I have been told that the Tokyo Disney parks were hands-down the most impressive, and I gotta say I know why. Tokyo Disneyland is over 30 years old and looks like it opened yesterday. Tokyo DisneySea is the most expensive theme park ever built anywhere and it shows. If you have unending resources to make everything as perfect as possible, then you get Tokyo Disney Sea. We came mid-October, and the park was decorated for Halloween. Lots and lots of guests come in costume (which they do all year round), they coordinate their outfits, and really put time into matching looks, hair, accessories, etc. I understand that it's an even bigger costume party on Halloween itself. Chris said some guests' costumes outdo the Disney characters themselves. In Japan, going to the Disney parks is serious business.
Tokyo Disney sea has different "lands": Mysterious Island, American Waterfront, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon, Lost River & Port Discovery.
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| Disney Sea fountain |
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| Halloween decor lamps |
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| At the entrance a coffin & ghost carriage |
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| hand-holds on the shuttle |
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| Arabian coast & Mysterious Island |
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| gondola |
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| our singing gondolier was quite good |
The Winnie-the-Pooh ride was really impressive. I thought it was going to be too "baby" for the girls, but I was wrong. The queue line is takes guests through the pages of the book, and the ride itself was really charming and whimsical. Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull and Voyage to the Center of the Earth are the two big e-ticket rides here. Everything was so well done, and completely detailed.
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| Inside Ariel's grotto |
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| Katie watch out! |
Duffy the Disney Bear is a thing here. The story goes that Mickey Mouse was going on an ocean voyage, and Minnie gave him a stuffed bear named Duffy to keep him company. Somehow (Disney?) Duffy came to life, and now has his own adventures. Duffy has a stage show here that explains who he is and also introduces his friend Gelatoni who is a painter and a cat. This all seemed like marketing to me, ways to get people to buy more merchandise, etc. But both Duffy and Gelatoni are so big here they have their own stores, including lots of different costumes to dress them in. All the children and young women we saw had Duffy or Gelatoni doll with them. Really. They did. Since I only can handle Katie buying a few outfits (!) for her Duffy and Gelatoni, she made their Halloween costumes on her own.
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| Duffys, Duffys, Duffys |
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| Window outside the shop |
And of course we had lots of fun eats. Toy-story themed mochi filled with chocolate and vanilla cream are very popular. People here have no problem waiting in-line for different flavors of popcorn and dumplings, as well as hot dogs and ice cream. We snacked a lot, but had a nice sit-down dinner at the Blue Bayou.
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| Toy Story mochi |
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| Roast Chicken |
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| Kids' Burger |
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| Lobster |
Who knows if we will ever have a chance to come back to Tokyo, but it was such a memorable experience. I think this trip will be a highlight of all the time we spend in Asia. Maybe out next relocation for Disney will be in Japan?! Fingers crossed…
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