How to Do Disneyland Paris in One Day

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Read our full disclosure.

Disneyland Paris is made up of two theme parks:

1. Disneyland
2. Walt Disney Studios

This often leaves first-time visitors to Disneyland Paris questioning if they can visit the entire resort (both parks) in just one day.

As someone who has visited Disneyland Paris more times than I can count, let me tell you that you can see and do everything at Disneyland Paris in one day.

I recommend two days if possible, especially if you’re travelling with little kids. However, if you don’t have the luxury, here’s how to maximise your one day at Disneyland Paris.

Buy Your Theme Park Tickets in Advance

With just one day at Disneyland Paris, time is of the essence. One of the easiest ways to save time is by buying your Disneyland Paris theme park tickets in advance.

You can buy your tickets directly on the Disneyland Paris website. Alternatively, you can use official third-party suppliers such as AttractionTix.

In both cases, you’ll be given a digital QR code as a ticket. You can then scan this QR code at the gates to gain entry into the theme park.

Arrive Before “Rope Drop”

Many people make the mistake of seeing the park opening at 9:00am and arriving at the theme park at 9:00am. However, in this case, it’s 9:30am or even 10:00am before you walk down Main Street.

For this reason, the first hour inside the theme park is the quietest. So, instead, you want to arrive at Disneyland Paris at least 30 minutes before the theme park is scheduled to open. This gives you plenty of time to go through security and get to the park entrance.

You also want to plan where to go when entering the theme park. I recommend heading to the most popular ride(s), which typically have the longest wait times.

In the Disneyland theme park, I recommend these attractions first:

1. Big Thunder Mountain
2. Peter Pan’s Flight
3. Princess Pavilion (for the earliest scheduled time)

In the Walt Disney Studios theme park, I recommend these attractions first:

1. Crush’s Coaster
2. Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy
3. RC Racer

If you’re travelling with kids, be sure to measure their height in advance. This way, you can see which rides they can and can’t go on. This will prevent you from wasting time, temper expectations, and reduce the likelihood of meltdowns.

Don’t Get Breakfast at Disneyland Paris

I mentioned earlier that your first hour inside the theme park is the most important. So you’ll want to avoid wasting it by going for breakfast.

Instead, be sure to eat breakfast BEFORE arriving at the theme park. This way, you can head straight to your must-do ride or attraction when the park opens.

Stay in a Disneyland Paris Hotel

It’s no secret that a hotel on-site at Disneyland Paris is more expensive than a nearby hotel of a similar calibre. However, staying on-site comes with many time-saving perks. These include:

• Extra Magic Hours
• Close Theme Park Proximity
• Free Theme Park Transportation

The most important of these three time-saving benefits is the Extra Magic Hours.

This allows you to enter the selected theme park (depending on the day) 30 minutes or 1 hour before the general public. This time is the gold standard for great photo opportunities and low wait times.

Get Premier Access

Another way you can trade your time for money at Disneyland Paris is with Premier Access, which is the park’s version of a fast pass.

Premier Access is available in one of two formats:

Premier Access Ultimate: from €90 per person per day
Premier Access One: from €5 per person, per ride

As you might expect, Premier Access One is valid for a single ride of your choosing. Meanwhile, Premier Access Ultimate is valid once on each ride except for Obitron.

I’ve used Premier Access several times, especially when visiting during peak season, and it’s been a game-changer!

Use Mobile Ordering for Food

At lunch and dinner time, you can easily wait over 20 minutes to be served at popular Disneyland Paris quick service restaurants.

However, by downloading and signing up for the Disneyland mobile app, you can order food in advance at selected restaurants. This is one of the most underrated time-saving hacks at Disneyland Paris, and it couldn’t be easier:

1. Select when you want to collect your food
2. Select the food & drinks you want
3. Confirm your contact details
4. Pay for your order
5. Arrive at the restaurant
6. Hit the “I’m Here” button in your confirmation email
7. Collect your order from the mobile order pick-up point

If you’ve used the service at Walt Disney World or Disneyland California, it’s the same, albeit slightly more ‘clunky’.