Tokyo Disneyland // Adventureland and beyond

for my last installment in Tokyo Disneyland week, I'm just going to mash everything else together from Adventureland, Westernland [known in the US as Frontierland] Critter Country and Toontown. I don't have photos from all the rides, but I'll try to give you the lowdown on what we did and didn't do.

Pirates of the Caribbean

this ride was always one of my favorites growing up. in Tokyo it seemed to be less popular, even with the injection of Jack Sparrow into the attraction. since we could pretty much walk right on whenever we wanted, we rode this one 3 times [to escape the rain and just because we could.]

our first day at the park we had dinner at the Blue Bayou, which overlooks the loading area for the Pirates ride. it's indoors, but reminds me of a place I've been near Savannah, Georgia with the giant tree and lanterns. you don't encounter any Priates [or singing of yo-ho, thankfully] but the ambiance has lightning bugs and chirping crickets like you're right in the Bayou.

Jungle Cruise

this ride is another childhood favorite of mine. sadly it was closed for renovations during our visit. we opted for a spin on the Western River Railroad instead, and got our fill of animatronic animals that way...

Swiss Family Treehouse

in California and Hong Kong this attraction has been redone as Tarzan's Treehouse, but in Tokyo it remains as the original. it's not the most exciting thing in the park... but good to walk through for a change of scenery. from the top you can spot the castle and the Tiki Room [which is Stitch themed in Tokyo and all in Japanese, so we skipped it]

Big Thunder Mountain

this roller coaster railroad turned out to be one of my favorites. while indoor coasters make me nauseous, outdoor ones are just plain fun. we rode this twice, both times with fastpass. we ended up with later times, but being able to walk right in was awesome.

they still light the mountain at night, so you can see just fine as you roll past "mineral hot springs" and through a dinosaur skeleton, and watch some adorable possums spin on their branch as you blow by. I never rode Big Thunder as a kid but I really enjoyed it as an adult, and gladly would have gone a third and fourth time.

Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain in Tokyo is identical to the other parks, aside from the story being told in Japanese. the most entertaining part, however, was the pair of tourists in front of us trying to NOT get wet. one of them brought a small towel to cover her face, and they both crouched down low in the seats when we went over the drop.

maybe I'm crazy, but when I go on a ride called Splash Mountain I expect to come away soggy...

Toontown

we didn't go in to see any characters, but we did wander through and look at their houses. I was kind of shocked to hear that they no longer have Mickey's House, etc, at the Magic Kingdom in Florida... but in Tokyo you can still explore where your favorite classic characters live.

parts of the area were under construction, but in the way back we discovered Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. it was loud and bright... and fun because you could control [to some extent] the spinning of your taxi cab. the theming was really great in the waiting area, and we had to watch the movie when we got home to refresh our memories.

overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Tokyo Disney! we got to ride everything we wanted at least once [of what was open] and discovered some new favorites along the way.

if you missed it: Monday's post on Tomorrowland and Wednesday's post on Fantasyland

Tokyo Disneyland // Fantasyland Favorites

Tokyo Disneyland week continues today with a visit to Fantasyland. this land contains some of the most iconic attractions [at least in my opinion] and the ride which has been my favorite since the very first time I visited a Disney park, 25 years ago.

Haunted Mansion

our first day at the park we snagged a fastpass for Monsters Inc first thing, then headed back to ride my favorite ride first: the Haunted Mansion. I will say that it lost some of the magic by being 98% in Japanese [and therefore not understandable to me] but for the nostalgia factor it's still a winner. I have heard that the Mansions in other parks have been updated and altered, but Tokyo has kept the original setup as far as I can tell.

we rode this one three times, stopping in during the parade one night while there was no wait, and our second afternoon to escape a rainstorm. it might sound repetitive, but you'd be amazed the little details you notice those second or third times through. during one of these times the ride was stopped for reasons unknown [there was a loud announcement in Japanese] and so thats where the interior photos come from.

and I have to give you a little now and then... the bottom photo was taken on my first trip to Walt Disney World in 1989. I was 4. and maybe a little terrified to go in.

Peter Pan's Flight

this is one of those classic rides, very similar to Pinnochio and Snow White's Adventures, where you just ride through the story. it was entirely in Japanese but it's a little more interesting than the other rides in this area because you fly through it on your own pirate ship. the most fun part of this ride was actually waiting in line and seeing all the little kids decked out and so excited.

It's a Small World

yes, the song gets annoying and will be stuck in your head for days. but when it's just a 10 minute wait it's hard to resist. it also becomes infinitely more entertaining when your World History and Geography teaching husband decided to take a series of disapproving selfies in front of the not-so-politically-correct portions of the ride.

Alice's Tea Party

we did not ride the tea cups this time around [remember how I said I easily get nauseous?] but the Wonderland theming has expanded to include the nearby Queen of Hearts banquet hall. given the popularity of the Cheshire Cat [or at least from what we saw] it's not surprising that Tokyo decided to add the "buffeteria" restaurant to their Fantasyland.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt

and now we come to the most magical moment of my Tokyo Disneyland experience. I grew up watching Winnie the Pooh on Saturday mornings, but what I remember and love best is the original movie from 1977: The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh. and in this unique-to-Tokyo ride, you are transported - literally - into the story.

you enter the ride through Christopher Robin's storybook and are seated in an enormous honeypot. and as you turn around the corner and into the hundred acre wood, you realize that your honeypot is not moving on a track or attached to your fellow pots. this ride uses a trackless technology that allows each pot of riders to spin off and explore their own corners of the scene!

the scenes are incredibly well done... you find yourself floating through a blustery day, bouncing with Tigger, and trapped inside the honeytree. but my most favorite part of this ride is when Pooh drifts off to sleep and you are transported into a [slightly neon and disco] version of the heffalumps and woozles song. your honeypots spin around in an intricately planned dance, and for a moment you are interacting with the groups of pots ahead and behind you. the details that they took from the film were spot on, and by the time we wheeled past "The End" I was in tears.

magical. there is no other word.

we rode this one twice, though I gladly would have gone again if time allowed. being a newer [and incredible] attraction, you will want to snag a fastpass. we waited over an hour on standby at 8pm our second day because the passes were out before noon.

if you missed it: Monday's post on Tomorrowland 
next up we'll be mashing all the other lands together, from Adventureland to Toontown...