In celebration of Reagan's 2nd birthday, the Haines' and Walkers (or as I like to call us: The American Full House. 3 Haines' and 2 Walkers) spent a day in Disneyland Tokyo!
Personally, I wasn't sure how excited I was supposed to be since I'm 24 years old and Iam was a Disneyland virgin. "So...wait, its just for little kids right?" WRONG! (sort of). Obviously, the theme park is geared towards children, but I found many aspects about Disneyland which I (as an adult) enjoyed a lot. Also, lets be honest, I act like a child 90% of the time so it was easy for me to share in the pre-pubescent bliss.
When we walked into the park we decided to hit up Tomorrowland (which I mistakenly call "Futuretown" every time). The problem is that we were instantly hit with the realization that every popular ride had a 100+ minute wait. It is, after all, summer at Disneyland in Tokyo. So the first ride we went on was the rocket ship ride (shown below).
Following this we walked to the wacky world known as Toontown. Reagan especially enjoyed all of the crazy interactive buildings.
While in Toontown, we decided to get in line for the "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" inspired ride.
So Katie and I waited, and waited, annnnd waited. During our seemingly endless wait in line Katie and I stayed sane by playing Yatzee on my iPod. This proved to be an essential survival tool throughout the rest of the day. I also ended up teaching Katie how to whip a wet towel in order to pop any unsuspecting friend on the leg or tushy. 2 hours later, we were very relieved to board the log ride. It ended up being great. Plus, we got a killer photo from the big drop!
One inescapable fact about all early Disney princesses and princes are that they are very obviously Caucasian. Consequently, Disney must hire white people in foreign Disneylands in order for the characters to be believable. Before you pull the race card just remember: it isn't racist if its for the kids!
We met back up with the Haines' after the parade and quickly went back to Tomorrowland in hopes of catching the Buzz Lightyear or Monsters Inc attractions. We did make it to the Buzz line before the wait time topped an hour.
Just as we were about to walk out of the park we passed by the "Captain EO" attraction which is a 3D short movie that George Lucas and Francis Coppola made with Micheal Jackson. For some reason this ride in particular had been pulling at my soul all day, plus it was only a 10 minute wait at this point. It was 80s to the max with its blend of funky bass lines, dancing, Star Wars-esque vibe, and MJ saving the day by shooting purifying lasers out of his feet via whip kicks.
As we stumbled out of the theater, having headaches from the bad 80s 3D, we had one more chance to take some photos before we left. It was a truly gorgeous night with a bright moon shining next to the Disney Castle.
Since we had such a great time AND we didn't get to do all of the rides, I'm pretty sure we will be going back soon. Sometimes it pays to know the birthday girl.
-Seth
DISNEYLAND!
Personally, I wasn't sure how excited I was supposed to be since I'm 24 years old and I
When we walked into the park we decided to hit up Tomorrowland (which I mistakenly call "Futuretown" every time). The problem is that we were instantly hit with the realization that every popular ride had a 100+ minute wait. It is, after all, summer at Disneyland in Tokyo. So the first ride we went on was the rocket ship ride (shown below).
Following this we walked to the wacky world known as Toontown. Reagan especially enjoyed all of the crazy interactive buildings.
Toontown Antics
While in Toontown, we decided to get in line for the "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" inspired ride.
Baby Herman
We were lucky enough to go on a beautiful day which turned out to be pretty hot. We were equally lucky to catch Disney's water spraying show (below) featuring Goofy and Stitch.
I may be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that "Lilo and Stitch" was a major iconic blockbuster movie in The States. In Japan, Stitch is everywhere! To put it into perspective, the amount of Lilo and Stitch collectibles was about the same, maybe more, than Toy Story.
After the water show we grabbed a bite to eat in the Fantasyland which ended up being the only thing we did there. Our next major stop was Splash Mountain because at this point we had already become ridiculously hot again. The wait time was posted as 110 minutes! We figured that Katie and I would wait in line while the Haines' took Reagan to some other smaller rides (i.e. the Tea Cups and Dumbo).
uhhhh... :(
So Katie and I waited, and waited, annnnd waited. During our seemingly endless wait in line Katie and I stayed sane by playing Yatzee on my iPod. This proved to be an essential survival tool throughout the rest of the day. I also ended up teaching Katie how to whip a wet towel in order to pop any unsuspecting friend on the leg or tushy. 2 hours later, we were very relieved to board the log ride. It ended up being great. Plus, we got a killer photo from the big drop!
In order to save my manliness, I must inform you that those poses were premeditated.
We met back up with the Haines' to do the ol' baby swap so they could ride Splash Mountain also. They were exponentially more fortunate than us because they were able do a fast pass and be done with the ride in about 30 minutes. This was something we had previously arranged. Katie and I took Reagan to watch the parade while Matt and Chelsae did their ride. I got some hilarious pictures of little Haines getting down on a ice cream sandwich during this time.
Birthday girl
One inescapable fact about all early Disney princesses and princes are that they are very obviously Caucasian. Consequently, Disney must hire white people in foreign Disneylands in order for the characters to be believable. Before you pull the race card just remember: it isn't racist if its for the kids!
Non-Asian Belle
At this point Reagan was pooped (not literally though), so the Haines' went to their hotel for some R&R. Katie and I looked at each other and decided to kick it into high gear so we could see/ride as much as possible. In 4 hours we had only been on 3 rides. The next 3 hours was a whirlwind of hardcore Disneylanding, Walker style. The highlights were Tom Sawyer Island, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Pirates of the Carribean, Disney Castle, Star Tours, and Space Mountain.
Katie posing by the famous Micky statue by the castle.
Our hopes of having a nice sit down dinner were dashed away when we decided to eat pizza while waiting in the Space Mountain line. Following Space Mountain we hurried to the central area for the Electrical Parade.
Goofy and Alice
We met back up with the Haines' after the parade and quickly went back to Tomorrowland in hopes of catching the Buzz Lightyear or Monsters Inc attractions. We did make it to the Buzz line before the wait time topped an hour.
Reagan being cute for her spectators in the Buzz Lightyear line
As we stumbled out of the theater, having headaches from the bad 80s 3D, we had one more chance to take some photos before we left. It was a truly gorgeous night with a bright moon shining next to the Disney Castle.
Since we had such a great time AND we didn't get to do all of the rides, I'm pretty sure we will be going back soon. Sometimes it pays to know the birthday girl.
-Seth
July 30, 2010 at 8:29 AM
I am glad you finally made it to the big D (and don't mean Dallas).
August 1, 2010 at 4:39 PM
No kidding! Thanks. I'm pretty sure we might try to go again when you guys come. Also, they have a Cirque du Soleil show there that we want to try to go see.