I’ve been in love with all things Disney for as long as I can remember. The first time I actually went to Disneyland Paris, I was 12 and I remember it being a truly magical experience. Side note, it was also my first time in Paris and frankly the whole trip was pretty magical. There’s a certain fantasy attached to Paris (and France in general) and it being the only European Disney location can’t be a coincidence.
My sister promised my nephew to take him to Disneyland this year and since he apparently inherited her elephant’s memory, she had to make it happen and roped me in. I wasn’t too sure if I was up for it to be honest. I didn’t want to mess up my childhood memories of my only Disneyland experience and I also didn’t want to be the sullen adult standing in endless queues surrounded by kids who were too young to appreciate the characters that I had loved as a child. #Justsaying my nephew is relatively new to Disney (by comparison to me!) and anyone who tells you that Disney is only for kids is a hater and quite likely a serial killer!
If I was worried that the magic would be lost on me, in the end my fears were unfounded. From the moment we stepped off the bus at the station, it was like we had fallen under the spell of the park. The parades were exciting and the dancers were so thrilling. The touch of the bhangra drummers for the Jungle Book Jive was genius and brought a new feel to an old (and yes I know problematic!) Disney classic that I thought I already knew. I hugged Goofy and Chip & Dale are the cutest! I was a bit awed when we met Mickey just like my nephew and the Queen of Hearts was hilarious! We actually didn’t go on many rides but just walking around the park was awesome. Staff were full of joy and so polite even when telling us a ride was not open.
Some things to note:
- It’s expensive. Like seriously expensive. 4 hats cost just under €100 and we had literally just arrived. There are also merchandise shops everywhere so prepare to be enticed every step of the way!
- You have to queue for everything and the queues can get quite long so arrive early and keep that in mind. Saying that though, we went in the summer at the height of the peak season and honestly, queuing was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Example we queued for 45 minutes to meet Mickey Mouse but it went by so quickly especially because we were in a room watching cartoons so no one was complaining.
- Fastpass may speed up the process of queuing but not by enough to justify the cost but that’s just my opinion. Rather than spend that money, try and plan your trip around the off peak periods.
- There are multiple parks and the standard day ticket only grants you entry to one park. So unless you have endless reserves of energy, allow enough time to go on multiple days so you can see a park a day.
- Disneyland is NOT in Paris it’s just outside so it’s a bit of trek to get there. Factor that in to your journey planning if you are planning to stay in Paris. We stayed in the Radisson Blu Hotel Paris, Marne-la-Vallée and it was awesome. Great facilities, super service, and a free shuttle every 30 minutes to and from the Disney Parks. What more could you ask for?
If you’re an adult and love Disney but hesitant to visit because you don’t have a child, my advice is borrow one, or just go anyway. In fact, I say just go anyway, there are tons of adults in Disneyland without children and the pros are boundless. Like Nike, just do it!
Have you been to Disneyland Paris or any other Disney Park? What was your experience like? Shout in the comments below!
