Our hotel--
The view from our hotel window (on the 3rd floor); that's Tokyo Bay in the distance--
We spent all day Monday (9 a.m.-10 p.m.) at Tokyo Disneyland. They are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. I took almost 400 pictures. I enjoyed meeting lots of characters, seeing interesting costumes, and hearing Mickey, Buzz Lightyear, and C3PO (among others) speaking in Japanese. SO weird. Disneyland was awesome. It is very similar to Florida, in that the streets are huge, and everything is larger than I'm used to (from working at Disneyland in CA). Cinderella's castle is immense and beautiful.
The view from our hotel window (on the 3rd floor); that's Tokyo Bay in the distance--
We spent all day Monday (9 a.m.-10 p.m.) at Tokyo Disneyland. They are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. I took almost 400 pictures. I enjoyed meeting lots of characters, seeing interesting costumes, and hearing Mickey, Buzz Lightyear, and C3PO (among others) speaking in Japanese. SO weird. Disneyland was awesome. It is very similar to Florida, in that the streets are huge, and everything is larger than I'm used to (from working at Disneyland in CA). Cinderella's castle is immense and beautiful.The Main Entrance Area--
I'd never had my picture taken with Donald Duck before. I just never had the chance, I guess. But he was being mobbed, and was getting ready to leave, so this was my only option.
A panorama of the castle area--
View of the castle from behind (one of my favorite pictures)--
Me with a Jungle Cruise Skipper--
Sarah had only been to Disneyworld in Florida, and that was when she was 7 years old. So this was a great experience for her as well. And I loved seeing all the "familiar" things, just done a little differently. Patrice, Jason, and Sarah--
The Partner's Statue, with the Castle in the background; but I'm sure you already knew that--
The closest we got to seeing Snow White (notice her wearing her mom's shoes)--
Why do human beings get so excited to meet a short person in a mouse suit?
Cinderella's Castle (by far, my favorite picture of the entire vacation)--
We rode the "Jungle Cruise"...enjoying it while not understanding a single word. We rode "Pirates of the Caribbean", and it was mostly in English (Davy Jones, Captain Barbossa, and Jack Sparrow all spoke English), which was strange but comforting. We rode "It's A Small World"; and of course, it was in several languages. We rode this strange "Winnie the Pooh" ride, which apparently is all the RAGE in Japan. Just the line to get a Fastpass for the ride was longer than the line we waited in before entering the park. But it was a fun ride...very different and cool technology--no track. We rode the "Haunted Mansion", and it was so bizarre hearing the scary Japanese speaking voice instead of the scary English speaking voice. I even rode "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad"...more than once (I typically avoid that ride like I avoid the dentist--not only because someone died on it in California, but because it's really just not that fun; but I must admit--it was much better in Tokyo). We rode "Star Tours", and I can't explain to you how strange it was to hear C3PO speaking Japanese, and then hearing our robot captain doing his best Pee-Wee Herman impression in Japanese. It's a good thing I've been on that ride before in America, otherwise, I would have had no idea what was being said. Poor Sarah--she's never been on the ride before, AND she's never seen "Star Wars"--so I think she was pretty lost.For some odd reason, we did not see ONE single Princess in the park (other than millions of little girls dressed as Snow White, not just the adorable one we sat by for the parade). We saw many characters, but never a bonafide Princess. We did see them in the parade, but not walking around the park. The language barrier prevented us from getting concrete information about when and where specific characters would be. However, I was able to find lots of characters who I'd never seen out and about before. Characters like Robin Hood and King John (from "Robin Hood"), and Scrooge McDuck.
It was an awesome day. We rode all the rides we wanted to, some more than once, and we caught the 25th Anniversary Parade, titled "Jubilation". We watched the "Country Bear Jamboree"...where the songs were in English, but the dialogue was in Japanese. So strange. I had no idea what was happening. We watched the Electrical Parade, complete with all new floats I'd never seen before (like a "Monsters, Inc." float and 2 "Toy Story" floats), and we watched an abismal fireworks show that makes Knotts Berry Farm seem on the cutting edge.
The fireworks were shot from Critter Country, which in Tokyo is behind and to the left of the castle. This means that the fireworks didn't even shoot from behind the castle; they were off to the left. What makes Disneyland's fireworks so amazing, other than the beauty of the music and the spectacular precision (which Tokyo missed on both counts), is the fact that they appear to shoot directly behind the castle, sometimes shooting directly off the castle and around where you're standing. Also, they last longer than 10 minutes. The music that played along with the fireworks in Tokyo lasted under 7 minutes; and it was 2 different songs. I can't explain how bizarre it was to watch a Disney fireworks show and not get chills. Oh well.
After the horrible fireworks, we still had about an hour until the park closed. We hadn't yet visited Buzz Lightyear and his Astro Blasters (one cool ride if you've never been); so we hit that. It was awesome, as always. That's where I caught Buzz Lightyear speaking Japanese.
On Tuesday, we spent the entire day (10 a.m.-10 p.m.) at Tokyo Disney SEA, the neighboring park. This park opened in 2001. It was indescribable. It was vast and all new. When I walk around Disneyland/the Magic Kingdom (either in Tokyo, Florida, or California), there is always a comfortable familiarity. Even though I may never have set foot in the park, I still know where things are; because the basic layout is etched in my brain. But Tokyo Disney SEA was something entirely new.
Tokyo Disney SEA has an Indiana Jones ride. I didn't know how similar it would be, if at all, to the ride I originally worked on at Disneyland in California. Well, after we quickly got a Fastpass for "Tower of Terror", Indy was the first thing we rode. It was incredible. It is the same basic layout and identical track as Indy at Disneyland...but the theme of the ride is different, and many of the effects are different. I was so surprised, and pleasantly so. It was such a cool ride...though Indiana Jones spoke Japanese (hilarious). We subsequently rode the ride 2 more times throughout the day. It was definitely my favorite of the trip. Instead of being "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye" like at Disneyland, it's called "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull", similar in title to the upcoming FOURTH movie installment, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". I took many, many pictures, as Patrice and Sarah could both attest.
This is from the Indy cue--this is the Crystal Skull you see throughout the ride--
Me with an Indy cast member (to think, I used to don a costume VERY similar to this)--
Instead of a castle (or giant golf ball, or magical Mickey hat, or giant Tree) at its center, this park has a giant volcano--which looks entirely too real. But then again, that's Disney at its best. Throughout the day, smoke could be seen eminating from the tip of the volcano. Without going into too much detail, the park is divided into several different areas, like every Disney park. While we waited to get into the park we made our plan of attack. Fortunately, this park was significantly less crowded than Disneyland the previous day.
Instead of a castle (or giant golf ball, or magical Mickey hat, or giant Tree) at its center, this park has a giant volcano--which looks entirely too real. But then again, that's Disney at its best. Throughout the day, smoke could be seen eminating from the tip of the volcano. Without going into too much detail, the park is divided into several different areas, like every Disney park. While we waited to get into the park we made our plan of attack. Fortunately, this park was significantly less crowded than Disneyland the previous day.A panorama of the volcano and the pirate ship and some of the harbor--
In the afternoon, we watched their version of a parade, which took place in their harbor, called "The Legend of Mythica" (their harbor is called Mediterranean Harbor, as all that's around it is very Greek and Roman, etc.). Mickey spoke in Japanese again, and we were left confused. It was a very cool water show...albeit a little bizarre, as it was all sort of non-Disney like. Yes, Goofy and Pluto and Donald came out of the big floats they had--but the floats had giant imaginary animals like a phoenix and a unicorn. Strange. But, after all, the show was called "The Legend of Mythica". You could say that Tokyo Disney SEA is like the California Adventure of Tokyo...where things aren't quite Disney. But it was a neat show, with excellent music. I bought the CD later that day. I found out the music was composed by Alan Silvestri (who scored "Back to the Future" and "Forrest Gump" among many others). Very cool.
A vertical panorama of our spot for the "Legend of Mythica" show--
The Legend of Mythica show--
Over the course of the two days spent at the Disney parks, it was most interesting to see what things were in English, what things were in Japanese, and what things had a mixture of both languages. For example, when we watched the "Little Mermaid" show at Tokyo Disney SEA, all the songs were sung in English (or lip-synced in English), but all the spoken dialogue was in Japanese. It was so strange, and I don't understand why it was like that. It was the only show we saw that had English subtitles available. EVERYTHING else we ever rode or watched left us basically clueless. Obviously all the Western cast members, specifically the face characters like Mary Poppins, etc., spoke English. But segments of the parades and fireworks were in English only, which I don't understand. It was a most confusing trip.
The volcano at sunset--
Sarah, Patrice, and me; volcano behind us--
Oh, and in case you aren't satisfied with the regular, butter popcorn that Disney serves in America...just travel to Tokyo Disneyland. You can get all kinds of popcorn. Honey popcorn. Strawberry popcorn. Black pepper popcorn. Sea salt popcorn. Cappucino popcorn. Caramel popcorn. Chocolate popcorn. Even CURRY popcorn is available. Who knew?
After dinner we found a good spot to watch the much-touted water and lights show--"BraviSEAmo". Get it? Because it's on the water...or sea...and we clap, and there is music...so bravo...hmm. I'm sure you get it. Anyway, this show is like their version of "Fantasmic", just in Japanese, and a completely different subject. For this show, only Mickey came out at the beginning and said stuff in Japanese...again, hilarious. Then he left and the main show began. The music was amazing; I had already purchased the CD earlier in the day, knowing full well I'd probably love it. It was a very strange show, and anything that was said was spoken in Japanese; but most of the show was simply musical, which is often called "the universal language". Or is that love? I don't know. Whatever. Anyway, the show is beautiful and I enjoyed it very much. During the show, the volcano gets angry and there are several large explosions of fire. It's so amazing...knowing that the volcano IS NOT REALLY A VOLCANO. Disney knows what it's doing. It was great. After the show, I think we rode the "Tower of Terror" once again, and eventually went back to the hotel. Our Tokyo Disney adventures were over.
Mediterranean Harbor; this was the view from our spot as we waited for BraviSEAmo!--
A nighttime panorama of our view from our BraviSEAmo! spot (volcano is on the Left)--
Up close of the volcano at night--
BraviSEAmo! (basically the show is about fire vs. water)--
Before leaving Tokyo Disney SEA, I took this--
But perhaps the most amazing thing about the ENTIRE trip--literally--was the fact that there was a Wendy's Hamburgers restaurant near our hotel. Folks, Burger King has great hamburgers, and they are all over Korea, for which I'm truly thankful--but I haven't had a Wendy's hamburger in many moons. Not to mention, a Frosty! It was our first night in Tokyo, we were on our bus from the airport; almost at our hotel, when Sarah saw the Wendy's. I nearly peed myself, and Sarah punched an old Japanese woman in the face. I'm sure Patrice thought we were insane (because she can ultimately have Wendy's whenever she wants; which of course she doesn't, because she lives in California--and why get a burger at Wendy's when you have IN-N-OUT BURGER!!!!!)--but it's SO hard to find a good hamburger in Korea. If you go to TGI Friday's or Outback Steakhouse (both of which are in Korea), the hamburgers are good--but they cost about $13. Korea is not known for it's cows, you see. Anyway, once we arrived at our hotel, checked in, purchased our Disney tickets, and Sarah apologized for punching the lady (of course, I'm joking about that); we walked to Wendy's for dinner. I ate entirely too much--but it was so enjoyable. Of course, I ate a Frosty afterwards. Whoever said I wouldn't be able to eat in Asia was SO wrong. =) Anyway, on our last day, before taking the airport bus from the hotel back to the airport, we once again had Wendy's. I didn't eat as much, which was good, but I did have another Frosty. The pictures are precious.
Delightful trip, I'd say.
Well, sayonara (that's goodbye in Japanese). Cyanide (that's goodbye in any language).
2 comments:
Looks like you had a fabulous time. It really is fun to see similar things and how they come to life in these parks around the world. Very cool. Glad you had a great time. You deserve it!
my name is Ronnie, and I'm a Singaporean who has been learning Korean for 5 years, and I've written and published a book entitled "Curse of Jeju Island" (화산섬의 저주). It's a vampire fiction loosely based on the aftermath of the Jeju Massacre in 1950 (제주도민 학살 사건). You'd be able to find out more from my personal homepage:
http://ronnieng.blogspot.com
the story synopsis is as follows:
Korea was under the colonial rule of the Japanese Empire between 1910 and 1945.
During the Japanese occupation, thousands of Koreans were used as test subjects (guinea pigs) in secret military medical experimentation units, such as Unit 731, Unit 516, and many more. Towards the end of the colonial period, the Japanese military scientists were working on a new project, which was a "vampirisation process" on humans through genetic alteration.
If the project proved successful, the "supposedly-dead" could remain alive through parasitic life sustenance - a biological mechanism that mimics the blood-sucking vampire bats and leeches. The Japanese Army paid some poor hapless Korean parents to allow the medical officers to perform the experiments on their children. However, the Korean parents involved in the transaction believed that the experiments were merely another series of medical trials, and were not aware that it was actually a vampirisation process.
Theoretically-speaking, the success of this project would allow the Japanese Imperial Army to utilise the "undead" as "immortal soldiers" to fight through the end of World War II. The project, however, didn't seem to yield any immediate nor apparent result, as the Korean children in question didn't seem to show any physical sign of becoming "vampirised". The medical officers could not find any sort of cell mutation nor behavioural change in these children.
The project was finally abandoned, when the Japanese Army were forced to surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945 after the American dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. All documents and project facilities pertaining to the said experiments were destroyed, so as to eliminate evidences of the Japanese Imperial Army's atrocious deeds.
The children grew up normally - some of them joined the US-led South Korean Army (known as the Regiments), while some of them embraced communist ideals and became the insurgents (known as the Guerrilas). The two remained at war until the "Jeju Massacre" , which claimed the lives of more than 60,000 people. Their bodies were then sealed in the volcanic cave of Mount Halla. Amongst these 60,000 people were some of the test subjects who were earlier involved in the vampirisation process. The vampirisation process only became effective when these dead bodies were laid in the cave.
The geological conditions (temperature, mineral make-up, etc) of the volcano cave helped to promote the vampirisation process, and their genetic structure mutated to resemble the feeding patterns of bloodsucking creatures such as bats and leeches. Thus these group of the dead were resurrected to become vampires, as they acquired the ability to shapeshift into bats, and back into their human form. They are now doomed to roam the streets of Jeju seeking living human prey and continuing the battles that they once fought in life. Thus, the bitter feud between the two mortal factions – The Regiments (former soldiers) and The Guerrillas (former rebels) – has now become immortal.
Today, we meet Han Mirae, a young Korean girl who is caught in a love triangle between Jackie Chang, a swashbuckling vampire hunter from Singapore, and Shin Taewoo a powerful vampire of the Guerillas. And, we meet Kim Hyunsuk, the Regimental, who abducts Mirae in order to set a trap to kill the other two.
Can Taewoo or Jackie save the girl in time? And who is Mirae's real love?
Could Seiji Inada, being a Japanese vampire hunter, somehow be linked to the vampirisation project conducted by the Japanese Army several decades ago? Hhhmm... It very well could, especially if his father, Kazuhito Inada was one of the soldiers involved during World War II...
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