An Asian Disney and Universal Adventure - Trip Report COMPLETED 6/23

It's a relief to hear that you're doing well now. That's such an awful thing to have to go through. If I didn't say it before: thank-you for sharing such an amazing trip with us. Whatever pace you are able to update at is plenty fast enough.

Thanks for your thoughts, and I appreciate your thanks so much :) :) I hope you continue to enjoy reading, though we are almost at the end (which is making me sad because while I write the report it's like reliving the trip!)
 
Day 23 - Part 10 - Chasing Blue

We had so many pictures that we wanted to get of Tokyo Disney Sea at night, that we knew we'd have to be very quick and organise to get them all. Luckily I had already prepared a map of all the places that I wanted to go to take photos at Tokyo Disney Sea (yes, like I said, I am a crazy planner, even when it comes to photography). We were already in Arabian Coast, and blue hour had well and truly set in, so we decided to start in Arabian Coast hand held, while we still had enough light to get away with it! The thing is, pictures never look as spectacular when you can't do a long exposure, but luckily for us most of the shots we wanted in Arabian Coast were of well lit areas, and there was still enough light in the sky to make it work.





















The sky was still blue as we moved onto Mermaid Lagoon





At this point we were support to stop for a dinner reservation at Restaurante Di Canaletto, and Italian Restaurant in the Venetian Canal area of the park. The restaurant is beautiful, last time we ate there we sat on the balcony overlooking the canals. However, when we showed up for our reservation we were told that the meal was another 5 course set menu! We did not have time to sit through 5 courses, so we decided to bail on our reservation and eat at Vulcania, the Chinese cafeteria in Mysterious Island, a little later. We were in Venice though, so we stayed there and got some pictures.







You can see most of the true blue hour had disappeared by this point, but it amazes me how much blue you can still sometimes pull out in the sky even well after sunset (it looked completely black to us when we were taking the above photos but you can see the deep blue in the edited photos).







Before dinner we decided to tackle the Cape Cod and Port areas of American Waterfront, as it was on our way towards Mysterious Island (a roundabout way but still)





The above two photos were taken within minutes of each other! It's so crazy how in one direction the sky can be completely black, and in the next still look blue! We headed into Cape Cod proper next.









Back out in the port harbour area of American Waterfront night had truly fallen on the park.





Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
Day 23 - Part 11 - A Mysterious Mediterranean Mermaid Night

We were almost at our choice of dinner venue, but we took a few more photos before we ate.







Vulcania was awesome, quick service Chinese that was really tasty, and an incredible atmosphere in a space inside a mountain themed to Victorian Steampunk bunker of sorts.

Of course it was Jared's birthday, and I had cancelled our fancy meal to celebrate, plus he hadn't had any cake, so he bought himself this pudding and stuck a chopstick in it to celebrate (very very sad I know :P). Here he is 'blowing out' his candle!





And here is a look at Vulcania









Back out in Mysterious Island we continued our 'photo rally' of Tokyo Disney Sea (ahh, does anyone remember photo rally's, with your list of photos you had to get and whoever got the most won - our approach to photo taking at Tokyo Disney Sea that evening was sort of like that!).

We had been using our green pod since we got to the Venetian Canals, and we seemed to have mastered the way to get the beans to settle so we got on motion blur in our photos! We were pretty pleased with ourselves! Anyway, back to Mysterious Island. It is so much more beautiful at night!





I had really wanted to get this shot, and was hoping at this time of night there might be less people walking through it! Unfortunately this archway is the thoroughfare from Mysterious Island to Mermaid Lagoon and Arabian Coast, so we had a lot of people walking through (lots of ghosts). Still, as it's a thoroughfare at least no one really stops and stands still!



And as we were heading that way, we stopped for our photos of Mermaid Lagoon that we hadn't gotten earlier as it was too light.



This shot, was has turned out to be one of my favourites of our whole trip, was taken on this angle by necessity more than artistry, thanks to the angle of the rock we found to rest the green pod on. I love that the shot is a result of Tokyo Disney Sea's unique landscape, and Japan's quirky rules on tripods. Without the combination of the two we would have probably never have thought to take this photo!







Back into Arabian Coast we re-did a few shots we weren't happy with the first time around, in particularly this reflection shot (though I do wish we'd gone a bit further back for a wider angle!



This photo I love!



As we were setting up for our next shot the searchlights and fireworks from the Frozen projection show at Tokyo Disneyland started appearing behind Arabian Coast (that's how close the parks are). We had hoped to catch the fireworks behind Arabian Coast from this spot but unfortunately they were cancelled again due to the wind. Still, the search lights and small fireworks that made up part of Frozen Fantasy worked ok, though of course none of could be captured as a long exposure so the quality is not as great.







From Arabian Coast the next logical location was Lost River Delta. We had taken one shot here at sunset, but hadn't really ventured into the land.









Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:


Day 23 - Part 12 - Racing the Night

We were racing through our photo list. Well by racing, I mean we seemed to be ahead of schedule and had taken plenty of photos already with about an hour or just under to park closing. From Lost River Delta we headed back into Mysterious Island, and saw a few more shots we wanted.









Those wonderful search lights from Frozen Fantasy were really lighting up the sky and giving us more blue than we expected! Next up we climbed the Fortress Explorations for it's views (we were really not going to leave any angled un-photographed, we wanted to capture the beauty of this wonderful Disney park).

Back out in the front section of the park, we decided to climb Fortress Explorations, making sure we'd photographed this beautiful park from every angle.







From the top of the Fortress you have a great view back over at the Miracosta.



[

As we came back down the Fortress we managed to have a peak in one of the rooms you can explore, unfortunately we ran out of time to actually explore the entire thing (something we still haven't done) and by this point in the night most of the Fortress was closed, except for this room apparently.





And we were back on the ground.





We decided to have another go at capturing the Venetian Canals.





And we were soon into our final land, American Waterfront.





Toyville Trolley Park never quitens, I swear! This was about 15 minutes before close and they can't have been letting anyone else in the line to ride Toy Story, which was still at about 90 minutes from memory!













Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
Day 23 - Part 13 - Farewell Tokyo Disney

Still in American Waterfront we decided to climb the Sailing Ship Columbia for more views.











This was another of my favourite shots of the trip, and Jared lay in a bit of a thoroughfare to get it and for a moment it looked like some CM's were heading our way to tell us off, but we were up off the ground before they could!





Finally we made our way back out into the main Harbour area for our last shots of the evening.











We paused for a moment to get a quick photo of this adorable site, a Shellie-May sitting in the window of one of the room of the Miracosta, peering out over the park and the guests there :) It was pretty adorable.





We did wait around for a bit, trying to let the crowds thin so we could get emptier shots of the entrance way, but of course, the crowds remained. I think we gave up about an hour and half after closing and just made our way out, with all these people (of course this was only half an hour after the closing of the shopping area so we didn't really stay that late).









Finally we had exited the park, and there were just a few more photos of the Aquasphere to try. This ship was the decorative display for the 15th Anniversary of Tokyo Disney Sea, which by the way was in 2016, and was still going on in January 2017 (most of Tokyo Disney Seas 'year long' anniversary celebrations seem to go about 15 months).





And finally, we jostled to find a spot in front of the Aquasphere so we could take a few photos. Having a tripod at this point would have been really useful!







Surprisingly, there is a partners statue at Tokyo Disney Sea, though it looks more like the 'suitcase and a dream' version at California Adventure. And it's hidden, off to the side of the entrance plaza, almost like it was added as an afterthought (as not many people would go past it, even those coming into the park). Still we found it because I had one last photo in mind. Walt and Mickey overlooking that which had been inspired by them and their work.



It may seem like we rushed through the evening, and perhaps we did, running around to get as many pictures as we did, but at the same time we both had one of the best nights of the trip. We loved taking in the park as we photographed it, seeing every area with it's beautiful night lighting and enjoying discussions about the photos composition. We had the map of locations to visit to take photos from, and so it was really not too hard a task to photograph it all in one night. I think in total we spent 5 hours or so taking pictures, which is a lot of time just to focus on photos, but for us it was so enjoyable. At home we actually like to go out on photography dates, where we take photos of our wonderful city together, and doing that together at a Disney park was even more fun.

I'm afraid that ends our time at Tokyo Disney, and at the Asian Disney parks. We had an amazing time at all of them, they all have unique elements that you can't find in the US parks, and some of the most technologically advanced rides of any of the US parks (well until Avatar and Star Wars I'm sure). Hong Kong, though it may have started off as a cheaply built park to see if Disney could get a foothold in the Asian market, now has some really unique and amazing areas and attractions, not to mention the Frozen land that's on it's way to the park soon. Tokyo Disney is obviously incredible, Tokyo Disney Seas the most beautiful theme park I've ever seen, and Tokyo Disneyland has plenty of unique attractions and is adding new attractions for 2020 (including a trackless Beauty and the Beast ride themed to Be Our Guest, that I REALLY want to experience). Shanghai Disneyland is brilliant and, though it could use a few more attractions, what's there is state of the art and it's so different from any castle park world wide it's worth seeing for that reason alone. Though China and Japan are culturally very different to Australia (or the US) and you do notice that to an extent in the parks, you also feel safe knowing you are at Disney, and as though you are seeing Disney through a slightly different lens, in vastly different places and countries who none-the-less have made Disney their own.

I'll back back with more updates about our time in Tokyo, and the things we saw and did there, so it's not completely over yet :)

Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
I've spent the last three days reading your trip report and I've been just mesmerized by all the beautiful photos and your engaging storytelling! Sounds like such an amazing trip and I love how you both look so happy and excited to be there. Disney is all about taking people to far away places using your imagination, so I get a kick out of how in Japan their far away places are Italy, New York and Cape Cod, whereas Japan is about as far away and exotic a place to me. I love seeing Disney's interpretations of familiar places actually...I grew up on Cape Cod, so I get warm fuzzies seeing it as a "theme" in other Disney parks. Now I want a Japanese themed resort at WDW! Why don''t they have that??

You guys are real troopers getting through your vacation even while sick, and I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage and health troubles afterwards.

What exactly is the Journey into the Center of the Earth ride? Is it a coaster/dark ride?
 


Missed your updates.

Glad to hear you're doing well.
Such a terrible thing to go through.

Thanks for your well wishes, I am doing much better :) I'm glad you are still enjoying reading along

I've spent the last three days reading your trip report and I've been just mesmerised by all the beautiful photos and your engaging storytelling! Sounds like such an amazing trip and I love how you both look so happy and excited to be there. Disney is all about taking people to far away places using your imagination, so I get a kick out of how in Japan their far away places are Italy, New York and Cape Cod, whereas Japan is about as far away and exotic a place to me. I love seeing Disney's interpretations of familiar places actually...I grew up on Cape Cod, so I get warm fuzzies seeing it as a "theme" in other Disney parks. Now I want a Japanese themed resort at WDW! Why don''t they have that??

You guys are real troopers getting through your vacation even while sick, and I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage and health troubles afterwards.

What exactly is the Journey into the Center of the Earth ride? Is it a coaster/dark ride?

Thank you for your wonderful feedback - it's really appreciated. I so completely agree with you about how Disney transports you far away, and hadn't really thought about how the places at Disney Seas must not feel as exotic to an American audience, they do to us Aussies :) But you are right, Japan is about one of the most exotic places I've ever visited. I would love to see a Japanese themed resort at Walt Disney World, it would be amazing.

I think when you are on holidays and you get sick you just have to push through, having spent all that money and effort planning the trip we didn't want to miss out on experiencing it, and we did get through most of what we had planned, so I was happy (though we did miss out going to Nara which I was little disappointed about).

Journey to the Centre of the Earth is basically Test Track and Radiator Racers, but has more of a Dark Ride feel in the way it's themed. It uses the exact same technology as the two aforementioned attractions but is probably more like Radiator Racers, as it pulls off the dark ride portions much better than Test Track does. I hope that explains it?
 
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is basically Test Track and Radiator Racers, but has more of a Dark Ride feel in the way it's themed. It uses the exact same technology as the two aforementioned attractions but is probably more like Radiator Racers, as it pulls off the dark ride portions much better than Test Track does. I hope that explains it?

I've actually never been on either of those rides yet, but that does help. I've read about both rides and watched on-ride videos. Looking forward to finally trying Test Track out next year! Last time I was at Epcot, that pavilion was still called World of Motion!
 
I've actually never been on either of those rides yet, but that does help. I've read about both rides and watched on-ride videos. Looking forward to finally trying Test Track out next year! Last time I was at Epcot, that pavilion was still called World of Motion!

Test Track is definitely fun, though I like Radiator Racers a lot better (they use the same technology but Raditor Racers adds more Disney magic to it). I would have loved to be able to have seen EPCOT back in the old days of EPCOT Centre!
 
I am loving your trip report. Your pictures are gorgeous!! Even my DH took notice as he walked by as I was looking at your Shanghai Disneyland pictures and said "Wow, where is that?!" :)
 
I am loving your trip report. Your pictures are gorgeous!! Even my DH took notice as he walked by as I was looking at your Shanghai Disneyland pictures and said "Wow, where is that?!" :)

Thank you, that's so nice to here they draw people in Shanghai Disney is beautiful and unique though! Glad you are enjoying reading along
 
So I've been reading all of your old trip reports-a combo of planning for my own WDW trip as well as procrastination at work! They are all so awesome! And I now want to take a Disney cruise, which I've never wanted to do before! Your photos are just gorgeous and I love some of the shots of you at Palo and Victoria & Albert-you just look like a Disney princess, like Belle! Jared is also super adorable and I love you guys as a couple!

I also realized we were at Disneyland on the same day and may have passed each other! One time you went and mentioned an AP event that was only in Frontierland, Adventure, and NO Square (20th anniversary of Indy ride)-I definitely went to that and would have walked through the Hub around the time you were taking photos! Wasn't in the background though-but that would have been hilarious!

Next time you come (I know it won't be for a few years) you should try to plan for Dapper Day-don't know if you've ever been to one but the people watching is awesome-so many great outfits and themes. Bigger crowds, but if you prioritize atmosphere over rides it isn't a problem.
 
So I've been reading all of your old trip reports-a combo of planning for my own WDW trip as well as procrastination at work! They are all so awesome! And I now want to take a Disney cruise, which I've never wanted to do before! Your photos are just gorgeous and I love some of the shots of you at Palo and Victoria & Albert-you just look like a Disney princess, like Belle! Jared is also super adorable and I love you guys as a couple!

I also realized we were at Disneyland on the same day and may have passed each other! One time you went and mentioned an AP event that was only in Frontierland, Adventure, and NO Square (20th anniversary of Indy ride)-I definitely went to that and would have walked through the Hub around the time you were taking photos! Wasn't in the background though-but that would have been hilarious!

Next time you come (I know it won't be for a few years) you should try to plan for Dapper Day-don't know if you've ever been to one but the people watching is awesome-so many great outfits and themes. Bigger crowds, but if you prioritize atmosphere over rides it isn't a problem.

Aww, thanks for the lovely compliments - any day someone tells me I look like a Disney Princess is a good day for me ❤️❤️

Yes we LOVED our Disney cruise (we are still in touch with our "Disney Cruise Family" - in fact we just got a pin from Todd and Kim from the Disney Wonders first Panama Canal cruise the other day). I wasn't sure about cruising going in, I didn't think it would be my style (I like activities when I'm on holidays, doing and seeing things, and I'm not really a sit by the beach and relax type of person). What I found was that I really enjoyed relaxing on the cruise, and that when I was done relaxing there were plenty of things to do to occupy me!

It's so cool to think we might have passed each other that day at Disneyland! That trip was actually my favourite of the 4 times we've been so far, I'd never seen the cherry blossoms in bloom and it was so beautiful! I remember being equal parts in envy of and annoyed at the annual pass holders coming in for that event (envious because I wanted to be one of them and annoyed because we weren't going to get our empty Main Street photos ). It just be so amazingly wonderful to be able to go to the parks whenever you want!

Dapper Day does sound awesome, I've read about it but never experienced it for myself ... plus I think I've decided spring at Disneyland is the best time to visit (we were there very early spring but loved it) - dapper day is later though isn't it? In May? So I can imagine it would be busier!!

I'm really glad you are liking the reports - and that the link work We actually had a cheaper DSLR for that trip so I'm always excited to see the photos hold up against the ones taken with our new camera. I am so craving a Disneyland trip right now though, even just a week would be amazing! Hopefully soon!
 
Aww, thanks for the lovely compliments - any day someone tells me I look like a Disney Princess is a good day for me ❤️❤️

Yes we LOVED our Disney cruise (we are still in touch with our "Disney Cruise Family" - in fact we just got a pin from Todd and Kim from the Disney Wonders first Panama Canal cruise the other day). I wasn't sure about cruising going in, I didn't think it would be my style (I like activities when I'm on holidays, doing and seeing things, and I'm not really a sit by the beach and relax type of person). What I found was that I really enjoyed relaxing on the cruise, and that when I was done relaxing there were plenty of things to do to occupy me!

It's so cool to think we might have passed each other that day at Disneyland! That trip was actually my favourite of the 4 times we've been so far, I'd never seen the cherry blossoms in bloom and it was so beautiful! I remember being equal parts in envy of and annoyed at the annual pass holders coming in for that event (envious because I wanted to be one of them and annoyed because we weren't going to get our empty Main Street photos ). It just be so amazingly wonderful to be able to go to the parks whenever you want!

Dapper Day does sound awesome, I've read about it but never experienced it for myself ... plus I think I've decided spring at Disneyland is the best time to visit (we were there very early spring but loved it) - dapper day is later though isn't it? In May? So I can imagine it would be busier!!

I'm really glad you are liking the reports - and that the link work We actually had a cheaper DSLR for that trip so I'm always excited to see the photos hold up against the ones taken with our new camera. I am so craving a Disneyland trip right now though, even just a week would be amazing! Hopefully soon!

Yes, being a passholder is awesome! I had one from nov 2014-2016 then thought I wouldn't get one this year with my WDW trip. Of course I had serious Disney withdrawal, so I went ahead and got a new one in April. I've been going most weekends even if just for a few hours-helps me relax and shut down from stress at work! I'm actually probably going tomorrow-need to upgrade my DLR pass to a Premier WDW/DLR pass, because it will save money for the fall (extra room discount, plus food discount and no ticket cost).

Dapper Day is usually end of April/beginning of May. Next year it is April 22. The crowds at the parks are definitely 9/10 if not worse! Lots of locals who just show up for that day, and they pick a day where APs aren't blocked out! And because there are more visitors who also come special the parks can be busier in the week before or after! But it's worth it! In 2016 it was coincidentally the same day as Bat Day (where people dress in goth attire), which was amazing! So many people dressed in fancy old outfits as well as extreme black outfits with crazy hair/tattoos.
 
Day 24 - Part 1 - Robots!

So we had said goodbye to our theme park touring on this trip, but we still had plenty of fun left to experience in Tokyo. Tokyo city is incredible, and the city has plenty of experiences that make it seem fantastical, in therefore in a way theme park like. The best way I can describe this wacky and over the top crazy Japanese culture is by the phrase Jared and I have coined over our few visits to Tokyo "only in Japan". This modern Japanese counter-culture, which showcases over the top art, fashion and entertainment, can be best described as imaginative and child like. While there is plenty of traditional culture and sites to see in Tokyo, this counter-culture, with it's fun and bright optimistic craziness, is one of our favourite things about Japan. I really love Japan's history and culture in general, but I love how I am constantly surprised by it's kookiness too!

The reason I'm going on about this counter-culture is because on our first night in Tokyo City we experienced just one of these many "only in Japan" experiences, the Robot Restaurant.

But before I get ahead of myself, well start where we left off, at the Tokyo Disney Resort. We had checked into the Tokyo Hilton Bay on our last night (to save some money!). The hotel was nice, simple but well appointed, plenty of space and a large bed. It was within easy walking distance from the Bayside Station, the Tokyo Disney Resort Line station closest to the partner hotels in the property (there are about 6 hotels here, two Western chains - the Hilton and the Sheraton). The next morning we checked out as late as possible, enjoying sleeping in! We had booked a taxi to our hotel in Tokyo city, Citadines Central Shinjuku. Jared had managed, in the past, to find a flat rate taxi company that charges a flat rate fare between the city and Tokyo Disney, but I'm fairly certain we weren't able to find that company this time around and we ended up paying about 10000 yen for the taxi (that's about 130 AUD). Still we didn't feel like lugging our luggage on trains again, and we felt we could justify the splurge for this last transfer. The taxi driver was wonderful though. He spoke excellent English, and excitedly told us all his favourite things about his city, plus he gave us an English guide map that he had to help us find our way around Tokyo.

We arrived in Shinjuku, where we were staying, around lunchtime. Shinjuku is the entertainment destination within Tokyo city. The last time we visited we stayed on the business side of Shinjuku at the Tokyo Hilton Shinjuku, which was a great hotel. This time around their rates were ridiculous, and we decided to try find something more on the entertainment side (though we were a little worried it would be a bit of a dodgier area). Citadines Central Shinjuku was great, though the rooms were very small we still had enough room for the two of us, and it was extremely well located, right in the centre of Shinjuku. I will say this about Japan, we were located right in the heart of an area teeming with Nightclubs, brothels and other dodgy venues (they were there, we saw them), but we never once felt unsafe or accosted! I think Japan in general is a much safer place than most Western Countries, with a much lower crime rate. The area we stayed, along with the dodgy stuff, housed plenty of restaurants and eateries and shops, as well as entertainment that wasn't dodgy!

When we arrived we decided to explore and find lunch. I'm ashamed to say I was not in the mood for Japanese food that day, and was craving Burger King, so we found one and I enjoyed another gluten day while I ate the burger (do you ever just have those days where you want takeway :P). After lunch we decided to make a trip to the local 7-11 type store (forget it's name now) to get some supplies for our room and we could not pass up getting a whole pile of Japanese candy (lollies to us Aussies) and chocolate. We made sure to get our favourite Japanese snack (well Jared's anyway), Pocky - which biscuits sticks dipped in chocolate, or other fruit flavours. Whatever the candy we got (see the bag with the picture of the Apple) it was delicious, and fruity and just plain yum, and I have decided Japanese candy is officially the best on earth!



We of course had plans to head out that evening to the Robot Restaurant, and we needed to eat dinner first. So we walked all around Shinjuku looking for a Shabu Shabu restaurant. Shabu Shabu is a kind of Japanese dining which involves a hot pot of stock with tofu and veges, very thinly sliced beef that you swish through the boiling stock to eat! You eat as much as you can, with rice of course, and then your stock pot becomes soup that you drink. The only place we could find was tiny and small, and we were at a loss for what to do, and running out of time, when a friendly Turkish man handed us a flyer for his Turkish restaurant, and we thought "why not, they'll serve GF options and it's right here".

Turkish food may have been a strange choice in Japan, but let me tell you now, the food was amazing, the ambience beautiful, and the view over Shinjuku perfect. If I could remember the name of the place I would let you know it, but I'm afraid I didn't write it down (we were so busy) and so all I can show you are the few photos we took







We had a great chat with the owner before our food was bought. He spoke English well, and it was a great conversation, though I remember none of it now. The food was very authentic, and I discovered how much I love real Turkish food. The flavours on the meat kebabs were incredible, and we ordered some cheese spring roll type things that were amazing (I believe they are called Borek). In addition Jared ordered a cheese flatbread that he said was to dye for (I only tried the spring rolls, not wanting to have too much more gluten that evening).

After dinner we made our way to the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku. This was our second visit to the Robot Restaurant, our first was in 2013. On our first visit the place we not very well known to Gaijin Tourists (we were one of perhaps only a few Westerners at the show) but since our last visit it's apparently become extremely well known amongst tourists as one of those things you have to do in Tokyo, as there were so many Westerners this time around. The show itself is insane, the lighting, the costumes, the floats, the tiny basketball sized display area!

Now the show had also changed quite a bit since we saw it in 2013. Personally, I liked the 2013 version better. For one thing, it was completely in Japanese. While this may not seem like something that would make it better for a Western Audience, there was something about not knowing what was going on that made it even kookier. This time around the host spoke in English and explained the storyline, which was weird and a bit pathetic, so it's probably better when we didn't know what was going on. I'm guessing it's now presented in English as it draws mostly foreign tourists. For those who are interested the story basically revolves around these girls who live in a natural forest world with their animal co-inhabitants. Alien robots attack from outer space and the girls and animals fight these robots, and then at some point make peace and party with the robots (different looking robots though). The story still doesn't make 100% sense even in English, and the show itself has changed quite a bit as well since the 2103 version, getting rid of some of the more risque scenes (like the Burlesque scene) but also some of my favourites (Robots dancing Gangamn Style was replaced with a less impressive Michael Jackson mash up). In addition, there was a pause in the older show where we got to go and have our pictures taken with the robots, which didn't happen this time around.

Though the show had changed the entrance area was basically the same. You'll see it below and it will give you an idea of how crazy the design of this show is. Everything is gold, or lit up, or mirrored. If it it's not a mirror it's a giant LCD screen showcasing the girls from the show. This time around there was a robot band who played while we waited for the show to start.





















See what I mean, crazy! Below is a video of the lights and fun in all it's glory.


We waiting in the very crowded waiting area for about 30 minutes and then were led down to the main theatre. As I said earlier it's really small. There are three rows of seats on both sides of a staging area that's about as big as a basketball court (or perhaps a tennis court, which is bigger :P). You'll see in one of the pictures below, but the area is not at all large, and considering what they manage to fit on stage it's really incredible how small it actually is.





See - tiny!



The show starts off with two floats of crazy costumed performers (the costumes seem slightly traditionally inspired but are also mixed with Harajuku crazy fashion elements) playing Japanese Taiko drums.

















Continued in Next Post...
 
Day 24 - Part 2 - Robots vs Wresters, ahem, Girls and Cows!

To finish off the opening sequence was a bit of Samurai sword play, not hugely well done I might add, but still fun!














After the opening we moved right into the main show segment - the battle. I call this part of the show "Robots Vs Wrestlers" as an tribute to How I Met Your Mother, though it's more like Robots vs Cows (and Girls) so not quite as masculine. Still it's great fun. The dancer put up chain link fences and people in the first row are warned not to put their hands out or up too high, and the battle begins. First up is a dodgy version of Kung-Fu Panda on a cow!





Then it's some sort of Phoenix's turn.



Oh yeh, he shoots fire!





This is the giant spider that giant spider girl rides!



Oh and a shark, ridden by a mermaid (cos why not!)



the giant snake was probably the most impressive!









So the whole time these animals (and girls) of the forrest have been fighting evil alien robots. Here's their side of the story.

















I'm afraid to say the eventually lose to the giant snake!



Or perhaps it was the giant dragon thing!



Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
Day 24 - Part 3 - Partying with Robots

The final section of the show seems to indicate that the inhabits of the jungle have made some sort of peace with the robots (though very different robots to the angry looking ones they wrestled) and now we all party together. This next part of the show the dancers had some really fun lit up outfits, green lasers attached to the hands and they proceeded to boogie to a remix of Michael Jackson songs (this was cool, but my main disappointment was that the scene we saw in 2013 included larger robots (performers in awesome suits on stilts) and gangham style, which just worked so well with the kookiness of the show! I should also mention it was around this point in the show that our cameras autofocus just seemed to konk out! As a result Jared took most of these shots with a manual focus and as a result they are less perfect than they could have been.



















I'm happy to report that, in true MJ fashion, the dancers performed the Smooth Criminal lean move!





Before the 'party' section of the show the audience were all handed glow sticks to use to really get into the fun. And we did, we waived them to the music, cheered and sang! Everyone really gets into it - it's so much fun!









The final part of the show was the finale, which, compared to the last version, was a little disappointing. The floats were a bit weird, I didn't actually know the song but it had some lyrics about Crazy Horses and it was just a bit weird. I liked the last finale, which was sort of more of an American Army theme better. Also, there wasn't as many cool robots in the finale as last time (and by cool I mean big because they had huge robot costumes with guys on stilts the last time)! We did get introduced to the girls though:







Here are the weird horse things







these were the biggest robots that came out this time around







All in all it's still an incredibly fun, "only in Japan" experience and despite my griping that the 2013 version we saw was better, we really enjoyed going again. I would definitely recommend the show to anyone going to Tokyo as one of those must see things to do while there.



Back outside the restaurant I had a picture with one of the giant robot floats that I remember from the 2013 version of the show that isn't actually in this version of the show (but still exists as a photo op apparently).



Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
Day 24 - Part 4 - Night in Shinjuku

There isn't much more to say about our evening, except that we wandered through the streets of Shinjuku back to our hotel. If you've never seen Shinjuku it's really something. There are thousands of lit up advertisements everywhere, but unlike somewhere like Time Square in New York, the signs are all vertical, as Japanese is written from top to bottom. This means that they can fit so many more and the whole area is like a giant neon canvas of multicoloured Mosaic tiles.

Here, I'll show you.















This was our street. I loved the lit up trees with their sparkling fairy lights.









I'm sorry to say the auto focus was still playing up during these shots, so they aren't as sharp as I would have liked. If I could have I would have set up the tripod for the shots but of course if you did that in the centre of Tokyo's night-district you and your camera would be bowled over before you could get your shot done! There were so many people in Shinjuku, it sort of felt like being in Time Square, but instead of the really crazy crowds being contained in one Square area they were all over the streets and narrow alleys.

Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:
Day 25 - Part 1 - Owls!

Our second day in Tokyo we had planned a few site-seeing activities. We had visited Tokyo once before, and so we'd seen a number of things already, and today we wanted to focus on some more of those 'only in Japan' experiences, full of wacky fun Japanese counter-culture style. With that in mind, we'd be visiting the Fuko-no-Mise Owl Cafe, the Meiji Shrine, Akihabara and Japan's largest electronic's store, Yodabashi and the Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku.

We started off heading towards the Fuko-No-Mise Owl Cafe. It's located near the Tsukishima Station - Exit 10, and while on the day we visited the cafe opened at 12, we planned to get there at 10am. The reason for this is that we had read a guide that had suggested the cafe was very popular (and it was a Sunday) so that you should get there early in order to book a time. It turned out the the giant Shinjuku Station was harder to navigate to our location than expected, and so we actually didn't get to the Owl Cafe until 10:30. Still, we were the only people there (no line yet), and when they staff started taking reservations at about 11, we got in the first group booking at 12pm that day.

With an hour to kill we decided to go find some lunch. Just across the road was a chain store called Jonathon's. It was sort of the Japanese Family Restaurant, the equivalent of an Olive Garden, serving Japanese food with a Western twist. We actually really enjoyed the food, I had teriyaki beef and Jared had more Tonkatsu. In addition we ordered a side of truffle fries with seeded mustard mayo, which were delicious!

After lunch we made our way back to the Owl Cafe for our appointed visitation time, 12:00 - 12:45pm. The Cafe was adorable, and we held and saw so many owls. They also have Harry Potter cosplay outfits that you can dress up in for photos with the owls. They had plenty of safety proviso's, and seemed to care for the animals welfare. The cafe was tiny though, and I wasn't sure how I felt about some of the larger owls being confined to it. It seemed to me though the birds were basically the pets of these shop owners, bred for the purpose of being pet owls. In addition, it seemed like there were plenty of locals who, not owning their own pets, came down to the cafe regularly to spend time with 'their bird'.

Only 8 people were allowed in at time, for the Owl's sake I think but also because the cafe was quite small.

The owls themselves seemed to enjoy interacting with us. They also love to try stare away from the camera, as if they knew that we wanted their picture and they didn't want to comply! Jared had a baby of only 8 months who he loved too. This particular breed made a noise like a dog barking, which was very interesting to hear.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, here are some pictures of the owls. We started off having a going at holding the smaller owls.















With our fears about how it would feel to hold them calmed, we decided to try some of the bigger owls!











I love this photo! The owl seemed to copy Jared's movement!



Here I think he just wanted to fly out the door, which he was looking at in this photo!









I actually took this picture, and can't believe i did (it looks to me like a Jared shot!). This was our owl trying to fly up. We were told if they did this, you had to put your hand up in the air and gently pull them back down to your hand!



Next I decided to put on one of the Harry robes, because, why not! This owl looked sufficiently Harry Potter like, so we spent some time with him!

















Continued in Next Post...
 
Last edited:

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top