Tokyo: Fun at Disney Sea & Disneyland

I've been to Tokyo many times, but a couple weeks ago I finally got the chance to enjoy Disney Sea for the first time. The charming theme park sits right next to Tokyo Disneyland; both of which are conveniently located just 15 minutes away from Tokyo Station via public transit (JR Keiyo Line). Whereas Tokyo Disneyland features a storybook-fantasy aesthetic perfect for young children, Tokyo Sea is aimed more at adults with a nautical, worldly theme. Prior to this recent trip, I had also been to Tokyo Disneyland. So even though I'm going to focus on my new experience at Disney Sea in this post, I will also briefly touch on my past experience at Disneyland as well.

Tokyo Disney Sea (東京ディズニーシー)

I went with my friend, Nozomi, during "Disney's Halloween" special

My visit to Disney Sea was really great and a lot of fun! I went together with my good friend, Nozomi, during the park's annual Halloween event season. "Disney's Halloween" features festive decorations throughout the park, unique food and gift items, and special Halloween-themed shows. I was impressed how the park incorporated this theme throughout while keeping it fun but classy. I think the balance between the original themes and Halloween decorations was good and I never felt like it was overdone. Indeed, I have a lot of positive things to say about the fabulous park. Tokyo Disney Sea is nicely decorated, feels spacious, and is a truly pleasant place to spend a whole day exploring. Whether people come with significant others, friends, or family, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Nozomi and I visited the park on a breezy, blue sky day. The main entrance of the park opens up to Mediterranean Harbor. It's a picturesque area, themed as an Italian port city, that has various shops, restaurants, and a couple attractions. It's a nice place to relax and catch some of the special shows presented there. Disney Sea Hotel MiraCosta is located here as well, which is a particularly neat addition as it blends seamlessly into the park and even has guest rooms that are facing the inside of harbor (just be prepared to spend a lot of money to reserve one of these amazing rooms).

Mediterranean Harbor at Tokyo Disney Sea

Mediterranean Harbor is just one of seven main areas, or "ports of call" in the park. From here, visitors can walk around either side of the harbor to reach the different areas, each featuring a distinctive theme. Walking to the left in a southwest direction will lead to the American Waterfront (20th century eastern seaboard) and Port Discovery ("marina of the future"). Walking to the right in a northwest direction will lead to the Mysterious Island (mythological volcano fortress), Mermaid Lagoon (based on The Little Mermaid), and the Arabian Coast (based on Aladdin). The last area, Lost River Delta (Aztec ruins and jungle), is located in the back of the park and can be reached a few different ways.

Modified Disney Sea park map | © Disney All rights reserved

One of the first things Nozomi and I did was get "fast passes" for the Tower of Terror  ride. These passes allow visitors to effectively reserve a time slot for certain rides, return later, and skip the regular long lines to board quickly. Obviously, this is highly recommend since popular rides can have regular wait times of 1-2 hours (see my tips below for details). In the next couple hours we casually walked over to the Mysterious Island and then went on the ride, Journey to the Center of the Earth, a light roller coaster ride built inside of the volcano located there. We continued walking around for a while, taking some snapshots and eating some yummy Halloween-inspired, pumpkin-flavored churros. 

Our next stop was at Mermaid Lagoon. This is mostly a large indoor area with rides and play areas designed for young kids; but for adults it's still worth checking out as the underwater feel of the place is really neat. There's also an amazing Little Mermaid show we watched at the theater there and is recommended. By mid-afternoon, we returned to Mediterranean Harbor to watch the big, colorful daytime show called "The Legend of Mythica". Afterwards, we went the Lost River Delta and ate at a restaurant for a real meal. We took our time, and then hopped over to get a fast pass for the park's looper roller coaster, Raging Spirits. We continued on to the Arabian Coast and explored the area for little while; I though it was neat that it looked straight out of scenes from the movie [Aladdin].

Left to Right: Mermaid Lagoon, Legend of Mytica Show, Arabian Coast 

Finally, our time slot for the Tower of Terror was approaching. We had time to make a quick stop at Toy Story Mania, and then walked a few minutes over to the ride. With the fast passes, we were able to skip the regular 90-minute line and get on the ride within 15 minutes. Personally, I think this is the best ride in Disney Sea because it's the most all-around fun. The building's decor is detailed and the ambience is cool; but the best aspect is that the free-falling elevator ride is really suspenseful since you don't know when it's going to drop.

View of Tower of Terror from across Mediterranean Harbor

Our timing was really perfect that night. After the fun ride we had just enough time to find an excellent viewing spot for the big nighttime Disney show, Fantasmic! The theme features Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, who, "creates a magical world through the power of imagination". It's a must-see show. It's packed with lively entertainment and cool visual effects including lasers, fire, etc. Then, just as it ended, we had enough time to walk over to the Lost River Delta to ride Raging Spirits. Again, we could skip through the long lines using the fast passes we obtained earlier. This is probably the park's best roller coaster, and I loved that it had a fun loop. That being said, keep in mind that all roller coasters in Disney Parks are very mild. There's really no comparison to other parks' coasters I've ridden. Nevertheless, you don't come to Disney Sea or Disneyland specifically for the coasters, you come for the whole experience.

Disney night show, Fantasmic!

Another photo from Fantasmic!

Indeed, my experience was really fantastic! Nozomi and I enjoyed the whole day there and were able to do a lot of things without having to rush at all. Visiting the park, you may feel like you need to go on every ride and see every show, but it's much nicer to take your time and enjoy the overall experience. Perhaps the best aspect is not even the attractions and entertainment in the park, but the people you can enjoy it with. 

By the time we finished riding the roller coaster, Disney Sea was getting ready to close so we made our way to the front of the park to the exits. We captured a few more pictures and quickly browsed a gift shop before walking out through the gates. We were tired, but happy that we could have such a nice time at the theme park. 

For more information, please see the official website: Tokyo Disney Sea (English) / 東京ディズニーシー (日本語) .

Daniel's Tips:

• Fast Pass: instructions in English / 日本語; fast passes are free and allow you to skip the regular long lines for select popular attractions. Each fast pass admits one guest only--and can only be obtained about once every 2-3 hours from my experience. My advice: go early and get fast passes as early as possible!
• You are allowed to board most rides with a small backpack, purse, etc. I could ride the roller coasters with my small backpack, for example. So this shouldn't be a concern but obviously use your own discretion.
• Be sure to check out some of the shows, not only rides.
• Camera tripods are not allowed. My bag was inspected and passed security with a mini tripod inside, but inside the park, staff asked me to put it away. If you are sneaky, you can probably get away with using it--but the better solution may be to not bring it and instead just ask the staff to take pictures for you when necessary.
• Bring sunscreen; the stuff sold at the shops wasn't good quality yet still expensive.

Getting there:

From Tokyo Station, take the JR Keiyo Line (towards Sogo) to Maihama Station. Get off and walk to the Disney Resort Line (monorail). Take this to the Disney Sea entrance.

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Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド)

In February of 2009, I visited Japan for the first time. Looking back now, I realize that I was really fortunate to have good people around me at the time, because they introduced me to their country and really helped me enjoy my trip. I went to some of the most popular cities, including Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, and of course Tokyo. There in Tokyo, I was able to spend a day at Tokyo Disneyland during their 25th Anniversary.

Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, almost 20 years before Disney Sea. Interestingly it was the first Disney park built outside the U.S., yet is not actually owned by the Walt Disney Company (instead the theme is licensed to another company). The theme park was built just like it's American predecessors--Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom (Disney World) in Florida--and honestly feels pretty much the same. I had been to Disney World a long time ago when I was about 10 years old, and walking around in Tokyo's version seems nearly identical in my opinion.

It's fun just like Disney Sea, but as I previously mentioned, it's definitely aimed much more at children. There's much more of a fantasy motif throughout the park. There are many more cute-looking designs and decor present. And Disney characters are much easier to see and interact with here.

The park has seven distinctly-themed areas, and are nearly identical to the same areas found in the American Disney Resort Parks. They include the World Bazaar (20th century America),Adventureland (New Orleans/jungle themes), Westernland (old American west), Critter Country (forest theme), Fantasyland (home to Cinderella's Castle), Toontown (cartoonish-styled area), and Tomorrowland (futurist theme).

Comparing both Tokyo Disney Parks, I could appreciate Disney Sea a little more from an overall perspective. For young people or adults, I definitely recommend Disney Sea if you have to choose one park to visit. If you are with your family or young children, it's more of a toss up. But ultimately, both parks can be a lot of fun!

For more information, please see the official website: Tokyo Disneyland (English) / 東京ディズニーシー (日本語).