Tokyo Disneyland

Urayasu, Chiba, Japan

“Home to an impressive ride lineup and the best theme park staff on Earth”

Japan is a one-of-a-kind destination with stunning landscapes, beautiful shrines, bustling cities and extremely friendly locals. But if I’m being brutally honest, these aren’t my main reasons to hop on a Tokyo-bound flight. If I’m thinking of Japan, there’s a fair chance that I’m daydreaming about Tokyo Disney Resort. Located just a few miles east of Downtown Tokyo, the resort attracted more than 22 million guests in 2022. This incredible number of visitors is neatly distributed between two parks: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The latter is often considered as the world’s most beautiful theme park, but this doesn’t mean that Tokyo Disneyland isn’t worth a visit. In fact, both parks deliver world-class thrills and entertainment. Let’s have a look inside Tokyo Disneyland.

ROLLER COASTERS

Tokyo Disney Resort is amazing, but it’s definitely not a coaster destination. DisneySea offers two very mediocre roller coasters and Disneyland is home to three family-oriented coasters. Gadget’s Go Coaster is the least interesting one; this standard Vekoma Junior Coaster has limited theming and it feels way too simple to be in a Disney theme park. Disneyland’s other coasters are true classics. On the one hand, there’s Space Mountain. This indoor coaster looks and feels like the versions in Anaheim and Hong Kong, but the onboard audio is missing and that’s a shame. Tokyo Disneyland seems aware of this problem, as it’s currently building a brand-new Space Mountain behind the old one. Once the new ride nears completion, the current version will make way for future Tomorrowland expansions.

On the other hand, there’s Big Thunder Mountain. Even in Japan it’s called the wildest ride in the wilderness, but I noticed that this version is actually not that wild. This mine train roller coaster turns out to be tame and it lacks the grand finale of its European counterpart. Don’t get me wrong… Big Thunder Mountain is a fine family coaster and the theming is absolutely superb. Just keep in mind that it’s considerably less intense than its siblings in Europe and the United States. 

DARK RIDES

Coaster-wise, Tokyo Disneyland fails to impress. But if we take a closer look at the park’s other attractions, you’ll quickly notice that Disneyland has a different strength: dark rides. The assortment includes Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, the hysterically funny Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and classic Fantasyland dark rides like It’s a Small World and Peter Pan’s Flight. May I also give a shoutout to Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion? These rides were both opened in 1983, so they’re older than almost every European dark ride. They still provide top-notch experiences, though.

Tokyo Disneyland also features quite a few dark rides that can’t be found at other Disney resorts. The first one is Monsters Inc Ride & Go Seek. This is Tomorrowland’s most beloved attraction and it seems especially popular due to its interactive aspect. Every rider gets a flashlight, which can be pointed at hidden monsters. That’s fun and the scenes are elaborately themed, but believe me: decorations aren’t that exceptional. So please promise me that you’ll never enter a 3-hour queue for Monsters Inc.

Although I don’t like the visual appearance of Tokyo’s Fantasyland (it looks rather dated), there are a few good reasons to spend some time here. The first reason is Haunted Mansion, the second one is called Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. There are Winnie The Pooh rides in almost every Disney resort, but the Japanese version goes a lot further than its namesakes. The most amazing element is its trackless ride system, which enables vehicles to pass each other and to move in literally any direction. This effect is especially useful in the final scene, where nine vehicles seem to be moving randomly through a large room full of special effects. Pooh’s Hunny Hunt has only one major problem: everybody seems to adore the ride and therefore, queues are often excessively long. Try to obtain a priority pass or ride Hunny Hunt as early/late as possible.

The third and final reason to visit Fantasyland is Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. Tokyo Disneyland’s newest dark ride was built on the former location of Grand Circuit Raceway. This car ride has to be one of the ugliest Disney attractions ever, so I’m glad that it made way for an aesthetically pleasing French village. The attraction itself was integrated in a large new castle and it features an elaborately themed pre-show. After that, visitors board trackless vehicles that tour the beast’s castle. The ride consists of large-scale scenes, incredible animatronics and a world-class special effect. Still, Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast failed to meet my highest expectations. I absolutely adore the Be Our Guest scene at the start of the ride, but none of the later scenes manage to reach the same level of greatness. Some parts of the ride just feel a bit empty and if I’m being brutally honest: the Something There scene is downright boring. Don’t get me wrong: this is a world-class attraction, but it’s far from the best dark ride at Tokyo Disney Resort.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Is Splash Mountain a water attraction or a dark ride? Well… it’s a world-class water ride and a very good dark ride in one. This log flume lasts for 10 minutes, it features four drops and we meet lots of cute audio-animatronics. Even if you’ve already ridden the versions in Anaheim or Orlando, Tokyo’s Splash Mountain should be considered as a must do. The dark ride scenes are somewhat different and the queue is designed brilliantly. Splash Mountain always puts a smile on my face, no matter how horrible the weather may be.

Unlike most Magic Kingdom parks, Tokyo Disneyland doesn’t offer a version of Disneyland Railroad. The alternative is Western River Railroad, a train ride which travels through Adventureland, Westernland and Critter Country. It may sound boring, but this is actually a great attraction for a moment of relaxation. Another fan favourite is Jungle Cruise. As you may know, this attraction highly relies on your Skipper’s puns and jokes. So why the hell would you ride it in Japan, where you don’t understand the narration? Well… the grand finale of the ride was recently upgraded with video mapping and it’s definitely worth a look.

LANGUAGE BARRIER

Some people expect that staff at Tokyo Disney Resort speak fluent English, just because it’s Disney. Others might think that it’s virtually impossible to navigate the parks if you don’t speak Japanese. Neither of those options are true. Of course, many Cast Members have a sufficient knowledge of English to help foreign visitors and all signage is bilingual. However, Tokyo Disney Resort caters to a crowd that consists of 90 percent domestic tourists. Therefore, it’s logical that Japanese is the dominant language at Tokyo Disney Resort. This didn’t affect my visit in a negative way, though. Quite the contrary: the Japanese language adds some exotic touches to the parks. Be sure to visit the Enchanted Tiki Room, Mickey’s PhilharMagic and Star Tours and enjoy these Japanese versions of well-known Disney classics.

ENTERTAINMENT

Tokyo Disneyland deserves an A+ for its entertainment. That’s mainly due to the parades, as they are always a feast for the eyes/ears in Japan. The floats seem bigger, the dancers seem happier and the parades seem longer than they are at other Disney resorts. This is true for the daytime parade, but the biggest star is Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights. This modernised version of the classic Main Street Electrical Parade offers a few magnificent floats. Especially Genie’s float will simply blow your mind. I know that attraction waits are considerably shorter during parade times, but I just wouldn’t want to miss Dreamlights because it’s so incredibly good.

Tokyo Disneyland offers nightly fireworks, too. Unlike the fireworks displays you see at other Disney resorts, this show doesn’t involve projection mapping on the castle. This makes it a lot easier to watch the fireworks, but I have to admit that the show is quite underwhelming. A large-scale nighttime spectacular like Happily Ever After or Disney Dreams would definitely make this park complete.

BEAT THE CROWDS

Crowds may have a negative impact your experience. This is obviously true for every theme park visit, but Tokyo Disney Resort is especially notorious for its sky-high attendance. Luckily, picking the right dates can solve 90 percent of that problem. Of course, weekends and holidays are the least favourable times for being here. We never encountered unbearable crowds during our mid-week visits in April (avoid Japan’s Golden Week, though), but the early November trip was very busy. There are multiple crowd calendars on the internet and even though they aren’t free of errors, they can give an idea of what to expect.

Be sure to enter the park as soon as it opens. Long lines form in front of the turnstiles well before opening time and it pays off being in that line, even if this means waking up at 6 AM. Also, be sure to download Tokyo Disney Resort’s official smartphone app before entering the park. This application shows current wait times (not only for attractions, but also for restaurants and food carts!) and it enables you to buy Disney Premier Access passes. This service replaced FastPass and it allows you to bypass long queues for a fee. I’m usually not a huge fan of those paid cut-the-line options, but we still bought Disney Premier Access for Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. Regular wait times for this attraction rarely dropped under the 2-hour mark, so it feels as if this was 2,000 JPY well-spent.

Our most recent visit to Tokyo Disneyland took place in November 2023, when the resort’s 40th anniversary celebrations were in full swing. These celebrations include a new parade, new snacks and… the return of free FastPass! The Tokyo Disney Resort 40th Anniversary Priority Pass is a temporary offering that’s similar to Disney Premier Access, but it’s free of charge for every visitor. This modern-day FastPass is available for Monsters Inc, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Astro Blasters, Big Thunder Mountain, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and Haunted Mansion. Reservations fill up quickly, so be sure to make your first selection immediately after entering the park. For the time being, it’s not sure what will happen to the 40th Anniversary Priority Pass after the celebrations have ended.

WORTH A VISIT?

Absolutely no doubt about it: this is a great theme park. It’s certainly not the most beautiful Magic Kingdom and roller coasters are less spectacular than at other resorts, but Tokyo Disneyland makes up for that with extremely polite Cast Members, world-class entertainment and a few awesome dark rides. This park is definitely worth the trip and it offers value for money. And you know what? There’s an even better theme park, right next door.

Do you think that Tokyo Disneyland deserves a new roller coaster? Would you prefer a ride on Monsters Inc or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt? And may this be the most complete Magic Kingdom-style theme park on Earth? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.