I have attempted to write this blog entry several times, but I haven’t known where to start and I have been overwhelmed by how much I have to share. Perhaps I should start it with my catch phrase for the holiday…
Disneyland is the happiest place on earth!
For months and months I have been saying how badly I wanted to go to Disneyland Resort Paris, and finally someone entertained the idea with me. Eurostar had some fantastic package deals going (£230 for train and accommodation), so Alli, Karina and I decided to go for the Easter long weekend.
We had a very early start on Friday morning, as we boarded the Eurostar with ham and cheese sandwiches (Alli and Karina) and a belly full of excitement (moi). I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Eurostar is my favourite way to travel. Within a few hours we arrived at the train station outside Disneyland Paris (henceforthwith to be referred to as Disneyland), dropped our bags off at the hotel, and then hit the massive shopping mall across from where we were staying. This was a bit of a novelty – you don’t get shopping centres in London as all of the shops are on the High Streets. We picked up a few necessities (dresses and denim skirts) and then proceeded to set up shop at the only pub in the funny little village, where we sat drinking inexpensively good wine and beer until the sky got dark at 9pm.
Side note – they built Disneyland and it’s surrounding hotels in the middle of nowhere, so it felt like you were on a movie lot. You would look down the street and it would end and there would just be flat empty fields. You would look the other day down the street and it was the same again.
Saturday morning we got up early, put our most comfortable shoes and flattering tops on (in preparation for a lot of walking and a lot of photos) and hit the park.
The week before I had done some internet research and found a website created by a woman that must go to Disneyland several times a year. She gave explicit instructions as to which turnstile to go to, which ride to go on first, how to dissuade people from overtaking you and other handy tips.
First up was Frontierland, and the Thunder Mountain Railroad ride. This was the best thing to wake up three slightly sleepy girls, and we laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes. From there we hit Indiana Jones, where I questioned the need for a harness until we found out the ride went upside down. Karina and Alli weren’t too happy with that.
We got Fast Passes for Peter Pan, and while waiting for our allotted time to ride we pepped ourselves up with a fantastic espresso (French coffee is so much better than the rubbish you get in London), surprisingly enjoyed the annoying song and freaky animatronics of It’s A Small World, nearly brought up said espresso on the Spinning Tea Cups, and had a little wander around Fantasyland.
Peter Pan was okay, though not worth the 40 minutes wait that many poor parents were enduring with their restless children. However the Snow White ride was even more disappointing, with the woman in question making just one appearance at the end of the ride. We took a shortcut through the castle over to Futureland, where we picked up Fast Passes for Space Mountain, before heading back to Frontierland for a delightful and well-priced lunch of fajitas. The rest of the afternoon was a busy one as we tackled Space Mountain (Best. Ride. Ever!), the carousel, the Buzz Lightyear laser ride, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3D show, the Haunted Mansion, the slowest train in the world, and the Storybook boat ride.
Surprisingly, the Storybook boat ride provided us with the biggest laugh of the day. Each boat has four rows of seats, and Alli, Karina and I sat in the front row. The next to board the vessel were a couple and their two kids, however the wife and one child got in the second row and sat on the left hand side, and her husband with the other child got in the third row and sat on the left had side. Suddenly the little pink boat lurched to the side and we were in danger of capsizing among the minature replicas of storybook settings. Without missing a beat, Alli has turned around and said “I’m no marine expert, but I know what floats! Now one have you is going to have to move over”. Ha ha ha!
I had the most fantastic day, and was walking around the park with a massive grin on my grid for most of it. Everything at Disneyland is done so well. All of the waiting areas and exit areas for the rides are themed – actually, there isn’t a single square metre of the park that isn’t themed. Music is piped throughout the park, with the theme songs from all your favourite Disney movies. Everyone is getting around wearing Minnie or Mickey Mouse ears or toting massive character-shaped helium balloons behind them. Little girls could buy replica Disney princess dresses, so there were lots of cute Belles and Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauties everywhere. Being in France, the place had a slight European feel to it, and all of voiceovers for the rides were in French.
We finished the day with some souvenir shopping and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, before we went back to the hotel and crashed, very happy and very tired.
On Sunday we decided to go to Warner Bros Studios next door to Disneyland with our two-day park hopper pass, but not before another ride on Thunder Mountain Railroad to wake us up. There were at least three times as many people in the park on Sunday, which sort of killed our excitement. And I have to say, after the magical day we had at Disneyland, the Studios were disappointing. Alli and I lined up for the Aerosmith Rock and Rollercoaster, but it broke down as we were nearing the front of the queue. Then we waited nearly an hour to go on the Studio Tour, which was the biggest piece of rubbish ever. I got a Fast Pass for the Hollywood Hotel ride, but even that didn’t work as I had to wait in line for nearly half an hour while a German family standing behind me got all up in my business. There is a joke about invasion of personal space and invasion of Poland to be made, but I’ll let you do it. In theme park terms, if Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, than Warner Bros Studios is the crappiest place on earth.
All in all though, I really had a wonderful time. I missed spending Easter with the family, but this was best way to spend it otherwise!
“When you wish upon a star, Makes no difference who you are, Anything your heart desires, Will come to you” When You Wish Upon a Star, Disney
