Complete: Kawaii - Nov 2014 a 4 night stay at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

[BagOLaughs]

Day 2 - An evening in Tokyo DisneySea pt. 1

After my nap we jumped on the monorail and headed back to DisneySea.

I forgot to mention that during this day in DisneySea something very strange was happening. All the stores that sold Duffy merchandise had massive, and I mean MASSIVE queues (500m +). There were CM's giving out fastpass like tickets to people so they could visit the Duffy stores later in the day (which they ran out of I hasten to add). I knew the Japanese were mad for Duffy but I didn't know by this much.

However, as I later found out after a google search, the day we visited DisneySea was the first day of a new line of seasonal Duffy outfits. People were literally, and i mean literally, literally... buying their own weight in Duffy merchandise! When we returned the next day the queues had largely gone.

OK so back to disney sea. We walked over to Port Discovery and rode the most random ride in the world. Aquatopia, it was fun. My mum and I were in stitches the whole way round.

Then we met... Mr. Incredible!



We had some meat pies at Breezeway Bites and then jumped on the DisneySea Electric Railway. I took some pictures from up high.



One of the things I love about DisneySea is the fact that past the sea wall you can see in the photo below, there is actually... Sea! It makes you feel like you're really in some steam punk water port and you could catch a boat out into the open water.



There's Aquatopia, what a bizarre ride.



Hello other train!



The Electric railway takes your from Port Discovery to American Waterfront and is a nice little ride. However I wouldn't queue for it as its quite short.



We disembarked from the railway and I had FP's for the tower of terror. However for the first time ever I didn't use them as I was not feeling well enough to ride. I've heard so many good things about this version of ToT and I was really gutted but I still had one more day to go. I didn't want to do the ride and then be bed ridden the next day.

One day Tokyo ToT I'll be back! and I will ride you!



However a cute little show about different national cuisines started on the Dockside stage so I watched this instead. It was cute and quite random.



After the show the sun had set and and Tokyo DisneySea really came to life! It was beautiful. I could imagine for couples it would feel really romantic.



Next up, Day 2 - an evening in Tokyo DisneySea pt. 2

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 2 - an evening in Tokyo DisneySea pt. 2

We decided we wanted to get to the back of the park and what better way than to take the DisneySea Transit Steamer Line! Mum was very happy about this.



Although I didn't ride Raging Spirits because a) we have the exact same coaster in Paris and its awful, b) I wasn't feeling well enough to be flipped upside down, I did snap a photo.

However the theming in the area was amazing. It has fire and everyone knows that having fire > than no fire.



We headed into Mermaid lagoon and I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of inside! I really wasn't being a very good trip reporter this evening.

However this is where I did buy my Shelliemay (you'll see more of her later). I knew Duffy would be ecstatic. I also had another surprise for him too... You'll have to wait to find out what it is later. I'm sure you're on tenterhooks.



After purchasing Shelliemay + mystery gift and sending them to our room we headed over to the Arabian Coast. What did we ride 1st? Sinbad of course! I really loved that ride.

Next up was jasmines flying carpets. I was keeping my fingers crossed that we didn't get a person who was rough with the controls in the ride with us.



Have you ever seen a more beautiful dumbo type ride? As usual mum's excited to ride!



I was fortunate that we had a very calm person in control of our elevation. Phew!

I had to have a picture with Raja.



We had some food in Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante, which is a quick service restaurant that serves pasta and pizza. I think I had pizza and my mum has spaghetti and wine. It was very good.

We stayed and watched Fantasmic which is in the Mediterranean Harbor lagoon area however I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures. Sorry! However Disney tourist blog does have some fantastic photos so check out his blog if you want to see more: http://www.disneytouristblog.com/fantasmic-viewing-photography-tips/

The show was... OK. I guess I had really high expectations and I thought it was kinda just meh. I prefer the WDW version in Hollywood Studios.

However I do have another shot of the Christmas monorail which is kawaii!



We also noticed some Christmas decorations in the station that definitely weren't there before. Pink and gold, very pretty.




And so ended our 1st DisneySea day. It blew my expectations out of the water and I had really high expectations after reading how amazing everything was.

Next up - Day 3 - A morning in Tokyo Disneyland finding boo and blasting into space!

 

[zimaaaaah]

Thank you so much for the trip report! I recently decided I want to make a trip to Tokyo Disney and so much appreciate the information and especially the pictures. Sorry you weren't feeling your best, but it looks like you still had a wonderful time, at least so far.

 

[Agent 86]

Great trip report - get well soon!

Your photos have definitely inspired me to save some money to stay in one of the official hotels on my next visit.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Thank you so much for the trip report! I recently decided I want to make a trip to Tokyo Disney and so much appreciate the information and especially the pictures. Sorry you weren't feeling your best, but it looks like you still had a wonderful time, at least so far.

And it all goes down hill from here... I joke, I joke. It was a fantastic trip and even with being unwell I think the magic of Disney helped me make the most of the time I had.

Good luck planning your trip to Tokyo!

Great trip report - get well soon!

Your photos have definitely inspired me to save some money to stay in one of the official hotels on my next visit.

The Disney hotels are amazing! For me I like to pay extra for all the little details throughout the hotel. Good luck saving!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Episode 3 - Return of the Disneyland

Day 3 - A morning in Tokyo Disneyland.

So funny story, we rose nice and early as we wanted to use our tickets which allowed us in 15 mins early into Disneyland. We arrived at the gates to find out that actually we were very early, and hour and fifteen minutes early to be exact.

It turns out Disneyland opens 1hr later than DisneySea (ops my bad!) So I spent a bit of time looking in the hotel shop. Here's some fun food I found:

Baked potato flavored stick crisps (remember I'm British so UK crisps = US chips)


Puffed beef taco flavored things. (these were for my boyfriend we don't have them in the UK)


I'm cheating becuase these were form the 7 11 but matcha flavored biscuit things. Mum gave a thumbs down but i liked them!



Any juice drink is better with stitch or pooh bear.



While I'm posting pictures of strange foods here are some interesting flavors of KitKat. (top to bottom - bean, strawberry & cream and Matcha.)



We found a HUGE muji store in Tokyo that sold food. Anyone for some sweet and sour squid?



How about salty chocolate pie (this one cracked me up!)



After snooping on the shop we did go back outside and join the queue for the gates.



While waiting... what to do. Selfie of course! This selfie was purely for my mum as I would never do a selfie of myself. *ahem*

That's the monorail station and our hotel in the background.



Also my mum got caught up in Duffy mania and purchased a little Duffy to go on her bag (he now lives in her car).

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Finding boo and eating Mickey's face.

I know what you're thinking, quit with the rubbish food shots and get on the with the Disney! OK, OK... there's no need to be rude.

So first things first we walked (briskly) over to poohs honey hut to grab some FP tickets and then doubled back on ourselves to ride Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek! The theming in the queue was amazing! The ride itself was so fun. I wish I could have ridden it again.


The idea behind the ride is you have a torch (flashlight) and you have to shine it on the monsters Inc logo which makes something happen. You're trying to find Boo with Mike and Sully.



After this it was time for our Pooh FP so we walked over to Fantasyland. I got a couple of pictures from the queue. Again it was so detailed I couldn't believe it.


We both absolutely loved this ride. I can't even describe to you how amazing it was. Its a trackless ride system which really added to the experience. You're seated in a ride vehicle with two rows which then leaves the station as a batch of three vehicles.

My mum totally lost it in the tigger room. There's a section of the ride where you enter a room all together and tigger starts bouncing with you and you actually bounce up and down! My mum laughed so loud but it was super fun.

After Pooh we wanted some breakfast and I noticed something on the map. I had to do a double take, but yes... it was... Mickey Waffles! We got to the bakery just as it was opening.

Look at all the waffle making machiney things.


I had maple syrup on mine and it was so good.



And so to finish this post here is the back of the castle and a Minnie balloon.



Next up star tours and space mountain.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Blasting into Space

We headed back over to Tomorrowland and grabbed FP tickets for Space Mountain. I was feeling pretty good this morning so we joined the queue for Star Tours. I was excited for my mum as the Paris version still has the old 80's ride.

konichiwa C-3PO!


Look mum the star speeders are red now! Mum's response... Whats a star speeder? Face palm. mata amiashoo R2-D2



I love the new version, with the 3D and the fact its a different version every time you ride. Mum enjoyed it but she said the 3D made her feel a bit sick. Ah well, you win some you lose some!

Next up was FP for space mountain!




It was a blast and the girls in front of us were screaming so much it was so cute and hilarious.

After this we decided to head over to Splash mountain. Again there is no SP in Paris so this was going to be a first for mum. You may notice in the pictures the sun was not out this day but it was still quite warm (~ 20 °C) so still SP weather.



Mum really enjoyed it and screamed because we got quite wet. We were sat at the front, it felt like the Japanese saw us and where like, westerners like getting wet. Sit them at the front! I thought it was brilliant, just like the Orlando version. The animatronics were... yes, yes, fluid and all functioning perfectly. yey.

Also one of my biggest gripes about the Orlando version is the fact they cannot seem to time the boats right so you end up queuing in them before the lift hills. This wasn't a problem here.

After Splash to dry off we explored the area.

Mum found my Step Dad! (he's a fisherman lol)



I loved the theming around here. Very kawaii.


I also found a stitch that wanted to eat my head! This was so cute but a bit too expensive for a one time hat.



Before I you get to the next post you have to guess what I'm holding in my hands and why I look so happy with myself in this picture... all will be revealed soon!



Coming up - What it this Christmas alien?

 

[CharmedCake]

OH MY GOD, they were the best themed desserts! I miss them so badly and look longingly at my X-mas alien container.

I wish Australia could do mochi dumplings, let alone themed ones!

Hope you enjoyed as much as my sister, our friends and I did.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - What it this Christmas alien?

Well done @CharmedCake, you've obviously had these before. Inside the Christmas alien of course was small dumpling dessert aliens.


Have a little peak...


Ta da!



These were so good. I did offer mum one to try but she isn't into eating small green blobs with faces.

I wasn't sure what to expect but this is my take on them. They are chilled dumplings with a flavored custard inside. One is chocolate, one is plain (vanilla?) and the other strawberry. They have a squishy dim sum type texture to them and I loved them.

I also love my little alien container that I new use as a Christmas decoration.

After munching on my alien's (that sounds strange) we did a bit of shopping and then went back to the hotel so I could have a relax.

Look what mousekeeping did. Kawaii!



Yes I purchased Gelatoni on the previous day as well as Shelliemay. Surprise Duffy, you get two new friends!

I couldn't decide whether to buy Shelliemay or Gelatoni so mum offered to buy Shellie (as my birthday gift) and I got Gelatoni. My justification was you only live once! He was too adorable! and they only sell him in DisneySea (maybe Hong Kong Disney I'm not sure) I think I'll add some pictures of them at the end of this trip report.

They are naked in the picture but I did purchase an outfit for Shelliemay later on before we left.

After the nap we headed back into Disneyland and headed over to the Jungle Cruise but the queue was 60 mins so we skipped it. However we did ride the Western River Railroad. The train is a round trip with no other stops that leaves from Adventureland but I liked it much better this way.



Look deer!



After our train journey we headed towards Westernland (Japans answer to Frontierland) and had a bite to eat at Lucky Nugget Cafe. This was because I wanted...


A turkey leg & coldslaw. Yum. Mum got some fried chicken. The food was really good and the fried chicken looked amazing. Even though it was deep fried it didn't' look greasy at all. The Japanese are really good at frying food it seems.

My turkey leg was great and smaller than the american counter part which I appreciated.



We got a really good table and watched the Mark Twain Riverboat sail past.



After lunch/dinner? We headed over to find a spot for the daytime parade but on the way we saw Jessie!



Funny story here was we were waiting in the crowd of people around her (she was a free roaming character). I'm a little timid when it comes to characters because I always let the kids go first but the handler saw that we'd been waiting for a bit and she actually called us forward for our pictures with Jessie. I've never been called forward for a character before! It was really nice.

We found a good spot for the parade and set up camp.

Next up Day 3 - Happiness is here pt.1

If you want to skip all the parade pictures click *here*

 

[BagOLaughs]

So onto parade pictures.

I've you've seen this all before click *here* to skip the parade photos.


Some of the costumes were crazy! I wonder how comfortable they are?!


Stitch! yey


And my favorite character from Finding Nemo, Gill! double yey!


Mine? Mine?! Mine!


Hey we just saw you!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Happiness is here pt.2


Can you spot Pascal?





3 Princess' in one photo. Oh yea!





Alice realizes that she's run out of tea bags.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Happiness is here pt.3


This GIANT Queen of Hearts was brilliant!


As were these dancing cards


Rabbit's riding a woozle instead of a carousel horse... pretty clever.


Why is Tigger always so luminous?



And of course you've got to finish it all off with the big cheese. Mickey Mouse yey!


Next up - return to DisneySea

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Return to DisneySea

I had a bit of time before Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights started so we decided to jump over to DisneySea again.

Mum wanted her picture taken with Walt. This statue is opposite the big floating earth fountain.



We spent a bit of time shopping in the American Waterfront. We purchased some clothes for Shelliemay and some gifts for friends at home.

After this we jumped on the boat again and headed over the the Arabian Coast. A picture from the water with bonus moon!


Yes we rode Sinbad again. Yes, its really that good. Stop judging!?



I wanted to go to Mysterious Island to get some nighttime shots but as we were passing, here is Mermaid Lagoon.



As we were walking through Mysterious Island I noticed a notoriously long line that was actually very short. Like 2 people short.

I am of course talking about Refreshment Station and the infamous gyoza sausage bun. How could I say no?


It was OK if a little bland but at least I can say that I ate one! (and didn't queue an hour for the privilege)

I also got a couple of great (for me) night time shots of Mysterious Island.




This area was just amazing. In fact all of DisneySea was amazing.

Next we spent a bit of time exploring Fortress Explorations. This is the castle in front of mt Prometheus in this photo. I didn't get any photos but it was a really fun area to explore.



After this we waved a fond farewell to DisneySea and hopped back on the monorail to Disneyland.

Next up - back to Disneyland for the Electrical parade.

 

[Tanzanite]

Day 3 - Return to DisneySea

I had a bit of time before Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights started so we decided to jump over to DisneySea again.

Mum wanted her picture taken with Walt. This statue is opposite the big floating earth fountain.

View attachment 115040

We spent a bit of time shopping in the American Waterfront. We purchased some clothes for Shelliemay and some gifts for friends at home.

After this we jumped on the boat again and headed over the the Arabian Coast. A picture from the water with bonus moon!

View attachment 115047
Yes we rode Sinbad again. Yes, its really that good. Stop judging!?

View attachment 115048

I wanted to go to Mysterious Island to get some nighttime shots but as we were passing, here is Mermaid Lagoon.

View attachment 115042

As we were walking through Mysterious Island I noticed a notoriously long line that was actually very short. Like 2 people short.

I am of course talking about Refreshment Station and the infamous gyoza sausage bun. How could I say no?

View attachment 115041
It was OK if a little bland but at least I can say that I ate one! (and didn't queue an hour for the privilege)

I also got a couple of great (for me) night time shots of Mysterious Island.

View attachment 115043
View attachment 115044
View attachment 115045
This area was just amazing. In fact all of DisneySea was amazing.

Next we spent a bit of time exploring Fortress Explorations. This is the castle in front of mt Prometheus in this photo. I didn't get any photos but it was a really fun area to explore.

View attachment 115046

After this we waved a fond farewell to DisneySea and hopped back on the monorail to Disneyland.

Next up - back to Disneyland for the Electrical parade.

Day 3 - Return to DisneySea

I had a bit of time before Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights started so we decided to jump over to DisneySea again.

Mum wanted her picture taken with Walt. This statue is opposite the big floating earth fountain.

View attachment 115040

We spent a bit of time shopping in the American Waterfront. We purchased some clothes for Shelliemay and some gifts for friends at home.

After this we jumped on the boat again and headed over the the Arabian Coast. A picture from the water with bonus moon!

View attachment 115047
Yes we rode Sinbad again. Yes, its really that good. Stop judging!?

View attachment 115048

I wanted to go to Mysterious Island to get some nighttime shots but as we were passing, here is Mermaid Lagoon.

View attachment 115042

As we were walking through Mysterious Island I noticed a notoriously long line that was actually very short. Like 2 people short.

I am of course talking about Refreshment Station and the infamous gyoza sausage bun. How could I say no?

View attachment 115041
It was OK if a little bland but at least I can say that I ate one! (and didn't queue an hour for the privilege)

I also got a couple of great (for me) night time shots of Mysterious Island.

View attachment 115043
View attachment 115044
View attachment 115045
This area was just amazing. In fact all of DisneySea was amazing.

Next we spent a bit of time exploring Fortress Explorations. This is the castle in front of mt Prometheus in this photo. I didn't get any photos but it was a really fun area to explore.

View attachment 115046

After this we waved a fond farewell to DisneySea and hopped back on the monorail to Disneyland.

Next up - back to Disneyland for the Electrical parade.

 

[Tanzanite]

Sorry if i replied wrong to your post not good at this i love all your photos my daughter got Galatoni so did i he was so cute she also got Shelli Mae.We didnt get Duffy hope to next trip.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Sorry if i replied wrong to your post not good at this i love all your photos my daughter got Galatoni so did i he was so cute she also got Shelli Mae.We didnt get Duffy hope to next trip.

You have more restraint that me (which is not a bad thing ) and next time you go to DisneySea you'll have something extra to look forward to.

Thanks for following along.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Tokyo Disneyland Electrical parade "Dreamlights"

After picking up a cute outfit for Shelliemay from McDuck’s Department Store (which was a lot less crowded than yesterday!) We had one more thing left to do. We hopped on the monorail and headed back to Disneyland to watch the electrical parade.

We found a good spot just outside of Westernland which allowed us to not be swamped by the crowds at the front of the castle but we could still see it! So we got to sit and watch the parade.



Leading the procession was the blue fairy.


I like the composition of this photo below but my camera just couldn't handle the dark, two subjects and one of those subjects moving that was also brightly lit. So the blue fairy came out blurry. Oh well!


Hey there Mickey (he's on top of the drum)


I love the way that Elliot is holding Pete in this parade. Its really cute.


Yey snow white!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Tokyo Disneyland Electrical parade "Dreamlights" pt. 2

Next up was Genie. He was awesome because he changed colours to match other characters and patterns. He had polka dots, stripes like the Cheshire cat and...



Finding Nemo clown fish stripes.



Behind him of course was Aladdin and Jasmine.


Next up Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. Love the little detail of the blue balloon.


Toy Story, including characters from the 3rd movie.




Ok so another photo fail below. Mike and Sully's eyes are scary!


Hey Boo! I'm so glad we managed to find you this morning so you could be be in the parade tonight!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Day 3 - Tokyo Disneyland Electrical parade "Dreamlights" pt. 3

Cinderella came down from her castle to join us. Fairy god mother is on the top of the float too.


Cinderella's float was a lot of fun. The music would build and the fairy god mother would wave her wand and...


Cinderella's dress would turn white with a glowing pattern. It was awesome.


Hey prince! What are you doing so far back? Your lady is up in front.


This float was pretty classy because candelabras = classy, of course.




And that is it. Our night had officially come to an end. We did a bit of shopping and grabbed a couple of things as gifts. We then waved our last goodbye to Tokyo Disneyland and headed back to the hotel.

We headed back to the room to finish packing as we had a 7am rise to jump on the bus to Narita airport.