For those of you that read my reviews, about me etc you will know that I have long been looking forward to my short break to Disneyland Paris.

I booked a 3 day, 2 night package, staying at the hotel Cheyenne (on site) and travelling by Eurostar.

The cost of the accommodation, which includes a 3 day pass to both Disneyland and Disney Studios was £140 per person including breakfast (continental).
The Eurostar was an additional £100 per person.

Right, the beginning is always the best place to start so I will tell you a little about travelling by Eurostar.

EUROSTAR:

I booked the tickets for myself and my flatmate online and the cheapest I could find at the times I wanted (leaving early morning, returning in the evening) were £100 each, with a transfer at Lille Europe on the outward journey but a direct journey back.

Eurostar trains are exactly the same as any old GNER train but the seats are a little bigger and more comfortable. We were ,ysteriously placed in the 1st class carriage which, I have to say, is the same as the rest of the train just with red satin-effect headrests!

The journey time to Lille Europe was about an hour and a half, then we had to wait an hour for the transfer and the rest of the journey took about an hour.

Now we mistakenly believed we were simply transferring to another Eurostar train.

Not so.

We were aboard a local french train which happened to stop at the Disney stop. Noone on the train spoke english and I have to say we were a little apprehensive travelling cross country not actually being able to understand the announcer so having to be extra quick with the luggage when we reached our stop and matched the name of the station (no, its not 'Disneyland') on the ticket to that on the platform. It is actually, Marne Le Vallee Chessy.
Try saying that after a night out on the p*ss!

The station is conveniently located right next to the Disney Park and the complimentary buses which shuttled you between your hotel and Disney land.

HOTEL CHEYENNE

We stayed at the Cheyenne which is a wild west themed hotel. The hotel is actually set up like a wild west town and the various blocks of rooms are cunningly disguised on the outside aas things like 'Sherrifs Office' or 'Stagecoach Office'.

There were strategically placed abandoned wagons to give the whole place a more authentic look and you could hire these little pedal powered mini wagons for 7 euros to whirl about the town in.

The room contained a double and 2 bunk beds, a ceiling fan, heater and tv showing of course, the Disney Channel, as well as an ensuite bathroom with complimentary Mickey Mouse soap!

The staff were very helpful and friendly and explained how the tickets and breakfast shifts worked - you receive a ticket for breakfast everyday with a half hour slot from 7am to 11am.

THE PARKS

There are 3 parts to Disneyland.

1) Disneyland Park - This is the main park itself which is divided into different 'lands'. These are Main Street, Adventureland, Discoveryland, Frontierland and Fantasyland.

Main Street is at the entrance to the park where all the shops are located as well as being where the parades take place. We watched the 'Princess Parade' at 4pm everyday where floats depicting scenes from classics such as Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Snow White featured, with the focus being on the 'Princesses' themselves, twirling away atop the floats in their finery to the delighted squeals of little children and the catchy tune that plays along.
Mysteriously Dumbo was also in the Princess Parade which noone has yet managed to explain to my satisfaction.

Discoveryland is a futuristic themed area containing rides such as Space Mountain (thrill ride) as well as smaller rides for children such as those mini rockets that basically fly round and round.
I went on Space mountain twice but the 2nd time there were only about 5 of us on it and it felt a lot more violent than the 1st time. I was quite scared towards the end as my head was jolted from side to side quite painfully. Definitely not one for smaller children.
I had high expectations of 'Honey I Shrunk the Audience' which is based on the popular film and takes the form of the audience (us) watching the Dr from the feature films showing off his invention and accidentally 'shrinking' the audience and subjecting us to 3D hazards such as giant snakes.
I was told before that this is shown in french so I wouldnt understand it, but in fact you can use the headphones located next to your seat and this translates the dialogue for you.
I personally think this could have been much better, it seemed put together in quite a slip shod way.
If you have ever tried the similar 3D show at Thorpe park, you will be less impressed by this.

Adventureland and Frontierland are fairly similar in appearance with a subtle crossover from a far eastern style to a jungle type theme. These areas contain such gems as Indiana Jones and The Temple of Peril (Backwards) which I loved (I'm a bit of a thrill junkie if you haven't figured it out yet), Thunder Mountain ( a runaway mine train which would class as a scary ride for older children or timid adults) and Pirates of the Caribbean (artfully constructed though not very thrilling water ride).
You can wander through the 2 lands amongst the vines of the jungle, caves and far eastern casbahs between rides.

Fantasyland is the children's paradise, with the classic Mad Hatters Teacups (which can make you a bit queasy if you spin them hard enough), Flying Dumbos, The adventures of Pinnochio and the Flight of Peter Pan - all great kids rides.
Another attraction that had been recommended (laughingly I have to say) by several people was 'It's a Small World'. This is a boat ride through a cavern depicting scenes from around the world with puppet children from these nations singing the song It's a small world. You know it... 'It's a small world after all, it's a small, small, world...'. The song maddeningly sticks but a quick listen to the Princess Parade song will soon sort that out. I have to say I did go on all of the kiddy rides and found them quite entertaining so small children would love them.

There are various cafes and restaurants dotted throughout the park all pretty much serviing standard junk food fare (hot dogs, burgers and chips), with a hot dog, chips and drink costing around 15 euros for 2.

The Disney characters also appear at different places in the park through the day, meet and greet times can be found on your park map which you get at the entrance to the park.

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS:

SItuated directly next to the Disney Park, the studios pay homage to the production side of Disney, with films and tours explaining how cartoons and films are made, including animation, special effects and wardrobe.
As you pass through the main gate you enter an area with shops, a reasonably priced fast food restaurant and an area where there is continuous 'filming' in you can take part as an actor or even the director. All the dialogue was in french though so I don't think I would have been very good at this.

In the Studios are 3 actual main 'rides', which are the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster, Armageddon and the Studio Tram Tour, as well as a few smaller rides for children such as the Aladdin flying carpets (similar to the flying rockets or flying dumbos).

The Armageddon attraction is based on the film of the same name and you are first of all shown a short presentation from the actors in the film talking about the special effects and inviting you to take part in a scene as an extra.
You are then led through to the 'filming' area where a scene from a space station is set up and you are informed a huge asteroid is headed straight for you.
As you are pelted by smaller rocks parts of the set begin to cave in and fires erupt around you.
I think this does have some potential but I think that not enough action is provided to really make this a thrill ride.

Similar to this is the Studio Tram Tour where you are taken on tour of various props and effects used by the sudios. Halfway through you are taken onto a 'hot set' which is being used for a stunt and is 'very dangerous'. Right beside you the effects begin with an 'earthquake' and a truck exploding then being drowned out by gallons of ruching water.

Again I feel there is not enough content in this attraction, but there should be as there are very few adult orientated rides in the 2 parks.

! which definitely does fall into the White Knuckle category is the Aerosmith Roller Coaster. You queue in a passageway depicting platinum discs and signed guitars by famous rock stars before passing through a 'studio' where Aerosmith are putting the finishing touches to their ride. You then reach the roller coaster itself and are strapped securely in. Then you get the countdown, 3-2-1 aaaaaarrrgrghhhh and are shot off at a tremendously high speed into a brightly coloured cave through harrowing twists and turns, while listening to the sounds of Aerosmith. I don't normally get scared but I have to say that first bit where you are catapulted into the cave was very fast and managed to get a yelp out of me.

The studios also deature a daily parade of Disney Film characters such as Mary Poppins as well as the well known cartoon characters Mickey and Donald, who play 'Follow the Leader' behind a little mechanical Nemo.

DISNEY VILLAGE:

The Disney village is where you will find all the after hours entertainment such as the Buffalo Bill Wild West show which I passed on as it cost about 50 euros each, an outdoor stage where there are often singers performing and a variety of restaurants, as well as a large Disney Store and Disney Art Gallery.

The Restaurant prices are extortionate to say the least with a standard main course costing about £20 euros per person. This may not sound like too much but if you are on a budget or have children with you this is very expensive. The Village also has a Planet Hollywood and a MacDonalds, plus several themed bars (Sport Bar, Country and Western) which also serve food.

The Disney Village Nightclub is called Hurricanes and opens from 11pm to 5am and is free to people staying at the Disney hotels.
I had planned to visit the club but after a day trekking about non stop an 11pm opening seemed a little late to me, so I can't give an opinion on the quality of the club.

The bars are a little pricey with a bottle of beer costing just over 5 euros, though I suppose it is about the same as a central London club or bar.

THE DISNEY EXPERIENCE:

All in all I would say this was a great experience. Even though there were not so many attractions for adults, the whole atmosphere makes you feel like you are part of something special and if you go with plenty of spending money so you can experience everything from the rides to the shows and restaurants, you would have a magical time.