Today, we were finally going to Tokyo Disneyland! But first we got some breakfast at Toastina, a counter service place in the hotel. They have seriously delicious and flaky croissants and fruit puff pastries (ranged from 220-280 yen each). Coffee was expensive at 570 yen for a large, but it was very good. They are takeout only for breakfast because their seating area is used for the breakfast buffet. We ate at a seating area in the lobby, but DD made a mess (I tried to clean up best as I could). We would get breakfast here the next 2 days as well, but I would come down to buy it and then take it back to our room. It was much easier to contain the mess that way.
After breakfast, I went to buy park tickets from the hotel counter (next to the front desk). There was a small line, but it wasn’t too bad. I could have used a credit card, but I charged it to the room (not that it makes much difference; I would pay by credit card when I check out anyways). We then took the hotel shuttle to Bayside Station to take the monorail, but only because we hadn’t gotten our bearings yet and weren’t quite sure how to walk there. The station is literally across the street from the Sheraton. It actually baffles me why they even have a shuttle at all. 
That night, we took the shuttle again…I don’t actually know why…because it was there?? But it was crowded and some people had to stand. Parents lug their strollers on with the kid still inside…it seems like more work than just walking across the street…. The next night, we had a race with the shuttle. Okay, the shuttle won, but not by much!
We used our Suica cards for the monorail and then realized it would have been cheaper to buy the 2 day pass (the Disney hotels we would stay at later would give us free monorail passes, so we only needed 2 days). But since we already paid, the pass was no longer cheaper, so we just used our Suica the rest of the time. So – moral of the story, price it out in advance. 
This was one of the first pictures we took at Tokyo Disneyland. The time stamp says 10:30 AM. Yeah – we are REALLY not early people! In fact, over 4 days, we never made rope drop or used the Happy 15 that came with the Disney hotels stays (kind of a waste 
).
Easter decorations, some of those are real cabbages and lettuce:
Today was a Sunday and the most crowded day over our 4 day visit. First thing I did was to get Fastpasses for Monsters Inc. (the return time was 7:30 PM) and try the lottery (located left of Space Mountain in Tomorrowland). I was really hoping for the reserved area of the night projection show Once Upon a Time, so that’s what I tried first – no luck. Then I tried One Man’s Dream II and struck out again. But we ended up seeing it on Tuesday standby.
Then it was time for the Easter parade – Hippity-Hoppity Springtime. We sat somewhere in the Hub, which is significantly bigger than at Disneyland Anaheim or Magic Kingdom in WDW. Everyone sits (except the very back), so even though we were 4-5 rows behind, we could still see. It was cute and colorful, but I kind of felt like all the floats were very similar just with different characters on them.
After the parade, we went to get the Easter Egg Hunt map for the kids (510 yen each). There are a few locations, but we found it at the ice cream place in World Bazaar, at the corner close to Tomorrowland. We went to DL for a short visit over spring break and just missed the egg hunt there, so I was happy to find that the one at TDL last so much longer. We got the beginner level one and it wasn’t hard at all. We just looked for them as we went to each area over the 2 days we were at TDL. In the picture are the prizes the kids got (Minnie and Daisy are made of metal). They are wrapped and come out of a prize box, so no choosing which one. I warned the kids beforehand – you get what you get and you don’t get upset. Too bad for DS that they were both “girly”.
We then went to Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall inside the castle. Here are some castle shots first, amazing DH got almost no people:
Then it was time for lunch. We decided on Grandma Sara’s Kitchen even though the line looked pretty long. DS and I went to get Fastpasses for Big Thunder Mountain, by the time we got back, DH and DD had gotten to the entrance of the restaurant. The line goes into the restaurant, so we waited a little more. It didn’t seem too bad though, but maybe because I didn’t wait the whole time.
Here are all the souvenir options. I got the cup and the plate. I went a little crazy with the souvenir cups (got a total of 3). They’re actually too small to be practical. This is my favorite one though because it has a lot of cute details, especially on the back. They give a bubble wrap pouch with every souvenir cup, so it was easy to wrap it up and put it in our backpack. The plate is plastic (not ceramic like we thought it would be), but it’s well made and the kids use it often. The food is on a separate plate, so it comes already bubble wrapped.
I got the omelet rice (yum):
DH got the chicken cream casserole (it was okay, I prefer the omelet rice):
Here’s the kids’ meal. One thing I really liked about the kids’ meal at TDR was that they gave little portions of many different things, so the kids would usually find at least one thing that they liked.
When we came out from Grandma Sara’s, we realized the regular parade (Happiness is Here) was coming. We were very late though and in the second standing row, so DH carried DS and I carried DD. She is heavy and I’m not strong so that always greatly affects my enjoyment of anything. I thought it was a better parade than the Easter one, more wow factor. I would have seen it again in a more comfortable spot, but nobody else was interested. Phooey.
Travels with 2 Kids 