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The difference between domestic parks and Tokyo DLR management
- Thread starter ptaylor
- Start date
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
I always assumed part of it is because Oriental Land Company’s purpose is really just Tokyo Disney and the surrounding area where the domestic parks are just one piece of a ginormous puzzle within the rest of TWDC. OLC can heavily invest in the parks and not have to worry about how the latest film release did or if attendance was lower at Disneyland Paris, they just have to make sure their park is doing well.
Meg.
Cmdr_Crimson
Well-Known Member
It's quite simple....Tokyo knows what it's doing...whereas The US Side...Well...It's like this..
Chef Mickey
Well-Known Member
Different parks have different attractions.
While I love a Tokyo Disney, I’m not sure this is evidence of its superiority or that management there is doing a better job than in America.
While I love a Tokyo Disney, I’m not sure this is evidence of its superiority or that management there is doing a better job than in America.
If OLC is maintianing and improving their parks strictly off revenue from the parks alone, then TWDC should have no problem doing the same thing in Orlando.
Out of curiosity, does Tokyo Disney offer the same hard ticket events such as all the random Dessert parties, Halloween and Christmas parites and the After Hours? I honestly dont know, just asking if you or anybody knows?
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
Not that I've ever seen or heard of (might be wrong). But I will echo what a lot of other people have said that in that OLC does Disney better than Disney. They don't skimp or cut corners. Every Disney theme park fan needs to visit Tokyo at least once in their life. It's been almost 10 years since I was last there and I'm thinking it's time to go back once all these new attractions are open.
tentaguasu
Member
That was certainly my experience. Hopefully OLC keeps doing what they're doing for many more years. (And hopefully I can find a way to go again...!)
Dang.....its been a while since I've been summoned out of the Ivory Tower.
I'm heading back there now.....
I just got back from my first visit to Japan and 3 days at Tokyo Disney.......everything you have heard is true. Tokyo destroys everything that we have here in the states.
Its like they took the best ideas from Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, and then kept the customer service, pride, and joy that our Disney tossed aside 20+ years ago.
Words really cant do it justice. If you are a fan, you need to get to Japan and see what Disney magic use to mean, because they still dish it out in bunches across the Pacific.
Oh, and we did it all for cheaper than our last trip to WDW in October.
Its like they took the best ideas from Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, and then kept the customer service, pride, and joy that our Disney tossed aside 20+ years ago.
Words really cant do it justice. If you are a fan, you need to get to Japan and see what Disney magic use to mean, because they still dish it out in bunches across the Pacific.
Oh, and we did it all for cheaper than our last trip to WDW in October.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
Tokyo is a good park but it's way overrated by the Disney Park fan base. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of truth in the praise that it gets, that they handle attraction maintenance much better than stateside, that TDL is like an ideal blend of California's charm with Florida's scale etc. But I worry that the extent to which people claim it is so superior to all other themed resorts in the world may be an example of exoticism run amok (somewhat common for Western perspectives of East Asia). Also TDS is good, but super overrated.
I like Tokyo a lot and I will take whatever chance I can get to go there, but if I had to pick one theme park to go to for the rest of my life I'm picking Disneyland CA every time.
I like Tokyo a lot and I will take whatever chance I can get to go there, but if I had to pick one theme park to go to for the rest of my life I'm picking Disneyland CA every time.
Raineman
Well-Known Member
I think that the perceived superiority at TDL may have a lot to do with the Japanese culture-all you have to do is look at Japanese automotive manufacturing. Also, I am hoping that the BATB attraction in Tokyo is the same quality of ride design that we will see with the Rise Of The Resistance ride at SW:GE.
tentaguasu
Member
I hear where you're coming from, but I disagree. Overrated depends on what you expect, to some extent. For me, it's not really debatable that TDL/TDS are superior to the domestic parks in terms of quality (though not scope when you're talking DW).
What is debatable is how much better and how much you care about that difference.
I'd say this: TDL/TDS are theme parks. They aren't nirvana. They aren't going to change your life. They aren't perfect.
That said, many of us here are, by definition, theme park nerds. As such, some of us care about things that maybe the average Joe doesn't. In another thread I used the example of music. I'm not a huge music snob, but poor bass annoys me. I notice it. I'm distracted by it. I'm willing to pay a reasonable amount to get strong, tight, punchy, musical bass from my sound system. Others are fine with loud, thumpy, muddy bass (which I hate). Others, like my sister in law, couldn't care less about bass at all. Give her a $20 "boombox" from Walmart and she's happy as can be. I'd be miserable.
It reminds me of a comment I made on another forum about 10 years ago about my experience at Universal. I don't know how it is now, but at the time, I found Universal to be vastly inferior to Disney. And it wasn't any one obvious thing I could point out. It wasn't technological superiority, or better rides, or better cast, or better food, or better themeing, specifically. It was some imperceptible mix of a touch of all of those things. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of "magic" at a theme park, but there you go - it just "felt" better at Disney. A lot better, IMO. And it felt better enough that I've gone back to Disney four-ish times and never returned to Universal.
And yet! Many people completely disagreed. They just didn't see any of the things I saw. For them (just like my sister-in-law and bass), the stuff that I cared about and that really bothered me at Universal just didn't connect with them. They were happy as can be at Universal.
And I'm not suggesting that I'm somehow "more nuanced" or have "finer taste." Some things I care about, some things I don't. Y'all hate Mission Breakout, which happens to be my current favorite ride. Things that annoy some of you (e.g. Mission Breakout 's ugly and out of place exterior) don't bother me. The subpar maintenance at DL Splash Mountain - now that annoys me. To each his own.
So that's a long way of saying, the TDL/TDS vs. domestic difference to me was sort of like the Disney vs. Universal difference a decade ago. Really noticeable to me, but sort of pointless for others. As an example, the difference in the "rolling ball" effect and the "spiders on the wall" effects in Indy TDS vs. DL makes all the difference between a 10/10 ride and a 6/10 ride. Others may not even notice. I really, really like a good queue. Others are on their phones and don't notice or care. Neither is *right*, it's just a difference in viewpoint.
Where does TDS/TDL shine? Maintenance. Cast professionalism. Fun, quirky, respectful crowds (generally). Cleanliness. Themeing (particularly at TDS). Details in the special effects. Queues. Everything felt new and fresh. I'm mystified that I found Disneyland's maintenance and upkeep sub-par, yet many others don't seem to notice. So there you go. If that annoys you, TDL/TDS might be a welcome surprise. If you don't notice or care, then not so much.
And as for the exoticism thing... sure, to some extent. But some of it isn't fake "oh the Japanese are so amazing" but realistic appreciation for good parts of their culture. That is, while I do not think the Japanese have a superior society (it has its significant issues, IMO), they are superior to us in some respects (as we are to them). And some of those aspects do help create a good theme park experience (e.g. maintenance, courtesy, etc.) I, for one, would not really want to live in Japan. But I loved visiting, in part due to their culture (the part that a visitor experiences).
So overrated? If you expect TDL/TDS to cure cancer and change your life, yes, wildly overrated. If you expect BTMR or Splash Mountain to be some entirely new experience, then yes, overrated. None of that is true.
But if you're a theme park nerd who notices and cares about a lot of the details I've noted above - like the awesome queue at Splash Mountain or the top notch effects on Indy -- then I'd say it's not overrated at all.
Anyway, if you can keep things in perspective and realize that we're just talking about theme parks here then I think they are "all that." And given that you can "do" TDL/TDS for a price not much different than going to a domestic park.... worth considering.
But of course, YMMV!
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BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
All great points. For me it really comes down to the fact that no foreign resort can be better than the American ones because they inevitably come off as American imitations when considering the theme/ideal of the parks. The theme of Americana is so critical to Disney castle parks that any non-American Park gives off a somewhat uncanny feeling of foreign imitation. I realize that Americans still designed the park and many of the parks are unique in their own ways but it still prevents me from putting foreign parks ahead of the stateside ones.
You left out ABC... fact is Disney has to compete for a limited amount of resources and the TV networks have been sucking money for some time now. Would be nice if Disney would be split into several stand alone companies so they would all live and die on their own and not drag down the other parts with them.
Frontierland's Finest
Active Member
I don't think it has to deal with the management. I think it's more of the fact that OLC only has Tokyo Disneyland Resort to worry about, whereas TWDC has a whole media empire plus the theme parks, resorts, and cruise ships. If you have one thing to really focus on, of course you're going to put the maximum effort into it. In the stateside parks, I like Chapek's drive to expand and change the parks, but the quality that were getting is very hit or miss (i.e. Pixar Pier vs. Galaxy's Edge). Eisner and Wells had some hits and misses with quality, but at least they weren't the cheap "re-themes" that they are trying to pass off to the fans now.
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
Particularly at WDW it's becoming glaringly apparent that they can make tons of cutbacks and the money/guests will keep pouring in. Internally they make a huge fuss about how roughly 40% of their annual attendance is once-in-a-lifetime first visit guests. It's clear they take full advantage of the fact that those people don't know any better. OLC obviously has the mentality of just because they could get away with (although they wouldn't due to cultural reasons as much as the fact that there are a lot of die-hard TDL fans in Japan), they are better than that and won't. Corporate America at it's finest on display in WDW these days.