Japan Part 6 - DisneySea!! Yattaaaaaaaa!!!

Assalamualaikum, Konnichiwa and Hi!

As usual, I have to tell this ^_^

All the Japan entries are only meant for sharing. I'm carving my memories here and at the same time sharing the information that may help others planning for their budget-trip to Japan.I'm not a pro, just an amateur traveller who love Japan as much as I love my country. If you are only interested in the cost and useful links, you may scroll down and skip the stories, because I'll summarize all the costs at every end of my Japan entries. ^_^

And if you want to keep reading, let's go to the Disneysea!!!!!!!!!!!! 

View from our hotel room and from the train station

We woke up early that day, continuing the yesterday's excitement, but today to the Disneysea. The only DisneySea in the world. We ate our own breakfast, packed everything, and checked out from the hotel. Disney Resort can keep your luggage and bags after checking out up to 11 pm if I'm not mistaken, so we left ours there.

We took the Disney line to go from our hotel to DisneySea. We met a group of Indonesian tourists in there. It's funny when we were heading into the monorail, we heard them said saying to each other "From Malaysia".. And when we greet each other, they said that from our face and clothes, they knew that we're from Malaysia. It's funny because, most people (other than Indonesian and Malaysian) will confuse us for Indonesians, but only Indonesians know the true Indonesians, and Malaysians haha.. 

We did not waste our time taking pictures once we entered the park

Among the 1st things we saw.. Mount Prometheus welcomed us!

You see, we went to Disneyland and Disneysea not on weekend, but there were still many people here haha

We spent our 1st 10-15 minutes looking around, whoaaaaaaing, wowing (ok both my made up words).. then while trying to search for rides that we planned to go, we met Mr and Mrs Incredibles. Mr Incredibles was a little bit more popular so more fans were surrounding him, compared to Mrs Incerdibles so we took this chance to take pictures with Mrs Incredibles, twice! haha..she even ran back to us and hugged us again before saying something like "Enjoy your rides" (I think, she said nothing, just cute body language haha).

Beautiful, isn't she?

(ignore that map :p )

We took many thrill rides, I did not even remember which and which we took first. I can only remember what rides that we had. See? My memories are fading, and that's why I think I should finish writing allllllll the memories here before things got lost huhuh..I listed here the rides that we took, and share some related events regarding the rides, but it may not be in order on which event occured first. Huhu..

We had StormRider, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Adventure : Temple of the Crystal skull, Raging spirits, Caravan Carousel (my sis requested for this haha), Sinbad's Storybook Voyage, Toy story Mania, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

I think, I start to remember things while writing this haha. Once we went into the park, we looked around, and saw something that surprised us. We saw a sea of people, queuing at the Toy Story Mania. At 1st we did not even know what was they were queuing for. There were soooooooo many people, it's like queuing for Arashi concert hahah.. Then we saw what it was, they were actually queuing for the Toy Story Mania Fast Pass. We decided to have a go once the people were gone, so we searched for other rides first.

We took our Fast Pass (FP) for Tower of Terror, then headed to StormRider. StormRider is a simulation experience where you can experience the wild turbulence of powerful winds. The effects there may surprise you. 

taking pictures while queuing

Our faces started to show how much they 'enjoyed' our sunbathing in Yamanakako (see in PART 3)

After StormRider, our turn for Tower of Terror also came. I should explain about this Fast Pass thing in my Disneyland entry but I forgot, so here it is. FP is a pass that you take to shorten your waiting time at attractions that have the FP mark. You will use your own ticket, scan the 2D code at the Fast Pass counter (don't worry, there's always a staff to show you how it's done). Then you can enjoy other rides, and come back when the time stated in your fast pass arrived. But, you can't take 2 fast passes for 2 rides at the same time. You can only take another fast pass once your  return time is reached.

Tower of Terror is something that you shouldn't miss if you love thrill rides. I can give 5 stars for this one. Surely had our spine tingled!

See how terrified everybody was hahahahha

Oh, you can actually buy this picture at the counter on the exit of this ride, but

as this was a budget trip, so we just used our phones. :p

While we were walking to Lost River Delta where Indiana Jones located, we stumbled upon some Disney characters. But the queue was long with kids, so we did not take any picture together. We only chose characters that did not has any long queue with them hahah.. time-wisely I guess..

Goofy and Chip if not mistaken

We took FP for Indiana Jones and then queued for the Raging Spirits. Raging Spirits is a ride that has 360-degree loops, but I should tell you, you maybe a little bit surprise on how short the time you are actually on it hahhaah. A foreign-man (i mean not Japanese) that rode it with us (It's a two-seat car, so we were three, and the staff put him with us) also kind of surprised. But, we glad that we queued for the ride *smile* just looked at the 2nd picture below hoho..

Yeah hahahahahha.. these 2 cool and cute guys were in front of us for the whole time and my sis said that they kept glancing at us whenever they had the chance. No, no, I did not say that they were attracted to us, it just that maybe because we were foreigners to them, plus our faces were actually had pretty bad sunburn, so maybe that's why hahahahhaha...so, after the ride, we met again, and did not miss the chance for a picture together (2 actually :p ) --I had the intention for looking a 'jodoh' in Japan, doesn't matter whether he's a Japanese, or a Bristish, or even a Malaysian, but couldn't find the destined one, especially when that sunburn made my self-confidence low hahhahahah.. so that was the only objective that did not succeed *LOL*

We had a little more time while waiting for our return time for Indiana Jones, so we bought some refreshments and sat for a  while..watching people, and enjoying the sceneries. There was one thing that made us salivate, but we could only see. Turkey shank!! Oh My, they looked sooooo yummy, but as we're muslims and only can eat things that were slaughtered in the name of Allah, so we couldn't. (I ate Secret Recipe Turkey shank few days after arriving in Malaysia, couldn't help it *LOL*)

yummehhhh!! 

And then it's time for Indiana Jones!! Also amazing!

See, already an expert in timing to smile hahah

Then we walked to the Arabian Coast. The sceneries there were so beautiful. Here we had The Sinbad's Storybook Voyage and my sister requested to go on the Caravan Carousel.

You can find little princess here in DisneySea, and more in Disneyland, (that kid was Princess Jasmine), the Resort even have boutiques where they can buy the princess dress and do the make up for your kids

Sinbad's Storybook Voyage

Caravan Carousel, please ignore that childish side on the left ahhahaha

Then we moved to the Mermaid Lagoon. We did not take any rides here, even though at 1st we thought that we should try at least one ride in Mermaid Lagoon no matter how childish it was, but then cancelled the plan and just looking around the place. Plus it was already prayer time and we had to search for a place to pray.

The rides were actually more suitable for kids, but I think adults can also have some fun here!

We were trying hard to find a place to pray, because this time we did not have our hotel room anymore. Alhamdulillah, all praises for Allah, He eased our problems when suddenly, when we were in a souvenir shop, we found that the changing room was quite large, 2 persons can pray at the same time, so, we took some shirts meant for trying, and also took some time to pray in there too. Alhamdulillah.

There was Donald Duck on the above picture, he had more fans than Daisy, so we chose Daisy!

Thanks Daisy Duck!! Love you!! *LOL*

After the commemorative picture with Daisy, we headed to the Mysterious Island. We wanted to ride Journey to the Center of the Earth, but we were told that it was close for a while, and will be open after few hours, I did not remember why. So we planned to come back once it's opened again.

Picture on the left was a show from the Disney staff. He used a mop to draw Minnie Mouse on the floor. Sugoii ne!

So, we walked to the Mediterranean Harbour and managed to catch the Legend of Mythica parade. We actually did not really plan to watch parades in DisneySea (eventhough Disneysea had more shows and parades than Disneyland), because we were already satisfied with parades in Disneyland and want to spend more time taking as many rides as possible there. 

A cute couple spotted!! See that bear? That is Daffy. It's quite popular in Japan I think.

Almost everybody will buy one, no matter you're a boy or a girl (even adults and teenagers)

Then we walked back to the Mysterious Island, and went for the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was a smooth ride discovering a fantastic undersea world. And to our luck, when we finish it, the Journey to the Center of the Earth was opened again, and we queued for it, for quite a longgg time huhuhu (FP finished already for this ride by the time we were there). And, again, though the ride was interesting, but, it's kind of too short hahah.. we were just starting to scream when suddenly, tadaaaaaaa...the end! Just like the movie itself *LOL*

After that short-thrill ride, we went back to the American Waterfront for the Toy Story Mania. I know that I told you not to get influenced by long-queue-ride but Toy Story Mania was different. So we queued (fast pass finish already as I told you earlier haha),and glad that we chose it eventhough we had to queue around 40-50 minutes (while hoping that it won't be like Monster Inc ride). We even ate our 'nasi impit' that we cooked in Anne Hostel night before going to Disneyland while we were queuing. And it was fun, so much fun, we forgot that we were starting to feel exhausted before.

Oh, I want to share this. I saw something that was really good. In Disneyland and DisneySea, guests with disabilities were very well taken care of. Staffs will help with all their might, and some rides even have special car for disable people (I saw this in Toy Story Mania). Japan actually is one of the countries that are very good and well-designed for disabilities people to move around. And the staffs were all smiling and helping even when I can see that they were tired already.

By the time we finish Toy Story, the day was getting dark already. And it looked like it was going to rain, with very strong wind. We heard some thunder-like sound but realized after all that it was actually the eruption of Mount Prometheus. I wanted to record the moment but by the time my camera was ready to record, the eruption ended hahahhaah..

We had a little more time before some night shows so we went to take some more pictures and having fun strolling around.

 A nice staff offered to take our picture. Thank you very-nice staff!

Then we went to the Waterfront Park, waiting for a show (I don't remember what show it was) with the other guests. It was cold, and strong windy, when suddenly an announcement was made. The show was cancelled due to the unfavorable weather. Uwaaaa... we moved to the Mediterranean Harbour to wait for the Fantasmic show, and again was told that the show was also cancelled. We actually did not really surprise because we already knew that all parades, shows and fireworks depend on the weather. And we were soooooooooooooo grateful that on our day in Disneyland, the weather was so good till night, so we did not really feel disappointed in DisneySea. 

Picture while waiting for the show to began, but it was cancelled.

You can see Tower of Terror there.. hoho..

So, after buying some more souvenirs, we decided to get out of the park, took the Disney line monorail to the hotel, took our luggage and headed to Asakusabashi (we stayed again in Anne Hostel).

Last pictures in the monorail.. *sad*

Above: Disneyland hotel

below: Tokyo Disneyland station

After bidding farewell to the wonderful place and people, we left. 

We arrived in Asakusabashi around 9~10pm, and the night was so cold and the wind kept getting stronger. We were so exhausted, and fell asleep after everything was settled. And that's how our 6th day was ended.

And cost summary for day 6

2-day passport = already calculated in Part 5 = none

Disneyland monorail = refer Part 5 = none

Food (ice bar/frozen mango) = I forgot to put this in Part 5, so I calculated for both days ~500yen

(I actually forgot the actual price, if the price is more than this, I'll update again)

Fee from Maihama station to Asakusabashi = included in 4500 Suica = none

Anne hostel = 3100 yen/night (4 dorm beds)

Total for Day 6 = 3600 yen

Total cost up to day 6 = 73 010 yen

As usual, souvenirs were not included in the cost. 

Info for DisneySea: HERE

Thanks for reading!! xoxoxo.. see you in Part 7!

p.s: keep praying for people in Palestine, in Syria, in Egypt, in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and wherever killings, attackings and bombings occur. Keep praying and contributing, even when the media doesn't cover about them anymore. The world needs more humanity and peace. Not war.

Japan Part 5 - Tokyo Disneyland!!

Assalamualaikum, Konnichiwa and Hi!

As usual, some notes here:

1. this is only meant for sharing, I'm not a pro, just an amateur traveller, but I love Japan sooooo much, so I really want to help others who love Japan as much as me to have some ideas about travelling to Japan.

2. Feel free to skip all those stories, and scrolled to the end of this entry if you're only interested in costs and links of places. I always make a summary in the end of my entry. ^_^

3. If you have extra budget, you also have the option to hire a tour guide. And if you are a muslim, there are also some muslim tour guides, that will not only guide you to attraction places, but may also help to provide you halal foods, and places to pray. ^_^ Mine are more for backpackers ^_^

****************************************

So, we woke up early in the morning, hyped up by the fact that we're going to Disneyland, a land where dreams come true ahaks! yes, we grew up watching Mickey Mouse and friends and all those Princess Fairytales especially Cinderella. So, going to Disneyland is totally a dream come true alhamdulillah, eventhough we're not kids anymore ^_^ there's always a child in every adult right???

We already got our direction from our earlier revision in Malaysia, and confirmed all those routes with the Anne Hostel staff. From our study, we should go from Asakusabashi station (nearest to our hostel) to Akihabara station, change to Tokyo Station and finally to Maihama station. The staff said that was ok, then told us a simpler and shorter way to go there but I don't really remember haha. So, here we go!!

When we arrived in Maihama station, our hearts jolted when we heard Disney song was echoing there. We were touched for that dream-come-true moment and at the same time very excited!!

We arrived there around 8.30 am, and went to the Disney Resort 1st for pre-check in. We chose to stay one night at Disneyland Hotel just to have some experiences there. At least once in a lifetime right? Maybe after this, we will try the affiliated hotels around Disneyland and Disneysea. A little bit more info, Tokyo Disney Resort has 3 hotels, Disney Ambassador Hotel, Tokyo DisneySea Miracosta and Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. At 1st I wanted to book the DisneySea Miracosta, but by the time for me to do the online reservation, all the rooms that I want within my budget were already fully booked, so did the Ambassador Hotel, so we ended up booking the Disneyland Hotel. You may find more info about hotels within Tokyo Disney Resort HERE. 

The pre-check in started from 7 am - 4.00 pm as we can only get our room at 4.30 pm. The staff was so friendly and nice.  She said that she will give us an upgrade room, because I booked the room with 2 beds and a "trundle" bed, but she gave us the room with 3 beds. Then, after she saw us so excited with the upgraded room, she even offered us to upgrade to the highest floor level for a very affordable price. I mean, if the basic one, your room will be on the 1st-3rd floor. But, just to give you some tips, if a staff offer you the same offer, asked him/her will you get a view of the park. haha..

The staff gave us 2-day pass for the Disney Resort Line, and also our key card for our room. While trying to settle all things, I brought out my folder that consists most of my important paper for Japan like the Disneyland Park Tickets, veeeery important! haha. When the staff saw the folder, she was so surprised, because I used my Arashi folder with Matsumoto Jun as the cover hahahah. She said she did not think that Arashi is so well known in other countries too, I think, maybe because she said that she's not really a fan of them or Matsumoto Jun, I did not really remember huhu..

the train pass and the room key (we got three keys with our names on it)

Thank you Disney Resort! 

and here is how my folder looks like from front and back

thank to JapanJE Agnes because I got this from a free-giveaway

Usually I don't really buy things with my ichiban, I don't want to be bias that's why I usually buy things with the whole group picture but this one was free *happy*

And after everything settled, we left our bags and luggage to the hotel management, so that the bags can be delivered to our room once it was ready. And the joy began!!

The air was so fresh, and a little bit cold, but the weather was good alhamdulillah. The first ride for us was Big Thunder Mountain!! hahaha.. why? Because I love Matsujun ahhah.. and If you are an arashist, you maybe know what's the relation between Matsujun and Big Thunder Mountain (^_^) and the ride was soooooo fun! A very good openening!

Big Thunder Mountain, and no, we're not stalking that man with the blue hat, 

we were just interested with his hat hahahhah

I forgot to tell you that we bought the 2-Day Passport, and planned to spend our time one day in Disneyland and another day in DisneySea. One day of course is not enough for you to complete allllll rides and attraction in one park, so we planned our rides carefully so that we can enjoy the park as much as we can. We even took the FastPass for most of our rides in Disneyland and Disneysea.

Other than Big Thunder Mountain, we also rode Space Mountain (seriously amazing!!), The Haunted Mansion, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, Gadget's Go Coaster in Toontown, It's a Small World (a little bit boring for adults but sure helps when you want to rest but don't want to waste time only on the bench) and also Cinderella's Fairy Tale Hall. We spent some time in the souvenir shops, some time for rest and eat, and also, PARADE!!! Pictures may speak more haha..

The only thing that we can eat with confidence, ICE BAR!

Full of excitement, even a grandma who sat beside us was dancing and singing ^_^

while queing for Space Tour, no picture of Space mountain because it was a bit dark there

Deylarella and Dyanarella hahahhaha

It's a small world after all..it's a small world after all........zzz..heheh..

A must!!

You can see that there was a weird cute thing hung on my sis and my cousin'd necks right? It was the popcorn bucket. In Disneyland and Disneysea you can have many flavors of popcorn, some of the flavor also came with special bucket (an option, not a must, you can buy it in normal container too).

This one we bought with curry flavor popcorn. We actually didn't want that flavor, but that's the only cute container with flavor that we can eat hahah.. they have this one cute and special for Eastervcontainer, but it comes with Soy sauce popcorn which of course we did not want to try ahhaha. You know what, we can't even finish the curry popcorn huhuhu

The Disney Line station

After all those rides and walking around, we couldn't find a good hidden place to pray, so we decided to stop for a while and went to check in to our room. You can get out from the park with a stamp on your hand, and made sure that stamp is not washed out or you can't re-enter the park. A bell boy was assigned to take us to our room, and I practiced my very little Japanese with him and he said that my Japanese was sooo good *proud* hahahha. Our bags and luggage were already there when we arrived. The bell boy showed us few things, the aircond controller, the tv, and left after we said thank you (fortunately, giving tips is not practiced in Japan). 

I love this warm message.. 

We prayed and rest for a while and went down again to the park. It was dark already, and we walked around while waiting for the night parade and fireworks. We bought some souvenirs including a minnie sticklight for my sis collection.

And the parade began!

and the most waited of all, fireworks!!!!

whoaaaa...... I miss those wonderful moments haha..

Then, as the night still early, we walk around and saw that there were so many people still queuing up for Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek. Is it very interesting? Because many people queue for this ride since daylight. Being influenced, we also queue up for the ride. We took around 1 and a half hour queuing before our turns arrived. And, here is an advice, please don't get influenced by others hahahahhaha... I mean, it's fun, but not worthy to queue for a very long time hahahhahahhahahaha...

After that fun but errrrrrrr ride, we went to the souvenir shop to buy some memorial things haha..

And that's how we ended our day in Disneyland.

Cost summary for the 5th Day:

Train fare from Asakusabashi to Maihama = included in 5000 Suica so none

Disneyland Hotel for one night Superior room = 36 000 yen/ room so 12 000yen/pax

2 day pass Disney line = free (for staying at Disneyland Hotel/Affiliated Hotels)

Disney 2 day passport = 10 700 yen (I looked at web, and recent price is 11 000 yen)

Drinks bought at Disney hotel store = ~500 yen/pax (no food bought here, we ate what we brought from Malaysia in our room, and onigiri we bought the previous day when we were in Park)

Total Day 5 = 23 200 yen

Total cost up to day 5 = 69 410 yen

I have to put the popcorn as souvenir because we bought them because of the container haha. Other souvenirs also not included in this cost summary.

You can save more by staying at the affiliated hotel or hotels around Disneyland. 

So that's all for Part 5. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed Disneyland. Thanks for reading!! xoxo!!

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

~Walt Disney~