Day 4 Otherwise Known As Cleanup Day:

So we move to the city tomorrow and finally leave the Tokyo Disney bubble.  I had a fabulous time and yah... it'll be sad to leave.  I am looking forward to seeing the sights and sounds of Tokyo though.

... I'm on my 10th Minute Maid Hot Lemonade bottle.  I'm going to be sad that I can't get this in the States.  It's good and it helps with my cough/sore throat shit I've been hit with since I've gotten here in Japan.

Today I woke up early while Steve and Jeff slept in.  I went to Tokyo Disneyland and hit some stuff that I wasn't able to do... Splash Mountain (with all the effect WORKING unlike the domestic Parks!), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (felt so much like home but didn't), the Enchanted Tiki Room w/ Stitch (it was okay), and the Western River Railway (think Disneyland or Magic Kingdom train but with no stops... even has Primeval World, which I wasn't expecting).  I had lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaruant which actually sells curry and not burgers and fries like back at Disneyland.

RANT TIME!  Okay, at Tokyo Disneyland in Splash Mountain they have an owl Audio-Animatronic WITHIN FUCKING ARM'S REACH.  IN FUCKING ARM'S REACH AND IT'S STILL PERFECT.  No vandalism, it wasn't broken (or fuckin' STOLEN), nothing.  It was perfect and working.  You can't even do something like that in the States because our a lot of members of our society are HORRIBLE PIECES OF CRAP.  Back home if they were stupid enough to even have something within arm's reach, it'd be stolen, broken, ripped off, vandalized... you name it.  It's really sad that I come here and see, once again, how we can't have nice things because our society just raises people to be disrespectful.  Case in point?  Snow White's apple.

I went back to the room then and thought that Steve and Jeff would have left for Tokyo DisneySea, but they were still in the room when I got there.  So after a little bit we went over to Tokyo DisneySea and saw Legend of Mythica again (this time from the fort which was a completely different perspective then the other day when I saw it).  I took video again so I'll have both to show sometime eventually.  Did I mention that Legend of Mythica is like a super cool awesome show?  Well, it is.  That show is fucking awesome.

We then walked around for a bit and just explored a little bit.  We went up and walked around the deck of the S.S. Columbia and went down side streets in Med. Harbor and I was just blown away on how much detail was put into little things that most people wouldn't even notice.  They definately paid attention to detail and spared no expense.

We also explored a little bit of the Hotel Miracosta...  that hotel is OFF-THE-FUCKING-CHAIN.  I also spent a little bit watching the Cast Members and what it seems to be their normal operation.  I want to take a few things that I observed and start doing some of those things when I'm working at my hotel.  It's certainly inspired me.

I took off back towards the room a little early since I was tired.  Today is the last day in the bubble and yah... I'll be sad to leave Tokyo Disney Resort.  The Cast Members, the Guests, the sights and sounds were just so awesome... though it slightly felt like home and what I was used to, it was very different.  I'm blessed for being able to visit this magical place and I can't wait to come back.  I'm thinking Spring 2013.

Cleanup Day Photos (Part 1)

Cleanup Day Photos (Part 2)

Day 2 in Tokyo DisneySea:

Full day at Tokyo DisneySea today.  After a semi-late start, we got a Fastpass for Journey to the Center of the Earth and then we went through the standby queue.  The lava monster looks like Magmaw from Blackwing Decent in World of Warcraft.  HA HA.

After that we got some Yukatan Sausage Rolls which was good... and I washed it down with a melon soda (their larges are not that large) and a apple tea soda.  Indiana Jones was down so we got some chocolate popcorn.  We went on the DisneySea Electric Railway to get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror.  The standby was too long so we decided to see the Mystic Rhythms show which was fucking good for a stageshow.  After that we went to the Fort and did this game called Leonardo's Challenge, which was all in Japanese but we still kicked it's ass.  Then Steve and I went to see the Legend of Mythica and that was FUCKING AWESOME.  I took video of the show so I'll post that soon.  We then we back to the room (Jeff had gone back to his room earlier because his vagina hurt and he was tired... oh yah, he's a Ginger and he can't be out in the sun for very long).

Steve and I went to Iskipari (which is like a non-Disney run Downtown Disney complete with drug store and supermarket) and we went shopping.  We got back to the room and I just hit the wall... I was so tired.  We took a nap for an hour and then we got up to go see FANTASMIC!.

O.M.G.  FANTASMIC! was FUCKING AWFUL.  Steve Davidson, what did you do?  World of Color was so AMAZING and this was absolutely AWFUL.  Honestly, I think Florida's FANTASMIC! was better.  HOLY SHIT.  Just kidding, they both are FUCKING AWFUL.

AFter that we went to use all of our Fastpasses starting with Tower of Terror.  I loved it and the queue (like all the other queues) are great.  Then at Indiana Jones, Steve and Jeff got "WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH!!!"ed by the Cast Member checking Fastpasses because all of ours we like HOURS after the time we were supposed to use it.  I guess in Japan they can and have denied people coming back after their return time ended.  Indiana Jones felt like home and it made me miss working the attraction.  We then went back to Journey to the Center of the Earth and then left DisneySea.

Everything closes at like 11pm at the hotel so Steve and I ordered room service.  We had kasudon, however I didn't realize it had egg so literally I spent like $30 for rice and miso.  Ugh.  I couldn't scrap enough egg off and egg grosses me out.

So we're going to Tokyo Disneyland tomorrow bright and early... hopefully I can get enough sleep and I won't hit the wall halfway through the day like I did today.

Oh yah, yesterday going through Customs the agent asked me where I was going and I told him Tokyo Disney.  He then took a good look at me and asked, "Do you work for Disney?".  Mind you, I wasn't wearing ANY Disney apparel at all.  I guess I just have that fucking Disney magic aura or something.  Jeff is laughing and making fun of me right now... but he's a Ginger and he has no soul anyways so it doesn't matter.

Until next time!

Day 2 Photo Album!

SoCal & Day 1 in Tokyo, Japan:

Good lord... after all the stress of moving into a new (though temporary) place and then two days later coming out for BlizzCon only to then head out to Tokyo, it was damned worth it.  BlizzCon was a blast this year and I even got to hang out with some old friends to celebrate with lunch at Club 33 for their 25th wedding anniversary.  I went on Little Mermaid (SUPER AWESOME!), Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Ghost Galaxy, and Haunted Mansion Holiday while I was there as well.

The flight out to Tokyo wasn't too bad, though I had this older Korean gentleman that either didn't realize it's a TOUCHSCREEN in front of him and not actual push buttons or he was just kicking my seat.  I wanted to yell at him in Korean but I didn't.

We arrival into the airport was long and man, where there a LOT of people!  Holy crap.  We bought our train tickets into the city and just chatted.  The N'ex is awesome.  The seats move so two rows can face each other and there's a vendor girl in there with drinks and snacks and stuff.  45 minutes later we were in Tokyo station and geeze, even MORE people.  AN INSANE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE.  We had to transfer to another line which was a pretty long walk to get to Maihama station, which is where Tokyo Disney Resort is at.  All in all, I think it took like two hours or so.

We checked into the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay which is off-the-hook and get this, they have a Disney Cruiser Bus that takes you from the monorail station to the hotel... which is RIGHT ACCROSS THE STREET.  It was like a minute ride and would have been like a three minute walk, but they have a flippin' bus that runs if you don't want to walk.  We dropped off our stuff in the room, had enough time to take pictures of the bidet/heated seat toilet (it's nice!) and we bolted back to the Tokyo Disney Line (their monorail that you pay for) to get to Tokyo DisneySea for a few hours.

OMG.  The details EVERYWHERE were just absolutely amazing.  Even things like the monorail platform and the station... the details everywhere were just mind-blowing.  When I walked into DisneySea and saw the huge globe that graces their entryway... I literally cried.  I've always wanted to come to Japan and see Tokyo Disney and I'm finally here.  I didn't take a lot of pictures because we only had a few hours but today I will.  Folks were waiting for FANTASMIC! but even then lines were still long at the major attractions.

The detail, the sights, the smells... the sheer amount of people was absolutely mind-blowing.  The details everywhere, like the outside, were just awesome.  I couldn't even believe how awesome everything was.  That night we hit 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which I thought was a walk-through display attraction BUT IT WAS A FLIPPIN' AWESOME DARK RIDE), Sinbad, StormChasers, Aquatopia, and the ferry ride back to the entrance.  We had a gyoza sausage roll (you know the one, the one with the pictures with like the two hour line or whatever for a outdoor vending cart!) which only took like five minutes.  They are SO efficient here... even on a short line they had someone in front taking orders and it was all like clockwork it was rediculous.

I saw like four popcorn carts (black pepper, curry, caramel, and strawberry) while I was here but didn't try any of them.  Maybe today I'll sample a few.

After the Park closed we went to the hotel bar and had a few drinks... two (very strong) screwdrivers and I was out for the night.  I feel pretty good right now.

Going back to DisneySea today so it should be very cool.  Will take pictures and the like today (maybe some video with my PlaySport).  I still can't believe I'm actually here and it's a dream come true.  I am so thankful for my friends Jeff and Steve and that they would be willing to let me tag along and for other stuff... and I can't thank them enough.  I'd never be able to do this on my own so it's nice to have friends that can show me around.  Thank GOD I didn't have to navigate the airport and train stations by myself like I was originally supposed to.

Day 2 here in Tokyo, Japan awaits!  Now to just get Jeff out of bed.

BlizzCon 2011 (didn't take much)

Club 33 / Trader Sam's / Disneyland Hotel

Arrival in Tokyo and a Few Hours at Tokyo DisneySea