Fantasy Springs is Tokyo Disney's biggest expansion yet — here's a sneak peek
Editor's Note
Disney's biggest expansion this year is happening at its Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, and TPG just got a sneak peek inside.
You'll find two parks at Tokyo Disney Resort: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. While Tokyo Disneyland features many classic lands and attractions you can find in other Disney parks, Tokyo DisneySea offers unique lands (called "ports"), theming and attractions. And on June 6, Tokyo DisneySea's eighth port, Fantasy Springs, will open.
I visited the new Fantasy Springs port and hotel before its public opening. The attractions and theming in this land are impressive, so here's a first look inside Fantasy Springs — including its four rides, five dining options and all-new hotel.
Related: What it's like to stay at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
What is Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea?
Fantasy Springs is a new port within Japan's Tokyo DisneySea.
This port is near the back of DisneySea and offers its own hotel, aptly called Fantasy Springs Hotel. Guests staying in that hotel can access DisneySea through an exclusive Fantasy Springs entrance. However, most other guests will enter Fantasy Springs via a pathway between DisneySea's Lost River Delta and Arabian Coast ports.
Fantasy Springs gets its name from the "magical waters" surrounding the land. Whether you enter Fantasy Springs from its hotel or the pathway from the rest of Tokyo DisneySea, you'll immediately be drawn to the port's rockwork and water features, which tie the land in with the rest of the park.
I love how colors, steam and golden accents make the rockwork appear realistic yet weathered.
Tokyo Disney's senior creative executive Daniel Jue said there are more than 50 characters represented in the port's rockwork. This isn't surprising, considering I noticed a new character depiction nearly every time I walked through the port.
Related: What it's like to stay at the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta: A hotel within a park
Getting into Fantasy Springs
Disney often limits access to new lands and attractions, and Fantasy Springs is no different. When Fantasy Springs opens, there are a few ways you will be able to access the land (in addition to having your regular park ticket for Tokyo DisneySea):
- Standby Pass: You can get a free Standby Pass for Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure, Rapunzel's Lantern Festival, Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey, or Fairy Tinker Bell's Busy Buggies in the Tokyo Disney Resort app, based on availability. You must be inside the park to reserve your Standby Pass and receive an entry window to visit the land.
- Premier Access: For a fee, you can purchase a Premier Access pass in the Tokyo Disney Resort app and select a designated time to experience the attractions in the land. Premier Access is limited and based on availability. You must be inside the park to purchase Premier Access.
- 1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic: This ticket type is available to guests staying at Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel or guests who have booked an eligible vacation package.
Full details on how to enter Fantasy Springs are available on the Tokyo Disney website.
Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure
Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure is a 3D simulator-style ride in Peter Pan's Never Land that lasts about six minutes. On this ride, you'll join Peter Pan, Tinker Bell and the Lost Kids on an adventure through Never Land.
Most of the queue area for this ride is surprisingly dark. There's a short preshow — all in Japanese, but you'll get the gist even if you don't understand Japanese — in a three-tier room; then, you'll pick up 3D glasses and join another short queue to board the three-tier 12-person ride vehicles.
The ride is spectacular because it offers an immersive experience via its ride vehicle, wind effects, surround-sound music and 3D media projections. Plus, the characters pull you in and help you feel like you are part of the story — even if you don't understand the Japanese they're speaking.
The ride combines 3D projections and physical elements in a compelling yet beautiful manner.
You'll feel like you are flying during parts of this ride — a concept I loved. However, some people in my group did mention feeling a bit motion-sick after the ride.
If you don't want to wait in a long line for this sure-to-be-popular ride, you can purchase a skip-the-line Disney Premier Access pass for Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure once you've entered Tokyo DisneySea. Disney Premier Access passes are limited based on availability, and you can purchase them using the Tokyo Disney Resort app.
Related: The best times to visit Japan
Rapunzel's Lantern Festival
Rapunzel's Lantern Festival is a water ride through Rapunzel's Forest that lasts about five minutes. On this ride — the first "Tangled" attraction in a Disney park — you'll watch Rapunzel's journey as you travel in a gondola to the annual Lantern Festival.
During the preview event, Jue noted in an interview that Rapunzel's Lantern Festival is "the most romantic attraction we've ever built."
Indeed, this ride has a romantic, feel-good vibe to it. The queue for this ride starts outdoors — where you'll see a few colorful lanterns — and then it snakes through covered open-air spaces.
Once in your 16-person gondola, you'll leave the loading area and venture outdoors to see Rapunzel in her tower.
The rest of the ride occurs indoors, where you'll watch Rapunzel and Flynn Rider's romance unfold.
You'll find perhaps the most spectacular area in the entire Fantasy Springs port when you travel through the Lantern Festival part of this ride.
This ride goes by quickly, likely due to how captivating and visually appealing it is. So, you might find yourself at the end of the ride much quicker than expected.
If you don't want to wait in a long standby line, you can purchase a Disney Premier Access pass for Rapunzel's Lantern Festival, based on availability.
Related: The 11 best hotels in Tokyo for your next Japan getaway
Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey
Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey is a water ride in Frozen Kingdom that lasts about 6 1/2 minutes.
The queue is mostly indoors, with the line passing through Anna and Elsa's library, playroom, family room and greenhouse.
Once you board your 16-person boat, you'll revisit the "Frozen" story through its music and events. However, English speakers should be prepared to hear their favorite "Frozen" songs in Japanese. You'll still recognize the obvious melodies, so it shouldn't be an issue even if you don't understand Japanese.
Disney intentionally designed the ride vehicles' motion to match each scene's emotion. So, for example, you'll find your boat climbing a ramp, going down a drop or backing up in situations where that motion fits the scene's emotion.
This ride is likely to be just as popular as you might expect a "Frozen"-themed ride would be. Luckily, you may be able to purchase a Disney Premier Access pass to skip most of the line for Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey based on that day's availability.
Related: The best ways to travel to Japan with points and miles
Fairy Tinker Bell's Busy Buggies
Fairy Tinker Bell's Busy Buggies is a quick, family-friendly ride in Peter Pan's Never Land that lasts about two minutes.
The queue line takes you through an outdoor garden before you enter a covered queue area. Take notice of the fun theming and cute story while you wait to board this ride.
This short ride is good for young children, although I still found the shifting and spinning of the four-person ride vehicle entertaining. Pay attention to your senses on this ride, as you may smell honey.
Related: Want to visit Japan with an infant? Here's how to make your trip a success
New Fantasy Springs hotel
Similar to how the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta is integrated into the other side of the park, the Fantasy Springs Hotel is a recently built hotel integrated into the new Fantasy Springs portion of Tokyo DisneySea.
The Fantasy Chateau will offer 419 deluxe rooms, while the Grand Chateau will offer 56 luxury rooms with terrace views overlooking Fantasy Springs. Here's a look at one of the deluxe rooms in the Fantasy Chateau:
The hotel will offer the Fantasy Springs Restaurant, Grand Paradis Lounge and La Libellule. However, these dining venues will only be open to guests staying at the hotel — and, in some cases, guests staying at other hotels who have selected Fantasy Springs Restaurant as part of their vacation package — when Fantasy Springs opens in June.
Guests staying at the Fantasy Springs Hotel can directly access Tokyo DisneySea and, thus, Fantasy Springs from the hotel. Disney hopes and expects hotel guests to feel like they're checking in to the park when they check in to the Fantasy Springs hotel. If you like the looks of Fantasy Springs and can swing the hotel's rates, it certainly has an appealing location and great views (even from the common areas).
Related: 5 things you'll love (and 2 you might not) about the Kimpton Shinjuku Tokyo
According to AllEars.net, Fantasy Springs Hotel rates start at 63,500 Japanese yen per night (about $407) for the Fantasy Chateau and 300,000 yen per night (about $1,925) for the Grand Chateau.
Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel is showing as sold out through mid-September for hotel-only bookings. Tokyo Disney only opens hotel reservations four months in advance, and additional availability is added on a rolling basis. Vacation packages that include a hotel, tickets and access to Fantasy Springs are still available; you can book these further in advance.
Fantasy Springs dining
Within the new Fantasy Springs port, you'll find various dining locations. Here's a quick look at your options.
Royal Banquet of Arendelle restaurant
The Royal Banquet of Arendelle is a counter-service restaurant in the Frozen Kingdom that can seat about 570 guests.
You can order Arendelle's Royal Set at this restaurant, including beef or seafood pot pie, a salad with smoked salmon and orange, potato gratin, bread, chocolate mousse, and a drink for 3,500 yen (about $22). You can also purchase a children's version of the Royal Set for 2,000 yen (about $13).
I tried the beef set, which featured tender beef, cauliflower and spiral pasta in its fluffy-topped pot pie. The potato gratin was creamy with mini potatoes, and the chocolate mousse was topped with a lemon-filled mochi.
Related: I've visited every Disney park. Here's the best of the best
The Snuggly Duckling
The Snuggly Duckling is a massive counter-service restaurant in Rapunzel's Forest with seating for about 620 guests.
You can order a shrimp burger or a cheeseburger with an additional thick slice of meat a la carte, or you can get it as a set meal with a drink and either fries or a fresh salad. The burger alone costs 950 yen (about $6), while the set costs 1,490 yen (about $10).
I liked the shrimp burger for its large fillet of lightly fried shrimp. But I also appreciated the opportunity to eat a fresh salad during a theme park day.
You can order a small muffin filled with caramel for 600 yen (about $4), a Sweet Ever After pie with flavored filling in a pie shell for 700 yen (about $5) and Rapunzel's Magical Milk Tea for 800 yen (about $5). Note: There's an additional cost for the decorative cup.
Related: Close to Disney and perfect for points: My stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay
Lookout Cookout
Lookout Cookout is a counter-service restaurant in Peter Pan's Never Land that can seat about 200 guests.
You can order Lost Kids' Snack Boxes filled with chicken tenders, seaweed fritters, banana chips, bread and a shrimp chip for 900 yen (about $6).
There are two types of chicken tenders on offer — butter curry and lemon tea — and I preferred the zesty sweetness of the lemon tea chicken tenders. Once you're done eating, consider unfolding the box to display a map.
If you're thirsty, you can get complimentary water cups inside the dining area. But you could also try the Pixie Dust Soda for 750 yen (about $5); it includes a star you can put into your cup to see a sparkling effect that also changes the color of your drink.
The restaurant also offers a chocolate cake topped with a solid piece of chocolate for 600 yen (about $4).
Related: Why you should visit Tokyo Disney Resort — even if you're not a huge Mickey fan
Oaken's OK Foods
At Oaken's OK Foods counter in Frozen Kingdom, you can purchase Oaken's Yoo-Hoo Bread.
This 850 yen (about $5) snack is a cardamom bread filled with spiced meat and topped with lingonberry jam that's easy to eat on the go. I found it filling and enjoyed the jam topping. However, the meat-to-bread ratio was lower than I'd hoped, and I wished the bread was softer.
Popcorn Wagon
Flavored popcorn is wildly popular at Tokyo Disney. There will even be a new stand in Fantasy Springs where you can purchase roast beef-flavored popcorn in Peter Pan's Never Land for 400 yen (about $3). I didn't get to try this popcorn flavor, but I was told it tastes like a salty gravy.
You can purchase popcorn in a standard box or a collectible lantern-shaped bucket.
Bottom line
Tokyo DisneySea is already a very popular and highly regarded theme park for Disney fans worldwide. That will likely only intensify with the all-new land and hotel.
Based on our preview, I'd say that all four of the new Fantasy Springs rides bring something to the table. My favorites are the jaw-dropping finale of Rapunzel's Lantern Festival and Peter Pan's Never Land Adventure, which offers an immersive experience and makes you feel like you're flying.
As for dining options, the Lost Kids' Snack Boxes at the fun-themed Lookout Cookout were my favorite. The chicken is delicious regardless of which version you choose, and this box is surprisingly filling with seaweed fritters, banana chips, bread and a shrimp chip.
Don't worry if you don't speak Japanese — you'll still be able to understand and enjoy all of the new Fantasy Springs rides. Many cast members at Tokyo Disney speak some English; you'll have no issues navigating the park and its foods if you only speak English with the occasional Google Translate assist.
The opening of Fantasy Springs this summer is just one more reason to include a stop at Tokyo DisneySea in your itinerary when you visit Japan.
Admission rates at both Tokyo Disney parks are usually much lower than what you'd pay to visit a Disney park in the U.S. Plus, a visit to these parks offers a fun and interesting look into Japanese culture through the lens of something familiar yet also unique and different.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
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- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.