My Birthday Trip To Disneyland Paris
For my 30th birthday I decided that I wanted to do something very special. Verity and I decided to go on a short trip to Disneyland Paris! You might understand the Kirk sisters are huge Disney Nuts. We went to Disney World back in 1999 when Verity was seven and I was four. I remember a couple of events from that trip including It’s a Small World and vaguely the Peter Pan ride. We were both very excited to be going again as it was such a magical journey!
I arrived in London on Wednesday 12th February and met with our good friend honouree sister Kate. After a couple of hours we went out for a special birthday dinner party at a restaurant across the street from my sister’s boyfriends apartment in Balham with some friends. I really enjoyed seeing my London friends again. I was cheeky and had two alcoholic cocktails.
Verity and I decided to go to bed at a reasonable time as we knew we had a long day of travel ahead of us the next day. I managed to sleep quite well despite the adrenaline of the next day’s events.
Thursday 13th February
Verity and I had booked Eurostar tickets from London Kings Cross St Pancras to Disneyland Paris (Marne-la-Vallée Chessy) which was due to leave at 11:04 am though we had to arrive before 9:49 to get through customs. We left the apartment just after nine with two very heavy suitcases and travelled to St Pancras. We managed to get through customs very smoothly and then waited for our train. Travelling on the Eurostar was a compelling experience particularly for me as I had never been on it before. Going through the tunnel caused my ears to pop slightly and it was weird looking out of the window and it being pitch black. Verity and I shared two sandwiches on the journey and watched Ratatouille together which was very fitting as we were going to a Ratatouille themed restaurant for dinner that evening. This was a suggestion by our good friend James (very smart thinking James). At about 13:30 France time we left the Eurostar at Lisle as we had a separate train to catch all went steadily with no complications.
We arrived at Marne-la-Vallée Chessy (Disneyland Paris Train Station) at about 15:20 which is two minute walk away from the 2 theme parks but we decided to go to our hotel and drop our bags off before exploring. We stayed at the Sequoia Lodge which was a lovely American style hotel with a woodland Bambi theme. The room was very comfortable and I was pleased that I had a double bed to myself. Whenever I share a bed with Verity she always creeps over to my side.
*interjection from Verity* this makes me sound like an absolute creep, which I’m not, I just sleep diagonally….
We changed and put some make up and took the shuttle bus from our hotel to the park. We decided the first thing we wanted to do was watch the parade. Note: The parade starts next to “It’s a Small World” and ends at the entrance to the park. A good idea is to watch the parade near It’s a small world and then quickly make your way to a ride as other customers will still be watching the parade and the queue for rides will be shorter.
Disneyland Paris first opened in April 1992 also a very important year as it was the year that Verity was born! Originally the heads of Disney's theme park division compiled a list of one thousand two hundred possible locations for a European theme park including places in Britain, France, Italy and Spain. Britain and Italy were removed from being candidates early on due to the lack of even land available space to build the park. By 1985 the theme park’s possible location had been narrowed to 4 areas. Two Spanish territories and two French. At first the theme park creators favoured the Spanish areas due to them being near the Mediterranean and they figured that the weather would be more accommodating. However, the site that was preferred involved demolishing the Marjal de Pego-Oliva marshlands, so they decided not to build the park there. Marne-la-Vallée was eventually chosen due to its close proximity to Paris and a more central location in Western Europe.
In March 1988 a council of architects chose an American style for the park and hotels surrounding it. At the time of the opening of the park there were seven hotels which meant that there were five thousand eight hundred rooms available to customers. At first the company planned to have maximum capacity of fifty-five thousand guests each day. Today in 2025 the 2 parks are capable of having over two hundred thousand people visiting each day.
History of Disneyland Paris
We were so excited when the parade started. First comes Aladdin and the Genie, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. While loud boppy music plays. The first float appears which is a Mickey and Friends float. The next float is a Toy Story float which I really enjoyed as the first three Toy Story films are in my top 10 favourites. Then comes the Finding Nemo float and a Lion King themed float. After this a Maleficent dragon float storms the parade. In my opinion this is the most impressive part of the parade as the background music takes on a darker melody and the dragon also breathes fire which was very visually exhilarating. The final two floats are a Disney Princess float and a Frozen Float. The Parade lasts about ten minutes but is wonderful to watch.
After the parade Verity and I decided to go on “It’s a Small World”. I didn’t remember much of it when I went on it as a four-year-old just vague memory of the tune and lots of dolls. It was very invigorating getting on the ride again as an adult. I loved going on this ride as an adult because now that I am older, I now know the locations that are shown on the ride.
After It’s a small world we had a bit of a wander and decided to get lost in the Alice in Wonderland themed maze. Alice in Wonderland was never a favourite of mine growing up partially due to the fact that it was banned in our household by our mother as it gave Verity nightmares. Verity and I mooched through the maze and kept hitting dead ends before eventually making it to the Queen’s Castle. We climbed the stairs and took a picture to capture this achievement. After the maze we went on the Teacup ride which is a pleasant and reasonably gentle coaster although I wouldn’t recommend going on it after eating.
We then made our way to the Hollywood Studios Park as we had reservations at Remy’s Restaurant. We both ordered cocktails to celebrate the occasion and had three courses each. For my starter I had duck and chestnut pate. For our mains we both had rare steak and fries which are always hard to beat. And for our dessert we both had chocolate mousse. I would highly recommend this restaurant as the food was very tasty and I liked the French style of the place and the flavours were delicate and refined.
I was feeling very tired, so we decided to not watch the 21:00 night show in the main park. However, we soon changed our minds when we saw that the Ratatouille ride only had a five-minute queue, which turned out to be a lie as we managed to get straight on with no wait! This ride was one of favourites in terms of the architecture and 3d design. The ride starts with Gusto and Remy trying to decide what to cook at Remy’s restaurant opening. Then you actually fall inside through the pane glass ceiling into the kitchens bustling atmosphere. The screens surrounding you show the animated characters as extremely tall while the riders look only rat sized. There is then a part where the riders are being chased throughout the kitchen before reaching the end where Remy and the spirit of Gusteau are feasting with the rat colony. A bottle of champagne is opened over the audience. This ride is very authentic in it’s specification and is a highlight of the Hollywood Studios Park.
After exiting the ride, we noticed that there was only a 15 minute queue for Crushes coaster ride which we agreed to go on before heading back to the hotel. In this ride the customers are placed in shell shaped carriages that appear to dive into the ocean. The first part of the ride is slow but picturesque as it takes you on a theoretical tour of the Great Barrier Reef and meeting the characters from the film. The second part of the ride is faster in pace. It is themed like a wave and it is meant to represent the rider is gliding and crashing along inside the East Australian Current. I really enjoyed this ride particularly the adrenaline filled second part as I love fast rides.
Verity’s Views:
Just to conclude Rowan’s details from above—we absolutely collapsed into bed at the end of our first day! We’d had such a wonderful start to our Disneyland adventure. Here are some of my highlights from the day:
1. Getting on the Eurostar together and munching our baguettes. 🥖
2. Arriving at the hotel. I really loved the way Sequoia Lodge was decorated: all rustic wood beams, leafy cornices, and an autumnal colour palette. The foyer had a soundtrack of birds tweeting, and lots of beautiful murals inspired by movies like Bambi and Brother Bear.
3. Walking into the park! I had never been to Disneyland Paris before, and hadn’t been to a Disney park since Disneyland Florida – 26 (yikes) years ago. Catching my first sight of the icing-pink castle was pretty magical.
4. The parade! Lots of our friends had told us the parade was a must-see. We managed to get a really great spot, and each float and performer was incredible. As Rowan said, we particularly like Maleficent’s fire-breathing dragon float!
5. It’s a Small World. I have an intense personal history with this ride. As I said before, we visited Disneyland Florida 26 years ago, when I was seven and Rowan was four. Aged seven, and still now (aged 33), I am very easily frightened. I avoid scary movies, I will not watch documentaries where something horrifying happens, and I do not listen to true crime. I am a fragile flower.
In Florida, in 1999, the first ride we went on was (a great ride) called The Great Movie Ride. And it was great. You trundle along on a little train through scenes of—yep—the greatest movies. I loved it when we went through The Wizard of Oz, spotting the Wicked Witch of the East safely smushed under Dorothy’s house. I was bemused but entertained as we trundled through a black-and-white scene where a man and a woman gazed desperately at one another as a tannoy overhead gruffly murmured, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
I was, however, horrified when we rattled through a dark and dank corridor, and our Mum said in recognition, “Oh, this must be Alien.” Then something black, tentacled and screaming fell out of the ceiling above my head, and I promptly threw up in fear over our poor Dad’s lap.
After this debacle, and for the rest of the holiday, I was very nervous getting on any new ride. This must have been very trying for our parents, as Disneyland is mainly… well… rides. I sought absolute confirmation from them before each embarkment, interrogating them: “Will there be anything scary?”
Mercifully, I discovered It’s a Small World. And holy crap, it was the most peril-free ride and time of my life I could’ve ever imagined. I loved all the colours, outfits, and the smiling faces of the rotating cherubic children who proclaimed the simple, Miss Congeniality message of, basically, “World Peace Man”. I made my poor dad go on it with me seven times. He did not feel peaceful. The penetrating tune haunts him to this day.
Aged 33, I still love this ride. It is so damn CUTE. Also, it’s a total vibe hearing the song in French: “Car le monde est tout petit.” J’adore.
6. The view from the Red Queen’s castle. As Rowan mentioned, Alice in Wonderland used to really frighten me as a child—I had, like lots of children, very vivid nightmares, and I found the idea of a dream you couldn’t get out of traumatising… again, I’m a bit of a baby. However, Rowan protected me as we walked around the maze! We managed to get to the top of the Queen’s castle, and the view from there was beautiful. We reached it just as the sun set over the horizon, and the lights were popping on across the park.
7. Remy’s restaurant and ride! Rowan and I had such a lovely meal at Remy’s restaurant. The interior is designed to make you feel like you’ve been shrunk down to Remy’s size—the seats are giant champagne corks, the table is a jam jar lid, and the shade above your table is made from cocktail umbrellas. I should say here that our Auntie Alison and Uncle Jürg very kindly gifted us some money for food/restaurants whilst we were away- a big thank you to them :) After our meal, we went on Remy’s ride, which I think may be one of my favourites in the park—it’s so inventive and clever!
Friday 14th February
Verity and I found our room very comfortable but we did not sleep well on our first night we felt that this was probably due to excitement of am adrenaline fuelled day. We had a pleasant breakfast in our hotel (both of us got very excited when we found out that there were pancakes and waffles which we had with maple syrup!)
We then made our way to the main park. The Disneyland Park is split into five different regions each themed as a different type of Land The five were
1. Mainstreet USA which was where most of the shops were located.
2. Frontierland which is reminiscent of America in the 1800’s. It features a desert and a rocky landscape. A lot of the things in this part of the park were closed for reconstruction while we were there including Thunder Mountain.
3. Adventureland which is designed with a multi ethnic aesthetic including middle east, Caribbean, Africa and India.
4. In the central part of the park is Fantasyland where the castle is located. This segment of the park has a storybook fairytale vibe to it.
5. The final part of the park is Discovery Land which is styled after inspirational European thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci and HG Wells.
As Verity and I had extra magic time due to staying at Sequoia Lodge and it was still quite early we decided to start in Discovery Land. The queue for HyperSpace Mountain was only twenty minutes so we joined the line for it. Hyperdrive Space Mountain was one of my favourite rides in the park. It is Star Wars themed ride and I love Star Wars! You queue in a dark corridor with pictures of X wings and TIE fighters. You then board blue rocket trains which leave the station and travel into a tunnel. The train then takes on a steep incline but stops at the foot of the steep hill and does a 10 second countdown. The riders are then catapulted into a space themed tunnel at breakneck speed - measured to be forty-four miles per hour. The ride weaves through a laser battle before returning to the station.
After Space Mountain Verity and went on Buzz Lightyear Lazer Blast. This is when our sibling rivalry really began to reach its peak. I’m very competitive and wanted to beat her! It is a very fun and collaborative ride which I recommend doing in groups to see who can get the highest score shooting at the targets. Sadly, for me Verity won the battle by fifty points (must have been a fluke!) Though we both scored level 6 Cosmic Commando which is the second highest category. After Buzz Lightyear we went on the Orbiton ride. I was not a big fan of this ride as I found the carriage very uncomfortable and cramped.
We then decided to make our way over to Fantasy Land and have a look inside Sleeping Beauty’s Castle! We went upstairs and gazed at the beautiful stained-glass windows that told the story of Sleeping Beauty. We also went down into the basement and saw Maleficent’s dragon form which measures twenty-seven meters from head to toe and breathes smoke.
We left fantasyland and decided to go on our next ride in Adventureland which was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril. The architecture and landscape of this ride is jungle themed with lots of wood structures. The carriages are styled like old mine cars which go up and down the temple structure. This ride is very simple in design but highly enjoyable due to its high speed and design. Verity and I were very impressed with the theme of it. We decided to wander around Adventureland as we were mooching, we noticed that there was a queue to meet Baloo! We joined this queue to meet our fathers spirit animal! It was amusing as while we were queuing one Baloo had to go on break with his handler and he just walked off waving to passersby. Five minutes later a new Baloo appeared! The actor in the suit performed some very detailed body language he was going for a jolly and friendly vibe. We both received pictures and hugs from him. Just down the path we noticed that you could also meet the Genie from Aladdin! We both decided to join the line for that. The actor in the Genie suit had a more agile and flirtatious vibe than Baloos demeanour. It was very interesting seeing how the actors in the suits interacted with the customers.
After meeting Baloo and the Genie, we had booked a show which was located in the Hollywood Studios Park so we meandered our way over there. I got a cheese pretzel and a hot chocolate for lunch from a stall which was very tasty. The show we went to see was a Pixar themed play called Together! This show has a live orchestra. The premise of the show is that Woody and the other toys are owned by a young girl who aspires to be a orchestra conductor and has multiple pages of musical notes. She leaves the room and somehow her musical sheets get scattered around corners of the room and Woody and the gang work to gather them back together. Each page ends up in another Pixar animation film. For example, one section ends up being blown into the air and lands on the house in Up. This sheet is located and collected by Buzz. Another sheet settles in Monsters Incorporate which causes a red alert. A third part ends up in the fish tank and the audience is treated to Finding Nemo. Coco’s characters are also included in this show. Verity and I found it amusing that half of the actors in the suits spoke in English and the other half spoke in French due to the multilingual audience. Of the three shows we saw during our stay at Disneyland this was my favourite!
Following the wonderful Pixar show we decided to head back to the main park and travel on the train around the park which was located at the main entrance while we queued, we played “Who Am I?” Disney Style. It was relaxing to be off our feet for the twenty minutes it took to travel around the park. After the train ride, we queued for the Snow-White ride. This ride had beautiful illustrations and was a story themed ride rather than an adrenaline fuelled coaster. We also went on the Pinocchio ride which was again an illustrative experience. We still had a bit of time before the 5:30 parade so we decided to go on the beautiful storybook ride, which was a ride that shows all the Disney characters story in miniature dollhouses. I got very excited when I saw that Up was included in this ride.
Watching the Parade was just as magical as it was the first time even though it was almost the same. The only difference was that Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore were part of the parade. It was sweet as there was a baby in the audience dressed up as Winnie and all three characters crowded around her and Winnie gestured excitedly “It’s me!”. We were also able to get a good shot of Mulan on the Disney princess float. Mulan is one of my all-time favourite Disney films.
Verity’s Views:
Rowan and I had a brilliant full day in the park. Some of my highlights were:
1. Our breakfast! Unlimited Mickey-shaped waffles?! Yes please yum yum. We also saw Mickey (dressed in his best mountain-walking gear) doing a meet and greet in the foyer as we left. It was very sweet to see lots of children and families queued up to say hello.
2. Hyperspace Mountain. Rowan had extolled the virtues of this ride to me extensively. The virtues (for Rowan) were its very fast pace and the fact that it goes upside down three times. It was, I have to say, a pretty fantastic ride. I loved joining the Rebel Alliance to fight for the Empire, and the lightsaber beams that shot all over the path of the carts. We went on it not long after finishing our breakfast—and I’m relieved to say we both kept our Mickey waffles in our stomachs.
3. Meeting Baloo! Growing up, Rowan and I used to say that our dad was like Baloo—both of them being very fond of chilling, relaxing, vibing, and living for the Bear Necessities. It therefore felt appropriate that we queued up to meet him (Baloo, not our dad—we can see him anytime and never have to queue).
4. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride and our meal at Captain Jack’s! I remembered this ride from Florida. While it includes pirates, it’s actually pretty laid-back and not that scary—much like Captain Jack himself. The meal we had at Captain Jack’s was very yummy, and it was wonderfully atmospheric being by the water with the sounds of pirates yo-ho-hoing in the distance.
5. The firework display. This was honestly fantastic—the scenes from movies projected onto the castle, the music beautifully fitting each moment, and the lights and illuminations were so magical. A 10/10 finish to the day!
Following the parade Verity and I headed quickly to the Dumbo ride. The Dumbo ride is notorious in the Kirk family due to an incident which happened when we went when I was four. I went on with Mum when I was little, and I had control of the gear stick that made Dumbo go up and down. I was always very trigger happy consequently mum felt very seasick. However, revisiting this ride was not as exhilarating as I remember, and it was a very subdued ride. I think the infamous Dumbo ride has been exaggerated over time in the Kirk family household.
Subsequently to Dumbo we made our way to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Adventureland. It is situated in a damaged fortress and is a river ride. This ride is quite sedate, but the animatronic characters were wonderful to look at. What was also cool was that at one point the ride comes out near where guests are eating at Captain Jack’s Restaurant which is where we were going to dinner that evening.
Following the ride we headed there. The food was heavily infused with a Caribbean, tropical food style. We both had a cocktail which was rum, mango nectar, pineapple juice and ginger. It was a very punchy cocktail with a slightly warm aftertaste. I had Smoked sausage for my starter and chicken and prawn Colombo for my main. The Colombo was a very mild curry served with rice. I really enjoyed the exotic flavours. It was interesting to compare the food we had both nights as they were both so different.
We both decided not to have to dessert at the restaurant and made our way to get a good view of the firework show located in Fantasyland. We had a twenty-minute wait before it was due to begin. In the time between my sister’s boyfriend called to ask us if we were having a wonderful time and to present his birthday present to me! The birthday present was fast pass tickets for Verity and I the next day!
The firework display was spectacular! It was called Tales of Magic. Through Disney’s animations it told stories about what magic really is. In the start of the display, it has images of Disney characters singing their big I want more! Numbers. For example, Moana’s “How far I’ll Go, Hercules: Go the Distance, Mulan’s: Reflection and Quasi Modos Out There. Verity is very fond of that song and thinks that the hunchback of Notre Dame is an underrated film.
Lilo and Stitch and Buzz Lightyear provided a stirring part which was meant to represent that magic is adventure. Then it talked about how love is magic with fireworks of the rose from Beauty and the Beast. Subsequently the show moves on to a melancholier side with the theme of lost loved ones which ends with Mufasa and the importance of remembrance of those we had lost. The show then moves on to Encanto to show how family is like magic. The show ends with the inspirational words “Find your Magic and Pass it On!” Verity and I got very emotional as it was so effective in its design.
Saturday 15th February
Verity and I awoke early and went for breakfast and took the bus to the park ready for another day at the exuberant parks. We were especially excited due to Rebyn’s extremely generous present of fast pass tickets which meant that we didn’t have to queue for extended lengths!
We started with Tower of Terror which is in Hollywood Studios Park. It felt very jammy looking at the sign that said that there was a twenty-five-minute wait, and we were allowed to just go straight through with only a maximum of five minutes queuing time! Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a dark drop ride where riders enter a dimly lit elevator and take a seat. The lift then travels up slightly, and the black screen opens. A creepy little girl tells you not to scream, that you will only make it worse. The lift then drops but quickly catches you numerous times before giving you a brief view of the park at the top of the tower and then dropping you again. This ride must have been very methodically designed with engineers testing it to make sure that it was effective and safe.
We decided to do the Spiderman ride located next to Tower of Terror. This was a coaster like the Buzz Lightyear Lazer Blast Ride. In this ride you are being tasked to blast the radioactive spiders that have taken control of Stark Industries. Sibling rivalry struck again between Verity and I in the epic battle to have a higher score! Verity won again ☹! I’m still bitter about it! After the Spiderman ride, we used our fast passes to go on The Avengers themed ride which is similar in design to hyperdrive Mountain with a laser battle in deep space. I enjoyed this ride but not as much as Hyperdrive Mountain. After Avengers we went on the Ratatouille ride again it was still an immersive experience and still provides a great thrill even on second exposure to it. We then went on Crush’s Coaster which again was a revitalising journey.
We then had a short amble around Hollywood Studios Park and queued to meet Woody! Woody has always been one of my favourite characters ever! I got a very special hug from him and the actor mimed that he loved me which was a very notable experience. After we went to the main park to go on the Peter Pan ride. The Peter Pan ride was my favourite storybook style ride due to the beautiful illustrations and the carriages styled to look like the Jolly Roger ship. We decided to explore Adventureland more and found the Swiss Family Robinson tree house. The construction behind the design of the treehouse was very interesting to look at.
We had tickets for a Frozen style show which was located in the Hollywood Studios Park, so we meandered back over there buying a lunch of a filled beignet on the way. The Frozen show was very cute I quite liked the fact that it had some audience participation where the crowd had to do several hand gestures to mime making snow like Elsa. I didn’t enjoy this show as much as the Together picture show we saw the day before, but it was still entertaining.
Following the Frozen show, we headed back to the main park. We went back to Frontierland went on The Phantom Manor ride which is a spooky dimly lit ride inspired heavily by the haunted mansion. The storyline of it was a bit confusing and we did some research about this ride afterwards, so we understood it better.
We returned to Discovery Land and went on the Autotopia ride. The Autotopia ride is sedate ride in carriages designed to look like cars. I was quite delighted when we were given a Barbie pink coloured car. I had control of the speed which wasn’t very fast but still worth doing. After Autopia we went on Hyperdrive Mountain again as I have said this is one of my favourite rides due to me being a speed merchant. Subsequently I demanded a Buzz Lightyear Laser blast rematch. I didn’t do as well as I had the previous day and Verity did better than me again! Something is wrong here!
We then explored Fantasyland and went on the carousel which was fun but not a favourite of mine. We went into a clothing store, and I bought a beautiful turquoise Lion King top and some posters which I thought were stunning. Verity bought some Little Mermaid themed bowls and a Ratatouille plate. We had early dinner reservations in Adventureland, so we decided to spend more time there before dinner. We went on the Indiana Jones Ride and the Pirates of the Caribbean again which were highly pleasurable on second experiences.
We had dinner at an Aladdin “all you can eat buffet” style - restaurant. I had a mixture of the available dishes which were very tasty. However, I think I ate slightly too much as I felt a little ill while we waited to watch the firework show again. We didn’t have the best view during the firework show as we did the previous night, but it was still euphoric to see it. The firework shows are truly mesmerizing to watch and would benefit with multiple viewings. We then headed back to the hotel and had a very good night’s sleep after yet another exhausting day.
Verity’s Views:
Row and I had another blockbuster day and packed in so much. We were very grateful to Rebyn for gifting us some fast-pass tickets—it meant we could cut the queue like the absolute flipping VIPs that we are.
Some highlights for me include:
1. The Tower of Terror. Rowan had, again, extolled the virtues of this ride to me. The virtues (to Rowan) were its extreme height and the fact that it drops, then picks you up, several times in a row. Like Hyperspace Mountain, for some reason, we decided to go on this right after breakfast, which seems foolhardy. Yet again, we managed to keep our Mickey waffles down. The Kirk girls are made of hard stuff.
This ride is very stomach-flipping and succeeds in building a creepy Twilight Zone atmosphere. A particularly thrilling moment is when it opens some shutters while you're suspended at the very top of the building—199 metres above ground. You gaze across the park, breathless from screaming. Meanwhile, a photo is snapped of you looking petrified (Row and I still looked gorgeous though, don’t worry).
I also thought the Avengers ride was very good—would recommend that one!
2. Meeting Woody. Or really, seeing Row meet Woody. Rowan LOVES Woody, and I got a great photo of her hugging him. I sent this photo to our family WhatsApp, and our mum asked, “Is she bringing him home with her?!”
3. The Peter Pan ride. This ride always seemed to have a waiting time of over 40 minutes, so we really appreciated cutting the queue slightly with this one! I loved flying over miniature London and into Neverland. Like Rowan, I think this is the best classic Storybook ride.
4. Shopping together! Row and I had a little time before dinner to pick up some merch. We enjoyed browsing along the Main Street USA promenade. Rowan looks lovely in her turquoise Lion King jumper, and I love my Ratatouille plate and Little Mermaid bowls (though Rebyn was slightly alarmed by these when I brought them home! Why, I don’t know… I am an incredibly sophisticated woman with refined, grown-up taste.)
5. Our meal at Aladdin’s Agrabah Café. This restaurant is in the Adventureland section of the park and is beautifully decorated like a Middle Eastern bazaar.
6. Having a wander before the fireworks (again, a highlight!). I really love the way the park is designed—each section has such a distinct feeling and transports you so well to the movies it’s referencing. Rowan and I really felt, by the end of the trip, that we had explored the whole park fully.
Sunday 16th February
Sunday was our final day at Disneyland Paris - we had train tickets back to London at 19:00 so we still had practically a full day before having to leave. We woke up reasonably early, packed our bags and had breakfast. We left our suitcases at the hotel as it was possible for them to be conveniently moved to the Disneyland Paris Station. We had a more gentle and relaxed day having completed practically everything in the park during the past three days.
We queued for the Toy Soldiers parachute ride. This ride was similar to the tower of terror ride but was open air and a more serene pace. It was interesting as when the coaster went up you could see that there were several parts of the park that were under construction. I would be interested in returning sometime to see the new Frozen area and The Little Mermaid Lake which were being refurbed. After the Toy Parachute we decided to queue for the drawing characters demonstration. It was amusing as we waited, we got to see the class before us, all of the little kids wanted to draw Mickey. However, the teacher said that he was on holiday so they chose to draw Joy from Inside Out. When it was our time we were tasked to draw Daisy Duck. I was quite impressed with my portrayal and here is a picture of what I did.
We had tickets for The Lion King Show in the main park, so we ambled over there and got good seats. The Lion King show had fabulous costumes and acrobatic trapeze artists to watch who were all very energetic. I will say out of the three shows this was the most unoriginal as it was just a rendition of all of the big numbers from the West End / Broadway musical which Verity and I have already seen. I still found it highly engaging though.
For our final meal at Disneyland Paris, we had reservations at a restaurant called Auberge De Cendrillon (Cinderellas Restaurant). It was exquisitely designed to look like a posh dining room. We both had a final cocktail each mine had gin in it which I love! I had scallops for my starter. I adore scallops and never get them at home due to mum and dad being intolerant to them. For my main I had fried turbot fillet in a creamy sauce with asparagus and for our dessert we both had chocolate fondant with blueberry compote. Chocolate fondant is my favourite dessert.
While we were eating, we were greeted by the mice from Cinderella and four Disney Princesses including Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora and Ariel. Verity was almost hyperventilating with excitement when she saw that we were going to meet Ariel. I had my wonderful birthday Minnie Mouse ears which I wore during the meal (these were given to me by my good friend Izzy) All four princesses wished me a happy birthday which was very kind of them.
Following dinner I decided to do one final ride solo. I chose to have my final ultimate ride be Star Wars HyperSpace Mountain as this is my favourite coaster in the two parks. Afterwards we watched the parade again which was a wonderful way to close our stay at Disneyland Paris. I hope to come back someday as I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday with my sister.
Verity’s Views:
Rowan and I were very sad to be leaving on our last day. However, we made the most of it and had a very leisurely time compared to our last couple days!
Some highlights for me were:
1. The Army Parachute ride and seeing some of the renovations for upcoming developments in the park. When we were at the top of the coaster, you could see the frosty North Mountain from Frozen being constructed, along with all the little snow-capped huts around it. Rowan is campaigning for us to return to see this new feature when it opens!
2. The drawing class we did together. Rowan very sweetly suggested this—she knows I like drawing! The class was so well led, and it was lovely to do something a bit different and more interactive.
3. Our meal at Auberge de Cendrillon. Rowan and I absolutely loved this, and it was the perfect end to our holiday. The food was delicious, and the interior was so pretty—all soft pastel colours, stained glass windows, and tapestries featuring the story of Cinderella. Many of the Disney princesses came to visit us at our table. As Rowan said, I was pretty pumped that Ariel was in attendance (The Little Mermaid is one of my favourite Disney films). It was very sweet seeing some of the children in the restaurant meeting the princesses—and actually believing they were meeting the real princesses. One little girl next to us was completely speechless and open-mouthed when Cinderella appeared and started talking to her and her mother.
To finish, I’m writing this six months after we visited (apologies to Rowan for how long it’s taken me to write this—I’ve had quite a busy year!). I think about the trip often, and I feel so lucky to have had a holiday together to celebrate Rowan.
Disneyland Paris succeeded in bringing back memories of movies that meant—and still mean—so much to us. Some of my happiest memories are of watching Disney with Rowan- and we talk and text about movies nearly every day. It’s lovely that we now have a holiday that commemorates that love too.
