By land and by sea, the Magic Kingdom and its gang of cartoon citizens have taken over Tokyo, first arriving when Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983, and completing their invasion when the seven Ports of Call at DisneySea welcomed their first visitors in 2001.
Tokyo Disneyland Attractions
Tokyo Disneyland is a replica of its sister US theme parks, Disneyland in Orange County, California, and Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Although neither it nor DisneySea is owned by the Walt Disney Company, visitors to the Tokyo theme parks would never know it as they gambol through the World Bazaar, Critter Country, Mickey’s Toontown, Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Westernland, the Japanese counterpart of Orange County’s Frontierland.
“Frontier” does not translate well into Japanese, but Big Thunder Mountain, Tom Sawyer’s Island Rafts, Mark Twain’s Riverboat, and the Country Bear Jamboree certainly do. The only noticeable differences between Disneyland USA and Tokyo Disneyland, in fact, are that the Haunted Mansion has moved from New Orleans Square to Fantasyland, because Japanese ghosts exist only in fairy stories; Main Street USA has been supplanted by the glass-canopied World Bazaar; and its Western River Railroad has a single station instead of Disneyland’s four. Japanese trains making more than one stop are government regulated, so visitors can’t use the Western River Railroad to move through the entire park.
The vast open areas of Tokyo Disneyland are very special in a part of the world where land is the most valuable of commodities, and they are also necessary; Tokyo Disneyland’s crowds make it the third most visited theme park in the world, with Tokyo DisneySea right behind.
Tokyo Disneyland is open daily from 9AM to 10PM; tickets are available at Tokyo Station, Yaesu North Exit, or from any travel agent. A single day pass good for all attractions at either Disneyland or DisneySea, runs $52 for adults.
Where to Stay during a Visit to Tokyo Disneyland
The Park Lane Hotel Tokyo in Nishi Kasai offers reasonably-priced comfortable and clean accommodations with free Internet access, and has free bus service to and from Tokyo Disneyland twice a day.
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