Top 9 things to know before you go.

Guys, it's time for a taste of the Disney magic. However, Disneyland can be a minefield of food, rides and crowds if you don't plan it properly. Therefore it's super important that you have all your information to hand and I'm here to give you 9 things you need to know before you arrive.

1. Be aware of peak shuttle bus times

If you are staying at a Disney hotel, you will get free shuttle transportation to/from the Disney parks. Now, this is awesome  BUT there are certain people that don't seem the get the basic concept of queue. This means that scrumming is very popular and can be stressful. Like seriously, some W****** don't care if you have a child, they're amendment that they are getting that seat. 

Therefore it is important to take note of peak shuttle times and, where possible, potentially walk back to/from your hotel via Disney village. These peak times are:

• Between 8 and 10am.
• 90 minutes before to about 90 minutes after park closing time.

If you plan to head to the parks/hotel during these times, I would highly recommend you walk home.The longest walk is only 15 minutes and you can even have the opportunity to have dinner on the way back. Speaking of dinner....

 2. Book your must do restaurants ASAP!

You can book your restaurant up to 60 days before your intended day. For example, if you wanted to book Cafe Mickey for the 10th January, you could make your booking from the 11th November. You can do this either via telephone or online via Salon Mickey. 

This is super important for character dining and table restaurants. If you plan on getting any of the meal plans, reserving your table makes sure that you are getting the best value for money. Also it's less stress when you actually get to Disneyland Paris. 

Want to eat with the Disney characters? Cafe Mickey is a must do. Picture Description: Outside of a restaurant. Picture Source: Character Central

3. Make the most of those extra magic hours. 

If you are staying at the 7 main Disney hotels or have a magic plus/infinity annual pass, then you can take advantage of the extra magic hours. These allow you to enter the park an hour and a half earlier than other guests and enjoy 11 of Disneyland Paris' favourite rides and attractions (8 in Disneyland Park and 3 in Walt Disney Studios).

All you need to do is show your hotel easy pass or annual pass to the person on the rope drop and then you can wonder around the theme park like the VIP guests that you truly are. 

Crush's Coaster is known for stupidly long wait times. Minimise them with your extra magic hours. Picture Description: Mother and son riding a spinning roller coaster. Picture Source: Magic Breaks.

4. Make the most of shopping service

Nobody wants to be the designated bag carrier when they go to a theme park. Disney knows this and therefore provide a shopping service. How this works is that you buy something from one of the many Disney stores, fill in a short form and then go away.

Just like that, you're shopping will now be delivered to the Disney Village if you are staying for the day ready to pick up after 6pm or the store at your Disney hotel ready to pick up after 8pm. The best thing about this service is that it is absolutely free of charge, you don't have to pay an additional euro regardless of how much stuff you wish to have sent back. 

Look at this stuff, isn't it neat. Get it delivered to your hotel and enjoy not carrying all of your treats. Picture Description: A large shop full of Disney Toys. Picture Source: Disneyland Paris.

5. Don't forget to meet those all important Disney Characters 

You can't go to Disneyland Paris without taking at least one photo with the Disney squad. You can find a full list of them here and you can actually visit the Princess Pavilion as part of those extra magic hours meaning less of a wait. 

Come and get a purr-fect selfie with Marie. Picture description: A white cat with a pink bow. Picture Source: Disneyland Paris

6. Plan your day around the 4 most important times.

There are 4 really big that you will need to plan around during your day. These are:

• Rope Drop
• Lunch/Dinner
• Parade
• Night Show

Typically, the busiest places at rope drop at Disneyland Park are Fantasyland and Discoveryland (because they house the rides for the extra magic hours), therefore if to want to avoid the crowds head to Frontierland and Adventureland, doing those rides first. 

Lunch tends to be busiest between 12pm and 2pm. Unless you have made a lunchtime reservation during this time, I would highly recommend either having lunch early (11:30-11:45 mark) or late (after half past 2 but before 4 o'clock) and using the traditional "lunch time" to enjoy some of the busier areas of the parks with lower queuing times. If you are at the park during a longer day, use these tips for dinner time as well, remembering most people have dinner between 4 and 7pm. 

The parades tend to be around the 5-6 o'clock margin so my advice is to see the parade one day and then, on your other days use this time to sneak a couple of rides in with quieter queue times. 

The same advice for the parade also goes for the night shows. These normally tend to be at the park's closing time and remember close is when you can LAST QUEUE FOR A RIDE not the last ride time. This means you can spend one day watching the night spectaculars (which you must, they are amazing) and then can use the other days fitting in the last 1-2 rides with quieter queues. 

7. If you have tiddlywinks, prepare in advanced.

A screaming tiddlywink isn't fun for anybody. It's stressful for the tiddlywink, embarrassing for the parents and just a pain up the bum for everybody else. However, you can prepare for this in a variety of ways:

1. Pack your tiddlywink's favourite snacks/drinks: France doesn't sell some British classics and it's most likely to be more expensive than at home. So stock up on your child's favourite food and drinks and place some portions in a backpack. Perfect for those snacks between meals. 
2. Bring a Disney plush with you: If you book via Disney holidays, you can recieve 15% off the Disney store, use this discount and stock up. Tiddlywink starts crying? Give him your discounted Mickey Mouse.
3. Make note of the baby care centres: There are 2 baby care centres, one on Main Street USA (Disneyland Park) and one next to Studio Services (Walt Disney Studios). These places have all the facilities and food available to feed and change your younger tiddywinks. In addition, they tend to be quieter and are therefore ideal to go for a short 5-10 pit-stop to minimise the sensory overload. 
4. Prepare them in advanced: Let them look at videos, menus, etc. and allow them some flexibility on what they pick. Happy tiddlywinks equals happy families. 

8. If you're lonely/particularly brave, make the most of the single rider queues. 

For some of my personal favourite rides, you can make the most of single rider lines. These lines do exactly what they say on the tin. They are shorter queues where single riders fill in the space on rides. 5 rides currently offer single rider, these are:

• Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
• RC Racer
• Crush's Coaster
• Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop
• Ratatouille: The Adventure

All of these rides are known for being some of the busiest in their relevant park so by taking advantage of these lines, you can fit in 2-3 extra rides during your day. 

Ratatouille: The Adventure at Walt Disney Studios is a must do for it's immersive experience. Picture description: A french plaza with a water fountain. Picture Source: Disneyland Paris

9. Make the most of the suitcase storage. 

Are you coming to Disney via a coach trip? Do you have a late flight on your last day? Not to worry, Disneyland Paris has you covered. Simply drop your suitcase off at your hotel's relevant suitcase storage area and enjoy your last day, baggage and stress free. Isn't Disneyland Paris wonderful?

So there you are. 9 of my favourite hints and tips to enjoy Disneyland Paris. Do you have any other hints and tips? If so, share them in the comments.

Until next time,

make a wish and lick your lips.

Kelly.