For Labor Day Weekend we had big plans all calculated out to climb Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain. One little problem we were constantly monitoring the week prior was weather. As July and August are the only official climbing months, even early September can get quite cold, wet and windy. In the days leading up to the weekend, the weather on Mt. fuji looked worse and worse. Very wet, barely above freezing temps, increasing wind speeds and no visibility. So, at the last minute we made a change of plans... to Tokyo Disney...
We got in line before opening on Monday morning hoping most people would be at work or school in Japan though Monday and Tuesday were holidays for my husband. Apparently it didn't matter much...
This was past the ticket gate. My husband was trying to not have a panic attack. I was glad I had our daughter strapped to me, yet still wishing I had the double stroller to keep both kids close.
Here we are in the center of the park in front of "Cinderella's Castle." Though I had downloaded a map prior to arriving, when we got inside the plan immediately changed to "run away from the crowd!". As you can see the crowd had already greatly dispersed. So we kept walking through the castle towards the back of the park...
We headed straight for "It's a Small World." The kids LOVED it, and we didn't even have to wait.
Then the kids wanted to ride the carousel. I had to stand next to our daughter...
Thinking lines might not be too bad since it was still early, we headed to "Splash Mountain." Nope, over an hour wait, so we passed. Good thing our son wasn't too upset about that. We headed off on the paddleboat instead.
A fun little ride around "Tom Sawyer's Island" and the back corner of the park. Of course then we had to take "Tom Sawyer's Raft" to his Island and treehouse...
The island also had a cool rock cave maze we enjoyed. Very dark tunnels inside which the kids weren't quite sure about.
Then the boys got to head out on a canoe ride...
What a fun grown-up activity for our son!
Then back towards the rides for a second trip through "It's a Small World" by popular demand, then to see "Lightning McQueen."
And our son's first "racecar" driving...
On to "Toontown" to see the character's houses. We were all starting to fade, so a quick trip through including a roller coaster ride for the boys...
Prior to arriving to the park it was our kids' mission to "See Princesses!". We had been looking for them all day and so thankful to find them near the castle on our way out. Our son had a lengthy chat with the "Sleeping Beauty.". Hopefully her prince wasn't jealous. ;)
And here's "Alice in Wonderland" who also got to hear a lot about boats. ;)
WHEW! If that was't tiring enough to look at, we only rested for a few minutes at our hotel before getting food, then our son was begging to go back. So, I took him back to see the lights while "Daddy" put our daughter to bed. We lucked out and got to see a lights parade. (We also went back to the racecars, and on a scary ride through "Space Mountain.") Special night for us both.
DAY 2: DisneySea
Day 1 was definitely enough Disney for a while (especially considering the limited food choices available.) Though what we did not know until looking into this trip at the last minute, there is a complete second park with equal pricing adjacent to DisneyLand called DisneySea. With our little sealife enthusiasts traveling this far, it was something we couldn't pass up. We has been told that DisneySea is for adults, but we may have ALL liked it better. Here is what you see when you first walk in...
And here's us...
Our son wanted to see all the ships, so we started with the "Columbia"...
Some great views of the park and the ocean from onboard. They also sell meals, but with snacks in our bag, we moved on. Next was a "Northeast" theme...
They even crushed shells to make the sand look authentic. And our kids enjoyed the lighthouse.
We walked around some cool looking bumper boats, but they were closed for the day. They said "Come back another day." (I'd love to ask if they'll pay our way that other day.)
It was SO hot out, we were already all dripping with sweat...
It was clear we wouldn't last long this way, so we quickly headed in the direction of the "Mermaid Lagoon," the area that had fascinated us most looking online. On the way we passed a pyramid...
Then we took a riverboat ride under the volcano towards "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the kids' favorite. It was a slow moving ride in enclosed submarine-like "pods.". Here's a view of the volcano from the line where we waited...
Finally we made it to the Mermaid Lagoon. We watched a great performance "Under the Sea" in a theater there, rode a jellyfish ride, and enjoyed some cool inside air with beautiful underwater scenery...
That was our tour of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.
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