Opened the curtain this morning to find a cloudy rainy morning out there.   Weather forecast said it would clear late morning so we decided to go Disneyland and hope it was right.  First stop the ticket counter at the hotel to buy passes for the day then we went up to the Sheraton Club for breakfast.  After eating put on rain gear, double checked the weather, then headed for the lobby.  Boarded a waiting Resort Cruiser for the short ride across the street then the Resort Line to reach the park.   We arrived just after park opening and waited a few minutes to get through security.  No delays at the park entrance.  World Bazaar was jammed with guests waiting for the anniversary moment.   After a disappointing moment (no audio or riser so you could not hear or see from where I was) we inched through the crowd toward Adventureland.  Pirates was a walk on so went for a cruise to get out of the weather and away from the crowds.  Once back on land roamed through Adventureland and decided to take the Jungle Cruise.  Once back went upstairs to the railroad.  Continued on to Westernland as the sun came out so it was time to take off the rain gear.  Made a quick trip to Critter Country to grab a FastPass for Splash Mountain for some of the group then strolled through Fantasyland and into Tomorrowland.  Tried our luck for lottery tickets at showbase, we failed for both the parade and One Man’s Dream II.   Wandered around Tomorrowland then back to the Central Plaza.  Some of the group made a quick trip back to the room to change out some gear then I made another pass through Tomorrowland.  Star Tours was posted at 10 minutes so went for a flight.   Then continued through Tomorrowland and out to Toon Town to look around.    Strolled through Fantasyland and rejoined my group near Splash Mountain.  They used their FastPasses then we decided it was lunch time.  I ate Pizza Port and some at Tomorrowland Terrace then we spent some time in World Bazaar shopping and looking at the decorations.  Watched a couple of the atmosphere entertainment groups in Adventureland and then went for a cruise on the Mark Twain.   Once back on shore paid a visit to Camp Woodchuck then headed to the central plaza to find a spot for the new parade, Dreaming Up!.   After the parade our plan was to use a FastPass for Buzz but the return queue looked terrible so went to check out the stand by for One Man’s Dream, but that was closed already too.  So ended up at Tomorrowland Terrace grabbing a bite to eat.  Went for a trip on the Omnibus around the Central Plaza then took some pictures of Cinderella Castle.  Made my way to World Bazaar and watched the projection/light show several times from various locations.   Just before 7:30pm moved back to the Central Plaza and found a spot for Dreamlights.  Then for the Brand New Dream Fireworks.  About 5 minutes before showtime though they were cancelled.  Took some more pictures of World Bazaar and the entrance area as I headed for the Resort Line to call it a day.

• Today Tokyo Disneyland turns 35 years old and the celebration officially starts today with new entertainment and other offerings.  There is a brief moment to mark the occasion scheduled for 8:30am in World Bazaar.
• We were up early again so bought our park ticket for the day before breakfast.  The hotel has a ticket counter at the front desk.  The process is quick and easy.   We had held off buying tickets to double check the chance of rain, etc.. forecast looked ok, just some scattered showers so we bought a 1 day ticket for Disneyland to use.  Tokyo Disney multi day passes max out at 4 unless you purchase an annual pass.   And the rules are park hopping after the 2nd day of a multi day pass.. since we wanted to park hop our last two days we had to buy a 1 day then a 4 day to achieve this.  Also you have to specify which park you visit for single day and the first two days of a multi day ticket.  So we held off on our 4 day until we knew for sure what order we wanted to visit the parks.
• Breakfast this morning was at the Sheraton Club.  They had a fair amount of food out but most options I did not care for.  Nearly half were Asian choices.  I ended up with toast and bakery.   I would have really liked a waffle, French toast, or pancake type option.  The bakery was fairly limited and not as fresh as what we had in Shanghai.
• The rain of course picked up during breakfast but was supposed to blow through by late morning.  When we set off though it was pouring and gusts in the 30+ MPH range.  
• We arrived at Disneyland just before the 8am park opening and found a small line at one security checkpoint, walked to the other side of the station and no wait there, park gates were nearly empty too.  It seems they let guests in early for the ceremony that was to start at 8:30am.
• We walked up to World Bazaar and ran straight into the masses and chaos.  The area was packed.  You could barely move around.  There were a lot of cast members on hand and a couple walkways were created and they attempted to keep them open.  I moved maybe 1/3 the way up the street and decided to give up being able to see the stage and hope they were on a riser and we would have audio.  The rest of my group retreated back to entrance to get out of the massive crowd.
• A huge difference in Tokyo vs Shanghai crowds.. the street was packed (as were the stores) and everyone was basically on top of each other, but I did not see any pushing or other aggressive behavior.  Even the people around me that could not see a thing because they were not tall enough to see over the crowd were patiently waiting.
• This 35th anniversary moment was the first major disappointment/failure I have experienced with the Tokyo parks.  They did not have the speakers or the performers on a raised stage (or not a high enough raise) so very few people could see them.  Then they did not pipe the audio throughout the area.   So you could not hear it.  I was within a half a block away and could not hear or see anything except a sea of guests. They really should have had additional screens, viewing areas and audio.
• The cast members of Tokyo Disneyland were extremely excited for the anniversary.  There were a lot of high fives, cheers, flag waving, and general happiness conveyed by all we encountered.   I thought it was interesting how a large number of cast members had 35th anniversary flags.. all attraction greeters and others out in the park.  They would wave these, take pictures with you or let you take pictures with them.  I thought this may just be for today, but they were out our entire trip.   It was great to see the excitement and this continued throughout our trip.
• It was still raining when we finally reached the exit to World Bazaar so we decided to head for Adventureland and some covered/indoor attractions and were really pleased to find them all basically walk ons.  We went from Pirates to Jungle Cruise to the Railroad with no delays. Then the weather cleared as predicted and it turned out to be a nice day.
• There are 10 Golden Mickey Statues around the park for the anniversary celebration.  You can buy a device that allows you to interact with them in some way (I did not pay that close of attention to it since it said Japanese only).  It appeared to be just audio, unlike the crystals for DisneySea’s 15th Anniversary that had a light component too.  I thought the statues were well done and great photo ops.
• Tried my luck at the lottery for One Man’s Dream II and for the 2nd parade of the day, no lottery for the first.  We lost on both.   Also learned soon after the 1st parade was cancelled so that explains why no lottery.
• With the better weather the lines crept up as the day went on, but Star Tours was still nearly a walk on. It was posted at 10 minutes but was under 5 when I paid a visit.  
• Paid a visit to the Mark Twain.  The boat has been decorated for the 35th anniversary and a subtle change to the audio instrumental to feature the theme song for the anniversary.
• Speaking of the anniversary theme, Brand New Day, it is present throughout both parks in many forms.  Almost every show has added it this includes most of the atmosphere entertainment.
• Walking around the park I spotted more westerners than I had in the past this trip.  I saw some others who have Disney related websites that I had run into at the D23 Expos over the years. 
• The new Parade for the 35th Anniversary is called Dreaming Up!  It officially debuted today replacing Happiness is Here (which premiered for the 30th anniversary).    The parade was well done with a large cast and a lot of performers.  It was on a level of the prior Happiness is Here which is beyond the parades we are used to here in the U.S.  I preferred the old parade, I think the sound track was more to my liking but this is a great parade still.
• I was able to do something I had not done on my previous two trips to Tokyo.. I finally made it onto the Omnibus.   Here is just circles the central plaza but it was enjoyable to look out and watch the world go by. 
• For the 35th Anniversary World Bazaar has added projections.  They ran every 10 minutes from sunset until park closing.   I saw two different ones alternating.  They were a couple  minutes only and features Disney animated film clips and songs.  I thought these were great!  Only improvement I would have liked to have seen is more of them and maybe attractions vs general animated movie music.    In between these moments there were smaller light moments and part of the theme song would play or some other audio. There seemed to be something every couple of minutes.  During the day they had the lights and confetti at times (but I never managed to catch a confetti moment).
• Closed out my day with Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade – Dreamlights.  This is my favorite night time parade at the parks.  It is updated frequently with new floats and upgrades to keep it fresh but it retains the overall feel of the Main Street Electrical Parade but new technology.  
  

2018 Tokyo Disney Trip Summary

Links from today:

• Tokyo Disneyland 35th Anniversary – Arrival & Anniversary Moment
• Adventureland
• Tokyo Disneyland – Popcorn (Some Buckets & Carts)
• Tokyo Disneyland 35th Anniversary Mickey Statues Throughout Tokyo Disneyland Park
• World Bazaar Windows (35th Anniversary)
• Tokyo Disneyland Tomorrowland Pictures
• Mickey’s Toon Town Characters
• Dreaming Up! – 35th Anniversary Parade
• Tokyo Disneyland 35th Anniversary Mickey Statues Throughout Tokyo Disneyland Park
• World Bazaar 35th Anniversary Projection/Light Moment
• Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights
• All my posts from today

• Tokyo Disney Resort Pictures
• Geek's Blog Tokyo Pictures
• Geek's Blog Tokyo News/Posts