The Magic Of Happiness Is Here! A Tokyo TR Update 8/19

xoSamma

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
The Magic Of Happiness Is Here!

This is a celebration of smiles and joy, for children of all ages
Join your Disney friends on a merry go round journey of joy and wonders
There’s magic in a grin, so let your magic begin. Smile! Happiness is here!


Sam

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Hi I’m Sam, a 23 year old toddler teacher by day and a disney enthusiast 24/7. Disney World is my “home” resort, I grew up going since I was a baby, worked for the Disney company by participating in the Disney College program, and in recent years I find myself taking more spontaneous trips to the world then I should, making me know that resort like the back of my hand. However it was time to adventure away from what I know best and experience a whole new magical land located around the world. This would officially begin my dream of visiting all the Disney parks around the world.


Marisa

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Marisa joined me on this crazy wonderful adventure. She is a 23 year old high school choir director who I am forever grateful to have in my life for the past 20 years. She may not be a huge Disney fan like myself but she puts up with me and is always up for an adventure.


Alicia

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Alicia is my older sister, who was at the time of this trip working in the Tokyo Disney parks and finishing up her 14 month contract. Like me she is big on Disney, with many trips to disney world, followed by her moving to FL to work for the mouse for 3 years before moving to Tokyo. I will forever be grateful to her because without her this trip would have never been a thing.


When: March 19-26

Where: Tokyo, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneysea



Joy out of the blue, Smiles inside of you.
Like a child again with Mickey and friends, jump and shout and let it all out
A sparkle's in your eyes, You suddenly feel alive
Cause HAPPINESS. The magic of HAPPINESS IS HERE!
 


Yay! I'm super excited to read this! I'd love to go to Tokyo. I've really enjoyed your other trip reports.
 


Joining in to follow along! I leave for Tokyo in 10 days and am sooooo excited!!!!
 
I've been anxiously awaiting this trip report. I hope you had a wonderful time visiting your sister and experiencing Disney around the world.
 
:yay: Yay Sam I'm so glad ur doing another trip report I think your amazing at reliving disney, can't wait to read more!!!
 
Very excited to read along!
Yay! Welcome along

How exciting! I am looking forward to reading along!
Thanks for joining in!

Yay! I'm super excited to read this! I'd love to go to Tokyo. I've really enjoyed your other trip reports.
I would really love to go back to tokyo, it was beautiful there. Thanks for following along!

Looking forward to another of your trip reports!
Welcome along and thank you for following along on all my crazy adventures!

SO excited to read this!
Welcome! I'm so excited to relive it and share it with everyone

Joining in to follow along! I leave for Tokyo in 10 days and am sooooo excited!!!!
You are going to have the best time!!! I love tokyo!

I've been anxiously awaiting this trip report. I hope you had a wonderful time visiting your sister and experiencing Disney around the world.
I'm so excited to be starting it! I took a million photos saying "I need these for the dis" It was a great time seeing my sister again after being apart for so long.

:yay: Yay Sam I'm so glad ur doing another trip report I think your amazing at reliving disney, can't wait to read more!!!
That is so sweet! Thank you for following along!
 
Planning For Japan

October 2014 my sister got offered a job being a character performer at Tokyo Disney, from the day she found out I knew that I would have to do anything I could in order to get it there to see her.The hardest thing about planning this trip was trying to find someone to go with me. Traveling to Japan isn’t the most cheapest thing to do and it’s not the ideal plane ride away. At one point I came to terms with going by myself and that was the most scariest idea I ever had. But I knew I couldn’t let this opportunity pass.
Fast forward to June, Marisa and I went out to breakfast to catch up on life and ended up coming home and booking flights to Japan on a whim. With Marisa being a teacher our choices were limited, summer was too close. We originally thought christmas break and be there for New Years but decided against that. Then we settled for Spring Break, it wasn't the most ideal time because it was the end of Alicia's contract but I knew I could also help her bring her belongings home. After booking the flights it still seemed like March was forever away. Our countdown started at 270 days and it always just seemed like “yeah i’m going to Japan” but that day was never actually going to happen.

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All summer long we took the time to plan, Marisa bought a book on Japan, google and trip reports (which are few to none compared to WDW trip reports) became my best friend, and we made a list of everything we wanted to see. That list was then looked over multiple times and many of our ideas were crossed out because we didn't have enough time (just another reason to go back).
Once summer ended we had a very “rough” draft for our trip, Marisa allowed me to have my 3 days in Disney and her 2.5 days exploring Japan. She would plan the Tokyo days, I would do what I know best and plan the Disney days. Summer was over and Marisa moved back to Maryland to start another school year. Throughout the fall it was just a few texts here and there about the trip, details and countdown.

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Christmas break came and we knew this would be the last time we would see each other before Japan. So we officially made our plans and set them in stone. I would try to talk to Alicia but the 14 hour time difference was a struggle, so we just hoped everything we wanted to do was possible.
The 2 months leading up to the trip we face timed enough times to get me ready and not so nervous. Marisa bought the Disney tickets because she said “if I make a mistake at least its a mistake for both tickets.” Purchasing tickets are different from WDW, you can only park hop on 3 days or more and the first 2 days have to be spent full day at one park. So one day Disneyland, second day Disneysea, third day park hop. When purchasing your tickets you have to pick your park order just too make sure you are allowed in if the parks hit capacity, which easter week they will be.
Then a week before we facetimed for a good 3 hours, we packed for the day by day, I freaked her out thinking we were on 2 totally different flights to Tokyo, we figured out how much to exchange into yen once arriving, and then we freaked out about what we would do if Alicia wasn't off work the day we arrived.
But after that day I was completely ready too go. And after 7 short days we would be making our way to Japan!!!!





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Can't wait to hear how much fun you guys had. If my oldest ever gets orders to japan I plan on flying over to see him plus visit Disney. We also talked about visiting Shanghai Disney.
 
Wow, how exciting! I'll definitely be reading along as you post about all that you did! And how cool that your sister worked on the inside! :) I'm going to Tokyo Disney for my 25th birthday this summer, and you're right, trip reports are few and far between!
 
Yes yes yes!!! SO glad I stumbled upon this this morning!!!
I'm super excited to read all about it! Your TR's are always so amazing & entertaining and I definitely need more Tokyo details! Lol Cannot wait to go this fall!
Going to watch the video now!!
 
The Magic Of Happiness Is Here!

This is a celebration of smiles and joy, for children of all ages
Join your Disney friends on a merry go round journey of joy and wonders
There’s magic in a grin, so let your magic begin. Smile! Happiness is here!


Sam

26155102141_677469ff0b_z.jpg


Hi I’m Sam, a 23 year old toddler teacher by day and a disney enthusiast 24/7. Disney World is my “home” resort, I grew up going since I was a baby, worked for the Disney company by participating in the Disney College program, and in recent years I find myself taking more spontaneous trips to the world then I should, making me know that resort like the back of my hand. However it was time to adventure away from what I know best and experience a whole new magical land located around the world. This would officially begin my dream of visiting all the Disney parks around the world.


Marisa

26128958852_82509f1008_z.jpg


Marisa joined me on this crazy wonderful adventure. She is a 23 year old high school choir director who I am forever grateful to have in my life for the past 20 years. She may not be a huge Disney fan like myself but she puts up with me and is always up for an adventure.


Alicia

25616647104_31ccaf1f5c_z.jpg


Alicia is my older sister, who was at the time of this trip working in the Tokyo Disney parks and finishing up her 14 month contract. Like me she is big on Disney, with many trips to disney world, followed by her moving to FL to work for the mouse for 3 years before moving to Tokyo. I will forever be grateful to her because without her this trip would have never been a thing.


When: March 19-26

Where: Tokyo, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneysea



Joy out of the blue, Smiles inside of you.
Like a child again with Mickey and friends, jump and shout and let it all out
A sparkle's in your eyes, You suddenly feel alive
Cause HAPPINESS. The magic of HAPPINESS IS HERE!
Yippee!!!! Been seeing your pics on Instagram and couldn't wait to read the report!
 
Can't wait to hear how much fun you guys had. If my oldest ever gets orders to japan I plan on flying over to see him plus visit Disney. We also talked about visiting Shanghai Disney.
I had a blast! Disney sea is a must do if you ever go to japan, by far the best disney park.

Wow, how exciting! I'll definitely be reading along as you post about all that you did! And how cool that your sister worked on the inside! :) I'm going to Tokyo Disney for my 25th birthday this summer, and you're right, trip reports are few and far between!
It was definitely cool to see my sister at work. I hope you have a blast on your birthday trip! And I also hope that this trip report helps a little bit.

Yes yes yes!!! SO glad I stumbled upon this this morning!!!
I'm super excited to read all about it! Your TR's are always so amazing & entertaining and I definitely need more Tokyo details! Lol Cannot wait to go this fall!
Going to watch the video now!!
Aw thanks Katt! Please take me with you!!! You'll have a blast.

Yippee!!!! Been seeing your pics on Instagram and couldn't wait to read the report!
Yay! Welcome along!
 
Your Adventure Awaits

The beginning of the week leading up to the trip was an absolute nightmare and it couldn't go by any more slowly. I couldn't even begin to explain how perfectly this trip fell because all I needed was to get away from everyone and everything. Friday, the day before I left, came around. I only had to get through 10 hours watching my little tots, plan activities and crafts for the upcoming week when I was gone, and then I was out of that building so fast. Once I got home I did the "throw everything in you suitcase even if you don't need it" routine. Surprisingly I felt like I wasn't forgetting anything and I was ready too go.
I knew ahead of time that I was going to need to try to stay up as long as possible to fight the jet leg and time difference once I arrived. So what better way to do that then to go out with friends. And after the week I had it's just what I needed. They were kind enough to keep me out until 1am and by the time I got home I was too excited to sleep so I took about a 2 hour "nap"

YOUR ADVENTURE AWAITS: March 19, 2016

My alarm went off at 4:30. I was tired and confused but soon realized I was going to Japan! I mean it would take me a full 24 hour day to get there but hey I was going to Japan!

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I don't think you can really prepare yourself for the long day of flights and travel but I did what I could. I threw the ridiculous amount of luggage in my Pa's car, woke my mother up to say goodbye, and my father was gracious enough to take me to the airport at 5am (good thing he works so early in the morning). The first leg of this trip I was flying solo and would meet Marisa in Minneapolis.
Once arriving at the airport I got my bags checked, went through security and sat at my gate until 6:30 when they started boarding. I found my seat on the little 2 by 2 plane, put on the hamilton soundtrack and passed out. I didn’t make it through the whole soundtrack before we got the “prepare for landing” announcement, making us super early adding another half hour to my already 4 hour layover.
I decided that I would just go straight to my gate and wait the 4 hours out, I hopped on the tram from C - G, walked the mall area they have and found my gate. The amount of people, in which was a very fancy international flight gate, was ridiculous. So I left and found the gate Marisa would be arriving at and found a nice couch to lounge on. Her flight was leaving when I was landing, so I was by myself for a good 2 hours.
Once she landed she started freaking out because she thought they were getting ready to board our flight, she forgot to take in to account that we gained an hour while traveling to different time zone. Before we headed to our gate I needed to grab some chickfila, the only downfall was they were out of the chickfila sauce…

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Marisa grabbed a bagel sandwich and ended up grabbing the wrong one at the counter. While she frantically asked what she should do, I just couldn’t stop laughing. She ended up taking it back up to the counter and got the right one. We sat and ate, then walked the whole airport to get to G from C. This was the perfect time to gush over Hamilton, we both got the soundtrack a week before not knowing that we both were obsessed.
side note: Hamilton will be mentioned A LOT in the report.
I think everyone should listen to it! Its a hip hop/rap musical about the founding father Alexander Hamilton. I’m not a fan of rap or history but Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. Plus we can always relate everything back to Disney, Jonathan Groff (voice of kristoff in frozen plays King George with the most catchiest song ever) and Lin wrote the music for Disney’s upcoming movie Moana (which will probably be the best soundtrack). So yeah check Hamilton out!
Once arriving to the gate we planned out when we were sleeping, Marisa took artsy photos for instagram and by the time we knew it it was time to board!

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The 12 hour flight was upon, ready or not. Every seat got a pillow, blanket, eye mask, meal menu, and headphones. The best part about this flight was that it was 2 by 4 by 2, and we were lucky enough to just have us to in a row. Then to make the time go faster Delta supplied us with new released movies and another million movies to choose from, making me feel sad that I didn’t have enough time to watch all of them.
I also am really proud of delta for having the Hamilton soundtrack under their show tunes because Marisa and I joked around saying that it would be there.

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Prepare for take off. Once in the air we were given warm towels, we both watched The Intern and had to try to push play at the same time.
Near the end of the movie our dinner came, you get an option between 2 meals. This flight was ratatouille or beef tip curry, I went with the curry and was surprised with how much food we were given. On top of the main dish we got a roll, caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, and a brownie. The beef was surprisingly really good.

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After eating we started The Intern back up, got a glass of wine because we’re fancy and all alcohol was free. The couple in front of us probably had 5 bottles just between the both of them by the end of the flight.
After the Intern it was time for a Hamilton jam sesh, too bad everyone around us were sleeping because we were putting on a really good show.
My 3 hour nap the night before caught up with me. So I put on Inside Out and passed out for maybe 2 hours. Then was woken up with more food, this was a “little” snack. A pretzel bread turkey sandwich, cookies, banana and a water bottle.

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I put on my last movie of the flight, The Last Ride, just your basic Nicholas Spark movie. And once again fell asleep afterwards. This time it was harder to sleep and I finally fell asleep too late. The last hour was the worst, I was so tired making me really crabby. They were starting to pass out the last meal and I knew I needed to wake up. But after a dark 11 hour flight the lights were not my friend. The last meal was either chicken or egg. I went with chicken, although I didn’t eat really anything from this meal, just the fruit and the “fun sized” chocolate bar.

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Our flight attendant kind of sucked, we needed customs/ immigration papers to fill out and she just would not work with us. We pushed our “get an attendant” button, she came over just to turn it off without asking us what we needed…luckily we had another attendant who was nice enough to give us the papers.
We quickly filled them out and then we were landing in JAPAN!!!!





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YEAH! Sam has started her report. I am excited to follow along. I hope you had a great trip.
 
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I can't even imagine being on a plane for 24 hours. :crazy2: Good news is you have a week of fun ahead of you.
 

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