#167 Year End Vlog at DisneylandRides & Shows, Hotel Stay, meeting Disney Characters …
I do like both Disney and Ghibli, but I love Ghibli films much much more. That being said, there is a unique feeling about visiting Disneyland, especially that special atmosphere during Christmas. And Alexia is totally a Disney girl, so we're just back home from our Disneyland Paris trip. Tag along with me and experience the magic of Disneyland Paris this Christmas. 2 years ago we stayed at the Disney's New Port Hotel, but time I chose the Disneyland Hotel for the experience.
The Disneyland hotel is by far the nicest of the hotel rooms here. Is it worth the extra in regards to value for money? No. But since Alexia love princesses and that "royal feel", I considered this as a special celebration for the three of us. We had a superior family room for 2 nights. You can choose the theme of the room when booking, and I went for Frozen since Alexia loves Elsa.
Now heading for lunch at the Royal Banquet restaurant. There are 2 on-site restaurants: Royal Banquet & La Table de Lumière. Royal Banquet offers all-you-can-eat buffet and if you have lunch/dinner here, you will meet Disney characters in the royal outfits.
During lunch/dinner they always have Mickey and Minnie. Goofy/Pluto and Daisy/Donald seem to rotate on different days. For the price of Royal Banquet, the food selection is pretty limited and there is nothing special about the food. But if you want character interaction, this is the one not to miss! Alexia was able to meet all 4 characters and she loved every second of it. There are multiples room at Royal Banquet, so don't have a table in the room with the buffet food as it’ll probably be too noisy/busy.
First thing first, taking the steam-powered train to Frontierland ;) There are 4 stations: Main Street, Frontierland, Fantasyland & Discoveryland. Fantasyland & Discoveryland stations have been closed for a while though. The train does a round trip which takes about 20 mins, and it’s quite a nice little rest from all the chaos. Most people use this as a "ride/experience" rather than transportation around the park.
Through the tunnel to Frontierland, you will be able to see the Grand Canyon Diorama. I saw a Minnie in cowgirl outfit without any queues which is rare! The most stylish cowgirl in the Wild West! You can find her at the side of Cowboy BBQ Cookout in Frontierland! Big Thunder Mountain is a gorgeous attraction but with long queue, so we bought a premier access pass. Alexia was so brave and loved this ride very much, but I had to close my eyes the whole time haha. Many people would say this is the best ride in the park! Also T filmed this whole vlog with my phone! First time we've done that and I'd say it was so liberating. It made the whole process so simple, and we stayed more in the moment. Going to the Sleeping Beauty Castle now.
Regular visitors think this is the best Disney castle out of all of the parks, inside and out. And there is a dragon under the castle! I thought it was so cool and so real looking. Somehow we didn't know its existence and missed it 2 years ago :P Disneyland Paris at Christmas was gorgeous! Beautiful all around and the weather was not cold (10°C). I expected the park to be very crowded but it turnt out much better! Crowd level was around 60% which is even less busy than our previous visit in September 2 years ago. Probably because it's just right before Christmas when everyone was busy.
December 25-31 will probably the busiest time of year! It's time for the Lion King show at Frontierland Theater. Alexia is a big big Lion King fan so she was very excited for this. 'Lion King' is one of Disney's most popular movies, and Lion King is also one of the most successful musicals of all time. So this is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but this is my least favorite show in Disneyland Paris.
But there are still many things about this show that I appreciate. All shows in Disneyland Paris is included in your park ticket, but you can book a guaranteed access to get the best seat without queuing. Le Carrousel de Lancelot: a traditional family carousel attraction in the Fantasyland. This ride is great for small kids or kids who are not keen on fast rides or anything that drops or goes too high. The last time we were here, Alice's Labyrinth was closed so I knew we want to do it this time.
There is a surprise around every corner in the labyrinth, and I find it every enchanted. The Queen of Heart's castle has a wonderful view over Fantasyland. 5:20pm - the first Mickey's Dazzling Christmas Parade! We paid extra for the reserved viewing area - is it worth it? Probably not unless you're willing to show up earlier and have the first row of the reserved viewing area. We showed up 30 minutes earlier and all the good spots were gone. The good thing is that when the parade came to stop, and the characters/princesses went up to the 4 stages, you can move around between those 4 stages for a closer look.
but before that, the view of the parade itself is pretty limited. But the Christmas parade is so beautiful and I love love it! Peter Pan's Flight always has a long line, sometimes up to 90 minutes! It's an awesome ride, although a bit outdated, but I like it very much! Since it's over so fast, if I have to wait that long I'd probably skip it. I did buy premier access for all rides that offer it.
After dinner, we went back to our room to rest a bit before heading out for the fireworks. Unlike the Christmas parade, booking the reserved viewing area for nighttime show is worth it! It started off with a 10 minute Electrical Sky Parade. Unfortunately due to the weather, the drone couldn't fly so my first ever Electrical Sky Parade was without drone :( It was still amazing but I think it would be much more stunning with the drones :( Disney Electrical Sky Parade debuted in early 2024, features up to 500 drones which fly in shapes and it’s set to run through Jan. 6, 2025. We have a dinner booked for the next night so unfortunately we wouldn't be able to try our luck again. The drone show is just the opening act of the fireworks show, which launches almost immediately after the drones clear the area. The reserved viewing area is the absolute best spot to view, as it’s right in front of the castle.
I paid €24 per person, but it might be higher/lower depending on demand. The next morning, we started the day with a mini "photoshooting" ;) The princesses roam around the hotel all day to greet you. I cannot express how much staying here shaped our entire experience.
The service, being inside the park, amenities are top notch. Having reopened its doors following a two-year renovation, the Disneyland Hotel is much newer than other on-site hotels. But it's also very expensive and overpriced. It’s a 5 star Disney hotel, not a 5 stars strictly speaking.
So do not expect the same quality/facilities of 5 stars international chains. If you stay here, ask for room above reception. East wing, 1st floor. You have the park view and not the long walk back to the west wing like me. Les Voyages de Pinocchio is a dark ride based on Pinocchio, I don't find it scary at all as an adult but Alexia startled a few times! Dumbo the Flying Elephant is also a very nice ride for small kids, and during out visit, waiting time was always around 5 minutes, which is nice! Mad Hatter's Tea Cup is another nice ride, but if you get motion sickness from spinning, then this ride a bad idea. "It's A Small World" is a cruise among singing dolls.
It seems online that many people don't like this one, but for me it's one the most adorable, serene & vibrant rides. We all know the song, and it never gets of out our brain once we ride it! T & Alexia are still singing it days after we've been home! This is a Disney Classic. A must do even for a non-Disney fan like me. Alexia loved this ride because of the wonderful scenery and music. It's also a good place to wind down after a long day walking around. Many adults will probably get bored but I can ride this over and over again. But that song will be stuck in your head all day so be prepared :p Now heading to Adventureland for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean is another cruise, but a much more thrilling one! But it's also one of the best rides in Disneyland Paris. You mostly get to simply look at your surroundings, but there are two drops with one that is quite intense to be honest. It's a lot of fun and incredibly well themed, This part of Adventureland is like an oasis Some people said "so much space is devoted to this nothingness." but I would like to disagree. I love wandering around Adventureland very much. It's all about immersion and being in a world full of adventures.
There is no shop nor signs of modern world here, we like exploring the caves, the Robinson tree aimlessly. It’s nice to have some time out from the intensity of the park. There’s less crowds, kids can run around and explore everything rather than just stand in lines. "Aladdin's Enchanted Passage" is a walkthrough where you can walk among windows displaying tiny reproductions of scenes from the movie.
It's very cute, pretty, and very short. Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing is a cruise around the lake that surrounds Big Thunder Mountain. It's an underrated ride that I'd highly recommend, beautiful and very relaxing. I think you're starting to notice a pattern of my visit. Being an introvert with anxiety, I don't do well in crowds.
So rides like this are amazing for me whenever the crowded areas got too overwhelming. Mickey PhilharMagique is a cute film with a lot of Disney references in it. No filming is allowed, as well as the Star Tour so I didn't have any footages. Star Tours is a motion simulator based on Star Wars and it's become our favorite ride. Alexia loved it so much we did it twice! Orbitron is an okay ride, but nothing special. "The Nautilus" is just a walkthrough in a setting reproducing Captain Nemo's submarine.
They replaced the giant squid effect with a screen, but I think it's still worth walking since there's always no queue, and it doesn't take much of your time. "Autopia" always has a very long queue so if I don't have premier access, I would skip it. The setting and scenery is very underwhelming. The Snow White ride is very similar to Pinocchio, When we were there, waiting time display said 20 minutes but we ended up queuing for 40 minutes :D I don't think I would do it again haha :D Now we're walking to the Studio Park for the Ratatouille ride.
We were so excited to do this again since it was my favorite ride last time, but it's no longer in 3D and the ride is so much less immersive. Plus it broke down mid ride for a while so I can't really say I enjoyed it :D The 2D will stay as is for now, 3D may come back someday but it's pretty unlikely. Now it's enough with the complaints. Let's talk about the "Mickey & the Magician" show. We sat pretty much in the middle and in the front rows, quite giddy with excitement, despite having seen "Mickey & the Magician" before.
We still love it. This show has everything. A nice little story, great effects, amazing tricks, incredible and colourful projections, catchy music, great use of technologies and tons of Disney magic in it. Going back to the hotel to have dinner with the princesses ;) You can only book a table at "La Table de la Lumiere" as a guest staying at the Disneyland Hotel. Alexia loves the Disney princesses, so this would be a delightful memories for her to look back. You got 3 princess/prince couples walking around and interacting directly. We don't know which ones it will be since every night is different.
If you don't stay at the Disneyland Hotel, you can meet the princesses at the Princess pavilion for a meet & greet. But it always has a crazy queuing time (90 min+) At the end we had Belle, Snow White & Aurora ;) Having been to France many times, I would say there's nothing special about food in Disneyland Paris, especially when you look at the price tags. The buffet room is quite crowded, and breakfast selection is quite poor, but we still love the magical atmosphere of Christmas here. What a way to end the year of 2024! You're not allowed to film the "Pixar Together Musical", but I'd say it's the best show in Disneyland Paris at the moment! "Crush Coaster" was also a fun ride, but since it went so fast I couldn't film the ride out of fear dropping my phone hehe :P I'm not a Disney fan but I've been loving this trip very much! Christmas is a wonderful time to visit & it was not as crowded as I expected. Disneyland Paris is far from perfect, and there are so many things they can improve, but we had a great time together as a family.
These ore memories that might become integral to who we are, which, hopefully, to shape my child's future. As a mother, I am deeply aware of the potential for my actions to influence my child and who she will become. And I realised the core memory is not visiting Disneyland. It's the intention and thoughts behind it. The same thing could be said for whatever the place is.
And when I’m least expecting it, Alexia reflects back to me the world as she’s actually experiencing it, on her own time. That in a moment so mundane I can’t even recall where we were or what we were doing, she announced, “Mama, you’re the best mom because you {...}" The last moment before leaving: when the Timekeeper gathered guests from around the hotel to come and light the Christmas tree. And I can't wait to visit Ghibli Park in Tokyo in the future! Hopefully soon ;) Happy New Year everyone! I wish you and you family a happy, healthy and a lot of core memories in the new year! See you in 2025!
2024-12-31 22:42
