When this client first came to me, she described herself as a “very seasoned traveller” who usually books everything independently. But the moment she started looking at Disneyland Paris, she felt completely overwhelmed by the options and didn’t know where to begin. We spent time really talking about her family, their travel style and what they wanted this break to feel like, then shaped the whole trip around that.

Below is a Q&A I did with her, sharing why she chose to work with me and how we created a Disney experience that genuinely worked for her and her family.

Q: You travel all the time and usually plan everything yourself. Why did you come to me for Disneyland Paris?

A: I honestly thought I’d be able to sort it myself, like I always do. I’ve travelled all over the world, booked my own flights, road trips, city breaks, even spent two years living and travelling round South East Asia. But when I started looking at Disneyland Paris I just froze. There were so many options: hotels, tickets, packages, travel choices, extras. I didn’t know where to start or what would actually work for us as a family. That’s when I realised I needed someone who really understood it and could just guide me through.

Q: What made you decide on Disneyland Paris, and why between Christmas and New Year?

A: The kids had been asking about “doing Disney” for a while, and we felt like they were at really good ages: 10 and 7. Old enough to remember it and walk around the parks, but still young enough to really believe in the magic. Christmas and New Year felt like the most magical time to go: all the lights, decorations and that proper festive feeling.

If I’m completely honest, I wasn’t personally desperate to go. It was much more about doing it for the children. I was worried it would all feel a bit full-on and intense for me. That’s another reason I wanted some proper advice: how do we do Disney in a way that works for all of us, not just the kids?

Q: What were you most confused about when you first started looking at Disneyland Paris?

A: Everything!

• Should we drive, fly or take the train?
• Do we stay “in the magic” at an official Disney hotel or somewhere else nearby?
• Do we go self catering or hotel board?
• What sort of tickets do we need and how many days in the parks is realistic?

The more I clicked around online, the less confident I felt. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and then realise we’d done it the wrong way for our family.

Q: So what happened in your first chat with me as your Travel Counsellor?

A: It was very relaxed and very personal. We didn’t start with prices or “offers”, we started with:

• What are we like as a family?
• How do we usually like to holiday?
• What are my worries about Disney?
• What do the kids actually enjoy?

I remember saying that I didn’t really fancy being “in the bubble” 24/7. We talked about the different ways to get there, and the pros and cons of driving, flying and going by train. Then we talked about accommodation styles and how much “Disney immersion” we genuinely wanted. It felt more like a conversation about us than a sales call, which I really appreciated.

Q: How did you decide between driving, flying or taking the train?

A: I liked the idea of the Eurotunnel or train at first, but when we actually talked through it, flying made a lot more sense for us.

With two kids, luggage and the time of year, driving just felt like extra stress. The train options were fine but not as flexible as we wanted. Flying, then hiring a car, gave us the best balance:

• Easy journey over
• Our own car to come and go as we pleased
• No late-night hanging about with tired kids waiting on transfers

Having the car was actually a game changer. It meant we weren’t tied to Disney transport and we could properly step away at the end of the day.

Q: You mentioned you didn’t want to be “in the Disney bubble” the whole time. How did you choose where to stay?

A: This is where talking to someone who actually listened to us made such a difference.

When we talked about the kind of holidays we love, it came out that we’re big fans of places like Center Parcs. We love:

• Space to spread out
• Nature and a quieter environment
• Self catering so we’re not eating every single meal out
• The option to retreat when everyone’s had enough

Based on that, Alex suggested Villages Nature Paris. As soon as they explained it, it just clicked. It offered:

• A self catering style set up
• A more relaxed, nature-style environment
• Easy access to Disneyland Paris with our hire car
• The ability to “opt out” of the parks when we needed downtime

It felt like us. It still gave the kids the excitement of Disney, but it also gave the grown-ups some breathing space and familiar holiday comforts.

Q: Why didn’t you just stay at one of the official Disney hotels?

A: We did look at them. The big pull with the Disney hotels is that you get extra time in the parks and your tickets bundled in. But when we really thought about how we wanted to spend our days, it didn’t quite fit us.

We are not a “rope drop to fireworks every single day” family. We like slower mornings, proper breaks, and not feeling like we have to squeeze every second out of our tickets.

By staying at Villages Nature, we:

• Were not tied into needing to be at the park for early magic hours
• Could do shorter park days without feeling we were “wasting” expensive on-site perks
• Had our own space to cook simple meals and chill

My Travel Counsellor talked us through how the ticketing works if you stay on site versus off site, and what that means in reality. That conversation alone probably saved us from making the wrong choice for our family.

Q: How did your Travel Counsellor help with the tickets and the “how long do we need” question?

A: I was very aware that tickets are a big part of the budget, so I wanted to get it right.

We talked about:

• Realistically how many full park days the kids (and we) could manage
• Whether we wanted to do both parks
• How to build in rest time
• What the kids’ “must-do” rides were

From that, they advised on the type and number of park days that would give us everything we wanted without completely exhausting everyone.

They also explained it in very simple terms, which I appreciated. No jargon, just “this is how this works” and “this is what that would look like for you in real life”.

Q: Did your Travel Counsellor help once it was all booked, or did they just leave you to it?

A: They were brilliant before, during and right up to travel. As we got closer, they:

• Checked us in for our flights
• Sorted our boarding passes
• Double-checked all the details so I didn’t have to stress about admin

But the biggest thing, for me, was the practical advice. This was such a different type of trip to our usual ones and I really wanted some hand-holding on what to actually do once we got there.

Q: What kind of practical advice did you ask for?

A: Everything from:

• “Do we have to be there at the crack of dawn every day?”
• “What’s genuinely worth doing and what can we skip?”
• “How do we plan our days so the kids don’t burn out?”

Our youngest really does not like fast rides or big roller coasters and gets travel sick quite easily. So my Travel Counsellor helped us by:

• Putting together a list of “safe rides” that would suit her
• Highlighting which attractions to avoid
• Suggesting a rough plan so she never felt pressured or scared

That one piece of personalised planning made a huge difference. It meant our younger child didn’t feel left out, and we weren’t constantly second-guessing whether a ride would be too much for her.

Q: Did you get any advice about what to do on non-park time as well?

A: Yes, we had an extra day and I didn’t want it to just disappear. My Travel Counsellor suggested making the most of being so close to Paris.

They talked us through:

• How to get the train into Paris
• Where to go and what might work with the kids’ ages
• How to pace the day so it still felt like part of the holiday, not a forced march around a city

It turned that “spare day” into one of the real highlights of the trip, without me needing to research train routes and logistics.

Q: Looking back now, what difference did using a Travel Counsellor actually make?

A: For us, it was the difference between:

• Feeling overwhelmed by options and hoping we’d guessed right, and
• Having a trip shaped around who we are as a family, with someone there to guide us through it all

Even as a very experienced, confident traveller, I found Disneyland Paris a completely different beast. Having someone who knew the options, understood our style, and could translate all of that into a plan was invaluable.

It took away the stress, stopped me making expensive mistakes, and meant that once we were there, we could just enjoy it. The kids had the magical Disney trip they wanted, and I had a version of Disney that actually suited me too.

Q: Would you use a Travel Counsellor again for a trip like this?

A: 100% yes. I will still book my straightforward trips myself, but for anything complex, family-focused or full of hidden choices like Disney, I’d much rather have an expert on my side. It just makes the whole experience smoother, more tailored and much more enjoyable.

If you would like to sense-check your own Disneyland Paris ideas, talk through travel options or find a way to “do Disney” that actually feels right for your family, just get in touch and I will happily help you shape it all.