A Magical Day

"You're daddy is on deployment, so what are you going to do?" "Let's go to DISNEY WORLD!"

...well, Tokyo Disneyland.

On the 4th of July here in Japan, and 4 days into Rob's deployment, Robby and I went back to Tokyo Disneyland. Let's face it, when Robby and mommy get sad who else, other than Mickey Mouse, will cheer us up.

Robby at the Happiest Place on Earth

For this trip (our 5th trip to Disney here in Japan), we decided to take part in our base's MWR trip there. They offer a bus ride to and from Disney which meant that Robby and I could sit back and enjoy the ride inside of drive our way through Tokyo or venture through the trains. It was a wise choice because our bus departed at 0700 sharp, so Robby and I were able to multi task and eat our breakfast on the bus.

We arrived to Disney 30 minutes before the park opened. Traditionally, all Disney parks will open their gates early and allow guests to walk Mainstreet and wait for the big moment when the park officially opened the rest of the park. This was not the case in Tokyo. People were lined up sitting on blankets waiting for the gate to open. There was no loud announcement to commemorate the day's park opening, just a mad rush to be the first to enter the park.

Robby and I took our time and were able to get a few fast passes to the most popular attractions and enjoy a slow paced day at Mickey's house. We rode Rodger Rabbit's Toon Spin, It's a Small World, Monsters Inc., Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tea Cups, the Carousel, and watched one of their special parades up front along the parade route. We fit quite a bit in our day and Robby loved every minute of it. Well, most of the time he had fun. Ever since Rob left, Robby has been exceptionally "clingy" to me. It is a classic trait for his age, but it started the second Rob deployed and he has never shown any signs of this prior. Robby grabbed my arm with both hands and whimpered on ALL the rides (except for the Tea Cups which he laughed at me for getting dizzy). Robby was quite different than even last month's trip to Disney. I hope it is just a phase.

The park was decorated for a festival that Japan celebrates, called Tanabata, and had a special parade in honor of Tanabata (more on what Tanabata is on a later post). Robby absolutely LOVED the parade. He has always loved Disney characters and how animated they are, but has grown very fond of a specific Disney movie... Tangled (based on the story of Rapunzel). Rob and I are convinced he has a thing for blondes, hence the reason he loves this movie so much. In the Tanabata parade, Rapunzel and her opposite, Flynn Rider, approached Robby who was dancing and smiling along the parade route. The "face characters" were American and spotted us out like a sore thumb. Flynn Rider shook Robby's hand and complimented him on his American flag bib and Rapunzel blew him a kiss. Robby's face was priceless. The smile on his face and the look he gave me was something I will always remember. It was... magical.

Tanabata Star festival parade

Our day was quite long at Disney. Our bus didn't depart until 9pm. We spent a full 12 hours at Disney and I have never been more grateful for the wonderful baby center's that Disney parks have. It offered a great place to change and feed Robby and the bathrooms were mama friendly. They had a great wall mounted infant chair inside the stall to put your baby while we went to the restroom. They even have a sink perfect for Robby's height to wash his hands (Robby loved this by the way).

Wall mounted infant chair

Robby fell asleep around 7pm, but before he did, we participated in the Tanabata celebration and wrote a wish down on a paper and hung it under the lanterns along Main Street. There were many guests and employees who wore kimonos and the cast members who wore kimonos had hidden Mickey's on them. It was adorable.

Genie and Little Mermaid kimonos for sale

One of the many walls of wishes

Our wish for the Tananbata festival

Disney cast member posing with Robby

Robby and I both slept on the 90 minute ride back to base, and we were wiped out the next day. We needed a few days to recover before we took another MWR trip with our fellow pilot spouses of VAW-115, and there will be another post on that later. For now it is time to sign off and say good night.

 7 days down for Rob's second deployment!