Magic at Disneyland Paris

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

As I go through our photos of Paris, I find it difficult to choose where to start when discussing our trip. We packed a lot into five days! {I am such a travel pro!} After some reflection, it seems easiest to start with our last day in Paris which entailed a trip to Disneyland Paris. Since we were traveling with an 8-year-old, it seemed like the perfect way to reward her for being great on the trip while still seeing something totally unique. We definitely had fun at Disneyland Paris but a few things did have us scratching our heads.

Disneyland Paris is about 45 minutes from the heart of Paris and is located in the surrounding countryside. We opted to stay in a nearby hotel the evening before and after to make it a little easier on our daughter. In hindsight, I may not have chosen this option. The hotel we stayed at, the Dream Castle, was  nice. However, I would have much rather ended our last evening in Paris.

We had transportation from our hotel to Disneyland, which was nice and hassle free. We quickly learned that there is an RER train station adjacent to the park. So, if you want to take the train to and/or from Paris, definitely check the schedule out for the Marne-La-Vallee-Chessy station.

We learned quickly that there is a little miscommunication in regards to opening times for the park and rides. We ended up waiting more than we thought based upon published times to enter the park. When we finally entered, rides were not open for another 30 minutes. But, the weather was great and the park is beautiful, so everything turned out fine!

Bienvenue a Disney!

We loved all of the rides at Disneyland Paris. We found some of our old favorites like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion as well as new ones like Le Pays de Conte de Fees. In true Disney form, just walking around the park is a magical experience.

 Le Pays de Conte de Fees is a pleasant boat ride through a Storybook Land. We enjoyed sailing past miniature scenes from our favorite stories. We also found the line for this ride to be rather quick, so it is most likely one that you can go on again and again!

The park also sported a sizeable labyrinth inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Since my daughter is totally enthralled by mazes, we all enjoyed running through this one.

Plus, you get a great view from up top.

The food at Disneyland Paris was slightly disappointing. If you are looking for French cuisine, you will not find much of it here. Much of the food in the park is American. You will find some crepes at stands throughout the park. We ate at the Plaza Gardens Restaurant in Disneyland and found some French items on the buffet. The buffet actually had a nice range of choices for everybody. While we found some of the food to be plain, we found some items that we loved. Auberge de Cendrillon, however, is a French restaurant in the Fantasyland portion of the park. It is one of the more expensive restaurants in the park and you will want to make a reservation if this tickles your fancy. Overall, the food in the park is definitely expensive and significantly more expensive than what we were paying in Paris itself which came as a shock to us. We also noticed that a number of the restaurants were closed, so watch out for that.

**One note about food--if you are looking for a treat, try the chocolate covered marshmallow sticks (guimauve enrobee) at the candy shop on Main Street. Just trust me. Affordable and just yum!**

Outside of the park, you will find a Downtown Disney area with some of the typical Disney favorites like Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe. There also is an Earl of Sandwich which may help you save a little $ on food. We did notice that there are hot air balloon rides in Downtown Disney which may be fun.

If you are looking for a hotel option near Disneyland Paris, I do recommend the Dream Castle. The hotel is spacious with nice size rooms. The staff is friendly and helpful. There is a restaurant and a bar on site. A superb breakfast buffet was included. Some hotels skimp on their breakfast buffets--not true here. Also, with fromage, croissant, pain au chocolat, baguette and nutella, what more could a girl want? There is a pond behind the hotel, which made for some nice evening walks.

There two Disney parks at Disneyland Paris. Besides the Disneyland Park, there is also a Walt Disney Studios Park. We choose just to visit the Disneyland Park and found it to be perfect for a whole day visit. We had a lot of fun at Disneyland Paris and it was the perfect way to let my daughter be a kid while on our trip. Seeing her run from ride to ride was priceless!