Once I finished up in Mysterious Island it was about time
for me to head over to the American Waterfront for Toy Story Mania. Unlike
those who live in short distance of the American version, I do not have much
experience with this ride, so I was very excited. The new Toyville Trolley Park
area in which the ride is housed was being built last time I was in the parks,
and I must admit the American Waterfront area looks a lot better with a vintage
toy area than it did with a construction screen ;) I like that they used the
slightly vintage look to suit both the toys and the theming, it was a good way
of both finding a place for this popular ride and adding more rides to
DisneySea. I still maintain that DisneySea is my favourite park of the two TDR
parks due to its amazing theming, but it certainly is short on rides in comparison
to Disneyland.
Anyway, I headed into Toyville Trolley Park, and after
giggling a little at Mr. Potato Head (who here performs in the courtyard rather
than in the queue), I headed under Woody’s giant face and into the fastpass
queue. I’ll admit, this is the one fastpass queue where I had to wait a little
while, but I was still very glad not to be in the winding queue next to me. I
kept myself amused by taking pictures of all the giant toys around us, making
us feel toy-sized. I did find one or two slightly odd things about the theming
though. When the queue goes into the loading room, it goes through a giant
version of Andy’s door, which I thought was excellent, however the giant door
is still woefully small next to the GIANT Andy’s bed in the next room, which in
turn is completely out of scale with his chest of drawers. Still, this was
funny and only a little theme breaking, so I ran with it. Soon enough I was in
a ride vehicle and off playing all sort of 3D carnival shooting games, which I
must admit was a blast. I did wish I had someone next to me to compete against,
but I still tried my hardest.
By this time though, I had to admit to myself that I was
pretty tired, and pretty sore. I decided lunch was definitely in order. I had
planned earlier to go to Miguel’s El Dorado cantina and giggle at Japanese
versions of Mexican food. I didn’t feel like I had the strength to get over
there, but I really wanted to stick to my plan, so I caught the Transit Steamer
from the Mediterranean Harbour across to the Lost River Delta. (Beware, if you
catch it here you must get off at Delta, you can only do a round trip from Cape
Cod pier). There was an older Japanese lady on the Transit Steamer who seemed
happy to see me, I think just because I was a tourist, and came over and
exchanged some pleasantries with me in Japanese. When we got off the boat
however she made some odd motions to the right and said something in Japanese I
didn’t catch. She then pointed at her park map and said “Show, hurry!” She then
grabbed my hand and started running through the Lost River Delta toward the
Arabian Coast. Tired as I was, I couldn’t very well disappoint somebody’s
Grandma, so I went with her. I ran through the crowds with her, wondering how
on earth I had ended up kidnapped by a Japanese obasan, but kind of enjoying the
oddness of it anyway.
Eventually she ran us into the courtyard of the Arabian Coast,
where Mickey, Minnie, Duffy, and Shellie Mae were doing their springtime stage
show, and insisted I stand in front of her to watch. I must admit it was a bit
of a production for something they do several times a day in different parts of
the park. Mickey and Duffy showed their lovely ladies what spring is like in
Arab countries, in a not at all Disneyfied or slightly stereotyped way ;) The
dancing girls around them were very good at their jobs, so it was still pretty
fun to see. After the show, the lady who had brought me here then motioned me
to follow her to the stage, where she picked up some of the heart shaped
confetti they had thrown and gave it to me, and asked if I wanted a picture in
front of the stage. She took a picture of me, I offered to take one of her but
she didn’t want one, and then after that she bowed, said it was lovely to meet
me and ‘bye bye’, and left! As far as I can see she just wanted this foreign
girl who was all alone to see how awesome their shows were, and have a nice
time. I was now far from where I had intended to be, with aching feet, but I
felt it was worth it to have one of those travel moments you’ll never forget.
After this I should have just eaten at the Casabah Food Court,
but I ate there on my last trip and I really wanted to try new restaurants.
With this in mind I slowly trudged back to the Lost River Delta, but by the
time I actually got to Miguel’s, I was feeling woozy and quite a bit nauseous.
I got a small fries just so I could have something starchy in my stomach, with
a large drink. I sat in a booth feeling awful, trying to nibble on my fries and
enjoying the cool drink. I considered that I may have been dehydrated, as I was
really into this drink. The nauseous feeling was not going away, so I sat
carefully with my food for about an hour.
I eventually finished my food, and
decided I had the strength to get up again, as long as I headed for something
mellow. I chose the Mermaid Lagoon Theatre show, a favourite of mine, as I
could sit down and it was nearby. I first saw this show on my last visit, not
really knowing what to expect, and being really excited when it turned out to
be a theatre-in-the-round style show on wires above us and with puppets! It was
really pretty, and despite the slight jarring effect of them speaking in
Japanese but singing in English, very nostalgic for me. I loved staring up at
the performers smiling faces as they ‘swam’ through the air. For those
interested in puppetry, I recommend you check in out for the giant Ursula face
puppet (along with separate tentacles) that descends upon the theatre in the
middle of the show. It’s a little creepy for small kids, but really fun to
watch in motion. The surprise, entirely non-canon ending was still in place,
and still just as funny (I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say they
are willing to completely derail the actual story to keep the show short enough
for small children).
After the show I wandered back through the Mysterious
Island, stopping to go on 20,000 Leagues again as it had no line and I got to
sit down. I decided on this ride through that this ride definitely unnerves me
a little more than I’m willing to admit as a fully grown, totally not scared of
underwater beasties adult. By this time I definitely needed to head back to the
hotel for a break, but I knew if I left now I’d miss the daytime show. So
instead, I headed down to the lagoon to stake out a good sitting spot for
Legend of Mythica, the daytime ‘parade’ of DisneySea. My photos are awful as my
viewing spot wasn’t the best, but I can safely say I’ve never seen a park try
to fit that many surprises into one parade. Fireworks, jet-skis, amazing
floats, characters, dancers, surprise characters on special platforms that only
rise up halfway through, surprise dancers on further surprise platforms, and then,
just when you think you’ve seen it all, they bring out BETTER floats with
hydras and unicorns and such. I personally liked the part where they docked and
the dancers came out to dance and play drums on the dock, because you really
got to see their dancing and their elaborate, if really weird, costumes.
Awesome 'starter' floats. You know, so the jet skis, kites, fireworks and giant fountain don't feel lonely.
Shore dancers. By the way nothing will convince me that these girls are not bronies. NOTHING.
The modest centrepiece of the show ;)
Cool dragon puppet/kite
Ah yes, that's what it needs: bigger floats with hydras and unicorns!
After the show, I just had to go and rest, so at a little
past 3pm I dragged my aching feet and nauseous body slowly but surely to the train,
and survived the train changes to my neighbourhood. I must have looked how I
felt, because people offered me seats on the train, a rarity for someone in
their 20s like me. I slowly dragged my feet down the 15 minute walk from my
station to the hotel. On the way, I passed an older, slightly drunk Japanese man hanging around
outside what I assume was his favourite bar with a 1 litre can of beer (yes,
they do exist). When he saw me he laughed and said ‘Hehe, atsui desu ne?’ (Hot,
isn’t it?). I managed a meagre ‘Hai’ and a smile, and shuffled on my way. At
least drunken happy man feels for me, I thought. By the time I reached the
hotel it was 4:15pm, and I wondered if I could even get myself back to the park
for the evening. A two hour nap later I knew it just wasn’t going to happen. My
whole body ached, and I still felt kind of nauseous. Given that I had a lot to
do on my park hopping day the following morning, I decided to stay home for the
night and rest. I was beginning to wonder if I was suspiciously tired, but I
didn’t have any symptoms of sickness other than the exhaustion, so I figured I’d
rest and see how I was tomorrow. Sick or not, my Disney vacation would not be
stopped!
Did I get up the next morning? Find out in my next post!
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