Charlie had to work again today so I decided to brave the heat and head to Tokyo Disneyland. There are actually two parks in Tokyo now. Tokyo Disneyland (TDL) which is similar to the Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disney Sea (TDS). I read a lot of blogs before going and knew that seeing two parks in one day would be a challenge.
Disclaimer- this post is long. I am writing in detail for my Disney buddies- and I am standing in line a lot with nothing else to do today…
I started the day bright and early and was in line for TDS before opening. It took about 30 minutes from when the gates opened until I was seated on my first ride. I started with “journey to the center of the earth”. This ride is built on a mechanism similar to the cars ride at California adventure. Slow moving as you go deeper into the earth. Then a propulsion system shoots you out of a volcano. It was fun but the wait time to length of ride was not reasonable. I am glad I went there first and had little wait. I had grabbed a fast pass on my way in but never ended up using it. It wasn’t worth backtracking for. Then I jumped on 10000 leagues under the sea, raging spirits (single rider= no wait) and Indiana jones (single rider= no wait). All these rides were new to me and IJ was a little different than home. I didn’t think that the language would hinder my experience but I have to say when the animatronic Harrison ford was speaking in japanese it just made me laugh. The best part was that I sat with two girls who were terrified the entire time. I barely resisted the urge to tickle their necks when we went through the bug room. The park is on the ocean which is cool- but there isn’t much shade so I did a lap through the theme areas and headed to TDL.
The first thing I noticed at TDL was no Matterhorn! It seemed like there was a gaping hole in the landscape. I hurried to space mountain for a fast pass- return time 5:45 (I got it at 10:45) not bad and I can get another at 12:40.
My priority today is to go on rides that I have never seen or that are significantly different.
I waited in line for about an hour to ride the monsters inc ride. It was kind of interactive where you shine a flashlight at characters and make them move. I thought we were going for points like buzz light year so I probably looked a little silly to my neighbors.
I have also realized that not knowing when photos are happening on new rides leads to me ruining snapshots for everyone else in my car… Not smiling, eyes closed and spacing out are my photo achievements so far today.
After monsters I tried the lottery for a seat at the fireworks- no sccess there…
I realized I was hungry and decided on a Mickey shaped burger. While eating I took another look at my fast pass and realized to my dismay that I had gotten the wrong one! Instead of space mountain I managed to get one for an interactive session with stitch that is comeplety in Japanese… Oh well another object for my scrapbook…
I took a ride on its a small world which was very cool and not as updated as at home. I appreciated the old paper mâché kids and animals. I had about 10 minutes to kill before I could get another fast pass so I went to mickeys philharmonic. It was a cute 3D musical mashup with water sprays and scents. One thing I do appreciate is how the Japanese seem to be much more enamored with Classic Disney characters instead of the new stuff. You see some frozen stuff here and there but Donald and Mickey are still the stars here.
The souvenir I really wanted today is a pair of Mickey ears with my name in Japanese. When I was near the teacups I started looking for the mad hatter shop- I am sad to say it isn’t here and when I started looking around I realized no one is wearing ears. Plenty of headbands and these hooded towel things but no ear hats!
The fashion statements are another thing entitely. I have seen hundreds of people in matching outfits. Pairs, couples, families and groups of friends clearly put tons of effort into planning and coordinating their outfits for the day.
I could have photographed these groups ball day but I didn’t want to be rude…
Another interesting thing is how many people bring their stuffed animals along and carry them around all day. Especially a bear named Duffy. I have no idea who Duffy is but seem to remember him being a mascot for the park instead of Mickey at some point. I will have to look it up.
Stuffed toys attached to big bags of more toys.
After the philharmagic I got a fast pass for Poohs honey hunt- another ride unique for here. I turned around and saw the wait time was only 30 minutes so I got in line anyway-today is just a fast pass fail. The pooh ride was amazing. One of the best Disney rides I have ever experienced.
A quick run up the single rider line for splash mountain was next. This is another ride that has been done better here than at home.
After that came the tiki room- which has recently re-opened here with a Hawaiian/stitch theme. I was bummed there was no pineapple whip stand! Then the Swiss family Robinson tree house. I was super excited to see it because it no longer exists at home and I had never seen it. I was the only person walking through and it made me want to watch the movie again. There were also some great views.
I took a break and had a Popsicle while people watching. Then I wandered back to tomorrow land and finally got a fast pass for space mountain. With two hours to burn before my fast pass was good I managed more rides than expected- star tours, Pirates, jungle cruise (also updated), haunted mansion, and another spin on the Pooh ride. I did some shopping and final got to ride space mountain. There are no in car speakers so the only sounds were screaming girls. It was interesting- I am not sure which version I prefer.
After space mountain I hopped on the hour train back to Tokyo. I just didn’t have any energy left to wait for the fireworks. In all it was a wonderful day. I would love to have two or three days here and stay in a hotel near the park-but I just can’t justify coming using precious Tokyo time at Disneyland. The park is smaller, cleaner, and seems to have maintained Classic Disney better than at home. That said- I still like the original the best.
