Travel Diary - Disneyland Paris
Day 1(ish)
I left for Gatwick Airport on Sunday along with my friend Haidee, my carry-on suitcase nearly over-flowing with clothes and my passport safely in my bag. This was my first time abroad without a responsible adult (seeing as I am now a responsible adult myself! ...apparently.) and I tripled checked that I had all the tickets and documents we needed as I had organised the trip. We stayed overnight in a Yotel pod inside Gatwick which was super convenient and also really cool! Our flight was in the early hours of Monday morning so after ordering pizza to our room (another perk of the Yotel!) we went to bed feeling very excited about our trip! On Monday morning, we left our little pod and checked in through security, had a Wetherspoons breakfast and got on our flight. It was very stress-free for my first experience flying without someone else being in charge! When we landed in Paris, we ordered an Uber straight to our hotel and after dropping off our bags, we went to the Disney village to get some food and meet my friend Sian who is currently a cast member in Paris. Even just being in Disney village made me feel so excited and happy and I danced around the World of Disney shop like a kid in a candy store. After doing some food shopping, buying a navigo for travelling, and having dinner, we got an early-ish night to be ready for our first day in the parks.
Day 2 - first day in Disney!
Haidee and I stayed offsite, so we got up fairly early to get ready and catch the bus to Disney from the bus stop just outside our hotel. When we got to the parks, I can't even describe how excited I was- imagine a 5-year-old child hyped up on sweets and caffeine, times by 10. As we walked down Mainstreet towards the castle, I honestly felt like I was the happiest person on earth. Such a saddo, I know. But I haven't been to Disney for 7 years and as my job is essentially to be the biggest Disney princess fan ever, I'd been so excited I couldn't believe it was finally happening! Also, I was partially so happy purely because Haidee and I had made it there in one piece - I'm notoriously unorganised and ditzy so that alone was an achievement! We met up with Sian after going on the carousel, and spent the day meeting characters, going on rides, watching the "Happy Anniversary Disneyland Paris" show on the castle stage, and watching the parade. Here's a quick overview of the rides we went on and characters we met-
Big Thunder Mountain
Carousel
Mad Hatter's Tea Cups
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (twice)
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Met Princess Aurora, The White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts
The parade was amazing and we had a great spot (thanks to Sian) so the next couple of times we watched the parade, we knew where to go! We also stayed to watch the Illuminations which were wonderful, and I have to admit - I cried. I'm an over-emotional baby, I know, but it was just so magical!
Day 3
On our second day in Disney, Haidee and I decided to try and meet lots of characters. Sian texted me to let me know that Eeyore was in the parks as she knew I wanted to meet him, so Haidee and I literally RAN to the meet and greet point to get in the queue! I got to meet Eeyore and Winnie and it was sooo cute and it made me a very happy girl. We then went to the Princess Pavillion to meet Cinderella which was very special, and then we went to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter, another two characters I was super excited to meet! Our time with them was hilarious and is one of my favourite meet and greets from the trip. We also got to meet the Genie and he made us do some ridiculous poses, it was another fab meet and greet. In our prime spot from the day before, we watched the parade which was just as wonderful, but this time Rapunzel and Flynn came over to us. It just so happened that I was wearing Rapunzel's crown, and Flynn stole it! (It's ok though, Rapunzel got it back for me.) Our little interaction made Haidee and I very happy as Rapunzel is our all-time favourite princess. We also watched the Princess Walts which was beautiful and Rapunzel saw my crown and spotted my little Pascal! We stayed to watch the illuminations in an even better spot, and yep- I cried again. We did manage to fit in some rides too, which were-
It's a Small World
Dumbo
Indiana Jones (for the third time)
Day 4- visiting Paris!
After spending two days in Disney, Haidee and I decided to go and spend the day in Paris being tourist-y together. We got the train there which was surprisingly easy (despite us getting off at the wrong stop and having to get back on again) and we had lunch in a cafe not far from the Eiffel Tower. Of course, we had to go up the Eiffel Tower so we bought our tickets and made our way up to the top floor in the freezing cold. It was such a fun day and it's something I can tick off my bucket list! We also did some a bit of shopping in the brand new Primark near Disney and spent the evening with Sian just chilling.
Day 5
This was our third day in the parks, so Haidee and I wanted to make it a "ride" day! However, we did get to meet Merida which was so much fun and I'm so glad we got to meet her. The rides we managed to get on were-
Crush's Coaster
Hyperspace Mountain (twice)
Buzz Lightyear
Autopia
Blanche-Neige
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pinocchio
Indiana Jones (this was the fourth time! Can you tell Haidee and I liked this ride?)
Day 6 - final day in Disney :(
In our final day in the Disney parks, Haidee and I did the Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster as these were two big rides we hadn't gotten to do! We also did/watched the Art of Animation and then went to see Mickey and the Magician which was AMAZING! We watched the parade for the final time, and left the parks to go and eat dinner with Sian at Vapiano, which was our second time at the restaurant and the food there is great! I was really sad to be leaving Disney but I'll be back "real soon" I''m certain of it!
Day 7
This was our final day in France, so Haidee and I dropped our luggage at Sian's apartment and went and did some shopping to spend the last of our euros. I ended up buying so much stuff that I couldn't fit it in my suitcase and had to wear NINE tops home on the plane. Yes, nine tops. I thought I was going to suffocate I'm not going to lie. But, we made it home, despite my extra layers and over-filled luggage!
I had an amazing holiday and couldn't have spent it with better friends (Haidee and Sian, you're the best) and I was the happiest I've been for a looooong time. I'll definitely do a post on my tips/advice for visiting Disneyland Paris as our trip was really successful and I found advice posts and blogs very helpful! Thanks so much for reading, have a magical day!
Abbie xx
