Tokyo Disneyland for Adults?

I had never been to Disneyland and never quite understood the appeal of waiting in line for hours just for stupid cutesy rides probably designed for children. Even though none of the rides were exactly thrilling like other amusement parks I have visited, some of them were, well, pretty damn magical. Okay, you win, Disney! Most visitors (men, women, and children alike) are decked out in Disney goods--it sure was quite a sight!

It was very busy even on a Tuesday, despite the fact that according to the crowd forecast calendar in Japanese, it was green, meaning the park should be pretty empty with under 29999 visitors. We did 10 rides and 3 attractions in 10 hours, waiting 20 to 40 minutes for each ride. We also got 2 fast passes which is a ticket you get to come back through the fast pass entrance a few hours later so you won't have to wait as long. You can get one every 2 hours, and I believe they stop issuing them in the evening.

The second time we visited was also on a Tuesday but in May, with the crowd forecast calendar indicated as beige at 34000 visitors; however, it was actually less busy and most lines were only 15 to 30 minutes long, with the exception of Splash Mountain. In 8 hours from 11 am to 6 pm, we managed to get on 9 rides plus 2 shows.


Here's what I thought of the rides we went on :

Awesome rides : Do not miss
Haunted Mansion
Fantasyland
🕐 15:00
The first time we rode it just before Christmas, the theme of the Nightmare Before Christmas made this ride surreal and utterly amazing. It was like entering the movie with incredible sounds and sights. The second time we rode it was the "normal" version so it was a little darker and scarier.
Roger Rabbit's
Car Toon Spin

Toontown
🕐 3:30
Even though I have never seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit, this is a ride that makes you feel like you're in a cartoon. It was very cool!
Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Fantasyland
🕐 4:30
Magical ride unique to Tokyo Disneyland that's a similar style to Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin as well as 3 other really fun rides in Fantasyland, Peter Pan's Flight 🕐2:30 (magical), Snow White's Adventures 🕐2:30 (a little scary) , and Pinocchio's Daring Journey 🕐2:00 - all short but worth doing.
Star/Sky Tours
Tomorrowland
🕐 4:30
With 3D glasses on, take a ride through space in a shuttle with characters from Star Wars. It felt very real! I felt a bit nauseous after though.
Pretty good
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland
🕐 3:00
A very fast roller coaster ride through darkness with stars in the background.
It's a Small World
Fantasyland
🕐 10:00
It's a fantastical boat ride through cutesy caricature of different countries.
Big Thunder Mountain
Westernland
🕐 4:00
A roller coaster ride through canyons. Pretty fun!
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Fantasyland
🕐 11:00
A 4D movie where you get a taste of different movies like Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Little Mermaid, and Aladdin! There's wind, water, and even smells! Pretty impressive. All songs are Japanese versions of the same Disney songs.
Buzz Lightyear's
Astro Blasters

Tomorrowland
🕐 4:00
You get lasers to shoot at different shapes and points are recorded, kind of similar to Monsters, Inc. but slightly more fun.
Stitch Encounter
Tomorrowland
🕐 12:00
An interactive show, where Stitch on screen interacts with the audience! I don't know how they do it, but it's cute and funny. All in Japanese though. A good chance to sit down for a while.
Alright : Can do without
Monsters, Inc.
Ride & Go Seek!

Tomorrowland
🕐 4:00
You ride in a cart and use a flashlight to try to find various monsters from Monsters, Inc. Although there are characters from the movie, it wasn't very exciting and was a bit disappointing.
Captain EO
Tomorrowland
🕐 no longer available
A 3D music video type film featuring Michael Jackson in space. The theater ground vibrates at times. It was a nice break to sit down for 20 minutes.
Jungle Cruise
Adventureland
🕐 10:00
An outdoor boat ride through the "jungle" with various automated animals. At night some of the animals looked pretty life-like! It was amusing at least.
Swiss Family Treehouse
Adventureland
🕐 8:30
You can get a nice view of Cinderella's Castle from here. I suppose it might be fun for kids.
Boring : Wish I'd skipped these
Beaver Brothers
Explorer Canoes

Critter Country
🕐 10:00
You actually got to put an effort in to paddle the canoe and you might get splashed. The view is pretty nice though.
Gadgets Go Coaster
Toontown
🕐 1:00
This roller coaster is clearly for kids. I didn't understand why non-children were screaming on it.
Grand Circuit Raceway
Tomorrowland
🕐 no longer available
A go-cart on tracks. It doesn't go very fast. Clearly for children, but you have to be over 130 cm to "drive" one.
Cinderella's
Fairy Tale Hall

Fantasyland
🕐 8:00
I want to kick myself for lining up for 20 minutes just so I can go see what's inside the castle. Sometimes not knowing is better. There really wasn't much in there apart from very few displays related to Cinderella.

Is Tokyo Disneyland fun for adults?
So as an adult without kids, I had a pretty good time, although it was quite tiring to be standing in line for so long. Even though I'm not really into Disney stuff, I might just come here again to check out some of the other rides I missed this time. I think you could probably try most of the more entertaining rides in a day if you skip attractions that are clearly designed for children.

How's the food at Tokyo Disneyland?
We ate the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Both the rotisserie chicken (1340 yen) and flan steak with Japanese sauce (1410 yen) were pretty good. Popcorn is 300 yen or 500 yen if you've got a container you bought before to refill - try special flavors like milk chocolate or honey. Mickey-shaped ice cream sandwich is 300 yen. The food stands around the park have decent snacks selling different snacks at around 300-350 yen each. The 750 yen turkey leg everyone seems to have doesn't taste very good.

How to get to Tokyo Disney
Tokyo Disneyland is a very short walk from Keiyo Line's [京葉線] Maihama Station [舞浜], which is only a 17-minute train ride from Tokyo Station.


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Disney Sea next door is just as awesome!