Resort Gateway Eki

🇩🇪 Gestern gut aufgewärmt, ging es heute nach DisneySea in Tokio. Wesentlich früher als gestern waren wir schon kurz nach sieben Uhr auf, um uns für den Tag fertigzumachen und pünktlich zur Eröffnungszeit um 9 Uhr dort zu sein. Wir fuhren denselben Weg wie zum Disneyland, mussten jedoch am Zielbahnhof noch einige Stationen mit der Disney-eigenen Resortbahn fahren, um zum Eingang von DisneySea zu gelangen. Aus der Bahn konnten wir die Menschenmassen sehen, die wie wir pünktlich im Park sein wollten. Da ein Parkbesuch meist mit viel Wartezeit verbunden ist, reihten wir uns in die Schlange ein und erreichten kurz nach neun den Park.

DisneySea ist derzeit besonders beliebt, da diesen Monat ein neuer Bereich namens "Fantasy Springs" eröffnet wurde, der Rapunzel, Peter Pan und als Highlight Frozen beinhaltet. Ich hatte bereits gestern gelesen, dass der Zugang zu diesem neuen Themenbereich beschränkt ist und nur mit einem festen Zeitslot möglich ist, ähnlich wie bei der Super Mario World in den Universal Studios in Osaka. Dennoch wollten wir es versuchen und steuerten als Erstes diesen neuen Bereich an. Unterwegs versuchte ich über die App, uns Zutritt zu einer der drei neuen Attraktionen zu sichern, fand jedoch nur noch Verfügbarkeiten für Peter Pan um die Mittagszeit. Rapunzel war erst am späten Abend frei und Frozen war bereits am Morgen ausgebucht. Also entschieden wir uns für Peter Pan um die Mittagszeit. Am neuen Bereich angekommen, wurden wir, wie erwartet, abgewiesen, da wir noch keine Zugangsberechtigung hatten.

Deshalb gingen wir zuerst in den angrenzenden Bereich und fuhren die einzige Achterbahn mit Looping, die wir in den Parks finden konnten. Abgesehen vom Looping war die Achterbahn eher unspektakulär. Danach tauchten wir in die Welt von Indiana Jones ein, indem wir Dr. Jones auf einem seiner Abenteuer in einem Dark Ride begleiteten. Für beide Attraktionen nutzten wir erstmals die Single-Rider-Option, um die Wartezeit zu verkürzen. Da wir nur noch etwa eine Stunde Zeit hatten, bis wir den Fantasy Springs-Bereich betreten durften, entschieden wir uns, mit einem Boot zum Parkanfang zu fahren und bei einer Attraktion mit langer Wartezeit zu schauen, ob es dort ebenfalls eine Single-Rider-Schlange gibt. Dort erfuhren wir jedoch, dass diese beiden Attraktionen die einzigen mit einer solchen Option sind und es bei anderen Attraktionen nicht versuchen mussten. Stattdessen holte sich Mio einen Kaffee, und wir machten uns auf den Weg in die neue Welt.

Meiner Meinung nach ist Fantasy Springs nichts Besonderes. Es ist eine schön gestaltete Gegend, und insbesondere das Frozen-Dorf ist sehr ansprechend, aber eigentlich gibt es dort nicht viel zu tun. Es gibt drei Hauptattraktionen, ein Restaurant und einen Souvenirshop, an dem sich über hundert Menschen anstellten. Daher fuhren wir zunächst die Peter Pan-Attraktion, für die wir eine Zeit reserviert hatten. Es handelt sich um eine 3D-Attraktion, die Mio leider schnell übel wurde, was sie nicht zur besten Wahl machte, aber sie war die einzige verfügbare Option. Danach suchten wir nach einem neuen Popcornbehälter im Stil von Peter Pan und stellten uns dafür sogar an einem Popcornstand an. Das Popcorn, das wir erhielten, hatte einen Roast-Beef-Geschmack und war gewöhnungsbedürftig. In der Zwischenzeit bekamen wir Hunger. Während unseres Rundgangs durch Fantasy Springs entdeckten wir erneut ein Schild für ein Buffet, das etwas teurer als am Vortag war. Das Buffet befand sich im neuen Parkhotel, und als wir zum Einlass gingen, wurden wir freundlich darauf hingewiesen, dass es nur für Hotelgäste ist. Also suchten wir uns ein anderes Restaurant auf der anderen Seite des Parks. Eine Mission stand noch aus. Wir sahen einige Personen mit einem Frozen-Popcornbehälter, konnten aber nirgendwo im neuen Bereich einen Verkaufsstand finden. Also fragten wir die Mitarbeiter, die uns genau die zwei Verkaufsständeauf einer Karte zeigten, an denen wir diese erhalten konnten. Interessanterweise befanden sich diese nicht im neuen Bereich, sondern relativ nah am Eingang im normalen Bereich. Also liefen wir zuerst dort vorbei auf unserem Weg zum Restaurant und sicherten uns auch so einen Behälter. Als wir beim anderen Restaurant ankamen, sagte uns das Menü nicht zu, und wir entschieden uns stattdessen für einen kleinen Snack in einem Bistro.

Im weiteren Verlauf des Tages gingen wir in den Warte-Modus über und suchten vor allem Attraktionen mit längeren Wartezeiten auf. Vielleicht war es eine unbewusste Entscheidung, weil wir sonst auch nicht mehr wussten, was wir noch machen könnten. Im Internet hatten wir gelesen, dass DisneySea im Vergleich zu Disneyland Tokio der bessere Park sein soll. Doch bisher hatten die Attraktionen uns nicht überzeugt. Trotzdem stellten wir uns in eine 100-minütige Warteschlange für eine Attraktion namens „Journey to the Center of the Earth“, die uns leider auch nicht begeistern konnte. Auf dem Weg zur nächsten Attraktion kamen wir an einer Parade auf dem Wasser vorbei, bei der Micky Maus auf einem Boot fuhr. Es schien, als ob sich ein Großteil der Parkbesucher um das Wasser versammelt hatte, um sich das Spektakel anzusehen. Diese Gelegenheit nutzten wir, um uns in eine verkürzte Warteschlange für die nächste Attraktion einzureihen, die endlich überzeugen konnte. Bei „Toy Story Mania!“ fuhren wir eine Bahn, deren Konzept wir kannten. Man sitzt in einem Wagen mit einer kleinen Kanone vor sich und muss an mehreren Stationen interaktiv Ziele abschießen. Wir kannten das Konzept sowohl aus den Universal Studios in Orlando als auch aus dem Phantasialand zu Hause. Die Taktik ging auf, denn nach uns wurde die Warteschlange deutlich länger, und wir kamen zu einem guten Zeitpunkt.

Danach stellten wir uns noch einmal in eine Warteschlange, die mit den längeren zuvor mithalten konnte. Ich habe die Zeit nicht gestoppt, aber es könnten auch um die 100 Minuten gewesen sein. Diesmal lohnte es sich jedoch und war vielleicht die coolste Attraktion des Tages. Sie heißt „Soaring: Fantastic Flight“. Man sitzt in einem schwebenden Wagen vor einem so großen Bildschirm, dass dieser das gesamte Sichtfeld ausfüllt und ein realistisches Gefühl vermittelt. Auf der Attraktion unternahmen wir eine Weltreise und sahen wunderschöne Naturlandschaften und Weltwunder, bis wir zum Schluss wieder in Japan, in Tokio und letztendlich im DisneySea Park ankamen. Das war wirklich cool!

Danach hatten wir noch einmal richtig Glück. Erneut versammelten sich viele Menschen um das Wasser, da in wenigen Minuten eine Show beginnen sollte. Mio meinte, dass wir uns zumindest den Anfang anschauen sollten, und ich willigte etwas widerwillig ein. Im Nachhinein war es unser Glück, dass Mio die Show sehen wollte, denn wir schauten sie uns ganz an, sie war sehr schön und der Ersatz für das Feuerwerk, das erneut ausgefallen war.

Das war auch das letzte große Highlight des Tages. Danach gingen wir noch in eine Attraktion, die in der Welt von „Findet Nemo“ handelt, fuhren eine Runde mit der Bahn und verließen dann den Park etwas früher, um erschöpft nach Hause zu kommen.

🇺🇸 Yesterday, we were well warmed up for today's trip to Tokyo DisneySea. Much earlier than yesterday, we were up just after seven to get ready and arrive at the park for its opening time at 9 AM. We took the same route as we did to Disneyland, but this time we had to take a few more stops on the Disney Resort Line to reach the DisneySea park entrance. From the train, we could already see the crowds who, like us, wanted to enter the park on time. Since a park visit is always at least half about waiting in lines, we started our day with a queue and finally entered the park just after nine.

DisneySea is particularly popular right now, as a new area called "Fantasy Springs," featuring themes from Rapunzel, Peter Pan, and especially Frozen, opened this month. I read yesterday that access to this new themed area is limited and entry is only possible with a timed slot, similar to the Super Mario World at Universal Studios in Osaka. Nevertheless, we decided to try our luck and headed towards the new area first thing. On the way, I tried to book access to one of the three new attractions through the app, but I could only find availability for Peter Pan around noon. Rapunzel was only available late in the evening, and Frozen was booked out early in the morning. Thus, we opted for Peter Pan around noon. Upon arriving at the new area, as almost expected, we were turned away since we didn't have attraction access yet.

So, we first went to the adjacent area and rode the only roller coaster with a loop found in the parks we've visited. Aside from the loop, the coaster was quite unremarkable. After that, we dived into the world of Indiana Jones by joining Dr. Jones on one of his adventures during a Dark Ride. For the first time, we encountered Single Rider lines for both attractions, which helped reduce our wait time. Since we had about an hour until we could enter the Fantasy Springs area, we decided to take a boat back to the park entrance and check if a long-wait attraction had a Single Rider line. However, we learned that the two attractions we had just experienced were the only ones with such a queue, and we didn't need to look for it at other attractions. Instead, Mio had a coffee, and we headed to the new world.

Personally, I think Fantasy Springs is nothing special. It's a beautifully designed area, especially the Frozen village, but there's not much to do. There are the three main attractions, a restaurant, and a souvenir shop where over a hundred people were queued up. Therefore, we first rode the Peter Pan attraction for which we had a reservation. It's a 3D attraction that unfortunately made Mio quite sick quickly, so it wasn't the best choice, but it was the only option. Afterward, we set out to find a new Peter Pan-themed popcorn container and even stood in another line at the popcorn stand for it. The popcorn we got had a roast beef flavor, which was an acquired taste. By then, we were getting hungry. During our walk through Fantasy Springs, we found a sign for a buffet that was slightly pricier than the day before. The buffet was in the new park hotel, and when we went to enter, we were kindly turned away with the explanation that it was only for hotel guests. So, we had to find another option and ended up choosing a new restaurant on the other side of the park. One more mission remained: we saw a few people with a Frozen-themed popcorn container but couldn't find a stand selling them in the new area. We asked the staff, and they showed us exactly two stands on a map where we could get one. Interestingly, they were not in the new area but rather close to the entrance in the regular area. So, we first stopped there on our way to the restaurant and got a container. The menu at the other restaurant didn't appeal to us, so we settled for a smaller snack at a bistro instead.

For the second half of the day, we went into a waiting mode and primarily did attractions with longer wait times. Perhaps it was a subconscious choice since we otherwise didn't know what else to do. The general opinion online is that DisneySea is the better park compared to Disneyland in Tokyo. However, we weren't quite impressed with DisneySea as the attractions had yet to wow us. We ended up standing in a 100-minute line for a ride called "Journey to the Center of the World," which, unfortunately, also failed to impress. On our way to the next attraction, we passed a water parade featuring Mickey Mouse on a boat. It seemed that a good portion of the park's visitors had gathered around the water to watch the spectacle. We took this chance to join a shortened queue for the next attraction, which finally managed to impress us. Toy Story Mania! was a ride we were familiar with. You sit in a car with a small cannon in frontYesterday, having warmed up nicely with our visit to Tokyo Disneyland, we set off for DisneySea Tokyo. We were up much earlier than the day before, ready to leave by just after seven o'clock to make it in time for the park's opening at 9 AM. We took the same route as to Disneyland, but at the destination station, we had to board the Disney Resort Line to get to the DisneySea park entrance. From the train, we could already see the crowds who, like us, were aiming to get into the park on time. Since waiting in line is inevitably part of the park experience, we started our day queuing and finally entered the park just after nine.

DisneySea is currently especially popular because a new area called "Fantasy Springs," featuring Rapunzel, Peter Pan, and notably, Frozen, was opened this month. As I read yesterday, access to this new themed area is restricted, and you can only enter with a timed slot, similar to the Super Mario World at Universal Studios in Osaka. Nevertheless, we didn't want to miss out and headed straight there to try our luck. En route, I tried to secure entry to one of the three new attractions through the app, but I could only find availability for Peter Pan around noon. Rapunzel was only available late in the evening, and Frozen was fully booked right from the morning. So, we settled for Peter Pan at noon. Upon reaching the new area, as somewhat expected, we were turned away since we didn't have access to any attractions yet.

Therefore, we first headed to the adjacent area and rode the park's only roller coaster featuring a loop—the only one we could find in the parks we've been to. Aside from the loop, the coaster was fairly unremarkable. We then ventured into the world of Indiana Jones, joining Dr. Jones on one of his dark ride adventures. For the first time, we encountered Single Rider lines at both attractions, which helped us cut down our waiting time. With about an hour left until our scheduled entry into the Fantasy Springs area, we decided to take a boat back to the park's entrance to check if other attractions with long wait times also offered Single Rider queues. However, we learned that the two attractions we had just experienced were the only ones with such queues, and we wouldn't find them elsewhere. Instead, Mio grabbed a coffee, and we made our way into the new world.

Personally, I found Fantasy Springs underwhelming. It's a beautifully designed area, particularly the Frozen village, but there isn't much to do there. It features the three main attractions, one restaurant, and a souvenir shop where over a hundred people were lined up. Therefore, we first took the Peter Pan ride for which we had reserved a slot. It's a 3D attraction that unfortunately made Mio quite nauseous, so it wasn't the best choice, but it was our only option at the time. Afterwards, we went in search of a new popcorn bucket in the Peter Pan style and even queued at the popcorn stand to get one. The popcorn we received was roast beef-flavored, which was an acquired taste. By then, we were getting hungry. During our stroll through Fantasy Springs, we spotted a sign for a buffet that was slightly more expensive than the previous day. The buffet was located in the new park hotel, and upon trying to enter, we were kindly turned away with a note that it was only for hotel guests. Therefore, we had to find another dining option and ended up choosing a new restaurant on the other side of the park. One last mission remained: we noticed a few people with Frozen-themed popcorn buckets, but couldn't find a stand selling them in the new area. We asked the staff, and they directed us to two stands on a map where we could get one. Interestingly, these were not in the new area but rather close to the entrance in the standard park area. So, we headed there first on our way to the restaurant and managed to get a bucket. The menu at the other restaurant didn't appeal to us, so we settled for a smaller snack at a bistro instead.

For the second half of the day, we went into waiting mode, primarily tackling attractions with longer wait times. Perhaps it was a subconscious choice since we otherwise didn't know what else to do. Online opinion suggests that DisneySea is the superior park compared to Disneyland Tokyo. However, we hadn't quite warmed up to DisneySea as the attractions had yet to wow us. We ended up standing in a 100-minute line for a ride called "Journey to the Center of the World," which, unfortunately, also failed to impress. On our way to the next attraction, we passed a water parade featuring Mickey Mouse on a boat. It seemed that a good portion of the park's visitors had gathered around the water to watch the spectacle. We took this chance to join a shortened queue for the next attraction, which finally managed to impress us. Toy Story Mania! was a ride we werefamiliar with. You sit in a car equipped with a small cannon in front and engage in interactive shooting at various targets throughout several stations. We know this concept from both the Universal Studios in Orlando and Phantasialand back home. The strategy paid off as the line became significantly longer after the show ended, and we had arrived at a good moment.

After that, we joined another queue, which could compete in length with the earlier ones. I didn't time it, but it was likely close to 100 minutes. However, this time it was worth the wait and might have been the coolest attraction of the day. It's called "Soaring: Fantastic Flight." You sit in a 'flying' car in front of such a large screen that it fills your field of vision, giving a lifelike experience. The ride took us on a world tour, showing beautiful natural landscapes and world wonders, ending back in Japan, in Tokyo, and ultimately in DisneySea. It was truly a fantastic experience!

We then had another stroke of luck. Many people were gathered around the water again as a show was about to start. Mio suggested we watch at least the beginning, and I agreed, albeit reluctantly. In retrospect, it was fortunate that Mio wanted to watch because we ended up enjoying the entire show, which was beautiful and served as a replacement for the fireworks, which had been canceled again today.

That was the last major highlight of the day. Afterwards, we went on a Finding Nemo-themed attraction, took another train ride, and then left the park a bit early, exhausted but fulfilled by our day's adventures.Read more