Wednesday, October 16, 2024

DisneySea, Tokyo

We spent most of the day at DisneySea. It was cloudy but still humid. We were curious about this Disney park, available only in Japan (found out later that the Japanese parks were not part of Disney, but under license to use the name and characters/images). Bought tickets from home about a month ago, using the Klook app. A new attraction in the park, Fantasy Springs, opened recently and we hoped to get passes to that. Those free passes were only available through the Disney Resort app after admission into the main park itself. I have read that passes to popular attractions and rides are gone very early as many people arrive 1-2 hours before the official opening time, and the park lets visitors in before the official opening time. We simply could not get up early enough to line up at the entrance. Also, unlike Universal Studios Japan where our hotel was just steps from the entrance, we had to take the hotel shuttle and the Disney monorail to this park. Sure enough, once we got in, a big sign informed us that passes to Fantasy Springs were sold out for the day. But we managed to register for a priority pass to the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride in the afternoon, using the app. Most of the thrill rides had wait times of over 90 minutes. Like Tokyo Disneyland, we had to wait 1-2 hours before we could register for another priority ride; by none of the thrill rides was available.

My impressions of DisneySea: it was crowded but not as crowded as Tokyo Disneyland. There were distinct areas with beautiful buildings and designs, a few rides and attractions in each area. The concept reminded me a bit of Epcot Center. Above photo is the entrance just inside DisneySea. Past that is the Mediterranean Harbour with its Venetian look, complete with gondola rides.
Below, the American Waterfront with New York vibes and truck rides around the streets. I got on a car that looked like a police van transporting criminals, short ride but kind of fun. Also went on the Steamship Columbia, most of it was a restaurant with an ornate entry way, 1920s/30s decor. They allowed visitors to walk around the outside deck for a view of the harbour below.
Below are buildings at the Arabian Coast, I liked the design here the most. Got on Sindbad's Voyage and Princess Yasmin's carpet rides, 5-10 min. wait only. Cheesy rides, targeted at young kids, all in Japanese of course.
The Mermaid Lagoon area was pretty, showcasing the world of Ariel, the Little Mermaid. From the outside, we entered a cave and went into the underwater world. Very creative use of lighting: there was a play area with visitors trying to avoid water sprouts, a couple of small rides, a big restuarant and gift shop.
Below is the Mysterious Island, with a steampunk theme, where the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea ride was located. The ride was in a "underwater capsule", interesting, had an alien aspect to it, just OK.
Here is Lost River Delta, where the Indiana Jones, Temple of the Crystal Skull ride, was located. We would have love to get on the ride, but priority passes were sold out and we did not want to wait over 1.5 hours for standby. Instead we had some snacks at the Yucatan Base Camp, including our 2nd "little green dumplings", i.e. mochi, with the commemorative container.
We left the park around 7 pm, before the scheduled fireworks at 8:50 pm (10 mins before the park closed). The volcano at the Lost River Delta (or maybe the Mysterious Island) was belching smoke and threatened to erupt. Below is the same globe at night, just inside the entrance.
Took the Disney monorail just outside the park to the Resort Gateway Station to check out the Ikspiari shopping mall. What do you know, we saw a couple of familiar restuarants there: Outback Steakhouse and Red Lobster, right across from another Disney Store where Laurel bought more souvenirs. We bought some discounted end-of-day pastries to eat in our room (the curry quiche was really good).
Got on the free shuttle back to the hotel at the Resort Gateway Station, have to say this is the best part of staying in a Disney hotel. Tomorrow, we leave for Haneda Airport for the flight home.
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