DLP crowd patterns

[RangerPooh]

we are frequent visitors to DLR and WDW and know the crowd patterns well, but DLP is a whole different beast. Can you provide insight into what we should expect crowd wise for the second and third weeks of June? Also, are the mornings typically ‘lower’ crowds like at the US parks or should we anticipate larger crowds at park opening?

Speaking of park opening, how much time before park opening do you recommend arriving? We’re use to arriving an hour before opening so waiting is not an issue.

This is our first trip and we’re trying to be as prepared as possible. Thank you!

 

[BadPinkTink]

Weekends and school holidays are high crowd times. As Disneyland Paris / France has neighbouring countries, you also need to check UK/ Ireland/ Spain/ Germany/ Italy school holidays as they also impact on crowd levels.

General Park opening is normally 10am. Extra Magic Time is from 8.30am in both parks. EMT is available for ALL onsite guests, ie anyone who stays at Disneyland Hotel, Hotel New York, Sequoia Lodge, Newport Bay, Cheyenne and Santa Fe. The Partner / Good Neighbour Hotels, Kyraid, Magic Circus, Dream Castle, Explorers do not have access to EMT.

I usually stay onsite and enter the park in EMT. When you enter for EMT there is usually no queue maybe just one family ahead of you.

If you do not have access to EMT and have to wait for general opening, most people advise being there around 9am

 

[JessicaRabbit13]

Schools in Europe generally tend to end for summer anytime from the end of June until July so the last few weeks of June will be quite busy. Not as busy as July though. Weekends will be packed and I would avoid if possible.

Mornings and evenings are generally quieter, similarly to the US parks. We usually do as many rides early mornings and last few hours as the queues are shorter, but we have a break/lunch or catch a show in the afternoon from around 12/1pm as it will much busier.

If staying onsite or buying higher level APs I would recommend arriving for extra magic at 8 for 8.30 opening. If you are not able to access extra magic then I would arrive by 9/9.15. Park officially opens at 10, however they let people in at 9.30. The studios at 9.30 normally allow everyone on rides, but in the main park they have Frontierland and Adventureland ropes off until 10.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

How does a busy day in DLP compare to a busy day in WDW? I’ve been watching the wait times on the app, so I’m more concerned with just the volume of people.

 

[Karin1984]

How does a busy day in DLP compare to a busy day in WDW? I’ve been watching the wait times on the app, so I’m more concerned with just the volume of people.

I always find these kind of questions hard to answer as 'busy' is such a subjective term. I think the 'busy'-feeling has a lot more to do with how big a park is.
Disneyland Anaheim and the Magic Kingdom both have more rides in a smaller space than Disneyland Paris, so even of you have the same number of guests in the park, as they have to spread more in Paris, it will feel less busy.

But to be fair, Magic Kingdom welcomed 20.4 million guests in 2017, Disneyland Paris 14.8 million. Roughly 56.000 guests vs. 40.500 guests per day.
But the Magic Kingdom has more rides, shows, characters than Disneyland Paris, on the other hand French guests tend to take their time for lunch/dinner, hence sometimes longer waits at restaurants than at certain rides. Another factor is that it is so easy to park hop, so guests move quickly from one park to the next which is of impact. Both positive and negative, of the Park is really busy, some people stick to the less busy Studios but the Studios close earlier than the Park and people go back for evening entertainment.

Yes, it can get very busy at Disneyland Paris, but wait times like in Magic Kingdom in summer or at Christmas with 3-figure waiting times are rare (in my experience).

 

[aripantaloon]

Thanks for the info! We are going mid-August and will unfortunately be going over a weekend. It was too hard to come mid-week. We are staying onsite and will take advantage of EMH. We will be there 2 full days plus 2 partial days, so that should be enough time to see all that we want.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I always find these kind of questions hard to answer as 'busy' is such a subjective term. I think the 'busy'-feeling has a lot more to do with how big a park is.
Disneyland Anaheim and the Magic Kingdom both have more rides in a smaller space than Disneyland Paris, so even of you have the same number of guests in the park, as they have to spread more in Paris, it will feel less busy.

But to be fair, Magic Kingdom welcomed 20.4 million guests in 2017, Disneyland Paris 14.8 million. Roughly 56.000 guests vs. 40.500 guests per day.
But the Magic Kingdom has more rides, shows, characters than Disneyland Paris, on the other hand French guests tend to take their time for lunch/dinner, hence sometimes longer waits at restaurants than at certain rides. Another factor is that it is so easy to park hop, so guests move quickly from one park to the next which is of impact. Both positive and negative, of the Park is really busy, some people stick to the less busy Studios but the Studios close earlier than the Park and people go back for evening entertainment.

Yes, it can get very busy at Disneyland Paris, but wait times like in Magic Kingdom in summer or at Christmas with 3-figure waiting times are rare (in my experience).

I am mortified to have missed this very thoughtful reply - thank you so much! I agree that busyness is very subjective and depends greatly on the park layout, but the numbers you provide are really helpful. I’m resigned to it being busy and our main focus will be the Christmas shows and fun, so I’m guessing we will have lots of early mornings and late nights. Thank you!