Tokyo Disneyland
Topic: Why do hardly any visitors from aboard ever visit.

#	Author	Message
31	irishfan Sun 5/4/2008 8:46p	^^ My understanding is that the majority will be via cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong .<< "V Australia" Bransons newest airline will begin flights between Sydney and LA in January of 09.
32	leemac Mon 5/5/2008 1:47a	One of the issues is the availability of long-haul planes. It is 7,500 miles between the two cities so it limits the number of aircraft that can fly the route - from Boeing you are restricted to the B-747 and the Long-Range and Extended-Range versions of the B-777 (B-777-200ER, B-777-200LR and B-777-300ER). Airbus' planes are the A-340 (excluding the shorter range 300 series) and the A-380. You just can't get these planes off of the order books or from leasing agents right now. Now I feel like an airplane geek. :-)
33	Mr X Mon 5/5/2008 2:05a	You, me and SuperDry could talk all day about that stuff. :p
34	leemac Mon 5/5/2008 2:20a	^^ LOL. I spend more time in an airplane than any other form of transport - over 250k miles per annum. Crazy.
35	Bob Paris Mon 5/5/2008 9:03a	"^^ My understanding is that the majority will be via cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong ." Works for me. I live in Perth and would only ever want to go to the US via Tokyo anyway. That way I get to stop off at the TDR for free, as I have done before. And who knows maybe one day, when it actually has more than five attractions, I might actually go to HKDL as well.
36	The Goddess Mara Sun 5/11/2008 7:28p	I haven't read most of this thread yet, but there is one simple answer that will account for why so few Westerners visit Japan. It's a 14 hour plane trip if you're on a direct flight from the east coast or Chicago. The majority of people do not want to sit on a plane for 14 hours! I've done it over three dozen times and it takes practiced technique to make it painless and, dare I say, enjoyable. At the moment, on a decent carrier like United, that ticket will cost $1200, so it's also expensive. (I tried flying Northwest years ago because it was cheaper. I'll never make that mistake again.) So, a long expensive plane flight will discourage most people. The hotels at the Tokyo Disney Resort are also expensive. Face it, if you've never been to Japan before, it's like going to Mars, and you want to stay either at a Disney hotel or one of the official hotels. Usually it's $300 a night and up. That's more than most folks are used to paying for hotels at the Disney parks in the US. PLUS there's the issue of food. Lots of people have never tried Japanese food before and all they think about or hear about is "raw fish." Enough to scare folks away. So, there are three simple reasons why you don't seem more Westerners at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Long flight, expensive flight, expensive hotel rooms, weird food.
37	X-san Sun 5/11/2008 8:16p	***Face it, if you've never been to Japan before, it's like going to Mars, and you want to stay either at a Disney hotel or one of the official hotels.*** I'd have to take exception to this one. On my first trip to Japan I stayed at the New Otani out in Makkuhari Messe and it was WONDERFUL (a tad too far from Tokyo proper though). Also when I traveled to Hong Kong I stayed in Kowloon and I feel confident I made the right choice. Traveling to such exotic locales only to immerse yourself in Disney is not a good idea, imho. Overall though, I agree with all those issues you mention Mara and I've heard all those same excuses too. :p Funny thing is most East Coasters wouldn't think twice about sitting on a plane almost as long to go to Hawaii though (how long is that flight, 9 hours or so?).
38	The Goddess Mara Sun 5/11/2008 9:08p	Never been to Hawaii. I don't think you're representative of most Westerners if you stayed in a hotel in a suburban area of Tokyo on your first visit. Also, I wouldn't compare doing that in Japan to Hong Kong, because most people I've met in Hong Kong speak English. Can't say the same for the Japanese.
39	X-san Sun 5/11/2008 9:17p	Well to be honest the employees at the New Otani were far more competent in English than those at most of the Disney hotels and partner hotels I've been to. ;) Just because TDR "seems" American doesn't make it a great place to try and overcome the language barrier, that's for sure!
40	The Goddess Mara Sun 5/11/2008 9:22p	I only speak a dozen words of Japanese, but have never had a problem at the Tokyo Disney Resort. In fact, there have been times when the language barrier was worse in Paris than Tokyo.

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