♥ A Magical Day in Disneyland Paris!
May 27, 2018
I am about to tell you about the most magical, exciting and amazing day I have probably ever had so far in my 24 years of being alive. If you saw my previous blog post, you'll have read that myself and Reece jetted off to Paris for a few days to celebrate his 21st birthday. We couldn't visit Paris and not go to Disneyland, could we? I have dreamt about going to Disneyland Paris for so long now, I think it's one of the things that every little kid wants to do at some point in their childhood. I'm so pleased that we were able to go as adults, so we could experience everything we could and remember it all.
As we were staying in Paris, we had to use public transport to get to Disneyland Paris. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be! We were staying in a hotel called Hôtel Oceania Paris Porte de Versailles, which was central south and only a couple of minutes walk away from the closest tube station. We jumped on the tube at about 8am and changed a couple of times until we reached Châtelet-les-Halles station, which was then a straight train to Marne-la-Vallée, which is the station right outside of Disneyland. I found the stations easy to navigate once we reached Châtelet-les-Halles, as every Marne-la-Vallée posting had a tiny Mickey head next to it, so you knew you were getting on the correct tube. We had a bulk of tube tickets, so we used one of our €1.49 tickets to reach Châtelet-les-Halles and then purchased another ticket to reach Marne-la-Vallée, which only cost €7.60. The journey from Châtelet-les-Halles to Marne-la-Vallée was about 45 minutes in total, which dragged in on the way there as I was so excited I could barely contain myself!
Marne-la-Vallée station is huge and has shops within it where you can purchase general things like drinks, snacks and newspapers. There are also toilets inside and I will never forget some American lady complaining about the fact that she had to pay a few cents to use the toilets! Once we were out of the station you had a direct view of the two parks, I wasn't expecting them to be so close!
Pictured - Disneyland Paris
This is the gorgeous sign that greets you into Disneyland Paris! You then have two path ways, one to Walt Disney Studios and the other to Disneyland Park. You need to have a ticket for both, or a ticket for just one park. we purchased tickets for both the parks. Once you know which park you're heading to, you have to go through security, quite like at the airport, where they scan your bag and you walk through a metal detector. You then head to the park and this is where your ticket is checked and scanned, allowing you inside.
Pictured: Walt Disney Studios
We had purchased tickets for both Walt Disney Studios and the Disneyland Park, so we started our day off in the Walt Disney Studios. The first thing we done here was pop into a shop, as I had some pins I wanted to trade but I didn't have a lanyard to put them on. I ended up purchased a really lovely Thumper lanyard and some pins (which I will show you all in my next blog post!) and then carried on through the park.
This gorgeous statue of Walt and Mickey is one of the first things that you see when you wander into the park, I think it's gorgeous! You can actually purchase a Pandora charm with this statue dangling from it and I was so tempted to grab myself one, but ended up picking a different one, which I will also show you in my next blog post :)
Pictured - The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
As soon as I spied the Tower of Terror in the distance, I dragged Reece towards it and we started queueing! I had downloaded the Disneyland Paris app a few weeks before we travelled, and it provides you with the wait times for all the rides. I had saw that the wait time for this ride can sometimes reach up to two hours, so when I saw that it was only at 45 minutes, I wanted to get in the queue as soon as possible. The wait didn't feel that long to be honest, until we reached the inside and were about the 6th couple from the front. There was a message spread by cast members to say that they were having a technical difficulty and the wait time had been extended to two hours, we were pretty gutted as this was the first attraction we'd came to and we honestly thought we were going to be wasting a lot of our day sat on the floor, waiting for this ride to start again. About 10 minutes later there was another announcement that the wait time was now 200 minutes! We couldn't believe it but we had got that far, we weren't turning around now, plus there was no way to get out! All in all, from that first announcement stating that there was a technical difficulty, we must have only waited about half an hour and the ride was back up and running! The cast members were really good about it, keeping us well informed and trying to entertain the little ones who were getting restless.
The ride itself was an experience! I don't know what I expected.. You're guided into a room where a small TV in the corner explains what the Twilight Zone is, whilst playing creepy music in a dark room to you and these strangers who have been complied together with to share this experience. Your then lead up some stairs to a lift door, where you're sorted into rows by cast members and then asked to enter the lift. Once you're all buckled in, you see an images of ghosts, which is rather creepy and before you know it, you drop down and then bounce right up, up so high that when the windows open, you get a glorious view of the entire Disneyland parks! Just as your taking in that beautiful view, the lift drops and you can feel your heart in your stomach! Myself and Reece were screaming like little kids! It was such an adrenaline rush! The ride bounces back up and down a few times, while you're screaming your lungs out until it finally comes to a halt at the bottom and the doors open for you to get out. I'm not joking, Reece was a funny shade of green grey and my legs were like jelly! I couldn't stop laughing and I don't think Reece knew what to do! The Tower of Terror was definitely an experience, but not one I'll be running to do again anytime soon!
Pictured - Toy Story Playland
Toy Story Playland is a part of Disneyland where you become toy sized! After being on the Tower of Terror, we weren't ready to go on the RC Racer or the Toy Soldiers Parachute Drop just yet as we still felt a little like jelly, so we just took in our surroundings. I loved that there were massive fairy lights draping from everywhere, above your head. I loved the gigantic Buzz that greeted you at the entrance and I definitely would have taken a ride on the Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin, had the queue not been as long as it was. I loved this area as Toy Story was one of my favourites growing up, I remember it being one of the few VHS's that I owned and watched on repeat! I would have loved to have spent more time in here, but as we had spent so long waiting for Tower of Terror, we really had to get a shift on!
Pictured - Toon Studios, Restaurant en Coulisse and Bistrot Chez Remy
We didn't have time to pop into Toon Studios as there was a queue, but it's something I would definitely like to do next time we go, and I think that Reece would really enjoy it. We also wandered down past Bistrot Chez Remy, this area of the Studios was so nice! It felt like it's own little french village. The queue for this restaurant was so long, which I expected as I had heard you had to book for it prior to getting to the park. We ended up grabbing some food at Restaurant en Coulisse, which is a huge McDonalds style restaurant, but has set menus. I found this quite annoying as there was a burger I wanted on one meal and a dessert I wanted on another. We both ended up picking the Premium Charolais Burger, which included a beef burger with chutney, cheese and rocket and had the 25th Anniversary logo singed into the bun! You also got a portion of fries, a drink of your choice and an apple caramel crumble cup, all for €15.99. That may sound a little expensive, but the meal really filled us up and it was much bigger than the kind of portion you would get at McDonalds.
Once we had finished up our food, we were ready to head to the place I'd been dying to see since we got here!
Pictured - Disneyland Hotel
What a stunning entrance to the Disneyland Park this was! The Disneyland Hotel is absolutely stunning, like a real life princess castle! There is a gorgeous array of flowers right in front of the hotel which are shaped like Mickeys head and beautiful water fountains everywhere! The attention to detail on the hotel is stunning, the colours are beautiful and it looked so clean and pretty! I would love to stay here at some point, but it's so expensive!
Pictured - Festival of Pirates and Princesses
Literally, as soon as we walked into the Disneyland Park, the Festival of Pirates and Princesses parade started! This parade was so full of colour! Everything was super bright! I was so happy to see Minnie on this parade, she was waving at all the people who were watching her, she was so cute! Wendy was also on this parade and she looked also looked lovely, smiling down at everybody taking photos of her. The song they were all singing was super catchy too and was stuck in mine and Reece's heads for ages after! I'm really pleased we managed to see this parade, it was really nice to see all the princesses (even though I got no photos of them all) and the pirates.
Pictured - Main Street
I absolutely loved Main Street! It was just as I imagined! We were so busy looking into all the shops that I forgot to snap some photos of the store fronts. Once we reached the bottom, we were greeted by this iconic view! I have seen so many photos of these gorgeous topiary pieces. I love the heart so much and the Mary Poppins and Bert topiary is super cute! I love how Main Street had finishings everywhere with the 25th anniversary logo, it made it that little bit more exciting. The only thing I was a bit gutted about with Main Street was that nearly every store sold the same stuff. I thought there would be different stores for different stuff, which there was to an extent, like candy shops and a shop dedicated to hair bows and ears, but all the other more general shops just sold the same stuff. It was the same plushies, the same pins, the same home ware! I would have liked a bit more variation, as I took €200 to spend there and found it hard to spend my money, which is extremely rare for me! I thought I would be throwing my cash at them! There are a few things that I regret not purchasing while I had the chance, but I can pick them up next time - because there will be a next time!
Pictured - Sleeping Beauty's castle
Sleeping Beauty's castle really was truly a magical sight. Reece pointed the castle out to me while we were wandering on Main Street and I gasped like a child and started fast pace walking towards it to get a closer view! Sleeping Beauty's castle is even more stunning in real life than the photos that you have seen online. It really is beautiful and the most stunning focal point for the park. There are water fountains and a lake like water feature right outside, with a cute bridge leading you right up and into the castle. I could have stood and stared at this view forever. This really was one of them moments where you see something and it twigs inside you that you're actually here. After spending years of yearning over photographs online and reading other peoples experiences here, I had finally made it here!
Pictured - Inside Sleeping Beauty's castle
The inside of the castle was really gorgeous! There was a grand stone staircase which lead you up into the centre. The walls were filled with these gorgeous stained glass windows, which you can't see from the outside. The windows depicted scenes from Sleeping Beauty and as you worked your way around the castle, the story continued. There were the stained glass windows to admire, but also books, open at pages with beautiful images from the fairy tale and large tapestries with just as gorgeous images too. This was by far one of the most beautiful parts of Disneyland that we saw and it makes me want to make my own Disney inspired stained glass windows! They were so stunning, especially on a day like we went where the sun was blaring though!
Pictured - Les Pays des Contes de Fées
This was a ride that we really hadn't heard anything about. I had been stalking a Facebook page for Disneyland Paris and I had heard nobody talk about this ride. The queue time was only 30 minutes and it seemed to be doing down super fast, so we jumped in the queue for it. I would recommend this ride to everybody who visits Disneyland. Les Pays des Contes de Fées was just what we needed at that moment! The hustle and bustle of Disneyland can be quite a lot, especially if you get anxious or nervous in large crowds. Les Pays des Contes de Fées, which translates to The Land of Fairy Tales, is a sweet and gentle, quiet boat ride which takes you around a beautiful mini river, providing you with a lovely view of all these super miniature settings from your favourite films. I didn't manage to get many good photos as of course, the boat is moving, but this ride gives you a mini view at The dwarfs' mine and house from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel's high tower with a braid coming out of it from Tangled, Prince Eric's seaside castle from The Little Mermaid, The Greek temple and Mount Olympus from "The Pastoral Symphony" from Fantasia, Snow-covered landscapes from Peter and the Wolf, The "Night on Bald Mountain" scene from Fantasia, The Cave of Wonders from Aladdin, A scene from The Sword in the Stone, Belle's village and the Beast's castle from Beauty and the Beast and The Emerald City and the Witch's Castle from Return to Oz.
If you find yourself needed a moment or two to relax during a busy day at Disneyland, I would recommend this ride so much! It's the perfect ride for taking a moment to chill in the peace and quiet away from the park and to take in your beautiful surroundings.
Pictured - Alice, Crush and Snow White at the Disney Star Parade
Pictured - Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella and Prince Charming at the Disney Star Parade
Pictured - Woody and Slikny, Simba and Rafiki and Buzz Lightyear at the Disney Star Parade
Pictured - Anna, Elsa and Olaf at the Disney Star Parade
Pictured - Fire breathing dragon, Ariel, Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse at the Disney Star Parade
This parade was one of the things that I was adamant I was going to see that day! I have saw photos, videos and reviews all about the parade and how amazing and magical it was. I knew we had to get to Main Street for a good view and I knew we needed to be there within plenty of time for the perfect view. We left it a little late, but we still managed to get good sight of the parade and the characters. The photos I have shared here are a very condensed version of the photos I took on the day! There were so many other characters that the photos didn't turn out too well of, so you can find a list of all the characters and songs played here if you would like further information.
I would really recommend that to get a good view of the parade, you really need to be there about 45 minutes before it starts. We stood outside of the Sleeping Beauty castle and it was really busy! Maybe waiting at Main Street would be a little better, as not so many people would rush to be there as they did the castle.
Pictured - It's a Small World
The next ride we went on was It's a Small World. I had heard a lot about this ride and knew I wanted to go on it. After the parade, of course nearly everywhere was quiet, and this ride only had a queue time of 20 minutes, so we sped walked our way there and jumped in the queue. It seemed like a lot of people had the same idea as us, as the queue soon started to grow once we were in it and within about 10 minutes, the waiting stalls were full up. It's a Small World was another boat ride, which was so nice! You bobbed along the water, inside of this huge colourful scene, with dolls that were moving their heads and arms along to the catch song that was playing. It was so cool, for the first 5 minutes until you realised how creepy it was for all these dolls to be looking at you and turning their heads but their eyes weren't moving! The concept of the ride was fantastic! Each country had a section with their own dolls and backdrop, specific to their culture. There were so many it was so much to take in!
Pictured - Frontierland
We didn't spend too much time in Frontierland, as the things that we wanted to do had massive queue times and we were quite pushed for time by this point. I would have loved to have went on Big Thunder Mountain, but the wait time was over an hour and we just didn't have time to wait that long. We wandered around Pocahontas Village and stumbled upon a Coco inspired restaurant! If we hadn't have already ate, I would have tried to get seated in here! I really love Coco, it's one of them Disney films that you never get sick of and I was quite surprised to see anything Coco inspired. It was like you were right in the movie. When we go back I'll definitely try to eat at Fuente del Oro!
Pictured - Adventureland
This is another part of Disneyland that we didn't spend too much time. We wandered through the Pirates Beach and into La Cabana es Robinson. The caves were so realistic and picturesque! I loved the Pirate Galleon, the ship was lovely! This is definitely a part of Disneyland that I would love to spend more time in next time we visit, I would love to go on the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril ride, but again, we didn't have enough time to wait in the hour long queue. This part of Disneyland I found was quite relaxing also, you could find a bench in a quiet area and take in the views and water, and have a moment to relax. I found this was quite a nice thing to do for five minutes, as everywhere is so busy!
Pictured - Discoveryland
The final place we headed to see was Discoveryland. Here, I went into Constellations and bought some final bits and bobs, including my very own Little Green Man and Hamm money box! I loved this shop as it was very Toy Story heavy and as I said before, that's one of my favourite films. Again, like most of the rides we wanted to go on, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast had a queue time of over an hour so we bought some popcorn, as we heard that the popcorn in Disney is the best and sat down to snack. The popcorn was gorgeous! I really wish I had purchased the 25th anniversary popcorn bucket, but there was no way it was fitting into my suitcase! I really wanted the Cinderella Carriage one that I had saw a few times too, but that was even bigger and more awkward in shape, so there was no way I was getting that home.
After we finished our popcorn, we headed back to the centre of the park, to get ready for the most anticipated time of the day, Illuminations!
Pictured - Disney Illuminations Show
The Disney Illuminations by far, exceeded my expectations! This is so much more than a firework and light projection show. We made our way to the castle an hour before the show started and we made it there in perfect timing. We were maybe the 20th row from the front and the crowd behind us just kept growing and growing! Everybody was sat down and the atmosphere was amazing, there was a buzz amongst everyone and you could tell that the adults were just as excited as the kids! The only downside to this, was we were quite close to the side of the footpath and just so happened to be sat where people kept walking through, trying to get to the front. This meant that for the majority of an hour, Reece was having to sit awkwardly to allow people past and was kicked a few times. I don't understand why people felt the need to walk through, it was pretty clear there was nowhere up front to sit - we would have been there! The guy sat behind us ended up being kneed in the head because someone was in such a rush to get past, she just kept going! I would recommend getting to the castle at least an hour before hand to get as upfront as you possibly could. I also expected, as everybody was sat down, that they would be throughout the illuminations, but people stood up just as it was about to start, which was quite frustrating, being as small as I am. Parents were putting children on their shoulders, which I think was unfair as this blocked the view for quite a lot of people. I get that this is 'supposed to be for kids' but put them on your back or just hold them, putting kids on your shoulders ruins the experience for other people. Once everybody started to stand up, we moved slightly to get a better view, if we had stayed seated and the people in front of us had done the same, our view would have been perfect and so would everybody elses.
The show starts with 'A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes' playing follows on to 'Circle of Life' and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' and then goes into 'Part of Your World'. There is then a beautiful tribute to Finding Nemo and then 'He's a Pirate' starts. One of the most beautiful parts was 'How Does a Moment Last Forever' before the Star Wars theme tune starts, followed by 'March of the Resistance.' The show then ends with 'Let it Go,' which gave me goosebumps as the entire crowd sang along with it and finally, finishes with 'For the First Time in Forever.' As this music is playing, the castle is lit up with beautiful projections of all your favourite, classic Disney films, the characters dancing over the turrets and fireworks streaming into the sky from behind. Honestly, this was the best part of the entire day. It was such an emotional moment, for everybody who loved Disney so much to all be stood in one space, admiring the beautiful show that they were putting on for us.
Pictured - Myself and Reece waiting for the Illuminations
We barley got any photos of ourselves whilst in Disneyland as we were too busy trying to get from place to place and seeing what queue times were like. Waiting for the Illuminations was the perfect time to snap some photos! I'd like to give a massive mention to DaisyDesignsX, who handmade my beautiful Minnie ears! They stayed put all day long and were super comfortable to wear, as well as being really affordable! I adore these and love how every princess is on them! If you're heading to Disneyland yourself and are looking for some Minnie ears, I'd really recommend checking out Daisy's shop! She has so many beautiful designs, I'm sure she'd have one you love!
I absolutely loved our day in Disneyland Paris. I don't have a single bad thing to say about the place! Every person we came into contact with was super lovely. The cast members that I traded pins with and the ones in the stores that we shopped in were really helpful! There are water fountains everywhere, which are free to use and were so handy! We took water bottles and filled them up at every water fountain we came to. There are toilets dotted all over the place, so you're never stuck dying for a pee and being a hike away from the nearest toilets. I was also quite surprised how smoker friendly Disneyland was too, there were so many smoking areas set aside and they weren't awful cages like most places have.
I really can't recommend a trip to Disneyland Paris enough, we've been back for not even three weeks and I'm already looking at when we can go next! Next time we go, we will definitely pass on staying in Paris and stay at a Disney hotel instead, allowing us more time to see the park and go on the rides we wanted to do this time, but didn't have time to. I'd also like to try out more of the food places, but when you're only there for a day and you're trying to cram so much into 12 hours, you really do just make do with shorter queue times to allow time for other things. It would be so worth the extra money to stay in a Disney hotel and have all your time dedicated to working your way around the park.
Visiting Disneyland Paris has made me fall even more in love with Disney than I already was and I can't wait to go back and experience it all over again!
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**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are my own.**
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