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Tokyo Disneyland Resort Expansion
- Thread starter The_Mesh_Hatter
- Start date
Architectural Guinea Pig
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I just finished DisneySea today. I 100% agree to this! For about 2 hours, ALL FOUR RIDES, INCLUDING FROZEN, had five minute waits (walk-on), and because I didn’t arrive at the park before 7:00, I didn’t get a standby pass. There was an entire crowd near the entrance endlessly reloading the app for a flicker of standby passes to no avail. I witnessed cast members turn away a solo traveling disabled guest (with utmost respect ofc) who physically could not reach the park at such an early hour. The entire app was crashing with full servers waiting for nothing to come- it was THAT bad. And after all that mess Frozen broke down, and after that the lines for it were clogged making 100+ minute waits. Wifi suddenly refused to work in the most random spots…
And yes, there were many empty ride vehicles because I went on Pan in that period (no standby pass anymore either), and it was a walk-on. Empty vehicles continuing to run, while people were outside waiting for a window to appear, a golden portal to the supposed fantasy of fantasy springs.
I’m definitely ranting now, so let me just shoutout the hell that was yesterday. 100% raining, everyone was drenched, many of the areas were outside, but that’s not really the park’s fault. There was no end until the last two hours, when the pour turned into a light drizzle. All floors were slippery and hazardous, carpets were soggy and it was just miserable.
Great customer service (I LOVE THE CAST MEMBERS) but terrible handling and terrible app. TERRIBLE APP.
tanc
Premium Member
OLC wants people to buy the vacation package
terrible to say but OLC has made an impossibly good offer that makes DPA and standby pass at an absurd disadvantage. Not sure why they wouldn't let people on, but imo Disney apps in general are some of the worst apps I've ever used.
ThemeParkTraveller
Well-Known Member
The videos I've seen of Fantasy Springs post-opening don't look crowded at all (other than the gift shop). I think they should re-evaluate the daily limits for the standby/DPA, as they seem a bit too restrictive at the moment.
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Not really, it transitions from praising Mermaid Lagoon and immediately into how wise Eisner was and then questioning Frozen’s ability to stand the test of time.
I have zero idea what the central thesis of that article is. It’s like a rambling travelogue, some vague financial facts, a bunch of questionable history and then a bunch of random online user reviews from theme park insider and twitter?
The writer hasn’t even been to the new land, so what’s the point in a rambling article. I think it might be partially an AI assisted article, but they didn’t let it write the whole thing.
I actually read the article before seeing @Henry Mystic comment because I was having the same reaction. How is this such a long article and yet I have no idea what on earth they want to say. They need an editor.
Centauri Space Station
Well-Known Member
DonniePeverley
Well-Known Member
The entry system into Fantasy Springs is too stressful.
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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