Tokyo Disney - From an Aussie perspective

[queenie82]

I wrote this up a while ago and wasn't going to put it up on the Dis...but will put it here for any Aussies that are interested

We went to Tokyo in February 2009. Disneysea is amazing, beautiful, stunning, spectacular. It is indescribable as to just how amazing it is.
It is very Disney in that every detail has been tended to. The place is spotless. The rides run smoothly and efficiently. There were no limits on the Imagineers so they could really do EVERYTHING.
We went all out and stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and it would be hard to stay anywhere else again. This is the only hotel with proper FAMILY accommodation. They have rooms that take 4 ADULTS with 4 beds!

Here is the 'pre recorded' trip report
____________________________________
The first step was to get to Tokyo! We had been in Helsinki (in -7celcius, 20F) so the next trip was a Finnair flight to Tokyo which was great.[I must say the service with Finnair is perfect.] So we arrived in Tokyo in the morning and the next step was to find where you buy the tickets for the Limo Bus. The Limo Bus by far is the best and cheapest method of getting to Tokyo Disney. It is essentially a bus service that you buy a ticket for and it takes you to the resort area stops. It isn’t a public bus but a coach style bus with luggage storage underneath. You get the ticket and go to the bus and the efficient little men with gloves take your bag, tag the bag, and give you a claim ticket. I guess sort of like Magical Express except that it isn’t free and it doesn’t run as frequently.

I think the funniest part of the bus is that the stops at the airport are used for various destinations and because it was such an unknown process we arrived early…much to the dismay of the highly efficient Japanese who KNOW it will arrive on time and don’t understand why you are early! So we finally got our bus right on time. The driver wore a hat and gloves and when we got to the Disneyland Hotel he got off, opened underneath and took off the bags and checked the claim tickets off. [DO NOT TIP!!]

Now while I always stay at quality, clean accommodation, I am not accustomed to staying at 5star hotels and getting valets and porters etc. We specialise in apartments or suite hotels, which although of a good quality, do not have porters. SO….there were about 10 valet/porters waiting outside the hotel (and 80% are young Japanese women) who latched onto our bags and went to put them on trolleys to take inside. Most don’t speak ANY English and so I had to gesture in as much sign language as possible that I didn’t want my bags taken until I had at least checked in. After 10 flights where you are constantly checking your bag is always with you and in one piece (and jetlag) I was a bit touchy. So I finally swatted them all off (my family allowed them to take their big bags - we had 1 each - so they got 3 of them) and got into the hotel.

It was I think about 12:30 or so when we arrived in this stunning hotel.
Now while I was in awe when I arrived this soon waned due to tiredness and a very very poor checkin system. It was mostly a cultural clash I think….and they just didn’t understand why someone wouldn’t go along with their system. (they kept eyeing me with my suitcase and handluggage bag trying to work out why I had it….) My mum and brother went to check in and this was a long process. We were staying in a Standard alcove room in the lowest rank (level 1-3room….35000yen per night) and when we arrived they said they were fully booked and our room was not yet ready.

They said we can leave all our bags with them and that we could go on and come back later. Now this wasn’t happening. And it was lucky we kept insisting because the first room they gave us was at the VERY far end of the hall which was simply unacceptable to us. So after discussing it at a slightly higher volume than normal this a man in a suit came up and after hearing of the situation went off in a huddle and said another room would be ready soon. When it was ready it turned out to be half the distance and you could see the castle from the false balcony/window (although slightly obstructed.)

NEXT STEP - TICKETS!

Tickets at Tokyo Disney are a very tight structure. There is no length of stay ticket and the longest ticket is a 4 consecutive day pass. (more information can be found here: http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/ticket/index.html). When you buy this ticket you must select the park you want to visit on the first and second day. Although we were only going to get a part day we started on the day we arrived at Disneyland and then selected DisneySea for the second day. The third and fourth day you can park hop between parks. If you want any time longer you have to get annual pass however it is considerably more expensive than a 4day so you need to be sure you want to more days. (75000yen for 2 park annual. 4 day pass 15000yen)

So we got our tickets and we entered the park and went on various rides and then got a spot for the parade. Now the first thing you are likely to notice is the HUGE number of Cast Members. (and I have a spectacular tale of dedication to tell later.) There are sweepers, many sweepers and many liquids clean up crews who carry soapy spray to spray on and mop off immediately after a spill.

The parks were far quieter on this first day (and second day) than the following two days as the parks get busier as the days move to the weekend. Saturday was packed.
I don’t know the exact order I did with the rides at Disneyland but we did check them all out. Splash Mountain was closed, however this was not a major loss given it was a little chilly. Pinocchio was closed also. So off I went to the Haunted Mansion, which was ok but a little disappointing due to the Cast Members. They wear (like most it became clear) very odd outfits. The best comparison I can give is to anime characters. The Haunted Mansion outfit was a skirt that puffed like a Minnie Mouse Skirt and a top. Then there was like a little headband. There was no special face makeup and there is no character role-playing. All they do is talk nonstop in Japanese about the rules and where to go and so on in a loop over and over. They aren’t spooky in the stretching room or anything ?

I was in the last batch to go into the first room and then stretch room and the painting had already transformed into the old man skeleton and the stretch room had started to Stretch…not very magical. There is then the typical herding and getting into the buggy. At this point things picked up. The Ghost Host speaks Japanese but the intonation in the voice is correct and it is told by a man’s deep voice. The music is the same. The rooms are all great and very similar to the way WDW used to be (ie pre renovation which has made WDW awesome.) The Graveyard is where I noticed some differences. The popping up ghosts and some of the other ghosts have different faces. It is only subtle though. Oh and I should mention that the attraction is in Fantasyland because Ghost Stories are fairytales in Japanese Culture.

Next stop was it’s a Small World, which was a 5min/walk on. This was great although the CMs were in very odd DEFINITELY anime style costumes. Short puffy style skirts, red jackets, silly boater hats etc. It is very vibrant, more vibrant than the way DL used to be. The loading area is completely internal and very bright. There seemed, to be slight differences in emphasis on sections. There was a very Mexican section, which surprised me. I really enjoyed it as it was the least Japanese so it was a lovely relaxing ride through my memories of this ride.

The parade is very good but one thing I will say is there are far too many guiding staff and crossings. Generally speaking at WDW and DL the staff will try and avoid standing in front of people but it was not something they even thought about here…they happily walked slowly past blocking views as floats went past even in areas where there was plenty of space. There are many face characters, which means many westerners. The songs flip from Japanese to English and many such as Little Mermaid songs are kept entirely in English. It is spoken words that are most often in Japanese.

Where I sat myself for the parade (and I mean sat…most areas are seating ONLY. I emphasis ONLY!!! Even if you back onto a fence filled with plants you MUST sit and not stand. So anyway this spot was right near the Haunted Mansion, which is where the parade starts. I think the best float in the parade was the one where Tigger bounced down and up from a tree branch.

Snow White is scarier than the ones at the other parks (with the exception of Paris) with a longer and more intense wooded forest area. Like most of the fantasyland rides it also runs smoother with gentler breaking and turning. However, it doesn’t END. You come to the scene with the boulder being turned at the top and then you come out and get off……I don’t get it…I really don’t.
Peter Pan is better. When you fly over London it is like completely large buildings growing out of the ground.…in 3D…coming out from underneath you. Very cool.

THEN came Jungle Cruise….oh the Jungle Cruise. This is typically a fun filled ride full of corny jokes. This experience was completely in Japanese as expected, however, it was also torture.
Being screamed (and I mean SCREAM!!) at by a Japanese woman at a VERY high pitch is not my idea of fun. And the fact that all the people on the boat didn’t acknowledge anything she said in any way said that it wasn’t funny and not even corny.

 

[queenie82]

Next was the 25th Anniversary castle show. This is a show that was great but it was a fascinating approach that it was organised. We are all familiar with Castle shows on the stage in front of the Castle concept. So you then trot up as early as you can to get a great spot. Well Tokyo have decided to do things a bit differently. There are rows of seats in front of the stage that take up a considerable amount of space… I would say roughly up to the front half of the hub (so you can still get around but they block off from there to the castle.)

Anyway, so to get to sit on one of these seats there is a lottery you go to. It is sort of like a computer touch screen of the fastpass machine. You stick in the ticket and decide which show you want to try for (midday or 6pm) and it will either tell you that you have seats or not and then print a ticket for access or not. Now if you ‘win’ there is a cheer by the assisting CM (a common event when something vaguely exciting happens) and not only do you get a ticket…you get a seat number. There are good seat sections and not so good sections. In theory being right in the front is good but it is like being in the front row of the cinema…it is a bit tricky to see it completely. I didn’t get a ticket the first time I tried for it (and you can only try once per day) nor did I get one the second time. However the other day we tried my dad got a night one so I used his.

In any case I just stood in the section behind the seating area the first time in a reasonable view of it on this first day and got some reasonably good photos (see the picasa links) and quite enjoyed it. On Day 3 when I got to see it from a seat the seat was reasonably good. It was the back of the first section to the right a bit and there is slight banking so I got a reasonable view (thankfully I didn’t get the tallest Japanese people in the park this time around like I did in one of the other shows). I think the front row of the second section in the middle would be the best. Anyway I got pretty good footage and it is enjoyable.

In terms of what the show is like, it is mostly in Japanese and supposedly about these 2 children going on a journey or something. There is just about every Disney Character in the show and Mickey and Minnie are in nice outfits and there are even other experiments OTHER than Stitch in it!!!! I have never seen these characters anywhere else and I never found them in the parks. So that was a great bonus. Fun was had by all. [I have a slight Stitch and co addiction...]

So the next stop was finding a spot for the Dreamlights Parade. I saw this parade twice while I was there because I loved it and because I wanted to try for a better recording the second time around. The place I chose to sit this first time was in a good spot in theory but ended up being near a crossing and where CM’s liked to stand and walk by which messed with focusing on the camera a bit with them walking past all the time. It was amazing though. The floats are spectacular and there is my all time favourite float just because of it’s size and design…one of Sully from Monster’s inc with Mike on his lap and Boo attached to his back. It’s shear size and volume I just loved it. As I say I filmed it both times I saw it so I don’t have photos but there is a capacity on my video camera to extract photos so I did that. Anyway it is the best parade in Tokyo Disneyland but not as good as those found in DisneySea. I think it would tie with Spetromagic fun wise...but it truely is spectacular. Oh and many of the songs are in English and Peter Pan speaks English!! (and one of my friends when I came back said that he knows a guy who is one of the Peter Pan character at Tokyo Disneyland! Because Peter Pan is a face Character so it is a westerner.)

Shopping!

When we went to the shops and looked around and they contain very interesting things and an awful lot of food. They have candy and cakes and just so much random and weird stuff that is all incredibly expensive. I mean I used to think that the US parks were expensive but they are normal compared to here. It was partly the exchange rate (I mean when we booked 100yen equalled one Australian dollar…when we got there 60yen equalled 1 Australian dollar) but beyond that it is overpriced in the extreme. I must say the cake shop food though was very nice. We got like a raspberry cream tort type thing that was so yummy. The Japanese make beautiful cakes and deserts.

Yes so after this we went on the hunt for food. There is a shopping complex on the monorail system called Ikspari (I think) and it has food shops, clothes shops etc. It is sort of like a cross between downtown Disney and a mall. There is a Disney Store but this is as far as Disney goes. The rest is restaurants and clothes shops etc. Anyway we found Planet Hollywood and that looked nice but then we found this AWESOME Hawaiian Style Burger place. Man the burgers were good. When you walked in there was this haze from the griller in the kitchen and it smelt great...like a BBQ. So I got a Hawaiian burger and we got Onion Rings (like Fat Burger Onion rings in the US…..REAL onion rings) and another side. It was just great.

Then we went to the Supermarket, which was good but interesting and involved much study before you worked out what was what. There was a great range though and became very handy for supplies. Most food only has Japanese characters only on it so it is a bit hit and miss but I did find a Granola made in Canada which was very tasty! We also did get some nice other foods to and the best thing is the range of drinks. I became quite addicted to the White Peach Nectar. They also sold American brand water – Crystal geyser.

So then it was back to the hotel. The monorail system is fantastic and gets you around very well. It is NOT free but you do get unlimited travel on it included if you stay at a Disney Hotel. So we took that back to the hotel and finally saw the room.

We were in an Alcove room and I can hear you asking what is that. Well…it is a room with 2 beds…which were sort of like a double but seemed a bit smaller? I’m not sure. But then there was a single trundle bed and an alcove. This room is one of the few in the whole of TOKYO let alone Japan that actually caters for FOUR. In any other hotel on or around Disney property we needed 2 rooms no matter what. The alcove was literally an alcove in the wall that was a single bed. The way I believe it worked was that there would be two alcove rooms side by side and the alcoves would be ½ for one room and ½ for the other. It was a normal single mattress and very comfortable! The Bathroom was wonderful and clean and came with lots of goodies that were all wrapped or boxed with hotel logos!!

Then in the wardrobe was a really nice paper TDLR bag with 25th Anniversary on it. On the floor was 4 sets of adults slippers with the name of the hotel on them and 2 childrens. And finally in the drawer were 6 sets of Pyjamas in various sizes. The large just fit me but they were sort of wintery and it was a bit warm in the hotel. One night I saw a Japanese girl flying down the hallway in her Pjs. Apart from the PJ’s we collected and hid each of these items and they were ALL replace every day. Even the bag and the slippers. So we have a nice collection. Oh and there was even a mini fridge in the hotel…a nice touch!

Although the checkin was a trying process this is a WONDERFUL hotel I would highly recommend you stay at for going to the parks. You are exhausted at the end of the day (as you would all know) and it is just perfect. The only one that in a way would be better is the Miracosta which is right at DisneySea but they only have basic hotel rooms so we would have needed 2. It is beautiful and comfortable and although the staff can be very trying at times we eventually found a girl with reasonable English and she really did her best to help us. We needed on the Sunday to get to a hotel in Tokyo city to get a tour and we were a bit unsure of the timetable for the subway and she got us a timetable and told us where to change and which exit and was very helpful. She also booked out Limo bus back to the airport. The guy we got our tickets from was also very helpful and happily changed out AMEX travellers cheques (in YEN) for cash without commission. Another place you found very good staff was in the little market downstairs. This is the only hotel on or around Disney that has a little market, which was SOO handy. We could get drinks and food and the staff were exceptional and very efficient. We were a tourist attraction for them and they smiled (and laughed a little as we always got the same chocolate milk, coffee milk and Danish Bread) on our regular visits. You need to get used to being bowed at CONSTANTLY.
So we eventually got to sleep to try and recharge our batteries enough to deal with the amazing wonderful unique and brilliant DisneySea.

 

[queenie82]

Day 2 – DisneySea
This park is in many ways indescribable because it is just so detailed and sort of non-Disney and Disney at once. We hopped the monorail to the entry of the park from our hotel and got there before opening. Although it was still only Thursday there was a reasonable crowd and we joined it. When the gates opened there was a swarm of humanity taking off into the park. The park is a complicated layout and I regularly got lost (especially when travelling through the Volcano which has various routes through and around it and I always got disorientated) but it is simply stunning. Where we were headed to when we took off was to the Indiana Jones ride via the Journey To the Centre of the Earth ride where we got a fast pass. To do this we needed to go around the lake, through the volcano (which houses the journey ride and encapsulates the Nautilus Ride) and around, over the bridge and to the rear of the park. (check out the map here… http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/english/plan/mapdownload/images/sea_atrc.pdf …going around the lake and through the Volcano gets a bit tiring but the lake makes the most amazing stage you can’t complain.)

So we got our fastpasses no worries and arrived at Indiana Jones and stumbled across Indiana Jones himself A westerner face character who only spoke English. He smiled when he saw us and was there sort of as a distraction to reduce queues…lol…but there were some takers who took their photo with him.
[Aside: On the note of Photography I don’t recall seeing any CM photographers at all. The Characters sort of wander around and people mass around and the Japanese take their own photos (mostly on their phones) and the minders just hang around doing nothing really.]
Anyway we launched ourselves into the Indiana Jones Queue, which is amazing. There are relics all over the place and columns and all sorts of things. You gradually go up a ramp in and the relics are all around you and you then go through like a cave/tunnel area and there is the ‘instructions’, which are in English interestingly enough. Paco tells the tale. The weaves quite a bit and you then get to the part where you go down the stairs to board the ride. The Vehicles are the same as the ones n DL (and the same structure as Dinosaur) and you get directed into your row with much bowing and much flapping. The ride is essentially the same as the California version but the beginning is different as they don’t have the multi-door entry. The name of the ride is the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and there are references to this with skulls and in the blowdart section it is done differently and there are subtle differences etc but it became clear that the structure and track of the ride is the same. There is a bridge you go over and even the rolling ball (which I don’t recall being in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls movie). The difference with the rolling ball scene was that Indy spoke Japanese…sigh….I’m scarred for life.
While the theming of the ride leaves a little to be desired because it is a jumble of the original movie and the new movie I went on it again right away because it is and always will be a technologically amazing ride. The California one is better because the story structure being better but it is still Indy. We could then get another batch of Fastpasses so Fastpassed the only looping Coaster in either of the parks which is right next to Indy.

So we then went back to Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which hands down is the best ride in the park. It is beautifully built, the queue is themed well and being located within the walls of the Volcano is brilliant. The queue leads you to a lift which takes you down to another queue…deeper inside the earth…and you then board these vehicles that take six (3 rows of 2) that is on a roller coaster style track but it isn’t really coaster…as such. So once you board (after much flapping and bowing you to your row) you start going down on a slight slope before turning down to the right into a crystal cave. You continue down with turns and end up in the most amazing scene with creatures and it is just beautiful. As you pass these scenes you slow in pace. You then go through a ‘bumpy’ section downward and then you arrive at this creature that is more amazing than the Yeti in Expedition Everest in terms of being an audio-animatronic that looks just stunning. I wish you spent longer going past it and you definitely want to be on the right hand side of the vehicle for this. Next you are off. This is when this ride comes into it’s own. It is a ride sort of like splash mountain I guess in that you go through scenes (without a song…the sound track is sort of like a quieter deep rumble with slight inflections like the Space Mountain beginning) and then you take off. The ride becomes a roller coaster and goes up and then down really fast and as you go down you go in the open (nice and chilly thankyou…although after the warmth in the centre of the earth it is refreshing) and then back inside.

So after this we went to Nautilus 20,000 leagues under the sea, which is a submarine ride in the centre of the Volcano. It is a beautiful ride vehicle in similar stying to the Journey but it is a roundish submarine. The theming looks a lot like one of those old-fashioned scuba diving helmets. So you walk into it (and if you aren’t Japanese you duck as you do) and there are 3 benches that take 2 that look out through these big bubble portholes. While the idea is the 20,000 leagues under the sea story this is so much better quality and far far far more comfortable than the yellow submarines. It is however a submarine adventure and you go through various scenes. It never got long queues really but it was a fun and very tame ride.
Next we went back to the roller coaster, which I swear is the tamest looping coaster in the world. It is slow and even when it speeds up a bit it slows down again. Finally you get going and into the loop and then it is over. We did it twice in a row with no ill effects.
Hmmm…I’m not sure what came next. I suspect we must have gotten Fastpasses for Journey again before we used the ones for the roller coaster but it would have been for a few hours later as it is about the most popular ride in the park. I believe we started to check some of the many shows. Mystic Rhythms is one of them and it is visually stunning. There was a sort of African rhythm thing that was also where you could dine at Paris but it was simply loud and irritating. THIS one was in a proper theatre and the quality was great. There drummers and dancers and they moved through the aisles. There were water and smoke effects and the dancers were amazing. (Of course because they travelled through the aisle little Japanese ladies kept their eyes on any wayward feet that travelled 1 or more millimetres into the aisle. I believe they are the same staff on parade duty ensuring feet remain fully behind the line and not a millimetre over.)

So the next show was Legend of Mythica. This is hands down the best Disney show I have ever seen (and the soundtrack is amazing to boot.) The large lake in the middle of the park also has routes that lead around the park from which the gondolas launch as well as the DisneySea Transit Stream Liner which tours around the water…..as well as into a back stage area. The first float to appear is a large golden decagon from which 4 jetskis are launched. Then the other floats come out from which each of the characters emerge.
IT IS LEAVING THOUGH!!!! LEGEND OF MYTHICA IS BEING REPLACED BY FANTASMIC!
BUT TO BE HONEST........IT WILL BE A VERSION OF FANTASMIC YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

When you select a spot for a performance on this lake you can go anywhere around the lake and the bridge (that is styled vaguely on the Rialto) is a great place for views of the floats. But there are also 5 semi circle seating areas with a stage that each of the launches land at and the Characters come off at and dance with other performers. For this first performance we set up camp there but the next time we were there I was running a bit late coming off a ride and watched it from the bridge which is when I realised you got a better shot of the floats from there.
It is just a stunning show and the song is one of those that brings a little tear to the eye for me at least.

 

[queenie82]

And then I went to the StormRider attraction. This is an interesting attraction/experience. It guess it is basically Star Tours meets twister but instead of attempting to fly to Endor, you are flying in a weather laboratory to be part of a mission to test one of the new ‘Fuses’ and delivering it to the centre of the storm. Also rather than a smallish ship this is a theatre that takes about 120 people? I can’t really tell you much beyond that as the entire thing is in Japanese…
It is good…but probably the ‘worst’ ride in the park? I mean they are all such high class this is the least exciting of them.
So I think after this we went to the American Waterfront section and had a look at the shops…including the shop dedicated to Duffy the bear. So I will now explain the Duffy phenomenon. Ok so Duffy is the bear that Mickey gave to Minnie. In Tokyo there is an entire shop dedicated to this bear, there is a walking character of this bear, and the entire population appears to be obsessed with him. I do believe that he was sold as a ‘Disney Bear’ at WDW some years ago but was never a huge hit so now only exists in Tokyo now. He is treated like a Build-a-bear in that he has his own shop and clothes range.
This is his official website: http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tds/japanese/duffy/index.html
It is entirely in Japanese but you can see the images. This is a stylised picture of Duffy. What makes him a DisneyBear is his special feet.

There are photo spots marked around the park which are “Duffy Photo Points” and to make use of these the Japanese carry Duffy around with them all the time. I believe there must even be special harnesses because people do carry them around their necks on a strap thing.
Moving along…we were going to go on the Tower of Terror, however there was a long queue so we didn’t. So we then went to the show “Over the waves”. Now don’t ask me what on earth this show is about but Mickey and Minnie go through a number of costume changes and it is spectacular. I swear the budget Tokyo has to spend on shows and costuming is just amazing! This is the minimum quality of all of their shows (and this one is in a small outdoor theatre). The best way to show it is in pictures so refer to the albums I provide links for at the end

So after that the park closed and when it closes…it CLOSES. You know how the shops on main street take open for quite a while to allow shopping etc. Well they shut EVERYTHING down asap. We managed to get to the pastry shop as it was shutting door and got some panacotta dessert before we left (yummy!) and then we left. On the outside of the park is this spinning globe and so that was the final view of the night.


ON a side note about the Electrical Parades.
I was listening to the Tokyo music I got and I realised there is a difference in the spiel (beyond some Japanese parts)

This is the 'original'
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Disneyland proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination in thousands of sparkling lights and electro-synthe-magnetic musical sounds. The Main Street Electrical Parade!"

THIS is the Japanese version (which seriously makes sense. There are an INSANELY large amount of lights on huge floats)
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Tokyo Disneyland proudly presents our most spectacular pageant of nighttime dreams and fantasy. In millions of sparkling lights, and brilliant musical sounds: Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: DreamLights!"

I also found a fascinating description of the music:
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Street_Electrical_Parade


I seriously want to go back. I know some things really got under my skin.......but the parks are just sooooooo amazing.
And after my experiences of the chaos at Disneyland and WDW with crowd control I really have warmed to the use of incredibly regimented systems in place at Tokyo.

 

[queenie82]

Photos

Jubilation parade and Pooh's Hunny Hunt

Tokyo Disney Album 1

Tokyo Disney Album 2

Tokyo Electrical Parade - Dreamlights

 

[Willow25]

Wow thanks for that Queenie we are going to plan a Tokyo Disney trip in a few years when the children are older and I found this to be really helpful!!

 

[Sugarglider]

DH and I also went for 4 days to TDL in Oct 2008 - B4 DLH was opened so we stayed in the Mira Costa. I agree with queenie82 - it is a wonderful park - the cleanest, highest quality, (and most crowded!) park. Disney Sea is amazing. The Mira Costa is amazing. I was so pleased with our room - a standard room with a view over the main lagoon - so we watched all the shows etc from our room.
It is expensive - the rooms are the main hit. We paid AUD$800 ish per night for our standard room (no balcony) FAB view - and the restaurants are expensive - so be prepared with your $$s.
Also we went during the halloween celebrations. Due to the Japanese love of cosplay, they let people come dressed up as their favourite characters at certain times of the year. Halloween is one. And the Japanese take this VERY SERIOUSLY - at least 1/3 of the crowd was dressed up. There was every character you could imagine and some are so good, you would think they are the real thing. More Alices than I've ever seen! It was so great and fun! They stand around doing very serious poses - and they were all prepared to pose with us.
I would go back in a flash LOVE LOVE LOVE TDL

Oh and BTW: the high tech nature of the rides is astonishing - the LPS they use on Winnie the Pooh makes it so much fun (this is easily the most popular ride - hard to get on) and they use also in Disney Sea on Aquatopia. We liked Aquatopic becuase it was so pointless!! you can't drive the car - you just sit there, there is no story, no theming, no characters, the ride is in the open air - so you see the whole thing before you board - so no surprises - it is this really simple pointless ride - and yet that's what makes it for us!

 

[queenie82]

We liked Aquatopic becuase it was so pointless!! you can't drive the car - you just sit there, there is no story, no theming, no characters, the ride is in the open air - so you see the whole thing before you board - so no surprises - it is this really simple pointless ride - and yet that's what makes it for us!

I so agree...

There was one part I was REALLY wanting to get to but it kept not going there! I tried different loading sides to see if it made a difference...
Finally we got on one that went around the rocks/waterfall in the back corner.
Indeed very pointless

 

[Sugarglider]

Yeah Queenie82

and yet Aquatopia looks spectacular at night!
maybe that was the point? a piece of art you can sit in!!

loved it though - so unique

 

[Ets80]

I looked into Tokyo Disney a few years ago but we decided on Orlando because it is so close. If I went to Tokyo, I would want to spend a few days out in the city too.

 

[battymum]

Bookmarking this to read later!

 

[battymum]

hmmmm, another unfinished TR.

 

[BecBennett]

it looks finished to me..?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using DISBoards

 

[battymum]

Yeah, guess I was hoping for more general Japan /Tokyo stuff, but the title did say Tokyo disneyland

 

[queenie82]

I stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel. I went to Tokyo Disneyland. I did a daytrip to Tokyo city.

I didn't go to any other parts of Tokyo or japan so they aren't in my COMPLETED trip report.
Sorry to disappoint.
But the snide remark wasn't required.