Tokyo Fun Trip: A Day at Disney World

Saturday we went to Tokyo Disney World.  Honestly, if you have been to one, you have seen it all.  It was pretty much identical to Disney Florida.  It is been so long since I have been to Disneyland in CA, I can't really remember much, but it is probably the same there as well.  This does not mean it wasn't fun though!

We arrived about 8:30 and the bus wasn't coming back for us till 9pm.  I have never spent that much time at an amusement park!  We did stay busy till the end though and the girls had a good time.  Delaney proclaimed it, The BEST trip ever!".  I am glad, because it was a freakishly hot day.  I think the heat index was 105, but somehow the humidity always makes it feel so much worse.   I'm pretty sure I spent the entire day with a stream of sweat down my back, and going to the bathroom is no fun when you have to pull up saturated unmentionables.

But I digress....

That is the Disney Resort hotel back there.  Gorgeous!  And huge. 

We ended up waiting over an hour for the Monster's Inc ride.  Delaney remained cheerful, but her sister did not. 

After the ride life was rosier.

BEST ride EVER!  Star Tours was the unanimous favorite and we rode on it twice.  I know, not a good shot, but we were styling' in our 3d glasses. 

Eagerly waiting to ride the cars. 

So hot down there, but Callie was excited to "drive" her own car. 

Me and my driver.  Delaney was a little unsure at first, but got it down quickly. 

Go Callie, go! 

Waiting to get out at the end. 

We snacked on these "Pizza Springrolls", and Delaney was impressed by the cheesiness. 

Fooling around in Toontown. 

Yes, Callie loved Toontown and all it's fun things to mess with. 

 My cool kid.

I am so hot and sweaty right here.  I was documenting the overheating misery. 

They found the details on this Dumbo to be fascinating. 

 We went on a canoe ride!  I do not recall this ride at a recent Disney, but I think I remember it from when I was a kid.  You just get in a canoe, they give you a paddle, and you paddle around Tom Sawyer's Island.  Callie is posing with the bear by the ride.

Enjoying the barge ride to Tom Sawyer's Island. 

The girls LOVED the bridges. 

This bridge was built on floating barrels and caused much hilarity and fun. 

Delaney had a little trouble, but liked it very much.

You can barely see, but I'm pointing to the Cinderella castle.  You'll need to make the picture bigger to see it.  And yes, my hair is quite wet with sweat!

The castle! 

Having seen the one it is copied after, I love it! 

Delaney thought the Japanese girls jumping for photos was awesome.  So we did some too. 

We saw part of the Electric Parade, then ran to ride a few more rides.  I think this carousel was about the last ride.  We got the most delicious ice cream cones on the way out, bought our bus, and went to the hotel very tired and happy.

Tokyo Fun Trip: The City Tour

 I knew I would not be confident adventuring out into the city, so I signed up for the optional tour.  I'm glad I did.  The girls did not enjoy it as much as I did, but it got us out seeing cool stuff.

We went to the Tokyo Tower first.  I was worried about Delaney being afraid of heights, so we did not buy the tickets to go to the second viewing station. I wish we had.  But we did go up to the First Observation Statin, which is 150 meters up.  It was impressive, especially the "look down" window.

Next we drove by the Emperor's Imperial Palace, but we couldn't see much through the giant stone walls and blowing trees. We stopped at Asakusa, at the Sensoki Buddhist Temple.  Well, we stopped in the area and did a bit of wandering about to get to the Temple, sidetracked frequently by all the lovely souvenir shops.  It was very hot and we had to stop for some delicious popsicles.

We met back up with our tour group at the ferry and got on a super-cool boat for an hour cruise down the river.  We got off the ferry at Odaiba, where we spent an hour or so checking out the mall there. Then we got back on the bus and went back to the hotel.  We got back to our room with enough time for me to get dinner and change and head out to the Temple.

Delaney did not find the Tokyo Tower impressive from this perspective.  It is 333 meters (1,091 feet) high and is the second tallest structure in Japan.

150 meters up, and checking out the "look down" window. It is a window build into the floor and is awesome! 

Delaney was just a bit nervous to step out on it. 

And then Callie had to ham it up. 

It was pretty impressive. 

Yeah, I was there! 

Another great bathroom sign photo. 

We got a fantastic view of the city.  It really looks like it just goes on and on forever, from all directions.

This was interesting.  It is a baseball that was found in the very top of the tower when they were doing some work on it.  The question being, HOW on earth did it get 300 meters up into the antenna? They call it "the mystery ball".

Delaney was done and bored now. 

Driving through the city and this is what Callie was doing.   

Asakusa and the giant lantern that leads into the shopping area. 

 Who doesn't want to pose with a giant lantern behind them?

Hot girls, tasty popsicles and an awesome 5 story pagoda! 

So quintessentially Japanese!  Lovely ladies in traditional Yucatas, taking selfies in front of the temple.  Awesome.

 Delaney is finding her zen, but Callie is just hot.

I love it! 

Callie cracks me up. 

Waiting at the ferry.  Apparently that giant golden poo is some artsy thing on a building.  Weird. 

See Lego-man, must pose. 

And Callie does like to get creative. 

 The observation deck on top of the ferry. 

 It was so pretty and fun!

This was the cool boat we were on. 

A Statue of Liberty?  Well, why not? 

There is a also Death Star on top of the Mall! 

And a happy me, after a Temple session.  It turned out the Friday, 7pm session was even in English!