Ahoy, everyone! It’s our first visit to Tokyo Disney Resort of the new year, so we figured we’d set sail on the seas of adventure and imagination at Tokyo DisneySea! Let’s take a quick cruise around the park and check out the latest happenings together.

The four year effort to replace Tokyo Disney Resort’s 20 year-old monorail system has finally lead to the replacement of Monorail Blue with its new Type-C counterpart. After being delivered nearly a year ago, the Oriental Land Company has finally put it into revenue service starting today.

The AquaSphere looks absolutely lovely, even with the rather lackluster 20th Anniversary decorations.

While the entrance greeting has returned to Tokyo Disneyland, the Tokyo DisneySea space still remains out of commission until further notice.

Unfortunately no special decor or banner has been added alongside the 20th Anniversary banners to commemorate Totally Minnie Mouse.

It was a surprisingly quiet day today, with wait times remaining below 40 minutes for every single attraction. And that’s in spite of one very popular ride being out of service!

After a one month absence, the souvenir sweets and snacks have finally returned to Tokyo Disney Resort’s theme parks!

Some new dining spaces have also returned, like Gondolier Snacks, open for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately its trademark gelato has not yet returned, with the spot focusing on coffee for the moment instead.

What a lovely day it was to be at Tokyo DisneySea!

The main entrance doors to McDuck’s Department Store were closed, with only the sides open to keep the store warm.

Displays were added last week to commemorate Duffy’s Wonderful Voyage, a new line focused on bringing Duffy back to his roots.

One section of New York Deli is under scaffolds at present for some touch-ups.

One of the best parts of this season is the return of Tower of Terror Unlimited, which offers two new ride scenarios to enjoy instead of the standard version.

Also under refurbishment is part of Restaurant Sakura’s exterior.

The blessing of winter around Tokyo is the skies are largely clear, which opens up beautiful views of Mt. Fuji over 100km (62mi) away!

Cape Cod pretty famously becomes a home for ducks during winter, a phenomenon which occurs nowhere else on Tokyo Disney Resort property.

Over in Port Discovery, Aquatopia is down for its annual refurbishment. While the Bay-facing side is largely untouched, some of the vehicles from the park-facing side have been moved in formations to hide things like the giant drain on the ride.

The work is almost complete on the Horizon Bay Restaurant exterior after many, many months. Although this phase of construction seems to mean the stairs between the upper and lower sections of the land are temporarily closed.

Bayside Takeout is finally back again, with the signature Nemo & Friends Orange Churro piping hot and ready to eat.

Progress has come swiftly on tearing down part of Raging Spirits’ queue for the future Fantasy Springs entrance.

Out at Mermaid Lagoon, we got a brief glimpse at Prince Eric as he was being mobbed (at a distance of course) by guests hoping to get his picture.

While Tokyo Disney Resort is pretty famous for their near-immaculate maintenance, accidents do happen. In the grotto section of Ariel’s Playground, one of the lamps had been detached and fallen off during the day yesterday, and was promptly removed overnight and replaced by electrical tape covering the socket. Surely this will be back in only a few days, maybe a week or two at most.

In these uncertain times, it’s important to remember to wash your hands often and frequently. Fortunately, Tokyo Disney Resort has you covered with plenty of themed handwashing stations around the parks that dispense Mickey Mouse-shaped soap!

The Refreshment Station has finally reopened with the Demi-Glace Potato Churros that we aren’t huge fans of.

Mysterious Island is undergoing some refurbishment work around the structure of the second level to keep things stable as the park enters its second decade. This means guests wanting to chow down on a Gyoza Dog will have to enter from the well-concealed side entrance to the restaurant.

Fortunately we were able to track down the entrance and get our first taste of the iconic Gyoza Dog in almost a year!

Unfortunately we must end things on a sad note, as Journey to the Center of the Earth is currently closed through early February to accommodate its annual refurbishment as well. Considering this is the headline attraction of the park (and one of our worldwide favorites), we’re disappointed now, but know it’s for the best to keep this beautiful attraction going long into the future!

As we drop anchor again, be sure to let us know what your favorite part of today’s journey was in the comments!

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