The Happiest Place on Earth!

I promised in my main Paris blog that I thought this merited it's own piece, even though I was only there a day. 

Seeing as I am a HUGE Disney fan, this also gives me the excuse to just geek out. Let me fill you in on Disneyland Paris! 

Yes, I am a 31-year old woman, but I am a young kid at heart when it comes to this. And a huge nerd. 

Let's have a look into what it's like to spend a day at the happiest place on Earth!

One park or two?: So the first thing when buying your ticket (and once you know which date you want to go on), is whether to do 1 park or 2. Disneyland Paris has 2 parks: Disneyland Park (which is the main one), and Walt Disney Studios Park. I had some people tell me to do both, and some to just do the main one. 

Having been, I can understand why people say you can do both in one day, especially if you do your research. However I chose to just do the Disneyland Park, and there is lots to do there in one day. Next time, I will definitely add in Walt Disney Studios Park (purely on the basis I didn't do it last time), but from this point on, please bear in mind, this piece is written by someone (not some robot) who only went to Disneyland Park. 

Disneyland Park is split into 5 main zones: Main Street USA at the entrance, Adventureland and Frontierland on the left, Discoveryland on the right, and Fantasyland in the centre, going through the stunning Sleeping Beauty Castle. 

Inside the Sleeping Beauty Castle

Getting there: You used (once upon a time) to be able to get the Eurostar directly to Disneyland, but that sadly no longer happens, so you need to get there from Paris itself. 

Disneyland does offer a branded bus from the centre of Paris (around the Arc de Triomphe), but that will set you back 40 euros on top of your park ticket - they need to take a leap out of the Warner Bros Studio in Watford, which included the Shuttle Bus in the ticket price! 

The best route to get to Disneyland is definitely the REF A line on the Métro; the stop is the eastbound terminus Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy, and costs only 5 euros for a single ticket. Alternatively, if you have a Paris Visite to include all Parisian zones, Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy is included in that. 

Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril

Big thrills first: Once you have arrived, got through security (was pretty quick for me), and you've entered Disneyland Park, the best advice I can give you is to do the big rides you want to do first. If you have downloaded the Disneyland App, the best feature is definitely the map of the site, showing you not only where the rides are, but also if they have Premier Access, Single Rider Service, and the queue times. 

Star Wars Hyperion

The one most people will recommend you ride first is Big Thunder Mountain, and I definitely agree with that. Big Thunder Mountain is located in Frontierland, set around a mining train. It also usually has one of the largest queues, so you will be getting it out of the way first. It is not a big water ride like you would expect it to be (despite being surrounded by it); but still a fun way to kick things off. 

From there, I walked round the corner to the big thrill ride in Adventureland: Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril. This was tied (with another ride we shall come to in a minute) for being my favourite ride. This, I admit, was not just because it was thrilling - but the Single Rider service for this ride was ran SO well. I got on it pretty much straight away. And then, after having that amazing thrill, I got on again - and only waited 5 minutes in the Single Rider queue! 

The other two "big thrill" rides are based in Discoveryland; the Star Wars rides. 

Star Wars Hyperion is the other ride which is tied as my favourite. The main setback I had was that the Single Rider queue was not ran as well; but oh my word, if you want a roller-coaster that makes you feel like you're flying around in an X-Wing, then you will LOVE Hyperion. 

I managed to get all of these done before having my lunch, my advice is you follow suit. Hyperion after eating would have been... interesting. 

The other Star Wars ride, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, is a really fun 4D kind of experience, which gives you an idea of intergalactic tourist travel that goes a little... errr... well, pear-shaped. (No spoilers). I went just after the parade, and the queue was only 10 minutes - compared to 60 minutes for some rides! 

The classic rides: Most of the rides everyone knows are in Fantasyland. Not all of them were open, but I did manage to get on the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups and Dumbo the Flying Elephant. I must admit, the tea cups is a very odd ride to do solo. They chucked me in with another two random French girls, and it was a little awkward, so you can afford to miss this one if you are a solo traveller. Dumbo is not as awkward, but again, can be missed if you are solo. 

I would definitely though go for the carousel - it's a classic for a reason. 

Some of the classics everyone knows were shut the day I went, including It's A Small World (wouldn't have done that one anyway), Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast and the Pirates of the Carribbean (the inspiration for the films). Many of the others like Peter Pan's Flight are more targeted for little ones, and the queues are huge, so you can afford to give these a miss. 

The ones I WOULD recommend, are the walks around Adventureland, especially Skull Rock and le Pont Suspendu; and in Fantasyland, there's Alice's Curious Labyrinth. I went on this one right after the tea cups ride (keeping on theme here); it's a great moment to explore, feel like Alice as you meet the characters and work your way across the labyrinth. The end point is the Queen of Hearts' castle, where you can get a view of the whole of Fantasyland. 

Fantasyland - 360 degrees

Attractions: As well as the rides and the walk-throughs, there are opportunities to meet your favourite characters. Meet & Greet queues can be quite long, so if you're not fussed about those, you can skip them. In Fantasyland, if you wanted to meet Mickey Mouse himself, he has his own massive space - but the queue can be as long as most of the rides, if not longer!

There also is the Lion King: Rhythm of the Pride Lands show which I ended up missing, but is recommended if you do get the chance to see it. What I would definitely recommend is getting a spot to see the Dream... and Shine Brighter midday dance in front of the Sleeping Beauty castle (as cheesy as it is), and Disney Stars on Parade along Main Street. 

The floats in the parade are HUGE! 

Each one was themed with different characters, from Mickey and the gang, to Toy Story, the Princesses, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Lion King; and my personal favourite, a massive Maleficent in Dragon form, "fighting" Prince Phillip. 

There is something definitely magical, as cheesy as it is to say, to see all your favourite characters waving at you! Olaf in particular was a special one, as he's someone that all my family are, quite frankly, in love with. 

There is no extra cost to see the Parade either, just make sure you get a spot where you can see everyone go past. 

I must be honest, I was amazed my photos came out decent enough - the sun was blinding me a bit!

In the evening, if you still have energy left, they do have Disney Dreams fireworks at around 9.30pm, and then Disney D-Light a drone lights show around 11pm; that would be more beneficial if you were staying in the Disney Village. If you are getting the train back to Paris, it is roughly an hour after all. And in all honesty, I was KNACKERED!

Cuisine: Here's a confession - the best advice I can give you is to bring as much food with you as you can. Now, just to clarify, everything I ate in the parks wasn't bad. But it is expensive. So if you want to keep costs down, then pack a picnic to eat in the park. I did bring as many snacks as I could, but I do wish I had at least bought my lunch. 

Speaking of lunch, I ended up at the Hakuna Matata restaurant, an African themed place in Adventureland; I ended up going for one of their salads, which turned out to be ok value compared to the rest of the menu. I felt it needed the chicken though, glad I didn't get the vegetarian version. 

The only other food I grabbed (other than a Mickey ice cream after Dumbo (that was a rough queue)), is this Mickey pretzel filled with ham and cheese It was HUGE!!!!! And also very filling, which made me feel better about the price. 

If you want to splurge a bit more, then I heard very good things about the Agrabah Restaurant, which is 40 euros for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Shopping advice: It is very hard NOT to spend a lot of money here. I will not lie. 

Got my Minnie ears

If you intend to do some shopping, it's super important to keep in mind: a) who are you getting presents for, and what you think they would enjoy, and b) how much space you have in your suitcase. You do have the return journey to worry about after all. 

There are shops everywhere along Main Street USA, as well as a couple here and there scattered around the parks. A lot of them, in all honesty, sell a lot of the same merch and they can blur into one. But the better ones are the ones with particular characters in mind: in my case in particular, the Discoveryland ones, as they had a lot of merch with either Stitch, Star Wars, Toy Story, or the Marvel characters, especially the Guardians of the Galaxy stuff. 

I had in mind something edible to take back for my colleagues - right decision, they always love chocolate and biscuits. Then also ended up with things like keyrings, magnets, and a couple of mugs for my parents and best mates (and of course a keep sake for myself). I also could not resist getting a pair of ears, going in the end for the classic Minnie Mouse ones.  

Final notes: Told you you can pack a lot in just one park. If you, like me, had never done Disneyland before, Paris would be a great one to start out with. It's fun, magical and brings out your inner child big time. But, especially if you arrive not long after the park opens (at half 9, I was there around half 10), be prepared to have a long day, and feel very tired by the end of it. 

I also want to say how friendly all the Cast Members (or staff) were. They were, in fact, some of the most patient people throughout the whole trip with my wishes to speak French. They knew I was English, but often asked if I wanted to speak French or English with them, and followed along without question when I asked to converse with them in French. Merci á tous.  

Here are my final top tips if you are spending the day in Disneyland Paris. 

1. Do your research and have a plan of action. If you're looking to pack as many big thrills as possible, get a ticket for both parks, and fill them in; there are more thrills in Walt Disney Studios Park than Disneyland Park has. 
2. Rides do not have lockers etc for bags, so you will need to keep anything you have shoved between your knees, even on the big rides. Don't worry, if they didn't slip around with me, they won't for you. 
3. Bring water. You're likely to be there a LONG time, so have plenty of fluids. 
4. Have mentioned this before, but will say again, bring plenty of snacks. The less you have to spend on food/drinks, the better. 
5. For the love of Mickey, Donald and Goofy.... wear flats. I did 20,000 steps at Disneyland. More than any other day in Paris!