...with the Watts family!
While Brian's away for a month on a humanitarian medical mission, we are trying to keep busy. And we can't afford to miss out on some of our last Japanese experiences. So, this week we drove about an hour to Tokyo Disnleyland with our friends Kathleen, Harry, Sydney and Julia. It was a blast! Everybody had a friend and there were (barely!) enough adults to man all four kids. 
We didn't get to try the new Monsters Inc. ride, which opened the day we visited (April 15), because there was an 160-minute wait with no Fastpass option. But we didn't know what we were missing and hit all the usual favorites, including the teacups, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.
Apparently one of the trademarks of Disneyland is the variety of flavored popcorn one can eat throughout the park. I was on the make for a Tinkerbell tub, and although we saw several people sporting them around their neck, we didn't know how to ask in Japanese, and alas, never found one. Instead, Sydney was just as happy eating our Monsters Inc. tub full of caramel popcorn. Then we also tried the curry popcorn. We passed on the standard salted popcorn, and even turned down the soy sauce and butter popcorn, despite its originality and local popularity (as revealed by the long line of Japanese nationals.)
I had forgotten how infectiously magical the Disney experience can be! But it's even more fun with your own kids. I hope we can get to DisneySea with Brian in May before we leave. And then here we come Disney World and Shades of Green!
