Disneyland - how was it for you?

[Lottie]

Hello folks,
We are looking into booking our holiday and a couple of little breaks for 2012, for a little break in November I would like to do a long weekend in Disneyland Paris. Our dd is 4 (tomorrow!) and our ds is 18 months so I'm thinking by then he should be able to go on a couple of little rides. I would really like to take dd while she is still young enough to be blown away by meeting Cinderella but am a little concerned that there won't be a lot else to do for the little ones. We are planning a big trip to Disneyland Florida when they are about 11 and 9 so this would be little a taster while they still think fairies are real .

Have you been to either DL Florida or Paris and what was your experience like?

 

[aviastar]

DisneyWorld, in Florida, is awesome. I went with my family around age 10 and again at 14 and loved it both times. I am the oldest of four and there was plenty for each age to do. Paris is just the Magic Kingdom, right? I'd look through their literature or website and see if they have things like breakfast with the characters or Goofy's house you can go crawl all over like they do in Florida-my little brother was 4 and he loved all that stuff!

Have fun, Disney really doesn't do anything halfway, and at Florida and California we never found a rude employee or a dirty bathroom and had a really wonderful time!

 

[luv2sparkle]

We have been to both. Living in California we had annual passes for many years. Our trip to Disneyworld didn't work out so great. If you have young kids you will love it because you will see it from their eyes and it will be magical.

A couple of things I would add, if you bring a stroller, either take a cheap one and never leave anything in it, or get a lock for it. In the states, there are a lot of stroller/wheelchair thefts. I am not sure if that would be the same in Paris.Bring some snacks that can tide you over and a couple water bottles.

Have a great time, I am sure your kids will talk about it for weeks afterwards.

 

[Maisie]

We are considering Disneyland Florida for next Christmas. I am tempted to go to Paris in the summer though. I'm not sure how James will cope with the characters wandering around (things like that freak him out) so maybe a weekend in Paris will be useful before we shell out lots of ££££ for Florida. Its only over the water, less than an hour on a plane, why not!

 

[KaeKae]

I took DD1 to Disneyland California at age 1. She loved it. There were rides, such as Dumbo and It's a Small World, we could go on, and so much to see, including what I think is called Toontown, which is like walking through a Mickey Mouse cartoon. I have a darling picture of DD sitting on Minnie Mouse's dresser, looking at herself in the mirror, and another of DD1 and my friend's DD, also 1, sitting on Mickey's sofa. Both little girls were just in awe of everything they saw, it's all so colorful and exciting.

DH and I took DD1 to Disneyworld Florida around age 2. Again, she loved it. Magic Kingdom was the best, followed by Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios Park. Epcot wasn't a favorite at that age. Except during the parades, you don't see many characters just roaming the park. Mostly, they are set up in a particular spot for picture taking, and you have to wait in line for your turn. In fact, in Florida, there is a building where many of them are set up, you wait in line then go into a room to see a particular character, including the princesses, if I remember correctly. (Maybe some one there more recently can clear this up more.)

We continued to take her and DD2 several more times until four years ago, when we moved to SoCal, so now we are within driving distance of Disneyland. We were there just yesterday. We all enjoyed ourselved, but I highly recommend taking kids there in preschool and elementary school, to get the full experience. (It's just not the same for me, now that my girls are 13 and 16.)