I was lucky enough to meet a Disney sea employee while having a few drinks at the Lyphard. After a few hours of speaking in broken English about our respective countries he reached into his pocket and pulled out an employee free entry pass which he proceeded to give me. I thanked him immensely for the pass as they’re not something the employee’s get often. The passes are approximately 70$ Canadian or 5,800 Yen and unfortunately I never even got his name!
A few days later I made my way to the Tokyo Disney land resort. The ticket was valid for entry into either the Disney Sea or the regular Tokyo Disney land resort. Because the Japanese individual who had given me the pass worked at Disney sea I decided to enter that area on the odd chance that I would run into him and would be able to thank him one last time.
When you stepped off the Japan train and exited the terminal the Disney Land monorail was a short 5 minute walk away. The monorail circled the resorts and had four stops. If I’m not mistaken those stops were Disney Sea, Disney Land Tokyo, the resorts hotel complex and the train platform. Here’s a few quick shots from when you first arrive:
I rode the monorail around the four stations once just to be able to enjoy the view. They describe Disneyland as the happiest place on earth and I think that’s a fair description. Every where you looked families, children and couples all had smiles on their faces. The monorail had several “Disney Land” touches which I thought were very nice. Things customs windows, safety rails and characters:
On the way to the entry gates I crossed this little fellow:
I entered Disney Sea and was greeted by a large rotating world globe that appeared to be supported by a jet of water coming from below. I several videos while at the Disney resort but I’m currently unable to add them to the blog. I’ll have to wait until I’m in Montreal and have access to my own machine. I mention this because I have a great video of this globe and the fountain gushing water.
After admiring the fountain I then passed through the main archways to the resort facilities and was greeted by a group Mediterranean looking buildings which included restaurants, gift shops, hotels and a large man made lake. To the side was a Donald Duck acting happy and surprised to see every single person who had waited in line in order to take a picture with him. I hoped that the suit was somehow cooled!
I stopped quickly at one of the small pastry shops to grab some breakfast/lunch: purchased for 5 or 6$ Canadian, which I thought was very reasonable considering I was at a Disney resort (two croissants, a small pastry and a bottle of water).
At this point you could either split off and go around the lake to the left or the right. I initially didn’t take any maps of the Disney sea layout as I just wanted to wander around and discover things as they came. Here we have a few shots of the harbor:
I found my way to the “Journey to the center of the earth ride” and proceeded to get in line being the only westerner in the line. I looked at the wait time and thought it was a little strange that it didn’t display any wait time at all. I told myself perhaps that this was because the wait was so short for this particular ride.
After having patiently waited in line for approximately 45 minutes we finally reached the entrance to the ride. I was given an English language guide describing the various journey to the center of the earth attractions. Now by attractions I mean these are the usual “displays” put in place to keep the people waiting in line occupied until they reach the actual ride/roller coaster.
The host was leading us from one “display” to the next providing a description of what we were seeing in Japanese and I could read along with my English copy. It was interesting to see the Japanese people beside me look at the various items in awe as if they were ‘actual’ artifacts from the center of the earth. Perhaps they were from the actual set of the movie? At one point the guide offered to take a picture of anyone with one of the specific ‘displays’ and some people took her up on the offer.
After receiving the guided tour we were then shuffled out of the ride area. I couldn’t help but think to myself that if this were in North America and possibly Europe that people would have never even bothered waiting in line for a guided tour of the “displays”. I had seen some Japanese people get out of the line while I was waiting and I couldn’t help but smile at myself when I realized that the actual “ride” was broken or under repair and I had just waited 45 minutes for a guided tour in Japanese ;-) That also explained why there was no “wait time” indication when entering the ride area. I smiled and gave them back them back the English language book and went on my way, feeling only slightly embarrassed.
It was after the journey to the center of the earth that I decided to go get myself an English guide in order to better maximize my time at the resort. Once I flipped open the guide I noticed one section that indicated for certain specific rides (roller coaster rides) individuals who were by themselves could use a special line.
It was with this information in mind that I pointed myself to the “Lost River Delta” section of the park and got into the single line for the “Raging spirits” roller coaster. I was definitely an advantage being by myself at Disneyland. Rather than waiting over an hour and a half for the ride I waited 15 minutes in the “single individual” line. The roller coaster had a small 360 loop and a few turns. The sign is well worth reading; it’ll make you laugh!
It was certainly a fun little roller coaster but I must admit that I was slightly disappointed by the length of the ride. I don’t know the exact duration, but I would have to guess it was approximately between 45 to 60 seconds of actual ride time, possibly less.
Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on my but from the experiences I’ve had at La Ronde in Montreal as well as Disney land in Florida I remember some of the roller coasters lasting much more longer. I felt a little sad for the Japanese people waiting in line well over an hour, possibly two just to get a ‘under a minute’ roller coaster ride.
Walking as quickly as possible in the large crowds I worked my way through all of the exhibits: Port Discovery, American Waterfront, Mediterranean Harbor, Mysterious Island, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian cost and the Lost River Delta mentioned above.
Here are various pictures from those areas:
Having worked up an appetite I stopped in for what they called a “Korean sushi roll”. Simply put I would of called it Kimbap: A sticky rice roll with vegetables and or meat inside. You can see pictures of it below. It was quite tasty and filling and cost me 3 or 4 thousand yen (approximately 5$ Canadian).
After having eaten a little I headed over to the souvenir shops to pick up some items for friends back home. I had one in mind for some family members and something else all together for an old co worker of mine who is a huge Disney fanatic.
With the shopping done I pointed myself to the “Indiana Jones Adventure” (Copyright Disney) again in the “Lost River Delta” section of the park. Once more using the “single” line I wandered my way through the complex boarding the ride after a half hour wait. The ride itself consisted of sitting in a large “jeep” which drove through a pyramid in the dark. It was both funny and entertaining to have Indiana Jones “appear” at various stages of the ride speaking in Japanese :-)
The ride itself was pretty basic, being an automatic car on tracks. That being said it was quite entertaining and fun and on at least one or two occasions I had a large grin on my face. The special effects in the different sections made the ride quite enjoyable. Once more however what was a little surprising was the length of the ride. If memory serves me well the ride ran between one and a half minutes to two minutes. I once again considered myself lucky being able to use the ‘single rider’ line. Here’s some shots prior to boarding and near the actual ride itself:
After having ridden the Indiana Jones ride I proceeded the American Waterfront to soak in the atmosphere. It was an incredibly warm day and simply sitting in the shade was enjoyable. I thought about going into “Tower of Terror” pictured here:
This tower was a large building and from the outside you could see elevators going up and down, doors opening randomly along with sounds of people screaming.
It seemed like a fun time but I wasn’t able to convince myself to go in alone. I felt like the ride would of been more enjoyable as a group.
The whole park in general was quite nice and all the sections were well maintained and designed. I once again headed back to the “Mediterranean Harbor” for Tinker bell’s coming out party ;-) At least that’s what I think it was called. On my way there I stopped to take a picture of one particular wall. I suspect that there must of been some Japanese letters hidden in the wall because all day long groups of them would stare at the wall and point at various sections.
Tinker Bell along with Mickey and Miney mouse on separate boats circled around the harbor while dancing on the decks of their respective boats. They were joined by a chorus of various cartoon characters dancing around the actual harbor itself.
The show was really awesome and everyone was singing and clapping along I couldn’t help but imagine how warm it must of been in the various suits and I once again hoped that they had some type of cooling system in them. I have several videos of this particular show but you’ll have to wait a month or so until I get back to Canada for me to add them to this article.
The excitement and enthusiasm shown by the Japanese park workers was unbelievable. I understand that all Disney resorts expect their staff to put on their best “happy” face but the Japanese workers took this to a truly amazing level.
I enjoyed my experience at Disney Sea but as a roller coaster enthusiast I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of rides I could of enjoyed at the “Disney Tokyo” resort. I don’t for a second regret going to Disney Sea, even if I never ran into the employee who provided me with the free pass.
Regardless here’s a big thank you “random Japanese Disney employee”; I really enjoyed the day and I don’t think I would of gone had it not been for the pass. I leave you with a few random shots from Disney sea Tokyo:
looks fun and everything is colourful