Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea
We went to Tokyo DisneySea! We chose to visit Tokyo DisneySea instead of Tokyo Disneyland because DisneySea is only in Japan. The only downside was that the 2 most popular rides (Journey To The Center of the Earth and Toy Story Mania) were closed on the day we went. The resort was celebrating Donald Duck’s 84th birthday and its 35th Anniversary.
Disney Shuttle
Like all Disney Theme Parks, DisneySea had a shuttle that took us from Maihama Station directly to the resort. Riding the shuttle isn’t free but it was splendidly decked out.
Mediterranean Harbor
Once you enter the resort you walk into Mediterranean Harbor, themed after an Italian port city. It’s full of shops, restaurants, and you get a lovely scene of the giant volcano from Journey To the Center of the Earth. This is also the location where everyone gathers at night to watch Fantasmic!.We found Stitch wandering here and took a photo with him.
We also went to Fortress Explorations, a walk-through attraction of a Venetian-inspired castle and ship. It’s the supposed location of Disney’s fictional S.E.A., the Society of Explorers and Adventurers.
Mysterious Island
Mysterious Island is themed after Jules Verne’s novel of the same name. It has the resort’s two most popular rides: Journey To the Center of the Earth (a rollercoaster inside a volcano) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (a small and not claustrophobic-friendly submarine ride).
Arabian Coast
Arabian Coast is themed after Aladdin. We rode Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage which is like It’s A Small World except the songs are about the voyages of Sindbad. The songs were of course entirely in Japanese. But despite not understanding a single word that was sung, the ride was my favorite out of all the ones we rode that day.
Mermaid Lagoon
Mermaid Lagoon is themed after The Little Mermaid. Here you can take a picture with Ariel and visit King Triton’s Palace. The rides in Mermaid Lagoon are more geared towards children, but we rode Jumpin’ Jellyfish and bought some souvenirs. The atmosphere inside was top notch.
Lost River Delta
Lost River Delta is themed after archaeological cites in Central America. Here we rode Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull which is pretty much the same in America as it is in Japan (with a cooler entrance room).
Port Discovery
Port Discovery holds the fictional Marine Life Institute from Finding Dory. We rode on Nemo & Friends SeaRider and Aquatopia.
American Waterfront
American Waterfront is themed after New York. I don’t think we actually rode on any rides here. This was mostly a place for restaurants and shopping. We found some cool snacks here like Alien Mochi Ice Cream, Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich Bar, and Shrimp & Garlic flavored popcorn which was SOOOOO GOOOOD!
Ratings of Rides/Attractions:
Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage-4/5
Songs are in Japanese but the tunes are catchy enough to remember.
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull — 4/5
It’s exactly the same as it is in America except of course all the dialogue is in Japanese. Still fun and thrilling.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — 2/5
Overall it was a really uncomfortable, hot, dark, and claustrophobic experience. Can’t understand why this ride is as popular as it is. Felt trapped and the views weren’t very impressive.
Jumpn’ Jellyfish — 3/5
A simple up-and-down ride mainly for children. It does what it’s designed to do and it’s a nice leisurely experience.
Fortress Explorations-5/5
I’ve never experienced a ‘ride’ like this before and I loved it. It was full of interesting rooms and interactive objects that made exploring S.E.A. HQ pretty fun.
Fantasmic! — 3/5
DisneySea performs Fantasmic! on the sea with actors and actresses on floats. That’s a pretty impressive feat, but Fantasmic! loses a lot of its impact in my opinion if you watch it from a far-away distance. Because of that, the watching experience kind of meh.
Tokyo DisneySea: Overall
Tokyo DisneySea has very cool thematic locations but it’s pretty small. The flavored popcorn is awesome, food and snacks are cheap, and you can bring your own meal into the resort. Other than that, DisneySea doesn’t really offer any experiences that can’t be missed or that you can’t get here in America. Bummed that we didn’t get to ride Journey To the Center of the Earth, but if I ever return to Japan I probably wouldn’t visit it again.
Hot Pot Buffet — Dinner
Funny Story. We can’t read Japanese so we didn’t understand how the soup base worked. When the waiter took our order, he only brought out a pot of water so we just assumed there were no soup bases offered. But Kevin really likes flavor. So he tried to make the broth more flavorful by putting in packets and packets of chili powder, garlic, and really anything he could find at the buffet bar. There was a group of Japanese girls sitting next to us who started giggling at him, wondering why he was doing that to the soup. A few minutes later, one of the girls gets the attention of a waiter, says something, and points to our bowl. The waiter then goes to the kitchen and brings us back 3 bottles of condiments (vinegar, soy sauce, and something else we didn’t recognize) and apologizes to us. Apparently, he had forgotten to bring us the sauces we needed to make our own broth. We thanked the girls later for helping us out.
