Disneyland Paris | 2014.

Sorry it's taken so long for me to finally get this post out but I've wanted to wait until I had the time to really do it justice, as the trip for me was just amazing and magical and deserves a proper write up. Also, please excuse the state of my face in these photos, I had sinusitis that I still can't shake a month later, so hence the baggy eyes and red nose!

If you've never been to Disneyland, I couldn't recommend it enough. There really is something for everyone and is definitely a life experience that I'm happy that I can finally cross off my bucket list. And while the weather was absolutely shocking while we were there, we travelled off-peak, in the cheapest of all of the price zones and while it meant that we got a great deal, the park was also fairly empty. If you're a big fan of the rides, this is definitely the best time for you to go, as although Mum and I didn't go on any of the bigger rides, we never saw a queuing time for any longer than 30 minutes. Also, just for walking around the park, it was much more pleasant to be able to have space to take pictures and experience it all without being jostled about by a huge crowd (definite bonus for someone with anxiety there!)

We went for five days, and personally I think you'd need at least three to be able to look around properly and allow yourself time to revisit rides, attractions etc. Especially in times of bad weather this is important for the parade and light show because we must have picked the worst possible night to go to both of these and left ourselves with no other option. Top tip: plan your time well, set aside time for everything that you know you want to do, and remember to factor in queuing times and meal times, which can also involve queueing.

For me, the Disneyland Park outshines the Walt Disney Studios park, and considering I'm a film buff, that's saying something! But personally, I felt that the Walt Disney Studios was a bit of a let down, and involved a lot of sitting around watching films, though I can see the attraction for younger children, especially those that are fans of Toy Story. One of the other downsides to travelling off peak is that several of the attractions were closed, it didn't cause a huge issue for us but it would have been nice to have experienced it in all of its glory.

For accommodation, we stayed in the New York hotel, which is the second most expensive of all of the Disney hotels, an expense that I do think is justified. Location wise, you can't get much better, although the Disneyland hotel is literally in the park, the price pretty much doubles, and the New York is only a 5 minute walk at the most, and is right outside the Disney Village, which is packed with shops and restaurants, etc. The rooms were beautiful, with two double beds and plenty of space, and the diner always had a brilliant choice of food. In the scheme of things, this hotel isn't that much more expensive than some of the cheaper ones, and it was so lovely to be able to pop back to the hotel at any point and not have to wait around for a shuttle bus. We initially looked at staying in one of the hotels outside the resort, but they're around the same price, with the added inconvenience of having to get a bus into the park every day. Also, if you stay in the Disney hotels, you get a free park pass for the duration of the trip, which would have cost over £500 for Mum and I!

Another thing I'd recommend is paying for a half board upgrade. We actually managed to get it free because of the time we booked and when we travelled but they will definitely save you money, and there's a great choice of restaurants that you can use them in. Also, travel by Eurostar! It was so quick and easy, I can't imagine why you'd ever chose to fly when there's this option! You check in 40 minutes before you depart and you can even arrange for the Disney team to take your luggage over to your hotel so you can get straight off the train in the park and go straight into Disneyland. My Mum was quite nervous for the tunnel part but because there's a few before the main one, we managed to get into France without her realising we'd even crossed over.

Funny story time: So… on the train, we're given an envelope, and in this envelope is all of the confirmation for the hotel booking, our half board vouchers for the trip, park tickets, show tickets, basically everything that we could possibly need, so Mum puts it nice and safe in the pocket of the seat in front of us. Fast forward an hour or so when we've got off the train and have walked up four flights of stairs… 'Tilly… I've left the envelope on the train!' Cue me running down the stairs like a crazy person and flying onto the train to try and track down said envelope. Luckily I managed to find and retrieve it before the train headed back to London but I have never ran so fast in my life, and I am never going to let Mum forget that one in a hurry!

One thing that was a bit of a waste of money in my opinion was Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The tickets were crazy expensive (around £70 each) and included a 'meal'. I am a fussy eater but the meal was not great and neither of us ate it, and the whole dinner/show set up didn't work well as the cast try and get you involved in the show clapping, cheering and banging your plates at the same time that you're trying to eat, in the pitch black. Also, as it's an animal based show, there's a certain smell that lingers in the air, which doesn't make for the most pleasant eating conditions! On the other hand though, the show itself was great and the cast members work so so hard to keep everyone entertained and involved.

If you're thinking of planning a trip any time soon, these were the highlights of mine and definitely something that everyone should experience:

Meet the characters, they're always more than happy to stop and pose for photos, and there's plenty of opportunities throughout the day to meet your favourites. I recommend a trip to the Princess Pavilion, although we had to queue for over half an hour to meet one Princess, it was a magical experience!

See the castle, take plenty of photos of the outside from all angles, and go inside and explore, it's amazing inside and I actually wish we'd spent more time in there!

See the parade, one of the most classic 'Disney magic' moments for me, the music, dancing and everything was just wonderful and an amazing experience that I don't think I'll ever forget, despite being absolutely freezing and soaking wet.

Watch Disney Dreams, no photos will ever do this justice, and I can't even begin to explain how incredible it was. If you have the time I recommend seeing it at least twice, once to take photos/videos and once to just experience it. Incredible.

I hope you've enjoyed this long overdue post, or just looking at all of my photos (taken on my shiny new camera!).

Thanks for reading,

Tilly.

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