9 Super Important Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks if You Have Only Visited Disney World Before (they are pretty different)

Have you been to Disney World in the past, but now looking for some helpful Disneyland Paris tips and tricks for your first visit to the European parks? Awesome!

As someone who has been visiting Disneyland Paris for 15 years (and Disney World for the last 7 years), I’ve accumulated a lot of tips – and spotted many differences between these parks!

Whilst Disney Parks across the world have plenty of similarities – there are lots of differences between Disneyland Paris and Disney World – some of which I covered in this post: What Is The Difference Between Disneyland Paris and Disney World?

But if you’re used to Disney World, these things may shock you on your first Disneyland Paris trip – so it’s important to be aware of them before your visit!

This post is all about the 9 vital Disneyland Paris tips and tricks you should know before you visit Disneyland Paris – if you’ve only visited Walt Disney World before.

Disneyland Paris Tips and Tricks if you’ve only visited Disney World before

1) There are only two small parks at Disneyland Paris

If you’ve been to Disney World, you know it’s colossal. Four parks, two water parks, over twenty resorts and plenty of land to build more.

Disneyland Paris, on the other hand, is a lot less extensive.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, there are no water parks (Paris can get FREEZING in the Winter – so unless they built an indoor water park, it would be pretty pointless).

Unlike Disney World, Disneyland Paris has two parks:

Disneyland Paris Park (which is essentially the Paris version of Magic Kingdom).

Walt Disney Studios – which is being re-named Disney Adventure World (awful name, I know). This used to be a much smaller, less-impressive version of Hollywood Studios. But now, it doesn’t have much of an identity. Since the opening of Avengers Campus and The World of Frozen opening soon (date to be confirmed) – this park doesn’t seem to have a clear, unifying theme. The World of Pixar never fitted the original movie-making theme of the park either. So yeah, it’s pretty confusing. Even though Disney is trying to “re-theme” the park away from its origins, this park feels like it has an identity crisis similar to Hollywood Studios today – but perhaps even worse.

These parks are on the small side, so you won’t need as much time to explore them, as you would at Disney World.

You can also walk between the two in about a minute!

2) It can get so cold in Disneyland Paris, it can SNOW

For real.

We all know that it snows at Disney World every Christmas season (at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Disney Jollywood Nights and Disney Springs).

But it can actually snow for real at Disneyland Paris during winter. So, if you’re visiting at this time of year, make sure to pack some very warm clothing!

3) You can stay at (almost) any on-site Disneyland Paris hotel and walk to both of the parks

Disneyland Paris has 7 hotels/resorts:

Disneyland Hotel

Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel

Disney Newport Bay Club

Disney Sequoia Lodge

Disney Hotel Cheyenne

Disney Hotel Santa Fe

Disney Davy Crockett Ranch

Disney Davy Crockett Ranch is the only resort that isn’t located within walking distance of the parks.

(If you want to stay here, be aware that there is no shuttle service to the parks and is a 15-minute drive to the parks. The trade off is that you can stay in a 2-bedroom cabin here for a similar price/cheaper than the other Disneyland Paris hotels).

But you can walk or take the shuttle bus to both Disneyland Paris parks from any of the other hotels.

4) Not all on-site hotels have swimming pools

At Disney World, every on-site hotel has AT LEAST one swimming pool (though most have more).

This is not the case at every Disneyland Paris hotel.

At Disneyland Paris, these hotels do not have any swimming pools:

Disney Hotel Cheyenne
Disney Hotel Santa Fe

The rest of the Disneyland Paris hotels have at least one swimming pool (these tend to be indoor pools, but some hotels have outdoor pools as well in the warmer months).

tips for disneyland paris — The indoor pool at Disney Newport Bay Club

5) The duplicate rides at Disney World and Disneyland Paris are USUALLY NOT identical

You’ve experienced Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World. How different can it be at Disneyland Paris? Pretty different actually (and it’s better in Paris).

With the notable exception of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (in Epcot), which is almost an exact clone of Ratatouille: The Adventure at Disneyland Paris – most duplicates are quite different.

For example:

Big Thunder Mountain is faster at Disneyland Paris.

Space Mountain has loops at Disneyland Paris (and now has a Star Wars theme).

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror feels more intense at Disneyland Paris.

Crush’s Coaster is NOTHING like The Seas with Nemo & Friends (it’s actually kind of scary!).

These are just a few examples, but there are some notable differences between a lot of the similar rides.

6) Some rides and shows are in French

This probably isn’t surprising, but something to be aware of.

If you don’t speak French, it’s not really that big of a deal on the rides (if you don’t understand what’s being said on Star Tours, you can still enjoy the attraction).

But some shows (like TOGETHER: a Pixar Musical Adventure and Frozen: A Musical Invitation) are spoken in some French and some English.

This can be quite difficult to follow when you only speak one of these languages.

However, some shows (like Stitch Live!) have both French and English showings to avoid this issue.

To check if there are separate English and French showings of a show you would like to see, check the Disneyland Paris app.

7) You can’t buy Disneyland Paris tickets at the gate

If you’re booking a Disneyland Paris package, this will include your Disneyland Paris hotel stay and tickets.

But, if you weren’t planning on staying at a Disneyland Paris hotel, and just wanted to buy tickets, you’ll need to buy these in advance.

You can no longer buy Disneyland Paris tickets at the parks on the day of your visit.

I spoke about this in more detail in this post: 5 VERY IMPORTANT Tips You Should Know Before Buying Disneyland Paris Tickets Online Prior to Your Visit (this is so crucial!)

8) It is easier to meet characters in the parks at Disneyland Paris

At Disney World, meeting characters can be difficult. Wait times in the parks are usually VERY high, and you rarely see characters just wondering about.

This is more common at Disneyland Paris – and the “regular” meet and greets tend to have shorter wait times.

Also, if you stay at a Disneyland Paris hotel, you can meet characters there (unless you’re staying at Davy Crockett Ranch).

9) The fireworks at Disneyland Paris don’t compare to Magic Kingdom

Going to Disneyland Paris, and expecting a show like Happily Ever After?

I’m sorry to bring you the bad news, but Disneyland Paris’ fireworks are NOT NEARLY as good.

Now, this can certainly change. At the moment, ‘Disney Dreams!’ is the fireworks show at Disneyland Paris.

But it’s a little lackluster. The projections and music are pretty okay, but there aren’t enough actual fireworks. ‘

It’s not an awful show, but it almost seems like it is, if you’ve seen Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom.

Ta Ta For Now

So yeah, Disneyland Paris is certainly different than Disney World.

But now that you’re aware of these important Disneyland Paris tips for first timers who have only visited Disney World, you shouldn’t have a problem!

If you have any extra Disneyland Paris tips and tricks, please let us know!

This post was all about the 9 vital Disneyland Paris tips and tricks you should know before you visit Disneyland Paris – if you’ve only visited Walt Disney World before.