After Disneyland yesterday, I was unsure how much I would like Disneysea. In the end though, it turned out I could really not have had a better day. Disneysea was magical. Reflecting on both Disney parks now, I am uncertain which was better, I loved them both. In the end I can conclude that they are very different, with Disneyland being more classical and Disneysea being more themed.
Today we got off to a late start, we all had some breakfast and then moved out at around 10:30. I found that the excitement did not hit until we were on the final train heading into station Disneysea. To be truthful it wasn’t the final train to get to Disneysea, today, we were to ride the Disney monorail! The Disney monorail is very nice (well maybe only for Disney buffs), everything on the monorail was Disney themed, from the windows, the hand rails, as well as the whole interior. It was the best train I have ever been on. While we were on the train we got a good view of both Disneyland, Disneysea and the Disney resort. We also got a view of the biggest car parks I have ever seen (they were not even near full). When we arrived at the station, we walked through the decorated Disney station and headed towards the theme park, to start our exciting Disneysea day.
The first site that hit us when we entered the Welcome Centre was the huge water globe fountain, this is meant to represent our world’s connection to the Sea. The old looking buildings are also overlooking the Welcome Centre making you feel like you have travelled back in time and out of Japan. I should take this moment here to say just how impressive Disney Sea was. It is so detailed in every way and everything you look at looks authentic and fits in with the theme of the area you’re in. The park is mostly located around a huge man-made sea which is so breathtaking I don’t think I can describe how truly wonderful it was. It branched off and went through a part of every themed part of the park. The other man-made miracle of the park is the huge volcano which sits in the middle of the park, it is the biggest man-made mountain in the world.
The first themed park we walked through was Mediterranean Habour, which is based on Venice. The area was very effective, it felt like you were really in Venice. In this port you could take a gondola ride, explore DaVinci’s fortress and of course watch the 3 daily shows on the water. We walked on into the next themed port to find our first ride for today, which was going to be the Tower of Terror in American waterfront. American Waterfront is based on America in the turn of the 20th century. American Waterfront is also home to the world’s largest model ship which has a show everyday wishing it Bon Voyage (we did not get to see this). American waterfront also houses Broadway (which if I hadn’t been with all boys I would have gone to).
The queue for the Tower of Terror was relatively short when we got there, so Anthony, Rob, Lee and I decided to line up for our first ride of the day. The story and the queue for Tower of Terror were amazing by themselves, you queued throughout the hotel which actually has a fully decorated few floors. For the ride we were put into an elevator and strapped in, we then experienced a few free falls. Anthony was hoping the free fall would be worse, but it was good enugh for me. We fell from about the height of the volcano, it was a nice view for the 2 sec you were stationary up the top.
After the ride we met up with Steve and Sarma and had a spot of luck, we ran into some Disney characters wandering around American Waterfront. I was lucky enough to get my picture with Cruella De Vil, Scrooge, Pluto and Daisy but decided to skip Chip and Dale.Anthony also very happily posed with Scrooge. We had been told that we would not see any Disney characters, I am glad that proved to be wrong.
As we were heading towards finding our Fast Pass, we stopped at some food stands where we got Strawberry popcorn (yummy) and grilled sushi (also yummy). It was then that we heard a noise which sounded like a motor bike, however, when we turned around, we realised it was coming from a wheelie bin that the cleaner was moving. The cleaner, while emptying the bins, put on a show with fake and funny cartoon sound effects. I suppose it’s true what they say, everyone is a cast member at Disney Sea (the cleaner even got a round of applause from the crowd that had stopped to watch him).
Mysterious Island was where we hoped to find out Fast Pass. Mysterious Island was my favourite port at Disneysea. It is based on Jules Verne’s books and has both The Journey to the Center Earth ride (which we got our fast pass for) and 20000 leagues under the Sea. Mysterious Island was set out around a bubbling lagoon with nautical ships and gears everywhere. After securing our fastpass for 6:00 that night, we split up from Sarma and Steve again and decided we would attempt to get more rides done than yesterday. Most extreme rides were located in Lost River Delta, which of course we headed towards. Lost River Delta is based around a huge stone temple which is meant to have been in the South American Jungle in the 1930’s. Naturally, this is home to Indiana Jones ride, which was to be our first stop. We took some pictures with the temples and forests then headed towards Indiana Jones. Lost River Delta really felt like the Jungle, you could not see or hear any other part of the park when you were in there.
The Indiana Jones ride was really good. If we had more time we would have gone back. We headed to the other ride in Lost River Delta next, Blazing Saddles. Lee was being brave for this one as it included a 360 degree loop. The coaster was also set over water and flame which was a very effective look. It was actually not as scary as it looked.
We finally met up with Sarma and Steve, turns out they met Aladdin and Jasmine while we were on rides. Back together again, headed over to Mysterious island again, we found the line for the Gyoza was small, so we tried some of the famous gyoza’s as they are known (The normal wait time for these is 2hrs) All of us (Steve and Sarma included) then went on 200, 000 lLagues Under the Sea. I liked this ride. It made you feel like you were underwater in a submarine. I thought it was very well done, as did Anthony.
It was about time now that we headed into the Arabian Coast, the home of Aladdin. If you have seen the movie Aladdin, the entrance is nearly an exact replica of Jasmine’s castle. In Arabian Coast we were entertained with music and dancing girls, as well as a magic show, which took place in the shop. Anthony really enjoyed the tricks, in the end Anthony and I brought a magic trick each and the magician took us out side to explain the tricks as the instructions weren’t in English. Everyone is so nice in this country.
After Arabia we thought we would visit the other main Disney characters’ home, which was Mermaid Lagoon. The Little Mermaid’s home was nice and set out as if we were actually under the sea. The rides here were more child based, so we headed to Mermaid theatre to see what was on. We ended up seeing the Little Mermaid stage show which Lee and I loved, however I am not so sure about the others. For dinner we travelled to Sebastian’s cafe and had dinner (Calazone, shrimp and pizza).. The time time now was 6 and that meant Fast Pass time.
Journey to the Centre Earth was the best ride ever. You explore the Centre Earth and then get shot out of the mountain after fire gets blown at you. It was brillant. Night had fallen by now and it was time to head down to Mediterranean Habour for the night shows.The night parade was a story on water about fire and water and I think a forbidden love (that might be wrong). Either way the show included spouting water, shooting flames and fireworks. Very very impressive!!
We got to see the fireworks after the show, which in all honesty were not as exciting as I expected. The temperature was freezing and we all struggled to stay out in the weather, without becoming an ice sculpture. Steve and Sarma decided they had had enough and headed home.after the fireworks. We decided to use our last hour wisely. Port Discovery had the last Fast Pass ride we needed, so we headed there. Port Discovery is based on science developments in particular, the science development in weather. Stormrider which was our last fast pass needed was a simulator and was not too bad.
We thought we would try our luck and raced back to Centre of the Earth. We were lucky enough to do the ride 2 more time before heading out of the park 30 min after closing time. Lee photobombed some girls on the way out, who, after recovering from their fright, wanted a picture with him, I do believe they wanted a kiss too but we are still unsure. Regardless, we headed home tired but so pumped after such a wonderful, wonderful day.
We still did not get everything done. You could easily spend a day per themed part of the park, it is truly amazing.