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This was our 2nd trip to Disneyland Paris but the first with our 3 year old son. We decided on this occasion to try out the Eurostar service from Ashford in Kent directly to the Disneyland Park.

Check in at Ashford is very straightforward, minimum check in time was 30 minutes and after about 5 or 10 minutes passing through security control we were relaxing in the lounge prior to departure.
The standard coach is very comfortable as we settled in for the two hour train journey, light refreshments were available on the onboard bar and plenty of room to store you luggage at the designated points.

The station on arrival could not be nearer, right next to the parks and Disney Village. We were staying at the Hotel New York which took us about 5-10 minutes to walk with our luggage; you can wait for the shuttle bus however I knew prior to arrival that the hotel was only a short walk away.
The Hotel New York is a 4* property located right next to the Disney Village, this is the 2nd nearest hotel to the Parks, the closest is the Disneyland Hotel.

The hotel was very comfortable for our two night stay and has a couple of restaurants to choose from and also has an indoor swimming pool, I would highly rate this property for location and good standard of accommodation.

After check in we decided to have a look around the Disney Village, the area has numerous restaurants and bars including Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, McDonalds and many others.

Our first night we had decided to pre-book the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, this is also located within the Disney Village. This was a great introduction to our Disney experience, this was our first opportunity to see some of the well loved Disney characters performing a visual show featuring cow boys and Indians, this show definitely appeals to all ages and was a lot of fun. Dinner is included and the food was lovely, chilli, ribs, sausages, wedges and drink was also included within the price. Not the cheapest experience but in my view was worth the money and my little boy very much enjoyed it.

The following day was the ‘big one’ we started off the morning having a character breakfast within the Disney Village. This is a great photo opportunity with some of the best loved Disney characters who visit every table and interact with the children. I would highly recommend booking this in advance.

After breakfast we headed for the Disneyland Park. Having visited Disney World in Florida, the main Disneyland Park in Paris is about the same size of Magic Kingdom in Orlando. The park is amazing and has rides that are suitable for various different age groups. The park was very busy as we did visit over a weekend in September 2010. I would say to visit the park comfortably you really need two days to visit the park to experience all of its attractions. Many parades are featured throughout the day which are not to be missed and feature many characters from the likes of Toy Story and Monsters Inc to the more traditional characters of Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Donald and many more. After a long day in the Park we headed for dinner at Planet Hollywood at Disney Village before heading off to bed to re-charge our batteries for the following day.

On our final day after breakfast at the hotel we headed off for the 2nd park, Disney Studios. This is a little smaller than the Disneyland Park however during busy times you still really need two days to experience the park in full. The park is very different and is based more on interactive cinematic experiences with a few thrill rides and smaller rides for the little ones. This park had changed quite a bit to our last visit and now included the new ‘Toy Story Park’ which houses a few rides for the younger generation featuring some of their favourite characters. Also a new addition to our last visit is the fantastic ‘Hollywood Towers Hotel ride’, which if you don’t like heights is not for the faint hearted. Both parks are very different but definitely appeal to all ages.

After another long day in the park it was time to head back to the hotel and collect our bags and head back for the station and home.