Originally Posted By Supermatt70 OK…so I’m back with a few more thoughts on my recent trip. Merchandise: So, this is one of those areas I had always been told was so superior at TDR. I can honestly say, I think that is just a myth. My observation was that the resort merchandise fell into 3 categories: Little kid stuff, Japanese Girl stuff and the Japanese “I have to give a gift” omiyage stuff. But, what they had in those 3 categories was terrific! A lot of the stuff I usually buy at Disney parks though, was not brought back home with me on this trip. Let’s start with the kid stuff: Kid Stuff - - I have to say that if you are going to buy for a kid, there’s some darn great stuff here. Some of the cutest shirts, underwear and little toys I have EVER seen at a Disney park! I even picked up some of the little toy vehicles for myself. I will also say that the resort had some of the finest plush I have EVER seen before!! And I fell in love with those adorable anti-allergy facemasks for kids that look like characters faces. I wished that they had them in adult sizes. Unfortunately, I said that a lot in TDR stores. Not much was in adult sizes. (I would have been so geek cool to have had those masks for hay-fever season!) Japanese Girl Stuff - - I don’t know who owns the cell-phone charm concession, but those are some rich folks! I’ve never, ever, ever, never ever seen so many cell-phone charms in my life! I understand that this is a cultural thing to have all of those charms on your phone, but c’mon…it was insanity with so many charms! I will admit, I broke down and bought one of the name tag/25th anniversary ones from the hub area. The phone charms beat me down & they won! The biggest surprise for me though, fell into this Japanese Girl Stuff group. I always buy mouse ears at the parks on my trips. Sadly, (& surprisingly) there were no mouse ears for me to buy. There were a TON of those headband mouse ears for girls (I saw some guys wearing them too, but I’m only so gay) and there were all of these kinda thick, warm, fuzzy ear hats with bows and glitter in them. I saw barrettes with ears on them, but no ears for me to buy. I saw online that there were some blue 25th mouse ears at one time, but I guess I was just there to close to the end of the celebration and they were gone. I did buy a super cute plastic cookie box of the blue 25th mouse ears, which leads me to the 3rd category… The Japanese “I have to give a gift” Omiyage Stuff - - Well, if I thought I the cell-phone charms were insanity, the cookies are complete lunacy! Now, I understand omiyage and know that it is a burdensome tradition and I have no objection to the cookies/tins per se…but so much space in the stores is devoted to them and so many of the TDR souvenirs are omiyage related that it’s just overboard in my mind. The entire back half of Bon Voyage is nothing but cookies! And, like the cell-phone charm, I was eventually crushed by omiyage and surrendered to the succubus-like charisma of the cookies & their tins! And when I say surrendered, I mean surrendered! 90% of the folks back home got - you guessed it: cookie tins! I gotta say I even bought for myself some really cool tins! I’m looking at them now on my bookshelf and I LOVE them! I’m TOTALLY taken in by their cuteness! But it just seems so strange to me that my favorite souvenirs would be cookie packaging and not the watches, hats, shirts or art that I normally drop piles of cash on. None of that stuff was there!! And trust me, I was looking for watches (they’re like shoes, you can never have enough!)! Of my normal Disney park buying behavior, there was one area where I was totally impressed: CDs! Sweet Disney Music Heaven did they have the CDs for me to buy! And I bought! And bought! In the end, I really shouldn’t criticize or pass judgment on TDR merchandise I suppose. I’m not their core consumer. What they have for their focal Guests is top rate. As I said, I spent lots of money on the cute cookies tins and toy vehicles. I just think a watch & some mouse ears from a Disney park would have been nice.
Originally Posted By Supermatt70 Tokyo DisneySea: Where do I even start?!?! I guess, let me just say right up front, I may have peed my pants a few times. I’m man enough to admit it. I had always felt that Disneyland Paris was the most beautiful theme park Disney ever created. I also considered Disney’s Animal Kingdom the most mysterious, exotic and out of the ordinary theme park Disney had ever done. That was all before March 28th 2009. How I regard Disney theme parks forever changed for me on that date. I had heard that OLC went public to raise the money needed for TDS construction and even with that, I still don’t know how they raised the needed capital for it! I don’t think any expense was spared here. There were so many moments where my jaw actually dropped and I was dumbstruck. The details and themeing of American Waterfront; the absolute awesomeness of Mysterious Island; the frightening yet marvelous Ursula puppet from Mermaid Lagoon Theater. SO – MANY - MOMENTS! It’s cliché to say this but, to state that TDS is just another Disney park is like saying the Mona Lisa is just another painting. TDS is nothing short of stunning! It was the absolute fantasy of it all that swept me away. Disney theme parks are supposed to make you forget the real world and take you on an unbelievable journey. An adventure! To me, TDS did that COMPLETELY! It was so easy to fall in love with these environments, with these attractions, with these adventures, with TDS. We spent two days at TDS, Saturday & the next Friday. We were so exhausted from the two previous days at TDL & the crowds that we decided to sleep in a little and not get to TDS right at park opening on the first day. The park opened at 8am and we were in the park by 9am. Of course the crowds were ridiculous sized (this was the day Indy posted the 320 minute wait). We knew going in that we were behind, but something had to give. We only got two Fastpasses on this day, but it all worked out for us. This was a day of just really taking it all in and getting a lay of the park. When we came back next week, we were there at opening and had a strategy. It succeed because over the two days, we did everything we wanted (can you really ride Journey to the Center of the Earth enough?). Mediterranean Harbor was a gorgeous park entrance! For anything that World Bazaar might have lacked in charm and emotion, Mediterranean Harbor made up for it in spades! Lost River Delta was great! There were areas here that were peaceful and serene and other areas that were active and lively. There was a really good feeling in this area. We hung out here & Arabian Coast for the most part when wanting to people watch or kill time. We just felt that these two ports lent themselves easily to that. The Indy temple was nothing short of spectacular! The Raging Spirits area—also pretty eye-catching. This was a well themed tropical area! Things we did: Indiana Jones Adventure/Crystal Skull- - I already said that the temple was spectacular, but you know what? I liked the Indy Adventure at Disneyland USA better. And it’s weird too, because I can’t put my finger on it, I don’t know why. I’ve thought & I’ve thought about this & I don’t know. I just prefer the one at Disneyland. The blue coloring/lighting & the smoke ring made me smile like crazy, but for whatever reason, I have a preference for the Disneyland Indy. Raging Spirits - - Really pretty...uh…yeah, it’s reeeeally pretty. Boy is this thing pretty! Hey, I can’t say that Primeval Whirl is pretty, so it’s got that going for it! And there is that end part where you go through all the smoke, right?! Six Flags doesn’t have lame rides that end with a cool smoke special effect. Neither does the fair, right? So, all pluses for Raging Spirits. Moving on… Arabian Coast was my third favorite port! And, as I said in my Lost River Delta overview, I spent maybe the most amount of time here in this part of TDS. Very well done areas and that big courtyard in front of Magic Lamp Theater with the tiger fountain was a preferred spot for me to people watch from. I enjoyed the “hidden” North America; thought the closing of Jafar’s was a cute inside joke we were all in on; but the Sindbad building did seem a little far removed from the rest of the area. Things we did: Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage- - Man, was this thing well done! I have no idea what it is, but wow, does it ever look good! We rode it 3 times, because there was NEVER a line for it, but also to really try to appreciate it. Please don’t mistake me here…I liked this attraction. It is NOT bad (like a certain pretty attraction nearby). It’s just really weird! I also think there is some kind of emotional disconnect with this ride: nobody really cares about Sindbad. Chandu is cute (kawaii) and I can see why he was added. And, like I said, this thing is sooooo well done! The AAs, the effects, and the song…this should be a homerun hit! Maybe it is because of its odd placement in the park, maybe it’s because of the emotional disconnect I mentioned, but it could also be that this thing is just weird! Magic Lamp Theater - - Boy was I not expecting this! This was funny! This was charming! This was a winner! I’ve always thought that Universals Terminator 3D movie was first class because of the way it blends live actors with the film action. It sucks you the viewer into it. It seems real…it’s happening right in front of you, it’s authentic 4D without spraying you with water. Here was a non-violent Disney version of Terminator 3D. I loved it! That cobra snake in the pre-show was uber-cool too!! Port Discovery was my least favorite port, but I still liked it. Nice art deco touches in this port! Reflections of Earth soundtrack as BGM here was SmilesVille for me! It was very much Disneyland Paris Discoveryland on the water. There was a kinetic vibe to the whole place…lots of movement…Epcot Future World could take a cue here. Things we did: Aquatopia- - FUN! The ride has no real purpose other than to be giggly fun (and provide some of that movement to the area I was talking about). The water isn’t deep and you can see that pretty clearly but we really liked this. At night it looks even more fun!! It was so silly; nevertheless we enjoyed it so much! StormRider - - I have mixed feelings on this attraction. This is a major E-Ticket ride & I feel the need to judge it on two different scales: in comparison to other TDS E-Tickets and in comparison to WDW E-Tickets. I suppose you almost certainly know what I’m going to say. StormRider would be a GREAT addition to WDW. I’d LOVE to see it at Epcot! It is in-line with other WDW E-Tickets and would be a nice hit I think. Well done & fun. The in-theater effects really add to the excitement. But, when viewed with other adventures at TDS…it’s lacking something. Raging Spirits was the only attraction at TDS that I didn’t like, but StormRider was the only other attraction I didn’t want to get back in line and do again. I liked it. I’d do it on a future visit. I’d like to see it at WDW (it’s probably the only TDS E-Ticket that could ever get budgeting for construction at WDW too.). BTW Great building for StormRider! Very futuristic looking and has moving parts on it’s roof. It’s nice that everything works at TDR! DisneySea Electric Railway- - Again, well done. Beautiful retro design. Loved the murals in the queue! Mermaid Lagoon has to be a kids dream playland come true! Again, the themeing…what did I say before? MORE! There’s just so many time I can say something is beautiful! It starts to wear, I know… Things we did: Mermaid Lagoon Theater- - I went in with low expectations. I mean, I have seen that pitiful puppet show at the Studios so many times…I wouldn’t even have come into this had people on the internet not so highly recommended it. So, with my low expectations, I went in awaiting the worst. Boy was I way off base!! This was fantastic! I was intrigued when I saw that the show was in the round. When the show started and all of the puppet performers were out, I was a fan. This was good stuff! Words can’t even explain how amazed I was when Ursula showed up. Those hands!!! Kids were sobbing! WOW! I’m going to do a write up later about TDR Entertainment, but wanted to talk about this show here. It was wonderful! WONDERFUL!! American Waterfront was my second favorite port. I was really surprised by how big the port was. I know that there has been talk about a Midway Mania style attraction going into the Cape Cod area, but frankly that area seemed like a placeholder to me. This was also the only area where the volcano seemed outta place. I also liked Duffy. His line was always too long to get a picture with him, but he was very cute. And Aunt Peg’s Village Store should just be re-named to “Duffy Central.” I loved the SS Columbia as the backdrop for this area. You could really tell that a lot of thought went into the design of American Waterfront. There was NO part of the New York area that did not excite me! More! More! More! Things we did: Tower of Terror - - OK…this theme/storyline works so much better than the Twilight Zone does…I’m always asked, are we extras on the TV show? Have we left the Studio lot and gone into an old hotel in Hollywood? Is Steve Guttenberg around the corner? This premise works! I know that the ride itself is not as enjoyable as the stateside ones, but the overall theme, design, and awesome pre-show clearly give this Tower an edge I believe. Speaking of awesome pre-show, when Shiriki Utundu came alive and then disappeared…. yeah, I did pee in my pants. It was that flippin’ cool! Big Band Beat - - I’ll talk about this in my Entertainment post Mysterious Island is a work of art! I was a little kid again here! This is what I always thought a Disney theme park experience was supposed to be like! But, somewhere in the late 80s or early 90s, Disney stopped making this kind of fantasy. There’s not one thing here that I can pick out and say had fault. Even the CM costumes stunned me. What WDW CM would understand the “show” value in wearing a beret? Could you even get a WDW CM to wear a beret? I truly felt like I had stepped into a journey here! DAMN! I’m wet below again! Things we did: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - - WOW! More on top of more with a little bit of more thrown in! When you’re taking a pile of pictures in the queue line (I was), you know you’re hooked! So many little details here. 100% theme carried through everywhere! I even took a picture of a drinking fountain here because I thought is was so marvelously themed! I admit, something was lost BIG TIME in translation here and I really don’t understand how the ride ends, but even with that weakness, this thing was remarkable! What I would give to have this at WDW or at Disneyland!! It was a incredible adventure attraction! Journey to the Center of the Earth - - The masterpiece of TDS. Maybe, the magnum opus of WDI! No argument, without hesitation, this is the best attraction I’ve EVER been on! My favorite ride EVER! The queue is great! The Terravators! OMG! Not since the Mansion Stretch Rooms has there been something this sweet! (No, the Hydrolators were not this sweet!) The load area (Base Station) is crazy over-the-top with details and props! This area is sooo much better than the basement loads at Tower of Terrors. The ride is quick paced, has the visuals, gives the thrills, and has a huge payoff! Unlike the Yeti, the Lava Monster (which is big) works! SO MUCH FUN! I laughed & laughed & wanted it to go on & on! I could have rode this all day long! I wish that this could have been built at Animal Kingdom in place of Everest. Of course, if it had been, I’m sure it’d be like MK Splash Mountain vs. TDL Splash Mountain. One would be super awesome & one would dirty & smelly. So there it is! Tokyo DisneySea Supermatt style! I loved it! The most beautiful, mysterious, exotic and out of the ordinary theme park Disney has ever created! I’ll be back soon to share my thoughts on the TDR Entertainment that we took in and a TDR wrap up. Thanks for reading and I hope it’s really not too random for you…
Originally Posted By Anatole69 I agree about Sinbad. It is a well done ride that is emotionally uninvolving. Personally I feel the small scale of the dolls and the unthemed areas of the ride are to blame for this. I loved Journey too. Rode it 3 times when I was there. I didn't know anything about the rides before I went, so I was totally floored when Journey turned into a fast ride after the lava monster. haha. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Bob Paris I am glad you said that about Stormrider - one of the most disappointing rides fro me at TDS. It's just kinda like, "you take off, a storm starts, a laser gun comes through the roof and then somebody turns the sprinkler on and then it's.......meh" Waste of time for me, this one. JttCotE, howwever, I COMPLETELY agree again!!! What critics fail to realize is, like all of the best Disney attractions, this one starts the SECOND you enter the queue area. I actually resented having to use FP the second two times I rode because the queue is SO exotic and beautiful - the way you wind through those catacombs and come across all of Nemo's displays. A TRUE classic Disney attraction masterpiece!!!
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I had always felt that Disneyland Paris was the most beautiful theme park Disney ever created. I also considered Disney’s Animal Kingdom the most mysterious, exotic and out of the ordinary theme park Disney had ever done. That was all before March 28th 2009.*** Nice.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I enjoyed the “hidden” North America*** Eh? GREAT stuff brutha, thanks for sharing! All the more special since you were here asking about your trip so much, it's very nice to hear how it all turned out (and now, you need to tell us your thoughts on JAPAN ).
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Mermaid Lagoon Theater- - I went in with low expectations. I mean, I have seen that pitiful puppet show at the Studios so many times…I wouldn’t even have come into this had people on the internet not so highly recommended it. So, with my low expectations, I went in awaiting the worst. Boy was I way off base!! This was fantastic!*** Told ya. A definite "don't miss" in my book, and that coming from a guy who does NOT care about or even really like most Disney "shows". Mermaid in MGM? Meh. Lion King at DAK? Snore. (adore the Lion King Broadway musical though) Nemo at DAK? Okay, I guess. Not really, though. But THIS is a joy, and yes a definite must see EVEN IF you don't like Disney park "shows" in general (SO glad you didn't skip it!), if only for the cool setting and creative way of bringing us all "under the sea".
Originally Posted By OrionLive Thanks, Supermatt, for a great report! Well worth the wait! ;-) I'll be at Tokyo DisneySea myself in three weeks; I'm really looking forward to it!
Originally Posted By OrionLive Hey, Supermatt: Were you able to fit all your TDR (and other) souvenirs into your suitcases? Did you mail things home to yourself? My trip is coming up soon, and I'm wondering how much stuff I'll be able to drag back to the airport with me! Anyone else here have tips or stories on bringing home tons of "loot"?
Originally Posted By Mr X Here's a tip..if you mail yourself a package be sure and send it by surface mail (helps if you know how to say "ichiban yasui", which means "number one cheapest"..they'll get that you mean surface mail...also, they might ask you if there is a letter (tegami) enclosed..say "no" cause that's an additional charge for some strange reason). Anyway, surface mail takes 6-8 weeks (sometimes quicker though, if you're lucky), but it's far cheaper.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Anyone else here have tips or stories on bringing home tons of "loot"?>> It depends on what you buy! Unless you are a plush collector it would be surprising if you couldn't get all of your items into one case. The vast majority of TDR merch is small items like cellphone chains, stationery goods and souvenirs like buttons. The sole exception are the tins of biscuits/chocolates/sweets and it is rare to gaijins in those stores (I guess due to the space restrictions on planes). A lot of people tend to buy a lot of the collectible popcorn buckets. Only 1 of the TDS designs collapses into itself so if you want to buy a few of them I would considering shipping them home. They are lightweight. If you are staying on-property then virtually all of the hotels have shipping services in the lobby. However it isn't a cheap service.
Originally Posted By Mr X I would guess easiest post office to Disney would be the one at Shin-Urayasu station if you want to avoid the hotel shipping thing (while there, you can enjoy a large platter of fatty bacon at the Hub ).
Originally Posted By barboy ///That was all before March 28th 2009. How I regard Disney theme parks forever changed for me on that date/// Welcome Supermatt70, or should we call you Neo---- we've been expecting you. Let me tell you why you are here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can not explain but you feel it-- you felt it your whole life. It's this feeling that has brought you to Disney Sea. Dude, you took the 'red pill' and now you can never go back to that Magic Kingdom, DCA, WD Studios Paris and HKDL(sorry Malin and Spirit) bondage again.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Welcome Supermatt70, or should we call you Neo---- we've been expecting you. Let me tell you why you are here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can not explain but you feel it-- you felt it your whole life. It's this feeling that has brought you to Disney Sea.*** LMAO...awesome. Did you know that dialogue off the top of your head, or did you have to look it up? Be honest!
Originally Posted By barboy I knew about 60% maybe 65% tops and when I looked it up I decided to truncate the whole exchange between Morpheus and Mr. Anderson(Neo) so as to make it work a liitle better for our buddy Supermatt. Surprisingly, I had forgotten the blue vs red pill--- that is which one was the truth pill and which one was the bondage pill. And I'm glad at least one person so far knew my movie reference
Originally Posted By Malin Hi Supermatt70 I've not been able to comment on your thoughts yet as I wanted to make the time to sit down and give it the time. I can understand completely your frustrations with long lines at the Resort, but I feel the way that FastPass is set up at the Resort has a lot to do with this. It appears the Guest who like you say are seasoned veterans, know exactly how the system works and can use it to there advantage more. When I answer questions on the message boards I always recomend to not bother with a schedule, but to instead list the attractions you most want to do and arrive early. If you visit the parks in this in this state of mind you can get much more achieved. *** Again, better than MK but here Disneyland Paris is, as we know, superior. *** I agree Disneyland Paris just grabs the title, TDL Big Thunder is very close to it. *** Country Bear Theater/Jamboree is why everyone talks about how amazing TDR is in my mind. *** Completely agree and did you see the Cast Member getting the audience to join in and clap along, instead of the WDW CM who just sits in the corner looking bored. *** TDL is in many ways a better version of the Magic Kingdom, but it did have issues: Out-dated lands, bad concrete, some faded paint areas, all of that “dash” stuff with Guests running around & over each other. *** Thank you for sharing what I think is a very fair and balance view of the park. No park is perfect including the great TDL.
Originally Posted By Malin *** The only other thing that I would say about TDR dining is really something I would say about dining in general in Japan. The drink glasses are TOO SMALL!!! Given, I think that most American drinks are too “super sized”, but it seemed like Japanese drinks were the opposite. All the drink glasses were child sized it felt. *** Wow I have never given it any thought but you are spot on with this observation. The portions are very small anyway in Japan, but you notice it more with the cup sizes, I do find it takes some adjusting to get use to especially in Tokyo's climate, but I just purchase bottles of water or another soft drink every time I need to re fill, atleast there are plenty of drink stands around both parks, and I believe even vending machines too now. *** Let me tell ya, Cape Cod Cook Off sucked hard! *** Sorry to read this, I have eaten here a few times and enjoyed the burgers, very small but tasty and moist. The popcorn Chicken is also excellent.
Originally Posted By Malin *** Matt - It is a shame that you decided to drop the flashlights as it meant that you were reliant on others to trigger the monsters. You won't have seen some of them like Peeker, Ricky Jnr and BLT unless you used the flashlight. All six Rockys can only be seen with a flashlight. *** Lee is been reported on other message boards that people find the flash light element to be distracting, and many are recomending to ditch it on the first go!
Originally Posted By Malin *** The sole exception are the tins of biscuits/chocolates/sweets and it is rare to gaijins in those stores (I guess due to the space restrictions on planes *** I have brought back a few tins in the past, but these really do add to the weight limits. The tins are very nice, but I find the bisuits to be too sweet for my liking. In Hong Kong I purchased some almond cookies, anyone know if these are on sale in Tokyo too, as everyone back home loved them.
