What to see at Tokyo Disney Sea?
Goodness knows, Disney does not need my endorsement or free advertising, but I had to let you know how enjoyable it was at Tokyo Disney Sea theme park in Japan.
Even in a typhoon. That’s right. A typhoon was ripping its way up the western side of Japan at the time, and we were so afraid of getting weather bashed-out of all the fun.
Fortunately, the weather cooperated, somewhat. We did get hit with strong winds and some rain, but generally, it was bearable. You want to know the best part?
Bad weather means fewer people at the park! So, there were shorter lines and less wait time for rides.
I have a feeling that Disney Sea is not as famous as Tokyo Disneyland, so there are fewer visitors. It’s one park where as soon as I entered, I felt transported to another world!
The gorgeous architecture in the harbor grabs you as you first walk in and is influenced by the Mediterranean, with a bit of fantasy flair! Every area feels like another adventure and even when it’s busy, feels relaxed and comfortable.
I will admit that the rides are not as fantastic compared to Disneyland, but they are enjoyable and imagination filled. The more intense ones are in the Lost River Delta area where you can explore with Indiana Jones or take a roller coaster ride through Raging Spirits.
One of my favorites was the FINDING NEMO ride at Port Discovery. It made you feel like you were in a small submarine going on adventures with Nemo and Dory through the ocean. If you get seasick though, this is NOT the ride for you. Plenty of rocking and gliding up and down!
In the American Waterfront area that looks like New York City in the 1920’s, you have the famous Tower of Terror ride, which we didn’t get on because we’ve been on it in America and the Turtle Talk experience where you can talk with an animated version of Crush the green sea turtle from Finding Nemo. This one was surprisingly fun, and even though it was in Japanese, relatively easy to understand.
I love the Toy Story movies but the ride, Toy Story Mania!, even in bad weather, was the one ride that was packed all day long with insane wait times, so we had to skip it. If you had a chance to make it in, let me know what you thought!
The Mysterious Island area looked the coolest, and we had fun riding 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. We will need to go back to the Arabian Coast and ride Jasmine’s flying carpets -even though it’s basically the Dumbo ride.
Because the weather was rough due to the typhoon, it was an excellent relief to head over to Mermaid Lagoon where they have an entire indoor play area with rides, food and a playground.
Our absolute favorite show was in the Mermaid Lagoon Theater where a performer, dressed as Ariel, is suspended from the ceiling on wires and swings around over the audience below like she’s swimming and sings well-known songs from the Little Mermaid film.
My eight-year-old daughter loves mermaids and almost didn’t see it. We waited forty-five minutes to get in and as soon as we sat down, with amazing seats, by the way, she says, “I need to go to the bathroom!” Really? We were just standing all that time, and you didn’t think about going then?
She couldn’t hold it so my wife, who watched this show here before, was kind enough to take her out to the restroom but of course, the theater needed to close the show so they couldn’t get back in.
They thought it would be best for me to at least stay and watch it since we waited all that time and I’ve never seen it. I must admit, it was pretty fantastic and felt like a small Cirque Du Soleil show!
When it was over, I was so ecstatic about the experience, my daughter was more than ready to stand in line again. She loved the performance, and I was glad to see it a second time! Make sure to look for the Mermaid Lagoon Theater, it’s pretty hidden in that indoor play area, and see the show when you go.
All in all, it was a fantastic trip to Tokyo Disney Sea even in such a massive storm. We never got extreme rain, but some pretty strong winds hit us a few times. In the evening, we stayed to watch the Fantasmic Mickey Mouse light show that was pretty fun. They had to modify it a bit due to the weather but still worth watching.
For a new Disney parks experience, I strongly recommend taking your family there next time you’re in the Tokyo area. Ta-ta for now. See ya’ real soon!
Khalid
