First DisneySea Day - Day 12
Monday June 23, 2025
Security was easy (no searching of bags) and then Bryan scanned us all in, we got a quick photo of the group, and started toward the Journey To the Center of the Earth ride. Our theory was that everyone would “rope drop” the new Fantasy Springs land, and we wouldn’t have much wait for the ride under the volcano which is one of the rides that is unique to this park. And our plan seemed to be going perfectly. The closer we got to the ride, the less people were walking with us. Cast members were calling out in Japanese as we walked along. It was very festive. Then we arrived at the entrance of the line and a cast member told us in English that the ride was closed, temporarily. We were surprised, although I’m sure that they had been telling us that all along as we walked toward the ride.
Meanwhile, as we walked, Bryan had been securing us fast passes for some of the rides we wanted to do later in the day. Some of these were free, and some we chose to buy our way into the fast pass line to save ourselves time while in the park.
We changed direction and walked toward The Nemo Surfrider ride. This ride had taken up much of our day last time we were here. Getting the fast pass at the ride location, returning later, waiting over an hour even in the fast pass line. It was intense. Today we waited no more than 5 minutes. I enjoyed the ride a lot more this time than last time. It was really fun!
Next we used our first free fast pass to ride Indiana Jones. It is a good ride, slightly different from the one back home, and has Indiana Jones speaking in Japanese which is fun. With our fast passes, we basically walked on to this ride, which felt a lot like winning.
After we got out, Desmond realized he had left his hat in the mesh pouch, and so we went back and waited while they looked for it. Unfortunately, they were not able to find it at this time, but gave us directions to the lost and found where we could check for it later in the day.
It was about 10:50 at this point. The park had been open for less than two hours and (despite our false start) we had already been on three enjoyable rides! Yay! Disney day success.
It was a hot day, so not many characters were out and about to be seen. But I did spot Jimminy Cricket which warmed my heart. And some of the apes that teased Bryan last time we were here.
Next up it was approaching time to use our Tangled paid fast pass. The wait times for this ride were multiple hours, and I really wanted to ride this ride in particular (I was even all dressed up in my Repunzel outfit, with Pascal on my shoulder). Not too long ago, we would have only been allowed to enter the land with a timed pass that were given out by lottery. Fortunately, with the land having been open for about a year, we can now waltz in whenever we want.
The approach to Fantasy Springs was really impressive. Now for comparison, all throughout the morning we had been remarking about how the park was beautiful, and the scenes expansive, and so many different angles were truly photo-worthy. With that as our baseline, we began to walk up to the new land. The first thing I noticed where the Frozen princesses sculpted into the rock. And then my eye traveled over to where Peter Pan (also sculpted in rock) appears to be flying joyfully out of the cliff side. And then I scanned across the beautiful flowers, and finally saw Repunzel and Pascal carved into the stone on the right. There was much exclamation, pointing, and photo taking as we entered. It evoked in me the same level of response that the entrance to Batuu in Disneyland had, which is remarkable, since my emotional connection with the subject matter of this land is not of “Star Wars” childhood-nostalgia intensity.
I got my picture with the iconic Repunzel tower next. And then as we continued to walk we saw that Repunzel was in the window singing a song. That was surprising and charming.
Then we rode the Tangled ride. It is a boat ride, and beautifully done. If you’ve ever wished you could be in the lantern scene from Tangled, it’s for you. I could have done with a bit more story (and a rousing chorus of I Have a Dream from the thugs) but it was a good ride.
We chose to mobile order and do the Snuggly Duckling for lunch. The food in the park is all kind of different because they are doing a food and wine festival. The only thing that appeared safe for me to eat in the app was the curry. It was okay, but I didn’t think it was very yummy. It was nice to sit down and have some cold drinks, however.
After that, it was not long before we were riding the Warty Frogfish (thanks to a paid fast pass) on Peter Pan’s Neverland Adventure. This was a really good ride! It was 3D which took me by surprise. We all really enjoyed it.
Next we wandered Fantasy Springs and took pictures. Desmond wanted to see the skull rock and pirate boat. He rang the bell, and steered the steering wheel.
By this time, everyone was ready for a cold treat. So while I looked at Rapunzel merch, people were getting ice cream sandwiches. At the last moment I had mom add a Minnie shaped raspberry popsicle and asked if it was okay since I have a milk allergy (The cast member alerted and said “Allergy!!” getting another cast member involved as they looked up the information. They took the treats and put them back in the freezer (so they wouldn’t melt) while they checked. I was so sad to see them go. 😂 A moment later they confirmed that my choice had been a safe one, and returned the ice cream and popsicle to us.
I bought Mickey ears - Repunzel-style. Then we took the boat ride around the park. It is so beautiful!
We poked our heads in the Mermaid kids area just to show everyone what it looks like.
Now, all day long we’ve been looking for carmel popcorn. And instead we have been finding weird popcorn like beef or buttered scallop flavored. Finally we found the carmel corn. We got in line and I hoped that they hadn’t changed the recipe in the past eight years, so that I would once again get to have some. When I mentioned my allergy (both in Japanese and English) the three ladies in the popcorn booth all started saying “Allergy!” “Oh allergy!” And repeating back to me what I was allergic to. Then they came out with an allergen chart for the popcorn and it is dairy free! Yay! They had me read a statement agreeing that I understand there might be trace amounts, and then I got to have caramel corn!
We then continued on to the castle/ fort area, munching happily. Desmond wanted to fire the cannons like I had when Bryan and I came to Tokyo Disneysea last time.
When we got to the castle area, we learned there was a clue solving adventure to go on. We were given a map, verbal instructions in Japanese, and then a series of puzzles to solve that took us all over the castle exploring. It was fun!
After this we opted to sit down with some cold drinks. Then it was time for Tower of Terror for Bethie and my folks
At this point we were pretty cooked and called it a day, pleased that we had gotten to do so many of the things on our wish list.
Desmond went with Nonnie and GB for dinner. Bryan and I had dinner in the executive lounge.
Dylan rejoined us around 8:30 and it was lights out shortly after.
We had a really good Disney day and are looking forward to tomorrow’s Mt. Takao hike.
Want to keep Traveling with the Schmidts? Read Day 13
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