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

[Lesley Wake]

Sigh, those beautiful pictures and videos have me reminiscing about nighttime parades! I miss them!! Pre-Pandemic, I was really hopeful there would be a new one in time for WDW's 50th.

I know - there is just something so special about nighttime parades! I know they are always worried about the crowding with a nighttime MK parade and then fireworks, but DL has done it just fine in the past. Also, they could also put a night parade in AK or something - that could be gorgeous and not too disturbing to the animals!

Dreamlights looks awesome!! Great pics!

It really is lovely!

Man, there is just something about night time parades!

Yeah - the lights, music, everything! I definitely have gotten a greater appreciation for them in the past few years.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 8 – Fantasy rides, food, and merch

After the parade I decided to not wait around for fireworks and instead hit up some rides, which had low wait times (I was also in Fantasyland, so stuck to that area). Oh, and funny thing, fireworks ended up getting cancelled due to wind. I know that’s not an unusual occurrence as TDR is surrounded by homes so it gets cancelled even more often than when Disneyland runs fireworks. But, surprisingly, I have never had fireworks cancelled on me, at least when I’ve planned on watching them. Fireworks have been cancelled when I’ve been at Disneyland that day, but left earlier than the show, or went to DCA instead, but I’ve never expected to watch fireworks and then be disappointed, lol!

Ok, back to rides. It’s a small world.

Such cute decorations and paintings in the queue

And onto the ride. I took photos this time!

Characters on the ride. I loved them all! They really need to bring characters to the MK version, as that's the only one that doesn't have them!

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[Lesley Wake]

I think I took a video of the Japanese representatives. They bowed very slowly.

Finale carnival

No “America” section in this ride. These were the only representatives from the US.

Small world is always a favorite for me. They don’t do a Christmas overlay here though (that’s just in DL, which I adore).

POV

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[Lesley Wake]

Over to Pinocchio. Same ride as in Disneyland, though it feels like even darker and no changes for the times (i.e. lots of cigar smoking)

POV

The candy shop in the exit is cute though!

And over to Snow White, similar to Disneyland, though my notes say scarier and much less light-hearted. I’m still looking forward to Disneyland’s revamp!

POV

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[Lesley Wake]

So, this felt like a good day, and time to wrap up!

I was hungry so stopped for a couple snacks. The Porcelain Roll, which is basically bacon wrapped rice. This was… not good! Maybe other people would like it, but I felt like the grease had just soaked in everywhere… Just not a fan!

I had to get the taste out of my mouth, so stopped for waffles! Always a favorite among visitors to Tokyo!

I got the waffle with chocolate sauce. You can also get the maple sauce, strawberry & custard, apple & caramel, or mini options. (Though the actual restaurant is closed now due to covid.) It was good though! I mean, basic waffle, but fun to eat!

I wandered down the Bazaar and into some shops. Don’t remember if I bought anything.

Home shop: ice cube trays, rice stencils.

Biggest merch regret…this potato peeler! I really wish I had gotten it!

And tree lights at night!

On my way out I stopped into the outdoor courtyard for the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel (it was right next to monorail entrance) to take some photos of the lights there.

And from the monorail platform

Overall, a pretty good day! Much lower crowds, which was greatly appreciated! And I was feeling better about Tokyo Disney. But I still had 3 more long days left, lol!

Coming up – Soft opening day
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[KathyM2]

Wow, dreamlights looks pretty awesome!! But then...anything looks pretty awesome right now lol!! But looks like a unique experience. Your dinner looked pretty good too!!

 

[KEK1]

Fabulous updates!! Think I will have to visit at Christmas time, love the decorations. Dreamlights looks spectacular.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Wow, dreamlights looks pretty awesome!! But then...anything looks pretty awesome right now lol!! But looks like a unique experience. Your dinner looked pretty good too!!

It was pretty fabulous!

Fabulous updates!! Think I will have to visit at Christmas time, love the decorations. Dreamlights looks spectacular.

The decorations are great, both in TDL and TDS!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Day 19
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Part 1 – Rope drop to shop and eat!

Today was a very important day – Soft opening day! The official start of the Christmas season at Tokyo Disney Resort was the following day, but Disney Tourist Blog gave the advice that the day before the start of a holiday season, they do soft media openings of the various entertainment. And because you can’t exactly hide a parade or harbor show, everyone had access to see it! They don’t publicize it, but the actual parade and show times are displayed on the wait times board and CMs also have the times.

My original plan (before getting to Tokyo) was to do a full day at Tokyo DisneySea. But I believe the day before I decided to switch things up and start at Disneyland instead. Because I had a 4-day ticket, Days 3 & 4 allow for park hopping, so I figured I would actually hop today!

I don’t remember exactly what time I arrived, but it was probably about 30 minutes before rope drop? I had figured out the fastest way to enter was to stick to the side closest to the hotel early entry (so once those turnstiles get unblocked, I could rush into that area), so I made it in relatively easily.

It also was a merchandise release day (all the Christmas stuff became available in stores), so they had tape on the ground in the World Bazaar for lines.

People had already grabbed some parade spots

I thought I would rope drop Honey Hunt, and was in that group of people. Unfortunately that ride was down at park open (they did send a CM through the crowd to alert people…however that was only in Japanese, so I didn’t realize until I got to the ride).

I sort of was stuck at that point… I hadn’t gotten into the crowd for any other ride so I would have been behind everyone else. I also asked a CM what time the parade was and it was at 10am (park opened at 9am), so I didn’t want to miss that.

Since I was there, I headed up into Toontown. The line for Meet Mickey was INSANE! (Japanese guests are crazy obsessed with Mickey; on his birthday it’s typical for an 8-hour (virtual) line to meet him!)

Since I knew the merchandise had just been released, and I knew it could get crazy, I decided to shop for the items I wanted, so I stopped into the Gag Factory. I love the decorations in there!

So, Christmas Merch. I’m going to have a bit of a rant on this issue. Tokyo Disney is notorious for merchandise release dates. I mean, it makes all the ebay pirates at WDW look reasonable! BUT, in 2019 they changed things up and introduced an online shopping option. I think Halloween was the first time, and in order to get it online, you had to enter the theme park AND have a Japanese account (address and payment method). So people would be in line to get some merchandise and also buying it on the app, which made it so hectic. Especially when some items would sell out in person (or at least the CMs couldn’t keep the shelves stocked), but if you had the app you could order it that way, which is certainly annoying for any non-local.

So, Christmas rolls around. And they decided to make it extra annoying, by releasing the merchandise on the app a week earlier than in stores. So, locals could go, buy up all the merchandise online to resell it, while people visiting the parks couldn’t get it yet. So some items never actually even made it into stores, as they sold out online! Or sometimes they wouldn’t even be sold out online, but still not ever in store, so I never had a chance to get it! Ugh! At least the vast majority of items I wanted to buy were available in stores, but there were a couple items I wasn’t able to get:

Anyways… some of the actual selection, lol!

Snosnows are so cute! Every year they had different characters. Mickey and Minnie were available every year, but this year it was Donald/Daisy, the previous year it was Pluto (who was freaking adorable), and I think the year before that it was Chip & Dale. I don’t think they did new ones in 2020 due to the pandemic. I also got the Snosnow ears (and wore them to Disneyland, but they are rather tight, so I don’t wear them often).

I believe I got the Mickey & Minnie snosnow keychains, a Goofy plush badge, a retro wooden ornament set, a pin, and I think a Mickey Christmas pass holder (for Jackie and Jimmy). (I would get even more merch over at Tokyo DisneySea.) These were some things I did buy:

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[Lesley Wake]

Meanwhile on the app, I ended up grabbing a Honey Hunt fastpass for later in the day. And played the show lottery. Still didn’t win for One Man’s Dream II.

But I did win for Let’s Party Gras! Which was pretty exciting!

Ok, so now I went over and grabbed a parade spot. I ended up getting a front-row Hub spot, which I was pretty satisfied with.

I was hungry, so right when Huey Dewey and Louie’s Good Time Café opened at 9:30 (remember parade was at 10), I left my bag holding a spot, and grabbed some food.

Sporting my new Tokyo Disney Christmas ears, as well as my Ducktales shirt.

Some other decorations in the seating area. I love all the colors and even have those same colors in some of my own ornaments back home, lol!

My food choices: the Mickey pizza – cheese, ham, and corn. I thought this was a rather weird combo, but it really worked! I was a fan!

I also got the Donald Burger, which was a shrimp cutlet sandwich. I also was a fan of this one! The shrimp wasn’t overpowering, though I did have to wipe off the sauce. (I think this dish came with a soda and fries.)

And for dessert I got the Shortcake, a vanilla cake with strawberry sauce and souvenir plate. Also a fan of this. I think this was, unexpectedly, one of my favorite food places in Tokyo DL.

Coming up: Christmas Stories parade​

 

[lucas]

Lovin' your report!

 

[KEK1]

Great merchandise buys, very cute!

 

[cindianne320]

That pizza looks so interesting! I'm glad you liked it!

I hate how they do the Merch sometimes- especially those who don't buy it for themselves...

 

[Lesley Wake]

Lovin' your report!

Thanks!

Great merchandise buys, very cute!

Yeah, they do have cute stuff!

That pizza looks so interesting! I'm glad you liked it!

I hate how they do the Merch sometimes- especially those who don't buy it for themselves...

It was interesting, and considering how picky I am, I didn't expect to like it as much as I did!

Resellers are so insane in Japan especially! I mean, I'm guilty of buying from them occasionally, but it just gets out of control.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Part 2 – Christmas Stories Parade

It was parade time! Tokyo often switches up their parades every 5 years or so, but this one had been running for about 9 years, so it wasn’t the priority for most people. Though it was new for me, lol!

The opening unit with snowmen and other Christmas characters.

And the duck family welcoming everyone.

Toy Story: Woody, Buzz, and Jessie. Love the wrapping on the gifts.

Like the Halloween parade, they have a show stop in the Hub for some extra musical numbers. They taught people some hand motions, which I tried to do (but didn’t have the best luck as I was taking photos too, lol)! I got to be entertained by a toy soldier, elf, and Jessie.

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[Lesley Wake]

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[Lesley Wake]

It’s not a very long show, but is cute. I wouldn’t be opposed to something like that happening for Disneyland or WDW parades, but I don’t think our park is really made well for that!

Oh and I guess Bullseye was on the back of the float, but I didn’t see him until the float moved on!

The Snow White float. I think some of the dwarves come off the float to dance on the street during the show stop.

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[Lesley Wake]

Mickey and friends. Always favorites!

Lilo, Stitch and Angel

Beauty and the Beast.

And finally Frozen.

Final parade people – always with a corporate sponsor, lol!

Overall, a cute parade! Not as long as the versions at MK or DL, but I think that is because of the show stop. Tokyo seasonal parades also tend to be about 6 float units, so it fit. I did appreciate all the gorgeous outfits of course, and the energy!

Another video of the full parade

Coming up: Let's Party Gras!​

 

[lucas]

They sure do have spectacular parades! Just beautiful!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Characters on the ride. I loved them all! They really need to bring characters to the MK version, as that's the only one that doesn't have them!

I remember it being so controversial when they added the characters at DL, but once I saw the pictures I was like, "PLEASE!!! put them in at WDW!!" I love that they have the same little faces as the IASW dolls. They're a charming little touch for sure.

and I think a Mickey Christmas pass holder (for Jackie and Jimmy).

Yes!! Jimmy LOVES it, and likes to wear it crossbody and call it a purse, just to annoy his father< LOL!

OMGoodness, I am in LOVE with those ears!!!!!!!!!!!

What a cute Christmas parade! I loved Huey, Dewey, and Louie in the stockings on that first float. I am really hopeful that the Once Upon a Christmastime parade will return in December for our trip!