First a little bit of background on the DisneySea park... It was first conceived as a park to be built in California, in Long Beach, using the RMS Queen Mary as an attraction. Instead California built its second park right next to Disneyland and called it California Adventure. The nautical-themed park plans had been floating around Disney for years by the time Tokyo was ready to build its second theme park. The DisneySea park opened in 2001. The theme is the "seven seas" and DisneySea has seven different areas: Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, and Mysterious Island.
DisneySea has been described as the world's best theme park. It's the combination of the creative talent of Disney's best Imagineers with the hefty budget of the Oriental Trading Co. One only has to compare the budget of DisneySea to the California Adventure park that also opened in 2001-- DisneySea's budget was over 4 times as high. That money was put to good use creating the most beautifully detailed theme park on the planet.
I prepared myself to be disappointed after reading all of the hype about how wonderful and stunning this park was. Surely it could not live up to the expectation of theme park perfection. But at every turn we were wowed. This was money well spent. The intricate details of each area make you feel like you are in a very unique and new land. The park is simply breathtaking. It's clean and bright and well cared for. The level of detail throughout the park is remarkable. Some of this is likely due to the reserved nature of the Japanese people. They are very respectful of property -- they don't climb around on things, they don't grab at everything within arm's reach. They don't tug and tear off a piece to take home. It really enables the park creators to put tiny details in every corner of the park.
As we wake to start our first day in the DisneySea park we see an amazing and beautiful sight out of our window. The photos doesn't do it justice, but it was clear as day for us. "Look! A volcano!" says my daughter. Sure enough, there is Mt. Fuji right across Tokyo Bay and behind the city. I knew she was lurking back there somewhere, hardly ever visible. We felt fortunate to get this rare glimpse of her.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 and Thursday, October 30, 2014
Let me remind you that there is no beating the crowds to the park in Tokyo. These are dedicated and educated park visitors and they are there well before opening and they know exactly which fastpass machine they are headed to first -- Toy Story Mania. And a mania it is! The line for the fastpass snakes back and forth over and over. We skip this and head straight for Tower of Terror, which is my favorite Disney thrill ride. Since the Japanese don't know anything about the Twilight Zone, this ride has an adventure theme -- think Indiana Jones. There's a neat pre-show, which took several viewings before I finally caught some of the special effects -- blame it on jet lag. The Tower of Terror back home is like a dirty old creepy vacant elevator shaft, but this Tower of Terror is like a museum! There are ancient artifacts all around. Each one of the elevator loading areas is decorated with a different theme. One has tapestries, one has swords, one has armor, etc, etc. These beautiful detailed pieces are right there next to you -- you could easily reach out and touch them. But no one does and they look pretty and authentic and really add to the charm and feel of the ride. One strange thing about this ride is that it has a shoulder belt that locks. I saw plenty of Japanese riding bikes without helmets, but they need a shoulder strap on this ride? Odd. The trick, I think, is to not lean back while you are waiting so that your belt doesn't lock holding you so tight. This is an awesome ride and we ride both standby and fastpass several times in our two days.
The American Waterfront area looks like New York City and it's just gorgeous. It has a harbor where the SS Columbia is parked. Inside are restaurants and the Teddy Roosevelt lounge where we grab lunch one day. The area also has a little Cape Cod style area where we find Milk Tea flavored popcorn as well as black pepper flavored. Both were good. It has a boardwalk area where the Toy Story Mania ride sits. We swing by here later in the day to see if any fastpasses are left and we grab one for 9:30, which is right before closing. This ride is so popular and the exact same ride as back home, but I still wanted to try and see the queue area because it different and so cute. Everything is giant size, like you are the toy. It's really well done and we ride this just one time.
Two of the best things in the American Waterfront area are the New York Deli where we eat a sandwich that was so delicious it was our best meal in the parks and the Broadway style show Big Band Beat. Big Band Beat is top quality live entertainment celebrating Big Band style music. It's been around for years and still plays to a packed house. We loved it so much that we saw it both days! It's all narrated in English and the very best part is that Mickey plays the drums and dances. He doesn't just play around, he really rocks out. It's awesome. It's best if you just see it for yourself via this Japanese youtube video. If Mickey dancing can't make you smile, nothing can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA1QRZWcqiI
The Mysterious Island area was one of the most beautiful and exciting because it contained 2 rides unique to DisneySea -- 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. It also contains the iconic volcano that really is the visual representation of this park -- Mount Prometheus.
20,000 Leagues is kind of silly but fun. Lines are usually quite short for it. Luckily my daughter had seen the Journey to the Center of the Earth movie so knew the back story. It a ride with great theme-ing but feels way too short. It's a popular ride and waits can be long. The area is very pretty and open feeling. In fact, must of this park feels open and way less crowded than Disneyland. I'm sure there are fewer people here and they way the park is laid out, it just feels more expansive.
Port Discovery is another area of the park and it feels like Tomorrowland on water. There are just 2 rides here, one being the very cool looking but unexciting and silly Aquatopia. Thankfully the line was short. It looks more exciting than it is to experience. The other ride is StormRider which is a fun motion simulator ride that is amazingly popular. We were only able to ride it once due to long lines, but once was probably enough. It's fun to experience new rides and while this area was very visually appealing we didn't spend much time here.
Mermaid Lagoon is the kiddie land of DisneySea and it's an indoor area with rides for the children. It's beautiful both inside and out and we enjoyed exploring the area. It's so well done you feel like you're underwater when you're inside. It's a big open space and never felt loud or crowded. The best part is the area where Ariel keeps her treasures -- there's even the statue of Price Eric.
The Lost River Delta area is way in the back of the park and contains 2 rides, one fantastic, the other not so much. Raging Spirits is a typical theme park coaster. It's a bit too short, too wild, and too rough. We rode it once. It looks really cool, but not something to spend time riding again. The ride we loved back here was Indiana Jones -- Temple of the Crystal Skull. It's similar to the one in Disneyland, but has a lot of crystals and really nice and creepy decor inside. Thankfully it has a single rider line, so we rode often.
We find some kind of chicken dish for lunch back here and while we eat the "skeletons" come and talk to the people eating. They have a computerized voice and it's obvious they are talking to the people, interacting with them, likely teasing them based on the reactions of people. Since it's all in Japanese we don't understand a word, but it's fun to see the people laughing and to see characters that actually talk.
The Arabian Coast is another kid friendly area with 3 rides and 1 show. It is simply gorgeous back here, so much detail in the buildings and vibrant colors at every turn. We skip Jasmine's Flying Carpets and instead ride Sindbad's Storybook Voyage a few times. It's very charming, telling a complete story. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World because there's a catchy tune throughout the entire ride. We also see the Magic Lamp Theater show and ride the double-decker Caravan Carousel. The carousel has both horses and Genie's for you to ride.
We try two very unique snacks in this land -- one is a berry smoothie type drink with chunks of aloe in it. The other is a Chandu Tiger Tail, which is a bright orange breaded tail with cream chicken inside. Both were fairly tasty. Since Halloween costumes are not allowed in DisneySea we marvel at how many young women we see dressed as twins. We decide that every day must be "twin day" at Tokyo Disney Resort. Young girls of various ages dressed if not exactly alike, remarkably similar with matching skirts and shoes and hoodies and hats and purses -- even carrying the exact same popcorn bucket. It sure looks like they are having fun!
The last and most impressively beautiful area of DisneySea is the Mediterranean Harbor. This is like the centerpiece of the park. It's the first thing you see when you walk in and it does impress. A beautiful pirate ship sits in front of a massive breathtaking Fotress which is all in front of the Mount Prometheus volcano. Pictures don't do justice to how special this area is. The Fortress area has interactive stations to find and explore. A beautiful map of the ten areas is available. It's like a hands-on museum celebrating famous Explorers. We spent a fair amount of time here exploring.
My overall impression of this park is one of breathtaking beauty and great attention to detail. And while it has plenty of kiddie rides in the back, it feels like a grown up Disney park. We were here for 2 full days and never grew tired of all this place has to offer. After the thick crowds next door at Disneyland, this was an open, expansive breath of fresh air. Lines were still long for many rides, but this park feels more open, with exciting new lands to explore throughout. We were thrilled to experience all this park has to offer including watching Fantasmic one night on the waters of the Mediterranean Harbor. Taking a trip half way around the world to visit the unique and amazing DisneySea park was time well spent. I can't wait to return some day!
