Single Day at DisneySea - Can We See It All?

[CodeGoddess]

Been to WDW 18 times now but this will be our first to Tokyo so I'm trying to get a feel for how much pre-planning needs to be done compared to a WDW trip. Here are the details:

- Single day only
- Attending on a Sunday, crowd level 71 (http://tdrnavi.jp/forecast/disneysea?lang=en)
- Less then 30 days out
- Nothing scheduled/booked (eg FP, Dining Res, etc)
- Two adults, no kids

Is it still possible to see it all in one day? If not, as a avid WDW visitor, which rides should I skip? Any rides that are the same name but different experiences (eg ToT, 20k Leagues, etc)? TIA!!!

ETA:
Order of priority would be:
All Rides
Best Shows (not all)
Food unimportant

 

[wanderlust7]

There are no advance FPs at TDR like at WDW, so you're okay there. For dining reservations, you'd have to have stay at a Disney hotel to make reservation in English online. I think there was a post about being able to call to make reservations. With limited time, I think I'd lean towards just doing counter service though.

TSM is exactly like WDW from what I've read, so we skipped it. That's what most people will be rushing towards at rope drop. You can head to Journey to the Center of the Earth and then FP ToT (story line is completely different) or vice versa, not sure what the recommendation would be.

You'll want to try the lottery for the show Big Band Beat - I hear it's great but we weren't lucky enough to get tickets.

All the rides at Mermaid Lagoon are kiddie rides, so you can probably skip those. The show at Mermaid Lagoon is cute though (get a FP), there's a giant animatronic Triton and Ariel on a flying rig singing and doing flips. In Arabian Coast, don't miss Sindbad's (like Small World but with a story) - it was a walk-on all the time when we were there. The show at Magic Lamp Theater, I think you can skip if you don't have time, but if you do go make sure you get a translation device. We didn't and all the jokes were lost on us.

The Japanese crowd calendar has it as yellow (normal crowded), so it might not be so bad.
http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/

Have a great trip!

 

[Agent 86]

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "see" everything in one day.

Do you mean go on all the rides? See all the shows? Eat at all the best restaurants? You wouldn't be able to do everything, especially on the weekend.

What's most important to you?

 

[CodeGoddess]

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "see" everything in one day.

Do you mean go on all the rides? See all the shows? Eat at all the best restaurants? You wouldn't be able to do everything, especially on the weekend.

What's most important to you?

Good question! Order of priority would be:
All Rides
Best Shows (not all)
Food unimportant

I'm really looking to experince things that are unique to TDL.

 

[katt789]

On a weekend, seeing everything may be pretty tricky. It's also important to notice that even having downloaded a map in advance and attempting to study the heck out of it, it was kinda confusing to get around.

Journey was closed when we were there, so we stuck to this touring plan
-Rope drop ToT
-Circle around the outer rim of the park to ride Indiana (it was sligtly different than DL, but could be skipped)
-Arabian Coast
-Mermaid Lagoon
-Watched the show on the harbour (it was halloween, I can't remember if DisneySea has anything going on for Easter that you'd want to check out)
-Continued our "circle"

-I'd head straight to Journey in your case, ride it, then fp ToT, then potentially run over to see the situation on the lottery
-DEFINITELY try for Big Band Beat, and if you don't win the lottery, you can still do standby for the upper balcony, it just might eat up a lot of your time, try the lottery earlier on.

-Arabian Coast has Sinbad, suuuuper cute ride, and where you find the "Chandu tails" chicken bun, my favorite! It's also worth it just to see, it's similar to Morocco at WDW but more magical.
-Magic Lamp theater has a cute show, but all in Japanese, so you could skip or do a translator
-Aladdin & Jas greet separately inside the main area
-Stitch & Angel greet between the main area & the Sinbad ride
-QS resturaunt in here has DELICOUS curry options!

-Mermaid lagoon: if you're mermaid fans, DEFINITELY explore in here a bit, there's Ariel's whole grotto with the Eric statue and everything, super cute, nice photo ops
-The show inside here, grab a fast pass for, despite reading not so great reviews for it, a local friend of ours suggested it and we LOVED it
-Prince Eric greets inside or just outside, Ariel has a meet & greet separate off to the side a bit.
-Rides are mostly kiddie rides, so you can skip or wait, depends on how you feel I guess

-Lost River Delta has Indiana & another coaster with an inversion, I can't remember what it's called right now, didn't seem to have big waits when we were there!

-There's a few rides inside the Mt Prometheus area aside from Journey, not sure when Dory opens, but there's a trackless styled boat ride that spins you around and all over the place, fun, but nothing you NEED to do.

 

[CodeGoddess]

On a weekend, seeing everything may be pretty tricky. It's also important to notice that even having downloaded a map in advance and attempting to study the heck out of it, it was kinda confusing to get around....

This is great! Thank you!

 

[katt789]

This is great! Thank you!

No worries!!
We found our way over to ToT from the entrance pretty easily, continuing onto Cape Cod is fine and going right, it's easy enough to find Mermaid & Arabian Coast it got a WEE bit tricky, it was mainly whenever we had to cross through the volcano that we'd take a wrong turn, or go the long way around!

 

[planningjollyholiday]

Skip Toy Story, it is a time guzzler. I would fastpass tower of terror first, it has a unique story that is worth a see. Head to journey first to ride standby. You will love it so you might want to to ride it twice in a row if crowds allow. Then do 20000 leagues. After this head to Port Discovery and continue working your way through the park moving clockwise. You could do single rider for both indiana attractions to eliminate wait, or if you want to ride together I have had great luck with low waits the last hour of park opening. It is near the back of the park so it gets quiet late at night since most guests are at the front of the park shopping. This brings me to my next thought, if you like shopping just beware that the shops do not stay open late after park close like they do in America. Do the gondolas at night, it is more magical. Fantasmic is different there and worth a see. There is nothing to really pre-plan when going to tokyo, the only thing I would do is study a map ahead of time so you know where you are going.

 

[Agent 86]

Rides: Grab Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and then head straight to Journey to the Centre of the Earth for standby. 20,000 Leagues should be walk-on after Journey (although I've only been to WDW once, so I'm not sure how familiar it is to any WDW rides). Walk through Mermaid Lagoon for photos and to appreciate the theming. Ride Sindbad's Storybook Voyage. Fast Pass or single rider for Raging Spirits (incredibly short rollercoaster) and Indiana Jones (presumably very similar to WDW). Maybe line up for Aquatopia, but it can have a long line even on "regular" busy days and I'm not sure it would be worth the wait on a weekend.

I guess gondolas and Electric Tramway are unique to DisneySea, but they're not thrill rides. Just ways to get around the park and take some nice photos. It could also be a way to get "away" from the crowds.

Shows: Big Band Beat, Fantasmic, Out of Shadowland and if you are willing to use a Fast Pass, The Little Mermaid. I didn't love TLM the last time I saw it, although the performance was hampered by technical difficulties. You may need to "standby" for Big Band Beat if you don't win the lottery.

Food (Quick Service Recommendations since it's not a priority): Vulcania, Miguel's El Dorado Cantina and Casbah Food Court.

Have fun!

 

[CodeGoddess]

20,000 Leagues should be walk-on after Journey (although I've only been to WDW once, so I'm not sure how familiar it is to any WDW rides)

The version that was at WDW was it there until the late 80s so I'm curious if it's the same ride I rode as a kid. I'm guessing not.

Indiana Jones (presumably very similar to WDW).

The WDW one is a show. This is a ride isn't it?

 

[Kyjin]

The Indy ride is similar to the version in DL in California. It also has a single rider line, which I highly recommend. I never wait more than ten minutes to get on the ride with single rider.

I've done single days at DisneySea several times, and yes, you can see all the highlights in one day. Like others have recommended, get to the park by rope drop, and grab your ToT fastpasses first. Big Band Beat is totally worth it, and I really like Out of the Shadowland. I honestly don't think you need to camp out very early to get a decent spot for Fantasmic, and would use the extra time to squeeze in more rides. I'd also skip Raging Spirits unless you have time for an extra fastpass. There's a single rider line there too, but it isn't very efficient.