Bucket List or Bust! - Tokyo & Shanghai - November 2016 - Day 9

[Hannikins]

Bucket List or Bust! - Tokyo & Shanghai - November 2016 - Day 9


I had absolutely no idea what to expect this morning. Shanghai had been a lot quieter than I’d expected but I wasn’t counting on Tokyo being as empty. I planned on expecting the worst and HOPEFULLY being pleasantly surprised.

A quick check out at our lovely view whilst enjoying a coffee showed that the rain I’d expected had moved on and the worst of it was some early morning haze







The park opened at 9am and I planned on getting there in plenty of time, that’s why we were up and about and ready to go at 7am. I know, I know, 2 hours was probably a bit excessive, but today was important, today we were completing the bucket list. Once my foot cross over the entrance I could officially say I had visited every Disney in the world (yes I know, not EVERY park yet, but we were counting “magic kingdoms” here).

As it was a special day I had also dressed for the occasion



In the UK I'd probably be sectioned, here, I fit right in

There was a shuttle outside the hotel to take you to the monorail stop, but seriously, it’s a 2-minute walk so we set off on foot.

The station wasn’t very busy either, so I quickly grabbed three-day passes for us both and jumped on.

As it was now officially the Christmas season it was looking rather festive.



How cute are those handles?!?!



As we pulled into the station what I saw below was encouraging.



In fact, when we got to the entrance we weren’t that far away at all.

We joined everyone else by spreading out a park map and sat down to enjoy some breakfast.



I make that sound FAR better than it was, in reality, breakfast was two packets of mini party rings from our hand luggage. I browsed a few park strategies on my trusty wifi and double-checked our plan of attack.

As we were sat down the time went very quickly. With 30 mins to go, they opened the hotel guest aisle, and people started to enter. We remained sat. There weren’t that many of them really, I guess during quiet times the extortionate cost of an onsite hotel doesn’t make the perks worthwhile, who knows. I know if it was busy those 30 mins might make all the difference!

Finally, the gates opened and we were set free! The plan was to leg it to Monsters Inc first and grab fastpasses.

Mid run I did manage to grab a photo of the “moment” we completed the bucket list.



Not great I know but as it happened I felt so happy, it’s very hard to explain but to know we’d done it was a fantastic feeling.

We ran with everyone else around to Monsters Inc, it was a shame we didn’t have a chance to enjoy the moment but needs must!

Adam did manage a few photos of the rather impressive tree as we made our way through main street







Along the way were lots of cast members holding do not run signs, you really do have to feel sorry for them, I would NOT like to be standing in front of this mass of desperate people!

There was a small queue for FP’s but soon I had them in hand and we followed everyone else onto the ride since the wait time was only 15 mins.

In reality, I don’t even think it was even 5.



It was a fun little ride.



I don’t think I would queue more than 15 mins for it though.

Monsters Inc was right next to Space Mountain so it seemed rude not to give it a go whilst we were here.



We rode Space Mountain a few times, I love this ride, it’s just so much fun. The rate in which the staff turned the carriages around was INSANE. Adam was stopped a few times as they thought he might be too big to fit Not sure why, the carriages aren’t any different from the US parks I didn’t think. They seemed more concerned that it would take him longer to squeeze in/out and ruin their turnaround times, eek!



Whilst in the area I also tried our luck at the lottery for one man's dream, no such luck though, it was a big no for me.

Our monsters inc fp time was coming up so we headed back to use it. I enjoyed the second ride, I got the hang of the touches a little earlier, I’d prefer it more if it was like Men in Black, it lacked the competitive element for me.

As we were now fastpass-less (is that a word? it should be!) we thought we’d try our luck at another headliner, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, so off we went, power walking round to Fantasyland.

As expected the queue for a FP was HUGE.



I decided to join it anyway and brave the chaos.

I’m glad I did, it may have looked huge, but it went very quickly and 10 minutes later I was spat out the other end FP for midday in hand.



Looking at photos like that makes me think, "AH CHOAS", but it really wasn’t. What you don’t see is the organisation and a willingness by all to follow the rules. It creates a very well oiled machine that even a crowd hater like myself can brave.

I found Adam hovering around the honey popcorn stand, the SMELL was incredible!



While in the area we had a wander around Fantasyland. What I loved so far was how retro the park felt. I know to some that means old and tired, and frankly, in places it was, but it reminded me of California in that sense.

[Hannikins]

Toontown was one such area.





The wait for Rodger Rabbit was tiny, and since we’d missed it in California we gave it a ride



Adam remembered it from when he was little so it was very nostalgic for him.

By now the party ring breakfast and the initial adrenaline was wearing off so we decided to grab a snack.

Luckily we were in Toontown and I knew just the thing!

A Pizza Spring Roll!



I noticed that here compared to Shanghai, especially at the snack booths, staff didn’t try and speak in English to you, so I went with the standard point and ask in broken Japanese. It did the trick :P

We sat by the fountain to enjoy it



We shared one, the cost was 290 yen (approx £2) It was certainly tasty, I wish we hadn’t shared, I could have easily had another :P

We decided to carry on around the outside of the park.



Having a nosey in the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall as a potential dinner venue on the way around.





We soon stumble upon the haunted mansion, which had a 20 minute queue. It had the Christmas theming so we decided it was worth the wait.







In reality, the queue was more like 30 but I LOVED it. The Nightmare Before Christmas theme was far more in depth than I was expecting and the new soundtrack was very catchy.



We were both a little exhausted now so we decided on having a little break in the main hub and on main street.





Everyone else pretty much had the same idea, but we did get some nice pics, including some of my favourites from the trip.

















Yes, I am wearing gloves, it may look warm, but it wasn’t out of the sun I can assure you!

After much pushing, I even plucked up the courage to ask someone to take a photo of us together. Would have been great if Adam hadn’t blinked!



We sat on the castle balcony for a while taking it all in. I love how different the view is from other parks.



Next, we headed through the castle and Adam found an excellent spot for a photo.



Unfortunately, what he didn’t see was the big long line of people waiting to take said picture, he’d just pushed right in!

OOPS!

Our FP slot for Pooh was coming up so we headed right.



I loved the queuing area for the ride, so cute!



and WOW what a ride!



I’d liked the same ride system from our time in Hong Kong but they made so much more of it here. We’d definitely try and ride this again, unfortunately, there were no FP’s left for the day so it would have to be some other time.

[Hannikins]

I checked the wait times on my app and things were starting to get busier as we hit the afternoon. We walked around to grab FP’s for Space Mountain before heading round to Adventureland, Westernland and Critter Country next. We didn’t ride anything, we just wanted to spend some time taking it all in.









Unfortunately, BTM was closed for our whole stay which was gutting as it’s a fav for both of us.



BY the time we’d explored I noticed that it was almost time for the daytime parade. Tomorrowland seemed to offer the quietest area to watch this so we walked around to grab a space. We found one, spread out our park maps and jackets and sat down.

Everyone around us seemed to have bought lunch to eat but as we’d not even considered where to grab something we decided to wait.



This was a really great parade, With some really cute floats.















After the big cheese had passed us by we decided to finally grab some lunch. Tomorrowland Terrace was the nearest place so we thought that was a good a choice as any!

We both grabbed a set meal at 980 yen each (approx £7)





Both the same except mine had egg on it.

Both were ok, once you get past the novelty of the shape, it’s pretty much just a mediocre burger.

Our Space Mountain FP's were valid now so we walked back around (we did ALOT of back and forth along this back stretch between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, it's father than it looks on maps)

Afterwards, we headed round to the central hub next in search of dessert. I had something special in mind….

Little green men!



and since it was Xmas, we upgraded to the festive holder as well (which we now serve peanuts in at Christmas )



The Japanese LOVE their themed merch. In fact, if you pickup the Japanese version of the today guide you can see all the seasonal merchandise and food listed out by where you can purchase it. And purchase it they do!

Next, we headed to the last area of the park we had left to cover to ride pirates.



Unfortunately after Shanghai it was all a bit deflating, this ride has been forever ruined for us now *cries*

I also tried to get a walk up reservation at Blue Bayou for dinner, but it was fully booked for the day. A note on reservations, I had tried to make some in advance of our stay but hadn’t had much luck without a Japanese address. I know if you stay at the onsite hotels this is a lot easier though, so there’s a big positive for staying onsite. I was still very surprised at the lack of reservations considering it was quiet in general.

We took a ride next on the Jungle Cruise.

I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t Christmas themed. Everything else was the same.



The skipper was hilarious, well I assume he was, everyone was laughing and naturally we did the same just to feel part of it, but honestly, he could have just been reciting what he had for breakfast for all we knew!

We hit a bit of a lull at this point, it was late afternoon and everywhere was pretty busy.

We headed back around to Space Mountain and were surprised to see that the queue was short, we spent a bit of time here reusing FP’s and queueing in between times and riding Star Tours to keep warm as the temperature was dropping considerably.

Eventually, the sun set and the park took on a completely different feel.

[Hannikins]

As we wanted to watch the fireworks and electrical parade tonight we decided on an early dinner and headed toward the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. However, everyone else seemed to have had the same idea and the queue was HUGE!

We were told the queue was about 45 mins, which was going to be cutting it fine for the electrical parade, but we opted to stick it out as we knew everywhere else it would be a similar story.

Eventually, we made it to the front.





We got a starter and main each and passed on desserts, planning on getting a snack for the parade if we had time.

Adam had the seafood and salad



And I had the soup and chicken



Total for the above with two soft drinks came to 4,320 yen (approx £30) which was a little bit steep we thought.

After paying, we had to wait until a seat became available. I love that you are escorted to your table, it takes all the stress of walking around with your tray out of the equation. The wait however, did mean we now had less than 30 mins to eat up and grab a spot for the parade.

It was a shame we had to rush, as this really was a lovely quick service location.

On the way round to find a spot for the parade I noticed that the Tipotorta stand only had a small queue compared to earlier so we jumped in and grabbed two, 360 yen each (approx £2.50). These are basically pastry filled with a hazelnut cream and they were AMAZING! Now I knew why people were queuing for ages for one.



I could have killed for a coffee with them though as they completely dried out my mouth lol.

We arrived just as the parade was starting, on the opposite side of where we’d seen the day parade.









I loved Cinderellas float, her dress changed colour which I’ve never noticed before



Next, we spotted that Space Mountain had a tiny queue so we did a few more repeat rides on that, we were enjoying ourselves so much I completely forgot about the castle show!

Luckily I shouldn’t have worried, when we got there with minutes to spare everyone was so spread out it was easy to grab a spot. A completely different experience to Florida!

No sitting down this time though.

[Hannikins]

It was a fun show and as it finished we hung back to take some photos while the hoards left









Main street was packed and had a really festive feel to it. A cast member started a breakdancing routine right in the middle as people were leaving which was a little odd and out of place!





The tree though, wow!





We headed into the shops as I wanted an idea of what I wanted to buy later in the trip.

Adam got into the festive spirit.




I toyed with the idea of getting one of the big Minnie hats, it was THAT cold and everyone had one, but they only had pink or purple, I really just wanted a normal black one with a red box, but they didn’t do them, really strange…

I did nearly buy this though to keep my legs warm



Finally cast members started to usher guest towards the exit, we hung back a little to let everyone leave.





Interesting very few people were heading towards the monorail, so when we arrived at the station it was rather quiet.



We arrived back at the hotel just before 11



which was rather early for us, it was probably for the best though, Tokyo DisneySea opened at 8am tomorrow and I intended to be early!

[welovepedro]

Originally Posted by Hannikins

Bucket List or Bust! - Tokyo & Shanghai - November 2016 - Day 9


As it was a special day I had also dressed for the occasion



In the UK I'd probably be sectioned, here, I fit right in

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Is this not what you wore to Rachel's? On the train? With football crowds?

[Hannikins]

Originally Posted by welovepedro

Is this not what you wore to Rachel's? On the train? With football crowds?

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ummm yes... but I did wear a coat when in public

[SuzyM]

Looks like you had a brilliant day! I've been looking forward to you posting about Tokyo Disney! It all sounds brilliant - thanks for all the detail and photos :-)

Suzy

[Disneyloverz]

Wow, what a great day- you packed so much in!

[Hannikins]

Originally Posted by SuzyM

Looks like you had a brilliant day! I've been looking forward to you posting about Tokyo Disney! It all sounds brilliant - thanks for all the detail and photos :-)

Suzy

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I know, sorry it's so late!

Originally Posted by Disneyloverz

Wow, what a great day- you packed so much in!

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thanks