Slept in until 6am this morning then got up and headed for breakfast at 7am and off to Tokyo DisneySea around 8:30am.  Once in the park walked around to Mysterious Island and got I line for Journey to the Center of the Earth.  Waited about 20 minutes to reach the elevator.   Walked out to Port Discovery and went for a ride on the Aquatopia and then the Electric Railway.  Passed back through Mysterious Island and by Mermaid Lagoon on our way to the Arabian Coast.  Visited Sinbad and then circled back to Mermaid Lagoon.  Decided to grab a bite to eat, I went in search of a Coke vending machine and had to hike back to by Soaring Fantastic Flight since the nearest one did not have Coke.  After lunch watched the character greeting and on a whim tried the lottery for Big Band Beat: Special Treat and won seats.   Walked through Mediterranean Harbor and then found a place to relax on the American Waterfront.   Around 2pm took a seat for Big Band Beat.  After the show the rest of the group left and I headed to Soaring Fantastic Flight.  It was posted at 85 minutes and took me about 70 to reach the preshow.   Walked out to Cape Cod and grabbed a bit to eat then went for a round trip on the Steamer.  Once back visited Port Discovery and the Nemo Searider attraction followed by the Electric Railway.   Took a look around the American Waterfront and then the Mediterranean Harbor before finding a spot for Believe! Sea of Dreams.    After the show decided to call it a night and took the Resort Line back to Bayside Station and walked to the Hilton to wrap up my night.

• For my cell phone I did not pay for any additional international data options and decided to use the basic/included texting and data with my T-Mobile plan.   My phone connected right away when I turned it on and had no major problems until today (I had some random connection issues but nothing outside what I normally encounter in the parks).  Today it seems my data shut down for the most part.  It was randomly connecting for a few minutes at a time but for the most part it was unusable.  I tried the basics of restarting the phone, etc.. and no luck.  Others were not having a problem is it seemed isolated to me.  Once I made the decision to give up on it and just enjoy the day it was a relaxing day roaming the park and taking pictures.    Kind of nice not to be connected, but it also mean no access to wait times, etc..   There is extremely limited Free WiFi at the Tokyo parks. Just in the immediate area of the entrance.  The speed was impressively fast though the couple times I swung by to connect so I could check email, etc..  interesting those sessions are limited to 15 minutes. You can renew/create a new one instantly and no limit on the number of sessions in a day.
• We saw a short wait posted for Journey to the Center of the Earth so headed that way to start my day.   Most of the queue was open and but moving at a good pace.  It took about 20 minutes to reach the elevators.   The final push seemed slower to me today.  Maybe it was because I was in the front?   
• We were able to walk onto a number of attractions this morning including Aquatopia  and Sinbad.  On Sinbad only one other row of our boat had guests in it, they were spacing out the parties that much and there was still only a couple minute wait.
• I was trying to use up my Suica Card remaining balance at vending machines and of course did not take a look ahead of time so when lunch time came I went to the ones nearest Mermaid Lagoon and they did not have Coke!  So I ended up hiking around to the ones closest to Soaring.
• We decided to give the Entry Request system a try just for fun for Big Band Beat. We saw it the other day and were not planning to see it again.. but of course we managed to get seats.  They were off to the side but in the closest section so we decided to go see the show.  So now I am 1 for 8 in entry requests.
• In the afternoon I decided to bite the bullet and hopped in the 85 minute wait for Soaring. I figured the slow moving queue at least meant plenty of time for pictures.   The first part of my wait moved at a pace you would expect for Soaring.  In spurts as the theaters became available.  Tokyo has two, just like California.  The wild card in the wait is the Premier Access returns.  The mix seemed ok as I kept moving. Then once I reached the inside portion and the final room especially the mix seemed to go more toward the returns and movement slowed.  Some of this may be perception as I could see the other queue moving by.   In the end it took about 70 minutes so better than estimated.  But it seemed it should have been under an hour.
• The Soaring Fantasic Flight façade and queue is very impressive.  Much more so than any of the other versions, especially the stateside ones.  Shanghai is in the middle.   The level of detail in the garden and on the building is impressive.  Once you make your way downstairs and enter the building the detail only grows.  Even once you reach the theaters you will find an enhanced experience.  Ranging from little details on the seats to the flooring to the safety railing in the front. All have been plussed and fit within the theme.   The film is the Soaring Around the World but you get a Tokyo and DisneySea scene.   I would have really liked to have seen a more unique film.
• I spent most of the rest of the afternoon just roaming the park and taking pictures.  DisneySea is a great park to just roam around.
• I also stopped by the Finding Nemo SeaRider and waited a bit. It seems they were only running one theater based on the movement of the queue and how the other side looked closed when I entered the building.  
• For dinner I ventured into Duffy country..  stopped by the Cape Cod Cook-Off for some nuggets since I was in that area of the park.   I think I was the only person not ordering anything that came with a Duffy add-on.  Guests were buying the offerings like they were going out of business.   The receipts totals were all substantially higher than mine.   There is no show going on right now. I ate in the main dining room to the left as you enter (opposite side from the show) and it was maybe 20% full only.  Seems most people were buying their items and leaving.
• As afternoon shifted toward evening the weather changed considerably.  The wind picked up, clouds rolled in and it became much cooler.   As I waited for the Electric Railway in Port Discovery it was downright cold.   I opted not to go get warmer clothes earlier in the day and now it was getting too close to the evening show so I had to grin and bear it. 
• Due to the weather they announced that Believe! Sea of Dreams may be canceled. Luckily, they did have the show but with no pyro.     For this viewing I opted to find a spot in the first standing row about the center of the show.  This puts you quite a ways back from the water. I did this because I was curious the view, was hoping it would be slightly warmer amongst the buildings and put me closer to the exit since I was planning to leave after the show.   The view from back there was just ok. The show does feel far away and with no fireworks the panoramic view was not as great as it could have been.  The projections being all around you was a nice plus.
  

2023 Tokyo Disney Trip Summary

Links from today:

• Pictures: Journey to the Center of the Earth Queue
• Pictures: Morning Visit to Tokyo DisneySea
• Pictures: Dream-Go-Round Art/Photo Spot in Tokyo DisneySea
• Pictures: An Afternoon at Tokyo DisneySea
• All my posts from today

• Tokyo Disney Resort Pictures
• Geek's Blog Tokyo Pictures
• Geek's Blog Tokyo News/Posts