I'm traveling to Japan on business next month and decided a day trip to DisneySea is in order. I'm definitely a WDW veteran as well. I only have 1 day to try and take in as much as possible. Plan on going on a Thursday (October 9th) which according to the crowd level website is right smack in the middle of empty to packed.
Did you follow a specific touring plan for DisneySea? Do you have any tips or things you wish you had done differently?
Here is the recap for my day at Disney Sea in August of 2012. It was a fairly crowded but manageable day midweek. It was my second visit in three years, so I definitely gained some insight from my previous visit:
I decided to skip Toy Story, as I've done this ride a bunch of times at DL and WDW:
Monday, August 20, 2012
Arrived at 7:20am
Park opens at 8:30am
Journey (we did not run, most people running to Toy Story Mania)
Aquatopia
DS Got FPs for TOT while we waited for Storm Rider (9:30am FP for 2:20pm entry)
Storm Rider
Indiana Jones (Single Rider Line)
Got FPs for 20,000 (11:30am for 1:35pm entry)
Lunch Vulcania
Mermaid Show
Got FP for Magic Lamp (1:30pm for 1:55pm entry)
Sindbad
20,000 Leagues with FP
Magic Lamp Theatre with FP
Won Lottery for BBB (applied at 3pm)
Tower of Terror with FP
Big Band Beat (3:30pm show)
Duffy Show at Cape Cod Cookout
Got FP for Raging Spirit (4:50pm for 9pm entry)
Mystic Rythyms (5:20pm show)
Made Reservation at Magellan (6pm)
Fortress Exploration
Dinner at Magellan (6:30pm)
Fantasmic (8:10pm)
Raging Spirit with FP
Leave Park 9:30pm (Park closes at 10pm)
Notes:
Ask for front row for Journey. Each vehicle has a front and back row.
Everything in the park is worth doing. Only you can decide for yourself, after you've done it, what you enjoyed most.
Magellan is a nice, air-conditioned place to eat after an exhausting day, but it is slow service, and the food is not nearly as good as some of the nicer places at WDW. This is the one thing I wouldn't do.
Do not miss Triton's Kingdom - it is the underground portion of Mermaid Lagoon. Entrance on a path from Mysterious Island to Mermaid Lagoon.
Do not miss Fortress Exploration. It is not just a kid's playground! There is a map of the fortress in English, but you have to ask for it. One of the best souvenirs in the park, it's free, and you will need it.
There is a lottery for Big Band Beat (except for the first showtime of the day). You can enter the lottery in a room nearby. It is marked on the park map. You can only enter once. If you win the lottery, you get in. If not, you can wait on line and hope to get in. I entered the lottery for the last show of the day. Before that, there were long lines jsut to enter the lottery, which seems like a waste of time to me. Before the last show, the line completely disappeared, so there is nothing lost by entering the lottery.
Mystic Rhythms is a great show, and I think you should try to see it. It is relatively easy to get in.
I hope the above is of some help.