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Entrance number 1
Ah you can feel the magic already. Today was much chance to be a kid again, reliving some of the magic that is Disney.
I was always envious of those kids at school who had been to or were going to Disneyland. As a kid if there was once place you wanted to go it was to see Mickey and Donald at Cinderellas Castle. There was no more magical place to go than Disneyland.
Finally after all of these years I got to be one of those kids.... just didn't think it would be at the Japanese version.
The day started reasonably early. I'd set the alarm for 7:30 to give myself plenty of time to be in the lobby ready to catch the 8:40 free bus to Tokyo station. However my body has yet to adjust to the new timezone. I was wide awake at 6:15am (9:15am NZ time). Never mind, the blessing of the free internet kept me occupied until it was time to get up and get ready.
I had a series of 1st's to experience before the Disney one.
The first 1 was getting on the free bus outside the hotel. It quickly dawned on me that other than me
the rest of the bus was occupied by elderly Japanese folk getting ready for a day's excursion (think of those tourist buses you see around NZ full of older Asian people). As I was getting on the bus it was clear 2 of the ladies on the bus were indulging in a bit of humor at my expense, I have no idea what it was but the pointing and staring gave it away.
The 2nd was needing to exchange my JR rail voucher for a rail pass. Now Tokyo station isn't like Wellington Railway station where the tracks are right in front of you and you have about 9 platforms to choose from (although i'm sure for a foreigner to NZ that would still be daunting). Instead it is a maze of subway systems, bus lanes, trains, office blocks, restaurants etc, etc. It has 2 bloody towers, the north and the south. It's not just a matter of walking into the front and Jumping on the train. It took my 10 mins of walking to realise I was in the wrong tower to start with.
Thankfully the Japanese are sympathetic to the minority, nearly all major signs have (very
good) english translations so eventually I was able to navigate my way to the ticket office (after dodging the thousands who were arriving into the city). The exchange went smooth enough and I even booked my rail ticket for Mondays ride to the Airport (smart boy read his itinerary).
The next 1st was finding the train line to get me to Disneyland. I needed the Keiyo line. Simple enough right.. yeah right. It took 10 minutes of staring blankly at the railway map and a couple of false starts (heading in wrong directions) before realising i just needed to look up and follow the well signposted directions to each rail track. To give you an idea of the magnitude of their rail system. It takes 10 minutes to get from the ticketing office to the Keiyo line platform after riding 3 travellators and descending 3 flights of escalators I found it. The train was there and I just jumped on. Thankfully there were few people on the train (not the sardine can I expected based on what I saw when arriving in Tokyo) so I just took a seat. I'd taken some advice prior to leaving NZ from a former
colleague Andrew who said not to count stations as they don't always stop at all stations. Listen for the name of the station on the intercom. I did just that and arrived safely at Maihama station in around 15 minutes (not that it mattered as it's pretty bloody obvious with the Disney resort right beside the station), arriving about 9:50am
Finally there was Disneyland in all it's glory. The lines were short when I arrived so I was in within 5 minutes. Certainly a good sign for the day ahead. Mid week and in a non-holiday period is a great time to go. Lines are shorter and crowds are smaller, however don't get me wrong there were still thousands of people at the park.
Breakfast was the 1st thing I wanted to get out of the way. A Mickey mouse waffle with blueberry & strawberry sauce was just the energy store I needed for the hours of walking and queuing ahead.
I was able to get into most rides within 5 - 10 minutes. I knocked off the Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Western River Railroad rides all within quick succession before heading over to "The enchanted Tiki
Elephant on the track
Don't worry it's not real. Room" to watch Stiches "Aloha E Komo Mai!" I was familiar with Lilo & Stitch I've just never heard it in Japanese, ah well entertaining none the less.
I then crossed the water by motor raft (after courtesly letting the large paddle steamer go by first) to the swiss family Tree house. More for the younger ones this area.
I went to the Haunted Mansion, Toontown and critter country. Didn't get to splash mountain as the lines on this one were a bit beyond my tolerance (around 70 mins). I could have got a fastpass (basically you book your place in the line and when the time on your ticket comes up you shoot past the lines of people waiting to get a priority seat) but didn't want to tie myself to being at any particular place at 1 time. I then went to my favourite place. It's a small world afterall. This was one of the areas you heard about as a kid, compared to the other rides it pretty dated in terms of special effects etc but it really is the one place that keeps Disney real. I especially liked the Maori doll in between 2 Kiwis.
I
fake Hippos
They were pretty cool and really life-like then hit Tomorrowland (part of Space mountain). Went on the Star Tours "ride". It's one of those motion master things but at the high end of cool. Got the shit shaken out of me on this ride but loved every minute, probably helps that I'm a Star Wars lover.
At this point I need to do a shout out to Japanese pop-culture. They really know how to get into the spirit of things. I could not count the number of Japanese girls who were wearing mini red & white polka dot skirts, mini mouse t-shirts and ears. No one blinked an eye-lid. If that was in NZ you'd be pointed at and singled out.
I have some photo's that some of the boys would appreciate, but I won't post them here.
Finally I headed over to the main "road" area for the 3pm Jubilation parade. Another great parade for nostalgia and for bringing the Magic of Disney to life.
I cruised the site for another 30 mins before jumping back on the train home. I'm totally spent and have a couple of blisters on my foot from all of the walking, which I'm sure is doing me good.
Mum and the kids out for an excursion to Disneyland
I was sitting down having a drink when these guys just strolled right by. Thats my leg in the foreground. So they were pretty close. Mum was looking for a safe place to enter the water. Pity she was about 3 metres above it. Oh yeah quickly before I sign off I need to tell you about my hotel room or should I say shoebox. Seriously the Japanese know how to make the best use of small spaces. The room (including the bathroom) is no bigger than your average kids room at home. But for this traveller it's just fine. It's just a place to sleep (and blog).
Anyway tomorrow is my 1st bullet train ride as I head away from Tokyo to the slightly slower paced Kyoto. Hopefully the Internet is accessible there as here. Until then.
Sayonara
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Barb
non-member comment
Tokyo disney.
OMG did the tune..."It's a small world afterall.."stick in your gdamn head the rest of the day?!?! I'm having nasty flash backs! haha. p.s. I thought you had already done the LA Disneyland !