A world of enchantment
HOW many sleeps till Disney? We told our daughter Rosa we were taking her to Disneyland Paris three weeks in advance, on her fifth birthday. We laid a treasure hunt around the house, stashing clues that led to the surprise announcement, wrapped in a Cinderella tiara.
The mouse was in the house. For 21 days, we counted down the sleeps until all of us were squirming with excitement. Five sleeps, four, three, two, one ... by the time we were ready to go, Rosa was so stoked that she woke up in the middle of the night, changed into her travel tracksuit and got back into bed, making herself extra-specially ready for the flight.
The wait was over. There we were, walking down Main Street USA, making a beeline for Sleeping Beauty Castle. For years, we’ve been ogling at this castle in the opening credits of DVDs. Suddenly there it was in front of us, a birthday cake of gilded spires and turrets.
No prizes for guessing why this year’s theme at Disneyland Paris is ‘Magical Moments’. Inside, we strolled past a brooding, animatronic dragon Rosa tells me was the evil fairy, Maleficent.
Then came the rides. Emerging from the castle into Fantasyland, one of several themed areas in the park, we kicked off with a hand-painted carousel, took a little adrenaline in the spinning teacups, and floated through ‘It’s a Small World’ in souvenir-sized boats.
Peter Pan’s Flight was the family highlight. Hopping onto a miniature galleon, we swung through the Darlings’ bedroom and flew out over the star-lit city of London and up above the island of Neverland itself. The lighting was pin-perfect; the sound brought just the right amount of drama as we passed Wendy walking the plank and Captain Hook straddling the crocodile’s jaws.
Of course, Disneyland Paris isn’t just for kids. When Rosa and Mum dashed off to do Dumbo, I took a spin on the Indiana Jones rollercoaster in Adventureland. It’s a quick, jerky ride on small cars bolted together in pairs, with lots of sudden grabs and dips, hair-raising plunges and a surprise 360-degree as the centrepiece. At one point, my face may have turned inside-out.
I also had a blast of Space Mountain, which starts by shooting you out of what looks like a Buck Rogers-designed syringe. Whizzing through asteroids and galaxies in pitch darkness, deprived of any bearings whatsoever, there’s no telling when the loops and inversions are coming.
Afterwards, we reconvened for a spin on Buzz Lightyear’s Laser Blast, probably Discoveryland’s best all-ages ride. Sitting into little pods, we trundled through day-glo galaxies on a conveyor belt trip to Star Command. “We were shooting the bad guys,” as Rosa tells it. “They had Zs on them that you had to shoot.”
Like many parents, I can be quite cynical about Disney — the happy-clappy nature of it all, the marketing muscle, the birdsong piped from trees. The rides are short, the queues are long, and you can’t swing a tiara without hitting a pricey princess dress. There’s also the niggling sense that everything in life can be fixed by a handsome prince and a bit of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
But then I had a princess of my own, and I saw this stuff through a child’s eyes. There’s a magic to the real-life fairytale, and it gives Rosa and millions of others huge enjoyment.
Plus, the attention to detail is startling. There is no litter. Nothing needs a lick of paint. The theming on Big Thunder Mountain makes it feel like you are hurtling through an actual mineshaft in the Wild West. Over at Walt Disney Studios, Rex the dinosaur looks just like a real toy, down to the shine of his plastic. Sully’s hair blows in the wind, exactly like it does in Monsters Inc.
Then there are the characters. We bumped into Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy several times over the weekend, and though they never spoke, their gestures were amazingly communicative — hiding behind their hands, posing for cameras, dishing out the hugs and the autographs.
“I don’t know why they love me so much!” Rosa exclaimed, handing over her sparkly red autograph book. !
Each time, Rosa felt shy, but the characters hunkered down, asked her name and chatted away. Despite the queues, they seemed to have all the time in the world for her.
My adult equivalent, I guess, would be a magical land where Tom Waits slapped me on the back and wanted to know where I bought my jeans. That’s how chuffed she was.
There were several hours exploring Walt Disney Studios too. Here, Rosa controlled her own ascent and descent in the Flying Carpets over Agrabah, and we all clapped and sang along at the Disney Playhouse Show starring Handy Manny and Winnie the Pooh.
We also loved Toy Story Playland, the gleaming new area which opened last September, and whose super-sized fairy lights and giant footprints make visitors feel like toys in Andy’s garden.
Here, Rosa and Mum had several spins on the Slinky Rollercoaster, while I hit the RC Racer, a real-life remote controlled car that catapults you up a 25-metre half-pipe.
Downsides? Disneyland Paris is expensive. Princess dresses (a cool €59.95) can be avoided by talking money with the kids in advance, but even a bottle of water or a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s will cost in the region of €2.95. You’re a captive audience in every sense.
The queues are a hazard too. Thought has gone into devising layouts with lots of shade, theming and distractions, but at peak times, they can last over an hour. The Fast Pass system is a must.
Our day ended with Mickey’s Magical Celebration, a new show in which Mickey plays magician against the backdrop of Sleeping Beauty Castle. The spectacle culminates in a blast of fireworks, lighting up our favourite Disney characters and banishing the last cobwebs of adult cynicism.
Off we went down Main Street USA, along with thousands of other Disney dreamers, exhausted, exhilarated, shoe leather worn pancake-thin.
It’s a parenting and a princessing milestone, but already we’re counting the sleeps until we can return to Disneyland Paris again.
We travelled as guests of Abbey Travel (01-8047100; abbeytravel.ie) and Disneyland Paris. Starting May 23, Abbey Travel has a special offer featuring 25% off hotel and park passes, with kids under seven staying free. Family packages start from €409 per family, excluding flights and transfers. As a rule of thumb, travelling midweek and off-peak is cheapest.
Disney hotels parks are available at 2-star (Hotel Cheyenne, Hotel Santa Fe), 3-star (Newport Bay Club, the Sequoia Lodge) and 4-star (Hotel New York and the Disneyland Hotel) levels. The more you pay, the better the hotel, and the closer it is to the parks. See disneylandparis.ie.
Disneyland Paris has just launched an iPhone app giving live info on waiting times and character locations. If you fancy a day trip from Paris, tickets start at €57/€51.
There are two parks — Disneyland itself and Walt Disney Studios. Both are crammed with mini-parks that are themselves crammed with rides, shows and attractions, so don’t fool yourself that you’ll get an afternoon in Paris.
There are dozens of buffet, table service and fast food options. Our favourite was Walt’s, a Victorian-style restaurant on Main Street USA. Dishes like Walt’s gourmet burger with roasted peppers, bacon, foie gras and crispy wedges were pricey, but the food was good and the service sharp. Beat the queues by reserving in advance at +33 (0)1 60 30 40 50.
Sit your kids down for a money chat before you leave home — shops stuffed with everything from Buzz Lightyear space suits to Sleeping Beauty snow globes are hard to resist, however pricey.
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