The seventh day of our trip was arguably the least traditionally Japanese part of our trip. Disney is such an American thing that it seems really weird to go there while you’re in a foreign country. Plus, I’d already been to Disney World in Orlando, Florida and wasn’t super interested in going to a park that I’d been told was almost exactly the same. However, my sister really wanted to go because she had never been to a Disney park, so we all agreed to go.
While Tokyo Disney was incredibly similar to Disney World, it definitely had something about it that was distinctly Japanese. Everyone was obsessed with the Mickey Mouse ears and I saw a number of people that were cosplaying Disney characters for fun. The food was completely different that anything that I had at Disney World, and I absolutely loved it! A lot of the rides were the same, but there were some that were really different, too!
We were going to purchase our tickets online in advance, but it would have taken a couple weeks to ensure they got to us. And, what they mailed to us would have been a physical copy of our ticket and the only ticket that we would actually get, so we were really nervous about it being mailed overseas. It just so happened that while we were spending the day around Shibuya we found the Disney store there and could purchase tickets at a counter on the top floor of the building. It took a while standing in line, but I imagine that it was better than waiting in the line at the actual park.
Also one important thing to note, there are actually two different Disney parks in Tokyo: Tokyo Disney and Tokyo DisneySea. Apparently DisneySea is a bit more of an original park compared to Disney, but our friend had already been there and she said that it wasn’t as fun as going to the Disney park because it was more looking at attractions than riding rides.
We went just before Halloween, so everything was decked out in orange and purple. Several times throughout the day, a parade went down Main St with Mickey, Minnie, and the gang dressed in Halloween costumes riding on spooky looking cars. There was special Halloween themed food in some of the restaurants that looked absolutely adorable (more on the food later).
It rained all day we were there, which made it a little difficult to ride some of the rides. It’s not quite as fun riding Big Thunder Mountain with rain whipping you in the face. But all the indoor rides were a nice reprieve from the dreary, poncho filled day. I particularly enjoyed the Pooh’s Hunny Pot ride, the Haunted Mansion (which was Nightmare Before Christmas themed!), and Space Mountain. However, being in Tokyo, all the interactive rides were in Japanese and I understand absolutely nothing except for a single spoken line in the Haunted Mansion were the woman in the crystal ball speaks in English. While it would have been really nice to know what was being said during the rides, they were fun and entertaining enough that you really didn’t HAVE to understand what was going on.
The lines were horrifically long for some of the rides and most of the lines were outside in the rain, which wasn’t particularly enjoyable. It took us a while to figure out how to get fast passes and we only managed to get one for the Star Wars ride at the very end of the day. So definitely make sure you figure out fast passes as early as possible, particularly for rides that you know are at the top of your ride list.
The absolute best part of the park, aside from the rides, has got to be the food. There are so many different food options, and everything is themed around something related to Disney. For lunch we went to an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant and got some really good hamburger along with an amazing un-birthday cake that we split. For dinner we went to a restaurant that was kind of Pizza Planet-esque and I got some curry that was pretty good and this adorable jelly dessert that was space themed. We had a nice long conversation about how Disney managed to get the yolks of their hardboiled eggs to be Mickey Mouse shaped. We finally landed on specialized egg molds, but we’re still not entirely sure.
At the end of the day, the gift shops were absolute madness and it was incredibly difficult to walk around, let alone actually look at anything and purchase stuff.
I think there was supposed to be a light show or a final parade or something at the very end of the day, but we missed it because we were cold and wet and incredibly tired, so we just went back to the hotel. There are a number of ways to get to and from the park, including a special Disney train that runs from one of the nearby Japan Rail stations. There are also buses that go to the park, and there are a number of hotels around Tokyo that have a partnership with Disney to provide free shuttle buses to the parks and back (this is how we got to and from the park).
Becky Reads 
>At the end of the day, the gift shops were absolute madness
In Japan, buying souvenirs for yourself and for friends, family, et al. is very importatnt when visiting somewhere special. So, when leaving Disneyland, everyone goes to the gift shop near the exit / entrance.
>I think there was supposed to be a light show or a final parade or something at the very end of the day
Yes, the “Disney Electric Parade” is probably the most popular parade at Disney parks.
And there’s a fireworks show just before the park closes.
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Thanks for the insights! I knew omiyage were important but I didn’t make that connection. I’m sad I missed the parade and fireworks but it was so rainy!
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