{the disney dream} disneyland park


The Disneyland Park is your quintessential Disney park, and for me, is always the one which holds the most charm. It IS Disney. It has the castle, it has the gorgeous old-fashioned Main Street USA, it has all the different themed 'lands' with all the different rides, you can watch shows, you can meet and greet the characters, it has the beautiful parades, it has the magical fireworks. It is what Disney is all about.


The 'Disney Magic on Parade' was absolutely enchanting. As long as I live I will never forget the excited look on the children's faces as they waved at all their favourite characters while screaming their names and clapping along. There was the moment when Rich spotted King Louis from The Jungle Book and turned into a little boy again for a few seconds. The moment when Minnie waved right back at our little man and I thought he might just combust. And the moment when having searched for Tinkerbell for the entire parade, our little missy spotted her cheekily waving out of the back of the very last float... she waved at her until she was completely out of sight.

And the nightly 'Disney Dreams' show is definitely not to be missed. A spectacle of music, light, lasers, water, projections and fireworks, all with the castle as the backdrop; it is an utterly magical way to finish the day. Until our Disney holiday, our children have never been to a proper fireworks display (poor deprived children, I know!) and my goodness did the get a heck of an introduction. It was St Patrick's Day while we were away, so they had put on extra St Paddy's fireworks which was an extra special treat. 'Disney Dreams' is breathtaking... even Rich said as much, which is praise indeed. It's a walk through your old favourite movies, and the technology that creates it is amazing.

We were lucky to have five days at Disneyland, and of those days we visited Disneyland Park on four of them. It is packed full of things which are age appropriate for younger children and our two quickly found favourite rides which they would ask to visit as soon as we handed over our tickets and walked through the turnstiles each day. "The tricky-tocky boat ride" also known as It's A Small World was a firm favourite with the beautiful boy (which made a certain Mummy very emotional, because it has always been one of my favourites too and it was amazing to see him so in love with it). The beautiful girl had a massive soft spot for Mad Hatters Tea Cups... which is kind of what you think of when you think of Disneyland Park I think, so she clearly has good taste. The Buzz Lightyear ride deserves a mention, simply because I don't think I've ever seen my two boys have as much fun as they did shooting targets together while riding through neon world. Meeting Rapunzel was a highlight for me, mainly because it was such a big exciting moment for our little lady, I've never seen her so excited, so enchanted; she's more naturally cautious of the unfamiliar, but she strolled up to Rapunzel and threw her arms around her, asked her where Pascal was and then basically hardly took her eyes off her the whole time we were with her. So much of our time there deserves special mention for one reason or another, we made amazing memories in that park which I know we will never forget.

 ^ giddy excitement at all times is kind of requirement
 ^ yes I'm wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt.. yes this is pretty much compulsory
 ^ you'd never have guessed it was her favourite ride, would you?
 ^ not sure what the two of them were doing, but it was a cute little moment
^ happy smiles all around

If you missed my first Disneyland post, then you can find it here. And there is lots more still to come, so apologies for all the holiday spam.

35 comments

  1. Aw the last photo reminds me of my times when I was a kid and had a photo taken with Minnie mouse.

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    1. It's lovely how Disney is so full of memories for people like that. I'm so glad we made some as a family. x

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  2. Brilliant, I love the teacups and the carasol is my fave.
    I love that you all dressed Mickey'ed up, I bought all Mickey and Minnie for the kids on our trip, for me it is a must x

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    1. The carousel was a firm favourite with the little man too. And I agree completely... it's all about Mickey and Minnie for us too. x

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  3. Ah my gosh I would love to go there, the childrens faces must be so beautiful to see and one you will never ever forgot.

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  4. This is so lovely Lucy. You can really feel the magic of disney through your pictures. I've never been myself, but I'd love to one day take Ethan when he's a little older. x

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    1. The place is just bursting with magic... which I know sounds very cheesy, but it really is true. x

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  5. Miss C loved the teacups and the flying dumbos. I'm so jealous you got to meet Rapunzel. She was the one Princess we didn't get to meet whilst there. x

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    1. We had many requests for the Dumbo ride, as the children had seen it on the television, but sadly it was closed while we were there as they are completely refurbishing it. And we queued for ages to meet Rapunzel, rather than heading to the Princess Pavillion (where the queues were even longer) because Rapunzel is such a firm favourite of ours... it was definitely the right choice. x

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  6. Oh they really found the magic didn't they! We want to take our lot to Disney when they're just a smidge bigger so that Pip can join in and I think we might try Paris, I've been to Florida twice but as I have ended up in hospital on both occasions, the first of which was getting appendicitis on my honeymoon I have flat out refused to ever go there again!! But my girls love the princesses and I think they'd have a blast judging by the happy smiles on your two!

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    1. They did! I've never seen them so permanently smiley and full of magic. It's definitely worth waiting until Pip can enjoy it too, and Paris is a lot easier to get to (and slightly smaller to get around) which makes it perfect for little ones. x

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  7. The magic of Disney. I grew up going to Disneyland in California and just can not wait to share it with my children in the future. It is truly is the "happiest place" on earth. Lots of beautiful photos and memories.

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    1. I think it's definitely one of those things where, if you've experienced that magic as a kid, you're desperate to pass it on to your own kids. x

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  8. Great post. I can't wait to bring my kids here! How old do you think they should be when we take them? They are 4 months and 3 now so too young I guess!?

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    1. My littlest is 2, and I wouldn't really think they'd get much out of it any younger than that, so maybe in a couple of years would be a great time. x

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  9. Ah this is so lovely and I love all their little outfits. I can only imagine how magical it is with little ones! I can't wait to take mine someday! xx

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    1. If you can't wear cheesy character clothes in Disneyland, then where can you? I decided to break all my own rules about dressing them in character stuff and they absolutely LOVED it. Hehe. x

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  10. Another lovely post Lucy! Beautiful (of course) picts of your little sin their MM tops. Marnie loved the teacups too and yes hubby LOVED Buzz lightyear! xx

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    1. I think Buzz Lightyear is definitely one of those rides for all ages, something for everyone... especially big kid daddies!!! x

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  11. OH Lucy this is so beautiful glad you had such a great time. I can't wait to take my two kids there. I will keep all these magical rides in mind for them too. You all deserved such a wonderful trip. I bet it was a little emotional BB picking your fav ride as his. I love when they do that kind of stuff. Looks like the weather was beautiful too. I love Disney. Hope you said hello to America for me. ;)

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    1. Hahaha, we weren't in America lovely, I wish. We went to the Disneyland in Paris... much nearer and easier for the littles and the parks are smaller too, which is nice with preschoolers. It was all so amazing though, and we could have been in America as it feels so much like the American ones. x

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  12. One word...TWINS! They have really never looked so much like twins before, I love it.
    It looks like you had such a lovely time. And I am in agreement about the Buzz Lightyear ride. We loved that one too xx

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    1. Hahaha, we had a LOT of people assume they were twins while we were away. I think the matching t-shirts on one day didn't really help, but they looked too cute. And Buzz is definitely a great one for big and little kids alike. x

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  13. Amazing! what lovely memories built here for you guys xx

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    1. Oh we did... amazing ones to last us a lifetime. It was so special. x

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  14. What gorgeous photo's , you all look so happy. I adore Disneyland it really is the most magical place on earth for children and adults alike. Sounds like you had such an amazing time x

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    1. It's just magic, isn't it? We were all grinning like cheshire cats the whole time we were there. x

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  15. Oh my days those photos. Just gorgeous. We're off to Disneyland, Paris in may and these photos just made me even MORE excited. #Mummyandme

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    1. You're going to have the best time you lucky things. Say hi to Mickey from me. x

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  16. Awwww you really are building my excitement Lucy. I must email your posts to Mr H. I just read back a couple of comments about breaking your own rules regarding dressing them in character clothes. I have that rule too but despite wanting to do so Mr H is currently saying no. Booo. I am still working on him! I fancy a top or two and some ears! Eek x x

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    1. You wait until he's there. Rich was ADAMANT he wasn't wearing anything with characters on, and he ended up picking up a t-shirt once we were there without a single prompt from me. You get swept away in it once you're there. x

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  17. Awww your photos are making me exceedingly jealous but also bringing back some very fond memories of my childhood. We visited Disneyland in Paris a few times and it is just such a magical and enchanting place, for adults as well as kids. Looks like you guys made some incredible memories xxx
    Love From Mummy - UK Parenting Lifestyle Blog

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    1. I think thats why it was so amazing for me, a mixture of bringing back my childhood memories and seeing the children make their own ones. It's nostalgia and excitement and magic all wrapped up in one place. x

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  18. I love your pictures and Disneyland pictures just make them extra amazing! Thank you for linking up #mummyandme x

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