Melanie
03-16-2007, 04:44 AM
The Bounds Do Tokyo Disney
:mickey3: :sumo: :mickey3:
Cast of Characters -
Melanie (37) - that's me
James (37) - that's hubby
Josh (8) - oldest, loves Donald and thrill rides
Ryan (7) - youngest, loves Stitch and Goofy, lovin' the thrill rides now
Day Five:
Since it was our last day in the parks, our main goal was to secure the Lilo & Friends Luau lunch show at Disneyland. From our experience the day before, we knew we had to be at the gates early in order to be one of the first in the park, and then make the mad dash back to the Polynesian Terrace for reservations.
Thankfully, my wonderful husband understood that we didn’t all need to wait in that cold weather. That was silly. :D So he and Ryan took off about 7:15am and were at the gates by 7:30am for a 9:00am opening. Josh and I took our time getting ready, with plans to meet James and Ryan at the Polynesian Terrace as soon as we could get back there.
Score! They got reservations for the 10:10am show. We wanted the early show since we hadn’t meant to even go to Disneyland that day, as we had wanted another full day at DisneySea. But we had to try to get this lunch for our Stitch lover, and besides, what is a Disney trip without a character meal? James said they truly did have to sprint back to the restaurant with the masses.
We all met up there in Adventureland, and figured we’d get FPs for one last ride on Big Thunder before we headed over to DisneySea. The timing worked out perfect, as we’d just be getting done with our lunch when our time opened. In the meantime, we had time for just one ride before the show, and Snow White was most convenient. On our way back over to Adventureland, we ran into Mary Poppins (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2795208150048685994nyjQKV), who was just a pleasure to talk to. She insisted that we all knew how to speak Japanese better than she did, and the extent of her vocabulary was “konnichiwa”. She was very sweet! We also ran into Suzy (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2899335850048685994AmsdFk) and Perla (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2432925080048685994UHByjI) from Cinderella. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before out for meet and greets.
We arrived right around 10:00am for the show, and they pointed us to the side to wait. They finally came out and made an announcement and everyone started lining up, so we followed suit. When we entered the restaurant (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2302352660048685994mjKjDC), all the servers were standing there in their Hawaiian garb greeting us enthusiastically while doing the “hang loose” gesture. It was going to be a lively show, I could tell. :tikki:
They led us to our table and the poor CM tried, but we just couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell us. I felt so bad. He got a very sweet girl who spoke excellent English (she wasn't Japanese) and she ended up taking care of us for the rest of the meal. It worked out great.
As you can tell in this picture (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2086820700048685994AdWSnv), we had a salad tortilla something or other waiting for us, and Ryan’s kid’s meal had some sort of soup. He and James ended up trading. The salad thing was yummy! I have no clue what I was eating, but I’ve become pretty used to that since moving here. :eek2: Our lunch was chicken of some sort, with fresh vegetables. I honestly can’t remember what the kid’s meal was. And we had this awesome drink that we couldn’t get enough of. Don’t know what it was either, but I bet we all had three or four refills. Delicious!
The atmosphere (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2907944100048685994WQXIIm) in the restaurant was great! I felt like we were at the Polynesian at WDW. Before we knew it, the show had begun with our two hosts (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2127055880048685994KKPRQx) welcoming us. Granted, we had no idea what they were saying, but it was impossible to not get caught up in the fun. Lilo brought out Stitch (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2002820610048685994flZxvF), then Chip ‘n Dale (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2232566130048685994FpJSkG) and finally Mickey and Minnie (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2116515650048685994ldcIFx). They were all in their Hawaiian best and ready for the Luau fun! :lei:
After the introductions, the characters started making their rounds at the tables. During this time, the host called each character up for their own little spotlight moment. We first saw Stitch (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2352327530048685994WUzylg) (how appropriate), then Lilo, then Dale (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2960557910048685994ZHbCRM), Minnie, Chip and finally Mickey (my favorite (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2234020380048685994ieInpt)). One of my favorite pictures of the trip is Mickey and Ryan (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2860457110048685994avzJvU). Mickey was shaking his nose at him - I've never seen him do that! The characters did not sign autographs, only did pictures. We did get a nice picture at the end of the show though, with all of their autographs.
After the characters finished visiting, they called all the kids on stage (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2638763980048685994EjbIhC) to dance. Josh didn’t want to go (is he getting too old?) but Ryan was ready and willing. He had help from both Dale and Stitch, probably because he kept bugging them, and he had fun learning the hula. The main players then finished with a final dance (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2465286880048685994IefBnS). What a great time we had, and it was so worth waiting in the cold and rushing to the restaurant. Yeah, I know, easy for me to say. ;)
After the show, we took our full tummies on Big Thunder, but not a problem. Big Thunder ended up being the hit of the trip. We rode it four times and Ryan loved it more and more each time. It was then time to leave Disneyland and head to DisneySea, so after lingering a bit at World Bazaar (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2905728140048685994VvInnH), we head for the front of the park. There we run into characters galore. And we ended up staying there for at least 30 minutes. This was one of those unplanned Disney moments that are just so darn special. What fun we had with all these guys. It was not crowded at all, so we got a lot of attention from the characters. We seemed to attract Friar Tuck (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2616661490048685994pYclwI) for some reason, cause he kept following us around and wanted in all the pictures (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2074777980048685994tEmioA) with the other Robin Hood (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2870852170048685994HMODdq) characters. Too funny! The Three Little Pigs (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2966429770048685994QOzAOm) were in rare form, and Hook and Mr. Smee were up to no good (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2142595620048685994DmBdgY) as usual. And it’s always nice to see classic Donald (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2053471820048685994noLPCI).
:mickey3: :sumo: :mickey3:
Cast of Characters -
Melanie (37) - that's me
James (37) - that's hubby
Josh (8) - oldest, loves Donald and thrill rides
Ryan (7) - youngest, loves Stitch and Goofy, lovin' the thrill rides now
Day Five:
Since it was our last day in the parks, our main goal was to secure the Lilo & Friends Luau lunch show at Disneyland. From our experience the day before, we knew we had to be at the gates early in order to be one of the first in the park, and then make the mad dash back to the Polynesian Terrace for reservations.
Thankfully, my wonderful husband understood that we didn’t all need to wait in that cold weather. That was silly. :D So he and Ryan took off about 7:15am and were at the gates by 7:30am for a 9:00am opening. Josh and I took our time getting ready, with plans to meet James and Ryan at the Polynesian Terrace as soon as we could get back there.
Score! They got reservations for the 10:10am show. We wanted the early show since we hadn’t meant to even go to Disneyland that day, as we had wanted another full day at DisneySea. But we had to try to get this lunch for our Stitch lover, and besides, what is a Disney trip without a character meal? James said they truly did have to sprint back to the restaurant with the masses.
We all met up there in Adventureland, and figured we’d get FPs for one last ride on Big Thunder before we headed over to DisneySea. The timing worked out perfect, as we’d just be getting done with our lunch when our time opened. In the meantime, we had time for just one ride before the show, and Snow White was most convenient. On our way back over to Adventureland, we ran into Mary Poppins (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2795208150048685994nyjQKV), who was just a pleasure to talk to. She insisted that we all knew how to speak Japanese better than she did, and the extent of her vocabulary was “konnichiwa”. She was very sweet! We also ran into Suzy (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2899335850048685994AmsdFk) and Perla (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2432925080048685994UHByjI) from Cinderella. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before out for meet and greets.
We arrived right around 10:00am for the show, and they pointed us to the side to wait. They finally came out and made an announcement and everyone started lining up, so we followed suit. When we entered the restaurant (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2302352660048685994mjKjDC), all the servers were standing there in their Hawaiian garb greeting us enthusiastically while doing the “hang loose” gesture. It was going to be a lively show, I could tell. :tikki:
They led us to our table and the poor CM tried, but we just couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell us. I felt so bad. He got a very sweet girl who spoke excellent English (she wasn't Japanese) and she ended up taking care of us for the rest of the meal. It worked out great.
As you can tell in this picture (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2086820700048685994AdWSnv), we had a salad tortilla something or other waiting for us, and Ryan’s kid’s meal had some sort of soup. He and James ended up trading. The salad thing was yummy! I have no clue what I was eating, but I’ve become pretty used to that since moving here. :eek2: Our lunch was chicken of some sort, with fresh vegetables. I honestly can’t remember what the kid’s meal was. And we had this awesome drink that we couldn’t get enough of. Don’t know what it was either, but I bet we all had three or four refills. Delicious!
The atmosphere (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2907944100048685994WQXIIm) in the restaurant was great! I felt like we were at the Polynesian at WDW. Before we knew it, the show had begun with our two hosts (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2127055880048685994KKPRQx) welcoming us. Granted, we had no idea what they were saying, but it was impossible to not get caught up in the fun. Lilo brought out Stitch (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2002820610048685994flZxvF), then Chip ‘n Dale (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2232566130048685994FpJSkG) and finally Mickey and Minnie (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2116515650048685994ldcIFx). They were all in their Hawaiian best and ready for the Luau fun! :lei:
After the introductions, the characters started making their rounds at the tables. During this time, the host called each character up for their own little spotlight moment. We first saw Stitch (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2352327530048685994WUzylg) (how appropriate), then Lilo, then Dale (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2960557910048685994ZHbCRM), Minnie, Chip and finally Mickey (my favorite (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2234020380048685994ieInpt)). One of my favorite pictures of the trip is Mickey and Ryan (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2860457110048685994avzJvU). Mickey was shaking his nose at him - I've never seen him do that! The characters did not sign autographs, only did pictures. We did get a nice picture at the end of the show though, with all of their autographs.
After the characters finished visiting, they called all the kids on stage (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2638763980048685994EjbIhC) to dance. Josh didn’t want to go (is he getting too old?) but Ryan was ready and willing. He had help from both Dale and Stitch, probably because he kept bugging them, and he had fun learning the hula. The main players then finished with a final dance (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2465286880048685994IefBnS). What a great time we had, and it was so worth waiting in the cold and rushing to the restaurant. Yeah, I know, easy for me to say. ;)
After the show, we took our full tummies on Big Thunder, but not a problem. Big Thunder ended up being the hit of the trip. We rode it four times and Ryan loved it more and more each time. It was then time to leave Disneyland and head to DisneySea, so after lingering a bit at World Bazaar (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2905728140048685994VvInnH), we head for the front of the park. There we run into characters galore. And we ended up staying there for at least 30 minutes. This was one of those unplanned Disney moments that are just so darn special. What fun we had with all these guys. It was not crowded at all, so we got a lot of attention from the characters. We seemed to attract Friar Tuck (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2616661490048685994pYclwI) for some reason, cause he kept following us around and wanted in all the pictures (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2074777980048685994tEmioA) with the other Robin Hood (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2870852170048685994HMODdq) characters. Too funny! The Three Little Pigs (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2966429770048685994QOzAOm) were in rare form, and Hook and Mr. Smee were up to no good (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2142595620048685994DmBdgY) as usual. And it’s always nice to see classic Donald (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2053471820048685994noLPCI).