Disneygeek - Tokyo Disneyland Resort Guide - theme parks - Tokyo DisneySea

American Waterfront

Park Map Description: You'll find both the excitement of the big city and the charms of a New England fishing village in this vibrant themed port.

The American Waterfront is a large area inside DisneySea. It consists of three sub areas. The first is a New York region. This features a pier, shops, the Electric Railway, the SS Columbia, and the Tower of Terror. Tucked into the corner of the park is Toyville. This area houses Toy Story Mania. The last region is Cap Cod. This more relaxed than the other two and features the Transit Steamer stop, some dining and shopping.

Attractions

Current Attractions:

Big City Vehicles (Opened: Sep 04, 2001)
DisneySea Electric Railway (Opened: Sep 04, 2001)
DisneySea Transit Steamer Line (Opened: Sep 04, 2001)
Tower of Terror (Opened: Sep 22, 2006)
Toy Story Mania! (Opened: Jul 09, 2012)
Disney Premier Access
Turtle Talk (Opened: Oct 01, 2009)

Current Entertainment:

Big Band Beat (Opened: Jul 14, 2006)
Duffy and Friends' Wonder Friendship (Opened: Jul 04, 2023)
Jamboree Mickey! Let's Dance! (Dockside Stage) (Opened: Apr 01, 2022)

Entertainment Venues & Character Greeting

Broadway Music Theatre * Lottery for some shows
Dockside Stage
Village Greeting Place

Shops

McDuck's Department Store
Steamboat Mickey's
Newsie's Novelties
Aunt Peg's Village Store
Tower of Terror Memorabilia
Slinky Dog's Gift Trolley

Restaurants & Refreshment

S.S. Columbia Dining Room
The Teddy Roosevelt Lounge
Restaurant Sakura
Sailing Day Buffet
New York Deli
Cape Cod Cook-Off
Cape Cod Confections
Liberty Landing Diner
Barnacle Bill's
Papadakis Fresh Fruit
High Tide Treats
Delancey Catering

Geek's Thoughts & Observations

I was really impressed with the American Waterfront. There are a large number of large scale/full size boats that nothing more than props that add to the sense of place and help to immerse you into the area. The kinetic energy of the Electric Railway overhead, the Steamers going by or the Big City Cars making their circle is great.

My First Impressions from April 2015:

Toy Story Mania is the same as the Anaheim and Orlando attractions except in Japanese of course. It is extremely popular, almost more so than here in the states. The mass of guests rushing to the attraction at park opening was amazing to see.
Decided to grab a burger at the Cape Cod Cookoff for dinner. It was not very good.. hard to determine which was worse this one or the Tomorrowland one in Hong Kong.
Paid a visit to the bow of the SS Columbia and it was a great view of the park and into Tokyo Bay. I can only image it on a crystal clear day. I really enjoyed my time up there but it was closed two of the three days I was in the park due to weather.
There was no wait so went for a ride on a Big City Vehicle in the American Waterfront. The cars inch along but provide a nice view of the area. They are round trip and not a transportation vehicle.
I grew frustrated with the DisneySea Transit Steamer Line because of the changing routes and schedule. I really wanted to spend time onboard but it seemed every time I boarded they made you disembark at the next stop. The park was very quiet and no real waits at most of the stations but they still forced you off, into the rain and you had to hike all the way around to get on again. I was really disappointed with this. I understand if you have long waits but when you pull in and there are a handful of guests waiting to board why force everyone off the boat when there is plenty of room.