TDS Impressions

More food from Disney's Ala Carte Event

2007-10-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the weather was perfect for a visit to TDS. Not a cloud in the sky!The Casbah Food Court had some delicious food that we haven't tried before. This is a dessert that came with the special set. It's a tea-flavored cream puff. Truth be told, it was kind of stale and disappointing.
This is the chicken tandoori plate. Comes with 2 pieces of chicken, some pickled veggies and seasoned rice. The chicken was actually quite good. The rice needs something.
The special set consisting of saffron rice with shrimp, white curry and a piece of naan bread. It was just ok as it was just way too much carbs and not enough protein for me. I ended up with too much starch in the end with not enough curry.This teriyaki sushi is from the Sakura counter restaurant in the American Waterfront. The filling was actually quite good. However I didn't like the texture of the rice. Much too sticky.

During the afternoon we headed down to Mediterranean harbor in the Tuscany section, always my favorite. They were having a special cheese set with wine.

Four types of cheeses with nuts and raisins and a glass of wine for 1200yen, not bad!
We loved the variety on this platter as they were all different enough as not to get bored. Your taste buds were always surprised.
Very tasty prosciutto salad. But then again, I love prosciutto and this was the real thing!Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and cream fraiche.
Not a cloud in the sky at IKSPIARI.

TDS a la Carte random pictures

2007-10-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

TDS a la Carte grape vines, flora and fauna

2007-10-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

TDS a la Carte wines and other goodies

2007-10-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

There is an Internation Fair going on at the American Waterfront. Food from all over the world can be found here. Restaurant Sakura also has an outdoor area and the area surrounding Sakura has been decorated festively in a Japanese way.

Outdoor section of Sakura, where you can have a variety of sake, sparkling sake and Japanese snacks created especially for the event.

We decided to try one of the sparkling sake, which was actually pretty good. It's on the sweet side so it's great for those who usually don't drink. We ordered the marinated sardine dumplings and they were really good. If you like authentic Japanese food and sake, this is a great place for a mid-afternoon break.

Rukmades, a Greek style donut was ok. I wish it was a bit sweeter though. There's honey at the bottom and I found out too late. The bottom tasted great!

Choose from 6 different wines that vary on a daily basis at the pier.

A glass of a french wine and an Australian sparkling wine, Greenpoint.

Disney Sea A La Carte Festa Pinocchio

2007-10-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Portofino Cafe was transformed into Festa Pinocchio for the event. As you can probably tell, i'm a foodie and I love eating. I also love taking pictures of food so I have them as memories and I like drooling over the food in the future. Yeah, I know, silly me.
The inside was decorated with Pinocchio things such as puppets and toys hanging from the ceiling as well as colorful lights reminding us of the carnival atmosphere in the movie.

The menu takes its cue from the movie as well. This simple salad has heart-shaped crackers so you can wish upon a star!

The delicious pork dish with a side of veggies and a mashed sweet potato concoction which was delicious.

The special set meal for the event. A combination platter of rotisserie chicken, scallops and shrimp with garlic butter and a side of that yummy sweet potato puree.
The set came with a slice of strawberry cake. If you look closely, you'll see the raspberry in the middle sprinkled with a gold leaf shaped in a star.

The special set includes minestrone soup, walnut bread, dessert and a beverage.

While eating we were treated to some random entertainment. A man sang some songs from the Pinocchio movie in opera style and he was actually pretty good. It was a very enjoyable lunch.

Disney Sea A La Carte Part 1

2007-10-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea's food and art festival, Disney a la Carte is being held from September 12 to October 31. These are a collection of pictures taken over three separate trips to the event. First we arrive at the entrance where you see these stylized sculptures of Mickey and Donald.
I love the way they made these as it lends an artistic flair to the event. Although the event says art and food festival, there wasn't much art to be found other than the atmosphere of the event. There is a photo contest going on during the event as well as a special tour of the Venetian area where you learn about Venice. You also make your own venetian carnival mask at the end of the tour to take home. So I guess this would be the "art" in the festival.

Random Summer Pictures

2007-09-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite areas at TDS, Toscana. This garden always has an array of herbs and sometimes even orange and lemon trees depending on the season. During the summer, there were lavenders.
There's nothing like a cup of shaved ice with mangoes on a hot summer day.
Mediterranean Harbor with sunflowers in bloom near the grapevines.
The ocean view from the Hilton Tokyo Bay.

A blue sky makes a perfect background for the aquasphere.

A quiet area near Mt. Prometheus.

Annual Pass Renewal

2007-09-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

I renewed my annual pass 3 weeks ago. However I now have Bells Palsy and haven't been to TDS since. I no longer have the headaches anymore although I cannot smile or close one eye. So this Sunday, I will attempt to go and spend a half day at TDS for Disney's A La Carte.

Tokyo Disneyland Spring 2007

2007-08-05T21:51:00.000-07:00

Spring Carnival Buffet at Tokyo Disney Sea

2007-04-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Cherry Blossoms at Tokyo Disney Sea

2007-04-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 10

2007-04-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 9

2007-04-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 8

2007-04-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 7

2007-04-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 6

2007-04-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 5

2007-04-19T07:46:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 4

2007-04-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Disney Sea Spring Carnival Part 3

2007-04-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

TDS Spring Carnival Part 2

2007-04-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

TDS Spring Carnival

2007-04-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Dinner at Restaurant Sakura

2007-04-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Braised Pork in Soy-based Sauce
Seafood Salad with Japanese Dressing
Pork Tonkatsu
Seafood Sushi with assorted Seafood
Japanese Dessert: Anmitsu

TDS Impressions

2007-03-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Lunch at Alan Wong's IKSPIARI

2007-03-27T01:44:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a break from the parks to have lunch at IKSPIARI, which is a part of the Tokyo Disney Resort. Today we splurged on lunch at Alan Wong's, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Honolulu, Hawaii. The restaurant here at IKSPIAIRI is beautifully decorated with white linens, sparkling glasses and tropical flowers all around.

We decided on the lunch sets which consists of your choice of appetizer, main course and dessert. Lunch started with an amuse buche of scallops atop daikon radish with fresh tomato relish. This was the perfect start of a fabulous meal as it was light and refreshing.

The appetizer cobb salad was yummy and had chunks of shrimp, avocado, edamame and more! The asian dressing was so good I should have asked for the recipe.

Tuna Carpaccio with Asian Slaw. Another dish that was sheer perfection!

Grilled Beef with Miso Sauce

Huli Huli Chicken

Now on to dessert, my favorite part of the entire meal! These chocolate crunch bars are made of high-quality vahrona chocolate and they tasted great with a cup of kona coffee.

For a lighter dessert, the panna cotta was perfect. This goes great with tea.

Portofino Cafe lunch

2007-02-26T23:46:00.000-08:00

Salad with Salami and Rotisserie Chicken
The cream of vegetable soup that's super-delicious!
Pasta with Meat Ragout
Seafood Salad

Pasta with Crab in Cream Sauce

Delightful afternoon

2007-02-26T23:21:00.000-08:00

The weather was perfect and the sun was starting to set on Mediterranean Harbor. We decided to take a break and get some dessert at a table service restaurant in the area.
This was the white chocolate tiramisu, which was divine!
This is the dessert called the White Mountain, made with chestnut mousse. I actually preferred this to the tiramisu and went perfect with a cup of good coffee.

Mediterranean Harbor

2007-02-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

Picture of the day

2007-01-29T18:08:00.000-08:00

Picture of the day

2007-01-25T23:16:00.000-08:00

Port Discovery at Sunset

Picture of the day

2007-01-25T05:16:00.000-08:00

Random pictures from a day at TDS

2007-01-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

Hotel Miracosta
Hot wine at the pier
Marshmallow Coffee
Mt Prometheus at Sunset
Me in Tuscany
5th Anniversary entrance
Me again
Cape Cod Stepout 5th Anniversary Show
Minnie at the Entrance

Boston Cream Pie

2007-01-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

I recently tried a piece of the Boston Cream Pie at Cape Cod Cookoff at Disney Sea. Honestly, it didn't live up to my expectations. It's kind of bland and without the whipped cream, it's barely edible. They really need to improve on the desserts here. The other dessert they have available here is the apple pie, but it didn't look too good. Still, I know I have to go and try a slice for my personal review.

Dinner at Horizon Bay

2007-01-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

I recently find myself going to Horizon Bay often at Disney Sea. Everytime I go, I always tend to get the salmon dish so this time I decided to try something new and went for the fried prawns. They were actually pretty good! I would definitely have them again.

Chicken Salad

Fried Prawns with Potatoes

Steak with Tomato Gravy

Tea-flavored chiffon cake

New York Deli

2007-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

Whenever I'm in the mood for a sandwich, I head on over to New York Deli at TDS.

There are four differently themed dining areas, including this deli-themed room.

More deli theming makes dining here fun.

A turkey sandwich

Signage outside the deli.

The special 5th anniversary set with a bagel sandwich, fries and drink.

Bagel sandwich with chicken, ham, cheese and vegetables.

TDS at night

2007-01-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

The 5th anniversary version of Aquasphere.

TDS celebrates the 5th in style.

Inside the Caldera.

Disney Sea's version of Venice.

Mickey welcomes guests at the entrance.

The Aquasphere

A view across the harbor.

Minnie and the Aquasphere.

Magellan's Lunch

2007-01-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Shrimp and Avocado Appetizer
Various Appetizer Platter
Grilled Salmon
Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables
Gelato and Fruit

Creme Brulee

Flowers and gardens at TDS

2007-01-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the beauty and splendor of the flowers and gardens at TDS

Flowers and gardens at TDS

2007-01-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

The cute vegetable garden next to Aunt Peg's Store. It must be her personal garden!

It's fun to see what's growing here. Today there were some kohrabi and celery. The selection is always different.

Most of the plants in the Arabian Coast are palm trees and other plants that look in place in a desert landscape.

Orange trees in the Tuscany section of the park.

An herb garden in Tuscany. Make sure to look for the curry plant which smells like curry!

Flowers and gardents at TDS

2007-01-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

There are many varieties of tulips everywhere in the parks at this time of the year. This year TDS has outdone themselves with a spectacular display!

Flowers and gardents at TDS

2007-01-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

The flowers and gardens at TDS is simply amazing. We spent the entire day just looking at the varieties of botanicals during this trip to TDS. It was a very relaxing day.

Flowers and gardens at TDS

2007-01-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Flowers and gardens at TDR

2007-01-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

During this trip, we decided to take a look at the wide variety of flowers,, plants and gardens at TDS. We did take a couple of pictures at IKSPIARI, but we found the flowers and gardens at TDS to be the most spectacular. Enjoy!

Horizon Bay Restaurant at Disney Sea

2007-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Horizon Bay Restaurant is located in Port Discovery at TDS. One of the best deals can be found here. I think it's called the "select 5 set" , but basically you get to choose soup or salad, and entree, bread of rice, dessert of your choice and a beverage. For an additional charge you can even order a glass of wine or beer. The food here is quite food for buffeteria cuisine. I especially like the salmon dish pictured below. It comes served with a meditteranean-influenced sauce with tomatoes and capers. It's really good. The strawberry bavarois is very light and fresh bursting with the flavor of strawberries, which are in season right now in Japan.

The wonderful salmon dish

Chocolate Cake

Strawberry Bavarois

Beef Stew

Seafood Salad

Food at Miguel's Cantina

2007-01-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Chicken and Cheese Wrap

Banana chocolate Chimichanga

Tortilla Soup

Mexican food at Disney Sea

2006-12-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places to eat at Tokyo Disney Sea is at the Miguel's El Dorado Cantina. They serve Mexican-influenced dishes such as soft tacos and desserts such as flan. During warmer weather, it's nice to dine outside near the river.

Special Set at Miguel's El Dorado Cantina

Lime Tart

Chicken with Cream Sauce

Soft Tacos made with fresh tortillas

Delicious Mexican Flan

Mediterranean Harbor...Tuscany Area

2006-12-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

Pictures around American Waterfront

2006-12-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sunflowers at Disney Sea

2006-12-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

I think this was during the summer. When I got to the park, there were sunflowers everywhere in my favorite section of Mediterranean Harbor. I ended up taking more than 30 pictures of just sunflowers. They were just beautiful!

Restaurant Sakura Seasonal Offerings

2006-12-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

The only restaurant at Disney Sea where you can dine on Japanese cuisine. The prices are reasonable and there's usually a special course menu that changes seasonally. You get to try a variety of dishes that reflects the season and usually tasty! Here's what they are offering for the winter season.

Winter Osusume Course 2990yen

A variety of dishes including a crab dish, Japanese stew, seabream and mochi slices with turnips in sauce, roasted duck with seasonal vegetables in a red miso sauce, steamed rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, yuzu(Japanese citrus) tart

Lunch Special 1,680yen

Udon Teishoku consisting of japanese udon noodles, nigiri sushi with egg omelette and a small side dish of a Japanese delicacy.

Japanese food at TDS

2006-12-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

Outside dining at Restaurant Sakura

Sakura is a fish market converted into a restaurant owned by Mr Tanaka.

More outside seating.

Today's specials?

This restaurant serves Japanese food including sake and Californian wines.

Tower of Terror Part 2

2006-10-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Tower of Terror Part 1

2006-10-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Disney Resort's newest attraction, Tower of Terror opened last month at Disney Sea. The exterior of the building is beautiful with intricate details.

Sailing Day Buffet Lunch

2006-09-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures I took of some of the food offerings at Sailing Day Buffet at lunch. The selection was great for lunch with food selections ranging from roast pork to dim sum. The dim sum selections were good, the roast pork was just okay, and the desserts were so-so.

The soup of the day was a curry soup which was quite yummy! The other soup selection was corn chowder.

Refreshing salad selections

The appetizers consisted of numerous items including a delicious bean salad that tasted like cold chili. It was oh so good!

Chinese selection of sweet and sour shrimp, fried rice and dim sum.

Many to choose from the dessert table. Most of the items were just mediocre at best and overall tasted somewhat bland. They really need to improve on the taste of the desserts.

The rice pudding was my favorite of the dessert selections. It was creamy, smooth and not too sweet with a good balance of flavors.

You can never go wrong with soft-serve ice cream. In this case, vanilla and caramel swirl ice cream with a side of chocolate mousse cake and a mickey-shaped sweet potato bite.

Disney Sea's 5th Anniversary

2006-09-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

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.

Venetian Area

2006-08-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, my partner and I decided to buy an annual pass before the price increase in September. Besides, it was a beautiful summer day and the 5th anniversary festivities have started, so it makes it a no-brainer for me. The night before I didn't get much sleep and I was really tired so I sat on a bench in the shade. While sitting, I realized what a beautiful building there was in front of me and I just had to take a snapshot of it. This building is found in the Venetian area of Mediterranean Harbor and houses a beautiful table-service restaurant that serves Italian food. You can choose from the menu ala carte or decide on the special menu. I always prefer to order from the ala carte menu and share a bottle of wine with my friends. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours at lunch.

This is also the place where you can board one of the gondolas and take a leisurely ride around the area and into the harbor itself. I personally have only ridden the gondolas once as there is usually a very long line. Maybe when my mother visits next spring, I'll take her on a ride. I usually take my mother on a vacation at least once a year. We've been to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Indonesia, Paris and London. I hope to take her to Italy one day but until then, Disney Sea's version of Italy will have to do. I'm hoping the weather would be nice this weekend as I plan on going this coming Sunday.

Cape Cod

2006-08-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Living in the center of Tokyo gets to be hectic and stressful. Cape Cod is a section in the American Waterfront area of Disney Sea. There are no attractions here. Just a counter service restaurant, a shop and a character show. There is very little traffic here and that's one of the reasons why I love this place. I come here to "get away" from all the hustle and bustle of the other areas of the park. One day I will come here with a book and sit myself on one of the benches near the waterfront. Just thinking of this puts a smile on my face.

Tokyo Disney Resort

2006-08-16T02:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. This is the very first post to my Tokyo Disney Resort blog. I still remember my first visit to a Disney park when I was 13. My mother and father took me to the original Disneyland park in California and I remember going on Pirates of the Caribbean thinking the audio animatronics were real people. I really thought the Haunted Mansion was haunted and I thought that the cast members were from another era. We left after seeing New Orleans Square and Tomorrowland because my parents told me that was all there was to Disneyland. They must have been tired but we were there for just over 3 hours. After that visit, my next visit to a Disney park was at Tokyo Disneyland. I was shocked at the place being so big! There was just so many things to do and see. However what really got me interested in the entire Disney thing was my friend pointing out all the small details that makes a Disney park so special. I just couldn't get enough of it. Funny thing is that the older I got, the more interested I became in the parks.

I swear that everyone I know asks me where I took the picture above. They actually think it's somewhere in America. It's a place called Cape Cod at Tokyo Disney Sea, one of the most amazing theme parks in the world. I just purchased an annual pass to Disney Sea so this is a perfect time to start blogging my way in cyberspace!