Another Parisian Adventure
I don’t think I could ever get tired of Paris. It doesn’t matter how many times I go, or how many times I visit the same landmark, or how many times I go to Disney – there’s always this sense of familiarity which makes me feel comfortable and I know that I can visit again and again.
Last November, my friend and I went to Paris for a few days where we also spent a whole day in Disney. You can’t really go wrong with a trip to Disney and it really is the happiest place on Earth. Don your Minnie ears and join me on a Parisian adventure!
Theme tune for this trip ?
I think this will be my third post in relation to Paris. My last post was a detailed account of how to spend less than 48 hours in Paris – it’s crazy how many things you can cram in in such a short space of time.
If Disney is the main focus of your trip then I would suggest staying in one of the hotels near the Disney area. If you have £££ then definitely check out the hotel in the park itself. As we are only young 20 somethings still trying to establish ourselves in the world and don’t really have moolah like that, we stayed at Vienna House Dream Castle Hotel.
British Airways do really good package deals and ours only cost around £200 – that’s flights and hotel. We also had breakfast included, which is definitely a bonus. When I’m booking packages, I always like to look for the hotels that have breakfast included just because it can save you so much more money. You can fill up your belly in the morning, then you just have to grab a light lunch and save your money for dinner.
Again, I booked our Disney tickets through Attraction Tickets Direct. You only save a couple of £s booking through them, but it is still cheaper than booking directly with Disney. Also, they have e-tickets, so no waiting around for the post hoping your tickets come on time! The website also offers deals on tickets for attractions in other major cities, as well.
Our hotel had a free shuttle bus to/from the hotel to Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy station, which made things a lot easier. Because of where the hotel is situated it isn’t that easy getting there – you can get to the station perfectly fine, but once there without the free shuttle bus you’d have to get a taxi, which is just extra £.
Disney, as always, was amazing. We got there early enough to have to queue and wait for them to open the gates. There’s always a feeling of happiness I get whenever I see the castle at the end of Main Street.
The day we chose to go happened to be the best day because we managed to go on some of the rides more than once because the queues were so short!
Favourite rides ?
- Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast – I’m absolutely crap at this and my hand/eye coordination skills are questionable, to say the least, and yet I still LOVE this ride
- Hyperspace Mountain – sorry, this will always still be Space Mountain to me.
- Star Tours – love how interactive this ride is!
- Hollywood Tower – this makes your heart drop out your butt, so really not for the faint-hearted. My friend said she thinks a little boy fainted on the ride when we were on it ?
The highlight of the day was definitely the Stars on Parade and the Disney Illuminations. We managed to get a good view of the parade as we were sitting down at the front, and gosh! You could feel my happiness all the way from Paris to Timbuktu.
I loved seeing all my favourite Disney characters dancing and singing (I attempted to sing along until I realised that it was the French version of the song ?)! The fireworks were out of this world and standing there taking it all in with delicious hot cocoa was definitely the best way to end the day at Disney.
Just before we flew back home, we spent our last few hours in Disney Village and exploring the shops. I may have spent a stupid amount of time in the Lego store…
I reckon the next time I go back to Disney, I will definitely be wearing a Princess dress because if little kids can do it, why can’t I? And don’t tell me it’s because I’m not a little kid.
We only spent a couple of days in Paris, but still snuck in a lot of sightseeing. We started off by taking the train into central Paris and getting off where the Louvre is located. Unfortunately, the day that we visited the Louvre there was tarpaulin over it so we didn’t get its full glass glory.
From the Louvre, we wandered through the Tuileries Garden – I have no idea if it was the same goat that I saw when I visited back in 2016, but nevertheless, there was a goat right next to the statues munching on grass. ? We need to appreciate the number of statues there are of people who look like they’re having a crisis. Falling down and all sorts.
The Tuileries Garden led us to the magnificent Luxor Obelisk. This is a 75ft high Ancient Egyptian obelisk and I craned my neck so much to try and take it all in. It is an extraordinary landmark and it definitely stands out. Next to the obelisk is the Fontaines de la Concorde, which are stunning as well. Good architecture is like eye candy to me.
You can’t visit Paris without visiting the Arc de Triomphe, no matter how cheesy and touristy it may be. We only saw it in passing, but I managed to capture a photo whilst standing in the middle of a crossing with lots of traffic. ? The things we do for the ‘gram, eh?
Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower. I think I’ve been up the tower a grand total of 4 times now and it never ceases to amaze me. The views are breathtaking no matter what level you end up on. Although the very tip-top of the tower can get crowded because it is quite small, the views are definitely worth it.
Storytime: We eavesdropped on a couple arguing. I say arguing, more like the man was popping off at the woman whilst the woman was standing there sulking. I caught him saying things like, “It’s not about getting the most expensive ticket”, “You have been miserable this whole trip” and “You say sorry, but you don’t mean it.” *sips tea*
Our last stop was Notre–Dame Cathedral, which brought back memories for both of us because the last time we had both visited the cathedral was back on our year 8 trip. That was god knows how many years ago. We went to check if the little park was still there and it was! It was relatively unchanged, just missing a few things but wow. We couldn’t believe it.
We also went inside the cathedral as it was free entry. I’ve mentioned this in a few posts, but I really like cathedrals and the insides are always so stunning. Especially the stained glass windows. ?
Overall, it was a nice little getaway. It always is great to just go away for a few days, take a breather and then return back to normal life.
Notes
- If you get your Disney tickets through ATD, then you get a percentage off food/drink/merchandise at Planet Hollywood and Earl’s Sandwich
- Choose to go to Disney when the kids are still on break. During the week is definitely better too. We unintentionally chose a day just before they put up their Christmas decor, so it was extremely quiet. As we leaving to go back home, we saw floods of people coming through because of the Christmas and it being a weekend.
- I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: a travel card is so much more efficient. I use Revolut now! You can use their app to check the balance, easily transfer money from your own account and send money to other people, as well as being able to freeze your card in case you lose it and other additional security features. You also get a notification when you’ve made a transaction straight away. I still carry cash with me, but I love having this card as well. Plus it’s contactless!
15 Comments
Michelle
Paris is amazing and I actually know the history of the city thanks to my reading and researching. I love nonfiction books on historical figures and stuff.
Looks like an amazing time and one day, I will go to some kind of Disney theme park XD
http://dreaming-arcadia.com/
Chynna
Yaaas, girl! I hope you do 🙂
Nancy
I love how you’ve made it a point to visit all of the Disneyland parks around the world! I’m trying to get my butt over to Disney World in Florida XD. Still, glad you found some good deal to make your visit to Disneyland Paris.
Saving a few bucks go a long way! Girl, you need to come back to DCA because we have the new Guardians ride and it’s dope. Glad you enjoyed your time out there!
Paris looks gorgeous! You’re always finding the best places for those lit pictures 😛
exquisitely.me
Chynna
Yaasss, girl! You know how I love Disney. Also, YES I am definitely coming back sooner rather than later. Love me some Guardians 😉
Susie @ Mile High Dreamers
You crammed a LOT into one trip! I will never be over Disney haha, and Disney in Paris just sounds like a dream! Paris looks like it could be soon on our list of places we’ll be headed since tickets are reasonably priced! Yay!
I’ll have to snag some recommendations from you of places to go (especially for food!).
Also, I feel like you can ALWAYS catch couples arguing, especially when you’re site seeing haha. We definitely spotted a few in Italy!
Susie | http://milehighdreamers.com
Chynna
Omg, yes you definitely do need to head there! Compared to the other parks, it is so much cheaper.
Heather Rowland
I’m a huge lover of Paris too – I have’t been for years but it’s such beautiful location with so many wonderful things to do. Gorgeous photos – and I love your theme for the trip too (I’ve also been listening to Havana on repeat recently)!
Heather xxo
https://www.hefafa.me.uk
Chynna
I love that it is so easy to get to from London, which makes so good for a quick getaway! And thank you 😀
Amy
Reading this post has made me want to get a passport right now so I can book a trip to Disney! It sounds absolutely amazing and, even though I don’t like rides, I’d love to go. Apparently, Andy’s auntie went to Florida and actually cried when she saw the castle because it was so amazing. Ngl that would be me too.
I looked up prices to stay in the park at the Florida one and I’ve never been so shocked. How do people get this kind of money? It looks fantastic though so hopefully one day you’ll get to!
Love your Eiffel Tower pics. I’m off to Blackpool for my friend’s hen do in April, and I’m 100% gonna be taking pics of their tower and pretending I’m in Paris. Even though it really doesn’t compare.
Glad you had an amazing time! I love the photos you took. Hope you didn’t have to stand in too much traffic to get them!
Chynna
Do it, do it, do it! Andy’s auntie is actually me, LOL. But yeah, even if you don’t like rides there’s still so much more to do at Disney. Gosh, just writing about it makes me cry because I love that place so darn much.
Yeah, I’ve been wanting to go back to the Florida one for the longest time but I just haven’t had the funds. I was lucky the first time I went was because it was a present from my grandma. Maybe I should get a sugar daddy… ?
Eena
Ooooh girl, Disney Paris looks like it would be such a blast! Also, I’m really loving the colors of your photos in this entry! Anyways, is it not called Space Mountain anymore? I used to have a pass but stopped renewing it in 2016 when life got super busy and I wasn’t able to visit 🙁 So sad. This post made me miss Disney so much; but I’m glad you had a blast! I also really love Camila Cabello’s Havana xD
Chynna
Thank you – I have VSCO to thank for that 😉 Nooo, when they released the new Star Wars they renamed it to Hyperspace Mountain but I think it was only in the Paris one! Her song is always in my head haha
Tara
Oooooh. I would love to visit Paris one day, and this post is not helping with that desire XD I just wish I was closer to Europe like you! I’ve yet to go to a Disney-whatever. I should check out Tokyo Disneyland . . .
I am totally digging the Paris outside of Disney! From the Louvre to Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame — gorgeous architecture and sceneries! Thank you for sharing :3
Chynna
If you ever do come to Europe, I would suggest just doing everything in one go. A lot of people do that, especially when it’s so far away/expensive.
Georgie
I’m so glad you got to visit Paris again!
I really, really liked the Arc de Triomphe. It is definitely tricky trying to get a photo of it, haha, with all that traffic. It’s also a tight squeeze walking to the top of it, but in my opinion, that view is one of the best in Paris (that I’ve seen anyway). I really loved it.
When we visited the Eiffel Tower, we actually didn’t pay to go all the way to the top. We were fine with the view halfway up. Unfortunately the Euro cup was on while we were there so the views weren’t super amazing. That and I guess if you want a photo with the Eiffel Tower actually in it, you wouldn’t go up the tower itself. ? We also got some good views at the Montmarte steps.
I’m definitely not squashing your fun, but I personally didn’t like Disneyland Paris that much (or at least, not as much as you did)! I liked the Tokyo one better, but I also generally didn’t like either of them as much as I liked Tokyo DisneySea (which was much better themed IMO). I also got off the Space Mountain ride crying, with a massive headache, and had almost lost my voice from screaming. For me it was an awful experience, it made me claustrophobic, the dark was too much for me, and the speed of the ride and the twists and turns were too much for me to handle. In the photo they took on the ride my face was an expression of pure horror, too. ? It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. Of course, I’m glad you had a great time though, and enjoyed that ride so much more than I did ?