Why I Oughta...

Of the course of the past week or so, I've shared a bunch of details of my trip to the Tokyo Disney Resort including a stop at Tokyo DisneySea.  My trip there coincided with a unique celebration called "Duffy's Heartwarming Days 2019" that was taking place in the Cape Cod section of the park that seemed to be a particular draw for some guests. The Heartwarming Days celebration features Duffy the Bear and his friends Shellie Mae, Gelatoni and StellaLou.  They had this display with little characters set up that you see above that had a super long line of folks waiting to take photos. The Heartwarming Days celebration ran simultaneously with the 35th Birthday celebration of the resort so they had situations where you could get a photo of a 35th Birthday marker (like this nautical Mickey themed one) and the Heartwarming Days banners (on the roof and on the next building).  This had a shorter line - but was still having people take photos (I blurred this little gi

What do you think?  Bathroom sign in Italy?  Or at Tokyo DisneySea?  Here's the setting right outside the bathroom.  And those of you looking closely, pay no attention to the group of people wearing headgear featuring Experiment 626 .  Squint a little bit and tell me that you're not transported to Italy, right? That little detail of the men's restroom sign is just another data point on *why* Tokyo DisneySea is the most impressive of all the Disney Parks you can visit in the world.  Or at least...the most impressive one that I've been to so far.  I know Galaxy's Edge is going to change that, but for now, I'll stand by Tokyo DisneySea as the top dog. Also, all of my posts featuring Experiment 626 - or who you might know as Stitch - can be found here .   Turns out, before now, they were all posts about Disney Pins that we either purchased or traded for during our trips to Walt Disney World. 

The two resorts at the Tokyo Disney Resort are connected with a Monorail that circles the property.  It makes a stop at a train station in between the two parks and to be honest, I've only been on this monorail twice and both times I did the same route:  DisneySea Station --> Disneyland Station.  So, I'm not totally sure where else it runs to and how long the route is, but I thought I'd share my experience. The trip between the two parks is a really nice experience and one that is totally on-theme.  You exit DisneySea and head out to the station.  Buying your one-way ticket at a machine, then you get through the turnstiles and head upstairs to the platform.  A few minutes later...the monorail arrives. And it is full of Mickey Heads.  The outside windows are Mickeys. And so are the handles you use when you are stuck standing as the train moves. Pretty simple, but adds so much to the experience. There was this one last touch in the car I was in:  a "

In the past couple of posts, I've talked about my trip to Tokyo DisneySea.  Today, I'm sharing a look at the Park Map that they were giving out while I was there.   During the month of February, they were having a 35th Birthday party for the resort.  Or as they call it their '35th Happiest Celebration! Grand Finale'.  Compare this with the park map I picked up on my first trip to Tokyo DisneySea a few years ago .   DisneySea is much younger than 35 years.  It opened on September 4, 2001 , so it hasn't even reached 20 years old yet, but the 'resort' - which includes Disneyland - opened back in 1983.   I've added this post to the [ Disney Parks Maps ] tag page here  where you can see the rest of the parks maps that I've shared including the most recent two from Anaheim that were holiday-themed earlier this year.  

Yesterday, I shared some of the details from my second visit to Tokyo DisneySea including how their "Mainstreet" is different than the typical Disney Park.  But, as you can imagine, there are quite a few *other* ways that the Tokyo parks are different from the one you visit in Orlando or Anaheim.  Of course, part of the difference is the guests and their behavior.  From the amazing costume'ing that guests wear at the Disney parks in Tokyo to the food items (the popcorn flavors!), there's so much to take in that is big picture stuff. But there's also little tiny details that caught my eye.  One of them is this sign in the men's room.  It says:  Clean Hands, Happy Faces!  That's a nice sentiment, isn't it?

This was my second trip to Tokyo DisneySea in as many years.  The first time I went was during Easter time in April of 2017 .  This visit didn't disappoint.  There's plenty of Disney bloggers out there who will tell you that Tokyo DisneySea is * the best* Disney Park in the world .  And I won't disagree.  It certainly is unique and at the same time, a little familiar.  On my last trip, I posted some photos of the place and took in the entire place.  This trip, I was on a little bit more of a mission to do some specific things (spend time in Cape Cod, ride Journey to the Center of the Earth , and buy a couple of Duffy and friends items for the kids).  Upon entering, you're greeted with this view of Mediterranean Harbor.  And the Bella Notte boat moored near the entrance.  There are guys rowing gondolas and people milling in and out of various places around the port.  This is a different kind of "Main Street" than the rest of the parks have:  it is more

I came home with a bunch of stuff for the kids from my visit to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea including pins and easter stuff , but above you see both park maps.  I'm writing this post to go along with the deposit I'm making in my 'stash box'. Having gone to these two parks was on my Disney Bucket list and having gone to them both, I can now check them off.  Into the stash box they go, with this reminder of why they're there. It isn't used for the 'stash' you're probably thinking of, but rather is just a collection of my personal effects and items that I've come across and accumulated over the years.  Everything from race medals to cufflinks that were given to me as a gift to a bunch of lapel pins (fraternity, secret service cleared, etc).  There's a few paper items in there as well.  And now, it will include these maps.  Speaking of my stash box, I think it might be time to upgrade it in size.  Having a small one has been