“Follow Me To…Hong Kong Disneyland” by Murad Osmann
He made the Disneyland club? No one makes the Disneyland club! Even *I* am not in the Disneyland Club!
That’s what Silv said, years ago when I informed her that I was inviting Amras to accompany to Cali the next time I went (We don’t know when that will be of course, but the invitation was extended, and accepted with grace).
Cali or not, the fact remains that I do not ask just anyone to come with me to a Disney park. There’s reasons for this, mostly to do with the fact that I can’t bear the idea of bringing someone who doesn’t “get” me, who doesn’t respect why these places are so very dear to my heart, doesn’t get why being part of my personal “Disneyland club” is…important to me.
It’s been five years since I was last in Tokyo (I know, how strange it is to actually measure something like that by “the last time I was here” whoever thought I would ever get to Tokyo more than once?). As was the case then, our call here is just close enough to my birthday that it never occurred to me to go anywhere else. I told Amras this months ago, and then I took a breath, and I asked him if he’d like to come with me…
I’ve never shared “my” Disney parks with anyone, not anyone important. Once I went to Hong Kong with a teammate, but other than that, season after season, I have always gone alone. Fear of letting people in runs high with me. But this time, I took someone else by the hand, and I pulled…
Welcome to my world…come on, let me show you around.
It was a long trip out there. Longer than I remembered from 5 years ago. But I was also ridiculously bouncy, which I’m sure was at least mildly amusing to the others who happened to be travelling with us.
It was also raining, I knew from past experience that this time of year that’s pretty much to be expected in Tokyo, so the good thing is that it wasn’t the kind of monsoon weather I braved last time I was here. The nice thing about the rain? The line to get in was nearly non-existent, although the park was crowded it was not nearly as much so as I had feared. Especially since it has been known to close it’s gates at noon during high season!
I had forgotten one thing about attending this particular park this time of year: it’s Halloween, and Halloween is BIG at Tokyo Disney, it’s the only time of year that guests are allowed to wear costumes to the park , and unlike the American parks, it’s not only restricted to guests under the age of 10. There were costumes everywhere, and these weren’t just slapped together drug store costumes, these were fully built cosplay affairs. Absolutely beautiful.
Amras had asked me before we left which ride I wanted to go on first. For me, there is only one answer to that. I pulled out the park map and scanned Fantasy Land
Which way?
Hang on, realigning myself with the layout, it’s been a while. Let’s see we’re at 83…it’s at…92…should be right around the corner.
And I grabbed his hand and walked him to Peter Pan’s Flight.
It’s an A-level ride in length, and it always has E-ticket lines. But this is something I absolutely have to do first.
What’s an E-ticket?
Oooh! I get to be a nerd! So, when the original Disneyland opened in California the admission didn’t include the rides…
And so it was that I stood in line and explained exactly what the terminology “E-ticket” and “A-ticket” stood for. I am, as many know, rather full of such things with regards to Disneyland trivia, and Mum & Dad actually have an original ticket book that still has its E-tickets in it! Which remains one of my very favourite collectables.
Peter Pan – which this time I did not try to film – was once again as it always has been. Now and for always that will remain my “I did it, I’m really here, I am not dreaming” ride. I still have no idea where the family tradition of going on that ride first came from, but I have no intention of breaking it. Perhaps part of me just belongs in Neverland. As Mum said when I made my now traditional call home from the castle “well there is ONLY one ride to go on first!”
From Fantasyland we started trying to figure out where to go next, I have never approached the parks with any kind of timetable (and I still don’t) but it had also been a long time since I walked those paths with anyone other than my family. And as my Mum likes to say “spontaneity takes a lot of planning!”. We sat down to pizza and poured over the park map.
So, we’re here…
I pointed to Captain Hook’s restaurant in Fantasyland
Peter Pan’s here
Another point
Let’s see now…I think Tomorrowland. Yup, definitely Tomorrowland…if we go …here…we can pick up the fastpass for Space Mountain. And we can check Star Tours at the same time…and then from there….
My eyes dart across the map to Critter Country
From there we can check the line for Splash Mountain…that one’s always long, might be best to leave that one till later…oh…and while we’re there…Pirates, we absolutely have to do Pirates.
I realize then that I can somewhat feel Amras looking at me, and I’m not sure if he’s puzzled or amused or perhaps just a tiny bit fascinated. It was then that I realized I really have inherited my father’s tendency to theme park plan. Like I said…spontaneity takes a lot of work. So we finished lunch and ambled over to Tomorrowland, only to discover that the next fastpass slot for Space Mountain was…8pm. Five hours away.
Not that five hours is hard to fill in Disneyland. We pocketed the fastpasses, and headed towards Westernland for Big Thunder Mountain. Well, correction, that’s where I wanted to go. But…I got lost. I know, me, me I got lost in Disneyland. I may never live this down. I got lost and we ended up in Adventureland instead…directly outside the entrance to the Jungle Cruise.
It was a sign I tell you! Obviously that’s what was supposed to happen!
Jungle Cruise is one of those rides that will always remain in my memory, perhaps it’s because it’s on my much viewed home video of that last trip as a kid to California. Perhaps the comedy script just embedded itself on my brain so that I would always have something to make me laugh no matter how dark the weather. But whatever the reason, I know it. I know it well enough that even though the version in Tokyo is – obviously – in Japanese, I was able to sit there, and recite the whole thing in English.
And over there we have the second most feared animal in the jungle, the African bull elephant. And over there on the other side is the most feared animal in the jungle, his mother-in-law.
And let’s see here we got some lions we got some giraffes we got some zebras and those brown ones with the horns? I have no idea what they are…they must be…gnu.
That one makes even me groan.
We slide gracefully down the river, with the engine revving and the guide chattering happily away. And as we went I found myself leaning over and repeating the English script in Amras’ ear, and yes, we did end up laughing at basically the same time as everyone else.
And those lions chowin’ down on that zebra there? That brings us to the basic law of the jungle…don’t be a zebra
Bottoms up fellas I’m sure you’ll get the point…in the end
Every version of the Jungle Cruise is a little different, and the version in Toyko features a beautiful temple section that isn’t in – as far as I know – any of the others. There’s little you can do in there except just stare in startlement at the exceptional detail on the walls. It is absolutely beautiful. Of course it’s also lulling you into a sense of security so when you emerge into the steam and the hippos start trying to jump out at you you are caught totally by surprise.
Yup, I will always love that ride.
Safely returned to land we hunted out Pirates. Much to my dismay the cast members strictly enforce a no photography rule on the most well known ride in New Orlean’s square. Which is sad, because Toyko still features the auction scene, which is being redone in California very shortly; I am 100% in support of it being redone, but I would have loved to have been able to get one last photograph of the original before it changes. Pirates will always be pirates though, no matter how many changes they may make to it. And even though I know exactly where the drops are and when to hang on and when to look in which direction, I will still always be entertained and enthralled by the self defense of a small coastal town….and I will still wonder if that dog is ever going to move!
When we emerged from Pirates, blinking into the growing twilight, we realized we had best get food or we might fall over. The lines for all the sit down restaurants were exceptionally long (dashing my tentative thoughts of treating us to Blue Bayou), so hot dogs it was, which we sat at nibbled on while I adjusted my newly purchased mouse ears and snapped pictures of Applejack with her new trick-or-treat container (yup, found one), while dusk started to fall over Cinderella’s castle. There is something about the castle at night, it looks…peaceful, peaceful and magical and…perfect.
See, now it feels like we’re in Disney
I looked at Amras and quirked an eyebrow
Hmmm?
Now it feels like we’re in Disney, looking at the castle, and you’re wearing the ears. Now it feels real.
Every so often in life there are moments where everything seems to go “click”…that was one of them. We sat in silence for a bit, finishing our hot dogs, until the park announcement rang out
Ladies and Gentleman boys and girls, in just 15 minutes we will light Cinderella’s castle with this evenings performance of Once Upon A Time
This was new. The last time I was here I don’t recall them having a castle show; if they did, I definitely somehow managed to not see it.
Shall we?
Japan is possibly the most beautifully considerate and polite country in the world, here you will find no screaming children, no shoving crowds, no people babbling too loudly on their phones. As such, it was wonderfully easy for us to find a spot at the edge of the viewing area that had a clear view of the castle. And then my jaw dropped as the castle became the screen.
There is no other way to describe it, and I have never seen anything like it. Fireworks and animations and lightening painted its way across the canvas of the castle, with a soundtrack such as only Disney can provide. I stood there, with Amras’ hands resting warmly on the tops of my shoulders, and for the first time that day, I felt my heart start to spill out of my eyes. There is a reason I never wear any make-up that isn’t waterproof to any Disney park. Especially when it comes to night-time shows, even if I’ve managed to make it through the entire day without shedding a tear, when I sit down to watching a parade of any kind of performance…something releases. The tears may come late, but they always come. They came in truth when – after Alice had been chased about by the Queen’s Guards and the castle had seemingly collapsed in a flurry of giant playing cards – a paint brush swept it’s way across the turrets, and lanterns began to rise into the painted sky.
All those years, staring out a window All those years, outside looking in All that time, truly seeing, just how blind I’d been Now I’m here, blinking in the starlight Now I’m here, suddenly I know… standing here, it’s crystal clear, I’m where I’m meant to go And at last I see the light…
Tangled. It had to be Tangled. Perhaps there was never any question. The story that is – at it’s heart – about a girl running off to find herself, and figuring out that world outside her tower is ever so much bigger than she ever could have believed. When I first saw the lantern scene in Tangled, I was in my 20s, I was in love, or I thought I was, it’s hard to know looking back; and I remember – after that love changed back to friendship – I remember watching that scene again and thinking “One day, one day I will have that, one day I will have something, someone, that makes me feel like that. That makes me see the world by latern light.” And there I was, in the middle of somewhere so important to me, somewhere I have more often than I wanted too stood alone, with someone standing behind me, hands resting on my shoulders, finally not watching a Disneyland nighttime show alone. Finally not hearing that song alone. Finally being there with the right person.
Are you okay?
Yes…yes I am absolutely okay.
There are some moments…that you can’t even describe just how okay you are. And can only be grateful that the person (or people) that you are standing with, knows the difference between your tears of sorrow and your tears of joy.
When the light show finished we found ourselves swirled back to Adventureland, where I actually did manage to find my way back to Big Thunder Mountain. Only to discover that it was closed for refurbishment (I later found out that it won’t be open again until November. Boo!), so we wandered about taking pictures until we found ourselves back in Fantasyland just in time to hear the announcement I had secretly been dreading hearing
Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, a Tokyo Disneyland announcement: we regret to inform you that due to inclement weather Disneyland’s Electrical Parade Dreamlights has been cancelled.
My heart sank. The announcement went on to state that there was a shorter alternate parade being run along a slightly different route as a replacement. But – much as I felt guilty – I somehow couldn’t bear to see a nighttime parade that wasn’t the one I had so set my heart on (although we did catch it from a distance and I will admit it looked lovely, small by lovely). I would normally never miss a parade…but there is only one electrical parade…and to be honest, I felt oddly as if I would be betraying it somehow. Silly I know…sometimes even I’m not sure how my mind works.
So instead we employed another one of the crowd-managing tactics that I have learned from my parents. If the parade is running and you aren’t going: the lines are going to be a lot shorter. Case in point: the Haunted Mansion had earlier had a full hour’s wait time, we turned around and walked onto it in fifteen minutes! Closed doors, opened windows and all that.
It being October, the Haunted Mansion has been decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas (something Applejack was none to thrilled about). I have only been through it with this set up once before, and I recalled not being very fond of it – but either they changed something about it, or my – dare I say it – traditionalist senses have mellowed, because I actually found it quite brilliant. I’d never really paid a lot of attention to the amount of detail that gets put into the overhaul, even Madame Leota’s speech changes, all for just a few months each year. It was also a blast watching Amras go through it for the first time, somewhat like watching a kid at a candy store.
Isn’t this a walk through?
Nope. Just the first part.
Don’t tell me anything!
I didn’t! By the way, the cars are called Doom Buggies.
I love it!
Overlay or not, the Haunted Manor is still a brilliant ride. Creepy, but brilliant. That said, with the Halloween overlay in place, I found myself having great fun going through and reminding myself which bits were in the original and which had been added.
What? I have never claimed ot be anything other than a nerd!
Once we survived the 999 ghostly residents of the manor, I looked around for something with a short enough line that we could enjoy it before heading to Space Mountain. I felt my eyes light up as I saw the exact perfect thing.
*I* see something we can ride
What?
Feel like spinning?
The line for Alice’s Tea Party (aka the spinning teacups) was blessedly short. Amras and I eyed each other up as we stood in the brief queue. You see, working the tea cups is a skill, one I only mildly possess, one that my father is an absolute master at, and one that I know Amras also has under his belt (I vividly remember how good he was at the Tilt-o-Whirl at the fair when he was visiting a few seasons ago)…I suspected I was about to become a toddler again. And, I was right. I have not laughed that hard in a very long time, nor have I spun that fast since I was little girl who was half-afraid she was going to fly right out of the tea-cup! Bloody brilliant.
When I stumbled off of the tea-cups (really, I needed to hang onto a railing for a moment), I took my traditional ride on the brightly-lit carousal, quietly thrilled that this time there was someone with me to occupy the horse next to me. It’s the little things, and perhaps I’ll never be able to explain it, but it remains important none the less. Very important.
And then it was finally time for our fast pass slot at Space Mountain.
I’ve said it before, and I still hold true to it – I have thoroughly adopted my Mum’s reason for loving Space Mountain: the requirement of total faith in the machinery. You can’t see it, so you really have no choice but to enjoy it.
As we started ratcheting up the ramp to launch, I remembered one thing.
Oh! Don’t put your hands up!
How come?
At that point the rocket launched and I had to raise my voice ot be heard above the rattle of the tracks
Dark coaster! Cant’ see the tracks! You might hit something!
And then it was moving way too fast to try to speak.
Freya but I love that ride.
Before leaving Tomorrowland we took our turn blasting Aliens through the Toy Story ride, an adventure that was delayed for a few moments while we ran out of the queue to watch the fireworks – having been caught by surprise because we thought they started later. Only to be surprised again to find that the fireworks show was only five minutes? That…was unanticipated. And then dash back into the queue to take up our lasers to battle the “evil emperor zurg” (the forces of good triumphed! Though the battle was strenuous!)
With twilight falling, there was only one E-ticket ride left to get to. After lengthy debate as to whether or not it was worth getting wet, we finally boarded Splash Mountain (spending more time walking through the near-empty queue than actually waiting), and joined Br’ar Rabbit in the briar patch; winding our way up and up and up, until eventually of course, what goes up? Has to come down! Rather a long way down…and for the first time ever, I was able to film the drop…which trust me, is an accomplishment. Yes, I also may or may not have screamed on said drop, even though I was prepared for it. What? It always catches me by surprise!
Feet aching but hearts light, we joined the last of the crowds making their way towards the entrance, where When You Wish Upon A Star finally reached my ears, and caught my breath once more, before we boarded the train and made our slow way back to Yokohama and our floating home (which we reached…at midnight).
Goodnight Neverland…I don’t think I ever really leave you.