We were in Europe this past summer to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Our trip began with 5 days in Paris and then another 2 days in Disneyland Paris before Visiting Venice and several of the Greek Islands on a 7-day cruise. The entire vacation was amazing and we really enjoyed the week on land prior to the cruise.
We have visited Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, and Walt Disney World dozens of times and are always able to turn any frowns upside down. We were so excited to visit Disneyland Paris for their 25th anniversary celebration, so when it came time to visit, we were psyched! Disappointments weren’t even a consideration and celebrations were all we had talked about.
Upon entry to the park, we were thrilled to find that the train station from the Charles De Guallie Airport was a short walk to the hotel shuttle and also to the park entrance. We had not repurchased our park tickets and were very happy to find an automated ticket purchase station that had tickets in our hands within 5 minutes. Talk about an easy entry! We were thankful to have beautiful weather with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. We also were appreciative of the many photo billboard opportunities that were themed for the 25th anniversary. We took advantage of those for fun selfie backgrounds throughout the parks.
So, how could we have been disappointed in our Disneyland Paris adventure…? The concerns were tiny, but certainly caused by a mismatch between my anticipation and expectations and the reality of the Disneyland Paris experience.
One thing that stood out was the lack of Air Conditioning in our hotel room. That would have been fine if we could have opened a window or operated a high-powered ceiling fan, but no – we neither were options for a good night’s sleep.
Another disappointment was that several favorite rides were closed for refurbishment during the 25th anniversary celebration. Those rides included Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Big Thunder Mountain was closed too, and never re-opened while we were there. I found it difficult to believe that Disney, out of all of the companies around the world, would have neglected their guests by scheduling refurbishments in the middle of their 25th anniversary summertime celebrations.
The final disappointment was really a big deal for me, but perhaps not for anyone else – there were no ear hats in either park or in our hotel gift shop. Apparently the European tourists prefer headbands and not Mickey ears, which I can respect. I had imagined mickey ears with Eiffel Towers or Ratatouille-themed Mickey ears but somehow I had missed the fact that they weren’t available in Disneyland Paris.
As with any other travel adventure, we didn’t let any disappointments ruin our time there and we wrung as much fun as we could out of the whole experience. The hotel staff and cast members in the parks went overboard to be friendly and helpful. For example, a cast member in City Hall personalized an “I’m Celebrating” badge for me to celebrate my first visit to Disneyland Paris.
Lessons learned that we can pass on? Remain flexible and don’t sweat the small stuff. The fact that some of our favorite rides were closed while we were there really felt big at the time, but that just makes me consider a return trip when our granddaughter is old enough. Remember that even the most researched vacation experiences can, and will, through you a curveball every once in a while. When they do it’s good for me to remember some words of wisdom shared with me several years ago: Stop being surprised!
Happy walking!