Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland Recap

Hi friends, and welcome back. I’m so glad you’re here. Today I’m taking you through our days at Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland, sharing the highlights, the rides, what felt a little unexpected, and everything in between. Let’s go!

Ok, I didn’t in a million years expect to wear my Minnie ears two years in a row. When I packed them away after our trip to the USA, I thought waaaahhhh, that’s probably it for a while. So pulling them out again for this trip was such a bonus.

Tokyo DisneySea

DisneySea Arrival

DisneySea was the first Disney park we visited in Tokyo. We arrived at 8.30 am before it opened, and as you can see in the photos, the lines were already crazy long. No surprises, though, because luckily, YouTube travel vlogs had already prepared me for it.

Even with the crowds, everything moved so efficiently that we were inside in just under an hour. That’s pretty amazing, right?

Walking Around DisneySea

DisneySea is huge. We did a lot of walking that day. My Apple Watch said around 22,000 steps. My husband’s Samsung said closer to 32,000. So I’m going to call it somewhere in the middle and just say it was a very big walking day.

Would you believe I hadn’t actually registered that DisneySea is right next to the water? It wasn’t until we were walking along and one of my cousins pointed out the “tsunami wall.” I thought they were joking, but nope, it’s true. Well, I’m not sure it’s actually a tsunami wall. My cousin was probably just trying to scare me, which isn’t hard, haha. It’s more just coastal protection because it’s built on reclaimed land along Tokyo Bay.

The Details Everywhere

The park itself is incredibly detailed, but I was so excited and in the moment that I didn’t fully register everything as I was going through it. Now I’m looking back at the photos and sitting down to calmly write the recaps. I’m having a lot of “ahhhh” moments. Back then, it was all “wow”.

There were carvings, statues and really intricate design elements everywhere. All themed around a harbour and sea exploration idea.

Tower of Terror

Our first ride at DisneySea was the Tower of Terror. Back in California Disneyland, the original Tower of Terror was turned into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, which was so fun! The drops were so scary, but because the ride blasted out 80s tunes, I couldn’t care less. I’m a big scaredy cat, always, but play me 80s music and I might even jump out of a plane (only kidding, no way would I do that).

This was the original scary Tower of Terror, so I was a bit nervous going in. But all the storytelling before the ride was in Japanese, so I didn’t really know what was going on. That was actually a good thing because I didn’t feel as scared anymore.

Rapunzel and Fantasy Springs

We went on Journey to the Center of the Earth, Peter Pan and Rapunzel, which was so beautiful.

We missed Anna and Elsa. The wait time was around two hours, and the fast passes sold out so quickly, so sadly we missed out (a good excuse to go back, right?)

Snacks and Food

Oh yes, I should also share about the food at DisneySea.

We stopped for snacks throughout the day, which was kind of unusual for me because I’m normally way too excited to eat properly in places like this. But the variety was just too tempting, and oh my goodness, there was so much to choose from!

The popcorn flavours alone were things like garlic shrimp, soy sauce and butter, caramel, curry and black pepper. I didn’t try them all, but they all sounded so interesting.

All the walking definitely made me hungry.

It was also so much cheaper than what we paid in the US. I remember a hot dog meal (hot dog, chips and a drink) at Disneyland California being around 16 to 18 US dollars, roughly 24 to 27 AUD, which was enough to kill our appetite for anything else, haha.

More Photos from the Day

The rest of the photos are from our day at DisneySea, in no particular order.

Such a fun day at DisneySea. Now onto Tokyo Disneyland.

Tokyo Disneyland

Rainy Day at Disneyland

It rained all day long. It was on and off but strong enough that we were in ponchos for the whole day. After a while, it was so bad it was actually funny, and we just had no choice but to accept it. I packed away my Minnie ears and pulled on my cap so I wouldn’t scare the park with the state of my hair.

The downside was that all the stage shows, parades and fireworks got cancelled. But the upside to this torrential day was that we didn’t have to wait to get on rides or pay for Disney Premier Access. Always got to look on the bright side!

The Rides

The Baymax ride was so fun! The whole ride was just so happy with all the lights, music, and the cast members dancing along.

Just like at DisneySea, the cast members were so friendly. They were waving and smiling all day long!

The Beauty and the Beast ride was that beautiful, I cried.

Even the Jungle Cruise ride, which was all in Japanese, was so fun because the guide was so enthusiastic. I had no idea what she was saying, but it didn’t matter.

And It’s a Small World will always have a special place in my heart, even though my family thought it was too tame.

By the time I went on Splash Mountain, it didn’t even matter how wet we got because we were already soaked anyway.

The first time I rode it, I fully hid under my poncho. I was not brave at all.

The second time, I had no choice. One of Sam’s friends, Takame, sat next to me and kept yelling, “Open your eyes, mum.” So I did what I was told and actually had the best time.

A Really Nice Part of the Day

Sam’s friends, who he met in Sydney and are originally from Japan, came to meet us at the park. He had organised it before we left for the trip, so it was really fun to get to know them and spend the day together. They were such funny guys and wouldn’t take no for an answer when I wanted to chicken out of Splash Mountain.

Such a fun couple of days at Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. Rain and all, we loved every minute of it!