My Day at Disneyland Paris

If you ever go on a city trip to Paris, you might want to spend a day at Disneyland Paris as well – and I can tell you that you won’t regret it, especially not if you are a fan of Disney films (To be honest…how can you not?). Last year I was lucky enough to spend a whole week in the lovely city of Paris (I’m planning to write a post on that as well!) and so we went to Disneyland, too. Turns out it was one of my best days ever.

Since Disneyland is not located Paris but in Marne-la-Vallée, we went there by train. On a digital screen next to Marne-la-Vallée was the famous black Mickey Mouse shaped head – I think that was pretty nice. As soon as we left the railway station, a sign saying Disneyland Paris came into view. But that was not the actual entrance. We had to walk a bit, passing Disneyland resort hotels until we had to show our ticket and there we were – Disneyland. Even with a map of it, we didn’t know where to go first. In the end we went for a rollercoaster called Space Mountain Mission 2. It was a thrilling voyage to space.

To infinity and beyond ;)

Disneyland is basically parted into five different sections (Fantasyland, Discoveryland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Main Street) and the buildings and surroundings match the theme. The waiting to get on the rides was acceptable. There was a queue in front of every attraction but despite being told that the queuing in Disneyland was horrible I expected longer waiting times. In my opinion it was pretty well organised. We spent pretty much the whole day walking around and getting on a ride.

Apart from Space Mountain we also got on two other rollercoasters: Big Thunder Mountain, a rollercoaster in the Wild West, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. Those attractions were pretty thrilling and fast - it was great fun. After seeing the big carrousel Le Carrousel de Lancelot, we couldn’t resist. There we were, five teenage girls sitting on carrousel horses between many little children. Disneyland really made you forget your age. But hey, it was amazing! Same goes for Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups. Best tea party I’ve been to. 

We’ve also been to a little museum – at least it seemed like one! At La Cabane des Robinson we could explore Robinson’s tree house and it looked quite authentic. Last but not least we discovered the spooky insides of Phantom Manor. This manor was very magnificently designed! In this dark house we went on a ride to find out about the destiny of a ghost bride and her ghost friends. For me it was more interesting to watch than it was actually scary though. But since I don’t like being frightened it was all right.

Unfortunately there wasn’t any time left for more attractions and rides. There were so many more things to see, I guess. If there had been more time, I’d probably visited the Sleeping Beauty Castle, Peter Pan’s Flight or Alice’s Curious Labyrinth. But of course we needed the remaining time to buy something from Disneyland! And there are plenty of shops. It was impossible to leave this amusement park without having purchased at least one thing. You can choose from a variety of clothes, soft toys, cups, mugs, costumes (So many little girls wore Disney princess dresses! Really cute!), stationery, accessories, glass figures and so much more! Literally everything you can think of.

I bought an Olaf (Frozen) and a Woody (Toy Story) for my friends at home who had begged me to bring them something from Disneyland. Then I purchased a big Minnie Mouse cup, a notebook, Minnie Mouse ears (so many people wore them here!) and a bookmark for myself.

After we left the shop we saw people crowding on the sides of the Main Street. It was obvious that something was going on there, so we joined them. And then came the big surprise…it was a parade! For some reason I didn’t know about its existence before and to be honest, my lack of knowledge made it even better and it really felt like a surprise – a wonderful one. This Disney Parade (that takes place every day in the late afternoon as far as I know now) consisted of a lot of Disney characters: Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were sitting in carriages with their princes, Peter Pan was walking along with Captain Hook and his pirates, and there was an Alice in Wonderland vehicle as well as a Frozen vehicle. We also saw Rapunzel sitting in a tree and Winnie Pooh was waving at us. What caught our eyes as well were the characters from The Jungle Book, Toy Story and The Lion King. At the very end was an impressive vehicle with Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Chip and Dale and, of course, Mickey Mouse on it.

Watching this wonderful and lovely parade, I was moved to tears. Literally – I cried. I guess it was because of me being almost 18 at this time and for me turning 18 means saying goodbye to your childhood since you are officially an adult in my country then. But hey, when you see so many of your childhood heroes passing you, the characters you loved and that accompanied you through many years, it was like saying goodbye. I know that the people that portrayed them are all adults (with a cool job) but well…it was really wonderful watching this special parade, all the childhood heroes waving at the children. Really sweet.

By that time we had to leave Disneyland again. The day went by so quickly it was unbelievable. Yet I think it will stay as a memory with me for a very long time and I’ll definitely return again – probably with my own children one day.

In the Wild West

Having lunch in the Adventureland (Baloo and King Louie walked past the restaurant while we were eating)

Some people might think that visiting Disneyland isn’t worth the money and I can really understand that because the tickets are not cheap at all. Yet the whole theme park is so amazing; the buildings are so lovely and it seems like the whole park is in a very good condition – everything looks so new, as if the whole park was just being opened for the first time the day before. So it’s definitely an adventure for your eyes as well. Once inside the park you just have to pay for food and souvenirs – you can visit an attraction and go on a rollercoaster as many times as you want to. But please bring some patience – you will most likely have to queue a lot. It will be the best thing to spend the whole day at Disneyland because there is much to do and much to see! Quite next to the Disneyland is the “Walt Disney Studios Park”. I haven’t been in there but it also seems like a place worth visiting – there are many attractions as well! And don’t be scared if your only French skills are “Bonjour” and “Je m’appelle…” – that shouldn’t be a problem at all!

At the end of this post, all that I can say is: Visit Disneyland! No matter how old you are, you will enjoy it a lot! It’s an amazing and magical place! I can really recommend the park that draws millions of visitors each year into the world of Disney. It actually feels like you are in a different place, believe me. I was really, really impressed. Thank you Walt Disney, thank you everybody who is involved in making the Disneyland as magical as it is!

Already been to Disneyland? What do you think about it? What did you bring home (memories and souvenirs)? What’s your favourite Disney movie? Anything to say? Let me know in the comments! :)

Julia Annabeth xx

All photos taken by myself