'If you can dream it you can do it'
All my life I have been a huge Disney fan. Walt Disney was a man with a dream he so strongly believed in. He created an imaginary fairytale world where you can escape to. Away from reality. His quote: 'if you can dream it, you can do it' is one of my favorite quotes.
I still cry while watching the Lion King or Bambi
As a child I always watched loads of Disney movies and Mickey Mouse movies. Bambi was the first movie I saw in the cinema with my father. I remember getting traumatized when Bambi's mother was shot by people. There is always a strong moral in the Disney classics.
Of course it makes total sense that our daughter is growing up with Disney. She is 3 years old and has seen almost all the classics. She is definetely not going anywhere without her stuffed Mickey Mouse. My husband and I agreed that it was time to take her to the magical kingdom of Disneyland Paris.
By car, bus, airplane or train?
Because we wanted to have a relaxing journey we choose to go by train. This is also the environmentally friendliest way and the fastest way for us. By doing this, we could also bring our own food because we did not know what to expect in the park if we talk about vegan options.
It only took us 3.5 hours to travel from our hometown to Disneyland Paris. From April 2019 we can travel even faster to Disneyland Paris by Thalys!
Heerlijk ontspannen vonden wij het. Jane kon lekker kleuren en Disney filmpjes kijken op de Ipad. Ik had een koeltas bij me vol met zelfgemaakte vegan broodjes, oreo koekjes, Alpro drinkpakjes, en niet te vergeten had ik ’s ochtend nog mijn vegan sausage rolls staan afbakken die ik de dag ervoor al had gemaakt 😉
Une plain baguette s'il vous plait
Arrived and checked in at our hotel 'Explorers' Jane immediately went to the softplay area to make new friends. After sitting for quite a while in the train this was a very nice change. Around lunchtime we got hungry but unfortunately there was nothing else to order in the hotel than a baguette ham, brie or bacon.
We walked to the local supermarket. I got this tip from an English vegan friend on Instagram who visited Disney a week before us! It was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. The supermarket is called Casino Spermarché.
I was over the moon when I saw that they have 3 kinds of juice machines in the supermarket: grapefruit, orange and pomegranate! There is also a nut seed banks, fresh fruit and they have plant based yogurt, freshly baked baguettes, lentil salads and hummus.
Purchased well, we went back to the hotel to make our own vegan sandwiches. We could put our products in the fridge at the reception. So nice!
A can of beans for dinner?
In the hotel, we looked at the vegan options a bit gloomy. There was a pizza place and an all you can eat buffet restaurant. For a brief moment it looked like beer and wine were the only vegan options!
I walked into the restaurant when they were putting everything ready for the buffet and I asked one of the staff workers about the vegan options. “Bonjour, je suis végétalien”. In the first instance the staff worker did not know what I meant..”I mean: je ne mange pas de produits d'origine animale”..yes I had my google translate standby..I am not that bilingual unfortunately;).
Vegans on discount!
The chef joined our conversation and he told me what the vegan options were. He told us that we did not have to pay the full amount because we did not eat any meat, fish or cheese. I hear you thinking: did you go to bed hungry? I am telling you no! It was quit brilliant for us. There was a large salad bar and Jane was very happy with her broccoli, beans, rice and olives. There was ratatouille and aubergine puree, chips. We were not short of anything really!
The next day we got our stuff out of the fridge and went to the breakfast area. There was fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts so we made our own breakfast bowl with our Alpro yogurt. There is also a microwave so Jane could eat her porridge with oat milk (which I brought from home).
The Park
I can't describe the feeling it gave me when Jane saw the Disney castle for the first time. Totally bewitched by the magic! We had such a great day together. It was nice to see Jane take it all in and see her being so excited about what she saw and experienced.
I had a cooling bag with me stuffed with vegan Alpro drinks, freshly made sandwiches with hummus & avocado, we had lentil and quinoa salads, chickpea salads and fresh fruit. There we were, sitting with our extensive vegan lunch while the people who were sitting around us were eating corn dogs and chicken nuggets..brrr.
Snacktime!
By the end of the afternoon we got ourself a delicious treat! At the Fuente Del Oro restaurant (opposite Big Thunder Mountain) we ordered the loaded fries. Just ask for the vegan option with guacamole instead of cheese. Gosh this was so good!
’s avonds hebben we gegeten bij Annette’s diner in Disney Village. We namen ‘the veggie burger’ en uienringen. Op de burger zit normaal gesproken mozzarella en pesto maar ik heb gevraagd of ze dat eraf konden laten en er in plaats daarvan er extra portobello en aubergine op konden doen. Yummy! Jane vond het ook heerlijk!
Of course I bring my own vegan mayo with me at all times!
All in all it has been better then expected how to survive Disneyland Paris as a vegan. Of course everywhere around you, you will find vegan unfriendly fast food restaurants, but there are also a couple of vegan options. What really made my day was the supermarket! In the park we bought some popcorn and a cotton candy for Jane.
