Turkey Legs and Rocket Ships

So I've got family on the brain. And in the most specific, sense memory sort of ways.

You know when your emotions sneak up on you and surprise you, and out of the blue, for a reason no one else in the room would understand, you're completely choked up?

Yeah.

2 days of that already, and it's making me miss home for the holidays. And mom's home cooking. And baking.

Don't worry, I'm gonna be just fine and enjoy the heck out of Christmas (even if I have to work that day), but moreso than other years, the grief and loneliness pangs are striking my heart fervently.

Now here's the real kicker. Is it weird that I relish and enjoy them?

I'm not sure, but I think it's because they remind me that I'm loved, that I love, that I'm human...

That despite all the changes in my life, despite all the travels and growth and culture and career, I'm still that little kid who adores his dad.

See, that's what triggered it all. Last night at the onsen the CUTEST Japanese toddler was just hanging out with his dad in the collagen pool, and something about that adoration, that unconditional trust, the gleam in the kid's eye, it just made me miss the crap out of my father.

And yeah. I got choked up. And yeah, I cried a little later in the bubbly pool. Just a couple tears. Not too many...

Cuz it's the holidays. And I SHOULD miss my dad. And many days life goes by without grief pains or missing him till it hurts, and, well, that's probably a good thing. So when they shock me, less sharply than they did Sophomore year Thanksgiving in the stairwell when I realized I'd never have two parents pick me up ever again, I'm thankful that deep down, despite all the teenage angst and arguments, that I'm still that kid who loves my dad. Beyond mortality.

And so, I rode StarJets in Tomorrowland tonight. And I took an illegal video whilst doing so.

Why? Because when I was 9 or 10 at Disneyland, and again when we went to Disney World when I was in high school, my dad and I always rode the Rockets at night. Usually as the last ride. Cuz I think it was his favorite.

Doesn't really matter. I just remember that it was dad and me time.

So I rode the rockets. For my dad. For me. For Christmas.

And I took another forbidden video on Big Thunder Mountain because my Aunt Loretta had me CONVINCED the rocks were really gonna fall on me when I was 9 or 10 and sitting in that train next to her. And well, I wanted to tell her what that meant to me. Cuz she probably doesn't remember it, but I sure do.

And the Electrical Parade. Dad loved that one too.

And I ate a smoked turkey leg. Just to pay a little tribute to my parents and my sister and that Thanksgiving in Houston when we went to Disney for the week. And had a couple turkey legs in Florida's Tomorrowland because it was Thanksgiving Day, and well, you gotta have turkey somehow!

So yeah. I've got family on the brain. And it's probably because I'm wrapping up my shopping, wrote my Christmas cards, and have started receiving packages in the mail.

So forgive me for being a bit sappy. I gotta call my mother.

Cuz guess what. I love her too. And miss her even more this holiday season.

That and her cinnamon rolls.

Magic in the Air

Magical.

It really is magical.

That pretty much sums up my first time at Tokyo Disneyland, and if you didn't want to read any further, you'd have a complete idea of what my day was like. But you should probably keep reading...

Now my first time was with a friend who spoke VERY little English. And though my Japanese is improving, it consists of just a few words and a good Japanese accent whilst speaking English. So I was worried that a full day of Disney might be difficult considering this fact, but surprisingly, that didn't turn out to be the case.

The Japanese also have different National Holidays, so Wednesday was the Autumnal Equinox which ended a 5 day holiday weekend called "Silver Week", so I was also worried that the park would be crowded, and it was, but we managed to ride nearly everything imaginable anyway.

The day started with immediately picking up our FastPass for Pooh's Hunny Hunt which by the time we got there an hour after park opening wasn't for until 5 PM. Then we scooted across the park (stopping to take a picture with Jack Sparrow along the way) to "Minnie, Oh Minnie" for their first show since it was my friend Steven's last day.

I honestly can't say whether I loved or hated the show because it was literally a gay fantastia on national themes. Yes, I just quoted Tony Kushner in regards to Disney. Welcome to the dichotomy that is Topher. The show had a bunch of Japanese and Latin music I didn't really understand, and seriously you could say that Cher's costumes look tame compared to the rainbow fringed gold lame that abounds. But mostly it was nice to compare what a different work environment I am part of over at BBB.

Afterwards, we caught the first Halloween day parade which was SO COOL. The floats and the characters and the costuming are INSANE. We tried to sit in the spot where Pluto and Goofy's float stops for the 5 minute show, but we were one float off and saw Daisy defeat Cruella, which was super fun because I knew the girl playing her.

As we made our way back to New Orleans to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean, we stopped for a cold drink since the sun and blue skies had decided to be lovely and actually join me on my day off. I had the most oishii frozen Strawberry concoction that was almost exactly like an ICEE and utterly refreshing. But, in the awkward Japanese way, we had to sit on a bench to eat rather than multi-task and accomplish that in line. Which I never really got used to all day...

I'm the kind of kid that would RUN to his favorite ride as soon as the park opened and wouldn't stop for pictures or snacks or purchases until the park closed.

Pirates was as delightful as I remember it, though I honestly have to say I liked the ride so much better when Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbosa, and Davy Jones weren't in it. I'm not really sure why, but I think the ride was more magical when it was new and then you saw the scenes in the movie, not the other way around. But it was still really delightful.

We then tried to get FastPasses for Splash Mountain or Thunder Mountain but they were already sold out for the day. So we got one for the end of the day at the Haunted Mansion redecorated with Nightmare Before Xmas.

So we then grabbed a tasty little lunch near Splash Mountain, and she insisted on paying since that is the traditional Japanese custom (whoever does the inviting does the paying). In fact my braised pork was some of the most delicious I've ever had (they have really good pork here).

After lunch we headed to It's A Small World which was really great since the wait was a whopping 5 minutes! And you know what? It's just as superb as I remember it and not the least bit annoying. And the best part is that because the song has always been sung in every different language imaginable, the ride really isn't any different except that it ends in Japanese instead of English, which is second to last!

We then rode Pinocchio's Daring Adventure which surprised me for two reasons. One it was such a short ride, and two, the ride went SO FAST. It felt like those kids book versions of Disney stories where you get the whole story in like 4 pages, and you're like WTF? I have no idea what happened because they left so much out. But I mean, it's nearly the same ride as every other one I've been on and was a lot of typical Disney fun.

Then began the first stop of many throughout the day to find appropriate Pluto ears for me since I couldn't really find a pair of Mickey ears that I wanted and I like Pluto so much. But no luck yet. And we got in line just in time to stand in the last rows for One Man's Dream. Which I have to say, was a pretty exceptional show. First, I can't believe what a spectacle and how Disney it is, but I also couldn't believe how clean the show was. Which is always something I look for now that half my friends are Rockettes. And just spectacle. It was sheer spectacle. Definitely a must-see for any visit to Tokyo Disneyland just to understand how crazy Japanese Mickey is.

After the show we got our FastPass for Space Mountain which was, like our Haunted Mansion FastPass, at 9:15 at night, and then we began an entire park search for both Pluto ears and hopefully to catch a Pluto greeting. We did run across Donald and Daisy and Alice and Peter Pan and Wendy along the way, and that's when I realized something about the Japanese. They may be polite and lovely and respectful, but when it comes to Disney characters, they turn into these crazy, rude alien creatures. Literally they pull and punch and shout at the characters and shove to get to them first. Which is bizarre since the Japanese are so respectful and LOVE to wait in line. I mean LOVE it. There were people sitting on the pavement 3 hours before the first night parade began. Just bizarre.

But WOW are they rude to the characters. Thank goodness I'm not one of those and there's an orchestra pit separating me from them at my show.

After our fruitless search, we went to see the Halloween parades and asked where the best spot to see the Pluto float was, and it was a blast to see him and Goofy defeat Jafar! Woo hoo!

We then waited in line patiently to have our picture taken with the Pluto pumpkins (which again, why can't people wait in line for the greetings?).

And then we rode the Western River Railroad for the first time I can ever remember, which was really just a nice time to zone out until the final surprise when you go back in time to see the animatronic Dinosaurs. Who knew?

Finally it was time to go use our FastPass and enjoy the MOST MAGICAL ride I've ever been on. I mean, not actually, since I've ridden some pretty insane coasters and the SpiderMan ride at Universal is out of this world. But as far as Disney magic, there isn't anything quite like the Pooh Ride. You get in your honey pot and they travel in groups of 3, but they travel completely independent of a track! And each time you ride it's a little bit different because the cars randomly travel through the ride. It's literally like this spinning honey pot extravaganza through the land of Pooh.

Thankfully, the story is the same as other Pooh rides in Disney, but there's nothing I've experienced quite like the opportunity to actually bounce along with Tigger (seriously! As good as falling with SpiderMan). Or the fact that you enter this giant room and like 7 or 8 honeypots are twirling and spinning and dancing around this room nearly missing each other, including one with a giant Heffalump, and a cannon and mirrors adding to the fun. It's just simply magical. Brava Imagineers. I can't wait for people to come ride it again with me!

By the time we came out, the sun had done its instantaneous setting trick, and we got a great seat for the night parade, this time in front of the Mallificent/Donald float. At night it switches and the villains are the stars of the show, "Bonzai Villains". It was really delightful to see all the floats lit up and the same story in reverse, but by the third Halloween parade of the day I was definitely ready to ride some big rides! But there wasn't quite time for that yet.

We visited the Country Bear Vacation Jamboree, which again is probably a first for me at Disney in a very long time, and it was fun, but EXTREMELY strange to hear songs like "Singin' in the Rain" and "Achy Breaky Heart sung with different words in Japanese. I'm still not used to that.

I then got some delicious caramel popcorn because I wasn't in the mood for curry popcorn and my friend doesn't like Honey Popcorn (which I'm dying to try). We enjoyed it while watching the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dream Lights (the longest name ever) which is one of the most BEAUTIFUL sights I've ever seen.

It's like Christmas lights on Parade and I now get why that was my father's favorite part of the Disney experience. Besides Mickey ears and the fireworks, of course.

And then the best part of the day happened. Since everyone had to go back to work the next day, the park emptied. I mean, EMPTIED. In the last two hours we rode Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, each with about 20 minute waits, the Haunted Mansion without our FastPass since it wasn't good yet and the wait was only 10 minutes, and Space Mountain with our FastPass.

I mean, that's just CRAZY. 4 of the biggest rides in 2 hours?

Oh. And we saw the fireworks which are beautiful. Though they're over the Tom Sawyer River here instead of the castle since they actually are between the two parks so that everyone can see them.

Thunder Mountain was as amazing as I remember, Splash Mountain is so fun though it seems like the hill is smaller and Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah in Japanese is just weird. I like the Haunted Mansion better in its original form, and Space Mountain is SO FAST AND CRAZY here and I'm OBSESSED with how amazing it is. I also think it might be different from the other ones, but it's truly AWESOME.

So by the end of the day, we hadn't ridden the new Monsters, Inc. ride which is always a 3 hour line. And the few things I didn't get to ride I'm looking forward to enjoying next time, but we never waited more than 25 minutes for a ride, which is amazing considering how many people were in the park.

And the park is just so beautifully decorated and well laid out. It's a lot more like California spacially and everything's really easily accessible, but the streets are really wide and everything connects. I don't like Florida so much because everything is SO FAR apart. But here, you can walk easily down the paths and get to the other side of the park in about 10 minutes. And the Halloween theming is just great.

Which means I can't wait to go to Disney Sea since it's supposed to be even better and more beautiful. WOO HOO.

And by the very end of the night, we successfully found Pluto ears near the entrance, though they are not in headband or hat form here and you have to clip them onto your hair! But they're still pretty darn magical!

And that, my friends, is why you should come to visit. So you can visit the magic too.