Disneyland Paris has reopened but can Mickey Mouse and co still work their magic?

Four months after the resort closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the two parks are welcoming back guests with an array of health and safety measures in line with guidance from the French government and health authorities.

For the initial phases, Disney’s Newport Bay Club hotel, Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne and the Disney Village shopping and entertainment district have also reopened their doors. Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe follows on August 3 then Disneyland Hotel on September 7.

Face coverings are mandatory for visitors aged 11 and older at all times except when eating. It feels restricting, at first, to conceal my smile behind filtered fabric. However, my breathing soon slows and I acclimatise.

Physical distancing of at least one metre in queues is enforced using colourful bilingual stickers on the ground. There are no temperature checks like some Disney properties, but security remains tight and it’s second nature to cleanse hands at more than 2,000 sanitiser and washing stations, which are conveniently dotted around the resort, especially at the entrances and exits of attractions, restaurants, shops and theatres.

Trepidation melts from my body as Mickey, Minnie and friends dance and wave from their vantage point on the elevated platform. Crowd capacity is being limited in line with social distancing guidelines, through an online ticket system, that requires you to reserve admission for a specific date.

Die-hard Disney disciples are keen to share their thoughts with me as they return to the fold. “The park has been very vocal about what the experience is going to be, so I feel reassured,” reflects 19-year-old Elliot Minto from London.

Single rider queues and the nifty Fastpass services allowing guests to pre-book a timed slot for eight key attractions, have been suspended to aid queue management. Popular rides like Peter Pan’s Flight and Star Wars: Hyperspace Mountain often have wait times in excess of an hour. Today, the longest queue is 30 minutes.

Rollercoasters including Big Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Peril keep entire rows free to ensure physical distancing between families or groups. Even with this limited capacity, falsetto screams and hollers are just as satisfyingly loud.

Nestled inside the Disney bubble, guests largely police themselves. Twice, I notice visitors pull down face coverings or remove them for a grinning snapshot beneath the dreaming spires of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Each time, a cast member materialises out of the ether like a masked ninja to politely remind offenders about the rules.

In another neat piece of safety enforcement, official attraction and ride photos are withheld if anyone in shot isn’t fully masked.

Eating out is definitely ‘in’. Restaurants have reduced seating capacity, so takeaway options are actively promoted, to encourage guests to eat al fresco around the parks’ impeccably tended gardens. Buffet restaurants have adopted an all-you-can-eat table service offering instead.

Daily experiences that are likely to draw big crowds have been suspended, and getting a warm hug from a favourite character at the hugely popular meet and greets is also no longer possible.

But the magic of the resort, trapped in this perfect bubble, seems to have natural immunity from the sobering reality of the outside world.

For more details contact Walt Disney Travel Company (disneyholidays.co.uk; 0800 169 0737).