Japan takes step towards ordinary life as Disneyland reopens

[Isafari]

Snow White and Donald Duck cavorted before hundreds of fans on Friday as Tokyo Disneyland reopened after five weeks, marking a tentative step back towards ordinary life for a Japan still reeling from natural calamities and a nuclear crisis.

The popular resort shut its doors after the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated a broad swathe of northeast Japan and damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant 240 km north of the capital, hit by rolling power cuts and ground liquefaction that caused some parking lots to crumble.

Screams of "Mickey!" rose from among the several hundred people lined up outside the park as popular characters waved in greeting before the gates swung open at 8:00 a.m. (2300 GMT), sending many sprinting inside.

[Mags]

So glad to see that it has now opened. My daughter had been in the parks just two days before the earthquake/tsunami occurred. She said that the parks had been super busy as it was Spring Break. She was on a mission to see the newly opened Philharmagic and ride the ToT and waited over two hours for each. Nothing prepared her for what happened next. Let's hope that a little fun and normality can now creep back into these peoples' lives after the awful traumas they have suffered.

Mags