We went to Paris for summer vacation. It isn’t too far away, we drove – so plenty of break opportunities. I hate packing, but summer trips are easy. We took our car, so I didn’t have to get out the baggage scales. It was perfect and I wasn’t excited at all. I was never a huge fan of Paris. There are neverending throngs of people in the city centre. Like every big European City, the prices for necessities like water and toilets are ridiculous. There is trash everywhere and it’s always loud.
As you can see I had not the best expectations of this trip. I agreed to it, because the kids loved Disneyland the last time around and I thought it the easiest way to make everyone happy. As the day of departure came closure I’d talk this trip up to myself to get excited. I didn’t want to spend a week looking at the bad stuff. Also I didn’t want to spoil anyone elses fun.
The drive to Paris turned out to be fun. We left home at about 1 pm and hit the first traffic jam in Hamburg city. It was the second day of school break, so of course there were a lot of families leaving the city. All in all we encountered four traffic jams. We arrived at the Belgium border at about 8pm and had dinner at Burger King. Aferwards we didn’t make any more stops, because the kids fell asleep and I dozed off a few times as well. It was smooth sailing from there onwards. We arrived at our Hotel in Montevrain at 1 am.
Day 1: Montevrain
The night was short but we went to the breakfast buffet well rested and with anticipation. We chose this location because its well connected to Disneyland Paris. In the dining hall we spotted a lot of Minnie Ears and Disney merch. I noticed that this made me anxious as well as excited. It changed the way I looked at this trip. I said to myself that it didn’t matter where we came for our summer vacation. The important part is that I am greatful for being able to. I’m happy about the people I came with. So that was the moment the disney magic could start working its wonders on me.
We spent this first day relaxing and gathering our energy for the next day. I personally like watching the locals. This way I usually find out where the best cafes and restaurants are. Where to shop and what to see. We had a nice time exploring Montevrain, went to the mall to have a look around and bought some handheld minifans, because it was 35 degrees Celcius. They were a lifesaver the next few days. We strolled around La Vallee Village, which was lovely. It’ s this Designer Outlet Mall, that resembels a meditarranean village. We had some snacks at Laduree and Pierre Herme. I the evening we decided on an early dinner at Graziella’s, this beautiful italian restaurant with the best truffel pasta I had in a long time. After that we called it a night.
Day 2: Disneyland Paris
We went to the breakfast buffet as early as 7 am. It was packed with Disneyland visitors. Mostly families with little kids. Our kids were almost feverish with excitement. And to be honest, it was infectous. We ate as much as we could, I had two coffees and off we went. We decided to take the car, because it was a five minute drive and parking cost 20 € per day. It was cheaper than the metro and we could go back to the hotel so the kids could take a nap. From the parking place it’s only a five minute walk to Disney village and we got there stress-free.
The security staff checked our bags and in we went. Instantly I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the beautiful architecture, the Disneyland hotel and the masses of people all around us. We decided to go to Adventure World first. The newly opened Frozenland was at the top of our to-do-list. So we headed there, went on the spinning Rapunzel cups on the way, and queued for a bit over an hour for the Frozen ride. The waiting area was beautifully made, with a lot of details from the movie, so we didn’t mind. The ride was incredibly good. Our little daughter had the time of her life, except for the small drop in the middle.
After we all were a bit peckish and grabbed some curry hotdogs. They weren’t to everyones tastes. Luckily I had packed a few snacks. We walked around toystory land, went on Aladdins flying carpets and headed to the Cars ride. We headed to the Avengers Campus, where we were greeted by Spiderman. After browsing some shops we came out to see Captain America waving to the onlookers.
We managed to get some Character meet and greets, with Ana and Elsa and Doctor Strange. So we had to maneuver around a bit to make it on time. The kids were really into it, so they didn’t complain about all the walking. We had our afternoon break at the hotel and went back out to walk around in the evening and seeing the light show. For dinner we went to Mcdonald’s at the fornt of the Park. We were wiped after the Cascade of Lights show. It was beautiful though.
Day 3: Disneyland Paris
We didn’t make ist to breakfast as early as the day before. We ate quickly and headed to Disney Park. It was packed at the entrance, but the ticket gates ran smoothly, so the line kept moving quickly.
Mickey greeted us at the entrance train station. We were lucky, because after five minutes, he waved his farewells. The kids wanted to have some Disney Ears and I bought myself a scarf for the fall. We went on a few rides the main park. There were a lot more options war small kids. We also went on the Pirates of the Carribbean ride, wich is one of my favourites. In between we managed to book a meet and greet with Mickey Mouse. We ran into Max without Goofy. It was really magical. Unfortunateley the parade was called off due to the incredible heat. So had Lunch at the Hyperion Cafe and went back to the hotel to have a little resttime. The kids slept for two hours.
Afterwards we went into the Park again. The kids went on the Dumbo ride and the small World ride. We all hopped on the little Disney train and visited Agrabah. I picked up a Mushu glass for my sister, who is a huge Mulan fan. Also got myself a few Macarons with Disney Charaters on them. We had HotDogs for dinner and watched the Fireworks at the end.
The fireworks show got altered due to the heat again. There were only the Laserlights and Drones. This was really disappointing, even though ist was beautifully made. Everyone who has seen the full fireworks show at Disneyland knows the difference. The end to our Disneyland adventure this year had arrived and we were sad about it. The kids were allowed to buy something. They got an allowance and proceeded to spend it on a Lego set and a little mermaids bubble making wand. We headed to the hotel and the kids fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
I was really tired, but couldn’t sleep right away. I had to ponder the day for a bit and found, that I had to be greatful for the experience. Disneyland may be all manmade and made for profit, but it is also made to bring a bit of magic and joy into our lives, that are normally filled with work, stress and timetables. Looking on the experience with this new perspective, I’d love to go back in the future. Do you have any experience with Disney magic?