Tokyo Disneyland!

I have an embarrassing confession to make: prior to last week, I had never been to Disneyland. I've been to Tokyo. I've been to London. I was even an exchange student in Paris when I was a kid. And yet California remains a land of mystery to me, shrouded in a fog of enchantment and whispered rumors.  Florida too, for that matter.  For years, I had never been within four hundred miles of a Disney theme park.

Well no longer!  As of May 1st, 2011, I am officially a member of the not-so-exclusive "I've-been-to-Disneyland" club.  Tokyo Disney is a mere half-hour train ride from downtown Tokyo, and though we were warned that it would be wicked busy during Golden Week, Ryan and I couldn't resist a visit.  As luck would have it, it wasn't that busy at all -- mostly because it rained all day!  We practically walked right on to about half the rides, and we never waited for more than 30 minutes for any one attraction.

How did all this make me feel?  See below.

THIS IS HOW IT MADE ME FEEL!

The Captain EO attraction, resurrected in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, was spectacular, even if it didn't include the laser show that was part of its first run back in the 80's.  I'm being sincere when I say it was one of my favorite things there.  Ryan and I both bought this poster to decorate our drab Japanese apartments.  I love you, MJ!

Tokyo Disneyland is probably the only place in Japan that recognizes Easter.  There was a big Easter parade scheduled for the evening (which was canceled because of the rain) and a bunch of these little egg-shaped character statues hidden all over the park.  Here's Ryan with an Easter Egg R2D2.  To see more of these statues, check Ryan's Facebook page. :)

The Toontown area of the park, home of the Roger Rabbit Ride and Gadget's Go-Coaster.  The latter of which seems a bit structurally unsound, fashioned as it is from crayons and old toothbrushes.  Seriously, Gadget, were you drunk when you designed that thing?

Goofy was the only Disney character we managed to snag a photo with.  Mickey Mouse was sitting high-and-mighty inside his little cottage in Toontown, and there was an hour-long line just to shake his grubby, over-sized hand.  No matter.  Goofy is way cooler anyway.  Even if he does dress like a 10-year-old circa 1993.

It's a Small World?  Not so much.  This was probably the biggest ride in the entire park!

Sitting through the It's a Small World ride is a bit like staring into the abyss.  As you can discern from this candid reaction shot, I was nearly overcome by the horror of it all.

Up, up and away!  Ryan takes to the skies (without the aid of those super-racist crows).

The animatronic animal heads from the Country Bears Theater.  It's really something to hear a bear singing "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" in Japanese, let me tell you.  Make sure to check out the video below!

Part of the Easter display.  How come Goofy gets to be fully-sentient and wear clothes while Pluto gets yoked to a little wagon?  They're both dogs, ain't they?  It's a little unsettling.

Cinderella's castle at night.  Yes, you've all seen images like this a million times.  But it was my first time at Disneyland and I was really excited about it SO PUT A CORK IN IT.

By the time the lights came on, the rain had pretty much chased everybody out of the park.  The wet pavement somehow made things prettier, though.