Disneyland, Paris
It was only November 13th, but Christmas was in full swing; with Christmas themed parades, songs, fake snow, elves, Santa himself pulled on a giant sleigh and a 60ft Christmas tree with no less than 1800 decorations – I can only imagine the disappointment in my little boy’s face when we put our tree up at home; thanks for that one Disney.
We chose to stay at the Village Nature resort (not a naturist in sight!) owned by Centre Parks with an eco-conscious theme; it reminded me of those trendy Scandinavian housing schemes. You get around the large resort on bikes, cars are banned but they do have electric shuttle buses to hop on. Apartments have kitchens with dishwashers, microwaves, coffee machines, toasters and hobs so that you can self-cater, there is a supermarket on site and restaurants if you can’t be bothered to cook. They have enough there to keep you entertained for a few days; tree climbing trails, an amazing water-park with giant water slides and a lazy river, a bowling alley, an educational farm, a vegetable garden with hands-on workshops for children, pony rides and a giant soft play. It really is the place to go for families or if you want to be away from the hustle and bustle of Disney as is only a 20min bus ride away.
The park itself was lots of fun with rides for all ages. We didn’t feel the need to buy Fast-passes, but I would recommend getting them for busy times like school holidays. There is choice of what seemed like hundreds of restaurants; counter fast food service meals for quick and easy meals, all-you-can- eat buffet restaurants and table service restaurants. I’d say if you want to eat healthy then go for the buffet or table service, but pre-booking is essential to save on the queues! The majority of travellers at the park were families with pre-school children but there were a lot more adult-only groups than I would have guessed, proving the magic isn’t just for children but for the big kid inside of everyone.
Disney now have an app which I’d highly recommend downloading as this gives you wait times for rides plus you can book your table for dinner on there too. A must if you have children is to pre-book a Disney dining experience, whether it be with Disney Princesses or Mickey and friends, it’s worth it to see their faces light up with magic-priceless!
We’re planning our next trip already. If you have any questions or are thinking of going please get in touch.