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If there is one place I absolutely cannot miss while in Paris, it’s Disneyland. I just can’t resist the opportunity to be a child again– take pictures with my favorite cartoon characters, ride awesome roller coasters and feast on huge cotton candies.

Disneyland in Paris is divided into two parks; the Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios Park. Exploring the parks at a leisurely pace would require a day in each park, but with only one day allocated for me… I had to do it all in a day. I didn’t want to miss anything!

Getting There
I started the day early at 8:30am, as I wanted to be in front of the Disneyland gate just before opening time at 10:00am. The RER A train from central Paris to Disneyland’s ‘Marne-la-Vallée / Chessy’ is a 30-40 minutes ride, so I got there with half an hour to spare. However, the queues were already starting to form, and within 10 minutes or so to opening time, the entrance got extremely crowded.

Tickets
Thankfully, I bought my tickets in advance, through the Disneyland website online. It was offered at a discounted rate so I got to save a couple of Euros AND didn’t have to queue to get my tickets on the day I visited. It was straight to the entrance gate. You can also get good deals on Klook (click here).

Disneyland Park
Disneyland Park is the bigger and more exciting of the two parks– it is also the original, so I planned to spend more time here. Upon entering, I immediately made my way to one of the more popular rides, Discovery Land’s Space Mountain: Mission 2. The ride was extremely crazy and intense, and I was left with my head spinning for the next few hours. It probably wasn’t the best choice as a first ride!

The other rides were more enjoyable; Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster, Pirates of the Carribean boat ride, Peter Pan flying coaster, Phantom Manor haunted house, and the awesome Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast (they have this in Disneyland Hong Kong as well, and it was my little brother’s favorite ride as it has laser guns to shoot from). Unfortunately, the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril ride was closed when I visited.

Walt Disney Studios Park
Despite being the smaller park, I have to admit that two of my favorite rides are in the Walt Disney Studios Park. I loved Aerosmith’s Rock n’ Roller Coaster– it is my favourite roller coaster in the whole of Disneyland Paris. The ride is fast and thrilling, with bright blinking lights and Aerosmith playing in the background. It also has a rocket-like start, where the coaster just blasts off!

The second ride I really enjoyed was Ratatouille. This 4D experience ride is fun and so adorable, with cars in the shape of a rat– running away from the chef through the kitchen. The kids and of course, the kids-at-heart (like me!) will definitely love this.

Other fun attractions in Walt Disney Studios are the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror freefall ride and the live shows; namely CineMagique and Action! Stunt Show.

Fastpasses
If you don’t want to wait in queue for too long, fastpasses are available for certain rides in both parks. Fastpasses are free, the only hassle is that you have to head over to the attraction beforehand and get the next best timing; and come back again when the time comes.

I only took a fastpass for one ride– the Tower of Terror. I was lucky that the other attractions I wanted to go on didn’t have too long a queue so it wasn’t needed. It also helped that I was in the ‘solo riders’ line, which was much shorter.

Eating
I’m all about theme park snacks. They are my absolute favorite– it makes me feel like a kid again. All throughout the day, I munched on candy floss, sweets, ice-cream, hot dogs, pizza, chips, burgers; and had fruit punches and fizzy drinks too. Of course, when the time came for lunch and dinner; I had my proper meals– I especially enjoyed the awesome ribs at the Lucky Nugget.

All About Disney
It’s always a day of fun and laughter in Disneyland. So far, I’ve only been to two others– Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Some of the rides are almost similar; but somehow in another location, it always feels different. And it’s all fantastic!

Unfortunately, I was tired out from my constant traveling around Paris that I didn’t stay in the Disneyland Park till after dark. I visited in summer, and it only gets dark at 10pm. I heard that there’s a fantastic outdoor show just before the park closes.

For visitors with only a day to spare; buy the pass for both parks, and then pick and choose the ones that suit your intensity level. There are big roller coasters in both parks, and children’s play areas in both too. Make sure you rest when needed; you’ll definitely need all your energy.