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This is Part 2 of a series of posts explaining how to enjoy a magical family holiday to Disneyland Paris without it costing the earth. You can check out Part 1: ‘Getting There’ here.
There are myriad ways to get access to Disneyland Paris (no, don’t try and jump the fence….), so I’m just going to run through a few of the main options quickly before looking at what I personally do in a bit more depth.
I should also say from the start that going to Disneyland is never going to be really cheap, but with a few tricks it can certainly be made more affordable.
Day Ticket
Day tickets vary in price depending on the season and whether you want to visit Walt Disney Studios as well as Disneyland Paris.
Current daily prices start from £30.00 for kids and £36.00 for adults on the official Disneyland Paris website. You should also take a quick look at Super Trips as they sometimes have some very good deals.
Disney Hotel Package
You can book Disney hotel packages that include Disneyland Paris tickets for the duration of your stay. This can be very expensive in the Easter and Summer school holidays, but is worth considering out of season.
Annual Pass
You would think that an Annual Pass would do precisely what it says on the tin (well, paper), but there actually three varieties, which vary in price depending on your flexibility regarding dates.
The Classic/Francilien Pass is currently €135.00 and limited to 280 days use in the year, with blackout days on a lot of key school holiday dates.
The Fantasy Pass is currently €179.00 and limited to 320 days use in the year, also with a number of key blackout dates.
Both these passes give you special discounts at shops and restaurants in Disneyland Paris amongst other things. 25% off hotel accommodation can be useful too but that is taken from the original Disney hotel prices, so be careful because you might be able to find much better deals by shopping around.
Personal Recommendation
The Dream Pass is currently €223.00 and valid for 365 days a year. I bought this pass for me and my son and saved on our first visit compared to the other options, let alone the multiple trips since, making it amazing value for money. It gives you an array of discounts including between 35% and 60% discount on Disney hotels, 10% off in restaurants and free drinks as well as 20% of in the shops.
I know it’s expensive, but if you are thinking of a trip to Disneyland Paris for four or more days then do consider an annual pass as they really can work out as amazing value.
To buy Annual Passes, I’d recommend checking out the offers on SuperTrips and Discount Ticket Store. For example, Super Trip are currently offering a combined Dream Pass for one adult and one child (age 3-11) for £355.00 in total, which is a pretty decent discount.
BONUS
One significant bonus of an Annual Pass is that they let you access ‘Extra Magic Hours’, which means you get up to 2 additional hours in Disneyland before normal ticketed guests are allowed in. This, for me, is one of the main reasons for having a Pass. Me and my son did so many rides in this time that it really was a perfect start to each day. If you’re not keen on crowds and queuing, then I highly recommend getting up early and taking advantage of this quieter period in the park.
BIG BONUS
Another huge benefit of these passes is the extremely generous rewards system. Upon purchasing any annual pass you can act as a ‘sponsor’ after the first month. This means that the people you sponsor receive a 10% discount, and you get a special stamp in return. Once you have three stamps (sponsor just three people!) you will receive a free annual pass when you renew. I did exactly this on our last visit this summer, so I haven’t paid a penny (on tickets) for the next year of visiting Disneyland Paris!
There are some pretty serious hoops you need to jump through to take advantage of this (including navigating this form in French!), but the value is unbeatable and with a bit of planning it’s really not too bad.
The basic requirements are that you need to have had your own Pass for at least a month, and that you need to be there in person when the people you are sponsoring buy their Passes.
They don’t need to be there when you trade your stamps in for a new pass though (you can even post it), so you don’t need to sponsor all three people on one visit. That said, it does all need to be done in the same ‘ticketing season’ (which normally runs from April to November and then from November to April), so in practice it’s probably better to sort it all out in one go really.
I’ll set a group up on the forum soon for anyone interested in either sponsoring others or being sponsored themselves.
Choose the right ticket for you and you’ll have a brilliant holiday. If you have any questions please feel free to ask below.
Part 3 will follow soon.
Ian Macky says
I never realised getting into a theme park would be so expensive. I assume most people from the UK might go once in a year, with the odd people going twice. So I don’t see the finances working out for the annual passes for most people.
But if they do work, it appears for a family of 4, 1 person should buy their pass a month ahead, and then the other 3 get sponsored on arrival, getting the sponsor a free pass for the next year ?
Also if the benefits work out, is it an idea for 1 person in a party to buy the “dream” pass, and get the hotel, drinks and shops discounts for all ?
The Deal Daddy says
Hi Ian,
I originally was only going once to Disneyland Paris but as the park tickets were costing about the same as an Annual pass plus the benefits I obviously opted for the latter and have since saved a fortune since.
Yes sponsorship would work that way too.
Yes you just need 1 Annual pass to receive the benefits such hotel, restaurant and shop discount. Drinks though as per pass unfortunately.
Tina says
Do you know if the 2 discount sites you mention are safe to buy from ? They dont look very professional?
Deal Daddy says
Hi Tina,
I have used both sites and they were good with quick email confirmation of purchases and contact.
I strongly recommend paying with PayPal due to their payment protection guarantee.
karen says
hi
im looking to get disney passes for april, theres 5 adults and 2 kids ages 3/8, we are going for 4 nights, im having problems finding much for april yet apart from the tickets valid a year that seem a bit more, do you know when disney will release prices for next year for 3 day tickets and annual passes so i can decide, i wanted to buy them for xmas presents for my family . my daughter has a disablity too i have merlin pass and carers do disney do this ?, also i know if i book family of 5 i get 20% off but looking at discount ticket stores prices its not far off that anyway , i assume the prices on the door are dearer , im looking for the best price i can get, i dont want to get tickets that are blocked for the first 2 days ive seen people mention too , so any advice would be appreciated thx