Creating more meaningful memories at Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea

Sweet dreams are made even sweeter by meaningful memories. Time spent with the family is guaranteed to create beautiful dreams and lasting memories. The bonding moments are the invisible strings that keep us connected, bring us closer and allow us to better celebrate our lives.

I was born to a family whose members — from the second generation to the fourth — have remained glued to one another at any given moment. Our parents, long before they passed on 20 days apart from each other in 1997, taught us to be there for each other. We love to laugh. We love to eat. We love to live. We love to celebrate the children in us.  

Recently, my family and I celebrated our inner children at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.

After celebrating the New Year in Central Tokyo, we packed our luggage, said goodbye to our kind Airbnb host Ken, and boarded a train from Ikebukuro to East Tokyo. The transportation system was so efficient that we enjoyed all our train rides on this trip.

We stayed at Hotel East 21 in East Tokyo, a beautiful hotel with a thrilling scenic view of the Tokyo Tower and very convenient access to the Tokyo Disney Resort. The hotel has a 19th-century European mansion aesthetic with classic interiors and tasteful artworks, which made the atmosphere serene. Our suite was very comfortable: the bathroom seats were warm, and the sweet-smelling Shiseido toiletries were soothing and gentle on our skin, which had become dry in the cold of winter.

After checking into our suites, we went for a walk and found a lot of restaurants within the hotel complex. We were delighted to find Lawson Natural — a grocery and deli-bakery cafe all in one cool cozy place right across our hotel, open until 11 p.m. There we enjoyed the best coffee, ice creams, macha teas and pastries. A few steps away was what became our favorite stop called Sukiya — a local 24-hour restaurant that serves the best sukiyaki in a rich, tasty, bubbling-hot broth served in huge bowls atop individual burners. The soup was filled with tender slices of succulent beef, tofu, vermicelli, veggies plus a fresh egg and served with the fragrant steaming Japanese rice.

The next day, we were all very excited for our next adventure — Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland is a 115-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu area in Chiba. We decided to stay in a hotel close to the Disney Resort area so that we could go to the park early and make the most of our time there. We all expected the parks to be full as it was right after New Year, and indeed it was. The lines were long as expected and waiting time was at least an hour. We planned to wake up at around 6 a.m. to commute to Disneyland Resort in Urayasu via bus. However, on our first day, we were way behind schedule and woke up late by almost an hour. So we decided to go to Disneyland and DisneySea instead, as the latter is unique to Japan.

Tokyo Disneyland was the first Disneyland ever built outside the United States. Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, have several themed areas such as the World Bazaar, where you can ride the old-fashioned buses that take you around the park, the four classic Disneylands — Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland — and Mickey’s Toontown, just to name a few. It’s every kid’s, or kid-at-heart’s, dream to be in Tokyo Disneyland. As soon as you walk into the park, only the excitement of adventure awaits you.

No one gets bored in Disneyland. I didn’t, even if I had to queue for about an hour to watch a show or enjoy this or that ride. There were so many things to while away my time as I waited in line. The meticulous details the Disneyland designers installed in every nook and cranny, in every corner, ceiling, floor and wall area, were enough to steal my attention. Everywhere I looked was a feast for my eyes and senses. The colors, the textures, the intricacies and of course the interiors as well as the exteriors including the landscapes, seascapes and mountainscapes were astounding.

The enticing scent of freshly made popcorn in different flavors we have never heard of drove us to the popcorn stands. It had flavors such as soy sauce and butter, honey, chocolate, and caramel, just to name a few. The vendors served them in the cutest Disney character reusable containers to keep them fresh and hot. We were in such a “Disney mood” that we even bought Disney-themed hats to join in the crowd’s festive spirit. Everywhere I looked was a picture of happiness. Truly, Disneyland may be the happiest place on earth.

Another thing that caught my attention was the Japanese people’s gentle and polite demeanor. Despite the massive number of Disneyland visitors, the Japanese remained quiet, or if they spoke their voices were hushed and toned down. They were a relaxing crowd indeed who were so stylishly and colorfully dressed. I was so entertained by everything that was happening while waiting that the time went by quickly.

The last time I was in Disney Resort was with my late parents and I was a teenager then. This time, however, it was refreshing to enjoy the park through the excitement of my nieces Alex and Sam Dayrit and Carin Romualdez and nephews Vincent Soliven, Matthew Dayrit and Cito Romualdez.

In Disneyland, we did the usual attractions such as Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Star Tours. We also bought hat-mittens, the most colorful Disney merchandise, which we immediately wore to keep ourselves warm whilst going around the park. Our best buys were the pink Cheshire Cat, tiger, Minnie Mouse and more.

When we got hungry, we found refuge in the Terrace Space Place Foodport in Tomorrowland, where we also enjoyed Mickey Mouse-shaped burgers.

On our way home, we planned our schedule for the next day, this time to DisneySea.

On our second day, we were able to make it to the Disney Resort area at around our expected time. We then quickly proceeded to the opposite direction from the day before, towards DisneySea. Upon entering the park, we saw that DisneySea did not have the usual Disney Castle at its center. Rather, at the heart of the park we saw Mysterious Island, which was home to Mount Prometheus, an extremely tall volcano structure, and part of the attraction called Journey to the Center of the Earth.

We then proceeded to plan our route of the park in order to enjoy the ride-all-you-can attractions we wanted to try in the least amount of time we had. The DisneySea area was divided into the different areas like Mediterranean Harbor, Lost River Delta, Mysterious Island, American Waterfront with the S.S. Columbia (a ship that one can dine inside), Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon Port Discovery — each having its own theme effectively transporting the park goers from one place in the world or moment in time to another.

We ended up riding 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which created the beautiful illusion of being underwater through the use of bubbles and portholes to view the different animatronic creatures, the way Nemo discovered the seas in his journey. The thrill seekers in our group ventured to Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, Raging Spirits (a rollercoaster with a loop), and the dreaded Tower of Terror. For more relaxed rides, we went to Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage and The Magic Lamp Theatre. For lunch, we ate gyosa and sausage buns in Nautilus Galley. For dinner, some of us went to Zambini Brother’s Ristorante to have yummy pizza and pasta, while the others chose to try something else within the park.

Towards the end of the day, we witnessed Fantasmic, a colorful show featuring Mickey Mouse fulfilling his dreams and defeating the forces of evil alongside the other Disney characters. On the Mediterranean Harbor, a large man-made lake — featuring Mickey Mouse and other prominent Disney figures — and a fireworks display entitled Sky High Wishes, colored the skies.

I have been to all the Disney parks around the world but the adult child inside me says nothing can compare to Tokyo’s DisneySea. I was smitten.

At the end of our Disney adventures, my family and I agreed that the best part about traveling together is not only about spending quality time together but also discovering further what we mean to each other. Like bees to honey, we gel together in celebration of life.

Yes, we love to laugh. We love to eat. Most of all, we love each other.

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Email me at miladay.star@gmail.com.