Wow. Just wow. If you had asked me to write this post last Wednesday I honestly don't think I could have because I was just lost for words. I feel so lucky to have been able to be at Disneyland Paris on April 12th, the official 25th anniversary of Disneyland Park. It was honestly the most magical day and it 100% reminded me of why I love Disney so much.

We got to the park just before it opened at 8am, which was a little bit later than we had planned. Luckily we'd parked in the Disney Village car park so there was no line at security and we were able to go straight through to the park, as the gates opened as soon as we got there. Once in the park, we picked up our free badges and programmes and headed straight down the arcade to central plaza. We didn't have the best view and were about 5 people away from the front, but considering people who were at the front had been queuing since about 4am, we didn't really mind!

We were waiting for about an hour before the show started and it was so so worth it! I don't think my words can still do any justice for just how incredible this show was, but I'll give it a go. To begin with, Mickey and all his friends came out from the castle (which was magical enough as it was). Then, as the show went on, characters that represented each of the lands came out and had a section of music and dancing. There was so many amazing rare characters out, like Kuzko, The Rescuers and the experiments from Lilo and Stitch, but my personal highlight was seeing all three of the Aristocats (my all time favourite Disney film). Right at the end, Catherine Powell, the president of Disneyland Paris, came out and made a speech before all the cast members came out and did a massive flash mob. I managed to hold it together until this point where I just started sobbing thinking "THIS WILL BE ME SOON!". Whilst it would have been amazing to be nearer the front and seen everything a little better, I just feel so happy and lucky to have been able to see it all in person. I've already watched it again on YouTube and you should definitely check it out if you haven't already. 

Later on in the day there were two 25th anniversary cavalcades, which was basically a parade of all the characters that we had seen that morning. We wanted to make sure we were at the front for this one, so we got there as soon as the first cavalcade finished and waited for almost 2 hours for the second one (the top of my head is still very sunburnt!). It was so worth it to be able to be at the front though and see all of the characters up close. I was able to take some amazing pictures which I know I will treasure forever!

I know there were things that we didn't do, like meeting Mickey and Minnie and everyone in their anniversary costumes, but the day was still absolutely magical without that. It was such perfect weather and I don't think I've ever seen the park looking so clean and sparkly! Bring on the 30th anniversary! 

If you want to see more pictures of my trip, check out my new Disney Instagram!

Thanks for reading!

Amy xxx

As you're reading this I'm currently in Disneyland Paris for the 25th anniversary (so expect a photo diary post or two from the trip next week!). Because of this, I wanted to do something Disney themed for this week's post. Disney is a massive part of my life and most of their films have really great life lessons and messages, and give us some really great motivational and inspirational quotes. Some of these quotes have proved to be great life lessons so I thought I would share some of my favourites;

"Just because it's what's done, doesn't mean it's what should be done" - Cinderella (Cinderella)

"Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them" - Marie (The Aristocats)

"Remember you're the one who can fill the world with sunshine" - Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

"You must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul" - Gusteau (Ratatouille)

"Don't just fly, soar" - Dumbo (Dumbo)

"Have courage and be kind" - Ella's mother (Cinderella)

"Today is a good day to try" - Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

"Our fate lives within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it" - Merida (Brave)

"A little consideration, a little thought for others, can make all the difference - Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)

"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart" - Zeus (Hercules)

These are just some of my favourites, there are so many other great quotes but these ones just have a lot of meaning in my life. If any of your favourites aren't here then let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Amy xxx

So March has been a very busy but boring month for me, with a lot of assignments and deadlines for me to deal with. This means that I haven't really been buying much stuff so I don't really have any new favourites this month; at least nothing exciting enough to warrant a blog post. I said in my January favourites post that I was determined to do a favourites post every month though and I want to try and keep that for as long as possible so I thought I would do something a bit different this month. In May last year I did a Pinterest favourites and I really enjoyed it so here are my favourites from Pinterest this month.

 These flowers | This photo of Santorini 

 Rapunzel's tower in WDW | Mickey Mouse being adorable

 This kitchen | This bathroom

 This dress | This playsuit

These unicorn macarons | This unicorn hot chocolate

When I was younger, I absolutely hated the characters at Disneyland. Like, run-away-kicking-and-screaming-if-they-were-even-in-the-same-room-as-me hated them. When I go to a Disney park now though, it's 100% my favourite thing to do. I know the queues are normally very long and it might not be as exciting to some people as the rides, but I love how it's a different experience every single time and that I can have an interaction completely unique to me. But I know that some people don't like meeting characters because they find it really awkward, or don't know what to do when they meet them, so here are some of my tips for meeting characters at the Disney parks.

Get an autograph book

I think some people think that autograph books are just for children but they're definitely not. Not only are they something that you can keep after your holiday to remember all the characters that you've met, but they're also a great way to start an interaction with a character. If you're a bit nervous then saying 'could you sign this for me?' (please don't just shove it in their face!) is the perfect way to get things going with them. Some of them have really fun autographs as well, so you could start a conversation with them about how cool their signature is and go from there.

Wear character specific clothes/ears

Obviously you can't wear a different character specific outfit for every single character you meet, but if there's a certain character that you know you are going to meet that day then wearing something to do with them or their movie is the perfect way to get a good interaction. The character will normally notice it themselves and ask you about it (or point to it if they can't talk) but if they don't, don't hesitate to show it to them and ask if they like it. Some of my best character interactions have come out of wearing certain character ears, and I often keep 2 pairs of ears in my bag at once. Marie from the Aristocats is my favourite childhood character, so I have a pair of Marie ears that I wear whenever I meet her. When I went to Disneyland Paris last year, I was wearing them in the queue and she came over to me whilst we were waiting and gave me a big hug and fussed over me before it was even my turn to meet her!

A lot of people find it really awkward to talk to the fur characters because they can't talk back to you, but that doesn't mean you can't have a great interaction with them. As long as you don't ask them ridiculously complicated questions, they are able to answer you with gestures and movement and you can easily have a full conversation with them. If you're not sure what to say, simple things like telling Minnie Mouse that you like her dress or asking Chip and Dale if they've had any acorns today are perfect ways to start up a conversation. There's nothing worse than seeing someone queue for an hour just to walk up to a character, pose for a picture and leave without saying a word!

Suspend your disbelief

Let's be honest, as adults we all know that the characters at the Disney parks are just people in costumes. But, if you want to have a good interaction with them, you need to forget about that and act as if you really are talking to Winnie the Pooh or Peter Pan. It might seem a bit silly at first but you'll feel so much less awkward and you'll get a much better character interaction out of it. No one is going to think that you look stupid, these people are paid to be those characters and most of them absolutely love what they do. They know their characters inside out and will be much more responsive to you if you treat them like the character that they are.

Thanks for reading and I hope these tips help!

Amy xxx

Some of my favourite posts I've done are photo diaries from various trips and holidays. I love going through all of my photos and being able to share some of my favourite ones on my blog. In September 2015, a few months before I started my blog, I went to Copenhagen with my family for a few days and I realised that I have never shared any of my photos from the trip, neither on my blog nor anywhere else. I had a really lovely time there, it was such a beautiful city and we even took a train over to Sweden for a morning too. I thought it would be such as shame to not share any of my pictures so here are a few of my favourites.