"At Last I See the Light" - Our Nov 2024 Anniversary Trip Report

[Nakkira]

Day 11 Part 11
Tokyo Disneyland


Hubby went to pick up the food while I found us a seat. I played with my popcorn bucket while I waited.

Not only does Tink stand on the roof nicely, but it lights up!



Did I mention that I am obsessed with this popcorn bucket?

Hubby got the Chicken burger and I ordered the Baymax Burger (Ginger Pork & Egg).


This was ok. The pork burger wasn't my favorite but it was okay the egg and the teriyaki sauce gave it most of it's flavor. Slightly messy to eat. It's adorable so it gets points for that. I know I have not been giving many rave review of the Disney food, but it's honestly how I felt. It was mostly Ok. No more, no less. But it was also quite affordable compared to the US. I mean ¥1390 for a burger, side, and drink ( around 9 bucks).

We also got the Pumpkin Crepe to share.



We both liked this. Japanese sweets and desserts are more my style because they are often not cloyingly sweet.

We took our time and rested with this dinner because we were both feeling pretty worn out.

My second highest Disneyland priority (after Enchanted Tale) was Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights parade.
So when it got closer to starting time we decided to head out in search of a place to watch it.

The good news about out choice of dinner location was as we exited out of Tomorrowland Terrace, there was two rows of people already lined up sitting and a 3rd row almost complete. We snagged a couple of spots to sit. Hubby had lost his sitting pad in Kinosaki but I still had mine.

By the time the parade came by there was another row of people sitting behind us, and beyond that a crowd 4-5 people deep just standing to watch.

I remember the first time I saw Spectro Magic in Magic Kingdom. I thought it was the coolest thing EVER (I was 13 years old)

I was so sad when it stopped running. Now I knew this wasn't the same but a nighttime Disney Parade of Lights? Yes Please

Our butts and backs were killing us before the parade even got to us but I didn't care. (no the pad wasn't helping much).
LOL




I felt like a kid again just seeing her come down the street.



Once again being Tall was helping (I have a long torso and am even "tall" when sitting.) I had a largely unobstructed view!

 

[Nakkira]

Day 11 Part 12
Tokyo Disneyland

More shameless Parade photodumping:



Loved him singing in Japanese.


This was one of my favorite floats.




I have more photos, but I will stop at 2 posts for the Parade.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 11 Part 13
Tokyo-Disneyland

With the Parade over we made our way over to Fantasyland because we were already in our time window for Pooh's Honey Hunt.
It was quite amusing keeping pace with the tail end of the parade route for several minutes.






This ride in another of those with a simply wonderful que. Especially if you are a Pooh fan.




This is another ride I didn't attempt to take pictures during.

I was a little afraid it the ride would re-trigger Hubby's vertigo but he took more meclizine during the parade just in case.
We both loved it. They really know how do work magic with trackless rides here. It was so much fun!

We knew after this ride we were done for the night and we decided that beating the crowds out was a good idea...

Got more Castle shots one the way out and also saw a little of the show (again)



A second day here would have been nice and there were some things that we missed but overall I got to do and see the things that I MOST wanted to so I call it a great day.

Always feels sad to walk away though...

Total Step Count: 19,738

THUD.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 1
Tokyo DisneySea

Last Disney Day!
This was out latest start yet. I don't think we even got to the park until 8:30


Cold day, I was wearing 3 layers.

Not that I think the half an hour mattered too much. They started making announcements around 9:03 that Frozen DPA were already sold out. I think we would have had to line up at 6am to get a Frozen DPA that day (and you see how successful I was at getting hubby there even by 8am)

We were in around 9:15


We snagged a DPA for Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure for 11:50-12:50 and made a mobile order for Royal Banquet of Arendelle for 1:00-1:10pm pickup for lunch.
I also got the Lottery for the 10:35 entry to Big Band Beat and a 40th Anniversary Pass for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull.

We headed over to the same bathrooms as last time and decided to get in the line for the Venetian Gondola. I thought it would be nice to do on our actual anniversary (which it was).



Wait time was posted at 25 minutes when we got in line but it actually took 40 minutes to board. (I am sure it was one of those that the line filled up quicker than the times updated being first hour of the day)



It's not exactly a romantic ride being so packed full..... and broad day light!


I am telling you though, this man was working HARD. It was windy and chilly and you could tell that all of the gondoliers were earning it that day.

At the head of the boat was this gem of Lady:


I assume that she was pretty entertaining because the rest of the boat laughed frequently when she spoke.

For me the ride was worth it just to get these views.




We got to the Theatre for Big Band Beat around 10:15 so we had to wait for a bit.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 2
Tokyo DisneySea

While we were waiting I snagged us DPA's for Soaring Fantastic Fight for 11:35-12:35.

It put us on an overlap for Peter Pan but if we hit the earliest entry for Soaring it should be no issue.

Even though it was chilly I ran over and got us some Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka. I really wanted to try these and the line was almost non-existent.



We both liked this. Despite it's name it wasn't overly salted or anything. The wafer was nice and crisp and the vanilla ice cream good.

At 10:35 they started letting us in and I figured out then that there was still another 25 minutes before the show even started. Between the time we waited outside and the wait for the show to begin we could have had time to do another attraction. This is my fault for not researching, I just didn't realize it was going to be like this. I am just so used to amusement park shows sitting and starting within about 10 minutes or so. I was feeling frustrated because it was our last day and I could just see the times slipping away... However by this point in our trip both us us were having a lot of pain in our lacks, legs and feet so honestly all the time sitting was probably for the best.





No pictures are allowed during the show so I have nothing for that.

I personally enjoyed the show. I love the Big Band music. I thought it was fun! Also. who knew that Mickey could tap dance AND play the drums?

By the time we got out, I was worried we'd stacked our passes to closely together so we hustled right over to Soaring. and got there around 11:40.

FTR I actually have screen shots for this day so my passes and times are a bit more accurate on this day's report! (LOL, wish I had done this for the other two days)


I had been really looking forward to this. I know that ride is mostly the same as in the US however I've only been on it twice, and I was looking forward to a different Pre-show etc.





In the end, I felt it was different enough to be work it. The building was very pretty and I liked the pre-show/back story. I did not understand most of the words, but I got the gist.

It was already past noon when we got of so we made a beeline for Fantasy Springs right after.

I did stop briefly for a drink on the way.


I already like Kirin Lemon and I couldn't resist the Donald bottle.


I really appreciate that the Vending machine drinks here don't have an insane mark-up. Bottle beverages for well less than $2.00 at an amusement park is a great.

We got to Peter Pan's Neverland Adventure at 12:27


However just as we were getting in line for the Priority access they were shutting down the ride temporarily.

It took us a few minutes to get ahold of a cast member to ask what we should do (regarding our pass) and he just said. "Check back later".

Alrighty then. We decided to move our lunch order pickup time for 12:40 (we were hungry anyway) and moved on to Frozen Kingdom.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 3
Tokyo DisneySea
It was pretty crowded inside the Royal Banquet of Arendale.

Hubby asked me to go find us seats while he retrieved the food.




This place is huge with lots of rooms.



So Many adorable details!

Every room was full. Every table had people at it or were claimed by "stuff".

I finally found a table in the outdoor seating area.


(not my image) Thankfully they have heat lamps out there so ebven though it was a chilly day you would be warm. In fact I actually had to switch tables because my first selection was too near a heat lamp.

I was worried the hubby would never find me so I said "When in Rome" and left a few personal items like my hoodie on the table and went to find him and lead him back.

We both ordered the Arendelle's Royal Set (beef) - Smoked Salmon Salad, Potato Gratin, Beef Pot Pie, Bread,Olaf's Marshmallow-Chocolate Mousse, Choice of Soft Drink.





This was the most expensive counter service food we had at the parks ¥3500 (about $23) but it came with a lot of food so in my opinion was worth it.
This was also our favorite meal of all 3 days (bear in mind we only had counter service the whole time)

We both enjoyed this. The beef pie filling was slightly odd having cauliflower and noodles, but the gravy was decent, there were good size chunks of tender beef, and the pastry crus was flaky and delicious.

I was also a pretty big fan of the potato gratin. It was rich and filling.
The salad was kind of meh. for some reason the tomato seemed a bit slimy to me and the smoke salmon was a bit strong in flavor for me.

The bread roll was simple ( a little sweet) but could have been more "fresh"



Olaf's Marshmallow-Chocolate Mousse was everything I wanted it to be. The adorable marshmallow Mochi was soft yet chewy, and had a nice filling, and the chocolate mousse was just the right amount of chocolate flavor. I wanted more. I did not get more, but I wanted more. It was perfectly light dessert to cap off a otherwise pretty heavy and filling meal.

I had the Gogo-no-Kocha Apple Tea Soda as my beverage and LOVED it. I wish this was at all of the counter service restaurants.
If you haven't tried it, do. It' sweet, but balanced with the black tea flavor, and fizzy.

Seriously I would drink this all the time if I had it back home.

We sat for awhile after we ate in hope of giving Peter Pan time to get back up and running, also we tried to see if we could get passes for any of the other rides in Fantasy Springs but none were available.

Before leaving I had to get a pic on the throne.

Sadly non of the pictures were very good. LOL



My attempts at looking regal just look annoyed. LOL

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 4
Tokyo DisneySea

We headed back over to Peter Pan just before 1:30 pm to see if it was up and running again.

It was. We asked a cast member about how to use our now timed out DPA and he showed my husband that there was now a "Replacement Pass" on his account (we were still stuck using his phone for everything.

Just as we were about to get in line to use he (Hubby) said "Wait, I think we don't have to use this for this (Peter Pan) ride"

He said "I think we might be able to use it at Frozen"

There's no way...
We figured ok, let's go over there and find out.



Well there was quite a crowd formed over there, but we quickly figured that YES we could. In fact the reason that the Priority Access line was so long is we were not the only ones doing this.

OMG.

When we got scanned in and it accepted the pass we totally high fived a few times.

Hubby also went on to the app and was able to purchase new passes for Peter Pan!

And SO.. we were able to ride Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey after all despite the DPA's been gone before we could get them on both mornings!!!!

It was meant to be.

I was on cloud 9. We did check to see if we could get Tangled again or Tinker Bell's Busy Buggies but those were not available.

Seriously I was doing little happy dances in line.








I'd say we waited in line about 30 or so minutes, so totally not bad at all.

Oh yeah, they also seated us in the front row and didn't cram us in with anyone else so we had the front row to ourselves.


It's not a flattering picture but you can SEE how happy I am.



I didn't take a lot of pictures on the ride because again I was trying to be in the moment, but I did get a few.




This was another absolutely gorgeous ride. Definitely better that the Epcot ride, again with very fluid animatronics. The ride mechanic of the boat were pretty cool all on their own too.
Hubby's only minor critique was that it relied on clips from the movie projected in spots to keep the story moving, which to him detracted slightly from the "immersion" feeling. (FTR this didn't bother me at all but just his opinion)

Yes, I still love Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast more (but then I am more attached to that movie than Frozen), but this was still awesome in it's own right.

I could NOT believe we had gotten lucky enough to have this chance to ride it!!!!

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 5
Tokyo DisneySea

Our new DPA for Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure was for 2:30 so we got off of Frozen around 2:20 and walked right over there.




I didn't have the setting on my camera quite right and there was almost no wait so I didn't get as many good shots as I want of the Lost boys "camp" que.

Now I had already seen motion sickness warning for this ride but I knew nothing else about it, but we had pre-dosed "S" with meclizine well before this. (also not everything gets to him)

However we both got nervous when we realized 3D glasses were involved.



Adorable pre-show. Didn't catch all of the context but it didn't really seem to matter. (apparently John has been kidnapped by Captain Hook)



I love all the details like the scribbles on the walls.

This was another ride vehicle that was almost too tight for us but manageable.


The boats were pretty darn cool though.

No "during ride" pics because constant motion and 3D.

First of all, this was another freaking awesome ride. Decent length too.
It was Magical. From the Moment Tinker Bell sprinkles pixie dust on your boat and you fly after Peter and the gang you are quite literally swept away.
I would totally ride it again if I could.

Sadly it gave both of us Vertigo. "S" wasn't quite as poorly off as the day before, he had felt it coming on and removed his 3d glasses and closed his eyes. (I felt bad for him but also, he still thought the ride was cool and even used the word "impressive").

I think my vertigo was caused by glancing over at him a few times to make sure he was alright therefore confusing my inner brain and inner ear with the physical world and the on screen world not quite matching up.

Pro Tip: Take the Motion sickness warning seriously for this ride.

Thankfully neither of us was nauseous, just off balance and slightly dizzy.

We had to sit on the ground for a bit when we got off (no benched were available) and eventually we left Fantasy Springs and went to Lost River Delta where we found some benches for a good lengthy "sit still".

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 6
Tokyo DisneySea

We had almost an hour between our Peter Pan ride and our Anniversary Pass time for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. We rested much of that time (besides the vertigo, our bodies were complaining from the last few days of intense activity). we drank plenty of water, took Ibuprofen, and "S" had another meclizine just to be cautious.





I think we only waited about 10 minutes from entering the line to riding.

I will say we both found the seats and seat belts on this one a little too tight.

It was a fun ride (better than the movie) though and the animatronic of Indiana Jones at the end cracked us up for some reason.

Neither of had any ill effects from riding.


Love the maniacal grin I managed to pull off for the ride photo.

We stopped at Tropic Al's afterwards and tried the Tipo Torta (Chocolate & Orange) for ¥500.



The flakey crust and warm chocolate filling were quite nice and a little decadent, it would have been perfect with a cup of hot coffee. Sadly they only sold cold drinks here.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I think the visual story telling is good here but also I have seen the movie a million or less times so no translation needed anyway.

That was something I noticed about Tokyo Disney, we are so familiar with the stories that I barely noticed so much was in Japanese!

I am tired reading your report, you fit in a lot!! So awesome that your pass worked for Frozen! Definitely my favorite of the FS rides!

 

[Nakkira]

That was something I noticed about Tokyo Disney, we are so familiar with the stories that I barely noticed so much was in Japanese!

I am tired reading your report, you fit in a lot!! So awesome that your pass worked for Frozen! Definitely my favorite of the FS rides!

I kind of felt like HAD to fit in a lot because I don't see us making it back to Japan for a long time if ever.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 7
Tokyo DisneySea


My next top priority was Mermaid Lagoon. Before Beauty and the Beast came along the Little Mermaid had been my favorite. I had the sound track on tape as a kid and I wore that thing out, I played it till it snapped.



It's just so gosh darn pretty. Said it before, will say again. DisneySea is just the loveliest park ever.






The inside was great too. As soone as you enter the "Cavern" you are instantly brought into the illusion that you are underwater.





If I had kids with me I would happily bring them to this area for a couple of hours. The show is not running and most of the rides seemed to be for kids, so we didn't ride anything but we spent a good 20 minutes looking around and browsing the gift shop.

Once again though, we were hitting the wall. We had been going strong for 3 days (plus all the stuff in Japan before this). On my own I would have push on a bit. I still hadn't seen Believe! Sea of Dreams.
But alas, hubby was DONE and I was cold. Despite my layers, buy the time the sun started to set the wind was picking up and I actually starting to shiver.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 12 Part 8
Tokyo DisneySea

We cut through Mysterious Island on out back out. For once the line for Nautilus Galley was pretty short so we picked up the Gyoza Sausage Bun ¥600. There were other viral foods I ultimately missed out on because of lines and time constraints but it was nice to try one more on the way out.




This is your classic doughy gyoza (somewhere between gyoza and a bao bun texture) only long. The filling was everything I wanted it to be, well balanced flavors of pork, chives, sesame, garlic, soy... If it had been lunch time I could have have happily eaten one all on my own. It was definitely a sharable size snack. Hubby approved too. Only critique is the dough to filling ration, needs a little more filling to balance it.

I also snagged a plain salted popcorn on our way out.



I finally caved in and grabbed the Mickey popcorn tongs too.
I must have been needing the salt because I managed to finish this before we even got on the monorail.

We paused to rest and briefly consider staying for Sea of Dreams but the wind was really picking up and I was so cold. But I did manage to finally get pictures of Mount Prometheus erupting.





We were on the Monorail headed back just before 6pm.


This is my "I don't want to leave Disney" pout.



I was able to console myself slightly with the knowledge that we would still be going to Ikspiari the next day as our flight was not until late afternoon.

I never did manage to get my hands on the Rapunzel popcorn bucket.

We started packing that night so as not to be rushed in the morning and have more time for Ikspiari.
Maybe it's a good thing I didn't get the other bucket because I literally had to sit on my suitcase to zip it.

The good news is that there was still room in Hubby's bad for a little shopping on our last day.

As we pack we heard the wind pick up even more. It was really Roaring. Listening to the heavy wind on the water of the Bay helped me realize we had made the right decision as I would have been too cold and miserable to enjoy the show.

 

[Nakkira]

Day 13
Ikspiari

Departure day spawned sunny, bright, and clear (but sill pretty chilly).

I finally for some nice daytime pictures of our Bay view.



We were so OVER the breakfast at out hotel, so I just has coffee, a roll, and Muesli (also they were out of orange juice) at the buffet.

We finished out packing, and checked out leaving our luggage with Bell services to go check out Ikspiari for real this time.
There were a good number of people there but it wasn't super crowded. We got there around 11 am and it did start to get crowded by the time we left a couple hours later.

We were delighted to see that Christmas had officially started at the Disney store (just yesterday it had been the last official day of the Halloween season at the parks)





I picked up a tree ornament and a few Christmas treats for may family.

We spend a couple of hours shopping around getting last minute items that we thought we could fit in what little space "S" still had in his luggage.
Of course I had to go to Daiso too for more candy (I gift it to people back home) and I also picked up some Daiso Shampoo and Conditioner. Still haven't tried it because I have stuff open right now but I will report back if I like it. I figured it was worth trying though because my hair just seems to LOVE the shampoos and conditioners I was using at the hotels.

We didn't really want to eat at any of the American style restaurants there as it was out last day to enjoy Japanese food so we ended up downstairs at the Ikspiari Kitchen Food Court for lunch.



We both ended up getting a curry udon with tempura for lunch. My tempura choices were egg, chicken and Shrimp.



This was a hearty lunch but neither of us had eaten much breakfast. The curry was mild and rich (but not overly so), the noodles satisfying and chewy, and the tempura was fresh but slightly oily. The curry sauce was just the right thickness to coat and cling to the noodles perfectly.

Hubby also stopped at the Heart Bread to pick up pastries to enjoy on the long flights home.



We still had a couple of hours before out shuttle to the airport but decided to hotel and sit in the lobby (also we had to pack our latest purchases in our luggage)

As we were looking for a bathroom for me to hit on our way out, hubby spotted a little bookstore to look for something for his friends. I reminded him to keep an eye out for this Sailor Moon art book that my sister wanted. We had been to two other HUGE bookstores (one in Osaka and one in Kyoto) but had no luck.
However when I got back from the loo, hubby was excited.
He had found it! In the very last stop on out very last day he had found the only thing my Sailor Moon loving little sister had asked for.



She was so thrilled!!!!

Back at the hotel I had the brilliant idea to look at the TDR store there to see if they had Christmas stuff out too and did, so I bought a Lil Ring Ring candy tine and a TDR specific ornament for my tree,

At the airport we went to the 711 in our gate area for some snacks and used up more change we had accumulated. I also used the last few hundred yen on my IC card at a vending machine for a drink and candy,


One last egg sando.

That about warps things up. Travel days are exhausting and this one especially so since by the time we got back to the Hotel in New Jersey we had been awake for 40 hours. I am not subjecting you to a recap of it (yes we had a delay in Toronto). It was mostly uneventful, just LONG.
Hubby had called Air Canada a couple nights before departure and gotten the seat snafu straightened out for the trip back.

*I will have a couple more posts on here to wrap things up with some final thoughts, and of course my Haul photos.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am a bit scared to take the Peter Pan ride. For perspective the tea cups at WDW are a hard no for me (spinning does me in for whatever is left of the day, like lie flat in bed and vomit done). I can do the HP castle ride in US Orlando but need to close my eyes for a good part of it. Roller coasters were fine when I was younger, but now I have a 1 a day limit and past the halfway point in life I don’t think I’d want to do another (exception for Tron of course). Do you think I’d be okay on Peter Pan? I’d rather not do it if it would be risky because I’d have to spend the rest of the day in bed and my son and I only have 1 day in each park. Is the Peter Pan ride new? I’ve been to Disney Sea twice and don’t recall seeing it.

 

[Nakkira]

I am a bit scared to take the Peter Pan ride. For perspective the tea cups at WDW are a hard no for me (spinning does me in for whatever is left of the day, like lie flat in bed and vomit done). I can do the HP castle ride in US Orlando but need to close my eyes for a good part of it. Roller coasters were fine when I was younger, but now I have a 1 a day limit and past the halfway point in life I don’t think I’d want to do another (exception for Tron of course). Do you think I’d be okay on Peter Pan? I’d rather not do it if it would be risky because I’d have to spend the rest of the day in bed and my son and I only have 1 day in each park. Is the Peter Pan ride new? I’ve been to Disney Sea twice and don’t recall seeing it.

With the Peter Pan ride it wasn't so much spinning as it was the 3D screen in combination with the motion of the "boat" so that you felt like your boat was flying around with Peter Pan. However if prone to motion sickness at all maybe skip this one.
It is new it is part of the Fantasy Springs expansion that opened this year.

 

[Nakkira]

HAUL POST

Here is pretty much everything I bought, spread out on my bed (this does not include some things we had already given our son, or "used", or a few things my hubby hadn't unpacked yet that he bought).



Close up of my Disney Merch:


A few of the items on the right (Mickey Handkerchiefs, Chopsticks, and Mickey foldable Bag)came from Daiso.


This is my Husband's Disney Purchases


Medallions or "Pressed Pennies" :


The Chawan I bought myself at the Antique Market:


Beauty Stuff:


Better closeup of the Kuromi bag I won at the crane game (it folded flat thank goodness for packing):

(hand for scale)

KitKats (we only got flavors that we hadn't gotten on our Prior trip - that time I think we had over a dozen):


Snacks & Candy (and a couple lego type stocking stuffers I got at Daiso):


Two Reasons that there is so much CANDY:

1. We like Japanese Candy

2. We like to give people bags of it (we mix a variety from all the types)
I put it in cool reusable "Jar" bags to give as gifts to family and friends.

I find it to be a great way to give lots of people a little something from our trips. Sharing a literal taste of Japan.

 

[Nakkira]

Final Thoughts:

We had a wonderful trip. Despite being sick for a few days and dealing with the pain from our spinal injuries it was fantastic. We love Japan, and if it was not such a LONG trip (or we could afford to fly business class) we would do it more often.

None of the regrets or negatives listed below ruined our trip, I am simply sharing them in case they would help others plan a better trip.

Things I would have done differently (with hindsight):

If I had to redo this trip, I would have maybe done Tokyo & TDR first and then had our rest break in Kinosaki. (Maybe a stop in Kyoto first), Then onto Osaka. As nice as it was to have Disney to look forward to, I think we would have had more energy if it had been at the beginning of the trip. I still would have had a “blank” day after travel to get over the worst of Jet-lag though. I think there are possible pros and cons to having it at either end of a long trip.

I would have booked the Green Car for all 3 of our longer train trips for more comfort.

For 3 days in TDR I am not upset with the balance of 2 for Disney Sea and 1 for Disneyland.

I do not regret not getting a Vacation Package, but I can see how, if you can afford it, it would help you get the most out of limited time in the parks.

I think we still managed to do quite a bit. I also recognize that if we hadn’t lucked out with the Peter Pan ride breaking down we would not have gotten to ride Frozen. (although again, we MIGHT have been able too if we had gotten in line earlier, for me personally the extra exhaustion would have had me leaving the parks even earlier.

Things I wish I had packed but didn’t:

An old top sheet or two so that we could have separate even if the hotels couldn’t provide them.

A warmer coat or a thicker hoodie. I was trying not to have too much bulk to deal with, however those last few days at TDR were a bit chilly once the sun went down.

Sunscreen, I had plenty at home and it not cheap there.

Fanny Pack : With my neck and shoulder pain backpacks and purses didn’t help.

Chewable antacids (I had them at home, but I took them out of the travel med bag because the package was too big LOL)

Things I packed that I didn’t need:

Too many slacks/trousers/pants – I just kept re-wearing the same comfortable ones.

Shampoo and conditioner (they were only small bottles but I didn’t need them)

Makeup. For some reason I just didn’t bother with it (to be fair I don’t use much to begin with even at home)



Things I am REALLY glad I packed:

A CHEAP pillow for each of us that we left behind when we packed to go home.

My Heating pad

Travel Clothes line & Clothes pins. Japan’s washer dryer combo’s are weak o the dryer side and it was good to have the extra line to hang stuff to dry overnight after washing. It was small.

Cold medicine. Yes we ran out but I was glad we had enough for a couple of days to buy us time to get more.

Tenugui (Japanese hand towels). We bought a couple more when there too but glad we brought the ones from out last trip with us. They are just so useful to have especially outside of Disney where most of the bathrooms do not have hand dryers. Also my hubby sweats a lot and uses them to mop his brow. I suggest bringing a couple of bandanas or handkerchiefs if you have no Tenugui

Deodorant. Good deodorant is not easy to find. I had plenty. Hubby ran out and it took a couple tries to find a replacement for him.

Thoughts on Air Canada:

Okay Airline. I enjoyed the food better on ANA for our last trip.

Plenty of Movie/Entertainment options.

Average customer service.

Hated the tiny plane we were on from Toronto to JFK but it was a short flight.



Thoughts on Maihama 1st Resort:

Pro’s:

Very Close to the parks. Good transportation offered.

Small official TDR merchandise store.

Great price.

Decent sized room for the price.

Cons:

Breakfast (and lack of general dining options) I would not have gotten the breakfast at Maihama 1st Resort. It was so repetitive, boring, and low quality that 5 mornings of it were too much. Also, I might have gone to other hotels nearby to eat.

The toilet room was the most cramped and tiniest ever. Seriously uncomfortable to poop in.

The temperature control in our room was next to useless. It always blew the same temperature air not matter what. The room was stuffy and the only way to cool it was to open the window for a bit.



Things I missed in Disneyland (that I wanted to do):

We never even made it to Westernland (not much I wanted to do there but it would have been nice to look around)

Monster’s Inc Ride & Go Seek

Things I missed in DisneySea (that I wanted to do) :

Journey to the Center of the Earth (closed for refurbishment)

Believe Sea of Dreams (We were just physically DONE too early both nights)

Raging Spirits (Hubby wasn’t up for it at the time we would have had space for it)

Rides I wouldn’t ride again:

The only ride that I regret riding was 20, Leagues Under the Sea (too cramped and couldn’t see or understand anything going on)

In both Parks:

Several snacks, popcorn flavors and foods that I wanted to try, but then I was not able to stand in the long lines to get them (or if I did, I would have been in too much pain to do other things later)

Character Greetings: Not my Hubby’s “thing” and I decided not to spend the time seeking them out.



Things We already Knew that came in useful (from Prior trip):

Bring or buy a coin purse. You will have SO much change.

Get the Pasmo/Icoca card. It makes traveling on the local trains/metro so much easier.

Know that you can get everywhere, but allow extra time for the walking to and from train stations.

Learn the basic crowded area courtesies such as switching your backpack to your front so you don’t bump people or things with it, not talking loudly, not blowing your nose in public. Saying “Sumimasen” (excuse me) if you bump into people.

Putting your money on the little tray at checkout instead of trying to hand it to the cashier.

Carrying a trash bag with you everywhere you go because public trash bins are few and far between.

On Being Plus Size and Tall in Japan:

Be prepared to be uncomfortable at times. Especial on public transportation. Leg space and butt space will be tight. Understand that you need to pack whatever clothes you MAY need because plus sizes can be found at some specialty shops but are not easy to find in general.

Be prepared not to fit on some rides in amusement parks. We just barely fit into some; persons larger than us may not fit at all.

Seats are often hard (and so are beds). Extra weight makes those even more uncomfortable at times. If this could be an issue, consider bringing a fold up sitting pad. I got us some on Temu. We forgot to use them some times and hubby lost his, but it could/did help in some situations.

 

[Nakkira]

That's just about all folks.
I might have a small follow-up post or two if I forgot something or if I decided to take and post pictures of my stamp book.

Please leave me comments and/or questions!

I love feedback.

 

[bennifer]

Thank you for taking the time to post this trip report! DH, DS16 and I will be in Japan in June/July 2025 and your insights have helped so much!