Tokyo Disney on 2 Weeks’ Notice: Hightower Halloween Costume!

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Fabulous update! The SS Columbia is so pretty. Interesting about the no tipping - I think we should try out that system here.

 

[lurkyloo]

Seriously a caterpillar could've crawled in my mouth and become a butterfly if i was actually there, i haven't been able to close my mouth looking at the pictures.

What a great analogy!

I'm curious: what did it sound like in the indoor Ariel area? Was there themed music playing, or were there undersea sounds, like bubbles/gurgles/etc.? It looked like so much fun, and so immersive (pun intended!).

Dang, you know I can't remember. There was a lot of crowd noise, of course, and I'm sure something was playing, but... I'll just have to go back and find out for ya!

I can't get over the theming for Under the Sea. Absolutely breath taking! I'd spend hours in there!!!

Totally! And next time maybe we'll even go on some of the rides!

They've done a fantastic job making it really feel like you're on a cruise ship!

I know! It makes me wish that our Queen Mary in Long Beach would get an influx of capital and a refurb. We'd be down there all the time!

I thought it was interesting to find out on your boat tour that C-3P0 got turned into an airplane. At least now no one has to hear him babble on with that annoying voice.

Could you hear the water show from your room?

Yes! It was pretty much just like being there, except I didn't have to wear earplugs.

I used them in the Alladin show and in the Tiki Room. It would have been nice to have it there as well!

Well dang! I didn't know they had them for the Tiki Room! I did way more research on TDS than TDL. Next time...

Mystica...........just WOW. Doesn't that blue dragon float guy remind you of the dragon from The Never Ending Story?

Don't remind me—that movie gave me nightmares for months!

I love Tokyo's version of The Little Mermaid. I really want a Disney Princess that realizes you don't need a man for a "Happily Ever After", instead of the "Oh my prince has come, life is great, so I will now sing" princesses we have.

I never thought of it that way, but you're right! It's nice to finally see some female empowerment!

I think it is adorable that the characters in Legend of Mythica have their own custom made ponchos!

I know, right? And they perfectly outline the shapes of their costumes—too cute!

the reason they had to change the Little Mermaid story is the Japanese belief of not disobeying their father's wishes

Ahh... very interesting. Well, life under the sea looks more fun anyway.

Fabulous update! The SS Columbia is so pretty. Interesting about the no tipping - I think we should try out that system here.

Me too! But I guess they'll have to raise the minimum wage first....

 

[Chilly]

Every post makes me want to go more and more!

 

[Goldeelox9]

I love that Mickey and Minnie have on their ponchos! LOL SOunds lke a super fun day!!

 

[ChrisFL]

"On our right is Fortress Explorations, home to Magellan's Restaurant, named for the famous explorer… Ferdinand Restaurant."

Ya know, I should have seen that one coming but I was still

I LOVED Fortress Explorations when I was there...it's just so much cool stuff there.

 

[bekkiz]

I'm loving the report--thank you for taking the time to share all of the little details! I'm wondering something. We're going to be in Japan in September but only have one day for a Disney park (I know, so sad). We had been planning on going to TDS, but it seems like the rides aren't all that exciting. We've been to DL and MK many, many times (and I'l been to Tokyo Disneyland many years ago), but I'll bow to your more recent expertise. Which park should we choose?

 

[lurkyloo]

Every post makes me want to go more and more!

Mission accomplished!

I love that Mickey and Minnie have on their ponchos! LOL SOunds lke a super fun day!!

So cute! I wish I had a poncho that fit that well...

Ya know, I should have seen that one coming but I was still

I LOVED Fortress Explorations when I was there...it's just so much cool stuff there.

Totally. Tom Sawyer Island should be that interesting!

We had been planning on going to TDS, but it seems like the rides aren't all that exciting. We've been to DL and MK many, many times (and I'l been to Tokyo Disneyland many years ago), but I'll bow to your more recent expertise. Which park should we choose?

Oh no! What can I do to make the rides sound more exciting? Should I put in even more exclamation points? Or maybe lots of these guys? --->



You DEFINITELY should go to Tokyo DisneySea. It is unlike anyplace you've ever been EVER. And even if for some reason E-Tickets like Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Indy, and Tower of Terror don't knock your socks off, I think you'll find that just being there and seeing the incredible theming and detail will be worth the price of admission.

I think this installment makes it sound like the rides aren't very interesting b/c this was the day we did the C- and B-ticket rides. If you go back to Day 8, I was hyperventilating all over the place with joy at the uniqueness of the E-tickets.

I promise you won't regret it!

 

[lurkyloo]

Here's all the rest of Day 9!

After the show we decided to take a detour through the hotel on our way back out to the park. I was dying to see MiraCosta's indoor pool, because seeing pix of it online was the first thing about Tokyo DisneySea that hooked me back when it opened.

Along the way we saw…

and

Getting to the pool and spa is a bit complicated—you have to use two sets of elevators to get to the wing they're in, and we got kinda lost.

The spa overlooks Tokyo DisneySea's Venetian canals. I LOVE this wall of windows and wish I'd had time to just hang out here!

The outdoor pool is kinda plain (and small!) compared to the ones at the Florida Disney resorts, but it's only in use during the summer, so maybe it wasn't worth theming to the hilt.

Looking back toward the indoor pool

We tried to go back into the hotel without going back through the spa, but the exterior hotel door we tried was locked—d'oh! At least we got this shot:

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the indoor pool because there were people in it. So we decided to bite the bullet and pay the $22/person to use the pool early the next day before we checked out. I know… we're crazy… but Patrick loves swimming, and I'm in love with the indoor pool!


Our path back to the main lobby took us through the hotel hall that bridges the entrance to Tokyo DisneySea. This isn't the greatest shot, but it kinda shows the nifty view into the park from there.

Back in the park, we grabbed a few menu/food shots for the Tokyo Disney PassPorter on our way back to ride Indy.

Oh, it looks like we took a boat to Lost River Delta—probably from the dock in Mediterranean Harbor.

Yucatan Base Camp Grill…

 

[lurkyloo]

Just the kind of view you want while dining!

We got back to the Temple of the Crystal Skull, flashed our FASTPASSes, darted inside…. and waited for about 40 minutes. I complained loudly the whole time about the "SLOWPASS" line. But Patrick was in picture-taking heaven!

When we FINALLY got off that ride, it was starting to get dark. We swung down through Arabian Coast to check out the show in the Magic Lamp Theater before dinner


This is the place to get tasty coconut soft-serve if it won't spoil yer dinner!

We only have one picture from the Magic Lamp Theater. In the elaborately themed waiting area, there's a bit of pre-show with an animatronic snake who pops out of this basket.

We got our English translation devices, but we almost needn't have bothered—this is another attraction that lives up (down?) to its middling reviews. It starts out as a live magic show with a hammy "evil" magician and his apprentice, and then the Genie shows up in a 3-D movie. I'm all for classic comedy, but this was pretty cheesy.


Back out into the Arabian Coast! The double-decker carousel certainly makes a pretty sight at night, but I can't help wishing they'd put something a little more interesting to do in this area. It has my favorite theming in the whole park, but there's hardly anything to do there.

I requested that we eat dinner at Sebastian's Calypso Kitchen, the counter-service place in Mermaid Lagoon, so I could meet my daily scallop-intake requirement.

 

[lurkyloo]

Mesmerized by the giant clam!

I couldn't get over how elaborate the cast member costumes were for "just" a counter-service restaurant!

I think Patrick was just showing off the zoom on his camera here… Oh wait, no, we liked how they could dispense the perfect amount of soda at the touch of a button!

We each got the Scallop Chowder (only ¥290!). Patrick got the Seafood Pizza (¥630) and I got the Creamy Scallop Croquette sandwich (¥530). It was all pretty dang good, and the prices couldn't be beat…en.

I kinda feel like this restaurant is the one place where they dropped the ball in the theming department (or maybe ran out of money!). Although the pillars are sculpted to look like they're covered in barnacles, and the fish lights are kinda cute, it's mostly just a big box with a mural on the walls. But of course Patrick loved the mural!

Patrick also loved the—what in the heck is he doing?!

Oh yeah, I think that was one of the packets of liquid sweetener we saw everywhere. I dared him to try it!


After dinner we went back to Arabian Coast to ride Sindbad's Storybook Voyage again cuz we didn't quite have the song stuck in our heads yet…

Oh that Chandu! What a loveable little rascal!

 

[lurkyloo]

We decided to check out a few more restaurants for reference. The first one was Miguel's El Dorado Cantina in Los River Delta.

I still can't get over how much capacity all these restaurants have!

From there, we wound around to Port Discovery to check out Horizon Bay Restaurant.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of the side of the restaurant where they had character dining. No such thing as a free lunch here!

Up at the top of the hill, we waited in line for the DisneySea Electric Railway, which runs between Port Discovery and American Waterfront. There's another gorgeous mural in the queue.

As we disembarked in American Waterfront, we realized BraviSEAmo was about to start, so we grabbed a spot on the bridge to Fortress Explorations.

As we waited for the show to start, I was eyeing the popcorn cart at the foot of the bridge, which was selling Marie the Cat buckets. We already had one popcorn bucket we were never gonna use again, so I totally couldn't justify buying another, but…. its absolutely adorable girliness overpowered me and I dashed down and bought one!

Here's what it looked like the next day at a Duffy photo spot

Unfortunately, the spot we'd chosen for BraviSEAmo turned out to be downwind that night, so not only were we getting rained on, we were sucking in smoke too! But I had a giant tub of warm popcorn 6 inches from my face and was shoveling it down my gullet, so I was happy.

 

[lurkyloo]

I'm sure whatever was happening at this point was very dramatic!

After the show, we went back to Fortress Explorations for nighttime pictures.

While we were up there, the fireworks show started…

"And now, the thrilling conclusion of Disney Magic in the Sky!!!"

After that we used two sets of FASTPASSes to ride JTTCOTE twice in a row, which will have to be summed up by this photo:


I dunno what it is… do YOU know what it is?

I started to get pretty pooped out, so we spent the remaining time til 10pm shopping for Patrick's uncle's birthday present. Along with the hefty budget, we'd been given a list of his Disney favorites, which, we discovered, is also a list of Things You Will Not Find at Tokyo Disney. These include

- Tokyo DisneySea exclusive merchandise
- Conceptual art
- Lithos/ceramics/sculptures
- Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, 20,000 Leagues, Captain EO, Sorcerer Mickey, or Chernabog themed ANYTHING
- Framed limited edition pin sets (OK, we found, like, two)


Nothing in here…

 

[lurkyloo]

Quick detour to shoot another restaurant!

"Here, Uncle Matt. We couldn't find you anything Sorcerer Mickey, but we brought you some photos of him!"

(OK, yes, I realize there are Sorcerer Mickey stuffed toys in this shot, but he was looking for high-end art pieces)

KAWAII!!!!

Out of pictures! That must mean the park closed and we headed back to the room for the night.

Up next: Half-days at Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland, plus checking into the Ambassador Hotel!

 

[Tikestoublie]

What a wonderful trip report! Even with the weather it looks like you and Patrick managed to have a great time. The mermaid area looks absolutely incredible - would be tempted to go there just to see that.

I also wanted to compliment you both on the amazing photos. The captures are incredible, love the panoramas, though honestly they were all fantastic. Look forward to reading more of your adventures.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Another fantastic update! I must know more about the indoor pool -- please tell me you were able to sneak some photos when you paid (!!!) to go in.

 

[praisehisname]

Great update! Sorry if this was asked and answered before, but are Hidden Mickeys a big thing in TD? I didn't notice any when I was scrolling through your pics.

Also, what about the cheesecake chimichanga?????

 

[lurkyloo]

I also wanted to compliment you both on the amazing photos. The captures are incredible, love the panoramas, though honestly they were all fantastic. Look forward to reading more of your adventures.

Hey, thanks! Patrick is becoming quite the hobby photographer. Some of the night ones are out of focus—it's hard to tell when you're taking them!—but I include then anyway cuz you can still basically see what's going on.

Another fantastic update! I must know more about the indoor pool -- please tell me you were able to sneak some photos when you paid (!!!) to go in.

More photos than you'll ever want to see... They'll be in the next update!

Great update! Sorry if this was asked and answered before, but are Hidden Mickeys a big thing in TD? I didn't notice any when I was scrolling through your pics.

Also, what about the cheesecake chimichanga?????

Yes! Disney was careful to hide tons of Mickeys in Tokyo DisneySea. But we are not really that into spotting them, so if there are any in our pix, they are accidental. Sorry!

As for the cheesecake chimichanga.... you'll have to wait til the last day of the trip to find out. Sorry again!

 

[MA pigletfan]

Ok...that under the sea area..i would have spent a good portion of a day in there..AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I can only hope that this "fantasyland expansion" at Disney World is going to be 1/2 as amazing in the theming department. The cave of wonders was awesome

 

[burly]

And more butterflies were born while Kim read/looked at the Lurkyloo trip report........

again.....wow wow wow

 

[simzac]

Lets see, what can I say about this TR that hasn't already been said. How about it's supercalafragalisticexpealadocious