If you are planning a trip to Disneyland Paris it can be hard to know exactly what costs you might encounter. Today I will show you what aspects of your trip you need to create a budget for!
If you have never been to Disneyland Paris before I will break down each part of the trip you need to budget for so you get no surprises!
If you have been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida before then you will have an idea of what aspects of your trip to budget for. Luckily there are fewer items that need to be considered when visiting Disneyland Paris which makes it is a lot easier to plan for.
The main costs to budget for when visiting Disneyland Paris are:
Transportation
Accommodation
Park Tickets
Food
Souvenirs
Let's look in detail at each of these areas and what costs you might encounter.
Accommodation
Disneyland Paris Hotels
One of the best things about Disneyland Paris is having hotels so close to the parks! There are 7 Disney Hotels to choose from, suitable for a range of budgets. All the hotels are within a 20 minute walk of the parks and also have free shuttle buses to take you to the entrance. The Disneyland Paris Hotel, pictured above, is actually over the gates of Disneyland so you could not be any closer to the action!
One of the big bonuses to staying at a Disneyland Paris hotel is you get your park tickets included in the price! This is a fantastic deal and is a reason why most people will book a package with Disney to have everything included in one price.
Disneyland Paris often have special deals on offer, such as free dining or free nights, so keep an eye out for these!
Staying Off-Site
There is also a lot of hotels in close proximity to the Disneyland Paris Parks. Some hotels will offer shuttles to Disneyland which is super convenient.
If you stay in the Val d'Europe area, which has a large shopping mall and lots of restaurants, you can get the RER A train that takes just two minutes to get to Disneyland Paris.
Staying off-site at a hotel in the area can be cheaper than staying in a Disney Hotel but don't forget to factor in the cost of paying for your park tickets into your stay!
Park Tickets
The cost of park tickets is essential to budget for when visiting Disneyland Paris.
Park tickets are included as part of a Disney hotel package, which is a massive benefit to staying in a Disney hotel!
If you are not staying at a Disney hotel need to budget for the cost of this. You can buy tickets directly from Disney or from companies such as Attraction Tickets. A one day, one park dated ticket costs from around £47 for an adult and £44 for a child. A four day, park hopper ticket starts from around £224 for an adult and £206 for a child.
Park Reservations
At the moment you need to book reservations to enter the Disneyland Paris parks. Before purchasing your tickets be sure to check the dates you wish to visit have availability. Once you have bought your tickets book your park reservations right away to ensure your entry.
If you are staying in a Disneyland Paris Hotel you do not need to book park reservations, you are guaranteed entry to the parks as a Disney Hotel Guest!
Transportation
Flying
You can often get good prices flying from UK airports to Paris. If you are flying be sure to factor in additional costs such as pre-booking your seats and adding luggage.
Magical Shuttle If you fly into Charles de Gaulle airport or Orly airport you can get the Magical Shuttle which takes you to your Disneyland Paris hotel. It costs around £20 each way, per person and runs very frequently. The journey takes around 1 hour from the airport to your Disney Hotel.
High Speed Train from Charles de Gaulle Airport
From Charles de Gaulle airport you can also take a high-speed train to Disneyland Paris. The journey takes around 10 minutes, which is the fastest way to get to Disney!
Prices increase closer to your date so for the best price book in advance (but check booking conditions as tickets may be non-refundable).
Trains
The Eurostar is my favourite way to travel to Disneyland Paris! You can get really good prices on the Eurostar and I love that there is no luggage allowance so you don't need to worry about luggage size or weight!
There is a train station right at gates to Disneyland Paris so you arrive straight into the action!
You can pay to leave your luggage at the train station and it will be taken to your Disney Hotel so you can go straight into the parks! This service is called Disney Express and costs €16.
This is an absolute must for me as you don't waste any time! I have gotten off the train and been on Space Mountain in 15 minutes before!
You can also can get the Euro Tunnel where you drive your car onto a train and then drive to Disneyland Paris. The journey takes you from Folkstone to Calais in 35 minutes. Once in France the journey is around a 3 hour to 3 and a half hour drive to Disneyland Paris.
Ferry
You can sail to France via ferry from multiple ports in the UK and then drive to Disneyland Paris.
Park Transportation
If you are not staying at a Disneyland Paris Hotel you need to factor in transportation costs to get to the parks. Some nearby hotels offer a shuttle. Sometimes this is free and sometimes it is paid for. Be sure to check with your hotel before booking to see whether you need to factor in this cost into your budget.
You can also get a train straight to Disneyland. This is great if you are staying in Paris or in areas close by such as Val d'Europe.
You could also hire local taxis to take you to the park if you do not have a shuttle or train station nearby.
Parking
If you are bringing a car with you it is good to budget for parking costs.
Parking is free at the Disney Hotels which is great if you are arriving by Euro Tunnel or ferry. Parking is also free at the parks for hotel guests!
If you are not staying at a Disney Hotel it costs €30 to park per vehicle, per day to park at the parks. Campervans cost €45 and motorbikes cost €25.
Food
A big cost to include in your budget is dining. Eating in theme parks is always a bit pricey and Disneyland Paris is no exception. There are two types of restaurants on offer: quick service and table service.
Quick service restaurants are the cheaper of the two and work like fast food restaurants when you order at a counter and collect your own food.
Table service restaurants are sit-down restaurants where you are served your food at your table.
The quick service food at Disneyland Paris is typical theme park fare with items such as burgers and pizza. Table service restaurants have more variety and are a good option if you are looking for a special or more substantial meal.
As a side note Disneyland Paris is known for not being the best for vegetarians, vegans or people with dietary requirements. Be sure to check out the menus in advance to see what you can eat. Disney do aim to cater for allergies and you can contact them in advance to see what meals would be available for you. If you are a vegan travelling to Disneyland Paris be sure to check out my page about all the options available for you!
Some of the restaurants at Disneyland Paris open seasonally so in quieter times of the year you may have fewer restaurants to choose from. Be sure to check the Disneyland Paris website or app before your trip to see which restaurants are open during your dates.
The Disneyland Paris website has a list of all the restaurants and has menus you can look at. These also include the prices so it is a good idea to have a look before your trip to get an idea of how much your dining will cost you so you can add this to your budget.
Dining Plan
If you are staying at a Disney Hotel you can purchase a dining plan to add to your package. You can choose from three types of meal plan: breakfast only, half board and full board.
Breakfast only includes an all-you-can-eat breakfast at your hotel.
Half board includes breakfast at your resort and one other meal a day either at lunch or dinner.
Full board includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There is a standard option meal plan, where you can choose to dine in 5 different restaurants (mostly in the Disneyland hotels) or a plus option meal plan where you can choose from 17 different restaurants (including restaurants inside the Disneyland parks, Disney Village and Disneyland hotels).
Prices start from £24.92 per child / £36.49 per adult per night for half board for the standard option meal plan and from £33.82 per child / £50.73 per adult per night for half board on the plus option meal plan.
The meal plan can be expensive so it is a good idea to check it out and see what restaurants are included in each tier to see if they are ones you would visit to see whether this would save you money. Click the links to see the restaurants included in the standard option meal plan and the plus option meal plan.
Sometimes Disney offer a free dining plan as part of their holiday packages which can really help save you money on food!
You can find out more about the dining plan on the Disneyland Paris Meal Plan website.
Don't forget to include a budget for drinks and snacks too!
To save money on food whilst at Disneyland Paris you could bring your own snacks, breakfast foods and reusable water bottle.
Souvenirs
Everyone likes to bring a memento home with them so factor this into your budget!
There are also some other factors that you might need to add into your budget, depending on your trip.
Lateral Flow Tests
If you are travelling from the UK you need to take a Lateral Flow Test 2 days after returning from France. Tests start from around £20 per person so this is something to add to your budget.
Airport Hotel
If you have an early flight, or live far from the airport, you might want to book a night in an airport hotel. You can use websites such as Expedia or Booking.com to compare room rates and get the best deals.
Airport Parking
If you are driving to the airport you will need to budget for airport parking. Websites such as Holiday Extras can help you compare parking prices.
Premier Access
Disneyland Paris has introduced a new system where you can pay to skip the queue on certain rides and shows.
If you are visiting during a busy time of the year and there is a ride you desperately want to ride then this can be a good option.
The cost is per person, per ride so this is a cost to factor into your budget as they can spiral! Premier Access can cost between €7 and €15 per person, per ride.
Excursions
You may want to explore Paris and neighbouring attractions by taking some excursions during your trip.
Disney offers excursions that you can add to your package at the time of booking. This can be handy if you are looking to have transportation from your Disneyland Hotel.
Paris is really easy to visit from Disneyland Paris as you have the train station right at Disneyland! You can take the train into Paris and then use the subway system to get around to the main attractions!
I hope this guide has been helpful for you planning your own Disneyland Paris budget!
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