Tokyo DisneySea: Around The World Feature

At 5:48PM, we are herded into double-file lines by a cast member named Kondo, who clearly has the Disney spirit even though I don't understand much of what he says. He has everyone else in stitches and when a little girl laughs at him, he comes back to shake her hand and plays around with her and others some more. The security check is efficient because they come to you with a flashlight; it's not done at a table.

After only twenty minutes inside the gates of Tokyo DisneySea, I already think that it's the most detailed, themed park of them all. It's gorgeous at night, but I bet it's beautiful in the daylight. The central feature is Mysterious Island, a volcanic peak rising beside the sparkling Mediterranean Harbor, with its water and light shows. The park has sections devoted to various seaports—the American Waterfront (a big steamship and shops), Lost River Delta (exotic thrill rides), futuristic Port Discovery, Arabian Coast (think Epcot's Morocco but bigger and even more oasis-like), and Mermaid Lagoon (tamer children's rides.)

Warning: Ride Spoilers ahead!

For my first ride I jump in the single rider line at Raging Spirits, which cuts a 50-minute standby wait to just five minutes - for a two minute ride. Probably the park’s most extreme ride, it has three medium drops and one loop through mist, but otherwise it's just a faster Space Mountain. Tokyo DisneySea is on the water, and the wind is really starting to kick up. I'm wishing that I had my scarf. I have a 50-minute, warm, indoor wait for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, which is well worth the wait. The track is similar to Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom but the vine-covered temple theming is incredible, especially the sound effects. The ride is very dark, with lots of skulls, snakes, and screaming. Of course, I don't understand what Animatronic Indy says, but that is OK. I just don't know what to expect, which can be fun.

Next up is Mysterious Island—20,000 Leagues Submarines, one of my late, lamented Walt Disney World favorites, is great and different here, with a sea alien storyline at the end. I figure out that it's just a “sitting and looking at things ride” with bubbles between the double-paned windows. There are controls like in Mission:Space (I am position #9), but just for show. The design of this attraction is just so amazing that the Walt Disney World classic is almost weak in comparison.