Monday 28 May 2012

Disneyland Paris...Our magical week!

From the moment we arrived, we truly enjoyed every moment at Disneyland Paris.  Seeing the kids' eyes pop open and their jaw drop at all of the sights made it magical for us as well.  It was all about them.  We did not drive ourselves crazy by making a jam-packed schedule.  We just took it one day at a time.  I am SO glad we started there during the week because when the weekend came, it was crazy busy.  We had nice weather most of the week.  Some days required a jacket and one day we had light rain, but we had lots of sunshine and even wore shorts one day.  

Most everything was in both French and English.  The workers seemed to speak both languages, and some even knew Spanish.  There was a variety of food choices including McDonald's.  We packed lunches each day which worked out very well!  The double stroller with the buggy board and the baby carrier were lifesavers!  Of course, Eric and I got our workouts each day.

Dylan and Amelia loved meeting the characters and getting autographs.  Since we stayed at a Disney hotel, two characters were in our lobby each morning for autographs.  It was a much shorter and more civilized line than at the park.  Dylan and Amelia also loved going on the simple rides.  Luckily, they both enjoyed the same ones.  They were troopers about standing in lines, although none of the lines were really more than 20-30 minutes.  Having snacks and treats in our pockets helped.  Cora was an angel!  Seriously, she was perfect!  She was actually easier than the older two kids most of the time.  I fed her on the go, and she hung out in the carrier or slept in the stroller. 

So here we go...rides, meeting characters, face painting, parades, boat ride...pictures, pictures, pictures!



One of my favorite pictures of Cora!




Standing in line for our first ride!



Dylan's favorite ride...driving the cars




The grounds were beautiful and so very clean!


Disneyland Paris is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary. 
The characters came by on this train each day.

Dylan with Aladdin

Amelia with Aladdin







Parade time!



YEAH!  We finally met Mickey!!!



The character lunch was worth every penny! 
They danced with Daisy and played with Pluto.

Radiator Springs ride...another favorite of Dylan's

The girls were both asleep in the stroller.

Toy Story Playland was great!

Slinky roller coaster

Love those smiles from my boys!

Stars in Cars parade

She was SO excited to wear her Minnie dress to meet Minnie.


Long gone are the days where face painting was a rainbow on your cheek.

They both sat so very still.

Gorgeous princess!  With glitter and all!

Our cheetah and princess

Here we go again, this time with Amelia


Fun on the CARS ride.  Video below



 Cozy and dry under the rain cover

Flying Dumbo in the rain.  I did not ride by myself.  The kids are in there with me. 
Although, we were surprised at how many adults were at Disneyland with no children!

Buzz Lightyear was GREAT!  He took the workers coat to make a cape for Dylan.


Our little princess all dressed up for dinner with the princesses.

Face painting again for our special evening.

What a cute Buzz Lightyear Leopard!




Prince Charming and Cinderella dancing

She was loving every minute!






We ordered a chocolate cake thinking it was for the 20th birthday of Disneyland Paris, but they came out singing to Amelia.  She was in shock, but we played along and enjoyed a very early birthday cake.



The last evening, we rented a little motorboat to cruise around Mickey Lake

That's our hotel way in the background

Cora was not happy about the life jacket, but she fell asleep once we started moving.

Eric and the kids enjoyed the indoor pool at the hotel a few times that week.



The crowd on the weekend


A St. Louis picture!  Home is where the heart is.

In the Eurotunnel on our way back home.
Everyone was wiped out from a fantastic week!