I have always been a huge Disney fan ever since being a little girl. I was brought up watching Disney films and I have never stopped, and now I have a little one I am loving watching Disney films through fresh eyes and seeing his face light up watching them. Disney has always been part of my life. I have visited Disneyland Paris a few times before, the first time in the Mid-90’s on a day trip with my parents, which I have very little memory of. More recently my husband and I took a day trip from Paris on my birthday a few years ago. This was my first time staying in the Disney Magic, on site and in the Disney Bubble! We originally booked at the start of the pandemic, not expecting it to go on as long as it did, and our deal included meal plans. When it got cancelled, the deal we rebooked no longer included meal plans, and as it was costly to add them on, we decided to wing it and go without!
Getting there
We took an early flight from Manchester to Paris, a short flight taking around an hour. We landed at around 9am and took a private transfer to our hotel, meaning we had collected our park tickets, dropped off our luggage and were in the parks by lunch time. There are several options for getting to Disneyland, flying being our choice but also the option to take the Eurostar, or drive using a ferry or the Channel Tunnel. Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris also has a direct fast train route to Disneyland Paris, and this may be a good option instead of a transfer depending on cost, and if the trains line up with your flight arrival times.
Where to Stay
If you wish to stay on site at Disneyland, there are 6 on site hotels to choose from, ranging from 2* to 5*. We had originally booked to stay at Sequoia Lodge, a mid range hotel which looked really cosy, especially in the Winter. Closer to our trip we found out the hotel was going to be closed due to refurbishment during our stay, so we were automatically upgraded to the 4* Newport Bay Club. On arriving at the front of the hotel there was a real “wow factor”. The hotel is huge, Nautical themed and luxurious. It has an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a Disney shop, restaurants and bars. Our room was a superior room with two Mickey Mouse themed double beds, possibly the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in, with the softest pillows which were, I’m sure, stuffed with candy floss! We had a nice outlook towards the Disney Studios park. The room had a kettle, bottled water, a safe, iron and ironing board, and a bathroom with a nice deep bath – which after walking miles round the parks each day I was very grateful of each evening!
Food
We toyed with the idea of meal plans for ages before our trip, and in the end decided not to go for one! There are pros and cons both ways and you need to work out what would be best for you. To have a meal plan would be so much easier, to know all your meals are taken care of. The food at Disneyland is like nothing else, every single mouthful of food we had was delicious, so to have a meal plan and be able to test out more of the restaurants would be great.
The restaurants we did try:
Market House Deli – The best cheese toasties I have ever tasted – we had ham and cheese and turkey and cheese – the turkey was the winner here…my mouth waters thinking about it. We also had some Mickey shaped cakes which were a bit dry and I wouldn’t really recommend, although my little boy loved the novelty shape of them!
Earl of Sandwich – Earl of Sandwich is located outside of the main parks, in Disney Village, overlooking Lake Disney. Their specialty (believe it or not) is deli sandwiches – there is loads of choice and they are incredible. Warm, tasty and filling. They also do breakfast, but we didn’t try this.
Plaza Gardens – We chose to pre–book a table at Plaza Gardens after hearing good reviews. We booked a table for 3:30pm, knowing it was a buffet style restaurant and it would fill us up for the day! The food at this restaurant was incredible. I think I must have had about 5 courses, and tried about everything on the buffet (as you do!) and there wasn’t one thing that I didn’t enjoy. The cuisine was traditional French which we looked forward to trying and we were not disappointed.
Val D’Europe
One train stop away (about a 90 second journey!) Here there is a huge shopping centre, ideal if you fancy a little bit of time out of the Disney Bubble. There is a supermarket here called “Auchen” where we visited to stock up on bottles of coke, crisps, sweets, chocolates, pastries, fruit, and overall just plenty of snacks and drinks for the parks. This helped us keep our costs down massively. There is also a really big Primark in the shopping centre, with a large Disney section! If you are trying to keep costs down it might be worth visiting here for some souvenirs. There are lots of restaurants in the shopping centre. We chose a fast food pizza place, called Pazzi, where robots make your pizza for you! It was a real novelty to watch, and my 3 year old absolutely loved it!
Christmas at Disneyland Paris
We went to Disneyland Paris at the beginning of November, meaning we saw the end of the Halloween season and the start of Christmas season. There were pumpkin decorations one day and Christmas trees the next day! We saw the first Christmas Parade of the season, and the lighting of the Christmas tree. We even had snow 😉 Despite covid restrictions the parade was still so lovely to see and really got us in the Christmas spirit. In the Studios park there is a mini Christmas Market. We didn’t try any of the food offerings but couldn’t resist a mulled wine! Christmas at Disneyland really is the most magical thing. They really know what they’re doing, to entwine the magic of Disney with the magic of Christmas. I can’t recommend a visit at Christmas enough.
Disney Village
Disney Village is the area that connects the parks, to the train station and the on site hotels. Here there are an array of bars, restaurants, a cinema and plenty of Disney shops. There is a real buzz around this area, and it is really pleasant to walk round. You can also see the large hot air balloon – PanoraMagique, situated on Lake Disney, which can take up to 30 guests at a time high into the air for panoramic views of the parks, hotels, and on a good day you can see the Eiffel Tower.
Packing essentials
A few things which are a real must when packing for Disneyland –
A power bank – you wont want your phone dying when you’re trying to take photos, or when you need to check out the Disneyland Paris app.
Lanyard for your tickets – these are available to buy in the park and are so useful, but it’s obviously a money saver to buy them online before you go.
Poncho – we took disposable ponchos just in case of rain, we were lucky with the weather and didn’t have any rain but they were so small in the bottom of my bag and just made me feel comfortable knowing they were there!
Suncream – On the flip side, if you visit in the summer be sure to take plenty of suncream!
Snacks – Take all the snacks you can find into the parks, especially to keep little ones occupied in the ride queues!
Bubbles – Another top tip to keep kids occupied in the queues! Pots of bubbles!
Pushchair – my 3 year old hardly uses his pushchair now, Mr Independent always wants to walk! But we did take his pushchair to Disney and I am so glad we did. On the first 2 days we walked 11 miles per day, and there is no way his little legs would have kept up. Seriously consider the walking ability of your child, and whether you would be glad of a pushchair – they are very expensive to hire in the parks. We saw children of around 6 or 7 still being pushed around!
Summary
We had the most magical trip, and to be honest I just cant wait to visit again! When we got home I couldn’t stop thinking about it! Disneyland Paris isn’t a relaxing or a cheap holiday, but there are ways to make it more affordable and suitable to every budget, and it really is magical. I cant recommend it enough. Wear comfortable shoes, make some sort of itinerary so you don’t end up aimlessly wandering and wasting time, and just have the best time!
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