When you are going, where you are staying, how you are getting there and how much you want to spend all shape the trip before you arrive.
We think it is better to get those foundations right first, understand anything that could affect your dates and then leave enough flexibility to enjoy Disneyland Paris once you are there.
Planning the important things properly does not mean filling every hour. It means making the big decisions early, knowing what matters and giving yourself room to change plans when you need to.
Start With Your Dates
Before booking anything else, it is worth checking what Disneyland Paris looks like during your actual stay. Park hours, ride closures, school holidays and seasonal events can all change how a trip feels.
Check My TripEnter your dates and hotel to see the closures, park information and other things worth knowing for your stay.Check Your Trip 
Photo: Marliese/PixabyPark HoursSee the latest Disneyland Paris opening times, Extra Magic Time and day-by-day park hours.View Park Hours 
Photo: Edwin01/PixabyClosures & RefurbishmentsCheck which attractions are scheduled to be unavailable during your visit and when they are expected to reopen.View Closures Choose the Right Base for Your Trip
Where you stay changes far more than where you sleep. A Disney Hotel can make mornings, breaks and evenings easier, while staying off-site can give you more space or save a significant amount of money.
There is no automatic right answer. We have done both, and the best choice depends on the trip.
Disneyland Paris HotelsCompare the Disney Hotels, see who each one suits and browse our full hotel recordsExplore Hotels 
Disney Hotels vs Off-SiteThe real differences in convenience, cost, Extra Magic Time, room space and how your hotel changes your park days.Compare your options 
Which Disney Hotel Is Right for You?From walking distance and pools to theming, room size and budget, here’s how we’d choose between the Disney Hotels.Read our experiences Choose the journey that works for you
How you get to Disneyland Paris can shape more of the trip than you might expect. Driving gives you flexibility and space, while flying can still make sense depending on where you live, who you’re travelling with and how you want the journey to work.
We’ve done both, and we think it’s more useful to compare the whole journey than just the time spent in the air or behind the wheel.
Driving to Disneyland ParisHow we make the drive from the South West work, why we break the journey in Calais and why driving has become our favourite way to get to Disneyland Paris.Plan the drive 
Flying vs DrivingWe’ve done both repeatedly. Here’s how they compare once you include the full journey, luggage, cost, transfers and flexibility.Compare your options 
Driving in FranceThe documents, rules, tolls, Crit’Air and practical things UK drivers should sort before heading towards Disneyland Paris.Get ready for France Work out what your trip will really cost
There’s no single right Disneyland Paris budget. What you spend depends on how long you’re staying, how you plan to eat, whether you have a meal plan and how much room you want to leave for shopping and treats.
A little planning before you go makes it much easier to enjoy the money you’ve set aside without constantly thinking about it once you’re there.
Photo: Disneygraph/PexelsDisneyland Paris Spending PlannerBuild a realistic spending budget around your dates, party size, food plans and shopping habits before you travel.Plan your spending 
Photo: Bryan DijkhizenTax-Free Shopping & SkipTaxIf you’re travelling from the UK, you may be able to claim VAT back on eligible purchases. Here’s how SkipTax works and what we’d sort before shopping.See how tax-free shopping works 
Photo: Bryan DijhhuizenPaying at Disneyland ParisHow we use cards, keep the holiday money separate and avoid turning every purchase into a currency calculation.See how we pay Getting the important bits in place
A few things are much easier to sort before you travel than when you’re already on the way to Disneyland Paris. We don’t think you need an enormous pre-trip checklist, but passports, insurance, mobile data, packing and the bookings that matter most to your family are all worth thinking about before you leave.
Our practical pre-trip checklist, bringing together the things worth sorting before you leave home.
Get ready for your trip
Photo: Shreya AnnWhat We Actually PackThe things we actually pack, what earns its place and what we leave at home.Explore 
Passports & Entry RequirementsThe passport and entry checks we make before travelling from the UK to France.Explore 
Travel InsuranceWhat we look for in travel insurance before booking a Disneyland Paris trip.Explore 
eSIM & Mobile DataWhether you need an eSIM in France and what to check with your UK network.Explore 
Photo: John Giannis TekeridisWhat to Book Before Disneyland ParisWhat is worth booking early and what can wait until you arrive.Explore Give your park days a little structure
We don’t plan Disneyland Paris down to the minute, but we do like to know what the day looks like before we walk through the gates. Opening times, Extra Magic Time, seasonal entertainment and how many days you have all affect what makes sense.
The aim isn’t to create a rigid itinerary. It’s to know enough that you can make good decisions once you’re there.
How We Use Extra Magic TimeHow we decide what is actually worth doing during that first hour in the parks.Use Extra Magic Time better 
Photo: Joan Costa/PexelsHow Many Days Do You Need?How we think about trip length without trying to cram everything into every day.Work out how long you need 
8 Tips Before You Start Your Park DayThe small decisions we make before heading through the gates that make the day easier.Read our park-day tips 
Photo: Seif Abukhalaf/UnsplashDisneyland Paris Park MapGet your bearings before you go and see how the parks, lands and attractions fit together.Explore the park map We plan the shape of the day, not every minute
We normally know which park we want to start in, the few things we most want to do and whether there’s anything time-sensitive happening that day.
After that, we let wait times, weather and how everyone feels decide the rest. Some of our best Disneyland Paris days have come from changing the plan rather than sticking rigidly to one.
Don’t try to do everything
The easiest way to make Disneyland Paris feel stressful is to treat it like a checklist. There will always be another ride, restaurant, show or character you could have squeezed in.
We’ve found our best trips come from knowing what matters most, leaving some space around it and accepting that changing the plan is often part of the fun.
A good trip is not the one where you managed to tick off the most things. It is the one where everyone still wants to be there at the end of the day.
Pick the things that matter most to you, do those well and let everything else be a bonus.
Disneyland Paris is supposed to be the holiday, not a challenge to see how efficiently you can get through it.
Plan enough to avoid the obvious mistakes, then give yourself permission to enjoy where you actually are.
See what your Disneyland Paris trip actually looks like
Once you know roughly when you want to go and how you want the trip to work, the useful bit is seeing what is actually happening during your dates.
Enter your stay below and we’ll pull together the park hours, known attraction closures, holidays and other information that could affect your trip.