I think the beauty of theme parks or amusement parks is how you feel as if you are transported in an entirely different world once you pass through its gates. For a few hours, you forget that an outside world existed, and your attention is pulled in all directions, so much that you tend to forget there are other people around. Until you realize you’re stuck in a long queue, that is. But I daresay it’s still a good experience to go through, one that I won’t mind repeating, if given the opportunity.
The first time I went to the Tokyo DisneySea, I was alone. And it was raining. (You can check out my blog post about it.)
Hah.
You would think that I had a miserable time. Considering the nonstop rain and the occasional gusts of strong wind that eventually laid my (borrowed) umbrella to waste, and how I was alone, it’s natural to think so.
But here’s the thing: I don’t mind being alone when I go around places; I actually enjoy it and still do it from time to time. And I’m at an amusement park, so being miserable is out of the question.
I was damp-to-wet in many places, and cold, to boot. But I still went on the queues and rides. (One advantage of being alone is you can directly breeze past the queues as a “Single rider”. Beats even havin a Fast Pass, if you ask me.)
This time, however, I am not alone. I had my friend Rog with me, and when we were deliberating which Disney Park to go to, the choice was unanimous: DisneySea. Never mind that I’ve been there before, I entirely don’t mind going back.
With company. And on a sunshine-y day.
After breakfast at a waffles-and-coffee place in the Tokyo Station, we took the train to get to Chiba, where the Tokyo Disney Resort is located. It’s been four years since I came here last, but there was a sense of familiarity to it, and it felt comforting that I had an easier time navigating our way to the Tokyo Disney Sea.
It was a Monday, which was intentional, because it is a fact that weekends in amusement parks are so crowded. But take note that when we were there, it was summer vacation, and there were still two weeks left before school starts.
So, yeah, even at 10 in the morning, there was already quite a crowd as we bought our admission tickets and made our way in.
I keep confusing this globe at the Tokyo DisneySea with that of the globe of Universal Studios. This is much smaller, though, and focuses on the water part, seeing as it is a nautical or sea-themed park.
That’s most likely why many people said this is the adult-friendlier theme park, as compared to the Disneyland concept. If you want to see little kids all dolled up like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and the rest of the gang, then you’d best make your way to Tokyo Disneyland instead of Tokyo DisneySea.
This summer, they had a “Pirates of Summer” theme going on. Borrowing from the film franchise “Pirates of the Caribbean”, to be more specific.
When we entered the main area, the first Pirates of Summer show was nearing its end. The wide lake in the Mediterranean Harbor turned into a stage, with actors dressed up as pirates performing a whole sequence of Jack Sparrow fighting against enemies. Of course, the pirates won in the end.
Here’s something to note: those who stand close to the water are bound to get wet, because the staged explosions are meant to spray water from the lake on to the sides and to the spectators. We saw many with raincoats and even plastic bags containing changes of clothes, meaning they came prepared.
(We weren’t, FYI.)
Since we weren’t able to catch the whole show, we decided to try to catch the 2pm one later that day, and proceeded to go to the other parts of the Park.
During my first visit, I went on several rides, most of which were in the “Mysterious Island” and “Lost River Delta” areas. I watched the Big Band Beats show back then, but decided to pass on it now as there was a long queue.
And I found myself back in the Mysterious Island area, and oddly enough I felt nostalgic. Because that time, it was so gloomy and there was a bit of a strong shower. My umbrella had already gone kaput that time so I left it in a trash can earlier.
This time, the sky was so clear, it was so hot, and we took shelter for the opposite reason. We joined the queue for the attraction 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and, just as I remember, the queue was long.
But I am tolerant of queues as long as they are moving.
After going on the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction, we proceeded to the cavern roller-coaster ride “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.
For some reason, I felt that this time around, the rides were too short. I was holding my breath, expecting the coup de grace of the ride…. and then we were back on the dock.
I was like, whut, it’s over now? That was shorter than I remember. It felt almost… anti-climactic. I wonder, did I burn myself out when I first rode it….?
From Mysterious Island, we strolled around the Port of Discovery and made our way to where the Lost River Delta area is. I suppose if you’re a fan of the Indian Jones film franchise, you’d find yourself spending the most time here.
Feed your inner archeologist when you’re here, there’s a lot to see.
I remember the “Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull” to be the attraction where I spent the longest time queueing. This time, there was also quite a long queue, and it was so warm, too.
But we still went for it.
And tried to sneak taking some photos while we were at it. It’s not really allowed once you are strapped on to the seat and while in motion, though, so I’d advise against it.
In fact, you’re not also allowed to take photos of the snapshots that were taken while on the ride, but I sneaked it again. Don’t be a rule-breaker, guys.
The attraction after Indiana Jones Adventure is “Raging Spirits”, which I didn’t get to go on the first time because it wasn’t running (thank you, rain). This time I got to ride on it.
It’s basically a rollercoaster made of wood and steel, built around an “excavation of ancient gods”. And it’s got a 360-degree loop which we went through more than once, if I remember correctly.
I. LOVED. IT.
It kinda reminded me of the T-Express in South Korea’s Everland. Check out my experience aboard that wooden rollercoaster here.
Somewhere along the way we had lunch of pasta. Heavy, I know, but we were sweating it so hard. At least I’d like to think that.
Then we heard the 2pm show starting, so we practically had to run back to the Harbor. Which was difficult, because it’s not like we memorized the layout of the Park to know which path to take.
But we were able to catch more than half of its tail-end. By the way, the dialogues and songs ringing throughout the park were in Japanese.
Jack Sparrow speaking Japanese. That’s quite a sight, and we got it there.
And, once again, the people closest to the water got soaked. (We tried to steer clear of it, so we only got sprayed on a bit.)
Since it’s the last show of the day, the actors/performers walked around greeting the Park guests, and… look at the costumes and make-up! They were so exuberant through the whole thing, but in my head I was thinking how hot they must feel underneath all those layers of costumes.
There were still a lot of areas to explore in Tokyo DisneySea, but we only strolled through and past them, without going on the attractions. For example, the Mermaid Lagoon area seemed more catered to kids (cue Ariel singing “under the sea”). I did go there the first time I came here though, because it’s indoor, and I needed shelter from the rain when it got too strong, haha!
Despite it being summer vacation, we saw many young ‘uns in school uniforms walking around. I think some of them were wearing school uniform costumes rather than real ones, although I’ve been told there are some students going to cram school or some kinda-academic thing over the summer vacation, and that’s probably why they were in uniform.
But then I couldn’t help but think, why you here, kids? Plus, it’s not exactly cheap, imo.
I think that if you want to fully explore Tokyo DisneySea, you’d need more than one day. I saw some travel packages offering a 4-day sojourn to the Tokyo Disney Resort: 2 days at DisneySea and the other 2 at DisneyLand.
Personally, I’d probably feel all Disney-ed out by the 2nd day if I do that. #ShortAttentionSpan problems.
I’m not quite sure why I felt that the rides were too short or too quick to end. But perhaps it’s because the queue or waiting time was too long, only for the actual ride to be over in less than 3 minutes. Like… imagine lining up for 45 minutes to an hour, and going on a 3-minute ride.
Anti-climactic, right?
I suppose queues are one of the things that make an amusement park experience memorable. Part of the package, so to speak.
I dunno….maybe when I go back to Tokyo in the future, I’d give Tokyo DisneyLand a shot…? (But how old would I be then…*heckles*)
(For information on Tokyo DisneySea and how to get there, just go to the Tokyo DisneySea website.)
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