DISNEYLAND PARIS

The kids want to go to Disneyland, mum wants to go to Paris, and dad wants to turn the trip into a booze cruise! This is the scenario that many families face when planning a trip to France from the UK. With a bit of careful planning we discovered how to do all of these things with the minimum amount of driving, in the minimum amount of time, and with the minimum amount of stress.

The kids wanted to travel by Le Shuttle and go through the channel tunnel, an ideal start for a dad who gets seasick on a canal boat. So we drove to Folkstone, caught the fast, efficient Le Shuttle, and where having lunch in Lille by 2.30pm, purrfect!. To keep our driving to a minimum and avoid the stressful option of driving in Paris, we decided to use the beautiful city of Lille as our base, also finding accommodation is much easier and cheaper. After a visit to the tourist office, we were directed to the Hotel Premiere in the village of Seclin on the outskirts of Lille. They gave us a very reasonably priced room with shower/toilet and television to sleep four people, plus a good continental breakfast with gallons of coffee, half price for the kids and they had a choice of cereals.

So after a good breakfast, it's time to head for Lille central station and board the super Eurostar train that goes directly to the Marne la Vallee Chessy station, in the heart of Disneyland village. We arrived at 9.15am and booked to catch the 9pm return train to Lille, giving us almost twelve hours at Disneyland Paris, Europe's most spectacular theme park. This may be home to Mickey Mouse, but this is no Mickey Mouse resort, the kids where gobsmacked! Here they where about to experience a magical melting pot where Disney has mixed in make-believe and charm, entertainment and innovation, creativity and technology, and created the Disney version of 'never-never' land.

The children will be ready for take-off by now, but my advice at this stage is to study a map of the theme park and plan your route. Some of the most popular rides have height restrictions, usually 105cm or 140cm, so always check your smaller children against the measure board before you start queuing. You will find long queues for some of the most popular rides, but the wait will be worthwhile when you experience the high-speed thrill adventures of the amazing Space Mountain rocket train that shoots skyward before hurtling down into a dark universe full of asteroids and meteor showers; and the runaway mine train that careers through the bowels of Big Thunder Mountain, or the boat ride that cascades over waterfalls and through the secret caves and tunnels of Adventure Isle. Younger children can enjoy meeting the many Disney characters that tour the park, or seeing the parades and shows. There’s also a great active play area in the Indian Village, but note that this is not supervised.

When you get hungry, there's an excellent selection of themed restaurants, cafe's, fast-food bars, buffets, sandwich bars, ice-cream and pizza parlours within the park to cater for all tastes. Also, the Disney Village has a range of bars and restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and some excellent shows. As an alternative you can do as we did and opt for relative peace and quiet by catching the free bus from the village to the nearby lake complex, here you can get a superb alfresco lunch on the lakeside terrace.

After an afternoon of sampling more of the white-knuckle rides that provide endless thrills for the kids, big and small, we all agreed that one day at Disneyland with all the hype, ratamataz, walking and queuing is enough. The children were fast asleep before the train left the station and we headed back to the peace and quiet of our hotel in Lille. Next we can plan the rest of our time to include exploring the treasures of Lille and a train journey to Paris and/or Brussels before embarking on the journey home, via the booze markets of Calais of course!

Useful information:

The theme park is open 365 days a year, but opening times vary by season.
Check the website for further details.

Disneyland Paris www.disneylandparis.com
Eurostar & Le Shuttle www.eurostar.com
Lille Tourist Office www.lilletourisme.com

email: info@gowithkids.com