It's easy to feel slightly jaded about Christmas when shops start putting up tacky decorations and playing Merry Xmas Everybody in October.

But as I watched my seven-year-old dancing with joy along Main Street USA (Paris actually) with a couple of newly-found friends, snow falling, lights twinkling in the dark and that unmistakeable Disney music serenading them, my flagging festive spirits began to lift.

We were at Disneyland Paris for the launch of the Christmas season, a trip I had made 11 years earlier to the day with my oldest daughter, who is now 17. We had a magical time – and she still has fond memories of it. I wondered if it would be the same with her little sister Clemmie – or would the sparkle have worn off a little after all those years?

Not a bit of it. The whole experience is more polished, ambitious, slick and glittering than ever. Unlike me, dear Mickey and Co have not aged a bit. In fact he’s looking better than before. As Clemmie pointed out: “He’s got so many clothes. His wardrobe must be bigger than my bedroom.” I’m sure it is.

Our journey by Eurostar was excellent. Check-in at St Pancras International was smooth and efficient, the train really clean and comfortable, the food good and the staff charming, helpful and immaculately turned out. Some of our airlines might do well to take note.

Unlike 11 years ago, you are now whisked straight to the Disneyland door so there is no time wasted on transfers from the centre of Paris – and we made the most of every single extra minute.

We loved Mickey’s Winter Wonderland Show, which had it all – snow, ice- skating, big jumpers, singing, a sleigh pulled by real ponies and a bit of romance (Mickey gets the girl).

We loved the Once Upon A Christmas Dream Parade, a procession of glittering floats carrying all the favourite Disney characters, plus Santa of course, and the lighting of the giant Christmas tree in Town Square.

And we really loved the Sleeping Beauty Castle lighting-up spectacle when more than 400,000 fairy lights transform what is, for little girls anyway, the ultimate Disney showpiece into a palace of ice. It takes three full nights’ work to drape the castle with the sparkling “curtains” of light and even the most Scrooge-like visitor would have to agree the results are just gorgeous.

And I haven’t even mentioned the rides yet. It sounds silly but if you are a Disney novice it really is worth putting in a bit of research before you go to familiarise yourself with the layout and decide which rides you want to go on. There are long queues for some so it is worth checking out the “fast pass” system, which involves getting a ticket in advance and returning at an allotted time to cut the wait.

The Walt Disney Studios Park reveals the world of film and television. Explore behind the scenes of your favourite shows, see how the stunts are performed and try some hair-raising rides. A lot of the white-knuckle rides were out of the question with Clemmie, but I did manage to persuade another adult to go on The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror with me. It sends you hurtling down an elevator ride in a spooky hotel at top speed – fantastic!

The Disneyland Park is divided into themed areas – Main Street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Discoveryland and Fantasyland. If you have a little girl, you are most likely to spend most of your time in the latter. Here you will find such treats as Alice’s Curious Labyrinth, Les Voyages de Pinocchio (remember, we’re in France) and It’s A Small World, a slightly bizarre boat ride involving small figures in national costume singing what seems to be a never-ending song – a tune that has stayed in my head for the past 11 years. My eldest adored that ride and guess what, so did Clemmie.

For her, though, the outright winner was Peter Pan’s Flight over the rooftops of London. It was pretty magical – even after the seventh consecutive time.

We also squeezed in a visit to Santa, which was actually slightly less impressive than we imagined.

The children were so excited to see and greet the Disney characters strolling about and the whole Disney experience was so brilliantly, slickly done that you almost didn’t need the Big Man In Red. As one of our party suggested, it would perhaps be better to have Santa Mickey making a guest appearance instead.

But I was impressed by the food.

My memory from last time was that, despite it being France, everything was chips, burgers and Coke. It’s not like that now – our meals included some wonderful Mediterranean dishes, delicious French pastries and even ostrich meat, which Clemmie loved. Again, this is worth researching before you go because there is such a choice of places to eat. The good news is you do so much walking, you can stuff yourself and not put on a pound.

What I love about Disneyland – and it was the same last time – is it makes you feel as if you’re in a lovely, heartwarming film. I didn’t hear the words “credit crunch” once while we were there. Now it’s back to reality – but at least I’ve found my Christmas spirit.

* We stayed at Disney’s Hotel New York. Prices for a two-night, three-day package, including return travel with Eurostar during December, start from £417 per adult, £186 per child aged seven to 11 and £85 per child aged four to six (travel only).

*Children under seven stay free during Mickey’s Magical Party until January 2. The price includes continental breakfast and three day hopper tickets for the parks. The same package staying at Hotel Santa Fe starts from £299 per adult, £186 for seven to 11-year-olds and £85 for four to six-year-olds. For more information, visit www.disneylandparis.com or call 0844 8008111.

* Eurostar operates a daily direct service to Disneyland Paris. From January 4, direct services to the resort will no longer operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays except during school holidays. Fares are from £69 standard class return (adult), £44 (children aged four to 11). Children under four travel free (not allocated a seat). Leisure Select travel is from £146 return (adult) and £94 (child aged four to 11). Tickets are available from eurostar.com or from 0870 5186186.