De-hydrated, broke and my shoulders hurt.... BUT I'M DELERIOUS!!!:-)

Yes, as you can see from the picture, I've been to Eurodisney!!!

Myself, my five and a half year old son and herself set off early on monday morning for Dublin Airport and after an hour and ten minutes in the air, we landed in Beauvais airport Paris. Now my friends, what Ryanair DON'T tell you is that Beauvais is about an hours drive from Disneyland so with this in mind, I booked an airport shuttle to take us to our destination.

So...... we arrived at The New York Hotel just after 2PM and the first thing we noticed was the smell of smoke in the lobby. The French are quite obviously reluctant to embrace the smoking ban and as a non smoker this was a tad bit annoying but hey, it was a minor irritant. Our room was lovely though and my son was fascinated by the fact there was a phone in the bathroom! He thought it would be fun to call his mother from the bathroom phone but I think the excitement of being in Disneyland diverted his attention from the phone:-)

As we walked out the back door of the hotel to walk towards Disney Village, we noticed a go - kart track in front of us. Little did we know that this would be all my son would want to go on throughout the time we were there but we didn't mind, it was his holiday after all. He's absolutely besotted with cars, trains, trucks etc so this was right up his street. He scared the living daylights out of the two guys that were looking after the karts by wizzing around the track at a speed that would get him penalty points over here! Well, not quite but he was delighted with himself:-)

Up to Disneyland then for a ride on the Disney train around the park which we waited over an hour for and then a ride on the Mark Twain boat and then down to Planet Hollywood for something to eat. More Go-Karting (bless him:-) and then to bed where we were all asleep once the lights went off. A long but wonderful first day:-)

We began tuesday with a swim in the hotel pool followed by lunch at the Cafe Mickey. Now this is definitely the place to bring the kids for food as Mickey and friends come around to meet and greet everybody, sign autographs and pose for photos. I knew himself approved when he asked to go back for breakfast the following morning. As with all activities in the Disney complex, be prepared for the shock of the cost. Fish and chips for myself and herself, pizza for himself and water for us all cost 65 euro!

From there it was onto a rip around in some racing cars (naturally:-) some space rockets and a great laugh in the buzz lightyear ride. Himself insisted on spinning us around in our space craft while we both tried to shoot down all the enemies. I've never laughed so much in my life:-) More Go-Karting to follow (you saw that coming:-) and up to our room where we ordered room service which himself thought was the best thing ever! I think that's why he polished off his cheese sandwiches, the first meal I had managed to get him to finish since we arrived there!

We went for a walk around the Disney Village on tuesday evening and spent a small fortune on gifts and treats for everybody. Herself is a Disney fanatic and delighted in buying bobbles for our christmas tree and for her sisters. How much for all this? Best not ask:-) My son was chuffed with himself as he walked away with various toys which I'm sure he's forgotten about by now and some gifts for all his friends.

We flew back then on wednesday morning laughing about Beauvais airport as it's more like a runway in someone's back garden! We boarded the plane from a marquee set up just off the runway!!! I should have taken a picture but if you're heading out there soon you'll see what I mean:-)

In summing up, mega expensive, mega hot owing to temperature soaring above 30 degrees but by gosh it was so worth it. It's a world of magic for children and sitting on a carousel watching the look of excitement on my sons face as all the Disney classics played in the background brought tears to my eyes. If you're a parent you'll know that special feeling that only your children can bring you. It's something that I will never forget.

Oh, my shoulders? You try carrying a five and a half year old around on your shoulders! Not recommended:-)