This is less of a trip report, than a collection of thoughts from myself who has been visiting WDW on an annual basis for many years, but finally had the chance to visit TDR this past week. I've also been to DLR and DLP so I'll be making some comparisons to those as well.
First, regarding Tokyo Disneyland itself:
More so than the other ones I've visited, Tokyo Disneyland feels like Florida. Obviously this is in part because some of the buildings like the castle are the same, but it goes beyond that. The park's proximity to water, the choice of building materials and the more humid/damp climate all contribute to this. It's uncanny how despite knowing the specific differences and the fact that you're not in the USA, it still seems like you're back in Orlando. This is not a knock against the park, because I actually prefer the scale and style of WDW's Magic Kingdom, and it's wonderful to see that recreated, and more importantly, preserved overseas.
This isn't suprising because in the late 70s there were only two Disney theme parks, and Orlando had the newer, beter one. It's not odd to think that Oriental Land would have wanted as much of their park to have the same DNA as WDW of the time, while still having some California touches like New Orleans Square.
It's bigger, but that's more to do with how the layout is spread out a bit. There's no Town Square at the foot of World Bazaar (their Main Street), and the moat around the hub is thinner and more shallow, so it looks bigger, but doesn't change the scale of the buildings that much. For the most part, walking around the park is no more difficult or different than MK. The rides are in more or less the same place, with only Haunted Mansion being the obvious outlier so close to Dumbo and the center of Fantasyland. The best feature of TDL is having the better versions of the American rides in the same park. Disneyland's Pirates and Toontown, Florida's Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise etc. If there's one thing that's missing it's the equivalent to the historical attractions like HoP or Mr. Lincoln. The park used to have a show like that called "Meet the World", but it closed in 2002 and is now a Monsters Inc. ride. Proof that TDL is not immune to the character/IP invasion that has spread across the other parks, along with having two Stitch attractions in the same park (!).
Tokyo Disneyland opened just 6 months after EPCOT Center, which makes it the last Disney theme park designed by WED and before Eisner's leadership. It's why the park feels like "old school" Disney, despite being only 6 years older than MGM Studios. It's a mix of both older blueprints and older sensibilities and expectations. Tokyo Disneyland did not set out to reinvent the wheel, but to present its best aspects and it very much succeeds at doing so. It helps that, for example, smaller attractions like the Penny Arcade, Magic Shop are still there, along with having serving trays at the QS eateries each being restaurant specific and not just "Disney Parks" or plain.
Contrast this with Disneyland Paris, a park designed by the second generation of Disney Imagineers who grew up with the original Disneyland and wanted to design a park that would appeal both to them and an audience less familiar with the Disney park product. That resort was also built during the same time as WDW's major expansion and shares some of the architects for projects like Newport Bay Club and Hotel New York, which explains the familiar look to certain areas, but also why the park does not resemble the older WED-era designs.
First, regarding Tokyo Disneyland itself:
More so than the other ones I've visited, Tokyo Disneyland feels like Florida. Obviously this is in part because some of the buildings like the castle are the same, but it goes beyond that. The park's proximity to water, the choice of building materials and the more humid/damp climate all contribute to this. It's uncanny how despite knowing the specific differences and the fact that you're not in the USA, it still seems like you're back in Orlando. This is not a knock against the park, because I actually prefer the scale and style of WDW's Magic Kingdom, and it's wonderful to see that recreated, and more importantly, preserved overseas.
This isn't suprising because in the late 70s there were only two Disney theme parks, and Orlando had the newer, beter one. It's not odd to think that Oriental Land would have wanted as much of their park to have the same DNA as WDW of the time, while still having some California touches like New Orleans Square.
It's bigger, but that's more to do with how the layout is spread out a bit. There's no Town Square at the foot of World Bazaar (their Main Street), and the moat around the hub is thinner and more shallow, so it looks bigger, but doesn't change the scale of the buildings that much. For the most part, walking around the park is no more difficult or different than MK. The rides are in more or less the same place, with only Haunted Mansion being the obvious outlier so close to Dumbo and the center of Fantasyland. The best feature of TDL is having the better versions of the American rides in the same park. Disneyland's Pirates and Toontown, Florida's Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise etc. If there's one thing that's missing it's the equivalent to the historical attractions like HoP or Mr. Lincoln. The park used to have a show like that called "Meet the World", but it closed in 2002 and is now a Monsters Inc. ride. Proof that TDL is not immune to the character/IP invasion that has spread across the other parks, along with having two Stitch attractions in the same park (!).
Tokyo Disneyland opened just 6 months after EPCOT Center, which makes it the last Disney theme park designed by WED and before Eisner's leadership. It's why the park feels like "old school" Disney, despite being only 6 years older than MGM Studios. It's a mix of both older blueprints and older sensibilities and expectations. Tokyo Disneyland did not set out to reinvent the wheel, but to present its best aspects and it very much succeeds at doing so. It helps that, for example, smaller attractions like the Penny Arcade, Magic Shop are still there, along with having serving trays at the QS eateries each being restaurant specific and not just "Disney Parks" or plain.
Contrast this with Disneyland Paris, a park designed by the second generation of Disney Imagineers who grew up with the original Disneyland and wanted to design a park that would appeal both to them and an audience less familiar with the Disney park product. That resort was also built during the same time as WDW's major expansion and shares some of the architects for projects like Newport Bay Club and Hotel New York, which explains the familiar look to certain areas, but also why the park does not resemble the older WED-era designs.
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