Sunday, May 6, 2018

Tokyo Disneyland at 35

Tokyo Disneyland first opened to the public on April 15, 1983.  The park is running a special year long event "Tokyo Disney Resort 35th 'Happiest Celebration'" through March 25, 2019. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea, which opened in 2001, have had a combined total of 720 million visitors as of the end of March 2018.  



I've never visited the Tokyo Disney Parks, but many years ago I did visit Disney World in Orlando, Florida on a high school marching band trip.  Many people I know visit Tokyo Disney, some every year.  It's not just children either.  Groups of adult women friends go.  Older couples go.  And of course, families with children go.  


I kind of doubt I will ever go to Tokyo Disney.  From all reports I've heard it is very crowded and very expensive.  Adult one day tickets are 7400 yen, juniors age 12 - 17 are 6400 yen, and children 4 - 11 are 4800 yen.  If you are over 65, your admission is only 6700 yen. The website says that food and drink are not allowed to be brought in, so you must budget for buying food inside the park also.  I don't know how this compares with the Disney Parks in other countries.  Probably it's roughly the same, but I don't know. 


I like this disclaimer at the bottom of one of the website pages:

All photos are concept images.
Entertainment programs are subject to change or cancellation due to inclement weather, etc.
The number of performances each day is also subject to change.
Special merchandise items are available in limited numbers and may sell out.
The contents of the menus may change and some items will only be available while the supply lasts.

On the Rules page it also says:  

  • Members or supporters of organized crime groups will not be admitted.


Have you been to a Disney Park?  What do you think about them? Crowded? Expensive?  Worth it?  The Happiest Place on Earth?

11 comments:

kiwikid said...

Interesting disclaimers...I guess you can't sell any photos taken in a Disney Park then!! I have been to disneyland in LA twice..the first time in the 70's and I loved it, it was the Happiest Place on Earth, but you must remember this was my first stop out of NZ. I visited again 30 years later and found it smaller, busier and the food super expensive, also the souvineers, but maybe that is just an age thing? I still had a great day there.

Miranda said...

Living in Orlando now (though at the far end of the city), we've been to the parks a few times in recent years, Universal too. I love them (amusement parks in general), but definitely try to go during off-peak season because it gets super crowded. And we get resident prices now, which are a bit cheaper, so that's nice. :) (But yeah, they're still pretty pricey...)

Vireya said...

I've been to Disneyland in California twice. First on my own when I was 23, and again with my son when he was 14. It seemed much more expensive the 2nd time. Particularly the food!
I loved it on my first trip. I'd never been to any sort of amusement park before, and it was amazing to go somewhere I had seen on TV but never imagined I would get to in real life.
My son and I really enjoyed the second visit. I took a chance and bought 2-day tickets, which worked out better for us. But I do remember the price of the food being shocking.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pamela no i have never been to a Disney park but pics of have seen always show that is is rather crowded,hope you have a lovely day my friend xx

Merlynn said...

In 2008 when i went to Disney in Florida was 120$ US for an adult, 13 000 yens, so the price in Japan seems very affordable in my opinion...

Queeniepatch said...

Well, Disney parks are expensive, but I think you get value for money. Running a park takes a lot of money with maintenance, security, training staff and keeping the place clean. For example I have never heard of an accident on any of the rides at Disneyland so I am sure they spend a lot of time on service and check-ups. Often other parks are in the news because people have been stranded hanging upside down when the roller coaster came to a standstill. As for cleaning, it is not just a wee bit of sweeping up litter, but after a rain shower, Disneyland staff rush out to wipe dry benches, balustrades and handrails - that costs money!

BeingBored89 said...

I actually work for the fire department on Disney World property in Orlando, Florida and have always gone to Disney since I was little. For my husband's birthday last year he wanted to go to California, so we took a couple days to visit Disneyland and stay at the Disneyland Hotel while we were there. We enjoyed it but was a little disappointed with how small their castle actually is. However, we did get some really cute photos of our daughter taking her first solo pictures in front of it. We have been wanting to visit Japan for a while now and for our 5th anniversary at the end of March next year, we have decided to make it a reality and of course Tokyo Disney is on our list. I'm not sure exactly what date we will end up going but if we can make it before the end of the 35th celebration, I think that would be awesome.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I have never been to a Disney Park. When I was in high school they were building the one in Florida. I remember several of my friends went down to work on building it when they graduated high school.

geeky Heather said...

We have been to every Disney park except Hong Kong Disneyland! There is no sorry answer to your question from me...I could write several blog posts about it! =) But Tokyo DisneySea, on the same monorail line as Tokyo Disneyland, is probably my favorite park (well, maybe second to the Magic Kingdom!) When we went, it was not very crowded, but we planned our trip so we were not there on the weekend. Similar to Disneyland in California, Tokyo Disneyland is very much a "locals" park, meaning that most attendees are annual passholders, so it is always crowded on weekends when locals are not working. There is no way you would even want to bring food into the park, because you would be missing out on one of the best parts of the park: The delicious, themed, seasonally changing menus!!

Leonore Winterer said...

I've been to Disneyland Paris last year with my best friend and was disappointed - it was nothing as good as I thought! She's been to a few of the US Disney parks before, though, and said that those are much better. I might try out Tokyo Disneyland if I had no other plans for a day, but think we will be very busy with actual Tokyo sightseeing!

D1-D2 said...

I've been to the one in Orlando when I was a teen. I remember we stayed in a really bad motel lol Back then you couldn't look at hotel reviews before you could book. You had to do it the old fashion way by calling. I've been talking to my family about going for the 50th anniversary in 2021 and booking a suite at the Disney resort :)