Tokyo Disneyland - The Japanese House of Mouse

When Walt Disney Imagineering (“WDI”) built Tokyo Disneyland, the Oriental Land Company (“OLC”), who owns the Tokyo Disney Resort, said that they wanted the same park as the Magic Kingdom. OLC wanted WDI to replicate as much as possible so that the experience at Tokyo Disneyland could stand up to any scrutiny of authenticity.

When we entered Tokyo Disneyland, we marveled at how much it really did look like Florida’s Magic Kingdom. Even Tokyo Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain has the same jog in the tracks that Disneyland’s attraction has. When WDI built Disneyland’s Big Thunder, they had to force fit the tracks because they did not fit entirely correctly. OLC wanted the same jog in the track at Tokyo Disneyland even though the jog was a mistake.

However, as time marched on, Tokyo Disneyland began to establish its own identity, with attractions such as Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and Cinderella’s Mystery Castle (which, sadly, has closed). We did not have much time to spend at Tokyo Disneyland so we tailored our visit to experiencing only the attractions, which are unique to this theme park. These sights included the Mickey Mouse Revue, the Western River Railroad, the Queen of Hearts Dining Hall, and World Bazaar. Sadly for us, the One Man’s Dream show was on hiatus as they celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland in the same location and needed the space for their giveaway promotion.

Note that one of the must-sees of Tokyo Disneyland is its nighttime parade. Unfortunately, the inclement weather of Tokyo can put a damper on your plans, as it did for us. We did not see Fantalusion during our visit, a major disappointment for me. However, we did see Blazing Rhythms, which was entertaining and unique.

Quick Tips:

Plan your meals, around peak times. Even though we ate early, at approximately 11:15am, I had a tough time finding a table at the Queen of Hearts Dining Hall. If you feel like a snack, try a serving of honey-flavored popcorn, found by the Pooh’s Hunny Hunt attraction.

Pay attention to details. We enjoyed the simple things like the sign for stroller parking by Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, which featured Kanga and Roo. If you like pin trading, a popular pastime at Disney theme parks, note that Tokyo Disneyland does not participate in the program due to overzealous traders spreading out their wares along the walkways. This, however, has not deterred Tokyo Disneyland from selling pins.

Bring money because the merchandise at Tokyo Disneyland will have you oohing and aahing. The Pooh’s Hunny Hunt shop alone kept me entranced for a good hour. I found a pocket tissue holder and a cell phone holder for my car.

Do not place your feet on places where people sit. Exercise good manners to prevent a Cast Member from scolding you. I learned from experience. As I leaned over to tie my shoe, I propped my foot up on a planter. A Cast Member popped out of nowhere and crossed her arms in the form of an X, indicating that I should not put my shoes up on something other than the street.

Best Way To Get Around:

Just like Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo Disneyland sits on the Resort Line Monorail route. Take the monorail to the Tokyo Disneyland station and back to Maihama station. In addition, the monorail provides more entertainment than just driving. From high atop the monorail track, we could see inside the backstage area of Tokyo Disney Sea. We always find it interesting how much effort it takes to run a theme park.

Avoid driving to the resort so that you can bypass the traffic. The Japanese rail system provides clean, efficient, and convenient transportation to just about anywhere in Tokyo.

Inside Tokyo Disneyland, the standard Disney Railroad does not service the park the way it does for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. This means that to get around Tokyo Disneyland, you will have to rely on good old-fashioned walking. In addition, the standard Main Street USA vehicles do not run in Tokyo Disneyland because they do not have a Main Street USA. However, the double-deckered Omnibus will take guests around the central plaza, or hub.

Sadly, I cannot rave about the restaurant quality at the Tokyo Disney Resort like I can about the entertainment and the attractions. When hunger struck us, we had very few choices to appease our appetites. Walt Disney Imagineering had just opened the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, the newest dining establishment at Tokyo Disneyland.

In true Imagineering fashion, the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall featured all of the necessary Disney ingredients to make an interesting and amusing restaurant. From the moment we entered the restaurant, we stepped into a wonderland of characters and bright facades. Two statues of the Queen of Hearts’ cards guarded the entrance to the restaurant, on which we quickly climbed to pose for pictures.

Above us, the King of Hearts looked down upon the guests from a large hedge, obviously the top of the hedge maze which Alice attempted to navigate. Card guards lined the queue leading to the buffeteria, where we could choose a station and select our meal. After I selected a pasta dish, we proceeded to the cash registers.

In the vast dining room, we found a seat next to stained glass windows of roses and characters. One spectacular stained glass window close to the condiment station featured several characters from the Disney animated classic “Alice In Wonderland.” The stained glass window could have easily passed for the most beautiful window in the entire park.

The food, on the other hand, did not impress me quite as much. The spaghetti dish tasted as if it had been poured out of a Chef Boyardee can. The meal did not satiate my appetite and we departed on somewhat empty stomachs.

For future visitors, make sure you stop by to admire the interior of the restaurant. However, skip the food here and find something less expensive and more filling, such as a basic burger or sandwich. The lines in this restaurant tend to be long and the food is just not worth the wait.

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.

They say you get what you pay for. And Tokyo Disneyland got a whopper of an attraction when they contracted Walt Disney Imagineering to produce Pooh’s Hunny Hunt for them. A state-of-the-art technological marvel in the world of ride systems engineering, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt utilizes embedded sensors in the attraction’s floor to guide free moving vehicles, without a track.

From the beginning of the ride to the end, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt immerses the guest in details, lush colors and elaborate props. The queue starts as a giant book where guests walk through its pages. Recalling the 1970s Winnie-The-Pooh animated shorts, which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney, the pages feature the same animated illustrations of Pooh and his friends journeying through the Hundred Acre Wood.

We boarded giant honey pots and glided into the attraction where three vehicles at a time entered each scene. In the first scene, during a blustery day, we met full-sized animatronic figures of Pooh and his friends. We could see the detail of each figure and its fur covering, all resembling the stuffed animals which they are.

Moving onto one of the most impressive special effects in a Disney dark ride, we lined up in front of a screen where an animated Tigger bounced out and proceeded to invite us to bounce with him. To my surprise, the entire room started to bounce up and down and our vehicles shook us up pretty well. Had the effect lasted a few seconds longer, I would have made life very uncomfortable for my husband and my friend. My lunch had not settled yet.

As each vehicle spun and zipped across each room, we marveled at how the honey pots never collided with each other. Each vehicle received its own individual program and proceeded on its own course, coordinating perfectly with the others. The result: each ride you take is slightly different from the last since your vehicle will explore different parts of the room or scene at different times.

Cast Members will caution guests not to take flash photography inside the attraction. This is not to preserve company secrets but because the vehicles operate from a signal emitted from the honey pots to receptors in the floor. The flash from a camera bulb can interfere with the signal and cause failure.

And like other major Disney attractions, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt empties its guests into a merchandise location. Pooh Corner, legend says, paid for the entire cost of the expensive dark ride within one week. Merchandise sales from this retail location provided enough revenue to offset the costs of developing and constructing such an elaborate attraction. Note that this shop gets very crowded so the best time to visit is early in the morning.

All in all, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt will entertain guests of all ages. And while my stomach didn’t agree, it sure was great to be able to bounce along with the most effervescent tiger around. Ta ta for now.

During the first week of July, the Japanese celebrate Tanabata Matsuri, or Star Festival. From what my friends tell me, Star Festival most closely resembles Valentine’s Day. We had the good fortune of spending Star Festival at the Tokyo Disney Resort.

The festival gets its mythology from two star-crossed lovers, Altair and Vega. Other descriptions reveal that Tanabata Matsuri is based on a Chinese story where two stars, which lie on opposite ends of our galaxy, meet only once a year. But my favorite festival story features a girl named Orihime, who did nothing but weave cloth for the gods. Her father, worried that she had no other interests, introduced her to Kengyu, a cowherder who lived on the other side of the river (or galaxy). Instantly, the two fell in love and spent all of their waking hours together. But as a result, the cows fell ill and the gods no longer had clothes to wear. So the two lovers were separated, and were only allowed to cross the river once a year.

The Japanese began a tradition of making a wish for clear skies on Tanabata Matsuri so that the two lovers could meet. By writing the wish on a piece of paper and hanging it on a tree, the wish could come true. Eventually, the festival tradition evolved and people would write their own wishes on a piece of paper and hang it up. In addition, young women will dress up in their finest kimonos to celebrate what is considered a very romantic day.

Tokyo Disneyland celebrates this festival in a unique way by having Cast Members, dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, direct guests to a kiosk with colorful, star-shaped paper. We all wrote wishes on our pieces of paper and hung them on a board in the middle of World Bazaar, along with thousands of other guests’ wishes. All day, we spotted women in kimonos and wearing geta, wooden sandals. Considering how I never traipse across a theme park without my trusty tennis shoes, I marveled at how these ladies effortlessly walked around in teetering sandals.

Try to visit on a day where you can witness Japanese culture in person. Our trip to Tokyo Disneyland is all the more memorable because of this unique and interesting experience.

Tokyo Disneyland differs from the other Disney Magic Kingdom-style theme parks in one major way. It does not operate a railroad that encircles the park. Unlike Disneyland or Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland restricts its railroad to traverse most of Westernland, the Japanese version of Frontierland, segments of Adventureland and Critter Country.

Apparently, any railroad in Japan which sports more than one station must adhere to code requirements. As a solution, the Western River Railroad stops only once, to load and unload guests. For guests expecting a respite from walking while riding to their next destination, the Western River Railroad will not provide transportation to other areas. However, the ride around Westernland does allow one to sit back and take in the scenes from America’s woodlands.

We found the split-level boarding station at the back of Westernland and embarked on our journey. Like its American cousins, Western River Railroad passed an Indian village, complete with teepees. Prairie dogs and a very realistic looking animatronic dog greeted us as we rolled by. We watched canoes full of guests paddle laboriously across the river, and witnessed runaway trains careen through Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The train afforded us a close up view of Splash Mountain as we glided past its final drop, complete with rushing water and guest screams.

Not to disappoint dinosaur fans, the Western River Railroad also treats its passengers to a glimpse of the Primeval World. The 12 minute round trip ended back at the Westernland train station.

For guests short on time, I would not recommend spending time on this attraction unless you wanted to experience attractions not found in other Disney theme parks. As rides go, this one will not raise the hair on your neck and will appeal mostly to young children or tired adults. Our reaction? After we disembarked, we looked at each other, shrugged, and headed toward the Enchanted Tiki Room.

No contest, the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour ranked number one as my favorite attraction at Tokyo Disneyland. While normally, scary demons and skeletons do not fit my description of a fun time, this attraction does.

Admit it, exploring a Disney castle sounds. This 16-minute walking tour takes approximately 25 guests through the hallways, stairs, chambers and dungeons of the imposing castle.

We entered a hall of portraits where a Japanese-speaking guide showed us paintings of popular Disney heroes and heroines. Suddenly, the Magic Mirror grew agitated and the paintings changed to reveal the portraits of villains. When a secret door opened, we walked down a dark, winding stairway to a dungeon. We discovered that we had entered the laboratory of the Evil Queen, where she created her poison apples.

Continuing down the dimly lit hall, we passed prison cells with skeletons and coats of armor. Enchanted chests opened, we dodged a swinging axe, and peered into a cavern which showed an animated clip of Fantasia’s Night on Bald Mountain.

A fountain featuring one of Maleficent’s goons spilled water into a pool which revealed more of her goons peering out from the water. One of the largest animatronic scenes awaited us as we stumbled upon scenes from Sleeping Beauty. As we entered a large cave, we heard eerie drafts blowing underground. Sudden flashes of lightning revealed a massive dragon sleeping in front of us. As the dragon awoke, its mouth opened and roared. Our hysterical guide rushed us to safety.

We found ourselves ushered into an elevator which took us to a room with elaborate tapestries. These tapestries depicted scenes from The Black Cauldron. Entering another hidden room, our guide asks for a volunteer guest to slay the Horned King.

Finally, we entered a large room complete with skeletons and a huge bubbling cauldron in the middle. An animatronic Horned King commanded his skeleton troops to rise from the dead, and ominously threatened us until our guide instructed the volunteer guest to aim the sword of light towards the villain. After a dramatic demise, we gathered around our hero, who received a commemorative coin for his trouble.

I have to sadly report that this attraction closed in April 2006. Should Tokyo Disneyland realize the error of its ways and by some miracle reopen this gem, I highly recommend it. For the best pictorial overview, check out www.jtcent.com/disneyland/fantasy/fancmt.html.

If the entertainment quality at Tokyo Disney Sea gave us any indication of what to expect at Tokyo Disneyland, we knew we could not miss the afternoon parade, which should prove to amuse us thoroughly. Again, the Entertainment Division at the Tokyo Disney Resort could afford to teach the Disneyland and the Walt Disney World resorts a thing or two.

We stumbled upon a terrific viewing area by the central hub in front of Cinderella Castle one cloudy afternoon to catch the Dreams on Parade cavalcade. The crowds struck us immediately, as we realized that we had arrived late and could not get a spot to sit. No matter, the Japanese guests watched the parade in front of us in an orderly fashion, allowing us to view everything without any obstacles.

The floats seemed larger than the ones we have here in California, as well as more colorful. Each float depicted an attraction-themed scene which captured the essence of the ride. What a concept! A theme park parade based on theme park rides!

The Mad Tea Party float featured Alice and the Mad Hatter in large teacups. The Peter Pan’s Flight float featured the Darling children with Peter, surrounding Big Ben. The Big Thunder Mountain float, complete with its boulders and mountains, had Chip & Dale prancing in a train.

Every once in a while, we found a float that did not seem to depict a theme park attraction but an animated feature film instead. The Jungle Book float featured a huge Kaa swinging from treetops, along with King Louie and Mowgli.

Tokyo Disney Resort holds true to the character integrity of its face characters. All of the Caucasian performers hail from the American parks and participate in a work abroad program of sorts.

We could only hope that we would see this parade eventually here in the US. So far, we have yet to see something this imaginative. However, for the fortunate Japanese guests, they had nothing but the best.