The Paralymipcs are Good and All...But, I Need A Little Magic
The Part where I Recap the Domestic Season
The domestic qualifying season for Tokyo has come to an end. The events included: Summer Down Under (2 opportunities), ACT State Championships, and Canberra Classic. While the results overall were mixed, I am super stoked at how it all went. I will be grinding away hard, training and preparing for the upcoming National Championships and the Swiss Tour.
| 2020 Domestic Season Race Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Time | Qualifying Time? | Notes | ||
| SDU Day 1 | 17.04 | No (ineligible on a wind technicality) | This time would have counted as an “A” Qualifying Time, however it’s ineligible because of a 2.2 m/s tailwind. | ||
| SDU Day 2 | 17.07 | Yes! (A) | New Season Best New Personal Best New Australian T52 100m Record | ||
| ACT State Championships | 17.18 | Yes!(A) | |||
| Canberra Classic | 18.45 | No | Mother Nature was brutal with her rain! | ||
Anyway, I know you all can only take so many consecutive weeks of listening to me prattle on about the track and racing, so today I’m changing it up a bit. When coming up on a Paralympic Games we all get so consumed by it. We live and breathe training, preparing, qualifying races, equipment upkeep every second of every day and it can be extremely overwhelming, see last week’s blog post about this mental battle. Therefore, sometimes you have to step back and remind yourself of the other things in life to keep your head on straight and maintain perspective. How have I chosen to do this you may ask?
The Part Where I Get Mildly Obsessive
Well, as you Team Quadzilla members might know, my mysterious partner, Q (who is still yet to be seen in the wild), is obsessed with all things Disney. Q’s love of Disney could fill this blog post, many more blog posts, a book, and probably a TV movie (feature length, of course), so I’ll just summarize to say that I have been assimilated into the Disney fandom. You can read about it in the blog post, Glitter is a Good Look On Him: Sam’s First Trip to Disneyland.
Therefore, as I look forward to the Games and visiting Japan for the first time, I have discovered that Tokyo has a Disney park! So, let’s all take a quick break from the racing talk, and let me tell you 5 fun facts about it!
Tokyo Disney Fun Facts
1. Athletes’ Village to Disneyland Tokyo is 20 minutes by car!
A quick trip to Google Maps let me know that it’s not just doable to visit it, but it’s so close it’s calling my name! “Saaaaaaaam!…Saaaaaaaam, come visit!”
2. There are actually TWO Disney Parks there: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney SEA.
In California, where the original Disney park is, there are actually two parks, Disneyland and California Adventure, collectively called the Disneyland Resort. Similarly, Tokyo Disneyland (37 attractions) and Tokyo Disney Sea (29 attractions) are collectively called the Tokyo Disney Resort.
3. There are rides unique to Tokyo Disney.
With most Disney parks around the Disney-sphere having close to identical attractions, being able to experience new attractions is a big deal! After doing some research I found out that Disney Tokyo has 28 unique attractions (different than CA) and 10 attractions that are a variation of one I’ve been on. I’ll be sure to try and hit them all. After digging myself out of a Youtube binge-watch of all the ride videos I’m probably most excited to ride Raging Spirits! (I’ll always be a Big Thunder Mountain boy though)
4. They have a bonkers amount of popcorn!
Sure they have the standard flavours like salted and caramel, but I’m looking forward to sampling the curry popcorn, milk chocolate popcorn, and (maybe not so much) garlic shrimp popcorn. Apparently, the flavours are constantly changing so I’m both excited and nervous about what flavours await my taste buds!
5. The castle isn't the tallest structure in tokyo disney.
Every Disney resort has a castle, but they are all different. While Cinderella's Castle is by far the most iconic and eye-catching building in all the Disney parks around the world, it's not actually the tallest structure at Tokyo Disney. The Tower of Terror building comes in at 59 meters (194 feet) tall beating the Cinderella’s Castle at 51 meters (167 feet) by 8 meters, giving the ride the best view of the park before the thrilling drop! California Adventure used to have the Tower of Terror attraction, but while they left the mechanics, it was re-themed for the Guardians of the Galaxy. I really enjoyed this ride in California and look forward to experiencing the original spooky theme.
So, am I excited about visiting Disney Tokyo? You bet I am! I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate finishing my Paralympic campaign than spending the day in the “Happiest Place on Earth” with Q, some weird popcorn and mandatory mickey ears!
I also know that when I inevitably age out of racing I can apply to write listicles for Buzzfeed…