Tokyo Travels - Day 7

[hornetgirl]

Day seven

Once again we had breakfast in the hotel room – as yesterday, with the addition of some orange juice and yogurt bought in the hotel shop last night. We ate at a little table by the window, drinking in every inch of our beautiful Disneyland view. Admin next – today’s plan was to visit DisneySea, which meant that along with our park tickets and our happy 15 tickets, we also needed our monorail tickets. Having checked that we had all these we set off.

Yesterday’s beautiful sunshine and blue sky had disappeared. Today it was grey and quite overcast, although still very warm and a bit muggy. Instead of going underneath the station like yesterday, today we went up the escalator to catch the monorail.

At the park entrance there was once again a separate area for onsite guests with happy 15 passes. When the gate opened, we took advantage of these and headed towards Tower of Terror along with everyone else. Or so we thought. We reached a junction and the crowd surged left towards Toyville while we turned right almost unaccompanied and were able to walk straight onto the first Tower of Terror ride of the day.

The ride here has a completely different backstory to that in any of the other Disney parks but the theming and attention to detail was superb.

What did disappoint us a little was the ride itself. The drop sequence seemed much tamer and because you wear a strap across your shoulder, rather like a car seatbelt, that odd feeling in your stomach as the lift rises and falls was almost completely lost. This was probably the only comparison we made in which Orlando won hands down.

Continuing in a clockwise direction, we set off to explore the American Waterfront area, which is heavily themed on New England.

We learned an interesting fact!

This brought us round to Port Discovery and a new ride, Aquatopia. No queue so we decided to give it a whirl.

It worked in a very similar way to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt except on water, with the vehicles whirling and spinning past each other. Great fun.

Immediately adjacent to this was a brand new ride, Nemo & Friends SeaRider. This was scheduled to open on May 12. We were due to fly home on May 11. However, there seemed to be some activity so we hung around for a bit hoping it was a soft opening, but no such luck. Only press and invited VIPs were allowed to ride. It did give us the chance to see lots of men in suits doing the business card swapping thing.

Keeping left we crossed over the water to Lost River Delta, where “deep within the central American jungles, the ruins of an ancient civilization await you.” First we rode Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull. I was a bit apprehensive about this as I had read that it was much the same ride system as Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, which I really don’t enjoy. Although this was similar, it didn’t throw you around nearly as much. A far smoother ride made it much more enjoyable for me.

Sean then rode Raging Spirits alone. In keeping with the theming of the area, it certainly looked like the ruins of an ancient civilization, very rickety. I sat it out as it had a 360 degree loop but Sean’s report was that it was really quite tame so if we should ever be lucky enough to return I might give it a go.

Next up was Arabian Coast. We had a quick ride on Jasmine’s Flying Carpets, then decided it was time for a mid morning snack, so we stopped at Sultan’s Oasis for a coffee and some maple cream balls, which were a bit like profiteroles. They were delicious but the portion really needed to be twice the size, they were so light.

Then came Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage. This was a boat ride, a bit like It’s A Small World, but with a proper story to it and the most amazing music. The song is called Compass Of Your Heart and was written by Alan Menken. In the ride it’s in Japanese but there’s an English version here

We loved this ride so much we went straight back round for another go.

Other delights in the Arabian Coast area included the Magic Lamp Theatre, which was a magic show, and the Caravan Carousel, which was a two-storey roundabout.

And yet again, fabulous theming.

From here we crossed back over the water onto Mysterious Island, which is at the centre of the DisneySea park. It features Mount Prometheus, a volcano which erupts periodically during the day.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a walk on, so on we walked.

There used to be a ride of the same name at the Magic Kingdom and I believe there is still one in California, but nothing like this. The ride vehicles are little submarines for about 6 passengers. They were a bit hot and stuffy but not at all claustrophobic, unlike their US counterparts. This ride was another winner.

Mysterious Island is also home to the park’s headline ride, Journey To The Centre of the Earth, but this did have a bit of a queue, so we grabbed some fast passes, then decided it was time for lunch. Nothing on Mysterious Island appealed, so we crossed back over the water and went to the New York Deli, just round from Mediterranean Harbour.

Sean had a mile high Reuben sandwich and I had an Easter special. This was a sandwich made from pink bread, with prawn, egg and chicken inside, all pastel colours which was presumably where Easter came in. There was also a glass of cold leek and potato soup. Part of the deal was that I could buy a special Duffy bag with it. I declined. I think my sandwich was just trying too hard. It was pretty but it was also soggy and messy to eat. Sean’s choice was better.

Just as we finished eating, we heard the tooting of a car horn. Duffy was coming down the street with his new Easter bunny girlfriend, Stella Lou. The main man was also with them, keeping an eye on proceedings.

Just like in the Disneyland park, DisneySea had a show, Big Band Beat, which had a lottery for tickets. We consulted our park map to figure out where we had to go to apply for them. The map was barely open when a cast member appeared and asked whether we needed any help. He pointed out where we would find the lottery machine, which was very close by, and wished us luck. A couple of minutes later – success!

There was a little while to go until showtime, so we had a wander round Mediterranean Harbour and took a gondola ride.

More lovely theming (it feels like I’m saying that every few seconds!) We’re going to the real Venice for our silver wedding anniversary in September, so it will be interesting to see how the Disney version compares.

It was nearly time for the Big Band Beat Show, so we wandered round to the theatre. Photography wasn’t permitted, but needless to say it was a spectacular performance. The theatre itself didn’t look that exciting by day but this was it later on.

By now our Journey to the Centre of the Earth fast pass time was approaching, so we rode on the DisneySea Electric Railway back in the direction of Mysterious Island.

This was far and away the best ride in the park. The description on the map reads “While exploring on a subterranean vehicle, unexpected danger sends you hurtling through the caverns” which doesn’t even begin to do it justice. I think the ride system must be based on Test Track, but it was so, so much better than that. Absolutely loved it.

After that we strolled back through the American Waterfront area and took some more photos.

We ate here too, at Cape Cod Cook-Off. This is also a meet and greet area for Duffy and pals, but thankfully not while we were there. The food was pretty standard counter service fare, a fishburger for me and a cheeseburger for Sean.

Guess who featured heavily in the shop next door?

It was getting dark by now and Toyville looked beautiful.

Fast passes for Toy Story Mania had long gone and the queue was massive, so that would have to wait until tomorrow.

Instead we settled down to watch Fantasmic. The story is similar to the Hollywood Studios version, but isn’t quite so long. It was performed in Mediterranean Harbour and centres on The Hat. So that’s where it went!

It was a much prettier and gentler show than the one we’re used to, but they didn’t get the timing quite right with the final boat…two Mickeys?!

After Fantasmic everyone remained in place. Then came an announcement. Due to the weather conditions, this evening’s fireworks had been cancelled. Yesterday it was hot, sunny and still. Today it was warm but overcast. No idea what kind of weather conditions they consider to be acceptable. Disappointed by the lack of pyrotechnic performance, we headed back to the park exit and the monorail. I’m glad I wasn’t wearing these, she must have had sore feet!

Back in our hotel room this was waiting for us. Easter bunny?

This was our last night in the Disneyland Hotel, so the rest of the evening was spent packing.

[hawki]

What a fab day! This park looks amazing I can't wait to visit. Those cream balls look yummy, not sure about the cold soup
Thanks for sharing, look forward to more please

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by hawki

What a fab day! This park looks amazing I can't wait to visit. Those cream balls look yummy, not sure about the cold soup
Thanks for sharing, look forward to more please

See more...

The soup wasn't the best The flavour was good, it was the coldness that wasn't.
Not much more left I'm afraid Will get it done as soon as I can.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Lovely again
We loved Disney Sea and are at Cape Cod!

Keep them coming

[hornetgirl]

Originally Posted by kevin_cambs_uk

Lovely again
We loved Disney Sea and are at Cape Cod!

Keep them coming

See more...

Thanks Kevin. We were completely blown away by DisneySea, just so different to any of the other parks we've visited.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Originally Posted by hornetgirl

Thanks Kevin. We were completely blown away by DisneySea, just so different to any of the other parks we've visited.

See more...

I read it was the plans that were supposed to be used in California for the sister park to Disney land but were never used

Nice to know it's a one of a kind and in true Japanese fashion done to the highest quality

[smedley]

Fabulous, Disney sea is my main reason to want to go

[Gill H]

Apparently Raging Spirits is pretty much the same as the DLP Indy ride, so you could always try that one.

I can't wait to do Sindbad's ride and get myself a Chandu!