Travel: Happy Disney Christmas starts early in paris

Falling snow, a parade of princesses and a lollipop the size of a dinner plate - my three-year-old thought her Christmas had come early at Disneyland Paris, and perhaps it had.

The giant resort stretches out the festive period from the first weekend in November to January with a spectacular show of glitz, glamour and razzmatazz, enough to warm the heart of this old Scrooge.

It's impossible not to get carried away with the fun when you see it through the eyes of a mesmerised daughter who could not stop beaming after meeting Mickey Mouse and Disney's newest heroine Rapunzel, whose movie is not even out yet.

Rosie and I travelled to Disneyland Paris for our weekend break from St Pancras International by the daily Eurostar service.

Other holidaymakers sharing the smooth ride across Kent and the French countryside - including a barely-noticed passage through the Channel Tunnel - helped crank up the excitement.

Soon we were at Marne la Vallee station, which might as well be renamed Disneyland as it was so close to the mega-attraction's two parks and adjoining retail village.

Our Hotel New York was a couple of minutes' walk away, and we swiftly checked in next to the huge Christmas tree in the lobby.

But it was dwarfed by the 24m tall, 24-tonne pine that Disney unveiled at the start of its Christmas celebrations.

The tree in the square of Main Street USA boasts almost 500 bulbs and the star at the top is lit every night in a charming ceremony.

Despite rainy skies, Disney magic still made it snow on Main Street regularly during the festival. It's actually a soap solution falling down but the effect is deceiving, especially as darkness falls.

Main Street - a recreation of a 19th century American town - is the venue for the Dreams of Christmas Parade, when all your favourite cartoon heroes pass before your eyes on floats, in an all-singing and all-dancing spectacular.

When the float carrying all the princesses, including all-time favourites Jasmine (from Aladdin) and Ariel (from the Little Mermaid), arrived, Rosie's eyes were on stalks.

The Disney characters also crop up across the two theme parks, their restaurants and even our hotel, seemingly at random, though obviously careful planned. And they get mobbed like the movie stars they clearly are.

When we weren't star-spotting - tennis ace Rafa Nadal was visiting when we were there - Rosie and I tackled as many rides as we could.

Her favourite was a gentle boat ride called It's A Small World which takes the visitor on a five-minute trip round the globe, populated with dancing dolls.

Rosie also liked Autopia, where riders get to drive cars round a track. Quite a thrill for a little girl who could barely see over the steering wheel.

Over in the neighbouring Walt Disney Studios Park, she loved the fairly new Slinky Dog Zigzag ride for novice rollercoaster riders, and the Aladdin-themed Flying Carpets Over Agrabah ride where you can make your carpet rise and fall as it spins around.

Our visit coincided with the launch of the new Rapunzel character, whose film comes out in the UK next year.

We bumped into her as she prepared to join the evening parade, and the new heroine happily posed for pictures with my star-struck little girl.

Rosie's afternoon got even better when Goofy then Winnie the Pooh popped up in quick succession. If you want to meet some furry heroes, hang about in Fantasyland close to where you think the parade may start.

For Christmas, Santa has been invited to set up his workshop in the theme park, and children drop off letters for him at a special post office.

We also enjoyed an ice-skating show involving Mickey Mouse and friends, three bears and a bit of slapstick fun.

There was so much going on, it would be easy to miss something great. Luckily, Rosie was too small for some of the more scary rides, as we could never have crammed everything in.

Some rides get very busy, but quieten in the final hour of opening, as many visitors with younger children leave early. Disney also uses a Thor Fastpass system which allows you to 'pre-book' a place on particularly popular rides while you do something else, like eat.

There's a range of food on offer, from chicken nuggets, pizza and chips to spicy North African fare in the Aladdin-themed Agrabah Cafe and even high-end French food in the Cinderella-inspired Auberge de Cendrillon.

Disneyland Paris staff use both French and English and even the shows are bilingual.

As Santa waved us off into the night, my daughter did not bat an eyelid when he wished us both a "goodnight" and a "bonne soiree". Well, that's the magic of Disney.

Late Deals

Disneyland Paris offers two-night, three-day packages including return Eurostar travel in December from 412 per adult and 178 per child (7-11), and 65 per child (4-5, travel only). Under-7s stay and play for free in Disney's New Generation Festival until December 31.

Package including two nights' B&B at Disney's Hotel New York and three-day hopper tickets for Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park. Same package at Disney's Hotel Santa Fe from 287 per adult, 178 per child.

Disneyland Paris reservations: 0844-800 8111 and www.disneylandparis.com

Eurostar return standard class returns from London to Disneyland Resort Paris (not Tuesdays and Saturdays, except in school holidays) start at 69 (adult) and 44 (4-11s).

Connecting fares to Marne-la-Valle/Disneyland Resort Paris are available from more than 200 stations in the UK, including Newcastle from 93 in partnership with East Coast (www.eastcoast.co.uk). Under-4s travel free (not allocated a seat).

Standard Premier returns ex-London start at 159 (adult) and 94 (4-11s).

Eurostar reservations: 0843 218 6186 and eurostar.com

The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland Paris (12.99p) is published by Frommers and available in bookshops. See also www.frommers.com