My personal experience is vastly different from that of Corrus. I went to Tokyo Disney Resort for the first time last October, and I didn't have a single problem with not speaking Japanese. We were there three days, stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland Hilton, and had a wonderful time!
There were a few occasions where the CM's did a little bustling about to find an English speaking CM for us, but it wasn't really neccesary. It was actually very sweet of them to care that much. We were certainly capable of pointing out the item on the menu we wanted, or using hand signals to tell loaders that there were five of us in our party. I think the most memorable was the dinner we had at the Blue Bayou, where the original waitress who seated us and said "Welcome" and "Good Evening" in a thick Japanese accent was replaced by a different waitress a few moments later who spoke very good English, even better than some Americans I know. And that dinner was wonderful!
And of course there is plenty of Japanese dialogue in attractions and shows. But that's part of the fun! Hearing the Tiki Room in Japanese, or hearing pirates auctioning off the girls in Japanese is the fun part of being at Tokyo Disneyland. And honestly, Disney theme park rides don't involve complicated plotlines in any language. Even if you've never been on Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion or Splash Mountain before in your life, you can easily figure out what's going on. Interestingly, all of the theme songs were still in English. The one exception to this attraction rule was StormRider at DisneySea. That attraction has lots of spoken dialogue in both the pre-show and the main show, and it's not entirely clear what's going on. It was still a fun ride, and the hotshot American pilot is represented by a slobby white guy who is constantly shoving food into his mouth, and that made us laugh. (Unfortunately, the Japanese have us stereotyped pretty well)
Purchasing souvenirs was also never a problem. You just need to present the correct amount of money for the total that shows up on the cash register, and you'll be fine. A big smile and a simple "Domo Arigato Gozaimas" (Thank You Very Much) will impress the CM's who don't expect foreigners to know any Japanese, and you'll always receive fabulous service. Most CM's seem thrilled to be able to try out their English skills, after an endless stream of fellow Japanese guests.
And again, meals were never, ever a problem. From little carts like the Gyozo Bun stand in DisneySea, to standard buffeteria places, to the fancy table service places we ate like Blue Bayou or Magellan's, we never had a single problem ordering from menus or pointing out which items we'd like. I did mention the CM service level everywhere on property is
AMAZINGLY SUPERIOR TO AMERICAN PARKS, right?
You don't need to worry one second about not knowing much Japanese for a trip to Tokyo Disneyland. I was quite surprised that all major signage is in English, and all CM's knew at least a few basic words in English. Some CM's were quite fluent in English, and they were always rushed in to help serve us whenever we'd show up in any facility. (The group I was with all looked typically American.)
In fact, I received such fabulously gracious and amazingly wonderful service during my trip to Tokyo Disney Resort last fall that
I cancelled plans to visit Walt Disney World for a week this November. Instead, I'm returning to Japan for 10 days with 3 days at Tokyo Disney Resort. :sohappy: I may not go back to Walt Disney World again, or at least for quite some time. Tokyo Disney Resort won my vacation business.
The Japanese are so good at service that you will be amazed at how superior they are at operating a Disney theme park. They outshine the American CM's in every category, and I now find it difficult to put up with the lowered expectations at American Disney parks. That's the only danger to visiting Tokyo Disney Resort; they'll spoil you and leave you feeling underwhelmed the next time you visit an American park. You've been warned!
As for downtown Tokyo, the same basics applied. There were fewer English speaking service staff in some of the smaller Japanese restaurants or stores, but again it was never a problem. In a McDonalds in Shinjuku, which happened to be the most gleamingly clean McDonalds we'd ever seen, the manager rushed over as we walked in and presented a laminated menu in English with a big smile and a bow. Fun! Starbucks outside our hotel was a great way to start each morning, and I've never seen a more beautifully run Starbucks in my life, and I'm from Seattle originally! And again, lacking Japanese language skills was never a problem, especially at the tourist spots or big department stores. I even lost my subway ticket needed to exit the station going to the Imperial Palace and faced the daunting task of going up to an older gentleman staffing the very busy information kiosk to try and figure out what I should do. And what do you know but he spoke English and promptly issued me a replacement ticket for free and with no questions asked! (I used to live in Boston, and I can't even imagine a subway worker there making eye contact with me, let alone immediately issuing a free replacement ticket to me with a smile and a bow.) At our three star business hotel in Shinjuku catering to Japanese businessmen all staff from bellhops to deskclerks to bartenders spoke English quite well.
Ooh! And one morning in the elevator at the Disneyland Hilton this perfect little Japanese family got in the elevator with me and this adorable little girl about five years old looked up at me as this big doofy American guy who hadn't had his coffee yet. She looked up at her Mom and said a few words in Japanese, her Mom smiled at her daughter and nodded, and the little girl looked back up at me and said in beautifully accented English "Good Morning Sir!". I just about fell over! When I wished her back a "Happy Halloween!", that entire elevator was all smiles and giggles. (The Japanese love Halloween for some reason.)
And as we were checking out of the Disneyland Hilton this bellhop that was helping us get our bags ready for the airport bus brought out his English/Japanese translation dictionary from his jacket and came over to us and pointed out to the Japanese Garden outside the hotel. He said, very carefully,
"In the autumn, the dragonflies swarm in the garden!". And sure enough, as we looked out there, we saw dozens of dragonflies flying all over the perfectly manicured trees and shrubs. This young man was so happy to point out a seasonal Japanese treat that he thought we should see before we flew home, and he needed to check his dictionary to get the unusual nouns and verbs right, but darnit he went out of his way to mention this to us! And we were thrilled not only at the sight of the dragonflies, but of the care and courtesy this young bellhop had for his guests regardless of the language spoken. I'm sure Conrad Hilton was looking down from heaven and beaming with pride.
Can you tell I was won over by the Japanese hospitality? And on top of it all they operate the most well run Disney Resort you'll ever experience. I can't wait to go back to Japan!
