When I left off, I had just returned to
Disneyland after an adventure in Tokyo, with enough time so I wouldn't miss my hard-won lottery ticket for One Man's Dream II.
I finally had a chance to enjoy the decorations at the front of the park that I'd barely seen in my rush to get to Pooh's Hunny Hunt at rope drop.
It was a bit strange for Main Street to have a roof, but it did help keep it warmer than in the more exposed areas of the park.
Since I had a little time, and was hungry for a snack, I headed over to Toontown to grab something but hopefully not get trapped by the afternoon parade. My stop? The Good Time Cafe.
The Donald (shrimp) Burger. Oh- this was delicious! One of the best things I ate at TDR, outside of Magellan's. The shrimp had great flavor & seasoning, the fried breading was crunchy but not greasy, the webbed-foot bun was adorable and tasty. Home Run! I also got some more Kirin Apple Tea soda which I loved.
Heading into Tomorrowland for the show, I found this adorable vending machine near the base of Space Mountain.
Then it was time for One Man's Dream II
This show was also quite fun, although almost exclusively in Japanese. But I really had a hard time paying attention as the theater is an open-air theater and it had started to get cold as the sun went down. If you're going in the wintertime, you may want to try to see it during the daytime when it is warmer.
I was still hungry, and wanted to try to grab some more infamous TDR snacks before it was time to start camping out for Dreamlights. I ended up at Boiler Room Bites for snacks, then sitting in the covered but open air seating across the way.
Barbecue pork and teriakyi chicken steamed bun. I liked the pork better than the chicken.
Strawberry & Milk steamed bun. I liked this one better overall. I thought about grabbing a bowl of ramen at China Voyager to warm me up, as the open air seating was still quite cold but I didn't think I could finish it and didn't want to throw a bunch away. Instead, I headed back to Country Bears to get inside and sit for a while.
There was a little more than an hour to go before Dreamlights, and so I walked towards the castle a bit, but noticed that all the benches seemed to be filling up, so I walked back towards Westernland and found a bench that still had room for one Pooh-sized American. The Japanese ladies that were sitting there didn't have any English, but somehow we were able to pantomime that I needed to take a bathroom break and not to let anyone else take my spot. Not that anyone would- it's so civilized. This was a nice spot as it wasn't super crowded, it was out of the wind so it was slightly warmer, and we had a nice long sightline for taking photos/videos.
Because I can't figure out how to embed videos, I can't post my video of the parade, but it was absolutely fantastic and puts the Main Street Electrical Parade to shame.
As soon as it finished, I had one more ride I wanted to try, and was hoping the line wasn't too long. The Jungle Cruise! It was posted with a 15 minute wait, so I jumped in line. While waiting, I spotted these warning signs and had to get pictures of them. Hilarious!
While my skipper narrated the tour completely in Japanese, his great facial expressions and vocal intonation made him a joy to watch and listen to. I told myself a few of the English jokes, and generally had a great time.
I thought about trying to find a spot for Once Upon a Time, but I just didn't have it in me. I was cold, and my feet hurt. And I had received an urgent text that a friend needed a Gelatoni before I left, if at all possible. So I could put my park hopper to good use, finally! I managed to catch the fireworks from a new and interesting vantage point.
The front of the monorail!! This was really cool and a fun way to see the fireworks in warmth.
I rushed into DisneySea and braved the unbelievable crowd to get a Gelatoni, and then took one more picture of the lovely Christmas decorations to remember it by.
There's one more installment to finish up this report, and it will be coming in the next day or so.