Chapter 7

Tokyo Disneyland

This was my first time going to Disneyland ever! My parents, Nathan, and I woke up early and had breakfast at six o’clock in the hotel buffet. One of my aunts joined us too. However, my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and my cousins did not wake up as early as us. They decided to go to Disneyland later than us.

Since we had no more cars to use, we walked out of the hotel to the MRT station after having our breakfast. When we were about to tap our train tickets, my dad realized he forgot to bring his jacket and it was drizzling. So, we had to wait for him at the station until he returned with his jacket. We waited for fifteen minutes and he came back with his jacket. Then we got onto a train. While riding MRT, we saw many people dressed in working clothes. I think they were leaving for work.

Then, we had to transit once to switch trains to reach Disneyland. During the transit, we walked for quite a long time and there were lots of people even though it was still early in the morning. On the second train, it was super packed. We couldn’t get a seat so we had to stand up along the way to Disneyland. I learned to strengthen my foothold whenever the train was stopping and departing so I did not fall. The ride was longer than thirty minutes.

When we arrived at Disneyland train station, it was the last station and everyone got off the train. We followed the other people because we didn’t know the way. Since they were wearing Mickey Mouse headbands or hats, we assumed that they were going to Disneyland.

Later, we saw a sign that showed another train station leading to Disneyland.

Unknowingly, we thought that was another train we had to take. Hence, we paid for the tickets again and went up to the train platform. But this time, the train that showed up was a Disney train! There were so few people riding it and we easily got our seats. It turned out we could walk to the entrance instead of riding the Disney train. It was optional. But I was glad we rode the Disney train as it was so cute because it was Mickey Mouse-themed. The train even had Mickey Mouse ears. The window was shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head too. There was Disney music played inside the train. It was a short ride but it was so fun and lovely.

We finally arrived at the entrance gate of Disneyland. Disneyland opened at nine in the morning and there were lots of people waiting in front of the gates including us. We were waiting in line for a while until they opened. When we entered, we were given a map of the theme park.

Excited, we went in and we bought Minnie Mouse headbands and wore them. On our way, we saw Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Winnie the Pooh, Goofy, Piglet, and many more characters! So many people gather around them to take a picture with them. I took a picture with Piglet and Minnie mouse. We also saw a band parade playing Disney songs. It was lovely.

We looked at the map and decided to go for the Indiana Jones boat ride first. There was a long line for the ride so we waited in line again. The wait was boring. There were fake crocodiles, elephants, monkeys, and King Kong in the river. The boat went into a cave too. The water almost got us wet. It was fun, adventurous, but smelly. The first ride took us almost an hour because of the wait.

The next ride was Peter Pan’s ride. The wait was even longer than the previous ride. It took us more than an hour just to wait for our turn. It was so crowded because it was the end of the year and the holiday season. The Peter Pan ride was cool because we had to sit on a boat and the boat was flying instead of being on the water. The rides were worth the wait.

Next, we met up with my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins. We went on a ride and the queue was long. We had to wait about an hour and a half just for waiting. There was a song in there and the song was titled “It’s a small world”. We hopped onto the boats and the boats floated along the rivers. I saw lots and lots of different countries’ cultures, people, and many more. The ride was so cool. I even saw fake animals that were playing the song just like a parade.

After that ride, it was past lunchtime already. We went to a restaurant that looked more like a canteen and we had to wait again to just take a seat. I was really bored and finally, we found a seat. We only ordered fast food as there were not that many food options. We ordered burgers, pizza, french fries, and drinks. We were happy and full after our lunch because we were hungry. It was cold and drizzling before.

After we ate, we walked to another ride that we wanted. We walked to a fountain of the seven dwarfs and Snow White. We took pictures in front of the fountain.

Then I walked in the front of my family then when I look back, my family was gone. I thought I was lost, so I started to shout, “Mommy! Daddy!”. But it turned out they went in another direction and I did not follow them.

So, after that experience, I just decided to follow my parents instead of walking in front. Then the next ride had another long queue and the kids including me were tired of standing up just to wait. So, we sat on the floor. After the wait, we finally tried the ride. However, the ride wasn’t that fun and the long wait was not worth it in my opinion.

After that, my aunts, uncle, grandparents, and cousins wanted to see the parade at two o’clock. My mom, dad, Nathan, and I were tired so we just sat on a bench. They went to the west and then, the parade turned out to be at the east while they went west. So, we went to see the parade and took pictures. Many people gathered around to see the parade passing by. But we couldn’t see it very clearly, so we went to a queuing place that had no people. Then, there was a woman that told us that we couldn’t take a photo there because that area was for people that wanted to line up for the ride. Obligingly, we went away. I saw the parade where Disney characters waved at us on each train from far away. After we took photos of them, we met the others.

However, they told us that my grandpa was lost. We looked for him frantically. Luckily, we found him quickly but he was naturally upset. My mom went to accompany both my grandpa and grandma. She took them to a restaurant to eat snacks and drink while the rest of us continued to have more rides.

The next ride we lined up for was a mini roller coaster in Mickey-Town. The wait for super long as well, about an hour and a half. It was not so fun this time. The ride was too short. Then, we watched a Disney show on the stage. It was already 5.30 p.m. by the time we left the show. After that, we met up with my mom and grandparents. We all went to the toilet and we bought some toys in a souvenir store in Disneyland. Finally, we exited Disneyland. This time we walked back to the MRT station instead of using the Disney train to save some money. We went to have dinner and walked around for a bit before returning to the hotel to rest.

I was so tired and feeling so cold. I was sure the others felt the same way. In total, we only played six rides because of the crowd and the long queue. We learned that the next time we visit Disneyland, it had to be a non-holiday season and not during winter. My mom wished to also visit DisneySea in the future with us. We went back to our hotel and rested for tomorrow.