In Part 1 of this series, I shared how one innocent question—“What’s next?”—ended with me booking two solo trips within about 14 hours.
The first trip I booked was Disneyland Paris.
I would love to tell you that this was the result of a carefully researched solo-travel strategy. That I compared destinations, created a sensible list of pros and cons, and calmly concluded that Disneyland Paris was the ideal place to travel alone for the first time.
That is not what happened.
I really wanted to do it.
So I booked it.
Disneyland Paris had been sitting on my list for years
I have wanted to visit all of the international Disney parks for a long time. That goal became much more real after I spent an incredible—but far too short—three hours at Shanghai Disneyland years ago.
Even in that tiny window, I loved seeing how a Disney park could feel familiar and completely different at the same time. There were recognizable pieces of the Disney experience, but the park still had its own identity, attractions, details, and sense of place.
I left wanting to experience more of the international parks someday.
“Someday” is a very convenient word. It lets a dream stay on the list without requiring you to choose dates, spend money, or figure out how you are actually getting there.
That Monday night, Disneyland Paris stopped being a someday trip.
Why Disneyland Paris makes sense for my first solo trip
The original idea was not to go completely alone. I had been researching small-group European tours designed for solo travelers and thinking I might add Disneyland Paris before or after one of them.
That felt like solo travel with training wheels: I could experience somewhere new with a guide and a group, then try a shorter independent Disney stay.
Instead, I skipped directly to the independent part.
As impulsive as the booking was, Disneyland Paris does make sense as my first truly solo destination. I already understand how Disney parks work. I know how I like to tour, I am comfortable dining and spending park days alone, and I genuinely enjoy having the freedom to change plans without holding a committee meeting.
The unfamiliar pieces will be the international travel logistics, the language barrier, and knowing there is no family member in another hotel room if I need help.
The familiar Disney setting gives me something solid in the middle of all that newness.
Why I chose March
I wanted this trip to create a meaningful break in the first half of the year, and March fit nicely into the way I prefer to space vacations.
It also looked like a smart time to visit. The guidance I found consistently pointed toward the quieter stretch from mid-January through mid-March, with midweek park days being especially appealing. I built the stay primarily around weekdays rather than a busier weekend.
The trip will give me four nights at Disneyland Paris with five days of access to both parks.
The tradeoff will be the weather. I am expecting chilly mornings and the possibility of rain, but I would much rather pack layers than deliberately choose a more crowded period.
The hotel may be what pushed me over the edge
I booked Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
You know I love Marvel, so this was never going to be an emotionally neutral hotel decision.
I did compare more budget-friendly Disney hotels. There were sensible arguments for spending less, especially since I will be traveling alone and expect to spend plenty of time in the parks.
But this is my first solo trip and my first visit to Disneyland Paris. I wanted the hotel to feel like part of the experience—not simply somewhere to sleep.
I booked a Superior Room with one large double bed and a sofa bed or convertible armchair. Obviously, I do not need multiple sleeping spaces for one person. What appealed to me was having a proper seating area where I can relax, read, or decompress without spending every minute sitting on the bed.
There is something very grown-up and slightly ridiculous about booking an entire Marvel hotel room just for myself.
I am delighted by it.
What the package includes
The hotel-and-ticket package was $2,259 for four nights and includes five days of admission to both Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure World.
I also added PhotoPass for $101.
I have PhotoPass through my Walt Disney World Annual Pass and already know how much I value having those photos. On a solo trip, it felt even more important. I will not have a travel companion standing nearby to take pictures, and I do not want the entire trip documented through awkward selfies.
PhotoPass gives me an easy way to come home with actual memories of myself in the parks—not only photos of attractions, meals, and hotel details.
I considered the meal plans but did not add one. Because I am on a GLP-1 and do not eat large meals, paying for a breakfast buffet or a substantial prepaid meal every day felt more likely to create pressure than value.
I would rather eat lightly when that suits me and reserve a few dining experiences I am genuinely excited about.
My arrival plan is designed to get me into the parks
The flights are not booked yet. I would like to use American Airlines miles for Business Class from DFW to Paris, but the redemption price was on the high side when I checked. I will keep watching rather than spending more miles than the flight is worth simply because I am excited.
The likely plan is an overnight flight into Charles de Gaulle, arriving in the morning. From there, I expect to take the direct TGV to the Disneyland Paris station.
I also plan to use Disney Express luggage service so I can hand over my bags at the station and go directly into the parks instead of taking my suitcase to the hotel first.
I briefly considered adding a day in central Paris but decided against it. Paris deserves more than being squeezed into this trip as an obligation. This one is about Disneyland Paris, and keeping it focused also removes another hotel, another transfer, and another layer of logistics from my first solo adventure.
There are still plenty of decisions to make
Booking the trip did not mean planning every detail in one impulsive evening.
Over the next few months, I still need to decide where I want to eat and make dining reservations. I did not add a meal plan, but there are several restaurants that could be experiences in their own right. Royal Banquet is currently at the top of my character-dining list, and I would also like at least one meal at the Art of Marvel hotel. I just do not need a large prepaid breakfast and table-service meal every day.
I also need to decide how—or whether—to use Disney Premier Access.
Premier Access Ultimate is much closer to Walt Disney World’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass than the regular Lightning Lane system. It allows one expedited ride on each participating attraction without managing return times.
I have used Lightning Lane Premier Pass once at Walt Disney World, and it was magic. Being able to walk up to participating attractions when I wanted—without spending the day watching return times—made the entire park day feel easier.
It also costs a lot more at Walt Disney World.
Premier Access Ultimate was showing at approximately $163 per day for my Disneyland Paris trip. That is still a significant expense, but it makes one Ultimate day genuinely tempting because I already know how much I enjoyed the comparable experience at home.
Buying it for all five park days would add more than $800, which feels completely unnecessary for a primarily midweek March stay with Extra Magic Time, Single Rider lines, and plenty of time in both parks. I may buy Ultimate for one day, use Premier Access One only when a particular standby wait is painful, or discover that I do not need either. This decision will be easier to make once park hours are available and I can see actual wait patterns during the trip.
The flights are still a major open item too. I will keep watching American Airlines award pricing rather than locking in an expensive mileage redemption simply because I am impatient. Once the flights are settled, I can finalize the TGV timing and Disney Express luggage service.
I will still build a loose park strategy, but this should feel very different from my recent Disneyland trip, when limited park time meant deciding which attractions mattered most. At Disneyland Paris, I expect to have four full park days and possibly part of a fifth. That should give me enough time to explore both parks thoroughly, experience the uniquely Paris attractions, revisit favorites, and hopefully do essentially everything without turning the trip into a race.
The remaining preparation is less about cutting the attraction list and more about using all that time well: understanding park hours, deciding whether Premier Access adds any value, making a chilly-and-possibly-rainy packing list, and preparing for the language barrier without planning every spontaneous moment out of the trip.
That is part of what makes having this on the calendar so fun. The biggest decision is already made. Now I get several months of researching, anticipating, and turning one impulsive confirmation email into a trip that feels completely mine.
This is not how I usually plan a Disney trip
Planning Walt Disney World has become almost second nature to me.
I know the airport routine, the resort layouts, the transportation options, and how long it realistically takes me to get from one place to another. I understand which restaurants are worth planning around and which attractions I will prioritize. I have an Annual Pass with PhotoPass, and I can make decisions based on years of firsthand experience rather than starting every search with, “How does this work?”
A Walt Disney World trip can still involve plenty of planning, but the planning is refinement. I am adjusting a system I already know.
Disneyland Paris feels different. The hotel-and-ticket package works differently. Premier Access Ultimate resembles Lightning Lane Premier Pass—which I have used and loved—but the Disneyland Paris pricing and attraction lineup still require their own research. Dining plans and reservation windows have their own rules. Even getting from the airport to the resort has required comparing a direct high-speed train, a shuttle, and a luggage-transfer service.
Then there are the questions that never enter my normal Walt Disney World planning: How much French will I need? How much time should I allow after an international arrival before booking a train? What happens if my flight is late? Will my phone and translation apps work the way I expect? How do I handle every one of those decisions when I am the only person there?
At Walt Disney World, I know enough to be spontaneous.
For Disneyland Paris, I am researching enough to make spontaneity possible.
That may be the biggest planning difference. I do not want to schedule every minute, but I do want to understand the unfamiliar systems well enough that I can arrive alone, make good decisions, and enjoy the freedom of changing my mind.
What I am most excited about
There are attractions unique to Disneyland Paris, familiar rides with completely different versions, and major additions coming to Disney Adventure World.
I cannot wait to see what feels recognizably Disney and what feels completely new.
I am excited about wandering through both parks at my own pace. I am excited about the Art of Marvel hotel. I am excited about taking photos, noticing tiny details, changing plans without consulting anyone, and discovering whether solo international travel gives me the same feeling of freedom that solo Disney days already do.
Mostly, I am excited that I finally stopped saying “someday.”
And yes, I am nervous
The language barrier is still my biggest concern. I do not speak French.
I navigated Shanghai Disneyland alone, and language was definitely a challenge. The encouraging difference is that translation technology is much easier now. I will have apps in my pocket that can help with signs, menus, and conversations in a way that was not nearly as seamless when I visited Shanghai.
I am also aware that this will be different from having a solo park day at Walt Disney World. There will be no family nearby and no familiar home base a short flight away. I will be responsible for every decision and every logistical hiccup.
But the nerves have not made me regret booking it.
If anything, they are proof that this trip is asking me to do something new.
The honest reason I booked it
There was no dramatic moment when fear disappeared and certainty took its place.
I had been thinking about solo travel. I had wanted to visit Disneyland Paris for years. I found a March stay at a hotel I was genuinely excited about, and suddenly the trip felt possible instead of theoretical.
I really wanted to go.
So, at around 6:00 on a Monday evening, I booked it before I could turn wanting it into another year of thinking about it.
Now I have a Marvel hotel room, five park days, PhotoPass, a growing planning list, and several months to practice my French—or at least become extremely good at using a translation app.
In Part 3, I will share how the second booking happened the next morning: a very popular Disney Wish transatlantic with an itinerary that convinced me to sail a ship I did not love.
For now, tell me: if you were taking your first solo trip, would you choose somewhere familiar or somewhere completely new?
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