Tokyo Disneyland Trip Report, March 3-6, 2017
Posted: Mar Tue 07, 2017 2:54 pm
Last weekend I spent 3 days at Tokyo Disney Resort, marking the final two parks in my quest to earn my badge as a Disney Globetrotter. I can now say I have visited (and stayed) at every Disney resort around the world. For my trip report, read on!
DAY 1: Friday, March 3, 2017 (Weather: warm in the sun at first but turning to cloudy, very cold, dry)
After spending the week at a conference at Narita airport, I arranged to stay over the weekend. I flew JAL, and am sitting on the plane right now as I write this (not publishing, just writing). First, a note about flying to Japan: It's pretty easy to get there from the States. JAL has one of the nicest Premium Economy seats I've experienced and is definitely worth it for those who want something nicer but don't want to spend the crazy money for Business class. But there's also service from ANA, Delta, American & United plus a bunch of others, so there's lots of competition to keep the fares low.
Getting from Narita to Tokyo Disney Report (TDR) is also easy. There is a scheduled bus service, the "Friendly Limousine" coaches which depart throughout the day. The round trip fare was 3200 yen, or about $28. You have to buy your ticket on the day of departure but it only takes a few minutes from the convenient counter inside the terminal. The bus was on time, naturally, and the ride from NRT to TDR took just over an hour at 0915 on Friday. The bus makes stops at the two parks and all the Disney and Disney Official Neighbor hotels so you don't even have to think. Note: In the spirit of Tokyo using a 24-hour clock I will quote all times that way in this report.
There is a closer airport, Haneda, located in the heart of Tokyo. In fact, the flight path goes right over TDR. Wasn't an option for my work but might be if you're planning a trip. However, due to traffic the bus service to Haneda is only 10-15 minutes shorter than for Narita.
First impressions of TDR were that it suffers from being surrounded by industrial areas. I knew this from reading up and from pics, but the encroachment of the "real world" is worse than even at DLR in California. At least there you see lots of houses and hotels. Here, it's lots of ugly factories and other undesirable elements. To their credit, TDR has done what they can to minimize the impact and walls and some berms do help in most of the guest areas.
I booked the weekend at the Sheraton Grand Tokyo Bay, an official good neighbor hotel on the monorail loop. At less than $200/night it was a bargain for its location and convenience. Plus, I was given a park view on the 6th floor. If you are a SPG Platinum member (I'm not) you can access the lounge on the 12th floor with a commanding view of the resort and the bay on the other side of the hotel.
My room wasn't ready when I arrived around 1030, but I left my luggage and went to the park. They gave me a key and told me it'd be activated at 3pm and my luggage would be waiting in the room. It was and it was.
The hotel room was spacious and clean, the beds super-comfy. The drapes made the room really dark which is a must for me.
The view was nice and I could've easily enjoyed the fireworks had I been in the room. The distance was similar to what I had in Hong Kong. As you can see below, the TDL parking lot is across the street and the back side of TDS is off to the right. I could walk to TDR but it'd be a tiring walk. Note that they don't have any parking lot trams which I find odd.
The easiest way to get to the parks is to take the monorail, what they call the Resort Line. It has four stations and makes a complete circuit around the parks, with all but two hotels (the Ambassador and the Miracosta) outside the loop. My station, the Bay station I think it's called, serves all the neighbor hotels including mine and the Hilton. There are busses from the monorail station to each hotel, including one for mine which literally just drives across the street and back. Here is a shot of how close the Sheraton is as seen from the monorail platform.
And here are some bus pics. They have a really fun retro-themed Disney resort bus!
Back to the monorail. Interesting thing I didn't realize: the Resort Line isn't free. The fare is 260 yen $2.20 (For a three-day unlimited pass its 1100 yen, or $9.35). Not breaking the bank but still a surprise. They make the most money off people arriving on the JR rail line so it make sense that the connection to the monorail wouldn't be free.
The Resort Line runs counter-clockwise. After my station, next is the TDS station, then the Resort Gateway station (JR rail line, Ikspiari shopping mall, Disney's Ambassador Hotel), and finally the TDL station. The entire circuit takes less than 20 minutes. The monorails are built to Japan transit standards and are a bit boxy but very roomy inside as you can see below.
Now, another strange thing: for multi-day tickets you cannot park hop and must specify the park you will attend each of the first two days. I picked TDS for Friday and TDL for Saturday. Because I bought a 3-day ticket I was allowed to park hop on day 3, and 4-day tickets can hop on days 3 & 4, natch. So, obviously, the rest of the day one trip report will be focused mostly on TDS.
My first impressions of TDS were mixed. The park layout was a bit awkward to my uninitiated eye. Very much like my first visit to DAK, it took most of the first day just to get my bearings.
The entrance area (above) has a spacious feel and wraps around both sides of the monorail station. There is a parking structure as well. You then pass under Hotel Miracosta (below) and into the park and Mediterranean Harbor. The entrance feels more like a hotel resort grounds than a theme park.
After passing under the hotel you are greeted to the awesome view of the volcano at Mysterious Island. It is a great weenie.
Having arrived at TDS at about 1115, I made a beeline for the Fastpass machines inside Mysterious Island for Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was PACKED. I took a pic but it ended up blurry. Suffice to say, the crowd stories are true. The posted wait time was 150 minutes and my Fastpass return time was 1740. No problem. Plenty to do. I went over to ride neighboring 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. With a 45 minute wait, it seemed a bargain.
Before I get to that, I have to tell you about the Fastpass situation. At TDR, Fastpasses are treated like tickets to ride and those in the Standby line are truly that: standby. The result is a torturously long wait while hundreds of people pass you by. It sucks. Also, this system destroys any last hopes for the casual park guest. If you don't actively manage your day, you will be left in very long lines, riding only non-FP attractions or missing out entirely. More on this later, but it was a thorn in my side all weekend as I prefer to explore and discover, not map out my every move in advance. If there is a silver lining in all this, it's that the next Fastpass becomes available about 2.5 hours after you get the first one. But that is of little consolation for the major attractions which routinely run out by noon or early afternoon.
20,000 Leagues is really great. It's a family attraction where you ride in a "submarine" suspended from an overhead track. Each car holds six riders who look out one of three glass bubble portholes on three sides of the sub. The ride uses a "dry-for-wet" effect where it looks like you're going under water but it's just lighting and special effects. There's water bubbling through the porthole to heighten the experience and the whole thing is themed to the hilt. Really great.
Having ridden, I was hungry so I headed over to the New York Port area. I passed McDuck's department store were they were advertising those dang Duffy bears. And not just here, Duffy was EVERYWHERE in TDS and in some parts of TDL. Duffy has a girlfriend now because of course she does. And the Japanese park guests are suckers for this marketing machine. They eat this stuff up. Easily half the teens there sported some sort of Disney swag, either Mickey or Minnie ears, a crazy hat, or Duffy handbags, Duffy totes, Duffy bears, or Duffy underwear. OK, I made that last one up, but how far away can that be?
Anyway, back to lunch. The New York Delicatessen sits on the main drag, a mini-Main Street circa the early 1900's.
I ordered the Turkey Pastrami Panini (below) and it was really good. More like a grilled cheese than a pastrami sandwich but it hit the spot. You can see the price in the menu pic, 1120 yen for the "set" which includes fries and a drink ($10).
Not having a Fastpass to use after lunch I just began a circuit of the park. It's confusing the first time, as I said before. I made a clockwise circuit, heading from the American Waterfront to Port Discovery where I "discovered" that StormRider is being replaced by a Pixar-themed SeaRider set to open later this spring.
Still, that Aquatopia looks cool and I will ride it. Oh yes, I will ride it.
Around the back of the park I found Indiana Jones: Temple of the Crystal Skull. Guess what? They have a single rider line. Hooray! You have to ask for it, and they send you up the Fastpass line until you get to the ticket taker cast member who then channels you off to a separate spur. I practically walked onto a ride with a posted 130 minute wait. Sweet. The ride is almost identical to the California version, with a few slight modifications for the crystal theme.
I swung around the back corner of the park and rode Sinbad's Storybook Voyage. I can just hear the Imagineers when they thought this one up. "We need an its a small world-type ride." "OK, how about we build that exact ride but theme it to Sinbad instead?" "Great! What's for lunch?"
After the mildly interesting Sinbad with its pretty annoying "Compass of Your Heart" theme song, I headed under the sea to the Little Mermaid indoor/outdoor "land" - er, "sea": Mermaid Lagoon. It's really cool and I imagine it's a great place to escape heat or rain or whatever.
Hey, does anyone else think it's wrong that Sebastian's Calypso Kitchen serves seafood?!
Speaking of wrong, only kids should cuddle with this life-sized Ariel pillow.
"De human waste, it's a mess!"
After surfacing, I saw that there are some rides outside as well, including a Scuttle-themed spinning "Himalaya"-type ride and a kid coaster which ran with TWO TRAINS. That's as close to a people eater as you'll see on a children's coaster, folks. I rode it, the line moved fast and there was no Fastpass. Yay!
Back in the Arabian Coast area was the Magic Lamp Theater with a show that combined live action with a 3-D movie featuring Genie. It was silly and adequate, but it might've helped if I understood Japanese!
I found myself back at the front of the park and took another detour into the American Waterfront to check the wait at Midway Mania. 150 minutes. No problem - I don't need to ride that video game as its identical everywhere.
Back up in the middle of the park is the fortress and a walkthrough attraction called "Fortress Explorations" (presented by Unisys, because nothing says old world charm like an industrial technology company). The walkthrough is fun and there's lots to see, touch and explore. It also affords some great views.
The "real world" is on display for all to see from this vantage point.
There's a little planetarium where you can turn crank handles and make the planets move above you. There's also a giant pendulum, a camera obsura, and other Victorian-era science novelties.
Looking at the timestamps on these pics I see I spent 25 minutes exploring the Fortress. That without even trying. I can see that families with kids could kill an hour there or more and they have a scavenger hunt printed sheet that you can use for more fun.
It was about time to ride Journey to the Center of the Earth. I won't give much away but if you didn't know, the ride system is the same as Test Track, except the vehicles are little steampunk excavation machines. You go deep into the heart of Mysterious Island's mountain and things go wrong of course. It's somewhat true to the original Jules Verne story so if you've read that you'll appreciate the nods to the source material. It's fun, fast, and loud. A definite thrill ride.
At around 1800 it was getting dark and cold but I trudged on and went back near Indy to the looping coaster: Raging Spirits. This is, essentially, what Disneyland Paris uses for their Indiana Jones ride. But according to RCDB, they're not identical. Unlike the DLP version, this ride was smooth and didn't abuse my head on the shoulder restraints. Could just be that it's 12 years newer. Oh, and they had a single rider line too, but this one was also unadvertised. The wait was about 35 minutes for me in that line.
OK, what's for dinner? Let me see, I'm in a sea adventure theme park in Japan. I know: TACOS!
Behold the "Spicy Meat Tacos" which were chicken, spicy minced meat, avocado dip (guac), and spicy salsa. It came with a miniscule salad with ranch dressing and a dollop of beans with two chips. All for the low low price of 1180 yen ($10) for the set. And they were surprisingly good!
After my delightful repast and some much-needed time off my feet, I took another walk around the park. For the 15th anniversary of TDS they are doing this promotion with a "crystal" theme. Guests can buy a little battery-powered crystal gadget and take it up to a machine like the one below. Tap the gadget to the machine and you are rewarded with sparkly lights and sounds. I think you're also supposed to make a wish. Some cast members also have gadgets and you can tap two together to share a wish. Clever, but yet another merchandising gimmick. The lights are pretty though.
Back to the undersea world, the line was shorter for Jumpin' Jellyfish so I gave that a ride. I love that they even themed the railings!
I caught the second half of Fantasmic and they do a great job running the show in the central Mediterranian Harbor. They even tie the volcano into the dragon scene, which has a great dragon by the way.
There was supposed to be a fireworks show, Sky-high Wishes, but it was canceled due to the winds. So I went back to Journey to the Center of the Earth again. It had closed temporarily for Fantasmic, I guess, because they dropped the ropes and I joined the stream into the standby line. And there I waited for about 20 minutes while a steady flow of Fastpass holders came through. Still, 20 minutes vs 150, I'll take it.
On the way out I took the long way 'round, this time counter-clockwise. I rode Aquatopia which, being after 9pm and freezing cold out, had no line. Another fun high tech ride. The little cars zip around in a few inches of water and it feels unpredictable. Later, I was to figure out that, while there is no track, there is a prescribed set of routes that the cars can take, so it's not complete chaos. Nevertheless, for this first ride I was delighted. Also, interesting that they play Epcot music in Port Discovery.
Then it was back over toward the Columbia steam liner and I took a few more pics as the park closed at 2200. I was pleased to see that they were running their antique cars up and around the New York streets in American Waterfront, even at night!
Back on the Resort Line, I got off two stops later at Disneyland Station just so I could take a quick peek at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel. The lobby isn't that spectacular - sorry, I only shot some video, no pics. But here's the outside:
And back at my room, this is the view that first night:
Ahh. Time for bed after a long, fun day. Tomorrow it's off to Disneyland!
DAY 1: Friday, March 3, 2017 (Weather: warm in the sun at first but turning to cloudy, very cold, dry)
After spending the week at a conference at Narita airport, I arranged to stay over the weekend. I flew JAL, and am sitting on the plane right now as I write this (not publishing, just writing). First, a note about flying to Japan: It's pretty easy to get there from the States. JAL has one of the nicest Premium Economy seats I've experienced and is definitely worth it for those who want something nicer but don't want to spend the crazy money for Business class. But there's also service from ANA, Delta, American & United plus a bunch of others, so there's lots of competition to keep the fares low.
Getting from Narita to Tokyo Disney Report (TDR) is also easy. There is a scheduled bus service, the "Friendly Limousine" coaches which depart throughout the day. The round trip fare was 3200 yen, or about $28. You have to buy your ticket on the day of departure but it only takes a few minutes from the convenient counter inside the terminal. The bus was on time, naturally, and the ride from NRT to TDR took just over an hour at 0915 on Friday. The bus makes stops at the two parks and all the Disney and Disney Official Neighbor hotels so you don't even have to think. Note: In the spirit of Tokyo using a 24-hour clock I will quote all times that way in this report.
There is a closer airport, Haneda, located in the heart of Tokyo. In fact, the flight path goes right over TDR. Wasn't an option for my work but might be if you're planning a trip. However, due to traffic the bus service to Haneda is only 10-15 minutes shorter than for Narita.
First impressions of TDR were that it suffers from being surrounded by industrial areas. I knew this from reading up and from pics, but the encroachment of the "real world" is worse than even at DLR in California. At least there you see lots of houses and hotels. Here, it's lots of ugly factories and other undesirable elements. To their credit, TDR has done what they can to minimize the impact and walls and some berms do help in most of the guest areas.
I booked the weekend at the Sheraton Grand Tokyo Bay, an official good neighbor hotel on the monorail loop. At less than $200/night it was a bargain for its location and convenience. Plus, I was given a park view on the 6th floor. If you are a SPG Platinum member (I'm not) you can access the lounge on the 12th floor with a commanding view of the resort and the bay on the other side of the hotel.
My room wasn't ready when I arrived around 1030, but I left my luggage and went to the park. They gave me a key and told me it'd be activated at 3pm and my luggage would be waiting in the room. It was and it was.
The hotel room was spacious and clean, the beds super-comfy. The drapes made the room really dark which is a must for me.
The view was nice and I could've easily enjoyed the fireworks had I been in the room. The distance was similar to what I had in Hong Kong. As you can see below, the TDL parking lot is across the street and the back side of TDS is off to the right. I could walk to TDR but it'd be a tiring walk. Note that they don't have any parking lot trams which I find odd.
The easiest way to get to the parks is to take the monorail, what they call the Resort Line. It has four stations and makes a complete circuit around the parks, with all but two hotels (the Ambassador and the Miracosta) outside the loop. My station, the Bay station I think it's called, serves all the neighbor hotels including mine and the Hilton. There are busses from the monorail station to each hotel, including one for mine which literally just drives across the street and back. Here is a shot of how close the Sheraton is as seen from the monorail platform.
And here are some bus pics. They have a really fun retro-themed Disney resort bus!
Back to the monorail. Interesting thing I didn't realize: the Resort Line isn't free. The fare is 260 yen $2.20 (For a three-day unlimited pass its 1100 yen, or $9.35). Not breaking the bank but still a surprise. They make the most money off people arriving on the JR rail line so it make sense that the connection to the monorail wouldn't be free.
The Resort Line runs counter-clockwise. After my station, next is the TDS station, then the Resort Gateway station (JR rail line, Ikspiari shopping mall, Disney's Ambassador Hotel), and finally the TDL station. The entire circuit takes less than 20 minutes. The monorails are built to Japan transit standards and are a bit boxy but very roomy inside as you can see below.
Now, another strange thing: for multi-day tickets you cannot park hop and must specify the park you will attend each of the first two days. I picked TDS for Friday and TDL for Saturday. Because I bought a 3-day ticket I was allowed to park hop on day 3, and 4-day tickets can hop on days 3 & 4, natch. So, obviously, the rest of the day one trip report will be focused mostly on TDS.
My first impressions of TDS were mixed. The park layout was a bit awkward to my uninitiated eye. Very much like my first visit to DAK, it took most of the first day just to get my bearings.
The entrance area (above) has a spacious feel and wraps around both sides of the monorail station. There is a parking structure as well. You then pass under Hotel Miracosta (below) and into the park and Mediterranean Harbor. The entrance feels more like a hotel resort grounds than a theme park.
After passing under the hotel you are greeted to the awesome view of the volcano at Mysterious Island. It is a great weenie.
Having arrived at TDS at about 1115, I made a beeline for the Fastpass machines inside Mysterious Island for Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was PACKED. I took a pic but it ended up blurry. Suffice to say, the crowd stories are true. The posted wait time was 150 minutes and my Fastpass return time was 1740. No problem. Plenty to do. I went over to ride neighboring 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. With a 45 minute wait, it seemed a bargain.
Before I get to that, I have to tell you about the Fastpass situation. At TDR, Fastpasses are treated like tickets to ride and those in the Standby line are truly that: standby. The result is a torturously long wait while hundreds of people pass you by. It sucks. Also, this system destroys any last hopes for the casual park guest. If you don't actively manage your day, you will be left in very long lines, riding only non-FP attractions or missing out entirely. More on this later, but it was a thorn in my side all weekend as I prefer to explore and discover, not map out my every move in advance. If there is a silver lining in all this, it's that the next Fastpass becomes available about 2.5 hours after you get the first one. But that is of little consolation for the major attractions which routinely run out by noon or early afternoon.
20,000 Leagues is really great. It's a family attraction where you ride in a "submarine" suspended from an overhead track. Each car holds six riders who look out one of three glass bubble portholes on three sides of the sub. The ride uses a "dry-for-wet" effect where it looks like you're going under water but it's just lighting and special effects. There's water bubbling through the porthole to heighten the experience and the whole thing is themed to the hilt. Really great.
Having ridden, I was hungry so I headed over to the New York Port area. I passed McDuck's department store were they were advertising those dang Duffy bears. And not just here, Duffy was EVERYWHERE in TDS and in some parts of TDL. Duffy has a girlfriend now because of course she does. And the Japanese park guests are suckers for this marketing machine. They eat this stuff up. Easily half the teens there sported some sort of Disney swag, either Mickey or Minnie ears, a crazy hat, or Duffy handbags, Duffy totes, Duffy bears, or Duffy underwear. OK, I made that last one up, but how far away can that be?
Anyway, back to lunch. The New York Delicatessen sits on the main drag, a mini-Main Street circa the early 1900's.
I ordered the Turkey Pastrami Panini (below) and it was really good. More like a grilled cheese than a pastrami sandwich but it hit the spot. You can see the price in the menu pic, 1120 yen for the "set" which includes fries and a drink ($10).
Not having a Fastpass to use after lunch I just began a circuit of the park. It's confusing the first time, as I said before. I made a clockwise circuit, heading from the American Waterfront to Port Discovery where I "discovered" that StormRider is being replaced by a Pixar-themed SeaRider set to open later this spring.
Still, that Aquatopia looks cool and I will ride it. Oh yes, I will ride it.
Around the back of the park I found Indiana Jones: Temple of the Crystal Skull. Guess what? They have a single rider line. Hooray! You have to ask for it, and they send you up the Fastpass line until you get to the ticket taker cast member who then channels you off to a separate spur. I practically walked onto a ride with a posted 130 minute wait. Sweet. The ride is almost identical to the California version, with a few slight modifications for the crystal theme.
I swung around the back corner of the park and rode Sinbad's Storybook Voyage. I can just hear the Imagineers when they thought this one up. "We need an its a small world-type ride." "OK, how about we build that exact ride but theme it to Sinbad instead?" "Great! What's for lunch?"
After the mildly interesting Sinbad with its pretty annoying "Compass of Your Heart" theme song, I headed under the sea to the Little Mermaid indoor/outdoor "land" - er, "sea": Mermaid Lagoon. It's really cool and I imagine it's a great place to escape heat or rain or whatever.
Hey, does anyone else think it's wrong that Sebastian's Calypso Kitchen serves seafood?!
Speaking of wrong, only kids should cuddle with this life-sized Ariel pillow.
"De human waste, it's a mess!"
After surfacing, I saw that there are some rides outside as well, including a Scuttle-themed spinning "Himalaya"-type ride and a kid coaster which ran with TWO TRAINS. That's as close to a people eater as you'll see on a children's coaster, folks. I rode it, the line moved fast and there was no Fastpass. Yay!
Back in the Arabian Coast area was the Magic Lamp Theater with a show that combined live action with a 3-D movie featuring Genie. It was silly and adequate, but it might've helped if I understood Japanese!
I found myself back at the front of the park and took another detour into the American Waterfront to check the wait at Midway Mania. 150 minutes. No problem - I don't need to ride that video game as its identical everywhere.
Back up in the middle of the park is the fortress and a walkthrough attraction called "Fortress Explorations" (presented by Unisys, because nothing says old world charm like an industrial technology company). The walkthrough is fun and there's lots to see, touch and explore. It also affords some great views.
The "real world" is on display for all to see from this vantage point.
There's a little planetarium where you can turn crank handles and make the planets move above you. There's also a giant pendulum, a camera obsura, and other Victorian-era science novelties.
Looking at the timestamps on these pics I see I spent 25 minutes exploring the Fortress. That without even trying. I can see that families with kids could kill an hour there or more and they have a scavenger hunt printed sheet that you can use for more fun.
It was about time to ride Journey to the Center of the Earth. I won't give much away but if you didn't know, the ride system is the same as Test Track, except the vehicles are little steampunk excavation machines. You go deep into the heart of Mysterious Island's mountain and things go wrong of course. It's somewhat true to the original Jules Verne story so if you've read that you'll appreciate the nods to the source material. It's fun, fast, and loud. A definite thrill ride.
At around 1800 it was getting dark and cold but I trudged on and went back near Indy to the looping coaster: Raging Spirits. This is, essentially, what Disneyland Paris uses for their Indiana Jones ride. But according to RCDB, they're not identical. Unlike the DLP version, this ride was smooth and didn't abuse my head on the shoulder restraints. Could just be that it's 12 years newer. Oh, and they had a single rider line too, but this one was also unadvertised. The wait was about 35 minutes for me in that line.
OK, what's for dinner? Let me see, I'm in a sea adventure theme park in Japan. I know: TACOS!
Behold the "Spicy Meat Tacos" which were chicken, spicy minced meat, avocado dip (guac), and spicy salsa. It came with a miniscule salad with ranch dressing and a dollop of beans with two chips. All for the low low price of 1180 yen ($10) for the set. And they were surprisingly good!
After my delightful repast and some much-needed time off my feet, I took another walk around the park. For the 15th anniversary of TDS they are doing this promotion with a "crystal" theme. Guests can buy a little battery-powered crystal gadget and take it up to a machine like the one below. Tap the gadget to the machine and you are rewarded with sparkly lights and sounds. I think you're also supposed to make a wish. Some cast members also have gadgets and you can tap two together to share a wish. Clever, but yet another merchandising gimmick. The lights are pretty though.
Back to the undersea world, the line was shorter for Jumpin' Jellyfish so I gave that a ride. I love that they even themed the railings!
I caught the second half of Fantasmic and they do a great job running the show in the central Mediterranian Harbor. They even tie the volcano into the dragon scene, which has a great dragon by the way.
There was supposed to be a fireworks show, Sky-high Wishes, but it was canceled due to the winds. So I went back to Journey to the Center of the Earth again. It had closed temporarily for Fantasmic, I guess, because they dropped the ropes and I joined the stream into the standby line. And there I waited for about 20 minutes while a steady flow of Fastpass holders came through. Still, 20 minutes vs 150, I'll take it.
On the way out I took the long way 'round, this time counter-clockwise. I rode Aquatopia which, being after 9pm and freezing cold out, had no line. Another fun high tech ride. The little cars zip around in a few inches of water and it feels unpredictable. Later, I was to figure out that, while there is no track, there is a prescribed set of routes that the cars can take, so it's not complete chaos. Nevertheless, for this first ride I was delighted. Also, interesting that they play Epcot music in Port Discovery.
Then it was back over toward the Columbia steam liner and I took a few more pics as the park closed at 2200. I was pleased to see that they were running their antique cars up and around the New York streets in American Waterfront, even at night!
Back on the Resort Line, I got off two stops later at Disneyland Station just so I could take a quick peek at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel. The lobby isn't that spectacular - sorry, I only shot some video, no pics. But here's the outside:
And back at my room, this is the view that first night:
Ahh. Time for bed after a long, fun day. Tomorrow it's off to Disneyland!