Disneyland Paris – 30th Anniversary Celebrations

When booking our holiday, it worked out perfect with the timing of the 30^th anniversary celebrations. It was definitely a good way to introduce our family to Disneyland Paris for the first time, with so many new events, products and things to look at.

Decoration and costumes

The decoration around the parks was subtly done, and really pretty, with purple-pink-blue theming.

The main 30th-themed character costumes of note include both Minnie and Mickey, who can be seen waving at the Mainstreet Railway during park opening, matching the theming of the parks. The 30th costume theme ran through the Dream and Shine Brighter cavalcade too. Not only are the characters dressed up for the celebrations, but the cast members performing are as well. All bright and colourful, to match the amazing songs for the celebrations.

Another beautiful addition is the Garden of Wonder located at the bottom of Main Street. You can find 30 beautiful sculptures that spin around elegantly. They are definitely an instagrammable feature added to the park.

Food and drink

There was quite a few things we wanted to buy that were part of the 30th Celebrations, but either they hadn’t started them yet, or they had ran out of stock – which was a bit of a bummer. But fear not, when we visited, the park had only just re-opened after Covid, so I imagine that snack stocks are improved now.

We searched and searched for the Celebration popcorn bucket (10 Euros) but the plastic bucket itself was sold out at every stall or kiosk – so we settled for the traditional one, which was the same price.

If you want a sweet snack to the graze on throughout of the day, or a snack big enough to share with the family, get yourself a Mickey or Minnie Mouse shortbread biscuit (12 Euros). It went far for us as a family of three, and was a delicious sweet treat we used to keep going. You can find them at all popcorn stations.

We didn’t actually get a 30th anniversary souvenir cup – we did initially want one, but changed our minds once we got into the parks. However, I do think they are great value for money to bring back home with you. It is 14 Euros for the cup, or 15 Euros is you want one with a hot drink in them. Perfect for the night time shows or the cooler months.

Something I really looked forward to after seeing a post on Facebook was the blueberry ice cream (5 Euros) but it turned out they hadn’t released it into the parks until about a week or two after we arrived back home…typical!

If you can catch Cafe de la Brousse open in Adventureland during your visit, make sure you grab yourself a tasty Dole Whip! It’s an American Disney specialty, you will not be disappointed. It’s filling, refreshing and super tasty.

We had quite a few 30th Celebrations specific treats from The Boardwalk Candy Palace – like cookies, cake pops etc. – all yummy.

For breakfast one morning we got an apricot beignet to share (4.50 Euros) and obviously it was Mickey shaped, which means it tasted nicer. I 100% recommend these as a quick, cheap snack. Just a note, the apricot is only in the face, not the ears.

Throughout our stay, we tried quite a few 30th celebrations meals and desserts that were included or part of a quick service meal – or as part of an all you and eat buffet (Downtown Restaurant and Plaza Gardens). Everything we ate, hand on heart, was truly delicious. And we found that the majority of desserts were mousse based, lots of chocolate, creamy, strawberry/raspberry flavours. Everything we ate, we absolutely loved, and definitely went up for seconds, possibly thirds…

A nice little feature we enjoyed was the champagne cart on Main Street (we think it only comes out mid-afternoon). Now, we aren’t really drinkers, let alone champagne drinkers. But when in Disney, given the opportunity to get a souvenir (plastic) champagne glass… I couldn’t say no.

They cost us 15 Euros each, and that gets you a glass of champagne and the plastics glass itself (which had the 30th anniversary logo on it). Steep, but you are bringing home some killer Disney merchandise.

Parades and shows

The Dream and Shine Brighter Cavalcade has literally been playing in our house since returning home at least ten times a day. It was definitely one of the best things that came out of our holiday. Our little boy is totally obsessed with the characters and, most notably, the song!

You can watch the floats and cast members parade up Main Street, then turn into a dancing extravaganza in Central Plaza, and then return back down Main Street. It’s a good 15 to 20 minutes of super catchy songs, and all of the playful characters dancing around – Minnie, Mickey, Woody, Jessie, Chip and Dale, Miguel, Mad Hatter, Alice, Genie, Goofy and Pluto, and so many more.

This was actually the first thing we saw once entering Disneyland Park. We got whisked up in the magic, Dexter instantly saw all of his favourite characters. It was a magical way to start the day.

A new show that has been added to the celebrations, that is not to be missed is D-Light! A drone show that starts 5 minutes before the fireworks, Illuminations. If you enjoy the Dream and Shine Brighter cavalcade, you are in for a treat with the song too (also features in Dream and Shine Brighter). Une Monde Qui S’Illumine – translating to ‘a world that lights up’.

It starts off with typical nice and soft music with lights all over the castle. Then BAM! the drones hit the sky in the shape of the number 30, it spins, it moves, it change, its unreal! If you don’t fancy staying up until 11pm for the fireworks, atleast stay for this display at 10.55 and then go. Its ridiculous what Disney have managed to do. Drones are going to be the future!

Merchandise

When it comes to merchandise, we all know that Disney don’t do things by halves. There is so much on offer for the 30th anniversary, from t-shirts, to hoodies, to mugs, to sweet treats, to ears.

Something that we really wanted to buy was a Mickey soap dispenser (but it was out of stock during our visit, and came back in stock the week after we left…). For those who don’t know, it presses soapy foam in the shape of Mickey Mouse into your hands.

We bought a few things on our trip. Cookies, a snow globe, t-shirts, chocolates and a few other little trinkets. All priced at what we expected really. Some items where definitely over priced. But the majority are typical Disney prices.

Overall

We did really enjoy the 30th celebrations, but they were just an added bonus. It wasn’t too in your face, so we did find ourselves forgetting about it at times. If you can get yourself to the park during the 30th anniversary period, great!

There hasn’t been an end date set yet, so if you do fancy visiting, you have plenty of time to book a magical holiday.

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