Mickey-san says "Konichiwa"

I spent the day yesterday at Disneyland here in Tokyo. In the morning, I had a bit of trouble getting a train ticket to Disneyland because I don’t speak any Japanese. I said I wanted to go to the Disneyland station. The guy at the ticket desk stared blankly at me. Then, I pointed to my shirt (I was wearing my Disneyworld marathon shirt) and said “Mickey Mouse”. And he said “Oh, Mickey Mouse” a bunch of other words I couldn’t understand and gave me a ticket to the Disneyland station.

Since it was the middle of the week and not a vacation time here in Japan, I figured that I would be one of the few people getting off the train at the Disneyland station. WRONG! Most of the train exited at the Tokyo Disney station. Once out of the train station, I was able to check in remotely and they took my bags, so I could go straight to the park!

I won’t bore you will the details of every ride. Most of them were the same as in other Disney parks around the world, except that everything was in Japanese. All the talking in the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even the singing in Splash Mountain! I was able to ride most rides and even took a short break in the middle of the day at my hotel to answer e-mails (and pretend to be working).

The food in the park was very different than in the US. Lots of Asian foods, very much like the Disneyland in Hong Kong. They had popcorn in all different flavors (Honey flavored near Pooh’s Hunny Hut ride) and it seemed everyone had a collectible bucket of popcorn strapped around their neck. Of course, I felt the need to get one too.

Later in the evening was my favorite part of the day. The Electrical Parade!!! This has always been my favorite parade at Disneyland. I got my seat 45 minutes before the parade (the route was already lined 2 people deep by this point) and was not disappointed when all was said and done.

I headed back to the hotel and was completely exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open! Phew. What an awesome day! The only thing that would have made it better was to have some of my friends there with me!

Pictures to come when I get home. And hopefully by then, I’ll be able to get “It’s a small world” out of my head.