did it three times. I did it once with him and was fine using ginger tabs. But once was fine for me.

And as you told me, the live entertainment really shines here. Mickey and the Magician is my second favorite live show ever (really great)! My favorite show still is still Festival of the Lion King. That one was closed for our Disneyland Paris visit, but no worries on that.

I think the Studios could use more attractions, so how fantastic that they are doing a Star Wars area and Frozen area expansion. That will be great for visitors that frequent these parks.

I loved it that if you wanted to do a ride (yes it's expensive and we only between the two of us for two and a 1/2 days bought three of these in total) is that if you saw an hour long wait for something you wanted to do, on the spot you could buy a quick queue pass -- usually for like 15 Euros and get right on the attraction. We did this the two of us for Peter Pan -- we haven't done this ride in the past 10 years due to the queues and not wanting to waste a fast pass, so did it on a whim. It's not really worth it, but what the heck. And then DS did Crush with one of these too. DS liked it, but both of us were surprised by all the hype and long lines for this older coaster.

If I were to have a negative thing to say, for me I would say food. For example, Casey's corner (my favorite junk food at WDW - great chili cheese dogs there) -- definitely not the same and a place to skip at Disneyland Paris. And in the Village, skip what they say is a New York style pizza place (not even close - more like frozen pizza that is NOT New York style). We found Annettes and the Royal .. pub place to be fine though. Mickey bars, my favorite treat at the US parks, didn't taste the same either, but I have a few pounds I'd like to loose and actually lost a little weight on this vacation, so food you just didn't want to eat all that much of could for me be a positive.

Overall I just had wonderful trip to Paris, Disneyland Paris, and Belfast with my 28 year old son -- great memories we'll have forever. I also thought it was great to do four nights in Paris first and then three nights in Disneyland Paris. After doing all that exploring in Paris (which was wonderful but) it was nice to be at a more all inclusive kind of place for three nights after that. And I would have never believed it that I would do way fewer steps at theme parks than around Paris, but lol the theme park days were our rest days in terms of steps/stairs.

This forum and all your advice helped us to have a great experience at Disneyland Paris for sure.

 

[Karin1984]

Great to hear you had a good experience

On my next trip I'll get a Mickey bar and have a look at the nutritional information. Probably they are made in Europe with different guidelines than in the US. Like in Europe we have stricter rules about how much sugar can be in soft drinks.

 

[kathy884]

Great to hear you had a good experience

On my next trip I'll get a Mickey bar and have a look at the nutritional information. Probably they are made in Europe with different guidelines than in the US. Like in Europe we have stricter rules about how much sugar can be in soft drinks.

I bet that's true. The US ones have tons of calories and fat and that delicious Dove chocolate, and that's what makes them taste so good. In the US you can get boxes of Mickey Bars at Walmart for not all that much money than one at the parks, but that would be dangerous for me as I would eat one a day till they are gone. I limit myself to a Mickey Bar as a special treat at a Disney park, For the US ones I love biting off an ear of one on Mainstreet USA.

Actually I stay away from sweets in general these days with two exceptions: Cake at birthdays and Mickey Bars at Disney parks.

 

[Karin1984]

Oh, I am also very curious, because you were very detailed in your planning... Can you elaborate on which rides were you able to do per day?

 

[wannabee]

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like a great trip

 

[kathy884]

Oh, I am also very curious, because you were very detailed in your planning... Can you elaborate on which rides were you able to do per day?

Sure Karin,

Bet you can tell in the ole USA that I’m someone who subscribes to Touringplans from the Unofficial Guide to WDW people. Love having a touring plan lol.

Our first day worked exactly as planned.
We got to the Disneyland park and immediately heard the parade was starting, so sat down on the curb and watched the “Shine Brighter Parade” – great way to start.

Next, we had lunch at Casey’s Corner – would skip for Paris, but love this in WDW.
And then we did all our Fantasyland attractions in the order planned

-- checked out the castle – loved exploring the inside
-- Snow White
-- Pinochio
-- Alice's Curious Labyrinth – so cute
-- the little Storybook ride (Le Pays des Contes de Fees) – I love this. The only other park I’ve been to that has this is the original Disneyland in California
-- It's a Small World – got a kick out of there being a USA room
-- Our room at the Sequoia Lodge was ready, so we went back to unpack, etc.

Next we had dinner at the Royal Pub place in the village, browsed shops on Mainstreet USA and stayed for the drone / castle evening entertainment

Full Day Wednesday Sept. 27th -- I could be slightly off in our order, but here Is my best recollection
We were lined up early so some of the first people in the park (Disneyland).

In our early entry hour, we did Big Thunder and Phantom Manor, thought we’d do the Lion King show but saw it was closed, went over to Pirates, but it was broken down, so headed to Space Mountain and rode that (once for me and DS) and a second time for DS. We could have done that more, no line but twice was good for DS

Next, we saw the "Shine Brighter" parade again, this time by the castle to see all the entertainment by the castle. (We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches on Mainstreet too and ate those while waiting for the parade)

We went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic, but that was closed. We saw Pirates was finally operating, so went back to do that.

We bought fastpasses to do Peter Pan vs. do a 50 minute wait. As stated earlier, we usually skip this.

After that we went back to our hotel to swim, relax, and do some photo editing.

Before heading to the Studios for evening entertainment, I got a salad at Earl of Sandwich, and we rode Tower of Terror (25-minute wait). And then we saw the evening show at the Studios.

DS and I then went to Annette’s (dinner for DS, light snack for me since I had eaten earlier). It was really crowded after park closing, but we only waited about 20 minutes to get seated (line moved quick).

On our last full day we rope dropped the studios,
In our early entry hour, we did Web Slingers, DS did the changed theme old Rock and Roller coaster, and both of us did Tower of Terror again. By then the park had opened Crush had a 70-minute wait showing and 65-minute line for single riders, so we did the Parachute ride (30 minute wait – should have done walk on single rider line), and then got DS a fastpass for Crush. Next, we did the Pixar Musical Adventure show, followed by the Mickey and the Magician – Great live entertainment (both shows). At this point we had completed what was on our list which was great.

Next, we had lunch in the village and shopped in the village.

Then it was back to Disneyland. where we did Mickey's Philharmagic as it was open this day. Next DS did Space Mountain again, and we both did Small World again. We did some browsing on Mainstreet USA and saw the Shine Brighter parade again too.

I headed back to the room to call it a day. DS did some more exploring of Mainstreet USA and took in the princess parade. He also checked out the Village shops some more.

Then we had dinner at McDonalds, relaxed in our room, and packed to get ready for our 7:30 a.m. pickup and flight to Belfast.

We absolutely loved Disneyland Paris!

 

[Absimilliard]

Just reporting back to say I had a wonderful time and to say thank you for all the tips.

I have heard negative reviews, but we loved the Bambi themed Sequoia lodge (no disappointment at all). I loved all the trees they actually planted there and the bird noises they have. I got a kick out of the ranger uniforms of the staff too. We got over to the pool one afternoon also. We loved the perk of getting to go to the parks an hour early before offsite -- could usually get three or four more major rides in before the larger crowds came in. It was so nice with the Village and the parks being walking distance.

And my favorite thing -- OMG -- (and I know it's no longer running now - stopped at the end of September) -- I adored the "Shine Brighter" Parade -- the song and the dancers were so uplifting to me. The song has been going thru my head for the past week now. I normally don't care for WDW parades, but this one was so much fun for me. Saw it three times.

My son's favorite was Space Mountain which is his favorite at WDW and this one is even more exciting. He did it three times. I did it once with him and was fine using ginger tabs. But once was fine for me.

And as you told me, the live entertainment really shines here. Mickey and the Magician is my second favorite live show ever (really great)! My favorite show still is still Festival of the Lion King. That one was closed for our Disneyland Paris visit, but no worries on that.

I think the Studios could use more attractions, so how fantastic that they are doing a Star Wars area and Frozen area expansion. That will be great for visitors that frequent these parks.

I loved it that if you wanted to do a ride (yes it's expensive and we only between the two of us for two and a 1/2 days bought three of these in total) is that if you saw an hour long wait for something you wanted to do, on the spot you could buy a quick queue pass -- usually for like 15 Euros and get right on the attraction. We did this the two of us for Peter Pan -- we haven't done this ride in the past 10 years due to the queues and not wanting to waste a fast pass, so did it on a whim. It's not really worth it, but what the heck. And then DS did Crush with one of these too. DS liked it, but both of us were surprised by all the hype and long lines for this older coaster.

If I were to have a negative thing to say, for me I would say food. For example, Casey's corner (my favorite junk food at WDW - great chili cheese dogs there) -- definitely not the same and a place to skip at Disneyland Paris. And in the Village, skip what they say is a New York style pizza place (not even close - more like frozen pizza that is NOT New York style). We found Annettes and the Royal .. pub place to be fine though. Mickey bars, my favorite treat at the US parks, didn't taste the same either, but I have a few pounds I'd like to loose and actually lost a little weight on this vacation, so food you just didn't want to eat all that much of could for me be a positive.

Overall I just had wonderful trip to Paris, Disneyland Paris, and Belfast with my 28 year old son -- great memories we'll have forever. I also thought it was great to do four nights in Paris first and then three nights in Disneyland Paris. After doing all that exploring in Paris (which was wonderful but) it was nice to be at a more all inclusive kind of place for three nights after that. And I would have never believed it that I would do way fewer steps at theme parks than around Paris, but lol the theme park days were our rest days in terms of steps/stairs.

This forum and all your advice helped us to have a great experience at Disneyland Paris for sure.

Nice trip report! On the topic of food, Annette's is indeed an hidden gem: for 25 euros, which is only 2-3 euros more than the set meals in the parks for burgers, you get a nice quality burger, fries and a great brownie dessert. Lines do get long, but going around 6:30 pm-7:00 pm worked out fine for me. Royal Pub is an odd case: its literally a french chain of pub style restaurants and the one at the Disney Village serves very similiar food to the chain, but at a slightly higher pricing point. I had dinner at Au Bureau behind Disney and the food was good. That is the Montevrain location. You could walk there if staying at say the Moxy Paris Val d'Europe or other hotels in that area.

https://www.aubureau.fr/carte-des-plats/

Frozen is indeed opening in 2025, with the attraction an upgraded version of the Frozen Ever After boat ride at Epcot. A large quick service restaurant and meet and greets will complete that land. Star Wars was cancelled for 2027, even if it still appears on the concept art. The replacement will still open in 2027 and construction has started.

Did you get a chance to look at the new attraction merchandise line?

 

[kathy884]

Nice trip report! On the topic of food, Annette's is indeed an hidden gem: for 25 euros, which is only 2-3 euros more than the set meals in the parks for burgers, you get a nice quality burger, fries and a great brownie dessert. Lines do get long, but going around 6:30 pm-7:00 pm worked out fine for me. Royal Pub is an odd case: its literally a french chain of pub style restaurants and the one at the Disney Village serves very similiar food to the chain, but at a slightly higher pricing point. I had dinner at Au Bureau behind Disney and the food was good. That is the Montevrain location. You could walk there if staying at say the Moxy Paris Val d'Europe or other hotels in that area.

https://www.aubureau.fr/carte-des-plats/

Frozen is indeed opening in 2025, with the attraction an upgraded version of the Frozen Ever After boat ride at Epcot. A large quick service restaurant and meet and greets will complete that land. Star Wars was cancelled for 2027, even if it still appears on the concept art. The replacement will still open in 2027 and construction has started.

Did you get a chance to look at the new attraction merchandise line?

Thanks Absimillard. I did like Annette's. Interesting on the expansion plans. I didn't see any of the new attraction merchandise line, but I'll have to ask DS if he saw that