I've been to Disneyland several times already, and I've also written about it several times already. The last time was in May 2017. Since then we've been a few more times, but the last time was in December 2019. In the meantime we're now almost 2.5 years further along, and there's a new trip on the calendar again! Why? Disneyland is turning 30, and I'm turning 30 this calendar year. A good excuse, right? Because of their birthday, there are also other shows, and hopefully new attractions too. Building excitement beforehand is part of travelling for me too, and this is how I want to share that excitement with you.

Disney's Sequoia Lodge at Disneyland Paris

Ever since we discovered this hotel, we don't really want to stay anywhere else. Every time we work out again what the best option is for us, in terms of price and what we want. We also always check whether, for example, separate tickets and a stay outside Disney end up cheaper enough to genuinely be worth it. Every time we conclude that we'd rather pay a bit more, so we can stay within walking distance and make use of the extra hour in the morning. Separate tickets for four days and two parks already cost 336 euros per person in summer! That's 672 euros in entry fees for two adults... In short, we'd rather book a package deal, and at the Sequoia Lodge.

Beyond Disney Village, Disneyland Paris has a lake. Three hotels sit on this lake, Hotel New York, Sequoia Lodge and Newport Bay. The location is genuinely perfect, since you're through the entrance gates of one of the parks within 15 minutes. Sequoia Lodge is also the cheapest option of the three hotels above. As far as we're concerned the value for money is perfect, the beds are genuinely good and so are the bathrooms. The hotel looks like an oversized lodge in the middle of the woods. You see wood everywhere, and cosy fireplaces in the common areas. The hotel also has a pool and its own breakfast room. Do note that this hotel doesn't have rooms with any kind of balcony, there's no mini fridge, and there are no facilities to make coffee/tea in the room.
It doesn't look super modern, but the quality is high and it's clean.

Eating at Disneyland Paris

Food is always genuinely a whole thing for us. We've already tried several approaches, and we've now settled on what works best for us. First of all, breakfast usually isn't included by default and you have to add it separately. Our dilemma was as follows, add half board or arrange everything ourselves? We've done both at some point.

Arranging food yourself

Want full control over everything yourself? That's definitely possible. If breakfast isn't included with your stay, you can book a breakfast buffet, or have breakfast at one of the many restaurants. Booking a separate breakfast buffet isn't a tip I'd give. It's usually really expensive, and you don't get your money's worth eating there. Where can you eat well instead? At Earl of Sandwich in Disney Village. It really doesn't look like much, but they have a breakfast menu for a great price. On average we were done for 20 euros for two people. It was also really quiet in that restaurant.
For lunch there are plenty of counter restaurants, which work like a McDonald's. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out where the food is good and where it isn't. Since I haven't been there in a while, I don't really dare make a statement on that. What I do recommend, though, are mainly the restaurants in Disney Village. It's noticeable that it's often quieter there, and the quality of the food is higher.

Want to eat well in the evening? Then it is an investment, but I do have a few tips for dinner by now. The biggest tip. Book a restaurant as soon as you can!
Where not to eat? From our experience(s) we can genuinely advise against two restaurants, since you pay way too much money for cold food, little variety, poor service and thus poor food overall. Captain Jack, in the Disneyland park. The ambiance is genuinely fantastic (inside the Pirates attraction), but the food is genuinely not good. We gave it two chances (well spaced apart), but there was no difference. Cold food, low quality and poor service. Plaza Gardens, a buffet, wasn't a success for us either. Little variety, and as a result not much tasty food. Quality was decent.

Where can you dine well?

Where can you eat well? For a quick bite we were repeatedly enthusiastic about New York Style Sandwiches in Disney Village.

In buffet form, the Agrabah Café is genuinely really lovely (photo on the right). A clear Middle Eastern theme, in the food too. The quality is genuinely high, and you don't pay top price. It's not that big, which means (I think) the staff can keep up the pace well. The food is warm, tasty, and there's something for everyone. It's also not that greasy. Not your standard fries with a meat dish.
Also in buffet form, the restaurant at the Newport Bay hotel, Cape Cod. Loads of choice, luxurious choice, and it's regularly restocked. For a buffet, it gave me a luxurious feeling and I genuinely found it high quality. Genuinely worth it.

We haven't eaten here that often yet, first time was December 2019, but that was genuinely a treat (see photo on the left). Bistrot Chez Rémy has a good menu, friendly service and tasty food too. It can take a bit longer before you're helped, but it's genuinely worth it. The menu is based on French cuisine.
Then lastly the Silver Spur Steakhouse, I'd genuinely love to go back here again. I think I ate here for the first and, immediately, last time almost five years ago (booking a table just never worked out again after that). Even back then it was already a recommendation. It wasn't super cosy inside (it was really just one big hall with tables), but we genuinely had a lovely meal there. Really tasty too!

Meal plan options

At Disney you can also choose meal plan options. We've now experienced this three (?) times, and we find it a real solution. Is it cheap? No. But it's definitely cheaper than eating separately at restaurants with table service and booking separate breakfast buffets. You can choose between half board and full board. With both you get breakfast and dinner, but only with full board do you also get lunch. Your meal plan options are added to your access card in the form of a voucher. If you don't eat in the park one evening, you can use that voucher for, say, lunch the next day. With meal plan options too, it's important to book on time. Here's a solid tip, apparently you can already book restaurants for your stay as soon as you've booked your package (with accommodation). So you don't, I repeat don't, have to wait until three months in advance. That's for people who've only bought an entry ticket.
On top of that, you don't need to book for breakfast, they automatically assume you'll have breakfast at your hotel's restaurant. At check-in you get a time slot to come have breakfast.

A practical note: the app

I genuinely recommend using the app. You can find a lot of information in it, and also do more than you used to be able to. Through the app you can really easily book a table, or book entry tickets for some shows. (You can definitely still attend these shows for free, but buying a ticket guarantees you a spot and means you don't have to stand in line for long). You can also check in online a week in advance nowadays. That genuinely saves you waiting at the check-in desks.
For your stay you'll find the interactive map, current opening hours, which attractions are closed, wait times, parade times and much more.
You can even buy premier access tickets per attraction. These are the old fast-passes, except now you pay for them... Which I personally don't entirely agree with.
By the way, also check before you book which attractions are undergoing maintenance, they always indicate that under "closed attractions". Who knows, you might want to shift your dates after all.
We, for example, went as late as possible (for us) in the summer, since we're hoping the Marvel Avengers Campus will be open by then!

Our plans for Disneyland

What does our rough schedule for Disneyland look like? We're there for four days, so three nights. On the first day we'll set off driving early to be there on time. Read, driving around 6 AM, so we get there around 1 PM (with about an hour of stops factored in). We'll check in right away, so we can get into the park. We'll leave the luggage in the car, since you can't get into your room until after 3 PM.
We'll then spend the first day getting acclimatised in the Disneyland park. Running in and out of all the shops, on the hunt for the perfect ears, and squeezing in a few attractions already. We'll probably also catch a show, Disney's Stars on Parade. We'll eat the first evening at the Agrabah Café, buffet style, so we can relax a bit and grab whatever we feel like. After that we usually stroll back to the hotel, to chill out after half a day of travelling and walking around the park.
Day two, hopping around Disneyland, eating at the Silver Spur Steakhouse, day three, running around the Studios park to go out for dinner at Bistrot Chez Rémy.
What we do on our last day depends on how we're feeling, and how productive our days have already been attraction-wise. Sometimes we go into another park, and sometimes we head home early via a nearby shopping centre.

My pre-trip excitement has already kicked in since we booked, and I can't wait until the end of July!