First trip to Disneyland Paris

[taylor1293]

I am taking my first trip to Paris and DLP in June. We will only have one day to spend at DLP and we have purchased a two-park pass. I have been reading through some of the FAQ's and other threads. But I have some questions.

What counter service restaurants do you all recommend? Or recommend to avoid?

Which park is best to start our day at?

The park hours say they both open at 10:00. Is that a firm time or do they sometimes open early for guests who are not staying on property?

We are staying at a hotel near the Louvre. How early will we want to catch the train?

Thanks!

 

[Karin1984]

Avoid the one in Videopolis. Love Toad Hall, but the service is very slow. I am not a fan of Casey's. Hakuna Matata is also a favourite.

I would start at the Studios, pull a fast pass for Tower of Terror, try to do both Ratatouille and Crush with single rider's line. Go to Rock 'n roller coaster after.
Then to the Main Park get a fast pass for Big Thunder Mountain or ride during parade / firework time.

Yes, parks open a litte earlier for the public, but you are stopped on the hub.

It takes about an hour from the Louvre, so I would leave around 8/8:15, then you are there around 9/9:15. Time to get through security, and line up, probably around 9:30 they will open the gates.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

We did DLP last summer. Agreee the red RER train ride is about an hour. But check a day or two beforehand to make sure there are no strikes going on. That slows things down and those French worker strikes seem to pop up randomly without a lot of notice.

As for the dining, there is no place I would recommend, but I will warn you that nothing about the service is quick, anywhere. Its a culutral diference. Even the short quick service lines (maybe five people ahead of me) always took at least half an hour to get our food. So plan accordingly.

 

[cwis]

Hi @taylor1293! Hope you'll enjoy your first visit in this beautiful resort!

I would suggest you start your day at Walt Disney Studios Park. Note this is not the best option if you want to complete as many attractions as possible, because most people that do both parks on one day do the same. However, Disneyland Park has much more “magic” to it. Feels much more pleasant to do the attractions that you're interested in in WDS then go to the other park and enjoy the rest of your day.

Parks open always 30 minutes before posted wait time. Since you're not going to benefit from EMT, the only available option to rope drop something would be to go to Disneyland Park, and walk to a land that is not open during the EMT, such as Frontierland/Adventureland.

Last, remember 6-9am is peak time on the public transportation system, leave early if you want to arrive in time. This is also going to be peak time at the Disneyland gates.

As far as QS, the Park has recently upgraded the quality & variety of the food offerings. No two restaurants offer the same options in any given park, so I would suggest you tailor your choice based on your preferences. Remember to check on the Disneyland Paris app or City Hall which restaurants are open during your visit.

Let us know if you have more questions!

 

[JessicaRabbit13]

If leave your hotel by at least 8am. You’ll want to get in the studios first and queue from around 9am. They will let you in around 9.30 and you can go straight on rides. I’d head to crush or ratatouille first and work your way round.

Have a list of around 8-10 rides you wanna do so you don’t waste time doing ones early on and then miss other ones later because you can’t do everything in one day.

If you can I would take lunch with you to maximise park time. Eating at the counter service restaurants can be very slow - I’ve waited 25 minutes just to be served before. If you go at random times - 11.30 or 3pm it’s not so bad. I like cowboy cookout, hakuna Matata and the Mexican place in Frontierland. I wouldn’t say any were exceptional, so it’s go to one where you like the style of food - burger, pizza/pasta, Mexican, sandwiches etc. Earl of sandwich in the village is a good option too.

 

[taylor1293]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I'm happy to know the parks will open a little earlier so we will plan to leave early enough. Thanks for the food suggestions too. Since it's our only day in the parks, we don't want to spend too much time eating or waiting for food.

 

[petals]

My favourite Counter service place is Colonal Haithi's they had good pizza last time we were there. Everyone seems to rave about Hakuna Matata and it was fine but we didn't see what the big fuss was there. Cafe Hyperion the food was cold when we got it so maybe avoid there!

 

[Karin1984]

My favourite Counter service place is Colonal Haithi's they had good pizza last time we were there. Everyone seems to rave about Hakuna Matata and it was fine but we didn't see what the big fuss was there. Cafe Hyperion the food was cold when we got it so maybe avoid there!

Hyperion! That's the name of the one in Videopolis, I always avoid it and therefore forget about the name.

Hakuna Matata used to be amazing, mainly due to the Hakuna Fries, which was first a potato based recipe, now it's corn based, and it's not the same.

 

[markpsych]

Personally I'd opt for Hakuna Matatas if I just had the one day. The food is consistently good for a counter service option (at least the chicken strips and fries are), although I do miss the old fries a little too

 

[cwis]

I'm glad everyone miss the old Hakuna Matata offerings… thought I was the only one around to regret it!

 

[Karin1984]

I'm glad everyone miss the old Hakuna Matata offerings… thought I was the only one around to regret it!

I had at least one trip where we ate there every day ;-) And getting some fries right before leaving, so I had something to snack on the RER.

 

[MermaidLagoonResident]

I agree, avoid Cafe Hyperion! We visited DLP in aug 2017 and I remember our booking included a dinning plan promo ( I think half board?). They had just changed how the hotel breakfast was run and instead of it being offered in the hotel, we were given vouchers to use at specific QS in the park. But we were there they were only offering breakfast at Cafe Hyperion and it was only available during EMH. And then one day we got lunch there as well because we needed something and it was the only place we could find without a line- the dh was not too happy with the food we ate there.

( I don't know if the hotel breakfast is still run this way, this was 2 years ago)