TDL and TDS Trip Report - April 19-25

[jedimaster7313]

Great report- too bad the Little Mermaid show was closed- it's a great show. The rain was a real bummer too, but at least wait times were minimal. Sounds like you enjoyed my favorite park!!

I love snacking around the parks as well and hope you had the chance to check out other restaurants- but I guess we'll see in your next post

[Aunt Bee]

Thanks for your TDS trip report.

We're only 5 days away until we leave--so reading your report just adds to our excitment.

With 4000 Japanese schools closed (as I heard on the news this AM)--due to the swine flu...I hope they let us off the plane when we land at Narita!

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

Originally Posted by Aunt Bee

Thanks for your TDS trip report.

We're only 5 days away until we leave--so reading your report just adds to our excitment.

With 4000 Japanese schools closed (as I heard on the news this AM)--due to the swine flu...I hope they let us off the plane when we land at Narita!

I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm not the best writer in the world, but when I write, I like to write a lot and give details! I'm writing this partly for myself anyways - to record the memories of the trip.

I hope I can post the details of the other two days at the parks (should be shorter posts) and our restaurant reviews before you leave! And I hope that you have no problems getting into Japan! You are going to have a wonderful time. It's a great country and TDR is just fantastic (my favorite word this season!)

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by Aunt Bee

With 4000 Japanese schools closed (as I heard on the news this AM)--due to the swine flu...I hope they let us off the plane when we land at Narita!

Oh God please tell me they did not find a swine flu case in Japan? reason why I say this is because the Japanese Quarantine Office in Japan has been quite paranoid about this. I have suffered 2 hour ++ delays at the gate in Narita Airport due to their quarantine inspections. What is happening is .. all flights coming in from North America, Canada, Mexico and some other selected areas or countries are being subjected to a lenghty quarantine inspection.

First, all passengers have to fill in a quarantine questionnaire before landing. These questionnaires have to be filled out before landing and have them ready for presentation to the quarantine inspectors when they board the plane. Lately, seems like they are taking about 20 minutes to board *after* the plane has arrived at the gate. All passengers will be asked to remain seated with luggage stowed and no bags out in the aisles. The quarantine inspectors will boards and take temperature readings with thermographic cameras, plus they will be asking you for your questionnaire. The questionnaire has to be filled out propertly of else you will cause the inspection to take longer. You have to fill the questionnnaire even if Japan is not your final destination.. so thru-passengers are subjected to this inspection as well.
If no one registers a fever during the inspection.. all passengers will be allowed to deplane.. usually around 45 minutes to an hour after arriving at the gate. (Close connection? Forget it, you will miss it). However, if anyone in the plane registers as having a fever, they will be more cautions and test you.. which means further delays for passengers in the flight. If the test comes back negative then, sometimes, clearing a plane where a passenger has registered a fever could take somewhere between 90 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes or so.. *after* arriving at the gate.. meaning this is extra time you will be sequestered in the plane with crew.

So be very prepared for this minor inconvenience when you arrive in Japan.

Worst case scenario.. if a passenger tests positive for the swine flu, the entire load of passengers and crew will be quarantined and possibly denied entry into Japan or sequestered in a selected hotel near the airport.. where you will be quarantined for at least 10 days... at least that is what I have heard occured on a flight last week.

[Aunt Bee]

Originally Posted by TDLFAN

Oh God please tell me they did not find a swine flu case in Japan? reason why I say this is because the Japanese Quarantine Office in Japan has been quite paranoid about this. .

Yes, this is exactly why they were closed down (according to the news report)

Originally Posted by TDLFAN

Worst case scenario.. if a passenger tests positive for the swine flu, the entire load of passengers and crew will be quarantined and possibly denied entry into Japan or sequestered in a selected hotel near the airport.. where you will be quarantined for at least 10 days... at least that is what I have heard occured on a flight last week.

Now this would truly suck! After years of planning and saving (we chose this year as I celebrate my 50th bday on 5/26)--it would be terrible to be stuck in a hotel quarantined for 10 days. I know we wouldn't be reimbursed from booked hotels/flights, etc. Let alone all my vacation time from work being wasted...
Sitting on a plane for an extra 90 minutes won't kill us...but it is rather concerning that they are being so fanatical about a flu--that actually hasn't effected nearly as many people as a regular flu season would. *sigh*

We'll play it by ear. What can you do anyway? I have no control over what will happen...so off we'll go this weekend.

This from yesterday's AP: --Japanese government says it will phase out airport quarantine checks after 41 more swine cases were confirmed in the port city of Kobe and nearby Osaka. A total of 176 cases have been confirmed in Japan, making it the world's fourth-most infected country.

[Fukai]

This particular flu bug has now spread past the point where it can be kept out of the country. There's no point in detaining passengers inside a plane--something which actually might result in more people getting sick since the air circulation system is probably not on full power since the plane is on the ground.

The whole thing is pretty scary, but few people (relative to the larger number of people on the planet) have died. Generally the bug seems to be fairly benign and resolves itself as most cases of the flu do, after about a week. That's not to say it won't mutate and cause more trouble, but hopefully we'll all be spared that on this round.

[TDLFAN]

Try explain that to the japanese. With all due respect, they will not care and continue to make a big production of the whole thing. One thing I have learned to respect about the japanese is.. they will not change their ways to please you. Law is law, even if it really makes no sense.

[DisneySea_Fan]

Great trip report, very detailed.