Tokyo Disney, just returned

I went with my son in May of 2011. It was the first day they opened after the big earthquake... We had the parks to ourselves, seriously no one was there. We got stopped so many times, not only in the parks but everywhere we went in Japan by natives thanking us for being in there country. They are truly the most hospitable, gracious culture I’ve ever known.
My son & I loved Disney Sea the best & I have to admit I was a little freaked out, claustrophobic on 20,000 (It’s based on an earthquake, so I for a few minutes thought it was real since I felt so many while I was there ) leagues under the sea. We had all the characters to ourselves, they actually came around to us in the parks.... I will never forget it & it will forever hold a special place in my heart.
 
I went with my son in May of 2011. It was the first day they opened after the big earthquake... We had the parks to ourselves, seriously no one was there. We got stopped so many times, not only in the parks but everywhere we went in Japan by natives thanking us for being in there country. They are truly the most hospitable, gracious culture I’ve ever known.
My son & I loved Disney Sea the best & I have to admit I was a little freaked out, claustrophobic on 20,000 (It’s based on an earthquake, so I for a few minutes thought it was real since I felt so many while I was there ) leagues under the sea. We had all the characters to ourselves, they actually came around to us in the parks.... I will never forget it & it will forever hold a special place in my heart.
That seems like an extremely memorable trip!
 
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it, but for me it's easily the best Disney theme park in the world.

If you were happy with the cast members, cleanliness, maintenance, etc - what aspects were disappointing?

You mentioned the merchandise, but I've never been to a Disney theme park with better merchandise available than that at Tokyo Disneyland. What I particularly like about Tokyo Disneyland's merchandise is that a larger proportion of it seems to be a bit more ... tasteful or adult-oriented than the other parks where more kid-friendly and garish designs seem to be popular.

You also mentioned Tokyo Disneyland not being "cutting-edge", but I don't think anyone represents it as leading the way in ride technology. Shanghai Disneyland would be the current leader with Tron, Buzz and Pirates. That will probably change when the two Star Wars lands open in LA and Florida.

I'm not sure visiting Paris, Hong Kong or Shanghai would yield a better experience. They all have their pluses and minuses, but I can't really think of anything which would put any of them heads and shoulders above Tokyo. Hong Kong is normally less crowded, which is a plus. And Shanghai has the newest rides.

I do admit to a certain degree of bias - Tokyo Disneyland was my first Disney theme park and it's the closest thing we Aussies have to a "local" Disney theme park since it's only 9 or so hours away by plane and cheap flights between Tokyo and Australia can be found somewhat easily.
There was a
We visited the Tokyo parks in November and were very impressed. I'd go again in a heartbeat, though I'd try to find a less crowded time.

California Adventure still has the edge over DisneySea on my top Disney Parks list, only because of MaxPass -- walking from Indiana Jones to Tower of Terror at DisneySea to get a FP was tiring (caveat, I haven't been to Animal Kingdom post-Pandora, so that might also be a top contender).

If by "theming" you mean Disney character or intellectual property driven, I can see how DisneySea would disappoint, but that's actually a point in its favor in my book. You can visit the park and be blown away by the different areas without ever having seen a Disney movie. I don't feel like that's the case with the "castle" parks or most of the other parks (for instance, Carsland at DCA is impressive in large part because it replicates the movie so precisely). Animal Kingdom or Epcot would be the others in that category. My kids also loved all of the playgrounds and areas to explore at DisneySea without any waiting.

My very favorite theme park in the world, Europa Park, has what I would call great theming with very limited reliance on its marginal mascots (the ridiculously derivative Euro-maus and his girlfriend Edda and their three friends -- sound familiar?) and the small area for Arthur and the Invisibles.

We've been to Disneyland Paris as well and while it Parc Disneyland was beautiful, Phantom Manor and Big Thunder are awesome, and we all liked Crush's Coaster, I feel no particular compulsion to go back there, largely because of how the parks are run (and we even had the benefit of a VIP Fastpass because of our stay in a suite at Sequoia lodge). The restaurants are extremely inefficient and have strange hours and opening schedules, so getting food anywhere in and around the park was a frustrating exercise. We all felt the cast members were apathetic and inefficient as compared to the other parks.

At Tokyo Disneyland our experience was that they were running on all cylinders (all restaurants, rides and shops open at full capacity) at all times and the cast members were friendlier than friendly.

At Tokyo Disneyland, we felt that they had some of the best iterations of the rides that we've been on across the three continents, in part because of how well maintained they were. I would put the following in the "best" category:
(1) Space Mountain
(2) Tower of Terror (Guardians of the Galaxy is really the best in the drop ride category, but that's not really a fair comparison)
(3) Splash Mountain
(4) Peter Pan
(5) It's a Small World
(6) Roger Rabbit
(7) Jungle Cruise (even though we couldn't understand the dialogue)
(8) Snow White
(9) Pinocchio

(Interestingly, when I thought about the comparisons, I would put most of the WDW attractions at the bottom of the list for each attraction -- I couldn't think of a single attraction at WDW that I think is better than its peer at the other 3 parks)

And we all loved Monsters, Inc. and Hunny Hunt.
I just don’t know. Maybe we were having an off day.
 
I went with my son in May of 2011. It was the first day they opened after the big earthquake... We had the parks to ourselves, seriously no one was there. We got stopped so many times, not only in the parks but everywhere we went in Japan by natives thanking us for being in there country. They are truly the most hospitable, gracious culture I’ve ever known.
My son & I loved Disney Sea the best & I have to admit I was a little freaked out, claustrophobic on 20,000 (It’s based on an earthquake, so I for a few minutes thought it was real since I felt so many while I was there ) leagues under the sea. We had all the characters to ourselves, they actually came around to us in the parks.... I will never forget it & it will forever hold a special place in my heart.
The only character we saw out and about in either park was Duffy. I do agree the cast members are fabulous!
 


Perhaps the differences related to the Tokyo parks being run by Oriental Land Company and not by Disney?

They have their own way of doing things because they are not beholden to the mouse; generally I think that works out in your favor but it can be a little jarring at times. Although this is true at all of the international parks, even the ones that Disney has a greater say in.

The merchandise complaint is very common, and TDR merchandise is very polarizing.

Maybe it's just expectations? Tokyo Disneyland park in particular is not usually lauded for cutting edge tech; if so, it's usually in reference only to Pooh and Monsters, especially compared to their US counterparts. It is lauded for being old school Disney in the sense that everything is impeccably maintained and operated.

I don't agree that DisneySea isn't Disney quality. The only way you might say that is if you equate Disney to being surrounded by characters and branding 24/7. If Disney means only the absolute best in themed environments, I don't see how anyone could be disappointed. There is a lot of care and tech put into most of their attractions (and areas!) that I find missing in many more recent stateside additions.

As for other international parks, I can't comment on Shanghai yet. Hong Kong and Paris are both easier with cool elements and attractions, but I can't say that they're better overall than Tokyo.
 
Perhaps the differences related to the Tokyo parks being run by Oriental Land Company and not by Disney?

They have their own way of doing things because they are not beholden to the mouse; generally I think that works out in your favor but it can be a little jarring at times. Although this is true at all of the international parks, even the ones that Disney has a greater say in.

The merchandise complaint is very common, and TDR merchandise is very polarizing.

Maybe it's just expectations? Tokyo Disneyland park in particular is not usually lauded for cutting edge tech; if so, it's usually in reference only to Pooh and Monsters, especially compared to their US counterparts. It is lauded for being old school Disney in the sense that everything is impeccably maintained and operated.

I don't agree that DisneySea isn't Disney quality. The only way you might say that is if you equate Disney to being surrounded by characters and branding 24/7. If Disney means only the absolute best in themed environments, I don't see how anyone could be disappointed. There is a lot of care and tech put into most of their attractions (and areas!) that I find missing in many more recent stateside additions.

As for other international parks, I can't comment on Shanghai yet. Hong Kong and Paris are both easier with cool elements and attractions, but I can't say that they're better overall than Tokyo.
Perhaps we need to try again on our next visit to Tokyo.
 
Perhaps the differences related to the Tokyo parks being run by Oriental Land Company and not by Disney?

They have their own way of doing things because they are not beholden to the mouse; generally I think that works out in your favor but it can be a little jarring at times. Although this is true at all of the international parks, even the ones that Disney has a greater say in.

The merchandise complaint is very common, and TDR merchandise is very polarizing.

Maybe it's just expectations? Tokyo Disneyland park in particular is not usually lauded for cutting edge tech; if so, it's usually in reference only to Pooh and Monsters, especially compared to their US counterparts. It is lauded for being old school Disney in the sense that everything is impeccably maintained and operated.

I don't agree that DisneySea isn't Disney quality. The only way you might say that is if you equate Disney to being surrounded by characters and branding 24/7. If Disney means only the absolute best in themed environments, I don't see how anyone could be disappointed. There is a lot of care and tech put into most of their attractions (and areas!) that I find missing in many more recent stateside additions.

As for other international parks, I can't comment on Shanghai yet. Hong Kong and Paris are both easier with cool elements and attractions, but I can't say that they're better overall than Tokyo.
The merchandise is one of the main things I'm most excited about on our upcoming trip! I'm gonna break my wallet in those stores...
 


The merchandise is one of the main things I'm most excited about on our upcoming trip! I'm gonna break my wallet in those stores...
There is a lot of nice merchandise. We were looking for specific TDR branded merchandise which is sparse.
 
We visited the first week of December, and the three of us fell completely in love because it's Disney, like we knew Disney. My Dad said it reminded him of Disneyland when he visited when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in 1970-72 and would visit monthly. We would all declare DisneySea our favorite park. But there isn't a single attraction that blew us away, it was more the "sum of the parts." The best things, however, were the entertainment options, we saw all 3 parades, Let's Party Gras, Big Band Beat, It's Christmas Time show at DisneySea and if you were the type of person who normally skips those types of offerings then I can see how someone could come away with the feeling that the parks are missing something, in the character department. 20K Under the Sea, Sindbad, the Electric Railway and Steamer, walking around American Waterfront, Mysterious Island, Mediterranean Harbor....it's all love. :love:

We were disappointed in the merchandise as well. We did pick up some attraction/land specific stuff but it was the stuff that was on sale, and perusing Ebay and old Disney FAN magazines the best stuff came out years ago. We have all spent a lot of money on higher end stuff like the things found at Art of Disney or these days, the Co-op and other than a few pieces of Jewelry and a few Arribas items there is none of that. It was hard to find much that was more than $40. But there are things I wish I had bought but didn't. And some things the selection was just mis-timed, I think. The ticket/coin purses, I really wanted a new one (I bought Gelatoni at HKDL to wear in Tokyo, but I wanted something different to wear around WDW) but even though they had a dozen styles, they weren't characters I wanted (we did bring home a hamburger for a friend). But, looking at what was available in 2017/earlier in 2018, I would have had a hard time deciding. I ended up buying a Chandu on Ebay when we got home, for not much more than they cost in the park (I am also trying to track down a Roger Rabbit one). We were there for the debut of two collections but one was Winnie the Pooh, which wasn't our thing, and the Lunar New Year, but while I like Pumbaa it's not love, so I only bought one or two things. We would have bought more Christmas items, but the pieces we wanted had already sold out. I love their Tomica cars though, so we bought several. To wrap up, I think they had nice things it just didn't live up to our expectations of the best that was available in the past.
 
I know quite a few Americans who feel that way about TDR. The parks lose some of their magic when they don't understand the language and the crowds can be difficult to manage. The castle park doesn't feel unique enough because many things feel like copies from the US and they aren't interested in Duffy or the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Most of these people have been to the US parks somewhere between 20 and 60 times.

We visited with my Dad, and I was a little concerned he might feel that way. But one of the things he loved the most was the energy and engagement of the Jungle Cruise skipper. And we couldn't understand a single word! I kind of wished I had made a video and then have had my DH's cousin translate for us, because my Dad kept saying, "It was so good! I wish I knew what he said!" Same with Sindbad, he may not have known the words but he still fell in love with the presentation.

But like I said in my previous post, it was Disney like how it used to be and what we knew. Modern Disney and Disney of the past are very different things. I say, "If you walked into a library, old Disney could go to any shelf in any section and find something to create a magical and memorable experience. Modern Disney heads straight to the children's section and finds the "Disney" shelf and works off that." So in terms of place-making, romanticized environments, quality of the CM's, attention to detail, for us it was completing mind-blowing and affirming that we weren't just remembering old Disney in a way that never existed. Nope, that Disney is alive and well on the other side of the Pacific. The problem we have now, is that my Dad lives on WDW's back porch (15 min behind the MK) and my Dad was already fed up with the post-dining plan, post-FP+ ruining our experiences, as a loca,l that now he doesn't want to visit at all. And I can't say that I blame him. My Mom was a CM long enough that he still has admission privileges, so even though it's free and it's still too "expensive" to visit (you try being limited to a 7 day FP window and see how you like it.)
 
It really is in so many ways
Dh and I just started getting really detailed about our plans. We are going in 3 months and I had a general outline for things to do but now Dh is going back and seeing how close things are to each other and putting them in order so we don’t have to back track a bunch. I’m talking about our time in the cities, not Disney. For Disney we plan to follow Tom bricker’s plans pretty closely
 
I'm so sorry you didn't have a better experience! My favorite park is the Magic Kingdom in LBV. Disneyland seems small in comparison and Disneyland Paris even smaller. Shanghai was horrible - unbearably crowded and didn't get the Disney vibe there. I couldn't believe that they didn't have any cool merchandise to coincide with the inaugural year (or really anything to do with Shanghai) - they didn't even have postcards! I'm really hoping that we have a good experience in Tokyo.
 
DD has Duffy and Shellie Mae and I totally see her wanting Gelatoni. DH is like absolutely no more stuffies (she has 4 beanbags stuffed full:blush:) and I'm like but it's Gelatoni.:laughing: I am hoping to find some cool outfits for Duffy/Shellie at both Hong Kong and Tokyo.
I really am not that into Duffy, but when I saw Gelatoni I fell in love lol. We have two cats at home and the fact that he's an artist is just too cool. I love that they get so into dressing up and carrying all of the merch around in Tokyo
 
DD has Duffy and Shellie Mae and I totally see her wanting Gelatoni. DH is like absolutely no more stuffies (she has 4 beanbags stuffed full:blush:) and I'm like but it's Gelatoni.:laughing: I am hoping to find some cool outfits for Duffy/Shellie at both Hong Kong and Tokyo.

If you are going to Hong Kong, you should check out Cookie, the new addition! We went last year when she was first introduced. She’s so adorable!

706C72A2-16F0-4261-B08B-702954BDF859.jpeg

I am obsessed with Duffy’s hidden Mickey on his bum and they did this when I asked to take a picture of his behind.

7F0DE194-3739-41F4-8774-1F89ACE3DF92.jpeg
 
If you are going to Hong Kong, you should check out Cookie, the new addition! We went last year when she was first introduced. She’s so adorable!

706c72a2-16f0-4261-b08b-702954bdf859-jpeg.382420

So cute!! Definitely going to be looking for both Gelatoni and Cookie! :lovestruc
 
I hope that Tokyo Disney get Cookie and Olu soon! And the upcoming "TA" from Shanghai.

I'm guessing that Duffy's friends will be exclusive to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Aulani for at least a couple of years though.
 

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