マイク＆サム·ヘッド東！- A journey to Hong Kong & Japan - May 2014 - Day 11 - TOKYO DISNEYLAND (DAY 2)

[soarinfan]

Day 11 - Thursday 15th May - Tokyo Disneyland

Knackered.

That is what we were! Knackered! All this time difference and sight seeing and Disney had taken it out of us, so we didn't get up until 8.30am which was late for a Disney Parks day! We'd normally be on the way if not at the gate by now, but hey what can you do. A holiday is meant to be enjoyed and we sure as heck enjoyed the sleep last night! I had a quick shower and ran downstairs to the bakery as per the norm, and by the time I was back Sam was nigh on ready for breakfast, then we headed out to the parks.

The first 2 days of the trip to Tokyo Disney we had to specify which parks we were going to be in - this being the 3rd meant we were not eligible to park hop. Considering we'd spend the day at TDS yesterday, we decided to head for TDL for at least the first part of the day as we still had plenty we wanted to do here. Once through the gates we wanted to get on Splash Mountain fairly early on as it was pouring with rain - so we decided if we're gonna get wet we may as well get we now.

It was pouring down with rain so during a heavy spell we took shelter under this bridge here and Sam posed in her rain coat! We were unsure what to do really as the weather was pretty bad. Big Thunder was shut down due to the weather, but these guys in the boat seemed to be having fun! Something novel to do if you have spare time in TDL perhaps?!

We were a little hungry by this point (clearly a croissant and a doughnut isn't enough in this day and age for the breakfast belly! ) so we did what all English people do, when its a bit nippy and pouring with rain thousands of miles from home...

Thats right - you go for Ice Cream! We both love Ice Cream and we both love Tiramisu so it seemed the logical idea. It was actually really nice and at a princely sum of £2 it was quite a bargain. And it had a picture of Mickey on it so you can't complain! We spent some time looking around the shops here and bought a couple of souvenirs as we realised this could be our last day in TDL itself, although we of course are spending 1 more day in Tokyo Disney as a whole tomorrow - but probably in TDS. I noticed we could now get another FP as well, so I hopped on over to Big Thunder Mountain to see what time I could get.

Unfortunately we both completely forgot about our free go on the Shooting Gallery because it was for such a late time in the day - if they had offered us to go on it there and then we probably would have! Anyway the time was rattling on and it was almost time for our FP for Splash Mountain.

I was surprised that the queue didn't seem to really exist outside very much as the majority all wound around and down through the inside of the ride building and scenery. It was quite relaxed so it allowed us time to take some photos in the queue line. We both love Splash Mountain, but not more than the "smell of happiness" (Don't ask!) in Splash Mountain in Florida - it sort of had it in here but not as much! Something to do with water cleansing I'm sure!

We decided to try and pose as the locals do! Unfortunately Sam looked the wrong way (like with most of the rides this holiday!) so it didn't have the desired effect, but it was close enough . Splash Mountain is nigh on identical to the Florida counterpart and it is a nice edition. The weather in Tokyo does seems similar to that of Paris - I know the argument for and against Splash Mountain in Paris but I think it would be a brilliant idea . On the plus side all of it was in English (at least at the time we rode!) so it was good to still be able to hear all the lyrics

It was heading towards lunch time now, and whilst we had been sheltering from the rain before riding, we had noticed there was a restaurant underneath Splash Mountain (unfortunately not "inside" the attraction like Blue Lagoon in Paris - or Tokyo for that matter!) so we decided to check it out. I went for the Chicken & Rice and I think Sam went for the Beef & Tomato Stew. Of course I had to get a dessert too - the Critter Country Cake. It was pretty good if memory serves! The price was fairly reasonable however it was pretty busy and dark in there. I remember it being a bit of a trip hazard what with people coming in to eat to get out of the rain.

By the time we had finished our lunch the rain had eased off thankfully, so we ventured out towards Fantasyland. We loved Pooh's Hunny Hunt so much the other day, so decided a FP for it was a must. The ride technology was something else (and still beats Ratatouille hands down in my eyes!) so we grabbed one before all the times ran out. It was only just gone half 12 and the times were for already near closing time!

We knew that the show "One Man's Dream" was beginning at 14:00, so we decided to start heading over that way to grab a seat. At first we'd heard you needed a FP for the main stage shows but we couldn't see anywhere to get one so tried our luck to get in there early and it wasn't a problem. We grabbed a seat up near the back and got a cold drink and took some time to chill out - which was nice for us - we never chill out as it were at a Disney Park as for us its always go go go!

The show was really good. It had a similar ring to the show we watched at Hong Kong Disneyland with the Oscars feel to it, but the start was brilliant. I won't spoilt it for you massively (only included a few pictures below), but it starts in black and white, like it was back in the origins of Disney cartoons, before breaking out into colour for the main event. Really clever yet simple how it is achieved.

Although the show was amazing, unfortunately the metal bench seats were not, and my back was killing me! After hobbling to my feet we managed to make our way up the steps and out of the auditorium. Unfortunately it seemed the other park guests wanted to try and scoot past me and try to get out as quickly as possible - was it something I said?! first and only time I saw disorder in Japan!

We grabbed a FP for the ever more cramped Space Mountain once out of the theatre, and then headed for a last spin on Captain EO's space ship. This was our last trip to see Captain EO in Japan (Sam's last EVER considering it is now seemingly closed everywhere!) as it closed in Japan just a few days later I believe. Unfortunately Buzz's Space Ranger Spin was still closed so didn't get to get on that, but did have a nice look through the gift shop and grabbed a couple of bits and piece on the way out. We could hear the afternoon Easter parade starting that we saw from the queue of a ride a few days ago, and Sam wanted to take more pictures of it with no obstructions, so we headed down towards World Bazaar (aka Main Street). Naturally I couldn't not grab one of these...

I enjoyed some ice cream with Sam and she grabbed some photos of the passing parade. It was nice to sit and people watch for a bit so I think next time I head to WDW I might just try that a bit more often! Its always easy to slip into the 'must go on everything' routine as you're not in the parks every day, but then you miss out on the little things! We headed back towards the hub once the crowds had died down a little and grabbed a couple of photos of Partners and the World Bazaar now the sun was well and truly out - about time!

The smell of all the different popcorn flavours as we headed towards Adventureland was crazy. Strawberry Popcorn. Toffee Popcorn. Curry Popcorn. Pepper Popcorn... it goes on! We didn't partake as we were still fairly satisfied from the danishes, the ice cream sandwich, the lunch and the ice cream cone! We took a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean, and then pondered whether or not to eat dinner at The Blue Lagoon inside PotC. I really wanted to but it seemed Sam wasn't all that keen on the menu choices so we ended up not making a reservation - maybe next time!

Sam said she needed the loo so I said I would run around to The Haunted Mansion to grab some FP's as we were know eligible to get some more and that I would meet her back outside The Enchanted Tiki Room in 10 minutes. When I got back she wasn't there - I thought she'd be quicker than this! Turns out she was over waiting by the railroad. I thought it would be pretty cool to go on, and it seemed like there was no queue - with only 25 minutes time posted outside. So we thought why not? How wrong we were - the queue was enormous! I say enormous, it was about 45 minutes, but it was what it was! After had queued for 20 minutes we thought we may as well see it through.

The ride itself was pretty cool - gave some nice views of behind Big Thunder & Splash Mountain. The track doesn't go around the entire park like at Orlando & Paris, it cuts it short and comes back on itself about 1/3 of the way around. But still a good ride none the less! Our Space Mountain FP and the Haunted Mansion FP time had swung around quickly considering we were waiting longer than anticipated for the train, so we ran over quickly and had a quick ride on both. As we came off we realised a major error...we'd forgotten our Big Thunder Mountain FP! D'oh! I thought I would try my luck, and tried to explain to the cast member at BTM that we had totally forgotton about them, she smiled and bowed said no problem and let us in 6 hours late! Result! Now that is hospitality

We wanted to get a good spot for the night time parade, so decided to go for dinner and then grab our spot. We headed back towards Adventureland as we weighed up a few places to eat, and we decided on a place called China Voyager.

I went for the Chicken Noodle Salad and a side of Hoi Sin Beef & Rice, with what I can only describe as Apricots in Milk? It was nice either way. Sam went for some Noodle soup but I don't think she enjoyed it too much (she was getting a bit fed up of Japanese food at this point - even to now she's only had rice twice since we came back from Japan! )

We soon finished our meal and head out to try and find a good spot for the parade. We decided outside The Haunted Mansion was the best near the entrance to Fantasyland, as others were slowly starting to sit on the floor and grab a good space. I went and grabbed a couple of drinks and we Skyped home whilst we were waiting (thanks to our Pocket Wifi device - never going to Japan without one of these again! That is unless Three's Feel at Home opens up over there!). I decided to film the parade tonight and it came out fairly well, but you've all seen the Electrical Parade before so I won't bore you with a 30 minute video But I did take this awesome picture of the castle to tide me over... !

As we were right outside Haunted Mansion we decided at the end of the parade to nip inside one last time. I love The Haunted Mansion in every country - it always seems when theres no queue the Wait Time is always the same...

We decided to finish the night off in the one and only Tomorrowland of course, but first stopping in a couple of shops for us to buy a couple of bits and pieces. Space Mountain was a walk on so we managed to squeeze ourselves (just! ) onto that one more time (literally - the seats are so small! Thank god I'm now on a diet?!) and then had a quick jaunt on Star Tours before we left.

On the way out we realised another school boy error! There was a ride we were yet to do! We had done pretty much everything and bypassed this one ride several times because the queue was astronomical - Monsters Inc Ride & Go Seek. It had just reopened following being closed for technical reasons (literally with 5 minutes of park opening remaining) so we thought YES! We only had a short 5 minute queue or so. It was quite a good ride, it is sort of like Men In Black...but much more tame - you have to shine a torch at certain monsters in order to score points. Sam's torch didn't seem to do very well (so she claims!) but I had a good time!

And so - that was it. No more Tokyo Disneyland! We still had one more day in Tokyo Disney though so we had planned throughout the day we should probably spend it over in Tokyo Disney Sea, considering that was a one of a kind park and it may be a while before we're back again! We spent about half hour browsing the shops in World Bazaar before heading out the gate. I rung home as couldn't get through to my parents before whilst Sam went to the loo, and then we hopped on the monorail back to the hotel, where yes, we did indulge in tasty treats and Gin & Tonic watching the aircraft come in over the bay.

The knackeredness from earlier in the day seemed to escape us that evening as we sat up for hours which was awesome probably not so awesome the following morning trying to get out of bed but - when on holiday!

Thanks for reading Day 11 - appreciate comments and thoughts as always! Day 12 - Tokyo Disney Sea (and our final day in Tokyo Disney! ) coming soon!

[Tharky99]

Wow, TDL does look amazing! Cheers for posting

[Dissie]

A brilliant day. You did a lot in that one day even though park sounded quite busy. Looking forward to day 12.

[AntonyJ]

Please keep these coming, am loving these reports and want to visit there so bad!

[Bobsledwheels]

I was wondering about the monsters ride - i'd heard a lot about it - were you guys not impressed?

Another great report