Eating Healthy in the Parks

I'm just out of hospital following a pancreatitis attack. Excruciatingly painful, emotionally draining, and what follows is a completely restrictive diet. Fat free, or as little fat as possible. This will be (at least) until I get my gallbladder removed in April. All sounding super fun right?

But what about upcoming trips to Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World? We're planning 1 day at Epcot and 2 days on Disney property when we visit my family in Florida in March, and then afterwards, there will be more trips to Disneyland Paris.

So what/where should I eat? Should I bring food in with me?

How do you deal with dietary restrictions at Disney?

Nightly Cup of Tea

One of my all time favourite rides at Disney is the tea cups. The spinning really never stops being fun, whether you're 7 or 27.

On our trip at Christmas I couldn't get over how beautiful the theming, colours, and lighting were.

Funny family pictures

Everybody has them, so why aren't they shared more? The weird, funny, or unexpected pictures that turn up on your camera when you return home. Our first trip to DLP in September was full of these pictures, mainly involving Adam's mom, Grace. Unintentionally, of course.

This picture, of Adam's sisters and brother in law was taken by Grace, Adam's mum. Not staged, unplanned, but ended up looking like a boyband album cover from the late 90s. Everyone looking in different directions? Different fields of depths? It's got it all.

more after the jump...

Disneyland Park Attraction Posters

There is a walkway near the front entrance of Disneyland Park, between the Town Hall and lockers which has a wall lined with beautiful attraction posters. It's one of my favourite spots in the whole resort.

I've never noticed these in Walt Disney World, but does anyone know if they exist in other Disney parks (in some format)?

more after the jump...

The French Castle of My Dreams

When I was a kid, growing up in Florida, I once had a really vivid dream about visiting a French castle/monastery (I know, I was a cool kid). It's one of those dreams that even though I had it probably 17 years ago, it has stayed with me. I never thought I'd really get to go to a French castle, but look, here I am in one. It was my first thought upon entering the tunnel in the castle and it was beautiful.

A little Sunday morning home baking

Purchasing a Disneyland Paris annual passport

Our first trip to Disneyland Paris was in September of this year. I had my heart set on annual passes, because I knew we'd go at least once more and it would pay for itself. With a Christmas trip booked and an early summer trip brewing in our minds, I think we've made the right decision.

The process of purchasing a Disneyland Paris 'Passport Annuel' was really easy. Upon arrival at the park, we asked a cast member where to get them. She said we could go into the park but that process seemed complicated so we went for Donald's Desk, a small room to the right hand side of the main entrance, outside the park officially. The queue was long for 4:30 pm on a Wednesday afternoon but we knew once we had these we'd be good for a whole year of Disney! 

Once inside, you're called over to one of the desks where a friendly cast member takes your details, confirms the level of pass you want, then takes your picture with a little detachable webcam. It's all very simple and straightforward. We paid with cash as we were coming from the UK and didn't want to fuss with card charges. Our passes, the Fantasy, allow 320 days of access for €159 (about £130). These are among the cheapest annual passes for any Disney park, worldwide. 

The passes are printed on a plastic card, like a credit card or hotel room key, and are inserted into a little plastic sleeve along with a small pamphlet about black out dates. This info packet is in French but it's easy enough to figure out the dates, no problem. This set up is superior to WDW because of the nice presentation and hard backed cards. The annual passes at WDW are just paper and to me, don't feel as substantial as the Paris ones. You really feel like you're getting something important when they hand these over.

The Passport Annuel offers great discounts like 10% off dining and merchandise, 30% off Disney hotel stays, and extra magic hours - probably my favourite bonus so far. 

If you plan on going to Disneyland Paris two or three (or more!) times in a year, it's a really great deal.

DLRP Magic has an excellent section on the Passport Annuel, which is where I learned all about it!