On Thursday morning 27th February we surprised the kids with a Trip to Disneyland!! We had a such miserable Christmas with Dad being in Hospital and all of us being struck down with the Flu, we said we needed something to look forward to!
The kids thought they were getting ready for School but little did they know, they were heading to the Airport after Breakfast!! You can watch their reaction here and continue reading about our trip below!
The Aer Lingus flight from Cork to Paris is only about 1 hour and 20 minutes and we had pre-arranged to be picked up from their Airport to go straight to our Hotel. We stayed at B&B Hotels see their Instagram Page here. There is a free shuttle bus which operates from this Hotel to and from Disneyland and the Train Station all throughout the day. The Hotel has a Restaurant, Games Room and a Disney Boutique Shop on the Ground Floor.
Day 1 – Walt Disney Studios
We spent Day 1, which was the Friday, at the Walt Disney Studios. We had pre-purchased 2 Day Park Tickets for the Studios and Disneyland Park. First place we went into was Playland and we went on the Slinky Ride.
We had a walk around and saw some Character Meet & Greets which we had not pre-booked so didn’t get photos but we still saw them up close. We were advised that we had to pre-book on the Lineberty App which I tried to do for Day 2 but the App never worked at all the whole time we were there. I’m glad really as you still have to queue which we did not want to do with a 6 and a 5 year old, especially for long periods in the cold weather!
We went over to the Ratatouille experience to get our Fast Passes for later on in the day – to avoid the queues!
After Playland, we went over to watch the Stunt Show where we saw how they create high chase movie scenes. It was spectacular and something we were not at all expecting to see at Disneyland. The Kids were so engrossed that they actually asked – where are we again?! I had to remind them – we’re in Disneyland!! You can see some action, including a man on fire, over on my Instagram under Disneyland Highlights!
After the Stunt Show, we went over to watch the Stormtrooper Imperial March and also saw Darth Vader.
Next we went over to queue for the Mickey and the Magician Show. There was a 20 minute queue and it was about to rain so we were happy to be under a shelter and had plenty of snacks to keep the kids distracted. The Show was definitely worth the wait though, it was amazing and had other characters on stage like the Fairy Godmother, Elsa, the Genie, Lumiere, Beauty and the Beast to name a few – it really was Magical!
Lastly we went back to Ratatouille with our fast passes that we had booked earlier so got straight through! I actually love the Movie and this 3D experience was my absolute favourite thing of the day.
We left Walt Disney Studios for the day and walked over to Disneyland Park for some food and a walk around the various lands.
The first thing I just had to see was Sleeping Beauty’s Castle!! It’s just incredible to see in real life, a tick off the bucket list for sure! We walked around inside the Castle and went down into the Dungeon to the see the Dragon, he was very cool!
After exploring the Castle, we went for Dinner in The Luckey Nugget Saloon in Frontierland where they also had a Puppet Show on Stage! We missed out on the 5pm Parade on Day 1 but on the other hand – we also missed out on another rain shower and the long queues for dinner which we saw as we were coming out of the Restaurant!
We took a stroll around Frontierland, Adventureland, Discoveryland and Fantasyland just to scope out the Park ahead of Day 2!
There are no queues for Alice’s Curious Labyrinth so we took a lovely walk through Wonderland and saw the Cheshire Cat!
When we got to the top, there were lovely views of the Park and the Castle.
We stayed until 8pm for the Illuminations Show, I just don’t know what to say here … it was magical, emotional, stunning – a must see!!
Day 2 – Disneyland Park
If I had any tips from Day 1 they would be – firstly don’t forget to pack your gloves so you don’t get stung having to buy 4 pairs of Disney ones and secondly, try not to dress like an employee!!! Not my finest fashion moment I’ll admit… but it’s a pity I didn’t get a few staff fast passes or something out of well.. pity! God love me.. you have to laugh, especially when your husband who hates taking photos, pulls out his phone at lightening speed and shoves you over next to an employee so we can cherish this moment forever!!
So Day 2 did not get off to a great start between the rain and hailstones, rides being temporarily closed, the Castle being closed off and the Frozen 2 Enchanted Journey show being cancelled because of the wind, just as we were standing there waiting for it to start… we were thinking Thank God Day 1 was so good as the happiest place on earth, all of a sudden seemed like the crappiest place on earth… I suppose with all of this, tired kids from the long day before, wet shoes and the long queue to go on the Pinocchio ride for just 5 minutes, I just felt like getting the train into Paris and going to see the Eiffel Tower instead… however, we decided to have a look around Aladdin’s Cave and then head over to the Disney Village to get some food and hit up the Disney Store!!
We got the hangry-ness out of the way at McDonalds and then went into the Disney Store where the kids got to build Droids and Mr. Potato Heads, which they absolutely loved. Eva picked out a Ratatouille Teddy and an Elsa Doll and Ben got Ironman Gloves that shoot out bullets so they were very happy kids!
The weather started to clear up a bit so we took a walk around Main Street USA in Disneyland Park to see all the lovely shop fronts and window displays.
We were so happy and relieved that the weather improved in time for the 5pm Parade so we made our way down near the Castle to see all the Disney Stars in action!!
It’s amazing how the day turned around from us feeling miserable and disappointed earlier on with all the attraction closures and cancellations due to the bad weather, to then be standing here watching this amazing magical Parade – safe to say we fell in love with Disneyland all over again!!
Eva and Remy waving at Pluto!
Ben loved this Dragon as he blew out real fire balls – so cool!!
Eva was holding up her Elsa Doll and Elsa spotted her in the huge crowd and blew her a kiss – I was melted!! I thought the Castle Illuminations Show would be my Disney emotional moment, but this one, seeing Eva’s face light up was it!!
So as the Parade was ending we were looking up the Disney App to see what the wait times were like on some of the rides close by so we could run over before all the crowds starting queueing up again!!
We went straight over to the Train ride (Casey Jr. Le Petit Train due Cirque) where there was only a 5 minute wait, delighted!
Such a lovely one for our aged kids and to be honest, us big kids loved it too!
Right by the Train Ride is the Boat Ride (Le Pays des Contes de Fées) where there was also only a 5 minute wait!
We all really enjoyed the Boat ride around the various miniature lands.
We did miss out on some rides because we didn’t want to be spending our time in long queues but one thing we did queue for was Star Tours. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but Eoghan really wanted to see this 3D experience so I took one for the Team!! The queue time was about 25 minutes but we were indoors, warm and it was interactive all along the way – how all the queues should be!! I’m actually glad we did this one as we all really enjoyed it, great fun!
We ended the day and our Disneyland Visit with the Ratatouille experience which we loved so much the first time, we just had to go back for another go with Remy himself (from the Disney Store!)
Us 4 Powers really loved exploring Disneyland Paris and while I thought it would just be a once in a lifetime trip, I think we will go back again in a few years when the kids are older as it will be a completely new experience again with all of the other attractions.
Thanks for stopping by x
Jessica