The other day, I had a “Mom’s Reward DAY” and spent a whole day on my own in a bit of luxury! It’s so hard to decide what to do with a precious reward day! As a Disney-loving mom, the place I picked was “Maihama”, of course! This time, though, I didn’t enter the parks — I made the most of the Disney atmosphere from outside.
In this article, I’ll report on “a luxurious Disney-themed day without entering the parks” that this Disney-loving mom spent on her reward day!
A Disney-loving mom’s reward DAY! Schedule
Here’s the schedule for my reward DAY. It wasn’t long — just four and a half hours — but I was able to forget about housework, parenting, and work, and fully enjoy myself! The key to planning the schedule was thinking about what’s hard to do with kids around, and what would be the best stress relief for me as a mom.
11:30 Lunch buffet / Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Oceano
13:00 A stroll for park vibes / Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta and Tokyo DisneySea entrance
13:30 Shopping at the Disney Store / Ikspiari
14:15 Watching “Moana 2” / Cinema Ikspiari
16:00 Heading home
A Disney-loving mom’s reward DAY! Details
Lunch buffet / Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Oceano
My reward DAY started with a lunch buffet! A few days earlier I’d managed to grab a canceled reservation at MiraCosta’s Oceano, so I got to enjoy a solo buffet! Normally I’m holding my child’s hand on the way to the buffet counter and looking after them while we eat, so I rarely get to dine in peace — but today I could move around freely and eat to my heart’s content!
Since it was Christmas season, festively colored items had been added to the buffet menu. The decorations were lovely too.
The menu items were all delicious, but the standout was the consommé soup! When you hear “consommé soup,” you probably picture the kind you make by dissolving a bouillon cube or powder in hot water, right? Oceano’s consommé soup has a setup like the one in the photo — you pour from the center spout, and surrounding it are chunks of meat and other ingredients constantly simmering to make the broth. The soup is a clear, beautiful liquid with no solids in it, but it tasted wonderful.
chakoIt was so good I was drinking it instead of tea while eating dessert (laugh)! I think I had about 5 cups!
And one of Oceano’s signature perks — depending on your reservation time, you can step out onto the balcony to watch DisneySea harbor greetings and harbor shows. My reservation was during the Christmas harbor greeting “Disney Christmas Greeting,” so I got to enjoy the park atmosphere fully from the balcony.
A stroll / Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta and Tokyo DisneySea entrance
After the lunch buffet, I went to check out the merchandise at Mickeyangelo Gallery inside MiraCosta. They had the newly released MiraCosta cushion in stock. There were also chopsticks with a MiraCosta pattern — I saw them for the first time!
Next, I spent a while soaking up the park atmosphere on the connecting passage between MiraCosta and the Resort Liner. Since it sits directly above the DisneySea entrance, you can gaze at the AquaSphere while listening to the background music “Aquasphere Plaza ~DAY~.” I love “Aquasphere Plaza ~DAY~” — just listening to it makes me feel elegant and relaxed, so I often come here when I want a taste of Disney without entering the parks.
Shopping at the Disney Store / Ikspiari
Next, I moved over to Ikspiari and browsed the Disney Store until movie time. There’s a Christmas monument at the entrance. The Disney Store at Ikspiari changes its monument to match the season or event, which is a real treat for Disney fans!
I joined the Disney Store’s regular “rock-paper-scissors with a cast member” game. Play it and you get a card. This time mine was Moana. Maybe they timed it to the film’s release.
Watching “Moana 2” / Cinema Ikspiari
When movie time rolled around, I headed to Cinema Ikspiari! Truthfully, I hadn’t been to a movie theater since my child was born, so it was my first cinema visit in about three years! Cinema Ikspiari has something called the Moana Theater, where for an extra 200 yen on the regular price you get Moana 2-themed seating and bonus cards. But that day was Wednesday Cinema Day, so tickets were 1,300 yen — I went with the standard theater. I really wanted some caramel popcorn, but I was so full from the buffet that I stuck to iced tea…
The film itself? I personally found it very enjoyable. As a sequel, the story felt perfect for a grown-up Moana. And the water effects were so beautiful!! The visuals were so stunning they nearly brought tears to my eyes! I’ve covered the highlights and my impressions of “Moana 2” here, so check out that article if you’re interested.
Wrap-up
How was it? A day packed with Disney content, just like a Disney-loving mom would plan. This time I built the schedule around what’s hard to do with kids and what would be the best stress relief for me as a mom. I hope this gives you some ideas for how to spend your own reward DAY if you’re a mom who’s always juggling housework, parenting, and work.