Oui Paris (part 2) & Disneyland

The Day was here, and morning brought us rumbling in our stomachs. With breakfast only being 8.30 euros per person at the hotel (Au Pacific hotel) it seemed like a no brainer to eat in, rather then spend our time looking for a place to eat. This way we could get to Disneyland earlier.

For 8.30 euros we got unlimited teas and coffees, freshly baked croissants, Pain au Chocolat, selection of butters and cheeses, cereals and juices. Exactly what we needed before we headed off.

With our headbands on we went straight to the Metro station which was a 5 minute walk away from the Hotel. We got our tickets at 7.10 euros each, which took us straight to Marne-la-Vallee- Chessy, which is the station right outside Disneyland.

With our luggage in tow, we thought it’d be best to do a quick stop by at our hotel, drop off luggage, grab a few bottles of water and then head to the magical kingdom.

Our stay for the night was at AppartHotel which was a 10 minute drive away from the park itself. We took a taxi to our hotel which cost us 20 euros.

Check in was at 3, and we had arrived at 11, so we asked if we could leave our luggage. The receptionist staff were super friendly and informed us our room was ready. Extremely pleased we went straight up to our room, deposited our bags, freshened up, and made our way to the magical world of Disney.

One of the perks of this hotel is that it offers a shuttle bus which takes us directly to Disneyland for 2 euros each return. This bus runs every half hour throughout the day. (Minus a few gaps in the day) This is perfect for people who want to stay for longer, as taxis are really a big expense when it comes to travelling on holiday.

And we here….

Now the thing is, once we got here… We didn’t know what to do or where to go…. We always wanted to go to Disneyland, we talked about it, how we would get there, where we would stay, when we would go, how long for….. But we never ever spoke about what we would do once we got there…and now we were here we felt confused and overwhelmed.

We figured out that there are 3 areas: ‘Disneyland’, ‘Disney Studios’, and ‘Disney Village’ which is the Disney shopping heaven. After abit of ” where shall we go? What do we do? Where are we?” “What are we doing here?” We decided on the ‘Disneyland’ Park itself.

Every step we took was magical, with the music softly playing in the background, throughout the park, the magic was all around us. Before coming into the park, me and Sabina were talking about how we had left our kids behind ( I have 2 boys, and she has 3 girls) and how mean it was of us, (it still is mean, but forgivable. I guess) but in Disneyland, age is only a number, young and old were dressed up from head to toe, and in the magical spirit, I didn’t know whether to look at the people or the surroundings. It truly was magical.

Knowing that we only had the day here, we didn’t want to spend too much time waiting in the queues so that we could get to all the areas and explore. We managed to get into “Alice’s Curious Labyrinth” within 10 minutes. This is a maze which weaves through hedges and we get to see characters and doors that pop out of every corner. The aim is to get to the ‘Queen of Hearts Castle’ .

We next joined the queue to “it’s a small world”- which was a relaxing, colourful, vibrant boat ride, all held inside a big dome. Featuring dolls, all dressed in there traditional attire representing the 7 continents of the world, all singing in there representative language the song “it’s a small world” .

This queue for this actually took just over an hour. After this we decided to move onto the “Disney Studios” as we didn’t want to miss out on this, and we also needed to be back at “Disneyland” for the parade at 5.30.

We didn’t spend too much time here, as it was already 4 in the afternoon and we needed to get back for the parade to ensure we get some good viewing space. We did get to see an exclusive viewing of the new Toy story 4 in 3d which was brilliant. But straight after this we headed back to get our places for the parade. Should I ever come back again I would definitely spend more time here, as reviews show that this is actually better than “Disneyland” park because it’s been built after and renovations are still being carried out.

And now the parade…

A show not to be missed. It’s last around 45 minutes,but it really is sensational. My phone is full of videos, each one as magical as the other, but seeing it live is another feeling completely.

As soon as we knew the parade was about to end we headed off for a bite too eat. Having been told from back home, just how packed it could get, with queues of up to an hour, we were prepared to wait. We chose to go to Planet Hollywood, in ‘Disney village’as with our entrance tickets we got 15 % off food whilst dining here, and wanted to make use of the offer.

Timing wise, I think the secret is to get in whilst the parade is on, because we went straight after we were the first ones in…

The inside was amazing, inspired by the glamour of cinema and television in Hollywood, it had detail in every corner, with famous hollywood films on screens, and quotes all around restaurant. At a cost of just under 50 euros (includes 15% discount) We ordered breaded shrimps, Spaghetti Pomadoro, Margherita pizza, Jacket Potato, and finished with tea (we had to ask for milk, which got us a curious look) (No halal menu- so stuck to the safe option) Yes it was just the 2 of us, and we finished every last bite.

Having filled ourselves we decide to take a walk round ‘Disney Village’ to see what else it offered, with shops and cafe everywhere, we were in paradise for Disney lovers.

The village is full of restaurants and shops all unique in its own kind. One thing that caught our eye was ‘Cafe Mickey’, one of the perks of cafe Mickey is that the characters are inside the cafe- so whilst dining the customers can meet and greet, and take photos with the characters. The price of eating in was at a set fee of 30 euros per child, which is quite dear but if you only here for short trip, I would say it’s worth it for the children to see there favourite characters as the queues for seeing them in the park were horrendous. This would actually kill two birds with one stone, and whilst in the park you would just need to queue up for the rides.

Having left early, we were now tired to a point where Sabina thought she had lost her sunglasses whilst wearing them. As she furiously patted herself and her bag down, I watched in disbelief but didn’t mention that she had them on. Purely because of how comical she looked. (We have laughed numerous times after this) but the lights show was at 11.30 so we had to pass our time. We decided to pass our time in the Rainforest cafe.

It is exactly what it says, a Rainforest. Once inside you feel as though you are in a jungle, apart from the table and chairs, the whole setting from the walls to the ceiling are covered in greenery, and to top it off, they also have rainforest sounds like a waterfall, the fluttering of butterfly’s, bird sounds, it’s a surreal and beautiful feeling. We ended our day with the best Banofee pancake and coffees. A must stop in Disneyland for sure.

Did we get to the light show? No. Are we silly? . (Having been told numerous times) Yes. Did we regret not staying for light show? Not one bit.

We headed off back to out hotel on our shuttle bus after the cafe, got into our cozy beds, snuggled into the bedsheets, rested our aching feet, and watched the Disney light up on YouTube live.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it would’ve been better to watch it live, but as two middle-aged women, fulfilling our childhood ambitions, it was perfect for us to switch off our phones and be in bed after all done, rather than worry about trip back.

A quick message to this beautiful soul in my life. Thank you for an amazing trip. Love you always. (Plus you look damn cute in this photo 💓)