when i first found out i was going to japan for a year, i was very excited for the chance to visit tokyo disneyland, so of course that was what i was most excited for during this trip! and even though it was quite different than california's (aka.. my home away from home), i was not disappointed.
we went in the evening both days (6pm the first day and 3pm the second) because the tickets were cheaper. they don't have park hopper tickets, and we wanted to experience both parks, so we got the starlight passport which lets you go later in the day for a discounted price. we took the subway to get there, which had its own little stop.. that made it easy!
this way!!
walking to the entrance!
mickey's passport for japan.. just like us! :)
tokyo disneyland is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year
it was interesting to see that mainstreet was covered! i don't even want to imagine how packed it gets in there when it rains.
i was excited to see the walt and mickey statue :)
there wasn't a little moat around the small world ride for the boats! alison and i were *this close* to going on the ride just to see how the set-up was and what was up with the boats.. luckily adrienne talked us out of it :) sorry mom!
EVERY ride had a short line! the longest ride was thunder mountain, and it was only 25 minutes or so! i had to take a picture for space mountain because this would NEVER happen in california!
we went on thunder mountain (better than california's! the ride was longer and had more fun stuff), pirates (about the same... but i did enjoy the skull at the beginning speaking in japanese! and there is even a blue bayou!), haunted mansion (it was the nightmare before christmas theme and different in most parts when compared to california's.. the building itself was very different), autopia, and space mountain (different.. but i liked how the beginning didn't make me dizzy! and no picture, but still a flash!). alison and i wanted to go on peter pan, but they cut the line off early! that would NEVER happen in california! when we were in line for thunder mountain, some high schoolers that were in front of us kept staring and whispering. i think they were trying to muster the courage to talk to us, because they finally turned to us and started asking us questions in english. they were cute :) all the rides were entertaining because they were all in japanese... i loved it!
tokyo disneyland is full of crazy hats.. and i thought the ones in california were crazy! these even come with tails to wear haha. so many people were wearing these too! i didn't see anyone wearing regular mickey ears.. i guess i should have brought mine to wear! there are even clip on ears.. i couldn't resist and got a pair :)
what i was disappointed in was the amount of snackage.. haha, i'm so american! i was craving a caramel apple, but no such luck. there were churros.. but there was only one cart, and i forgot where it was. i did find popcorn, so i decided to get some in honor of dad getting it every time he goes to california's disneyland. well, i was in for a surprise! there was not one popcorn cart that had original, buttered popcorn. there was soda (i had to try it.. addicting!! haha), cappuccino, curry (smelled like my classroom on curry bento days haha), coconut, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, pepper (ick!), and honey. it started to become a game.. every time i saw a popcorn cart, i would try and smell what flavor it was before i looked at the sign haha. it was fun that there were so many flavors of popcorn, but there could have at least been other snacks as well! what about the pretzel mickeys and giant pickles?!
i was also disappointed in the fireworks show. california has spoiled us!! we were around main street, so we decided to catch the fireworks. it was probably two or three minutes long.. nothing spectacular. i did like the mickey ears fireworks though. i miss the fire, music, lazers, and tinkerbell from california's fireworks show! we had a good laugh about it :)
saturday was disney sea!! on our way to the monorail...
to get to disney sea, you have to take the monorail.. and pay! but it was okay.. look how cute their monorail is!!!
the entrance to disney sea
the different lands were called ports and were water themed.. this is mediterranean harbor. tower of terror is on the left!
very pretty!
so as we're walking, all of a sudden we see all these people staring at this wall pointing and taking pictures... they were so excited! and since they are all speaking in japanese, we have no idea what's going on haha. so i'm staring (at the wall and the people's hand gestures haha) and realize that there is a hidden mickey! can you find it? hint.. you might need to click on the picture to enlarge it.
mysterious island themed port
the volcano is where the ride, journey to the center of the earth, was. we decided since the ride isn't in the california, we should ride it.
it was a two hour wait!!! it was fun people watching though :) even though we couldn't eavesdrop on conversations haha. the ride was fun.. the beginning reminded me of the previews i saw for the movie.. you see giant mushrooms, crystals, weird creatures. then lightning struck (almost peed my pants haha), a giant monster tried to attack us, and then we blasted off (like the beginning of screamin') in the dark.. flew out of the volcano to see the park (like splash mountain), and then the ride stopped. i wanted to go fast some more! but i enjoyed the ride. i better have since i waited two hours for it! :) we then found out that EVERY ride had around a two hour wait.. so we ended up only riding two rides. the other ride was storm rider, which is like star tours, but you are flying into a storm instead. and you get wet. luckily i had my hood :)
american waterfront part of disney sea.. it was new york themed.. so cute!
a cute store in the american waterfront themed port. i had to take a picture because it was scrooge mcduck's store.. i miss duck tales!!
tower of terror! it looks more creepy in tokyo! i think because the one in california looks more cartoonish. sadly, it was also almost a two hour wait and we still had shopping to do!
donald duck.. i took the picture for you meema! :)
in mediterranean harbor on the water, they had a show called candlelight reflections. we didn't get there early enough, so i couldn't really see the show.. i had to hold my camera up to take pictures haha. what i did see was really cute! christmas music played while boats filled with candles and characters dancing floated around in the water. then at the end mickey and minnie talked.. it was funny to hear them talk in japanese with the normal mickey and minnie sound.
disney sea was fun.. i wish we had more time to ride the rides! the only familiar ones were tower of terror and indiana jones. the submarine ride was still 20,000 leagues under the sea.
found out that shopping is completely different here! it fits with the japanese culture though.. the shops were full of sweat rags (i'm not meaning to make it sound gross, but it gets so hot here, so people carry around little towels to wipe their faces), bento boxes, cell phone accessories, key chains, stuffed animals, candy tins, and random accessories. i couldn't find any clothes! it was sad. and the pushing.. oh my.. too much pushing for my liking. if only i knew some other words in japanese haha.. just kidding ;)
we heard stories about the subway being packed like sardines.. but we never experienced that EXCEPT for when we had to get back on the subway from disneyland! haha.. it was quite a sight to see everyone crammed in with disneyland hats and carrying shopping bags. we were lucky though and got seats :)
it was a wonderful two days at both disneyland parks full of fun and laughter. it made me homesick for my true love.. california's disneyland :)
well.. i'm now officially done with my tokyo adventures! it was nice to have a break, but it's also exciting to be back because now it's time for christmas activities and watching christmas movies! i love the christmas season :)
