Tokyo Disneyland Resort Expansion

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

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.

Shut up you uncultured swine kidding I understand that the viewpoint of most is to ride rides and such.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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]

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.

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]

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.

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

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?

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]

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 have changed to be pretty much entirely character focused.

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]

. My impression is that there used to be quite a bit more.

Yes, yes indeed

 

[TalkToEthan]

TDS has always struggled with a relative lack of attractions

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]

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.

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.

 

[mickEblu]

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.

So then are you saying that Disneyland, that's in "my backyard", is the greatest theme park on earth and I don't have to spend thousands of dollars traveling the globe to visit all the other Disney parks?

jk I would eventually love to visit all of them. Somehow I made it to the top .01% of Disneyland/ Disney park fans and my mom (who couldn't care less) has been to three more Disney parks than I have. My younger sister who kind of followed in my footsteps has been to all the parks except TDR and Hong Kong.

 

[McMickeyWorld]

 

[mickEblu]

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.

I think TDS gets a lot of bonus points for being a unique, original park like AK except its has a larger and better roster of attractions. In addition the castle parks, not named Disneyland, get marked down for being copies and/or not being as good as the original. Is TDS just objectively better than say Tokyo or Paris Disneyland? If Disneyland Anaheim never existed and instead MK, Paris or Tokyo Disneyland* was the original castle park, would it still be so easy to rank TDS higher than those 3? Granted there are many who also say TDS is better than Disneyland. The only thing that makes me question that conclusion is the fact that most people who say that have maybe been there 1-2 times in comparison to many more visits to Disneyland. How many would give up Disneyland for TDS? And if that's not a fair question because of history/nostalgia, is it just a kind of "breath of fresh air" that in the moment one wants to make that proclamation to justify the pilgrimage out there and just let the hype take over? These are all very human things. TDS may very well be the first or second best park in the world (#1 is Disneyland I don't care what anyone says) just food for thought.

* I left Hong Kong and Shanghai out of the question for different reasons including the fact that Shanghai is such a departure for a castle park and Hong Kong is missing classics like POTC and Small World.

 

[BrianLo]

So then are you saying that Disneyland, that's in "my backyard", is the greatest theme park on earth and I don't have to spend thousands of dollars traveling the globe to visit all the other Disney parks?

In my opinion, yes there is very little question in my mind that Disneyland is the best of the gates. It was already a decade ago, for me, and it has only strengthened serially with Rise and MMRR. WDW is the strongest resort destination. Tokyo Disney Sea is the strongest secondary gate, perhaps once upon a time Epcot. DAK is actually the last consistently "themed". DLP is the best modern iteration of Disneyland.

They are all worth visiting in their own respective ways, but Disneyland is hard to top. If and when DCA has multiple areas to the level of Radiator Springs, it will help strengthen your home resort.

Less so in Universal's portfolio. Orlando takes the cake on that one, even before Epic, and there is a lot of redundancy in that portfolio.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

TDS is a full day park by Disney standards because they have so many other underbuilt/underwhelming parks.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Props to a very deep cut in 20k in your top five list! Very eclectic choice.

TDS' version of 20,000 Leagues is my favourite ride in that park, but I'm not sure I'd put it in top 5 overall.

 

[BrianLo]

TDS is a full day park by Disney standards because they have so many other underbuilt/underwhelming parks.

It is fairly light on shows though by almost all of their other park standards. That's a recent problem.

But yes, this commentary extends more pre-Fantasy Springs. Because I think that was the build out the park was starting to really need. It was the result of a lot of investment delay/deferral since the parks opening. Though at least they seemingly made up for it in a sizeable way! Just fill the empty theatres please, don't turn into IOA.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Just fill the empty theatres please, don't turn into IOA.

What empty theaters?

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

I think it's fair to say TDS is the best second-gate Disney park in the world, when rating the park holistically. I would certainly take it over DCA.

But I probably still would not put any TDS attractions in my top 5 attractions ever. Maybe Indy since it's a slightly better version of the CA one?

Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20K Leagues are both interesting, mostly because they're the kind of attractions that Disney would never, ever make again today. But 20K Leagues is a C-ticket (not necessarily a bad thing!) and Journey is a good ride but IMO is kind of ruined by the fact that it's cut short right as it starts getting good in a way that almost feels comedic.

A lot of the allure of TDS for people, beyond the theming, is that it's like a time capsule of a Disney park circa turn of the millennium. Much of the park has never changed since opening and modern day TWDC would absolutely never build a park like that today.

 

[BrianLo]

What empty theaters?

Mermaid Theatre and the Hangar Stage.

 

[Bayou]

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.

It was written by someone who clearly doesn't understand the industry. The "Fantasy Springs isn't realistic" and "The book report rides contradict the 'active' rides of the rest of the park" were just plain stupid arguments.