I’ve been in France 15 years now, and I think I’ve been to Disneyland Paris at least a dozen times, and I even got to cover the opening of Disney Studios in 2002 for work. I’d go more often but it’s a tad harder to convince Parisians to come with me, especially if it’s cold or wet. I have a few souvenirs, a stuffed Steiff ‘Steamboat Willie’, a Jack Skellington mug, and some cool collector pins (still looking for a good Haunted Mansion or Nightmare Before Christmas pin). So here are just a few tips on making your trip to the Magic Kingdom just a little bit less stressful.

I got myself a basic Annual Passport (€99), which essentially pays for itself after two or three visits. There are some restricted dates (like Halloween, Christmas), but you can upgrade to two other passes (up to €199) that allow full access, parking, and big discounts at Disney shops and restaurants. A regular ticket purchased from the USA is $74 for just Disneyland (not the Disney Studios next door). If you are a resident of the Ile-de-Frace, you get a special rate of €29, which is pretty darned cheap (you do have to purchase it at least five days in advance, only good weekdays). It’s not easy finding this rate, you have to first of all make sure you’re in the “French language, Ile-de-France” country, which you can change at the bottom of the screen on the Disneyland Paris site if for some reason it defaults you to the UK or US site. This will still usually take you to the “Billet” page for the regular ticket of €53. Just look at the menu on the left and click on “Billet Francilien” and you’ll see the €29 rate for weekdays, and €40 for weekends. Make sure it works for the date you want to go, et voila, buy your ticket. If you want to be sneaky and try to buy a Francilien ticket when you don’t have an Ile-de-France address, don’t come crying to me when you don’t get in. Cheating Disneyland is just bad karma (even if they are a global empire). There are about a billion other “special rates” on the Disney site, so if you can stand it, have a scroll around. Getting on their mailing list will alert you to specials.

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