Are the Disneyland Paris extras worth paying for?

Disneyland Paris is very good at tempting you to spend just a little bit more. Whether those extras are genuinely worth it, however, depends on what matters most to your family, how long you have in the parks and what you are prepared to queue for.

Reserved viewing

From around €24 (£20) per person

Reserved viewing can save a huge amount of waiting time. But—and for me this is a very big but—its value depends on how many days you have in the parks and how important the parade or nighttime show is to you.

If you only have one day and seeing the fireworks from a good position is the highlight of your visit, then yes, I can understand paying for it. Sod's Law dictates that, otherwise, a delightful parent will hoist their equally delightful child onto their shoulders directly in front of you as the show begins, without giving a rat's arse about the equally precious children standing behind them.

And yes, this happened to me. I have never come closer to swearing in a thoroughly un-Disney-like manner during a Disney visit.

Reserved viewing may also be worthwhile if you struggle with crowds or cannot comfortably stand in one place for a long time.

Alex and I chose to plant ourselves down and wait. If you do the same, arrive prepared with snacks, drinks and something waterproof to sit on. I sat on what appeared to be a perfectly dry kerb, only to discover after 90 minutes that my numb bottom was actually soaking wet thanks to one tiny strip of moss between the paving stones.

As always, these minor inconveniences eventually become funny stories that enhance the trip. Although that definitely had nothing to do with my increasingly un-Disney-like feelings towards the child-hoisting parent in front of us.

My verdict: Potentially worth it for a one-day visit, anyone who struggles with prolonged standing or crowds, or those determined to secure a good view. Less essential when you have several opportunities to catch the show.

Premier Access

FastPass has now been replaced by Disney Premier Access. Is it worth paying for? In my opinion, usually not—but Alex and I are both reasonably happy to queue.

We arrive prepared with things to keep us occupied, and queueing feels like part of the experience. It also gives my head and stomach time to settle, particularly when Alex decides he would like to ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror for a second time. I am not built for rides that drop like that, but I put my big-girl knickers on because I refuse to let him miss out.

The Disneyland Paris app is very useful for checking live waiting times. We normally begin towards the back of the park and work our way forward, as many visitors naturally start with the attractions nearest the entrance. We also make a list of our must-do rides and prioritise those.

If there is one attraction you are determined to experience and the queue simply is not shifting, Premier Access One may be helpful. You pay for fast-track access to one chosen attraction at an allocated time. Prices vary according to the attraction and demand, and buying it for several people or multiple rides can mount up quickly.

Premier Access Ultimate provides one Premier Access entry to each participating attraction on that day. Not every ride is included, and the price can be substantial. Once you multiply it across a family of four, Disney suddenly becomes very expensive indeed.

My verdict: Premier Access One can be useful for one particularly important ride. Ultimate makes more sense when you only have a short visit, the parks are exceptionally busy and riding as many headline attractions as possible matters more than the cost.

Disability access

Guests with qualifying disabilities may be eligible for a Disneyland Paris Priority Card, which is separate from paid Premier Access.

At present, the Disneyland Paris process is not the same as the live interview system used at the American Disney parks. Applications can be started online before the visit, and qualifying evidence of disability must be shown when collecting the card.

Because eligibility rules, accepted documents and access arrangements can change, this information should always be checked directly with Disneyland Paris before travelling.

Character dining

Character dining can cost around £68–£82 per adult and £34–£43 per child, depending on the restaurant and experience.

Whether it is worthwhile comes down to two things: how much time you have and how important meeting the characters is to your family.

During our Halloween visit, my niece had to meet Stitch. It was her one thing. We had not pre-booked character dining, and by the time we considered it, the available meals had sold out.

There are character meet-and-greets throughout the parks, but be prepared for long waits. The queue may effectively be full before the advertised meeting time even begins. My family joined the Stitch queue around 30 minutes early and were already near the back. They waited for approximately three hours and spent perhaps five minutes with him.

Did it make my niece's Disney trip? Yes.

Could we have approached it differently? Also yes.

Would character dining have solved the problem? Maybe—but here is the catch: you cannot normally guarantee that the particular character you want will appear at your meal. Exact character line-ups are generally not announced in advance and can change.

Even at the higher end, an adult and child may cost around £120 together, while a family of four could be looking at roughly £240. You do receive a meal, but the food itself is unlikely to be something you could not enjoy elsewhere. The real value lies in having several characters come to your table without spending hours in separate queues.

If one particular character mattered to me, I would still invest the time in their dedicated meet-and-greet and arrive early. For a younger child who would be thrilled simply to share a meal with a selection of Disney characters—and who was less interested in fitting in every ride—character dining could be a much better use of both time and money.

My verdict: Worth considering when meeting several characters is a major part of the holiday. Less valuable if you want one specific character or, like me, would rather spend the day on the rides.

PhotoPass+

Character meetings also raise the question of whether to buy Disney's photo package.

You can take your own photographs, but the characters are usually looking and posing towards the official photographer. If character interactions are going to be an important part of your visit, the package may be worthwhile for capturing those moments properly.

Personally, I am more interested in the rides, so I am quite happy to see most of the characters during the parade. You know your family, and only you can decide which memories are worth paying extra to preserve.

Disney food and Halloween snacks

This is something I deliberately budget for.

For me, Mickey waffles are part of the experience. So is a wildly overpriced hot dog. I know I could eat more cheaply elsewhere, but I also know I would want the Disney food once I was surrounded by it.

My suggestion is to eat a good breakfast and set aside a realistic amount for drinks, snacks and at least one Disney treat. You can leave the parks and eat in Disney Village if you would prefer more choice or want to manage the cost more carefully.

A practical plan is to complete your must-do attractions in the Studios park first, stop for food, and then move into Disneyland Park in time for the parade and nighttime show.

Embrace some of the themed food. It is absolutely something to budget for, but you may kick yourself if you have left no room for it at all.

My verdict: Yes, within reason. Choose the treats that feel like part of the experience rather than trying to sample everything.

Merchandise

Once again: budget for it.

Try telling your children—or your other half—that nobody is buying Mickey ears while almost everyone around them appears to be wearing a pair.

Ears, lanyards and pins are among the items we most often bring home. They are not essential, but they become wearable souvenirs during the visit and keepsakes afterwards.

Pin collecting and trading is an experience in itself. When participating Cast Members have an official trading lanyard or board, guests can offer an eligible official Disney pin in exchange for one displayed. It turns browsing the parks into a treasure hunt and can create some lovely interactions along the way.

My advice would be to agree on a budget before entering the shops. Disney is extraordinarily skilled at making everything feel essential once you are standing in front of it.

My verdict: Budget for one meaningful souvenir rather than pretending nobody will want anything and then panic-buying on the final afternoon.

So, which extras are actually worth it?

There is no universal answer.

Reserved viewing may be invaluable to somebody who cannot stand in a dense crowd for 90 minutes. Premier Access may transform a one-day visit but feel unnecessary during a relaxed three-day stay. Character dining could be the highlight of one child's holiday and a very expensive interruption to another child's ride schedule.

The important question is not simply:

Is this extra worth the money?

It is:

Will this extra improve the part of the holiday that matters most to us?

Disney will happily tempt you to buy everything. You do not need everything. Decide what your family values, budget for those moments deliberately, and feel absolutely no guilt about skipping the rest.

*Please note prices were correct at the time of publishing but can vary so do need to be checked pre booking a trip