How to Plan the Perfect Paris to Disneyland Day Trip

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Planning a day trip to Disneyland Paris? This guide will tell you everything you need to know, including how to get from Paris to Disneyland for a day trip, how to get the best deal on tickets, and more.

There are few things in this world that get me as excited as Disney.

Seriously – mention the name and I regress into a sugar-crazed child, Mickey ears magically perched on my head before you can blink.

And so, living in Europe, one of my favourite days out has become the day trip from Paris to Disneyland Paris, a trip that I have now done three times… once even for my 22nd birthday, an adequately grown up way to ring in adulthood.

And throughout these visits, I have learned a thing or two about how to plan THE perfect day trip from Paris to Disneyland Paris, and having the most magical day ever without splashing out thousands on a parkside hotel (along with countless Paris tips in general).

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So, if you’re planning your own trip to Disneyland Paris from Paris, this guide is for you, with plenty of tried and tested wisdom to help you conquer your day trip with the swiftness of a coursing river and the force of a great typhoon.

… : D

… Not sorry. Let’s begin!

*** Buying Tickets for Your Disneyland Paris Day Trip ***

Park tickets:

If I could offer you a single tip, it would be to buy your tickets in advance here, 100%.

Lines get long, and the last thing you want to do during your Disneyland Paris day trip is rot in line while anonymous children sneeze on you.

You can get tickets easily online.

Personally, I’ve always found the official Disneyland Paris site to be overwhelming as a day tripper because they usually try to upsell you on packages and hotels, but here’s a trick – you can actually buy day passes (1 park and 2 park) quickly here on GetYourGuide for the same price as the official site, except it’s much faster and less confusing.

Transport tickets:

Later in this post, I’ll detail step by step how to buy the right ticket to get from Paris to Disneyland Paris, but first I want to warn you against common ticket scams.

Due to the high volume of tourists they receive, it’s an unfortunate truth that there are a lot of scammers in Paris who are keen to take advantage of unsuspecting visitors.

SO let’s get this out of the way, if someone random comes up to you at the train station and tries to help you buy a ticket, beware.

Often they are trying to sell you a fake ticket and pocketing the profit, or will be distracting you while someone else comes to pick your pockets.

Be on guard, because sometimes these scammers even have fake employee badges!

First – How Far is Disneyland Paris from Paris?

Alright – now let’s get to the good stuff.

To start, you should know that Disneyland Paris is located 32km east of the Paris city center, with plenty of transportation links that bring you there in about 40 minutes.

Driving takes a similar amount of time, but keep in mind you’ll need to find parking.

More conveniently, the train station is a 2 minute walk from the park gates, which means you can pretty much run from the train to the park and be there in a solid minute, undoubtedly leaving a trail of drool in your blaze of magical glory.

Getting to Disneyland Paris: Step by Step

Getting to Disneyland Paris is really easy, whether you choose to book a tour for convenience or do it yourself with public transportation. Below I’ll break down the different options for getting to Disneyland Paris, whether you’re coming from central Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport or ORLY airport.

1. How to get from Paris to Disneyland

If you’re already in Paris and simply want to add a day in Disneyland Paris as part of your itinerary, then here are the different ways you can get to Disneyland Paris.

OPTION A (Easiest!): Book a private transfer

Of course, the easiest and most stress-free way to reach Disneyland Paris from Paris is by booking a private transfer.

There are many options out there for this, but this highly rated option includes a private chaffeur, pickup/drop-off from your Paris accommodation and a park ticket all in one easy package.

OPTION B (Cheapest!): By RER A Train

The Disneyland Paris train station is known as Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy Station (sometimes abbreviated as MLV – Cheesy), and is linked to central Paris by the RER A train which you can catch from the following stations in central Paris: Charles de Gaulle Etoile, Auber, Chatelet Les Halles, Gare de Lyon and Nation.

Overall, it takes about 40 minutes and cost €7.60.

This is the option I go for because to be honest with you, many private transfers/tours to Disneyland Paris are overpriced and every time I’ve visited Disneyland Paris, I have done so on my own by taking the RER A train.

This should be an easy enough option if you’re an experienced traveller and are travelling light.

That said, I would strongly consider a private transfer instead if you are new to Europe, to Paris, are travelling with large bags or have kids/older folks in your party.

Train travel in France isn’t difficult, but it can be intimidating for newbies and certainly not worth the stress if your goal is to simply have the most magical trip possible to Disneyland Paris.

BUT hey if you want an easy and affordable way to reach Disneyland Paris from central Paris, the RER A is a great option.

Below I’ll break down how to buy the right ticket!

How to Buy the Right Paris to Disneyland Paris Train Ticket

The Disneyland Paris train from Paris is (besides a tongue twister) known locally as the RER A. This is what you should be looking for on any signage or ticket machines, and the station you want to end up at is known as Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy Station.

Getting tickets at the machine can be deceptively confusing at first, so here’s a little guide on how to 100% buy the right ticket.

STEP ONE:

Choose English (or your language of choice) to avoid any linguistic confusion.

Many of the screens are touch-activated these days but some machines still rely on a rolling bar thing below the screen.

If your machine has one of these rolling bars, all you need to do is roll it to highlight your selection, then press the button adjacent to the bar to select it.

Sorry for babying you, but I got really confused by this on my first visit so I want to give you mega-thorough instructions juuust in case ; )

STEP TWO:

Choose “Tickets for Paris region”. Disneyland Paris, despite its name, is not in the actual Paris city center, so you need to choose region.

Alternatively, depending on what stop you’re at, you might see the option “Tickets for MLV Chessy Disney” like in the photo below.

You can also select that for a shortcut, but it isn’t available on all machines.

STEP THREE:

If you have chosen the “Tickets for Paris region” option, you will now need to type in your final destination to get the right ticket, which is Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy.

Usually just typing the first few letters will be enough to get the option to pop up.

STEP FOUR:

Choose either “Full Fare” or “Reduced Fare”. Most of you will be Full Fare, but Reduced Fare applies to children aged 4-10, and a variety of other groups. Click here to see a full list.

TIP: You might want to consider buying two tickets per person so that you have your return ticket already.

This is fine because tickets aren’t validated here until you feed them through the machine.

If you choose to pre-purchase your return tickets, just make sure to keep them somewhere safe and don’t mix them up with your other tickets!

STEP FIVE:

Pay up and dance! You should now have the correct ticket. Make sure you hang onto it because you’ll need it to exit the fare gates at the Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy Station.

NOTE: It goes without saying, but make sure you are getting on the right train! The RER A has two routes, only one of which will get you to Disneyland Paris (the one that says it’s going in the direction of Marne-la-Vallée).

At the stations, look for a sign that indicates the direction/final destination of the train, or even a light-up sign that shows you which stops the train will be stopping at like in the photo below. 

The last thing you want is to end up somewhere faaaar away from the park!

OPTION C: Drive

I have never personally driven from central Paris to Disneyland Paris but I have heard it is a reasonably easy drive as Disneyland Paris is connected to the city by the A4 Motorway.

Click here for info from the official website about parking fees and logistics.

OPTION D (Not Recommended!): The Disneyland Paris Express

Lastly, I’m including this option as a bit of a cautionary tale to not book it (haha – don’t fight me for being honest!)

I see a lot of sites recommending the Disneyland Paris Express bus as a good option to get from central Paris to Disneyland Paris but at 109 euros a head, I don’t really see it as good value, especially since (according to the product description) you return to Paris at 8:30pm which means you miss the amazing Disney Illuminations show.

You could take public transportation for half that price, or pay a little bit extra to get a private transfer with pickup/dropoff at your own Paris accommodation here.

There are also quite a few reviews that say the buses can get full and are a bit of a logistical nightmare, so I would honestly refer to one of the options I recommended above instead.

Getting to Disneyland Paris from Charles de Gaulle Airport

If you’ll be visiting Disneyland Paris straight from Charles de Gaulle airport, then here are the different options at your disposal:

OPTION A (Easiest!): Book a private transfer

By far the most convenient way to get from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Disneyland Paris is booking a private transfer, especially if you have a lot of luggage in tow or perhaps young kids/older individuals in your group.

Surprisingly, this can be quite affordable if you’re travelling with several people.

This company for instance offers private transfers with pickup at Charles de Gaulle for less than 80 euros, which evens out to just over 26 euros per person, a small price to pay for a private pick-up and ease of mind in my opinion. Click here to browse prices and availability.

NOTE: I would recommend going with a pre-booked transfer rather than getting a taxi on the spot because I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about taxi scams in Paris and people being forced to pay well over 100 euros for a taxi ride because of factors like traffic. It would make a lot more sense to pre-book and have it at one fixed rate.

OPTION B (Fastest!): Take a TGV Train

Get this: if you hop on a TGV train from Charles de Gaulle Airport, you can be at Disneyland Paris in 10 minutes! 10 minutes! You’d usually spend more time than that waiting for your luggage or trying to find your way out of the airport.

This is how I got to the airport after my latest Disneyland Paris trip and it was very simple, albeit quite crowded.

If you are travelling light, and don’t mind potentially standing for the duration of the ride (I had to, as all seats were reserved), then this is an amazing option for less than 20 euros.

I always use Omio to compare/book options because they can show you alternative routes and times at a glance.

OPTION C (Cheapest!): Use public transportation

If you don’t mind a little bus travel, here is a secret trick to getting from Charles de Gaulle to Disneyland Paris for under 6 euros!

Catch a bus from Charles de Gaulle Terminal 3 to Torcy, then take the RER A from Torcy to Charles de Gaulle.

This might not be ideal if you have giant suitcases or impatient kids, but it’s great for saving a few bucks.

Otherwise, take the RER B and transfer onto the RER A at Chatelet Les Halles station to reach Disneyland Paris, which should cost €17.30 at full price according to the official RATP website.

OPTION D: Book a shuttle bus

Lastly, if you want a more convenient transfer but don’t want to cough up the high price tag of a private transfer, there’s a shuttle bus company called Magical Shuttle that offers one-way rides from Charles de Gaulle Airport for 23 euros one way.

Click here to check prices and availability for Magical Shuttle.

Getting to Disneyland Paris from Paris Orly Airport

And if you’ll be visiting Disneyland Paris straight from Orly airport, then here are the different options at your disposal:

OPTION A (Easiest!): Book a private transfer

By far the most convenient way to get from Orly Airport to Disneyland Paris is booking a private transfer, especially if you have a lot of luggage in tow or perhaps young kids/older individuals in your group.

Surprisingly, this can be quite affordable if you’re travelling with several people.

This company for instance offers private transfers with pickup at Orly Airport for less than 80 euros, which evens out to just over 26 euros per person, a small price to pay for a private pick-up and ease of mind in my opinion. Click here to browse prices and availability.

NOTE: I would recommend going with a pre-booked transfer rather than getting a taxi on the spot because I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about taxi scams in Paris and people being forced to pay well over 100 euros for a taxi ride because of factors like traffic. It would make a lot more sense to pre-book and have it at one fixed rate.

OPTION B (Cheapest!): Use public transportation

For a much more affordable option, you can take public transportation to get from Orly Airport to Disneyland Paris. The downside here is of course that you have to transfer twice, and it takes longer than a private shuttle.

To get to Disneyland Paris from Orly, you would need to take the Orlyval express train to Antony (direction: Antony), hop on the RER B to Châtelet les Halles (direction: Charles de Gaulle 2), then transfer onto the RER A Marne La Vallée Chessy station (direction: direction Marne La Vallée Chessy).

Otherwise, take the RER B and transfer onto the RER A at Chatelet Les Halles station to reach Disneyland Paris, which should cost €17.30 at full price according to the official RATP website.

When in doubt, look for the Mickey ears!

Going Home – How to get from Disneyland Paris to Paris

Alright, if you’ve made it to Disneyland Paris without a hitch, I have every confidence that you’ll make it back to Paris just fine.

What you need to be mindful of though (if you’re travelling by train) are the final train times. On my last visit, I was having a bit too much fun around Disney Village and almost missed the last RER A train out of Marne la Vallée Station.

SO, don’t make the same mistake as me, make sure you know the final RER A train departure back to Paris from Disneyland Paris. The full (and confusing timetable) can be found here.

Definitely double check the timetable for yourself, but the final RER A trains from Marne la Vallée – Chessy appear to be as follows:

Monday – Friday (non holiday): 12:24am

Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: 12:20am

NOTE: There are annoyingly many exceptions and random changes which is why I would advise to double check on the day of by asking a staff member or by consulting the official RATP website here.

Tips for your Disneyland Paris Day Trip

I have already written a list of my top Disneyland Paris tips, but in terms of coming up with a game plan for a 1 day Disneyland Paris day trip, I do have a few more words of advice to offer.

Since creating the perfect itinerary will vary hugely depending on your priorities (e.g. rides, attractions, meeting characters, etc.), I want to give you some loose tips rather than a structured breakdown of where to go and when… so here are my best tips for creating that perfect one day itinerary for yourself!

  • Read up on Fastpasses and create a plan around them
  • Pick your top priority rides/attractions then organize your day around them
  • Remember Walt Disney Studios closes earlier, and Disney Village is open late, so work around that
  • Download the Disneyland Paris app in advance so you can see ride times/attractions at a glance

Disneyland Paris Day Trip FAQ

Alright – almost to the end now. I assume most of your questions should be answered at this point, but if you have any more questions, here are some frequently asked questions about doing Disneyland Paris as a day trip:

Is Eurodisney the same thing as Disneyland Paris?

Short answer: yes! You might know Disneyland Paris as Eurodisney, but that’s simply an old name that isn’t really used anymore.

Is Disneyland Paris actually in Paris?

It’s in the Paris region, but you won’t find Disneyland Paris anywhere near the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe.

Instead, Disneyland Paris is officially in Marne-la-Vallée, about 32km east of Paris.

How much will a day trip to Disneyland Paris cost?

This 100% depends on your willpower!

Any day out at a Disney park is bound to be expensive, but there are of course ways to save.

At minimum, you should expect to spend 100 euros total for the day, and this is assuming you’re extremely frugal and don’t buy any souvenirs.

A 1 park ticket alone costs 56 euros, and the cheapest transport option will be about 15 euros roundtrip.

Assuming you bring your own food/snacks and refrain from buying any merch, you’ll be spending about 75 euros minimum for the day.

Of course, that’s not a realistic estimate for most!

After all, where’s the Disney magic if you don’t buy some food to eat and some souvenirs to take home?

If you plan to indulge a bit, your costs will stack up quickly.

The cheapest possible meals you can get will still be about 10-15 euros, with high end options being easily 7x that! Even the most iconic souvenir (Mickey ears) will set you back 13-20 euros depending on the pair you get.

I hope that gives you an idea of how much a Disneyland Paris day trip will cost! It’s not cheap, but I assure you that Disney is fun on any budget, and even just being there is enough to make for the most magical day.

When is the best time to visit Disneyland Paris as a day trip?

Weekdays and non-holidays in shoulder and off-season are always the best time to visit Disneyland Paris. If you’re hoping to avoid crowds, a good rule of thumb would be to avoid any times that there might be school holidays.

Otherwise, the Christmas season is especially magical with all the Christmassy decor. Click here to learn more about Christmas festivities at DLP.

What considerations should I make if I/a member of my party are differently abled?

Luckily, Disneyland Paris is very proactive on the accessibility front, with a wide variety of programs in place to help ensure that all guests have a magical time.

These programs include wheelchair rentals, priority access cards, and more.  Click here to learn more about the different accessibility measures in place at the park.

Can I rent a stroller or pushchair during my Disneyland Paris day trip?

Yes! Disneyland Paris offers (paid) stroller and pushchair rentals in two locations: 1) the Town Square Terrace near the Disneyland Park entrance and 2) at Studio Services at the Walt Disney Studios Park entrance.

Any more questions about doing a day trip from Paris to Disneyland Paris?

This was a long and thorough read, but I hope you found it helpful! Feel free to let me know in the comments if you have any more questions about planning the perfect Disneyland Paris day trip. Safe travels!

My Go-To Travel Favourites:

🧳 Eagle Creek: My favourite packing cubes

💳 Wise: For FREE travel friendly credit cards

🍯 Airalo: My go-to eSIM

🏨 Booking.com: For searching hotels

📷 Sony A7IV: My (amazing) camera

✈️ Google Flights: For finding flight deals

🌎 WorldNomads: For travel insurance

🎉 GetYourGuide: For booking activities

5 thoughts on “How to Plan the Perfect Paris to Disneyland Day Trip”

  1. This was SO helpful – thank you! I’ll be in Paris next year and really want to go to DLP but I’ll be solo so I’m super intimidated!

    Reply

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