Tokyo Disneyland..."A Christmas Fantasy"

Recently, Markus had been reliving memories from watching our past Tokyo Disneyland videos over, and over, and over again. So, we promised him a special trip out to the 'Magical Kingdom' during the holidays. We decided to go by car that sunny Sunday morning of December 9. This would be our third trip and, perhaps not the last. Still, it's worth the travel time in traffic as it gives us something unique and exciting to experience each time. I think ultimately, Rodney and I get a thrill out of seeing Markus so happy.

For the first time, we rode the Disney Resort monorail, which gave us a tour around the park. We got to see the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel construction site up close. The photo below does not do justice to the hotel's massiveness. I mean this building spans FAR and WIDE and I can just imagine how impressive it will be once completed. The grand opening is scheduled for July 8, 2008.

When we entered the park gates Markus uttered, "Ohisashiburi"; a Japanese expression or greeting which means "Long time, no see". (He's grown accustomed to that phrase, one of his favourites actually.) This time around we enjoyed the festive holiday atmosphere throughout the amusement park. It's sure to get you in the Christmas mood. When the sun went down, we marvelled at the exquisite illuminations at every turn. The "Twinkling Holiday Moment", was the special lighting ceremony of the Cinderella Castle which featured a holiday greeting show with the Disney friends. Unfortunately, Markus was worn out and had fallen asleep by this time. Naturally, we took loads of photos and video footage to add to our Tokyo Disney scrapbook. As the evening progressed, it became blustery and cold so we opted out on the night parade and fireworks display, both of which we've seen in our previous visits.

When we first entered the ticket gates, we were greeted by Tigger and Piglet. Pooh was bombarded with people, so we decided to move on into the park.

In the center of the World Bazaar, was an enormous Christmas tree, quite possibly the largest decorated tree I've ever seen!

The Cinderella Castle all decked out.

During the "Lilo & Stitch's Aloha Christmas Parade", cheerful Hawaiian Christmas songs were playing over the loud speakers. One song was called, "Mele Kalikmaka" which means, "Merry Christmas" in the Hawaiian language. (Gosh, the song was stuck in my head the entire day.)

Markus with daddy trying to be patient while waiting for the Dumbo ride.

Alas, the much anticipated Dumbo ride after waiting over 40 minutes!

Keeping warm aboard the Jolly Trolley

PEACE!






TOONTOWN!

The Cinderella Castle, by night.

Against the dark sky, the lights flickered and danced to the beats of the Christmas carols during the "Twinkling Holiday Moment" show. At the finale, the entire castle was illuminated, everything in site was covered with lights!

A magnificent view was shared by hundreds of people "Ooh-ing" and "Ahh-ing".

MERRY CHRISTMAS from Tokyo Disneyland!