Recent content by Wendy Pleakley

We did The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha E Komo Mai! This was the only attraction where we were offered an English translation device. It was honestly pretty pointless. The story really wasn't a draw, something about the birds needing to appease Stitch, and it's not really...

We caught the Disney Harmony in Color Parade. No problem getting a view without waiting. Tokyo is very good about updating their shows and parades compared to North America. Their previous parade ran for 5 years.

Tokyo is known for its many flavours of popcorn and churros. This was a standout with a delicious gooey center. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean twice this day. It was a consistent 5-minute wait time. While it does include Jack Sparrow and Barbossa, it remains the least modified version of...

Big Thunder Mountain seems pretty much identical to the original, but doesn't include any of the special effects added to the Anaheim version. Paper maps were provided for Tom Sawyer Island.

We didn't book any sit down dining but did book tickets for Mickey's Rainbow Luau at a cost of 6,000 yen per person. It's what you'd expect. Some Hawaiian dancers and plenty of characters. It's not a character meal and they specifically state the characters won't be stopping for autographs...

Tokyo Disney food theming is on point. Haunted Mansion was closed for the Nightmare overlay. Tokyo Disneyland retains many of the elements associated with the original.

Next up is the current marquee attraction at Tokyo Disneyland. The one everyone heads to at park opening. The one most recommended to shell out 2,000 yen for a Premier Access pass. I'm going to get a bit hyperbolic here because this attraction is top tier. This was the attraction that made...

Next up was Pooh's Hunny Hunt. This was mind blowing in 2002 and it still holds up. That is certainly due in part to Tokyo Disney maintaining their attractions well. This attraction is a masterpiece and it's still sad to realize the basic Pooh attraction in Anaheim was built after this one...

Since we were trapped in the Tomorrowland dead end, we rode Star Tours. It was a 5-minute wait and I don't think it ever variated much from that. Got to see new to me scenes from Episodes 7-9 during this visit so that was nice. This is what C3PO speaking Japanese looks like: Oh, I forgot to...

I'll throw in some non-Disney content at the end of this report, but the important content must come first. We arrived in Tokyo Saturday August 30. I chose Tuesday September 02 through Friday September 05 for Disney. This meant getting over any jet lag, avoiding weekends, and going on days...

I'm not going to do a full cost breakdown but I'll highlight a few costs for perspective. I flew round trip on ZIPAIR, the budget wing of Japan Airlines. A round trip ticket cost $900 Canadian. They charge for everything. If your carry-on is more than 7kg you have to pay extra. They weigh...

My first, and until now only, visit to Tokyo Disneyland was in 2002. Over two decades later I decided to go back as well as to see more of Japan. The 2002 visit was a one-week affair. In 2002 Disney's California Adventure had just opened to thunderous disappointment and the resort as a whole...

It's a niche product for hardcore collectors so I guess it's a good thing to do? I got to see footage of the original last week at this lovely facility. I thought it was cool to see how Nintendo was being innovative and bringing new 3D technology to the home back in the day, but seeing a few...

We stayed at Hotel Sardonyx as an example. It was nice and priced reasonably. Plenty of nearby convenience stores for a quick morning breakfast. We bought onigiri and ate while waiting to enter the parks. I’m pretty sure I’ve had longer commutes to theme parks staying onsite in Florida.

They've adjusted their release schedule a bit, to extend the time between theatrical, digital/physical purchase, and Disney+ releases. I would say it's inevitable there has been some impact, but to what degree is something we can generally only speculate on at this point.