A (2019) HalloXmas trip to Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo! - COMPLETED 5/1!!!

[Lesley Wake]

Earlier I had grabbed another fastpass for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, so after the show I headed over there. It had a 50-minute standby line, which was insane! I tried to take photos/video on the ride, but it was hard with the movement.

The land was cool at night though

I stopped in at Vulcania Restaurant, another buffeteria style, where I got the fried rice (I love me some fried rice). I think it normally has some meat involved, but I just got it plain.

Wandering by Mermaid Lagoon, which has great lighting.

I also caught some lighting from the volcano.

And into Arabian Coast, also cool lighting. (The wait times were too long so I focused on taking photos)

I stopped into the shop, where I picked up the Chandu pass holder. Most of the theming is around Aladdin/The Genie.

I also checked out the Abu Bazaar game area, but it was a long line, so didn’t bother playing. You can see the pillow “big prizes” which were the newer Christmas option.

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[Lesley Wake]

And there wasn’t a long line at Sinbad’s, so I got a ride in there.

I still think the belly dancer and monkeys are a bit nightmare-ish.

I think I saw some fire in the distance, so I had to go over and check it out (it was outside the Indiana Jones ride)

And I grabbed a Chocolate Tipotorta, one of the Christmas treats (if you remember, at Halloween there was the purple potato version). It wasn’t bad, but a bit dry.

Back to Arabian Coast (Casbah Food Court) to grab a Chandu bun (they stopped having the Chandu tails earlier that year). The orange bun had some mild curry flavor. I think the red hat was just a meatball? But it was good.

Coming up - Tokyo's Fantasmic​

 

[KEK1]

Oh my goodness the bellydancer and monkeys are totally hilarious!
Glad Indy was good, at least. Cute shop.

 

[KathyM2]

Sorry the crowds were so bad...but you got a lot of good photos!! Is the indy ride like on Pirates or ...bigger drop more like Splash?

Those snacks looked interesting for sure!! I think I would be on my phone all the time trying to translate everything lol...

 

[Lesley Wake]

Oh my goodness the bellydancer and monkeys are totally hilarious!
Glad Indy was good, at least. Cute shop.

Yeah, they like to throw in some silly characters!

Sorry the crowds were so bad...but you got a lot of good photos!! Is the indy ride like on Pirates or ...bigger drop more like Splash?

Those snacks looked interesting for sure!! I think I would be on my phone all the time trying to translate everything lol...

It's pretty much the same as Indiana Jones in Disneyland (Dinosaur in DAK was copied with track and ride vehicles), just a different storyline.

Google translate definitely helped! In the restaurants at Tokyo, the menus were usually in English too, even though the actual workers don't always speak or understand it.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 6 – Fantasmic and evening

I have always been a huge fan of Disneyland’s Fantasmic (though have never actually seen the WDW version), so I was curious how Tokyo DisneySea’s version would hold up. I ended up getting a relatively decent spot, in the Mediterranean Harbor closest to Soaring. Like the parades at Disneyland, the areas closest to the water are seating and there is standing behind that. I ended up getting a seated spot, about 1 row back from the top of a set of steps, so I was able to see above people’s heads pretty well.

I didn’t take too many photos this time – trying to focus more on enjoying the show, but I did take some (I took A LOT more the next time I saw it). And here is the full video (obviously not from me); I would have been around to the right side of the harbor.

The sorcerer’s hat was pretty cool, with Mickey on the top, and lots of lighting effects and water spray.

And they do a Jungle Book/Lion King mash up sequence with inflatables.

The Genie sequence with inflatable globes. It’s also used for the princess sequence.

Finale with lots of characters

Unfortunately the dragon/magic mirror sequence didn’t work properly, so immediately after the performance they did an apology message, lol! Only in Tokyo.

Afterwards, they keep the hat out for a while to take photos.

But overall, I just thought it was fine. I mean, I know a lot of people love it, so I have no qualms against that. It’s just hard growing up with the far superior Fantasmic 1.0! I think this was too focused on the screens, and the extra ships were too bulky. And because they were so big and it was such a huge “stage” you couldn’t feel the closeness as you do at Disneyland. I still think it’s important to see to make up your own mind though. Plus… no pirate ship.​

 

[Lesley Wake]

Soon after the fireworks started. They put the fireworks between the two parks and pipe the music into both so you can see it from throughout. (Oh and if you see that stained glass window on the right side of the photo - that's the wedding chapel. Weddings are a big thing at TDS and multiple times per day you hear the bells ringing.)

A lot of people leave right after Fantasmic, but I think there was still 1 hr or so before the park closed, so I tried to take some advantage of shorter lines. First, hopped on the ElectricSea Railway, where I sat on the Cape Cod side. It was funny because I could see them rolling in boxes and boxes of new Duffy merchandise, as the winter release was the following morning.

I then hopped onto Aquatopia. Still fun, but the tracks have really worn away the ground, so it’s not a total surprise where you are going to go.

On my way out of the park, I stopped by McDuck’s store to admire the window displays (this time without rain drops in the way). It would be changed the next day, after all.

Lots of people still taking photos at night in front of the globe.

And a fun surprise on the monorail – they had added some of the Christmas decorations, including the santa mickey hand holders! So cute!

But then, it was to bed and hopefully a less crowded day tomorrow at Disneyland!

Step count: 19,861

Coming up - A Return to Disneyland​

 

[missjackiemcg]

I am so enjoying this TR that just keeps going and going!! I can't imagine traveling solo for so long, but you sure did have an amazing adventure! Keep the updates coming

I have always been a huge fan of Disneyland’s Fantasmic (though have never actually seen the WDW version)

I will tell you, you aren't missing anything!! LOL. I do, however, love the Fantasmic preferred seating and dessert party option. It's around $40, includes a reserved seating area, drinks (in glow cups!) and a box of delicious goodies. Totally worth it, plus the added bonus of not having to wait in a long line or waste a FP! I hope it returns!!

 

[KEK1]

Oh my, those costumes on Duffy and co are too cute!
Fantasmic looks just ok. Mind you, after HEA, so does everything..

 

[Lesley Wake]

I am so enjoying this TR that just keeps going and going!! I can't imagine traveling solo for so long, but you sure did have an amazing adventure! Keep the updates coming


I will tell you, you aren't missing anything!! LOL. I do, however, love the Fantasmic preferred seating and dessert party option. It's around $40, includes a reserved seating area, drinks (in glow cups!) and a box of delicious goodies. Totally worth it, plus the added bonus of not having to wait in a long line or waste a FP! I hope it returns!!

Haha, yeah I still have 4 park days left!

For DHS when given the choice between the Star Wars fireworks or a lesser Fantasmic, it's easy to choose! Maybe if they bring back Fantasmic before fireworks I'll try to see it then!

Oh my, those costumes on Duffy and co are too cute!
Fantasmic looks just ok. Mind you, after HEA, so does everything..

Yeah, definitely! I miss HEA sooo much!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 18
Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Part 1 – A Successful Rope Drop

So, today I was headed back to Disneyland. A map of relevant spots

And a funny thing, I woke up to hearing faint Christmas music outside. Remember, I could hear parade music from my balcony, so I realized it was a dress rehearsal for the Christmas parade and/or harbor show! It was pretty cool! (People who have theme park view rooms at the Mira Costa often can actually see the dress rehearsal from their rooms.)

It looked like good weather for the day. This is the view from the hotel elevators on the other side of the building from the theme park view.

I don’t have a photo of my monorail ticket, so I think this was the day I ran out of cash (and discovered the monorail machines don’t take credit cards), so had to use the payment using the Suica card on my phone. It worked well that way, but meant I missed out on a cute ticket!

I made it to the front of the park with plenty of time before opening. (Disneyland opened 1 hr after DisneySea, and in general had fewer crowds, so I didn’t have as many issues in the mornings.) It feels like a lot of crowds, but that was also because they were redoing the entrance, so half was blocked by construction walls.

As I entered, I grabbed a fastpass for Monsters (decided to give it another try), which I could use in 30 minutes. Not too shabby, lol!

Entering with the hoards of people

They have these CMs stationed along the World Bazaar entrance… yeah doesn’t work that well!

But the Christmas tree was up! Very lovely! I’ll take plenty of photos later

I decided to rope drop Big Thunder Mountain. I probably could have gotten there earlier in the pack of people, but had paused to take the photos in the World Bazaar. So it felt like I was pretty far behind, definitely not a 10 minute wait!

We slowly filed into the queue. This was the view a few minutes after park opening! (Oh and in the background you can see the scaffolding covering up the castle. It definitely had grown in the past week and eventually they would take off the entire top of the castle for refurb!)

Some queue photos; cute but not as fun as the interactive elements in MK.

Their Fastpass machine was cutely themed

Overall, it ended up being only about 15 minute wait, not too bad! The ride was fun, but I think mostly the same as the WDW version. Nothing that stood out above other versions of the ride. But here’s someone’s POV video.

But getting back out, and it was already almost an hour wait!

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[Lesley Wake]

Unfortunately I didn’t win any of the show lotteries this day.

After the ride through the wilderness, it was an easy hop up to Fantasyland, where I got in line for Peter Pan’s Flight. I don’t remember what the posted time was, but I think I waited a little less than 30 minutes. I was a fan of the floating Tinkerbell at the beginning though!

Pretty much identical to WDW’s version. Maybe better maintenance? But that’s sort of the theme for Tokyo Disneyland – most of it was copied right from WDW and has stayed relatively the same as the original rides without modifications over the years.

I was also able to grab an almost immediate Fastpass for Haunted Mansion (they had the same digital FP rules as Disneyland’s Maxpass, so even though I hadn’t used my Monsters FP yet, I could grab a Mansion one).

I did briefly see some streetmosphere, the entertaining custodian. But I think he was moving away, so I would have to wait to watch him until another day!

But time to check out Haunted Mansion. Like Disneyland they do the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay (there are rumors this overlay was originally designed for WDW since the two mansions are nearly identical, but they decided to pass, so Tokyo took it on).

Awesome themed umbrellas and other decorations in the queue.

Some on-ride photos (as always very blurry when moving). It was a bit weird (in a good way) for me, since I’m familiar with the WDW version of the ride, and the DL overlay, but this was a combo!

I think this room is unique from the WDW version.

I would have loved to see this overlay at WDW!

Not your typical American list of names! Stevie, Art, Nobuaki…Kenichino, Liichi, Kathy…

Graveyard and finale

So, overall, I liked it! Again, same layout as WDW, but this was a fun twist with the Nightmare overlay. I would be riding again!

Another POV

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[Lesley Wake]

I bounced across the park to give Monsters another shot – if you remember I was less than impressed the first time I rode.

(And it looks like I picked up another FP, this time for Honey Hunt, but not until 4:30 in the afternoon; it was only 10am)

But unfortunately I still wasn’t a big fan of the ride. It’s just ok. Would be cute as a dark ride if it had some plussing, but the whole flashlights just was a bit weird to me, since they didn’t actually keep score. I don’t know…maybe I just had too high of expectations.

But the gift shop was cute, with lots of Monsters decorations and merch. I’d love to see the actual show “Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!”

Since I was there, I stopped in the Refreshment Corner (their version of Casey’s Corner) for a Christmas option, the Cheese and Meat Sauce Hot Dog. Not quite chili cheese dog, maybe more like a Sloppy Joe on top of the hot dog? I wasn’t the biggest fan, but the bun was cute!

Coming up: Adventureland exploring​

 

[KEK1]

HM with overlay looks cute. Am getting the impression that TDR were your least fave parks..?

 

[missjackiemcg]

Like Disneyland they do the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay (there are rumors this overlay was originally designed for WDW since the two mansions are nearly identical, but they decided to pass, so Tokyo took it on).

WHAT?! They clearly should have asked for my opinion on this matter before passing on it!

 

[KathyM2]

Love the HM pics with the overlay, so cool! I have avoided all parks during holidays because of crowds...but have missed out on these extras!!

Hot dog looked interesting....

 

[cindianne320]

The food always looks so interesting! I would hope to be adventurous and try it, but I'm not sure...

LOVE the overlay of HM!

 

[Lesley Wake]

HM with overlay looks cute. Am getting the impression that TDR were your least fave parks..?

It was cute. On this trip, I did have a lot more fun at Shanghai and Hong Kong! There are definitely some positives to TDR, but the crowds just caused so many issues!

WHAT?! They clearly should have asked for my opinion on this matter before passing on it!

Haha, one year you guys need to come out to LA for Christmas!

Love the HM pics with the overlay, so cool! I have avoided all parks during holidays because of crowds...but have missed out on these extras!!

Hot dog looked interesting....

I did like the holiday extras. Maybe if you went mid-early November it would be better?

The food always looks so interesting! I would hope to be adventurous and try it, but I'm not sure...

LOVE the overlay of HM!

It was pretty interesting! And I'm actually a really picky eater (including hating any sort of sauces on sandwiches) but I made it work!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 – Adventureland Exploring

Another new ride for me, Jungle Cruise. (It feels like I hopped across the park a lot, but Tokyo Disneyland is relatively compact.)

Some queue photos – lots of details which I always love. Though I’m not sure I would like the crew lunch menu (Fricassee of Giant Slug Beetle, anyone)

I did notice something interesting – the seats are padded. And the portion of the boat which acts as steps – the pads are removable. I guess it makes sense with the aversion to sitting anywhere you walked on.

The ride was good – some similar elements as the WDW/DL versions, but of course a slightly different layout. And also very little changes over the years to be more politically correct.

Though in the savanna scene, they played the music from Circle of Life, which made me chuckle a bit!

Getting the point across and frontside of water.

What is lurking in the misty river?

Headhunters

BACKSIDE OF WATER

This was a cool part, going into the temple ruins. Similar to WDW, but they used projection mapping and had a story thing where it looked like ruins, then the elephant spirits made them whole again… At least that’s what I think. (It’s all in Japanese so I don’t know the script.) And sorry for blurry photos – hard to take when the boat is moving.

But then the elephant pool.

Trader Sam

Overall, I liked this version. The cave with projections was cool. So even though I didn’t understand the jokes, I’d be going on it again.

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[Lesley Wake]

I checked out some of Adventureland. They had different Christmas pillows at the games here, but it still was a long line, so I didn’t partake.

Let’s Party Gras is an outdoor stage show, so you can sort of see it from outside the seating area. It looked cute, but most of the good spots had already been taken by people who were waiting longer, so I decided to move on.

Another snack, the Strawberry and Cranberry Crepe from Café Orleans. I liked it, but think I preferred the strawberry only version I had a week earlier. I still like the puff pastry in the base, as it gives a nice textural change, and helps eat it as a “hand food”

And nearby at the Gazebo, I got the Beef Cone with Mashed Potatoes and Cheese. OMG, so good! I loved the cones at this spot (remember the purple potato one)!

After I was done eating I stumbled into another streetmosphere performance, the Pirate Band. This was another fun group – I think this is where Tokyo Disney Resort excelled – all the extra groups and performances. I loved the double decker drums here though!

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