I'm not sure how else to say this, so I will just lay it out there.
I get around.
I mean, I
TRAVEL quite a bit.
I have been to four of the five Disney parks. (The only one I have not been to is in China. That may happen soon. I'll keep you posted.) I have been inducted into the world renowned, amazing service that only Disney can offer. It is expensive to go to anything Disney. It is also worth every cent. The parks are incredibly clean, the staff well informed and the system tested thoroughly long before real guests ever have the chance to walk through the gates.
(FYI: Tokyo Disneyland is next to DisneySea. We only went to Disneyland for this trip. They are two different parks, separated by a lagoon. I will certainly update once we go 'across the lagoon'- literally to DisneySea. It is more popular with older kids, but is about the same size as Disneyland. Both of these parks are owned by Oriental Land Company, which pays Disney to use their name and products. It is the only Disney park not directly owned by Disney. Another brilliant Disney decision.)
I heart Disney. Really, I am not a total freak about it. I don't know the history behind every ride, or the backstory about Jessie being Andy's Mom's toy. Okay, so I know that one story. Anywho, you get the point. This is not my first rodeo with Disney parks.
I have never been to anything, and I do mean anything, as
random as Disneyland Tokyo.
Let me try to explain. Oh my, where shall I even start...
As always, I respect and enjoy the Japanese culture. As a people, I am impressed by their manners, their respect for others and the world they live in, along with their creative quirkiness.
I was in awe at Disney. I spent most of the day going, "Look at those heels!" or "What are they wearing?" I spent the rest of the day asking, "What are they eating?"
Hubby thinks I snack my way through life. True. It makes me a bit fluffy, but happy. There you go, I'm laying it all out there in blog-world today.
Back to Mickey's Magical Place.
We decided that since we had tackled the long trek to Narita International Airport the day before, that we would be taken the tour group's bus to Disneyland Tokyo. We knew how to drive there, or how to take the train. However, with 10 of us in our group it was most economical to take the bus. It also let us sleep or talk on the bus without worrying about directions, tolls, gas and parking.
The bus was great, but it did make our day extra long. We left base at 7 am and did not return until almost midnight. This made for a tad bit of drama and crankiness in the last couple of hours. Still, we had a blast. It was totally worth it and we would happily do it again. Actually, we probably will do it several more times before we leave. It is that much fun!
Before I go any further let me tell you a snippet about our little group. We have my family of six crazies joined by a friend's family of four from Texas. Now, they are no where near our level of nuts, but they love us anyway.
There are the parents: Mr. & Mrs. J, plus E and little Miss A. E is a boy, the same age as out youngest girl. They were in Kindergarten together. E is typical boy, with loads of energy and curiosity. He is new to Disney parks, so he is excited to explore. Miss A is a six years old. She also has mitochondrial disease, which at this point, keeps her pretty much wheelchair bond. Her intelligence and her wit are not at all effected. She is sharp as a tack and incredibly funny.
Normally, I would not discuss this type of thing on a public blog. This is different. First of all, I asked her parents' permission. Secondly, Miss A's wheelchair showed us a different part of Disney than I have ever seen. Honestly, it was an education for all of us. We had wondered how we would communicate that Miss A cannot walk, or do stairs. Would the Japanese understand that we needed assistance? Would it make Miss A uncomfortable that we had to keep pointing out she needed her chair? (Her wheelchair looks like a stroller, so it would be quite easy to misunderstand.) Once again, the Japanese shined. Disney shined. The entire process was first class all the way. From the immaculate, full-bed handicap bathrooms, to the queuing process for those with special needs, Disney Tokyo has worked it ALL out.
We happened to visit during the "Tanabata" festival. Known to most as the "Star" festival. It is when the Japanese write their wishes on 'tanzaku' paper. They tie the wishes on bamboo trees in local squares and have a large festival where most of the town comes out. Disney embraces this festival once a year for two weeks. There are Mickey shaped papers handed out by a girl in traditional clothing. There is a little area with black markers and string. (No chairs because we are
not in the lazy U.S. where you have to sit for all reasons. Markers sitting out because no one here would steal the 'community' property.) Behind Mr. & Mrs. J you can see the large 'tie on' area. There were six of these areas on "Main Street".
Notice: The man is staring at me for three reasons. (At least three reasons that I know of.)
1. Well I am
not Japanese, that is rare even at a place like Disneyland.
2. I have a ton of children around me, and most Japanese only have 1 or, at most 2 children.
3. I am sitting on my knees in a public place where sitting is not okay. I can't help it that they make every counter sooo short that I have no choice but to kneel down. (Most bathroom sinks are about three inches above my knees. No kidding. I do not kneel then.)
The 'wishes' we made were simple enough. My AJ wished for the Aggies to win the National Championship. (No, I didn't have to bribe him!) G wished that she could learn Japanese. E wished that Santa would visit in the Summer. C saw my wish and made her's similar. We both wished the world would know Jesus. There were hundreds of wishes hanging. The festival only lasted a few more days, so the tie area was pretty tight. It was fun to look over the wishes and see which ones we could understand.With the quality of the drawings clearly, Disney had added some of their own. But, there were several we laughed at.
When we first arrived we went to pull a Fastpass. You can only pull one at a time. The Fastpass lets you 'skip' the line and go to the front of the queue. We got there as soon as we could and pulled for Pooh's Honey Pot. Now, I know what you are thinking. WHY would we want to ride a ride with Pooh? Well, it was one of the best rides we have ever been on! It is trackless ride where the 'cars', actually honey pots, you sit on interact with each other. You dance with the Heffalumps, bounce with Tigger and sway in the wind of the Hundred Acre Wood. Serious. nothing at all like the junk of a Pooh ride at the other Disney Parks. (We pulled our Fastpass for this ride at 10 am and could not ride until after 3pm. That is how many people were in the park and how popular the Fastpasses are. In the US and France the Fastpass systems are a joke compared to their popularity here in Japan.)
The next Fastpass was Space Mountain. E had never been on a roller coaster. He was not in love, but he handled it pretty well. Our youngest loved it!
While we waiting for our Fastpass time slot we went to ride on a few of the 'less dramatic' rides. You would think that the older boys would not be as thrilled about riding the TeaCups. Three of the boys and G headed to one teacup. The sign said that it could hold four riders. Well, they got STUCK! Poor G had to climb up over the top to get out before it started spinning! She ran to the other 'kids cup' and loved her ride. Apparently we are not as small as the Japanese. No shocker there.
Look at those smiling faces. It was awesome to hear their laughter!
We
just had to stop and get our first snack. Now, at the other Disney parks you can get the typical American snacks. Even in Paris Disney, you can grab some Mickey ice cream bar and enjoy your trip. Well, Japan is a tad bit different. They don't really do ice cream. It is 'too heavy' we were told. They do have some awesome snacks though. I just have to share this part, because I love me some snacks!
Throughout Disneyland Tokyo they have.... popcorn. And, not just your run of the mill normal popcorn either. They have 11 different flavors offered at various parts of the park. For example, Corn potage is offered in front of the Pooh ride. We only show & tried a few of the flavors. Soy Sauce & Butter was the favorite for me, but Mr. & Mrs. J loved Curry. There was Strawberry and Cheesy Jalapeno, salted caramel, regular caramel, apple cinnamon, milk tea, black pepper, honey and sea salt as well.
Imagine, you are casually strolling through the park and a sweet smell hits you. It makes you hungry, even when you aren't. The part that gets most people is not only the smell, or the fact that each flavor is only available at one certain stand, or even that some of the flavors are changed every few weeks...what makes you want the popcorn is the COOL collectible popcorn holders you can buy. The popcorn holders are also only available at certain locations and for limited amounts of time. (Oh, I should marry off the kids to a Disney heir?) They are the best marketers ever! The popcorn holders are $20 to buy full. You can refill them with any flavor for $5. Or you can grab a box of any flavor for $3. Not too bad for a snack. (When the smallest paper bill is 1,000 Yen -which is $10- you tend to spend the coins which are $5 and less pretty quickly.) We left the park with 2 popcorn holders. One alien and one Mickey. We will take ours back every time we go. I only wish the US would follow this trend. Everyone loved it!
There were all sorts of tantalizing snacks. Look at these little babies. They look like the green little men from Toy Story, but they are yummy Mochi (crushed rice which forms an almost fondue like covering) filled with different flavors of custard. One each of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, which is refreshing and sweet.
The crushed fruit sorbet bars were a hit with the kiddos. Peach & raspberry or tropical fruit were the options. The only ice cream they offer is a tiramisu ice cream sandwich that G loved.
There were also Mickey waffles with vanilla ice cream and mango on the side. Stuffed Mickey bread that was filled with Teriyaki chicken in the head and BBQ pulled pork in the ears. Don't forget the churro sticks & mickey shaped burgers. Or, you could have shaved ice in two flavors: citrus or green tea with red beans (?). We skipped out on most of these little treats because there was not enough time, or Yen, for them all.
While we enjoying our snacks, and throughout the day we would see the most random outfits ever. I got pretty good at looking like I was taking pictures of our crew, when I was really shooting pictures of the local Japanese and their crazy clothes!
I have said before that Japan is very quirky. Disneyland Tokyo took that to a whole new level! Life is competitive here. Space is hard to find. Their mental health has been in bad shape for decades. So, in order to get a bit of stress relief the Japanese take a very libel license with "the magic of Disney". Let me share a few examples of the level of silliness.
It is still rainy season and a light drizzle fell on and off throughout the day. There were several kiosks selling 'rain towels' with various characters on them. Here is Daisy & Minnie.
There were crazy hats at every turn. The hats, too, were for sale. They have a character's head on top and then a tiny, little bitty body hanging off the back of the hat. It was
umm weird. Oh, and it's a big deal for couples to dress alike. (We so should have known that before we went! I will remember this for next time. Shh, Don't tell hubby!)
Do you see the tiny bodies on the back of the hats? That's a new one for this chick.
There were several families that looked like they came dressed for Halloween. Notice the kids are dressed as Donald and Daisy Duck. Oh my. (Yes, the picture is blurry because I was trying to take it without them seeing me.)
I am not sure what these costumes are about. Check out the platform shoes! These platform type shoes and HEELS were the most popular choice among women at the park. Yes, women were wearing high heels all day, throughout the whole park. It sounds nuts to me. My feet were comfy in their supportive Nikes, so who I am to talk?
This 'Minnies' has on 4" black stillettos. I was letting Miss A take pictures when these ladies walked by. Miss A hurried to try to take this one with me holding the camera and her pushing the button.
Then, we would see locals walking around in full Japanese traditional dress. They looked beautiful and reserved. I was all about this style! Doesn't this look much more comfortable?
As if we could forget that we were in Japan, we spotted what has become a very common sight in our part of the world. A 'germ mask' worn by someone who is not feeling 100%. There is some confusion over these masks. They are usually worn when the wearer is not feeling well. It is not because they are worried about getting sick. It is because they are already sick and don't want to spread their illness to others. Most Americans would never wear anything as silly looking as this masks. In Japan, and most of Asia actually, people are crowded into urban areas. Illness spreads very quickly. They have had to think of ways to control fast moving illnesses. We see masks every time we are outside the gates of our base. It is just as acceptable as a bandaid in the US.
I will have to explain the obsession with "Duffy the Disney Bear" in another post. The short version is that "Duffy" is Mickey's teddy bear and the beloved mascot of DisneySea. Duffy is so popular here in Japan that the Duffy Bear store in DisneySea sells out in a just a few hours. The entire STORE! It has to be restocked three times during the average day, every day! Locals will bring their Duffy Bear into the park with strollers, changes of clothes and take pictures of just Duffy all over the park. Duffy is popular with not only kids, teens and women but also with grown men. Check out the picture!
The last and perhaps the most coordinated group of outfits we saw were worn by a group of 20 somethings who were thrilled with all the attention they were getting. I felt like after we saw this group, I could go home. I mean I had seen it ALL.
Seconds after I snapped this photo I turned around and this is the face I saw on my own kiddos.
AJ's face is priceless! C is saying our code word to look away because there is something you should not be looking at. I started laughing so loudly that hubby "shushed" me!
Step away from the camera.
Ignore the clothing.
Back to the rides we go.
Most of the group went off to tackle another roller coaster, while A and I went to conquer "It's a Small World".
I should tell you that I did not know for sure if A would like this ride. I figured it was a 'safe' choice since it is slow and easy. I didn't think about it being in Japanese. The line was really short though, so off I went. In order to get to the queue I has to pass a sign that said "Stroller Parking". Well, her stroller is actually a wheelchair. I just kept going. Better to ask for forgiveness I figured.
Well, right away a Cast Member ran to me saying something to me in Japanese that I did not understand at all. I showed her A's leg braces and tried to explain that the stroller is indeed a wheelchair. She smiled and nodded, but said nothing. Uh-oh. I waited for a few minutes and then she tuned and ran, literally, away. Oops, what have I done? In a matter of seconds, she ran back to us. She handed A a small card, the size of a credit card. It was all in Japanese. She explained, in broken English, that we were to carry it with us. Alright. What is it and why would you give it to Little Miss A? This was where we first learned about Disney's impressive program for guests with disabilities.
The Cast Member smiled and motioned for us to follow her. We went to the front of the line, went into the front row of a waiting boat and went for a ride. Wow! Wait, we showed this card and got a to ride in the front row in a matter of two minutes? Did I miss something? Yes, I think I did. I missed this part of humanity. Disney didn't. They recognize that for some of us lines are hard, rides are difficult and anything they can do to help is what they will do to make our special friend's Disney experience just a bit better.
We would go to the ride, or show, and check in. The Cast Member would sign our card with the time we checked in. They would tell us what time we had to be back to 'jump the line'. This was the same mount of time it would have taken to stand in the line. For example, if we wanted to ride Thunder Mountain and the wait was 45 minutes, that is the time we were given to return. In essence, we 'waited' in line without waiting in line.
At some point early in the day, a Cast Member saw A's card and put up her finger to 'wait'. She ran off. I was beginning to question whether or not I put on deoderant. Why do these people keep running away from me? She ran back and started to put a tag on A's stroller. It looked like this:
Between this tag and the Guests with Special Needs card the rest of the day was a breeze for sweet Miss.
We meet characters and laughed at the massive amounts of make-up they had to wear. We were a wee bit surprised that most of the characters were from America. (I'm not sure why this is surprising.) The characters must not get many English speakers because they talked to our girls for a long time. C talked to Mary Poppins and Bert for so long because every time she tried to walk off, they would ask her something else. Snow White spoke with Miss A and our girls for the longest time. She keep asking them more questions. We saw Snow White with several Japanese locals, but she was quick to get them through the queue. It was a tad bit awkward. Cinderella saw Miss A and stopped what she was doing. She turned and spent a few minutes getting to know Miss A. Pluto was a hoot! He even handed Miss A her autograph book on his nose and let her rub his nose. It was adorable!
Then, came a time of the day that I have not thought about in years. It was time to change A's pull-up. Now, A is not as small as most kids who would wear pull-ups/ diapers. She is growing (hooray!), but that brings about some unique challenges. In the US, it is difficult to find a full bed handicap bathroom to change someone of A's size. Well, leave it to Disney to solve that issue. All we had to do was show the tag and say 'toilet'. We were escorted to a very clean, well equipped handicap bathroom. I was in awe of this. Also, there was an attendant at the bathroom to clean up after each guest. In other words, you never had to go into a dirty bathroom. Did I mention how much I love Disney? And the class of the Japanese people?
I need to be blunt in this silly little blog of mine. When our dear friends said they were coming I was a bit concerned. We live in a two story set of quarters, what about the wheelchair? We travel around Japan in tiny cars, would the chair even fit? Our family cannot speak the language here so how would we explain A's condition if we needed help? How were we going to accommodate the needs of a special needs child?
Please don't take this the wrong way. I adore Miss A. She is inspiring and adorable. I couldn't wait to see her and her family! I was just nervous. How were we going to handle all the in and outs in a tight car, the stairs in the house, the language gap and explaining the wheelchair....I was ignorant. I was wrong. Her parents are amazingly strong, her brother helpful beyond words and this country was more than ready for A. More than anything, God made a way for every little thing to fall into place. The big things I was stressed about, were nothing to God. Not even a thought. When I was nervous, Mr. & Mrs. J were skilled and calm. When we looked frazzled, a local stepped in and showed us the way.
If you have spent anytime with a special needs child and their strong family you have seen the struggles they go through every day. Disney lightened that load enough to let this family enjoy the magic. The break only lasted a few hours, but in those hours this great family got a timeout. They could refresh and recharge. They didn't have to worry about how bad the bathrooms were going to be or if A would be treated kindly. Thanks Disney and a huge hats off to you!
Thanks for sticking it out through this whole long bit! It was a wonderful, albeit long, day in a magnificent place.
We look forward to more fun in Disneyland Tokyo.
Until then...
Wear those Ears Proud People,
~Aggie Amy
Umm. I am beginning to think that my hubby may have known about this and just not told me. Good plan, Dear.
There is an annual marathon up the mountain that includes bringing some traditional items and a miniature shrine up the side of the mountain. Here is a picture from their ad. We could not fully understand why they do this, but there were so many pictures of the process that they must be pretty proud of it.
At the top of the never-ending steps is the cable car. The cable cars run every 20 minutes throughout the day, so you can enjoy the area without worrying about being rushed. The cable car goes up, STRAIGHT up actually. It stops at a smaller shrine on the way up. Then, on to the upper shrine that we were excited about. The further up we went the more dense the fog got. It was incredible that in a 10 minute cable car ride we climbed that high- without having to hike up some more stairs ;)
When we walking around a local came up to Mr. J and asked if he wanted to see the 'water'. Mr. J was confused, so he said, "No thanks". A few minutes later the same man came up to me and asked me about the 'water'. I did not understand, but knew he must really want to show me something if he was asking a female in the group. We followed him to an underground passage way where fresh mountain spring water flows. He showed us how to wash our hands and drink from the spring. The 'holy' water is said to bring good fortune and longevity to those who drink it. (We continue to walk a fine line here and at other holy sites in Japan. We are Christians. We follow Jesus. We believe He is the Son of God, and the only way to Heaven is through Him. We also believe that in order to not offend we must respect their culture, while openly discussing our faith. It is not hard as an adult most of the time, but it is something we have to talk to the kids about quite often. We do not bow at shrines, or clap to awaken a god at local temples. God is always awake, and the only shrine he desires is the shrine of our hearts. I feel better now. Back to the regularly scheduled blog.)
