Land of the Rising Mickey
Page 5 of 5
Ok, it's true. Working at DisneySea is like walking into a soap opera! Ya' know that painter girl that I like (liked!), the one I mentioned before? Well, she was waiting for me when I walked off the site. We chatted for a couple of minutes and then it came... It turns out that I'm not the one she likes. She asked me if I would introduce her to my friend, Hiro! Can you believe that?! I made it obvious that I liked her. She shouldn't have agreed to go on the date with me if she actually likes Hiro. I'm surprised she asked me to talk to him today, instead of waiting until our "date". It's obvious she agreed to go out with me as a way to meet him.
I just mumbled, "Uhhh.... Ok." I can't believe I said "OK"! Well, I was pretty stunned.
I guess it's better to find out sooner than later that she's not for me. But, that was just no way to end the day... I knew I had to work tomorrow, but, right then, I didn't care. I was gonna get that situation out of my mind and go have some fun!
After a quick walk through Ikspiari to get to Maihama Station, I got on a northbound train. My aparto is the opposite direction. The train was packed with people leaving after a day of fun at Tokyo Disneyland... The OL (office ladies) with their big plastic Disneyland Resort shopping bags, the Yomamba with their blonde hair, fake tans, and giant platform shoes, the parents with their children asleep from the day of excitement, the happy young couples... The day I just had was so different from theirs. I wasn't riding Space Mountain, I was scraping cement off my shoes. I wasn't eating a big meal at the Crystal Palace or Blue Bayou, I was running my cold hands under hot water to bring the feeling back into them. I wasn't at Disneyland, I was at DisneySea.
I was headed for Ueno. "That should be distracting enough", I thought. "There are a lot of Pachinko places there. Maybe I'll get lucky and win some real cash. That would make me feel better!"
I hit the first place I saw out of the station. I think it's called "New Parlor Ueno". I bought a $50 card... and lost it in ten minutes. It just wasn't fair. But no one ever said that Pachinko is fair.
I walked out of New Parlor Ueno a little dazed. I needed a drink. I headed for a dining bar across the street and ordered an Asahi Dry and some yakitori. Then I ordered another beer, and another, and another. It didn't help.
I decided to call that painter girl and tell her that I think what she did wasn't very cool. I mean she knew I liked her. That helped a little.
I should have gone home then, but there was New Parlor Ueno again, flashing at me. "One more time", I thought. "I'll win back that $50". I bought another $50 card, but that time I played slots... and lost my money in FIVE minutes.
Ok, first that painter stepped on my heart without blinking an eye. Then, I ended up blowing what adds up to all the money I made in the day. On top of it all, I should have been asleep by 10 at the latest and now it's midnight and I'm catching the last train home. Man... life sucks.
But wait a minute... What was I saying before?
"I wasn't at Disneyland, I was at DisneySea." I wasn't at Disneyland, I was at DisneySea. I - was - at - DisneySea. There are millions of people in Japan and all over the world who would kill to be able to just flash their ID and walk in like I do! I get to see it all happening. I just walked around today and saw a hundred things that blew my mind.
And I'm learning a lot. There'll be a lot more interesting things I'll be able to do after this job because of the experience I've had at that place. Yeah, the F.A.D. and W.D.I. drive me crazy sometimes, but after all the boring work on office buildings, this work is special. I guess having to deal with them just comes with the territory.
And DisneySea really is special. In the future I'll be able to take my children and grandchildren here, point at things and say, "I made that".
They'll be so impressed... and I'll be so proud.
Ok. That's enough. I'm drunk and I'm really tired. Hey! Hold on! The internet weather report on my portable phone just said it's going rain tomorrow! It might even snow! I hope they're right.
A blizzard would be great.
So, there went a day in the life of "Yamata Toro". But he still has a lot more days ahead of him before the opening of DisneySea...
Jikai made - Ogenki de!
(Until next time - Take care!)
-- Marc Borrelli
Marc Borrelli has been visiting Disneyland in California for over thirty years and has had the opportunity to observe many of the Park's onstage and backstage workings. He is an entrepreneur who alternates between working obsessively and having way too much time on his hands. In the past few years he's spent much of that time exploring his hobby of trying to figure out just what it is that makes the people who design, build, operate, and go to Disney theme parks tick. He is now living in Tokyo, Japan and has turned his attention to the Tokyo Disney Resort and the unique culture in which it exists. He also created and maintains his Tokyo DisneySea Preview website.
Land of the Rising Mickey is normally posted on the first Monday of each month. This month there were two editions posted - this being the second.
The opinions expressed by Marc Borrelli, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
© Marc Borrelli and LaughingPlace.com. All rights reserved
-- Posted February 20, 2001