Shows, Food, and Skinless Characters at Tokyo DisneySea

Being that it still wasn't Noon, it felt really early to us. I think our bodies were also a little confused with the time too. Even if our bodies were telling us to stop and take a breather we kept going.

We had heard and read a lot about the fortress in the park, and it's accompanying vessel. They are both found at the base of the volcano. Shortly we will see how the volcanic eruptions have affected that edifice. I'm looking on the park map now and it appears to only go by the name "Fortress Explorations" (interactive fun at the fortress and galleon). I really thought there was a more interesting name for this attraction. I am sure there isn't a connection at all, but the main dome reminds me of The Dome of the Rock from Jerusalem, Israel.

It's very easy to get lost inside this structure as all the twist and turns appear the same. Eric had a pretty good idea what he wanted to see and do in there. I was mostly following him and enjoying myself.

We came across some interesting designs that could've been right out of the Italian Renaissance. I'm sure that was the point.

As we had our look around, there was a show going on across the bay. I believe it was called 'Welcome Skeleton Friends". We didn't ever watch it, but it was a show where the skeletons show up on a barge, disembark and dance around with Mickey and Friends. Like in most places, the guest of Tokyo love their stage shows.

In a few areas throughout the park we could see the story of how the volcano overtook a few areas. I guess this fortress wasn't strong enough to keep out the lava.

Having obtained Fast Passes for it, we needed to head back to American Waterfront, we spent a lot of time there, to ride Tower of Terror. This time around we grabbed a few more shots inside. I think taking photos was against the rules, but we sneaked a few here and there, and stayed away from flash.

The Fast Pass return queue was a tad backed up, but that was ok. We were able to take our time while visually taking in some of the story (and grabbing the photos I mentioned). The owner of this hotel had obtained relics from around the world (as explored in a previous post). But, we could now see in murals around the lobby that yes, those previous owners were glad to rid themselves of them. It was also cool to notice that various finds were from themed lands that looked very similar to the park's ports of call. Check it out! We even found a Crystal Skull near the loading area.

Take a look in the back row!

Although the thrills are far better at the American parks, I still wouldn't tell anyone to skip this attraction. A friend of ours, he runs TDRExplorer.com, doesn't care for this one very much. I think he would see there isn't too much to be stressed about. We must have had some energetic fun on this attraction because we were getting hungry by the attraction's end.

The New York Deli is down the city street from Tower of Terror. Since it was around lunch time now, we thought we would get that meal in prior to queueing for the Big Band Beat Show. We had to walk past the theater where it would play. Although the show was nearly an hour away, a crowd awaiting the opening of the doors filled the queue. Why was I not surprised? We didn't know a lot about the show and decided to be surprised by what we would see. 

This park tricks your mind into thinking that you are really not in Japan. There is a sense that it is around 1920/1930s and New York city is your home. From the ads on the street, to the cheeses being aged in shop windows (which we have seen for ourselves in NYC's Little Italy) the hustle of the city enveloped us.

Oh look! We came upon another one of the Skeleton friends. I had heard of 'The Artist", but it wasn't until now that we saw him. He was drawing a portrait of a fellow guest (remember, he was also on vacation). I think he did a pretty good job of it and the crowd loved the drawing too.

Our lunch was pretty basic, sandwiches and french fries. I enjoy the wrappings that all the food is wrapped inside of. Although we were given wet naps with most of our meals, the wrapper is a nice addition for cleanliness. Throughout Tokyo, if something is served to you, a piece of waxed paper is handed to you so that you may hold your food. I am one that hates getting any sauces or oils on my hand, so I loved this. 

The theater announcements for Big Band Beat were very detailed in that absolutely no photography of any kind was allowed. We followed the rule and took in the show. I don't think we wanted to be "those Americans" that broke all the rules for our own sake. 

The show was filled with swing music, live, and a lot of dancing. The singers had some great talent to back up the live band. The look of the show was right out of the 1940s, full of nods to Art Deco and Art Nouveau. At the finale, Mickey came out and tap danced so rapidly that I thought he was going to fall over! This was a moment in the show I wish I had recorded. I bet I can find it on YouTube somewhere. Big Band Beat had some entertaining moments, no question, but there was something it lacked. I can't even suggest what to change. I think it felt very rehearsed, and though professional, seemed very systematic. It wasn't until that final tap number did I feel there was heart and soul imbedded into what they were doing. Other than the parades, the entertainment wasn't delivering the Wow Factor I had heard about. 

When exiting the show, we decided we wanted take their boat ride around the park. We loaded from the same dock area where Duffy greets guests. Apparently Oswald was also nearby, but we didn’t catch a glimpse of him the entire trip. I think we were hoping for the boat to leave us at the Lost River Delta area. The park would have a Halloween cavalcade in that area, but the boat didn’t stop there. Instead, the boat made a full circle around the park as it passed Lost Rover Delta and the Arabian Coast. It headed back and left us right where we started. We felt a little silly as we thought we knew what we were doing.

 

During our tour we see a fun effect where it appears that the water from the Tokyo Bay is breaking through. 

Since we had to go on foot, we took the route through the Cape Cod area. There was a popcorn stand there that we hadn’t tried yet. They sold the Milk Tea flavored popcorn. Our friend Miley said this was her favorite one, so we had to make time for that! As it turned out, this would be our favorite too! I don’t even think I could describe it, but believe me when I say it had a wonderful and unique flavor.

As I had read in a post on Tom Bricker’s blog, the snacking at these two parks is endless! Soon after we finished our popcorn, we continued to seek a spot for the Skeletons Cavalcade, in Port Discovery. Right near where we would wait to watch, we came across a Tiramasu ice cream sandwich that I just had to have! Again, the packaging on this was so adorable! (Even with all the walking we did this trip, I still don’t see how I lost five pounds that week.)

The Skeleton Cavalcade had a fun little beat going, with a Latin feel. After all, we were in an area themed to South America/Mexico/Puerto Rico. I couldn’t really pin down what country exactly, but it conveyed a nice hybrid of them all. However; the costumes they used in this little parade felt right out of Mexico as they danced in the Folklorico style.

The Tokyo parks love to feature the Clarice character from that one Chip n Dale cartoon! We don’t really see her at the parks in the U.S. but she is everywhere here! In this photo, Eric and I like to pretend that she is shouting out, “HEY Gurrrrrrrrrrrrrl!!!”

After the show we continued on through the land to check out more of their Halloween decorations.

 

As we reached the end of Lost River Delta, staring at us in the face is Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage. There is no way were going to pass up riding that again! We have been home over three months now and I am still whistling that soundtrack!

Coming up soon (I hope sooner than the last post) you will see me get a really nice surprise. Also, Eric and I take in the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge and explore the decks of the park’s ship, the U.S.S. Colombia! There is still plenty more we did on this Day 2 of Tokyo Disneysea!