We got back from our trip to Disneyland Paris on Wednesday night and my legs are still aching from the non stop walking. It was a full on fun, magical, crazy and sometimes stressful experience, but we have made so many lovely memories. Be warned, you may be in one of the most magical places in the world, but your kids will have meltdowns, they will demand to go home and sleep may go out of the window, thanks to Disney dessert’s and general Disney fever. Even Disney can’t make miracles happen.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in trying to create the ‘perfect’ Disney experience, but at the end of the day kids will be kids, so just go with the flow. We went to Disneyland Paris with friends for four days and three nights and I think that was a perfect amount of time because it gave us that freedom to have some much needed down time, especially for our trooper of a friend Fiona, who is 6 months pregnant. I thought I’d write one big blog and share our Disney experience with you.
Disneyland Hotel
We decided to stay at the Disneyland Hotel because of its convenient location. It’s right next to the Disneyland park and the studios, so in our opinion it is well worth the price tag. We went for a standard room with a Premium Half Board meal plan.
Our room was spacious and it had two double beds, Bella had a double bed to herself and there was a travel cot for Flo, which had a nice comfy mattress (hire travel cots normally come with a mattress measuring the same amount of thickness as a piece of cardboard). I was so worried about us all staying in one room together, but thankfully Flo didn’t wake Bella up when she was screaming for milk.
The hotel has a lovely lobby and bar and in the evening there is normally a piano player and singer. There are also two restaurants in the hotel, California Grill and Innoventions. There is a pool and spa and a very dangerous gift shop.
Luckily we had a lounge area literally outside our hotel room, so that gave us the freedom to have a couple of cheeky cocktails before bedtime, whilst keeping an eye on the girls with the monitor. I recommend the Glowtini’s!
Half Board Premium Meal Plan
The Half Board Premium Plan gives you vouchers to use for Breakfast and one meal a day so you can choose if you want to use it for lunch or dinner. The food in the restaurant’s is really expensive so it’s definitely worth spending the money on a Premium plan. We had dinner in Innoventions on the first night and it was the perfect way to kick start our Disney experience.
Its a buffet restaurant so there is something for everyone. The beauty about this restaurant is the characters. The girls got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto. Flo was not a fan of the characters and would burst into tears each time.
We chose Buffalo Bills on the second night and it’s amazing! I couldn’t recommend it enough. You get to enjoy a delicious 3 course meal and unlimited beer and soft drink, whilst watching a live show with cowboys, horses, Indians, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale.
Flo absolutely loved it! She had to sit on our lap the entire two hours, but she was as good as gold because she was entertained the whole way through. She clapped, danced and literally didn’t stop smiling. Bella on the other hand is a sensitive sausage and she really didn’t like it when it went dark and eerie when the Indians appeared on stage, the massive clap of thunder and gun shots were the last straw, so she face planted herself on me in tears until she fell asleep!
Captain Jacks
We had dinner at Captain Jacks on our last night and it was the perfect way to end our Disney adventure (although we did have a couple more hours in the park the next morning). It had a brilliant atmosphere, the waitresses were so lovely and great with the girls and the food was amazing. There was so much choice.
The restaurant is literally next to the Pirates of The Caribbean ride, so it was quite dark inside, which is why I didn’t take any pics.
Character Breakfast
When you have a Premium dining plan you get to book a Character Breakfast at the Plaza Gardens free of charge. The girls loved it! The food was pretty much the same as Innoventions and they got to meet Mickey, Goofy, Piglet, Eeyore, Scrooge and Daisy.
Photo Pass
In our experience the Photo Pass was a waste of money. I think it’s probably because we had young children so the photo opportunities were on the bigger rides and Meet & Greets. You know what toddlers are like, you can’t make them do anything they don’t want to do, so rushing around and dragging them to Meet & Greets in the freezing cold, wasn’t always a sensible option.
For £66 we only got 9 photos, so it really wasn’t worth it. When you do Meet & Greets you can ask the staff to take a picture for you and they will do it happily.
Princess Lunch
The Princess Lunch is eye-wateringly expensive but totally worth it. There are little girls dressed up as Princesses everywhere and I spotted a couple of Princes to. The food was delicious. It was a tad too posh for a couple of Three Year Olds, but us adults enjoyed stuffing our faces.
Although the restaurant has an up market feel to it with the level of service, it still has a relaxed atmosphere, so there is no need to worry about scrubbing up for the occasion. Whilst you enjoy your meal, the Princesses make their way around the restaurant and they talk to the children and interact with them. There was a lot of talk about twirling and Bella & Millie got to hold hands and dance with a couple of the Princesses.
For a small fee the kids can have their face painted with different Disney Princess themes before they go to lunch and this is right next to the Auberge de Cendrillon restaurant. You have to purchase a ticket at the gift shop next door and it literally takes 5 minutes. The girls met Ariel, Cinderella, Belle and Aurora.
The Parades
The parades are brilliant! When reading reviews you’re always advised to turn up 30 minutes to an hour early to get a good view, but we just rocked up and got a good spot. The parades are on at 5pm at the moment and there is a smaller Christmas parade earlier on in the afternoon. They are both worth seeing.
Top Tips
- Pack thermals! Seriously if you’re travelling this time of year, it’s bloody freezing. We were all wearing three to four layers plus hats, scarves, gloves and the girls had footmuffs and blankets.
- Pack mini hot water bottles. This is a good way to keep the kids warm.
- Take your kids water bottles and fill them up at breakfast at the restaurant. There is free juice and bottled water. Take squeezy juice for top ups so you can flavour the water used from the fountains.
- If you’re travelling with a one year old or toddler still wanting milk, pack follow on ready milk. You can use it on the go and it saves you stressing about getting a glass of milk from the bar each night charged at €4.
- Make a Disney goody bag for the kids for the train journey. This was a lifesaver on the way home. If you look through my previous blogs, I’ve written one about the Disney packs I made for the girls.
- Buy your Disney clothing and ears before you go. You can get a lot of Disney themed clothing at Supermarkets, Primark, H&M to name a few and Claire’s Accessories sell cute Minnie ears.
- Pack waterproof shoes. It snowed when we were there so I was so thankful I packed waterproof shoes.
- Don’t forget your rain covers for your pram. Although a lot of the rides are indoors, there is a lot of walking to get from a to b.
- Pack a super charger for your phone. It allows you to charge your phone on the go without missing any photo opportunities because your battery is dead.
- Pack snacks for toddlers and kids.
- Pack treats to help distract queuing for rides. Chocolate coins worked a treat.
The Verdict
I could go on and on but I’ll stop boring you now. Disneyland Paris is a magical place and well worth a visit. It took a whole year of planning, which is a must if you’re taking young children. It’s definitely worth having a rough plan of action and the Disneyland Paris is a must have app, as it gives you ride times and you’ll see the show program etc.
Another must have app is the Lineberty App. It allows you to log on and book Meet and Greets. Be warned you have to be ready to get booking the Meet & Greets at 9.45am on the dot, as the spaces get booked up very quickly.
We really had an amazing time spending quality time as a family and with our lovely friends. I think we will probably leave it a couple years before going again but next time we want to go to Florida-better start planning now (joke). We are now planning a couple of nights away at Alton Towers to go to CBeebies Land.
