Day Trip to Disneyland, Paris with a Toddler

Our trip took place in September. It was supposed to be a trip to celebrate a delayed honeymoon. The weather was pleasant and not super hot, I would say, around the upper 70’s to lower 80’s. Disneyland Paris is about an hour train ride away from Paris, and we stayed in the 8th arrondissement, down the street from Champs-Élysées. We didn’t want to pack all our things and stay in a Disneyland resort. We thought taking a day trip would suffice with a 2-year-old.

I had purchased Disneyland Paris tickets in advance, and one of the nice things about Disneyland Paris is that once you have purchased tickets, you can change which day you want to go. I originally chose to go on a weekday, but the weather was poor, so I decided to change the date to Sunday instead. I couldn’t secure our original dinner reservation, but there’s plenty of food options!

We stayed at Hotel Grand Powers Paris, and we walked about 13 minutes towards the Arc de Triomphe. The station's name is Charles de Gaulle — Étoile. We did take a stroller, and unfortunately, we didn’t find any elevator, so we had to fold up the stroller and go down the stairs. I highly recommend the Yoyo stroller or Bugaboo Butterfly stroller for travel purposes. Once we got down to the metro station, we purchased tickets at the window as the kiosk was a bit challenging to use. You do have to purchase round-trip tickets at the same time for each rider, even for the toddler.

The tricky thing about the metro is figuring out how to get to your train. Since we To get to Disneyland Paris from Arch de Triomphe station, you have to take the Marne-La-Vallée Chessy train, which is a straight train to Disneyland Paris. The journey to get to the train itself took several flights of stairs, so be prepared to fold up the stroller and trek the stairs. Since the train doesn’t run all the time, every 10-15min, we wanted to make sure to get on the next train, and we did have to run a bit to make it.

The train itself is two levels high. We opted for the lower level since we have a stroller. It takes 16 stops to get to Disneyland Paris, and it’s relatively straight-forward to get to the park. There are elevators, but some were broken, so we again had to fold up the stroller. But once we arrived, it was super magical!

All of the rides we went on didn’t have a long line as we did get there early, around 10:30 am. We also did not get the Genie+ either. The following were toddler-friendly rides we got on with a 2-year-old:

• It’s a Small World (my ultimate favorite)

• Disneyland Railroad

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant

• Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups

• Orbitron

• Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (my husband’s favorite)

• Casey Jr. Circus Train (my toddler’s favorite)

As for dining options, all restaurants were toddler-friendly and had high chairs.

We opted for our first dining at Café Hyperion, which is American fast food, mainly burgers, fries and drinks.

After a few rides, we went to Toad Hall Restaurant. My little one had fish and chips, which she enjoyed. Throughout the park there’s many grab-n-go, desserts, and snacks, so you can never not have any options.

By 4 pm, my little one was pretty much done, so we opted to head back to our hotel and eat around there.

Getting back was straight-forward. We had our return tickets, and of course, the battle with the stairs. Nevertheless, I’m glad we could do a quick trip to Disneyland Paris and still got on a ton of rides with a 2-year-old.

Definitely buy your theme park tickets in advance, and also make your reservations for dining in advance. We originally had character dining, but because I decided to change the date of visiting the park, I wasn’t able to secure it. Do download the Disneyland Paris app as sometimes reservations can get canceled. Some buffets you can try to go there and ask if there’s any cancellation and they can add you on the list if there is an opening.

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Paris. In need of further inspiration? Check out Gillian Spatz’s trip report, Exploring France: Disney Paris Magic for Every Traveler.