Tokyo Disneyland has been open since April 1983, which makes this magical park 41 years young this year. It was so exciting to be able to experience this enormous park alongside my fellow classmate, Lauren Reid, an advertising major in her junior year.
The opportunity to visit a Disneyland park in a foreign country made the reality of my childhood dream more precious. The opportunity to attend the first park to open abroad was just an added bonus. I would have never thought it possible for me to visit Japan, let alone be able to go to Disneyland.
Tokyo Disneyland is an amusement park that offers various rides dedicated to its hundreds of animated characters. The park is located in the Chiba prefecture, about an hour train ride from Tokyo, even though its name states differently. My classmate and I had to ride two different train lines to arrive at Disney. During our train ride we had to do one transfer, where we went from the Hibiya line to the Keiyo line. By some miracle, the train stops were insanely close to each other and allowed us to catch the next train quickly.
My classmate Reid and I arrived at the amusement park at 9:15 in the morning. With the park opening at 8 a.m. , we made good time by arriving early in the day. Going through the admission line took about 15 minutes as the lines were long, but the foot traffic through the park’s main entrance was fast.
Walking through the park’s main entrance provided me with the best opportunity to snap the most beautiful picture. In my eyes, the main castle looked gorgeous with the early morning, slightly overcast, sky in the background. To say the least, the view was to die for, but so was my entire walk through the park.
Tokyo Disneyland spans over 115 acres of land and showcases several different attractions such as Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast and Monsters Inc: Ride & Go Seek to name a few. These specific rides are unique to Tokyo Disneyland and are very popular rides. The wait times for these rides ranged from 40 minutes to an hour and twenty minutes depending at what time you arrive.
I was expecting long lines as one would at Six Flags and Schlitterbahn Waterpark, but waiting times at Disney were like nothing I had experienced at any other amusement parks I have been to. I would have never thought that half of my day would be given towards waiting in lines. That being said, having patience and making sure to dedicate an entire day to Disney are crucial.
The only way to get around the long wait times is to purchase a fast pass, also known as the Disney premier access pass, to skip the line and experience the rides more quickly. One adult ticket to Tokyo Disneyland costs 9,900 yen (about $62 USD) and if you would like to purchase the fast pass then you would add between 1,500 yen to 2,500 yen (between about $10 and $15 USD). Depending on how many rides you are willing to buy the pass for, will dictate how much your ticket actually is.
It is important to note that the fast pass is only available for certain rides and is a good investment for your trip if you have limited time. The Tokyo Disneyland resort app will have all the details regarding wait times, tickets and fast pass information. This app is required to be installed on your phone, as well as registering an account. Without this app your trip will be hard to navigate as you will not be able to see the location of the attractions or the wait times, proving it hard to plan out your route for the day.
As mentioned earlier there are several attractions dedicated to Disney characters. I would suggest visiting all the unique attractions to Tokyo Disneyland first, as those are the rides that will be the busiest. During my visit, I prioritized the Winnie the Pooh, Beauty and the Beast, and the Monsters Inc. rides. Out of these three rides I was only able to experience two as the Monsters Inc. ride was out of service due to technical difficulties.
Regardless of the Monsters Inc. ride hiccup, the Disney boutiques lifted my spirits. Every boutique or shopping stand I visited was filled to the brim with the cutest memorabilia. The shops consisted of the famous Mickey Mouse headbands, hair accessories, mugs and even tissue holders!
I will go as far to say that the boutiques were the highlight of my trip with the food coming in a close second. The food came in the cutest wrappers and shapes that I was sad to throw away the wrappers or eat the food. The chicken nuggets came in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears and the wrappers had several different Disney characters imprinted on them.
The trip to Tokyo Disneyland was a trip for the ages! I am excited to start planning my next visit to the amusement park and possibly go with my siblings. With my siblings being hard-core Disney fans, I can already see them agreeing and being excited to go on a trip to the most magical place in the world.
