Disney Sea's 5th Anniversary

Today I went to Disney Sea again with my annual passport. It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since the opening of this very special place. I remember the week before opening day, when the general public were not allowed to enter. They were having preview days for cast members and their families and I stood outside the gates looking into the park, and felt like a little boy waiting for Christmas to come. That week seemed unbearable long to me so I searched the internet and bought a preview ticket with a premium price tag to match. I thought it was worth it so my friend and I made our way to the gates of the park two days before grand opening. I can still remember the excitement and thrill of seeing Mount Prometeus in the center of that large body of water. It was like a dream...an amazing dream that felt so real...a wonderful dream you never want to wake up from. Fortunately for me, this was not a dream and till this day, still consider Disney Sea to be the pinnacle of Disney Imagineering.

They certainly went all out with the decorations and the festivities for this huge celebration. Tokyo Disney Sea celebrates their 5th birthday with new shows, new attractions and special meals. One thing I must do is to take part in the sake tasting seminar that's taking place at Restaurant Sakura in the American Waterfront area. I missed the champagne seminar they were holding during the summer. Last year, I attended the wine seminar during their Dramatic Disney Sea event and loved it. It was held in a small and intimate dining room at Magellan's, which is one of the full-service restaurants at the park. I love wine so it was a no-brainer. Sake, I don't know much about and not much of a fan, so I'm not sure what it'll be like so we'll see.

The 5th Anniversary celebration lasts for 10 months and like I said, I have an annual pass so I will definitely be visiting my favorite park more often than ever before. And although Tokyo Disney Resort is more than an hour away by train, I'm actually looking forward to visiting as often as I can.

Like I said, the decorations are in every single part of the park and I like how they decorated the place for the celebration. I also like the fact that they didn't include a show inside the Waterfront Park. Everytime they do, it's such a hassle getting seats for the shows and sometimes the lines extend as far as Port Discovery, which is pretty far. Even then, it's usually standing room only and you end up wasting so much time. I also think having these huge shows at Waterfront Park distracts from the experience...you really feel as if you are in a theme park! I always liked American Waterfront because of the authentic atmosphere of 1930s New York so anything that distracts from the illusion is bad in my book.

This year they've also added a place on the pier to have a glass of beer or cocktail as you watch the sun wet over the horizon. I got myself a glass and sat on a bench chatting away with my partner, feeling all my tension melt away. This is a great way to spend an afternoon at Disney Sea. I almost forget I'm at at theme park. I think this would be a great alternative to going overseas as I've traveled way too much last year.