I expect not many Silver Travellers have Disneyland Paris on their bucket lists! It is seen as a fun place to visit for younger people but on a recent visit with my family I realised we are never too old to have fun and Disneyland is so full of fun…for anyone of any age!
Our group consisted of myself, my son, his partner and his three sons (aged 29,26 and 14). We got the ferry to France and it was only a few hours drive from Calais to our accommodation (The Davy Crockett Ranch). We had found a good deal which included 2 nights in a cabin with breakfast included (you go to a little hut each morning to pick up your breakfast) and we also opted for the meal option where we got a free lunch or dinner every day. (If you opt for this be aware that you do need to book the meals in advance otherwise you may end up with a booking time that you don’t really want.) The meals can be taken in a choice of Disney restaurants, some in the Parks and some in the Davy Crockett’s grounds. We were keen to get off to Disneyland so we dropped our bags off and drove straight to the Park. The only thing wrong with the Davy Crockett Ranch is that they do not have a shuttle bus so you need to drive to and from the Park.
In Disneyland we headed for our first ride, the Indiana Jones ride which, I did not realise until I was on, actually loops the loop! I had not expected that and no doubts my screams could be heard back in England! My grandsons thought it was hilarious! After that I kept to the “gentler” rides. We all loved Thunder Mountain ( a very fast roller coaster type train which thankfully does not go upside down) and we all liked the recently updated Star Tours ride which is not really a ride at all but a simulator that makes you feel you are in one of the Star Wars crafts. They have changed this so that each time you go n the ride you get a different story and ending. It is great fun!
Our first days dinner was in the Cafe Agrabor which was a huge buffet and we could have one soft drink each and as much as we wanted to eat.
After we were full we went on some more rides, unfortunately the weekend we went to France they were having the hottest temperatures ever recorded! It was baking and standing in queues for the rides wasn’t a lot of fun! Luckily we had arrived on a Friday and it was not too crowded so the lines were short.
I beat my youngest grandson on the Buzz Lightyear ride (you go round shooting at things!) but it turned out to be a fluke as we did this ride more times during our stay and he managed to slaughter me! We stayed at the Park until the fireworks finale which was spectacular! A lovely ending to a fun day!
The next day was even hotter and being a Saturday the queues were longer. We started our day with the Studio Tram Tour which takes you behind the scenes of Disney’s studios. It was nice and cool on the tram and the “fake” earthquake the tram encounters still makes people scream! We did the lovely gentle ride Pirates of the Caribbean (a boat ride through a pirates cave) and I even made them all go on the Peter Pan ride which is maybe for younger people but is lovely and nostalgic. Our meal today was taken in Mickey’s Blockbuster Cafe which was again a buffet but featured lots of pizza, burger, chicken choices (although there was also plenty for me to eat as I a vegetarian.)
About 4 pm we were a little “Disney-ed” out so went back to the Ranch to have a swim in the pool and play mini golf…and have a drink in the pub!
The next morning we checked out and drove to Disneyland for our last day. We mainly repeated all our favourite rides and it was another magical day.
Disney is wonderfully enchanting and I would recommend taking your grand kids if you can. Seeing it through their eyes is very magical….but then of course our family group were not little children and we all found it magical as well!
