We spent Christmas 2024 in Paris, admiring the decorations, enjoying the markets, and tourtisting around. Since we were in France for the entire week, we decided to check out Disneyland Paris for a day, not really knowing what to expect. We ended up in the park from open to (almost) close, and every one of us had a great time. Here’s the parts that were great, and those that were less exciting-

First off, it couldn’t be easier to get to the park – you can take the train directly from Paris to the park entrance. It was so simple, and fast, and no need to pay for parking.

Regarding tickets, I considered whether or not to pay more for the fast pass, but ultimately decided not too, based on this website where you can see the crowd levels from past years. I saw that the 23rd of December was typically very quiet, so we bought tickets for that day. And we barely waited more than 15 minutes for any rides. The exceptions were Peter Pan and Pinocchio, which never had less than a 40 minute line, so we skipped them.

Some of our favorite spots and rides – Marvel, Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland, and Belle’s Castle, which was so, so beautiful. There are also some pretty intense rollercoasters – Flight Force, the Avengers ride, was crazy. I did NOT go on it twice, but my kids did.

The park also has the classics – the haunted mansion, the pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Tours, amongst others, and it was nice to get to go on these rides again.

Because it was Christmas the entire park was decorated, and there were Christmas markets. And in the downtown, every hour it would snow (soap bubbles) and play music, and this was completely enchanting.

We really were disappointed by the restaurants – they were nearly all buffets (which I do not like), quite expensive, and the food was not good. I tried to book ahead any many didn’t take reservations. The best food we ate all day came from the Christmas market stalls – potatoes and sausages and gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. These were significantly better than the meal we had at PYM Kitchen. The food was the biggest downside at the park.