As the holly jolly holiday season begins to wind down and I prepare to travel to the US, I figured we should travel around Tokyo Disneyland one last time this year. And what better day than this, the final day of One Man’s Dream II: The Magic Lives On? Let’s not dilly-dally another second. Let’s get going!
Around the Park
Construction next to the Disney Resort Line is rather slow. This area isn’t really the main focus. But sometimes you can hear jackhammers over here in the afternoon.
More concrete has been laid around the entrance area. Today appeared to be an off-day for the construction workers.
Scrims are still up around the front areas of World Bazaar. These scrims have been up since the summer, so I bet some serious construction work is going on,
It’s the holiday season at Tokyo Disneyland!
And at the entrance, there’s two lovely banners. Christmas stories, despite being the basis of a terrible parade, really do make the holiday season special.
Deck World Bazaar with boughs of holly….
It’s rather hard to see, but the window decal near Cosmic Encounter has been changed to a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker logo. I’m so excited for the new movie!
Construction work is ongoing at Pan Galactic Pizza Port. The whole building is covered in scaffolding. Even the solar array outside. Fortunately, Tony Solaroni will be back in March!
It was the very last day of One Man’s Dream II: The Magic Lives On. Fans were very excited by this, obviously. This morning, Guests stayed overnight outside near Tokyo Disneyland (despite being told not to), and sprinted to the park at open. Free seats for the whole day were taken almost instantly.
Minor pavement work is being done in front of Tomorrowland Hall. The exit and entrance are currently both in the second door.
It’s fun to walk around and encounter Dreaming Up! I love the music so much, and I was glad to see it one more time before my vacation.
Pinocchio’s Daring Journey was under routine maintenance through today. Pleasure Island can’t look dirty forever, you know! Well, maybe it can, I guess…
It’s indeed a small world. I managed to catch the end of the clock tower show. I can never get over how gorgeous the colorful facade looks here!
The Cinderella Castle refurbishment is ongoing. We posted an update of this earlier this week, and you can check out more progress there.
The Br’ers are ready for the holidays, featuring some lovely holiday decor around the area. Zip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah indeed!
Some minor work is going on around Splash Mountain. These planters have been up for a couple of weeks, so there must be something interesting happening back there.
Even the classic photo op is decked out for the holidays. Even the bears and beavers of the world are ready for the holiday season!
Stitch is ready with a Hawaiian-themed Christmas tree! Loads of flowers and leis don this gorgeous symbol of the season. Remember, the holidays are about celebrating with your ohana.
I forgot last time to update you on the new Today Guide, this month featuring Mickey from Disney Christmas Stories.
Inside you can find cute press photos of the special new offerings. Disney Christmas Stories, Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights, and the World Bazaar projections, as well as decor, are all on display here!
And on the inside, you can peek at new food and merch items special to the season. Every counter-service item here, we’ve done a review! Take a look around on our website if you’re curious.
Country Bear Christmas Special
Usually we talk about merchandise in this section. But this week, I wanted to dedicate some space to the Country Bear Christmas Special. Not seen at Walt Disney World since 2005, the Jingle Bell Jamboree as it’s known here is a staple of the holidays. There’s a few changes, but the show is largely the same as the original. And from what I’ve seen, it’s the most popular of the three shows.
Yes indeed, the Jingle Bell Jamboree is on here at Tokyo Disneyland! House Foods has sponsored the Country Bear Theater since opening day in April 1983!
Throughout the lobby, you can catch funny pictures like this alongside the classic portraits of the Country Bears. They certainly know how to capture that Marc Davis sense of humor with these!
Even the physical props get special holiday versions! There’s a lovely Christmas tree near the front entrance, along with stockings for the Bears. And inside, ribbon and garland adorn the walls and rails! But enough about the lobby, let’s actually watch the show!
Two Christmas trees flank the stage, and garland lines the stages from above and below. A peaceful version of songs heard in the show plays before the beginning.
“Look Melvin, I’m the deer. I’ve got the red nose!”
Our wonderful host, Henry, has donned a scarf and added a little holiday flair to his outfit! Oh and also he speaks Japanese in this show. Most of the characters do.
Season’s greetings from the bears and Gomer! In this version, “Jingle Bells” opens the show rather than “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”. Subtle differences, you know?
It’s always interesting to see what gets translated and what doesn’t. “Tracks in the Snow” is all translated in Japanese, shivering and shaking to that good ol’ country beat!
You be careful with that squirrel gun, Wendell! I want to see the rest of the show! Fun fact, this is the only version of the show where Wendell has any English lines, in the finale.
Rock it, Liver Lips! I dig that outfit so much, shiny leather and all! I wasn’t able to get a good shot of Trixie, but she sings a parody of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in this version. And in English too! Her bear-man cheated on her. Shame, right?
Lovely weather for a sleigh ride, right? In the true Country Bear spirit, it goes horribly wrong on the slides behind Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah. This part is also in English.
Big Al’s got a bit of a different song as well. Also in English, he sings how much he misses his hound dog to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. His wife took off with him, apparently. Infidelity is a huge theme in this version of the show, I’m noticing.
In the finale here, Henry and Sammy sing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” rather than “Let it Snow”. But from there, it’s about the same as the original. All the bears come out and sing Winter Wonderland together! I remember this scene from an old ’80s promotional VHS, The Magic of Christmas at Walt Disney World. I was so happy to see it the very first time this year! It’s such a shame, because I’d love to see this version of the show come back to Walt Disney World. It really is a lovely holiday tradition.
And at the adjacent stores, special Jingle Bell Jamboree merchandise is available featuring Henry, Teddi Barra, and Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah. The Henry or Teddi are available for ¥1800 ($16.46). And for ¥3300 ($30.17), you can take home that Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah set.
It’s a lovely show, and if you want to watch for yourself, I recommend doing so here. It really is something special.
And that’s all from Tokyo Disneyland! I’m actually taking a bit of a vacation, so these photo reports will be on hold through the beginning of 2020. But we’ll be back right after New Year’s to keep sharing the happenings at Tokyo Disneyland! I hope you all have a lovely holiday season!
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