Tokyo WARNING for Disneyland USA fans!

[TP2000]

Hey TP2000, I apologize for the scene I made

can I have my picture back

Only if you and your lovely wife promise to lay off the churros.

[TP2000]

its hard to compare a park/resort whose funding comes from a different source.

The superiority of Tokyo Disney Resort goes beyond funding.

Certainly it was clearly obvious that they spent a heck of a lot of money on DisneySea, as that was a beautiful park that kept our rapt attention for one and a half days. DisneySea has a half dozen unique E Tickets, another dozen or so delightful D and C Tickets, plus some amazing stage shows, fantastic themed environments to explore, and several very fine restaurants and bars.

And it was also clearly evident that they were spending healthy amounts of capital on upkeep and maintenance. You never once saw a sign of neglect. Even the old rides, like the Mickey Mouse Revue originally built in the early 1970's for WDW and shipped to Tokyo in '83, looked brand new. The light pink floral carpeting looked new, the upholstered pink seats looked new, the paint and wallpaper looked freshly installed, and all of the animatronics and special effects performed flawlessly and with a range of motion unseen in the American parks. And this was a 35 year old ride that had long outlived it's ability to pull in new customers! (Don't even get me started on how amazing the AA's in Pirates and Splash Mountain were! The pirates were so realistic and moved so fluidly, I half expected them to jump into the boat with me.)

But what impressed me the most was the pride and poise and grace that the Tokyo CM's had. Their costumes were immaculate, and all their clothing looked as though they were brand new and had just come back from their first trip to the dry cleaners. Not once did you see a frayed hem or a missing button, rumpled trousers or a dumbed-down polo shirt. And the pants all fit perfectly, even on the teenage male CM's who in Anaheim have a habit of 'drooping their drawers' as is the current teenage fashion. Obviously there was some meticulous management happening on the front lines to keep these 18 to 25 year old kids working in the Tokyo parks looking so crisp and clean. It was like every single CM was about to pose for an official Disney poster on how to wear the uniform for their location!

And again, it was the little niceties extended by so many CM's that almost had us tearing up a few times each day...

The captain of the Mark Twain who snapped off a stiff and perfectly executed salute followed by a big smile when I looked up at him after he blew the steam whistle as we left the dock.

The kid working the remote controlled sailing ships in DisneySea's Fortress Explorations attraction who came up and did a magic trick in broken english for us, unfolding a "magic map" of Fortress Explorations with exactly six DisneySea stickers inside it for the six of us adults there that day.

The young custodial lady who was wiping off the walkway handrailings around Mermaid Lagoon in the rain, with a smile on her face. Just in the off chance that someone would want to lean against the railing without getting wet in the next five minutes, before she came back and wiped them down again.

The half dozen Blue Bayou waiters who paraded to our table each carrying an entree'. When they got to our big round table they circled the table in one full rotation with military like precision, before coming to a stop and setting all of the entree's in front of us in perfect unison. After a communal gasp of delight, we broke out in spontaneous applause, and were met with deep bows and a wish to enjoy our meal.

The Tiki Room hostesses who approached us and taught us all the "hang loose" sign before the show, even though "hang loose" is a Hawaiian thing well known by most Americans (We played along and were thoroughly charmed by these girls).

The young man selling popcorn in Tomorrowland, who produced an English/Japanese phrase book out of his coat to help explain to us that "In the Autumn the dragonflies swarm in gardens" and then he pointed out a landscaped area nearby that was bursting with the biggest dragonflies you've ever seen.

The older woman working in a very busy The AristoCats store who insisted that I wait a moment while she rushed to the back for 15 seconds so she could get a fresh t-shirt from a box, still wrapped in it's plastic, rather than sell me the t-shirt on the hanger that had been likely handled by previous customers.

The young CM standing outside the Bon Voyage Store (Their version of World of Disney) one morning, waving with big Mickey hands at the Japan Rail commuter train rolling by on the tracks above PACKED TO THE WINDOWS with commuters. And there he was, in an immaculate store uniform with coat and hat, smiling and waving his Mickey hands at this packed commuter train full of worker bees heading to Tokyo skyscrapers, just knowing that one or two people on that crowded train got a smile from his actions.

It just went on and on like that all three and a half days we were there. Every CM seemed to top the last one when it came to grace and profesionalism and hospitality. Sure they spent a bundle on the Journey To The Center Of The Earth ride, and it showed. But the Tokyo Cast Member's inate sense of duty to provide each of their "guests" a wonderful time is what I will remember most about Tokyo Disney Resort. And I'm not sure that's something that requires capital spending or a PowerPoint presentation to achieve. It's something the Tokyo managers have instilled in their front line troops, and God bless 'em for it. Their American management counterparts have failed compared to the service I received in Tokyo.

[jaredliu]

I don't think TDL is better than DL. POTC, space mountain, new firework, Indy,and the exterior buildings of Fantasyland are all better at DL IMO. Sure they have a better winne's attraction but DL has Fantasmic as well. I could care less about customer service cause I think they are all good enough. When it comes the food, I think TDL is a lot better but that's not my concern either.

[TDLFAN]

Well do you think Disney could market people to come back to the Haunted Mansion for all new AA's? Maybe to the die hard Disney Fans but not the rest of the Disney audience.

The point is... TDL is superior.

[TP2000]

The point is... TDL is superior.

Exactly. They can't market the fact that they have kept the old animatronics in pristine condition and able to perform all of the same movements they had in 1983. But they can market the fact that the Park overall provides a fantastic, first rate entertainment experience without noticeable decay and decline.

Have I mentioned I cancelled my planned '06 trip to WDW to ride Everest, and instead I'm planning a return to Japan with 3 days at Tokyo Disney Resort? It's true.

To use a tired corporate slogan, my recent visit to Tokyo Disney Resort has caused a "paradigm shift" in my thinking, and I now have far less patience for the lowered standards of the American Disney parks. This weekends visit to Disneyland had me shaking my head at all the sloppy CM's loafing through their work duties, and I kept thinking "You'd never see that in Tokyo!".

[ZeekSlider]

And with that, I declare TP2000 to be a TDL Convert.

[Ben]

A visit to Tokyo Disney Resort can honestly change your perspective in such a dramatic way, that it is difficult to gain as much enjoyment out of our Disneyland and DCA once you have seen how much better the Japanese are at it.

Seriously, it's a very dangerous thing for a die-hard Disneyland fan to do. A trip to Tokyo Disneyland will forever change your perspective, and make you realize how much our standards have slipped here in this country in the past 15 years, and how inferior our Disneyland now is. And for a patriotic American like myself, that's not easy to admit. Visit Tokyo Disney Resort at your own risk, and realize you will never again look at Disneyland USA the same way.

TP... I am a die-hard DL fan and I visited TDR last week for my first time too and I agree for the most part. It is an incredible set of parks and it is VERY easy to see why it is the most visited theme park(s) in the world (at least according to the HKDL history display). I too was completely set back by the level of service and quality. You're right... it makes me think differently at our parks. I really appreciated the Parade of Dreams (why couldn't have had something like that for our 50th?), the Halloween Parade, and the Electric "Dreamlights" parade. That's alot of entertainment offerings that I didn't expect to get! I really liked DisneySeas and the different things they had. The non-E rides that I REALLY liked were 20,000 Leagues and Sinbad. I went on them repeatedly. I didn't think all that much about DisneySea's BraveSEAmo night show or the resort's fireworks show. Nonetheless, I wished we had this kind of attention at our parks! I still wouldn't throw the original DL out the door, though. I could see why TDLFAN is a TDL Fan!

Here's a link with pics from my TDR visit:

http://www.benlucero.net/MyFavThings/Disney/50thAnniversary/DisVac2005/TDR/TDR05.htm

I've been in HK for 4 days now. I have tomorrow slated for the park all day before leaving onto DL Paris. But I did spend part of the afternoon today in the HK Park. I'm a little shocked that I actually saw everything already and do have a sense of disappointment about the park. It looks nice and new, but definitely lacks things to do. I noticed that there were 23 attractions listed, which include City Hall, The Disneyland Story (an exhibit like the Disney Gallery), the Fantasy Gardens meet and greet, and Autopia (with a footnote that says it opens 2006 but is still counted as one of the attractions). I wouldn't recommend coming out just to see this park until it gets built up some. However if anyone is visiting Hong Kong, I would 200% recommend staying at the Disneyland Hotel as it has surpassed even Tokyo's hotel service... which was great in itself.

[jonvn]

It's not superior. Their attitude is different, but not necessarily better. I find it a bit on the creepy side, actually.

Everyone has different tastes, and different cultures behave in different ways.

[TDLFAN]

You have not been so as for that... your loss.

[jonvn]

Fact is I would not travel half way around the world to japan and end up wasting what little time I had to go to a disney theme park which are right near by me already. I find that a complete and total waste.

In any case, they have a different culture, so the behavior is different. It's also different in France, too.