Disneyland Paris... these are a few of my favourite things #1

We went to Disneyland Paris at the beginning of December and I can't believe I haven't blogged about it yet! It was a lovely break just before Christmas and I really enjoyed the experience of going on holiday in December. Having been to Florida's Walt Disney World twice, it was interesting to compare the two locations and to have a different Disney holiday slightly closer to home.

I don't think we'll ever to go Florida's Walt Disney World so close to Christmas as we like going there when it's hot. Consequently, I'm so glad I got to experience all the Christmas parades, decorations and so on in Disneyland Paris. Disney and Christmas really is a magical combination and I'm pretty obsessed with both!

Here are a few of my favourite things about Disneyland Paris... I decided to split my list into two posts as I wanted to share so many photos. Enjoy the first instalment!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Sleeping Beauty's castle is the majestic showpiece of Paris' Disneyland Park and it really is a beautiful spectacle. I mostly love the fact that it's pink! It's surrounded by lots of greenery which adds to its fairytale aura, and the different levels and turrets are so immacutely detailed. You can even climb an internal staircase to the first level of the castle which gives you a lovely view of the park and a closer view of the castle's beautiful turrets. The castle also looks amazing once it gets dark... you really have to be there to appreciate its full beauty at night as photographs can't do it justice!

Space Mountain 

I love this ride in Florida's Magic Kingdom, and this version is even better! I screamed with sheer joy throughout this entire ride and we went on as many times as the queue would allow. The vast majority of this ride is conducted in darkness, as the name suggests... I think that might be why I love it so much. You just never know what's coming! It's full of sharp turns and drops and you do feel quite bruised at the end of it as a result of being bumped around so much, but I just love it. You absolutely HAVE to try it if you ever visit either Disneyland Paris or Walt Disney World. 

Disney Village

The Disney Village is a mini version of Florida's Downtown Disney and we spent lots of time here. It's conveniently located in between both parks so it was a nice place to wander to for lunch or for a break from the long queues. It was also a good place to run to during the heavy rain on our second day! The Disney Village is full of restaurants, shops and bars, including a MASSIVE Earl of Sandwich restaurant, a Rainforest Cafe, and several huge Disney Stores. It also had little huts scattered along the walkways which sold coffee, mulled wine, pretzels, doughnuts, muffins and so on. These added to the Christmassy atmosphere, particularly the mulled wine! 

Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy

The Ratatouille ride is the newest attraction in Disneyland Paris and is hugely popular. We ran for this ride as soon as the park opened so only had to queue for half an hour or so, but the queue was already up to nearly two hours by the time we'd finished on the ride. This Parisian area of the park is so well designed and it's very authentic. Ratatouille is one of my favourite Pixar films so I really loved this simulator ride. It's very unique, as well as being amazingly and intricately designed (like most things in any Disney park). It's a family friendly ride but I still screamed quite a lot... I think I just like screaming on rides to convey my joy. This ride doesn't exist in Florida so it was great to experience something totally new and innovative. Another ride you definitely shouldn't miss!  

Christmas parade 

I love Christmas and I love a good parade. As you'd expect from any Disney parade, this one was beautifully orchestrated with perfect details. There was even some fake snow! The parade featured lots of my favourite characters (including Eeyore!) and the music made me want to dance and jump around...  not much makes me want to dance and jump around in public, believe me. We just happened to stumble upon lots of crowds lining the main street in Disneyland Park one afternoon and realised that the parade was starting in ten minutes. Impeccable timing, and we even managed to get a brilliant standing spot. Disney Christmas parades are definitely the best parades. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about a few of my favourite things in Disneyland Paris... look out for my follow-up post in a few days on another five favourite things!