I’ve been working on compiling some lists of Family Friendly Activities Around Spangdahlem (and Ramstein!) and I have the France list finished. While this is NOT an all inclusive list it’s a list that of places that I’ve found researching or that I’ve had friends who have visited and told me about it. I’ve tried to include as much info as possible for each location, if you have info about one that [Read more…]

Ouvrage Hackenberg in Veckring, France is part of the Maginot Line fortifications and you can visit this underground fortress. It’s about 1.5 hour drive from Spangdahlem, and 1.5 hours from Ramstein. It’s easily done as a day trip and you’ll learn lots of neat history as well as get to experience riding on the underground train and even see a working gun turrets. It was built between 1929-1932 and [Read more…]

I’m excited to share our Normandy, France area itinerary today because this region of France SHOULD be on your bucket list! There is so much to do there! It’s filled with history, beauty, and friendly people. Our trip was done in 4 days and 3 nights but you could easily spend a week in the area if you have time. It also has a fun ‘hidden’ secret that I’ll share further down. I can easily say that [Read more…]

Sainte-Mère-Église, France is best known for the 700 year old medieval church where Private John M. Steele, a 82nd Airborne Paratrooper, landed on the steeple and was stuck until the Germans found him and took him into custody. Luckily a few days later he was able to escape and made it to an American hospital for care. Today you can visit the church and village, there is also an Airborne Museum there [Read more…]

Utah Beach Landing Museum in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France (aka Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach) is a must visit for those in the Normandy area, it is the best museum in the D-Day area and is on the Utah Beach. I think it may be often overlooked because it’s a bit further from the Omaha beach area but it really shouldn’t be missed.

I’ll be posting our Normandy area itinerary soon but we started [Read more…]

Pointe du Hoc in Circqueville-en-Bessin, France was a German bunker that was bombed heavily during WWII. Walking through the crater filled lands is a bit surreal and it makes one glad you weren’t there during the bombing. It’s most often know for it’s impossibly steep walls that were scaled by the brave US Army Rangers to over take the bunkers.

Parking is free in the large parking area by the Visitor’s [Read more…]

Disneyland Paris is located in Marne-la-Vallée, France and is about 45 mins outside of Paris. Here you’ll find a Disney shopping area, and Walt Disney Studios Park. This is the larger of the 2 parks with 41 attractions and 7 entertainment options, as well as the parades, there are no parades at Disney Studios. It can easily be done in one day, with the right plans. While we had a fun time it is a one and done kinda deal for us, we were able to see/do everything we needed so there is no reason to go back. We loved the Fall/Halloween decor they had up, which made it better in my opinion.

First off for planning I highly recommend getting the Independent Guide to Disneyland Paris 2015 (or if there is a newer version). This book was a HUGE help in helping us to plan our time and avoid the lines. It also helped us to avoid waiting in long lines for food as well. I bought mine from Amazon as our local library did not have a copy. The guides for each park are fantastic for knowing where to go and when to get the most for your time! There are several ‘day plans’ in the book you choose the one that is best for your family. We used it and were on Big Thunder Mountain right away and then even got to ride several of the rides like Space Mountain many times.

As far as cost of the park, it’s a bit spendy. For 2 parks/2 Days it is $190 Adult and $172 for kids ages 3 to 11, ages 12+ are adults. Which would’ve been $742 for our family of 4! HOWEVER if your a military member they have a military discount and it is €69 per person for ages 12+ and €65 for ages 3-11 for 2 Days/2 Parks which is a great deal! We instead paid €276/$300 for our family of 4, so as you can see it’s a substantial difference between the two prices. You need to go to the ticket window and show your ID to get the military discount rate.

Parking is €20/day unless your a hotel guest (Explorer’s hotel also has free parking at the Disney Parks) so I recommend choosing a hotel with a shuttle service.

Food in the park has many more options than Disney Studios but is still expensive. Food at one of the cheaper places is €11,99-€14,99 a meal. Lunch at this park cost us €53,96 for the 4 of us. Even snacks were expensive as well as drinks. I recommend bringing in water & some snacks and then eating outside the park for meals.

Our park experience was comparable to any other Disney park we’ve been to, although Disney Sea in Tokyo is still our favorite. One of the things we did like about Disneyland Paris is that because it’s so small it’s easy to get from one end to the other fairly quickly. So if you have littles and don’t want to be overwhelmed with one of the larger parks in the States this could be a good option for you.

Going during one of the holiday seasons is fun because of all the extra decorations around. They provide for some neat and fun photo opportunities and the characters are dressed up as well!

Keep in mind you really need to have a plan and know how to use the FastPasses (all the info in the book I mentioned above) to get the most out of the experience because even the rides like Dumbo get up to a 90 min wait, which in my opinion is not worth it. Also try to do during the weekday, Monday’s are the best, as the weekends are MUCH busier and have longer lines. We did Disneyland Paris on a Monday and were able to easily ride several of the rides multiple times. Sunday at Disney Studios was much more crowded!

Also keep in mind that there are not a whole lot of bigger rides for those with teenagers, etc. There are a few like Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain (our fav), and Indiana Jones but that’s about all. Our kids are 12 and 15 and were done and ready to go by 3 pm, we had gotten there when the parked opened at 9 am. So it only took us 6 hours to do the park and attractions we wanted to do.

Overall it didn’t have a whole lot of rides for older kids and can easily be done a day. We had a fun time but I wouldn’t say it’s a MUST do unless your a Disney fanatic or already there in the area for Disneyland Paris. We did like the decorations at this park since Disney Studios didn’t have any, and we were able to ride more rides here because it was a Monday and there was less people. Same consensus as Disney Studios…it wasn’t the best amusement park we’ve been to but it was ok for a visit once. I will say if I had smaller kids I’d prefer doing a smaller park like this one verses the huge one in Florida, which we’ve done several times.

Know Before You Go

What: Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, France

How To Get There: It’s about 3.5 hours from Spangdahlem, and 3.5 hours from Ramstein. GPS address: 77777 Marne-la-Vallée, France, France

Parking: Is €20 at the park unless your a hotel guest with a free parking pass. I’d recommend using a hotel with a free shuttle service or free parking.

Cost: 2 Day/2 Parks is $190 Adult and $172 for kids ages 3 to 11, ages 12+ are adults. HOWEVER if your a military member they have a military discount and it is €69 per person for ages 12+ and €65 for ages 3-11 for 2 Days/2 Parks which is a great deal!

Traveling with little kids: If your wanting to experience Disney without the enormous sized parks of FL & CA this is a great way to do so.

Yes, a Disneyland Paris military discount does exist! I’ve seen this asked a lot recently. They don’t offer a discount on the hotels or packages like in the United States but they do offer a discount on the park tickets to include Disney Studios right next to Disneyland Paris. We saved $442 using the military discount for our family of 4!

I’ve already posted about our Walt Disney Studio Park experience [Read more…]

Walt Disney Studios Park is located just next to Disneyland Paris and offers behind the scenes of films and TV in addition to the attractions. This is the smaller of the 2 parks with only 14 attractions and 7 entertainment options. It can easily be done in half to three fourths of a day. While we had a fun time it is a one and done kinda deal for us, we were able to see/do everything we needed so [Read more…]