The Most Magical Place on Earth, Tokyo Style
Riccardo wanted to go to Disneyland before leaving Japan. Friday we decided to go. Friday we got our tickets. Friday we departed. As mentioned, the drive to Tokyo took only an hour and a half, and after a few hours of in-room karaoke we were off to dreamland.Early Saturday morning we semi-enthusastically prepared for our day. We hoped to be there by opening (8am), but a slow-moving girl and even slower-moving traffic ensured our late arrival; we pulled into the park around 9am.
Sources said that if we visited Tokyo Disneyland before the kids were let out of school in mid-July it wouldn't be too busy. Sources were incorrect: the park was a GONGSHOW. As always, everyone and their dog in the free world was sporting Disney paraphenalia, so our first stop was a merchandise shop where I picked up some Marie ears. For those of you who don't remember, Marie was a character in the Aristocats, and is uberpopular with the Japanese. Anyhow, neither Riccardo nor myself needed to feel stupid about wearing our childish ears and (Mickey Mouse) cap because pretty much everyone dresses ridiculously at Disneyland.
Line-ups for rides were long, but we figured out the FastPass route and partook in our fair share of adventures including a canoe trip, a "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" 3D presentation, a train safari, and more famous rides like Space Mountain, It's a Small World, The Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain. Sadly, Splash Mountain was closed for "improvements." We attempted to ride through Toon Town in a crazy car, but after waiting in line for about an hour and a half, and finally getting to about 10th in line, Roger Rabbit's ride broke down. Everyone was evacuated from the line-up and presented with Priority Vouchers to get front-of-the-line access to any other ride in the park. As a result we avoided an estimated 2-hour wait for the Haunted Mansion.
We ate Mickey-shaped food, including life-saving popsicles (as it was a grillion degrees out) and tried to keep hydrated. I remembered to re-apply sunscreen several times, but still ended up a little pink. I also tried to keep my photography in check, Riccardo occassionally reminding me that I already have about 600 pictures from my last visit to Disneyland (with Rebecca, last summer).
I finally got to see the Electric Lights Parade (which we were too tired to stick around for last year) and it was magnificent. After the parade Riccardo and I high-tailed it to Big Thunder Mountain, hoping the previously stated wait time of 120 minutes was lessened. It was. It estimated 90 minutes, we waited about 60. While penned like cattle in the line-up we missed the fireworks show, but it turned out to be worthwhile.
Somehow we ended up on a very genki (happy, enthusiasic, energetic) train. First understand that when exiting a thrill-ride Japanese people usually seem remarkably calm and serene. Everyone on our train, however, was feeling their inner child at that moment. The Big Thunder Mountain ride goes up three slopes to lengthen the ride; each time we ascended everyone in our train would throw their hands in the air and clap at an increasing rate until the summit was reached, at which point we would all shout, laugh and squeal our way down. Our enthusiasm got to such a level that when our train pulled in at the end we promptly gave our ride a collective round of applause - this NEVER happens. And guffawing down the exit corridor our genki group proceeded to start yet another jovial round of clapping. Pretty much the best way to end a fantastic Disney day.
A slideshow of our day at Disneyland follows. Don't forget to hover your cursor over the pictures to see my comments. If the reel is moving too slowly you can increase it's speed with the plus sign on the bottom left.
Darlin',
Thank you very much for this fantastic weekend! This every-day life at work etc. makes it necessary to let out the child within yourself. We did it and it was great!!!
Next time: Disney Sea - and then I am really going to poke Mickey...