Category: David Backs It

 

It feel like just yesterday and 3 years ago at the same time.  In reality, it’s only been about 6 months since we were at the Tokyo Disney Resort and I conclude my photo essay with the creme-de-la-creme of Disney parks: Tokyo DisneySea!  You may be interested in checking out our Tokyo DisneySea episode of the Remain Seated, Please Podcast while you read along!  You can also check out this video compilation I made of the footage from the park!

We took the subway to the resort that morning and figured we could walk to DisneySea in the same way we walked over to Disneyland — not the case!  I guess we are so used to walking to Disneyland here in Anaheim that we take it for granted.  For this park, we got to board the monorail! (for a small fee.)

Once at the park entrance, we noticed how much shorter the line to get in was.  Thank goodness!  We weren’t sure we could handle another day like the previous in terms of crowds.  We did catch a glimpse of some more amazing kids in costumes, though!

We got in and walked quickly to the American Waterfront section of the park to get our Tower of Terror fastpasses and our dinner reservations on the SS Columbia.

We then headed to the next E-ticket attraction to stand in what we thought would be a huge line — “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which is over at Mysterious Island — an INCREDIBLY detailed area of the park that is unlike anything else you have ever seen, I assure you!

After THAT whirlwind experience, we grabbed a bite to eat.  I had heard about the Gyoza Dog, but I HAD to have one!  So I did and I REALLY liked it.  More of a Bao-like texture on the outside dumpling but inside was more of the Gyoza dumpling kind of texture.

Then, we headed over to the Lost River Delta to check out the Indiana Jones attraction.  It was still VERY early in the day and the park was still pretty slow which was GREAT for us.  I LOVED the queue for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull.  The ride is very similar to the Indiana Jones attraction at Disneyland, but this queue was incredible.

Next up was Port Discovery.  The aesthetic and design of this area reminded me of Discovery Land at Disneyland Resort Paris.  Lots of blues and golds and a steam punk vibe.  I was very interested in the Aquatopia attraction which is a trackless ride system on water.  It sounds cooler than it was, but it was fun nonetheless.

We were now ready.  It was time.  TOWER OF TERROR!  This would be the first time we had been on a Tower attraction that was not themed after The Twilight Zone and this would also mark the final Tower we needed to ride to be able to say we had ridden them all!  Here’s what we saw:

It’s VERY similar to the DCA and Paris version in terms of ride experience, but the story and visuals are much different and in some ways better.

Just before lunch, we walked thru the Mediterranean Harbor area of the park and snapped some shots.

From here, we first heard Mount Prometheus erupt!  We had no idea it would, but it only makes sense!  Took some great video of it, too!  Now, it was back to Mysterious Island to ride “Journey…” again and see what else there was to offer.  Glad we went back, and it wouldn’t be our last time!

Then, it was back to Port Discovery to check out the other attraction there, StormRider!  This is a mix between Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Star Tours and the queue is much better than the attraction.  Still, unlike any other Disney attraction I’ve been on.

Mermaid Lagoon and Triton’s Kingdom.  This is the children’s area of the park but the concept is genius — at least for Triton’s Kingdom.  Think of the interactive queue for Dumbo at Magic Kingdom park at WDW on a much larger scale.  It’s completely indoors and looks JUST like the Under the Sea scene in Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure Park and Magic Kingdom but you can walk around it.  Many of the kiddy rides from DCA show up here but walking thru it is WELL worth it.  Plus, there’s a Cirque Du Soleil-level Little Mermaid show!

The Arabian Coast was next.  Had no idea what to expect here.  I saw there was a magic show which we ultimately skipped due to less than stellar (literally, not facetiously), and some boat ride that sounded cool.  This, however, was cool on the level of New Orleans Square at Disneyland in the sense that there were quiet areas with great detail and you could just stroll the streets of a middle-eastern street market.  Very cool!  And that boat ride?  One of the greatest surprises of the entire two-day stay at the parks: Sinbad’s Voyage!

With a song from Alan Menken, this is the “…Small World” for today’s kids in the sense that it’s a repetitive song that’s super catchy and small animatronics telling the story.  These are mostly the size and feel of the Mary Blair models in “…Small World” but with an updated look and feel.  REALLY well done!

The rest of the day was re-riding things, snapping shots, and waiting for Fantasmic! You can see those photos in the gallery below.  Outside of that, we did two more cool things: The Fortress Explorations section of the park at the base of Mount Prometheus and dinner and drinks aboard the Columbia!

You’ll have to forgive me for not writing down what we got.  Drinks were at my favorite publicly accessible Disney lounge, The Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, aboard the SS Columbia!

And lastly, Fantasmic!  This show is different from the other two versions of the show at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios at WDW.  Thin Illuminations at Epcot meets the WDW version of Fantasmic!  The mirror effect and dragon were the best parts of this show, for sure!

This was a huge day for us. A new Disney Park at another country.  We ate a ton of popcorn and we had much fewer guests to contend with.  It was a super awesome day and an incredibly beautiful park!

And now for the entire gallery!  Enjoy!