Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Well, cross yet another Disney park off my list. After waiting ... since 1983!!!!!! ... your favorite Spirit was at the gates bright and early at the ungodly hour of 7:30 (for an 8:30 opening) today and did a thorough commando job, but let's leave my underwear or lack thereof out of this shall we ;-) OK, so I know what you're all thinking (yeah, especially YOU!) ... and that is 'Dear Spirit, was TDL all you hoped it to be? Is it now your favorite MK-style park? Does it blow the tired, stale, old MK out of the water? Were there any issues you had with the place (like that could be possible)? The answers would be: Yes -kinda; No, it isn't; Absolutely; and Yeah, the place is wonderful, but it isn't perfect and it showed its warts in some unexpected ways. But since I'm fading and have a 12-hour day at TDS coming up, let's just hit some basics and I'll follow up as time permits. Let's start with those mythic crowds you hear about ...
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Sorry, some premature postage there ... and I am way too young for that. Crowds. Well, when I arrived at the maingates on a crisp clear morning there were at least 20-30 people lined up at every turnstyle. Gates were locked and no CMs around. I started thinking I was there way too early, even after a few hundred people lined up behind me. Around 8, the characters came out (on the other side of the gate) and waved to us and pranced and played. And I was thinking 'my hard Asian hotel bed would feel great about now' but also 'you were a kid when you first wanted to come here, so stop acting like Pierce and get into a zip-a-dee-doo-dah mindframe'. When the gates opened, something interesting and uniquely Tokyo happened: people started running up World Bazaar ... kids, teens, adults, elderly, people who died in 1997 ... and the CMs waved at them and smiled. One actually bent down and picked up individual pieces of spilled popcorn (have no idea if it was curry, chocolate or black pepper flavored), but no one stops the runners (98% of whom are headed to FP for either Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Monsters Ride and Go Seek, Buzz Lightyear or Mansion Holiday Nightmare). It was interesting. As was being under that massive roof and looking at a park that felt familiar yet foreign at the same time. I decided to do the 'locals' deal and immediately got FPs for Hunny Hunt and then got in the standby line which was 10 minutes long. By the time I came out of this truly amazing E-Ticket (one that is now a decade old and should have gone into MK and DL and HKDL) the standby was up to 60 minutes (with no words from Andy Rooney either). Hell, I think the Pooh queue is better than the stateside rides. Anyway, today (Monday) was likely a moderately crowded day by TDL standards (in other words, insanely packed by say MK standards) yet I guess I am just a savvy visitor because I did 17 attractions during the day/night (18 if you include their version of the Disney Gallery) and never waited longer than 20 minutes for all except one (a 35-minute wait for a Jungle Cruise ride in which I got none of the jokes, even in the end). I also saw THREE amazing parades, had two mediocre to lousy meals, had one amazing (possibly best ever) churro, saw the new holiday pyro show, did some shopping and left the park 30 minutes before the 10 p.m. close. I think I did very well for a first-timer. As to the waits, well they never got to insane levels. Some examples I saw were: Monsters: 120min; Buzz: 110min; Big Thunder: 110min; Splash: 90min; SpaceMtn: 60min; Mansion Holiday: 60min; Now, those may not be walks in the park, but they are far from the 2-3-andholycrap!!!4 hour waits I've often heard can be experienced on Tokyo Bay. Before you ask, this is what I saw today (and I'll add comments later this week): Hunny Hunt (twice); Pinnochio; Snow White; Mansion Holiday; CBJ X-mas show; Peter Pan; PotC; Star Tours; BTMRR; Western River RR; JC; Tiki Room w/Stitch; Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin; Space Mountain; Small World Holiday; and last but not least Monsters; Highlights of the day: amazing show quality in each and every attraction; parades that were just PHENOMENAL and put any/all USA efforts to shame right now (Jubilation and Dreamlights being the best, but the new Christmas parade is good too!); wonderful and plentiful CMs; unique attractions like Hunny Hunt and Monsters (which both show what Disney is capable of when playing with others' money); great detailing; popcorn variety; a Penny Arcade that still exists; shops with themed merchandise in Westernland (boots, leather jackets, Route 66 calendars ... none of which you'll find in FLA or likely Anaheim); pins are almost non-existant; Vinylmation appears to be (I never saw it). Lowlights of the day: food quality and price; no diet Coke anywhere (not an issue for me, but for someone I was with); inadaquete restrooms for the amount of people that visit (I really was shocked by this one because it isn't like that in Paris or even Hong Kong and I've never heard one spirit mention it); lack of transitions (something I really want to write about later) with lands just flowing into each other in often jarring ways; no ability to make reservations for Diamond Horseshoe dinner show without using Internet Japanese only site days (or weeks) ahead of time; sad merchandise assortment in Disney Gallery; not enough CMs with a bit of English knowledge (I know I'll take heat for that one); Strangest sight of day: no, not the morning runners, I knew I'd see that ... but the one girl/woman (she was between 16-24) sitting in the middle of a huge walkway in Westernland appearing to want (I am NOT making this up) to breast-feed her Duffy plush and all the people (CMs included) who simply walked by and pretended she wasn't there. OK ... more later ... something to tide you over if you're sick of turkey by now! ~Tokyo Spirit~
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< When the gates opened, something interesting and uniquely Tokyo happened: people started running up World Bazaar ... kids, teens, adults, elderly, people who died in 1997 ... and the CMs waved at them and smiled. >>> It's called the "Morning Dash" - I'm glad you had a chance to experience it. <<< but the one girl/woman (she was between 16-24) sitting in the middle of a huge walkway in Westernland appearing to want (I am NOT making this up) to breast-feed her Duffy plush >>> Please tell me you got a picture of this. As far as Duffy goes, you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Just wait until your visit tomorrow to TDS. Then you'll really understand what the Duffy craze is all about. As far as Diet Coke goes, it's been replaced by Coke Zero, but even there, it's hard to find and there are usually just two places in each park that have it: one on fountain, and the other an ODV cart. In TDS, the fountain location is at Cape Cod Cook-Off, and there's an ODV cart near the propeller in front of the SS Columbia. I'm sorry you didn't like the food at TDL. I tend to really like it, but maybe I've just found a few things that are to my taste and stick with them. Perhaps you can comment on the prices: the current exchange rate kind of kills this idea for US visitors to TDR these days, but back when it was a more normal 105-115 yen/dollar, I found that the food prices at TDR seemed to be cheaper than that in the US, which was always a pleasant surprise. <<< not enough CMs with a bit of English knowledge (I know I'll take heat for that one); >>> No heat, but just a comment: It's much different than HKDL, where English is actually an official language of Hong Kong (along with Cantonese, and surprisingly NOT Mandarin as I'm sure you already know) and used every day in school, business and government. Not so in Japan.
Originally Posted By barboy2 ////something interesting and uniquely Tokyo happened: people started running up World Bazaar ... kids, teens, adults, elderly, people who died in 1997 ... and the CMs waved at them and smiled./// easily my second favorite feature in all of Tokyo Also, I don't think two of your general complaints against TDR thus far are warranted--- price and English--- based on reasonable expectations.
Originally Posted By leemac Glad you got so much done at TDL Spirit - seems like you played it well. I'm told by colleagues that both parks set records at the weekend - looks like you chose the perfect day. Totally agree on the food front - I've always found it to be the same - largely tasteless. On the Diet Coke front - I believe you can still get it at the convenience stores in the hotels in PET bottles. I thought that the various vending machines also have them. I'm a DC drinker too - so I tend to shift to iced coffee when I'm in the parks.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Not so in Japan.>> I thought that English had been mandatory in most Japanese schools for a generation or two? I think the old Japanese convention still applies - most would be able to converse adequately but don't want to be embarrassed so it is easier to put up the cross sign instead.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***but no one stops the runners*** Long ago they used to try, they would make the universal hand gesture to "slow it down guys" to utterly no effect. I guess they realized the futility of it and instructed everyone not to bother anymore. ***I thought that English had been mandatory in most Japanese schools for a generation or two?*** A foreign language is mandatory in American schools too, at least most of them. However, I'd venture to guess that your average Wal-Mart employee with a few years of high school French would be reluctant to bother trying to accommodate a Parisian customer in their native language. My question to Spirit is, when you ran into trouble did they just give up, or ask you to wait while they found an English speaker? In my experience, the CM's who can't speak will try hard to find someone who can if the customer doesn't mind waiting a few minutes. Also, while realizing that Disney IS a uniquely AMERICAN place and so English should be prevalent (and it is, in the announcements and such of course), one should also realize that beyond the vast Japanese customer base there are at least TWO other groups who are more frequent visitors than any English speakers...Koreans and Chinese. So if you're looking down the priority list, it would seem to me that your request would be similar to demanding a WDW cast member who is fluent in Spanish and French be more up to speed on his conversational Italian, as well. Sounds like you had a fun, successful day. Like SuperDry, I'm interested to hear more about what bugged you food-wise. While I much prefer DisneySea dining, I've always found TDL to be reasonably tasty if, as everyone notes, quite pricey for such small portions.
Originally Posted By barboy2 ///In my experience, the CM's who can't speak will try hard to find someone who can if the customer doesn't mind waiting a few minutes./// in mine too
Originally Posted By Anatole69 They teach English in Japanese schools, but the focus is on grammar and not speaking ability. Many Japanese can read English but not speak it to save their lives. Japan is not Hong Kong and despite it status as the third largest economy, and all that money spent on English education, the speaking standard is much lower than you would think. And then also there is the Japanese modesty as has been mentioned, which causes them to get shy even if they can speak some English. - Anatole
Originally Posted By barboy2 ///immediately got FPs for Hunny Hunt and then got in the standby line which was 10 minutes long/// I'm very curious here..... if you were say 25 guest deep at "open gate" and made your way to Pooh FP with haste(and in my experience Japanese guests work those PF machines very efficiently) how did the stand-by become 10 minutes so very early on? I would have expected basically a 'walk-on'. I did that same trick and I, too, was about 25 deep at the front gates. Upon "open gate" I lightly jogged/fast walked and secured a FP for Pooh and then jumped into the walk-on stand-by, then rode a second time with no more than a 5 minute wait----- this was on a busy day where 150 minute waits were seen on select attractions at peak times.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< On the Diet Coke front - I believe you can still get it at the convenience stores in the hotels in PET bottles. >>> I've found that recently, DC is increasingly difficult to find in Japan, with Coke Zero replacing it in most places it was previously available. I'll take either, so it doesn't really bother me. In any event, sometimes DC in a bottle or can just doesn't satisfy the craving for getting it fountain-style. As I'm sure you know, the formula is significantly different between the two: the canned/bottled variety is all NutraSweet/aspartame for the artificial sweetener, but the fountain variety still has good old saccharin in it. Ah, the sweet nectar.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< parades that were just PHENOMENAL and put any/all USA efforts to shame right now (Jubilation and Dreamlights being the best, but the new Christmas parade is good too!) >>> I haven't seen this year's Christmas parade yet, so I can't speak to that. I'm glad you enjoyed Jubilation. I don't like it at all. It has no magic to it, no spark. I can't quite explain it. I just don't like it. Now, if you compare it to some of the US parades (which I know you are), then you might have a point. The nice thing about the Christmas (and Halloween) parades at TDL is they are almost completely new each year, with new music, a new theme, and for the most part new floats and costumes. Compare that to what's on offer at WDW.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Before you ask, this is what I saw today (and I'll add comments later this week): ... >>> It looks like you got most of the important things done, including all those rides and the three parades. Notably absent is Splash Mountain. It's a lot like Florida's, with two big differences: a) it's mostly in Japanese, and b) all the effects work. It's definitely worthwhile if you're a Splash fan at all. <<< left the park 30 minutes before the 10 p.m. close. >>> What? Your first day and you left early, rather than getting that one last ride in? <<< And I was thinking 'my hard Asian hotel bed would feel great about now' >>> Next time, consider the on-resort Sheraton - with its Sweet Sleeper Bed in each room, you'll find Morning Dash difficult to get up early for!
Originally Posted By irishfan Spirit, can I ask where you staying? I'm visiting the resort in January and I'm currently weighing up my options of either staying at the resort, or commuting from Tokyo.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros For communicating with the CMs, even if they don't speak English well (or at all), I've found that they do the best they can to make gestures and make sure you understand. There are some things that you can do to help (say "Coca Cola" instead of "Coke"), but most of the time just waving your arms around and looking like a fool helps break the language barrier. There aren't many places anywhere in the US (including Disney properties) where the employees will go to that length to help. Yes, they may screw some things up (my spaghetti bolognese at Zambini Brothers ended up as a salmon and potato pizza), but they are definitely trying to do their best regardless of their situation. And any word on the earthquake? Apparently there was a 6.9 that hit 'central Tokyo' (whatever that means) Monday afternoon. It sounds like it didn't have any effect on the park's operations.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<< but the one girl/woman (she was between 16-24) sitting in the middle of a huge walkway in Westernland appearing to want (I am NOT making this up) to breast-feed her Duffy plush >>> <<Please tell me you got a picture of this. As far as Duffy goes, you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Just wait until your visit tomorrow to TDS. Then you'll really understand what the Duffy craze is all about.>> I didn't get a picture because I honestly thought she was either ill ... or mentally ill and I couldn't believe that so many people, including CMs, were just walking around her. This is the middle of a very busy walkway. Oh, and I saw Duffy Mania today ... not a pretty sight. We have pins and vinyl ... they have a plush bear. It's all dumb. <<As far as Diet Coke goes, it's been replaced by Coke Zero, but even there, it's hard to find and there are usually just two places in each park that have it: one on fountain, and the other an ODV cart. In TDS, the fountain location is at Cape Cod Cook-Off, and there's an ODV cart near the propeller in front of the SS Columbia.>> Yes. We bought Coke Zero there and some cherry non-carbonated beverage that was very good there. But there is no good excuse for not offering a sugar free beverage at ALL locations. Don't they have diabetics in Japan? Do they just drink water? Or tea sans fake sugar as OLC doesn't offer Splenda or Equal etc ... and I've been here enough days to see that Coke Zero or Diet are around elsewhere as are artificial sweetners. I don't make excuses for TWDC, so I won't for OLC. They had about six different carbonated sodas at the places I dined today, but they couldn't offer Coke Zero? That's bad. And I could tell when I went to Guest Relations at TDL yesterday to ask for a list of locations where it was offered that the gal working there was thinking 'another one' so it's not something they are unaware of at all. <<I'm sorry you didn't like the food at TDL. I tend to really like it, but maybe I've just found a few things that are to my taste and stick with them. Perhaps you can comment on the prices: the current exchange rate kind of kills this idea for US visitors to TDR these days, but back when it was a more normal 105-115 yen/dollar, I found that the food prices at TDR seemed to be cheaper than that in the US, which was always a pleasant surprise.>> The food wasn't awful yesterday ... well, dinner (burgers at T-land Terrace was pretty close) ... it's a combo of mediocre food, very high prices and portions that are appetizer sized. Had two tasty meals at TDS today (New York Deli and Zambini Bros) ... quality was excellent. BUT ... $11 for a sandwich that in the states would barely qualify as a half with no side item? And my pasta tonight would have been a kid's meal in the USA. Think I'm gonna just do full serve and hotel dining from here on out. <<< not enough CMs with a bit of English knowledge (I know I'll take heat for that one); >>> <<No heat, but just a comment: It's much different than HKDL, where English is actually an official language of Hong Kong (along with Cantonese, and surprisingly NOT Mandarin as I'm sure you already know) and used every day in school, business and government. Not so in Japan.>> I understand and agree ... but also it still IS Disney ... it is a major destination and English is used prominently in both parks ... all major announcements are in English, many attractions are almost all (or most) in English or a combo of the two. There's no excuse for going into Guest Relations of all places and not having a totally fluent CM. My hotel has a staff that is pretty much that way ... and it largely services TDR ... and it isn't 4-5 star either.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Oh, need to sign off for the night ... big doings tomorrow ... but will continue to answer as time allows ... also, irishfan, if you give me your email I'll be glad to let you know where I am staying and what I think you should do. Since I am staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel that has free bus service (real motor coaches, not WDW crap) all for less than a discounted 'value resort' in O-Town, my advice would strongly be to listen to what I have to say. If, however, you are wealthy or plan to spend very little time in the parks than I'd suggest the Miracosta ... I've been told you can get a room there for under $500 sometimes!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Glad you got so much done at TDL Spirit - seems like you played it well. I'm told by colleagues that both parks set records at the weekend - looks like you chose the perfect day.>> Apparently, I'm 2-for-2 now because today TDS was blissfully quiet except for the occassional earthquake and the Duffy madness and the people sitting in the streets waiting for shows (another uniquely Tokyo thing!) <<Totally agree on the food front - I've always found it to be the same - largely tasteless.>> It was better today at TDS by a good deal, but still not large enough and way too pricey for what you do get. <<On the Diet Coke front - I believe you can still get it at the convenience stores in the hotels in PET bottles. I thought that the various vending machines also have them. I'm a DC drinker too - so I tend to shift to iced coffee when I'm in the parks. >> Not an issue for me per se, more for my traveling companion. But I do understand the frustration. I spent a week in China earlier this trip while working without being able to have anything other than lousy beer, tea or water ... for a Coke and coffee addict, it was not fun.
Originally Posted By leemac <<As I'm sure you know, the formula is significantly different between the two: the canned/bottled variety is all NutraSweet/aspartame for the artificial sweetener, but the fountain variety still has good old saccharin in it. Ah, the sweet nectar.>> I've always preferred the taste from cans first, then PET and finally fountain. It usually isn't gassy enough for me from the pump. And isn't the fountain variety just got a little saccharin to preserve it? I'm not a fan of Coke Zero - and I can't get near any of the Pepsi variants like Max. Yuk!
