Bring the Kids: Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland, is obviously a destination to bring the kids. And guess what? It's cheap too! I know, if you've been to the American Disney parks, then the words "Disney" and "Cheap" are unheard of together. But its true for this one! We paid HALF the price of 1 day in Florida's Disney, to spend 2 days in this park. WHAT.

But the price isn't the only appealing thing about this Disney park. The park itself is just... The best! It is the cleanest park I have ever stepped foot in, and you don't have to wait hours in a line to meet a character! The food is adorably styled the way the Japanese love to do, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy your family lunch for the day! We bought our family a cute Disney lunch for the same price it would cost us to eat at McDonalds back state-side.

The only down-side to this park is, like the other parks, it can get VERY crowded. We went the end of May, which is considered an off season, and it was still pretty busy. We didn't choose that time for a lack of crowds though, we chose it for our daughters birthday!

DAY ONE

First of all, we bought our tickets ahead of time at the Disney store in Shibuya. Public service announcement: They don't have bathrooms. We highly recommend buying your tickets in advance so you don't have to wait in a super long line before actually getting to enter the park. Major time savor.

We arrived shortly after the park opened, and there were already TONS of people. But, we were able to just walk right up to the gate and go straight through. We didn't wait in a single line. Our arrival was met with Mickey Mouse standing right at the entrance. There was a little bit of a line to meet him, and we were anxious to explore the park first, so we chose not to meet Mickey. BUT the kids were able to pass right by him and see him perfectly! They even got a little wave!

The first thing on the agenda was a parade, and let me tell you, the parades at this park are NOT TO BE MISSED! The one that we caught was the new "Dream up" parade and it was very enjoyable! Highly recommend catching ALL the parades you can!

We spent the morning exploring the park, and going into Cinderella's castle (which, by the way, does not have any princesses in it like in Florida, but rather, has a little throne set-up, glass slipper, and story telling.). Then we went in search of a dress for our little princess for her birthday. We'd been promising it to her all year. We found it in the "Brave Little Tailor Shoppe" in Fantasy Land, and while it was the cutest little shop with its little tree dressing room, I am sad to announce that the prices of the dresses are the same everywhere. There goes ALL of our souvenir money!

As we were leaving the dress shop, we found our first princess! Aurora was at the dress shop window, circled by a small crowd. We managed to get our four year old towards the front a bit, and she was absolutely delighted to see her! After finding her a dress and seeing Aurora, we really needed to find some lunch, so we headed to "Plazma Ray's Cafe", and waited in a very short line. The food was adorable, yummy, and cheap!

After lunch, it was time for a ride! The ride that everyone talks about as being the best, is "Pooh's Hunny Hunt", but after seeing the wait time (because of the popularity), we decided we didn't want our kids standing in the hot sun for so long. So, we chose another ride with a shorter line.

We chose "Dumbo the Flying Elephant", and of course, our one year old fell asleep. So My husband took our four year old while I waited with the sleepy cuteness in the shade. After the Dumbo ride, we headed over to the carousel, which we all got to ride since the little one woke up.

After that, we mostly just explored and shopped! There are so many adorable shops to look through, and tasty treats to try! Our favorite was the popcorn! Tokyo Disneyland is unique, in that way. Every little neighborhood and area in the park comes with its own popcorn flavor. They had regular salted, and then they had favorites like caramel - but they also had fun flavors like curry, BBQ, and chocolate! I actually REALLY loved the BBQ flavored one! So much fun, and so delicious! Each stand comes with its own refillable, themed popcorn container as well, but you have to pay a bit extra for it.

For dinner, we chose the "Queen of Heart's Banquet Hall". It was perfect for us, because it didn't break the bank, it was stroller friendly buffet style, and it was decorated with a really fun, Alice in Wonderland theme that our daughter enjoyed. Also, they had cake! After putting a t-shirt on over the expensive dress we got our daughter to protect it, we feasted on salad, rotisserie chicken, fruits, potatoes, rolls, pudding and cake!

Now, for the finale! The thing we have been excited about ALL DAY... The Electrical Dreamlights Parade! This one just... Can't even be described with words. It is a parade that you must see in person. Even the video below (which you should totally watch!), just doesn't do it justice. Darkness falls, and everyone has lined the parade route. The music starts, and suddenly, the most incredible light up floats you have ever seen. Truly amazing way to end the day, and seeing the wonder in your child's eyes is the best part.

If you've stayed for the parade, then the trains are going to be PACKED leaving the park. Its just a given. You can do it! See our Vlog below for the Disney video!

DAY TWO

Day two of Disney was dedicated to finding and meeting all the characters we could! At first, we wandered around fantasy land, hoping to come across someone - but we couldn't find anyone! So, we decided to take an ice cream break and walk around the World Bazaar (Main Street). That's when my husband saw Belle walk by! We raced to the entrance so our daughter could meet Belle, and thats when we realized we had found the character hang out.

It turns out, the characters come out in shifts from the entrances near the bathrooms, and hang out around the park entrance. You don't have to wait in any lines, you just have to join the group huddling around the character you want to see, and hope that the character picks you out for a picture and interaction! When you are a super cute little redhead in a princess dress, you tend to always get picked!

We were able to meet Belle, Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, Rapunzel, Snow White, Peter Pan, Wendy, Pinocchio, Goofy, and Marie (Aristocats)! No lines, and a personal interaction with them all, plus photos. Our daughters year was MADE.

After wandering around some more and getting more popcorn, we found Woody and Jessie as well! We spent the rest of our time exploring the shops, eating ice cream, and searching for a dinner place that wasn't too crowded. We ended up at "Captain Hook's Galley" where we ordered some Pineapple and Bacon pizza for dinner.

All in all, you can do this Disney park in under a day, or you could easily spend a weekend here! It is a fantastic place to bring the whole family, and won't break the bank.