Quiet time to go to Disneyland Paris

One of the more common comments or concerns people share when they know I go on lots of Disney holidays is "isn't Disney really busy?" or "I'd love to go, but it is way too many people".

There is no getting away from the fact that yes, going on Disney holidays will involve lots of people, they are some of the best theme parks in the world, enjoyed by thousands of thousands of people daily.

Disneyland Paris is no exception. So lets talk about the best time to go to avoid crowds, and you don't have to take my word for it, I've asked three Disneyland Paris experts to chime in with their opinions too. Hopefully between us we've come up with a useful list for you.

Before we get into it. This article assumes that you want to go when it is most quiet. There are certainly up sides to visiting during more busy times. There are often longer opening hours and more shows and experiences on. So please don't think this is a guide to the best time to go to Disneyland Paris. To answer that you need to think about what you want out of your holiday. If you really want to meet Jack Skellington, you probably don't want to visit in Febuary ;-)

When I think is a quiet time to visit Disneyland Paris

In my personal opinion, the beginning of February is an excellent time to go if you want to avoid the crowds. It is just before a large French school holiday so the park is gearing up for lots of people (so lots of things will be open and on). It was cold when we went, but nothing that a few extra layers can't solve.

The official answer

There is actually a frequently asked question on the Disneyland Paris website that gives the official answer;

If you want to visit when the number of Guests is fairly low, plan to stay mid-week (Tuesdays to Thursdays) during mid-January through mid-March or mid-April through mid-May. The benefit of visiting the Resort when the number of Guests is low is that waiting times are shorter. However, there may be fewer scheduled shows and events during these periods.

That seems to match up with my personal experience, but what do our Disneyland Paris experts think?

Times that are more quiet in Disneyland Paris

Massive thanks to Stuart, who runs DisneylandParis Tips For Irish who when we asked about this provided a thorough breakdown.

January once the Christmas rush is over
Mid-March
Late April
Mid-June
Mid-Sept
Mid-Oct
Early Nov before the Christmas rush starts up again
Early Dec, again, before Christmas really gets going

As you can see, some of this overlaps with the official answer, but there are certainly some other times you could find outside of that.

Think about days, not just months

Megan, of MeganLovesMagic on TikTok fame thinks that January is usually the most quiet, and most cheap time to visit. She also mentioned checking for European school holidays before booking, you might be tempted to think all schools are off when schools in your area are, but that just isn't the case.

One great tip she shared is to try and book during the week if you can. Monday - Thursday are going to be much more quiet than Friday - Sunday, as you avoid the weekend crowd.

I must admit we normally try and do Monday - Friday and have found the parks way less busy than the weekend.

Work out when is quiet to travel to Disneyland Paris

Of course being in the parks is only one side of the story. You also need to factor in travelling. When we lived in London we did get the train once to Disneyland Paris and as you would expect it was busy with people clearly going.

We spoke with Rob from DLP Pickups, who regularly visits Disneyland Paris, driving over from England.

As we've mentioned, it pays to think about French school holidays, but don't forget the holidays in your home country.

He said there is normally better availability for the shuttle and cheaper to travel tickets available when you travel outside of UK school term time. With March always seeming quite good.

When in doubt, check prices

Like most places, Disneyland Paris change their pricing based on demand. Things are more expensive when they are busiest. As we've mentioned throughout this article, it is often cheaper to go during these quiet times. But the opposite is also true.

If you look at a calendar on the Disneyland Paris website and notice that the prices are cheaper one of the weeks, it could very possibly mean that this is when they think they are going to be quiet and want to incentivise people to come.

Disneyland Paris have a helpful trip calculator

An example of the Disneyland Paris trip calculator

Thank you so much, Disneyland Paris experts!

Thank you so much to Stuart, Megan, and Rob for sharing your top tips!

I can't believe this article is nearly 1000 words long! I guess there isn't just one right answer to the most quiet time to go!

That being said, hopefully you found this useful, please do comment below with your personal tips or experiences with visiting Disneyland Paris.

Written by tosbourn - Saturday 29 July 2023

This article was last updated on Tuesday 08 August 2023.