Disney Sea - HELP!!!

[DisCopper]

OK, I'm frustrated.

I'm insanely lucky in that I'm headed to Tokyo in a few weeks. Of course, we're spending a day at Disney. Unfortunately, scheduling allows only one day for both Parks (Disneyland and Disney Sea).

I'm frustrated because of the lack of information about the Parks in general, but specifically Disney Sea.

- Why is there no section on the DIS boards for Tokyo Disney? Are there that few of us maniacs who are lucky enough to visit? Paris gets it's own section!

- Why is there no Birnbaum book on Tokyo Disney? Why aren't there any books on it? The general Tokyo or Japan books that I've seen only give a paragraph or two on Disney.

The most information that I'm finding on Disney Sea is on Wikipedia! That's scary! The "official" web sites aren't a whole lot of help. The english translations are pretty limited.

Can anyone refer me to a travel book (preferably), or another thread on here that covers EVERYTHING that we discuss on the Dis Boards (LOL). I need to know what to see, what not to see, what to bring, what not to bring, best times to hit rides, what shows to see, what shows to skip, what to get a FastPass for (do they even have that?), etc...

Any help? Bueller...? Bueller...? Bueller...?

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

The travel channel had a show on DisneySea last year.

Try googling it as one word instead of two-"Disneysea"

DisneySea looked totally, completely and utterly AWESOME. I would drool at the chance to go.

 

[got2travel]

Can't answer why there are not boards dedicated or guide books, but I can give a few tips/impressions that I remember.

First off Tokyo Disney does not have park hoppers. Or at least they didn't when I went. You had to pick a park. They did have a special ticket for Disneyland that allowed you into Disneyland for a reduced price after 6pm I think. I hadn't planned on purchasing that but we saw just about everything at Disney Sea by the afternoon. We chose to go back to DL instead of staying for the watershow at Disney Sea. Even though I didn't spend the whole day there, Disney Sea is my favorite of all Disney parks worldwide. I've been to all of them except Hong Kong.

This is a pretty informative site http://www.tdrfan.com/ It's all in English. It doesn't necessarily give tips, but it explains the resorts well.

They do have Fastpass and it does have English translation on it. I don't remember needing Fastpass at Disney Sea, but definitely used it at Disneyland. Your first stop at Disneyland should be the Winnie the Pooh ride in Fantasyland. Although if you do the Disney Sea park first then head over to Disneyland, the Fastpasses will all be gone. This ride is worth waiting in line for though.

Standouts in each park were
Disney Sea - Journey to the Center of the Earth, StormRider, and Aquatopia. They were still building Tower of Terror when I went but I'm sure that would be a must do.

Disneyland - Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Big Thounder Mountain and Peter Pan (well Peter Pan just because it's my favorite animated movie)

Parade times were interesting. The parades are amazing by the way. Most of the people bring this little plastic blankets about the size of a beach towel. Up until parade time, everyone respects everyone elses space and doesn't squeeze in on those blankets. Once the parade starts though, they go back to typical Japanese crowding. Their idea of personal space is much closer than we are used to here in the US.

Something I was surprised by was that the face characters are not Japanese. They bring in US or European cast members. Never gave it much thought but I guess Cinderella needs to be blonde haired and blue eyed, not Asian.

Oh and I don't remember any ride that exited into a store like they do in the US. They don't need to merchandise like that in Japan. The Japanese visitors will shop, there is no need to force it upon them. The stores are crazy late in the day. Much more so than the US parks. Many items had to be restocked. And when the cast members were bringing stock out, they usually didn't even get a chance to put it on the shelves. People were grabbing out of the boxes. I saw numerous people brining in carry on size rolling suitcases empty in the morning, but full at the end of the day.

Popcorn is the big treat at the Japan parks. They have all kinds of flavors and the curry line always seemed to be the longest. I remember strawberry, curry, sea salt and pepper, caramel, honey, and cinnamon apple.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

We're going to Japan in April and plan to spend 4 days at the parks. I found a lot of information at LaughingPlace.com and the message board located here: http://micechat.com/forums/tokyo-disney-resort/
I was referred to that board by one of the moderators at Disboards when I complained that there was no board for Tokyo Disney Resort here!

The official Tokyo Disney Resort site is quite informative as well - they have an English language version.

Since we haven't been yet, I can't give you too much advice...but everyone tells me that if you have only one day, go to DisneySea. It's supposed to be fantastic.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

One more thing...go to Yahoo and in the search function, type in: DisneySea trip report. I found several detailed reports from people who had been there...and I took lots of notes to help in planning.

 

[Carys]

Love love loved Disney sea. A moderator said in a previous thread that there was no board because they didn't have a moderator who went frequently enough to be able to knowledgably moderate such a board (or something to that effect?).

If you think you might get into the pop corn flavours (as a poster mentioned above there really are quite a few and all smelled delicious) then buy one of the cups early on in the day and then grab the cheaper refills as you see a new flavour you want to try.

In the evening, make sure to get a good spot around the lake so that you can watch the lake show, but NOT behind somewhere that might obscure your night sky vision towards the right hand (arabian coast) side of the park. The nightly fireworks display is set off in the direction very shortly following the lake show (or was when I was there in November). This is because the fireworks are between Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea so that both parks can see it.

Adding to the rides pointed out below in DisneySea:

- 20,000 leagues under the sea, haven't seen anything like it at Florida or Los Angeles.
- If you like IASW, you'll love Simbad's journey which has a similar feel but follows a story line and has great music. Watch out for his furry companion in every scene!
- The 3D show in Arabian coast which incorporates live actors.
- If you're taking kids, Triton's kingdom is MUST NOT MISS - really gorgeous play ground, and a different Ariel show to the one in Florida - uses some of the cool puppetry seen in the Nemo show at AKL.

Definately work the fastpasses for all they've got because the locals know how to use them and queues can really build up. Fastpasses are pretty much necessary for Indiana Jones, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and perhaps 20,000 leagues. I didn't focus on the left side of the park much but some of the big rides there had huge queues with temporary ropes forming extended lines way back out of the ride buildings. Because the rides are so close together, in case of queues get a fastpass for either 20,000 or JttCotE, and stand in the queue for the other.

If you needed to miss a ride, I'd skip Aquatopia (it's very pretty lit up at night but tame, quick and only mildly fun even the first time - on the plus side, the queue moves quickly so shouldnt have to wait more than 20 mins if every other ride is backed up), and of course the railway. It's not really a character meet and greet park, just really had Ariel's grotto which always had a long queue (too long for a photo with Ariel in my opinion) so don't expect to be getting autographs.

Also, if you do want to see the 3D show, that's a good one to fastpass because the queue for that was always over an hour, but I walked right in with a fastpass. No need to fastpass Ariel's show in Triton's kingdom.

Finally (on the subject of rides), if you really don't like fast drops, be wary that there really is a surprise at the end of JotCofE. The rest of the ride is tame and lulls you into complacency.

If you want to eat in a sit-down, walk up to the podium of the one you'd like early in the day and make a reservation - I missed out because I forgot to do so. By mid afternoon when I tried, all the restaurants were booked out for the rest of the day. For counter service, I'd recommend the place in Arabian coast, but you'll be able to look at plastic plates of food in each place to give you an idea of what the meals look like.

If you're using the city metro system to get to the park, just watch out for the tickets you buy. First you need a ticket to the Shinkiba station, then at that station you have to buy a separate ticket for the JR-line to the Maihama station. This is because those two sections of rail are owned by two different companies. Then of course when you get to Maihama you need to buy separate tickets again for the Disney Resort Line - the machines for those are inside the DRL building entrance, not the Maihama station. If you can't figure out what value ticket you need, just ask a local, they're really friendly and helpful.

Have a great trip!

 

[lila]

I haven't been to DisneySea but I have to second the recommendation above to queue early for Pooh at Tokyo Disney - I have never waited so long for any ride in any park ever! It was really enjoyable though.

 

[ChrisFL]

Yes, Winnie the Pooh is one of the most incredible Disney attractions ever made.

I haven't been to TDL yet (going in 3 weeks!!) but I know all about it and have seen videos, it is amazing.

DisneySea....take a good camera. I just bought a new one specifically to take lots of pics at DisneySea.

 

[Momma Rabbit]

I've yet to visit DisneySea and find it crowded. If you find a huge crowd waiting for opening then head over to ToT and grab a FP . Every time we go that seems to be the ride people run to first.

If I were going to DisneySea for just one day. I wouldn't want to miss
Tower of Terror
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Indiana Jones
20,000 Leagues
Ariel's Grotto (lots of great photos)


DisneySea is easy to cover in one day. Disneyland is always more crowded but as long as you don't go on a Sunday, you should be able to a lot done with one day.

We're in the midst of winter here so don't forget to take a coat and gloves.

The gift shops are always crowded at the end of the day. In Japan, when a person travels they always bring back something to share with their family, friends and co-workers. This is why you'll find lots of candies and sweets for sale in most gift shops.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Briarmom]

I'm having a hard time figuring out where to buy tickets! I know I read a TR here on the DIS where the poster bought them at the Disney Store, and we aren't going to be staying near by the parks, so that might be an option for us, if it's still possible.

Also, I can't find out the height requirements for the rides.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm having a hard time figuring out where to buy tickets! I know I read a TR here on the DIS where the poster bought them at the Disney Store, and we aren't going to be staying near by the parks, so that might be an option for us, if it's still possible.

Also, I can't find out the height requirements for the rides.

Supposedly this link just came out and you can buy tickets on it (I haven't checked it out completely yet):

http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/vm/en/

 

[Briarmom]

Supposedly this link just came out and you can buy tickets on it (I haven't checked it out completely yet):

http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/vm/en/

Yeah, I saw that. You can reserve your tickets online, but they only deliver them in Japan. Also, you can only do it within your 2 month window (I'm not going until April).

I was looking at spending one night at the Parks, but holy crap! I can't possibly justify spending $1000 for one night.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

I had the same luck trying to find a book or any info (we're hoping to go in the spring). There is a book on B&N that's been pushed back forever and ever. I DID finally find a guide book though. I have it back in my villa but can't think of the name. I think I either found it on ebay, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

 

[Briarmom]

I had the same luck trying to find a book or any info (we're hoping to go in the spring). There is a book on B&N that's been pushed back forever and ever. I DID finally find a guide book though. I have it back in my villa but can't think of the name. I think I either found it on ebay, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

Is this it?

http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Disney-...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232372673&sr=1-3

I just ordered it earlier this week. It doesn't have the best reviews, but I'll take any info I can get.

 

[sand2270]

I've been. There is a link to my trip report in my signature so I am not going to repeat everything that I already said there . Beautiful park, I can't wait to go back and take my DD.

 

[JessR]

yes we need an international section.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

I'm having a hard time figuring out where to buy tickets! I know I read a TR here on the DIS where the poster bought them at the Disney Store, and we aren't going to be staying near by the parks, so that might be an option for us, if it's still possible.

According to the official Tokyo Disney web site, ticket vouchers can be purchased at major JR train stations and major convenience stores in the Tokyo area. Then you exchange the voucher for an actual ticket once you get to the parks. Or, you can just wait until you get there to buy your ticket.

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

Yeah, I saw that. You can reserve your tickets online, but they only deliver them in Japan. Also, you can only do it within your 2 month window (I'm not going until April).

I was looking at spending one night at the Parks, but holy crap! I can't possibly justify spending $1000 for one night.

There are some nice hotels at Tokyo Disney Resort that aren't $1,000 a night. The 3 Disney hotels are really expensive, but there are 6 others that are in the resort area. The two that get really great reviews are the Hilton Tokyo Bay and the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. Both are a few minutes walk away from the Bayside Station on the monorail route. We're staying at the Sheraton in April and got our room for $175 a night through the Sheraton web site. We couldn't justify the $450 or more a night for any of the Disney hotels, but $175 seems reasonable enough to be only 15 minutes from the entrance to both parks.

 

[Briarmom]

There are some nice hotels at Tokyo Disney Resort that aren't $1,000 a night. The 3 Disney hotels are really expensive, but there are 6 others that are in the resort area. The two that get really great reviews are the Hilton Tokyo Bay and the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. Both are a few minutes walk away from the Bayside Station on the monorail route. We're staying at the Sheraton in April and got our room for $175 a night through the Sheraton web site. We couldn't justify the $450 or more a night for any of the Disney hotels, but $175 seems reasonable enough to be only 15 minutes from the entrance to both parks.

OK, I'll look into that, thanks.
We've got a great deal at a Military hotel, but I was thinking that for a night or two we could stay by Disney. That way we could get an extra hour or so of sleep instead of being on the train....

 

[got2travel]

I purchased our tickets at the Disney Store, but for the life of me I can't remember which district we were in. There was a desk at the store specifically for purchasing tickets. We had to tell them which day we were going to the park and the tickets printed with that date on it. There was no discount, but it saved us time once we arrived at the park.