Day 1 - Tokyo Disneyland
I read online that people start lining up at least an hour ahead of time to enter the park. So that was my plan. The park opened at 8am, and I was in line by 7:30am (a little behind schedule.) I can confirm, YES there were long lines! Once the gates opened, it took at least 10 minutes for me to enter the park due to the length of the line.
Heading towards the lines, along with ALL these other people!
Mission #1 was to get a Fast Pass for the Monster Inc. Ride & Go Seek ride, and I knew that this was the mission of almost every other guest too. While there was a mob of people all going to the same place, it was quite orderly and went rather quickly.
The Fast Pass mob in the roped off waiting area.
After this, I wasn't 100% sure what I should do next. I ended up walking past the castle, and since there were only a few people around, this was the best opportunity for a good photo...and a morning snack (pumpkin cream donut.)
The castle is definitely bigger than California's Disneyland (CD.) (Little did I know this would be the only quiet part of the day.)
I liked that this castle had towers too.
I walked over to Splash Mountain, only to find out that it wasn't open yet. (First of many instances of wasting time and added walking in the park.) I decided to just walk to Fantasyland to see how things were going there. There was no wait at It's a Small World, so I hopped on board. It has a similar feel to CD, but the rooms are in a different order and there was almost no American presence (pretty much just one cowboy and indian at the end.)
A working clock face, just like at CD.
The Asian room.
The (mostly or all South) American room.
Next I rode on Pinocchio's Daring Journey (very little wait) and went into Toon Town for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin (40 minute wait.) I was starving by this point, and since the lines were short, I decided I needed to get some fries. I loved every bite.
Toontown looks just like the other ones.
By this time, 2 hours had passed so I was able to get my next Fast Pass. This time, I opted for Pooh's Hunny Hunt since the standby wait time was already 140 minutes.
My ever-growing Fastpass collection.
Now, there are a few things about the Disney experience in Tokyo that are unlike any other place. One of those things is flavored popcorn in "fashionable" buckets that can be worn. Guests can purchase a Disney themed plastic popcorn pail inside the park for about $17, or bring one with them that they previously purchased at the park. The bucket includes a popcorn fill up, and subsequent refills are about $7. There are at least 6 different flavors of popcorn for sale at carts dispersed throughout the park. And some of the lines for popcorn are as long as lines for rides! At first, I thought the whole idea was ridiculous and refused to waste my money on it. But after seeing how the lines for rides were filling up, the idea of having popcorn to snack on all day seemed to suddenly make perfect sense. So, when I came across a jalapeño cheddar cart that had a very short line, I bought a bucket to fill up.
One of the shortest lines all day. (The popcorn itself was only meh.)
By this point, I figured Splash Mountain would be open. It was a sunny and warm day, and getting hotter by the minute, so it seemed like the perfect time to ride it. The standby wait time was well over an hour at least, but I had my secret plan - riding it as a single rider to bypass the line. This option saves so much time if you and anyone accompanying you are willing to split up and ride separately. The wait ended up being 15 minutes or less, and I think I like this version more than CD, though you don't get too wet on this one.
Instant classic.
The exit of the ride took me past a refreshment stand selling something that sounded too good to pass up - a pumpkin/vanilla swirl soft serve sundae with a churro and chocolate ghost. It was one of the best things I ate in the park.
This is when I started to realize that the Japanese LOVE pumpkin flavored stuff. It was everywhere, not just in Disneyland. Not sure if they only like it in the autumn though.
Next, it was a walk to Tomorrowland. By this time, I was finally able to use my Monsters Inc. Fast Pass. Even with that, I still had to wait in line about 30 minutes. This ride is unique to this park. I thought it was cute, but definitely not worth waiting in line for hours to ride.
This was marked as a Fuji Film (yes Fuji, not Kodak) photo spot. (I have no idea why this view was singled out.)
Space Mountain. Looks familiar, huh?
I then decided to make my way over to Westernland, which I had not passed through yet. By this time the park really started to get crazy! I was eligible for my next Fast Pass, so I chose Big Thunder Mountain. (I purposely planned my trip at this time because this ride was closing for refurbishment two days later.) The standby wait time was 100 minutes. Next to this ride is the Westernland Shootin' Gallery. Now, this was a fun distraction, once I was done waiting in yet another line. (I think the wait was at least 20 minutes.) For ¥200, you get to fire ten shots. I did horrible my first time around though!
Crowds picking up.
Not happy about having to stand in such a long line for the shooting gallery. Making the most of my time by updating my travel log. (And wearing my popcorn bucket like a pro.)
Shooting range decked out for Halloween.
Look out!
I suck.
View of the castle from the World Bazaar. (The bazaar is covered since it rains a lot.)
View looking into World Bazaar. (I actually prefer the Main Street USA look a lot more.)
In this Penny Arcade, the games took Yen instead of pennies. Prices ranged from ¥20 to 100, if I am remembering correctly. I love old stuff, so I love the Penny Arcade at CD. I figured I would give every game a try, as a stress reliever. I started with an old-fashioned crane prize catcher that I had never seen before, and it was a complete waste. The gears didn't seem to help at all in moving the crane. Next was a golf game that was fairly fun once I got the hang of it.
I played a few other games and was not happy with them. There were no directions, so you had to just wing it and learn by trial and error. After doing horribly in a stupidly designed hockey game, among others, I had had enough and dubbed the arcade games "American Rejects." I left the arcade even more frustrated than I was when I entered.
This was a skee ball game.
Finally figuring out how to play, but doing horribly.
Yep, this is pretty much how I felt.
After this, I wanted to attempt getting another Fast Pass. After walking to Space Mountain, I learned that all of the Fast Passes were gone for the day, as they were for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. By this point, I finally realized where the park information sign was. So back to World Bazaar I went. It said that Fast Pass tickets were still available for the Haunted Mansion, so it was time for another hike across the park. When I got there though, the Fast Pass machines were covered up, a sign that no more passes were available.
All bad news...or lies.
Despondent, I decided to take a snack break to decompress and recharge.
Pastry snack, coincidentally arranged like a hidden Mickey.
After this, the crowds got even more crazy, if that was possible. The sign said the wait for Pirates of the Caribbean was 45 minutes, but my aching feet and back begged to differ! The ride itself is how it used to be at Disneyworld (DW), with the addition of Captain Jack Sparrow in a couple places too.
Wenches are still for sale in this version.
A few weeks earlier, the park reopened the Jungle Cruise with a revamped theme - Wildlife Expeditions. Walking through the park earlier in the day, I noticed that there was complete chaos in the open area near that ride, and I thought it was a line for a nearby restaurant. I decided this ride was next on my list, and learned that the long line (which was broken into two parts in order to keep an open walkway) was actually for the Jungle Cruise. And the wait was two hours. I couldn't believe it. I lost all motivation at this point, as all of the rides remaining had long lines and I just couldn't fathom waiting in line with my feet and back killing me like they were.
It was impossible not to run into people. Madness!
It was about 4pm, and it seemed like the restaurants were experiencing a lull. I decided to take advantage of this and go ahead and eat an early dinner. The Eastside Café in World Bazaar is the only restaurant in the ENTIRE park that offered a vegetarian meal (which was pasta), so I guess the park made the decision for me.
Mainly I'm happy because I'm sitting, not standing.
After dinner, I looked at the information board again, because I thought some of the wait times may have improved. (Silly me.) The waits were 120 minutes for Haunted Mansion, 150 minutes for Space Mountain, and 180 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain and Pooh's Hunny Hunt. I came to terms with the fact that I had no choice but to wait in the long line for Haunted Mansion Holiday. I got in line at 5:05pm and exited the ride at 7pm. At least the sun set while I waited in line, so it wasn't hot anymore. The mansion also looked really neat lit up at night.
We're all in this misery together.
View of the castle while waiting in line.
Is your name on the list?
It was almost time to use the Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain. To kill some time, another round at the shooing gallery sounded like fun. I did better this time also (4 shots.) I liked their version of Thunder Mountain a little bit more than CD and DW too. (The ride is lit up nicely when you ride it at night, giving it a scarier effect.)
When I exited that ride, the evening parade had just begun. I normally do not care about Disney parades, except when it comes to the ELECTRICAL PARADE, complete with the old music and everything!!! (I almost shed a tear, for reals. My little sister might be only person who could relate.)
I watched the parade while walking, because closing time at 10pm was fast approaching and I still had many rides to try to get on. I used my Fast Pass for Pooh's Hunny Hunt. I was expecting amazing things based on the buzz I read about this ride online. I thought it was good, but nowhere near worth the hype. (OK, there was one cool surprise about the ride that lasts for a few seconds, but I won't ruin it for all of you.)
Lines were still long for everything I had remaining, and time was running short. I figured that I had to ride Space Mountain more than anything else that was remaining. The wait was about 80 minutes, and from the line I could see part of the fireworks and castle projection show. The ride itself was very similar to CD and DW, but it was NOT themed for Halloween.
So sick of waiting, but almost there.
Surprisingly, I still had some time to spare after that. I wandered back to Fantasyland for the umpteenth million time. Peter Pan's Flight had only a 20 minute wait, which was the shortest I had seen it all day. It started to pour rain while I was in line. When exiting, it was still raining but not as hard. Snow White's Adventures was next door, so luckily I didn't get too wet. The wait was also 5 minutes or less. Woohoo! The ride is similar to CD, but comes to an end without a happy ending. (Ugly witch old lady is threatening the dwarves in their mine and then...doors open. Ride over.)
Somehow, there were still a few minutes left before closing time and the rain had stopped. I decided to try my luck at getting in line for the Jungle Cruise. No dice. The Western River Railroad is right above though, and was making an announcement for last call, so up and on I went for a round trip journey around the park...in the dark. Not very exciting, but hey, at least I got to ride it.
I had barely spent any time looking in the gift shops during the day. I browsed a few in World Bazaar on my way out, but did not see much of anything that appealed to me, plus the crowds were driving me crazy. So I left without buying anything.
Stay tuned for part 2!
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