Sunday 1 February 2015

Disneyland Paris in December

If there's one place in the world that Arwyn and I love, it's Disney!! We can't get enough of it so an obvious weekend break away for us was to take Eva to Disneyland Paris to see their christmas festivities. To see how we travelled there, read my post called Travelling to Paris.
We booked to stay at the Dream Castle hotel which we have stayed in on a previous trip before Eva was born. We managed to get a fantastic deal by booking it as a top secret hotel on http://www.lastminute.com. From the description of the secret hotel we were 95% sure it was the dream castle and just went for it and thankfully are guessing and daringness paid off.

Previous hotels we have stayed in at Disneyland Paris are the Radisson and Disney's Kyriad. I have to say the worst one of the lot was the Kyriad, it was overcrowded, horrendous breakfasts and pretty rubbish rooms. 

The Dream Castle hotel is fantastic. It's a brilliant family friendly hotel which still feels magical when you are not at the park. The rooms are a really good size and come with tea and coffee facilities, which lets face it are a massive must when you are waking up early and facing a very, long, tiring day. The breakfast buffet was tasty with a varied choice of foods to suit everyone. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The only downside I would have to say and this is by no means a criticism of the hotel itself, are the free shuttle busses back and forth to the park. When you are travelling with a baby or toddler and a pushchair these can be your worst nightmare. At very busy times I felt particularly unsafe with all the hideous parents pushing and shoving to get on the buses. They literally turn into animals. Anyway we braved the bus into the park but at night when we were tired we just paid for a taxi back which didn't cost much at all and was well worth it to avoid the hassle of the mad parents at the shuttle.

A top tip that I can give all parents before going to Disneyland is to book your restaurants in advance. This saves a lot of queuing and disappointment when you are there. You can do this by going on the website and ringing the bookings number. We booked to eat at Cafe Mickey which is one of the most popular restaurants in Disney village due to the fact that you can dine with the characters. Various ones pop around to every table while you are there. This seemed like a fantastic idea although as you can see Eva was completely unimpressed with Pluto. Thankfully Mickey came out shortly after to enlighten the mood. The restaurant itself is severely overpriced for what you actually eat and I found the children's menu in particular very poor. However, disney for children is all about meeting the characters and for this reason, this place is a must. I've been told you can have breakfast there so perhaps we'll try that next time.




We also booked to eat at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. This is a favourite of ours and we eat there every-time we go. It is actually inside the pirates of the Caribbean ride so it all feels very authentic. Eva thoroughly enjoyed seeing people going passed on the ride and really enjoyed the food. 

Disneyland is magical whatever time of year you are there but boy do they up the ante at christmas. The decorations and lights are spectacular. Eva's jaw didn't come up from the floor. It really is the most wonderful time of the year to visit.







My top tip for visiting disneyland at christmas is to pack lots and lots of layers. It's fairly chilly as you can imagine and if you are waiting for rides and just standing still, it feels like you are stood in the arctic. I'd advise lots of thin layers, especially for children which can be taken on and off to adjust to the varying temperatures of being indoors and then outdoors. 

My top tip for visiting disneyland with toddlers is to make sure you carry plenty of things to entertain them in the queues seeing as they become bored so easily.

Have you been to disneyland Paris? Have you got any top tips to share?



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5 comments

  1. Aw I bet its magical at Christmas! I went to disney in paris when I was about 7 but i've not been back since!
    Sarah-Jane xo // www.vmgirl.me

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  2. I'm so jealous, i've always wanted to go to disneyland. It looks amazing!!

    Emma at www.collagemepretty.blogspot.co.uk

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  3. Aw brilliant. I'm going there in 4 weeks!
    x GNAR MOSH x

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  4. I would love to go to Disneyland, I'd never thought about going at Christmas time but that is such a good idea, I imagine it would be amazing!

    #ABloggersChristmas

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