Headed to Wally (Disney) World (Land Paris)!! This is my first time in France. Cross another country off the list.
We stayed at the newly renovated Disneyland Hotel, which is as close as you can get to the park entrances. The location was perfect. The hotel was beautiful. It was definitely princess themed – with a bit of a focus on Belle from Beauty & The Beast.
Living like royalty
We went to Walt Disney Studios Park right away. They had an awesome Alice in Wonderland show, full of BMX riders, trampoline jumpers, dancers, fire, and fun music. I’m not much of an Alice in Wonderland fan, but the show was excellent.
Lily, trying to figure out how this phone thing works. Literally when she was done, she asked what to do with the handset….
The Toy Story area of the park was adorable
Lily wanted her picture taken everywhere. Yes, I also have a son, but he’s 14 and hates having his picture taken doing anything silly and fun.
This one is for Brody!
The Cars ride was more thrilling than I was expecting. :). Lily and I screamed. Ty insists that he never makes any noise on rides.
Just when I think Ty won’t do anything fun, Jay sends me this. Lily was tuckered out so Jay and Ty went to the Disney Village for dinner. They walked through the Marvel hotel and found this fun room.
The best part about our hotel is the Magic Hour, where hotel guests get into the park one hour before they open the normal gates. Ty and Jay have done all the big rides during the Magic hour, waiting no more than 15 minutes. (Lily and I say no thank you to the big rides).
Princess photo bomb!! Ignore the wet hair, no makeup extreme closeup and focus on the princesses on the balcony. :). It rained every single day, so it made zero sense to do my hair and makeup…
Mickey & Minnie photo bomb!!
We found the boys. No family trip to Disney is complete without a castle selfie.
Ratatouille is one of the main themes of the French park. I hated the ride, though. Very little actual motion but giant screens that make you think you are chasing a rat around a restaurant is enough to make my stomach want to explode. Ugh.
Remy
The Alice in Wonderland maze even made me a little dizzy. Seriously. It’s annoying. 🙂
The line for Its a Small World was 45 minutes. Call us horrible parents, but we skipped it. Ty and Lily will never know what it’s like.
Just when I thought I knew all of Jay’s talents, he surprises me with another. Buzz Lightyear and Web Adventures Champion of the World. He’s all mine, ladies.
Yes, a grown man captured photo evidence of destroying his kids in a roller coaster video game.
Gorgeous flowers everywhere. This one made me think of mom.
We had a 9:00 dinner reservation at La Table de Lumiére in the hotel. Lily got to say hi to all of the princesses and princes.
Despite absolutely not wanting to have his picture taken with a princess, my well-mannered son knew better than to deny Belle when she asked to have her picture taken with him. 🙂
Sneak peak of the Shearer Family Christmas card? 🙂
I would say that I tend to be a “go easy on the butter” sort of gal. But that was before I ate this butter. OMG. Y’all. This is incredible. My ratio of butter to roll with this spread is about triple what I normally do – and that is me holding back.

The best part about dinner (the food was just OK, which was a pretty big disappointment given the fact that we are in a 5 Star hotel in France) was that we had a window seat and dessert was served just as the drone and fireworks show started above the castle.

Maybe someday, Lil.
Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Maybe someday, Nic.
One thing I was really excited about was the Lion King show – my favorite at Disney World. It was different, but didn’t disappoint! I think the Disney costume and set designers have the best job in the world. I mean, just after being an accountant at Deere (obviously).
Lily and I had a chill afternoon. We got massages then she jumped in the pool. Dad came down and swam with her a bit. She’s such a little fish.
I am certain that I was not getting professional massages when I was 10 years old. Someday she will appreciate it. 🙂

We had dinner in the Disney Village at a Chicago Steakhouse. Jay liked his ribeye, Lily loved her cheeseburger because it tasted like McDonalds. Ty and I thought the surf & turf was mid. I’m thinking that when we come back to explore Paris we need to do some food research because so far my French food experience has fallen way short of expectations.

Ty wanted an ice cream cake for his birthday. Our search in Germany came up short. Leave it to Disney to make his wish come true!

I have wondered how Paris Disney would compare to Disneyland and Disney World. I haven’t been to Disneyland for 20 years, so I’m not a great critic for that park. I’m not a Disney fanatic, I don’t study and research for hours before I arrive. I want to be surprised, awed, and amazed. I want to escape reality. I want to wonder “how did they do that?” I want to be surrounded by happy people and giggling children. I don’t go to Disney for the thrill rides (no, thank you), yet in every Disney park (or cruise) I visit, the feelings are similar. Easy, happy, and magical. I will point out that it rained Every. Single. Day. The temperature didn’t get above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and was mostly on the chilly side. And somehow it didn’t seem to matter – for almost everyone in the park. THAT is Magic.

We knew going into the long weekend that 3 nights at Disneyland Paris were probably too many. If we stayed outside the park, it for sure would have been too much. But with our hotel location it ended up being just right. We didn’t rush through the days, took midday breaks/naps, and enjoyed the Magic of Disney. The kids have new memorize that I think will stay with them for life.