With the turning of the months comes blue skies, Floridian humidity, and the Japanese holiday of Obon! And all of those and more (except maybe the humidity) are an excellent excuse to head out to Tokyo Disney Resort. So, let’s check in and see what’s happening this week at Tokyo Disneyland!
There’s always a friendly face right as you get off the JR Keiyo Line! Depending on the staircase you take, you can also spot Minnie, Donald, or Goofy. Here, of course, we have Mickey Mouse greeting all of his pals!
As you venture closer to Tokyo Disneyland, you might be lucky enough to spot the Disney Resort Line on its grand circle tour of the place where dreams come true! Aren’t the Mickey Mouse windows just the cutest?
Looks like the low-level planters will be replaced soon with the big wall that currently covers the rest of the Main Entrance construction site. As we mentioned last week, the construction will last through Spring 2020.
The vast majority of the dirt piles that were present last week have been flattened out. Slowly but surely, we’ll soon see a beautiful main entrance worthy of the world’s finest Magic Kingdom park!
About a week ago, the Oriental Land Company opened a brand-new parking garage next to the park. This project was announced back in 2017, along with the Main Entrance reconstruction project. It’s just another addition to what I’ll call “Project Stardust Tokyo”, designed to make the Guest experience better and prepare for the Olympics and tourist influx next year!
Gotta say, I’m a bit jealous of the view the car drivers get. All we lowly train commuters get is a giant wall and construction site.
Last week, I noted that scrims were up on the west side of the Main Entrance. Now, the East side has been covered up as well.
It’s so hot, I decided to break out the ol’ cooling towel. Just get it wet, wring it out, and slap it around your neck for an experience akin to nirvana. You can buy these in several themes (I’ve clearly chosen the Donald’s Hot Jungle Summer version) for about ¥2000 ($18.33) in the parks, or for anywhere between ¥100-¥1000 ($1-$9) at dollar stores or various other shops throughout Tokyo. But isn’t it more special to have a Disney version?
The balloons are back on World Bazaar! We’ve been going through some droughts due to the low global stock of helium, but they’ve been gradually returning to our lovely streets!
With a new month comes a new Guide Map and Today Guide. This month, like last month, Donald is featured on the cover in his “Oh! Summer Banzai!” outfit. It is Donald’s Hot Jungle Summer, after all.
Also with the changing of the month comes a new pressed medallion (think pressed pennies but with blanks rather than actual pennies) design. This month’s Tokyo Disneyland design features Jessie front and center!
It’s starting to get busy here at the resort. Schools across Japan are gradually letting out for their month-long summer breaks. Pretty soon, it’ll be pandemonium at the parks!
One of the things these parks are famous for is their occasionally outlandish popcorn flavors. For a few months now, we’ve been seeing this “soy sauce and butter” flavor bounce around the park. I love it, but I also need a drink afterwards!
Project Stardust Tokyo continues here in Adventureland too. Our railroad, the Western River Railroad, joins Splash Mountain and the Rivers of America in being down for the summer for its 5 year refurbishment. Whatever will we do without Jack Wagner’s booming voice?
Out in Westernland, you can see a cute photo op for the Toy Story 4 mini-event currently going in the park. All of these versions look like cute versions you might’ve seen almost a century ago. I honestly wish they’d sell some of these in this art style!
If you noticed Big Thunder Mountain listed as closed a few shots ago, it’s because it was down for a system check. I always feel bad for the poor Cast Members that have to stand in the blazing sun and inform Guests that the attraction is down. But at least the Guests aren’t entitled or angry about it!
Fortunately, we can get a good look at the design for the new FastPass scanner. It’s very Tokyo that they added a little bit of each attraction’s magic to all of them!
I love this cute design to cover the Tom Sawyer Island dock. It fits so well if you’ve ever read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. I’ll probably continue to be bitter about this decision for as long as Splash is closed and this tropical humidity continues.
On the bright side, a quick peek over the planters throughout Critter Country show that the construction is coming along quite nicely. And you can even see the three Br’ers trying to peek over the wall back at Guests! We’re just over a month from reopening! You have no idea how excited I am!
The Tokyo Disney Resort takes cleanliness very seriously, and the custodial crew is always hard at work to keep the parks nearly spotless!
It’s so hot that even Mickey’s PhilharMagic has a bit of a wait. Then again, I enjoy this film immensely so I get it.
Harmony Faire, right between the PhilharMagic entrance and spill doors, is very nicely themed to its attraction. I love the little bits of Mickey Mouse March sheet music strewn about the store. It’s the little things!
The “it’s a small world” quarter-hourly clock show is always a fun spontaneous thing to catch!
Out in Toontown, we’re starting to see more and more detail on the 2020 expansion. That’s the future Minnie Mouse meet-and-greet, which you can really see some definition on this week!
Right next to it, we can see some extra pavement work in progress to accommodate the expansion.
I can comparably see some more definition in Beast’s Castle too. Are you coming to Tokyo Disney Resort next year? You absolutely should if you’re not!
Over at Cinderella Castle, we can just barely catch the end of “Judy & Nick’s Jumpin’ Splash”. This show is set to tunes from Zootopia (primarily “Try Everything”), and features tons of water shooting out at guests from Cinderella Castle, the stage in front, and from the Cast Members through hoses! It’s a lot of fun and definitely cools you down in the summer heat!
Interior work is pretty much finished (for now, at least) at Tomorrowland Terrace. Now it’s all exterior work.
There’s still loads of “Donald’s Hot Jungle Summer” (link in Japanese) merchandise for sale! This inflatable Donald grabs on to your arm or bag, and looks darn adorable while doing so! This cute, mischevious duck goes for ¥1200 ($11).
I think I’m fortunate to say that we’re probably never at risk of losing our beloved Bears here. The merchandise moves incredibly well, and you can even see that there’s some Vacation Jamboree-themed stuffed badges for sale! The Vacation Jamboree-themed Henry, for example goes for just ¥900 ($8.25), and the big Henry on the top shelf goes for ¥4200 ($38.55)! What a deal!
This summer’s line of T-shirts at Town Center Fashions includes these cute ice cream-themed shirts. On the back, they talk about each character’s favorite flavor. Like myself, Mickey is a big fan of cookies and cream! These all go for ¥1950 ($17.90)
Traditionally, Japanese people bring home snacks or gifts to family, friends, and colleagues when they go on trips, called “omiyage”. Tokyo Disneyland naturally leans in to this cultural tradition with various boxes of sweets, confections, and other snacks. However… I’m curious about these “tomato snacks”. They appear to be both “tomato and beef” and “tomato and cheese” flavored crackers. At least the can is a nice design! This goes for ¥1500 ($13.75).
That’s all from Tokyo Disneyland this week! Let us know if there’s anything that particularly picqued your interests down below! If you’re considering or planning a trip, be sure to visit TDRPlans for everything and more that you could need to plan the perfect Tokyo Disney Resort adventure! And stay tuned to WDWNT for up-to-date news on Tokyo Disney Resort, Walt Disney World, and Disney Parks around the world!
Tokyo Disney: Cute Toy Story 4 mini-event in frontierland with wooden figures.
Me: Ah! So that were the marionettes that were meant for Disney World wound up. XD