Most people take their first Disney trip as a child, but I visited for the first time as a middle-aged woman, and some parts of my trip were completely unexpected – here’s what first time visitors should know
My first trip to Disney was one to remember(Image: Natalie King)
Look for advice on your first trip to a Disney park and you’ll often be overwhelmed with dos and don’ts, and a lot of the advice is conflicting. Going into my first Disney trip to Disneyland Paris, I tried to do some research, but found there’s just so much information out there it can be difficult to know who to listen to.
However, there are a few simple things I wish I’d known before I went with my seven year old, and if you’re a first timer like me, you might find it useful to keep these things in mind when planning.
1. The days are long
We arrived late evening on our first day and found the park beautifully lit up and the atmosphere buzzing. As someone who is used to British theme parks that usually slam their doors shut at 6PM, I didn’t realise that everything opens so much later at Disneyland. Even after the night shows, people were wandering round the shops at nearly 11PM and seemingly not planning to go to bed anytime soon.
There are certainly upsides to this. You can squeeze lots of fun out of your day and plan to go on rides when it’s quieter. However, with younger kids you might want to plan some strategic naps otherwise they aren’t going to make it through to the night-time shows, which really are worth staying up for.
2. You find most of the fun stuff by accident
While I did have a vague plan for the things we wanted to see, some of the stuff we really loved we stumbled across completely accidentally. Wandering into the main Disneyland Park at just the right time meant we arrived just in time to see Mickey dance by on a parade float. While walking around the Studios Park, we found ourselves just in time to see Stitch Live, a super fun interactive show which my daughter is still talking about, which we hadn’t planned to see.
It’s tempting to overplan on these kinds of trips, but the park really is a magical place, and sometimes it’s best to just wander round and let the magic find you.
3. The shopping and dining are as impressive as the rides
Let’s face it, the facilities at many theme parks in the UK leave a lot of room for improvement. Food is limited to burgers and hot dogs, and the gift shops have a few overpriced toys and some branded merch.
Our hotel was close to Disney Village, which had a seriously impressive selection of shops, restaurants, bars, plus some familiar chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s. There were clothing shops with just Disney-branded items, a posh décor shop were you could get upmarket scented candles and bougie gifts, and even a giant LEGO store.
The restaurants we visited, including the new Regal View restaurant, were certainly much different to any other theme park dining I’ve ever experienced. There was not a chicken nugget or sticky table in sight as we enjoyed upmarket French cuisine. Even the kids meals were fresh, seasonal, and beautifully presented. It’s great to have these options especially if you’re visiting the park for a special occasion.
4. Premier Access is an upgrade worth paying for
If you have a short window of time to visit the parks, then Premier Access is definitely one upgrade to get. It meant we could get on most rides in under five minutes so could pack so much into a short space of time. You can also buy passes for individual rides, which would definitely be worth it if you have your heart set on one of the big attractions.
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5. You’ll need a day to recover
My editor, who has visited the parks many times, warned me that I’d be exhausted after my trip describing it as ‘Disney tired’. She wasn’t wrong. The combination of 25,000 steps a day, constant stimulation, and being in crowds for hours and hours at a time left me extremely fatigued.
If you’ve got an extra day of annual leave going spare, you might want to book the day off after coming home, or at least get a nap on the Eurostar, because I honestly felt jet-lagged after arriving home. But of course, it was well worth it.
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