With my Fastpass return time still hours away, I had little reason to stay in the Mysterious Island area of the park. I ventured forward to whatever the next area would be. After some walking, I found myself in ‘Mermaid Lagoon’, heavily inspired by The Little Mermaid. The most notable landmark to be seen here was a large recreation of King Triton’s Castle, adorned with various different shells and coral colors. I believe there were some attractions, but I didn’t stay in the area too long. Truth be told, this was probably my least favorite area of the park. The area is well crafted, as would be expected, but I felt the theme wasn’t as consistent with the rest of the park. I’m sure others will disagree, but Mermaid Lagoon felt out of place compared to other areas I had already visited, like it belonged in Disneyland more than DisneySea.

Proceeding forward, I walked through the ‘Arabian Coast’ (to be touched on later), and then to the ‘Lost River Delta’. This area is inspired mostly by old Aztec ruins, with a large pyramid being the main focus.

Having walked around for a while, I decided it was time to take a rest and find some food. Using my map, I decided upon a suitable destination close by, and in a few minutes I walked into ‘Miguel’s El Dorado Cantina’. I was curious about this place for a few reasons. The first being the name: There is a classic Dreamworks movie The Road to El Dorado that features a lead protagonist named ‘Miguel’, and even though I knew there would be no cross over with a Disney park and Dreamworks, the name seemed to connect to it too much. My second reason for being curious was, of course, how would it compare to Mexican food back home in L.A.? I would soon find out.

To have my first question answered, the theming is based around the recent Pixar movie Coco, with the lead protagonist being named ‘Miguel’ (at this point I had not seen the movie, so I was unaware). I never figured out why El Dorado was in the name, but it’s really not too important, I guess. I stood in line and made my selection. A quesadilla with a beer seemed appropriate. One of the cool things about this establishment is if you order a beer, you are given a gold coin that must be taken to a different area of the restaurant and exchanged for your drink. I actually really liked this idea, as it added to the overall atmosphere. It was like I had been given a Spanish doubloon as my golden treasure to be exchanged for…other golden treasure. I received my food, acquired my drink, and found a suitable place to sit. The meal itself was okay. Not great, not terrible (it could have used more cheese). I also thought it would have been nice to have had the option to order a Mexican beer, considering the surroundings (Kirin was all that was provided). Again, not a terrible place, I just feel it could be better.

Still in the Lost River Delta, I decided to look around to see what attractions it contained. There were two of note: Raging Spirits (a high speed roller coaster) and Indiana Jones: Temple of the Crystal Skull. Both of them had an over 2 hours wait time, and I was good to acquire another Fastpass soon. I could only get one though, so I had to make a decision. In the end, I decided upon Indian Jones, since it seemed slightly more popular, and I’d be able to make comparisons to the L.A. version. I considered waiting in line for Raging Spirits, but felt my time could be better utilized exploring the park some more. Deciding this, I went back to Arabian Coast, which I had speed through before.

It could probably be implied from the name, but Arabian Coast takes inspiration from ‘Agrabah’ in Disney’s Aladdin. Though Aladdin is a big part of the area, there are parts of Arabian Coast that take inspiration from other sources. For example, ‘Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage’, though not originally Disney related, is a Disney dark ride much like Small World and Snow White that is based upon the Seven Voyages of Sindbad. With time to spare, and the wait time being a mere 10 minutes, I figured it was worth a look.

I ended up enjoying this ride quite a bit. It basically follows Sindbad leaving his hometown and going on several different adventures around the world, fighting off enemies, making friends, and collecting treasures. Throughout the entirety of the ride everyone is singing a song entitled Compass of your Heart, which basically talks about life being an adventure, the importance of friendship, and following the call of one’s heart. I later found out the song was composed by Alan Menken, known for his work in many Disney films including Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Throughout the ride Sindbad is accompanied by a tiger cub companion named Chandu, who adds a bit more lightheartedness to the experience. The overall experience just felt fun, and the sense of adventure presented really spoke to me.

Lighthearted as the ride may appear, it was much different when it first opened. Apparently, the ride was originally a lot darker in tone. Creatures who now help Sindbad and sing along side him were originally more antagonistic. The song itself did not exist, with Sindbad simply narrating the events of each area. The lovable Chandu was nowhere to be seen, and Sindbad had facial hair (he is now clean shaven). The ride was supposedly unpopular with Japanese guests, and thus reworked into the current version. Though I did not experience the original ride, I think they made the right call reworking it, as the ride they have in place now is enjoyable, and the wait time is quite manageable (I went on it twice).

The rest of Arabian Coast had some other small attractions, including a ‘Flying Carpet Ride’, a two story carousel, and carnival games. Though they seemed mildly entertaining, I was content to simply enjoy them from afar. At this point, I had been to each area of the park at least once, and so I felt it was time to go back through and see what I may have missed.

At this point it was afternoon, so I got to see a bit of the ‘Easter Performance’ carried out on the Mediterranean Harbor (The Italian themed area of the park). It was a fine performance, though some of the song choices had me puzzled (Jump in the Line doesn’t exactly scream Easter to me). Still, it was entertaining to watch, and with it being in the middle of the harbor, it can be enjoyed from multiple different angles.

I also found ‘Fortress Explorations’, which is a vast medieval style castle guests can walk through. Along with the fortress is ‘The Leonardo Challenge’, which has a Japanese speaking Leonardo instructing guest to use a map and solve challenges based on clues hidden around the fortress. It seems fun, but unless your Japanese is at a sufficient level it might not be very doable. Still, the fortress is fun enough on it’s own without the challenge.

I spent most of my time afterwards simply walking around and enjoying the scenery of the park. I could have gone on a few more attractions, but for  me it was enough to simply take in my surroundings and enjoy the view. I was especially fond of looking out at the water from various different areas of the park. Weather I was in the American Waterfront or Arabian Coast, the view was always lovely, and I took several minutes simply gazing out into the distance, taking it all in.

It was almost time to put my Fastpasses to good use, but the night time show ‘Fantasmic’ would be first. Like the Easter show, the performance took place in the Mediterranean Harbor, with the focus being on a giant cone shaped (hat shaped?) island in the middle. The show has some similarities to it’s L.A. counterpart, but also remains it’s own things. One of the highlights for me was towards the climax when the villains are taking over. Amidst the fire effects happening on top of the water, Mount Prometheus (behind from where I was viewing) erupts in the background. It caught me off guard, but being surrounded from different angles by the effects made it feel more like I was in the middle of the experience, rather than being merely a spectator. I would definitely recommend watching this version of the show if given the chance.

NOW it was time to put my Fastpasses to use. First stop: Journey to the Center of the Earth. After presenting my pass and moving through the queue line, I was escorted to an elevator that would take me to the passenger loading area. Much like the Fastpass distribution area, the surroundings were that of an underground mining facility. I took my seat in the ride vehicle and settled in for the much anticipated experience.

The ride starts off fairly slow, going through caverns and showing off different creatures and scenery. I was amazed at the colors exhibited during this part. Being the ‘center of the earth’, I imagined a more muted color scheme, similar to that of the queue line, but the colors I saw were quite vibrant and varied. The ride then continues further into the caverns, and it became apparent that the mood had changed. Suddenly, a giant centipede-like magma creature emerged on the right hand side, and no sooner did guests admire the detail that went into creating it, the car jetted off at high speed through the rest of the cavern. Then it was over. The ride itself was enjoyable, and I would highly recommend it. However, it is also very short, so unless you really don’t mind waiting in a 2 – 3 hour line, get a Fastpass.

The next, and last ride, of the night would be Indiana Jones. Once again presenting my Fastpass and walking through the shortened line, I briefly admired my surroundings. There were already differences from that of the L.A. attraction, notably having it be an Aztec temple as oppose to a Bhengalese one (South Asia), and

our ‘host’ being Paco instead of Sallah. Additionally, the cursed ‘item’ this time was the ‘Crystal Skull’, whereas in L.A. It’s the ‘Forbidden Eye’. I’ll note right now that this ride actually has nothing to do with the movie that was released, despite sharing a similar name, and actually came out years before the movie.

The ride itself is an almost one to one recreation of the L.A. attraction, with the track being identical and mostly cosmetic differences separating the two. Instead of looking into the eyes of the statue you look at the Crystal Skull, the snake’s appearance is different, and there is a swirling vortex in the middle of the large room with the bridge. The biggest difference would have to be a room where the jeep is facing the Crystal Skull, and the skull shoots a large ‘fireball’ at the guests (it’s actually just a colored smoke ring, but it caught me off guard!). The L.A. ride is one of my favorite attractions, and I enjoyed this one just as much. I wouldn’t necessarily put one over the other, especially since the tracks are almost identical. They’re both great, but much like Journey to the Center of the Earth: use a Fastpass if you can.

With my last Fastpass used up, and the park nearing closing, it was time for me to take my leave. As Indiana Jones was at the back of the park, I had a chance to walk through some of the other areas one last time before my departure. It was nice to be able to see some of the areas at night, as I felt they had a different tone than during the day. Walking towards the exit, I felt sad to be leaving, but also felt that I had accomplished a lot in my fist visit. I know I will definitely be returning to DisneySea one day, and I’ll look forward to exploring what I missed my first time around. Until then!