we had been wanting to check out disneyland paris and decided to go this may for two reasons: (1) you start paying for kids at disneyland when they turn three, and moses was almost there, and (2) we wanted to do a super fun kid-focused trip before little mo had his last surgery. moses had no idea what disneyland was until we booked the trip, a few months before we went. we started hyping it up a lot, telling him maybe one day he’d be able to go there. then, the day before we left we told him we were going!! he was pretty pumped.

leading up to our trip, the weather forecast said rain both days we were planning to be at disneyland, and i was so worried about that! i kept hoping the forecast would change, and it didn’t. but the weather turned out to be totally perfect for a disneyland visit! it drizzled on and off throughout each day – enough rain to keep the crowds and queues really slim but not enough to be really affect the fun.

our first day, we were at the park before it opened at 9:30am and stayed until it closed at 11pm. it was pretty exhausting but i just had so much adrenaline running through me from the excitement of it all! we hopped between disneyland and walt disney studios and basically walked on to most rides without having to wait in lines. ian and i traded off to do some “big rides,” which were so fun, but the best part was definitely riding rides with the boys. moses had a blast, and actually so did gabriel! we didn’t think gabe would really care that much but he was squealing with delight pretty much all day – it was awesome. on our second day, we took things a bit slower and focused on meeting characters and playing at playgrounds. both days were full of moments that were just sooo happy and felt genuinely magical … and a few moments that definitely didn’t (toddler tantrums aren’t any more fun at disneyland than at home, in fact they’re less fun!). it was such a great family adventure.

 
^^ when we first arrived, walking down main street usa on our way to sleeping beauty’s castle! the excitement was just buzzing inside all four of us! ^^
 
^^ this is what pure joy looks like – me riding space mountain. // the flying carpets may have been moses’s favourite ride! ^^
 
i take that back. moses was obsessed with small world. ^^ we rode it three or four times! also, can you spot ian and mo on the balcony of the castle in the photo above? ^^
 
^^ the slinky dog ride in walt disney studios was another hit. ^^ i sadly don’t have any pictures of gabriel on rides, but i loved that pretty much any one moses could do gabriel could do also!
  
 
^^ nap time in both parks. time to trade off riding tower of terror and big thunder mountain! ^^
 
can you tell i really love the castle at disneyland paris?! magical. these pictures do a terrible job capturing the beauty of the darkening evening after our first day of disneyland fun. as the castle lit up pink the sky evolved through different shades of teal to indigo while we waited for the fireworks to start. i never want to forget the pure happiness i felt as the four of us watched the fireworks/light show together that night. it really was magic. i may or may not have shed a tear…!
 
moses was pretty starstruck meeting mickey … even though he’d just learned about him a few months before. and then it was on to goofy!
 
mo was really into showing “goof goof” (as he calls him) the disneyland magnet we had picked out in the shop while waiting in line. ^^
  
gabriel was interested in the characters, too. but in a more skeptical way 😉 ^^

after day two, we snapped some family pictures, watched the parade and called it a day. after we left the park it started pouring!
 

i’m definitely no disney fanatic, but i gotta say, disneyland really is magical. i think it’s worth all the hype! doing it with my own kids (and my true love!) was sooooo much fun.