Our First Trip to Disney Land Paris!

Guest · 8 Oct 10, 12:36 AM

Cast:

Me: Gemma

I love all things Disney, been to Florida once, with James in 2006 and loved it. Have since had our little boy, Toby who is 2. Getting married May 2011.

James

Not as fond of all things Disney as I am, but keen to have a pre Disney-moon trip to the magic. Driver.

Toby

Our wonderful little boy, he loves Disney films, and playing with his Disney figures, has been excited for weeks to be going to see 'E Mouse on a boat' also plans to say 'Boo!' to Goofy.

Wednesday 22nd September 2010.

We leave at 1.30am, I wake Toby up by telling him we are going to see Mickey Mouse today, he wakes up in a lovely mood and comes downstairs where we pack the car and then begin our journey, which has to begin again when two minutes later James asks if I have packed the money. We drop by asda for spare dummy's and then our journey truly begins. Surprisingly Toby does not go back to sleep, which means we have to watch Toy Story 2 for the millionth time.

We get to Services 24, for early ferry arrivals at quarter to 5, except they don't open until 6, which begs the question, why are the called Services 24? To annoy me, So we pass the time watching Problem Child. James tries to get some sleep, which proves difficult with a 2 year old climbing all over him. When the services finally open we restroom and then drive on to Dover. It is relatively quick and easy besides being stopped for a search, the security lady recommends Animagique but says she wont tell us why, as it will ruin the surprise. Soon after we get to the port and onto the boat.

We go up on deck to watch and Toby really enjoys himself. A bird sits on the lower deck and Toby is amused that it is coming with us. We wander around and soon it is time to go back to the car. The drive to Disney is making James nervous but he soon finds his confidence and does brilliantly. Toby also falls asleep whilst eating a biscuit so there is peace and quiet. I put on my Paris play list and shimmy along to some Mama Mia soundtrack and David Bowie. Then it gets to David Grey, and my eyes that have not seen sleep in over 24 hours suddenly becomes very heavy. Why, when I knew we would be exhausted did I include songs with lyrics like 'Gonna close my eyes, something up above, you're the one I love' In desperation to stay awake and help James navigate I eat handfuls of mnm's and staple my eyes open.

The journey is long, it is one long road which you pay 20 euros and 20 cents to use. The countryside is beautiful and James comments that it is a shame there is a road straight through it all, then says it is a really good road. Typical Gemini.

Eventually we see signs for Disney Land which makes us excited. Toby wakes up and wants to get out of the car or go home. Finally we make it to Hotel Cheyenne and go to reception. After a long wait we check in but do not have a room key so James and I change in the car and Toby refuses to change his clothes, so he looks like a scruff.

We walk the long way to Disney and Toby insists on being carried. It is very hot, in fact it was scorching and it had been my decision to leave the push chair at home, a decision I regretted for the rest of the holiday. We go to Magic Kingdom and it is so beautiful.

Toby walks down Main Street and I soak up the atmosphere, the sweet smells, I can see the castle, hear the music and James says I can't believe we are here and I get tears in my eyes.

We stop for a drink and then walk around. Toby wants to go on the Alice in Wonderland maze and it is brilliant.

We all really enjoy ourselves. This is Disney.

Toby laughs as I splash James with the little water fountains and hides behind us when he sees the Queen of Hearts pop up from the bushes.

We climb to the top of the castle and take in the views. It is beautiful. We walk around for a bit and suddenly James grabs my hand and says 'look, there's characters!'

So we grabbed Toby by an arm each and ran over before anyone else noticed, then 'Look, Pluto!' so we run to him, and Toby is shy at first but is soon giving Pluto a hug and telling him he has big teeth and long ears and it is so lovely to see him interacting with these characters he watches on TV every day that he plays with and talks about so much and Goofy turns up and Toby has said for weeks he will say Boo to Goofy to scare him, and he says it and Goofy is so amazing with him, playing and dancing with him and Toby doesn't want to leave him.

Next we see Captain Hook and Mr Smee, and Toby isn't so keen. He knows they are bad. But they are great with him and soon put him at ease. Captain Hook especially takes a shine to him. Next we meet King Louis and Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. Toby is really getting confident around the characters and in such a short period of time, it is just wonderful to watch.

Chip and Dale are next followed by Goofy and Pluto again! When Goofy has to leave Toby gets tears in his eyes and his bottom lip wobbles, it is genuine sadness and I get tears again.
We walked to the castle and sat down on the curb ready for the parade, annoying people came late and then were pushing in front of other people but we wouldn't budge. This was my baby's first parade and we weren't moving for nobody.

It was amazing, First up was Pluto and Chip and Dale followed by Mickey and Minnie. Toby's eyes just lit up with pure joy. Goofy was on the back of the float too! Soon it was the Toy Story float and Toby was just so excited and happy, shouting their names and waving. The Peter Pan float came by and Captain Hook came over and shook Toby's hand and ticked his nose. Toby was still unsure but I insisted Hook liked him. Finally the Princesses came by and Cinderella, Toby's favourite Princess blew him a kiss and when I asked him about it his eyes went all tearful. I think he was overwhelmed but very happy.

We go to Annette's Diner for tea and I have a cheese burger (no bun) and fries. James has a chilli dog and fries and Toby has Chicken nuggets and fries. It cost us 50 euros with tip and we would definitely recommend it. We then went back to the hotel and got our cases out of the car, it had been a long day and we were exhausted so we just gave Toby a bottle and went to bed.

squishy · 8 Oct 10, 02:57 PM

Wonderful first day - sounds like you all really enjoyed the magic! Look forward to reading the rest!

Melanie R · 8 Oct 10, 05:07 PM

Fantastic character interaction - love the pics!
Sounds like you found the magic- looking forward to more!

**Gill H** · 8 Oct 10, 05:31 PM

Love your last photo - I have the theme from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' playing in my head.

Guest · 8 Oct 10, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by Gill H

Love your last photo - I have the theme from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' playing in my head.

Made me Laugh out Loud. I love that photo too

thanks.

JamelUK · 11 Oct 10, 10:53 PM

Great photos Gemma. Thanks for sharing!

8 Oct 10, 12:36 AM	#1
	8 Oct 10, 12:36 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Our First Trip to Disney Land Paris! Cast: Me: Gemma I love all things Disney, been to Florida once, with James in 2006 and loved it. Have since had our little boy, Toby who is 2. Getting married May 2011. James Not as fond of all things Disney as I am, but keen to have a pre Disney-moon trip to the magic. Driver. Toby Our wonderful little boy, he loves Disney films, and playing with his Disney figures, has been excited for weeks to be going to see 'E Mouse on a boat' also plans to say 'Boo!' to Goofy. Wednesday 22nd September 2010. We leave at 1.30am, I wake Toby up by telling him we are going to see Mickey Mouse today, he wakes up in a lovely mood and comes downstairs where we pack the car and then begin our journey, which has to begin again when two minutes later James asks if I have packed the money. We drop by asda for spare dummy's and then our journey truly begins. Surprisingly Toby does not go back to sleep, which means we have to watch Toy Story 2 for the millionth time. We get to Services 24, for early ferry arrivals at quarter to 5, except they don't open until 6, which begs the question, why are the called Services 24? To annoy me, So we pass the time watching Problem Child. James tries to get some sleep, which proves difficult with a 2 year old climbing all over him. When the services finally open we restroom and then drive on to Dover. It is relatively quick and easy besides being stopped for a search, the security lady recommends Animagique but says she wont tell us why, as it will ruin the surprise. Soon after we get to the port and onto the boat. We go up on deck to watch and Toby really enjoys himself. A bird sits on the lower deck and Toby is amused that it is coming with us. We wander around and soon it is time to go back to the car. The drive to Disney is making James nervous but he soon finds his confidence and does brilliantly. Toby also falls asleep whilst eating a biscuit so there is peace and quiet. I put on my Paris play list and shimmy along to some Mama Mia soundtrack and David Bowie. Then it gets to David Grey, and my eyes that have not seen sleep in over 24 hours suddenly becomes very heavy. Why, when I knew we would be exhausted did I include songs with lyrics like 'Gonna close my eyes, something up above, you're the one I love' In desperation to stay awake and help James navigate I eat handfuls of mnm's and staple my eyes open. The journey is long, it is one long road which you pay 20 euros and 20 cents to use. The countryside is beautiful and James comments that it is a shame there is a road straight through it all, then says it is a really good road. Typical Gemini. Eventually we see signs for Disney Land which makes us excited. Toby wakes up and wants to get out of the car or go home. Finally we make it to Hotel Cheyenne and go to reception. After a long wait we check in but do not have a room key so James and I change in the car and Toby refuses to change his clothes, so he looks like a scruff. We walk the long way to Disney and Toby insists on being carried. It is very hot, in fact it was scorching and it had been my decision to leave the push chair at home, a decision I regretted for the rest of the holiday. We go to Magic Kingdom and it is so beautiful. Toby walks down Main Street and I soak up the atmosphere, the sweet smells, I can see the castle, hear the music and James says I can't believe we are here and I get tears in my eyes. We stop for a drink and then walk around. Toby wants to go on the Alice in Wonderland maze and it is brilliant. We all really enjoy ourselves. This is Disney. Toby laughs as I splash James with the little water fountains and hides behind us when he sees the Queen of Hearts pop up from the bushes. We climb to the top of the castle and take in the views. It is beautiful. We walk around for a bit and suddenly James grabs my hand and says 'look, there's characters!' So we grabbed Toby by an arm each and ran over before anyone else noticed, then 'Look, Pluto!' so we run to him, and Toby is shy at first but is soon giving Pluto a hug and telling him he has big teeth and long ears and it is so lovely to see him interacting with these characters he watches on TV every day that he plays with and talks about so much and Goofy turns up and Toby has said for weeks he will say Boo to Goofy to scare him, and he says it and Goofy is so amazing with him, playing and dancing with him and Toby doesn't want to leave him. Next we see Captain Hook and Mr Smee, and Toby isn't so keen. He knows they are bad. But they are great with him and soon put him at ease. Captain Hook especially takes a shine to him. Next we meet King Louis and Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. Toby is really getting confident around the characters and in such a short period of time, it is just wonderful to watch. Chip and Dale are next followed by Goofy and Pluto again! When Goofy has to leave Toby gets tears in his eyes and his bottom lip wobbles, it is genuine sadness and I get tears again. We walked to the castle and sat down on the curb ready for the parade, annoying people came late and then were pushing in front of other people but we wouldn't budge. This was my baby's first parade and we weren't moving for nobody. It was amazing, First up was Pluto and Chip and Dale followed by Mickey and Minnie. Toby's eyes just lit up with pure joy. Goofy was on the back of the float too! Soon it was the Toy Story float and Toby was just so excited and happy, shouting their names and waving. The Peter Pan float came by and Captain Hook came over and shook Toby's hand and ticked his nose. Toby was still unsure but I insisted Hook liked him. Finally the Princesses came by and Cinderella, Toby's favourite Princess blew him a kiss and when I asked him about it his eyes went all tearful. I think he was overwhelmed but very happy. We go to Annette's Diner for tea and I have a cheese burger (no bun) and fries. James has a chilli dog and fries and Toby has Chicken nuggets and fries. It cost us 50 euros with tip and we would definitely recommend it. We then went back to the hotel and got our cases out of the car, it had been a long day and we were exhausted so we just gave Toby a bottle and went to bed.