We went on our first trip to Disneyland Paris last October which was amazing. I have wanted to take my little family for a while but, as you can imagine, travelling as a family of five is so expensive, especially to somewhere like Disneyland Paris.
So we wanted/needed to try and keep the costs down as much as possible, all whilst still trying to make the experience magical and amazing! Which I am pleased to say we did! And here’s how we did it:
Shop around for the best deal
Admittedly this is not something I am great at usually. However, Disneyland Paris had a really cool deal of ‘buy 2 nights and get 2 free’ last year if you booked by the end of February.
Now at this point of the year we are usually still getting over the costs of Christmas and not in a position to book and pay in full for a holiday. However, I knew I wanted to take my bunch in the October half term and when I saw this deal it was now or never.
We were quoted a really great price which included the 4 night hotel stay and 5 days admission into the park. As we were staying in a Disney hotel, the magic hour also applied to us and our tickets included fast passes which could be used every two hours.
Drive
Now I know this isn’t for everyone, in fact it wasn’t for me!! When my husband suggested driving I wasn’t keen, we live in the North West of England which meant it was a 5 hour driver to Dover with three young children.
However, when we looked at flights we were looking at just under £1000 for all of us, not including transfers to the hotel and airport parking. Driving actually cut this cost down by half, including petrol, a night stay in a hotel by the ferry terminal, food for us all and our ferry ticket. It was a no brainer, and it actually was fine.
We stopped off for lunch on the way down and the children watched some films on the journey. It felt like a real adventure.
Meal Plans
When booking Disney you get the choice to add meal plans. We decided not to do this, mainly because my girls don’t eat a lot at breakfast time, in fact neither do I so I knew it would be a waste of money.
Due to the fact we were driving we decided to take as much with us as possible including food for breakfast and lunch. I knew eating out would be expensive and I know how fussy eaters my children are.
We took a toaster, bread, cereal and milk. I also took sandwich fillers so I could make a little packed lunch for us all and we popped to Costco on the way for a huge crate of waters. This worked perfectly, it saved us so much money and time.
DisneyLand Paris was so busy, the one time we actually managed to get a seat in a café we still waited in a queue for over 30 minutes to get a cup of tea. It would have been so tough if we never took food with us, especially with a 1 year old because obviously when they need feeding they NEED feeding!!
So, with all this food, we only ended up paying for our evening meals.
Snack packs
I read about making snack packs and I knew it would be perfect for my bunch. I got some sandwich bags and filed them with a piece of fruit, bread sticks, yogurt, sweets and crisp the girl both excitedly helped. We didn’t need to buy any over-priced snacks and we didn’t run out of anything.
Again this was nice and easy because we drove, however if you are flying, things like water bottles are worth taking as there are places to fill these up around the park.
Disney Merchandise
I made sure we stocked up on Disney ears before we left England. I got my girls some reduced from Claire’s Accessories (you could get them even cheaper from the likes of Primark) and I made sure we took autograph books with us.
I still let the girls choose a little something from the shops in Disney so they were super excited but it meant they weren’t spending their money on over priced accessories.
I would love to know if you had any money saving tips for Disneyland Paris?
This would be such an awesome vacation! I love all the tips and ideas, thank you!
We went in October half term too – did you know that if you are staying in an air bnb or holiday cottage, you can use that address and get entrance tickets to disney for a fraction of the price?
what combination could ever be better then Paris & Disney?! i’ve only been to Disney World in Florida & need to branch out to see the other parks!
I would love to go to Disneyland Paris it sounds like a great trip. I love that you were able to get 2 nights free for 2 nights you paid. I love when Disney has great deals!
Very thorough review! I keep forgetting there are so many Disney properties across the world. Thanks for sharing all of your beautiful photos!
disney is def something you have to budget for wisely. great tips
I am sure that things add up quickly at Disney. These are great things to keep in mind so you can save for your trip. I’ve never been to Disney and it sounds like you guys had a great trip!
Great tips! I didn’t think to actually count food but I am sure the sum must be quite big! Also can’t wait to visit Disneyland!
These are great tips for visiting any of the Disney parks! Disney vacations can get expensive so it’s always nice to hear of ways to keep the costs down.
Wow!Disneyland Paris sounds soooo amazing! I will definitely add this on my bucket list!
lucky you! how fun to go to Disneyland Paris… My kids would love to go there! I’ll have to keep your tips in mind if we do happen to venture there one day soon ; )
Great tips!!! I have never been to Disneyland Paris, but I’ve been to world, land & Tokyo. It’s easy to not spend a fortune when visiting mickey. I wish more people knew this
Great and informative post. Disney in general can be expensive but good point about looking for deals. I had no idea that these deals were even available.
I would love to visit Disney land some day. Price was always a constraint but these deals seem great
Those are some wonderful tips for visiting Disneyland. I totally agree with you that Disney merchandise are overpriced and it is best to buy them from outside.
Thank you for such an informative post. Taking your own food and snacks saves a fortune – I’ll have to look into Disneyland, Paris in more detail!