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Episode Description
Konnichiwa! We’re back from Japan and so excited to share our trip to Tokyo Disneyland with you! We did so much in the short day and a half we were there. (The other day and a half were spent at Disney Sea. Stay tuned for that episode next week!)
Environment-wise, the Tokyo Disneyland park was like an even cuter, less commercialized version of the American parks. Duffy the Disney Bear is king and Donald is his royal knight…sorry, Mickey, but you deserve a break from all the hard work. Duffy and Donald merchandise are everywhere from headbands to purses to keychains.
The setup of the park is similar to Disneyland in California or the Magic Kingdom in Florida, which makes navigating the park a little more intuitive. Language-wise, there are some cast members who speak English, but even those who don’t are easy enough to communicate with (for things like ordering food or asking directions) as long as you don’t have any special needs. The Japanese are excellent at using emphatic hand signals that really help to convey their points.
Ride-wise, Disneyland has some really cool, original rides like Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek! and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (yes, I spelled that correctly). If you ever go to this park, you have to ride Hunny Hunt! The trackless ride system is incredible! The cars weave in and out of each other in near-Broadway-choreographed fashion. Monsters, Inc. is a fun ride that adopts the style of the old shooting gallery: you shoot at a target and the target moves. There are some serious cool animatronics in there, too!
Also, a pretty cool experience unique to this park your ability to go into Cinderella Castle to see the dioramas and sit on the royal throne.
In addition to these new rides, many of the classics got really fun and interesting upgrades. For example, “it’s a small world” not only includes the same animatronics as the American parks, but also includes many familiar faces from the Disney movies.
One of the best upgrades to the Japanese parks were the abundance of and quality of shows. Judy and Nick’s Jumpin‘ Splash takes place directly in front of the castle and is a dance party with a (much needed) splash zone! Also, One Man’s Dream 2 features many of the Disney characters you know and love dancing and singing to both original songs and songs from the movies.
And, of course, the food! Popcorn and popcorn containers were the biggest story in both of the parks. The tins ranged from alien claw machines to Stitch to Steamboat Willie on his boat!
Thank you so much for lending us your ears! Tune in next week to hear our experience at Tokyo DisneySea!