The Tokyo Disneyland Experience
(Video and photos are on Facebook)
The day started out worrisome, I got an upset stomach due to nerves and bad sleep the night before. At 9:00 we all met at the station and started our journey. I was pretty excited but it hadn't really hit me yet that I was going to Disney. We arrived and found our way to the gate. My first adventure was in the credit card - they didn't take it, so I had to pay Yen for the ticket. I was pretty upset but eventually got over it, there wasn't anything I could do. Plus, I was in DISNEYLAND. IN JAPAN.
Walking to the Park took pictures of the entrance gate and hotel. Only at the end of the walk did I realize that the walkway had little statues of Disney characters.
The first thing we saw was the gigantic Christmas tree (that was real!). It was amazing. And then as you walked around that the Castle came into view. I started to tear up, not gonna lie. As we got closer to the castle, we caught the end of the White Holiday Parade. The sun was shining and I'm short so the pictures I have aren't the best. I was standing on my toes and just pointing the camera in the general direction. I originally thought that I would only see Mascot Characters there (Mickey, Goofy, etc) so when I saw Face Characters (people instead of costumes) of Alice and Mad Hatter on the floats - I got very excited. And tried to form a plan as to how to meet the Hatter.
We then went closer to the Castle and then off to go through Swiss Family Robinson walkthrough. There was a slight earthquake while on the top.
Then we headed off for Pirates of the Caribbean ride. On the walk, we ran into a band of pirates playing music. While in line for the ride, Captain Jack Sparrow came walking by with the band. Kyle was in front of me and in my excitement I hit his arm a few times, "Dude, DUDE, DUDE" and pulled out my camera. I was confused as to why it wasn't taking a picture - but the result was a four second video of him. And he was great, he had the speech and mannerisms down. The ride itself was pretty great. The animatronics were so well done and at one point we were getting bombed on by Barbossa.
Lunch was a sandwich, fries and orange soda (that actually tasted like orange soda and not carbonated orange juice) for a reasonable price.
Kyle and Ryan went off to ride some roller coaster and Mikko and I went to do other things - we happened upon Star Tours - but at the very last minute we saw what the ride consisted of (sharp turns, sudden stops, shaking) and we backed out. I was pretty upset because I was hoping to ride something - but I know I would have gotten ill on it. When we walked out, we saw the end of Jubilation! a once-a-day parade. But yet again I was in the back and just standing on my toes and aiming in the general direction. Peter Pan was on a float and I got very giddy. I took some video and, of course, after I stopped filming, he crows. I got a few shots of Tinkerbell but they are blurry but as they're zoomed in, I couldn't bring myself to delete them.
I then went around and tried on a bunch of hats that I've seen others wear. They were fun but as I wouldn't wear them anywhere other than Disney, I didn't buy one.
At 3:40 was the next (and last) White Holiday Parade. As I missed most of the first one, and had such horrible pictures, I was determined to find a good spot and wait the hour needed. I actually got three rows of people back from the curb and sat down the whole time while I waited, and during the parade itself. It was so great. I was grinning like a five year old the entire time. This time when Hatter and Alice appeared, their float turned them around so thanks to zooming in, my video got the full run - I'm glad Hatter started on my side and then as he left my view made a full circle. Tinkerbell and Terence were on the same float and I got some pictures and a video of them. I couldn't do photos as well as the video for Hatter - it was too short of a run. Mickey and Minnie were iceskating on a float and I missed the chance to get a video of Micky blowing a kiss in my general direction - but I think the video was good. Except for the shaking. At this point it was past 3:40 and I was shivering I was so cold. Having put my green and gray jackets away in a locker so as not to have to carry them around all day long, I was starting to miss them. But I did the best I could, shivering and all. Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger were on the next float but Eeyore never really turned my direction. Max and Goofy rode skateboards. Chip and Dale were skating on their float. Santa ended the parade.
We looked around the shops, as I was shivering and had planned on buying a hoodie there anyway. At first we only found a thin thing that wasn't very warm at all. Then in another shop we found a great thin one but it was so expensive and while it had Mickey embroidered on it, you couldn't really tell it was Disney. So I opted for the less expensive (but still rather expensive) and a bit too large (not large child sizes, just Medium). The Discover card was rejected again and I had to pay Yen for it. But it's warm, thick and you can tell it's from Tokyo Disneyland. The guys got dinner and then we all got Mickey Waffles after (that was my dinner). We rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin which, after we got in our cabs, decided to break down. The wait was about 20 minutes I think, and then we got to get on again. The ride itself was pretty great, especially the instant black hole where Roger held it out and then stuck it to the wall so it really looked like we were going into it.
Shopping again and I got two ornaments and a Mad Hatter cellphone charm. By around 4:30 and on my camera got kinda useless as it took grainy pictures of everything so the guys each have about 25+ photos of things for/of me on their cameras. So when they upload their photos I'll have even more to add to my own collection!
Haunted Mansion was great as it merged A Nightmare Before Christmas and the original ride as one thing. It was really great. And not scary at all.
A snack of Mike's Melon Pan and a Chocolate and Walnut Micky brownie. Then I met up with the gang and got a Mocha Hot Chocolate partly because Ryan's was so delicious, I wanted something warm, and the guy at the counter was adorable.
I got some white rose earrings that have little Mickey's hanging from them. I debated for a few minutes and when I finally decided to buy them the girl behind the counter was smiling. She asked (in Japanese) if I was a foreign student and I said yes. She asked where I said America/West Virginia and she said she had studied at Arkansas! How cool is that?
Fireworks at the castle after and then Kyle and Ryan made for the last ride of the night. Then we made our way out of the Park. Okay, so I had to be dragged out, but still, the shops were closing and the announcements were being made.
It was about 11 hours and the best day ever.
I still can't believe I went to Disney...I'm on such a happy hangover. I was like a five year old the entire day. If I ever did get upset about something (unable to use the credit card, only seeing the end of the once-a-day parade, etc), it only lasted for a few minutes. Because I was in JAPAN'S DISNEYLAND.
The day started out worrisome, I got an upset stomach due to nerves and bad sleep the night before. At 9:00 we all met at the station and started our journey. I was pretty excited but it hadn't really hit me yet that I was going to Disney. We arrived and found our way to the gate. My first adventure was in the credit card - they didn't take it, so I had to pay Yen for the ticket. I was pretty upset but eventually got over it, there wasn't anything I could do. Plus, I was in DISNEYLAND. IN JAPAN.
Walking to the Park took pictures of the entrance gate and hotel. Only at the end of the walk did I realize that the walkway had little statues of Disney characters.
The first thing we saw was the gigantic Christmas tree (that was real!). It was amazing. And then as you walked around that the Castle came into view. I started to tear up, not gonna lie. As we got closer to the castle, we caught the end of the White Holiday Parade. The sun was shining and I'm short so the pictures I have aren't the best. I was standing on my toes and just pointing the camera in the general direction. I originally thought that I would only see Mascot Characters there (Mickey, Goofy, etc) so when I saw Face Characters (people instead of costumes) of Alice and Mad Hatter on the floats - I got very excited. And tried to form a plan as to how to meet the Hatter.
We then went closer to the Castle and then off to go through Swiss Family Robinson walkthrough. There was a slight earthquake while on the top.
Then we headed off for Pirates of the Caribbean ride. On the walk, we ran into a band of pirates playing music. While in line for the ride, Captain Jack Sparrow came walking by with the band. Kyle was in front of me and in my excitement I hit his arm a few times, "Dude, DUDE, DUDE" and pulled out my camera. I was confused as to why it wasn't taking a picture - but the result was a four second video of him. And he was great, he had the speech and mannerisms down. The ride itself was pretty great. The animatronics were so well done and at one point we were getting bombed on by Barbossa.
Lunch was a sandwich, fries and orange soda (that actually tasted like orange soda and not carbonated orange juice) for a reasonable price.
Kyle and Ryan went off to ride some roller coaster and Mikko and I went to do other things - we happened upon Star Tours - but at the very last minute we saw what the ride consisted of (sharp turns, sudden stops, shaking) and we backed out. I was pretty upset because I was hoping to ride something - but I know I would have gotten ill on it. When we walked out, we saw the end of Jubilation! a once-a-day parade. But yet again I was in the back and just standing on my toes and aiming in the general direction. Peter Pan was on a float and I got very giddy. I took some video and, of course, after I stopped filming, he crows. I got a few shots of Tinkerbell but they are blurry but as they're zoomed in, I couldn't bring myself to delete them.
I then went around and tried on a bunch of hats that I've seen others wear. They were fun but as I wouldn't wear them anywhere other than Disney, I didn't buy one.
At 3:40 was the next (and last) White Holiday Parade. As I missed most of the first one, and had such horrible pictures, I was determined to find a good spot and wait the hour needed. I actually got three rows of people back from the curb and sat down the whole time while I waited, and during the parade itself. It was so great. I was grinning like a five year old the entire time. This time when Hatter and Alice appeared, their float turned them around so thanks to zooming in, my video got the full run - I'm glad Hatter started on my side and then as he left my view made a full circle. Tinkerbell and Terence were on the same float and I got some pictures and a video of them. I couldn't do photos as well as the video for Hatter - it was too short of a run. Mickey and Minnie were iceskating on a float and I missed the chance to get a video of Micky blowing a kiss in my general direction - but I think the video was good. Except for the shaking. At this point it was past 3:40 and I was shivering I was so cold. Having put my green and gray jackets away in a locker so as not to have to carry them around all day long, I was starting to miss them. But I did the best I could, shivering and all. Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger were on the next float but Eeyore never really turned my direction. Max and Goofy rode skateboards. Chip and Dale were skating on their float. Santa ended the parade.
We looked around the shops, as I was shivering and had planned on buying a hoodie there anyway. At first we only found a thin thing that wasn't very warm at all. Then in another shop we found a great thin one but it was so expensive and while it had Mickey embroidered on it, you couldn't really tell it was Disney. So I opted for the less expensive (but still rather expensive) and a bit too large (not large child sizes, just Medium). The Discover card was rejected again and I had to pay Yen for it. But it's warm, thick and you can tell it's from Tokyo Disneyland. The guys got dinner and then we all got Mickey Waffles after (that was my dinner). We rode Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin which, after we got in our cabs, decided to break down. The wait was about 20 minutes I think, and then we got to get on again. The ride itself was pretty great, especially the instant black hole where Roger held it out and then stuck it to the wall so it really looked like we were going into it.
Shopping again and I got two ornaments and a Mad Hatter cellphone charm. By around 4:30 and on my camera got kinda useless as it took grainy pictures of everything so the guys each have about 25+ photos of things for/of me on their cameras. So when they upload their photos I'll have even more to add to my own collection!
Haunted Mansion was great as it merged A Nightmare Before Christmas and the original ride as one thing. It was really great. And not scary at all.
A snack of Mike's Melon Pan and a Chocolate and Walnut Micky brownie. Then I met up with the gang and got a Mocha Hot Chocolate partly because Ryan's was so delicious, I wanted something warm, and the guy at the counter was adorable.
I got some white rose earrings that have little Mickey's hanging from them. I debated for a few minutes and when I finally decided to buy them the girl behind the counter was smiling. She asked (in Japanese) if I was a foreign student and I said yes. She asked where I said America/West Virginia and she said she had studied at Arkansas! How cool is that?
Fireworks at the castle after and then Kyle and Ryan made for the last ride of the night. Then we made our way out of the Park. Okay, so I had to be dragged out, but still, the shops were closing and the announcements were being made.
It was about 11 hours and the best day ever.
I still can't believe I went to Disney...I'm on such a happy hangover. I was like a five year old the entire day. If I ever did get upset about something (unable to use the credit card, only seeing the end of the once-a-day parade, etc), it only lasted for a few minutes. Because I was in JAPAN'S DISNEYLAND.