Planning a trip to Disneyland Paris but worried about the cost? You’re not alone – it’s one of the biggest concerns families have.
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy the magic. With a bit of planning and a few smart booking tricks, it’s absolutely possible to do Disneyland Paris on a budget.
In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how we booked our trip for less – from finding cheap Disneyland Paris tickets to choosing the best-value hotels and knowing when to go for the lowest prices.
If you’re trying to plan a magical trip without blowing the budget, this is everything you need to know.
So far, I have been to Disneyland Paris on a package holiday, stayed Disney hotels and Disney Partner hotels. I’ve also stayed in my mam’s campervan in the car park of Disney (Amazing option if you have a camper!!). I’ve visited for the day from Paris, and most recently I stayed in an Air Bnb in Val D’europe! There are so many ways to visit Disneyland Paris so keeping reading to see how it can be done on a budget.
Which one of these was the best budget option?… Val D’Europe hands down!! Such a great location and so much cheaper than the Disney Hotels! Keep reading below to find out how to go about this yourself!
Step 1: Book your Flights
You have two options here, fly into Charles De Gaulle or fly into Orly.
Personally, I would never fly into Beauvais with Ryanair, it’s too far to Disneyland and really not worth the hassle!
1. Aer Lingus fly to CDG and you can get some really good deals with them.
If you buy their cheapest flight option, you each get a backpack to bring onboard the plane and a 10kg suitcase to check in at the gate. If you are flying with a baby (under 2) you can bring your 10kg bag onboard if you want and can also two baby items (buggy and extra such as travel cot or car seat).
Top Tip – If stuck for luggage space, squeeze some clothes into the bag for your travel cot or car seat. Majority of airlines do not check what’s inside the bag and there is no weight limit.
You will need to pay extra for seats if you all want to sit together, but Aer Lingus, unlike Ryanair, try to allocate seats together for people who didn’t book in advance.
CDG is only 47 km to Val D’europe or 35-minute drive in light traffic.
*Aer Lingus aren’t the only airline to fly to CDG so it’s definitely worth shopping around for the cheapest option. You can use a tool like Skyscanner to find the cheapest and easiest flight option but please remember to book with the airline itself once you’ve found your flight (don’t book with Skyscanner).
2. Vueling fly to Orly, Paris. They also have some really good deals from time to time so definitely worth keeping an eye out for special offers.
Vueling basic fare doesn’t include any checked in luggage, you only get a backpack, so you will need to pay extra for this – €27 per person per flight for a 20 kg bag or €14 per person per flight for a second carry-on bag (10 kg) and priority boarding.
You also need to pay to select seats with Vueling too, approx. €7pp for the cheapest seat each way.
Orly airport is about a 40-minute drive to Val D’europe.
Step 2: Book your Park Tickets.
I would recommend booking tickets through AttractionTickets.com. They have an office in Ireland and tend to work out a bit cheaper than booking direct through DisneylandParis.com. You have multiple options when booking tickets – you can book 2 park hopper tickets or 1 park tickets. I would always recommend booking the 2-park hopper, even if only going for 1 day. This allows you to go in and out of the Disneyland Paris Park and the Walk Disney Studios Park. Especially with the new lands, you do not want to miss out on the Studios Park!!!
Top Tip: With Disneyland Paris you now have to book your park dates in advance so I would recommend checking ticket availability just before paying for your flights as there would be nothing worse than booking the flights and then not being able to get park tickets 😫
Step 3: Book your Accomodation
Val D’Europe is such a great place to stay for visiting Disneyland Paris. It is located in the town of Marnee la Valee and was actually created by the Walt Disney Company, so it is super accessible.
We stayed in the Adagio City Aparthotel, which we booked through Air BnB. This Aparthotel is made up of private apartments, which you can book through Air BnB and also apartments owned by Adagio. So, if you’re not comfortable using Air BnB, you can book direct on www.adagio-city.com. Both options give you access to their swimming pool, lobby, car parking, breakfast which can be paid at reception (€15/adult €7/child). Most importantly there is a free shuttle bus to the park.
Things I loved about staying in this area:
- The shuttle bus was always way quieter than the Disneyland hotel shuttles and there was never a fear of the bus being full.
- It is actually closer than Santa fe and Hotel Cheyenne, the shuttle only took about 5 minutes.
- The food options in this area. You are really spoiled for choice with the restauratns in Val D’europe. They have every type of cuisine you can imagine and at pretty standard prices.
- The outlet shopping – Think Kildare Village on steroids. They had Gucci, Prada, YSL, Balenciaga. Really nice for a stroll around and some window shopping when you want a break from Disney. I particularly enjoyed watching people walking around with bags and bags of designer purchases and trying to imagine what they work as 😉
- Giant Penney’s enough said 🙂 Pick up some last-minute Disney merch before going into the park.
- You have a kitchen so can cook your own food, store snacks and drinks etc. in the fridge.
Step 4 – Book your transport.
Here you have multiple options again. I would highly recommend using the ‘Rome2Rio’ website or app to find out the best way to get to your accomodation.
You can get the TGV train from Charles De Gaulles airport to ‘Marne La Vallee Chessy’ followed by a second train to ‘Val D’europe’.
You can also book private transfers with the Magic Shuttle. This can be booked direct with Magic Shuttle or through Abbey Travel. Costs are €23/adult each way and €10/child each way. The magic shuttle leaves from Charles de Gaules and Orly airport.
💗So, there you have it, 4 easy steps to book the Disney Holiday of your dreams. Make sure to Subscribe to my blog as I’ll be regularly posting Disney Deals as I see them.
Why not pop over to read my post on tips for flying with kids.
Thanks for reading,
Jess x
