Tokyo Disneyland
Topic: April 15, who's going?

#	Author	Message
151	TDR_Fan Mon 4/21/2008 4:13p	Thanks for sharing. I've very intrigued by Canna. I hope its modern look doesn't clash with the turn of the century look of the rest of the hotel. What exactly is so special about it? I've not seen a single piece of art for this restaurant, and the description online is rather vague.
152	SuperDry Tue 4/22/2008 12:19a	I posted about Jubilation! on another thread, and wanted to fill out my impressions of the TDL 25th Anniversary kickoff. So here it is. It was nice to be at the resort when another celebration was starting. Overall, it was a bit underwhelming, or perhaps better said, understated. The day of the 25th was nothing like DL's 50th. Crowds were very light the whole week, and even on the 15th, it was very reasonable at TDL even though it was clearly more crowded than the other days that week. Unlike predictions and the historical record for big days at TDR, the weather could not have been better on the 15th. In fact, I got sunburned a bit and didn't have to use the rain gear until later in the week. There were definitely a larger than normal number of westerners at the park - more than I've ever seen before. I have to wonder who they all were. I know there was the NFFC group, but they were reportedly only 73 strong, and there had to have been hundreds of extra westerners compared to a normal day. And I doubt that they were all locals. Were there any other large groups? I think this shows that there really is a wide Disney fanbase beyond the folks we normally think of as hardcore fans. I saw a lot of westerners that appeared to be entire families, including smaller children - much more than normal. I met someone from LA that was also staying at the Sheraton that had discovered TDR a few years ago and had been coming about once a year ever since, but didn't really participate online at all. I wonder how many people like him are out there, and chose to make their annual trip to coincide with the 25th? TDL looked great as usual. The hotel being complete enough, especially with the wall coming down on Thursday night, makes the whole front area look great and not just a big construction zone. I liked the castle decorations. Some have said that they skimped and did too little, but I didn't think so. Even if they cut the budget from what they otherwise would have liked to do, I think it looked great. And I'd rather have something that's understated than something with too much bling. I think the biggest disappointment for me was the lack of a castle forecourt stage show. I wasn't around for the 15th, but I did enjoy the 20th. It would seem that the 25th would certainly be worthy of such a show. One thing I did find a bit odd was the thrice-daily "anniversary greeting" or whatever it's called, that consists of a single float with a few characters on it going down the parade route. Only the first running each day stops at the castle forecourt and has other characters that come out. But people along the parade route don't see this anyway. I saw people staking their claim along the parade route an hour beforehand, and I would imagine that many of them will be very disappointed to wait all that time and then have a single float go by. It seems to me that it would be a lot better to have this as something that just happens and not be something listed on the Times Guide that causes people to spend a lot of their day waiting for it. The merchandise was interesting. I generally am not a merch horse, but I did get a few things that I liked. As usual for TDL, the special food container items (cups, lunch boxes, etc) caused long lines at the outlets selling them. This I never understand - these items will be sold for months - why is it necessary to spend two hours in line on the first day to get them? I see that they have the 25th Anniversary broken down into 5 stages. Stage 2 starts on July 8, with the opening of the TDL Hotel and the switch to the summer entertainment programs in the parks. Stage 3 starts on Sept 12 to coincide with the beginning of the Halloween season. Stage 4 starts on Nov 7, the same day that the Christmas events start. And then Stage 5 starts on Jan 19 for the home stretch. So, the stages pretty much coincide with the normal seasonal changes at the park, and give an added reason to visit each park during each stage. And, I also liked some of the small touches that seem unique to TDR: each monorail station has a montage board that talks about the history of monorails and past and present monorail service around the world, and you have to visit each station to get the whole story. The multi-day monorail tickets sold at each station have a different commemorative ticket stock for each of the 5 stages, with each stage featuring a different one of the Fab 5. The first stage is Mickey, the second stage is Minnie, and so on - collect the whole set! But when it comes down to it, the 25th is rather understated. Jubilation! is reportedly the new daytime parade for years to come, and just used the 25th as a kickoff. The other entertainment and special event offerings for the rest of the year don't appear to be any different than what would normally be on offer, although they certainly will incorporate the 25th into their theming. But perhaps this is a testament to just how much seasonal entertainment and events goes on in a normal year at TDR. I think it's as great a year as ever for someone planning a visit to TDR. For someone considering a first-time visit, I recommend Stages 2, 3, or 4, paying note to the event calendar so as to not hit the resort during the week or two between events. This way, you can be there when either the summer, Halloween, or Christmas events are in full swing, and get some of the 25th atmosphere at the same time.
153	Malin Tue 4/22/2008 12:04p	<<<The main restaurant Sherwood Garden is massive and reminds me of the Enchanted Gardens at HKDLH. However the real gem is Canna - this restaurant is simply the most stunning facility I've ever seen in a Disney hotel - it is modern but exquisite - although it doesn't have the spaciousness of Napa Rose it is an incredible work of art. A cool WDI R&D trick at the entrance too. I honestly can't sum up enough superlatives to describe this intimate 100-cover restaurant. It is breath-taking. >>> Lee sounds like the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel was a massive project for WDI, I certainly hope we will have a fair bit of space dedicated to the project in a future issue of the LP Magazine. From the sounds of things the Restaurants alone deserve articles, and I for one would welcome this if you were to do that. One of my all time favourite LP Magazine articles was In The Garden of Roses from issue 6. Which was a great piece on the Napa Rose Restaurant at DCA.
154	Malin Tue 4/22/2008 12:11p	<<<I posted about Jubilation! on another thread, and wanted to fill out my impressions of the TDL 25th Anniversary kickoff. So here it is.>>> Thank you for sharing your experiences with us SuperDry.
155	leemac Wed 4/23/2008 3:30a	<<I certainly hope we will have a fair bit of space dedicated to the project in a future issue of the LP Magazine. >> The hotel is in Issue 13 now - a lot will depend on the artwork available to us but we have a fair amount of material and it will be a significant article. Thanks for the comments about the Napa Rose article - it was one of my personal favorites to write. Michael Jordan and Andrew Sutton have done a tremendous job not just at Napa Rose but across the Disneyland Resort - their influence cannot be underestimated.
156	TDR_Fan Wed 4/23/2008 3:40a	Lee, do you think that Canna will become the flagship restaurant at the Tokyo Disney Resort in the same way that Napa Rose is at the Disneyland Resort (or Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World)? From what you've revealed, they've certainly put a lot of work into the restaurant. It would be a shame if the food didn't live up to the environment. I've had outstanding "fusion cuisine" before and truly hope that Canna will exceed my expectations.
157	leemac Wed 4/23/2008 3:45a	<<Lee, do you think that Canna will become the flagship restaurant at the Tokyo Disney Resort in the same way that Napa Rose is at the Disneyland Resort (or Victoria & Albert's at Walt Disney World)?>> Tough one. I haven't heard of any notable chef taking the reins of the place. In design it is stunning but Asian Fusion is tough to get right and there is a lot of competition out there. I'm not sure OLC are looking for a Napa Rose/V&A style experience (with award-winning cuisine). Personally I think it will be easy for the restaurant to establish itself as the finest at the resort. Oceano and Magellans may be popular and acceptable but neither are exceptional these days. TDR doesn't have anything that compares to the top options at DLRP/WDW/DLR. I would also put Crystal Lotus at HKDLR up there.
158	Mr X Wed 4/23/2008 3:48a	***TDR doesn't have anything that compares to the top options at DLRP/WDW/DLR. I would also put Crystal Lotus at HKDLR up there.*** Sure they do. It's just an extra three minutes away is all. ;)
159	leemac Wed 4/23/2008 3:50a	Then it isn't in TDR. :-)
160	Malin Wed 4/23/2008 6:33a	<<< The hotel is in Issue 13 now - a lot will depend on the artwork available to us but we have a fair amount of material and it will be a significant article. >>> Thats good to know as while I love reading about the parks, if you don't mind me saying a lot of the content lately has been too heavily devoted to Anniversary's and new attractions, which while is all great reading material it kind of goes back on the original purpose of the Magazine which was to cover more than just the parks. <<< Michael Jordan and Andrew Sutton have done a tremendous job not just at Napa Rose but across the Disneyland Resort - their influence cannot be underestimated. >>> I actually wasn't sure if it was your writing style or Michael and Andrew but it clearly showed how passionate the pair were, about working on the Napa Rose. I find it hard to believe that OLC will be able to repeat this with Canna, but we will have to see.

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