40th Birthday Trip - Day 16 - Travel Day and Day 1 Disneyland Paris (Sept 29, 2025)

Today we got up really early to catch the train that AA booked in order to get to Disneyland at a decent amount of time left in the day rather than later in the afternoon.

We were out of the house at 6:18am, where we walked to the train station (a short 9 minute walk from our place). This was a much easier walk than when we got there, as it was all downhill, and we knew exactly where we were going. We didn’t want to be late, so we were a little early as our train didn’t leave till just an after 7 am.  

This was a little different than the last train, no assigned seats, but a better place to put our luggage (or maybe it was just less people when we got on).  We got our luggage on, found seats together, and away we went. We saw the sun set the night before, and we saw the sun rise the next morning…. It was sure early.  There was also a lot of fog in the fields. 

A few stops, and a lot of school kids got on the train.  It was packed, everyone with a large piece of luggage.  We were trying to figure out where they were going, and it ended up they all got off at a stop about half way, that seemed to have a boarding school or something like that.   The train was pretty fast, AA tracked it and it went just as fast as the bullet train in Japan.    Once we got to Le Mans, we transferred to a different train to get right to Disneyland.  We arrived just before 11am, tried to walk to the hotel, but couldn’t figure it out, so we waited for the bus to the hotel.

We arrived at Newport  Bay Club, and it was very noisy, as they were doing jack hammering at the entrance.  It was so loud that the workers were wearing ear protection.  Outside the hotel our luggage went through a X-ray machine.  We dropped our luggage off outside as well, to be taken to our hotel room. After we got all our luggage put in storage, we headed to the park.  It was about a 22 minute walk from the hotel to the park entrance, but you also go through security before entering the Disney Village with restaurants and shops.

We made it to Disneyland  park entrance by noon, and it was already decorated for Halloween!

We headed to Restaurant Hakuna Matata, which had awesome Lion King theming.  AA had to use his flashlight as it was a little dark, and we are all getting a little older (he was reading the ingredients).  T was very upset that our hotel meal plan made him order from the kids menu, and this was an issue the entire rest of the trip.   Lola got chicken, and the rest got pulled beef tacos.  The food was decent.  

We were all pretty tired, but wanted to make the most of our day, so we headed on some rides.  Up first was Pirates Of the Caribbean. MBM and DD had been here before, and remembered that the ride was a little different, so we were excited to ride it.  The kids have also watched the first 2 movies now, so it had a little different meaning for them.  It was many the best pirates we have been on, there is an extra section of ride that isn’t at the other parks we have been too.  We also enjoyed the gift shop, and the kids and DD bought some new Halloween and Jack Sparrow shirts. 

Up next we headed to fantasyland for Its a small world, (had only a 5 minute wait).  DD was excited to have his nap that usually happens on this ride.  We really enjoyed this version, and it is a toss up if it is our favourite or not.  The “buildings” in the different locations was super neat, and we all were so excited to see Canada.  It didn’t have any Disney characters, but some amazing country theming.   We recognized a lot of the “monuments”, and we have been lucky to have travel to a lot of places!

We thought DD was going to fall asleep forsure, but he stayed awake. 

Next we walked to see La Tinier du Dragon. It was a super neat section in the castle that you could see a dragon.  It would wake up and growl.  It was very well done, and super cool to watch.

At about 3:00pm, we headed to Phantom Manson.  DD and MBM also remembered this to be more “dark” than the others we had been on.  It was not Lolas’ favourite ride, but we did get stopped 3 times for people getting on and off, so maybe that is why she didn’t enjoy it.  MBM and DD were the only ones that really enjoyed it.  It was interesting that it wasn’t called Haunted Mansion like the rest we had been on, as well as it wasn’t “decorated” for Halloween.  We did enjoy the exit with all the tomb stones.

We decided to try and find our Snack Break, which was part of the hotel package, MBM and Lola were hoping to get some Pineapple Whip, but it wasn’t available yet. AA got a coffee and cookie, MBM and T tried the Churros.  AA said the cookie was good, but MBM and T did not like the Churros.  B tried it and said it tasted like grilled cheese. B was in a mood as all she wanted was a mickey bar, and it wasn’t included in the snacks.  

After the quick break we headed to hyperspace mountain, and to our surprise MBM decided to go on it.  The theming of this area was very interesting, as Tomorrowland was all Jules Verne based.  So it was a little weird as they “redid the rides like hyperspace mountain which is Star Wars themed” but the outside was based on the books.  We saw this theme in Japan, but there they still have the rides like 20,000 leagues under the sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. 

We got on the ride, and MBM was a little nervous as there was a sign when we walked on about going upside down.  T surprisingly was super pumped to go on the roller coaster, and that isn’t like him.  This was a very intense roller coaster, and MBM needed a hot minute after the ride, but she recovered pretty quickly, after DD got her some water, and she sat for a while.  T and B were pumped and loved the ride.  AA, DD, and Lola were unsure, it wasn’t very smooth, but was fun.

 

Since MBM needed a moment, AA and Lola went to a store in Tomorrowland.  AA got a stitch shirt and Lola was super excited about the Stitch ears she got, and they are Paris themed! 

We had a dinner reservation at Plaza Gardens Restaurant a Character Meal and Buffet.  Lola got a huge book that showed all the allergens in all the meals.  Lola studied it before she went to the buffet to see what she could eat.  It was really mostly about the milk that was what she was looking for as it is pretty clear what has gluten in it.  The kids agreed to participate in the character photos as it would make Lola happy.  MBM wasn’t as into it, as she was still trying to recover from the Hyperspace mountain experience.  The buffet was great, and the characters were awesome.  We have never felt such a sweaty character as Tigger.  He had so much energy.  We enjoyed the food, and got to meet, Minnie, Tigger, Eyore, Goofy, Mickey and Pluto.  Everyone was so excited about all the desserts, and DD was excited to find English bread pudding, and B with the chocolate fountain.

After supper, we headed back to the hotel as it has been a long day (we had been up for over 12 hours at this time, and a lot of steps.  We enjoyed the sun setting and took some photos by our hotel with our pumpkin, then checked into our hotel.  The lady was very slow at giving us all our stuff, but we finally made it to our room at 8:30pm.  The kids also took photos with Goofy in the lobby while we waited to get checked in.

We had 2 connecting rooms, the kids showered, the boys went for beer in the lounge.  B had a great time drawing mickeys on the shower door, and Lola had a good time with B blow drying her hair with the crazy blow dryer in the hotel.  Once the kids were in bed and the ladies  finished the Girl Scout stuff while enjoying hotel water.  The rest of us were in bed by 10:30pm.

We had a long but great day, but wow the weather was wonderful!  Sun is shining, and a great park day.

Cheers, Lola.