Before You Go

Before we travel, we focus first on the things that could cause a genuine problem if they are wrong or forgotten.

That means checking passports and entry requirements, making sure travel insurance is in place, sorting mobile data, knowing how we are paying for things and making any bookings that really matter to us.

Packing comes after that. Forgetting a jumper is annoying. Discovering there is a problem with a passport or that you have no mobile data when you land is a much bigger issue.

Passports, entry requirements and travel insurance are the things we would check first because they can affect whether the trip happens at all.

For UK travellers, the passport rules for France are straightforward once you know what to look for, but we would never leave that check until the week before travelling. The same goes for insurance: it is much more useful when it is in place from the point you book than when you are already on the way.

We would still sort travel insurance as soon as the trip is booked rather than leaving it until the last few days.

The important thing for us is having cover in place for the trip itself, not just for medical problems while we are away. Check what the policy covers for cancellation, delays, lost luggage and anything else that could realistically affect your Disneyland Paris booking.

Having mobile data at Disneyland Paris makes the whole trip easier. We use our phones constantly for the Disneyland Paris app, maps, messages, bookings, checking plans and keeping in touch if we split up.

UK roaming rules now depend on your mobile provider, so we would check what your existing plan includes before assuming France is covered. If roaming is expensive or limited, an eSIM can be a simple alternative and is much easier to sort before you leave than after you arrive.

Disneyland Paris is much easier to enjoy when you have a realistic idea of what you are likely to spend before you arrive.

We would think beyond the hotel and park tickets and allow for food, drinks, souvenirs, Premier Access, PhotoPass, transport and any extras you already know your family will want. You do not need to budget every coffee, but having a sensible overall figure makes it much easier to make decisions once you are there.

Packing for Disneyland Paris is less about taking everything and more about making the long park days easier.

We think about the weather, how much walking we will do, what we need to carry around the parks and which things would be annoying or expensive to replace once we are there.

Comfortable shoes, layers, chargers and a few useful park-day bits matter much more to us than trying to build the perfect Disney packing list.

We do not think you need to pre-book every part of a Disneyland Paris trip.

The things worth sorting in advance are the ones that would genuinely affect your holiday if you missed them: a restaurant you really care about, character dining, a special experience or anything else with limited availability.

Everything else can usually stay flexible. That gives you enough structure to protect the important bits without turning the whole trip into a timetable.

By the time we get to the final day or two before travelling, we do not want to be making big decisions. The important bookings should already be sorted and the rest is really about checking that everything is where it needs to be.

We would confirm the journey, make sure tickets and booking confirmations are easy to access, check the latest park information and then stop planning. At that point, the aim is simply to leave home knowing there is nothing obvious still hanging over the trip.