"Something so magical shining from our dreams" Trip report, Alana and Mum April 2023

[Alana1980]

Who: Alana (42) and Mum (69)

When: April 23rd to 26th, 2023

Where: Hotel New York the Art of Marvel

This was my third trip to Disneyland Paris - the first was in 1992 when it was newly opened (and still called Eurodisney), the second in 2019 (trip report here)

I spent a long time planning and preparing, and I'm glad I did!

Day 0: London Calling

As the only direct trains to Disneyland Paris go from St Pancras International, and the timings meant I couldn't get a train from Birmingham early enough on the Sunday to catch the Eurostar, Mum and I got trains to London and stayed in King's Cross Royal Scot Travelodge overnight.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 1, part 1: Rain did not stop play

Mum and I woke up early and got ready to go. We got a taxi, despite the station being walkable from the hotel, as there were a lot of roads to cross on the way. Late breakfast on the Eurostar was pain au chocolate, plain yoghurt with strawberry compote on the bottom, apple juice and water, and the choice of tea or coffee.
When we got to the station, we dropped our luggage off at the Disney Express counter and picked up our Magic Passes, and I got the voucher for a Photopass+. Mum headed to the hotel and I made a beeline for Avengers Campus in Walt Disney Studios. The weather was terrible, rainy and with the occasional gust of wind that had me grabbing for my Minnie ears before they blew off! I was very glad that I had brought my umbrella. I also had a waterproof poncho but that's better for dealing with light drizzle.

It stopped raining long enough for me to see Spider-Man on the roof doing flips and spins, Thor and Loki choosing champions to try and lift Mjolnir, the Dora Milaje showing off their prowess, and Black Widow and Black Panther fighting Taskmaster on another roof, in between all the other things I did.

First I rode Spider-Man W.E.B Adventure which was super fun but very tiring. This was a medium queue of about 20 minutes (Single Rider line).

After that I went on Avengers Flight Force which was similar enough to my favourite ride (Hyperspace Mountain) to be absolutely amazing. I spent a lot of the time cheering for Captain Marvel as she and Iron Man destroyed the missiles that had been heading for Earth until we diverted them (that's the ride story)

Pictures are of me and Mum in the Travelodge, me and Mum on the Eurostar, breakfast on the Eurostar, first look at Disneyland in the rain, and my ride photo from Flight Force.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 1, part 2: Meetings and eatings

I queued up for a character meeting next. Wasp was out, but while I was queuing she left and Ant Man came out. I didn't mind, I was equally happy to meet either. I love the photos I got! I made sure to ask before hugging characters the whole time I was there, and they were all happy to be hugged. I made my way to Stark Factory to wait for mum, but she got a little lost on the way so I went back to the Fantasia fountain to wait for her. Once we met up she took a couple of photos of me as we headed back to Stark Factory for tea. We used our Meal Plan vouchers and were told we could have pizza or pasta, and a salad, and a drink, and a dessert. There were also little pots of salad dressing which was a really good amount for the size of salad.

Photos show me meeting Ant Man, me by the Fantasia fountain, me by the Walt Disney and Mickey statue, the Hulkbuster armour in Stark Factory, and my pizza, salad, drink and dessert.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 1, part 3: Having a Marvel-ous time

Mum and I might have gone on the Cars Road Trip ride if it hadn't started raining heavily again, so instead we decided to walk briskly back to the hotel.

I absolutely adore Hotel New York the Art of Marvel, and actually prefer it to the Disneyland Hotel where we stayed last time. The room felt bigger and there were plenty of plug sockets and USB ports. To be fair, HNY has had a recent refurbishment and DH is having one now, so I'm sure the rooms will have more plug sockets when they are done. There is so much Marvel art everywhere and I took lots of photos of it all. My two favourites were a giant mural of MCU Steve Rogers Captain America that was opposite the lifts on our floor, and Deadpool waving at the viewer in a cheeky 4th wall break (I may have waved back and said "Bonjour Deadpool" and "Au revoir Deadpool" when no-one was around!)

After a rest in the hotel room I headed back to Walt Disney Studios to see Avengers: Power the Night. I got there early enough to do a little shopping and I bought myself some new 30th anniversary Minnie ears and a sparkly silver pencil case. Due to the weather there were no drones, but the fireworks and lasers were still part of the show and it was still amazing. After that it was time to head back to the hotel for bed.

Photos of my two favourite pieces of art and the life size Iron Man armour in a display case in the hotel lobby.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 2, Part 1: Don't sleep on the beauty of this castle

Mum chose to have an early swim and a late breakfast, and I had an early breakfast and headed straight to Parc Disneyland. Mickey and Minnie were greeting people at the Main Street railway station as I walked in, which was lovely. I made sure to take in the views on my way, including the Gardens of Wonder. I love the new paint job on the castle, it really pops whether the sky is blue or grey!

I headed straight to Peter Pan's Flight, as it was one of the rides that was closed last time I was there. It was down temporarily when I got there, so I went and rode Indiana Jones, the other one that was closed last time, and did it as a walk on. I really enjoyed it!

Photos show the Asgard inspired chandelier in the Manhattan Restaurant where breakfast was served, my three plates of breakfast from the buffet, me in front of the Disneyland Hotel, the 30th Anniversary decorations on one side of the Main Street railway station, Mickey and Minnie greeting people, a 10 x zoom picture of the castle taken from the far end of Main Street, and me in front of the castle.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 2, part 2: Minnie loved my dress!

The route from Indiana Jones to Peter Pan's Flight took me through Adventure Island which I hadn't been on before, so I took some pictures on the way. It was back up, there was a bit of a queue but I didn’t mind. I think this is a lovely ride with really pretty views. I then went to Discoveryland and rode Star Tours and Hyperspace Mountain both pretty much as walk ons. I found HM to be a little more juddery than last time, and I really had to push hard to keep my head on the headrest. Still my favourite ride though!

Star Tours was a sequel trilogy trip, Kylo Ren used the Force to try and stop us leaving and we went to several planets including Jakku, the desert planet that Rey is from, flew with the Millennium Falcon and ended up in the fight on the planet where Palpatine has the Imperial ships hidden. It was super cool!

I met up with Mum and we wandered around for a bit before sitting on a bench just inside Fantasyland for a while, then we headed to the hub to get a good spot for Dream... and Shine Brighter! I took loads of photos, I've picked a couple to give an idea of what it was like.

One of my highlights happened here, Minnie noticed me twirling in my dress and clapped and blew a kiss! I didn’t know until later that Mum happened to catch it on video! I'll try and put it in the next reply if the file size is small enough.

Pictures are of the pirate ship, me in front of a wishing well, my ride photo from Hyperspace Mountain, a few photos of me that Mum took, and a few photos from Dream...and Shine Brighter.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 2 part 3: Right place, right time

I tried to upload the video but it said the file type wasn't supported. Oh well.

After the show we headed to Plaza Gardens for our booked lunch. If Agrabah hadn't been being renovated we would have gone there, but Plaza Gardens was a lovely alternative. I'm vegetarian and Mum is pescatarian and there was a great choice of food.

Total number of Mickey shaped items eaten: 2

Afterwards we went and rode the canal boats, it started raining slightly so I put my waterproof poncho on and Mum got a photo of me with my ears on top of the poncho! We also got a selfie of the two of us in the canal boat.

Mum went back to the hotel room and I headed to Phantom Manor, which was temporarily down. I took a photo of a creepy attendant, and then noticed a short queue and Mickey in his Phantom outfit! This wasn't on the app so I was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Mickey was incredible, it must be so hard to convey emotions with just body language but he managed it. I told him all about my adventures flying over London and going to space twice and showing Minnie my dress. There wasn't a Photopass photographer so I got a selfie and then the CM in attendance took some photos for me with my phone, which was very kind.

After that Phantom Manor was back up and I rode it as a walk on. Three young ladies in the queue behind me asked if I would join them so they could get seated in the same carriage and I said yes. As we were exiting, I said "Goodbye, Au Revoir" and then remembered that I had heard them talking in what I thought was Italian so I added "Ciao!" And got a resounding and happy "Ciao!" back.

Photos are of three plates of food from lunch, me in a waterproof poncho with Minnie ears on top, Mum and me in a canal boat, a Phantom Manor attendant and me with Phantom Mickey.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 2 part 4: Right place, wrong time

I made my way to the Hub in plenty of time to see the parade, and was very lucky to get a good spot. Maleficent was breathing smoke but not fire this time.

After the parade I made my way to Market House Deli and picked up a Mickey shaped bagel sandwich, a 30th anniversary Sparkle Muffin and a bottle of orange juice and took it back to the hotel room. I rested for a while and then headed back out to the park to watch the drone show and fireworks.

At least, that was the plan! I had checked the app and the drone show was at 2150, fireworks at 2200. I got to a good spot at around 2130 and waited, it started raining and I was glad I had brought my umbrella.

Unfortunately, the times had changed and the drone show was at 2250 and fireworks at 2300. I couldn't face waiting around for another hour so I went back to the hotel. I didn't feel disappointed then and I still don't now, so that's good.

Total number of Mickey shaped items eaten: 3

Photos show the parade, my Mickey bagel and Sparkle Muffin and the Marvel art in our room

 

[Alana1980]

Day 3 part 1: Hollywood, Paris, Agrabah and Arendelle

Again Mum chose early swim and late breakfast and I had an early breakfast and went to Walt Disney Studios. I rode Tower of Terror and Ratatouille as walk ons, then waited for the meeting with Movie Director Goofy to open, as well as the virtual queue for the Heroic Encounter in Avengers Campus. I had a great time meeting Goofy!

After that there was a long time before the meet and greet with Olaf opened so I queued for Flying Carpets Over Agrabah which was one of my rides on my "nice to do if I have time" list.

The queue for Olaf was long, and some people were in the wrong queue as they wanted the Frozen celebration show, and the queue for that was round the corner.

Olaf was great fun, and I even got a kiss on the back of the hand!

Photos show three plates of breakfast, a selfie in our hotel room, my ride photo from Tower of Terror, and several photos of me with Goofy and Olaf.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 3 part 2: Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man

After Olaf it was time to go and meet a hero in the Heroic Encounter in Avengers Campus. I had already booked the Heroic Encounter in Hotel New York for Wednesday morning for Mum and me, and that said it would be Captain America or Black Widow so I picked Spider-Man for this one. On the way I spotted Iron Man on the Quinjet.

I had plenty of time to chat to Spider-Man and I got a lot of photos, including one in which I'm doing the one leg bent and one leg to the side superhero pose! He looks a lot better doing it than me though ! This was one of my favourite character meets with a character who you can talk to, he was really interactive. There was also a really funny moment when one of us went for a fist bump and the other a handshake and then we both switched! We got it sorted in the end though.

Mum and I met up for lunch and we went to Restaurant En Coulisse where I had a veggie burger and fries. This is the only meal I didn’t photograph. It was a good veggie burger, but the fries needed a little more salt. It was the only meal that ranked as okay to good for me, everything else I had was good or better than good.

Photos show Iron Man on the Quinjet, me with Spider-Man and me next to the Fantasia fountain.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 3 part 3: "No, that's Mjolnir, Thor's hammer"

After lunch Mum and I had a brief wander, saw Lightning McQueen driving around with an awesome soundtrack following him, and got a photo by the Toon Studios sign. We were then very tired and both went back to the hotel, I even had an afternoon nap! We got some pictures on the way back, and even had time for a spot of souvenir shopping.

I got changed for dinner at the Downtown Restaurant in the hotel, which was another buffet. I like buffets because you can have a little bit of a lot of things that you like. The food here was really good, one of the salady starters was so nice my eyes closed briefly to appreciate it better! Mum did mistake my Mjolnir dessert for the Sword in the Stone but that was a Disney movie so an understandable mixup.

After dinner I went for a swim in the hotel pool, and after that Mum and I had some cocktails and mocktails in the Skyline Bar. I especially loved the screens that look like windows that show various superheroes passing by. I had a Pina Colada and an Orange Fusion Reactor.

Total number of Mickey shaped items eaten: 6

Photos show me by the Toon Studios sign, Mum and me with Disney shopping bags next to a 30th anniversary photo spot, me next to statues of Captain Marvel, Iron Man and Black Widow, me ready for dinner, Mum and me by one of the pieces of artwork, and three plates of dinner.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 4, part 1: Into the Spider-verse

Mum and I had a later start this morning, and headed to our Heroic Encounter. Amusingly, it turned out to be Spider-Man again! I didn’t mind, but thought it was funny that I'd already picked him in Avengers Campus to try and avoid duplication. Mum was a good sport and took pictures of me in all the different photo stations.

Photos show me and Mum with Spider-Man, me with Spider-Man, and me in different Marvel photo spots.

 

[Alana1980]

Day 4, part 2: Until next time...?

I only had 2 plates of breakfast because I tried the Mickey cake and it was very filling. I went back to the hotel room and finished packing and left Mum finishing her packing. She had managed to get late check out arranged for 1pm which let her stay in the room longer.

I went to Parc Disneyland, and as I got there I caught Dream...and Shine Brighter again! I managed to get a spot on Main Street stood behind a bin so I had an amazing view. I was far too busy enjoying it to take any pictures.

After that I headed to Discoveryland to do my last must-do ride, Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. This was the longest queue I did, but it was still only 40 minutes. The weather was finally nice and sunny, and I was able to get my sunglasses on. Sadly I had forgotten sun cream, and slightly burned my upper chest and collarbones. At least my daily moisturiser has SPF in it. The ride photo didn't show my score, it was 22,800 which isn't too bad.

After some wandering I ended up in Fantasyland, and remembered that one of the snacks I was interested in was cheese bitterballen from the Old Mill, so I went and got some. I also got a nice photo of the castle overlooking Fantasyland.

One of the things I didn’t manage to do the previous time I visited DLP was eat a Mickey Waffle, so I was delighted to read that Victoria's Home-Style Restaurant is serving them! I had to wait for it to open so I wandered very slowly and took in a lot of the lovely details of the park on the way.

After the waffle was eaten I made my way our of the park and met Mum in the gardens outside Hotel New York. We chilled there for a while and then made our way to the train station. Dinner on the Eurostar was a pasta salad and a millionaire shortbread roundel with water, and they were handing out complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks.

Once we got to St Pancras Mum and I said out goodbyes and went to get our trains back to our respective homes.

Total number of Mickey shaped items eaten: 8

Photos show 2 plates of breakfast, me queuing outside Buzz Lightyear, me queuing inside Buzz Lightyear, my ride photo, The Old Mill, cheese bitterballen, a Mickey Waffle, and dinner on the Eurostar.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Looks like a fun trip, thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures!

 

[wannabee]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great trip