DonniePeverley
Well-Known Member
The entry system into Fantasy Springs is too stressful.
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Tokyo Disneyland Resort Expansion
- Thread starter The_Mesh_Hatter
- Start date
Just think a happy little thought, like toys at Christmas, sleigh bells, snow.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
At least it's not a completely random lottery like BatB was when it first opened.
Pay full price for a 1-day ticket, enter the park, get your one and only shot to experience BatB and if you lost then that was it.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
I was able to experience Fantasy Springs today, went in spoiler free.
Overall I give the land itself an 8/10 and the attractions collectively a 6/10.
Frozen was the only ride that I thought was all around solid. The environments suffer a bit from the open warehouse-y feel that a lot of WDI attractions have recently, but it has a lot of AAs and figures, quite a few impressive practical effects and the backwards motion and mini-drops keep it feeling fresh and exciting (plus it's LONG!). It's really funny/weird how much it feels inspired by Maelstrom despite being a custom build, with all of the backwards sections etc.
Peter Pan was whatever. It's "fine" but it just wasn't what I expect from a Disney attraction. Feels more like a Universal ride. Shame because I liked the art direction and queue and the fact that they went for a classic Disney film ride in the 2020s, which is actually kind of a bold move especially with there already being a Pan ride in the other park.
Tangled was unbelievably underwhelming because of its unacceptably short length. It starts strong, every scene is very good, but there's three scenes total and then the ride is over. It's extremely disappointing. However my boat was filled with teenage girls taking photos and videos of every single thing so maybe its accomplishing its objective. Feels almost more like an Instagram photo op exhibit than a theme park attraction.
I liked the land itself a lot, it's very well built and aesthetically pleasing. The rock work and waterfalls are an interesting motif. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the theme of DisneySea and feels very disconnected from the rest of the park, but I guess we're long past the point of that mattering to the company. All in all I'm glad that this project is finally finished and that TDS is finally close to a full day park 23 years after opening. But still disappointed in the attractions output from WDI as of late. Interested what's next for TDR as they pretty much used their last major expansion pad on Fantasy Springs.
Overall I give the land itself an 8/10 and the attractions collectively a 6/10.
Frozen was the only ride that I thought was all around solid. The environments suffer a bit from the open warehouse-y feel that a lot of WDI attractions have recently, but it has a lot of AAs and figures, quite a few impressive practical effects and the backwards motion and mini-drops keep it feeling fresh and exciting (plus it's LONG!). It's really funny/weird how much it feels inspired by Maelstrom despite being a custom build, with all of the backwards sections etc.
Peter Pan was whatever. It's "fine" but it just wasn't what I expect from a Disney attraction. Feels more like a Universal ride. Shame because I liked the art direction and queue and the fact that they went for a classic Disney film ride in the 2020s, which is actually kind of a bold move especially with there already being a Pan ride in the other park.
Tangled was unbelievably underwhelming because of its unacceptably short length. It starts strong, every scene is very good, but there's three scenes total and then the ride is over. It's extremely disappointing. However my boat was filled with teenage girls taking photos and videos of every single thing so maybe its accomplishing its objective. Feels almost more like an Instagram photo op exhibit than a theme park attraction.
I liked the land itself a lot, it's very well built and aesthetically pleasing. The rock work and waterfalls are an interesting motif. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the theme of DisneySea and feels very disconnected from the rest of the park, but I guess we're long past the point of that mattering to the company. All in all I'm glad that this project is finally finished and that TDS is finally close to a full day park 23 years after opening. But still disappointed in the attractions output from WDI as of late. Interested what's next for TDR as they pretty much used their last major expansion pad on Fantasy Springs.
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infloencer
Member
How on earth would you consider TDS not a full day park, even without Fantasy Springs?
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
I always struggled to fill an open-close day there. TDS has always struggled with a relative lack of attractions. With FS and Believe, I think it's finally now a true open to close park, or if not then at least it's very close.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I don’t disagree with Basil. Crowds forced it into filling a day, but if there were low crowds, it wasn’t that difficult to burn through. Especially with two shows still missing.
It is NOT a half day park. But it wasn’t hard to run out of things to do with efficient touring and familiarity.
Or problematically ignore TSMM and Soaring with multi hour waits as not worth it, considering the ease of accessing at other parks. That kneecapped it in a big way.
Architectural Guinea Pig
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
As people say, DisneySea was designed to be more of an experience than a theme park. Appreciating the beauty and care put into it is not about striking off attractions on a list one by one as fast as possible; people who do so should not call themselves Disney fans. You can have a full day experience without doing a single ride, simply allowing yourself to “become one” with the world- the true secret to its status, as the park is filled with thousands of small experiences, walking spaces, eateries, benches, interactions, and details that can take up time.
That is what makes you a Disney fan.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the very patronizing lecture.
I’m not critiquing TDS, just like I can contentedly also enjoy DAK for a full day when everyone seems to feel that’s a half day park.
But TDS doesn’t have quite as much as North American fans tend to think it does and DAK doesn’t also have as little. Which was Basil’s point, there is exceedingly skewed perceptions on English language forms that WDW is a dumpster fire and Tokyo is beyond reproach. Neither are true.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
That’s a cute story to tell yourself for reasons. Theme parks are still a type of amusement park. People go for the amusements, most specifically the rides.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
I mean, cool.
I appreciate theming too and theme is definitely one of TDS's strong suits.
But you need attractions to make a park worth going to. Attractions are what the parks are ultimately built around, what draws people to them and what makes people stay. And TDS didn't have enough (and it definitely didn't have enough exclusives) until now. Every non-Japanese person I've ever brought to TDS has agreed with that assessment.
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Architectural Guinea Pig
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Shut up you uncultured swine
kidding I understand that the viewpoint of most is to ride rides and such.Journey to the Center of the Earth
Better Indiana Jones
Aquatopia
20,000 Leauges
Gondolas
Tower of Terror
Raging Spirits (still worth the wait)
Sinbad
Better Soarin
Boats
Railway
Nemo?
10:00 to 8:00 is a good time to enjoy the park full day. Have a nice hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the parks, enjoy 11 rides spread out throughout the park, walk around Fortress Explorations, take breaks sitting or walking around just absorbing the details of the park, have a shopping spree for tokyo exclusive merch, ride Journey multiple times, watch Bog Band Beat or Believe if you don’t count it into the new offerings, meet Duffy and friends, talk to English speaking cast members…
not a full day?
I don’t plan on arguing with anyone and don’t care to anyways. TDS is a full day park and the second best Disney park in the world (DL tops imo) annd best in themeing. Agree to disagree.
BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
I've been to TDS nine times over six years. I always finished by 5:00 PM or earlier, unless I was specifically staying for Fantasmic/Believe.Shut up you uncultured swine
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Better Indiana Jones
Aquatopia
20,000 Leauges
Gondolas
Tower of Terror
Raging Spirits (still worth the wait)
Sinbad
Better Soarin
Boats
Railway
Nemo?
10:00 to 8:00 is a good time to enjoy the park full day. Have a nice hearty breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the parks, enjoy 11 rides spread out throughout the park, walk around Fortress Explorations, take breaks sitting or walking around just absorbing the details of the park, have a shopping spree for tokyo exclusive merch, ride Journey multiple times, watch Bog Band Beat or Believe if you don’t count it into the new offerings, meet Duffy and friends, talk to English speaking cast members…
not a full day?
I don’t plan on arguing with anyone and don’t care to anyways. TDS is a full day park and the second best Disney park in the world (DL tops imo) annd best in themeing. Agree to disagree.
Granted yes I'm experienced with these parks and yes in some cases I was skipping Soaring and Midway Mania.
But it really was not that difficult to finish the entire attraction roster in a half-day, even with eating lunch.
This isn't really a hill to die on, you can still like TDS while acknowledging that it didn't have a full day's worth of attractions. There are other Disney parks that have been open longer than TDS that STILL don't have a full day's worth.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I have not been but I agree the land looks amazing and the rides look just Ok. Pan I couldn't get a full read on due to the ride system and fact that its media based but my expectations weren't high. Now that you've been on Pan, how do you feel about them using that ride system for the Avengers ride? Do you think they can beef it up and make it a world class attraction or does the ride system kind of limit its potential in your opinion?
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
The one thing about TDS that is underdiscussed is that it used to be overflowing with best-of-the-best Disney entertainment. It has since been very much scaled back and the focus of the shows has changed to be pretty much entirely character focused.
There was a noticeable difference in the quality of the entertainment lineup between my 2010 and 2019 visits, and I don't get the impression that everything is back up to speed since Covid. Those changes/reductions in entertainment have not been in the park's favor and have further illuminated some of the flaws in the park that were easier to gloss over a decade ago.
There was a noticeable difference in the quality of the entertainment lineup between my 2010 and 2019 visits, and I don't get the impression that everything is back up to speed since Covid. Those changes/reductions in entertainment have not been in the park's favor and have further illuminated some of the flaws in the park that were easier to gloss over a decade ago.
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BasiltheBatLord
Well-Known Member
Kind of a snooze without more physical elements, IMO.
It's much like Universal's Spider-Man except with less immersive physical environments, and with more focus on flying which makes it feel simulator-ish. While Spider-Man is mostly screen based, it still has pretty well built out physical scenes that are interesting to look at and incorporates practical effects like the Hobgoblin's bomb and the descending building. Peter Pan is 99% screen just with some physical transition pieces.
Also, if Peter Pan's depiction of American Indians is cancellable now, Tokyo didn't get the memo. There is a big presence for the Indians in the ride.
Kevin_W
Well-Known Member
I've read that about the entertainment. When we went last year, Big Band Beat was running (though I understand it used to have a live orchestra?) and we caught a few minutes of the maritime band playing in the entry plaza, but that was about it. My impression is that there used to be quite a bit more.
TalkToEthan
Well-Known Member
Yes, yes indeed
TalkToEthan
Well-Known Member
I say useless attractions should never count towards bona fide attractions……..if it ain’t worth riding due to being so pointless and trivial it should not apply towards the count.
Things like Triceratops spin/Flying Carpets or the equivalent and Main Street old fashioned cars, Chip&Dale Nuthouse Coaster or the equivalent, Maters tractor pull and the equivalent, Jumping Jellyfish or the equivalent, to be charitable, are mere diversions. They are so low budget, approaching county carnival grade and stamped out as to be useless in the attraction count of any given park as far as I’m concerned.
That being said when I assess attraction counts I only list select and worthy C’s or those that most deem D’s and E’s…..in other words those worth waiting for and ultimately worth riding.
Disney Sea has my top 4 favorite attractions in the 12 park Disney chain: Hightower Hotel, Journey to Center, Crystal Skull and 20k Leagues. And for good measure Sindbad is probably 10th favorite in the Disney Universe.
Naturally when it comes to attractions I have it at the very top in the industry, official attraction count or not.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Interesting take. This is going to be highly the realm of personal opinion, but I’m surprised you like the profile that strongly. I’ve found the last decade-ish has reduced its luster in my own preference list. Not that it’s remotely bad, but a top ten worldwide is a competitive task. My TDS first visit predates Radiator Springs Racers and Mystic Manor. Then of course all the other big ticket newer things.
Ironically, I’ve heard Sindbad get stronger uptake just when NA fans rank their TDS attractions. Props to a very deep cut in 20k in your top five list! Very eclectic choice. But definitely you represent the group of NA fans that sees Tokyo as the holy grail.