Sunny Skies at Tokyo Disneyland!

We were ecstatic to finally have a sunny day to hopefully get some great photos of Disneyland. I practically bounded out of bed, feeling that we had acclimated to the time change, and ready for the day! Even though we had been there two days prior, I knew today would be the day we would see Happiness is Here parade the way it was intended to be performed and Dreamlights too. Of course the excitement for attractions and completing the days “Battle Plan” also were important early morning motivators.

Eric made a gourmet breakfast for the two of us, toast. I don’t know why we hadn’t taken advantage of the food items we had in our kitchenette before now. The owner was nice enough to have water, juices, tea, bread/butter, and a few cereals for us. Feeling a little more at home, we found we had some extra time. Still, we were out the door near 6:40 to hopefully catch the 6:55 bus to the park. Having had the toast, we didn’t see our gal pals at Lawson that morning. I have to say I liked going in there during our morning ritual. Stopping at Lawson caused us to almost feel like we lived there and were a part of the neighborhood. We were really enjoying our Airbnb experience.

I don’t know if it was mentioned in past posts, but Eric and I were amused with the fact that parents drop off young kids for the trains. Our bus station was right outside the train station (those trains didn’t head to the parks). We saw kids around 7 and 10 years old, dressed in their school uniforms (yes like Sailor Moon), being left to take the trains on their own. We were impressed by the independence of the kids and the trusting society. It is a shame that here in The States we usually assume the worst of most people in a city setting. Inn Japan there seemed to be a huge sense of security by all the residents.

Everyone is faceless, except one lady giving us the stink eye!

Arriving at the front of the parks Eric and I were met with the beginnings of a large crowd. Thankfully we strolled up early enough to not be in the back of the crowd. Our place in the queue or crowd was quickly blocked from behind as the wave of guests arrived soon after us. Being slightly farther back from the turnstiles, it was harder for us to see the Disney characters that soon appeared. But, that was okay for us. We had seen Mickey and Donald many times before. The reaction of the crowd around us was so full of excitement, you’d think Michael Jackson himself had been resurrected and was there that day!

We hoped the other guests would head to the newly refurbished Jungle Cruise and not to Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek. I am not sure if our prediction was correct because the crowd for Monsters Fast Pass was still a large one. Eric and I were a small piece of the mass of visitors darting into the covered World Bazaar and made a sharp right into Tomorrowland. The locals are not crazy. This is one of the most memorable parts of this trip, the morning dash into the parks. One has to start strong and keep that momentum going throughout the day! These guests know the system and they are masters of it.

Eric waiting to grab our Fast Passes

Just as we had done the other day, we made fast tracks to Fantasyland toward Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. The sunlight was peeking through the trees and caused structures like the castle to glow. This park doesn’t really have the charm and cozy feeling that Disneyland in California conveys, but the grandeur makes up for that. We were definitely reminded how grand it was as we made our long trek to Fantasyland from Tomorrowland.

Riding Pooh’s Hunny Hunt this second time around was still a surreal experience. As we passed through and saw the fascinating scenes, I wondered to myself if this was the last time. Seeing the honey pots independently make their way through the Blustery Day scene was a thrilling sight. There is so much to absorb all at once. Although you are in this vehicle and watching the story unfold, it feels like you missed all of it. I just wanted to stand in that one room for at least five minutes and watch all the gags take place. By seeing Eric’s reactions and expressions, I knew he was thinking similar thoughts. 

When we exited the attraction the both of us  knew we couldn’t leave it at that. We right away had to grab a Fast Pass for the attraction. With our Monsters Inc. passes still not valid until 9:50 AM, we would need to wait before we could get new one. Straight away we jumped into the queue for Pinocchio’s Daring Journey. Eric had mentioned to me that this attraction was made for this park first. Then, when CA’s Fantasyland was renovated in 1983, they put this attraction in there too. I really liked their attraction façade. The interior was the same experience. It seemed there were a few different color choices made on the inside. For one, the greens seemed to be a little more neon in their hues where in CA we have deeper forest greens.

It was still early enough that we felt Splash Mountain would have a decent wait time. Critter Country is very close to Fantasyland, right next door. So, Eric led the way through the morning hustle and bustle to the land of the critters. What is great about going places with Eric is we are okay to split up. We don’t start to freak out if we are 20 to 30 steps ahead of one another. I haven’t tested this out with other people because I don’t want them to feel I think they are too slow. Maybe we will try it out later this spring when we visit Walt Disney World.

  (So dark in there. Taken without flash on the iPhone)

I can’t recall the posted wait time, but we ended up waiting around 35 minutes. In our opinion that is an excellent wait time for Splash Mountain. The queues we have seen for this attraction at the other parks can reach two hours in length. The queue entry for this version takes guests right into what we are used to being the water mill. (In Tokyo, the watermill is found along the façade toward the exit) Unless there was an outdoor area currently unused, this entire queue was indoors. I wish our queue for this in California took the elements into account as well. Most of the queue at the original is outdoors. Something we found great for the Cast Member is the logs are at waist level. The guests step down, into the logs, but the flume is aligned with the waist of the ride operator. There is no need for them to bend down and they can communicate at eye level with us. Guests or people in general don’t like being looked down upon.

The story was told just like Magic Kingdom’s Splash Mountain, but in Tokyo it was nice to see the animatronics all moving and the gags were successful. A rumor I had heard before traveling to Japan was that locals do not like getting wet. I have read people on Twitter say that they have gotten wet on this ride, but that wasn’t true for us. It may have been our luck (we didn’t want to get soaked) like when one rides a raft ride and only 50% of the riders aboard get wet. Maybe the back half of our log was wet and we just didn’t notice. Can anyone confirm this fact about Tokyo’s Splash Mountain keeping riders dry?

The time was pressing forward and we were getting close to our Fast Pass window for Monsters Inc. This also meant that we could grab a pass for Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. We neared the Hunny Hunt distribution about three minutes early and Eric jumped into the queue. That Fast Pass queue moved quicker than it looked because even when he reached the machine, he had to wait another minute before he could get one to print (no, we can’t outwit the computer). Although it was 9:50 AM, our time to ride Pooh would be at 18:00 that evening. With the way we tentatively had laid out the day, riding at 18:00 would give us enough time to get food and choose a parade spot. Did I mention we would see The Electrical Parade: Dreamlights? (wink! wink! Very excited for that)

    I'm still unsure if I loved the Halloween accents.

As we headed back to Monsters Inc. in Tomorrowland we took the scenic route. 

I am pretty much in love with the Tomorrowland main entrance, but I hated that some of it was under wraps.

Something I noticed about our photos of Disneyland is we didn’t take as many castle photos as I would’ve liked. Besides the varied coloring, it is the same structure that stands at WDW. Visiting Florida over the last 12 years we may have taken so many shots of the Magic Kingdom’s castle that we ignored Tokyo’s.

    More free souvenirs!

This would be the first of two Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek experiences of the day. We rode again after Dreamlights with our friend Chris. I have mentioned him before as the person that runs www.TDRexplorer.com , the English guide to the Tokyo Disney Resort. But, we will get to that as the day progresses.

In the upcoming post we get a last minute viewing spot for the Happy Harvest Parade, experience more attractions, adorably cute food offerings, and the Happiness is Here Parade. Check back with us soon for more Tokyo Disneyland fun. I hope after reading over these posts so far, you’re getting the “itch” to gather together a budget and head to Japan! We never thought we would get there and here I am telling you fine folks about it.

Shows, Food, and Skinless Characters at Tokyo DisneySea

Being that it still wasn't Noon, it felt really early to us. I think our bodies were also a little confused with the time too. Even if our bodies were telling us to stop and take a breather we kept going.

We had heard and read a lot about the fortress in the park, and it's accompanying vessel. They are both found at the base of the volcano. Shortly we will see how the volcanic eruptions have affected that edifice. I'm looking on the park map now and it appears to only go by the name "Fortress Explorations" (interactive fun at the fortress and galleon). I really thought there was a more interesting name for this attraction. I am sure there isn't a connection at all, but the main dome reminds me of The Dome of the Rock from Jerusalem, Israel.

It's very easy to get lost inside this structure as all the twist and turns appear the same. Eric had a pretty good idea what he wanted to see and do in there. I was mostly following him and enjoying myself.

We came across some interesting designs that could've been right out of the Italian Renaissance. I'm sure that was the point.

As we had our look around, there was a show going on across the bay. I believe it was called 'Welcome Skeleton Friends". We didn't ever watch it, but it was a show where the skeletons show up on a barge, disembark and dance around with Mickey and Friends. Like in most places, the guest of Tokyo love their stage shows.

In a few areas throughout the park we could see the story of how the volcano overtook a few areas. I guess this fortress wasn't strong enough to keep out the lava.

Having obtained Fast Passes for it, we needed to head back to American Waterfront, we spent a lot of time there, to ride Tower of Terror. This time around we grabbed a few more shots inside. I think taking photos was against the rules, but we sneaked a few here and there, and stayed away from flash.

The Fast Pass return queue was a tad backed up, but that was ok. We were able to take our time while visually taking in some of the story (and grabbing the photos I mentioned). The owner of this hotel had obtained relics from around the world (as explored in a previous post). But, we could now see in murals around the lobby that yes, those previous owners were glad to rid themselves of them. It was also cool to notice that various finds were from themed lands that looked very similar to the park's ports of call. Check it out! We even found a Crystal Skull near the loading area.

Take a look in the back row!

Although the thrills are far better at the American parks, I still wouldn't tell anyone to skip this attraction. A friend of ours, he runs TDRExplorer.com, doesn't care for this one very much. I think he would see there isn't too much to be stressed about. We must have had some energetic fun on this attraction because we were getting hungry by the attraction's end.

The New York Deli is down the city street from Tower of Terror. Since it was around lunch time now, we thought we would get that meal in prior to queueing for the Big Band Beat Show. We had to walk past the theater where it would play. Although the show was nearly an hour away, a crowd awaiting the opening of the doors filled the queue. Why was I not surprised? We didn't know a lot about the show and decided to be surprised by what we would see. 

This park tricks your mind into thinking that you are really not in Japan. There is a sense that it is around 1920/1930s and New York city is your home. From the ads on the street, to the cheeses being aged in shop windows (which we have seen for ourselves in NYC's Little Italy) the hustle of the city enveloped us.

Oh look! We came upon another one of the Skeleton friends. I had heard of 'The Artist", but it wasn't until now that we saw him. He was drawing a portrait of a fellow guest (remember, he was also on vacation). I think he did a pretty good job of it and the crowd loved the drawing too.

Our lunch was pretty basic, sandwiches and french fries. I enjoy the wrappings that all the food is wrapped inside of. Although we were given wet naps with most of our meals, the wrapper is a nice addition for cleanliness. Throughout Tokyo, if something is served to you, a piece of waxed paper is handed to you so that you may hold your food. I am one that hates getting any sauces or oils on my hand, so I loved this. 

The theater announcements for Big Band Beat were very detailed in that absolutely no photography of any kind was allowed. We followed the rule and took in the show. I don't think we wanted to be "those Americans" that broke all the rules for our own sake. 

The show was filled with swing music, live, and a lot of dancing. The singers had some great talent to back up the live band. The look of the show was right out of the 1940s, full of nods to Art Deco and Art Nouveau. At the finale, Mickey came out and tap danced so rapidly that I thought he was going to fall over! This was a moment in the show I wish I had recorded. I bet I can find it on YouTube somewhere. Big Band Beat had some entertaining moments, no question, but there was something it lacked. I can't even suggest what to change. I think it felt very rehearsed, and though professional, seemed very systematic. It wasn't until that final tap number did I feel there was heart and soul imbedded into what they were doing. Other than the parades, the entertainment wasn't delivering the Wow Factor I had heard about. 

When exiting the show, we decided we wanted take their boat ride around the park. We loaded from the same dock area where Duffy greets guests. Apparently Oswald was also nearby, but we didn’t catch a glimpse of him the entire trip. I think we were hoping for the boat to leave us at the Lost River Delta area. The park would have a Halloween cavalcade in that area, but the boat didn’t stop there. Instead, the boat made a full circle around the park as it passed Lost Rover Delta and the Arabian Coast. It headed back and left us right where we started. We felt a little silly as we thought we knew what we were doing.

 

During our tour we see a fun effect where it appears that the water from the Tokyo Bay is breaking through. 

Since we had to go on foot, we took the route through the Cape Cod area. There was a popcorn stand there that we hadn’t tried yet. They sold the Milk Tea flavored popcorn. Our friend Miley said this was her favorite one, so we had to make time for that! As it turned out, this would be our favorite too! I don’t even think I could describe it, but believe me when I say it had a wonderful and unique flavor.

As I had read in a post on Tom Bricker’s blog, the snacking at these two parks is endless! Soon after we finished our popcorn, we continued to seek a spot for the Skeletons Cavalcade, in Port Discovery. Right near where we would wait to watch, we came across a Tiramasu ice cream sandwich that I just had to have! Again, the packaging on this was so adorable! (Even with all the walking we did this trip, I still don’t see how I lost five pounds that week.)

The Skeleton Cavalcade had a fun little beat going, with a Latin feel. After all, we were in an area themed to South America/Mexico/Puerto Rico. I couldn’t really pin down what country exactly, but it conveyed a nice hybrid of them all. However; the costumes they used in this little parade felt right out of Mexico as they danced in the Folklorico style.

The Tokyo parks love to feature the Clarice character from that one Chip n Dale cartoon! We don’t really see her at the parks in the U.S. but she is everywhere here! In this photo, Eric and I like to pretend that she is shouting out, “HEY Gurrrrrrrrrrrrrl!!!”

After the show we continued on through the land to check out more of their Halloween decorations.

 

As we reached the end of Lost River Delta, staring at us in the face is Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage. There is no way were going to pass up riding that again! We have been home over three months now and I am still whistling that soundtrack!

Coming up soon (I hope sooner than the last post) you will see me get a really nice surprise. Also, Eric and I take in the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge and explore the decks of the park’s ship, the U.S.S. Colombia! There is still plenty more we did on this Day 2 of Tokyo Disneysea!