Tokyo DisneySea

Our third day in Japan was spent at Tokyo DisneySea. There are two Disney resorts in Tokyo: Disneyland and DisneySea. Since this is the only DisneySea in the world, we chose it over Disneyland. It’s called DisneySea instead of DisneyLand partly because of an overall nautical theme weaved throughout the park, but also because of tie-ins to the secret Society of Explorers and Adventurers (SEA).

The park is divided into sections: Mediterranean Harbor (Italy), Mysterious Island, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, and the newly opened Fantasy Springs, which just opened June 6, 2024 (one week before we were there).

One day is not enough, but we were able to experience most of the park in one day, including one of the four new rides in Fantasy Springs. The entire Fantasy Springs area is on a reservation system. You get a one hour window where you can enter (you can stay longer than an hour, if your time slot is early enough), and you can only make a reservation for one ride. (That may change in the future, once the area isn’t so new.)

Rides that are exclusive to DisneySea are:

Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival (the first Tangled-inspired attraction at any Disney park)
Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure (not the same as Peter Pan rides at other Disney parks)
Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies
Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey (which is not the same as the Frozen rides at Disney World or Hong Kong Disney)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (part theme ride, part coaster, with amazing theming throughout)
Nemo and Friends SeaRider (similar style ride to Star Tours, but the ride and visuals are randomized so is slightly different every time)
Venetian Gondolas
Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage (supposedly amazing, and not to be missed…but it was down while we were there…bummer)
Raging Spirits (coaster with a 360-degree loop)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the second Jules Verne themed ride at the park. Similar to Submarine Voyage at other parks, but updated)
Aquatopia (bumper boats)

Also, Tower of Terror has a unique theme, different from Tower of Terror at other parks.

We didn’t do Toy Story Mania. The ride itself is the same as other parks, but the theming while in line is new and supposedly better. We did notice the theming of all the rides seemed a step above what we’re used to.

For example, Soaring is housed in an incredible building with an amazing pre-show that blew us away. The way the animated characters threw shadows on the physical items around them in the room was pure magic. The ride itself is mostly the same, but has some different areas such as soaring over Tokyo at night.

We really enjoyed Disneysea. It’s different enough from the US parks that IMO it’s the better choice over Tokyo Disneyland if you only have time for one park (and I wouldn’t even try to park hop in the same day).

Next, let’s talk about the food at DisneySea…

The Food at DisneySea

Like most Disney parks, there are fast-food type places in each area, as well as several restaurants. The restaurants require reservations. We made reservations a month in advance, and a couple of the restaurants were already fully booked. We ended up booking a reservation at Sakura (more on that in a bit). We grabbed a morning snack at Momma Biscotti’s Bakery when we first arrived. It’s one of many counter service restaurants. The big downside to this particular eatery is inadequate seating. Most of the other counter service spots had lots of seating, while this one only had a few tables.

I had “Momma’s Recommend Set” (they call a meal, which includes a drink and sometimes a side, a “set”). It was a focaccia sandwich with beef, chicken (yes, both!), and orange. It was decent, but a bit bland. On the menu was Spicy Harissa Sauce. That should have been a clue, and I should have added it to my order.

Teresa’s Beef Pie (cheese and truffle flavor) was good. She like it as-is, but I’d probably add the Harissa.

The Mickey Macron was delicious! They also had a danish, cinnamon roll, and gummy candies on the menu.

For lunch we went to Dockside Diner, which was another counter service restaurant. It was decent, but not great. (There were much higher rated counter service restaurants, as well as some highly rated buffets, but we weren’t near any of them at the point we needed food.) The pastrami sandwich was light on the pastrami (there’s a NY Deli type restaurant in another area that apparently piles the meat a mile high). The chicken & vegetable chilled salted lemon noodles were outstanding, though, according to Allison.

Our first choice for dinner was Magellan’s, but it was fully booked when I made the reservations. So, we ended up at Sakura, which is in the American Waterfront area of Tokyo DisneySea, serving Japanese cuisine with a focus on fish dishes. It’s themed to resemble a waterfront fish market that was repurposed by Japanese immigrants into a restaurant. It was outstanding. I had the “recommended set” (daily special), which had: grilled and marinated shrimp appetizer, orange flavored swordfish, conger eel rice with Japanese pepper and cherry blossom flavor, braised pork, avocado and crab tempura, deep-fried mugwort gluten, pickled rainbow smelt, tuna and aosa grated yam, yuzu radish, cold seven-grain udon with grilled wagyu beef.

Teresa and Allison both had the Tempura Set: same appetizer, a large selection of both vegetable and fish tempura, miso soup, and chawanmushi with karasumi powder.

Zach had the fish and pork cutlet set: same appetizer, grilled Spanish mackerel with saikyo miso sauce, pork fillet cutlet, rice, miso soup, chawanmushi with karasumi powder.

Next, let’s talk about the new area: Fantasy Springs.

Fantasy Springs

Fantasy Springs is divided into three main areas: Frozen Kingdom, Rapunzel’s Forest, and Peter Pan’s Never Land.

The Frozen Kingdom area is the kingdom of Arendelle, from the movie Frozen. In the area are Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey (a water ride), the Royal Banquet of Arendelle restaurant, and Oaken’s OK Foods. Both are counter service restaurants, not table service, and do not require a reservation.

Rapunzel’s Forest has Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival (another water ride), and one counter service eatery: The Snuggly Duckling.

Finally, there is Peter Pan’s Never Land. Our ride reservation was for Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure (more on that in a bit). There’s also a ride for smaller kids, Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies, a counter service eatery (Lookout Cookout), and a popcorn cart. Before I delve further into the Peter Pan ride, here are some pics of Fantasy Springs. (Our reservation was late in the day, so we didn’t have much time here before our dinner reservation.)

Next up: Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure

Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure

This ride just opened June 6 as part of the new Fantasy Springs area of Disneysea, and it was by far our favorite ride. It’s using all new technology, and was animated by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The technology behind this ride is (hopefully) the future of Disney attractions. It’s a big leap forward in immersion.

You ride in what looks like a small ship, which sits on a motion base similar to that used for the Indiana Jones ride, but it’s far more advanced. You feel like your flying (similar to Soaring).

The ride is a combination of physical props and animation, with a newly developed projection system that allows a single camera to create 3D effects like you’ve never experienced. Seriously. The 3D effects on this ride make the best 3D you’ve previously seen look like a 3rd grader’s crayon drawing. Imagine if the pirates from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride were animated instead of animatronic, but we’re every bit as “in the room” with you. It’s an effect you really need to experience yourself. YouTube videos of the ride can’t capture the effect/sensation. It must be experienced.

Here’s an article that talks about the development of the ride and the tech that went into it.

Here are some photos from the line of Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure.