So far, I have shared what we got up to on our first day and second day at Disneyland Paris, and today I’m back to tell you all about Day Three! If you haven’t seen my first post, my family and I went to Disneyland Paris back in September 2018 to kick off my 30th Birthday celebrations.
We were up very early on Wednesday morning, as we wanted to make the most of our Extra Magic Hours (if you stay in a Disney Hotel, you can go into the park before the general public). So my Mum, Bekkah and I headed through the Disney Village to the Disneyland Park before breakfast, with the aim of making some appointments to meet some of our favourite characters. Unfortunately, it turned out that you couldn’t actually make the appointments (which you can make if you have an accessibility pass) during Extra Magic Hours. However, we still decided to make the most of the quieter Magic Hours and managed to meet Minnie Mouse in her gorgeous 25thAnniversary blue dress. I absolutely loved the PhotoPass photos we got during our character interactions. I only wish I had been more organised and worked out some Disney bounding outfits so I looked a bit more put together!
We then made our way down Main Street, where I met Donald Duck for the second time of our trip! But as far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as too much Donald, so I was more than happy to get some more photos with him! He’s great for interactions as well and had everyone laughing, including the Cast Members!
As the park was still relatively quiet, we wanted to try and get some photos in front of the castle. Unfortunately the sky was a bit grey and dreary, but that wasn’t going to put us off getting our photos! I do think it’s a real shame that they don’t have a PhotoPass photographer around this area like they do in America, as so many people want to get a good picture in front of the iconic castle that I can imagine it would be a really popular PhotoPass spot. Still, we managed to get a few nice photos between ourselves.
After meeting Minnie and Donald, we were feeling pretty peckish, so we went back to our hotel for some breakfast. As with every day, there was a character meet in the hotel lobby, and today’s character was Pluto. The queue was fairly small by the time we got there, so while we waited for my Dad to come down from the room we went to say hello to Pluto. He was another great character for interactions and was so funny in front of the camera.
Once we had eaten our breakfast (this time in the Manhattan Diner, which had a Marvel theme), we went back to the Disneyland Park and, after taking a few more photos in front of the castle; we went to meet the main man himself – Mickey! Unlike a lot of the other characters, you meet Mickey Mouse inside a special building, where you head backstage to see him in between his magic shows. The queues looked pretty long for this meet and greet, but luckily my Green Access Pass meant we could go in the disabled entrance and so we didn’t have to queue for too long, which was a real lifesaver!
We had hoped to meet Winnie the Pooh next, so we wandered through Fantasyland towards his meet and greet spot. I think out of all the areas in the Disneyland Park, Fantasyland is probably my favourite. I just loved seeing all the buildings, decorations and theming as we walked through it. We went past Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, which I’m gutted we never got round to doing, as it looked really good. We also saw the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, which look so pretty (and I’ve heard look amazing lit up at night) although I’d never be able to go on them, as I get too dizzy!
Unfortunately, all the Winnie the Pooh appointments had already been booked up and the queue was really long, so we decided to give seeing him a miss. But as we were walking back through Fantasyland, we bumped into Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They were definitely in character and were up to no good, causing mischief around the park! When one of them saw I had a birthday badge on, he ran to grab the other one and they both ‘sang’ Happy Birthday to me, which was great fun and drew a bit of a crowd!
By this point, we had decided it was time to go on some rides, and as my sisters had gone off to do something else, my Mum, Dad and I opted for a few of the more gentle rides in the park! We started with Peter Pan’s Flight, as I had heard so many good reviews of it. They weren’t wrong! It was one of my favourite rides of the trip – you float through the air in a pirate ship and see various scenes from Peter Pan below you. The attention to detail was fantastic and you really feel like you’re flying – I would recommend it again and again.
Next up was Le Pays de Contes de Feés; a relaxing and gentle boat ride through the enchanting realm of Disney’s Storybook Land. This is something that the whole family can enjoy, and it was lovely seeing miniature versions of well known fairy tales like The Wizard of Oz, The Sword in the Stone, Peter and the Wolf, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. We followed this with It’s a Small World, which, if I’m totally honest, scares me a little bit (although I’m not sure that’s the aim!)
As we made our way back through Fantasyland towards Main Street, we had to go through the centre of the castle. I knew you could climb up into the castle to look out onto the park, but assumed that because I was in a wheelchair I wouldn’t be able to do it. But as we were passing through, we noticed a lift, so decided to head up into the castle to see what was up there. I would definitely recommend doing this if you can, because upstairs are the most beautiful stained glass windows that are well worth a look. You can also have a fantastic view over the whole park from up there and it’s good fun spotting different rides in the different areas.
We were feeling pretty hungry after so much exploring, so Bekkah suggested we try out Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost in Adventureland for a bit of lunch. This is a counter service restaurant serving Italian dishes like pizza and pasta. They did a pretty good meal deal, which included a pizza, garlic bread, salad and an ice cream, although we ended up with way too much so probably shouldn’t have ordered quite so much!
As we were already in Adventureland, after lunch we decided to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, as we remembered really enjoying it when we visited ten years ago! Basically, you ride in a boat around an old town as you join Captain Jack Sparrow on his quest to unearth his hidden treasure. It’s pretty dark and noisy, so young children might find it a bit scary, but there are some great special effects, music to sing along to and even a very small dip down (which you feel is going to be more of a drop than it actually is!)
Rosiie, Bekkah and I were desperate to go on Big Thunder Mountain again, and as we were so close we made our way over for a quick spin on the old mine train. By this point we were feeling pretty exhausted, so started heading back up Main Street with the intention of going back to our hotel for a bit. But, like always, I was soon distracted by some of the shops on Main Street, so had a little look around Harringtons (which has beautiful window displays) and Boardwalk Candy Place. I’m so gutted I didn’t buy any Mickey shaped treats – they looked so yummy!
We were heading towards the exit, but then my Dad noticed that the Disneyland Railroad was running again, after having a technical fault earlier in the day. So we decided to take the lift up to the station and go for a leisurely ride around the whole of the Disneyland Park. I think this would be a really good thing to do at the beginning of your trip to Disney, as it allows you to pretty much see the layout of the whole park from above, as well as parts you don’t see when you’re walking around. It’s also a good way of getting between the different lands without having to walk all the way, so would be good if you’ve got young children or if you’re just struggling to walk.
After some down time resting back in our hotel room, it was time for some much-needed dinner! This evening, we had booked to eat in Hunter’s Grill, which is a buffet restaurant in the Sequoia Lodge Hotel, just a short walk from the New York Hotel. It feels really cosy as soon as you enter, with lots of dark wood, stone and beautiful lights that show a cut out of a forest, mountains and some deer. The food was also amazing again, with so much choice and something suitable for every possible taste. Plus there were some delicious mini doughnuts for pudding and my favourite raspberry sweets!
Once we’d eaten, we made our way back into the park for the firework display at the castle. Despite us being fairly early, it was already really busy, but thankfully a Cast Member spotted us and took us round to the disabled area right at the front. We were so lucky to have such a good view! I’m not sure I can even find the words to describe the fireworks – they were just incredible. The photos just don't do them justice, so do head over to my YouTube to see some video footage as well. It’s a mixture of fireworks, water, fire and projections onto the castle, all put along to a medley of Disney tunes. Everyone was singing along, gasping every time some fireworks came and I even shed a few tears at one point because it was just so spectacular and I couldn’t believe I was there watching it. At the end, we followed the crowds out of the park and waved goodbye to Mickey Mouse as he stood above us at the exit. We were beyond exhausted after a jam-packed day, but it was totally worth it!
Check back again soon to find out what we did on Day Four of our Disneyland Paris holiday! And don’t forget, you can also check out my vlogs from our trip on my YouTube channel.
Have you been to Disneyland Paris or are you planning a Disney holiday soon? I’d love to hear your favourite things about Disney!
It sounds like you had a wonderful time! I went to Orlando in November but I still need to tick DLP off my list
ReplyDeleteAh thank you - we had a brilliant time! I'm very jealous of you going to Orlando - it's been on my Bucket List for years! I hope you can tick DLP off your list soon :) xx
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