"Where Adventure and Imagination Set Sail." Japan blends into fantasy, adventure, the future and the past.
Setting my alarm for 4:00am meant only one thing...we were on our way to Disney Tokyo!! There are two main theme parks in the Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney Land and Disney Sea. We chose to go to Disney Sea for two main reasons, firstly this fantasy theme park is unique to Japan and secondly, it was designed to appeal to a more grown audience.
We arrived at the park at 6:30am and set up camp outside the gates with hundreds of other people, ready for a 14 hour Disney filled day! As the gates lifted, everyone ran. Everyday the staff must line up and very politely tell all guests to slow down, there is no rush, but this doesn't stop the early morning manic scramble to be first on the attractions. Ali and I ran straight onto Tower of Terror! I went on this ride with my Dad in Disney World Florida about 10 years ago and it bought back some great memories! It was certainly just as good as I remembered.
No wonder everyone ran at the start of the morning, by midday, queues were up to 160 minutes long! The resort do have a clever ticket system which I strongly advice you must use if you ever visit the resort, I don't think many people actually knew about it. Its called a fastpass, there is no extra cost and it is designed to minimise the amount of time waiting in line. All you have to do is, go to a fastpass ticket machine near the entrance of the attraction you want to go on, insert your ticket and then return at the time shown on your ticket and enjoy without waiting. Now, as far as roller coasters go, they didn't exactly satisfy my adrenaline needs, however, there is so much to do and see from 4D virtual experiences to steam boat rides, to west end Broadway shows to parades and light shows.
The park is inspired by the myths and legends of the sea and it is made up of seven themed ports of call: Mediterranean Harbour, Mystery Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery and American Waterfront. I absolutely loved the Mediterranean Harbour, it is styled like Venice and you can get on a gondola and sail on the canals. The parks aesthetics are incredible; no detail is overlooked.
Now you actually felt out of place if you weren't wearing something Disney, so purchasing Minnie Mouse ears was a must. I just love how enthusiastic everyone is in the park, Japanese people in particular love Disney. Some take it to the extreme, many people were loaded with that much Disney apparel I mistook them for walking Disney memorabilia sellers. Whenever I ask my students (children and adults) how many times have you been to Disney? I always get a similar answer... "too many, I can't even count." Even the staff are super happy all the time, many individuals are employed to wave to guests as they enter the park, how do they do that day-in-day-out...?!
Setting my alarm for 4:00am meant only one thing...we were on our way to Disney Tokyo!! There are two main theme parks in the Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney Land and Disney Sea. We chose to go to Disney Sea for two main reasons, firstly this fantasy theme park is unique to Japan and secondly, it was designed to appeal to a more grown audience.
We arrived at the park at 6:30am and set up camp outside the gates with hundreds of other people, ready for a 14 hour Disney filled day! As the gates lifted, everyone ran. Everyday the staff must line up and very politely tell all guests to slow down, there is no rush, but this doesn't stop the early morning manic scramble to be first on the attractions. Ali and I ran straight onto Tower of Terror! I went on this ride with my Dad in Disney World Florida about 10 years ago and it bought back some great memories! It was certainly just as good as I remembered.
No wonder everyone ran at the start of the morning, by midday, queues were up to 160 minutes long! The resort do have a clever ticket system which I strongly advice you must use if you ever visit the resort, I don't think many people actually knew about it. Its called a fastpass, there is no extra cost and it is designed to minimise the amount of time waiting in line. All you have to do is, go to a fastpass ticket machine near the entrance of the attraction you want to go on, insert your ticket and then return at the time shown on your ticket and enjoy without waiting. Now, as far as roller coasters go, they didn't exactly satisfy my adrenaline needs, however, there is so much to do and see from 4D virtual experiences to steam boat rides, to west end Broadway shows to parades and light shows.
The park is inspired by the myths and legends of the sea and it is made up of seven themed ports of call: Mediterranean Harbour, Mystery Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery and American Waterfront. I absolutely loved the Mediterranean Harbour, it is styled like Venice and you can get on a gondola and sail on the canals. The parks aesthetics are incredible; no detail is overlooked. Now you actually felt out of place if you weren't wearing something Disney, so purchasing Minnie Mouse ears was a must. I just love how enthusiastic everyone is in the park, Japanese people in particular love Disney. Some take it to the extreme, many people were loaded with that much Disney apparel I mistook them for walking Disney memorabilia sellers. Whenever I ask my students (children and adults) how many times have you been to Disney? I always get a similar answer... "too many, I can't even count." Even the staff are super happy all the time, many individuals are employed to wave to guests as they enter the park, how do they do that day-in-day-out...?!
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| Mr Incredible, Ali and I in cartoon form |
This is one of my favourite photos from the day. We met many Disney characters, and I wanted to paint a cartoon image of us with a character. I think it's turned out pretty well!
Disney is famous for its evening light shows. This year's show is called Fantasmic, it features Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice who creates a fantastic world of Disney through the powers of imagination.
Filled with special effects using gigantic water screens, lasers, lights and fire, it really is spectacular, and they don't half belt out the good old Disney tunes to get the thousands and thousands of people going.
Disney is not much good for those of you over 6ft 3, all rides have lower and upper height restrictions, so sorry James, looks like Disney can't cope with your 6ft 6 handsome self. Ticket prices are actually not too expensive. A day pass into DisneySea cost just over 6000 Yen (£38). Considering you pay that to get into a theme park in the UK I think its reasonable.
Without sounding cheesy, Disney is a place where people of all ages can enjoy the magic through Walt Disney. Enjoy a gondola ride, a ride on a broken lift, a 4D virtual experience or a simple leisurely stroll. Enjoy salted popcorn, curry popcorn, pepper popcorn, milk tea popcorn or toffee popcorn whilst a parade passes or fireworks light up the sky. For me, it was a day of nostalgia, excitement, exploration and fun and I loved all 14 hours of it.
Hope you have enjoyed my Disney blog post! Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages, cards, presents, etc. I had a very special day! I will be writing a post early this week about me birthday weekend!
Marion
Disney is not much good for those of you over 6ft 3, all rides have lower and upper height restrictions, so sorry James, looks like Disney can't cope with your 6ft 6 handsome self. Ticket prices are actually not too expensive. A day pass into DisneySea cost just over 6000 Yen (£38). Considering you pay that to get into a theme park in the UK I think its reasonable.
Without sounding cheesy, Disney is a place where people of all ages can enjoy the magic through Walt Disney. Enjoy a gondola ride, a ride on a broken lift, a 4D virtual experience or a simple leisurely stroll. Enjoy salted popcorn, curry popcorn, pepper popcorn, milk tea popcorn or toffee popcorn whilst a parade passes or fireworks light up the sky. For me, it was a day of nostalgia, excitement, exploration and fun and I loved all 14 hours of it.
Hope you have enjoyed my Disney blog post! Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages, cards, presents, etc. I had a very special day! I will be writing a post early this week about me birthday weekend!
Marion
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