Okay, before I start this blog I want to get to the point: WE ARE OKAY!

“Bye!” Mom and I said. We were going to the mermaid section of Disney Sea Tokyo park, while Carter and Dad waited in line for Journey to the Center of the Earth. “We’ll meet you back here in 90 minutes”

We stepped out of the cave that the line was in and proceeded across the bridge. We were halfway across when Mom said “Is this bridge moving?” I had felt it too, but thought it was motion sickness. “I bet it’s an earthquake!” I teased. We jokingly ran across the bridge and laughed. But then things really started to shake.

When the earthquake happened we were on a hanging platform above a lagoon, with a fake volcano and hanging tractor above us. And it was right in the middle of the largest show of the day, which was going on in the water. Well the volcano shook, the tractor swayed, and the ground rumbled.

“Earthquake!” someone yelled in Japanese. The staff started yelling and motioned for everyone to get down. We sat and Mom crouched over me. It felt like you were on a wobbly balance board and you were going to fall off any second. Except you couldn’t fall off. Because you weren’t on a balance board. The earth was what was moving, and it refused to stop. The volcano loomed over us and started to shake violently. We’re going to die! I thought and began to cry. Never in my life had I been so scared. And all of Disney just sat, waiting for it to end.

For two minutes the earthquake continued until finally it was over. Immediately all the Japanese people whipped out their phones and started calling their family and friends. We did nothing. When they let people get up they put them into two streams of people going to different directions. We tried to go back the way we came but a lady was standing in front of the bridge. “No safe,” she said, and would not let us pass.

I started crying, and Mom looked like she wanted to do the same. We couldn’t find the boys and on top of that we had no idea where in Tokyo Miss Karen was and if she was okay! Mom picked a line at random and started walking but then, in the opposite line, I saw them. “I see them!” I screamed “Come on!” We started running but a wave of people blocked our path and I couldn’t see them anymore. Mom stopped but I refused to be discouraged. I pulled Mom along as we weaved through the group until finally we could see the boys again.

“CARTER! DAD!” we yelled and ran right into them. And then we were all hugging. At last, together again.

The staff ushered us to a big open place and we stayed there. After 15 minutes an aftershock came. We held on to the benches and again, waited. We met two other English families and waited until dark. Mom suggested we look for guest relations, we found it and it was warm. Lots of other people were there too. Inside we met another American family and huddled together, hoping we would make it through the night.