Top 10 Attractions at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is home to over fifty attractions across two parks. There is something for everyone, from thrill seekers to those who want a more relaxing experience and everything in between.
In this post, I’ll be sharing with you my Top 10 Attractions at Disneyland Paris. These are not to be missed.
Honourable Mentions
Before I give you my list, you should know that I am not a big thrill seeker and so Disneyland Paris has several thrill rides that I do not enjoy.
However, if you love big thrills, I would recommend adding the following three rides to your Disneyland Paris checklist:
- Hyperspace Mountain: a Star Wars-themed indoor inverted rollercoaster in Discoveryland.
- Crush’s Coaster: a part dark-ride, part spinning coaster in the Walt Disney Studios Park.
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: drop attraction which takes place in a haunted hotel in the Walt Disney Studios Park.
So, without further ado, here’s my Top 10 Attractions at Disneyland Paris.
10. La Tanière du Dragon
One of the things I love about Disneyland Paris is the amount of walkthrough attractions in Disneyland Park. These walkthrough attractions are not rides per se, but they are worth exploring. And the great news is they usually have no wait.
My favourite of these walkthrough attractions is La Tanière du Dragon.
Most people spend time admiring Sleeping Beauty Castle when they visit Disneyland Paris, but many don’t realise there is a dragon you can go and visit in the basement.
La Tanière du Dragon (The Dragon’s Lair) sees you enter a dark cave and come face to face with a 27-m wide Audio Animatronic dragon. The dragon is a truly impressive figure. If you look closely, you can see its claws and tail moving in the water and, every so often, it lifts its head and breathes smoke from its nostrils.
It is very realistic, so this might not be a good place to take young children, but I personally love the dragon. It is something unique to Disneyland Paris and a great place to explore in the middle of the afternoon when some of the more popular rides have very long waits.
9. Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
This attraction is definitely something everyone can enjoy.
Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast is an interactive 3D game which sees you join Buzz Lightyear to help him defeat the evil Emperor Zurg.
What’s great about this attraction is that it is a game. You can have a competition with your family to see who gets the highest score and the game element means you’ll want to keep riding again and again throughout your trip to try and beat your own score.
Kids will love this ride too because it's very colourful and there is so much to look at. I spot something new almost every time I ride.
Buzz Lightyear often gets a long wait, so it is a good ride to do earlier in the morning or even during Extra Magic Hours to avoid those long queues.
Overall, Buzz is one of the most universal rides at Disneyland Paris. Everyone can enjoy it and the game element gives it big points for re-rideability.
8. Peter Pan's Flight
Peter Pan’s Flight is a Disney classic. This Fantasyland dark ride sees you board a pirate ship to soar over the skies of London and off to Neverland with Peter Pan and Wendy.
This ride is truly magical. The ‘flying’ element sets it above the other dark rides in my opinion, and the fluorescent-coloured sets below are so detailed and beautiful to look at.
If you are travelling with young kids, this should be at the top of your list for rides to experience at Disneyland Paris. I remember this being one of my absolute favourites as a child and I think it’s partly that nostalgia that makes me love it to this day.
There’s just one problem with Peter Pan’s Flight: it always has a massive line.
My best recommendation is to ride during Extra Magic Hours or, if you have a bit left over in your holiday budget, to pay for Premier Access to ride it at least once.
7. Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing
This might seem like a strange choice for a Top 10 Attractions list, but I think the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing is one of the most relaxing rides at Disneyland Paris. I must admit, this one has been a recent addition to my favourites, but it has easily become one of the rides I most look forward to.
The Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing is a 15-minute trip around the Rivers of the Far West in Frontierland aboard the Molly Brown, a 19th-century-style paddle steamer.
During the ride, you get some unique views of Frontierland you can’t get from anywhere else in the park. My favourite sections are getting to see the detailed rockwork of Big Thunder Mountain close up and the geyser next to Phantom Manor.
There are a few cabins on board where you can sit down, but I recommend standing up on either the top or second level of the boat for the best views.
The Thunder Mesa Riverboat is a great attraction to do in the middle of the afternoon. The only waiting you generally have to do is for the boat to arrive back at the dock, which shouldn’t be longer than about 10 minutes.
One thing to bear in mind though: the Thunder Mesa Riverboat tends to close several hours before the park does. The last few times I’ve visited, it has closed at 5pm, so mid-afternoon is definitely a good choice here.
It might not be the most exciting thing you can do at Disneyland Paris, but Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing is one of the most relaxing rides at the resort and in my opinion, it’s well worth taking a trip around the Rivers of the Far West at least once during your trip.
6. It's a Small World
It’s a Small World is another classic Disney attraction. The original dates all the way back to the 1964/5 New York World’s Fair and has since found a home in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Hong Kong and, of course, Paris.
It’s a Small World is a slow moving boat ride featuring hundreds of dolls of children from across the world singing the song ‘It’s a Small World’.
This ride is great for all ages and there are so many details to look at that you can ride it again and again and still find new things you’ve never seen before.
But it’s not just the ride itself that’s worth looking at. The attraction façade is so beautiful, painted in pastel colours and designed in the style of artist Mary Blair. It is one of my absolute favourite photo locations in the park.
Another big plus for It’s a Small World is that it is a very fast-loading ride, which means you usually don’t have to wait more than 10-15 minutes in line. Given that the ride itself is around 10 minutes long, you’re really getting value for the time you’re waiting in line.
It’s a Small World is one of the most quintessentially Disney attractions at Disneyland Paris. And I know you like the song really.
5. Spiderman WEB Adventure
Spiderman WEB Adventure is one of the newest attractions at Disneyland Paris. It opened last year as part of the brand new Avengers Campus at the Walt Disney Studios Park.
Spiderman WEB Adventure is a 3D interactive game attraction which sees you join Spiderman to help him defeat the spiderbots which have taken over the WEB facility.
The technology here is amazing. Unlike Buzz Lightyear, you use your own hands to fire the webs at the spiderbots and it is a lot easier to tell whether you have hit something or not than any other interactive rides I’ve been on at Disney.
The one disadvantage of using your hands and arms is that it is quite a tiring ride, so you probably won’t want to ride this more than once a day.
Since this is a new attraction, it consistently has a long wait. There is a single rider queue, but in my experience, it doesn’t move that quickly as the ride vehicle configuration of 4 guests per row isn’t conducive with allowing lots of single riders.
There is, of course, also the option of paying for Premier Access. However, if you want to avoid paying, the best thing to do is head to Spiderman WEB Adventure first thing in the morning.
Spiderman WEB Adventure is the best interactive ride at Disneyland Paris and a lot of fun to play with the whole family. I’m not a Marvel fan at all, and I still really enjoyed this ride.
4. Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Remy
Ratatouille is a Disneyland Paris original, having opened here in 2014 at the Walt Disney Studios Park.
This attraction is a 3D trackless dark ride where you join Remy as he tries to escape from Chef Skinner and get back to his own kitchen. The ride combines 3D screens with larger-than-life sets to give the illusion that you’ve been shrunk down to the size of a rat.
Ratatouille is a really cute family ride and it is probably my favourite Pixar film of all time, so it's no surprise that I love this ride.
What’s really cool here as well is that the ride ends just outside Bistrot Chez Remy, and you can see into the restaurant. If you can, book a meal here as the theming is lovely and the food is pretty tasty too.
Ratatouille does get busy, but my biggest tip here is to use the single rider line.
If you don’t know, single rider is a special line where those who are riding the ride alone fill in the spare spaces in the ride vehicles. It is not just for solo travellers though. If you are travelling with a group of adults or teenagers and you all don’t mind riding alone (i.e. sitting next to strangers), you can use the single rider line. You will wait in the queue together and then be split up just before boarding.
In my experience, single rider works really well at Ratatouille. I’ve seen the standby line be 60 minutes and only waited 10-15 minutes in the single rider line. Now this is of course not a guarantee as the single rider wait time is less predictable since it is based on the configuration of groups in the main line, but I think it can save you a lot of time at Ratatouille.
Ratatouille is a great addition to Walt Disney Studios and one of the only family-friendly rides in that park. If you love the film, you will love this ride.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most detailed and immersive rides at Disneyland Paris.
It is a boat ride taking you through the story of a group of pirates who have invaded a Caribbean town. Everything comes together here to make the perfect Disney attraction: Audio animatronics, detailed sets, smells, special effects and, of course, a great soundtrack in ‘Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirate’s Life for Me’.
For me, the experience starts as soon as you enter the queue because this is my favourite queue area at Disneyland Paris.
The queue takes you through an abandoned Spanish Caribbean fort. Not only are there lots of things to look at, but the interior section of the queue is perfect for all times of year. It stays cool in the summer and keeps you warm in the winter. It is one of the only inside queues at Disneyland Paris, so this is a bonus.
Plus, Pirates of the Caribbean is extremely fast-loading. Even on busy days, I have never waited more than 20 minutes for this ride, even though it is one of the most popular attractions in the park.
Anyway, once you do board the boat, the first thing you see is Captain Jack’s Restaurant, which looks really pretty with brightly coloured lights. On a side note, if you like seafood, I would recommend eating here on your trip.
Pirates of the Caribbean actually has some thrilling elements too as you go up a big lift hill and then, after passing by some pirates trying to escape jail, you plunge down quite a big drop. It’s not too scary, but very young children may not like it.
The main section of the ride takes you past show scenes from the Caribbean town with lots of Audio Animatronics and some amazingly realistic fire effects before you head down a second, smaller drop into the caverns.
This part of the ride has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years. They added a new Captain Barbosa animatronic which has amazing special effects before ending by sailing past Captain Jack Sparrow sat atop a massive pile of treasure and triumphantly singing ‘Yo Ho Yo Ho’.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney classic attraction and has long been one of my absolute favourites. The entire experience from the queue right through to the moment you step out of the boat immerses you in a pirate adventure and the recently-added tie-ins to the film franchise only add to the immersion in my opinion.
And, as I said before, the fact that this ride is so good and rarely has a long wait is fantastic.
2. Phantom Manor
Phantom Manor is Disneyland Paris’ version of the Haunted Mansion.
In Paris, the manor has a decrepit look, so there’s no mistaking what kind of ride you’re in for as you walk in through the front door. Phantom Manor also has an incredibly detailed backstory tying it to the rest of Frontierland.
As the story goes, the manor was built by Henry Ravenswood, the man who owned the Big Thunder Mountain mine across the water. Henry had a daughter, Melanie, who is the bride you see throughout the attraction. On the day of the wedding, Melanie’s groom inexplicably disappeared and the house was invaded by spirits and the mysterious phantom, who guests discover is behind the disappearance.
For many years, the identity of the phantom remained a secret, but when the ride was updated in 2019, Imagineers added extra clues to finally reveal that the phantom is Henry Ravenswood himself, intent on keeping his daughter in Thunder Mesa forever.
Phantom Manor is a lot spookier in tone than its American counterparts. There are plenty of elements that Haunted Mansion will recognise, including the stretching room, the singing busts and the song Grim Grinning Ghosts, but also new scenes, such as Phantom Canyon, an underworld version of Frontierland inhabited by ghosts.
Phantom Manor can get a long wait, but the wait time tends to fluctuate throughout the day, so you will probably get on it at some point with a 15-minute wait or less.
Phantom Manor is a fantastic ride with special effects that stand the test of time, a great soundtrack and a really cool story. I would definitely recommend you check it out on a visit to Disneyland Paris.
1. Big Thunder Mountain
My favourite attraction at Disneyland Paris is Big Thunder Mountain. Located in Frontierland, Paris’ version of this attraction is truly the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness.
What sets this one apart is that Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris is set on an island in the middle of the Rivers of the Far West in Frontierland. To get to that island, your runaway mine train hurtles through two pitch-black tunnels taking you underneath the water and back again. I don’t know whether it’s just the darkness, but these sections of the ride feel particularly fast and thrilling.
The main section of the ride is very similar to the other Big Thunder Mountains. It is a classic coaster taking you up, down and around the mountain, with some nice details on both lift hills to look out for. The special effects when going up the third lift hill in particular, which make it look as if an explosion is about to happen in the mine, are really well done and help to add story as well as thrill to this beloved Disney attraction.
As you would expect from such a fantastic ride, Big Thunder Mountain always has a long queue. If you are staying at a Disney hotel, this ride is usually open in Extra Magic Hours, and this is the best time to ride it. Often, I actually manage to ride it with a minimal wait twice during Extra Magic Hours, which is great.
Of course, Big Thunder Mountain also offers Premier Access, but it is the most expensive ride to pay for in the park, maxing out at €18. So, if you can, ride it in Extra Magic Hours to avoid the extra cost and a long wait in line.
Big Thunder Mountain is a thrilling ride without inversions, so I find it to be the perfect level of thrill for me. If you only do one ride at Disneyland Paris, make it Big Thunder Mountain. It has great thrills, beautiful scenery and is all in all a classic Disney rollercoaster.
So, as you can see, Disneyland Paris has so many fantastic attractions for everyone to enjoy. I love the mix of thrill rides, dark rides and immersive experiences offered at the parks and think Disneyland Paris has some of the best rides to be found at any of the Disney Parks around the world.
If you’ve visited Disneyland Paris, what is your favourite attraction? If you haven’t, which one would you love to experience one day? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading. See you next time.
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