on to the next

the next morning, it was time to pack our bags again in preparation for the next leg of our trip.  we had one more day at tokyo disneysea before heading back to haneda airport to hop on a plane to seoul for a few days before coming back to tokyo for a couple more days to finish off the journey.

all the walking we’d done over the last week had taken a toll on my poor child’s feet.  a trip to a local drugstore and my trusty google translate app yielded these super band-aids that have medication built right in and are extra sticky so they don’t peel off during the day.

it was also on this morning that the bean learned what a trundle bed is.  heh.

as for me, i’d learned during trip planning that you can arrange to have your luggage picked up, stored for however long you need, and then delivered to your hotel for when you check in.  so the bean and i took out just what we needed for the few days we’d be in korea and packed it all into carry-on bags that we could just put in a locker while we were playing at the park.

while we were standing at the counter arranging for the luggage courier service, i turned around and saw this:

i sent that to the hub and told him that if he came with us the next time, he’d have a nice spot for when he needed to unwind with a cigar.  he wasn’t as amused as i was. 

bye, disney ambassador hotel!

i’d really wanted to try for standby passes for the frozen ride in fantasy springs, but i knew that the last few days had been kind of a lot and the bean wouldn’t stand for getting up early again.  no biggie.  so this time when we arrived at the park, the crowds at security and the front gate were pretty minimal.

we’d been curious about the restaurant inside the big ocean liner, so we headed over there to check it out.  it was pretty amazing - beautifully detailed and very much like stepping aboard a luxury ship.  there was a cocktail and apps bar on one floor, with a full dining room on an upper deck.  we checked in with the host and were in line for a table but when we learned that it was a 90-minute experience we headed on outta there.  maybe some day when we have more time to play with, we’ll go back.  not to mention, it was about $125 per person and i wasn’t really all about that.

instead, we went to the restaurant sakura and had a very lovely lunch.

we both went with their special sets, which were beautifully presented and as delicious as it all looked.  mine started with a marinated shrimp appetizer, and the main course included fresh sushi, tempura, pepper rice and cold udon noodles with wagyu.

the bean enjoyed a katsu plate that also came with steamed egg, which they loved.

afterwards, we stopped at a kiosk just outside and the bean got this sweet potato ice cream sundae that they enjoyed every single bite of.

as for me, i was excited to try the roast beef flavored popcorn.  it was savory and crunchy and tasty, and probably my favorite of all the popcorn flavors we tried.  plus it was extra fun to use the cute little mickey hands-shaped tongs made especially for eating popcorn so that your fingers don’t get all icky.  i’m totally gonna use them for eating cheetos.

we decided to hop aboard the elevated train to take a quick little tour around new york.  this area is so well done and really makes you feel like you’ve stepped into the early 1900s.

back in port discovery, we stopped to grab a couple more of those sea salt ice cream monakas.  tokyo disneysea is the only place (that i know of) to get these, and i figured this was our last chance to enjoy their deliciousness.

the bean reluctantly indulged me in a couple of selfies with italy and new york in the background.

i really wanted to ride those gondolas we’d seen the first day but as we made our way over, cast members at the entrance indicated that the ride was temporarily closed.  bummer.

and so instead, we grabbed another cup of little green men mochis to munch on while we waited for the character cavalcade on the water.  the characters of fantasy springs were being featured along with mickey and minnie, and it ended with some daytime fireworks that were kind of impossible to actually see.

trying to squeeze in a fun day when you have a flight to catch at the end of it is such a yay!/boo. situation.  you’re constantly calculating how much time you have to do x and whether or not you can squeeze in y and hopefully be able to do z and still be on time for your flight.  i know, i know, total first world problem.  and we never did get around to exploring ariel’s grotto area, so there’s one more thing we’ll have to do if and when we ever get to go back.  for now, we said goodbye to tokyo disney and headed on over to the airport.

i was amused to see this as soon as we got through the security checkpoint.

a quick peek at the directory told me that if there was luxury shopping to be done (which i didn’t), it could easily be accomplished right here.

we had a bit of time to kill, so we wandered around the shops and stopped to grab something to eat before it was time to board the plane.

tokyo to seoul is a really quick flight.  two hours later, we were here.

while planning this part of the trip, i’d decided not to eff around and just went ahead and booked a driver to pick us up and take us straight to the hotel. this was key, especially given the late hour that we landed in seoul.  and so just a half hour later, we were checking in.

our room was much like our first hotel in ginza: small, but clean and comfortable with lots of amenities that were extra helpful since we’d packed light.

with a fairly early alarm set for the next morning, we didn’t waste any time in collapsing onto the bed and passing out cold.  the next couple of days were going to be a whirlwind, although i guess you could say that for the whole trip, right?

too much fun.  and not over yet!