Today is a special day. It is my son's 12th birthday and one of the reasons why we pushed for a Tokyo Japan vacation.
Our itinerary for today is Tokyo Disney Sea (TDS),
From Tokyo Disney Land Hotel, where we are staying we took a short train ride via the Tokyo Disneyland Station (We finally got to use our complimentary 3 days train pass, issued to TDL hotel guests) to TDS.
The train station is right in front of our hotel.
TDS is the second door of Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR). It was said, it was the costliest theme park ever built at $4B (about P188B).
It is huge and grand and huge (oh I already said that) ~ it is magnificently built, no wonder it cost so much.
It has 7 uniquely themed areas called "ports of call":
Mediterranean Harbor
American Waterfront
Lost River Delta
Port Discovery
Mermaid Lagoon
Arabian Coast and
Mysterious Island.
TIP: If you are planning a visit, pre-download a map and plan an itinerary TOKYO DISNEY SEA MAP.
TIP: Wear really-really comfortable shoes (I cannot stress that enough).
TIP: The Fast Pass System also works here at TDS. So keep that in mind in your planning.
Here we are at TDS, the costliest theme park on earth (lol!)
The Disney Aqua Sphere behind us is one of TDS' famous iconic structures.
The park's entrance is the Mediterranean Harbor.
Mt. Prometheus is TDS' icon. similar to Cinderella's Castle as TDLs.
Our first stop is the Mysterious Island.
Journey to the Center of the Earth by boarding a subterranean vehicle. This is a thrill ride by the way, so be careful of unexpected sudden drop deep into the dark caverns.
Did I mention, my boys hate thrill rides... well I did not know this was one of them and sent my youngest to a verge of almost crying.
Below is a before riding photo, you would not want to see an after....
After my youngest has rested and calmed down (I was really sorry), we headed to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We get to tour the underwater world on board a submarine. Fortunately they liked this ride.
PORT DISCOVERY
While my youngest was resting, I went to the Port Delta to get an FP at StormRider. Riders here are enlisted to help destroy a deadly and powerful storm ~ so cool!.
(I was unable to get good photos, so I got these from the TDL website)
Aquatopia is one of my youngest son's favorite rides. It made me dizzy though.
From here, we boarded the Disney Sea Electric Railway (an elevated electric trolley) to American Waterfront. I have pre-booked our lunch using Priority Pass (see tip below) at the Sailing Day Buffet.
TIP: Getting into one of TDR full service restaurants is quite difficult, especially during lunch and dinner time. Reservations is highly recommended. If you are booked in one TDR hotels, make use of the Priority Pass privileges via the Travel Case system.
AMERICAN WATERFRONT
We had lunch at Sailing Say Buffet. I forgot the cost per person, but we paid Y10,100 for the 4 of us. Spread was not extra-ordinary but good. It includes desserts, unlimited drinks, coffee and ice cream (the ice cream was one of the creamiest I have tasted, but not too sweet).
After a heavy lunch we toured the American Waterfront a bit. We rode the Big City Vehicle and gave Turtle Talk a try.
The Big City Vehicle was fine, but the Turtle Talk ~a chat with Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo was purely Japanese (unless you understand Japanese, you can give this attraction a miss).
One of the Big City Vehicles, waiting for passengers.
At the back is S.S. Columbia a cruise themed fine dining restaurant.
From American Waterfront, we went back to Port Discovery via the Disney Electric Railway. The boys wanted to go back to the StormRider, but the queue was a bit long so we used the FP system. Return time was in 3 hours, so we decided to explore the other ports.
LOST DELTA RIVER
This port features rides and attractions from the remote Central American jungle and ancient civilization. We saw Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull and the Raging Spirit, both high speed thrill rides - hence, these were obvious pass.
MERMAID LAGOON
A.k.a. the World of Ariel and her aquatic friends. This port has an indoor theme rides which caters to mostly younger visitors.
My 7 year old totally enjoyed the Mermaid Lagoon he rode ~ Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster, Jumpin' Jelly Fish Blowfish Balloon Race and the Whirlpool. He would have stayed there forever if he can :P
While there, we got a chance to watch King Triton's Under the Sea musical show at the Mermaid Lagoon's Theatre.
(I got these pictures from the TDR website, for your reference since cameras are not allowed inside the theater)
The port next to the Mermaid Lagoon is the Arabian Coast.
ARABIAN COAST
The Arabian Coast features rides from the Arabian Nights and Aladdin.
As we were already running a bit late for our FP at the StormRider, we were only able to squeeze in a few rides and attractions from the Arabian Coast.
The Magic Lamp Theater, a magic show with Genie and my son's all time favorite ride Caravan Carousel.
We walked back to Port Discovery and chanced upon Mr. and Mrs. Incredible (Nice pair these two).
We did the StormRider and the Aquatopia one more time and then headed back to American Waterfront to try our luck at the Big Band Beat ~ TRL fans rave much of BBB (however the boys were not keen on falling in line and waiting for the show)
See those people to the right camping? They are actually in line for the next show.
(If I have taken heed from online reviews ~ re: long line and waiting time, I would taken my chances in the Big Band Beat lottery held earlier in the morning).
I so wanted to ride the Tower of Terror, but my boys had other plans. For now I had to content myself to a photo in front of the Tower of Terror Hotel :P
My youngest took this photo (and instructed me to look scared) after taking my photo, he exclaimed "Ma, you can never be an actress, you don't look scared at all!"
My boys did not mind waiting in line for Toy Story Mania, though. This is the longest we've waited in line at 80 minutes for a 5 minute attraction ~ I really felt I should have just insisted on Big Band Beat.
Some sweets while we wait... to keep our energy up.
Toy Soldiers making our waiting bearable :P
Finally... inside
The highlight of our Tokyo Disney Sea is the Fantasmic parade on the waters of the Mediterranean Harbor. However, I don't have a photo as I was concentrating on taking a video.
(I will also link the YouTube post here once uploaded.)
Overall, I could say Tokyo Disney Sea (TDS) is one of best theme parks I have been to. I personally think it is more grand than Tokyo Disney Land (TDL), however, compared to it's sister TDL, TDS caters to a more adult clientele.
My children prefers TDL over TDS. Hence, the choice Themepark for Day 3 of our 3-Day Magic Passport Pass at TDR is TOKYO DISNEY LAND.
Check here for the rest our Tokyo Japan adventure:
