Disneyland Paris | August 2016



 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sat in bed wearing my Disney jumper with my big cuddly Simba at my side feeling a bit sorry for myself, I've hurt my ankle and feeling ill plus I'm also suffering from post Disney blues. I've been back from Disneyland Paris just over a week now but I'd go back in a heartbeat. My sister, two friends and I went to Disneyland Paris leaving the house at 3am for a 6:35am flight so we could cram everything into our 3 night/4 day stay. We picked the best week to go with blue skies and sun every single day, temperatures soared up to 37 degrees, very warm for my pale Scottish skin. We stayed at Disney's Santa Fe hotel which is cars themed and reminded me of the dessert this was help by the scorching sun beating down. The staff were friendly but overall the hotel was basic, there was no air conditioning (first world problems I know) which was a killer in the heat. We managed to check in earlier than expected and were on our way to the park by 1pm, the Disney shuttle bus between the parks and the hotel was a godsend it took less than 5 minuets to get from a to b which is great even if at times it was crazily crammed with people.

The main park was everything you expect and more! The walk into the park is gorgeous looking at the pale pink Disney hotel with the Mickey clock, passing the gorgeous flowers and water fountains while the Disney hot air balloon is high in the sky behind you. Once in you do really feel like your stepping into a different world, the first thing we did was buy our mouse ears I opted for the classic Minnie ears. Ears in place we headed straight down Main Street and got our first glance at the castle, it was beautiful as a long time Disney lover it was a little overwhelming. I had the same castle as a child that I'd play with, the top window would light up and it was the perfect mix of pastel pink and blue the one right before me was exactly that only grander and much bigger.  We spent the afternoon exploring the park, finding our way around and taking everything in, we bumped into Gaston and a few of the princess while walking about. The first proper ride we went on was Space Mountain it was excellent lots of screams and it really woke us up and gave us a burst of energy. We headed for food in the Disney Village and then went home early on the first night as we'd been up since around 1am and were in need of sleep.

On our second day we headed down for breakfast but the queue was massive luckily a staff member told us it would be faster to get breakfast in the park and gave us a voucher to do so. After breakfast we set about the park going on all the rides apart from the ones aimed at kids, we explored all the different lands inside the park and landed really lucky when it came to queuing. The most we waited all day must have been about 15minuets, the first ride we went on was the newly refurbished Peter Pans Flight and it was amazing! We queued for around 10 minuets before sitting in a pirate ship and being taken through the story of Peter Pan starting in the Darling children's nursery before flying over London on our way to Neverland, the London part was breath taking with it being pitch black and the ship twisting and turning to show all of London lit up beneath you. After exploring the park for hours we decided to stop and find a spot to watch the parade, it was roasting hot so we picked a spot looking onto the castle and sat down for an hour. The parade was really good the floats were stunning and it felt so surreal having your favourite characters there in front of you waving to you and passing you by. After the parade we went to our dinner reservation before walking over to the Chaparral Theatre for the sing-a-long Frozen show, it was so much fun belting out all the songs with my friends and it even snowed! We spent the rest of the evening doing a few more rides before sitting down in central plaza to wait on Disney Dreams, 15 minuets before dreams started there was a frozen special which was great and got everyone excited for dreams. Disney Dreams was spectacular the visuals were incredible, the sound and effects where excellent, the storyline was great too and I loved that the parts were split into French and English.

We spent the bulk of  our last full day at Walt Disney Studios where we went on Tower of Terror - truly terrifying and has confirmed my fear of lifts. We didn't get so lucky with queueing that day, we spent around an hour queueing for some rides including Ratatouille which was well worth it. The queue for Crushes Coasters was around an hour or more too but we persevered and really enjoyed the ride. The Areosmith Rock 'n' Rollercoaster was good too. However the Armageddon special effects really wasn't worth it, it was a bit long winded and hard to get into. We left the studios park around half 5 and headed for dinner before doing a lot of shopping, mid shop we caught the Frozen parade which was good timing as we didn't know it was happening. After a long day in the blazing heat we were all shopped out, my friends went back to the hotel as we had a super long day and flight home the next day but my sister and I decided to chill out and watch dreams again. We sat in central plaza just taking everything in the whole place just smelled like popcorn, we watched the sun set and the sky turn dark before watching dreams for the last time. The show was just as mesmerising as the day before and I found myself noticing things I didn't notice the night before.

We spent our last day in Disneyland in the main park where we spent the best part of the morning queueing to meet Mickey and Minnie (life changing). We queued for around an hour and a half before our time came to meet the most famous mice in the world and it didn't disappoint, I hugged those mice so tight, posed for a few photographs and it was all over in a flash. After all that excitement we sat on a bench at towns square looking around Main Street, it was looking particularly stunning soaked in the afternoon sunlight. We strolled down Main Street and popped into a sweet shop for some Mikey shaped cookies, they looked cute but weren't the best tasting cookies in the world. Cookies demolished we went to the castle and had a mini photo shoot in front of it as did everyone else who were posing for photos left, right and centre. Lastly we went on Space Mountain and ended our trip just how it had started, we grabbed some food then made our way back up Main Street took one last look at the castle then headed back to the hotel to collect our luggage and catch the magic shuttle to the airport.

Disneyland was amazing it was everything I wanted it to be and more, I'm definitely missing the magic now I'm home. I'd built it up in my head for so long that I couldn't quite believe I was going and it felt so surreal to be wandering around all the different lands, feeling a bit like a princess myself. I'd go back in a heartbeat, I'd love to see the park transformed for different seasons. I've posted some photos on Instagram so if you'd like to see them come follow me by clicking here.

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Nip + Fab Glycolic Set

 

 



I've been using this Nip + Fab Glycolic set for just over a month now. The Party-Prep Glycolic set includes two full sized products, the glycolic fix exfoliating pads and the glycolic cleansing fix. The set was a bargain at £7.99 considering the exfoliating pads cost £12.99 alone. I started using the set straight away both day and night and I did notice a difference pretty fast. I was a bit nervous about using glycolic acid on my skin daily but I gave it a bash anyway.

I'll start with the Glycolic Fix Cleanser it's a deep cleaning cleanser that brightens and refreshes the skin while the glycolic acid retextures the skin and gently exfoliates. I found myself using a bit too much of this to begin with you really do only need a small about - here comes the cliché - a little goes a long way, the cleanser really lathers up. I apply the cleanser to a makeup free damp face and massage it in before rinsing it off with a hot cloth, it leaves my skin feeling smooth and clean without feeling tight or drying. After just a couple of uses I noticed a difference in my skin it look brighter and fresher. The bottle costs £7.99 on its own for 150ml and I would defiantly repurchase this I think it's a great cleanser that gives results.

Now onto the Glycolic Fix Exfoliating Facial Pads these retail at £12.99 for a tub of 60 exfoliating pads the pads are soaked in the glycolic acid and which hazel to tone, retexture and resurface skin. The pads are really handy I keep them in my beside drawers so I can reach them morning and night as part of my skincare routine. I use the pads on my freshly washed face and one pad is enough to go over the whole face, you can feel the pads getting to work and I personally like giving my skin a good scrub especially around my nose. I do think the pads used as an extra along side the glycolic fix cleanser leave your skin look brighter but I probably wouldn't buy the pads on there own as I think £12.99 is on the pricey side of things for these and there are much cheaper alternatives - personally I love the Superdrug own brands and there's a few different types.

I really like this set and will repurchase the Glycolic Fix Cleanser again my skin has become brighter after using these products daily. Don't be put off by the work acid it's not as scary as it sounds, as a girl with sensitive skin I haven't had any problems with these at all. I haven't used any products from Nip + Fab before now but with the results from these products I'd be ore inclined to give other products a test.

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Losing a pet

Losing a pet is hard, those who have never had a pet often dismiss the emotional attachment between a pet and their owner. During the time my cat - Sox -was ill I was an emotional mess and I found myself having to apologise for being sad and crying, I found myself saying things like 'I know it's silly' when people asked me why I was sad. They'd often give me a look like pull yourself together it's just a cat while saying 'that's a shame' but you could tell they thought I was being silly.
 

I had Sox for 15 years, over half my life (I'm 24) it has been a long time since I had a life without him. Sadly now I do. As a pet owner you know one day it will happen you hope it wont but the inevitable will one day come. Sox had become ill with a possible kidney and heart condition that caused him to swell up, we put him on tablets advised by the vet and monitored his progress there was a point when he seemed to get better but it didn't last. The hardest part was seeing how happy he was right up to his last moments when he sat on the vets tables surrounded by the family, his head resting on my hand and him purring away. He was peaceful and loved, we had the most amazing supportive vet who didn't rush us at all, I like to think he could see the love between us all. He had seen how much we loved and cared for Sox and how much we willed him to get better.

In one afternoon 15 years of having Sox in my life suddenly stopped there was no more tomorrow, no more pawing at my face in the middle of the night for a cuddle, I wouldn't hear him meow again or find him greeting me at the door. Little things like seeing his bed empty and not seeing his food bowl out or knowing I wont get to see him lie under the Christmas tree and ping the baubles off still give me a lump in my throat and make me tear up. One of the hardest things is seeing our other kitty grieve for his brother he often paces around the house searching for Sox and crying when he doesn't find what he's looking for. 

Pets are a member of the family, a life long companion. They become your best friend, the company you rely on daily after a hard days work or when your feeling down. They leave a huge gap when their gone and it's okay to grieve for them, don't ever feel like you have to make excuses for loving them and missing them so much. Those of us who have or had a pet understand.

 

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