Tokyo Disneyland’s 35th anniversary ‘Happiest Celebration’ collides with the start of their spooky Halloween event for an immersive experience that surprises and delights.
Disneyland has always had a special allure for me. My first visit to a Disney Park was back in April 1987 at the tender age of 8½. It was the original Disneyland in California, and their Circus Fantasy event was in full swing. Real elephants were seen parading down Main Street U.S.A, and I still have the commemorative Dumbo plush toy to this day.
So when I had a spare day available on a recent trip to Tokyo, Disneyland was the only place I wanted to go. The younger DisneySea park is spectacular in its own way, but there is something intangibly magic about stepping into the familiar Disneyland/Magic Kingdom layout that instantly makes me 8 (and a half) again. It might sound naff, but it’s a bit like coming home after a long absence.
In fact, it has been about 6 years since I’d last set foot in a Disney Park. The last was Disneyland Paris, completing what was then a full Disneyland bingo card. (In 2016, Shanghai Disneyland opened to foil my perfect score). There was also something a bit special about coming to Tokyo Disneyland during their 35th anniversary. My first trip to Tokyo had been for the 25th celebrations of the park in 2008, and I would return the following Christmas for a repeat run-through.
Photos are © Copyright Richard Gray/The Reel Bits. Permission required for re-use.
As the local Tokyo train pulled into the Maihama Station almost a decade since I’d last been there, a flood of feelings came back. Even the growing line at the entrance gates, a full 30 minutes before opening, combined with the incessant Tokyo rain did little to dampen my enthusiasm.
As you step into the World Bazaar, a near replica of the original Main Street with a weather-conscious roof, you are greeted with a huge display marking 35 years of the Tokyo Disney Resort. The fountain-style piece marks off the major anniversaries in 5 year installments of costumed Mickeys. The year’s theme song “Brand New Day” plays regularly, and if you’re lucky you’ll be showered with brightly coloured streamers.
Various golden Mickey statues dot the park as well. Not for nothing: it’s his 90th birthday in November this year as well, a fact that Disney seems to be downplaying in most of their promos. Still, it’s nice to see that the ol’ mouse still has a presence in parks increasingly focused on modern franchises like Frozen and the Marvel universe. Yet on this trip, King Louie (The Jungle Book) and José Carioca (Saludos Amigos) could be found wandering around the park.
Photos are © Copyright Richard Gray/The Reel Bits. Permission required for re-use.
While the official celebrations for Halloween didn’t kick off until 11 September, Disneyland Park was already filled with pumpkins and other spooky fixings around in every crook and many crannies. The Haunted Mansion Holiday was already in full flight, with Jack Skellington and his Nightmare Before Christmas colleagues populating the iconic attraction. It’s an impressive refit no matter what language it’s in, seamlessly integrating with the original.
While it’s odd to be surrounded in not-so-spooky ephemera in 30° C (86° F) heat, not to mention at the start of September, it’s not much of a stretch when you’ve already given yourself over to the Disney experience. When I last visited Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea during a Christmas rush, ride wait times were 4 to 5 hours on average. The far more civilised 20-30 minute averages allowed plenty of time for you to wander the air-conditioned restaurants before dunking oneself in Splash Mountain. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” in Japanese.
Which is kind of where the joy in visiting the Tokyo Disney Resort is to be found. Exploring those little details while soaking in the massively surreal experience of the Country Bear Vacation Jamboree in a language one doesn’t understand. At least there’s always merchandise to be bought, and money is a dialect that is unquestionably universal.
Tokyo Disney Resort might be the middle child in the theme park family – arriving after California and Florida, and ahead of younger siblings Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai – but it offers one of the most comprehensively Disney experiences of any resort outside of the US. In a city that’s practically a theme park, that’s saying something.
Photos are © Copyright Richard Gray/The Reel Bits. Permission required for re-use.
Tokyo Disney Resort runs its 35th Happiest Celebration until 25 March 2019. The Halloween festivities kick off on 11 September 2018 and run until 31 October 2018, before being replaced by the Christmas facade.
