Terrible Experience at DisneySea

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am a long time Disney veteran and Disney enthusiast. I have made over 30 trips to Disney World and multiple trips to Disneyland California. I was in Tokyo and decided to go check out DisneySea for a day while sightseeing. We originally bought a 2 day pass to do DisneySea me day and Disneyland the next. More on that later.

We went on a recent Saturday and discovered the crowds were so epically bad, the park was unusable. I am not joking....every single ride was over 200 minutes wait from 9am to 6pm when we just decided to leave. I was able to ride 20,000 leagues after a 200 min wait and got fast passes for Raging Sprirt and Journey to the Center of the Earth. That was really all we could do because Toy Story, Indiana Jones, and Tower of Terror were all 280-300 minutes.

The crowds were not unruly or noticeably upset, but it was almost impossible just to move around the park. I am appalled they even allow the parks to become this crowded. Seriously, even food queuing areas were being actively managed by staff to direct people. The food we finally got was awful. Cold and tasted canned after siting in line over an hour.

After feeling beat down, we went to guest services where we requested an English speaking host which they provided promptly, very impressive. I do not expect English speaking service in a foreign country but was glad they could provide it.

We asked to cancel the ticket tomorrow because we could not enjoy the park with these crowds. She assured me Disneyland would be equally crowded the next day and understood my concern. She downgraded the ticket to one day and refunded me the difference minus a 400 yen change fee. That burned me a bit, but I can't complain too much. What did upset me was that I asked politely for a good faith fast pass to ride Tower of Terror since it's our favorite ride and we came all the way from the US. I know they don't owe me this, but she understood how disappointed we were and how little we were able to do. The request was denied after she "asked her manager" who didn't even have the decency to come tell me in person. Obviously, that doesn't happen in Orlando...I've had ticketing issues and ride concerns where I was offered fast passes or re-rides on the spot.

Perhaps it's cultural or that Tokyo Disney is not managed by Disney? Was I way off base to expect something for my trouble? I realize everyone is going through the same issues, but I had to be part of <1% from the US....nearly everyone seemed local and we watched for it.

First of all, I don't really "blame" Disney. They essentially did nothing wrong. I am posting this to find out:

1) Is this normal?
2) Where can I direct a formal complaint? I'd like to write a letter.
3) What should I have done differently?
4) Have you experienced the same issue at DisneySea?
5) Is my complaint even warranted or should we just deal with it? I truly feel like I did not get my money's worth, a feeling ive never had about a Disnet experience. I am just so disappointed because we LOVE Disney.

Thanks for your input!!
 
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lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
The Walt Disney Company does not own or operate the Tokyo Disney Resort so any following will need to be with the Resort or the Oriental Land Company.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The Walt Disney Company does not own or operate the Tokyo Disney Resort so any following will need to be with the Resort or the Oriental Land Company.
I am well aware, as I stated, but surely Disney cares in some respect. I will contact the Oriental Land Company as well.
 

AndyS2992

Well-Known Member
1. Yes this is normal. Tokyo Disney is crowded all year round.
2. Oriental Land Company
3. Better research and planning I guess
4. No but has happened at another park
5. Um, yes and no. No because planning and research would have equipt you with the knowledge that the parks will be crowded and what rides will be most popular. But yes because it is expensive and you didn't get very good value for what you paid but that's what happens when you visit peak season. I would not mention the Tower of Terror thing since the answer would be no at every Disney park.

But yes I do sympathize. I went to Alton Towers in the UK at complete random in summer one year and it was packed and only got to ride a few rides so I know exactly how it feels. But unlike Disney, it is pretty cheap so I wasn't too bothered.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
I am well aware, as I stated, but surely Disney cares in some respect. I will contact the Oriental Land Company as well.

I'm a Disney enthusiast and longtime Disney veteran of both DLR and WDW since 1978. For our own reasons, we continue to visit each resort and will shortly embark on our first Disney cruise. Having said that, with regard to the parks and the manner in which they have treated their guests in general over the last 10-15 years, I'm sure Disney management rarely cares about anything other then the safety of their guests (to avoid lawsuits) and whatever directly affects their bottom line. Just my opinion.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
1. Yes this is normal. Tokyo Disney is crowded all year round.
2. Oriental Land Company
3. Better research and planning I guess
4. No but has happened at another park
5. Um, yes and no. No because planning and research would have equipt you with the knowledge that the parks will be crowded and what rides will be most popular. But yes because it is expensive and you didn't get very good value for what you paid but that's what happens when you visit peak season. I would not mention the Tower of Terror thing since the answer would be no at every Disney park.

But yes I do sympathize. I went to Alton Towers in the UK at complete random in summer one year and it was packed and only got to ride a few rides so I know exactly how it feels. But unlike Disney, it is pretty cheap so I wasn't too bothered.
Thanks for your input. Not trying to be argumentative but the only thing planning and research would have done is to decide to maybe not go at all. I would have just told myself to just go anyway in hopes it wouldn't be so bad. Also, disagree about the Tower of Terror issue. I have been accommodated on several occasions for various issues with fast passes out of good faith and customer service. It costs them nothing and goes a long way. Yes, they can't do that all the time for everyone but how many guests actually go to guest services and ask for a free fast pass?

I honestly feel Oriental Land Company dropped he ball in handling my concern and they should be ashamed if their parks are in this state most of the year. It's ridiculous and leads me to believe the Japanese are far more patient and accepting the other places in the world.

I shudder to think this is the direction WDW is heading has crowds grow each year and parks do not.
 

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
That's the role of the dice unfortunately, when choosing to visit the parks on overwhelmingly packed days. I feel for you as it is a far way to go. But as you said you would have gone anyways even knowing ahead of time, and the same lesson would have been learned that there are certain crowd levels that just are not worth it.

Of course the other option would have been for them to close the parks and not let you in, but that clearly would have made a lot of people more unhappy.

I certainly feel for you that you didn't get your moneys worth, you made the right decision by not trying to brave the crowds at TDL the next day too. But, I don't think they owed you special treatment being a foreign guest and giving out fast passes. That's another slippery slope as well that the US parks should have never bowed to.

TDS does need more capacity though, TSMM has shown that.

I am not referring to disney cast members - I am talking about crowds and wait times.

I also am not sure what you mean by "same quality experience". Tokyo is basically the only park worldwide that you can count on polite and organized crowds. If you headed to Magic Kingdom on an equally overwhelming day expect to be trampled. Paris and HKDL have their terrible guests as well, but Tokyo is the exception.

If you mean you can always expect to have over-crowded parks? That's also untrue, like the US parks there are great days, and days you stay the hell away.
 
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BrianLo

Well-Known Member
Perhaps in park management but customer service isn't even a contest.

Is bowing to individual customers whims better customer service? Or ruling with a firm but kind hand to ensure that every guest had a similar experience in the park?

Kind of a rhetorical question, but I feel customer service should not be a means to better treatment than the average guest, like it is utilized in the US.

I will reiterate though, I am sorry the park was so crowded, I wouldn't bother these days. But if it was my first trip a few years ago I would have probably gone anyways and also walked away disappointed.
 

Disneysea05

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Perhaps in park management but customer service isn't even a contest.

Completely disagree. I've been to all the Disney parks around the world numerous times, and the guest service at Tokyo Disney Resort has always stood as the absolute best in the world. Friendly, efficient, and professional on a level that the US and Paris parks should strive for.

Yes, more research should have been done to avoid a peak period such as this. There are a handful times of throughout the year when you can find the parks " normal busy" to just quiet.

It's a different dynamic in Japan. 200 - 300 minute waits would cause near riots in the US parks. In Japan, it's like "yeah, that's a normal wait time because we chose to come during peak season. Let's be patient and wait."

For the record, you won't catch me in the Tokyo parks on those days!
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Completely disagree. I've been to all the Disney parks around the world numerous times, and the guest service at Tokyo Disney Resort has always stood as the absolute best in the world. Friendly, efficient, and professional on a level that the US and Paris parks should strive for.

Yes, more research should have been done to avoid a peak period such as this. There are a handful times of throughout the year when you can find the parks " normal busy" to just quiet.

It's a different dynamic in Japan. 200 - 300 minute waits would cause near riots in the US parks. In Japan, it's like "yeah, that's a normal wait time because we chose to come during peak season. Let's be patient and wait."

For the record, you won't catch me in the Tokyo parks on those days!
Like I said, the research thing is a moot point because it's not like my days to go were super flexible since you don't travel to Tokyo all that often and the second leg of my trip drove the dates.

I suppose everyone has different anecdotal stories of how customer service is better here or there, so it's hard to quantify. I can only say I was shocked and disappointed I was essentially given zero latitude and got the book thrown at me in a polite and professional manner. Customer service dictates reading the situation and it wasn't done at all. There was definitely a language barrier which is no ones fault.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Like I said, the research thing is a moot point because it's not like my days to go were super flexible since you don't travel to Tokyo all that often and the second leg of my trip drove the dates.

I suppose everyone has different anecdotal stories of how customer service is better here or there, so it's hard to quantify. I can only say I was shocked and disappointed I was essentially given zero latitude and got the book thrown at me in a polite and professional manner. Customer service dictates reading the situation and it wasn't done at all. There was definitely a language barrier which is no ones fault.
I think there was also a culture barrier. To them you showed up on a day that is not unusual and asked for something rather out of the ordinary.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think there was also a culture barrier. To them you showed up on a day that is not unusual and asked for something rather out of the ordinary.
Agree completely, by just because it's normal doesn't make it right. That brings me back to the original complaint which I intend to make heard by someone who gets it. It might be normal for them, but objectively, it's unreasonable to take money from people and expect them to have fun with 4 hour waits for everything.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Agree completely, by just because it's normal doesn't make it right. That brings me back to the original complaint which I intend to make heard by someone who gets it. It might be normal for them, but objectively, it's unreasonable to take money from people and expect them to have fun with 4 hour waits for everything.
What makes it a cultural difference is the different standards and therefore it is not an objective issue. To the Japanese it is perfectly reasonable and that is why they have created such crowds for three decades.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
What makes it a cultural difference is the different standards and therefore it is not an objective issue. To the Japanese it is perfectly reasonable and that is why they have created such crowds for three decades.
We have a difference of opinion and that's fine. I'll report back on my findings.
 

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