My trip to Disneyland Paris!

As a pre-birthday getaway, my sister and I decided to take a trip to Disneyland Paris. I had never been to this Disney Park and was excited to tick another worldwide location of Disney magic off my list.

Here are my favourite locations and a guide to exploring Disneyland Paris.


Hotel Cheyenne, Disneyland Paris.

We stayed in Hotel Cheyenne, one of the many themed hotels right next to the Disneyland parks. This hotel was western themed, with subtle decor based on the Toy Story characters Woody and Jessie. This hotel is one of the cheaper hotels offered to guests wanting to stay near the parks, and in my opinion it was definitely worth it for the money.

We didn't get a chance to eat at the hotel restaurant, as we learnt that you need to make reservations there beforehand. So if you want dinner at the hotels, don't forget to book!

Disneyland Park.

This is the main theme park at Disneyland Paris, with Walt Disney Studios Park just next door. The park is home to the iconic Sleeping Beauty castle and a lot of the 'younger' rides, such as Peter Pan, It's A Small World and Dumbo The Flying Elephant. The ride times are normally no longer than an hour, but most rides have Fast Pass machines outside them, meaning you can be allocated a later time to return to the ride, without having to wait in a cue. Another way to skip queue times is to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, offered to every guest staying in one of the Disney themed hotels!

It enables you to arrive early to the park and go on your favourite attractions queue free!

Sleeping Beauty Castle.

A lot of visitors to Disneyland Paris don't realise that there are two secret attractions hiding within Sleeping Beauty's castle.

If you enter the castle and take the stairs up to the next level, there are beautiful stained glass windows and other ornamental features that tell the story of Sleeping Beauty. There is also a walkway around the back of the castle which enables you to get a great birds-eye view of the south side of the park!

There is also a hidden cave to the left of the castle, which takes you underground to Malificent's lair, where an incredible dragon hides, awakening to roar to the crowds.

Walt Disney Studios Park.

In the Walt Disney Studios Park, there is a lot more focus on adult rides and attractions for Disney fans of an older age group. The most popular ride being the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster by Aerosmith, also a ride at Walt Disney World Florida.

As it is a smaller park, there is less to do, however I did make an effort to make a dinner reservation at the Rataouille themed restaurant, Bistrot Chez Remy. It is one of the more pricey restaurants at Disneyland Paris, but has a wonderful menu of gourmet style food and delivers an experience that makes you feel as small as a rat with its incredible decor.

Overall I loved my experience at Disneyland Paris, however it was pretty expensive at the parks to eat and buy souvenirs, and is a lot smaller than Florida's parks. I am definitely glad I've been and would love to return soon!

Goals for 2018.

After a week of settling into the new year, I thought it would be a good idea to sit and think about what I actually want to achieve this year. From keeping fit to keeping note, here are some tasks I'm going to attempt to upkeep for more than a couple months.

Take better care of myself.

After coming home from university last summer, it really hit me how in awful condition my body was. I had gained a ton of weight, my skin wasn't in the best condition due to my psoriasis, my roots were growing out and my eating habits were enough to make you feel ill.

Now i'm home, those days of takeaway every day (yes, some weeks that really is what I did) are far behind - it would be amazing to go the whole year without a single McDonalds, KFC or Pizza Hut, but I don't know how well that will pan out! At least for January, that is the aim. So far, so good! I also want to up my fitness levels, so maybe joining a class is something I'll consider.

I also need to keep on top of moisturising, exfoliating, all that jazz. Having psoriasis, an incurable skin condition which makes my skin dry and patchy, I need to keep my skin hydrated and taken care of, otherwise I start to look like an unfinished puzzle.. And in doing so, I also need to drink more water! I'm terrible when it comes to drinking water, so maybe I'll invest in a snazzy water bottle that will make me want to drink it.

Make more memories with my friends.

Having an 'adult' lifestyle means I hardly see my friends as we're always working, but this year I hope to make more of an effort to get out and live my life on the occasion i'm not working. I won't bail on plans like I used to - as much as my bed is comfy, my friends are also just as important. There's no point staying in, otherwise that's all I'll remember when i'm grey and old.

Visit the theatre more.

I recently got to see the incredible Aladdin at the Prince Edward theatre on the west end, and it has sparked my old love for musicals and all things stagey. When I was younger, my mum would always try her hardest to make sure we went to the theatre every so often, and I'm so glad she did. It's such an underrated experience - yes it can be pricey, but you're never disappointed with the show, its part of London culture and you always leave in a great mood. As much as I'm a cinema buff and love going to watch movies, musicals on stage with live music and live singing, dancing and acting is just that much more immersive and heartfelt.

Work hard, apply hard!

I've recently got my degree in multimedia journalism, but I am yet to get my break in the industry. I'm keeping on top of my writing and editing skills with this blog in the meantime, but I would love to land my first journalism job by the end of the year. I currently work in retail, but it's not where my heart lies. Or what I studied for three years for!

And mostly, this year I need to be happy and have the confidence in myself I used to have. Losing someone you gave so much of yourself to is actually draining of your own worth and happiness. I need to build it up again and be myself. Love will come around when I've learnt to love myself.