10 Days to Go...

10 Days to go until my next Disney trip!

So for the first time since February 2015 we, as a family, will be heading over to Disneyland Paris for a well deserved 5 day visit.

This trip will mark 20 years since our first visit to Disneyland Paris way back in August 1999. Back when we had just one child who was only 18 months old and whose favourite ride was It's A Small World; which he would point out to us by shouting 'windmill' because that was the nearest landmark to the ride! Don't think this will be his favourite this time around!

So here we are 20 years later heading back with two young adults and find ourselves staying in the same hotel...Hotel Cheyenne! Oh how times have changed; in fact that seems to sum up these last few months as we get used to our children leaving education and making their own way in the world.

Although we have visited numerous times since that first visit in 1999 it will be the first time staying at the Cheyenne for quite awhile as our most recent trips have seen us staying in the Sequoia Lodge. But it is merely a coincidence that our trip this time is back to the Cheyenne as it simply came down to a choice of availability and cost. Although the fact that the hotel has recently been refurbished and now has a Starbucks on site were both big pluses when making the decision. But I think it will be interesting to see just how much, or little perhaps, has changed from our first visit compared to now.

So I thought I'd have a look at the photos from our 1999 visit; this meant getting out the physical photo albums because this was pre-digital! Also these photos are so stuck, literally stuck, into the albums there was no way I could prise them out to scan them so had to take photos of the photos!

So here we go, and interestingly the dates of our visit back in 1999 and now are very similar which was a little spooky to realise!

Registration information from Hotel Cheyenne, including admission ticket and breakfast voucher!

I then remembered that while we were there back in 1999 there was an eclipse happening, which we experienced inside Disneyland Park and I kept the small information leaflet that Disney handed out along with some special 'glasses' to view the eclipse!

Information leaflet

Special viewing glasses and me wearing them!!

Here are a couple of photos of Discoveryland;

Outside Space Mountain & Les Mysteres du Nautilus

And of course there had to be photos of the parade...love the music to this parade...Dancin' a Catchy Rhythm was just the best parade music!

Wonderful World of Disney Parade

And then this was the time when the Main Street Electrical Parade had made its way over from the US which was a great surprise to us back then as this was the first night time parade we had ever seen when we'd visited Walt Disney World back in 1991. Unfortunately the photos were just too dark to include...lots of black with a few dots of light!!

I love looking back on old photos and all the memories it brings back but now I'm looking forward to creating some new memories.

It's been a while...

Well it's been a while but guess where I'm heading in just a couple of days?

Disney here I come!

So with my good friend and podcast co-host Michelle I am about to head off to my closest Disney resort...Disneyland Paris!! EEK!!

Now as those that have read my blog will know it has been over 2 years since my last visit to Disneyland Paris and almost 4 years since we last ventured across the pond to Walt Disney World. Personal circumstances have meant a vacation stateside for the four of us just hasn't been financially viable. And even a visit across the channel isn't cheap and memories of our last trip are tinged with sadness as the trip was so close to when my amazing mum passed away.

So how come I'm going? Well I have to give all the credit to Michelle who has done all the organising along with hubby Simon who has encouraged me to go. I think they both realised just how much I needed a little Disney in my life and so they got together and hatched a plan!

Now this will also be the first time that I have visited a Disney resort without Simon and the kids; which in itself is a strange prospect! Disney and family to me have always gone hand in hand and I have never given any thought before to visiting without them. So whilst I am super excited about this trip I have to confess to being a little sad that I won't have Simon and the kids with me - Michelle I hope you know what you're letting yourself in for!

And other firsts for this trip include staying in a non-Disney hotel as well as booking all aspects of the trip separately. Now as I said Michelle has done all the organising (bless her soul) but this will be the first time I have ever made a trip that has not been a 'package' booking. It will also be a trip with the most varied forms of transport I think! So I am really interested to see how it all pans out as it may give me the confidence to look at future trips differently.

So we fly out very early on Wednesday morning to arrive in Paris ready to catch a bus to Disneyland Paris. Park tickets have been bought and we will be taking advantage of Michelle's 'annual pass' to make use of bag storage facilities so that we can head straight into the parks when we get there. We will have 3 full days and nights to explore both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park as well as the Disney Village. On our return we will be taking the high speed train back to the airport before flying home.

We are lucky in that our trip coincides with the 25th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris so we get to see new parades, fireworks and shows! There is also the new Star Tours ride; as Paris has now had the upgrade seen in the other parks. Plus Space Mountain has also been transformed into Hyper Space Mountain; not that I shall be riding but I am more than happy to look after the bags while Michelle takes a spin!! And the only attraction that is closed is Pirates of the Caribbean which is sad but as it's only one attraction I can live with that. I am really looking forward to riding Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor especially...oh and Casey Jr, and Snow White and It's A Small World and...OK this could be a very long list!

I am probably most excited about Disneyland Park as this for me is what Disney is all about. But I am looking forward to riding Ratatouille a few times over at Walt Disney Studios Park as well as eating at Bistrot Chez Remy! There is also the chance to ride the Studio Tram Tour; Behind the Magic and experience Catastrophe Canyon which is no longer available in Disney Hollywood Studios over in Walt Disney World. As well as see the much loved Mickey and the Magician show. And of course there will be shopping, not only in the parks but also in Disney Village; looking forward to a stroll around Disney Fashion!!And while we're in Disney Village I will be very surprised if we don't make our way over to Earl of Sandwich for a bite!

So at the moment it is all about the packing...we've decided to just take hand luggage so packing skills will have to be on point! My nails are painted, t-shirts have been chosen, Euros about to be purchased and final packing to be done and then it's away we go!

Disney Dream Girls are on tour, watch out Disneyland Paris here we come!

Countdown to Christmas - Day 11

11th December

So continuing the theme of reminiscing about time at Disney parks at Christmas, let me tell you about the couple of visits to Disneyland Paris during the holiday season.

Our first visit at Christmas was in early December 2000, we visited over a weekend spending 3 nights at Hotel Cheyenne.  We even managed a day visiting Paris with the highlights of the day being The Eiffel Tower and Picasso Museum.  The weather was cold, although the snow falling in the Disney Village was man-made!  There was a lovely Christmas market laid out through the Disney Village and I remember that everywhere seemed to smell of warm mulled wine, it was all very Christmassy, there was even an ice-rink outside the Hotel New York.

Main Street, USA - Disneyland Park, Paris - 2000

Ice Rink, Hotel New York - 2000

Our second visit was the weekend just before Christmas in 2002.  The main difference between these two visits was the crowds.  Now both visits were busy, as you would expect over weekends, but the second visit just before Christmas was unbelievably so.  On our last day I remember by 11.00am all the Fastpasses had been issued for Peter Pan's Flight and the standby queue was at nearly 3 hours!!

Main Street, USA - Disneyland Park, Paris - 2002

There were two great things about this visit, first we happened to visit at the exact same time as some very good friends of ours, totally unplanned but great fun to share the experience with them!  And the second was that it coincided with our son's birthday; when we arrived at our hotel there was even a present waiting for him and a special badge for him to wear.

Pull key-chain Donald, still working 10 years later!

Birthday Badge

We had also arranged to have a character meal, a buffet tea with a special birthday cake.  Our daughter who was just over one at the time didn't quite know what to make of all the characters, but I think the abundance of cakes and sweets made up for that :)