When I go back to Japan during the Summer, I usually find myself going to one of the Disney Resort Near Tokyo. I love the Disney characters to begin with (well, who doesn’t!?) and although it usually ends up being a pretty intense day, there’s just something magical about that place. However, if you are visiting Japan for a short period of time, you probably don’t wont to fill 2 of you precious days with Disney resort so I thought of giving a quick comparison between the two resorts.
- Disneyland has been open since 1983 where as DisneySea opened in 2001 so familiarity wise, Disneyland wins for me.
- Disneyland being the original Disney resort in Japan, the classical characters (e.g. Micky mouse, Minnie mouse, Chip n Dale etc.) are there and the rides are based on older Disney films. DisneySea on the other hand includes more recent Disney film characters as well as some original. Duffy the Disney Bear is featured massively in DisneySea.
- In both resorts, there are a good range of rides and you won’t be out of things to do for the day. Personally I found the rides in DisneySea to be more efficient in carrying more passengers per carriage and the technologies used in these rides are just outstanding. The down side was that I felt that the duration of the rides in DisneySea was slightly shorter.
- Both resorts have parades scattered through the day but the main parade for Disneyland goes across the park whereas for DisneySea, the parade is performed on the water which is in the centre of the park.
- Generally, DisneySea is marketed as the more ‘adult friendly’ one out of the two resorts because alcohol is sold within the park!
If I was to pick a favourite, Disneyland would definitely be the one. I really did enjoy DisneySea when I visited for the first time 2 years ago. There were amazing rides like Indiana Jones and Toy Story Mania but as a whole Disney experience, it just didn’t feel like Disney. This might be because I have Ioved Disneyland from when I was a child and it has nostalgic memories associated with it. I’d be interested to know which one is your favourite if you have been to both or any other Disney resort around the world!
