disney differences

Disney is a religion. Not an attraction. A religion. This is a Tuesday morning. Who lines up to get into Disney hours before it opens on a Tuesday?

This is not your mother’s Disney. Disney Tokyo is full of grown adults with fuzzy ears and tails. In fact, there were fewer visitors without an extra pair of ears than with. Those of us who maintained our human persona were definitely residing outside the norm. Comfortably, I might add.

Like I said, curry popcorn. And I really like curry, but the stench of curry, butter, and popped kernels at 9:30 a.m. was not normal. I also think that curry popcorn is not normal. We did not participate in the wait for this Disney treat. They also have maple ice cream, lemon honey churros, and tortilla wrapped hotdogs.

Johnny Depp is alive and well in Tokyo. I’m sure they’ve added him to the Pirates ride in the States as well, but I thought I should probably mention that he makes a fine wax specimen. Seriously. Also, you think you know Pirates, and then you go to Disney Tokyo: “Jiyxkjs shibmachi panzoa DAVY JONES nubioeim aeyome itchome.”

Come again?

It was bizarre – all rides are in Japanese (duh, I know, but I really did expect the English scripts), with the exception of a random phrase like, “Zip a dee doo dah, zip a dee ay, aqnrjek rmlicvnm wern, wehrak A WONDERFUL DAY.”

Splash Mountain is still splashy. Our first plunge we had the privilege of sitting front and center. This is as close as I got to looking like a Disney character, I’d say something like a wet rat. Nice.

So when I was a wee one, my dad convinced me that Thunder Mountain Railroad was just a “little train ride.” Right. Luckily, I enjoy “little train rides” now, and we particularly loved this prop, hailing from the motherland.

I love the Disney princesses. Tokyo does not. They are nowhere to be found in the shops or on the grounds (except for the parade). Only characters that are of the imagination or that use four legs to get around are beloved in Japan. I imagine it’s because they don’t have a princess to relate to – Mulan’s close, but she’s Chinese, which is most definitely not Japanese. If you’re wondering, Belle is my favorite. Although I’ve audibly coveted Pocahontas’ hair (for real).



All in all, a great day, although we ended up feeling pretty darn trunky and missing home. I’m glad we went though. Because I’m sleeping so much better knowing that curry goes on everything. Including popcorn.