Day 8 ~ Tokyo Disneyland could have been better If Only ......

Tokyo Disneyland ~ Leave your dreams at home

A, J, S and me reached Tokyo Disneyland on the afternoon of 13 April 2007. Located on the eastern seaboard of Tokyo, the 5 year old Theme Park would be a delight to visit if ONLY :-


1) I did not have to suffer a terrible headache in the afternoon. Coming to Day 8 of our Central Japan trip. I could feel my body slowly draining away. Anyway, luckily that A had some panadols around. If not, it would be a really terrible day for me.


2) The 3.30pm traditional Afternoon Parade showcasing the best of Disney was on.


3) The nightly fireworks was on.

Both events were cancelled due to “inclement wind conditions”. I was lamenting that since the resort is located next to the sea (the Pacific Ocean to be exact), it is bound to suffer from regular strong winds.


4) There was a fastpass system for Mickey Mouse House. The queues and waiting time for this attraction was forever long throughout the day. (A fastpass system basically allowed a visitor to visit the attraction at a stipulated time frame later in the day, doing away with the long waiting time.)


5) The Theme was not “Lilo and Stitch”. Didn’t really know how to appreciate the characters.


Anyway, friends who visited this Theme Park had told me how good this was compared to its HK Branch.

I beg to differ.

Probably, I had too high an expectation after hearing so many good reviews of Tokyo Disneyland. Or probably it wasn’t my first visit to a Disneyland that this visit didn’t spring in too many surprises (some disappointments though!) I couldn’t pin point the actual reason. It was not as enjoyable that I had wished previously.

Anyway, I must agree that the Tokyo Branch is bigger in scale, sprawling over 7 Theme Parks with more attractions to occupy an average visitor. However, bigger also meant that covering the park within a day was a challenge. (That’s why the Park have a 2 day season tickets costing 10,000 yen compared to 5,800 yen per day.)


Rating: 6/10. (7/10 if the parades and fireworks were not cancelled)


Verdict: If you are in Tokyo for a short period of time, it may be best to give the park a miss and visit other more noteworthy attractions for a truly Japanese experience. Leave your Disney Dreams to LA or Florida for a more authentic life time experience.

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