Our Magic Break to Disneyland Paris

By the time we used our Fast Pass for Peter Pan later in the day, the majority of the other rides had already fully booked up so we were unable to use it on subsequent rides. With hindsight we should have headed straight to our chosen ride with the longest queues at the very start of the day (Buzz Lightyear or Thunder Mountain) and really got our use out of the Fast Pass for rides throughout the day.

Luckily we found that the queues in Discovery Land were relatively short during the early morning and we were able to get on rides like the Carousel within five minutes. Having heard how cold Paris was during December I was so worried about the children getting cold as we queued and yet it turns out the weather was quite mild and if anything they complained about being too warm!

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The carousel is one of my absolute favourite rides wherever we go, I think here is something very special about an old fashioned when the music is playing and the children are laughing. Although I assure you I didn’t spend my whole day crying, that lump in my throat was pretty hard to swallow in these moments,

If I had to choose one favourite at Disneyland Paris it would be It’s a Small World, the ultimate feel good ride I have ever experienced. As a teenager visiting Disneyland with friends I had fallen in love with it, and with a 5 year old Lewis I had loved every moment of seeing it all over again through his eyes. Now, with Eva, Megan and Harry, I had hoped they would love it just as much as I did, and I was right!

I’m told that the queue for It’s a small world can get pretty long yet we walked on, twice throughout the day, in just give minutes. For those who haven’t seen it before, you get on a boat which takes you on a tour of the world whilst the song “It’s a small world” plays, over and over, in the background. Just be warned, you’ll still be singing the song for days afterwards!

It’s a small world manages to encompass every little piece of Disney magic to create something so heart warming and visually engaging that anyone of any age can enjoy it. The great thing is that each time you go on the ride you spot something different so whether it’s your first or your fifth time, the is always something new  and exciting to see.

The children absolutely loved shouting out each country as we came to it, squealing with delight at all of the dolls and the animals, and beaming the biggest, happiest smiles you could ever imagine. I feel as though I missed the entire ride the first time round because I was completely mesmerised by the look on all of their faces!

From there we explored Alice’s Curious Labyrinth which you don’t need to queue for so a good one to do while you wait for Fast Pass ride times. The great thing about Disneyland is that even if you don’t want to do any rides at all, there is still so much more you can do to enjoy the experience.

The children loved running around the little maze, stopping off at each of the photograph points and then heading up to the top of the house which gives you a great view of the park. Seeing Disneyland from above with the castle in the distance really makes you feel as though you are a whole world away from home!

Also in Discovery Land the children enjoyed some of the smaller rides which ironically, ended up being our longest queues of the day. Using the app you can check the queue times of every ride although we did find in some cases, such as the Dumbo ride, the actual times were far higher than the estimations!

Saying that, considering our stay was over a weekend the queues really weren’t as bad as I expected! We found the queue times were far shorter first thing in the day or later in the evening so planning any big rides around those times would really make a big difference to just how much you can do on your visit.

The thing I had been looking forward to the most, and a real bonus of visiting during the festive period, was the Disney Christmas parade at noon. Be warned, people take their parade spot very seriously and start queueing for up to an hour, sometimes even more, before. We were lucky to grab a spot up near the castle and the children sat down on the pavement edge and did not move. It gets a little brutal when the crowds start but you just have to hold your own and stand firm!

I can’t even put into words how amazing the Disney parades are and as the first dancers came our way, with the Christmas music playing and the castle in the background, it was a really special moment to share. The parades at Disney are on a whole new level when it comes to extravagance and just sat here thinking about the most incredible atmosphere and our favourite Disney characters waving from the floats gives me goosebumps all over again!

Although I have seen the Disney parades on my previous visit, albeit ten years ago, I think I’d go as far as saying that the Christmas parade is even more special and if you’re thinking about visiting Disneyland Paris during the festive season, it is absolutely worth it and the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit.

For those who aren’t interested in the parades (although seriously, you are missing out!!), it’s the best time to get on as many rides as possible whilst the queues are so much shorter. I checked the app during the parade times and the queue times were just a fraction of what they had been previously in the day.

The most magical part of the Christmas parade was right at the end when Father Christmas came out on his sleigh, waving at the children as he passed. There was a really magical moment when he turned, just as he passed Eva, Megan and Harry, and looked directly at us with a huge smile and wave and the children flushed crimson with excitement. “It’s Father Christmas!!” Harry whispered beside me, a vice like grip on my arm, and yes, for the five billionth time that day, tears poured down my cheeks.

Next on our list was Adventureland and we had seen via the app that many of the characters are available in here for meet and greets. Most of the meet and greets within Disneyland Paris are simple queueing systems where you get in line and wait it out to meet the characters. For other characters you need to book in advance via the Lineberty app which operates a virtual queuing system opening 15 minutes before scheduled meet and greet times.

Ever since the children were small they’ve all been a little bit overwhelmed by characters in costume, finding them a little too overwhelming and feeling incredibly shy at meeting them. For that reason I didn’t sign us up to any of the virtual queues and yet when we stumbled across Pluto I somehow coaxed the children into the queue and I am so glad I did. When our turn came after just a couple of minutes wait, the girls rushed into his arms, closely followed by Harry, and refused to let go!

As we turned the corner and saw Jesse, the children’s favourite character from Toy Story, they practically dragged me into the queue! “I’m going to ask for her autograph!” said Megan, busting with a new found confidence and, as our turn came around, all three charged at her and enveloped her in a huge hug!

I loved that even though the meet and greets have a professional photographer for you to later by the images, they are also really accommodating for taking your own photographs too. They even encouraged Gaz and I to get into the photographs too, snapping away to give us some lovely memories of the five of us to look back on.

We decided to choose one more ride before lunch and it was pretty unanimous that should be the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We love the films and have enjoyed them together over the years and as soon as we saw the ship the children were practically jumping with excitement!

The ride takes place on the water with a few little drops and turns and so many fantastic scenes to sit back and enjoy. Some parts are a little dark and, although not really scary, Megan buried her head in my coat and refused to open her eyes for the rest of the ride! Harry on the other hand loved every second and seeing Jack Sparrow was a real highlight for him!

When it comes to dining at Disney there are so many options and it feels like a huge decision to make! On the one hand you have the Disney village, just a short walk away back out of the gates, with a range of restaurants and diners to choose from, and on the other you can stay in the park and either eat in or take out. For us with three children who didn’t want to waste a single second of our time here, grabbing some food on the go was the best option although be warned, it’s expensive!

We ate at Casey’s Corner which sells hot dogs, nuggets and fries. Gaz and the children eat chose hot dogs or nuggets where as being gluten free I found it really difficult. I had to eat fries pretty much the whole day (and crisps!) as although the restaurants had gluten free options, fast food on the go did not.

After lunch we flitted between Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios next door (more about that later) but with the Character Parade high on our list of things to see we headed back to hover around the castle area ready to swoop in and get a good spot nearer the time.

Although we didn’t see any of the shows at Disneyland Paris, there are several on throughout the day. I personally thought the shows in Walt Disney Studios were better and so it’s important to really plan out your days if you are flitting between one park and the other. In future visits I would dedicate one day to each park and use any future days to go back and revisit our favourites.

Of all the rides we did during our stay, the one the children talk about the most was Star Wars. You can use your Fast Pass on the ride, although we didn’t feel this was necessary as the queues were very short, and it takes you on a flight simulator under water, whizzing down mountains and up into space. We loved it so much we went on twice over and I loved that the second time it was slightly different which was a great surprise!

Having spent the day refreshing the app to check whether the Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast queue had gone down any, we were so pleased to discover that just before the evening parade the queue had dropped to just ten minutes (it had previously been on over 90 minutes!). It is such a fun, interactive ride and was Lewis’s favourite as a child.

It’s a real must but in the future I think we would have used our Fast Pass on this as soon we entered the park.

The character parade is such a great chance to see all of the characters at the same time, saving you time if you’d rather not queue for meet and greets. The girls almost exploded with happiness when their favourite Disney princesses came past, especially Elsa and Anna who they have waited their whole life to see!

By the time the parade had ended it had gone almost completely dark and Sleeping Beauty’s looked absolutely beautiful against the night sky. We took the opportunity to rush ahead and take a few photos whilst the castle area was relatively quiet. Since we have got back home I’ve put all of our photographs in an album for the children and the castle photos are their absolute favourite.

We also managed to walk straight on to a few of the rides at Discovery Land as the park was noticeably quieter after the Character Parade. It’s also a good time to head back over to Walt Disney Studios to make use of the shorter queues there too. I’ll be sharing more about that later this week.

Each day at Disney. ends with the fireworks and the most spectacular display projected onto Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The only downside to this is that people start queuing around 90 minutes before the display to get a decent spot and with three small children, we just weren’t willing to do that! Instead we explored Main Street a little more, enjoying the Christmas lights, wandering in and out of the shops and just soaking up the atmosphere.

I’m not going to lie, everything at Disneyland Paris is expensive and if you’re trying to do it on a budget (which is most definitely possible) I’d advise you to keep the children well away. from the shops. Usually we would allow the children to choose a treat and yet with it being so close to Christmas (just ten days away) we explained that Father Christmas would be bringing lots of presents and they must be patient and wait. Miraculously it seems to work and we saved ourselves a small fortune in the process!

As we left the park, hand in hand and beaming from ear to ear, Eva and Harry told me it was the best day of their whole lives with Megan declaring although she had loved it, but it was only the second best day of her life. “What was your best day Meggy?” I had asked, pulling her close as we waited at the bus stop. “It was the day I was born and I got to meet my Mama.” she told me. And, I’m sure you already guessed it, I cried all over again!! Because the truth is as much as Disneyland was their dream come true, they, my beautiful little rainbows, are mine.