If you caught our previous installments about our epic road trip to Paris, France here and here, you'll know by now that the last epic installment was our main reason for visiting here...Disney!
We woke up early on Disney day full of anticipation and excitement, raring to go. Which is a good job as you need a lot of energy for Disney! Luckily we were staying only ten minutes away at Les Villages Nature (which we loved) and so we hopped in our car and mere moments later was parked up.
Seeing the Disneyland sign was a real pinch me moment that we had made this dream come true for the kids and were finally here. First up we wanted to see the castle I had been telling them we would go see for years in their toddlerhood and it did not disappoint. We must have taken a zillion pictures before getting inside to explore. Having seen real castles it is obviously quite different(!) but if you can suspend belief and go with it, you will enjoy the experience even more.
We were lucky to be there during a time of Princess week and something else, which meant a lot of extra festivals and parades. We took our places on the mall to watch them roll by and dance along to the music. Seeing Joy from Inside Out, princesses and characters is one of the highlights of Disney - even if you're not a hardcore fan, it's hard not to get swept up in the magic.
Next we wanted to get on some rides and decided to ease ourselves in - unfortunately we entered the park and wandered straight onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which was not gentle (not anything horrible, don't worry, but it is very dark, a bit scary for little ones and there are some drops). Cue a little bit of panic but the kids were fine and in a way it was probably good we got that out of the way first as lots of other stuff then seemed tame. After we made a concerted effort to find carousels, the big paddle steamer and some parks to keep it chill.
Another lovely one was the It's a Small World ride with the catchy if a little irritating ear worm of a song on loop. But it was a nice water ride that passes indoors, getting some reprieve from the 30 degree hot sun that day.
We took lots of snacks with us for the endless queuing but there are so many amazing Disney snacks to try that we also bought a fair bit. This Mickey shaped pizza was a hit with the kids at lunch time.
Refuelled we set off on a mission to meet some princesses and got to chat with Aerial which was adorable. There was also a fabulous spectacle with all of the princesses dancing in front of the castle and I won't pretend there wasn't quite a bit of jostling going on in the crowd. Mainy by adults without children I might add! But we got the kids to the front and they got their moment (whilst we sweated a lot!)
The princesses sang and danced their hearts out living their best life, but having known someone who does this for a living it is gruelling long days. Still it seems like a dream to a little girl.
During my adult visits I didn't pay much attention to the characters but that was a real highlight this time. We adored seeing Chip and Dale, Daffy and Donald, Tigger and Ee-or and the latter even signed out autograph book.
The parades run several times a day and because it was a special anniversary we had a couple of extras thrown in. The best tip is to walk up the main street back towards the entrance for a great view and less people. This is where the parades begin.
We loved the Alice in Wonderland area with the teacups and maze to explore even seeing the Queen of Hearts.
Everywhere you look at Disney there is magic to be seen and something going on - we particularly loved this impromptu street art.
So magical to watch and the singing and dancing was epic.
I know it takes up valuable time but I definitely recommend it if you can. We also enjoyed taking the big Paddlesteamer near Thunder Mountain, which we did not do this time but was fun to see.
As the day went on we explored so much of the park and mostly got on the rides we wanted, although we did avoid many of the bigger ones with longer wait times. Another highlight as the sun was going down was the Buzz Lightyear ride, which brought out the whole family's competitive side.
We were all on such a high after an amazing action packed day and give the park and rides are open until so late, it was about 9pm when we went on this, making it much quieter and less of a queue.
We then decided to go get some more snacks and set ourselves up for the night show and fireworks on main street. As it was summer, it gets dark late, so be prepared if you have little ones. There is a drone show that starts around 10 (season/month depending) before the fireworks and I would say the former was the most impressive, but both equally magical.
We left Disney full of wonder and magik, grateful for all that we had seen and done, as well as absolutely exhausted. The kids lasted until midnight (by the time we got back) but we were on such a high it didn't matter.
I just know we will be back someday ready to experience more of Disney - whatever it possesses I wish it could be bottled and brought back home. <3
Have you been? I'd love to hear about your experience, so drop me a comment below.
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