Disney holiday

Disneyland Paris Dairies- My Second Visit

Disney Diary

This blog post skips a few years from the last as we revisited Disneyland Paris as a family, I was slightly older but still incredibly excited.

I want to start however the night before we left, this probably goes down as one of those embarrassing life moments but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my holiday. The evening before travelling to Marne la Valee we stayed in a London hotel. It turned out there was a wedding so Mum and Dad did not get much sleep however I can sleep anywhere through anything. It wasn’t until the next morning when I was getting ready in the bathroom that my trouble began. The towel radiator was hot. Sorry I meant HOT. The kind of hot where you bend to put your jeans on and burn a line down your ass. The kind of burn that HURTS to sit down on and guess what, I was sitting on the Eurostar for a couple of hours. Ah well, like I said, I was still excited we were going to Disneyland Paris.

I am a huge fan of character meets and found an absolute love with the parades on this visit. On our last day as mum and dad were finishing dinner I wanted to get up and watch the final parade, I truly think I would still be like that now. As for characters, everyone that we saw I wanted a photo with, sometimes even twice. It wasn’t too busy at the time of year and the characters were happy to stand, chat and take a few photos. It was great that we were never rushed and I only remember there being a queue for the Sulley Meet and Greet.

The stores in Disneyland Paris are something else. They are elegant on the outside and full of glow and warmth inside. On this visit I treated myself to a Minnie Mouse ring that I actually still have, although she is now missing her bow I have kept this in my jewellery box as memorabilia.

Of course we went on the rides and this time, as my sister was older, she was able to go on more too. Crush’s Coaster had opened since our last visit and this quickly became my favourite ride throughout Disneyland Paris, closely followed by the Tower of Terror. My love of the parades was ongoing and I enjoyed watching them every day of our visit. On our last day I even left dinner early so I could catch it before our journey home.

Another memory, that needed some finding, was going to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Exactly what it sounds like it was a show full of cowboy hats, horses and stunts. This was a rustic event with food and drink included and a little audience participation which my dad took part in. It was a good way to spend an evening and the stunt show was great. I remember the food being a chicken on the bone and chips combo with beer flowing (not for the young ones of course!) and waitresses coming round to top up or bring more food. I would love to see if this is the same experience 20 years on.

We stayed in a different hotel to our last trip and I must say it was a beautiful hotel. Disney’s Newport Bay Club homed a Donald Duck Meet and Greet, a gift shop and nautical themed decor. It was also overlooking the lake which is positioned in the centre of many of the hotels and was only a short walk to the parks everyday. I would love to try Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel however I would definitely stay at Disney’s Newport Bay Club again in the future.

If you haven’t already you can also catch up on Our First Disney Holiday or see how I am planning our next one.

Have you been to any of the Disney Parks or do you plan to one day?

My First Disney Holiday

Disney Diary, TRAVEL

It was a family holiday with my mum, dad and sister where we travelled straight into Marne-la-Valle on the Eurostar and stayed in the western themed Hotel Cheyenne. Back at the beginning 2000 I would have been 9 years old and really, looking back I feel I was even younger than that.

I do have a few memories of my own but loved hearing some forgotten ones from my mum and dad and looking through the photos. There are a few things that stood out on the holiday. I was like a kid in a candy shop in all of the stores there and left with a full lanyard of pin badges. I remember that it was fairly cold and it was definitely coat weather. I remember this because my chosen coast was a purple number with fluffy sleeves and collar. I remember this because I managed to get ‘plastic’, runny cheese stuck in the sleeves and somehow later threw up the contents of a jacket potato with cheese. Let’s just say the experience put me off melted cheese for a looong time. Now if I ever saw someone ladling runny cheese onto a potato I’m outta there.

I was tall enough and old enough to go on the rollercoasters on our first visit. The Indiana Jones Temple of Doom as I remember it was a great ride. It was also my first experience on ‘It’s A Small World’ and my mum must have been on it more than a handful of times with my sister being around 4 years old at the time. As much as I enjoyed the rides I think my slightly scared moment was on Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster as I had never been on anything that started that fast before.

We recently watched The Imagineneering Story on Disney+ and I was surprised to see the content about Disneyland Paris. Our first family holiday covered the time when the second park, Hollywood Studios had just opened and I can honestly say that through my young eyes it was nothing but a great experience. Even going years later it was still a wonderfully fun place with the Tower of Terror and my favourite ride in Paris, Crush’s Coaster. I loved this ride so much I was gutted when I went with my now husband and it was closed for renovation.

What memories do you have of your first ever Disney holiday?

Replanning Our Disney Holiday

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If you are new around here you may not be aware that our Walt Disney World Holiday was cancelled due to the current circumstances. We completely agree that safety is of prime importance but I am also looking forward to replanning our Disney holiday and being there in the next year or so, whenever we are able and it is safe to do so.

Our previously planned trip included:

• Disney tickets for 14 days

• Staying off site near Universal

We were just about to book Universal Tickets before everything closed and were unsure of what may or may not be cancelled for a while.

Since Walt Disney World stated its temporary closure and then our holiday provider cancelled our holiday altogether we have been adding, changing and researching what we can’t miss and what we would love to experience on our future Florida holiday.

We have changed our plans slightly for when we rebook and this now includes staying on site in a Disney hotel. My main decision sway-ers on this were,

• Disney Magic even when you go to bed

• Extra Magic Hours

• Booking reservations and FastPass sooner

• Transport will be easier to get into the parks

• Dining plan availability

With all this in mind we decided that the price difference would be worth the extras that are available through staying on site.

I have located a few prices with different companies but due to our previous holiday provider we are unable to rebook just yet. This gives me plenty of time to find the best price offering the best package.

Once we have the holiday booked we shall keep you updated as to finalising plans and making restaurant reservations along with what FastPass is the most popular and what snacks we need to be sampling.

I am very much looking forward to the whole process and this time (without any disasters please) enjoying our Walt Disney World holiday.

Are you planning a Disney holiday?

I’m here in the comments or over on Instagram @lorenjessica_

Desserts I’d Love to Eat in Disney and a Disclaimer

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With the latest news being a massive blow to the population it’s hard to know what to say. Many people’s cases are different right now and I’ve been reading messages all week on Instagram posts about how many families won’t be visiting Disney parks in the near future. Family holidays that have been planned for years, birthdays that are now going to be spent at home and special once-in-a-lifetime trips having to be postponed. It’s all very sad to read about but on the other hand a holiday that won’t be going ahead at the original time planned is nothing compared to the health of many and Disney have done what they feel best. We have our trip planned in a few weeks time and the park will hopefully have re-opened by then, if not we hope to be able to reschedule another date. It’s up in the air for many Disney-goers at the minute and I hope that everyone who had planned a trip within the next couple of weeks manage to rearrange. For now keeping my chin up and looking at the positives of ‘if it helps one person stay healthy’ is helping me and keeping the worry and uncertainty at bay.

So if you want to continue reading I am allowing myself to look forward to our Disney trip whether it happens as originally scheduled or whether it happens at a later date. I’m thinking of all the things I want to do whilst I’m there and that begins with what I’d like to eat.

Making Disney chocolate dessert shapes
Making Disney shaped chocolate treats

I mean, I’m going to try all the food in Disney World but there’s a few that made the blog post. You will be able to see from this list that I also have a big sweet tooth and I can be thankful we are staying for two weeks as I am not sure I’d be able to squeeze all of these into any less time.

The Grey Stuff – I am a big Beauty and the Beast fan so as soon as I heard that Disney serve this in their Be Our Guest restaurant I simply needed to go. I am planning for a breakfast or lunch there and this will definitely be planned for dessert.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich – oh hi dessert heaven, didn’t see you there. Cookies, tick. Ice cream, tick. It is literally all one would require from a dessert and apart from the fact it gives my bottom teeth sensitivity tingles just from the idea of biting into it I can’t wait. I’ve heard rumour this also comes with a peanut butter option *already drooling*.

Blue Milk – not entirely a dessert but it’s on the list. Now this means something entirely different to me. Growing up in Britain ‘blue milk’ translates to Whole Milk, the same going for ‘green milk’ it isn’t green like in Disney, its semi-skimmed. I really don’t know what to expect with this one but I want to try it all the same.

Carrot cake cookie sandwich – This was recommended by a friend who said that we must try it. I do love a slice of carrot cake so this will surely be a winner.

Mickey Waffle – I know what a waffle tastes like. I can probably guess what a Mickey waffles tastes like but I am still going to try that Mickey waffle because I am in Walt Disney World, simple.

Beignets – another of my favourite Disney films (yes I could say that about every one but I won’t) is The Princess and the Frog. I love the music, the story and I am hoping I will love the inspired food too.

Are there any sweet treats I should add? Let me know.

And if you want to chat/get excited for whenever your trip may be or may be rescheduled for/or to let out some worries then either pop a comment or get in touch on Instagram.

Until next time,

L x

Walt Disney World Epcot inspired mouse ears by Ears by Jade

Disney Planning – Making a checklist

Disney Diary, TRAVEL

As you may or may not know we myself and the hubs are going to Walt Disney World in Spring this year. With January gone the holiday is slowly creeping up on us and before we know it it’ll be time to go and I won’t have prepared anything. Side note: On two occasions now I have found myself in the queue to board a plane and have been purchasing travel insurance, I know right. 

This time it has to change as our holiday to Florida is a. more expensive b. not part of europe for medical care and c. further away if anything was to happen. Hence why we need travel insurance as soon as possible and why I am making this list where it will be top priority. 

  1. Travel Insurance. For all the reasons above. 
  2. Visa. We can do this up until 72 hours before we go but the sooner it’s ticked the better. 
  3. FastPass booking. Because we are staying offsite we can do this 30 days before and organise our days. 
  4. Restaurant planning. Again so we can organise our days to get the max amount of time enjoying ourselves and not choosing where to eat for an hour, yes I can get hangry. 
  5. Packing. Clothes, shoes, toiletries. You name it I will have to make a list for it before I end up in Florida heat wearing jeans and a hoody because I don’t have enough shorts and need to go shopping. 
  6. Hand luggage organisation. To include all documents, tech, plane entertainment and anything I tend to pick up leaving the house. 

If you are a seasoned Disney-goer and notice that I have missed something let me know. We want to make as much of our two weeks as humanly possible and need to remember all the important bits too so add them below or get in touch on Instagram/email. 

Until next time, 

L x