DISNEY MAGIC ...AND MORE

STEVE HUGHES TAKES HIS FAMILY ON AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE TO DISNEYLAND PARIS

MY SON Albie ran towards me from the exit gate of the Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain and gushed: “I loved it!”

This was a big moment.

Earlier in the day, the six-year-old had been terrified of the Flying Carpets ride, an attraction so tame that even I – the biggest theme park wimp in history – barely noticed I was on it.

Just a few hours later and he was beaming, having conquered the most exhilarating roller coaster Disneyland Paris has to offer. The magic of Disney had really worked on Albie, and now he was having the time of his life. But it wasn’t the first breakthrough of the week.

We were staying at the La Croix du Vieux Pont Eurocamp holiday park, which is an hour-and-a-half drive from Disneyland and two-and-ahalf hours from Calais.

On our first day of the holiday, Albie and his older brother Fred had finally swam a length of a swimming pool.

That doesn’t sound like much, but after years of holding them afloat and trying to get them to let go, my wife Rachel and I felt like cracking open a bottle of the local champagne, which happens to be produced just up the road.

The indoor and outdoor swimming pools, complete with slides and a hot tub, are just part of many activities around the camp.

There are three lakes for fishing, one of which you can hire pedalo boats and kayaks on.

Next to the boating lake is a kids’ activity park, with mini-quad bikes, bungee trampolines, and an outdoor soft play which was loved by two-year-old Wilbur.

There is also an artificial beach which surrounds a shallow lagoon.

If your children love nothing more than spending hours digging holes in sand and paddling in shallow water, then this is the spot for you. It has all the benefits of a real beach, without constantly having to make sure your kids have not been washed away to sea.

It is also located next to a bar which, in the evenings, becomes the hub of various forms of entertainment, including a mini-disco, music quiz, live band and, in October, a Halloween ghost trail.

The park also has a grocery store, brasserie restaurant, a takeaway, a pub showing live sport, a bowling alley and an archery/shooting range. You could easily spend a week inside La Croix du Vieux Pont without running out of things to do.

But there is so much to explore within driving distance that it’s worth venturing outside.

The first thing you notice in northeastern rural France are the vast open fields, interspersed with cemeteries full of identical graves.

This flat and peaceful terrain was once witness to the horrors of the Western Front in the First World War.

As well as the sombre graveyards, the Armistice Museum in the Forest of Compiègne is worth a visit.

This was the exact spot where the Armistice treaty was signed on November 11, 1918, bringing an end to the worst war the world had ever seen.

Along with some harrowing but sobering photographs, there is an exact replica of the train carriage where the famous moment took place.

Just 20 minutes down the road is the Château de Pierrefonds, a restored 12th-century castle which piqued the interest of my kids (and me) because it was used as the location of Camelot in the BBC series Merlin.

The excitement of Merlin’s castle was never going to compete with Disneyland though.

La Croix du Vieux Pont is a perfect base for a trip to Europe’s most-visited theme park, in terms of both distance and value.

We opted for a two-day ticket at Disney, with a stay in an on-site hotel, but having our three-bedroom holiday home back at the parc meant we could leave most of the things we needed for a self-catering break back there.

The magic of Disneyland Paris rubs off on even the most cynical, and it wasn’t long before I was welling up at the sight of Mary Poppins dancing with Pinocchio during the daily parade of the studio’s most famous characters.

Other much-loved family highlights included the virtual reality Ratatouille Adventure Ride, which – with the help of 3D glasses – made it feel like you were a rodent being chased through a kitchen.

And the ghost train known as Phantom Manor was also loved by Albie, particularly the second time around when he actually kept his eyes open.

However, neither of these competed with the theme park’s newest land, Marvel Avengers Campus. Watching Thor, Black Panther and Spider-man fighting the bad guys on the roof of the shop was a big thrill.

But not as much as the Avengers Assemble roller coaster.

Or so I’m told. I was waiting at the bottom with Wilbur!

There is so much to explore within driving distance...