Disney Sea was BraviSeamo!

On March 13th and 14th the kids were out of school due to parent-teacher conferences. Since I had my conferences earlier in the week, we decided to go to Kyoto for the long weekend. However, the kids somehow got the idea of going to Disney Land and that’s where we ended up – imagine that!

So, we headed to Tokyo Disney Sea on Thursday the 13th. It is another theme park of Tokyo Disney Land. We took the subway to Disney Land - which was strange in itself. Darren and I talked about much fun it is to drive to Disney World in Orlando and see the signs for Disney and then finally arrive under the big “Welcome to Disney World” car entrance. It felt a little anti-climatic getting off the subway and then paying 200 yen to take the Disney Monorail into the park.

But then, when you see the monorail with it’s Mickey Mouse Ear windows and hear the fun Disney-type music playing, the city life slips away and the Disney magic kicks in. If it wasn’t for all the Japanese people, you might – just might think you were back in the USA!

One question everyone has asked me is, “Are the Disney characters Japanese?” I have to admit I wondered the same thing, but no, they are “American” or of non-Japanese decent. The most interesting thing we found with the characters is that, unlike in the USA, the teens and 20 some things love to get their photos taken with them. Also, as orderly as the Japanese are, there is no order to get your picture taken with the characters. In the USA you stand in lines and wait your turn. Here, you basically have to jump in and get a photo with them. We had brought our Disney autograph books with us from the USA so we were able to get their autographs as well. This amazed some of the Japanese since nobody, except us, were getting autographs and photos. I do have to say that the “cast members” and even the characters themselves at Disney Sea were great at pulling Nathan and Maddie from the crowd and bringing them up to get their photos with the characters. I don’t think it was because we were “foreigners” as much as it was that they are kids...and really, aren’t the characters for the kids? (Monica’s like, what are you talking about!!!) Also, the characters do sign their names the same as in the USA. They must have to take a Disney character class on how to write their names. By the way, Mickey Mouse can speak Japanese!!!


We saw an amazing nighttime show on the water called BraviSeamo. It was something only Disney Imagineers could think up. It was a story of how fire and water fell in love. It consisted of water on a barge that shot through these poles to make it look like a woman and fire that magically appears from under the water in the form of a dragon-like creature. The fire and water show and music were amazing. I get chill bumps just watching the video (a had to be there moment I’m sure). Then, at one point, the fire is actually surrounding the dragon on top of the water. It was the most awesome thing we’ve ever seen Disney do.

The park itself was bigger than we expected. How they found that much property for two theme parks and hotels is mind-boggling. I have to admit, at first we missed the “super charged magic” of Disney World but when the day was over, and now that weeks have passed, we can’t wait to go back! Nathan especially is begging to go to Disney Land. We have a time set for right after school gets out while the Japanese schools are still in session.

This week the cherry blossoms are blooming. I’ll post photos of them next time. They are stunning! We are going to a festival in Shinjuku this weekend. The kids have been on Spring Break this week. I’ll tell you about our Spring Break adventures next time.

Funny photo of the week:

While we were in China Town we found this sign in the bathroom. How funny! We figured that it may be that some people don't know how to use a Western Style toilet. Remember that photo I posted of the Japanese Style toilet? Hilarious!