Exploring Disney Sea Part 1: Mediterranean Harbor and American Waterfront

The Second Happiest Place on Earth, Disney Sea!

So I've shared all my insider secrets on Tokyo Disneyland, but what about the adjacent park, Disney Sea?

I've been there three times, and every single time it has been CROWDED. I once waited in line 20 minutes just to buy a churro! For this reason, I personally prefer Disneyland because it's definitely less crowded, and there aren't as many fun rides at Sea. However, it's a one-of-a-kind park completely unique to Japan! Thus I definitely recommend going once for the experience. It's the more popular park particularly among adults here – Disneyland is more catered to kids, while Sea has a more adult atmosphere.

Entrance area

The most important thing to remember about visiting Disney Sea is to avoid frustration with crowds by simply prioritizing exploration over rides. Fastpasses will be your best friend here, but nab 'em quick because they sell out fast, especially on weekends or holidays (which you must avoid like the plague! Never ever go on a holiday, because that's exactly when everyone else will be there, too. Tip #1: sometime in the middle of January through February will have less crowds, but college students are out of school by late February, so you'll have them to contend with after that. And please – avoid spring break, late March-early April).

Yep, you are basically never getting on Toy Story Mania. 3 HOUR WAIT.

You should familiarize yourself with the rides before going to the park so you can pick just a few that you really want to go on, especially because you can only get one Fastpass every few hours. And definitely get to the park BEFORE it opens, like at least 30 minutes before. Still, my friends and I did that on an early Saturday morning, had to wait in line just to get into the park because so many other people lined up to do the exact same thing, ran to the Toy Story Mania ride, and – Fastpasses sold out twenty minutes after park opened. Yep. That ride will have at least a two hour wait from open to close. I don't know why the Japanese love that ride so much, it's ok I guess, but it's way too popular for me. If it's really your thing, just get a Fastpass from somewhere else and wait it out just like everyone else. But I'm telling you, there are way better things to do with your time.

Tip #2: There are plenty of great apps that will give you updated wait times for all the rides as well as restaurants. Definitely get it before going, and you could even check it a few days ahead of time to gauge how crowded certain rides are at specific times of the day.

Another nugget of wisdom:

Tip #3: The Indiana Jones ride is a little different from the American one, but still pretty much the same. You could save your Fastpass for another ride you've never been on, though it is my favorite ride of the park.

Overview of the Park

Ok, let's take a look at the map. Here you can see the park divided into seven areas: Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Mysterious Island, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon, and Arabian Coast. As you can also see, water is a main theme of the park, running through and connecting each area. The park is centered around a volcano in the Mysterious Island.

Map of Disney Sea. Time to start memorizing everything! Are you taking notes?!

Without further ado, let's get going on our magic-filled day! Mickey ears ready! Oh, left them in the hotel room? Don't worry, there are dozens of souvenir hats to choose from! More on those later.

Entrance

The park begins with a giant rotating globe where you usually take selfies to show everyone how cool it is you're at Disney Sea.

The one picture that will instantly tell people that you are at Disney Sea and they are not.

When I visited this year they were still celebrating the 15th anniversary of the park so there was this awesome golden boat on display next to it.

Golden ship for the 15th Anniversary celebration.

You can see Mickey and Minnie, and Goofy steering the ship.

I wish I had a golden Disney boat.

At night it lights up all different colors!

It looks even better at night!

You can also find some characters here to take pose with, though not as many as Disneyland. After you've snapped a satisfying number of selfies, proceed to the Italian looking buildings and head through the Disney Sea version of Main Street where all the souvenir shops are. You can see how they rotate the decorations based on the seasons.

15th Anniversary decorations

Halloween

Christmas decorations

Most adults prefer Disney Sea at Halloween since it's actually scary and focused on villains, whereas Disneyland is all cutesy ghosts and pumpkins. They really like scary and gruesome Halloweens here.

Mediterranean Harbor

This is the main area where you can view the shows, the Mediterranean Harbor. You can see how it's modeled after Italy.

These people are all standing around to watch the show.

There is a hotel inside here.

The focal point of the park is the volcano on the Mysterious Island where the "Journey of the Center of the Earth" ride is. Be on the lookout for it to "erupt" during shows!

The focal point of the park.

The Mediterranean Harbor has a lot of restaurants and a few shops, but only one attraction, the Venetian Gondolas. Let's head that way before it gets too crowded!

It looks just like Italy! At least how I would imagine it.

Getting closer!

Head over the bridge to get on the ride.

The Venetian gondola ride is perfect for those who've always dreamed of going to Italy.

Nearly there!

Two gondoliers guide you through the narrow canals around the Mediterranean Harbor, affording stellar views of the waterfront. It's very peaceful, and romantic for couples – as long as you don't mind sharing the experience with a bunch of other people. The ride has a special authentic feel thanks to one of the gondoliers singing in Italian, and you're urged to greet other boats in Italian and to bid them ado at the end.

Rowing through the peaceful canals of Venice.

Say ciao to the other riders!

A great view of the entire Mediterranean Harbor.

The best spot is definitely of the Mysterious Island!

The gondolier will strike a pose for you if you get lucky!

Don't forget to whip out your cameras for a selfie!

Yep. That's right. At Disney Sea y'all.

That was fun! Let's move on to – Hey, what's this! Who could it be?

Two adorable bears on a stroll. Looks like a date.

It's the Disney bear you've never heard of, Duffy, and his girlfriend Shellie May. When Japanese people go to Disney Sea, they bring all of their Duffys and Shellie Mays and set them up at different locations around the park to take pictures. No, not with their Duffys – just Duffy all by himself.

Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but PEOPLE LIGIT DO THIS. They actually bring their giant Duffys and lug them around all day long. I don't get why they waste their time taking pics instead of enjoying the park. Some of them are the size of real children, and expensive –  plus heavy. One guy had a suitcase sized bag full of about fifty small Duffys. The people waiting behind him must have been annoyed.

They also do this with the Disney cat you've also never heard of, Gelatoni.

Gelatoni, the Disney cat

If you see a long line of people somewhere all holding their Duffys, give up. It's a waste of time, trust me. There are plenty of other spots to take your picture around the park.

Here they are all now, as snowmen! Disney always delivers when it comes to decorations, especially Christmas.

Cute snowmen Duffy, Shellie May, and Gelatoni.

Speaking of which, check out this awesome Christmas tree!

The bigger the better!

American Waterfront

Off to the American Waterfront next! It's modeled after New York City and full of restaurants and shops. My friend who lived in New York said it looks really authentic.

New York deli.

Shopping along the main street.

See the big, tall building on the right? That's the Tower of Terror, something I have never been on and never will.

Tower of Terror ahead!

However it looks really cool at night.

Spooky at night!

Here's a restaurant with adorable Duffy decorations!

"Made with Love". Must be good.

You'll also find, as mentioned, Disney Sea's most popular ride, the one you will probably never be able to go on: Toy Story Mania, located in Toyville Trolley Park.

Toyville.

It's like its own mini Toy Story land!

Bullseye's carnival corral.

A cute display.

You can play a game here.

Run in place as fast as you can!

Ah yes, that ride. You can at least take a group picture in front of it and look like you made it on the ride.

Giant Woody. Scary...?

You can pose as if you're riding Bullseye on the carousel here.

Photo-op!

This area looks even better by night when it's lit up!

Toylville glitters at night.

It's like Christmas without the red and green.

So much yellow!

You won't be able to see anything else in your pictures but the lights, that's how bright they are!

Where'd everyone go? Oh...

A little creepy that he's basically "eating" people

We're heading around next to a cozy little New England fishing village. Check out the huge ship on the way, the S.S. Columbia! They have shows in front of it and the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge is supposed to serve up excellent food. It also looks pretty good by night.

S.S. Columbia.

I got lucky with this shot!

Tip #4: you can get a good close-up view by taking the Disney Sea Transit Steamer Line from the Lost River Delta.

The fishing village is really cute! It has a few boots moored and a lighthouse. There's also a small restaurant with special Duffy sweets.

A quaint fishing village.

Fishing boats.

You can walk over to the lighthouse.

Lighthouse.

You can enjoy hamburgers at the Cape Cod Cook-Off.

Not actually any cod served here.

It looks so authentic!

All that's missing is the horse. They could charge a fortune for rides around the park in the winter.

Here's the Duffy sweets restaurant. The decorations are too cute!

Shellie May decoration.

Duffy's head doubles as a flower box!

Uh-oh, here's another of those spots where people line up for hours just to take a picture of their Duffy. I had to act quick to get a shot without any stuffed Duffys in it.

Sit down and enjoy some sweets with Duffy.

That's the end of the American Waterfront. Want to see more of the Disney Sea park? There's so much to share I've divided this blog into several posts! Coming up: Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mysterious Island, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon, entertainment, and more!

Check back for the next installments soon!