10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Visited Disneyland In Tokyo

To the uninitiated, Disney’s theme parks might seem like they are all the same. They are famous for their centerpiece castles with themed lands fanning out around them. However, one breaks the mould more than the rest.

All but two of Disney’s parks belong to the Mouse and are run by it. The exceptions can be found at Tokyo Disney Resort which is owned and operated by specialist local leisure operator, the Oriental Land Company. The Tokyo Disneyland park looks like a carbon copy of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Orlando but is home to a few more high-tech attractions. Its neighbor is a whole new world.

Called Tokyo DisneySea, it is the only Disney park formed from ports which largely line a lagoon in the middle. As this report explained, they are comfortably the most realistic and immersive lands that Disney has ever developed.

The Venetian-themed Mediterranean Harbour looks so authentic with its ornate arches, weathered walls and cypress tree-lined streets that my Italian friends thought I was actually in Venice when I sent them a photo from the park. Cracked aqueducts hide ride buildings and the streets look lived in as hotel rooms are behind the windows, which come complete with shutters of course.

It’s the same with the American Waterfront area. With its soaring gothic skyscraper, full-size steam ship and neighboring fish market (a cleverly-disguised restaurant), it looks like the set of a period drama.

The Mermaid Lagoon land looks like it has risen up from the depths of the ocean whilst the Lost River Delta really does look like it is in the middle of a dense jungle even though it is actually just a few minutes walk away from the other lands.

That immersion is partly thanks to the topography of the park which sits on a reclaimed island just 20 minutes by rail from downtown Tokyo. In a city where space is at such a premium, Disney had to think outside the box to fit in its aquatic adventure land.

Unlike almost every other major theme park, DisneySea is built on multiple levels so there’s quite an incline to some of the streets in Mediterranean Harbour just as there is in actual Riviera cities such as San Remo and Monaco. Likewise, visitors to Lost River Delta find themselves looking down leafy gorges and climbing wooden stairways up to huts built on stilts over the water.

The biggest splash is made by a 160 feet artificial volcano in the middle of the park. Ten 3,000 pound rocket burners hidden inside shoot flames 50 feet into the sky as steam rolls down its stony slopes. No stone has been left unturned and there are even real figs growing on its foothills which seem to be formed from solidified lava.

A path winding around the volcano leads to two of Disney’s most cutting-edge attractions anywhere in the world. One simulates an undersea voyage by pumping water through the middle of the double-glazed windows of a suspended ride vehicle which weaves through an indoor set. The other ride is a cross between a roller coaster and a simulator which shoots out of the side of the volcano reflecting the story of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Last year the park swung open the doors to equally ingenious fairytale rides themed to the Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan cartoons. One mysteriously manages to replicate the famous floating lanterns scene from Tangled while another uses projections to make it seem like animatronic characters are covered in ice. Roving simulators in the Peter Pan ride give guests the impression that they are soaring through the skies of London with the boy who never grew up.

These advanced attractions have put Tokyo Disney on the radar of foreign theme park fans more than ever before. The experience that awaits them is unlike the one found in any other Disney park, and not just because many of the rides are unique. You won’t find the following list of differences to other Disney parks mentioned in a typical guide book.

1. A separate ticket is needed for every day of your visit to Tokyo Disney. Multi-day tickets were a casualty of Covid. Initially put on hold to carefully control crowd levels, they haven’t returned since the the pandemic receded as the sale of single day tickets boosts revenue. Not only do visitors have to specify the date and park they want to visit but they have to pay more as multi-day tickets were discounted by between 10% and 20%.

2. Only lottery winners watch the shows. Many of the shows in Tokyo Disney operate a lottery system which guests have to enter in order to get a seat. If they lose, they can’t get in. No second chances on the same day. It’s the sort of thing you expect to have to do to get tickets for Wimbledon, not a Mickey Mouse musical.

3. Limited wi-fi. The digital infrastructure at Tokyo Disney is weaker than its counterparts elsewhere in the world as wi-fi is only available in certain parts of the parks, usually near the entrance. It’s often easy to tell where they are as they are packed with people huddled together staring at their phones.

4. No end of the day rush for a final ride. Unlike most major parks in Europe and the United States, guests can’t join ride queues right up to closing time as the lines are roped off when they extend beyond the operating hours of the park. So if Tokyo Disneyland closes at 9pm and the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster has a 40 minute wait time by 8:20pm guests aren’t allowed to join the queue.

5. Easier rides. In line with Japanese tastes, many of the rides are much tamer than their equivalents Stateside. The Tower of Terror freefall ride even has over-the-shoulder seatbelts rather than lap restraints as there are in the U.S.

6. No show. Remarkably, some attractions at Tokyo Disney still haven’t returned since the curtain came down on them during the pandemic. The most notable closure in Tokyo Disneyland is the Swiss Family Treehouse. The classic attraction packed guests into paths which wind through an artificial tree based on the one in 1960 movie Swiss Family Robinson. The attraction has been closed since 2022 with no sign of it reopening. Ditto for King Triton’s Concert in Tokyo DisneySea which is a greater loss as it was the only Disney show of its kind worldwide. Presented in a circular theater, it combined puppets, screens and an acrobatic performer hanging from above, its innovative format is even more advanced than the one used in the new Little Mermaid show at Disney World in Orlando.

7. Language barrier. Very little English is spoken in Tokyo Disney and the majority of the rides are in Japanese. Some show operators offer audio translators with headphones to foreign guests and guest relations give them charming printed brochures showing the English back story to a number of the attractions. They are more like mementos than guides.

8. Fast food is off the menu. Typical fast food options are few and far between at Tokyo Disney with many of its restaurants serving Asian dishes. There’s no doubt that it’s healthier but it’s not ideal for anyone with a weak stomach, especially when they have been walking around all day. Surprisingly, it’s even hard to find a burger in the American Waterfront area. The land is so well-designed that even the food fits the theme and its restaurants are aimed at the well-heeled residents who are meant to live there. That’s what you call authenticity.

9. Monorail costs. Getting to the parks isn’t child’s play. A monorail pulls up to their gates in Tokyo just like it does at Disney World and Disneyland in California. It is even better themed with its windows and grab handles shaped like mouse ears. However, unlike its counterparts in the U.S. it isn’t free and tickets cost $2 (¥300) for a single trip.

10. Cash required. Despite having a reputation for being at the cutting-edge of technological trends, cash is king in Japan. If you don’t have a Japanese credit card, you need to use cash to buy a monorail ticket or rent a locker so tourists should bring a good supply of local notes and coins to ensure they aren’t caught out.