I’m so confused. It’s Wednesday Sep 10th, but still my birthday in other parts of the world, it’s almost like an actual never ending birthday! Anyways, I wake up at 5.30am, having slept all night! FINALLY!!! Is THIS us being over jet lag??
Maylin wakes up and is way too hot. Hot to the touch, tired, but determined. She feels ok, and wants a second day at Disney, this time DisneySea. Today we have decided to take it easy, we learned yesterday that being at the park early and lining up for an hour in the scorching sun is not for us. We’re not in a rush, we’re not looking to score FastPasses, we do NOT need to rush out of the door. After a quick breakfast at home and a lot of liquids, we set out to find the bus, now that we know how to get there. As soon as we get to SkyTree, it’s apparent Maylin is still not feeling the best, but she really wants to go, and insists she is fine. There’s a small pharmacy in the mall by SkyTree, and we get her some acetaminophen to get her temperature down.
Today, this later bus time, is a completely different group of people. The bus is packed. The very loud and very ignorant crowd is from all over the world, and the few Japanese on the bus are cringing. I hope (and know) that this is not the type of tourist locals see when my family goes exploring, but I know that this is what they think all tourists are like.
Arriving at DisneySea at 10.30am, and we have no line ups – anywhere. Except for rides. They are all 120+ minutes, which is fine by us. Because it’s so almost lunchtime, we decide to start with lunch, theory being some food, drink and more air conditioning will perk us all up. We aim for Zambini Brothers’ Ristorante, and the girls both have spaghetti and meatballs. Joe gets a “long pizza”, and I am being adventurous and try the Chilled Pasta with Seafood in Soy Milk-Tomato Sauce. I kid you not, this pasta might sound weird, but it is absolutely DELICIOUS! I would be happy to have it again – often!
After lunch, we walk through a volcanic area inspired by Jules Verne, and end up lining up for a 30 minute wait to ride 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Most of the line is actually inside a cooler cave area, so it’s not too hot. The ride itself is square submarine like cars, with big bubble windows, and takes us through an underwater world full of corals, octopus, fish and aliens(!), but this is also a very dark ride, too scary for some.
On our way back out of one world, we next stumble upon Ariel’s domaine, and it is pure magic! This girl has an entire under water oasis of playgrounds, rides, restaurants and shops, all indoors and cooled down. There’s even an enormous whale with an entire boutique in its mouth! Téa and I decide to check out the store, while Joe and Maylin sit down for a drink of water. By the time we make it back to them, Maylin is full on asleep. Joe and Téa take a quick ride on the Blowfish Balloon Race, and I rock Maylin. We then make the decision that Joe is going to take Maylin home alone, and Téa and I stay to continue exploring. Maylin takes some more medicine, and by the time she gets on the bus, she’s once again feeling much better.
(Joe and Maylin get some groceries on their way home, and after a healing bowl of soup and a cooling shower, Maylin is once again bouncing off the walls with energy. She hasn’t stopped since, and no more medicine has been required. When they say kids get sick fast, but recover even faster, they mean it!)
After seeing Joe and Maylin safely out of the park, Téa and I LEG it for the Frozen section of the park. But the park is big. Like super really extra big, and not in a neatly organized circle like the other park. We are definitely speed walking, but hang on! What’s that smell? Mmmmmm…. Popcorn with Soy Sauce and Butter? Sure, let’s try some! Best decision ever, and Téa keeps saying that maybe Dad is right when he says she needs to try stuff even if she doesn’t know if she’ll like it… So we now have a new favourite popcorn flavour!
Anyways, we run past Mr Incredible and ElastiGirl as they Meet and Greet fans, quickly take pictures of the Nemo section of the park, and keep on trucking. The Indiana Jones attraction looks super cool, a bit scary, but also has 120+ minutes line, so nevermind. We finally make it to Fantasy Springs, and it is BEAUTIFUL! Absolute magic! Less mechanical, more fairytale. We happen upon Rapunzel’s tower, but it is closed for improvements. We decide to stop for a snack inside the Snuggly Duckling, because by now we are hot and sweaty and tired. I had to make a 10 second video inside the women’s washroom, because each stall door had a different Wanted! poster of Flynn Ryder, and they all had different noses! But don’t worry, we were practically alone, no patrons were bothered by my 10 second video clip. As a matter of fact, considering every single ride has such immense lineups, the park is very calm. Téa and I never have to line up for food, maximum 5 customers deep for popcorn, no lines for washrooms (which is more than I can say for other parts of this city).
Right next door to Rapunzel’s forest is Arendelle, and we have FINALLY MADE IT to Frozen land! The stave church is impressive, but so is the chaos of very orderly line up for the Frozen ride, it’s just that this line snakes and blocks everything there is to see in the area. I cannot imagine spending 2 hours outside in this sun and heat at this point, so yet another ride we do not do. We are both shocked and disappointed that Arendelle does not have its own gift shop, but the area is super cute and feels very Frozen, just not in temperature.
Moving on to the next area, we find amazing sculpture water features, with a whole range of fairy tale characters carved out mountainside. The Fantasy Springs gift shop is large, air conditioned and inside a DisneySea Fantasy Springs hotel. By the way, Téa things everything Disney looks AI, as it looks too perfect to be true. What a shame that in her memories, AI came before the magic of Disney parks!
At this point, we have decided to aim for the 5.10pm bus home, as the one after is not until 7pm. It’s 4pm, and we are looking for where to eat dinner before leaving the park. As luck would have it, Miguel’s El Dorado Cantina is on our way, we just have to get there, order and eat within the hour, plus make it to one more souvenir shop (because we’ve only window shopped so far), AND then out of the park in time for the bus! The clock is ticking, and once again we are hurrying past magic that we don’t have time to stop and explore.
Miguel has a Duffy’s menu, which pleases Téa to bits. She has decided that bears are her favourite animals, and in Asia, Mickey has a teddy bear called Duffy. Duffy even has furry friends, and they are all the rage in these parks. DisneySea is considered their home, so Duffy is everywhere. She orders the Duffy special set, and I get a tortilla “sandwich”. Hers is so delicious she absolutely inhales her meal, which is not her normal pace, and mine is good but small.
As soon as she eats the last bite, we take off for the entrance’s souvenir shops. We video call Maylin to see which “ears” she wants, and once they’re in the bag, we’re off for the bus stop. We’re always worried about there being a line up and what if we can’t make it on the bus, the next one isn’t for another two hours, but yet again needn’t have worried. Téa and I get a whole bus all to ourselves, and relax all the way home.
That grocery store by the bus stop/subway station has my heart, and tonight Téa and I thoroughly explored the upstairs section. It is all ready to eat foods, sushi, baked goods, fried stuff, noodles and snacks. Sure, there’s alcohol and skincare(?!) too, but we didn’t explore those aisles. I could totally try something new every day of the year, and never get bored at this selection.
By the way, “self”-checkout at Japanese stores works differently than at home. First, bring your basket to a cashier. They scan your haul, item by item, and transfers them from your shopping basket to a handle-less basket that you then bring with you to the next “station”, where her calculations are ready for you to pay at the machine. After paying and getting your receipt, you then carry your new basket across to tables where you can bag your groceries. A three step process!
Téa and I get home around 7pm, tired and content, and are met by a happy and healthy Maylin. Oh, and Joe. He was there too. In fact, he ate half of all the snacks I bought, pretty much within an hour of us getting back!
