Tokyo Disneyland holds many restaurant locations faithfully replicated from the American parks, but Only in Tokyo can you experience a meal in Grandma Sara’s Kitchen !
This counter service restaurant in the middle of Critter Country has two main entrances and a very small one on the side, perfectly matching Critter’s Country theme of scattered doors and small houses.
The interior is pretty much like being inside a giant rabbit’s lair. Earth and chunk of wood laid on the walls out sets the decor for this interesting culinary experience. It is the only place among the Kingdom to offer the restaurant version of Splash Mountain, a real treat !
The place spans on two floors making it one of the largers counter service of Tokyo Disneyland.
Grandma Sara’s Kitchen must be on your restaurant A list for anyone visiting this Kingdom. It is truly the hang out for anyone one addicted to Splash !
The week-end before Christmas, Disneyland Paris, in an unprecedented move had to pull out the SOLD OUT sign three days in advance, warnning its upcoming guests that only visitors with a dated ticket would be allowed in. The rest either better cancel their trip, or settle for the resort’s second gate : Walt Disney Studios.
These are the 5 estimation of the maximum capacity of the 5 Magic Kingdoms.
- Disneyland Park: 49,000
- Magic Kingdom Park: 90,000
- Tokyo Disneyland Park: 90,000
- Parc Disneyland: 85,000
Hong Kong Disneyland Park: 35,000
Every 5 Kingdoms are different in superficy and crowd capacity. It is merely impossible to calculate the real crowd capacity of the parks, so this article only list the numbers at which point, park management will shut the valvle and not let anyone else in.
Those figures were hard to come by as most sources differ.
- For Disneyland my sources are from the most recent article of Al Lutz .
- For the Magic Kingdom, it’s from the various reports of this holiday shut down where attendances were said to be between 83,000 to 100,000. I’m therefor guessing that the 100,000 figure always given is a bit overestimated.
- Tokyo’s numbers are only a guess, but the park holds very large areas capable to hold many without congestion. So it has to be equivalent to Florida’s Magic Kingdom
- For le Parc Disneyland, it’s a well known number that’s frequently reached and always spoken out by castmembers on those particular days.
- Hong Kong is from an article from CHINAdaily.com dating back from 2005 where park management refused to lower their max number of 30,000 despite guest complaints. I believe due to various expansion since opening, this number must be closer to 35,000 now.
Many stuff happened during 2008, and new projects have been anounced even though nothing came to the Kingdoms. Always their “second, third of fourth gates” get the treats. But hey, that can also mean they’re close to perfection and few will disagree. Beside they did took all the attention up until the late 90’s. I know they’ll be taken care of once their littler brothers are contented.
Only Tokyo Disneyland in 2009 will get its Monster Inc. attraction which is said to have been fused with that Winnie The Pooh effect. Meanning : nothing like we, occidental, have ever experienced before with those characters.
And It’s still gonna be a great year for Disneyland Paris as they just announced recored incomes and attendence for the year 2007. Hotels occupation reached 91% which can only mean that the building of a new hotel can go from the rumor status to sweet “inevitable”.
Although there is one big Kingdom announcement that should pop out during the course of 2009. Let’s hope the crisis don’t postpone that new Disney conquer.
Again, to all of you fans of Disney’s Magic Kingdoms and their amazing sister parks :
Happy New Year !
On the most wonderful time of the year, any Disney Kingdom around the world dresses up it’s most remote detail to share the Christmas spirit. The centerpiece of this advent celebration has always been its highest and most noticeable one. This modest article is about the 5 Christmas Trees of the 5 Magic Kingdoms !
Of course the trees have always been planned to tag along once the Christmas Season openned. For more than 50 years Disneyland always got itself a live tree in the center of Town Square until this very season when it switched to a very real feeling fake tree.
For decades already every other Kingdoms have used fake trees for their ease of transport and permanent good look.
As for their location, Town Square is the ideal spot. Some parks like Disneyland Paris and the Magic Kingdom in Florida have tried to move it closer to the castle recently but they all came back where they belong, right behind Paris’ gazebo and other’s flagpole. It welcomes the guests with a special Christmas wow that later step aside once you start walking up Main Street.
Only Anaheim and Hong Kong share a very similar tree, other than that, all other Kingdoms build their very own tree.
Disneyland and Hong Kong decoration hold classical baubles and garlands much like Disneyland Paris whose beautiful snowflakes illuminates among nutcrackers toys and other christmas glitters.
Tokyo also displays a very glamorous dressing with red lights and pearl garlands linked together to massive golden stars.
Walt Disney World on the other hand picked a warmer craftier set with big gingerbread men, popcorn garlands and wax dripping candles.
No matter in which country they stand on, Disney’s Christmas Trees are just huge and top most of the other trees of the area. For that reason they are a amazement for children and adults that visit their respective parks. Looking up to that high placed star is always one of the best memory of your Disney vacation, no matter where you chose to spend it.
Juste a quick note to tell you that Disneyland Paris Google Earth imagery has finally been updated. It is now decently recent (Oct. 21st 2007). Check out how everything looks orange in le Royaume Magic…
We can finally see the Tower of Terror in Walt Disney Studios almost completed along with the parking structure over the TGV track. Amazing how the residential areas of the resort grew over the years.
As the Magic Kingdom itself, well nothing’s been build since last Google Eart Imagery… Sad.
Anyway,
Enjoy
