disney guide – #ThisGirlEats

Snacks, Shows and Surprises: Halloween at Disneyland Paris | #ThisGirlEats

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year, so of course I couldn’t wait to celebrate the spooky season this year by visiting Disneyland Paris.

It was my first experience of Halloween at a Disney park and, after seeing how much the Anaheim and Orlando parks go to town at this time of year, my bar was set pretty high. We all know Disneyland Paris has its fair share of hits and misses, but I was hugely impressed by how spectacular the season was this year.

If you’re planning a trip to Disneyland Paris at Halloween, check out what the park has to offer below!

Food & Drink

For the foodie in me, the most important thing about any special season at Disneyland Paris is the new snacks up for grabs.

This year at Disneyland Paris you can get your hands on a huge range of tasty treats, from full-on meals to quick bites and sugary sweets. A great spot for a blood-curdling Halloween breakfast inside the parks is Victoria’s Home-Style Restaurant – we all know this spot at the top of Main Street is a favourite of mine, and it’s worth a visit even more than usual this season thanks to the orange Mickey waffle and Maleficent hot chocolate on offer.

*Maleficent hot chocolate at Victoria’s*

If you’re looking for something more on the savoury side, restaurants such as Café Hyperion and Annette’s Diner are offering horrifying hamburgers (with questionably coloured buns…) and a pumpkin dessert – sadly we didn’t get to eat these because they didn’t have a veggie option, but the meals looked great fun for kids.

You can also pick up plenty of grab ‘n’ go snacks as you wander around, with loads of different cakes, cookies and pastries available. Keep an eye out as you stroll along Main Street for the Jack Skellington cookies and chocolate orange Mickey cake pops (Boardwalk Candy Palace), muffins and cookies sprinkled with Halloween magic (Market Street Deli) and Disney villain biscuits (Cookie Kitchen).

And, finally, one for the adults – head over to the Sports Bar in Disney Village for some creepy cocktails and pumpkin spiced beer!

*Creepy cocktail at Sports Bar in the Disney Village*

Character Meets

I’m not a huge fan of interacting with characters (or anyone, really…), but I do enjoy being a bystander and watching others meet their favourite Disney characters. This Halloween season saw some very random – but pretty great – meet ‘n’ greets.

Jack Skellington is, of course, massively popular this time of year, and can only be met by booking yourself a place in line on the Lineberty app – which I think is a shame, but maybe that’s just me. Other special character meets we stumbled across included Max at the entrance of the park and Mickey and Minnie in their adorable Day of the Dead costumes over in Frontierland.

However, the character who truly stole the show was Maleficent. With her own spot in Fantasyland, just behind the castle, she played a scary, scathing and brilliantly wicked villain and a crowd gathered simply to watch her interactions.

Shows

As with every season, Halloween at Disneyland Paris brings in some great new shows to entertain the whole family.

Are You Brave Enough? is a dastardly display of some of the best Disney villains, hosted by The Little Mermaid‘s Ursula. Taking place just to the right of the castle, it’s a short musical show which sees characters like Cruella De Ville, The Evil Queen and Gaston take to the stage. It’s pretty cheesy but good fun, and a whole host of rare characters make their way into the crowd at the end of the show, giving you a great chance to meet the likes of Governor Ratcliffe (Pocahontas), Jafar (Aladdin), The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) and Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

The main event this season, however, is Mickey’s Halloween Celebration. It’s similar to the daily character parade and follows the same route, but is much shorter and only features Halloween themed floats. It’s got a super catchy song (seriously, I’m still singing it!) and some unique characters in their limited-edition spooky costumes, which is really exciting to see.

Decorations & themes

When you first walk into the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, Halloween smacks you in the face right away – in a good way, of course. From the huge banner over the entrance to the creative bandstand decor and ghosts and ghouls dotted all over the place, the park has really made an effort to get that autumnal vibe going right from the off.

*Halloween entrance to Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris*

*Day of the Dead decorations in Frontierland*

Merchandise

Disney never misses a trick when it comes to merchandise opportunities, and Halloween is certainly no different! You can barely move for Jack Skellington and Maleficent window displays, but they look so incredibly enticing that, honestly, you don’t really mind the overload.

If you know someone who is a fan of Disney villains or the more macabre side of the franchise (me, me, me!), this is the absolute perfect time to pick up some gifts – for them, or for yourself!

*The Nightmare Before Christmas window display*

If you enjoyed this post, check out the following:

The Lion King & Jungle Festival 2019 at Disneyland Paris

Le Rendez-vous Gourmand at Disneyland Paris

How to Cut the Queues at Disneyland Paris | #ThisGirlEats

Despite crowds being a little quieter than expected since the opening of Galaxy’s Edge, the Disney parks are still getting busier and busier – and Disneyland Paris is no exception!

You can’t just turn up, wing it and expect to still get on all the rides you want – that’s just a recipe for disappointment! If getting on all the rides is important to you and your group then it should be just as important to do your homework – and that’s why you’re here!

Below you’ll find some advice on how to beat the queues at Disneyland Paris, let us know in the comments if you have any other top tips that could help us all out!

Fastpasses

Fastpasses are an absolute must if you want to smash out as many rides as possible at Disneyland Paris.

Free (yes, free!) and available to any guest with a valid park ticket, Fastpasses give you an allotted time slot to come back to an attraction and cut into the queue much, much closer to the front. They’re available for several big-ticket rides to help stop you wasting valuable time waiting in long lines when you just don’t need to.

Not sure how Fastpasses work? All you need to do is head over to your chosen ride, scan your park ticket at machines located nearby and wait until it spits out your Fastpass. Go away, enjoy the rest of the park, and come back during the time slot on your pass. Find the Fastpass entrance, show your pass to a cast member, and cut down your wait time.

There are a limited number of Fastpasses for each ride and some go quicker than others, so it’s important to prioritise; which rides are you okay with waiting for? Which ones aren’t that important to you? Which ones do you simply have to get on? The most important rides should jump straight to the top of your Fastpass list.

Also, it’s worth noting that you can’t get multiple Fastpasses at one time. So if you were thinking of running into the park first thing and collecting all your Fastpasses straight away, Disneyland Paris are onto you! Your Fastpass ticket will tell you when you can pick up another pass.

Check out my guide to Fastpasses here.

Extra Magic Time

If you’ve ever wondered how the queues for some rides creep up so quickly right from park opening, it might have a little something to do with Extra Magic Time.

Visitors staying at a Disneyland Paris hotel, or holders of the Magic Plus or Infinity annual passes, can enter the park an hour before opening. This means you can get straight on rides like Big Thunder Mountain and Crush’s Coaster before most people are even allowed inside.

This Extra Magic Time (sometimes called Extra Magic Hours) is a real benefit of staying at a Disneyland Paris hotel or upgrading your annual pass. Making use of this time can really help you get a couple of big rides under your belt before other visitors have even made it up Main Street! Of course, it does mean getting up and out fairly early, but if you want to get on those popular attractions then it’s definitely worth doing to really make the most of your day.

Get there early, stay until late

If you’re staying offsite and your ticket doesn’t include Extra Magic Time, you can still pack in a lot of rides by turning up early. Most attractions are at their busiest in the middle of the day – from around 11am until 6pm – so being ready to go first thing can help you get head and shoulders above those guests turning up later.

Get yourself to the parks an hour or so before general admission; you won’t be able to get on anything, but you’ll be more than welcome to grab a coffee and a croissant, have a mooch around the shops and take some photos for the ‘gram while the parks are quiet. That way, when it’s time for rope drop, you can make a beeline for your favourite ride.

For those who want to catch up on their beauty sleep (or need to brace themselves before facing a full-on Disney day!), you can still avoid those long lines by sticking around until the park closes. Most families with little’uns head out around dinnertime, leaving many rides with dwindling wait times as the evening goes on. If you’re willing to skip the fireworks (only if you’ve seen them before, they’re a must-see at least once during your trip!) this is prime time to jump on some rides while everyone else is distracted by the nighttime show.

If you’re a trooper, make the absolute most of your day by turning up for rope drop and staying until park closes.

‘Tis the season

While Disneyland Paris is never going have a day off, you can be mindful of the dates you choose to and try to avoid the busiest times of year.

Some seasons, such as Christmas and Halloween, are incredibly popular among visitors and always see big crowds flock at this time, so you’re likely to see wait times skyrocket during these seasons. While it’s super fun to see the parks during the festive season, you definitely won’t be the only ones with this idea! It’s also best to avoid bank holidays, school holidays and weekends as most people plan their trips around these dates.

I know it’s not always possible to book trips in term time or weekdays, especially if your kids are in school or you’ve got to book days off work – but that’s why so many other people visit during these times! It might not be doable for you, but it’s just something to bear in mind and prepare for. During these times, Fastpasses and Extra Magic Time are even more important!

Know your rides

Do your research, guys! Decide which attractions are important to you and which ones you don’t mind skipping to help make a strategic plan of your day.

It might sound obvious, but knowing which rides are an absolute must-do for you can help you to prioritise your Fastpasses; for example, if Peter Pan’s Flight is high on your list, especially if you’ve got young kids who love Tinker Bell and Captain Hook but won’t wait in that long line, you know to head straight to Fantasyland and pick up your Fastpasses.

On the other hand, if you’d quite like to ride Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain but it’s not the most important attraction in the park to your group, you know to prioritise Fastpasses for other rides while leaving this one until the end of your day once most people have gone home.

You can’t expect to just walk into the parks, decide on the spot which rides you want to go on and then be surprised when you’re stuck in queue after queue! Start making notes now to create the best possible experience once you’re there.

Check out my top ten rides at Disneyland Paris for some inspiration.

Le Rendez-vous Gourmand at Disneyland Paris | #ThisGirlEats

There are many, many reasons to visit Disneyland Paris – unfortunately, for the most part, the food isn’t one of them.

Aside from the occasional treat that pops up, the culinary fare on offer in the parks isn’t anywhere near as imaginative or exciting as we’d expect. When it comes to food and drink, Disneyland Paris falls short compared to its American counterparts.

But there has been one seasonal event cropping up at Disneyland Paris these past few years that has become a mecca for us Disney fans who don’t want to compromise their inner foodie on every visit. If you need something other than counter service hamburgers and popcorn buckets to make your trip complete, there’s only one thing for it: Le Rendez-vous Gourmand.

*Le Rendez-vous Gourmand at La Place de Rémy*

Le Rendez-vous Gourmand is the Walt Disney Studios Park annual pop-up food and drink festival, with rows of wooden huts serving an awesome range of European delights.

Starting off in La Place de Rémy – the Parisian mini-land that houses Ratatouille: The Adventure – with stalls from various regions of France, serving traditional treats like pastries and wines as well as more interesting offerings like tartiflette (gooey, cheesy sliced potatoes – bloomin’ delicious) and accras de morue (cod fritters).

This year, the festival has grown to see the rest of Europe sprawling out across the park. On the outskirts of Toy Story Playland and just past the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic ride (not familiar with the Walt Disney Studios Park? Check out my walkthrough video to get yourself up to speed!), you’ll journey through the continent visiting the likes of Italy, Spain and Belgium.

Stop off to grab a slice of pizza and a glass of prosecco, quench your thirst with a pint from the craft beer bar, queue up with the masses for waffles and fries (the Belgium hut was always busy!), try the controversial chorizo paella, fill up on some hearty moussaka, and there’s even something for us veggies at the brand new vegan stand!

*The Italian stand at Le Rendez-vous Gourmand*

The portions are decent, but not too big, and quite affordable when compared with most food in the parks, which allows gluttons like us to munch on several snacks from different stands.

From what our group managed to squeeze in over one weekend – and believe me, we would’ve eaten the lot if we could! – we’d recommend starting off with a Nutella crepe for a sweet breakfast treat, reloading with some cheesy potatoes and onions for lunch, warming up with a veggie feast of lentil dahl and falafels for dinner and a decadent eclair for dessert, and, finally, grabbing a slice of three-cheese pizza for the road on your way out.

Three cheese pizza — *Three-cheese pizza*

But, of course, there are loads things to try, so definitely make some room in your budget and get adventurous! For once, we can safely say Disneyland Paris is really delivering good eats that has something for everyone.

Le Rendez-vous Gourmand is at Disneyland Paris from 10th July to 13th October 2019.

VIDEO: Disneyland Park Walkthrough | #ThisGirlEats

I’ve been spamming the socials with my new Disneyland Paris video for a couple of weeks now, so I guess it’s about time I started shamelessly plugging it out here in the blogosphere too.

If you’ve already taken the time to watch then thank you so much! I really appreciate it; the support I’ve been getting for the Disney content has been incredible and it means the world. 💜

Check out my ‘Disneyland Park Walkthrough’ video below, and don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe and share if you enjoy it!

This latest video takes you on a guided tour of the Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris (there are two parks at Disneyland Paris – this is the one with the castle!). It’ll hopefully give you a good overview of the park so you can have a little preview before you visit, as well as some helpful advice on to navigate the different lands and attractions.

All of our videos are here to help – we want you to have the best time possible when you visit Disneyland Paris!

You can also check out our previous video, ‘My Top 10 Rides At Disneyland Paris’, below:

VIDEO: My Top 10 Rides at Disneyland Paris | #ThisGirlEats

As you might already know, earlier this year I decided that writing about one of my great loves in life (food, of course) just wasn’t enough and threw another into the mix – the wonderful world of Disney!

I wanted to give myself the opportunity to chat about the parks, engage with other Disney fans and maybe even come up with some helpful advice about Disneyland Paris, my closest Disney park.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disneyland Paris — *Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disneyland Paris*

I’m a total nerd when it comes to planning my Disney holidays – I want to know what rides to go on, how long the lines will be, where to eat and drink, which shows to catch and the absolute best way to make the most out of my trip!

I think there are some amazing videos out there chock-full of info on the American parks – Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in California – but the same helpful resources aren’t quite so readily available for Disneyland Paris. I know it’s not the most spectacular of the Disney parks but it’s still a hugely popular destination, especially for those of us who are much closer to Paris than the States!

So… I decided to start making my own! We’re going to be filming during our trips to Disneyland Paris and creating some (hopefully!) useful, informative, interesting videos all about this park.

My first video is now LIVE (eek!) and I wanted to start off with an easy one. This first vid is a guide to my ten favourite rides at Disneyland Paris to give people a taste of what attractions to expect on their visit and because, well, it’s fun! Please be kind – I have literally ZERO experience in filming, voice overs, editing, YouTube, all that jazz. But I’m really excited to get the ball rolling on this new project and hope to improve with each video.

Check out ‘My Top 10 Rides at Disneyland Paris’ below. If you enjoy it then please, please, pretty please like, subscribe, follow, comment, anything and everything!