If you’re thinking about booking a long weekend away, then you seriously need to consider a trip to Disneyland Paris. I’ve been a fan of Disney for as long as I can remember, I mean who isn’t a fan of Disney? No seriously, does anyone actually not like it? But in all honesty I don’t know if I’d have considered going to Disneyland as an adult as I always thought of it as a place you go as a child, or as an adult…accompanied with your children. How wrong I was though, as I’ve just returned from the most magical weekend away ever, where I got to experience thrills and relive my childhood with my friends Vogue Williams and Charlotte de Carle.
Travelling to Disneyland
We left at 10am on the Friday from London St Pancras - what I didn’t realise is that Disneyland has it’s own Eurostar stop so you get on the train at London and three hours later (well, four with the time difference) you are on Disney territory. Now that’s pretty cool. So we went straight to the Disneyland Hotel to drop our bags.
The Disneyland Hotel
Staying at the Disneyland Hotel was probably the most exciting thing ever as when we visited Disneyland as children our family couldn’t afford to stay there, so I felt like I was a child again! The hotel is huge and every single detail is Disney themed - even the shower gels and shampoos have Mickey ears! There’s a few different restaurants in the restaurant and you get to meet Disney characters whilst you eat. This is even more cool because the characters don’t stop for photos as they walk through the park so it could be your only chance to get those all important photos without waiting in the meet and greet queues. Oh and there’s a small gym so Vogue and I managed to stay on top of our fitness routine whilst we were there. Surprisingly it was pretty empty so we had it all to ourselves!
If you do stay at the hotel with children then there’s a princess makeover area where children under 12 can get their hair and makeup done to look like their favourite Disney princess - there’s a wardrobe and a photographer too so you can treasure the memories forever and ever. I’m not gunna lie, I was pretty gutted to be too old for this makeover. Oh, and make sure you get a hot chocolate before bed in Cafe Fantasia (they do cocktails too if you’re after a stronger nightcap, but this hot chocolate is bad boy!).
Disneyland highlights
We had lots of time to take advantage of the rides and attractions the park had to offer, and probably the most rockstar part of the trip was that Disney gave us a VIP guide to show us around and get us to the front of every ride. If you go yourself, I’d say it’s definitely worth getting Fast Track tickets if you can as the queues do get long, especially on the weekend.
There are a few rides that were so much fun we did them over and over again. The Tower of Terror was probably my favourite, I remember doing it as a child in Florida, and the Paris one is just as epic. You go up in a lift and it rises and falls several times. It’s amazing. Crush’s Coaster is awesome too, Vogue and I actually did it five times in a row until we felt sick, such children. And Space Mountain is a rollercoaster you do in pitch black, which is amazing as you can’t prepare yourself for what’s about to happen so you get an extra rush!
I’m a huge fan of the film Ratatouille and that ride was also incredible as you travel through the kitchen as if you are one of the rats, it’s awesome! And we ate at the Bistrot Chez Remy in the evening, which is the restaurant from the film. I must say there’s so many different restaurants in the park that there’s truly something for every taste, and there were a surprising amount of healthy options too, which I didn’t expect. I particularly enjoyed the maroccan food we ate in Agrabah Café.
One of the most magical parts of the trip was Disney Dreams, which is their night-time show. The show takes place in front of the iconic Disney castle, and basically the whole castle lights up with lights and images as it takes you through the story of Peter Pan trying to find his shadow, and as he searches he passes loads of our favourite characters. It’s amazing and there is the most impressive firework display at the end - even if you aren’t staying on the resort then try not to leave before the show at 8pm. I’d recommend getting there early so you get a good spot!
As we were VIP guests, Disney also arranged for us to get photos with the characters at the Town Square Gazebo, and we watched the Welcome to Spring show from the Castle Stage and got photos with Mickey Mouse himself there, so we got awesome photos with the castle in the background.
So I think it’s safe to say that we had the best weekend ever reliving our childhood and singing Disney songs. We got on the 4:49pm train back to London kitted out with more Disney merchandise than is acceptable and were home and on the sofa watching Disney films by 8:30pm. You can never have too much Disney.
I woke up on Monday morning feeling like I’d had the most incredible weekend, and it was fuelled purely by laughter and happiness (ok ok, and a little bit of wine and cocktails).
If you went to Disneyland Paris and think I’ve missed any must-do activities off the list then do comment below so people can see. And I’d love to know if this post has inspired you to book a trip to Disneyland.
Speak to you soon,
Details:
www.disneylandparis.co.uk
http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/train/france/disneyland-paris
I lirllatey jumped out of my chair and danced after reading this!