Popcorn blowout.

Spring Voyage 2013 decorations! (Loving the ribbon Minnie and necktie Mickey shrubs!)

Our mother-daughter adventure at the Tokyo Disney Resort continued into the next day, when we tackled the Tokyo Disney Sea theme park!

Early park admission (my mother forgot to change the date/time settings on her camera...but insists on the time stamp)

Like I mentioned in my previous post, guests of the Tokyo Disney Sea Hotel Miracosta get 20 minute early admission into the park! I don't think rides aren't in operation just yet, but this gives guests a head start on both admission and/or FastPass lines. We went straight to the Toy Story Mania FastPass line, since it's so popular that on weekends, apparently the wait can go up to 5 hours o_O

It's like a zombie invasion o_O

Sure enough, with along with the 9:00am opening of the park came a massive wave of running people trying to get to the most popular attractions as quickly as possible! It was actually kind of terrifying to see that many people coming at you at once. But luckily we were already safely tucked in line. Even with the early start - and on a weekday for that matter! Our FastPasses weren't for until almost 12noon.

Japan is super hardcore about its Disney...

Subtle but adorable spring-themed decorations!

Thankfully, other than the early morning insanity and typhoon-like winds, my mother and I enjoyed a pretty laid back trip to Disney Sea! And I think that's the very beauty of this unique park (since it's the only Disney theme park of its kind) - it has a much calmer, mature feel to it than say - Disney Land (which I think is more for when you're looking to ride as many attractions as possible!).

Set of 4 windows in the middle is where our room was!

The wind really was taking a toll on us, so instead we went hunting for our hotel room. Sure enough, we found it on the Venetian side - pretty sweet!

Duffy/Shellie Mae photo op!

I'd only been to Disney Sea once before, but I don't think I realized that these spots existed! They're all over the park. Perfect for those hardcore Disney fans - the ones carrying the multiple Duffy teddy bears. I can only say that Tokyo Disney's marketing strategies are absolutely fantastic...and they've gotten me quite well too.

Not one, not two - but three different types of popcorn!

Today's post title comes from this collage - instead of eating a proper meal, my mother and I got too excited about the different varieties of flavored popcorn available! Many of the flavors are only available at either Disney Sea or Disney Land...so we took advantage and got all of the sweet, Disney Sea-only popcorn flavors: (from top right, clockwise)
1) Strawberry...as well as the Spring Voyage 2013 limited edition popcorn box, which comes with a mini box for your Duffy teddy bear!
2) Milk tea, which sounds gross but is surprisingly amazing
3) Apple cinnamon, which I was crushed to find out replaced the cranberry-flavored popcorn...but was quite good as well!

Hotel Miracosta entrance directly in/out of the park.

Halfway through, we took a break to refresh and also check out of the hotel - check-out is generously late, at 12noon! Also as I mentioned in my previous post, the bell service will hold your luggage even after you've checked out - as late as 10:00pm (which is park closing). Not to mention, if you drove like I did, the parking you've already paid for lasts until 12 midnight.

I must say though, it doesn't seem like you actually have to be staying at the hotel to go in and out of this entrance! I suppose it's because non-guests can still dine at the in-hotel restaurants/lounges. We didn't, but like much of the hotel, these places have fantastic views of Disney Sea.

Thank you for a wonderful day!!

We wound up cutting our day short because we were too battered from the relentless winds - apparently the one thing to watch out for trips to Disney Sea - but we were incredibly satisfied nonetheless!

Please stay in tune for the final installment of my mother's visit to lovely Chiba~.