Thanks to DIS boards for great Tokyo Disney Trip

[nickelslot]

Thanks to all of you on this board (and a few other sites), we had the information to fully enjoy our recent 5 day stay at Tokyo Disney. One tip that helped a lot was when to go (early May after Golden Week): the parks were not crowded at all. The longest wait was one hour, but most rides were less than 15 minutes. There was not lottery for Big Band Beat ... the parks were that uncrowded. Second great tip was staying at the Miracosta overlooking Mediterranean Harbor. Really, it was like a dream looking out our window and seeing the park after it was closed. I could go on, but let me end with a few of my observations:
1. There are lots of Japanese people in Japan! OK, that is not profound. But there were very few Americans or Europeans. I mean we saw less than 20 on any day! I read while there that most tourists come from other Asian countries (led by China). I also read that something like 96% of the people in the parks are from Japan. I like seeing experiencing other cultures, so this was great.
2. One day from our room, before the park opened, Daisy and Minnie were posing for photographers near the Harbor. Even with no guests and no one taking pictures, they were in character, waving and fooling around! Later, we found one DisneySea souvenir book featuring Disney characters and very, very little of the park. For example, a picture of Mickey and maybe the Arabian Coast behind him. My uninformed take-away from this is that people in Japan put more emphasis on characters than on physical things (yes, there is probably a better way to say this, but that is the best I can do).
3. There is enough English to get around, but otherwise it would be like living in the US if you didn't know how to read, or, more to the point. if you were from Japan, didn't know English, and were visiting the US.
4. This point has often been made on this board, but until you go to Tokyo Disney, you just don't understand that Tokyo Disney and DisneySea are the greatest theme parks in the world. Every land is fully worked out and give the impression of going on forever. Details abound and the illusion of being in whatever land you are in is complete. All I can say is Wow!

My overall point is that visiting Tokyo Disney is an adventure not only because of the seeing the greatest theme parks in the world, but also because of the people there.

 

[Agent 86]

Well said!

I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip!

I agree with everything you said, except for the comparison to living in the US without being able to speak English. In my limited experience, it was rare to find anyone in the US willing to provide assistance even if you spoke English. Whereas in Japan, it seems as though everyone is willing to help even if you have to communicate through a series of bizarre gestures, facial expressions, finger pointing and very basic Japanese.

 

[BagOLaughs]

it was rare to find anyone in the US willing to provide assistance even if you spoke English. Whereas in Japan, it seems as though everyone is willing to help even if you have to communicate through a series of bizarre gestures, facial expressions, finger pointing and very basic Japanese.

I found this too. We were up early one morning and walk to starbucks for our fix. We were walking behind a postman who stopped to pick up and piece of litter and pop it in a bin. Just on the street in Tokyo, not in Disney. It was so sweet.

Glad to hear you had a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I also found that both CMs and visitors were very helpful, even if they couldn't speak English. Also, even though most people didn't speak English, all of the signs were also in English, so it wasn't hard to navigate the parks or public transportation without knowing Japanese.

I can't wait to go back!