Disneyland Paris

Our magical time in Disneyland Paris - what a holiday. I am a big fan of anything Disney so when my husband finally agreed to let me book Disneyland Paris I could not wait! We decided to give it as a Christmas present for our children so I created a Disney Gift box which had Disney ears, a voucher, water bottle, a count down plaque and an autograph book. When the kids opened their presents they jumped for joy - Count down was now on! We decided to drive as the thought of taking the children + Suitcases + buggy in to London to get the Eurostar was not doing me any favours - But it turned out it was the cheaper and most easiest of options! We booked a night at The Holiday Inn Express in Folkestone to avoid the M25 rush hour the morning of, The hotel was a 10 minute drive to The Eurotunnel Terminal. We got up early, jumped in the car and off we went. Checking in at The Eurotunnel is so easy, there is number plate recognition, so as long as you complete your APIS and pre departure information before you arrive you just tick a couple of questions and you are let through. You will complete Passport check and customs on the end you depart, so we had British customs check our passports and then went on to the French. This means when you arrive the other end you just drive of the train and on to the motorway! The roads are so easy to drive along to get to Disney, just stick to the Toll roads and you are there in 3 hours. The tolls cost 24Euros each way and you would take the A1 and A26 - I was amazed at how lovely the drive was and how many service stops (with clean toilets) there were on the way. 3 hours later we arrived at Disney's Cheyenne! I absolutely loved this hotel, we chose a lakeside room as being close to the hotel facilities wasn't a priority for me. But in fact we was still really close and was also only a 10 minute walk to Disney Village and the theme parks. We loved the theming of this hotel, themed around Toy Story's Woody and Jesse you definitely get the Wild West feel to it. You will find a gift shop, restaurant and Starbucks onsite and you can also partake in pony rides if you wish. A short walk along the lake and you will see over the lake Disney's Santa Fe, Disney's Sequoia Lodge and then right in front - there is Ironman! Yes we was right next door (practically) to New York Hotel- The Art of Marvel, and over the lake shining brightly is Disney's Newport Bay Club and before you know it you have reached Disney Village. We found a lovely little sports bar in Disney Village where we ate a couple of times, the portion sizes were great so we could split the meal between the children and prices were reasonable (as reasonable as Disney is!), you can get your favourites in there - Mickey Pizza, Chicken nuggets, hot dog etc while having a nice drink to get over the drive. This sports bar is next to the huge Disney Store. We got in to Disneyland Park at the right time to get a great spot to watch the Dream, Shine Bright parade and wow what a show! I just love the music and it really does bring a tear to your eyes. We decided to do the late night to watch the Disney D-light and Fireworks the night we arrived and it was the best decision, if we stayed late the next day after a full on day in the parks we would not of made it! (my husband and son did have a late afternoon nap to be fair - my 6 year old daughter amazed me and lasted to midnight with no nap!) - it was well worth the late night. I booked us lunch at Auberge De Cendrillon the next day to have lunch with the Disney Princesses and I believe this is well worth the price tag. You would be queuing for at least 2 hours at Princess Pavilion to see 1 princess. When you have lunch with the princesses you will expect to see 4 princesses plus 2 of Cinderella's mice and the food is really yummy and probably the healthiest you will eat! The next day we went for a Character breakfast for the 1st sitting just so we can get that all important castle photo! - the 1st sitting is only available for on site hotel guests. We got to see Pluto, Tigger, Geppetto, Hook and Pinocchio and there was a great selection of breakfast choices to feed even the fussiest of eaters. My favourite "lands" in Disneyland Park was Fantasyland without a doubt and I absolutely love walking through Mainstreet! We took a wander over to Disney Studios to please my husband and Son with Avengers Campus. We loved it and even managed to get 2 slots at Avengers Training centre with Dr Strange and Spiderman. We managed to get on all the rides we wanted to go on with our favourites being W.E.B, Ratatouille and Pirates of the Caribbean. My Husband and daughter went on Tower of Terror - and it is safe to say I don't think my daughter will be jumping back on it in a hurry haha. I decided to add on Disney's Photo pass to our booking and I am glad we did. We ended up with 42 professional photos which saved us a huge amount. Photos come with quite a price tag in the parks of approximately 14euros a photo - You just get given a voucher to exchange for the Photo pass card in a shop, the card has a bar code and each time a photo is taken a cast member will scan the code and 30 minutes later it will show on your website to download. In all, we had the best trip and have truly got the Disney Blues and will be planning our next trip again soon. Next hotel on our to do list - Disney's Sequoia Lodge.