Family, Disney & a Sickness Bug!

Our Family Disneyland Adventure

When Finn was little my mum always told him that for her 60^th birthday she would take us all to Disneyland Paris. Those years flew by and this year was the year. Little did we know that baby Sam would be joining us on our family Disneyland adventure.

Finn didn’t know for a long time (mainly because we couldn’t cope with counting the days from 180+) so mum set up an Easter hunt with lots of clues leading to the big reveal…he was going to Disneyland in just 52 days! Finn doesn’t get excited as lots of children do, he gets more embarrassed than anything but the smile on his face told us enough, he couldn’t wait! We had a chalk board countdown and the daily questions of who, what, when, where etc. He got a new Mickey Mouse suitcase and couldn’t wait as it was the Marvel season there too!

The night before finally arrived and about 5pm suddenly the whole world starting spinning and it all started…I have never been so sick in all my life! Sorry for the information but I have never had sickness like it before and oh my I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, ever! We were due to leave at 3am for the airport…I was still bathroom bound at 2:30am! We all piled into the car, along with the sick buckets and we got there on time and in one piece…kind of!

The journey there was a nightmare for me and to be honest I just wanted my bed but I kept smiling (well trying!) for the boys. We stayed in the Newport Bay Hotel which was really lovely and  convenient for the park. The check-in line was pretty long so I took advantage to have a bit of a lie down on our coats and a barrier of suitcases was made around me (my sister and husband kept their distance as I looked like a drunk crashed out on the floor…unfortunately no alcohol had passed my lips!).

We checked in and Finn dived into his Captain America outfit and we were straight into the park. Wow, it really was a place of dreams. The music, the atmosphere, the feeling of the whole place was just magical. Finn was in total awe of the place and Sam’s eyes were mesmerised with everything around him.  We just wanted to walk and take it all in but we also just wanted to try and look at everything at the same time! I stayed well clear of all rides the first day and had a bit of an episode in the middle of the Alice’s Curious Labyrinth Maze where I had to sit down in attempt to not be sick in front of hundreds of very excited children! Grandma got lost in the maze which was one of Finn’s highlights of the whole trip!

The family went to line up for the train whilst I hid behind a bin throwing up in a sick bag I had helped myself too off Easy Jet! The rain was coming down but everyone’s spirits were in full flow! The parade was amazing, and both of the boys loved it as everyone they have ever loved and wanted to see were a part of it. The security is super tight and even your toes off the pavement were asked to be put back onto the pavement!! The parade was long (good long!) and full of so many different things…dancers, singers, acrobatics and so many more! It was just brilliant! That night we had tea in the hotel (I ate plain pasta and a bread roll!!) everyone else had a good all you can eat meal and had an early night ready for the early magic hours in the morning!

After a good night’s sleep we all woke up super excited, ready for breakfast and a good day exploring the park! I was in a whole world of pain in my stomach and nothing helped so it was a day of deep breaths and clenching my fists through the pain! We went on some fantastic rides, my favourite being the buzz light year one! A big mistake of the day was racing to the Star Wars ride as we could see there wasn’t much of a queue and Finn loves Star Wars so we dashed ahead! Bear in mind the youngest was 7 and oldest 62 (Sam wasn’t tall enough)! As we approached we could hear the screams and pace of the ride and thought maybe we hadn’t got the right one! Well all I can say is NEVER AGAIN!!! Finn walked off and burst into tears, my mum and dad were shell shocked and ghost like and the rest of us were just laughing from fear of what had just happened!  NEVER AGAIN!

We watched both of the fantastic Mickey the Magician and the Marvel Shows, took in the American vibes of the Walt Disney Studio’s Park, ate in the Ratatouille French restaurant, explored the Castle, the lands and just loved being where we were.  The second night we waited for the fireworks on the castle and OH MY GOSH!!!!!! What a spectacle! We all just stood there is amazement, no one said a word! My brother in law said that it was worth going just for the show never mind anything else! It was truly something that will never be matched (unless we go back!) it was a-maz-ing!!! (I must confess that I did spend the whole show in agony and kept having to kneel on the floor to ease my tummy cramps, but I still thought it was ‘that’ good!)

Sunday was our last day and so we made the most of our morning in the park, we met Mickey himself, Finn loved it, Sam burst into tears and tried his hardest to escape! We went on everyone’s favourite ride, the it’s a Small World Boat (everyone still pipes up with the song…the ride was fab, the song not so much!)

Mum is overly paranoid about missing buses and planes so we left for the airport wayyyyy too early but it gave us the chance to sit, eat and chill out from a very busy weekend. I still wasn’t great and had absolutely no idea how I had made it through the weekend. As soon as we landed in Manchester I headed straight to Boots and bought everything possible that the pharmacist said might help me! We got home, I took and drank everything that I could mix together and went straight to bed! Woke up on Monday morning feeling right as reign and like I hadn’t been ill at all…typical!

I must confess that I was never really ‘that bothered’ about going to Disneyland and never really understood the fuss that everyone made about it but now I get it! We had the best time, so much so we are planning our return when the new Marvel Hotel opens. It suited every age from 1 to 62 and we all came away feeling that little bit magical…thanks mum!

(PS. Anyone planning to go to Disneyland Paris…there is no onsite or close pharmacist so take anything and everything from the medicine cupboard!)