Tokyo Disney Resort – May 2004 – Part 7
Day Two – Tokyo DisneySea
I had read many good things about Tokyo DisneySea before our trip, so my expectations were very high. It is no exaggeration to say that those expectations were vastly exceeded. My only regret is that I didn’t have at least one more day to explore this absolutely mind-boggling fantasy world.
However, just to frustrate you a tiny bit, first I have to write a few words about the nifty Tokyo Disney Resort Line monorail system. I defy anyone to board it without grinning! With its wacky Mickey-shaped windows and handstraps, it is just plain cute as a button. And everything is squeaky-clean, too, like all public transportation in Japan.
From an American perspective, the slightly odd thing about the Tokyo Disney monorail is that it’s considered a public transportation system. The Japanese take public transportation very seriously and clearly have a lot of stringent rules about how it operates. Since the monorail is considered “public transportation,” there is a separate charge to use it.It’s not particularly expensive to ride the monorail (equivalent to about $2 for a single ride, or about $5 for a day pass) or you can use a Tokyo Passnet subway pass. The monorail leaves the Resort Gateway Station above the Maihama train station, stopping at Tokyo Disneyland Station, at Bayside Station (which services the non-Disney hotels on Tokyo Bay) and finally at Tokyo DisneySea Station.
We didn’t use the monorail on our first day, because it’s a quick walk to the front gate of Tokyo Disneyland. However, you really wouldn’t want to walk from Maihama train station to the gate of DisneySea, so the monorail is the way to go. Plus it’s fun, and a great way to get an overview of Tokyo Disney Resort. Looking down from the monorail helps you understand the overall layout of the resort and its proximity to Tokyo Bay.We arrived at opening time on our second day at Tokyo Disney Resort and took the monorail to DisneySea. Even as we were whisked along the back side of the park, we could see we were in for a treat, as glimpses of various intriguing structures tantalized us.
A quick explanation of the layout of Tokyo DisneySea is in order at this point. Unlike Disney’s other theme parks, DisneySea is not organized into “lands.” Instead, it offers seven “ports,” each themed to a different water fantasy.Moving roughly counterclockwise from the front gate, the ports include the stunningly beautiful Mediterranean Harbor; Mysterious Island, a Jules Verne extravaganza dominated by a hollowed-out volcano; the absolutely enchanting Mermaid Lagoon; minaret-studded Arabian Coast; jungle-themed Lost River Delta; futuristic Port Discovery; and nostalgic American Waterfront.
When we walked through the gates of Tokyo DisneySea, I could barely suppress a gasp. A visitor’s first view when entering the park is, quite simply, astonishing — almost dreamlike.
You find yourself walking across an immense Italian piazza bounded on the left by the back side of the Hotel MiraCosta, which is built to look like colorful multi-story townhouses. The effect, when looking that direction, is completely convincing. You could truly believe you were in an Italian port city (that just happens to be full of Japanese tourists).In front of you, across the piazza, is a sparkling, curved harbor dotted with many varieties of watercraft, from fishing vessels to steamboats. A smoking volcano rises beyond the water. Silhouetted against the volcano is an elaborate Renaissance fort. In this direction, the fantasy element is undeniable. It’s hard to believe your eyes.
The impressive scale of this park rises up and smacks you in the face. Especially in a country as crowded as Japan, the spacious feel of Tokyo DisneySea is quite astonishing. You literally feel as if you have entered a different world.
After gawking at all the “eye candy” for quite a while, we decided to head to the right. We found ourselves exploring meandering streets that seemed lifted right out of an Italian village.Other than a restaurant, this village area has no real attractions — it seems to exist purely for the joy of exploration. If rides are your primary interest when you visit Disney theme parks, you might find it boring. We enjoy the incredibly detailed and immersive theming that Disney’s Imagineers are uniquely capable of producing, and this is a prime example of their best work.
I couldn’t help but compare Mediterranean Harbor with the similarly-themed Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. DisneySea’s version makes Universal’s attempt look like a cheap movie set. The realism, depth and beauty of DisneySea’s Mediterranean Harbor is hard to describe.
As I mentioned above, the village section does include a restaurant, Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante. Since we went through this area first thing in the morning, the restaurant was closed, but we were very impressed with the theming.We walked around the restaurant’s outdoor seating area and took a quick peek at the menu, which seemed reasonably priced, though nothing on the menu really stood out to us. Obviously Italian food would be something of a novelty for the Japanese, while Americans might consider most standard Italian dishes a bit ho-hum.
Mediterranean Harbor feels like the largest of the ports. It also extends to the left of the entrance. On that side you can take a gondola ride and explore shops and restaurants set along a Venetian-style canal. Unfortunately, by the time we reached that area later in the afternoon, it was raining, so we really didn’t feel like sitting in a gondola getting wet. Lots of Japanese visitors were doing just that, though!
The Harbor is also the home of an amazing show, the Porto Paradiso Water Carnival. Now, I have to be honest. Mike and I are not really big fans of parades, and we usually skip the shows when we visit the Disney theme parks in the US. We actually didn’t plan to watch the Water Carnival, because we expected it to be little more than a cheesy parade of boats.Fortunately, as we were walking around in the afternoon we caught a glimpse of it. What we saw caused us to hasten back to Mediterranean Harbor in order to watch the rest of the show. It was spectacular! The Renaissance-style sailing ships were beautiful, the costumes were terrific, and the performances were riveting.
The show includes both a “parade” component, with elaborately decorated, themed galleons, and a “show” component, featuring thrilling maneuvers performed by performers on jet skis, trailing long banners.As I mentioned, the ships were heavily themed, though some of the themes were a bit odd to an American observer. I got the impression that each of the galleons was supposed to represent a particular character’s food fantasy. For instance, the ship pictured above has Chip and Dale on it, and is decorated with huge cupcakes and acorns.
Another of the ships docked very close to us at one point in the show. It featured a dancing Pluto in a chef’s hat (complete with clear raincoat and rain hat, since it was pouring at that point!). The sail was covered with images of roasting chickens, and various (obviously fake) dead poultry hung from the masts and prow. Puzzling but funny!
The best comparison I can make is that the Water Carnival is like a cross between Cirque du Soleil, a speedboat race and a Mardi Gras parade. It is not to be missed.
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