Fortress Explorations

One of my favorite spots at DisneySea is Fort Explorations, an interactive play area in the back of Mediterranean Harbor, near the entrance to Mysterious Island. We didn’t know what it was until we stumbled upon it, but boy oh boy – we loved it!

It reminded me of Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland, only Renaissance themed and 1000x more engaging. The play area is pretty spread out, encompassing a fortress (where Magellan’s is also based) and a large galleon ship. Parkgoers can pick up a free Society of Explorer’s and Adventurers Map at the Fortress Explorations entrance, and are then encouraged to explore at their own leisure.

They have all sorts of goodies inside: a time-telling pendulum, a big pool with remote controlled galleons you can drive around for a 100yen, a model of the solar system, paintings and art… Everything is so gorgeously detailed, you could easily spend hours inside.

Outside of the fortress is a life-size Spanish galleon for guests to explore.

The ship was amazing.

The inside of the galleon was done up with living quarters and a kitchen area. Everything felt so genuine and real, it made you forget you were inside of a Disney theme park for a second. Well done, Tokyo.

Fantasmic

After exploring to our hearts content, we went and grabbed seats for the Fantasmic show. The original Fantasmic in Anaheim has been on hold as they build Star Wars land, and I have missed it like crazy.

The Japanese iteration was very impressive. The space that they have to work with is so much bigger than the Rivers of America in Disneyland, so they incorporate huge barges and set pieces that make the whole thing feel like an epic production.

Plus, everyone sits down for the show (yet another check in the “WIN” column for Tokyo Disney) which makes the viewing experience unbeatable.

By the time the show wrapped, we were ready to call it a night and head back to the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. If we’d stayed at the Hotel MiraCosta, we’d be in our room in a hot second, since the hotel is literally inside the park!