Trip Report *COMPLETED* I've climbed the mountain, I've crossed the river, and I'm almost there!

Introduction

We've only been back from Japan since Saturday night but I am just itching to get started on this report! We had an absolutely AMAZING trip and I'm not ready to let it go, and writing my TR is one way for me to delay the inevitable return back to "the real world." This was the longest vacation I've ever taken, and like any long trip-or any new experience, for that matter-there were ups and downs, good moments and not-so-good moments. There were mistakes, mishaps, mountains, and monkeys. Yes, monkeys! There were surprises and there was DRAMMA!* There were things we will do differently next time we visit Japan, and believe me, we knew less than halfway through the trip that there WILL be a next time someday!

In case you missed the PTR, here it is: Bee's Big Birthday! There you can read about the cast, the general plans, and the reasons for planning this particular trip.

Now about the title: It's a reference to this song from The Princess and the Frog:

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I have been kind of obsessed with this song lately and I found myself singing it in my head repeatedly during the trip. You'll see why soon!

So, if you're ready for a journey halfway around the world, thousands of photos, and Double Disney bookends, keep reading!

EDIT: The Tokyo Disney stuff starts here.

*I've mentioned it in previous TRs, but I like to spell "dramma" the Italian way because I'm an opera singer and what's more DRAMMAtic than Italian opera?? So please don't think I'm an idiot (for that reason anyway )!

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

The next attraction had a short wait so we hopped on line.

Sindbad's Storybook Voyage was incredible! It was a long and immersive boat dark ride with beautiful animatronics and a great story! And the ride music has become some of my favorite Disney music! Here is a video of the full soundtrack:


"Compass of Your Heart" was composed by Alan Menken. Most of the lyrics are Japanese but at the end of certain sections you can hear the words "compass of your heart" in English.

Up next: More beautiful Arabian Coast

 

[PacNWTigger]

Omigoodness that baby Rajah tiger on that ride is too cute for words!!

 

[bee]

Omigoodness that baby Rajah tiger on that ride is too cute for words!!

He is actually a different tiger called Chandu! I thought it was Rajah as well until I saw all the Chandu merch in the gift shops. And yes, he is adorable!

 

[dizfan917]

All my HUNCHBACK friends are posting about how terrible they feel about the fire in Notre Dame. It's so sad.

 

[Swissmiss]

All my HUNCHBACK friends are posting about how terrible they feel about the fire in Notre Dame. It's so sad.

My DD was trying to comfort me earlier - Notre Dame was the first thing my mother and I visited on our first trip to Europe together nearly 30 years ago and I lost her two years ago in April. And all that history going up in flames ☹

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

After Sindbad we saw that there was a short wait for Jasmine's Flying Carpets so we got on line.

@PacNWTigger now this one is actually Rajah!

Carpets is basically your typical Dumbo-style ride, but with beautiful theming throughout!

Up next: Tokyo CMs can walk on water??

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

I was having such a great time being in these immersive lands and seeing all the beautiful detailed theming everywhere. S, however, was getting tired of "kiddie rides" so we left Arabian Coast. From AC we could see a roller coaster, so we walked that way for a closer inspection. The line was long but there were FPs available for Roaring Spirits.

There was quite a line just to get FPs, but we got them and went on our way.

Next we decided to ride Autopia.

"You may need to evacuate on foot..."

After moving pretty steadily through the line for awhile, we suddenly stopped moving and were at a standstill for about ten minutes. No ride vehicles were being loaded and they had actually stopped moving entirely. There was a PA announcement in Japanese, followed by a groan from the queue. Of course we had no idea what they said, but it didn't sound good!

Hmm, what are all these galoshes for?

Then, much of the water from the ride was drained and CMs walked out to the ride vehicles with galoshes for those stuck to wear to exit the ride!

S was getting really frustrated by this point. We had been waiting for awhile now, and obviously we wouldn't get to ride. She said something like, "Are they going to give us a FastPass? At Universal they would give us a FastPass!" And I maaaaaaay have snapped back, "Well maybe you should go to Universal!" Hey, even friends snap at each other when they spend too much time together...

Luckily for everyone involved, we were soon evacuated from the queue, and YES, we were given multi-experience FPs.

Up next: Back to Arabian Coast

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

Our Journey FP window was approaching so we needed to decide whether to eat now (it was a bit early for lunch) or to ride now and eat later. We decided to eat first.

Before the trip I had researched vegetarian food in the parks, and to say it is limited is an understatement. There are a few specific items designated as veggie-friendly and we basically had to stick to a few restaurants throughout our time in the parks. The designated QS option nearby was the veggie curry at Casbah Food Court, so that's where we went.

It was decided that I would save us a table while the other two stood in line and ordered the food.

As I waited for M and S I admired all of the paper I was using today! It was kind of a novelty in the age of MDE and MaxPass!

As I waited I had plenty of time to take photos.

You may have noticed the gorgeous blue sky in my Disney photos. It was absolutely beautiful outside today. It was a little on the cold side (even for me) but the sunshine and blue sky made the park even more photogenic!

Though S and M got on line before 11am, it took over half an hour for them to get our food. It's a good thing we got lunch first, because the hanger would have made for a bad time later in the day!

Vegetable curry with naan. It was tasty but I wish there had been some tofu, or lentils or chickpeas, or something else with some extra protein.

The back of the receipt. The QR code is for the official Tokyo Disneyland app, which I didn't know existed. I had been using an unofficial wait time app.

So thaaaaaat's why I didn't have the official app!

Up next: OUCH!

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

Since lunch took longer than expected we hurried over to Journey. We were near the end of our FP window but we were sure we'd make it. But when we arrived at the FP entrance, the FP queue was quite long and we had a bit of a "Journey" to get to the end.

There was a preliminary FP check point before we later gave the paper FP to a different CM. When we got to the first checkpoint, the CM looked at our FPs and then LOOKED AT HIS WATCH. HE. LOOKED. AT. HIS. WATCH. We were on time but we were close...I guess there is NO grace period in Tokyo!!!

Taken at 11:49!

This line!!!

It was a little over twenty minutes before we got to this point.

One thing we noticed consistently here is that Tokyo ride loading is FAST. It has to be given the high attendance at both parks. It took me a second too long to put my bag in the pouch of the ride vehicle, and it started without warning while my hand was in the wrong place. I felt sudden pain and looked down to see that my left ring finger nail had been ripped and was now bleeding.

It hurt so much that it was hard for me to enjoy the ride. As soon as we got off we rushed to the bathroom so I could wash it and put a bandaid on it. I will spare you the bloody naked finger photo but here is my finger with the bandaid:

The good news was, Journey was sufficiently thrilling for S and she stopped complaining about how Disney is full of kiddie rides.

Up next: FP #2

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

Our "Journey" took so long that it was now time for our Roaring Spirits FP!

It was a decent ride but it's no Big Thunder! We all did like it enough to get another FP for later than evening.

Up next: We find Nemo?

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

Next we walked back to Port Discovery to use our multi-use FP at Nemo & Friends SeaRider.

Once we were inside there was a decent length preshow with live actors and the fish above (all speaking Japanese of course) and then we were loaded onto the ride. It is a simulator similar to Star Tours but with a larger capacity in each ride vehicle. I was glad we got to ride it because we probably wouldn't have gotten a FP specifically for it, but it was a good use of the multi-experience FP.

We decided that soon we should take a break in the room, so we rode the DisneySea Electric Railway from Port Discovery to American Waterfront.

Tokyo Bay

Funny how there's the Disney water, then there's the Bay water!

Autopia seemed to be operating again!

Up next: We finally get on the train!

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

On the train...

I was right on the end!

Off the train...

We moved from American Waterfront to Mediterranean Harbor...

Up next: Some window shopping

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

More Mediterranean Harbor

If you didn't know, Hotel Miracosta is a REAL hotel where guests can stay! #goals

We decided to check out Merchant of Venice.

HOW CUTE IS GONDOLIER GOOFY???

I was determined to buy myself SOMETHING with the 35th logo on it. I just loved all the colors!!

Of course my mind immediately went here:



PS "grillo saggio"=wise cricket (on sign above) perhaps Jiminy Cricket??

I just couldn't help turning around and taking more pics of the volcano!

Up next: Tokyo Disney is old school

 

[Rista1313]

I'm surprised that they don't have more vegetarian options in the park. I mean, this may be naive of me, but I always thought that a lot of asians were mostly vegetarian... ... I don't know why I think that?

 

[bee]

I'm surprised that they don't have more vegetarian options in the park. I mean, this may be naive of me, but I always thought that a lot of asians were mostly vegetarian... ... I don't know why I think that?

A lot of South Asians are vegetarian due to cultural/religious reasons, but in many East Asian countries, seafood and meat are very ingrained in the culture. For the most part only super-religious Buddhists (like monks) are vegetarian.

 

[Rista1313]

A lot of South Asians are vegetarian due to cultural/religious reasons, but in many East Asian countries, seafood and meat are very ingrained in the culture. For the most part only super-religious Buddhists (like monks) are vegetarian.

OK, so I'm not crazy, that is a thing in some places. I'm still surprised they didn't have more options though!

 

[bee]

OK, so I'm not crazy, that is a thing in some places. I'm still surprised they didn't have more options though!

No, you're not crazy!! I was surprised as well, since Japan is so close to countries that DO have more vegetarians.

 

[bee]

Day 17, cont.

As we made our way to the front we stopped to admire the various New Year's decorations.

As you have already noticed I'm sure, the Tokyo parks don't use modern technology the way the American parks do. There was no finger scan or photo taken upon park entry. Instead, they use an old school hand stamp, visible only under black lights, on exiting guests who may want to return later.

Remember how full these lines were earlier???

Ticket booths

We made the short walk to the monorail station.

Disney Ambassador Hotel

Ikspiari Mall

Castle!!

Up next: Back at the Sheraton

 

[LadyBelle]

"You may need to evacuate on foot..."

I'll be sure to leave my jet pack at home.....

 

[Swissmiss]

Thanks for taking and sharing so many pictures! As I scrolled down there were times that I felt I was “walking along” and experiencing itwith you.