Ok, let's start with my first full day at Disney.
I checked out of my hotel in Ikebukuro pretty early and made the trek through the subway out to Disney. I had thought there was only one train out to Disney, but this subway seemed a whole lot different to the one I caught the previous Friday night. I could be wrong. Whenever I needed to catch a train that wasn't a 'name' destination (ie, it's not listed as one of the main stops of the line) or required a connection, I'd just hit the Hyperdia website and follow whatever that told me to do. So this subway was a series of - walk down a long, straight corridor, go down an elevator, walk down a long, straight corridor, go down an elevator, and repeat, repeat, repeat. The claustrophobic in me tried not to think about how far underground I had gone (probably not that far in reality...)
This may have felt even longer due to the amount of luggage I was dragging with me. It was still only one suitcase, with a second one pack inside, but it was almost at bursting point. I even had to leave a couple of items of clothing in the last hotel room (I had prepared for that). Also, because I was trying to get to the parks at opening, I was battling peak commuter time. I know a lot of people mention this, but it's really not that bad to deal with. If you've ever dealt with peak commuter time in a train station in any major city, you'll be fine. The same rules apply - try to go with the flow of traffic (most places have an obvious side that everyone typically walks on - careful if you visit both Tokyo and Osaka, one of them sticks to the right, the other sticks to the left), if you're on your own going against it, walk along the walls, and if you have to stop, do so somewhere out of the way. In most train stations in Japan I found this pretty easy because they have lots of pillars throughout the area, and if you stand against the pillar on the opposite side of where the traffic is coming from, you're never in anyone's way. It's like water running past a rock, people just flow around you.
Anyway, getting off track...but sticking to the subject here is the train station you arrive at, JR Maihama:
Look at that beautiful, clear blue sky. I had that pretty much everyday I was in Japan. A couple of things to point out in this photo, on the very left hand side you can see a big brown boxy building, that's Bon Voyage a massive
Disney Store:
Just in front of that is a bridge walkway that you can walk over to Disneyland:
And on the right, you can't see it, but in that direction is the Resort Gateway Station, Resort Welcome Centre and Ikspiari. I don't have any photos of those (yet) so you'll just have to trust me.
Because I was travelling alone, and I don't consider spending a lot of money on a hotel room I only really sleep in worth it, I didn't stay at any of the Disney Hotels. However, because of the location of TDR, it doesn't make much sense to stay much further away than at one of the Official Hotels.
I ended up booking Hotel Okura, which cost at least half of what a Disney hotel cost, and, because of the way the resort is laid out and the efficiency of the monorail (arrived every four minutes at peak time, or every six minutes during the middle of the day and probably took maybe 10-15 minutes to do a full loop - not that you'd really do that - just amazingly easy) there really isn't that much benefit. Unless you really like the prettiness of the hotels, and I'll admit, they do look very pretty:
Or the extra *15 minutes* early entry
the Official hotels are just as convenient as the Disney hotels.
So, back to arriving. I walked into the Welcome Centre, this place covers both the Disney and Official Hotels. Disney Hotel check in is on ground floor, Official Hotels are checked in downstairs. Japanese efficiency strikes again - from 7:30 or 8:00, you can go in, drop off your bags, and they'll be delivered straight to your room while you're free to hit the parks! Then I walked over to the monorail station. The monorail isn't free, it costs something like 200 or 300 yen per trip, which isn't that bad, but can quickly add up if you're there for a few days and especially if you like to take a break in the middle of the day. The other option is to buy a multi day ticket. I bought the four day ticket, which cost 1400 yen, I think. This gives you a card to swipe rather than a single paper ticket, which is easier to deal with than having to stop at the machine each time, and the card is also super cute and Disney themed.
Here's a few more shots of the monorail, first from the station looking at one approaching:
Theming at the station:
And Christmas theming inside:
In just a few minutes, I reached DisneySea (I never actually spotted the Disneyland entrance from the monorail...):
I'm pretty sure I arrived just on or before opening. I really wasn't prepared for the number of people who were already lined up! I had read other trip reports about arriving an hour before and being surprised at finding 50 or 100 people already waiting. Each day I arrived, and I always arrived just before opening (damn Hotel Okura and their horrible beds) there was probably a few hundred people
at each gate! And because I was arriving via monorail, all I could do was look at the window in silent awe, and try and shuffle as quickly as I could (along with everyone else) to the line.
I should add here, the monorail was never really that busy, even if the parks and lines were. I'm not sure quite how that works, unless it's just because the monorail runs so frequently it keeps up with demand. But it was definitely nowhere near some of my experiences on say a WDW bus in terms of cramming people on.
Another thing I'll add here is that each 'gate' has two sections. One line for people buying tickets, and one line for people who already have tickets. Trust me...no one buys tickets. Everyone is already organised. So at each gate there's a great wall of people lined up waiting to get in, and then an equally big space of emptiness lol There are announcements continually playing explaining there's a line for buying and a line for pre paid in Japanese and English (on the last day I was there, they got the English part of it the wrong way around and I lost about my spot in the line by about 100 trying to clarify...grrr...)
It's also worth noting that the only place I could find to pick up an English map was at the ticket box. I saw many CM's walking around with a stack (no exaggeration) of maps in their back pocket, but I never asked if they had any English ones, so maybe they did. Given the number of westerners in the park (so very few, I think I saw four the whole time I was there), I doubt they would, but you never know. As I was on my own, this made getting an English map a bit tricky. Once that gate opens, the line moves very quickly! You do actually walk right past the ticket booth, so each morning I would lean over to the window and make a quick 'Englishmapplease' request as the line was moving lol. If you're there with other people, I would suggest one person gets in line and the other person goes to the window and asks for maps.
I had already planned that the first stop I would make would be to Toy Story Mania, which I missed the Friday before, and have also missed at WDW. I figured being there at opening, I'd have a pretty good chance. So, through the plaza, turn left at Mediterranean Harbor, and head towards American Waterfront. It's not that far, over a bridge and turn the corner into a longish, straight street directly into the ride entrance. It's at this turn of the corner that I was confronted with this:
All of these people were lining up for fastpasses! And can you see just how far the line of heads extends, how tiny they get at the end? And that sort of blank white wall down the end? At the left of that is the fastpass machines. It blew my mind to see that many people heading towards just one thing...! I figured if I tried to line up, by the time I got there the fastpasses would probably be gone. I was probably wrong, and from my later experience with the parks, the machines would have been manned with CMs to get people through as quickly as possible. Still, it would have been a big commitment of time to get just one fastpass.
So, instead of standing around with just about everyone else, I walked over to Journey to the Center of the Earth. On the way, I found the station where you can try for a ticket to Big Band Beat.
Looking at the map, I can't see the place actually marked, but from memory, it is just to the left of the entry to Myserious Island, where it meets the end of the bridge over Mediterranean Harbor. There weren't many people inside, so a CM came over and helped me through the process. There is an English button, and then I think you had to pick which show you wanted, how many people you wanted to secure tickets for and then scan your ticket, and then cross your fingers in hope for a positive Tinkerbell brrrrrr-ing sound
And that's what I got! I was kinda...oh yeah, cool...about it, but the elderly male CM gave a little positively surprised reaction, so I figured I was luckier than I first thought!
Then I walked over to Journey, grabbed a fastpass, and then jumped on the ride. Given everyone else was lining up for TSM, the ride was a walk on.
I was a bit nervous about this ride, given I hate drops, and more than that, I hate not knowing when a drop is coming. When I rode Indiana Jones, I had no idea what was going to happen at the end of the ride. So when *spoiler* the ball came rolling towards us, and then the car tilted down, I could feel my body flooding with adrenaline to prepare for a huge drop, when really it was just a little dip and then out to the exit *end spoiler*. I felt ridiculous for my body's overcompensation, but I can't control it.
When you walk into Mysterious Island (where JttCotE is located), it's a big volcano and crater. You can't really see the ride from outside, but it does travel through part of the edge of the crater. This part is open air, and is part of the drop, so you can hear the screams from people riding. This is what I was worried about. So the first time I rode it, I was gripping the front bar with all my strength lol. Turns out it's not that bad. Not as long as, say, Jurassic Park. I'm glad I made myself try because it's such an amazing ride! I won't give a blow by blow of what happens (I don't really remember to that much detail, probably from stressing about the upcoming drop lol) but the whole trip looks incredible. It's all set underground, so there's shiny crystals, and fire and lava, and then you turn a corner and there's a....you'll have to go and find out
Given my fastpass was less than an hour away, I figured I'd hang out in the area. So I took a few photos, booked a table at Magellan's, picked up one of the sausage gyoza buns that are sold nearby, and sat down and took in just where I was:
So, a couple of final notes on these photos - that sausage gyoza was gawdawful in my opinion...! I'm not a big fan of buns at the best of times, and this one really didn't change my mind. Sweet and sticky pastry wrapped around a salty, slimy, chewy roll of meat...bleh...I had a few bites to keep me going, but threw most of it out.
And the ticket to Magellan's - there was a CM waiting out the front, where there is a small desk and computer to make bookings. This amazed me all the way through Japan - the keyboards are all in English! - and so I lined up behind a couple of women who were standing beside the CM giving their details. When it came time to make my booking, I stood in the same spot as the previous people and gave my name. The CM tapped away at the computer, and I admit I was watching what she was doing, but just in a 'what else am I going to do' kinda way, but it must have made her nervous. She stopped tapping and then motioned for me to move and stand on the other side of her. I couldn't see any other reason for her to do this other than to have me standing less 'over her shoulder'. And then when I read the ticket, I realised she must have been struggling with my name. If I've got my Japanese characters (I think these are Katakana) she actually spelled my name as Tiana, or Tiyana. My name is actually Fiona, so it was pretty close. Still, I was chuffed that she gave me the name of Disney Princess
Next time I'm booking into a Disney restaurant, I'll have to try Aurora...Snow...Cindy...Jasmine lol