"Here, age relives fond memories of the past"

When I was ten years old my mother took a job working in the kitchens of a primary school and, despite being an inquisitive child, I don't recall ever asking why.  It wasn't the primary school that my brothers and I attended and so on the two occasions I recall visiting before being dropped off at Mrs. Clayton's Y6 class it was actually rather exciting to see such large tins, trays and ovens.

The afternoon that we broke up for Easter that year we were late leaving school.  My parents were talking with one of the teachers inside the classroom while we sat out in the corridor with our coats and lunchboxes.  When we left Mrs. Clayton and Mrs. Wright, laughing in a nearby doorway, turned to us, beamed, and said that they hoped that we had "an absolutely wonderful holiday".  It stuck because it was seemed such an odd thing to say, even for primary school teachers.  It was the first time I recall thinking that teachers were probably happy to get a holiday too.

The next thing that I remember is being woken up by my parents, my father holding a video camera.  Gathered on the wicker furniture in the 'front room', a place we were generally only allowed to enter at Christmas, something was clearly up.  Grandma was there.  Something was happening and I didn't know what...that was always annoying.  When I saw the footage it's my twin brother who shows himself to be far more considered and thoughtful than his cheering siblings.  He pauses, looks a little confused, turns to my parents and asks "But doesn't that mean we'd miss a week of school?"

In the weeks leading up to this summer I was asked by some of my own students and colleagues what I was doing for the summer; when I told them I got a number of confused looks. I changed tactic one day and told some friends that I was "going to Paris" - "you're not really though are you..." was the response.  No, I certainly wasn't.  Perhaps I did feel a little silly for doing something rather childish but it's often too hard to explain something to a person who really only asked to be polite.  I was going because of how it made me feel; giddy, excited, reminiscent...young.

So it wasn't quite the same, I took the train to Disneyland Paris rather than a flight to Florida, but I spent the entire time wandering around with exactly the same feelings.  It even helped being older, I was much less of a fidget while sat waiting for the parade and the fireworks.


You'd be surprised how many people, couples especially, are there in there twenties with no children in sight.  To some it might just be one of many theme parks; to those who've never considered going it might just be something for children.  I've done grown up things and been to wonderful places full of art, architecture, and culture.  All I know is that it made me feel enormously happy and a little sad that, when I got off the train after three days, I had to ask what had been going on in the 'real' world while I'd been away.


I generally abhor cliché but in this case Walt Disney, ever the quotable man, has it spot on:

"Disneyland is something that will never be finished.  It's something that I can keep developing.  It will be a live, breathing thing that will need change.  A picture is a thing, once you wrap it up and turn it over to Technicolor, you're through.  'Snow White' is a dead issue with me.  But I can change the park, because it's alive."

- Walt Disney quoted in "The Rides of Passage" in Via magazine (July 2005)


So finally, rambling done with, some advice:
If going in summer, the first week of the school holiday generally means that it's less busy.
Take the Eurostar, it goes right up to the park entrance; you can drop your bags and go straight in.
There is a restaurant in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride where you can sit while riders go past.
The park gets quietest in the evening, between the parade and the fireworks, when many families head back to the hotels to let their kids have a nap.
A rucksack is essential but there's nowhere to leave it while on a ride. You have to put it between your legs with a leg through an arm hole.
If you're single wear a superhero t-shirt, book a table at Walt's restaurant...you'll thank me later.