Before she left, we had the opportunity to visit Disney Sea. Disney Sea is the sister park and neighbor to Disneyland. We didn't have the opportunity to visit Disneyland, but Liz and I are hoping to get there before we go back home. Disneyland is more the typical Disney adventure, but Disney Sea is Japan's own take on some less familiar Disney classics. It's a crazy mish mash of random cultures and architecture from around the world, and definitely one of my favorite places in Japan. And it involves Disney! What more could you possibly want. Of course, we didn't get to spend nearly enough time there to enjoy all of the rides. We did have a splendid time wandering around though, and we managed to ride a few of the best attractions at the park. We even ate aliens!
The Japanese are insanely enthusiastic about everything Disney. Each person in the park had some sort of character hat on or was wearing a Disney outfit. Many of the women and girls had bows and were carrying that new Disney bear. I blocked out the name because I hate that Disney is trying to replace Mickey Mouse. Mickey is NOT to be replaced by some stupid bear! Olive and I were very adamant about avoiding the sections of the souvenir shops full of those teddy bears. All day I tried to find a hat I would love and wear back in the states, but I eventually came to the conclusion that I shouldn't spend money on a kitschy souvenir that I will never wear again. I did have some fun trying on different options, but somehow managed not to take any pics of the hilarity. I know I haven't been able to fully explain the extent to which people are obsessed with Disney, so you'll just have to take a trip to Tokyo to see it for yourself.
Here are a bunch of amazing photos to show off the glorious-ness that is Disney Sea.
This volcano actually shot flames out the top throughout the day and night.
This is the Mediterranean section of the park. We had some pretty great pizza here for dinner. I honestly felt like I was walking through the streets of Italy. They even had gondola rides available though they were temporarily shut down due to wind.
Tower of Terror! This was the last ride and most thrilling ride of the day. It was perfectly gloomy over the tower.
This is inside the Toy Story Mania ride! It's supposed to be Andy's room, and we're viewing it from the perspective of the toys. We waited in line for an hour and a half and it was definitely worth it. Actually, we lucked out because most of the day the line was at least a three hour wait. We ate lunch in line and the other people waiting were clearly jealous of our foresight.
'Merica
This is the door to Andy's room! Notice the 3D glasses. The ride was all about target practice with little toy lasers.
We had to get a picture with Woody after the ride.
Earlier in the day, we had seen little kids eating these aliens. Apparently this dessert is called 'mochi'. I don't really know how to describe it, but it was like sweet flavored custard surrounded by sticky dough. Pretty delicious, though it was a bit too sweet.
Woody, are you hungry?
Some New England Action
Indiana Jones territory...
Arabian marketplace
Mermaid Lagoon
This
next
photo
sums
it
all
up.
MAGIC
Hello New York :)
At the end of the day, Mickey came out to perform a fantasma show in the Mediterranean Harbor. I couldn't get any clear pics of it, but it was very phenomenal. I was excessively creeped out that Mickey had an insanely high voice and was speaking Japanese though. Besides that, it was a great show. Good bye Disney Sea!! Thanks for the memories :)
After we left the station, we had to stop for Cinnabon. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Though I didn't find a hat, I did find these awesome Mickey Mouse-like gloves. Perfectly understated Disney. I wear them around Japan and I will have no problem wearing them around the United States.
Happy birthday, Olive! Wish you were still here to share more adventures with, but I'm glad I got to explore with you when we had the chance! Good luck on that driving test :)
