Tokyo Travelogue: Part I

Last Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early.  Our bags were packed, and in spite of the typhoon in the forecast, we grabbed our umbrellas and headed down the hill toward the train station at 5:00 AM.  We had to get to Shin-Kobe station by 6:17 to catch the Shinkansen to Tokyo.  We made it just in time to jump aboard the Nozomi - the fastest train in Japan.  Quite an impressive vehicle, eh?

After a pleasant ride of a little less than three hours, we arrived at Tokyo Station.  First stop: Disney Sea Resort!

We made a quick stop in Venice along the way.

Bear seems to be a bit startled by the submarine coming out of the water.

The Temple of Doom

I have been startled while looking at these pictures to see that Beaver looks like a little kid.  I thought he was still a toddler.

Mermaid Lagoon was probably our favorite place at DisneySea.  There was a little water park for the kids to play in.  I told mine that they could play around a little, but not to get too wet because we hadn't brought a change of clothes.  Within about two minutes they were both soaked to the skin.

Beaver loved this carousel.

Even the train to our hotel was decked out in Disney!

Day two:  Disneyland!

Having some fun in Mike Wazowski's car.

Sometimes I just need to get these guys out of my hair for awhile!

Beaver really liked the parades.

I tell you what, if you are going to go to Tokyo Disney Resort, go when there is a typhoon in the forecast.  It rained on and off all day, but we did not wait in line at all.  We got off of rides and got back on again.  It was great.  Bear's favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, same as me when I was a kid.  Beaver liked Pooh's Hunny Hunt and loved the little roller coaster in Toontown.  I love the song and dance performances, except the Disney characters in them kind of ruin it for me.  Too bad they are the whole point!  Ha!  We all loved the Big Band show at Disney Sea.  I wish that I would have taken more pictures, but we were too busy having fun.  Also, Beaver has always been frightened by  costumes, so there was no way he was going near any character to get his picture taken, and Bear was either too shy or too cool.  The only character he would have agreed to meet was Robin Hood, who we saw as soon as we walked into Disneyland, but who then went around a corner and through a door, waving goodbye, before we could get to him.  By the end of the day, I think Beaver was having a change of heart.  He said to me, "I want to talk to one of those big guys.  One of those big scary guys."  The one he wanted to meet was Winnie the Pooh, and although we had seen him earlier in the day, we couldn't find him by the time Beaver decided he was interested.  I may have forced them to take a picture with Mickey, but in spite of the lack of lines for rides, there were lines to meet Mickey, and I didn't want a picture THAT badly.

Final assessment:  Disney was......Disney.  Immaculate, happy, and every detail attended to.  The Pooh's Hunny Hunt ride smelled like honey, the birds on the cliff across the river from Tom Sawyer's island moved their wings, and we were splattered with drops of water and a fruity smell when Donald Duck popped open a bottle of champagne during the 3-D Mickey's Philharmonic movie.  You've got to give them props for forgetting nothing, including things you would never have noticed had they left them out.  We had a fabulous time.  I want to go back every year.