US guest experience at overseas parks

[TTA94]

One day I would love to visit TDL, Shanghai, HKDL. For those who have been there what is it like as far as the language on rides and shows? All rides are not in English I assume? So does that affect the experience and not being able to follow the story or know what's going on?

I think Disney should develop a earpiece translater for guests visiting from other countries.

 

[RobOttawa]

Hey Mnelson, I would definately not worry about the language barrier. I've been to all the parks and enjoyed it a lot. I found Paris and Hong Kong most all castmembers spoke decent English. In Tokyo, it was more simple english. Enough to help you to the bathroom or order food but not much more. But if you're ever in a pickle, they can get someone to translate.
As for shows and attractions, some are bilingual, some have different languages, and some are just not english at all. However that never really affected our appreciation for anything. If you are familiar with the rides in the US, their international counterparts are similar enough that you should be able to follow without an issue.
However there are 3 exceptions to this... Mystic Manor in DLHK, Tower of Terror in DisneySea, and the Phantom Manor in DLP. These vary a little or a lot from their US versions, and you may wish to ask a castmember to explain the story in english before going on the rides. They are awesome either way but it will add a bit if you know the story.
And I like your suggestion for an earpiece translator. If it's good enough for the UN General Assembly, why not Disney!

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

However there are 3 exceptions to this... Mystic Manor in DLHK, Tower of Terror in DisneySea, and the Phantom Manor in DLP.

Mystic Manor is in English, isn't it? I went on it a few times in February and the entire story telling was in English. Except for the singing knights, but I didn't even notice that untill the 3rd time I was on it. The new show Mickey and the Wondrous Book was in Chinese but at both sides of the stage there were screens with English subtitles.

Disneyland Paris put in a lot of thought in dealing with language barriers. As there are so many languages spoken in Europe, Disney had to make everything understandable just by looking at it. I think they did a great job. Disney Dreams, the night time spectacular, is a good example. It's both in English and French and done very clever if you ask me.

 

[RobOttawa]

You could be right, Mystic Manor wasn't open when I was there so I've never been able to go on it. Someone told me it wasn't in English, but if it is, that's awesome!

 

[BrerJon]

I think Disney should develop a earpiece translater for guests visiting from other countries.

I could be misremembering but I think the Aladdin show at DisneySea - which is excellent, by the way - does indeed give you an ear piece with the show in English. Many other shows and rides in Tokyo have English story cards for guests if you ask for them, and the dialogue is quite minor, so you can always roughly follow what's going on.

I don't speak a word of Japanese, and most Cast Members don't speak any English, but I've never had a problem in Tokyo Disneyland with anything, everyone's so helpful they will always find someone if they can't understand.

As has been said, Paris and Hong Kong isn't an issue as most CMs speak English anyway.

 

[Philo]

My Japanese is terrible, but I have had no problems in the TDL parks at all.

Some of the shows won't make that much sense, but you can still enjoy them. I think the only attraction I wish I could hear in English was Stormrider, but I enjoy it all the same.

Whenever we spoke to cast members we were always fine. Generally they are just asking how many of you there are (to get you on a ride) so that's easy enough. Never had a problem ordering food etc either.

Basically, don't worry!

 

[ssoass]

I just got back from my first trip to Hong Kong, zero language issues there. Less so than Paris actually. Mystic Manor is in English, the other attractions are either partially or entirely in English. Jungle Cruise has a separate line for English/Chinese language boats. All the staff I ran across either in the park or in the hotel spoke passable to very good English.

Paris on the other hand, most/many of the rides are in French .. still fun and easy enough to figure out what is going on though. I have not been to Tokyo or (obviously) Shanghai yet.