Disneyland Paris in a Campervan

Doing one Disney day on the cheap!

When we tour around Europe we generally get the ferry back from Calais, so a stop at Disney is always possible enroute.

We have read a lot about staying overnight in the campervan and large vehicle car park at Disneyland. It was possible to do this in 2023 as we spoke to some parking neighbours staying in their self sufficient motorhome. They just had to pay for another day parking in the morning of their second day. There are no facilities (that we could see) and you cannot use the area around your van as outside area. It is a covered carpark with the perks of being in the park early and rolling into bed after the firework show. We did think about staying in the carpark, however, with two small children in a small VW van we decided to go to our tried and tested campsite, Crécy-la-Chapelle. We paid 78 euro for two nights on an electric pitch. The campsite is fifteen minutes drive from the park and also offers a paid shuttle bus that will pick you up at the campsite gates. The bus arrives every fifteen minutes, except Sundays when it is every hour. We like to drive to the park so we have everything handy. We also get the kids into their pjs and they fall asleep on the drive back. It is worth noting the site has an automatic gate which is locked at 12am - enough time to get back after the 11pm fireworks. The reception staff are very helpful and also sell park tickets if you don’t want to buy them online. We booked two nights at Crécy-la-Chapelle, the night before and the night after Disney. This meant we could have a relax the night before and let the kids paddle in the large kids pool. The inflatable park was open, too, but beware of the huge one!

We leave the visit to Disney for the end of the trip (usually the end of August/beginning of September) as ticket prices can often be cheaper. We always book tickets before arriving in Disney and usually go for a 1 day/2 parks dated ticket as they are the best value for money. We can then enter straight away and make the most of the day. In 2023 we visited at the beginning of September, so saved more money on tickets as it was just out of the peak season. We packed a bag the night before (spare clothes for the kids, waterbottles, snacks, suncream etc) and decided we definitely needed the buggy. Our plan was to visit Walt Disney Studios park first and then do the main park in the afternoon until close. I reserved seats for the Mickey and the Magician show just before lunchtime, and we planned to head to the main park after. I also prebooked dinner at the Plaza Gardens Restaurant in the main park to make sure we had a chance to sit down and rest. We could have saved money by eating at the van or in one of the many fast food service restaurants, however, with time being precious, and from experience in the busy disney parks, I like to know we have somewhere to escape the crowds and be fed well.

We ate breakfast enroute to the park and got there for 9.30am. It was forecast to rain so we pushed our waterproofs under the buggy. The kids were so excited and Esme insisted on wearing her Minnie dress. We made our way around to The Studios first and straight to Worlds of Pixar to ride Slinky Dog and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye. Disneyland Paris does not have Disney Genie or Genie Plus. The Disneyland app has some features when you link your tickets. You can follow your location on the map, and see the wait times for attractions and shows. If you are a thrill seeker and want to ride all attractions in one day there is the option to buy a day Ultimate Acess Pass (currently 90 euro) which allows you to enter the fast lane once for each attraction at anytime. The queues never seem to be as long as in Disneyworld so it is worth checking times the days before visiting. Some of the new or more popular attractions such as Spiderman and Ratatouille had wait times of around 45 - 60 minutes.There is the option to buy individual fast lanes (Disney Premier Access One) to bypass the regular queue on a ride of your choice. The prices can range from 4 - 16 euro, but we found 15 euro to be the average. We bought two individual fast lanes for Steve and Sam to ride Spiderman before leaving Disney Studios. Otherwise we would have had to come back to the park later in the day.

After exploring Disney Studios we made our way to Mickey and the Magician. We reserved seats, however the reservation only gave us guaranteed access (which we had anyway as we were early enough), and once inside the doors it was a free for all. We didn’t feel the reservation was worth the money. The show was truly magical and the kids got to see some of their favourite characters. I am always disappointed that Disneyland Paris doesn’t have the abundance of characters walking around or available for meet and greets. In fact Sam has been to Disneyland Paris twice and has only ever managed to see Jessie at a meet and greet. If you are only visiting for a day it is therefore worthwhile visiting the shows and watching the parades so the kids see some of the characters and princesses.

We walked over to the main park and stopped near Casey's Corner for drinks. The kids ate their packed lunch and we soaked up the atmosphere. We had plenty of time to make our way to the different lands and visit the attractions for the kids. We didn’t plan on riding any of the big thrills so avoided many queues. Some of the little rides such as It's a Small World had no queue so the kids were keen to ride it a couple of times. It is one of Esme's favourites. The highlight for Sam was La Tanière du Dragon, hidden in the dark dungeon under Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We managed to catch the parade and wave to Mickey and Minnie. Sam cheered the huge mechanical dragon and wanted to spend his money he had saved all holiday on a dragon teddy.

We were ready for our buffet dinner when the time came and it was lovely to sit down and relax. There was no character dining when we visited so it wasn't crowded. The service was quick and the waitress was lovely with the kids. There was a good variety of food including carved meats, vegetable dishes and a salad bar. There was plenty for the kids and Sam loved looking for anything Mickey shaped and filled his plate with it. We had a mouth-watering selection of themed cakes to end the meal. With full tummies we headed back out into the crowd.

We decided to explore the shops (including the Christmas shop) before the rush at the end of the day. Sam found his dragon and Esme chose a Mickey Magician teddy - which she has slept with every night since. We walked back around to Fantasyland where most of the kids favourite rides were located. They were both on the buggy and we could see the mood changing. We had planned on staying for the firework show but decided to leave. It was 10pm and Esme was flat out before we drove out of the car park. Sam stayed awake for a little longer. He was full of smiles and holding his dragon teddy. We were exhausted when we reached the campsite, but it was well worth it.