Earlier this month, a group of 18 campers and staff from Camp Courageous traveled to Paris. (Photos courtesy of Camp Courageous)
The biggest highlight of the trip was spending 12 hours at Disneyland Paris. The group took a photo in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
They toured the Louvre Museum and even got to see the famous Mona Lisa painting up close.
Every year, Camp Courageous plans an international trip, taking campers of all ages around the world to explore sights many of their campers might not otherwise get the opportunity to see.
Earlier this month, Camp took 13 campers and five staff members to Paris, France! Among the many must-sees were the Eiffel Tower and Disneyland Paris.
“We plan these trips a year in advance,” said Rogelio “Ro” Hernandez, assistant travel director.
Hernandez started working for Camp Courageous in the fall of 2021. He was hired as a camp counselor. He then worked his way up to program specialist. In late 2023, he was hired to be part of the travel program.
Originally from the Chicago area, it was a former co-worker of his who introduced him to Camp Courageous.
When Camp Travel Director Emily Bearnth and Hernandez started planning the Paris trip, it started to look at though “the city of lights” was not going to be ideal for those campers who required ADA accessibility.
“Paris is not the most ideal for wheelchair access,” noted Hernandez. “It’s an older city with narrow, cobblestone streets. Everywhere we went we had to use the metro or buses.”
He said there are elevators that take the public to the metro stations, but those are also difficult to maneuver.
“With the metro, you have to look at the logistics with the elevators and wheelchair access,” added Hernandez. “The metro is the life blood of the city, and waling.”
They chose Paris because the city was the host of the 2024 Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics.
The trip took place April 4-11. The group of 18 flew from Cedar Rapids to Dallas, Texas, then a direct flight to Paris.
“We are always concerned about the timeframe with layovers,” said Hernandez.
With campers who require some assistance, having a two-hour layover or so is ideal.
“We learn these lessons from other trips,” he added.
Before they even embarked on their trip, Camp hosted a Paris-themed party at home base to introduce the culture to everyone beforehand.
“We prepped everyone and talked about the itinerary,” said Hernandez.
What sold the campers (and I’m sure the staff) on this particular trip was Disneyland.
“That was a bit hit with the campers!” praised Hernandez.
Other sights included the Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and just enjoying the food and culture around Paris.
While at the Louvre, the group wore matching Camp Courageous shirts so they could all find one another in the crowd. As they approached the famous Mono Lisa painting, a staff member at the museum noticed they wanted a closer look, so they had the general public move to allow the campers a front-row seat to one of the most famous paintings in the world.
“They were great to accommodate us,” noted Hernandez.
The group stayed at Drawing House, a hotel with themed floors and plenty of artwork to marvel at.
“They served us breakfast every morning,” said Hernandez. “And it wasn’t too far from the metro.”
Their first day was spent taking in the Pont Alexandre III, an historic bridge that spans the Seine River.
On their second day in Paris, the group from Camp took a bus tour that highlighted all of the historic places in and around the city. Hernandez said their tour guide would ask trivia questions of the group and Camper Erin “knew all of the answers to the questions.”
The group spent 12 hours at Disneyland Paris, from 10 a.m. to about 10 p.m.
“We wanted to stay for the light show,” said Hernandez.
He said Disneyland provided great ADA accessibility.
One camper, Dusty, is a huge fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. He purchased a fake sword and pirate’s hat and an eye patch to dress in style as they made their way around the park.
“He was in full pirate mode,” laughed Hernandez.
Their last day was spent having dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower on the 53rd floor.
“You could see all of Paris,” marveled Hernandez. “It was pretty impressive. There’s so much history there and with how they constructed it.”
They all got to take turns standing on the glass panels that made up the first floor of the Tower.
At 9 p.m. the Eiffel Tower than sparkles and glows in the night sky.
“Camp Jonathan was almost brought to tears over his excitement,” relayed Hernandez. “We all fed off the campers’ energy every day.”
Jonathan even practiced his French just for this trip, and brought his translation book along, too.
“He knew the most French than any of us,” added Hernandez. “We were asking him how to say different things.”
The group had phenomenal weather the entire trip. They lucked out, because the following week, it called for rain.
“Everything went very smooth,” remarked Hernandez. “We all love what we do, and we’re here to support the campers to make sure they have the best travel experiences.”
To learn more about Camp’s travel program, visit https://campcourageous.org/travel-information/.