How We Did the BEST 2 Days at Disneyland Paris in the Half-Term Holidays

DISNEYLAND PARIS TRIP REPORT – DAY 2

I. Breakfast at Moxy: Power Up for a New Day of Adventures

**If you are looking for DAY 1 of this trip report it’s here.

Although every Disney expert (including me!) will tell you the best way to hit the parks is at rope drop, sometimes you just can’t manage it.

Today was one of those days. Our tired bodies hadn’t gone to sleep till after midnight, so even 8 am seemed particularly early. Eventually, we were up and dressed and popped downstairs for breakfast.

Mmm doughnuts…

Confession time: I’m American, and I think our hotels know how to do breakfast. Pancakes and fresh omelettes are pretty much a minimum. English hotel breakfasts are not bad, you can count on having beans and fried eggs. But a French hotel breakfast usually falls into 3rd place with fresh pastries and not much else.

However! We were pleasantly surprised by the Moxy Hotel breakfast. A generous pile of fresh doughnuts, stacks of croissants and apple turnovers, a Holiday Inn-style pancake machine, and a selection of fun Kellogg’s cereals elevated this buffet above a standard hotel.

My son loved the pancake toppings bar, and I appreciated the fruit bowl with apples, pears and oranges.

Also available was a standard hot drinks machine with coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Plus, jugs of fresh juice and chilled water.

They also had sausages, ham and eggs (although I never get on with hotel scrambled eggs – in any country! Am I the only one?)

II. RER to Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy

We left the hotel at 11 am. Although the sky was grey, we were grateful that there was no sign of the rain forecast, and for the February half-term, the weather was a wonderfully mild 10 degrees.

Fortunately, the next train from Val d’Europe to Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy was in 7 minutes.

✏️ PRO TIP Save time (and a bit of money) by buying multiple RER train tickets at once. They are even discounted for books of 10. The day before, I bought 6 RER tickets to cover us for the 3 trips we needed to make between the hotel and parks, at a cost of €2.20 each.

III. Luggage Drop at Disneyland Paris

Back in Chessy, we headed to the luggage storage service at Disneyland Park to drop off my suitcase. This is located on the far right side of the entrance.

🤓 GOOD TO KNOW Luggage storage at Disneyland Paris costs around €8 for a small bag and €12 for a larger one. Be aware they are very strict on charging for the number of items. For example, my very small shopping bag counted as another bag and would have cost another 8 euros. (Luckily, with a bit of effort, we stuffed that into the suitcase!)

The Disneyland Paris luggage storage service is a little more expensive than the storage at Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy station, but the one at the station only takes cash.
📌 Learn about your different Luggage Storage Options at Disneyland Paris

IV. Main Street Confectionary – a Must-Do!

A Disney tradition for us is to visit Main Street Confectionary for a tasty treat. My favourites are the decorated cake pops, especially if they have a Minnie Mouse theme.

The treats hold up pretty well for travelling, especially the Mickey cookies, chocolate-covered marshmallows, and fudge.

We bought a Minnie cake pop and a Mickey cookie to eat later, as well as chocolate-covered marshmallow bars for family gifts.

V. Rides, Character, and Attractions at Disneyland Park

It was now 11:30 am and we wanted to see the new parade and had a little time to kill beforehand. So, we popped over to Frontierland first.

✏️ PRO TIP Check the Disneyland Paris app for show times, parade times and character meets on the morning of your visit. It’s helpful to plan your day around these fixed times.

In Frontierland, we could see construction workers inspecting the tracks on Big Thunder Mountain. This is our favourite ride (and a must-do!), but sadly it was under refurbishment during our visit.

✏️ PRO TIP You should always check the Disneyland Paris ride refurbishment schedule before your trip; I post monthly images of the closure schedule that you can screenshot to your phone.

Phantom Manor – Where There’s Always Room for One More

We arrived at Phantom Manor and could see that Phantom Mickey was doing a popular meet and greet out front. We didn’t have time to wait for that, but we gave him a friendly wave from the queue as we walked up to the manor.

🏰 DISNEY FUN FACT Phantom Manor has many features that make it unique to Disneyland Paris. Most famously, it has an extra section at the end that takes you through an underworld version of Frontierland. And Vincent Price’s narration makes this an even better version than the Haunted Mansion in California or Florida.

New Parade – ‘A Million Splashes of Colour’

Disneyland Paris had just premiered this all-new parade on the 9th of February (5 days ago), called A Million Splashes of Colour, and we were very excited to see it.

We picked a spot in the hub so we could watch the character performances on all the stages. We easily nabbed a space on the curb 10 minutes before the show.

To our disappointment, although there was no rain, Disney takes an abundance of caution when wet weather is predicted, and unfortunately, the character performance was cancelled. Instead, the parade was modified to a shorter version which included just the three floats.

🚨 ***EDITED: A Million Splashes of Colour has ended. Currently in 2025 we have Disney Stars on Parade with the Disney Music Festival coming in April with new scheduled entertainment. Check out all the Disneyland Paris Shows included free in your ticket.

We had a good bop along before the parade ended, and then we headed to Fantasyland.

Character Sightings for Valentine’s Day

As it was Valentine’s Day, Disneyland Paris offered extra character meets throughout the park. At the entrance to Fantasyland (from the side of the castle) were Mary Poppins, Burt and a penguin.

Near ‘it’s a small world’ we could see Ariel in her blue dress with Prince Eric. Across from them was Ghepetto and Pinocchio. And over by the teacups was Pluto and Goofy’s son, Max.

We didn’t want to wait in the queue as time was short, but we enjoyed seeing the characters and giving them a little wave as we wandered about.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I was wearing my 100th-anniversary Snow White mouse ears, so we took pictures in front of the attraction before having an adventure with Snow White. 📌 I have tips for this ride in my Fantasyland Guide for First-timers.

A Mad Tea Party

We had hoped to ride Pirates of the Caribbean next, but the queues were stretched to the ride entrance and easily more than half an hour. So we decided to come back a bit later when it died down.

Instead, we whizzed back to Fantasyland and hopped on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups. This is a fantastic ride for the afternoon as it’s a short wait and everyone enjoys it (except my husband, who can do upside-down roller coasters, but the teacups make him feel sick!).

VI. Unique Souvenirs

After the Tea Cups, we had a wander through the castle shops.
My son loved seeing the glass blower making a custom wand in Merlin l’Enchanteur. You can choose the crystals that go inside and make it your own.

It is my favourite souvenir at Disneyland Paris, and not badly priced at €49.99.

VII. Snack Time!

Since this blog is called Crepes and Castles, you will not be surprised that my favourite snack at Disneyland Paris is the crepe (and that I insist on eating it by the castle!).

✏️ PRO TIP For the full experience, I recommend trying Nutella crepes with a rich hot chocolate, enjoyed on one of the benches facing the castle. It is a magical Disney moment not to miss.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho…

Fortunately, the queue had now died down for Pirates of the Caribbean, and, before too long, we hopped aboard our swashbuckling adventure in the West Indies.

My son and I were placed at the back of the boat, which was nice because you could slightly turn around and have a good look at the scenes behind you without heads in the way.

There is a PhotoPass+ opportunity on this ride, but unless you’re near the front of the boat (or taller!) you can’t really see yourself, so we didn’t bother with it.

IX. Dining with Princesses!

I have wanted to do the Cinderella lunch for about 15 years, so I had pretty high expectations of this restaurant. (Spoiler alert: It was amazing!)

What is Auberge de Cindrillon?

Auberge de Cendrillon is a Princess character meal themed around Cinderella. They serve only lunch and dinner now, and it is still one of the most popular dining reservations at Disneyland Paris. It is the only restaurant within the park where you can dine with the Princesses, although you can also see them at the Royal Banquet in the Disneyland Hotel if you are a hotel guest.

✏️ PRO TIP I managed to get a table reservation about a week before using DLP Tables, which I highly recommend because it is challenging to get one otherwise. Unless you are staying at a Disney hotel, in which case, you can try up to 12 months before your visit.

The Characters

We were delighted to meet Cinderella and her mouse friend Suzy, as well as Snow White, Aurora and Merida.

They were all really lovely to chat to and we took loads of pictures.

The Food

I have heard many people complain about the food at Auberge du Cendrillon, and I can imagine why it might be a disappointment.

If you have younger children or fussier eaters, then the menu is a bit more adventurous than typical theme park food. Also, you have to order a set menu, whereas my children generally prefer a buffet so they can select the food they like best.

However, my son is a little older and he really liked the food. I enjoyed mine as well, especially with the delicious wine pairing.

👱🏻‍♀️Our Experience

Overall, my son and I greatly enjoyed dining at the Disney princess restaurant. Our waiter was very friendly (if slightly forgetful).

At the end of the day, this is a restaurant for princess fans, and for that, it definitely delivers. We loved our character interactions, especially with Aurora, Merida and Suzy.

I recommend this restaurant if your children are a bit older and if they are Princess fans. It’s also perfect for couples or solo-travellers. 📌Check out all my top tips for Auberge de Cendrillon.

X. Final Rides and Attractions!

With little time left in the park, we were keen to do a few of our favourite things before leaving.

‘it’s a small world’ (after all!)

It’s our family tradition to do ‘it’s a small world’ as one of our final rides in all the Disney parks, and today was no exception.

✨Pixie Dust We asked if we could sit at the front of the boat, and a kind cast member did one better – she gave us a whole boat to ourselves!

This is such a lovely (and nostalgic) little boat ride 🩷 No matter how old my child gets, experiencing Small World together is something I’ll treasure forever.

Les Voyages de Pinocchio

✏️ PRO TIP Download the FREE MagicPark app for up-to-the-minute wait times. Best of all, you can save the widget to your home screen and they will alert you when a ride breaks down. You can even get alerts for when your favourite ride lines get shorter!

We checked the app for wait times and found that Les Voyages de Pinocchio had (finally!) fallen to a short wait, so we jogged on over to that. Like many fairy tales, this children’s ride has kind of a dark side which is appealing to older children, too.

A twisted clown, kids that turn into donkeys and a slightly sinister carnival heighten this classic story before Geppetto gets his wish and Pinocchio turns into a real boy.

Sword in the Stone

Another iconic childhood experience at Disneyland Paris is to try to pull Excalibur’s sword from the stone.

👱🏻‍♀️ MY EXPERIENCE The queue for the Sword in the Stone is a bit all over the place. So you might need to judge it by instinct and have your child dash up when the people before you have taken their turn. Otherwise, you could be waiting here a long time.

My son tried with all his might, but, alas, that sword didn’t budge, so he was not crowned King of England. He had a good time trying anyway!

Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain

We still had a little time to spare, so I asked my son what his favourite ride would be to do last, and no surprise it was Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain.

So, we high-tailed it to Discoveryland and climbed aboard our final mission to save the galaxy on our loop-de-loop spaceship. While we were in the queue, the ride broke down, but luckily it wasn’t closed too long.

That high-speed coaster takes my breath away! A fabulous ride to end our 2-days at Disneyland Paris.

XI. Main Street Shops

The minutes were swiftly ticking down now, so we went to the Emporium on Main Street for last-minute souvenir shopping.

They had a few Stitch dolls out for Valentine’s Day, but other than that, most of the merchandise looked identical to what we have seen already over the last two years. Which is a shame; I would have liked to treat my son to something new, but even the pins are looking a bit tired. Never mind, we’ll save our Euros for next time.

And with heavy hearts, we headed to the exits.

XII. Picking up the Luggage

At the storage centre, we collected my suitcase and bid a final farewell to Disneyland.

It was an easy process to collect our bag from the Disneyland Park storage office – you just have to remember to hold on to your ticket. ✏️ PRO TIP Don’t forget the storage service usually shuts about 15 minutes before the park closes.

XIII. RER to Gare du Nord and Eurostar to London

I bought our final train ticket from the machine – this time to Paris Gare du Nord, which cost €5 each. The train turned up within 5 minutes and off we went.

To get to Gare du Nord is very easy if you don’t have too much luggage. 📌 I have a full post on how to navigate this journey from Disneyland to Paris Gare du Nord for the Eurostar.

To give you an idea of the timings, we left Disneyland Park at 7 pm, picked up the suitcase, took the train, changed at Chatelet les Halles, bought an item from the Relay shop, and arrived at the Eurostar check-in by 8:30 pm. At 9:12 pm our Eurostar departed for London.

The Eurostar Home

The train was really quiet on the way home to London. Perhaps that’s because everyone has walked 20,000+ steps and is happy to relax now!

We ate a cheese baguette, and our Minnie cake and Mickey cookie from Main Street Confectionary, which was heavenly.

We also played a few games and watched the end of our Wes Anderson movie on my phone.

By 10:30 pm local time, we were back in London with bags and bags of memories.

XIV. Reflecting on Our Adventure – Is 2 Days Enough for Disneyland Paris?

We had such an exciting time on our mother-son trip to Disneyland Paris that, of course, we were feeling a little sad that it was over.

No number of days is ever enough, but 2 days felt like the perfect amount of time for us. We did our favourite rides, dined in two fabulous restaurants, and did all our must-dos.

2 days at Disneyland Paris is enough to get that ‘Disney feeling’ on a budget, even in half-term.

How I Booked 2 Days at Disneyland Paris – Costs and Links

• TopCashback – for money back on hotel and park tickets
• AttractionTickets – for Disneyland Paris 2-day park hopper, including free photo offer – approx £146/child and £160/adult (although I used my annual pass and only bought a ticket for my son)
• Hotels.com – for a 1-night stay at the Moxy Val d’Europe – £97 plus £3.30 hotel tax
• Eurostar.com – for direct train London to Paris Gare du Nord – £176 in total
• Ticket machines in the stations for local train tickets – €5 each for Paris to Disney, €2.20 for Val d’Europe to Disney

✏️ PRO TIP I recommend the FREE Bonjour RATP app for easily navigating public transport in Paris

Over to You…

What did you think of our 2-days in Disneyland Paris? Is there anything you’ve been inspired to try? Do you have any questions? Leave me a comment below 👇

➡️ READ NEXT If you found this 2-day Disneyland Paris trip report helpful, you should check out:

💛 My all-new Disneyland Paris Itinerary Guide includes PRINTABLE itineraries to save you time.
🧡 More itinerary inspiration! 1-day Touring Guide for Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios
❤️ Is this your first time at Disneyland Paris? Get these 17 Surprising Tips
🩷 Don’t forget to pack These Backpack Essentials for your park days (you’ll thank me later!)