pynewood

We are heading to Tokyo and staying at Shinjuku. Was thinkng of seeing Disneyland in Tokyo. How does it compare to the USA versions and do they cater well for only English speaking tourists.

hawaiiantraveler

All park employees that come in contact with the public speak some English. English signs are everywhere, the only "problem" we encounter when traveling to an International Disney venue is that the sounds(words) coming out of the rides are all in the native countries language(of course).It's weird hearing Brer Rabbit singing "Zippity Do Da" in Japanese,lol. One thing you will notice is that the Japanese are crazed for anything Disney when they are in the parks. I have never seen anything like it and we have been to all Disney venues worldwide. The Japanese customer will wear more Disney clothing, i.e. hats, shirts, outfits, etc. than any where else in the world.

If staying in Shinjuku you might check with your hotel as Disney offers a free shuttle bus and will pick you up at your hotel or a hotel near you and bring you back for free. Have fun!

Aloha!

offlady

You will have no problem getting around in English at the park. You should visit Disney Sea instead since it is different from the Disneyland theme park, and the only one of its kind in the world. It's not as crowded as the Tokyo Disneyland. The park is themed around Disney's sea characters and is very well done. The restaurants serve great food. Be sure to catch Ariel's live show.

Their gift shops have the cutest items. Make sure you save time at the end of the day for souveniers.

You can easily catch the Keiyo or Musashino train lines to the parks. Get off at the Maihama station.

pynewood

Thanks for your feedback - that was great.

Mirachan

I went to Tokyo Disney Sea instead. Not only is it unique, it is also geared a bit more towards adults than Tokyo Disney, which is apparently mostly Japanese Magic Kingdom. Not that kids wouldn't have fun there - Ariel's hometown would have been my dream come true as a child - but I was also entertained as a college student. The scenery was breathtaking - there was a little Venice area, a medieval area, etc.

It wasn't super crowded. And it was probably the most English friendly part of Japan that we visited. Almost all of the signage is in English - some of it isn't even in Japanese. The employees are super, super friendly. (They seemed friendly after I had already spent three weeks in Japan, where the workers almost anywhere are twice as friendly as their average American counterparts)

One random fun thing: they sell popcorn with a different flavouring in every area of Tokyo Disney Sea. There is salt, caramel, cheese, and, the weirdest, strawberry.

I actually wasn't super impressed with the gift shops. But maybe I went to the wrong ones.

TravMimi

We enjoyed Disney Sea park much more than Disneyland park. Perhaps because I'm in Florida and visit Magic Kingdom a lot. As Mirachan said, Disney Sea is unique. Adults do enjoy it, and even the kids liked it better than Disneyland park. We ate LOTS of flavored popcorn, and even bought sea salt ice cream more than once. We were in line at opening, (not too crowded), but as ordered by the kids we went immediately to the back for Indiana Jones ride. Got to ride it twice before the crowd showed up. Also if you don't mind riding a ride alone, or share it with strangers, rides that have lines for single riders is much shorter. We went back to Disneyland park for the electric light parade, but we were much too late. Crowd was 50 deep. I think they start getting parade spots 2 hrs before it comes by. Enjoy your trip !

offlady

Most of the Japanese people visit Disney Sea once, but they will visit Magic Kingdom numerous times which is why Disney Sea isn't as crowded. The meal at the Queen of Hearts restaurant was very cute, and the bakery (near the entrance) had mickey mouse shaped muffins. We also ate at the Italian restaurant and it was very good. My favorite popcorn flavor? Black pepper!