It’s been a while because I’ve done a Throwback Thursday and today’s is timely because it’s spring / Easter themed. As you may recall, I went to Japan in May-June of 2016. So nearly a year later, I’m finally posting about my experiences at Tokyo Disneyland!
I showed a couple of photos from Tokyo Disney on the blog best after my trip, with a guarantee to write a much more extensive post later… and here’s later!
First, I ought to admit that we never set out to visit Tokyo Disneyland when we planned out our Japan itinerary. but toward the final leg of our trip, we found ourselves with 2 things: extra cash, and extra time. I’m not Disney obsessed but I do delight in amusement parks and Tokyo Disneyland seemed like a distinct experience. My SO did some quick research – we didn’t even know that Tokyo is actually home to not one, but two Disney themed parks – did you know that? There’s the regular vanilla Tokyo Disneyland and the water-themed DisneySea.
DisneySea. image source.
We were quite tempted by DisneySea but we learned that it is typically quite packed on Fridays, so we chose “just” Tokyo Disneyland but vowed to visit DisneySea when we return to Tokyo in the future.
A suggestion we learned from our research was to purchase our tickets in advancement from the Disney store in Shibuya (which was close to our hotel) in purchase to decrease wait times when we arrived at the park, so we trekked over:
It was so lovable and a preview of things to come!
Each adult ticket costs ¥7,400 which is roughly $90 CAD / $67 USD. As luck would have it, after we made the decision to go to Tokyo Disneyland and purchased our tickets, I ended up not feeling well – possibly a stomach bug or ate something that didn’t agree with me.
The journey from our hotel in Shibuya to Tokyo Disneyland consisted of multiple trains during the height of rush hour – in a very uncharacteristic move, I practically passed out on the train on the way! But, I insisted we go to the park because we had already purchased tickets and I didn’t want to spoil our trip – so we ended up getting a taxi to drive us there. I had a nap on the way and felt much better once we arrived at Disneyland but I still not 100% – let’s just say that I was very thankful for the abundance of clean washrooms (not to mention the washlets!) at the park!
One thing we did learn prior to going to the park was that one of the most popular rides, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, was shut down just for the day that we were going to – typical!
But because I wasn’t feeling well, we didn’t do a lot of rides (only very tame ones) but we walked around the whole park. The weather was absolutely ideal – low 20’s C and not a cloud in the sky.
Mickey greeting guests as they arrived inside the park.
Here are a few snippets and photos of our experience at Tokyo Disneyland.
One Man’s dream II Show
Woohoo!
This is a live song and dance stage show that has performances 4 times a day. What’s interesting about this show is how tickets for the show is obtained: it’s a lottery system! but they make it fun by having these terminals where you enter your park tickets to try your luck – we were so nervous that we’d “lose” but we “won”! They state that you can only attempt once… or else (I don’t know what, they kick you out?)
The show itself was pretty standard fare – costumed performers singing and dancing. The storyline was completely lost on me… there are bad men from various Disney films and in the end they are all pleased and dancing.
Popcorn
The honey flavoured popcorn.
We did not know this prior to going to but one of Tokyo Disneyland’s essential features is their POPCORN! people line up down the path for them. What makes them so special are the distinct flavours available: Caramel, Curry, Honey, Milk Chocolate, and Soy Sauce and Butter. We tried the Honey, Milk chocolate and Soy Sauce and Butter.
Soy Sauce and Butter popcorn.
Our preferred [turned out to be] the Soy Sauce and Butter – it’s savoury but not too salty. The visitors are so committed to the popcorn that Disney sells refillable, collectible plastic buckets to house the popcorn. check out this extensive post about the popcorn and buckets, if you’re interested to learn more!
Hippity Hoppity springtime Parade
This was the main attraction for us! It was such a fun parade, full of catchy music, dancers, and Disney characters on floats.
They were wishing everyone “Happy Easter” even though it was early June when we visited, and the actual Easter had already passed (it was in late March last year). They really don’t associate Easter with the religious aspect, much more of a celebration of Springtime. I mean, what do bunnies and eggs have to finish with Easter, anyway? XD
They were doing an egg race.
The parade lasted about 15 minutes.
Mat
Don’t expect just burgers and pizzas at Tokyo Disneyland! They do have burgers and pizzas but also offer Japanese options like ramen, dumplings, and curry.
For lunch we went to the Queen of Hearts banquet Hall which was a cafeteria style restaurant.
The line-up was quite long but well worth it – the whole atmosphere of the place was like being inside the cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland.
Waiting patiently for our food to be assembled!
The Cheese Hamburg (with heart shaped cheese); I couldn’t tell you if this was any good. I think I ate just the cracker and the mashed potato…
For dinner we went to the Plaza restaurant at Tomorrowland because they provided rice on the menu (my poor stomach!)
If I had been feeling better, I would have gotten that Mike Wazowski bun!
My SO got the beef rice – check out the Mickey mouse shaped hard-boiled egg:
How do they make that?!! (here’s an at-home how-to guide, but I can’t imagine they’re doing this at Disneyland when they’re pumping out hundreds of them a day)
We also indulged in Minnie and Mickey mouse ice pops:
Souvenirs
This is one area that I felt Tokyo Disney fell short. many of the souvenirs were clothing or toys – we were searching for small trinkets like essential chains or magnets to bring back for family and friends but there weren’t many.
Also, many items didn’t have the words “Tokyo Disneyland” on them so you couldn’t distinguish them from generic Disney items you can purchase anywhere in the world. I had a request from a friend for something that stated the year (2016) and it was very challenging to find that (I understand why Disney wouldn’t manufacture too numerous items with the year due to the risk of leftover inventory). I ended up finding these machines dotted all over the park that makes collectible medallions:
They crank these out:
My friend was quite pleased with these.
Here are other items we bought, mostly for gifts:
This football-size metal egg includes individually wrapped chocolates.
My SO’s sister loves Winnie the Pooh.
These were for me – the popcorn and small Mickey bucket keychain is so cute!
A funny related story: at the airport I was randomly asked to fill in a survey about my visit to Tokyo. They asked questions like where I stayed, how much per day I spent, and places I visited. I noted Tokyo Disney as one of the attractions I went to and the survey taker removed it because Tokyo Disney isn’t technically part of Tokyo. Go figure!
It really was a magical day!
I’ll leave you with a YouTube video of the Hippity Hoppity springtime Parade so you can experience it for yourself:
We had that song stuck in our heads for the whole day… hope you have a Hoppy Easter!
Have you been Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea? Or other Disney themed parks?
If you’d like to read much more about my Japan trip, please check out these posts:
• Japan trip Photos
• Japan Trip: Food and Culture
• Japanese makeup Haul
• Japanese makeup shopping Experiences
• Non-Beauty Japan Haul
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