Tokyo Disney Resort – May 2004 – Part 8
Day Two – Tokyo DisneySea
Our next stop was Fortress Explorations, which you pass through on your way from the village area of Mediterranean Harbor, on your way to Mysterious Island.Fortress Explorations is a Renaissance-style fortress full of interactive attractions. The best way I can explain it is this: imagine a really fun history museum exhibit, Tom Sawyer Island and a castle all rolled into one!
As soon as we entered the fortress, we spotted a tiny counter-service location that was serving coffee and snacks. We stopped for an espresso, which was pretty mediocre. However, I was interested to note that you could buy desserts (some sort of mousse or pudding) that came in collectible espresso cups. These weren’t very expensive and were really very cute. Unfortunately I wasn’t hungry enough to eat a dessert at this point, so I didn’t buy one.
While we were sitting drinking our coffee and checking out the scenery, some Cast Members dressed in Renaissance garb wandered through. Judging by their accents, they were Americans! We were quite entertained by their “street theater” antics, which included mock-swordfighting and kissing the hands of giggling ladies passing by.If you’re interested in great early inventors like Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo, you’ll definitely love Fortress Explorations. Even if you’re not, it’s still a lot of fun to play in the fortress, and from the top you can enjoy fantastic views of the harbor. There is also a beautiful full-sized galleon docked next to the fortress, which you can explore.
Among the interactive attractions are a full-sized “flying machine” with wings that really flap, a huge model of the solar system, an “illusion room” that you view through a convex mirror, cannons you can “fire” into the harbor, and miniature radio-controlled galleons you can navigate around a large map of the world (there is a small charge for the boats — something like ¥100, or about a dollar).There is also a “Hall of Explorers” with a huge mural depicting important early explorers, a fascinating room that shows what an alchemist’s laboratory might have looked like, and a pendulum room.
In short, there’s a lot to experience in the fortress, so allow at least an hour. If you see a Cast Member, ask for a map of Fortress Explorations, which lists all of the attractions and offers short descriptions in English and Japanese. We were given one as we were leaving the fortress, and after looking at it, we realized we had missed a few things, so we went back and took a look at those.
The detail on each of the attractions within Fortress Explorations is incredible. The fantastic murals and other artistic elements are far beyond anything I’ve ever seen in a theme park before. The use of lighting is outstanding and really gives each attraction within the fortress a “glow” that is hard to describe!
Below are some additional photos from Fortress Explorations:
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