When I first started blogging over a decade ago I kept a travel journal and wrote all my entries like a diary. I love reading back on these posts because they mean something to me! So for my time in Disneyland Paris this week i’m going back to my roots with some diary entries and sharing our experience of Disney with our toddler as she celebrates her 2nd birthday!

So let’s start right at the beginning with the journey..

Manchester Airport here we come

Matching Disney outfits on. Minnie nails painted. Mouse ears packed. Princess gowns complete with hangers check. We are good to go!

We hopped in the car (30 minutes later than we wanted to set off as per usual) and headed for Jetparks 3 at Manchester Airport. Hilda nodded off in the car.. Perks of a midday flight time! At least we got one element of the planning right there. Unfortunately not for as long as we would have liked so I had to bribe her with snacks as we drove.

Our flight was due to depart at 14.25 with Easyjet from Terminal 1 and in true OCD fashion we were aiming to be at the airport 3 hours before. As we pulled in to the parking lot that we’ve used many times over the last few years we were surprised to find the place absolutely rammed. Cars were parked on double yellows it was super tight on every turn! After driving around for 15 minutes we started wondering if we were ever going to even find a space. I’ve never seen it like this before and we were flying on a Sunday outside of half term so I’ve no idea why it was so busy! After finally parking up, we headed for the bus stop. Anxiety kicking in I started to worry that the bus wouldn’t come for us. The airport parking is weird at MAN, you don’t pop by an office you just stand at one of the many many bus stops and hope somebody notices you there. At this point we were pushing half 12 and my anxiety about missing the plane was starting to kick in as always.

We felt very rushed but managed to cart our 500 bags on to the bus and 15 minutes later we were checking in. Thank God security was quiet. I always remember after covid us getting stuck in a queue for an hour JUST to get TO security!! Not check-in, actually a line to get to the security line.. Imagine that! It has got much better since then at MAN thankfully.

We made it through security quickly but sadly had very minimal time to enjoy the airport. It was a shame because Terminal 1 has a brand new free kids play area and I was looking forward to letting Hilda explore it. We gave her 5 minutes before noticing our flight was boarding and having to pull her away.

Annoyingly we then sat at the gate for a good 30 minutes doing nothing. That is the problem with Manchester Airport, they lead you to your gate and have you sit there unknowingly waiting forever and you can’t go off because the fear of them boarding you without you realising kicks in. We once sat in this same gate area for a 5 hour delay! I was heavily pregnant and managed okay but the thought of doing it with a toddler fills me with a lot more dread that’s for sure!

We set up what we like to call a floor picnic. Our daughter loves to sit on a blanket wherever we pop it so this time it was time for airport snacks!

After food and a run around we finally boarded and took our seats together. Now that our daughter has turned 2 this means she’s old enough for her own seat! Her first flight as a child and not an infant! This flight was 10x easier than flying with her at 16 months on our honeymoon. Not only was it a much shorter flight but her age and having her own seat played a crucial part in it being more bearable. The time of the flight helped too as she wasn’t too tired or disorientated.

On the plane we met a little girl sat behind us who was en-route to Disney too. Her mum told us she kept the surprise a secret for months and only told her this morning. They were so excited. I could hear the girl ask her mum a few times if they were really going to Disneyland or if it was all a prank. Going to Disneyland is such an incredible once in a lifetime trip to so many people, sometimes you forget how special it can be! The little girl had fun playing with our Hilda and she even drew her a picture that we kept and took home with us. It was all very cute and made us even more excited to get there.

When we finally landed we didn’t know where we were going. The signposting was terrible! But the saving grace was the trolleys were free to use so we were able to pile our bags up and push the pram at the same time far easier. We walked for what felt like miles in this huge airport because I knew the train only took a few minutes to take us directly to Disney. Annoyingly we finally made it to find the whole train network on strike all weekend! No trains running at all. This was mega frustrating because we then had to walk all the way back to where we started to take a bus. On a normal day this would be far simpler but just like England with all it’s strike action we found ourselves caught in this predicament. I’m just glad we made it before the last shuttle stopped! All the walking did send Hilda to sleep and we at least didn’t have to deal with a tantrum at the same time.

On to the Magical Shuttle we hopped. At a whopping 45m-60m (120 sometimes in traffic) we were not looking forward to this option. Especially given that it costs around the same as the train! I’d even been told by a Disney cast member to take the train instead of this shuttle so I did my best to avoid it. Luck wasn’t on our side but i’m glad we at least made it out of CDG. 45 minutes later we were pulling up to our hotel around 7pm ready for dinner and a much needed lay down!

And so begins our Disney adventure.. To be continued!

~ Visited Disneyland Paris June 2025 ~