Better late than never — I finally made my first visit to Tokyo DisneySea. As you know, it is conveniently reached from Takebashi on the Tozai Line to Urayasu Station, then a 25-minute bus ride — so I could have gone more often if I had felt like it, but let's leave that aside...
To enjoy efficiently, FastPass (FP) is essential (for those unfamiliar: register in advance, return at the designated time, and you can ride attractions with shorter waits). I bought a strategy guide and held a family war council the night before. The plan was to grab FP for Toy Story Mania!, then queue for "Tower of Terror" and enjoy the "free fall"... but Toy Story alone took nearly an hour just to get FP, and Tower of Terror would mean another hour-plus in line, so we gave up at the start. We switched to a "slow route," starting with the Venetian Gondolas — about ten minutes, easy boarding. Listening to the gondolier's rather questionable "Santa Lucia" (I think?), we soaked up the "Sea" mood for a while.
From 9:40, at the "Sea Stage" Mediterranean Harbor, Mickey and Dis
ney's friends performed the welcome show "Ridin' the Rails — Welcome to Spring" ＝photo lower right＝, viewed from around Ponte Vecchio, the bridge modeled on Florence, Italy. From July it will be replaced by "Happiness Greeting on the Sea," so this was the last show.
At the mini-stage "Table Is Waiting" in front of the S.S. Columbia, Mickey and Goofy waved to us; then we decided on an early lunch at Cape Cod Cook-Off (we had been up since 6 a.m., after all). Here you can enjoy the Duffy-centered show "My Friend Duffy" ＝photo lower right＝ while dining.
After lunch we first went to the S.S. Columbia for Turtle Talk — this was great. A turtle with a deep voice and witty banter makes you laugh; a kids' attraction, but I bet many adult fans too.
Next, "Center of the Earth," for which we had grabbed FP at 12:30. A subterranean vehicle races through the volcano — full-throttle screaming. After that we enjoyed Mermaid Lagoon Theater (musical with Ariel and sea friends), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (submarine feel), Magic Lamp Theater (3D with Genie from Aladdin), Aquatopia (water version of spinning teacups — even more fun), and more. For the 14:30 water show Legend of Mythica, we challenged a quiz at Fortress Explorations on the opposite shore — a mission from da Vinci — and enjoyed the show from a spot with a good view midway (thanks, strategy guide!!).
After an early dinner, the finale was "Indiana Jones" at 19:30 with FP. Off-road vehicles racing through caves — fierce shaking, sharp curves — quite enjoyable. At the slightly scary finale, the obligatory photo. The top photo (1,050 yen is steep, so I photographed the displayed one (･д･｀*)).
When young, betting your life on scream machines is fine; uncle-style, I'd rather enjoy shows and take it easy. Still, in nearly twelve hours we enjoyed more than expected. A Disney executive once told me: you must not be able to do everything in one day — yet if one or two visits aren't enough to see it all, people give up; so the trick to repeat visitors is a scale where you feel you could almost finish in one more push.
Needless to say about the attractions themselves — so much is truly well thought out.