Disneyland Paris on a budget at Christmas: when to go, where to stay and how to buy your park tickets

Disneyland at Christmas

As a self-confessed Disney adult, I’ve had my fair share of Disney trips. But in all my visits to Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Paris, I had never experienced Disney at Christmas. Until now.

My friend – another Disney adult – and I were both desperate to walk down the iconic Main Street with the twinkling lights and snow sprinkled streets wearing our festive Mickey ears. Seeing the iconic park decked out for the festive season is something all Disney fans should see at least once but even for the more casual fan, it’s a truly magical experience that’s not to be missed.

Is it worth going to Disneyland Paris at Christmas?

Disneyland at Christmas is a special experience so I would always say it’s worth it. Diehard Disney fans will go year upon year to grab exclusive merchandise and meet one-of-a-kind characters. The main Disneyland Parc looks enchanting during the festive season with a majestic 78 feet tall Christmas tree lighting up Town Square as you enter. There are also special shows such as ‘Let’s Sing Christmas’ which is an adorable sing-along Christmas musical with Mickey, Minnie and friends, as well as Mickey’s Dazzling Christmas Parade, exclusive character meet and greets and even the chance to meet Santa. For my friend and I, we were especially excited to get a glass of exclusive Disneyland Champagne on Main Street and toast the season together. For big thrill lovers, Disneyland has a couple of big rollercoasters but I would also recommend heading an hour along the road to Parc Asterix, home to the fastest coaster in France and also full of festive events during the Christmas season.

How to get there

Living in the UK, we’re lucky that Disneyland isn’t a far journey. I’ve even known fans from Edinburgh who have gone there and back in just one day. Because of its closeness, there are a lot of options for travel. If you live in the south of the UK, then the Eurotunnel or even driving is an easy option. As we live in Edinburgh, we checked out EasyJet for the best flights. EasyJet fly daily into CDG airport which is the closest Paris airport to Disneyland – in fact there is a fast train that takes only 10 minutes directly into Disney Village. From Edinburgh, the flight takes less than two hours so we opted for a Friday evening flight going and a late flight home on the Sunday to make the most of our two days in the parks. It was pretty surreal doing the school run in the morning and being on a flight to Paris in the afternoon.

Is Disneyland Paris too cold at Christmas?

The temperature in Paris is very similar to the UK so it was nothing we weren’t prepared for. We decided to go on the first weekend in December and just missed a snowstorm in Paris. Snow sprinkled across Sleeping Beauty’s castle always looks stunning but Disneyland in the snow may mean that some outdoor attractions and closed and it will be much colder. But if you miss the real snow, the park has got you covered as some of the buildings in Main Street will spray artificial snow intermittently throughout the day for that magical festive experience.

How busy is Disneyland Paris around Christmas?

Disneyland at Christmas is on many family’s bucket lists so it is a very busy time to visit. There are lots of seasonal shows and parades to experience as well as exclusive characters to meet and snacks to try. However, the timeframe for the Christmas activities is long so there are times to go with fewer crowds. Generally, weekdays are less crowded than weekends.

The festivities kicked off this year on the 9th November and don’t end until 6th January so there is plenty of time to experience the fun. In our experience, the closer to Christmas, the busier it will be, but early January is also a good idea if you don’t mind going after the big day.

We visited on the 30th November and 1st December and crowds were manageable. Although we did splurge on Disney Premier Access passes which allow you to skip the queue once for each attraction. However, we were able to ride these attractions again and never waited longer than about 40 minutes. The Disneyland app is useful for keeping an eye on wait times.

Can you stay at Disneyland Paris at Christmas?

Disneyland have six hotels located within walking distance of the parks as well as the Davy Crockett Ranch and Villages Nature Paris which are around a 20-minute drive away. By booking a package through Disney, tickets are included which usually works out as a good deal. On our trip, I took my eight-year-old daughter along with my friend and her nine-year-old son. As we were splitting a family room, it worked out best for us to book the package and we got a great deal at the Disney Sequoia Lodge hotel which was a pleasant 10-minute stroll through Disney village to the parks. Shuttle buses were available but we preferred to walk to soak up the atmosphere.

Disney packages can also be bought on Attraction Tickets UK for sometimes a cheaper price so it’s worth checking both sites. There are plenty of off-site hotels that can work out less expensive and still very convenient for the parks, but tickets will need to be purchased separately. We crunched the numbers for our trip, and it worked out as only around £50 more expensive to go with the Disney package so that’s what we did.