Disneyland here we come! - Paris (Day 3)

This morning we got up late and after breakfast, did some last minute packing and basically lazed about in the room. Hubby was apprehensive about going out and leaving our luggage in the room, reason being that on one of his business trips to Barcelona, he had gone to the shops after breakfast to get me a little something and when he got back, one of his luggage went missing. Someone had actually taken it from the room. It was definitely an inside job. He made a police report and everything but there was no way of ever recovering it. In that bag, I had packed presents for our family in Ireland as he was due to return here to visit the parents after Barcelona. How sad that all the presents were gone.


The in-laws were arriving from Dublin and meeting up with us in Disneyland. They were due pretty early but I knew that the check-in time for the hotel was at 3pm, so we took our time getting to the train station etc. We caught a cab to Chatelet Les Halles and took the train from there direct to Marne-la-Vallee where Parc Disneyland is. Thankfully there was actually a ticket office at the station, unlike those outside our hotel which were only for ticket holders. But even though we managed to get our tickets, the staff wasn’t helpful at all, couldn’t speak a word of English and pretty impatient and unfriendly. It was the same at the info counter below the Eiffel Tower. In our short stay in Paris, other than these 2 ladies, the rest of the people we met were very friendly and helpful. So what happened was we paid €1.50 each for the train ride to Marne-la Vallee which we thought was weird. The hotel staff had told us it cost approx. €8.50 and half price for the kid. After struggling with all our luggage to get to the right train, it was a relatively smooth ride that lasted ½ an hour. Alas, as we tried to exit the train station, our tickets were rejected. Haha! We managed to get the attention of the station master who told us that we had underpaid. But he was really lovely and let us through even though we were planning to pay the difference at the machine.


The shuttle transfer to the hotel from the train station was easy enough, with shuttle buses arriving every 10-15mins. The in-laws were waiting for us in the lobby when we arrived. It wasn’t yet 3pm but we managed to get our room. What a change from the room in the city, really lovely this one, and size-wise, is a normal room, with a lovely bunk bed for the kids, and a proper toilet. It was really comfortable. I would recommend this hotel Dream Castle. We booked for the hotel online and paid €623 for 3 nights but it didn’t include admission tickets to Disneyland Park. If we had stayed in any of the Disney hotels, princess would have got in to the Park for free as they are having their 15th anniversary promotion at the moment. 2 days 2 parks tickets cost us €108 per adult and €89 per kid.


We decided not to waste money on that first day as the Park closed at 7pm and it was almost 3pm by the time we had settled in.

We took princess to the indoor pool which was something she’d been looking forward to, as she’d seen it on the hotel’s website. Following that we proceeded to an early dinner at Planet Hollywood. We then went around the shops there before going back for an early rest in order to start our day early the day after. While we were leaving the Disney Village where all the restaurants were housed, the crowds were coming in. I hadn’t realized that Disney Park actually closed so early at 7pm. And it was also a pity as since it’s summer, the sky doesn’t get dark till 10pm at least, so there wasn’t any evening parade with fireworks.





I often go for Fajitas in HRC or Planet Hollywood-type restaurants. Hubby and I then shared the brownie with ice-cream. Princess had the kids' set meals which included a drink, pasta (her choice), and a sundae. The banana split was shared by in-laws.

Off for a spot of shopping after...