Disney time!

Junya and I have been to the parks in Tokyo a few times (including when he was in my tummy!), but this April was our first visit as a family all together!

And… it was Sakura and the papa’s Tokyo Disney Resort debut. Yes. It was the danna’s first ever visit to a Disney theme park.😂

On the first day, we visited Tokyo DisneySea. It was their 35th anniversary with the theme “Happiest Celebration!”, I’ll talk more about that later on. ^^

(By the way, do you know that you can pre-book your Disneyland tickets here so that you don’t have to queue up on the actual day? :D)

DAY 1

Easter Spring Theme

Junya was looking impatient because he wanted to quickly meet Mickey. Didn’t have time posing for photos haha.

Spring is my absolute favorite season to visit Tokyo DisneySea because of their Easter theme! The entire park is embellished with the prettiest flowers in pastel hues, and all the Disney friends and cast members are dressed up in beautiful spring colors!

Look at how pretty the floral garden is!

Stella Lou

The first thing I did was to get a Stella Lou for Sakura (actually it’s for me hahaha. Buying for my baby girl is just an excuse.😂)

She didn’t seem too impressed haha. But right now, she asks for “Cellu” (Stella Lou) every single day! It’s really her favorite ^^

Ahoy captain JunJun!

I feel that finally at almost 4 years old, he is able to truly enjoy the parks. He went there on his 1st birthday, and 3 months later. He had fun then, but I think this time around he knows the real fun!

Blueberry Popcorn

While Sakura… as long as her hand can reach the popcorns, she was happy. ^^

The Stella Lou popcorn bucket is super cute! It is blueberry flavor and can be found at the popcorn wagon in front of Liberty Landing Diner at American Waterfront. Remember to hold on to your Tokyo Disney Resort map, as you can find the locations of the wagon if you are looking to get a particular popcorn flavor!

I really love Duffy and friends more so than any other Disney characters. Sooo happy to find all the cute displays here at Sea!

Photo frame.

Golden Mickey. More about that later!

I remember the first time Junya saw a Disney mascot, Marie, he burst into tears haha. When I queued up a good 45 minutes just to greet Duffy, he also cried at the sight of the giant cute bear. But this time, he was so excited to meet all the Disney characters. He was so happy to be able to fist-bump Mr Incredible.

While Sakura… nap with her new fluffy pastel friend.

Mermaid Lagoon

It is Tokyo Disney Resort’s  milestone year, and it is also Junya’s many new breakthroughs. First, he rode a roller coaster for the first time, with papa! (Cuz mama is too chicken to go on any jet coaster at all XD) This is Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster at Mermaid Lagoon.

He is eligible to go for most of the rides fortunately! If your child is over 90cm, get him to measure his height as one of the attractions and get an armband to qualify him for the rides with height requirement. ^^

After that he went on The Whirlpool again with papa.

 

Dining Aboard

It was evening time, we returned to the big ship at American Waterfront to wait for dinner. Junya went around exploring the deck like a true pirate. Haha.

And then we caught the most gorgeous sunset ever. It was so crazy because I swear the sun was sinking by the second!! It was fully still hanging in the sky and by the time I whisked out my camera, remove the lens cover and point at it, it’s almost gone.

All the Japanese girls around me were yelling excitedly because they too noticed that it was sinking way too quickly. And then they sighed in delight, “it was such a perfect moment. So glad we caught it in time!”.

Me, too. ^^

I love how kind the visitors are in Tokyo Disney Resort. Foreign tourist or not, everyone respects the rules, takes turn patiently, and helps each others out snapping photos, because we all know how much it means to have a nice group photo together. Thank you to the two young girls (I think they are from Thailand?) who helped us with this shot!

The danna was not around because he was waiting for our table at S.S. Columbia Dining Room. It is one of the best restaurants in Tokyo DisneySea and I was really glad we came here!

Disney-style fine dining! Seafood salad with lobster julee, I think. So yummy.

Mickey-imprinted round soft bread.

The roast beef was sooooooo good omg I wish I could order two plates of this. Sakura obviously had chupped her baby corn hahaha.

I usually skip dessert in a restaurant for course meal because they are usually meh but even the dessert here are super delicious! Lots of seasonal and limited edition touch to it too! We also bought a golden spoon that’s a 35th limited edition. ^^

Brighton Hotel Tokyo Bay

We spent the night a Brighton Hotel, a 10 mins bus ride away from Tokyo Disney Resort, and the best thing other than its free shuttle bus to the parks, is… the family room.

Four beds in total!! Super super spacious too. Big love!

 

DAY 2

As Tokyo Disney Resort is celebrating their 35th, Brighton is having its 25th!

The second day was the press day, we had media from all over the world to cover the 35th Happiest Celebration special features, and it was quite a activity-packed schedule!!

Tokyo DisneySea

Firstly we started at Tokyo DisneySea. I missed out this giant Easter Egg basket the previous day.

And got our favorite accessories and snuggly friends.

By the way the stroller Sakura is using is a rental from the park for 1000 yen a day! I really recommend getting one stroller for each kid because… well the parks are really big, and they are likely to want to take a rest or a nap in it. Haha.

Happiest Memory Maker

Along with many limited merchandise to commemorate this special year, Happiest Memory Maker is one of the must-haves for guests to enjoy the 35th anniversary in an interactive way!

There are a total of 35 Happiest Mickey Spots (as seen in the photo above) in gold color all over the parks, and you can use the Happiest Memory Maker when you are near these statues to activate the location, and the voice of Mickey or his friends will be heard!

Junya was holding on to his Happiest Memory Maker the whole time.

Love this photo spot. ^^

The scenery is replicated of a Venetian lanscape. You can go on a romantic gondola ride here.

Arabian Coast

Love this themed area! Usually slightly less crowded and full of unique ambiance.

Junya found another Happiest Mickey Spot installation and is using his Happiest Memory Maker to listen to what Mickey has to say!

Happiest Celebration on the Sea

At Mediterranean is a brand new show, featuring Mickey and his friends, including Duffy, Shellie May, Gelatoni and Stella Lou!!

Don’t miss out this special boat show when you are in the park. The performance happens 3 times a day from now until March 25, 2019.

A must watch if you have Duffy and Friends!

 

 

Appreciating the finer details

I have been to DisneySea countless of times, but each time I discover something new that I didn’t the previous times. No wonder so many people I know buy the yearly pass and keep on going back (I personally know someone who visits the parks EVERY MONTH. @.@), because true enough, you can never ever get bored of it!

I realized that the patterns on the ceiling of Marmaid Lagoon’s Triton Kingdom, is actually seaweed.

I also spotted hidden Mickey on the marble beams, and really delicate motifs of Ariel and her marine friends. I was very touched omg. These people who designed the Disney resorts really are meticulous with every single detail to the minute. T_T

Did you also notice something about the washroom signs?

 

Moving to Tokyo Disneyland

We then took the Disney Resort Line monorail and headed towards Tokyo Disneyland for more Happiest Celebration! It is also specially decorated to commemorate the event.

A large 35th anniversary logo welcomes you in front of Cinderella’s castle.

Lunch time! Junya picked his own desserts.

A display featuring Meiji dairy products, which I love!

Go collect your special edition popcorn bucket! This one is curry flavor, which I think is still one of the best ^^

Borrowing a Disney member’s anniversary balloons. She actually held the balloons and kneeled down behind me so that I could take this photo.I didn’t even buy the balloons or pay a single yen for it! So much omotenashi omg T__T.

Special Surprise!!

For this one whole year, the parks will have Happiest Surprises for the guests, and one of them is…

Surprise confetti rain!

Apparently this happens at a random time, so only the really lucky guests get to experience this. But it’s really a truly special moment of celebration!!

Everyone was cheering, laughing, jumping to catch the confetti, snapping photos…

It was a celebration for EVERYONE. Omg I love this concept so so much.

Just tons and tons of shiny rainbow sprinkles dotting the whole town and everyone in happy colors.

Sakura full of sprinkles haha. Like a cute donut lol.

A little girl collecting all her confetti in a bag.XD

I was thinking, omg this is really a lot of work!! Imagine cleaning this up, multiple times a day (it happens at random time a few times a day apparently!)… why the trouble!!

And then I saw a bunch Disney crew member swiftly swiped away the color pieces on the floor. They are all gone in minutes. My heart felt tightly warm. I have once read an article, about why Disneyland is the world’s happiest place. It may also be world’s cleanest place. The moment an ice cream cone is dropped on the floor, the next moment it is gone and the floor is spotless.

For me, the cute, familiar characters are secondary. Each and every time something touched me. The efficiency. That genuine smile on every single crew member’s face. The overwhelming helpfulness. The extra kindness towards small children.

I really wish to live here. I do feel like a princess. Except that the other hundreds of thousands guests are also princesses HAHAHA. It’s a place full of assorted princesses lolol.

Oh ya speaking of which, there’s another more amazing surprise waiting for you at the park. I don’t wanna spoil the fun for you. But if you must find out, I have posted a video about it on @cheesiepetit’s IG account a while ago. ^^

It’s A Small World

Arguably the most popular attraction in Tokyo Disneyland, it is now re-opened in a new enchanced version as part of the 35th anniversary celebration. The them of this is “the happiest cruise that ever sailed”.

Spot the mural at the boarding area, with a super cute Mickey and Minnie against the castle ^^

We were incredibly, ridiculously lucky to be able to experience this – an attraction that’s completely empty, because it was closed for public, and only open for press preview.

Sakura holding oniichan’s hand because she was a little unsure of where this world voyage is bringing her.

Anyway, I also don’t wanna spoil it for you, there are 40 over new characters added, so if you are a Frozen fan, or love the characters in Tangled, Moana, Finding Nemo… you have to go for this.

I posted a vide on my IG feed earlier. You can watch if you wanna find out!

Just a photo from one of my favorite world.

Special Menu

You can also find special menu in many places for the special event.

 

Here’s a special 35th anniversary set!

Mickey confectionery

This is a special bun, where 3 flavors are hidden in Mickey!!

On the left ear is strawberry, the right is choco, and the main body being blueberry cream cheese.

Mickey cream-filled cake and peach jelly dessert!

 

Mix and Match Chocolate Crunch

Chocolate Crunch has been a popular souvenir since 1986!!!

This is Pastry Palace, it has been transformed into a special shop to the concept of the Duck Family Chocolate Competition.

Pastry Palace will feature a new Chocolate Crunch experience where guests can select a tin design of their choice,, and fill it with their choice of different flavors of chocolate crunch.

Junya was definitely having a super intense fun time picking his favorite.

Stuff it!!!

At the end, bring it to the cashier and you can pick a ribbon with color of your choice, so it makes a great personalized gift! ^^

Splash Mountain

One of the activities for the guests were Splash Mountain. From a scale of 1-10 in terms of scariness, thrill ride fans will probably rate this a 0.02. But for someone like me it’s a full 10. T__T.

But… I really wanted Junya to experience it. So there I was. Forcing a smile when I knew my heart was gonna jump out soon. While Junya not knowing anything….

The drop!!!

You should have seen my face captured at the theme park’s camera. HAHAHAAHA.

We survived and Junya said it is “a bit scary”. He said he doesn’t want a second time lol.

 

Toon Town

I love this area. The houses are all so…. dreamy!

I wonder if anyone actually built their houses to look like this! There must be! Right?

Minnie’s House.

Chip ‘n Dale’s treehouse.

And Junya’s little shelter haha.

Dreaming Up!

Kicking off the celebration is the premiere of this grand day time parade.

Leading the Dreaming Up parade is Mickey Mouse and Pluto pulled by winged horses, and guides his guests into the world of dreams.

Goofy says hi!

Catch Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and more!

I especially love the float where Lumiere and Cogsworth host Belle at an enchanted banquet.

 

Brand New Dream

As Tokyo Disneyland that day was closed early at 6pm to host the super VVVVIPs (Japanese celebrities and the like!!), we returned back to Tokyo DisneySea for the fireworks show.

Junya woke up to catch the show, and Sakura loved it so much that she kept repeating to me, “hanabi, hanabi yo mama.”

It was really the Happiest Celebration.

Thank you, Tokyo Disney Resort for making it a very special celebration for my family. ^^

 

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