For Disney history buffs, like myself, the Mickey Mouse Revue thoroughly entertained me, if not purely for the nostalgia. Children will appreciate this cute show. However, thrill-seeking teenagers will not react well to the 9.5 minute show which does not feature any special effects, dips, drops or high speed chases.

Nonetheless, we made an effort to see this show more than once because of its uniqueness. Today, in the 21st century, this attraction only exists in Tokyo Disneyland. Back in the 1970s, one could find this adorable show in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Sadly, the powers that be closed the attraction in 1980. However, in true Disney recycling fashion, the show reappeared in 1983 in Tokyo.

We filed into a pre-show area which featured paintings of Mickey Mouse in costumes from his various film appearances including Steamboat Willie. From this area, we moved into a screening room where we watched an 8-minute presentation of animation history.

Finally, we moved into the large theatre with rows of seat. As we marched in, we gazed at the stage, which featured a red curtain emblazoned with dramatic masks of a happy Mickey and a sad Mickey, representing comedy and tragedy. Two smaller stages to the right and left of the large central stage also featured red curtains.

As the show started, the curtain rose and we watched Mickey Mouse start to conduct an orchestra of Disney characters. Dumbo, Pluto, Rabbit, Baloo, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and others all assembled onstage to present renditions of favorite Disney songs.

Later, Fifer, Fiddler, and Practical Pigs, also known as the Three Little Pigs, performed "Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf". Following, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sang their pieces. Alice, surrounded by flowers from the enchanted garden performed, as well as the Three Caballeros. Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother presented their song, ending with an animated featurette of Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing.

The various characters, some common and some obscure, really appealed to me. Where else could I see Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Country Mouse, City Mouse, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, Jaq, Gus and several other characters all assembled in one place? Children around us sang and clapped along with the music. The show’s finale culminated in all 81 animatronic figures playing onstage.

I hope that this attraction can entertain generations to come but if the recent closing of Cinderella’s Mystery Castle is any indication of Tokyo Disneyland’s direction regarding older shows, I’m afraid Mickey Mouse Revue’s days are numbered. Nevertheless, make an effort to stop by. No, you won’t see state of the art technology, nor will you hear digital quality sound. But you will experience one of Walt Disney’s first concepts, and a rarity indeed.

I've been to Disneyland Anaheim and whilst each of the themed lands in Tokyo Disney are the same as Anaheim, the overall park was cleaner and better maintained, the staff were helpful (even with the language barrier), the food was of a higher quality, and the queue system is much better. Admittedly, I was in Anaheim in 1999 and they may now have this, but the Fast Pass system in Tokyo Disney (and DisneySea) is excellent. It allows you—for no extra cost—to book your time to go on the rides. Some of the rides, such as Space Mountain and The Pirates of the Caribbean didn't even have a line.

World Bazaar
This is the first land you come to as it is immediately inside the main gates. There are no rides in World Bazaar, just shops and restaurants. However you do get a great view castle.

Adventureland

The Pirates of the Caribbean is a water ride, where you won't get wet, but where you will see the some real pirates who sing "Dead Men Tell No Tales" in Japanese...clever pirates.

Jungle Cruise; venture deep into the mysterious, danger filled jungles.

Western River Railroad; climb aboard a real steam train for a trip around the wilderness.

Swiss Family Treehouse; an actual tree house based on the Swiss Family movie.

Westernland
The old American frontier. There are several interesting things to do here;

The Mark Twain Riverboat; enjoy a leisurely trip around Westernland aboard this old style paddle river boat.

Big Thunder Mountain; venture onto this roller coaster themed as a mine train, for an action packed ride.

Westernland Shootin' Gallery; buy 10 shots for 200yen and see what sort of sharp shooter you are.

Tom Sawyer Island Raft; in the centre of the lagoon is Tom Sawyer Island. The only way to get to the island is via a log raft.

Critter Country

Splash Mountain; the water ride where you do get wet.

Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes; paddle around the lagoon dodging riverboats and other river traffic. Don't expect a leisurely cruise down the river, you actually have to paddle the canoes.

Fantasyland

Castle Carousel; ride 1 of 90 hand painted horses.

It's A Small World - listening to the song "It's a Small World" being sung in Japanese is an experience in itself!

Toontown
Home to Mickey and all the gang, this is one zany town where anything can happen.

Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin; Steer and spin a cartoon cab for a wild chase through the back alleys of Toontown.

Minnie's House - Mickey's House and Meet Mickey; Explore Mickey's home and Movie Barn, then visit with Mickey in person on the set of one of his films.

Getting There: from Tokyo station take the Keiyo Line (Red) to Miahama station. From here you can walk to Disneyland or take the Disney Train, from the nearby station, to DisneySea.

How Much: Adults Day Passport ¥5,500 , 2 Day Passport ¥9,800.

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Disneyland is great! When you enter, you can see all the Disney characters walking around! Then you see the castle in the background; it's amazing! There are so many rides and attractions here; it's awesome. One day was so not enough time!

The only bad thing is waiting for rides, but there's this cool thing you can use with your ticket called a FAST PASS. It'll explain it all in your brochures.

Later on at night, there's the light parade, and it's really amazing how its done. Be careful so you don't get lost, since it's so big!! (I did!)

~Great Memories~

Tokyo Disneyland is a lot like Disneyland in California. The setup is almost exactly the same and it's the same high quality as well! Lots of fun for all ages.

We arrived in Disneyland at 16:30 in time for the cheaper Starlight Passport (used only after 3 PM) saving us 1000 yen from the original price of 5500 yen. When we arrived at the entrance, most of the Disney characters were busy strolling around and were gladly posing for pictures with the audience. I had a chance to have a photo with Donald Duck. We then watched the Disney Pop show and parade and we rode in the futuristic Super Jet after that. We then took a quick snack and then queued up to have a personal meeting with Mickey Mouse! We were able to see him only after 45 minutes as the queue was very long. But it was indeed worth the wait as we were able to tour his house and meet him face to face and have a shot taken with him.

At around 19:30 we then watched the Disney Electrical Parade Dreamlights showcasing all the Disney characters from Cinderella to Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast to the Toy Story characters to Chip and Dale and many more in their respective floats made of lights. It was simply awesome. Unfortunately, I ran out of battery for my video cam and I had to switch every now and then between my two drained batteries just to catch a portion of the parade. Thank God I was able to film a short portion of it. After the parade was the Disney Fantasy in the Sky at around 20:30 which was actually fireworks near the castle. I was also able to take a portion of it. I also ran out of my SLR camera battery and I had to buy the batteries inside Disneyland. They were quite expensive but I had no choice but to buy them or else I would have missed taking all those scenery in night mode. We left Disneyland at around 21:45.