Unpopular opinions about the parks?

[Chef Mickey]

It is the fastest WDW roller coaster after all…

Fast is not always thrilling. Test Track is fast too and it's like driving in your car.

 

[Chef Mickey]

This is exactly why so many just go to Tokyo Disneyland now. More bang for your buck and it is kept the way it is meant to. Depending on where you fly from, the cost of the flight evens out to potentially saving money on a WDW onsite vacation.

Japan is one of my favorite places in the world and been to Tokyo at least 6 times, but it's not WDW.

It's better in some ways but it's worse in many others. The biggest problem is the scale isn't close. It's more of a comparison to Disneyland, if anything. Also, much of what makes Tokyo Disney better is simply bc the Japanese ppl (on overage) are better in the same ways (Cleaner, nicer, more respectful, etc).

 

[JIMINYCR]

I pretty much agree. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy when new things arrive and they're good, but like... Guardians is not what makes me want to go to Disney World. I look forward to riding Tron for the first time, but what really makes me want to go back are Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Hell, I'm looking forward to Country Bears more than Tron.

I love the new additions to the parks and look forward to comparing the hype to the actual ride. Giving us something more to change the parks and spread out the numbers is always good. But like you I love the classic things that made Disney. Fast, flashy, loud music and IP connected doesnt necessarily mean better.

 

[Twirlnhurl]

I'm looking at hotels right now and for the time frame I would want to go (November), Hilton Tokyo Bay is around $200/night. That's not bad for a hotel pretty close to the parks. The room from what I see in pictures is pretty nice too.

I've stayed at both the Hilton Tokyo Bay and the Sheraton and both were very nice. If memory serves, the room at the Hilton seemed more recently renovated. But both had excellent service and we're very clean. (my visits were in 2018 and 2019)

 

[Smugpugmug]

Japan is one of my favorite places in the world and been to Tokyo at least 6 times, but it's not WDW.

It's better in some ways but it's worse in many others. The biggest problem is the scale isn't close. It's more of a comparison to Disneyland, if anything. Also, much of what makes Tokyo Disney better is simply bc the Japanese ppl (on overage) are better in the same ways (Cleaner, nicer, more respectful, etc).

Honestly the scale doesn't really bother me. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better in my eyes. Agreed that the clientele being better is a big part of it. I also like how the rides are actually maintained and the quick service food is really good at a cheaper price point. WDW has a better resort feel but I'm not really looking for that on a TDR part of my vacation.

Good to know about Hilton Tokyo Bay. Unsure if I want to splurge on the Sheraton since I'll just be using the room to shower and sleep.

 

[celluloid]

Japan is one of my favorite places in the world and been to Tokyo at least 6 times, but it's not WDW.

It's better in some ways but it's worse in many others. The biggest problem is the scale isn't close. It's more of a comparison to Disneyland, if anything. Also, much of what makes Tokyo Disney better is simply bc the Japanese ppl (on overage) are better in the same ways (Cleaner, nicer, more respectful, etc).

I grew up on WDW as a Floridan so I get the scale, but when everything in that resort is not up to par, I will take a two park resort that keeps the standards the others should any day, with Disney Sea. Tokyo Disneyland has more attractions and entertainment in it than current Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios combined. Also, literally less than half the price.

 

[celluloid]

Honestly the scale doesn't really bother me. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better in my eyes. Agreed that the clientele being better is a big part of it. I also like how the rides are actually maintained and the quick service food is really good at a cheaper price point. WDW has a better resort feel but I'm not really looking for that on a TDR part of my vacation.

Good to know about Hilton Tokyo Bay. Unsure if I want to splurge on the Sheraton since I'll just be using the room to shower and sleep.

Nah. The Hilton is better than the Sheraton's conditions. There is some fun stuff over there but it all costs extra and its nothing amazing. Arcade, mini golf and laundry(which I used and the dryers did not work well enough)

Plus at Hilton you have a 24 hour convenient store, which can get slammed but can be fun for a few nights when you just want some grab and go on the cheapish side.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I grew up on WDW as a Floridan so I get the scale, but when everything in that resort is not up to par, I will take a two park resort that keeps the standards the others should any day, with Disney Sea. Tokyo Disneyland has more attractions and entertainment in it than current Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios combined. Also, literally less than half the price.

The tickets may be half the price, but there is the nagging issue of flying to Tokyo. The food is also not cheap and it's worse, table service in particular. I've eaten everywhere and there is almost nothing on the level of Sanaa, Topolinos, California Grill, or even Teppan Edo. Tokyo outside of Disney has some of the best food in the world, but the park food in Tokyo isn't good or cheap.

Again, the Japanese people have a lot to do with the cleanliness and efficiency of the parks. However, I've found Tokyo Disney to be way too crowded and small. There isn't a single ride in Tokyo I prefer to its counterpart in WDW besides the ones it has that WDW doesn't, such as Snow White.

 

[Lilofan]

The tickets may be half the price, but there is the nagging issue of flying to Tokyo. The food is also not cheap and it's worse. I've eaten everywhere and there is almost nothing on the level of Sanaa, Topolinos, California Grill, or even Teppan Edo. Tokyo outside of Disney has some of the best food in the world, but the park food in Tokyo isn't good or cheap.

Again, the Japanese people have a lot to do with the cleanliness and efficiency of the parks. However, I've found Tokyo Disney to be way too crowded and small. There isn't a single ride in Tokyo I prefer to its counterpart in WDW besides the ones it has that WDW doesn't, such as Snow White.

I have flown the red-eye from LAX to MCO. Some get off the plane at 630am and go straight to hotel then to parks in morning to start their vacation. No time being wasted.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Nah. The Hilton is better than the Sheraton's conditions. There is some fun stuff over there but it all costs extra and its nothing amazing. Arcade, mini golf and laundry(which I used and the dryers did not work well enough)

Plus at Hilton you have a 24 hour convenient store, which can get slammed but can be fun for a few nights when you just want some grab and go on the cheapish side.

Well, you convinced me to check out Hilton Tokyo Bay! The way to book a Disney hotel sounds like a hassle and from what I've seen there aren't a lot of perks. We don't plan on doing any table service since I've heard it's not worth the price, so no point in having advanced booking. If there's no laundry facilities, that does stink but I can make do.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I have flown the red-eye from LAX to MCO. Some get off the plane at 630am and go straight to hotel then to parks in morning to start their vacation. No time being wasted.

That's sad they can't build in an extra day, but I'm not surprised. The crowds I've seen in Tokyo rival Xmas even in WDW though, just really well behaved.

I went to Tokyo on some random Tuesday once and the line for Tower of Terror was literally 4.5 hrs.

 

[celluloid]

The tickets may be half the price, but there is the nagging issue of flying to Tokyo. The food is also not cheap and it's worse, table service in particular. I've eaten everywhere and there is almost nothing on the level of Sanaa, Topolinos, California Grill, or even Teppan Edo. Tokyo outside of Disney has some of the best food in the world, but the park food in Tokyo isn't good or cheap.

Again, the Japanese people have a lot to do with the cleanliness and efficiency of the parks. However, I've found Tokyo Disney to be way too crowded and small. There isn't a single ride in Tokyo I prefer to its counterpart in WDW besides the ones it has that WDW doesn't, such as Snow White.

Again. I just came back from there June 21st. The food and drinks were chaeper all around. You get coke-cola from vending machines all around the theme park for 200 yen which is slightly less than 2 dollars USD. I know part of that is the conversion rate right now but still. Its cheaper.
Yes, food is not a big deal for someone with kids like mine. I love Sanna but we were in Japan and had plenty of Curry options that my kids thankfully like and the standard fare was there too.

There were more people but it was far more efficient. Besides Beauty and The Beast and Soarin, we never waited more than an hour for anything.

The cleanliness of the parks is not just Japanese culture. That is always an overapplication stereotype as much as it is a positive one. I mean, I went inside a Donquiote in Osaka and saw signs that were asking people not to defecate in the urinals. There are millions of tourists all of the time visiting Japan. At a certain point it is just run better. Which means I currently prefer all of the attractions at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea because they are operated better. I guess results very.

We were blown away by Its a Small World and Haunted Mansion. Tokyo definitely has the best Haunted Mansion as it is likw WDW's used to be plus some unique effects. The legit book turning pages is a great practical effect. It is just better kept. There are always differences, but they wre all better kept and rarely an effect out of place.

If you love the night time shows, yeah, WDW has that with proximity locked in that it does not worry about as much winds and ordinances. But their parades in Japan are bar none the best. Particularly the latest Electrical Parade Dream lights. Which you can easily get views of whether you are there three hours early for close to front rows or one of the seven to 12 rows behind those people fifteen min before it starts since everyone tries to sit.

Height requirements were lower for some attractions so my daughter could actually ride Splash Mountain the day she turned three.
She is also still free until 4 years of age. Less than half the price for her and her brother who is 8 was only 37 dollars a day.

We have to fly to WDW anyway from where we live now. So that flight you claim a nagging issue really was not. because although the largest cost, everything else was so cheap. We took an entire three week Japan trip from Tokyo, Tokyo Bay, Kyoto, Osaka and back to Tokyo for under 8 grand flights, train transportation, one taxi ride, one airport bus, two bullet train rides and eight days of Disney, and an Annual Pass for Universal Studios Japan(it was cheaper to get their most blockedout one for when we were there)

We literally could not fly to Walt Disney World bubble for more than two weeks in our own country while staying onsite and dining out for every meal, be it great or bad. food(which is culturally subjective)
To be transparent it did not hurt that we went in the summer low season, and I booked hotels well.

 

[tanc]

Pirates should not have incorporated Depp, goes for all parks in the world. It's a multi billion dollar franchise but they haven't done anything with it since Kingdom Hearts 3.

7 dwarfs mine train is not a worthy successor to the original snow white ride. They should co exist or should have put mine train in Shanghai.

GMR was the heart and soul of Hollywood Studios, and removing it killed a lot of the park for me. Its successor just feels like the short of the stick compared to what Tokyo and even Disneyland California has with track less rides.

Toy Story Land is the worst land in WDW by far. I find it extremely disappointing that the best they could think of was putting big sized things around and call that "themeing"

Dinoland USA is a complete waste of space and just needs to be redone. It's a thematic mess compared to everything surrounding it.

The "renovation" of world of Disney and the Mousegear was a big blow. They look like warehouses compared to their creative counter parts. It's like going to a shopping mall instead of a uniquely themed store.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Again. I just came back from there June 21st. The food and drinks were chaeper all around. You get coke-cola from vending machines all around the theme park for 200 yen which is slightly less than 2 dollars USD. I know part of that is the conversion rate right now but still. Its cheaper.
Yes, food is not a big deal for someone with kids like mine. I love Sanna but we were in Japan and had plenty of Curry options that my kids thankfully like and the standard fare was there too.

There were more people but it was far more efficient. Besides Beauty and The Beast and Soarin, we never waited more than an hour for anything.

The cleanliness of the parks is not just Japanese culture. That is always an overapplication stereotype as much as it is a positive one. I mean, I went inside a Donquiote in Osaka and saw signs that were asking people not to defecate in the urinals. There are millions of tourists all of the time visiting Japan. At a certain point it is just run better. Which means I currently prefer all of the attractions at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea because they are operated better. I guess results very.

We were blown away by Its a Small World and Haunted Mansion. Tokyo definitely has the best Haunted Mansion as it is likw WDW's used to be plus some unique effects. The legit book turning pages is a great practical effect. It is just better kept. There are always differences, but they wre all better kept and rarely an effect out of place.

If you love the night time shows, yeah, WDW has that with proximity locked in that it does not worry about as much winds and ordinances. But their parades in Japan are bar none the best. Particularly the latest Electrical Parade Dream lights. Which you can easily get views of whether you are there three hours early for close to front rows or one of the seven to 12 rows behind those people fifteen min before it starts since everyone tries to sit.

Height requirements were lower for some attractions so my daughter could actually ride Splash Mountain the day she turned three.
She is also still free until 4 years of age. Less than half the price for her and her brother who is 8 was only 37 dollars a day.

We have to fly to WDW anyway from where we live now. So that flight you claim a nagging issue really was not. because although the largest cost, everything else was so cheap. We took an entire three week Japan trip from Tokyo, Tokyo Bay, Kyoto, Osaka and back to Tokyo for under 8 grand flights, train transportation, one taxi ride, one airport bus, two bullet train rides and eight days of Disney, and an Annual Pass for Universal Studios Japan(it was cheaper to get their most blockedout one for when we were there)

We literally could not fly to Walt Disney World bubble for more than two weeks in our own country while staying onsite and dining out for every meal, be it great or bad. food(which is culturally subjective)
To be transparent it did not hurt that we went in the summer low season, and I booked hotels well.

The curry was the worst part of the food in Tokyo. I suppose it depends on what you do and where you stay. I spent over $10,000 in Tokyo in 9 days for 2 ppl.

Also, we're going to agree to disagree on The Haunted Mansion. No Haunted Mansion is better than Orlando.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Pirates should not have incorporated Depp, goes for all parks in the world. It's a multi billion dollar franchise but they haven't done anything with it since Kingdom Hearts 3.

7 dwarfs mine train is not a worthy successor to the original snow white ride. They should co exist or should have put mine train in Shanghai.

GMR was the heart and soul of Hollywood Studios, and removing it killed a lot of the park for me. Its successor just feels like the short of the stick compared to what Tokyo and even Disneyland California has with track less rides.

Toy Story Land is the worst land in WDW by far. I find it extremely disappointing that the best they could think of was putting big sized things around and call that "themeing"

Dinoland USA is a complete waste of space and just needs to be redone. It's a thematic mess compared to everything surrounding it.

The "renovation" of world of Disney and the Mousegear was a big blow. They look like warehouses compared to their creative counter parts. It's like going to a shopping mall instead of a uniquely themed store.

How is Dinoland better than Toy Story Land? I don’t think TSL is a masterpiece, but it doesn’t try to be. To me, it’s a nice mini-land.


I agree that WOD and Mouse Gear are worse rethemed. WOD handles large volumes of people better now, but it feels tiny seeing both walls of the store as soon as you enter. Same with the Creations Shop. Creations shop is actually a little smaller now because it shares the space with Club Cool, but it isn’t as much smaller as it seems…

I also agree with Jack Sparrow… takes away from the timelessness of the attraction. Gives it a way to eventually become dated. In addition, the movie seemed like it was just following one of the many pirates in the world. Because they’ve incorporated Jack it makes it come across as though Jack is one of the few pirates in the world…

 

[celluloid]

The curry was the worst part of the food in Tokyo. I suppose it depends on what you do and where you stay. I spent over $10,000 in Tokyo in 9 days for 2 ppl.

Also, we're going to agree to disagree on The Haunted Mansion. No Haunted Mansion is better than Orlando.

The digital hitchiking ghosts alone and terrible shape definitely make it the worst stateside. Its the condition, not the original design. I gave reasons. You give feeling.

Also, remember when the doombuggie completely broke from its axis and spun around a few years ago? Great shape.

It is sadly only getting a two day refurb. Japan
s gets a couple a year. Even without HM holiday it gets shaped up.

Yeah, if I ever spend 10,000 grand for two people for 9 days anywhere, I did something very wrong. Not my kind of budgeting even when I have the means. But I am pretty frugal and good at planning vacations. I planned it for two years, studied a lot and I speak some of the language and understand even more.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

The digital hitchiking ghosts alone and terrible shape definitely make it the worst stateside. Its the condition, not the original design. I gave reasons. You give feeling.

Also, remember when the doombuggie completely broke from its axis and spun around a few years ago? Great shape.

It is sadly only getting a two day refurb. Japan
s gets a couple a year. Even without HM holiday it gets shaped up.

Yeah, if I ever spend 10,000 grand for two people for 9 days anywhere, I did something very wrong. Not my kind of budgeting even when I have the means.

I can’t speak to Haunted, but I do know that many rides are inspected daily. That was made out to be more of a mechanical fault with a low probability of happening, but I don’t know any official information on that. Given there are 160 doom buggies and it’s been in operation for 50 years, I’d say it’s actually in great shape for its age and workload.

 

[celluloid]

I can’t speak to Haunted, but I do know that many rides are inspected daily. That was made out to be more of a mechanical fault with a low probability of happening, but I don’t know any official information on that. Given there are 160 doom buggies and it’s been in operation for 50 years, I’d say it’s actually in great shape for its age and workload.

It happened the same week that the Jungle Cruise boat sank. Soon after Splash Mountain boats sank.

Probability goes higher when Maintenance is denied.

 

[Chef Mickey]

How is Dinoland better than Toy Story Land? I don’t think TSL is a masterpiece, but it doesn’t try to be. To me, it’s a nice mini-land.


I agree that WOD and Mouse Gear are worse rethemed. WOD handles large volumes of people better now, but it feels tiny seeing both walls of the store as soon as you enter. Same with the Creations Shop. Creations shop is actually a little smaller now because it shares the space with Club Cool, but it isn’t as much smaller as it seems…

I also agree with Jack Sparrow… takes away from the timelessness of the attraction. Gives it a way to eventually become dated. In addition, the movie seemed like it was just following one of the many pirates in the world. Because they’ve incorporated Jack it makes it come across as though Jack is one of the few pirates in the world…

Dinoland is better because it has a ride inside a building that wasn't already there (Toy Story).

 

[Chef Mickey]

The digital hitchiking ghosts alone and terrible shape definitely make it the worst stateside. Its the condition, not the original design. I gave reasons. You give feeling.

Also, remember when the doombuggie completely broke from its axis and spun around a few years ago? Great shape.

It is sadly only getting a two day refurb. Japan
s gets a couple a year. Even without HM holiday it gets shaped up.

Yeah, if I ever spend 10,000 grand for two people for 9 days anywhere, I did something very wrong. Not my kind of budgeting even when I have the means. But I am pretty frugal and good at planning vacations. I planned it for two years, studied a lot and I speak some of the language and understand even more.

Relax, it's not wrong to stay in 5 star resorts and eat the best food. It's expensive to do nice things, to each their own.

Who cares there was a run off issue with a ride vehicle. I don't like the digital ending either, but the facts you gave don't impact the ride. Most things generally work fine.