Today is the day that I finally talk about our amazing trip to Disneyland Paris! I knew taking a Disney first timer would be amazing but seeing Joe's face as we stepped into the magical land blew me away. He uttered the words, "it's more magical than I thought it would be!" And those exact words made my heart flutter!
Not only had Joe never been to Disney before, he also had not flown in a plane before. So it was a holiday of whole new experiences for him. As we stepped aboard the Easyjet plane on September 12th 2016, the excitement just grew and grew! We had already planned that once we arrived we would check in at our hotel and then head to Disney Village; and that is precisely what we did. We checked into the Kyriad, which is a Disney partner hotel (this means it's still close to Disney but they do not own the property.) The hotel itself I find lovely, it has a good breakfast too which is always a bonus! It now additionally has a farm with cute little bunnies, llamas, sheep etc. We dumped our bags and headed straight onto the bus for Disney Village. I have wanted to try Earl of Sandwich for a long time now, so my goal was to get us to go there for tea. Somehow I managed it, considering Joe isn't the World's Biggest Sandwich Fan. He spotted a pizza and opted for that. It looked really tasty and was smothered in that French cheese that was going to be a recurring theme for the holiday. I chose the children's meal as my Burger King at lunch had filled me up, plus I didn't fancy trying to ask for my sandwich plain with the language barrier. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate mousse. Both items were divine and I cannot wait to visit Earl of Sandwich in Orlando now! I love how neatly the items were wrapped in foil with a little sticker on. Such a cute touch. We did a little bit of shopping and Joe was excited to see Christmas items in the shop windows, then we headed back home to get some sleep before the exciting day ahead.
The first day at Disneyland was full to the brim of rides and shows. We visited the main Disneyland Park first as I wanted to truly show Joe how magical it can be. Our first ride (which is actually turning into a Disneyland Paris tradition) was Buzz Lightyear. This is a ride where you shoot at targets to earn points. I knew Joe would enjoy this as it is an interactive style ride, plus who doesn't love Toy Story. I remember hearing Joe say, "it's just like real life Toy Story!" After this we followed on by riding Casey Junior, The Storybook land boats, It's a Small World, Snow White, Peter Pan's Flight, Dumbo, Mad Tea Party and so much more!! We tried the Market House Deli for lunch which was actually really nice, it's situated on Main Street. Lucy and Joe had toasties and I opted for a simple bag of crisps and a gorgeous cupcake. I love how soft their icing is. Joe was looking forward to seeing the Frozen singalong so we went there next, well after the 2 of them bought Elsa slushies. I believe Joe was very impressed with the show as he went to watch it again on our last day. Joe somehow managed to drag me on Space Mountain Mission 2! I hate going upside down and I don't know what crazy thought went through my head in that moment for me to agree to such things! However I braved it, I wouldn't go on it again though, I loved the speed of it but I got battered so much I had a bad headache and dizziness for the rest of the day! We then picked our parade spot the the most magical parade. We chose to sit in the immense heat outside the towers in Fantasyland for about 20 minutes, which felt like torture but so worth it. The temperature was 31 degrees!!! The parade was probably my favourite I've ever seen, not because of the floats but because of the character interactions. Me and Lucy were getting into the spirit by singing, waving and blowing kisses, and it really paid off. A lot of them noticed us and came over and talked to us which made for a great vlog. Phantom Manor had broken down so we made our way to Pirates of the Caribbean which quickly became one of Joe's favourite rides. He even bought the souvenir photograph! We finally got to go on Phantom Manor after that which is one of my favourites, but that's because I love anything out of the ordinary and have a fondness for Haunted Mansion in WDW. We decided we wanted to visit Hakuna Matata for tea, we all got the spicy chicken and spicy waffle fries. It is a fond favourite of all of ours. The taste is very spicy so if you're not keen on spices this is not the place to visit. I also love the African decor. We picked our spot at the front of the park near the gazebo and staked it out for Dreams. This is the first time I properly got to watch it and it was truly magical, I can see why everyone adores it so much. Even Lucy joined in with enjoying it once she realised the fireworks didn't make a loud noise. It ended the night beautifully. <3
