Official Website: Tokyo DisneySea
Good morning! This is the second day of our 9D8N trip to Japan. After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed straight to Tokyo DisneySea, the happiest place on Earth.
Tokyo's Disney Resort is home to two amazing theme park - Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea. But sadly, we could only visit one of the two due to limited budget and time.
To be honest, we have difficulty deciding whether to go to Tokyo Disneyland or Disneysea. After much discussion, we picked Disneysea mainly because it is unique to Japan. There is only one Disneysea Park in the world and it is distinctly different from Disneyland. Since many Disney fanatics have claimed that Disneysea is the best Disney park in the world, we had to check it out.
Even though the park is suitable for all ages, Disneysea is specially designed to appeal to a more grown up audience with wilder thrill rides. Alcoholic beverages are also sold in almost every food kiosks and restaurants around the park.
Japanese is the primarily language spoken at the park. Most of the staffs at the park may not be able to communicate much in English. But you should not have much problems navigating around the park as the signages and food menus are in English. The biggest problem would be there is barely any English in dialogues for attractions and shows. So it will be tough for you to understand the story of the attractions if you do not know the language. But other than that, you will still have a wonderful time at Disneysea.
Please note that the use of monopods, unipods, tripods and selfie sticks are strictly not allowed in the park. We were unaware about the rule and were stopped by the staff when we were trying to use a selfie stick to take our photo. It was pretty embarrassing. However, hand-size grip attachments are allowed as long as you do not cause inconvenience to other visitors.
How To Get There
To get to Disneysea, you will need to transfer to the Disney Resort Monorail at Maihama Station. The monorail goes in a loop around the resort every few minutes in a counter clockwise direction.
If you are going to ride the monorail often, you might want to consider getting a day pass. The price of the day passes is as shown below:
Ticket
Type
|
Adult
(Aged 12 Years Above)
|
Child
(Aged 11 Years Below)
|
1
Day-Pass
|
650 JPY
|
330 Yen
|
2
Day-Pass
|
800 JPY
|
400 Yen
|
3
Day-Pass
|
1,100 JPY
|
550 Yen
|
4
Day-Pass
|
1,400 Yen
|
700 Yen
|
Station
|
First
Train
|
Last
Train
|
Resort
Gateway Station
|
6.03 am
|
11.55 pm
|
Tokyo
Disneyland Station
|
6.05 am
|
11.57 pm
|
Bayside
Station
|
6.08 am
|
11.59 pm
|
Tokyo
Disneysea Station
|
6.12 am
|
12.04 am
|
Ticket
Disneysea is open from 9 am to 10 pm daily. But you might want to get there as early as possible, preferably one to two hours before the opening time if you wanted to go on all the rides. This is simply because Disneysea is always busy throughout the year, even during low season. The theme park is often very crowded and you can expect huge queues for even the smallest attraction on a normal day. You might also want to avoid visiting on the weekend or national holiday if you hate the crowds.
Spring time is certainly one of the most busiest time to visit Disneysea and you will often find queues forming in front of the entrance gate hours before the official operating time. So I would definitely recommend buying your ticket in advance as the queue at the ticket booths can get very long on a crowded day. You might actually ended up in disappointment as tickets might be sold out for the day
Ticket may be purchased in advance from the resort's official website or any of the Disney stores, travel agencies, online sites (Klook, Traveloka, etc) or kiosks at convenience stores in Japan. However, the ticket machines in the convenience stores are in Japanese only. It might be difficult for you to buy your ticket if you do not know the language.
I bought our Disneysea ticket a month in advance from Traveloka because I am unable to buy the tickets through the resort's official website. The website is pretty reliable and easy to use.
The below shows the price of a one day pass if you purchase directly from Disney's website:
Ticket
Type
|
Adult
(Aged 18 Years Above)
|
Junior
(Aged 12 to 17 Years Old)
|
Child
(4 to 11 Years Old)
|
1
Day-Pass
|
7,400 JPY
|
6,400 Yen
|
4,800 Yen
|
We arrived at Disneysea at around 10 am because we did not intend go for any rides or shows. As first-time visitors, we really do not want to waste our time waiting in the crazy long queues all day. The weather was also pretty cold, windy and wet (around 6 °C) on the day we visited, so we certainly do not want to stuck in a queue for too long.
Disneysea
Located adjacent to Tokyo Disneyland, Disneysea is inspired by the myths and legends of the sea. Based upon the theme of nautical exploration, the theme park is made up of seven themed ports of call: Mediterranean Harbor, Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery and American Waterfront.
Upon entering the park, you will be greeted by the Aqua Sphere, the icon of Disneysea. The Aqua Sphere is a large model of Planet Earth. It hovers and spin gently above the water, just like our planet itself.
Mediterranean Harbor
The Mediterranean Harbor is also home to Tokyo Disneysea Hotel Miracosta. Themed after ports of Portofino and Venice, it is only hotel in the world that stands entirely inside the Disney theme park. Guests who are staying at this hotel will be able to enjoy direct access to the theme park.
Mysterious Island
Passing through the Mediterranean Harbor, we arrived at the Mysterious Island. Despite its name, it is not an island. Instead, the area is built into the side of Mount Prometheus, a giant volcano fortress inspired by Jules Verne's science fiction novels.
However. the main attraction here is Journey to the centre of the Earth, which is also one of the most popular ride in the park. In fact, it is a ride exclusive to Disneysea. Visitors will get onboard an eight passengers mining vehicle and travel through pre-drilled tunnels within Mount Prometheus, right down to earth's core. However, be prepared as the the queue and wait time can be pretty long (at least an hour or more).
Located at the base of Mount Prometheus is the majestic Fortress Exploration, which is an interactive attraction for all ages.
Near the entrance of the castle is The Leonardo Challenge where you will need to follow the clues on a map to complete a mission. But unfortunately, this game is only offered in Japanese.
We bought two smoked turkey legs and two cups of hot oolong tea. Turkey leg is a popular snack to eat while walking around. It is very tender, juicy and has a nice smoky flavor. The hot tea goes well with the chicken and warmed up us in the cold weather.
The Lost River Delta
The other is a makeshift village with outposts, food carts, cantinas and seaplane docks. This is also where the archaeologists live and can be accessed by a couple of hastily constructed bridges.
The attraction looks really beautiful but creepy at the same time, featuring stair step waterfall, fire and smoke effects.
Arabian Coast
Not far from Jasmine's Flying Carpet is the Sindbad's Storybook Voyage, a dark boat ride where visitors will set sail with Sindbad and his tiger, Chandu. Together, you will travel through unexplored seas, in search of adventure. It is somewhat like the "It's a Small World" attraction in Disneyland. However, the attraction is entirely in Japanese, so it might be impossible for you to understand the story if you do not know the language.
Inside the large stunning palace walls, you will find a marketplace decorated with carpets, drapes and mosaics. We have fun wandering through the narrow streets and taking random pictures. The architecture are ridiculously detailed and made us feels like we have stepped into an actual Middle Eastern marketplace.
There is a gift shop called Agrabah marketplace that sell a variety of Aladdin themed merchandise. It is a heaven for Aladdin fans!
Standing in the middle of the marketplace is Casbah Food Court, which is one of the largest restaurants at Disneysea. The grand yet unassuming building blends quite well into the surrounding and is hard to miss.
It feels like we have stepped into an Arabian marketplace with carpets and drapes hanging off the ceiling. The food court serves mainly Indian curries with choices of chicken, beef or shrimp. If you have difficulty deciding which one to eat, you might want to order their Three Curry Combo with chicken, beef or shrimp. But whichever set you choose, they are all served with rice and naan.
The dining area was also elaborately designed. Ornate chandeliers and intricately carved tables and chairs make us feels as though we were dining at a very expensive restaurant. Outdoor seating is also available.
We ordered chicken curry and I must say we were quite disappointed with the food. The serving size was really small and the curry was bland and taste nothing like Indian curry. Instead, it taste more like Japanese curry. However, I love the naan. It was so soft and fluffy.
Passing through the narrow alleyways, we entered a vast open-air courtyard. Standing here is the Caravan Carousel, a double decked carousel ride housed within a majestic blue domed roof palace. With an ability to hold over 190 passengers per trip, the Caravan Carousel is probably the largest carousel in the world.
Mermaid Lagoon
Crossing the bridge, you will arrive at the Mermaid Lagoon. The Mermaid Lagoon is the home to the character of The Little Mermaid.
In the centre of the Lagoon is a castle named the Triton's Kingdom. As its name suggests, the castle is made to resemble King Triton's palace with spiralling towers, rainbow colored giant seashells and corals and numerous waterfall. It is probably the most beautiful and colorful themed area in Disneysea.
Port Discovery
Nemo & Friends Searider is a large-scale simulator ride housed in the Marine Life Institute. Visitors will board a fish-shaped submarine that will shrink to the size of a fish and go on an under sea adventure with Nemo and Dory.
Seaside Snacks is popular for their Ukiwah Bun (Ukiwah means life saver in Japanese).The bun is shaped like a life saver and filled with plump, juicy shrimps, ground pork and vegetables. It is thick, soft and really delicious. The packaging is also pretty cute and interesting as well, featuring Donald Duck wearing the life saver and floating in the water.
American Waterfront
Passing through Port Discovery, we arrived at the American Waterfront, which is designed to represent the northeastern seaboard of the United States in the early 20th century. It is largest themed area in Disneysea and is separated into two themed areas - an Old Cape Cod section and a New York Harbor section.
Past Cape Code, you will find the New York Harbor section. The New York section is designed as a bustling city during the 1910s, complete with elevated railway, a classic American theater and a harbor lined with boats.
Here you also the massive S.S Columbia, which is specially designed to look a 20th-century steam-powered ocean liner. The ship is the centrepiece of this area and is home to a bar and table service restaurant. Visitors are also free to explore the ship.
The main attraction here is the Tower of Terror, an accelerated dark tower ride. It is located in the fictional Hotel Hightower, a New York landmark built by Harrison Hightower III. The hotel is tallest and most majestic building at American Waterfront.
The queue for Toy Story Mania! is crazily long, even with FastPass (at least 2 hours and above). We feel that it is really not worth to waste your time being stuck in the queue, especially for first-time visitors.
Further down the streets, you will find a Broadway-themed theater which plays the show "Big Band Beat". The show features 1940s-style swing jazz performed by 12-piece band, as well as 20 singers or dancers.
Conclusion
Is Disneysea worth visiting? Well, it is really hard for me to say. Personally, I feel that I would prefer Disneyland to Disneysea. This is mainly because I am more of a Disney traditionalist. Yes, Disneysea is interestingly cool and amazingly unique, but I actually feel a little disappointed as it does not focus much on traditional Mickey and princesses.
Even so, I would definitely love to visit Disneysea again in the future because there are so much to see and do here. It is a place where magic happens! When that happens, I would want to go for as many rides and shows as possible.
The restaurant is pretty small with about 25 seating. Prices of food is really cheap. You can get a simple bowl of plain soba for 300 Yen.
Ordering is done via a ticket machine located near the entrance. However, the menu is entirely in Japanese. Thus, we have rely on the food samples outside of the store, each with a number to order our food.
Just like most other fast food restaurants in Japan, everything is self serviced here. After making your payment at the machine, you should receive a meal ticket for your order. Pass the ticket to the staff at the kitchen and wait at your seat. The staff will call you once your food is ready for collection.
Price: 770 Yen
My husband ordered a hot udon with egg tonkatsu don combo and I ordered a hot udon with tempura egg don combo. You can choose between cold soba or hot udon. Since the weather was cold, we decided to have a hot udon.
The udon was too salty for my liking. But still it was delicious. It was bad that we could not finish our food and ended up wasting them.
If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.
Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures
