This morning we woke up ready for the second breakfast of our Disneyland Paris trip this summer; We had something very special planned for this visit. Unable to decide whether to book breakfast at the brand new Regal View Restaurant or enjoy a morning in Cinderella’s Castle I just had to book both of them! Our two year old was about to turn three and I knew the moment she did, we wouldn’t want to pay the prices that come along with taking a paying child!

So today was the day we’d be heading to Disneyland Park bright and early for our 8:15am sitting at Auberge de Cendrillon. We had our outfits planned as usual but still managed to be running late for our breakfast. We entered the park past 8:15 in a little rush trying to make it to the restaurant in time. We had planned to get there early so we could take photos in the park before all the guests entered and luckily we still managed to do this. We couldn’t go overboard this time as all the castle was being renovated and the bridge was closed. Whilst it wasn’t ideal, I actually quite like how unique the photos turned out because it’s not very often the walls will be up.

Auberge de Cendrillon is a restaurant located just behind Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and it’s supposed to be like walking in to Cinderella’s Castle. It was the first time we’d ever visited and I was blown away. The decor inside was so pretty and it really felt special. I was actually excited about breakfast!

It was super fancy for our first meal of the day. We sat down, played musical chairs with our 3 year old, Hilda, a few times then tucked in to our breakfast. We each chose to order the same thing (none-vegetarian) and were presented with a selection of pastries that Hilda tucked into. You don’t have to tell her twice when food is involved!

The first character to visit our table was Mickey Mouse in his royal attire. It was the first time Hilda had seen him all trip and she was a little shy. The interaction was very cute with him sitting next to her and holding her hand. He looked so fancy in his royal clothes and the whole experience felt really special.

When you do these character interactions, besides Mickey, you never know who you are going to meet. That element is really exciting! So we sat with anticipation wondering which two princesses we might encounter. It’s quite likely that you’ll meet Cinderella due to it being her restaurant and I had a hunch we’d get Sleeping Beauty too as she’s seen a lot at breakfast and thankfully I was right!

Hilda was really happy about this because her favourite princess is Aurora. I have no idea why because we are not big lovers of the Sleeping Beauty movie but I think it’s purely because she has a pink dress and what little girl doesn’t love pink? She has talked about meeting Princess Aurora every day since and i’m so glad we made this memory for her. She even had a pink Sleeping Beauty hair bobble with her that she showed her upon meeting. It was all very cute!

We were on such a high from our beautiful start to the day. The whole restaurant was really quiet and we were amongst the last to leave. It wasn’t rushed at all and we had lots of time to enjoy the experience.

One thing that sticks in my mind is meeting a young girl who was sat next to us on a table of her own. She was by herself and appeared a little reserved but reminded me of some of the neurodivergent people I have met during my travels. I offered to take her photos and sent her a few pictures of her meeting the princesses that I took on my own phone too when she didn’t manage to pass me hers. She was really sweet and I don’t know what brought her to sitting in that restaurant experiencing that alone but I hope she had the most amazing trip. She said it was her first time at Disneyland Paris and she was there for a whole week! I’ll always remember being sent to a character breakfast at Plaza Gardens through work and feeling so awkward sitting alone having all the characters come meet me. I hope she enjoyed the experience more than my first time and that she went on to have a great day!

After we left the restaurant we headed to the courtyard where we saw Cinderella’s carriage for the first time. Such a pretty place to sit and admire all the scenery. Right outside the main castle I bet this often goes unnoticed to anyone who hasn’t eaten here.

As we came out there was a big line of diners waiting for their 9:45am breakfast reservation. I was glad we got the early slot – Another perk of staying at an on-site Disney Hotel like Sequoia Lodge.

We walked past all the people and ventured to the sword in the stone which sat unoccupied. Normally there is a queue of people waiting to test their strength. I’ve never done this before but seeing the sword so tempting we decided to go try our luck! Of course we weren’t the chosen ones but Hilda really tried to get that sword out!

Being in Fantasyland we knew we were in the best place for all the fun rides that are great for small children. This is one of our favourite lands as Hilda can ride every attraction and there is always loads to do! The queues aren’t too long because they aren’t big thrill rides and if you plan your day right you can jump on most back-to-back.

Our first stop was the teacups because there was a very small queue. We also love this ride because it’s pretty inside and a good laugh.

Next up was It’s a Small World. Probably my favourite ride after Pirates! I love this simple ride for so many reasons. The animatronics are ace, the concept is beautiful and the song will get stuck in your head for life. My memory of this ride will always be riding it for the first time with our daughter as an infant. She didn’t say many words back then but she pointed to the children and said ‘dancing babies’. She gripped my hand tightly as we sailed around in our boat because it was her first ever ride at Disneyland Paris and it was probably all such an incredible sight to see. Returning to this ride a year later she enjoyed spotting the animals and pointing out all the different countries.

After a quick costume change into something more comfortable we had time for one more ride before the parade so we headed up to Le Pays des contes de fees. This is another little boat ride that sails around various lands of Disney and Pixar.

Unlucky for us, the boat ended up stopping for a short while. Normally this wouldn’t matter so much but when you know the parade starts soon and you want a good spot you’re cutting it fine!

We left the ride but found it difficult to get a spot so close to the parade start time. We headed towards the castle and settled for the best we could get. It wasn’t really worth watching from here so we’ve learnt our lesson and will grab a curbside spot next time!

After our disappointing view of the parade we wandered over to Adventureland since we weren’t too far away and Indiana Jones was showing low wait times. A quick jump in the single rider line saw me in and out within 10 minutes. This one is great because there is a viewing spot so Hilda can watch us ride and be very confused why we are whizzing around a track without her.

Obviously we have to take it in turns and ride solo but Disney have this fatastic offer for parents called Rider Swap or something along those lines. They let you queue for the ride then obtain a password or card for the other parent to return through the Premier Line. It’s a great way to ride without both having to queue twice. It’s on of the main reasons I was happy to visit with a young child as I didn’t feel like we’d be missing out unable to ride anything.

After a wander around Adventureland, we whipped out the bubble wand we’d brought over from the UK. I’d heard through Disney Facebook groups to bring your own and save some pennies. This was probably a good hack because I paid £5 for ours in The Works and in the parks they are 35 euros. I knew with Hilda’s love of bubbles she’d be asking for one the moment she saw one so I thought ahead. I never actually considered what fantastic photo opportunities they would make either.

Not only did she love walking with the bubbles trailing behind her. She had a lot of fun showing others her bubbles and even the characters! But best of all, I loved some of the photos we got of us in front of the castle and I felt the bubbles really added to these.

Thanks to another fantastic Virtual Queue, i’d managed to get us a spot to meet Mickey Mouse in his own venue. Some may even say it was Mickey Mouse’s house perhaps! It sure felt like it belonged to him. I’ve never been in here before in my life and during our visit in 2025 this was closed. So we had no idea what to expect.

We entered the meet early afternoon and were placed in a queue behind only a couple of families. The virtual queues are fantastic now because you really don’t have to wait in-person for long at all. The place was exciting and decorated like a theatre with cinema-style seats and movies throughout. I remember artwork of Mickey Mouse and friends. I didn’t take many photos because we moved through so quickly but I assume there once was a time you’d queue in here for a very long time.

We really enjoyed this meet. There is something about seeing classic Mickey Mouse that just feels special. Even though we’d met him this morning in his royal attire this felt completely different. The decor was pretty and it had a different feel to it. The photos we got from this experience are amongst my favourites too!

After meeting Mickey we’d already had enough excitement for one day. How is it possible to do so much in one day and it barely be past lunchtime? So we decided to take a well-earned rest. We popped Hilda in her pram to get to the exit quickly and we knew she’d have a good chance of napping as we walked – We were right. It wasn’t long before she was fast asleep and we were debating what to do with our new found freedom. We’d already left the park so we headed towards our hotel room at the Sequoia Lodge. We decided it might be a good time to stop for a drink at Marvel Hotel next door but after sitting down, studying the menu and noticing they didn’t serve alcohol in this part, we gave up. Whilst the drinks looked amazing, we just didn’t fancy something milky so we decided to save our money and head to our room instead.

Sequoia Lodge is in the middle of a major refurb. The room that we stayed in last year is no longer bookable as they are doing up all the lodges. This means a big portion of the hotel grounds are closed off. I must admit, it didn’t feel as nice as our trip in 2025. We really missed being able to walk through the forest and enjoy the shaded stroll during the heatwave. Thankfully this time it was much cooler so we didn’t miss this too much. We also had a room in the main hotel due to the renovations so we barely went outside. On this occassion we decided to take a stroll around the renovations to see what we could see and we enjoyed some peaceful tranquility for a while. It’s really hard to believe such a beautiful hotel exists within a place like Disneyland. Sometimes it’s nice to just get away from the chaos.

Whilst at the hotel, we put on our last costume change of the day. This is the outfit i’d put the most effort into as we all synchronised. I wore cream harem pants like Aladdin, inititally bought because I liked them – Not because I planned to Disneybound! I wore a Jasmine T-Shirt with them and Hilda put her Princess Jasmine costume on. I even got my husband in a Genie T-shirt too! I never set out for us all to wear Aladdin gear but it was too easy. We were heading to Agrabah Cafe for dinner and it just made sense!

Before dinner, i’d spotted an Aladdin Character meet on the map. You never know which character you’re going to get and I was hoping for Genie or Jafar. I had no idea it would be a face character and we were surprised to be faced with Aladdin! Another to tick off the list and another i’ll never know what conversation was had between the character and Hilda haha.. All part of the memory.

The rest of the evening was filled with more new adventures. With the Castle under renovation it forced us into walking ways we wouldn’t normally go. Seeing the Castle at different angles and taking photos I’ve not taken before. I have some new favourites and really enjoyed seeing a different side to the park.

We had just enough time before dinner to jump on Le Carrousel de Lancelot. This is a ride i’ve always avoided because you can ride a carrousel anywhere! But what I didn’t realise is that Hilda was actually fine riding on the horses here as long as an adult stood by her. She’s never been given this option at UK theme parks because of her height. So this was a brand new first for us and it was such a lovely experience. I’m so glad we went on this. I had a lot of fun as you can see!

We even got to see Smee and Hook walk by whilst we were in the queue. Smee noticed my husbands beard and had to compliment him on the way past!

I will write a review for Agrabah Cafe at some stage. It is probably our favourite buffet across all the parks and resorts. We love the atmosphere at Agrabah and the food is Moroccon which means it’s not your boring beige fast food. We like the setting and the desserts are amongst my favourite things to eat in the whole place! We had another fantastic meal this time around just like last year and we’d definitely return. This time we were seated in the streets of Agrabah and we had our own little private section for our table. It was really perfect.

When we finally emerged from dinner in Agrabah the weather had got really poor. It was time to fish out the waterproofs and wrap up for the evening! Night was falling so it could only mean one thing…Phantom Manor. What better time to ride the Haunted House indoors than on an eerie stormy evening before nightfall.

This ride is a whole lot of fun but truth be told we weren’t sure how our daughter would feel going on a scary ride. When she had just turned two she went on here and didn’t flinch but as she gets older she is definitely becoming more aware of what’s occurring. I thought she might get scared and I think she did a little but not enough because she ended the ride asking to go on it again.. Of course she tantrummed straight after because my husband picked her up off the revolving belt so she wouldn’t end up falling. She cried so badly that all the people around us thought she was scared of the ghosts! Oops..

The weather was well and truly dire for a summer evening. We wandered around the parks for a while and came across Adventure Isle. Narrow pathways weaving in and around caves and providing great shelter from the rain. We had a lot of fun exploring these and we’d never done this before! Hilda enjoyed searching for pirates and it was super quiet as the rain had scared a lot of the park visitors away.

Now that we’d reached Adventureland, it was time to go on a classic – Pirates of the Caribbean! One of our absolute favourite rides with barely ever a queue to wait in. We love seeing the photo at the end too because of Hilda’s face the first time we ever took her on. Now we aim to beat it every time. We had a great time again and came away with a photo to add to our collection.

After our Pirates boat ride, we emerged to find the clouds had cleared and the sun was back! This time we were heading for Casey Jr a circus train themed like the movie Dumbo. A real classic for children and one they all love. Or at least I thought so.. We boarded the train and the fear was unreal. Pirates? No problem. Phantom Manor spooky ghosts? No sweat! Giant Parachute Drop from the sky? Bring it on! Kiddy train that rides around animals – Terrifying.

The fear was real.

I won’t laugh, she was really scared. But of all the rides to be afraid of… Well I guess not everything always makes sense.

Luckily for us, she did the usual and left the ride with only one word – Again! This time, with no queue, we were able to jump straight back on and she rode the ride for a second time, completely terrified. I won’t try and understand it.. Toddlers ey?

An evening stroll led us round to Discoveryland where we enjoyed some more firsts. We learnt that Hilda was finally tall enough for Orbitron but it could only seat two. So whilst my husband and daughter queued for this one I had a sneaky go on Space Mountain. We timed it perfectly because as I came off my ride, I got a text to say they were about to board. I legged it across the land to make it just in time to watch them both zoom around the globe.

Space Mountain was a great rollercoaster and my husband got to ride this straight afterwards using the parent switch whilst I got Hilda changed into something more comfortable. The temperature had definitely dropped and we had plans to spend our evening watching the show in the other park whilst it was dry.

Some quick pics in Discoveryland before we left Disneyland Park for the day!

We were heading back to Adventure World. That’s every day of our trip so far which is a real improvement on previous visits where there hasn’t been nearly enough to do there even with only one day.

This time we were going to watch the brand new Cascade of Lights show! I had heard this was amazing and I can’t say that it wasn’t but was I impressed? Not really. The disadvantage of having a travel background like mine is you’ve seen everything and I mean everything.. A show projected on the water by light? Saw it at Yorkshire Wildlife Park last Christmas! Ok, how about a Disney show projected on water by light combined with fireworks? Actually, yes. I saw this at Disneyland California back in 2013. Did I love it then? Yes it was one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen actually. Do I love it now? Not so much. Has technology really not advanced in 13 years enough to create something new? Well I believe it most definitely has. But either way, it didn’t wow me and we left the show with a sleeping toddler and some cold feet. I’m glad we watched it and they’ve done a nice job using the brand new space but I wouldn’t be skipping the fireworks in the main park to watch this in future. That being said, if you’ve never seen a water show and drones before you are sure to be amazed.

I can’t deny the drones weren’t incredible. We’d seen them at Disneyland Park the year before and now they’ve been moved over to this show.

Overall it was a beautiful way to end our third evening.

And, excitement was brewing because you see that beautiful restaurant on the left all lit up for the night. That was where we were due to return for breakfast in the morning..

I couldn’t wait!

Goodnight Adventure World, see you in the morning..

~ Visited Disneyland Paris, June 2026 ~