In June 2018, I was lucky enough to be able to go on holiday to Disneyland Paris for 4 days with Callum. Trust me, it was hard to convince him but we got there eventually! It was quite a last minute holiday, being booked in March, but we both wanted a cheap deal but so we could still experience the Disney magic. He had never visited any a Disney Park before so this was his first time, but he had never been to France before so we wanted to spend a day in Paris to do all of the touristy bits.
Photograph of myself and Lightning McQueen who was outside the stunt show in the Walt Disney Studios Park
Because we only booked it in March, a Disney hotel was out of the question. We looked online for deals with the partner hotels, somewhere where I hadn’t thought about staying before. We looked at Vienna House Dream Castle because it had theming just like the Disney hotels. We booked it through Jet2 so we got it as a package which included return flights from Leeds Bradford to Charles de Gaulle, hotel and baggage. I had traveled with the Magic Shuttle before from the airport, knowing that they drop off directly next to the hotel, and plus it is cheaper than other transfers or taxis. Park tickets did need to be booked separately, but there are many different websites that offer good deals as well.
I’d just finished doing my A-Levels and was looking forward to this holiday as a reward for all of the work I had put in so we travelled at the end of June. We wanted to go this time as well to avoid the school holidays making prices cheaper for us! We were anxious as to what the weather would be like, as only a couple of weeks previously it has been thundering but we weren’t disappointed.
Our flights were at 1pm so just to be safe, we booked a Premier Inn the night before which was right next to the airport. The drive from Durham to Leeds was nice, it only took an hour and a half which wasn’t too long as well. The hotel was only a short drive into Leeds, so we travelled across to get food and have a wander because neither of us had actually been to the centre of Leeds, so it was nice to explore somewhere new.
The journey across to Paris was very smooth, not delayed by much, managed to have the window seat after fighting Callum for it! With Jet2 being a smaller airline, we landed in Terminal 3, which was new territory for me. The Magic Shuttle picks up from 2E/2F so with Charles de Gaulle being a HUGE airport, it can be overwhelming is you’re travelling alone for the first time. What makes it even harder is that the signs to the Magic Shuttle all of a sudden stop, so the families who were looking for the shuttle as well were equally as lost. Note to everyone though:Find the REF that takes you to the other terminals, and all of the signs are there! I know Charles de Gaulle is a huge airport but it feels so much bigger when you have to walk from one end to the other. But thankfully, we were on our way to the hotel.
The Dream Castle hotel was lovely. The theming was based around Kings and Queens, with two thrones in Reception. There were two dining areas, one more for breakfast and the other being for evening meals, with the third being under construction. One surprise for us at reception was that there was a Tourism Tax, which is based on what star hotel you are staying at and how many nights you are staying there. It was only 13€ which wasn’t a lot, but it was a fee we weren’t expecting. We were staying on the first floor, quite near to the lifts and reception, so it was quick and easy to get in and out the hotel. When we booked, we booked a double room, however, we got a family one (definitely not complaining about it though because we didn’t have to pay an extra!) So it came with a double bed and a bunk bed as well, which was good because if I didn’t want to sleep with Callum, I could have my own bed. There was a wardrobe, and a very large bathroom, completed with Locetaine products, a lovely treat!
I really wanted to maximise the time that we had in the parks, so we quickly got changed and headed out. The shuttle buses came around every 10 minutes during peak times and did a round of all the partner hotels and into the parks. Because I had never ridden this system before, it was a little confusing on which bus we were meant to catch, as it didn’t say the destination was the parks, so we kind of hopped on one and hoped for the best.
And the rest of it was pretty much a blur. We crammed in so much: watching the parades and the fireworks, riding Buzz Lightyear’s Lazer Blast 3 times because I wanted to win, went on a trip to Paris in which we were very disappointed by, eating enough McDonalds chicken nuggets, and getting hurled abuse at by a group of Spanish kids on a school trip. So all in all, an amazing first trip for Callum, and a magical experience for myself!
DisneyGirlRebecca 