Places to Go (Vacation) - DISNEYLAND PARIS (Days 23) - Dragging Our Kids Through Europe, Part XII

For our final day in Europe we wanted some sort of grand finale, thus we planned a trip to Versailles. But one week prior to arriving we learned that Versailles is closed on Mondays. Oops. So we went with our (okay, really my) second option - Disneyland Paris. And I can't pretend I was sad about the switch (though, poor Dan, on the other hand, was very sad. Sorry honey!!).




Disney Paris isn't quite as fancy as its Orlando counterpart. First of all, there are only two parks - Disneyland (i.e. Magic Kingdom) and Disney Studios, you can see tour the best of both in one day (they're right next to each other). Second, the castle is smaller and the updates aren't as flashy. It sort of reminded me of Disneyworld in the early 80s (yay nostalgia!). But the big bonus is that it's an easy metro ride from Paris's city center.

Anyways, if you're not a huge Disney fan, Disney Paris might not be the best place for you. But I was pretty entranced! We all agreed that Paris had a better Pirates of the Caribbean and a worse Haunted Mansion. Plus, Ratatouille might be one of the best rides in any Disney park, it's incredible. On the downside, there are more height requirements than we were used to, so we missed out on the Indiana Jones roller coaster and Space Mountain Mission 2 (sadness).



Cinderella's castle has all these gorgeous stained glass windows.



And Snow White is still a ride!!




Pinocchio is a ride too!



And you can run/find yourself lost in/explore Alice in Wonderland's labyrinth.




You can take a boatride though all the Disney kingdoms in miniature.



But most importantly, you can bond with all the usual suspects!



Rather than eat in the park, we decided to check out the Mexican restaurant underneath our rental apartment and it was so so good. The kids are still talking about how it's the best Mexican food they've ever had. And the margaritas! So much wonderfulness.

The next morning we wandered around Paris for a few hours and then caught our flight back to the states. Somewhat sad to be leaving, but excited (at least for me) to have clean laundry again. And, in case you're wondering, the airline found my bag (one week later) and delivered it to Arlington. Yay!!