Tokyo DisneySea Tips & Tricks

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This was our third attempt to go to DisneySea, so I was determined to make the most of our one day in the park. (The first attempt occurred when we went to Japan in 2011. It was a month after the major earthquake/tsunami, so both Disney parks were closed. The second attempt was in 2020. We had reservations, and then Covid hit.) This time around, I watched countless Youtube videos and read numerous blogs in order to maximize our day at DisneySea. Hopefully reading about our experience will help others!

Lining Up For DisneySea

One benefit for Americans visiting the Disney Parks on the first day of a Japan trip is that it will probably be easier to wake up earlier due to jet lag. I usually have to drag n out of bed on vacation, but he naturally woke up early too. We were on the monorail by 6:45 a.m. and we were not alone. (I believe the monorail starts operating at 6:30 a.m.)

We arrived at DisneySea just after 7 a.m., and there were already significant lines.

However, most were sitting on small mats while waiting (my people!). I had read about this, so I knew to bring our own mat. I really like this mat from Amazon that is just big enough for all four of us. We used it last year in Europe as well. It folds up into a small little drawstring bag that is easy to carry around. Honestly, the ground was so clean, it would not have been a big deal to sit down without a mat. Tip: Line up in the line farthest to the left when you are facing the park entrance. Note that everyone in these lines already have their tickets. You must purchase your tickets online before arriving at the park.

Before we left the Hilton, we stopped in at the Lawson’s in the lobby to pick up our breakfast.

Four salmon onigiri, blueberry yogurt drink, melonpan bread with salty butter, milk baguette, tuna and egg salad sandos and a bottle of cold green tea. It was kind of fun to have a breakfast picnic! It is a good idea to eat breakfast before you enter the park since you will want to hit the ground running.

40th Anniversary Priority Pass Pointers

Be sure to take advantage of the free 40th Anniversary Priority Passes while at DisneySea. To do this, make sure you download the Tokyo Disney app, sign in and add your tickets before arriving at the park. (We bought out park tickets through Klook.com). Link everyone’s ticket in your party into one group to make it easier to make reservations later on. After you pass the turnstiles and scan your ticket, go to the app and try to book your first priority pass.

I chose to book priority passes for Indiana Jones, which were available for around 10:30 a.m. Simultaneously, I had n try for an entry request for a show called Big Band Beat on his own phone. Meanwhile, I put D in charge of navigating us towards our first ride, Soaring: Fantastic Flight.

Tip: There are no paper maps available in the park. I found it helpful to print out a map at home beforehand. It was nice to have a lay of the land without being on our phones, which we needed for so many other tasks.

We chose not to purchase any Premier Access passes, but that is another option that you may access once you are in the parks. Also, the park does not really have wifi, so make sure you are able to use your phone without it. Also bring a portable charger so your phone will not run out of battery. We visited DisneySea two days before Fantasy Springs opened, so I am sure the new attractions add another layer of complexity.

DisneySea Rides

We made a beeline for Soaring: Fantastic Flight, and a lot of others had the same idea. Even though we have been on Soaring in California and Florida, it is one of my favorite rides. The line was about an hour long even with our speed-walking. (I guess others must have had the 15-minute Happy Entry advantage from staying at a Disney hotel).

The pre-show spiel was very cool and unique to DisneySea.

We then headed over to a roller coaster called Raging Spirits. My tip for this one is to take advantage of the Single Rider line. Just ask one of the ride attendants at the beginning where to go for Single Rider and they will tell you where to go. If you don’t mind sitting next to someone you don’t know, this will save you a significant amount of time. I felt comfortable with this option now that our kids are in high school!

Raging Spirits is not too fast, but it does go upside down. It is comparable to Thunder Mountain, (except for the inversion). It was interesting that the people in the roller coaster car I was in barely made a peep (i.e. no one was screaming their heads off).

When we were done with Raging Spirits, it was time for our Indiana Jones Priority Pass. Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull was similar to the one in California, but I found the ride to be smoother and not as jerky in Tokyo.

For our next Priority Pass, we opted for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was not available until around 1:45 p.m. We ate lunch (more on that later) and then waited for Journey to the Center of the Earth. This ended up being our favorite ride of the day.

The line for this ride had so many twists and turns that it felt endless at times. This ride was interesting because it is unique to DisneySea. It definitely gets the blood pumping.

Next it was time for our 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Priority Pass. I’m not sure how much time the pass actually saved us, but it was nice to basically walk on after waiting so long for Journey.

k was not a fan of this ride and it was the first time that I heard her mention having claustrophobia. I used to love the submarine ride at Disneyland, so it felt nostalgic to me. However, I would not bother waiting in a long line for this one.

Since we had a reservation for Big Band Beat and I wanted to watch Believe Sea of Dreams, we could not fit in any more Priority Passes for the day. However, after watching Believe Sea of Dreams, we were able to do a few more rides, including Aquatopia and Nemo & Friends SeaRider.

Beware that Aquatopia might make you dizzy, but it is pretty tame. I read that for summer, there are now two lines: one where you stay dry and one where you get soaked. Make sure you are standing in line for the version you want to experience. D liked the Nemo ride. It is like a larger Star Tours with Nemo theming. Finally, we rode the DisneySea Electric Railway back to the front of the park at the end of the night.

DisneySea Food

Between lining up for rides, we were lining up for food.

First snack: Matcha White Chocolate Popcorn. Tokyo Disney takes their popcorn seriously.

These Mickey-shaped popcorn tongs were my only souvenir purchase in the parks. While the character popcorn buckets are cute, I thought they would take up too much room in my luggage. I really liked the matcha white chocolate flavored popcorn. The flavor was subtle, and not too sweet.

The other popcorn flavor we tried was curry, on recommendation from k’s friend.

As you can see from the line, it is a popular flavor.

While I was standing in line, a worker came by and filled out an order form that I could present once I reached the window. Got to love Japanese efficiency!

Tip: I used the Suica card on my iphone to pay for ALL my food purchases at DisneySea. It was so easy to just hold my phone near the reader to pay. I was surprised to see how many Japanese were using cash to pay for their purchases.

If you enjoy Japanese curry, you will like the curry popcorn. The flavor was pronounced, but the popcorn still tasted nice and light.

We ate lunch at Vulcania Restaurant.

We tried the Fried Rice w/Spicy Tofu & Minced Pork in Thickened Sauce, Fried Chicken w/Leek Sauce, and Chilled Noodles w/Shrimp & Scallop. The tofu dish was pretty good and n especially liked the fried chicken. However, the main reason we went to Vulcania is because I thought they had ramen. When they told me they did not have ramen, and only the chilled noodles, I went ahead and ordered it.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this dish. I guess they decided to switch from ramen to cold noodles for the summer season. The noodles themselves were fine, but there was a strange mayonnaise sauce on the shrimp and the cold scallops were not it. As you can see, we did eat most of it, but that is only because Lims do not waste food.

We had better luck with the snacks, including a Potato Churro from the Refreshment Station.

The churro was like a giant french fry, and it had a demi glace filling that n thought tasted like pizza.

I tried to have D and n buy a Gyoza Sausage Bun from Nautilus Galley, but the line was way too long.

At Yucatan Basecamp Grill, we tried the Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets, Green Alien Mochi, and Apple Tea Soda.

The nuggets tasted like regular chicken nuggets, but aren’t they so cute? I didn’t take a picture of the apple tea soda, which everyone enjoyed. As the name would imply, it tastes like apple cider mixed with iced tea. It is a fountain drink, and it is available at only certain restaurants in the park. If you see it on the menu, give it a try!

The alien mochi was cold and refreshing. I liked the strawberry, k liked the chocolate and D liked the custard (I think n liked all of them equally). We ordered two sets so that we could each try half of each flavor.

At the Lost River Cookhouse, we tried the Spicy Smoked Chicken Leg. This was very tasty and juicy. I thought it was better than the smoked turkey leg that Disney is known for. Although it is smaller than the turkey leg, it is a lot less expensive. (Actually, we found all of the food prices to be quite reasonable, especially with the favorable exchange rate). Also, there is a surprising amount of meat. BTW, it is not that spicy, but they do sell small harissa sauce packets if you want the heat.

On a whim, I decided to also try the Sparkling Mango Tapioca Tea since I was standing in line for the chicken anyway. This was so refreshing! I only wish it came in a bigger size. (All the drinks at Tokyo Disney seemed quite small compared to American standards).

From Sultan’s Oasis, we tried the Long Naan (Meat Sauce). The naan had a nice chew, but the meat sauce was minimal. This would make a good snack if you just need something to tide you over.

For cool treats, we tried the Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich and the Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka. These are available from a cart inside the Mermaid Lagoon, as well as other places throughout the park.

To me, the tiramisu ice cream sandwich did not taste very tiramisu-ish. The coffee flavor was pretty faint. However, D, the tiramisu aficionado of the family, thought it was satisfying

The Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka has a cute sea-shell shaped cone stuffed with sea salt ice cream and a little dollop of raspberry jam.

I really enjoyed this one. The sea salt flavor was unique and the raspberry provided a nice contrast.

We ate dinner picnic-style, while reserving our viewing spot for Believe Sea of Dreams. This is the Seafood Pizza (Egg & Salmon Trout) from Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante. As you can see, this was an interesting combination of ingredients. While it is definitely not for everyone, I liked it. And how do they make that Mickey-shaped hard-boiled egg??

For tamer palates, there is the Long Pizza (Tomato & Basil). There is pesto, but my nut-allergic kids were able to eat it.

The Mickey-shaped churro–a classic Actually, it kind of reminded me of Duffy due to the color.

To cap off our food-filled day, we had the Mike’s Melon Bread from Mamma Biscotti’s Bakery. Usually, Asian melon bread throws people off because it does not taste like melon (it is only shaped like a melon). However, this version has a melon custard filling inside that tastes like cantaloupe. If you like cantaloupe, you have to give it a try!

Perhaps my favorite sweet of the entire day was this Coffee Tapioca Latte, also from Mamma Biscotti’s. Note that it was not listed on the menu board on the wall (only on the menu that was on the counter). I almost ordered a plain iced latte, and that would have been a tragic mistake. The coffee jelly and tapioca balls were nice and bouncy and the drink had just the right amount of sweetness.

Looking back, that was a lot of food! Our family does a lot of sharing, so we usually just order one of each thing to maximize the number of foods we can try. Although mobile order is available, I did not use it as it seemed like too much hassle. The only really long lines for food were for Vulcania and the curry popcorn. Oh, and I guess for the gyoza bun that we never got to try-next time!

DisneySea Shows

As I mentioned earlier, I had n enter the lottery for Big Band Beat: A Special Treat as soon as we entered the park in the morning. You are only allowed to enter the lottery for one showtime, so I had him pick the one in late afternoon. This ended up working out because by that time, we wanted to rest our feet. Also, winning the lottery means that you have an assigned seat, so you don’t have to worry about arriving early.

Photography is not allowed during the show, but as you can see, the Broadway Music Theatre is a nice venue. The show was in English, perhaps because it is located in the American Waterfront? The music featured various selections from the Big Band Era. The highlight was Mickey rocking it on the drums. The tap dancers also impressed. n fell asleep, which he tends to do whenever we watch shows at amusement parks.

The show I was really looking forward to was Believe! Sea of Dreams. Currently, it looks like the show starts at 8:15 p.m. When we went I think it was closer to 7:45. People start staking out their seats early though, we’re talking like 3 p.m.! We ended up setting out our trusty mat around 5:00 p.m. We had the kids sit on the mat while D and I went to go grab our dinner, which we ate picnic-style. When I was in the planning stage, I wondered whether it was worth it to pay for Premier Access for Believe! Sea of Dreams. After watching the show from non-reserved seats, I think paying for reserved seats is unnecessary.

We found a spot at about the 38 minute mark on a clock if you are facing the Mediterranean Harbor from the entrance. The best reserved seats are at the 30 minute mark, front and center of the Harbor. Does that make sense? There are plenty for workers standing around that will tell you which sections are free and which sections are for sitting or for standing. We chose to be at the back of a sitting section because there was a little step that we could sit on to make us a little higher than the others who were sitting. It would also be ideal to be in the front of a standing section (you don’t have to stand until the show starts).

The light projections occur all around the waterfront, including on the buildings behind it.

These pictures do not do the show justice. The music and effects were spectacular, and it was worth the wait. If you like Fantasmic, I think you will like Believe! Even n stayed awake!

Mysterious Island looks so pretty at night.

People-Watching At Tokyo Disney Is Top-Notch

I was amazed at how many young Japanese people go all out in dressing up for their day at Disney. This is just one example of a couple that was right in front of us in line.

Many park-goers bring lots of stuffies (especially Duffy) and there are specific places throughout the park where you can prop them up on a stand for photo ops.

There was a couple on our shuttle with a woman dressed head to toe as Jessie from Toy Story that got off at the Toy Story Hotel. Many groups of girls also dress alike and everyone has some sort of head gear and/or plush keychain hanging off their bag. The mirror in the ladies’ restroom was packed full of women fixing their makeup and hair. Observing how everyone dresses up and expresses themselves provides unique insight into the Japanese psyche. It was also surprising to us that it seemed like the majority of park-goers were locals rather than tourists.

Take Time To Notice The Disney Details

It was the attention to detail that really makes DisneySea special.

For instance, k noticed that the popcorn box showed that there were two days until the opening of Fantasy Springs. This attention to detail is what really floored me at DisneySea. So they had different popcorn boxes printed up for each day to countdown Fantasy Springs? I wonder how many days the popcorn box countdown lasted?!

All of the theming was so amazing. Mermaid Lagoon really transported you Under the Sea. Tip: Head here to escape the heat.

Look at this whale-shaped gift shop!

I marveled at the women’s restroom stall having this special seat for a small child. I would think that the age window where it would be appropriate to put a child in this seat would be quite small. But if you happened to have a child that age, I am sure it would be appreciated! I know I definitely appreciated how immaculate all of the restrooms were.

Even the maintenance workers took time to create Disney magic.

Lovely landscaping. Look at that faux exposed brick.

Are we in Europe?

What kind of insect is this??

Wish we had time to ride the gondola.

Mediterranean Harbor

Back to America

Their Tower of Terror is stunning.

Guests at the MiraCosta hotel waved goodbye to the guests as they were leaving the park. Some hotel guests waved their cellphone flashlights in their darkened windows. This guest had their large Duffy waving to everyone, which was a little disconcerting.

DisneySea Final Thoughts

DisneySea lived up to my high expectations. The atmosphere is unlike any other theme park we have visited. I was kind of sad that we just missed the opening of Fantasy Springs, but our day was so full even without a whole other land to explore. We also weren’t able to ride Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage because it was closed for refurbishment. I guess this gives us an excuse to return. I would also like to visit Tokyo Disneyland one day to experience Beauty and the Beast and Winnie the Pooh. If you only have time to visit on park at Tokyo Disney Resort, I would say DisneySea wins. If you have a choice, try to visit on a weekday that is not a Japanese school holiday. Arrive well before the gates open, have a general game plan, wear comfortable walking shoes and have fun taking it all in!