Okay, so I just finished a trip report (found here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...t-of-school-first-december-visit-2021.975504/ ), and I’m kinda itching to write another, plus I was asked by a couple of you to write this one as well. I always enjoy writing these, cause I can always come back to read about the memories made.
Anyway….
This is a report about a single day in Tokyo DisneySEA in October 2019. A unplanned day in this beautiful park, in the heart of a beautiful country and city. Surrounded by some of the most polite and courteous people I have ever encountered in my 40 years on earth. Tokyo/Japan had been a dream destination for my oldest, Lorelai, since she was 8 years old. Well pieces fell into place in early 2019, and we booked a father/daughter trip for October 2019. This would be her first international trip, and first ever flight, so it was a huge trip in her eyes. It was huge for me as well, as I had never been to Japan, and it had been awhile since I had been on a long haul flight. I’m one of those odd people that enjoy them….
As I mentioned, this was an unplanned park day. As we drove to Chicago to catch our flight to Tokyo, Japan was being hit by Typhoon Hagabis. We had no idea what we might run into when we arrived, but we knew we would be in Japan. Our arrival was right around 8:30 PM on a Sunday, and it looked like they had received a ton of rain. Thankfully no real damage to be seen. We had plans to visit the Chureito Pagoda during this trip, however the main train line that would get us there was washed out by the storm. So during dinner that Monday evening the decision was made to visit Tokyo DisneySEA on Wednesday that week. Tuesday we were near the Disney Store in Shibuya, so the decision was to purchase tickets at the store, to avoid purchasing at the gate. Now here was the big shocker to us. Tickets to get into one park was $76 per person! SEVENTY SIX DOLLARS! Honestly saying that now after visiting WDW last month, still makes my jaw drop. Speaking of WDW, what Lorelai and I spent for 8 days in Japan wouldn’t even cover the cost of a family of 4’s tickets for 4 park hoppers in WDW. Anyway tickets purchased, Ramen in our bellies, we went to bed a little early that night excited for a day in the park the next day.
We woke up early that Wednesday morning, and we knew we had a bit of a trip to get to the parks. Tokyo’s public transportation is unlike any other that I have experienced in my life, but it was still going to be an hour ride. Also, have you seen those viral videos where they are cramming people onto trains in Japan? Yep, that is usually during rush hours, and the day before we got caught up in that. So today we were going to wait until a little later in the morning to avoid this. Our AirBNB was near Shin Egota Park, and hour North West of the parks by train. We left our AirBNB around 9 AM, grabbed breakfast at the Family Mart (mmmm convenience store food **research it**) and off to our home station. Within 40 minutes we were at our transfer station, Tsukishima, where I would witness something unheard of in America. Here we are in a station waiting for our transfer, it’s the tail end of rush hour, and a child on her way to school pops out of the train and off to her destination. She was on her own, doing her thing. Not a common thing in our world. However I wouldn’t hesitate to allow my kids to do it, Japan is that safe. Two years out from this trip, and I am still over the moon on how safe Japan was. Also the respect shown to others around them, which I will touch on later, blew me away. Quite the difference to what America is these days……
Video Link \/
Anyway we reached DisneySEA around 10:30 that morning. The park had been opened around and hour and a half, but we were not concerned about that. We knew looking the night before that Journey was down, and that Big Band Beat might be something we wouldn’t be able to experience as it’s a lottery. Now the Monorail in Tokyo you have to pay for. I was okay with that, I forget the price, but it was worth it to me. We popped on, and headed around the resort to the entrance to DisneySEA.
The views riding the monorail was well worth it, and I treated it as our first attraction of the day. The station was very close to turn styles, and a short walk we were within DisneySEA. What a different experience this was. First you see the Aquasphere, and for us we saw 6 women dressed as princesses. At first I thought it was a meet and greet, as there was a few people gathered around them, but found out it was just park fans cosplaying. This was something we would experience throughout the day, and it was quite enjoyable to see all of the wonderful costumes.
We headed towards the Passaggio Miracosta, and I was extremely excited to see Mount Prometheus for the first time. It was not a disappointment!
Video Link \/
So at that point we are in the park, but you will have to wait to see what happens next. Mainly cause my lunch hour is over, and I have a deadline to meet.
Anyway….
This is a report about a single day in Tokyo DisneySEA in October 2019. A unplanned day in this beautiful park, in the heart of a beautiful country and city. Surrounded by some of the most polite and courteous people I have ever encountered in my 40 years on earth. Tokyo/Japan had been a dream destination for my oldest, Lorelai, since she was 8 years old. Well pieces fell into place in early 2019, and we booked a father/daughter trip for October 2019. This would be her first international trip, and first ever flight, so it was a huge trip in her eyes. It was huge for me as well, as I had never been to Japan, and it had been awhile since I had been on a long haul flight. I’m one of those odd people that enjoy them….
As I mentioned, this was an unplanned park day. As we drove to Chicago to catch our flight to Tokyo, Japan was being hit by Typhoon Hagabis. We had no idea what we might run into when we arrived, but we knew we would be in Japan. Our arrival was right around 8:30 PM on a Sunday, and it looked like they had received a ton of rain. Thankfully no real damage to be seen. We had plans to visit the Chureito Pagoda during this trip, however the main train line that would get us there was washed out by the storm. So during dinner that Monday evening the decision was made to visit Tokyo DisneySEA on Wednesday that week. Tuesday we were near the Disney Store in Shibuya, so the decision was to purchase tickets at the store, to avoid purchasing at the gate. Now here was the big shocker to us. Tickets to get into one park was $76 per person! SEVENTY SIX DOLLARS! Honestly saying that now after visiting WDW last month, still makes my jaw drop. Speaking of WDW, what Lorelai and I spent for 8 days in Japan wouldn’t even cover the cost of a family of 4’s tickets for 4 park hoppers in WDW. Anyway tickets purchased, Ramen in our bellies, we went to bed a little early that night excited for a day in the park the next day.
We woke up early that Wednesday morning, and we knew we had a bit of a trip to get to the parks. Tokyo’s public transportation is unlike any other that I have experienced in my life, but it was still going to be an hour ride. Also, have you seen those viral videos where they are cramming people onto trains in Japan? Yep, that is usually during rush hours, and the day before we got caught up in that. So today we were going to wait until a little later in the morning to avoid this. Our AirBNB was near Shin Egota Park, and hour North West of the parks by train. We left our AirBNB around 9 AM, grabbed breakfast at the Family Mart (mmmm convenience store food **research it**) and off to our home station. Within 40 minutes we were at our transfer station, Tsukishima, where I would witness something unheard of in America. Here we are in a station waiting for our transfer, it’s the tail end of rush hour, and a child on her way to school pops out of the train and off to her destination. She was on her own, doing her thing. Not a common thing in our world. However I wouldn’t hesitate to allow my kids to do it, Japan is that safe. Two years out from this trip, and I am still over the moon on how safe Japan was. Also the respect shown to others around them, which I will touch on later, blew me away. Quite the difference to what America is these days……
Video Link \/
Anyway we reached DisneySEA around 10:30 that morning. The park had been opened around and hour and a half, but we were not concerned about that. We knew looking the night before that Journey was down, and that Big Band Beat might be something we wouldn’t be able to experience as it’s a lottery. Now the Monorail in Tokyo you have to pay for. I was okay with that, I forget the price, but it was worth it to me. We popped on, and headed around the resort to the entrance to DisneySEA.
The views riding the monorail was well worth it, and I treated it as our first attraction of the day. The station was very close to turn styles, and a short walk we were within DisneySEA. What a different experience this was. First you see the Aquasphere, and for us we saw 6 women dressed as princesses. At first I thought it was a meet and greet, as there was a few people gathered around them, but found out it was just park fans cosplaying. This was something we would experience throughout the day, and it was quite enjoyable to see all of the wonderful costumes.
We headed towards the Passaggio Miracosta, and I was extremely excited to see Mount Prometheus for the first time. It was not a disappointment!
Video Link \/
So at that point we are in the park, but you will have to wait to see what happens next. Mainly cause my lunch hour is over, and I have a deadline to meet.
