Please note, this post was written before Covid-19 restrictions came into force in France. Check local rules and restrictions before you go.
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Disney parks are a wonder. The Imagineers put so much detail into every aspect of the parks, thinking about how even the most mundane item will be viewed (hidden Mickey’s on the fire hydrants for instance). It’s not just the detail but also the humour with funny additions exclusive to each park that I love. The level of detail is astounding and leave me speechless and means that every time we visit there’s something new to find.
Obviously the castle in every park is the main focal point and often used by guests to orientate themselves in the park. The castles are all orientated North-South meaning you’ll have perfect lighting no matter what time of day you’re snapping your shot. Each park has a different castle with specific details to that area. For example, Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland Paris has small golden snails crawling up it’s turrets in a humorous nod to its French setting while the Enchanted Storybook Castle in Shanghai Disney is the largest Disney castle and honours all the princesses with special features along the multi-level walkway. They’re the key feature in all of the parks and often receive special decorations during key events. Hubby and I were lucky to visit DLP during its 5th Anniversary celebrations when the castle was an, um, interesting colour and Walt Disney World celebrated its 25th Anniversary, Cinderella’s castle was turned into a giant cake (I’ll let you google that one!). But it’s not just the castles which feature hidden details, the rest of the parks are full of fun stuff.
When I started planning our holiday to DLP, I read a number of blogs which listed some of the unique features you can see there – Happy To Wander suggested visiting City Hall to see a map from the original park, while Mile In My Glass raved about the dragon under the castle. There were so many! From Mr Fredricksen and Russel on a boat, the funny mirrors in Disney & Co, to the Tigger in The StoryBook Store, I wanted to see them all!
So, what better way to explore the hidden areas of Disneyland Paris than with a game of Bingo? I choose my favourite 12 sites exclusive to DLP and created a mini Bingo sheet. Of course, I included them in our daily planner so we would have something to do while waiting for our lunch to go down (eating your body-weight in Minnie mouse treats then riding Big Thunder Mountain is NOT recommended. You have been warned!). It also gave us a quiet activity to do for when we were tired or waiting for the parade to start (bonus points if you can count how many snails are on the turrets of the castle, a perfect activity for keeping little people quiet!).
I had a blank sheet with the names of each site, then when we found it, I’d add a photo to our Bingo sheet. It was lovely to see it slowly fill up during the week. I also gave a copy to our friends who were visiting DLP at the same time and they were very happy to go hunting for the little-known spots they might otherwise have missed.
Despite our best efforts, we didn’t complete our Bingo sheet, but that’s ok because there’s always so much to see at DLP, I’ve added them to our Bingo sheet for our next visit! I’m already working on it (how did I not know about the Wicked Queen looking down on Fantasyland from one of the windows?) and will share it when it’s finished. Let me know if you play DLP Bingo during your holiday, I’d love to hear how you get on.
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