Experience the Magic of Tokyo DisneySea in Japan

Even though I live in America, I’d never been to Disneyland or Disney World, or any Disney resort for that matter. Then, when a friend really wanted to go to Tokyo DisneySea with everyone for his birthday, a bunch of us decided to go.

Honestly, I was a little worried at first that I wasn’t going to have fun. I guess I always hear of parents taking their kids to Disney. I never hear of a bunch of college kids going to Disney. Besides, I like Disney movies, but I’m no fanatic. Meeting Mickey the Mouse just didn’t sound appealing. However, I decided to go just to be a good friend and help him celebrate his birthday. In the end, I was thrilled that I went, because I had an absolute blast! I would definitely highly recommend fitting it into a Tokyo itinerary. Find our what it’s like to spend a day at Tokyo DisneySea!

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The Entrance

When you first walk into Disney Sea, you’re greeted by a gigantic globe fountain and floating ship. It’s a great way to say welcome to Disney! One of the first things I noticed (other than how crowded it was), was that a lot of the people who come together dress in the same clothes, or something really similar. Personally I thought it was a really cute idea. Once you walk past the globe and ship and through the entrance way, it opens up and you find yourself truly inside Disney. There are all sorts of buildings and structures that seem to be taken straight from Disney movies. You truly feel as though you’ve entered into another world.

In order to skip waiting in line, you can purchase your tickets in advance through Klook or Get Your Guide.

The Park’s Seven Themes

As the name might suggest, the Tokyo DisneySea is inspired by the myths and legends of the sea. The park has been divided into seven different sections or themes: Mediterranean Harbor, Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery and American Waterfront. In the various sections of the park, you can immerse yourself in the different Disney stories. For example, at Mermaid Lagoon you can join Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian in the world of the Little Mermaid, and at Mysterious Island you can adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Adventure Rides

20,000 League Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is an “under the sea” adventure. It actually makes you feel like you’re in a submarine doing an exploration. Unfortunately the story is only in Japanese, but you don’t need to understand the story in order to enjoy the ride. It has plenty of things to see and flashing lights to keep you entertained.

Indiana Jones Adventure Temple of the Crystal Skull

The Indiana Jones Adventure Temple of the Crystal Skull was also an adventure ride. It took you through hallways full of skeletons, across rickety bridges, through pitch black hallways, and in the end you almost get crushed by a big rolling bolder. The music in the Indiana Jones background music definitely makes it feel even more like a thrilling adventure.

Sinbad’s Storybook Village

Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage is a boat ride with an Aladdin theme that smoothly takes you through several rooms decorated with all sorts of robotic puppets and props. It was a nice and calming ride after the thrilling Indiana Jones ride, haha.

Roller Coasters and Track Rides

Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster

Flounder’s Flying Fish Coaster reminded me of the roller coasters I used to ride back at home, except it was rather small and short, maybe only 30 seconds or a minute long. Still, it had enough twists, turns, and drops to make it at least a little entertaining.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Even though you go through a few dark hallways at first, the beginning is relatively smooth. It takes you through some really cool scenery with all sorts of different colorful creatures. Next is a tree that was full of electricity. We were all so fascinated by it and we were leaning over trying to look at it better. That was when a big bolt of lightening came down and struck the tree, making us all jump and scream. After that comes a really big bug/lizard looking monster. Some people may have found it scary, but I was amazed by the amount of detail that had gone into making it. The end was what made it a true roller coaster. You pick up speed and then go down a severe drop. However though, after that the ride is over. Not surprisingly, this ride does have one of the longer wait lines, so you might want to consider bringing a leisure sheet.

Raging Spirits

Out of all the rides in DisneySea, Raging Spirits was a true roller coaster. It had high speed, twists, turns, ups, downs, and it even had a 360 degree loop through some fog. Despite my tendency to get motion sick, I decided to suck it up and go on this one for two reasons. One, I actually really enjoy roller coasters, and I hate that I can’t really ride them anymore. Two, my friend had some motion sickness medicine on hand so I was able to take that before the ride.

Other Rides

Aquatopia

For Aquatopia, you sit in a little car that takes you on a small lake, but it’s no smooth ride. It takes you in all different directions, spins you around, and squirts water at you. You never know where the water is going to come from or when, so it’s always a surprise. The cars take different paths, so you can’t even look at other cars to guess what might happen to you next. I lucked out. While I did get wet, it wasn’t so bad. However, my friends in the other car got soaked. It took them threw a water spout, spun them around, and took them right back through the water spout again.

Blowfish Balloon Race

We also decided to ride on a few rides that went a little slower. There were people with us who wouldn’t ride roller coasters, so we wanted something we could all go on. That’s why we decided to go on the Blowfish Balloon Race. The ride raises the cars into the air and then spins you around, but it’s not too fast. It reminded me a lot of the rides I’d often find at carnivals and fairs in America.

Food at Tokyo Disney Sea

We picked up lunch at an American style restaurant where they had burgers and chicken nuggets. The chicken nuggets were in the shape of Mickey Mouse. They were so cute! Plus, the food was actually decently priced. The hamburger set, which came with a hamburger, fries, and a drink was ￥700. Don’t get me wrong, that’s probably more expensive than if you got a hamburger meal at McDonalds, but I can guarantee that a hamburger set like that in an amusement park in America would be much more expensive.

When it came time for dinner, all the places were pretty busy, so we had to stand in line for quite a while before we were able to even order our food. We went to Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante, which sold pasta and pizza and a few other sides. This place was a little more expensive, but not as expensive as some of the other restaurants in the park.

A Memorable Souvenir

Don’t get me wrong, I like Disney movies as much as the next person, however, I’m not like crazy obsessed with Disney movies. I haven’t seen every Disney movie. If I play Disney trivia, I can promise you I’ll lose. Therefore, I wasn’t overly excited about having a Mickey Mouse headband or a Little Mermaid handbag. However, I did want something that showed I had been to Disney in Japan. I was super excited when I found a shirt that had Tokyo Disney Sea written in katakana. Not only did I find something that showed I had been to Disney in Japan, I also got a shirt that had Japanese writing on it, which is a souvenir of my overall time in Japan.

Tokyo DisneySea’s Water Show: Fantasmic!

I’d heard Disney had fireworks, so I was a little disappointed when I found out that there wasn’t going to be fireworks, but the water show more than made up for the lack of a true fireworks show. In the center of the lake was a cone shaped screen that featured all sorts of Disney characters and there were boats that had people dressed up as the different characters and were dancing. Their clothes were covered in lights that changed with the music, which made for a really cool show. Plus, they did have some small fireworks. You could definitely feel the magic of Disney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsfCwAD9x2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAAm_EF_c6c

What Are Your Thoughts on Tokyo DisneySea?

Have you ever been to DisneySea? What do think about how I spent my time there? Let me know in the comments below!

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Further Reading

Tokyo DisneySea Review: Experience the Magic of Tokyo DisneySea in Japan