How many days do you need at DLP

[BeachMouse1]

How many days do you need at DLP to really get the full experience
Is it like World where there is more to do than just parks or more like Disney Land California?
Is there a downtown and dining area?
If I’m going to go there I want the whole experience

 

[Karin1984]

More like Disneyland Anaheim than Disney World.
There is a Downtown Disney area, called Disney Village. However there are a lot of refurbishments going on. One of the new restaurants is already open, Brasserie Rosalie, a new favourite of mine.

The whole experience really depends on a lot of factors:
- How big of a Disney fan are you? Do you want to take time to really explore? There are several diversion areas.
- Do you want to do all the shows & rides, or just the rides, do you want to do coasters?
- Is table service important to you?
- Is shopping important to you?
- Who are you travelling with? Bigger groups move slower than solo travellers.
- What is your touring style? Go-go-go or more leisurely. Rope drop? Open to close? Take lots of breaks?
- Staying onsite and use EMH?
- Do you plan to pay for Premier Access (our fastpass system) or guaranteed access for shows?

 

[BeachMouse1]

More like Disneyland Anaheim than Disney World.
There is a Downtown Disney area, called Disney Village. However there are a lot of refurbishments going on. One of the new restaurants is already open, Brasserie Rosalie, a new favourite of mine.

The whole experience really depends on a lot of factors:
- How big of a Disney fan are you? Do you want to take time to really explore? There are several diversion areas.
- Do you want to do all the shows & rides, or just the rides, do you want to do coasters?
- Is table service important to you?
- Is shopping important to you?
- Who are you travelling with? Bigger groups move slower than solo travellers.
- What is your touring style? Go-go-go or more leisurely. Rope drop? Open to close? Take lots of breaks?
- Staying onsite and use EMH?
- Do you plan to pay for Premier Access (our fastpass system) or guaranteed access for shows?

Ok thank you for this.
Huge Disney fan, love to explore and learn. Read tons of books and info on park history
Would want to try all rides and shows if going over there
Love shopping
Just two of us
More leisurely can go go go if needed but prefer taking time
Would want to stay at Disney Land hotel
Would pay for anything that would enhance the experience and make it easier

 

[Karin1984]

Forgot one question, when do you plan to visit? Visiting on weekdays, out of school vacation periods and no bank holidays will make a major difference.

I would probably go for 3 full days. Maybe add a half day if you do end up staying at the Disneyland Hotel and want to do the table service and characters etc. That will take some time.

I think paying for guaranteed access for shows is a better value than paying for rides. So if you have to make choices, go for this option.

 

[SPINster]

We did:
Arrive Monday 2pm-DLP
Full day Tuesday-DLP
Full day Wednesday-Studios
Thursday-Half day (until 2pm, evening flight), spent at DLP

We are huge Disney fans and this allowed us to see and do everything, most things multiple times. We watched the parade + fireworks multiple times. We definitely didn't need that last half day, but we enjoyed re-riding all our favorites.

The Studios park is very small, and in my opinion, horribly designed. It's the worst Disney park of any in the world. They are currently doing a lot of construction to improve that, and they are about to debut a new show. It has some good attractions but you don't need more than a full day there (and really...not even a full day). There is a single rider line for Crush's Coaster but it can take almost as long as the regular line, that is the most painful wait in both parks IMO.

We stayed at the Hotel Cheyenne. It was fine. The Disneyland Hotel was closed at the time so we couldn't stay there.

My stray thoughts/advice:
1. The quick service food is bad. Far worse than the US parks. We ate at Downtown Disney at night because the options were better. Also their hours are very limited, especially in the evening. We didn't try any of the sit down places, they might be better.
2. DLP is, in my opinion, the most beautiful Disney Park. The landscaping, the show buildings, the castle...stunning. We enjoyed just walking around and exploring the details so much. And the dragon under the castle=AMAZING.
3. If you like ToT-they have three different versions, one of which is traumatizing (in a good way). Worth multiple rides to see the different versions.
4. Character lines are sloooooooooooowwwwwwwww. Truly, do not bother waiting for the Princesses. You only meet one Princess, the line is 2-3 hours+ (even though there's only like 20 people in it!) and you don't get to choose which princess you meet. It took us over an hour to Meet Mickey and there were only 10 families ahead of us. The characters meeting outside were a bit slower than in the US parks but manageable.
5. Their teacups do not spin individually. I'm sure I am the only person in the world that cares about this, but it is my favorite ride and it was VERY disappointing.
6. Love their version of Hyperspace Mountain-highly recommend waiting for the front.

 

[angel0321]

5. Their teacups do not spin individually. I'm sure I am the only person in the world that cares about this, but it is my favorite ride and it was VERY disappointing.

I had no idea! This is good to know in advance, because my DH is a huge teacup spinner. So a little disappointed.

 

[Nala83]

I had no idea! This is good to know in advance, because my DH is a huge teacup spinner. So a little disappointed.

I knew it! I kept trying to spin the thing and nothing was happening. I thought it was my imagination!

 

[Nala83]

I just got home today. I'll try to pull together more thoughts later, but I did 3 days. I stayed at a "good neighbor" hotel, one train stop away, so not eligible for early entry. I bought premier access to a handful of individual rides...and I had tons of time to do everything. By everything, I mean seeing the Lion King show 3 times (it's that good!), riding Crush 5 times (1 premier), riding BTMRR 5 times (2 premier- one of which was a freebie). I had lots of time for wandering.

I didn't do any table service meals or character meets, but there still would have been plenty of time to include some of those.

I consider myself an obsessive fan, but even for me 3 days was almost too much. (Gulp- can't believe I just said that!)

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

When we’re talking about “days” is that full, 8, 10 (or more) hour days? I’m in the very early stages of planning; will have two little kiddos, so I was thinking devote 4 days to it and a few days in Paris, but by Disney days I mean get there early, have a leisurely lunch break, and leave the park at say, 5 or 6pm.

 

[zavandor]

This is my standard advice:

1 day in DLP is enough to do the highlights and unique attractions only.
2 days is enough to see everything.
3 days for the Disney fan who wants to soak all the details and repeat their favorites multiple times
4 days is too much, you'll start to get bored.

 

[NVDISFamily]

My friends did two days there and had a great time during their trip this summer. They stayed close and said they would have loved to stay on property.

 

[steve_rob]

5. Their teacups do not spin individually. I'm sure I am the only person in the world that cares about this, but it is my favorite ride and it was VERY disappointing.

I had no idea! This is good to know in advance, because my DH is a huge teacup spinner. So a little disappointed.

Either you had a broken teacup or they've changed something since I was last in DLP, because I've always been able to spin our teacups in the past.

 

[Karin1984]

Either you had a broken teacup or they've changed something since I was last in DLP, because I've always been able to spin our teacups in the past.

Same. It is very heavy, though. I needed some strength to get it to spin.

 

[petunia]

I was wondering the same! Considering a short trip, fri-mon..first timers but are "regulars" at disneyworld..considering doing the 2 parks one day each and then a visit to eiffel tower etc the other day. Is this a good plan? We have teens and are used to short trips so not too worried about that. What order would you recommend- park/explore city/park, or park/park/explore city? I think we would stay onsite if thats a thing, as we always do in Florida..any advice is appreciated! Also, can you just get Genie instead of ILL? As for dining, we usually get the ddp and do TS but this late in the game (early July) and with such a short trip we may just do CS, hoping its not that terrible??

 

[Karin1984]

I was wondering the same! Considering a short trip, fri-mon..first timers but are "regulars" at disneyworld..considering doing the 2 parks one day each and then a visit to eiffel tower etc the other day. Is this a good plan?

It's a plan and it's so personal. In my first reply at the top, I have made a list of questions you can ask to determine how many days you might need. And post #10 by Zavandor is a good start as well.

We have teens and are used to short trips so not too worried about that. What order would you recommend- park/explore city/park, or park/park/explore city?

I personally prefer park-park-city. We did park-city-park when visiting Hong Kong and I prefer to keep things split. But also here, this is a personal preference, and you won't know for sure what is right for you till you do it. Some people like to see different sites every day, some prefer to stay in the same world, so to speak. There are pros and cons to both.

I think we would stay onsite if thats a thing, as we always do in Florida..any advice is appreciated! Also, can you just get Genie instead of ILL?

In Paris it's called Premier Access. You can buy it as a package, or buy per ride. I always advise to buy per ride as some of the kiddie rides are not interesting for those travelling as adults (or with adult/teenage children).
Don't forget that Paris has something called "Guaranteed Access" for certain shows. THis will give you a guaranteed seat, and one of the best seats in the theater. It's 15 euro per person and it is great value for the 20-30 minutes shows, in comparison to pay 15 euro for a 2 minute ride.

As for dining, we usually get the ddp and do TS but this late in the game (early July) and with such a short trip we may just do CS, hoping its not that terrible??

A lot goes wrong with food in Paris when you go in with the wrong mindset. Disneyland Paris has perfectly fine themepark food. WDW is a league of their own when you look at food. When you expect WDW food at DLP, you will get disappointed. So, best advise is to go in with low expectations and save your food dreams for when you visit the city of Paris. Do your research for the great restaurants in Paris and enjoy the experience.

Keep in mind that table service in France takes longer than in the US. It's considered rude for the waiter to constantly interrupt you while you are talking to your table mates, or to leave the bill before you are done. You will probably have to ask for the bill.

If you want a table service in DLP, keep checking the app or check on the day itself to see what is available. Better value is to eat in the Village. Prices are a bit better, and service quicker. I love the Royal Pub and Annettes.

 

[zavandor]

To add to Karin's suggestions, buffet restaurants have decent food and you can spend as long or as short time as you want.
A table service at Walt's is a great experience, especially if you ask for a window table, but can also be slow for the reasons Karin said. In a buffet you can leave as early as you want, you pay when you enter so no need even to wait for the bill.
Agrabah cafè is my favorite, if you like the food at the Moroccan pavilion at Epcot, you'll love this. It's imperative you ask for a table in the streets and not in the big room, which is not themed (the atmosphere in the streets is superb).
Pym's kitchen is fun too and the restaurants at the Cheyenne and Santa Fe hotels have ok food and a good value. Remi's is very very cute, but I found the food just ok and certainly overpriced.
Capt Jack food is not stellar and pricey too, but a lot of fun, because it's inside the Pirates of the Carribian ride, like the Blue Bayou at Disneyland, so it's an unique experience.

 

[Mommb]

Also, can you just get Genie instead of ILL?

In Paris it's called Premier Access. You can buy it as a package, or buy per ride. I always advise to buy per ride as some of the kiddie rides are not interesting for those travelling as adults (or with adult/teenage children).
Don't forget that Paris has something called "Guaranteed Access" for certain shows. THis will give you a guaranteed seat, and one of the best seats in the theater. It's 15 euro per person and it is great value for the 20-30 mnutes shows, in comparison to pay 15 euro for a 2 minute ride.

I agree that it's best to see what lines are like and then pay for individual attractions as needed. My family was at Disneyland Paris in March and bought access to just a few rides (Crush Coaster and Spiderman) because waits were reasonable for the others we wanted to do.

 

[PNO4TE]

We are also in the early planning stages of our Summer 2025 vacation and DLP has presented the problem! We are Disney fans with more than 100 trips to WDW and probably 10 or more to DLand CA. It will just be the two of us (insert ) in our mid-70s. My husband is disabled and uses a mobility scooter all the time. I am pretty sure there won't be a lot of rides we will do; this is a trip to soak up the differences. I don't think we will need more than one day as we don't plan to go to the Studios.

We are flying into CDG and spending a couple of nights there first. Should we plan to spend a night or come down for the day using a private car & driver? We will probably take the train to get to London after our day at DL.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Karin1984]

We are also in the early planning stages of our Summer 2025 vacation and DLP has presented the problem! We are Disney fans with more than 100 trips to WDW and probably 10 or more to DLand CA. It will just be the two of us (insert ) in our mid-70s. My husband is disabled and uses a mobility scooter all the time. I am pretty sure there won't be a lot of rides we will do; this is a trip to soak up the differences. I don't think we will need more than one day as we don't plan to go to the Studios.

We are flying into CDG and spending a couple of nights there first. Should we plan to spend a night or come down for the day using a private car & driver? We will probably take the train to get to London after our day at DL.

Thanks for any suggestions!

If you only plan to do 1 day and don't ride the big rides, I don't think there is much use to spend a night.
Yes, it's going to be busy as it is Summer, but mostly the crowds will be at the rides. To soak up the ambiance, see some shows etc. you do not need to use the extra hour for onsite hotel guests.

Another reason to go back to the city of Paris after a day at Disneyland, there are no direct trains from Disneyland Paris to London (at this moment, this can of course change). There is a direct train from Paris city central to London.

A benefit of staying onsite would be, you can stay late on your arrival day, see the fireworks, and be back at the onsite hotel very quickly. And the next day explore the park. When you book a one-night package at Disneyland Paris, you will always get access for 2 days.

If you do a day trip and want to see the fireworks, you will be back at your hotel in the city after midnight (fireworks are usually around 11:00pm in the Summer). If you have to get up early the next day to catch the train to London, might not be ideal.

 

[zavandor]

If you like shows, a short visit to the Studios might be worth just for Mickey and the Magician, it's really good. I haven't watched Together yet, but seems interesting.