5 Big Surprises And Takeaways After Taking My Kids To Tokyo Disneyland As Their First Disney Theme Park Experience

The first time I went to a Disney theme park, I was 3. So obviously, I don't remember anything.

It wasn’t until after I had my honeymoon at Disney World that I truly got to experience it. And, oh man, was it magical. Back then, the newest upcoming Disney World attraction was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and there was no brouhaha over Splash Mountain or Jungle Cruise . In every way, Disney World was the destination spot, and everything seemed like it would stay that way.

Flash forward to today, and park goers aren’t necessarily thrilled with the House of Mouse . That said, I thought my children would still love to go, as they’re currently 7 and 9 – the perfect ages to still be captivated by Disney magic. So, when we went to Japan recently, I took them to Tokyo Disneyland, as it was their first time ever going to a Disney theme park, and I’m quite surprised by their reactions. I’ll explain.

Given How Much I Hyped It Up, They Thought It Would Be Bigger

Let me preface this by saying that I’d never actually been to Disneyland before. I’d only been to Disney World . So, with that said, I’m used to there being four different parks, those being Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.

Of course I’d told my children all about them. I raved about the Expedition Everest ride at Animal Kingdom, talked up the super cool Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith at Hollywood Studios, and couldn’t stop yapping about Soarin’ at Epcot.

So, when I decided that we would go to Japan over the summer, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and also take them to a Disney theme park. And, do you want to know the first thing my son said once we got to Tokyo Disneyland? He said, “I thought it would be bigger.”

Of course this was all my fault. I had filled their heads with this grand scope, and Tokyo Disneyland, while amazing in its own right, wasn’t nearly as big as Disney World.

For one thing, it’s only one park. There’s your standard Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Critter Country, and Toontown, but you also have World Bazaar rather than Main Street, U.S.A., and Westernland rather than Frontierland. You also have mostly similar rides, with a few variations.

However, none of that really matters to my kids, since they had nothing to compare it to besides what I had told them about Disney World. That said, my son was definitely not impressed. He didn’t care about going to the castle, or the “pod rides” (which I’ll get into shortly).

My daughter, on the other hand, took to it much better. She liked Fantasyland, but didn’t much care for the other parts of the park. In short, both of my children were thinking it would be much bigger, which again, is all my fault. I had shown them the world, when I really should have shown them the land.

My Son Wasn't Really A Big Fan Of All The "Pod Rides," But He Absolutely Adored Haunted Mansion

The first “horror” movie my son ever saw was Haunted Mansion , which we called “spooky” and “fun” in our review . I actually didn’t watch it with him since my wife took him to see it, but I remember he had to sleep with the light on that night.

That said, he has since warmed up to horror in a big way. He loves the Five Nights at Freddy’s video games (and also liked the movie, but he didn’t think it was that scary since it didn’t have that many jump scares ), and his favorite holiday is Halloween. He’s also very much anticipating the upcoming Poppy Playtime movie .

I only bring this up because my son did not like most of the “pod rides” at Tokyo Disneyland. When I say “pod rides,” I mean the ones where you just sit in a sort of pod where various scenes play out around you.

For example, even though it’s in a boat, my son would consider It’s a Small World a “pod ride,” since there’s no thrills, and you’re merely just floating around. Pirates of the Caribbean would be another such example, as would Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, which can only be found at Tokyo Disneyland.

Needless to say, my thrill-seeking son didn’t like any of these rides. He likes roller coasters. Especially ones that go upside down, like Ring of Fire.

That said, my son absolutely adored Haunted Mansion, which is also what he’d consider a pod ride.

When I sat beside him, he’d constantly point out, “That was in the movie. And so was that. And that!” So, apparently, the movie was very faithful to the ride. He also loved how dark it was. In fact, my son told me that he didn’t like Disneyland, “except for the Haunted Mansion.”  What can I say? My son likes spooky stuff.

Meanwhile, My Daughter Said Pirates Of The Caribbean Was The Best Ride She's Ever Been On

My daughter, on the other hand, wasn’t impressed by Haunted Mansion. In fact, she thought it was pretty lame.

She did love Pirates of the Caribbean, though, which she has since called her favorite ride. Since I’d been on it before, I watched her more than the animatronics themselves, and her mouth was open for pretty much the entire ride.

She’d actually never seen any of the movies , so she didn't have a reference point like my son had with Haunted Mansion. But, she just loved the overall spectacle of Pirates.

The canons, the splashing water, the whistling at the dog. Just everything about the ride spoke to her, and I loved seeing her absolute enjoyment. Now that was magical.

Neither Of My Children Were All That Impressed With The Tokyo Disneyland Exclusive Ride, Enchanted Tale Of Beauty And The Beast, But My Wife And I Loved It

Whenever I looked up videos about Tokyo Disneyland, all I ever heard anybody talking about was how beautiful Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast was, so I just had to experience it.

Well, at Tokyo Disneyland, they have something called Disney Premier Access, which is basically the now defunct Fastpass , but you have to pay for it (sucks, I know). I paid to skip the line, and we rode the ride. And, well…my kids hated it!

My wife and I loved it, though. Being ‘90s kids, we both vividly remember the Disney Renaissance , and I think this ride, with its faithful recreation of the story, definitely struck a chord with us. My kids really couldn’t give a damn about it, though. They thought it was super boring.

Overall, My Kids Wish I Got Passports To Tokyo DisneySea Rather Than Tokyo Disneyland

Since my kids had never been to any Disney theme park before, I thought it appropriate that they should go to the OG park. You know, see the castle, go on the classic rides. Yada, yada, yada. But now, I wish I had taken them to DisneySea instead, and my children agree.

I’ve heard that DisneySea is more “adult” in nature. Kind of like the Hollywood Studios of Disney parks. I’ll probably never know if that’s true, though, since DisneySea is only in Tokyo, which is probably another reason why I should have chosen it over Tokyo Disneyland, because I don’t know if I’ll ever return to Japan again.

However, after we saw a special about DisneySea while we were in our hotel room, both of my kids groaned and asked why I didn’t get passports to that park instead.

Besides the nautical theme, which is awesome, Tokyo DisneySea also has a relatively new addition called Fantasy Springs, which has themes for Frozen, Tangled, and Peter Pan. The rides at DisneySea also look more like what my son was hoping for, like Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Raging Spirits.

Sure, we probably would have only ridden on three rides, tops, given how popular DisneySea is, but it probably would have been worth it. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.

But, how about you? Have you taken your kids to Tokyo Disneyland, or Tokyo DisneySea? For more news on all things Disney theme park-related, be sure to swing by here often!