Essential information

THE PARKS
Disneyland Paris consists of two theme parks: Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios. Disneyland Park is based on the Magic Kingdom of California and consists of 42 rides or Attractions which are among the finest in the world. The newest park, however, is the Walt Disney Studios, based upon Disney MGM in Florida and only the second park in the world to build on the relationship between the legendary Metro Goldwyn Mayer film studios and the Walt Disney Company.

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Opening hours
Generally the Disneyland Park opens at 9.00 in the high season and 10.00 in the low. Closing times are usually 22.00 in the high season and between 19.00 and 21.00 in the low during weekdays and 20.00 - 22.00 on Saturdays. Times can change at very short notice and special events, such as Halloween, can mean extended hours. Click here for more details.

Lost Property
During the busiest seasons, the Lost property folk rack up between 30000 and 50000 lost items a week. Anything not clamed within a reasonable time is handed over to the Police and thence to local charities.City Hall should be your first port of call. Click here for more details.

Annual passes
For the Fantasy annual passport (345/365 days entry) the price is approx £100 for a single ticket. For 3 to the same family (same address) you get 10% discount, 4 get 15% , 5 get 20 % and finally 6 get a whopping 25% off. The procedure when purchasing these is go to the Ticket desk at the entrance of the park, explain that you are buying an annual passport. On payment of the money, they will then issue you with a temporary paper ticket, after which you enter the park and make for the annual passport office (City Hall) where, on production of the mandatory photo and evidence of family address they will issue you with a full, photo annual passport.

Accidents
Almost unheard of on rides, but they do happen in the park when little ones trip and collide with things. A fully manned and first rate medical centre exists in both parks. . Click here for more details.

Special diets
With sufficient notice, Disney hotels and restaurants can provide almost anything. Click here for more details.

Pin Trading
A cult in WDW, management at DLP hoped it would catch on to the same extent in Paris. It hasn't, quite, but it's still a fascinating pursuit. Click here for more details.

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When to visit
Disneyland Paris is busiest at Christmas and New year, Mid-February to early April and July to early September, with the middle of October usually busy also. The busiest days are Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the quietest Tuesday and Wednesday. Different times of the year and week have different charges. More details here.

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How long should I stay?
To experience everything Disneyland Paris has to offer you really need to spend three or four days at the resort. Although it is possible to tour the Parks in one day each (just) to enjoy them at less than breakneck pace you need at least two days for Disneyland Park alone, and if you want to include the Wild West show or visit some of the nightclubs in Disney Village, then you’ll be pushed to manage it all in under four days. The locals turn up on a daily basis from Paris, which is only 35 minutes away on the RER, but most guests from further afield will stay in hotels. Disney offer several packages for those who wish to savour the delights of staying on site at one of their hotels. These include Passes for the parks and accommodation with continental breakfast included. All inclusive packages can also be booked.

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Tickets and passes
If you book a package, Passports (the Disney-speak for ‘tickets’) will be included in the price. Disneyland Park admission passports themselves can be bought from any Disney Store before you leave home or at the Park upon arrival, although this means wasting good riding time waiting at a ticket booth. 1,2 or 3 day passports are available to the non-staying guest. More information about the parks here

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Group discounts

Disney offer discounts to groups including youth organisations (Scouts, Guides, etc.)and even large families. More details here.

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Getting around
Disney provide an efficient transport system between the Parks and the hotels (excluding Camp Davy Crockett) with buses on the half hour. In summer, one delight is the fleet of little open deck buses which drive slowly around lake Disney, ferrying guests between the three lakeside hotels and Disney Village. However, if you’re staying at any of the on site hotels, it’s only a short walk (20 minutes at most) from your hotel to the park gates.

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Weather and climate

Paris enjoys a temperate, mid-European continetal climate. That means April - June is very pleasant, July - September warm, October - December cooler but not cold and January - March pretty cold, but not below freezing. The DLP area has a fairly low rainfall - about 19 inches a year - so there's not much call for the ubiquitous yellow capes that appear like magic in the infequent showers. However, in the recent heatwaves of the past few summers, younger males in particular have been stripping down. Park regulations - of which there are mercifully few - specify minimum clothing requirements.

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Money
Prices are shown throughout in Euros and credit cards are accepted everywhere within the resort. ATMs and commission free foreign exchange is available immediately inside the Parks and at the reception in all the hotels.

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Disabled travelers
City Hall (immediately within Disneyland Park) has a brochure explaining the facilities for the disabled and a Disabled Guest Guide can be pre-ordered (free) from the Disneyland Paris website. Disneyland Paris has designed the complex very much with the disabled in mind but you should be aware that cast members are not allowed to assist with lifting people or moving wheelchairs. For more detailed information click here.

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Young children
Many people take young children to the park and Disney provide pushchairs which can be left at the entrance to attractions. One point: while you’re on the ride, a cast member will often tidy the strollers up and, when you emerge, yours may have disappeared. Don’t worry about this, but simply take any other that’s handy. They’re all returned to the park entrance at the end, anyway. If you really want to stop it being taken, tie a beer or brown vinegar soaked nappy around the handle when you first get your stroller. It’s unlikely anyone will be tempted to acquire one that has been so personalised. More details here

Interestingly, They've introduced a new system whereby you can now take the stroller back to the hotel with you providing you get an A4 sized receipt at the hire point.

For more details, click here.

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Toilets

Distributed throughout the park these are invariably clean, exceptionally well maintained and a delight to use. Best toilets: Main Street (next to Town Hall) all the restaurants, Videopolis and all the FantasyLand collection. However, it's in areas such as this that Disney has set the standard and you will be most unlikely ever to encounter a toilet whose conditions stray far from perfection. More details here

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Top Tips: First, arrive early and always half an hour before the published opening time. If the park opens at 9.00 be there for 8.30. and so on.

Secondly, go to the most visited attractions early. Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Space Mountain and Peter Pan quickly attract large numbers and the waiting time by 12.00 can be in excess of two hours at peak times.

Third, make use of the recently introduced ‘Fastpass’ system. Using this system, you can visit a ride and, if there’s a long queue or you just don’t fancy waiting, insert your passport and a little ticket will print out, giving you a one hour ‘window’ in which to return. You can return at any time during that hour and you’ll go straight to the head of the queue. FastPass limits you to one ride per two hour period but, in conjunction with the suggested itineraries you can ride all the major rides without any real waiting.

Fourth, ride during the parades; most folk line up for half and hour prior to the parades and the queues at the rides diminish sharply.

Fifth, be aware that folk will position themselves for the fireworks vry early - at about 9.00pm when the fireworks aren't due 'till 10.00pm. During the 9 - 10 period, you can frequently walk onto otherwise busy rides.

Finally, bear in mind tht the WDStudios close at 6.00pm each evenng, so there will normally be a signifcant exodus towards the Magic Kingdom.