Disney Sea and other spring break adventures...

Sorry I have not been around.  The kids were on spring break and hubby even got to take a week of leave.  Woohoo!  Last Monday we surprised the kids with a trip to the Pokemon Center in Yokohama.  We just told them that we somewhere to go that was work related.  But once we got close to the Landmark Tower- where the Pokemon Center is- they got excited.  It was a lot nicer to go on a Monday (as opposed to Sunday).  It was nice and quiet and I could actually walk around without getting run over by an 8 year old.  I am learning that Sunday is not a good day to go to places like the Pokemon Center or any other big touristy spot.  That is like family day in Japan and EVERYONE is out and about.

Thursday we visited Disney Sea.  It is right next door to Tokyo Disney.  Disney Sea is kind of like California Adventure- but smaller. 
We had a blast- in spite of freezing all of our limbs off.  It rained for most of the day- which meant that the park was pretty empty.  We didn't wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a ride.  My favorite was Journey to the Center of the Earth- it was very imaginiative.  We all enjoyed Ariel's playground- even though it is geared for little kids.  The reason being is that it is all inside- and it is warm!  I can see it being a great place in the summer as well- to get away from the heat this time.

Ariel's Playground.  I have no idea how to take a picture in this kind of lighting- so the picture really sucks.  But you can get an idea of what it looks like- the whole "under the sea" theme.  In addition to the rides, they had different rooms and all kinds of stuff for the kids to climb on/in.  And there is lots of seating for the parents!

The kids like Raging Spirits- which is a 360 loop roller coaster.  It is not really that scary- especially when you ride it over 10 times in one day. (I am not exaggerating either!)  They have the Tower of Terror like California Adventure- but I think here it is not as tall?  Who cares when it's the first couple of seconds in the plunge of death that really flips your stomach!
Oh- I have to warn anyone who visits- do not- I repeat- DO NOT eat at the Mexican restaurant.  Sure- they have the authentic Mariachi band and homemade tortillas.  But everything else- YUCK!! 

There were a lot of school children there- I believe junior high age.  They had their uniforms on and they were all having a ball.  We enjoyed watching some boys trying to push each other in the water (you know those kind of fountains that come up out of the ground at random intervals?)  The girls would occassionally stop to say hi to Sissy.  I am regretting not getting a picture of them (the school girls) with her.  Next time, right?

If I had to chose between Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea- I would chose the latter.   Tokyo Disney does not really have anything new- it is a miniature version of the orginal park in Anaheim.  Of course the food and language is all different- so it is still a must see in my book.

Here it finally stopped raining long enough for some of the characters to come out for pictures.  They didn't make everyone wait in line like they do in Anaheim these days(which I think is totally lame in a way.)

Ha!  Brother thought he was going to get away without taking a picture with Dale.  But good ole' Dale grabbed his arm and pulled me in for another picture!

Some of our other plans were kaboshed due to the very cold and rainy weather.  I really think Mother Nature needs a complaint department- I need to yell at someone!  Friday morning we woke up to rain/snow mixture. WTH??

Here's to wishing for better weather...

update- This was written last week- for some reason I didn't get a chance to post.  I am happy to report that we are enjoying sunshine!!  I have that song in my head- "I'm walkin' on sunshine..."