Tokyo Disney...One More Off the Bucket List

I am what some would call a “Disney Fan.” I put that in quotation marks because I should probably try to figure out a different name for it, but I cannot think of a label that appropriately tells the way that all things Disney make me feel like a happy kid all over again. For those of you that do not know me well, I am a non-conformist, non-consumerist, traveling lady with a guilty love of all things Disney. In fact my husband Chad, and I had annual passes to Disneyland Anaheim well before our daughter was even a thought in our minds. After our almost-three-year-old daughter was born we could only hold off three weeks before ~~indoctrinating~~ including her in the fun.

One of my life time goals is to visit all the Disney Parks, and while we were in Tokyo, I was able to check another park off my list. You can read about my thoughts on the benefits of taking your children to The Happiest Place On Earth, and our day in Disney Paris for Z’s second birthday if you like. I have now been to Disneyland Anaheim , Disney Paris, and Tokyo Disney. Just two more to go now, Hong Kong Disney and Walt Disney World.

First a couple of “just so you knows’ in case you are headed to the Tokyo Disney Park: 1) there are no park hopper tickets, you may only buy tickets to and enter one park for a single day. If you want to see both Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, get the multiple day pass… That is the only way that you can see both parks, 2) there is no need to buy bottled water inside the park, the water fountains are great (and I say this as a person that NEVER drinks out of water fountains), and 3) there is a train that will take you to Tokyo Disney with ease, but try to go outside of rush hour, because it does get extremely crowded.

I may, or may not, have felt like hyperventilating on the crowded train to and from Tokyo Disney.

Okay, with those few tips, now onto our day in Tokyo Disney Resort. I was going to write a long explanation of all that we did, but figured that pictures are much more fun and that way I could reminisce about our lovely day in Tokyo Disney Resort while telling you about it.

We had decided to check out Tokyo Disney instead of going to Disney Sea, as most of the things in Disney Sea were for older children, Z was not tall enough for many of the attractions. We arrived a bit later than we wanted, but sometimes it is hard to get up and moving when its raining and cold. Also it did take one hour on the train from our apartment. We bought our tickets at about ten in the morning and walked into the gorgeous, but wet, park.

The prices to get into Tokyo Disney at the time we were there.

We started our time in Tokyo Disney having delicious waffles at the Great American Waffle Company near the main entrance of the park (mine was the one with chocolate, and no, there are no such thing as calories at any Disney park).

Once ~~I was~~ we were refueled we ran to the castle in the middle of the park. Unlike the other Disney Parks that have Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, this one has a gigantic interpretation of Cinderella’s Castle. We stopped to take some pictures along the way.

It was the Easter celebration at Tokyo Disney, so there were "hidden" eggs through out the park. — It was the Easter celebration at Tokyo Disney, so there were “hidden” eggs through out the park.

All three of us at And Three To Go in front of Cinderella's Castle. — All three of us at *And Three To Go* in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

Cinderella's Castle with a view of the guard tower. — Cinderella’s Castle with a view of the guard tower.

Front view of Cinderella's Castle. — Front view of Cinderella’s Castle.

We were cold, but happy that the cold was keeping the crowds away. Normally, from what we had read, the park is teaming with crowds, they sometimes even sell out of ticket before they even open, and the lines are usually long and arduous. Because of the rain, we did not have to wait in line more that 45 minutes for any of the rides, in fact the park was almost empty, as you can see in the pictures of the castle above. I guess that should have probably been my TIP #4, Go on a rainy day.

The grounds were so pristine and grass cut so perfectly, that at first I thought it was all fake grass. — The grounds were pristine and the grass cut so perfectly that at first I thought it was all fake grass.

We started at Cinderella’s Fairy Tale hall, which was just a walk through area with different types of artwork depicting the story of Cinderella. It lead to an area where you could take a picture in Cinderella’s throne, I did not realize that Cinderella had a throne, but whatever, it made for some cute pictures.

One of the art pieces depicting a scene from Cinderella.

Someone almost fits in the glass slipper!

Such a regal (and blurry) photo of Z in the throne room. — Such a regal (and blurry) photo of us in the throne room.

Pinocchio's journey was next on our list. — Pinocchio’s Daring Journey was next on our list.

Then Alice in Wonderland's Tea Cups. — Then Alice in Wonderland’s Tea Party (the tea cups).

A 3D show called Philharmagic was our next destination. — A 3D show called PhilharMagic was our next destination.

Z's first 3D movie! The Philharmagic, which was all in Japanese. It was quite fun though and included music from many of the Disney movies. — Z’s first 3D movie! The PhilharMagic was all in Japanese, but I guess there are little hand held devices that will translate it to English if you want. It was quite fun and included music from many of the Disney movies. My favorite part was watching Z trying to catch the 3D projections.

A picture of Z on It's A Small World. Another ride that was nostalgic but weird because of the difference in language. So much fun though. — A picture of Z on It’s A Small World. Another ride that was nostalgic and new at the same time. The classic theme song was sung in Japanese the whole time. I am pretty sure that the people around us thought I was some crazy lady singing the song in English along with the puppets. Doesn’t everyone know “It’s a Small World” by heart?

The Haunted Mansion, exactly the same as Disneyland Anaheim (although the monologue was in Japanese).

In the Haunted Mansion, all Z could do was slowly lower her head and close her eyes when she became afraid, I felt a little bad. I guess her days of “no fear” are gone now. The ride was pretty much the same as the Anaheim ride, but getting on the ride was much more efficient. In fact, I found that the efficiency and order in all aspects of the park made it more comfortable and quick than Disneyland in Anaheim, and honestly I am not even going to compare it to Paris Disney, because that park was HORRIBLE!

A hilarious 20 minutes of back-woods bears speaking and singing in Japanese... in a southern twang. Strange, but pretty entertaining. — The Country Bear Theater! A hilarious 20 minutes of back-woods bears speaking and singing in Japanese… in a southern twang. Strange, but pretty entertaining.

The Tiki Room--- Re-mastered to include an annoying rock 'n roll singing Stitch. It was not my favorite show. — The Tiki Room— Re-mastered to include an annoying rock ‘n roll singing Stitch. It was not my favorite show. Thank goodness it is only about 10 minutes long.

This was one of the best rides in the park. Monsters, Inc.. In this ride, you use a flashlight to find all the monsters. It is great for all ages and spurs on a healthy bit of competition.

Toontown. Home of the first roller coaster than Zoë was bug enough to finally ride. — Toontown. Home of the first roller coaster than Zoë was big enough to ride.

It was creeping towards evening time, and all of us were freezing our bums off (if only it were that simple for me…hrmph). We decided that our day was coming to an end, but first we wanted to check out Toon Town. When it rains, apparently there is no desire for this area of the park and everything was dead. We walked onto “Gadget’s Go Coaster” without any wait and a little white lie that our tall daughter was already three years old (her birthday is only 2 months away, she is close enough). All three of us raised our hands and yelled as we climbed the small hill that led to a very short twisty and turning ride. We wanted to climb on again, but I think we were all getting just too cold. We ran for the rest of the rides that we wanted to go on, not only because we felt it was getting close to our time to leave, but also to try to warm ourselves.

We hopped on a couple of more rides before eating a couple of amazing hot dogs (mine had cabbage and avocado, and I didn’t take pictures before I wolfed it down! I’m sorry!). We shivered our way out of the park. It was such a great day and despite freezing most of the day, I was so thankful that we could enjoy the park without the massive crowds.