Looking to find out if a full board Disneyland Paris holiday is worth it for your family? Once you’ve booked your travel, accommodation, and Disneyland Paris park tickets, the largest expense you’re going to face is food.
Disneyland Paris has an amazing range of restaurants for all budgets, that can really enhance a visit to the most magical place on earth.
Experiencing a range of different restaurants during your stay can often be achieved at a more affordable rate with a full board Disneyland Paris meal plan.
Taking the hassle out of paying for food ‘as you go’. In today’s post, we’re going to be breaking down the full board Disneyland Paris meal plan, answering those frequently asked questions and finding out whether the full board meal plan is the right one for you.
What Are Disneyland Paris Meal Plans?
Disneyland Paris meal plans are plans that you can purchase in advance, upon arrival or with your room booking that allow you to have credits to use on food at the resort hotels and within the park.
The basics of the meal plans in that your meals are already paid for and all you have to do is find somewhere to eat and relax.
The main premise of the meal plans is that once you have them and any reservations you want you don’t have to worry about money, saving money on food and what to do about meal times.
This can be extremely beneficial especially if you are with children and want to ensure you have meals organised.
The meal plans can be bought as packages that allow you to choose breakfast, lunch and dinner or just lunch and dinner or breakfast and dinner. There are a number of packages and levels in which you can choose to suit your holiday and family.
What Exactly Is Half Board At Disneyland Paris?
At Disneyland Paris, staying with the Half board meal option means that you can have breakfast at the resort, as well as one meal of the day. Either lunch or dinner is in keeping with this ruleset, but not both.
Essentially, the meal plans boil down to having a set of coupons with different monetary values.
If you have a coupon that is worth thirty euros to be redeemed at, for example, dinner, then you simply hand that coupon over when the server comes to offer you the bill.
They will deduct that money from your bill, and you will have to pay any excess fees if you have more than thirty euros worth of food and drink.
With this in mind, a half-board meal plan means that you’re getting two coupons per day – one of them is earmarked for breakfast, and the other is flexible between lunch and dinner.
Half Board Disneyland Paris Meal Plans
There are three different options for the meal plans at Disneyland Paris: standard, plus, and premium. They’re very similar, but there are a few differences that we’d like to explain.
All the prices that we list below are per person, per night booked.
Half Board Standard – Adult £36.49 / Children £24.92
This is the basic option for the meal plans at Disneyland Paris.
Breakfast is included at your hotel’s all-you-can-eat restaurant, and lunch or dinner is provided in a similar fashion.
The lunch or dinner all-you-can-eat options are available in your hotel and also in the parks, and Disney Village.
During the course of your meal, you get one soft drink. This option gives you your choice of six restaurants.
Half Board Plus – Adult £50.73 / Children £33.82
Half board plus is the premium option dining plan and includes 17 of a possible 20 restaurants on site. That’s 12 more options when compared to the standard half-board option.
These 12 additional restaurants include table service restaurants with a set menu.
The cost of the plus dining plan is £14.24 per adult per night or £8.90 per child night which if you enjoy a fine dining experience may be money well spent!
You can see a complete list of the restaurants included in the plus dining plan here.
3 Things Worth Considering When Booking Half Board
Based on our own experience visiting Disneyland Paris both with and without meal plans these are the things we think you should consider when looking to book a half-board package;
1. Saving Money
Using a Disneyland Paris meal plan will surely save you money, there are no two ways about it. The overall costs of a meal while at Disneyland Paris can really add up! What you’re essentially doing is spending your food money in advance.
If you’re wise with your cash, then it’s likely that before every trip you’ll set aside a given amount of money for a food budget. Then, every day, you can go out to eat and take the money from the food budget.
Using the meal plans means that you’re essentially giving Disneyland your food budget, such that you can then stop worrying about taking money out of the food budget. Instead, you can rock up to one of the restaurants, and eat to your heart’s content, knowing that you’re within your budget no matter what.
2. Large Portions
This is really one of the most impressive things about the Disneyland Paris meal plans – they have a lot of food on offer! Of course, this makes a lot of sense – what would a theme park be if it weren’t for hot dogs?
However, because the half-board meal plan includes all-you-can-eat meals twice a day, you might not really need lunch.
We know that if we eat a huge breakfast first thing in the morning then we don’t really think about eating at all until the mid to late afternoon. At that point, dinner is right around the corner.
3. Freedom Of Choice
The freedom of choice of offer with a half-board meal plan is really wonderful! The thing that we love about it is that we do enjoy eating out of our resort on some occasions.
Therefore, on days where we wake up with local restaurants on the brain, we can have lunch at the resort and dinner outside of the resort – it’s a great way for us to spend our holiday!
What Exactly Is Full Board At Disneyland Paris?
Full board Disneyland Paris meal plan includes;
- Breakfast Buffet
- Lunch
- Dinner
For each person (Aged 3+), for each night of your stay.
Why Aged 3+?
All meal plans are only available for children 3 and over. The reason for this is that children under the age of 3 can visit Disneyland Paris for free with a paying adult.
How To Book A Full Board Disneyland Paris Meal Plan
All meal plans are only available to guests who book via the Disneyland Paris website. You’ll need to be staying on-site at a Disneyland Paris (Meal Plans are not available for Guests staying at Villages Nature Paris).
Full Board Disneyland Paris Meal Plans
To make things slightly more complex. Once you’ve decided that you’d like a full board Disneyland Paris meal plan you’ll be asked to suggest the level of your plan.
There are three choices; standard, plus and premium;
Full Board Standard – Adults 52 Euros / Child 37 Euros
The Disneyland Paris full board standard meal plan includes a choice of more than 5 different restaurants within the Disneyland Paris resort. Each meal will come with one soft drink per person.
Full Board Plus – Adults 63 Euros / Child 44 Euros
The full board plus meal plan at Disneyland Paris includes a choice of more than 15 different restaurants within the Disneyland Paris resort.
These restaurants include table service restaurants (unlike the standard meal plan). Each meal comes with one soft drink per person.
Full Board Premium – Adults 101 Euros / Child 66 Euros
The full board premium meal plan at Disneyland Paris includes a choice of more than 20 restaurants within the Disneyland Paris resort. This includes character dining at;
- Plaza Gardens Resturant
- Cafe Mickey
- Auberge de Cendrillon
- Inventions (except for brunch)
As well as second-tier seating at the Buffalo Bills dinner show with Mickey and Friends.
Things To Consider When Booking Full Board
Only you can answer whether the full board Disneyland Paris meal plan is worth it for your trip. However, there are some things to consider that should help you decide.
Fussy Eaters
The standard full board Disneyland Paris meal plan provides limited dining options. Especially for lunch and dinner. It’s therefore important that you ensure the restaurants that may compliment a fussy eater are available.
We’d also suggest booking your reservation at these restaurants in advance during peak times to avoid any disappointment.
If you’re expecting to have to make sandwiches or other pre-packed snacks for a fussy eater then a full board dining plan may go to waste.
Appetites
While the meal sizes aren’t quite as big as you’d find at Walt Disney World or Disneyland California.
The portions are still of substantial size and can provide you with a full stomach for the rest of the day. Therefore consider whether you’re likely to be having all three meals that the full board Disneyland Paris meal plan offers every day.
If you think you’re only likely to snack over lunch after a buffet breakfast then you might want to consider opting for a half-board instead of a full board Disneyland Paris meal plan.
Budget
There’s no doubt that taking pre-packed sandwiches and snacks for a picnic within the park is going to save you a significant amount of money compared to dining on a full board package.
It’s therefore important to decide how you might like to spend your money or whether you have extra money to spare.
If an increase from the Disneyland Paris half board meal plan to a full board meal plan is 100 euros, but you expect that you could ‘get away with’ just spending 20 euros on snacks for lunch during your visit.
Then you’ll be left with 80 euros to spend on other things within the park – which in our case means more souvenirs!
Occasions
If you’re travelling to Disneyland Paris for a particular occasion then you might want to celebrate with a table service meal.
For kids, this might include a restaurant with a character meet and greet, or for adults, this might include a luxury la carte meal or show.
As highlighted in our money maximising tips, you might find that the price difference between booking a ‘one-off’ celebratory meal or a premium full board Disneyland Paris package is actually rather small. Making the value for money of the full board package more worthwhile.
How To Reserve A Table At A Disneyland Paris Resturant
You can book a table at a Disneyland Paris restaurant up to two months prior to your arrival. While a reservation isn’t required, it’s highly recommended – especially during busy periods.
You can place a reservation by calling +33 (0)1 60 30 40 50 (international call rates apply). Alternatively, you can book a table on your arrival at the Disneyland Paris hotel via reception.
Money-Saving / Maximising Tips!
Here are some of the hints and tips we’ve learnt when it comes to saving money (or making money go further) when eating at Disneyland Paris;
Free Breakfast
If you book a room or a suite at The Castle Club, Empire State Club, Compass Club, Golden Forest Club or at the Algonquin’s Explorers Hotel then breakfast is free.
Free Half Board
Disneyland Paris regularly offers free half board meal plans when booking a holiday package directly on the Disneyland Paris website.
The terms of the offer will vary depending on when you book. At the time of writing Disneyland Paris were offering a complimentary half board for the entire length of your stay if you stay in a Disney Hotel or at Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch.
Upgrading Select Meals
Should you wish to simply upgrade your dining experience for one meal. You can pay the standard price, and simply pay the difference for a plus or premium dining experience on receipt of the meal.
For example, if you have a plus voucher for a meal but want to eat at a premium restaurant you’ll need to pay 35 euros per adult and 17.50 euros per child.
This is great if you’re visiting for three days but only want one ultra-special premium meal.
Annual Pass Discounts
There are currently four annual pass levels available for Disneyland Paris. Those with a Magic Plus or Infinity annual pass are able to gain discounts on meals.
The discount varies depending on the restaurant and the annual pass level so we suggest visiting the Disneyland Paris annual pass page directly to find out what you’ll be eligible for.
Maximising Your Full Board Meal Class
If you’re planning on upgrading from a standard full board meal plan at Disneyland Paris to the plus or premium options. Then ensure you take advantage of the additional benefits of doing so. This particularly applies to the premium meal plans.
You can maximise your premium meal plan by;
Attending The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show
If you purchase a premium full board Disneyland Paris meal plan then you’re eligible for 2nd category tickets for the Buggalo Bill Wild West Show.
The standard price of these tickets is 63 euros (56 euros at the time of writing) for adults and 47 euros (42 euros at the time of writing) for children.
With the cost of a premium full board meal being 101 euros for adults. A visit to this show makes the rest of the meal plan for the day set at a value of just 45 euros.
Character Dining
Premium meal plans at Disneyland Paris come with a range of character dining options. I suggest dining at a character dining restaurant for both lunch and dinner.
Taking, for example, Cafe Mickey dining here costs 65 euros for adults and 35 euros for children. Considering the premium full board meal is 101 euros this once again reduces the value of your other two meals down to around 45 euros per adult.
Thanks to character dining you can meet the following characters while dining on some fantastic food;
Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla at Auberge de Cendrillon
Rafiki, Captain Hook, Pluto, Eeyore, Goofy, Daisy, Donald at Inventions
Minnie, Tigger, Chip, Dale, Eyeore, Piglet, Mickey, Daisy, Donald at Plaza Gardens Breakfast
Goofy, Mickey, Tigger, Minnie, Daisy, Donald, Pluto, Eeyore at Cafe Mickey
Characters will vary, there is no guarantee you’ll meet all the characters during one dining experience.
Eating All Three Meals
It goes without saying that if you want to maximise your full board Disneyland Paris meal plan at then you’re going to want to eat all three meals.
If you don’t think you could eat all three meals every day then I’d advise you to look at a half-board option instead.
The half board meal plans can be upgraded (standard, plus and premium) so you can still enhance your dining experience.
