Super excited to be writing all about my Tokyo, Japan trip that was about a month ago. As I mentioned before, I had trouble uploading all my photos due to my poor internet connection but I've tried my best and here goes! I actually have much more to share and even though I have shortlisted them, there are still so many photos!
So I'm going to start off with DisneySEA, Tokyo because it was the grand highlight of the trip for me. We were there for 6 days and we embarked for the theme park on day 2!
Wow? How would you like to wake up to such scenery everyday? Plus the temperature was around 10-20 degrees celsius so it was pretty cool in the morning. Super tired me just stepped out on the little balcony and I would feel super refreshed in an instant! The air was also very fresh so I can wake up smiling widely every morning even though I didn't get enough sleep on most days. Comparing the dreadful mornings when I have to drag my almost dead-feeling body up for work in Singapore, that... was a bliss.
How to get there? From Shinagawa (the station where our hotel was)
Shinagawa Station (JR Yamanote line) -> Tokyo Station (JR line) -> Maihama (Disney Resort Line) -> DisneySEA!
The hotels, DisneySEA and DisneyLand are just so big that they need a monorail that goes around the area.
So it was the last stop for us, Tokyo DisneySEA Station!
Here we go!
THAT IS DISNEY HOTEL?
Considering a stay over there to celebrate my 21st immediately
Captivated much!?
With ma mama
And that's the entrance of DisneySEA! Super pumped up after seeing this!? I can't imagine how many times bigger this place is as compared to USS. Of course there isn't enough land in Singapore but I think even the carpark itself for the Disney area is larger than USS.
Mad ticket sales queue!?
We were there on a Thursday too
Thinking that this may happen, smarty pants us got our tickets online
All we had to do was to scan the QR code on our printed tickets and we can enter just like other guests!
#OOTD for DisneySEA
For theme parks like this, I think it's always wise to dress as simple as possible
Why? I'll reveal later.
All pumped up for CHRISTMAS
All of us went "WHOA" at the same time
- MEDITERRANEAN HARBOR -
OH. MY. GOD. My sister's and my eyes were glued on every single product they had at their store and unknowingly we walked in, forgetting all about my mom who was desperately looking for food because she was mad hungry hahaha.
And thats mom on the left walking so quickly to grab a bite anywhere
RESTAURANT:
NEW YORK DELI
Gulp!
My never dying love for milk... even in Japan
Totally forgot what burger/sandwich this was but super yummy and filling!
ATTRACTION:
TOWER OF TERROR
TOWER OF TERROR! I saw it at Universal Studios California if I'm not wrong but I never got the chance to take it. Here goes! But wait, look at the queue......
What....?
Damn, how I love FASTPASS. Will share more about them later!
We got in really soon with those cheating passes!
Tower of Terror is just a cart slowly bringing you up of the tower and the wall actually opens to show you how high up you are! Everyone was like "whoa" at the sight of the entire park at the peak and it was cut off halfway because the cart was released to let us experience free fall for a few floors and most of the girls were screaming hahahaha.
Tiramisu ice cream Sounds yummy but was rather meh~ for me
But eating ice cream in cold weather is always super shiok!
I had no idea how all these ports, fishing and boats stuff are related to Disney but who cares, everything is just so elaborate and beautiful!
ATTRACTION:
AQUATOPIA
First we thought this was like water bumper cars but no, this boat ride lets you sit on the cart while it brings you around and spins you around making you dizzy. Felt like a kid and even brought my dad along to take it with my mom.
Mad crazy, the next available timing for FASTPASS was 6.30pm when we were there around 1pm. Took the pass nevertheless. If the queue is so mad long, it should be worth it right? Yes, it was the last ride we took in the park and I loved it! Super amazing effects, and of course, also an amazing photo taken with our faces nearing the end of the ride hahahaha!
Have a look.......
And my dad bought the print out
It's lying somewhere in the house
Somewhere.
RESTAURANT:
YUCATAN BASE CAMP GRILL
Chicken, salmon and beef I think. Super yummy with the omu rice
Normally I dislike tomato but I got addicted to this one
Salivating as I'm writing about it now!
ATTRACTION:
RAGING SPIRITS
Can tell that we were quite sian hor? It was a mad 1.5 hour queue because our FASTPASS was already used for the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction. I was dead standing for so long @.@ But it was worth it. Super fast ride with many steep drops and 1 360. All the time, me and my sis were just hoping that our bags would not drop out of the cart!
With only waiting time of 10 minutes, why not right? And I finally realize that I know absolutely nothing about Sindbad the sailor's story. Have I been living under a rock? While queuing, my sis was even refreshing my memory about the story of Aladdin but I remember nothing. Maybe I even knew nothing about it my whole life. Shows how much I know about Disney. LOL.
Even though I was running around looking for a rest room desperately to answer nature's call, I stopped in front of the door and took this hahahaah. Opps.
Before I left for Japan, some of my friends actually told me that Mermaid Lagoon was the most beautiful part of the park ever. Yes, I love it so much. I would say its like a whole different dimension as compared to the other places. Probably because everything is underground.
Speaking of Disney stories, I have forgotten the story of Little Mermaid too FML @.@
Oh and mini Duffy hanging by my butt lololol
Ahhhh mad cute the store is inside the fish lololol!
And.... we left Mermaid Lagoon around 5pm+ and it was already dark LOL! Yes, night comes faster and morning comes earlier in Japan!
Another jaw-dropping place. Previously when my sister and I were queuing mad long over at the Raging Spirits attraction, my parents were around the area to explore first and finally when I was there I was like wtf why wasn't I here earlier!?
ATTRACTION:
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
No idea why the Chinese words were there hahahaah
It says "the first life"
What does that even mean? LOL (I'm pretty sure I translated it right too)
It was another 1.5 hour wait for this ride because our FASTPASS were still reserved for the Indiana Jones Adventure. The cool thing about this ride is that it is also a roller coaster in the dark and during one steep drop they have, the cart goes out to the open by the side of the huge volcano you see so people walking outside can see your cart for a moment as it slides back into the darkness.
Cool max!? I say this is the best ride of the park!
And we ended the day... SHOPPING LIKE MAD! There was also the common night show and it was all Christmas-y but it was too darn crowded so we gave it a pass. Shopping is more important for me sorry! Even with so many people by the river watching the show, the stores were still mad crowded! Can't imagine how many people were there that day. Even though that was a weekday!?
Oh, and here are my hauls:
I knew I HAD to get ShellieMay!
FUN FACTS ABOUT TOKYO DISNEYSEA
1. Popcorn flavours!
Milk Tea popcorn and Duffy/ShellieMay basket from Port Discovery
Strawberry popcorn also from Port Discovery
Black pepper popcorn from American Waterfront
Curry popcorn from Arabian Coast
Salted popcorn from Mermaid Lagoon
White Chocolate popcorn from Mediterranean Harbor
White chocolate popcorn? Black pepper popcorn!? CURRY POPCORN!!? Super interesting and I saw this on a travel video before we went to Japan. We only tried the Milk Tea, Strawberry and Curry. All smelt really good and the taste was not very strong especially the curry. It tasted just like popcorn with just a hint of the specified flavour. Super loved it but it was too late to try the White Chocolate. Booooo! Also, you can grab different containers from different stores. We got the Duffy/ShellieMay basket without knowing there were other designs but ours was still the nicest hehehe. Now sitting prettily in my room to hide all sorts of rubbish inside. 2. Fast-passes
In Singapore, FASTPASS are known as 'Express Tickets' at USS. The one at DisneySEA was similar to the one from Universal Studios California and I call these 'FASTPASS' the "ultimate cheating tool". At the same time, it's pros may hit you back in the face as a con. Difference between Express Tickets and FASTPASS FASTPASS are absolutely FREE-OF-CHARGE (aunty hormones emerging right there). I actually don't see why we should get Singapore's Express Tickets if they are around SGD$50.00 and only lets you get on the fast queue once for selected rides. Three simple words: NOT. WORTH. IT. So how does FASTPASS work? For selected rides around the park (normally the more popular and thrilling ones), there are stations nearby their entrance for the issuing of FASTPASS. What you need to do is simply scan the QR code from your ticket (that's why no losing your entrance tickets at all times!) and the FASTPASS of the nearest timing will be generated for you! One FASTPASS per entrance ticket scanned. Every ride has a display of the estimated waiting time for the normal queue and the next timing for the next FASTPASS. For example, if I'm at Tower of Terror at 11am, the estimate queue time is 1.5 hours and the next FASTPASS timing is 12.10 - 1.10pm, obviously going for the FASTPASS is more worth it. So you simply come back within the time range on your FASTPASS and you are immediately allowed on the fast queue that is super duper short! But do note that it does not take you straight to the end of the queue to the ride, at some point, the FASTPASS queue merges with the normal queue. I do remember holding my head up high while walking right beside the people who looked dead bored in the normal queue. Hahahah kidding. But I'm sure everyone who walks in the FASTPASS queue feels like way too. All smiling and walking non-stop to the front of the line hahaha. Oh and I did mention there are bad sides of the FASTPASS right? Firstly, you can only hold 1 FASTPASS at a time. Obviously this is so because everyone would be holding FASTPASS and no one would be in the normal queue which defeats the purpose of a FASTPASS in the first place. Secondly, waiting times can be super long. What do I mean? At 1pm, my family took the FASTPASS and the next available timing was 6.30-7.30pm for the Indiana Jones Adventure. That's almost 5.5 hours! So in between, no taking of other FASTPASS and we queued in the normal queue. Damnnnn! Thirdly, it super disrupts the normal queue. The FASTPASS timing are normally just 10 minutes apart from one another. So every 10 minutes, people will be coming by and the normal queue will stop until they clear the FASTPASS queue. So they will take probably 5 minutes to clear them and the normal queue only moves about 30 minutes in an hour? Not funny. The normal queue stops completely for long periods of times because of the FASTPASS and this makes your legs feel tired even faster. Me and my sister queued 1.5 hours for the Raging Spirits and another 1.5 hours for the Journey to the Center of the Earth. So in terms of waiting time, which is also common for most (or all) theme parks, SUCKED. Glad that we were still able to cover almost all the thrilling rides though! 3. No one screams during rides. NO. ONE. An awkward silence takes over when the cart pushes you and the other guests into the darkness or down steep slopes and 360s. There is no sound, only the strong wind blowing in your face. I don't know if it's a Japanese thing but it made the ride somehow not so exciting anymore. But of course I ignored them and screamed like mad. I only care if I am having fun lahh. Sorry if I spoil it for any of them but it was too depressing to be so quiet during roller coasters for me. 4. It's not necessary to put belongings in lockers for any ride (even those with 360s!) Raging Spirits was the attraction that my sister and I were super scared that our bags were going to drop off. There is a damn 360! But everyone were still carrying their belongings and chucking it under their legs and off they go! What.....? When it's our turn, we finally understood why. The leg space is so small that you can't help squeezing your stuff under your legs. I totally wonder how people who are bigger in size or taller than me can fit in when someone like me with short legs already feel squeezed in the small cart. 5. Everyone carries Duffy/ShellieMay in the beginning, and then it's Donald Duck! The smart thing to do is chiong for attractions and then shop just before you leave so you don't have to carry all your hauls around right? No. From the beginning, all the guests were shopping and all we saw were people carrying Duffy/ShellieMay in their hands. I don't mean the tiny keychains. I'm talking about the bigger doll which is about 25cm tall. @.@ And this also made me impatient so I bought the small ones to hang on my bag hahaha. As the day slowly passed by, no more Duffy/ShellieMay in sight. What...? It happened around the time when we were around the Arabian Coast and Mermaid Lagoon. Suddenly dolls of baby Donald Duck appeared. We did not see a single one on the earlier parts of the day and suddenly everyone were holding it. Super cute we wanted to get it too but could not find it. Probably it's from DisneyLand, which we did not visit. With everyone holding the dolls and wearing the super adorable Disney hats, there were even full-body costumes for little children and they were walking around as characters like the Snowman from Frozen. Super cute but rude to take any photos so I didn't. The Disney mood was super up and that's why I said that we should always wear plain when heading to such places. Buy their hats/clothes/merchandises and join in the mood! Overall, DisneySEA was a super experience for me as I am someone who always enjoys trips to theme parks. I love all the adrenaline and shopping for stuff at such places. The trip also marked the near ending of year 2014 and of course we're going to end it on a good note. I'm still working on the other parts of my trip and I have absolutely no idea when they will be released but I actually hope to clear them before the year ends. Hopefully. So... stay tuned ;)
