Around the Bay and Away

I am a huge Mickey Mouse fan so if there is a Disney theme park nearby, I’m going. With two theme parks in Tokyo, Disney Sea and Disneyland Tokyo, and having to choose one due to time limitations, Disney Sea won hands down. Not only because I had my eye on it ever since it opened back in 2001, but because it was more unique with its nautical theme and seven themed ports of call.

Tips to Maximize Your Day

But with so much to explore and just a day to do it, I had to be very strategic in my itinerary to maximize my day.

1. List every ride, food, and attraction of interest and then assign A or B importance to it, A = must do, B = would like to do if time permits

2. Then place everything in the respective port and the estimated hours of operation for the day of your visit. Certain rides have premier access option available to pay for a shorter line but we ended up not buying any.

3. Schedule your day to hit the ports in order based on proximity to the previous port and schedule and make reservations for your sit-down meals based on the estimation of which port you will be at during lunch and dinner time.

4. Print park map(s) at home as the park does not have paper maps and this will help you plan your itinerary as well.

5. My first port of call was going to be the furthest not only because I would have the most energy early in the day but because many will explore ones closest to the entrance first. In addition, Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival was my top must-do ride.

Although ambitious like most of my Japan trip, luck happened to be on my side the day we visited so I was able to see everything I had planned and more.

I heard about those crazy long lines and people lining up 2 hours before the park opens just to get into the park. I decided if I am going to wait 2 hours, it better be with the line moving the whole time so with a 9AM opening time, I decided to arrive at 8:30AM, expecting to be in by 10AM.

We got a glimpse of what to expect from our view of a football field worth of guests at Disneyland Tokyo from the Disney Resort Line on the way to Disney Sea. As we approached the entrance by foot, I was confused as I didn’t see a line, but I saw people walking in. As I got closer, I realized it happened to be one of the random days they opened early, so that football field of people I was expecting was already inside the park.

Please note that all descriptions of each activity are from Tokyo Disney’s website direct and not my own words.

TAKE TRANSIT STEAMER FROM MEDITERRANEAN HARBOR TO LOST RIVER DELTA AND WALK TO FANTASY SPRINGS FROM THERE

Transit Steamer Line – Mediterranean Harbor 7 min ride/transportation 9:00-18:30

Take a ride on this steamer and enjoy a fun waterway adventure during the day, or a romantic voyage in the evening.

Fantasy Springs

Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival – Fantasy Springs 5 min ride – premier access available - 2000 Yen = $13.60 - A

This attraction takes guests on a romantic boat ride that leads to the annual Lantern Festival, where they experience Rapunzel's "best day ever" as she falls in love with Flynn Rider and visits various locations featured in the film.

Lost River Delta

Gyoza Sausage Bun – 600 Yen - $4 – Yucatan Basecamp Grill at (Lost River Delta - to-go and requires mobile order) – A – I preordered it after I was done with Rapunzel so it would be ready when they opened. Luckily there was a short 20-minute line for the Mickey character greeting vs. 40 when we left and I was able to see Mickey before picking up my preorder.

Mickey and Friends Character Greeting – Lost River Delta - A

The Disney Friends are studying the ruins of an ancient civilization, plants, and insects of the jungle in Lost River Delta. Go through the jungle and take a keepsake photo with one of the Disney Friends!

WE TOOK THE TRANSIT STEAMER LINE BACK TO MEDITERRANEAN HARBOR AFTER ENJOYING OUR GYOZA.

Transit Steamer Line – Lost River Delta 6 min ride/transportation 9:00-18:30 – A to Mediterranean Waterfront

Take a ride on this steamer and enjoy a fun waterway adventure during the day, or a romantic voyage in the evening.

Mediterranean Harbor

Lady luck strikes again. The Venetian Gondolas happened to be operating early and only a 10-minute line so we ended up doing this before lunch instead of after lunch.

Venetian Gondolas – Mediterranean Harbor 11 min ride 15:00-18:45 - A

The cheerful gondoliers will be happy to show you around Palazzo Canals. Enjoy an elegant, romantic time aboard your gondola.

WALKED TO AMERICAN WATERFRONT FOR LUNCH

American Waterfront

Restaurant Sakura 12:40PM reservations – American Waterfront - A restaurant where Japanese immigrants in New York gather - A

Owned by a Japanese immigrant, this restaurant is in a former fish market. The windows look out on New York harbor while the signs on the walls still list up the fresh seafood that used to be sold here. The Japanese dishes served here go well with sake.

The food in our opinion was mediocre and nothing to write home about so even though we had early dinner reservations at Ristorante di Canaletto, we cancelled it since we already rode the gondalas and decided to take a break during the hottest part of the day and went back to the hotel for a recharge so we have energy to return at night for the parade. The ekiben from the Tokyo Station we picked up on the way back ended up tasting better than the food at the park.

Before leaving the park mid-day, we did get a chance to do a B list item, the Big City Vehicle since there was no wait.

Big City Vehicle – American Waterfront 10 min ride - B

These vehicles were popular in the early 20th century, right when automobiles began to take over from horse-drawn carriages. High end for the time, these vehicles are extra fancy. Step aboard and ride through the streets of New York City in style. There are many models to choose from -- the open-top town car, the police wagon, the delivery truck, and more.

IF WE HAD PLANNED ON TAKING A BREAK MID-DAY IT WOULD’VE BEEN BETTER TO STAY CLOSER TO THE PARK THAN AN OVER 1 HOUR EACH WAY TO AND FROM OUR HOTEL OUTSIDE OF TOKYO STATION.

Post dinner return

The mid-day break allowed us to shower and recharge so we can return energized post dinner for the Believe! Sea of Dreams show. Without premier access, we did camp out early so we can be closer to the front and took turns getting our park only snacks including my favorite, the little green dumplings and do a little shopping.

Mediterranean Harbor

Believe! Sea of Dreams – Mediterranean Harbor 8 – premier access available - A

Nighttime entertainment where Disney friends remind dreamers to keep on believing and making their wishes come true.
Enjoy this spectacular show, which features large boats gliding dynamically over Mediterranean Harbor, bright lasers and pyrotechnics illuminating the night sky, as well as projection mapping that envelops the vast performance space of the harbor.

Little Green Dumpling – 400 Yen $2.75 – Soft Landing, Pan Galactic Pizza Port, Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante (Mediterranean Harbor), New York Deli (American Waterfront), Expedition Eats (Lost River Delta), – Yucatan Basecamp Grill at Lost River Delta (to-go and requires mobile order) – A

Night High Halloween – Parkwide 5 min - cancelled

Spectacular fireworks will add color to the Halloween atmosphere at the two Parks.

POST SHOW THERE WAS A HUGE EXODUS OF PEOPLE LEAVING THE PARK SINCE THE NIGHT HIGH HALLOWEEN FIREWORKS WERE CANCELLED. INSTEAD OF JOINING THAT CROWD, WE DECIDED TO WALK OVER TO AMERICAN WATERFRONT AND SQUEEZE IN ANOTHER B ITEM AND TAKE THE DISNEY SEA ELECTRIC RAILWAY TO PORT DISCOVERY AND BACK.

Disney Sea Electric Railway – American Waterfront to Port Discovery 2.5 min ride/transportation 9:00-21:00 B

There's a shiny trolley running along the elevated tracks, waiting to take you over the horizons of time, from the marina of tomorrow to an early 20th century harbor town in America. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of Tokyo DisneySea from any seat.

Port Discovery

As the railway was pulling into Port Discovery, I saw Nemo and Friends that was showing up as closed all day on my app was actually opened. I need to go buy a lottery ticket!! So, we immediately, went down to squeeze in this ride before the last railway left back to American Waterfront.

Nemo & Friends SeaRider – Port Discovery 5 min ride 9:00-21:00 - A

Boarding the SeaRider, a submersible that “shrinks” to the size of a fish, Guests will explore the wondrous world of marine life from the same point of view as Nemo and Dory. In addition to these characters, Guests have a chance to meet many of the other popular characters from Finding Dory including Destiny, the whale shark, and Hank, the octopus.

Disney Sea Electric Railway – Port Discovery to American Waterfront 2.5 min ride/transportation 9:00-21:00 B

UPON ARRIVAL BACK TO AMERICAN WATERFRONT, THE PARK WAS CLOSING SO THE PARK WAS QUIET AS EVERYONE STARTED MAKING THEIR WAY TOWARDS THE EXIT. JUST LIKE OUR TIME IN JAPAN SO FAR, NO PUSHING, NO SHOVING, JUST AN ORDERLY EXIT. WITH THE $ WE SAVED FROM NOT GETTING PREMIER ACCESS FOR ANYTHING, WE TOOK A CAB BACK TO OUR HOTEL.

Even though we lost 3-4 hours going back to our hotel mid-day, it was honestly the best decision, otherwise we would have been too exhausted from the heat and miss out on the evening Believe show which is a must. We ended up squeezing quite a bit in the few evening hours in an unhurried pace and more pleasant temperatures.

It only took almost 25 years for me to get here, but it was worth the wait. To be in the park before the official opening time, during Halloween festivities that I never even experienced back home, hug Mickey Mouse like I didn’t want to let go, experience it through the eyes of a child but in a body of an adult, and close the park down. It goes down as one of the most memorable days of my life.

Holiday decorations and lights are my favorite gift of the holidays, often returning each year to the SF staples, many for over a decade or more, like the Fairmont Gingerbread House which already this year has a smaller footprint than the past,

Macy’s Christmas Tree at Union Square

which I am so grateful for this year since I thought last year was its farewell, with the proposed closure of Macy’s Union Square location, which is right across from the Westin St. Francis Sugar Castle, which I heard was already much smaller last year. Since Pier 39 is the one that usually stays up the longest, it is the one that bookends the holiday season for me.

Neighborhood Christmas Tree Lanes like Alameda’s Thompson Street

and San Jose’s Christmas in the Park complete with Snowman Hot Chocolate is another annual must,

I always try to discover at least one new experience, like the Four Seasons Apres Village Winter Wonderland in Palo Alto last year

and this year Mr. Skunk and the Giant Christmas Tree via the Skunk Train

while happen to be passing through Healdsburg on the day/night of their tree lighting to and from Willits.

I got to add to the experience of the Oakland Mormon Temple this year from just the decorations to catching an actual free concert after Thanksgiving in the auditorium.

It is always fun to revisit ones I haven’t been back to for years like afternoon tea at the Rotunda overlooking the Macy’s tree

and Union Square and Holidays at Filoli which daytime admission for their holiday decorations is now included in their membership.

If you wonder just like others why I would go back to ones I have seen already or why I go back almost/every year to the same ones, it is because as a Buddhist, I know nothing is permanent and I am old enough now to see the “end of many eras” from doctors retiring to restaurants closing to yes even the end of Christmas decorations.

Things that are now just part of the past include the Christmas Village at Hyatt Embarcadero once collector Len Conacher passed away, Tom and Jerry House with both Tom and Jerry also passed, South San Francisco Chestnut Christmas Lit Houses, that is now down to just a handful of decorated houses post Covid and with the very recent passing of Bob Widmer, the status and future of Pleasanton’s Widmer’s World is also unknown after this year.