As part of our Tokyo trip in September 2016 to attend Ultra Japan, we wanted to visit Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort.  Just a year after visiting Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park and having an amazing time, I wanted to repeat this experience in Asia.  Tokyo Disney Resort also has Tokyo Disneyland right beside Tokyo DisneySea, but we didn’t get a chance to go there since our trip only had time for one theme park and I thought that it would be too similar to Disneyland Park in Anaheim.  Plus, my buddy and I got to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Tokyo DisneySea.

Getting There

Since we stayed at APA Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Ekimae, it would have been a 35 minute taxi to Tokyo DisneySea, so we thought we would take the train.  Tokyo Disney Resort is actually located in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, which is just outside Tokyo.  We quickly went to Mc Donald’s right by our hotel to grab take-out breakfast so we could eat while waiting for the train.

The Higashi-Shinjuku Station was also right beside our hotel, so we did not have to go far for the train.  This train station was more wheelchair accessible than some of the other stations in the city (read here).  We did need to switch to another train to finally get to the Tokyo Disneyland train station.  The whole trip took just over an hour, but it was a great experience taking transit and seeing the city views from the train.

Tokyo DisneySea

Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001 and just like other Disney theme parks, it consists of different themed areas or “lands”.  There are 7 different lands at Tokyo DisneySea: Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Mysterious Island, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon and Arabian Coast.

Like the other Disney theme parks, Tokyo DisneySea does not offer free admission for companions of wheelchair guests.  Once we entered the park at Mediterranean Harbor, the Guest Relations building was right by the entrance.  This is where we get information about the park, attractions and shows.  This is also where we got a brochure with information for guests with disabilities.  We also learned that DisneySea does offer fast passes for guests with disabilities to put their name on a virtual queue to avoid waiting in lines for rides.

Attractions

Since we start at Mediterranean Harbor, we explored here first.  We took a bunch of pictures here, including a pic with a statue of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney.  This land is made to look like Italy and features the cool Aquasphere Plaza and Venetian Gondolas that people can actually ride on.  We then heard from an announcement from the park’s speaker that a show was about to start at the end of Mediterranean Harbor.

The Villains World: Wishes and Desires

(Mediterranean Harbor)

The Villains World show debuted for a Halloween event at Tokyo DisneySea in 2015, and came back September 2016 as part of the park’s 15th anniversary celebrations.  Staff directed us to the wheelchair accessible viewing area that gave us a perfect view of what was to happen in the waters.  We even got a great view of the park’s iconic volcano Mount Prometheus from where we were.

We then see Mickey Mouse and friends arrive wearing Halloween costumes on decorated boats with music and dance.  The dialogue was mostly in Japanese with a few English words, so the story line was a bit hard to follow.  We later see a bunch of Disney villains arrive for a giant Halloween party with Maleficent using her magic powers for a grand finale of this 25 minute show.

After the show, we spent time at American Waterfront and saw some cool rides like Tower of Terror and the same Toy Story Midway Mania! from Anaheim which I will ride later after putting our names down and getting a return time with the fast pass.

DisneySea Electric Railway

(2 locations)

We wanted to ride DisneySea Electric Railway since there was a train station at American Waterfront.  Surprisingly the only stop was to Port Discovery.  It was a smaller size train but there was a ramp and a spot on the train for a wheelchair.  Although it was a short 3 minute ride to Port Discovery station, we did see a great view of the park since the train track was elevated including Aquatopia ride.

After looking around Port Discovery and Mysterious Island, we went to Arabian Coast and had dinner at Casbah Food Court.  We had some delicious affordable curry dish and got to see some dancers and performers during our meal.  The whole ambiance of this restaurant made us feel like we were in the movie Aladdin. 

Mermaid Lagoon Theater

(Mermaid Lagoon)

We then spent some time exploring Mermaid Lagoon, which is mostly an indoor experience that resembles being underwater.  This land is geared towards kids as there are play structures and kids rides.  We also got to watch “King Triton’s Concert” at Mermaid Lagoon Theater. 

Wheelchair seating was at the back of the theater but it was still a great spot to see everything.  The show was about 15 minutes and we get to see King Triton host a simulated underwater concert featuring Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and more.  The use of wires and animatronics really made it look like they were underwater.  It was a fun and great musical experience for sure even though it was mostly in Japanese.

DisneySea Transit Steamer Line

(3 locations)

Lost River Delta was the next land we investigated and we got to see what the Indian Jones Adventure ride looked like but never actually went on it.  We also noticed that there was a steamboat stop here to take us back to American Waterfront for the Toy Story ride and Fantasmic show.  DisneySea Transit Steamer Line has stops at Lost River Delta, Mediterranean Harbor and American Waterfront and has wheelchair accessible steamboats.  It was a relaxing ride down the river. 

Toy Story Midway Mania!

(American Waterfront)

We came back for Toy Story Midway Mania! when it was our time listed on our fast pass.  I wanted to see if this ride would be the exact same ride that I went on in Anaheim.  Yes, everything was pretty much the same, including the accessibility of the ride.  It was still a fun experience as I got to try this ride with a different buddy.

Fantasmic!

(Mediterranean Harbor)

I really enjoyed Fantasmic! at Disneyland Park the year before and was happy that they are showing it at Tokyo DisneySea.  The accessible seating area was at the same location as when we saw The Villains World show earlier in the day.  The Tokyo version of Fantasmic! was very similar to the one in Anaheim except there is an additional song for the Tokyo version.  Most of the dialogue is in Japanese and the whole show is performed on boats as there is no stationary stage unlike the Anaheim show.  It was still an amazing 25 minute show the second time around.

We both thought the entire day was a great experience at Tokyo DisneySea including taking transit to get there.  It was really interesting to see all the Disney characters speak in Japanese and spending about 9 hours at this theme park didn’t seem like it.  I didn’t go on as many rides as last time but the shows were amazing and if I ever get back to Tokyo, I would like to experience Tokyo Disneyland and even repeat Tokyo DisneySea if time permits.