Tokyo DisneySea: My New Year Adventure 2026

Intro

I was in the last days of my Round The World Trip 2025-2026, and of course I had to come to Japan one more time. Originally, this was a very quick stop on the way back from Singapore to New York, but then I started seeing videos of the newly opened Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea. I had been to this park before, but the videos of this new land blew my mind and I had to live that in person. Also, the last time I went to this park, there was horrible storm at the end, that literally scared me, and cancelled the nighttime shows.

So yeah, come with me to rediscover Tokyo DisneySea, and discover Fantasy Springs!

Arriving to Tokyo DisneySea

I was staying in Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel First Resort, part of the Tokyo Disney Resort, and after checking in and leaving my suitcase stored, I checked these very helpful information screens:

Which was translated to Spanish using the Google AI for some reason, but gave me the time the park was gonna be open and the shows. It would open at 9:00 am and it was 8:30 am. I still had to take the bus to the train station (or walk), and then take the train to DisneySea. Many reservations for shows and the equivalent of Lighting Lanes can only be purchased when inside of the park, when the ticket has been scanned.

After taking the shuttle to the train station, I was on the Tokyo Disney Resort train to the DisneySea Station and I could see the volcano covered in snow, as there had been a snowstorm the previous day. I was in awe with the snow on the ground.

There was a lot of snow, and Mount Fuji on the back was all covered. It was also freezing, colder than many of the days when I was in Europe earlier in this trip. So I guess I was just going to ride everything with my heavy jacket on lol.

Finally made it to the park y 9:09 am, and I was kind of glad that I did not have to wait outside for hours, like many people famously do here in Disney Tokyo, but also, I was scared that I would get in and there was not going to be more reservations for the rides at Fantasy Springs, and the other shows. Let’s see what I would be able to do.

A little before 9:30 am, I was inside, after scanning my ticket that I had purchased weeks in advance via Klook. I highly recommend using this app for theme park tickets in Asia, very safe, and instructions are always clear. But like I mentioned before, you are not able to buy Lighting Lanes or anything similar in advance, only when you scan your ticket at the entrance. Make sure to link your account with the ticket on the Tokyo Disney App.

Once you do that, then you can start making reservations. There were many types of reservations you could do, and some were even free, without needing to pay anything. You can only carry one for each type.

Disney Premier Access (DPA): A paid service (usually $10–$20 per person) that allows you to select a specific time slot for popular attractions (like Beauty and the Beast or Soaring) and major parades/shows.

40th Anniversary Priority Pass: A free digital version of the old “FastPass.” It allows you to book a return time for select attractions (like Space Mountain or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt) to use the priority lane.

Standby Pass: Occasionally required for entry into specific shops or to ride certain attractions during peak periods. It doesn’t “skip” the line but is a reservation just to join the queue.

Entry Request: A lottery system used for character greetings and most stage shows. You select a time and find out instantly if you “won” a seat. You can only try once per show per day.

The problem is at this time the app crashes a lot. Also, since I have 2 lastnames, I had to officially change my whole name in the MyDisney website to be able to use the Tokyo Disney App. It was stressful, and I was not able to get tickets for the Frozen ride, but that was going to change later on.

The first rides

Time to rope drop Fantasy Springs, and I already had some dining mobile orders in this land. But to get there, you have to basically walk all across the park, and even pass amazing places like the Mysterious Island, all covered in snow.

During the first part of the morning, I was only in Fantasy Springs, and you will see a more detail blog about it in the next post. For now, I was walking back to the next 40th Anniversary Priority Pass (free). The boats were not working today.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is always a fun ride, so different from anything Disney.

And in this same area you can find the Journey to the Center of the Earth, which is very cool, and one of my favorite rides here. I had to purchase a Disney Premier Access for this for later.

Happy New Year 2026 Celebration

There was going to be a Celebration on the Mediterranean Harbor, and I could not miss it. I saw a lot of people congreating around, and I knew it was about to start.

For reference, it was January 03, 2026, and they were still doing this parade on the lake, with all the characters from Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and even Max.

It was kind of cute, and a lot of people were singing with the parade, but the crowds were crazy. This park is always full no matter how cold it is.

Took advantage to walk around the AquaSphere, just at the entrance of the park. It’s giving Universal lol.

New York and Cape Cod

A delicacy I always enjoy in Tokyo DisneySea is the Sea Salt Ice Cream Monaka, and it was a little bit difficult to get this time. I was asking everywhere where to get it since it had been moved from the last time I went. But some cute lady, in a bad but still very helpful English guided me to the ride spot, by the New York area of the park. And mission accomplished. I really recommend this treat, even with this low temperature, I always like it.

But now that I was in the American Waterfront, on the New York side you can find the Tower of Terror, which is a little bit different here in Tokyo. So I got myself a Premier Pass for this attraction and it was time to ride it.

As always, it is a lot of fun. The storyline is quite different but the trills are very similar.

By now I was just exploring this side of the park, while waiting for other Premier Passes or Priority Passes. Made it to the S.S. Columbia.

And from this area, also called Cape Cod, we had a nice view of Mount Fuji, and a nice couple from America helped me taking a bunch of pictures. It was quite the American experience lol.

From this point, there is a really nice view of the Mediterranean Harbor including the Rimembranzing Bridge with all the houses on top of it, like the one in Florence, Italy.

Very cute area, and here we are very close to the actual sea, so it is very windy in this section.

The immersion in this park is undefeated. Not even Epic Universe could compare to this. It looks so European. On the very back you can see Soaring: Fantastic Flight, which I was not going to be able to ride, not only because of the long lines today, but also the Premier Pass was sold out, and I did not feel like fighting to try to get in when it’s the same as Soarin’ and also I had already been to this ride before.

Lost River Delta

But the reservation I was able to get, was the Dreams Take Flight at 1:50 PM, which means I had some time to eat, and one of the best spots to grab something quick is Yucatan Base Grill in Lost River Delta. I got the Gyoza Sausage Bun which was phenomenal, really rich in flavor, and the Little Green Dumplings, which I now remember were not as good. They have a stickiness to them.

The show was about to start, so I went to the hangar, and they assign your seat by the entrance. The show was a little bit boring. I think the better part is towards the very end, so yeah, it ends well at least, and did not feel like I wasted my time.

There were the hours for the show, when I went.

Next door was the Raging Spirits, which I was able to ride with a 40th anniversary Priority Pass.. I love this little roller coaster, it’s so much fun, and it actually gets you heads down.

As sunset approaches

After another visit to Fantasy Springs, now it was time to come back and explore the rest of the park. One of the favorite rides for many people is Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage, and of course I had to come back to it. It is long, but so different from Disney, that you actually enjoy it, plus the music is amazing.

I had reserved spots for tonight’s show (if it was not cancelled), and now I was just exploring and seeing the rest of the park.

The sunset really came quickly, since it was still the beginning of the winter, but the views this park offer are amazing.

The Moon looked so beautiful tonight. I was hoping the show was not canceled.

But the show was not until 2 more hours, so I took the train back into Ikspiari, the mall inside the Disney Resort, equivalent to Downtown Disney, and besides coffee I got some dumplings as dinner.

Back in DisneySea it was almost time for the show!

Believe! Sea of Dreams

From Dreams Take Flight to Sea of Dreams, it seems this park was obsessed with Dreams, but now I was going to my spot for the viewing of the nighttime show, and it was the first time ever I got numbered spots for a show like this. I was excited, since like I mentioned, last time by now there was a huge storm that made them canceled the fireworks.

At 7:30 PM the show started, and it was quite cute. Different from what I expected but I liked some of the pyro and the songs, especially the Coco part.

The projections on the buildings were amazing, and the characters on the boats gave this show a little bit more of performance.

Arabian Coast

After going for the third and last time to Fantasy Springs, I explored a little bit more of the Arabian Coast.

It just looked so cool at night. But it symbolized the end of the trip to DisneySea. Now I needed to go to the hotel and rest, since tomorrow I would be departing. But not before showing you all the Fantasy Springs section, but that would be in the next blog.

My reservations

These are all the reservations I was able to make:

1. Disney Premier Access (Paid Reservations)

For top-tier attractions and major evening entertainment:

• Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival: 10:30 – 11:30
• Tower of Terror: 12:00 – 13:00
• Dreams Take Flight (Show): Admission 13:25 – 13:40
• Journey to the Center of the Earth: 14:25 – 15:25
• Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey: 14:40 – 15:40
• Believe! Sea of Dreams (Nighttime Spectacular): Admission 18:45 – 19:25

2. 40th Anniversary Priority Pass (Free Reservations)

For popular attractions to bypass the standard standby line:

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: 10:45 – 11:45
• Raging Spirits: 13:35 – 14:35

3. Disney Mobile Order (Food & Beverage)

Scheduled pickup windows for dining, including spots in the new Fantasy Springs area:

• The Snugly Duckling: 9:40 – 9:50
• Royal Banquet of Arendelle: 10:00 – 10:10
• Royal Banquet of Arendelle (Second order): 10:10 – 10:20
• Yucatan Base Camp Grill (To Go): 13:10 – 13:20