Japan's second Disney park is Tokyo DisneySea. Just like Tokyo Disneyland, this Disney park can also be fully explored in a day. I personally did one day in each park and felt fulfilled. Tokyo DisneySea is known for being the more mature of the parks as it has more thrilling rides and the park has a worldly theme that adults can appreciate. This Disney park is highly praised and is a crowd favorite, especially for couples. Let's get deeper into what makes this park so pleasing.
I didn't talked about the hotels in
my Tokyo Disneyland blog, so I'll mention it here. The most popular and competitive hotel to get a reservation for is Tokyo Disneyland hotel. For this reason, I didn't get to stay in this hotel. In order to stay there you would have to reserve your room a year in advance (the front desk clerk told me on the phone that they book up really fast). There are two smaller Disney related hotels that are not specifically associated with the parks: Disney Ambassador Hotel and Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel.
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| Tokyo Disneyland Hotel from a distance. It can be seen when driving on some parts of the Tokyo highway. |
The hotel I stayed in, the second most desirable hotel, is the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta. This hotel is literally a part of the Disney park. Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta is inspired by Italian design, inside and out. The rooms are themed as "Captain Mickey," as you will see Mickey and other Disney characters dressed as voyagers. One of the benefits of staying at the hotel is being able to enter the park first before other outside guests. I loved staying at this hotel as my experience was very smooth and relaxing. The hotel is staffed with workers who speak English. They will help you take your bags up to your room and make sure you are settled in properly before leaving you to your privacy (please don't tip them as tipping is not done in Japan).
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| Outside of Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta from inside the park. |
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| The inside of my hotel room in Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta. |
From our hotel room, you could see the entrance of Tokyo DisneySea.
The centerpiece of the entrance is a giant world globe and a golden ship in the middle of a fountain. This entrance already reveals to the guest the theme of traveling the world. Tokyo DisneySea is split up into different worlds, whether they are associated with an actual physical place on the world map or a fictional world from a Disney franchise. The park has 7 themed areas: Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon and Mysterious Island. Just like any Disney park, it makes one big circle. The most popular theme at Tokyo DisneySea is Mermaid Lagoon, as it is themed after Disney's
The Little Mermaid. Even though it is a favorite, it is more commonly enjoyed by younger children because the rides are very easy to ride.
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| The globe at the park entrance. |
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| The outside of Mermaid Lagoon. Inside is a giant indoor theme park. |
But like I said in the beginning,
this park is enjoyed more by adults because of all the intense rides the park offers. Your must ride rides at Tokyo DisneySea should be the Tower of Terror, Raging Spirits and Journey to the Center of the Earth (all of these rides are fastpass attractions). Even though there is a Tower of Terror at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, this Tower of Terror has a different story-line than the original that is a pleasure to learn about while waiting in line. I recommend Journey to the Center of the Earth the most because it was just so much fun (I rode it twice).
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| Tokyo DisneySea's Tower of Terror during the Christmas season. |
And once again (I've talked about this in my Tokyo Disneyland blog),
I really appreciate the nostalgic feeling of seeing so many older characters. There were many characters roaming around the park, interacting with the guests. At Disney World, it is customary now to wait in a long, painful line in order to see the characters (or of course pay for a character dinning experience).
The Tokyo Disney Parks have no lines for characters, like in the good old days of Disney World. Everyone respectfully takes turns interacting with the characters and taking pictures. It made the park easier for the eyes, in my opinion as it is unsightly to see lines for characters (that's my grip for the Disney parks in America).
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| The monkeys from The Jungle Book at Tokyo DisneySea's Lost River Delta section. |
Let's not forget about the food.
There are many different dinning options at Tokyo DisneySea, from casual to upscale dinning. I specifically ate at Vulcania Restaurant in Mysterious Island (serves Japanese and Chinese dishes) and Zambini Brother's Ristorante in Mediterranean Harbor (serves pasta and pizza). Both were casual dinning options for a relatively cheap price. The food tasted good and was filling. I even checked out a bakery called Mamma Biscotti's Bakery where I took my sweets for take-out, to enjoy in my hotel room. Whatever food experience you choose at Tokyo DisneySea, it will not disappoint.
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| Dinner at Zambini Brother's Ristorante. Spaghetti and Tiramisu. |
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| Bread from the bakery, Mickey themed. |
That's my experience at Tokyo DisneySea. If you get the chance, totally check it out and enjoy your time. I had a lot of fun and wouldn't mind going back someday. I hope this has helped you plan your Japan trip or maybe just educated you on the Disney parks in Japan.
For more information on Tokyo DisneySea:
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tds/
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