Tokyo Disneyland

Let's just start at the end. On the subway home Jack asks me, "So what kind of drink are you going to have when we get home? Vodka and tonic? I think I may just go straight for the whiskey. Yes, after a day at Disneyland we were shot. No surprise there, but I did have my fantasies if only for a while. I don't need to tell anybody how well the kids did or didn't do. Yes, I am glad we went. Yes, they drove me nuts. No, it was not magical.

Although I know I can't complain about the weather when those of you in the midwest and east are having stormy weather; windy and cold does not make for an enjoyable time at Disneyland. I saw 60 in the forecast. When we left fantasyland it was raining, windy and hmm below 40? Despite the miserable weather as we ducked in and out of shows and rides we were able to warm up and gear up for another bone chilling time waiting in line.

One attraction put us in our own special line because we needed English translation. As we got closer to the entrance we were separated from the Japanese in our own roped off corner against a wall with a handful of other English speaking people. Then we were told we had to sit in the second to last row where we would have our own headphones speaking English. That felt a bit odd. Why not the middle row, why not the last row? No, the second to last row. Our last ride was Space Mountain, an excellent choice for all. Connor was a trooper. We put him in the front with me and he didn't make a sound, possibly because I couldn't hear him over my own screaming, but he was smiling and not crying at the end. Probably shock.

We tried to time this visit to Disneyland before the Japanese were out of school. It really never matters where you go in Tokyo - it's always really crowded. This is something I will tolerate for our time here, but not something that I enjoy every time we go on a family outing. Even when it's 'not crowded', it's crowded. And all day it looked like it was going to rain. All I could think of was, 'Where are all the people going to go when these skies opened up?'

I thought Disneyland at Christmas would be great, all the lights, decorations, music. It would make up for a little something we were missing from home this year. But the Japanese wishing us a Mawry Christmaaaas didn't quite do it. An A+ for effort though...so very merry! Each Christmas performance was bright and colorful and I could sing along although they were signing Rudolph in Japanese, I was singing in English.

So when you are done with the exciting, but exhausting day you get the kids into the car and they all fall asleep on the way home. Oh yeah, 2 subways and a 1 train before we arrive at our doorstep. Maybe I shouldn't be writing this post 3 hours after we got home when things are still so raw. But yes, we had to do it. Yes, I had unrealistic expectations. Yes, I will still have hope the next time we venture out into Tokyoland after I recover in about a month. It's kinda like having a baby, if you allow enough time to pass you forget all the pain that you felt while going through it and you are willing to do it all over again. Okay, I realize that's a little extreme.

Windy, before it got cold...Connor is behind me
I was so close to buying a hat like Kate's - and I certainly wouldn't have been the only adult.


Freezing! Swiss Family Robinson house - the only attraction NOT crowded - because it was up in the trees and everyone else was smarter than us knowing how cold and windy it was up here! Scary skies.

The people and the tree and the people.