Beyond the parks at Disneyland Paris
The resort has its own train station at the park gates, and it's the reason a Disneyland Paris trip doesn't have to stay inside the Disney bubble. A short ride up the line is Val d'Europe, a covered shopping centre with a big supermarket, an aquarium and a designer outlet. Central Paris is further down the line, close enough for a day in the city or an evening out.
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Is a trip off the resort worth it?
Two easy trips sit off the resort, the Val d'Europe shops a short hop away and central Paris down the same line.
Most families come to Disneyland Paris for the parks and never leave the resort, which is a perfectly good way to do it. The reason you might is the station itself. It puts two very different days within easy reach. Up the line is Val d'Europe, a big covered shopping centre with a supermarket, an aquarium and an outlet mall. Further on is central Paris, roughly 19 miles (30 km) west of the resort.
For a short first trip with young children, staying put is usually the right call, since the parks fill the days and small children tire quickly. The trips beyond the parks make more sense on a longer stay, on a rainy afternoon or when the grown-ups want a change of scene. The supermarket run is the exception, and plenty of families make that on day one to keep food costs down.
Good for a half-day
A rainy afternoon at the Sea Life aquarium, a supermarket restock at the Auchan or an outlet browse while one parent stays back with a napping baby.
Easy to reach
The resort's own station means no car and no transfer, with Val d'Europe just up the line and central Paris a little further on.
Maybe not on a short trip
On a two or three-day first visit with little ones, the parks will fill the time, and a day away can feel like a wasted park day.
Check before you go
La Vallée Village is open-air, so it's no good in the wet. Paper RER tickets have also gone, so use a Navigo Easy card.
Quick facts for a day out
Val d'Europe, one train stop from the resort
A covered shopping centre with a big supermarket, an aquarium and an outlet mall, a short train ride from the resort.
Val d'Europe is the standard family trip off the resort, and the official Disneyland Paris site points guests to it. It's one stop up the RER A line from the resort's Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy station, about three minutes, so the trip out and back is quick enough to fit around a nap or a park afternoon. The centrepiece is a large covered shopping centre on two floors, with well over a hundred shops including a Primark and, most useful for families, an Auchan hypermarket.
The Auchan is the reason a lot of families make this trip on their first day. Food and drink inside the parks and the Disney hotels are expensive, and the supermarket is far cheaper for the things you get through fastest: bottled water, snacks, breakfast bits, nappies and formula. There's a Lidl at Val d'Europe too if you want the cheapest option. You can take a lot of it into the parks, since personal snacks and non-alcoholic drinks go through security without a problem, though glass bottles and outside alcohol don't. Both parks have water fountains as well, so bring a refillable bottle each and you won't need to buy drinks through the day. One thing to know if you're driving over from the UK is that since Brexit you can't bring meat, dairy or fresh produce into France, so the Auchan is also where families restock once they've arrived.
A rainy-day planThe Sea Life aquarium
In the basement of the same shopping centre is a Sea Life aquarium, the wet-weather option here for young children. It holds several thousand fish and sea creatures across roughly fifty tanks, with a walk-through tunnel and an overhead tube under a shark pool that tends to hold small children's attention. It's step-free and pushchair-friendly throughout. Tickets aren't free, and it's smaller than a full day out, so it works best as a couple of indoor hours rather than the reason for the trip. Booking online ahead of time is usually cheaper than paying at the door.
Parents' afternoonLa Vallée Village outlet
Next to the shopping centre is La Vallée Village, an open-air outlet of somewhere over a hundred designer boutiques selling previous-season stock at reduced prices, the big fashion and luxury names among them. It has little to hold a toddler, and it's open-air, so it suits an adult hour more than a family outing. Some parents browse it while the other takes the little ones back to the pool.
How to get thereGetting to Val d'Europe
The simple way is the RER A from the resort to Val d'Europe, then a signposted walk through to the shopping centre. Trains are frequent. You can walk it instead, roughly a mile, about a 20-minute walk, though most families take the train, and some Disney hotel receptions can book a paid shuttle if you'd rather not deal with the station at all.
Fares are cheap for the short hop, and children aged four to nine pay half, with under-fours free. The one change worth knowing is that single paper tickets were phased out across the Paris region in 2025, so you now load journeys onto a Navigo Easy card, a reloadable card you buy from the machines at the station. If you're also planning a day in central Paris, a Paris Visite travel pass covers the whole zone for a set number of days and can work out simpler. Check the current fare on the official transport site when you go, since prices change.
A day or an evening in central Paris
Straight from the resort's own station on the RER A, close enough for a day in the city or a night out.
Central Paris sits about 35 minutes away on the RER A, further along the same line as Val d'Europe. The train comes into Châtelet–Les Halles in the middle of the city, within reach of most of the sights. Because the RER A runs straight from the resort's own station, families on a longer stay often fit a Paris day in.
With very young children, a full day of city sightseeing on top of the parks is a lot, and the RER and Métro are hard going with a pushchair, so a Paris day suits families with older children more than those with toddlers. The easier version is an evening. The last train back to the resort runs at around twenty past midnight, so once the little ones are asleep one parent can head into the city for dinner while the other stays at the hotel. On a longer stay, a single day in Paris gives you a break from the parks without your having to change hotels.
Questions parents ask
A few things families check before planning a trip off the resort, plus the official links and when this guide was last checked.
Is Val d'Europe any good for the children, or just for the shops?
There's more for them than the shops suggest. The Sea Life aquarium is the main draw, and the shopping centre also has a small indoor playground with slides for younger children. The outlet next door is really for the grown-ups. For a family afternoon, the aquarium and a run round the playground make a good couple of hours.
Do we need to book the Sea Life aquarium in advance?
You don't have to, but a timed slot booked online saves queueing, which matters on a wet afternoon when every family at the resort has the same idea. Check the aquarium's own site for current prices and any family ticket.
Can we do Val d'Europe and central Paris on the same day?
You can, since both are on the same RER line, but it makes a long day with young children. Most families keep them apart: a short Val d'Europe trip around the parks, and Paris as a day of its own on a longer stay. If you do both in one day, it's usually easier to take Paris while everyone's fresh, since Val d'Europe is on the way back anyway.
Is the network easy with a pushchair?
The station at the resort is straightforward, step-free with lifts and a two-minute walk from the parks, so the Val d'Europe hop is simple. Central Paris is where it gets harder, as the big interchange stations and the Métro aren't built for prams. Keep a sling or a carrier handy if you're heading into the city.
See more Disneyland Paris photos
The parks, Disney Village and the hotels we've reviewed all live in one place.
Browse the Disneyland Paris photo gallery →Useful links
- Getting to Disneyland Paris from Paris: the official page for the RER A, Val d'Europe and the Paris Visite pass.
- Sea Life Paris: the aquarium's official site for opening times, prices and online booking.
- La Vallée Village: the official outlet site for the boutiques and opening hours.
- Île-de-France Mobilités: the region's official transport site for live RER fares and the Navigo Easy card.
- Getting there from the UK: our guide to reaching the resort by train, road or air.
- Disneyland Paris with little ones: our guide to the resort, its parks and hotels.
Last updated 8 July 2026.
