Japan 2013: Sea of Happiness

A trip to Japan would not be complete without visiting one of the Disney Parks. We've already been to Tokyo Disneyland so it's about time we visit DisneySea whose attractions are for older kids if I may say. It was a warm and sunny day so it's a perfect time to stroll around the park.

Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, you need to take the Disney monorail to get to DisneySea. So the Disney experience starts even before you reach the park. Being Disney babies, we were all ecstatic upon hopping on the mouse-themed train. Everything was so cute, I wanted to take the whole thing back home with me! Well, you actually can. At least the mouse-shaped handholds as they are available at the souvenir shop. Why not buy one so you will never have to worry about hygiene when taking the MRT or bus? Haha

All aboard!

After buying our park tickets, we went straight to the newest and obviously the most popular attraction in the park - Toy Story Mania! at American Waterfront. The queue was already crazy when we got there. And it's only for the fast pass! You see, Disney Parks offer fast passes to the most popular attractions so you don't have to waste your time waiting in line. It's like an advance booking to your preferred ride. Once you get a fast pass with a time schedule on it, you can try other rides and then go back to your scheduled time so as to avoid long queues. Pretty brilliant, eh?

While Nee-chan, Ayel and Daddy were waiting in line, Karly and I decided to go queue up for the StormRider at Port Discovery to save time. On our way there, Karly and I noticed that almost everyone had a particular teddybear hanging on their bags or clothes. There's even one whole store dedicated to this bear. Crazy! But more on that later.

Upon reaching the StormRider, we were surprised that there was no line at all so we decided to go back out to wait for the others. It was a funny scene since we didn't want to look like we chickened out so we asked for the nearest bathroom as an excuse to get out of there. Haha

With Mr. Incredible

When we got outside, we saw some people gathering around so we decided to check out what's going on. To our surprise, it was Mr. Incredible! Of course, I had to take a picture with him. I love how we didn't have to fight off other people just to get a decent photo. That's the Japanese for you. They'll patiently wait for their turn without photo-bombing other people.

After meeting up with the rest of the group, we went in to try out the StormRider. It was an Atlantis-themed ride so expect to get a little wet. We realized that a little too late. So in short, we got wet on our first ride in the park. Haha

What better way to dry off than to get on a coaster, right? We headed straight to the Lost River Delta to try out Raging Spirits which was a wooden roller-coaster. Remember how I'm terrified of heights? Well, Ariel is worse. I could hear him screaming all throughout the ride. I even forgot my own anxiety and ended up laughing during the entire the ride. Nee-chan and I wanted to go on it again but there are more rides to try so we let it go.

After a quick break and some omiyage-hoarding, we're ready to take on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride. We left our stuff with Daddy as he tried out the Steamer since he's not much of a coaster fan. I won't spoil the fun for you but this one's a must-try! Like USS' The Mummy, this one is full of surprises too. Fun!

A whole new wooooorld~!

Connected to the Lost River Delta is the Arabian Coast. Being a huge fan of Aladdin (or Disney at that), I immediately wanted to try Jasmine's Flying Carpets even though it looked like a ride for smaller kids. I don't care, I wanna see a whole new world! Chos. The boys passed obviously so they ended up taking pictures of Nee-chan and I aboard the magic carpet instead.

With Abu

After the ride, we explored the rest of the Arabian Coast and guess who we bumped into? Abu! We were so delighted to see him, we ended up taking pictures with him while walking. Haha He's on his way to a meet and greet, you see. But he still posed for pictures when we asked him to. Aww how nice!

Remember how Daddy absolutely loves arcade games? Well, there's one at the Arabian Coast so he tried it out. The games were harder than USJ so we only won consolation prizes which weren't bad at all. I think we completed the Disney character pin collection thanks to our losses. Hana

We're off to see the Genie!

Next up: The Magic Lamp Theater. Now this is a must-see since it stars the one and only Genie. Thank goodness, an English captioning system is available for foreigners so we laughed at the right moments.

We were already hungry by the time the show ended so we went back to Port Discovery to dine at Horizon Bay Restaurant which boasts of a Disney Character Dining experience. I was after the meet & greet but it was quite expensive and you have to seat at a different side of the restaurant. Being Filipinos, we love eating together so I had to pass. Nee-chan and I quickly regretted our decision though after seeing the characters. Huhu But all's well that end's well as I had one of the best meals I've had in our entire trip. That's definitely one of the best steaks I've had in my life and at an affordable price. Yum!

With Max

We then started our long walk back to the Mediterranean Harbor for the afternoon parade. As we were walking, we bumped into... Could you guess correctly? Haha At first glance, we thought it was Goofy and other people thought so too. But upon closer look, it's none other than Max! Aww I remember bawling my eyes out while watching An Extremely Goofy Movie when Max moved out to go to uni. :(

The Legend of Mythica

Another unique thing in DisneySea is that the parade happens not on the street but on the water. Pretty amazing. The afternoon parade was entitled The Legend of Mythica where the characters arrived in boats of different shapes and colors. Each boat had a Disney character (or characters in the case of Chip n Dale) and a fairy that matches the boat's color.

Minnie Mouse

I love how Minnie was the star of the show and not Mickey for a change. She went down her boat and performed along with several colorful and graceful dancers. She also greeted some people in the crowd which was nice of her.

Set sail!

The boats were astounding. They were beautifully crafted ships and each one had special effects of their own. There were also floats that showcased other legendary creatures which looked pretty real like the dragon for example. Very Harry Potter material!

No need to wait for Halloween to dress up.

After the parade ended, the sun started to get pretty harsh so it's time to finally get another silly hat. We tried on various hats but I ended up buying a Daisy one this time. After all, I already bought a Minnie headband on our last visit.

Time for omiyage-hoarding.

And since we were already there, we bought several souvenirs as well. Whenever I visit theme parks, I make it a point to always buy food souvenirs. Not only do they come in adorable packaging, they also taste really good. A little expensive, yes. But so worth it, I promise.

With Jiminy Cricket and Gepeto

On our way to the Mysterious Island, we bumped into Jiminy Cricket and Gepeto! Too bad, Pinnochio was nowhere to be seen but that's alright.

Upon getting there, I needed to take a quick bathroom break because Journey to the Center of the Earth involves a sudden drop from the volcano which can be seen across the entire park. I can take on coasters alright but I hate getting butterflies in my stomach due to high drops. I was already nervous and I was almost regretting what I've gotten myself into when we got into the elevators that led down under the earth. But the ride doesn't stop there. We then transferred to cars as we rode around rows after rows of precious material. And then the excitement started as the car accelerated. I started panicking as we got faster and higher thinking how fast we'll be going down. Surprisingly though, I managed to keep my eyes open as we dropped, closing them momentarily as I got blinded by the sun as we made our way down the volcano. I kept on laughing the entire time as I heard Karly and Ayel screaming their heads off then catching their breaths before going back to screaming again. Totally hilarious! Haha

DisneySea celebrating spring.

After that crazy ride, I finally gave in to the teddybear mania. The teddybear turned out to be Duffy who obviously is a pretty big deal in Japan. We thought it's part of the whole Spring Voyage theme for the season but nevertheless, I bought a Duffy popcorn bucket because it's so cute. If you have a Disney popcorn bucket, you get refills at a cheaper price so it's really worth it if you're a popcorn lover.

Little Venice

We kept munching popcorn and refilling our bucket as we made our way back to Mediterranean Harbor for a ride on the Venetian Gondolas. I love how jolly the gondoliers are! One of them even sang a song while we wished under a bridge. Ahh so relaxing!

At Port Discovery

Since we had time to kill before the evening parade, we boarded the DisneySea Electric Railway which brought us back to Port Discovery. And since we were already there, we might as well try the Aquatopia which we thought were like bumper boats. Boy, were we wrong! Haha

Toy Story Mania!

We rode the train back to American Waterfront for Toy Story Mania! The ride is a little similar to Disneyland's Buzz Lightyear attraction where you shoot targets but this one's longer and even more tiring as you give it your all to get good scores. After the ride, we stayed a bit longer as Mr. Potato Head put on a show.

Then we went back to the Mediterranean Harbor to meet up with our favorite Japanese friends. Tomoka arrived first and we were so happy to see her after four years! The last time we saw each other was at Disneyland so how cool was that. I almost cried upon seeing her aww. We first met her 13 years ago in a girl scout program between the Philippines and Japan. We were her foster family during her entire stay in the Philippines so in a way, she's like a sister to us.

While catching up, we asked her what the deal about Duffy is and she gladly explained that Duffy was the teddybear Minnie gave Mickey to wish him well before he went on a voyage. So that's the reason why the Japanese are obsessed with Duffy - as a symbol of love and loyalty, I guess. That being said, we went back to the Duffy store to buy more Duffy merch. Haha Akemi caught up with us as we were shopping and she was amused at our reaction to the Duffy mania. Even they couldn't believe how many people were obsessed with Duffy just because of that.

Being Disney regulars (they have annual passes), Akemi and Tomoka know the Parks by heart. Akemi even worked part-time at Disneyland so she's really good in speaking English and showing people around. That being said, they looked for a good spot for us to watch the evening parade, Fantasmic! This time, Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice was the star of the show as he creates the fantastic world of Disney and takes us to a trip down memory lane while popular Disney characters appeared on the massive glowing snow globes.

Fantasmic!

When the show ended, we went to Zambini Brothers' Ristorante for dinner. It got really cold that night so we just headed to the nearest restaurant for some warmth. We treated them to pizza and pasta as we reminisced about old times and talked about our present lives.

We then went back to Mysterious Island for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We got scared to try it out earlier thinking it was similar to Journey to the Center of the Earth. But upon seeing Akemi wanting to try it too, we gave it a go. If Daddy and Ayel are wimps when it comes to rides, Akemi is so much worse! Haha But we love her for it. The ride turned out to be a lot similar to It's a Small World. Lol

Under the sea.

Then we headed to Mermaid Lagoon which we've been passing through the whole day but weirdly, we haven't tried any attraction yet. Karly realized he left Ayel's newsboy cap back at the restaurant so he (along with Tomoka who volunteered to accompany him) went back to get it while the rest of us went ahead to try out some kiddie rides. First up: Jumpin' Jellyfish. This one's a really cute ride but it was funny how Ayel was the only one screaming the entire time. So maybe he's the wimpiest of the bunch after all. Haha Then we tried the Blowfish Balloon Race. Again, Daddy and Ayel had to pass. Weird.

Sleepy whale.

Finally, Tomoka and Karly caught up with us in time to visit The Sleepy Whale Shoppe (which adorably closes and opens her eyes) for some souvenirs. I love The Little Mermaid so imagine me hoarding loads of stuff from here. Tomoka upon seeing this, held up an Ariel costume suggesting I buy it. I joked her that the costume would suit Ariel better if you know what I mean. With that, she followed Ayel around while holding up the costume trying to convince him to buy it. It turns out, the Japanese pronunciation of Ariel is the same as our cousin Ariel's so that makes him the little mermaid in Japan. Haha

As a last hurrah before the park closes, we hopped on Flounder's Flying Fish Coaster. At first, we sat on individual cars since it was so small. But the brave boys sat with me and Nee-chan instead making it a little difficult to move around. Again, the boys screamed like crazy and all us girls were laughing at them the entire time. I was crying a bit by the time the ride ended because of too much laughter and because of the chilly wind.

We wanted to stay longer in the park but we all have trains to catch and of course, the park has to close too. So with happy hearts and heavy feet, we bade goodbye to the happiest place on earth and to our favorite Japanese friends.

Ever wonder why they call Disney Parks the happiest place on earth? Well, I think it's because you get to be a child again and relive those glorious days when you had no care in the world. But even as an adult, you can always count on Disney to get that much needed dose of happy endings. So Disneyland, see you again in 2014! In Hong Kong that is. :)

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Traveling party: Daddy, Karly, Nee-chan (organizer), Sera, Ariel, Tomoka and Akemi
Travel date: April 15, 2013 [Day 6]
Photo credits: Karl