My first trip report!
Park: Disneyland Paris
Month: June 2023
Country: France
Introduction
I booked a surprise trip to take my wife to Disneyland Paris for her birthday in June. We spent three days at the park itself and then two additional days in Paris. We travelled from London on the Eurostar staying overnight in London the night before we left to avoid any potential train strikes or delays.
Travel
I'm a pretty frequent flyer. However, this was my first time travelling overseas by train and I was super impressed. Check-in and security was much quicker. No weight limits too. Unfortunately, the direct train service to Disneyland stopped the week before we left. However, this wasn't a massive issue as we just changed at Lille on to a local French train to Disneyland Paris. I'm definitely a big fan of travelling by train now and would love to do a multi-country rail trip. Just remember that it is French law that all large bags should be labelled on trains.
Hotel
While at Disneyland Paris we stayed at the Relais Spa hotel in Val d'Europe. The hotel is great if you don't have children as it allows you to step away from the craziness that is Disney in the evening to relax in the spa and pool. It's certainly not the cheapest hotel near Disneyland Paris. However, all rooms include free transfers to and from the parks which was excellent. No large shuttle buses. The only problem we experienced was that the air-conditioning was pretty poor. France was experiencing a bit of a heatwave so this wasn't ideal.
Parks
This was my first time visiting a Disney Park. I wouldn't consider myself a massive Disney fan. I'm quite interested in the history and business of Disney but not so much the films. My wife loves them though. I have to say, the quality of the parks are exceptional. They're far more immersive than many of the other parks I've visited. The main Disneyland Park is certainly the best of the two. You could spend two days in this park alone (especially if you or someone you go with enjoys Disney shops!). The second Studios park was good but certainly smaller. Avengers Campus was a bit of a let down. However, they're certainly investing in this park so hopefully it'll continue to expand (Frozen area currently under construction). Hyperspace Mountain was exceptional. However, I also really enjoyed the more immersive rides like Ratatouille and Peter Pan. Shows we're really high quality and the evening fireworks are a must!
We enjoyed the visit so much that we're going back for Christmas! We promised ourselves we wouldn't but we suffered a moment of weakness and somehow ended up booking another trip!
Quick Tip: A trip from London to Disneyland Paris doesn't need to be expensive. I managed to save quite a bit by booking as far in advance as I could (in some cases, prices increased by over double closer to the trip). I'd also recommend considering staying off-site if you don't have children or aren't particularly eager to immerse yourself in Disney 24 hours a day. We didn't save much money staying off-site but we certainly got more for our money.
Park: Disneyland Paris
Month: June 2023
Country: France
Introduction
I booked a surprise trip to take my wife to Disneyland Paris for her birthday in June. We spent three days at the park itself and then two additional days in Paris. We travelled from London on the Eurostar staying overnight in London the night before we left to avoid any potential train strikes or delays.
Travel
I'm a pretty frequent flyer. However, this was my first time travelling overseas by train and I was super impressed. Check-in and security was much quicker. No weight limits too. Unfortunately, the direct train service to Disneyland stopped the week before we left. However, this wasn't a massive issue as we just changed at Lille on to a local French train to Disneyland Paris. I'm definitely a big fan of travelling by train now and would love to do a multi-country rail trip. Just remember that it is French law that all large bags should be labelled on trains.
Hotel
While at Disneyland Paris we stayed at the Relais Spa hotel in Val d'Europe. The hotel is great if you don't have children as it allows you to step away from the craziness that is Disney in the evening to relax in the spa and pool. It's certainly not the cheapest hotel near Disneyland Paris. However, all rooms include free transfers to and from the parks which was excellent. No large shuttle buses. The only problem we experienced was that the air-conditioning was pretty poor. France was experiencing a bit of a heatwave so this wasn't ideal.
Parks
This was my first time visiting a Disney Park. I wouldn't consider myself a massive Disney fan. I'm quite interested in the history and business of Disney but not so much the films. My wife loves them though. I have to say, the quality of the parks are exceptional. They're far more immersive than many of the other parks I've visited. The main Disneyland Park is certainly the best of the two. You could spend two days in this park alone (especially if you or someone you go with enjoys Disney shops!). The second Studios park was good but certainly smaller. Avengers Campus was a bit of a let down. However, they're certainly investing in this park so hopefully it'll continue to expand (Frozen area currently under construction). Hyperspace Mountain was exceptional. However, I also really enjoyed the more immersive rides like Ratatouille and Peter Pan. Shows we're really high quality and the evening fireworks are a must!
We enjoyed the visit so much that we're going back for Christmas! We promised ourselves we wouldn't but we suffered a moment of weakness and somehow ended up booking another trip!
Quick Tip: A trip from London to Disneyland Paris doesn't need to be expensive. I managed to save quite a bit by booking as far in advance as I could (in some cases, prices increased by over double closer to the trip). I'd also recommend considering staying off-site if you don't have children or aren't particularly eager to immerse yourself in Disney 24 hours a day. We didn't save much money staying off-site but we certainly got more for our money.
