Visiting the Different Disney Parks Around the World

Visiting the Different Disney Parks Around the World – Helpful Tidbits for First-Timers

You don’t have to be a fan of “theme parks” to want to visit different Disney parks around the world. You may – while you have these quick tips and tidbits – crave a Disneyland vacation every other half-a-year. Keen on pleasing an unbridled desire for an abundance of quick or table service meals.

Cuisines aren’t exactly our favorite thing about Disney parks. How about the attraction lineups, shows, festivals and parades, themed design immersion or emotional connection to Disney characters, and excellent customer services? Walt Disney himself had envisioned the list would continue to grow “as long as there’s imagination left in the world”.

And so long as there isn’t one, two, three, but six castle parks around, you need some compelling bits of information. Discover helpful tips for experiencing the twelve Disney parks independent of one another.

All Disneyland locations around the world

There are six Disney resorts, nestled somewhere in Florida, California, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and China. Together, they combine for 12 parks. 

Two of Disney’s castle parks are in the United States (Disneyland Resort in California and the Walt Disney World resort in Florida). The Disney California Adventure, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios are none-castle parks – the latter three located at Walt Disney World (WDW).

Disneyland Paris has a none-castle park too, Walt Disney Studios Park. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai have a Disneyland apiece. 

Disney utilises not just the sky but water as well in Tokyo. It’s a marvellous destination, with songs, sounds, choreographed fountains, LED screens, pyrotechnics, and lighting. Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea blend some daytime and nighttime spectaculars in a futuristic evolution of storytelling.

Disneyland crowd levels

Being potentially low crowds on the Disneyland crowd calendar ordinarily doesn’t suggest it wouldn’t be super busy. It somewhat depends on what you make of sold-out hotels, crowd surges and seasons. 

Seasons? Crowds are very much a reality at Disneyland, and there’s hardly a thing as “slow time”. Not anymore. 

Thanks to the Food and Wine Festival, Halloween and, of course, the attraction of the decade – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, October isn’t a slow season any longer. If you’d knocked a schedule out for this time of the year, your group holiday could use Disneyland but the American parks. 

Then again, it depends on the weight of crowd levels or guest behaviour on your preferences for Disney parks. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, they say. Some people love elbow room parks, others loathe crowd energy. 

All you have to do is to plan. Whether it’s Florida, Paris, Hong Kong or Shanghai, you should know the entirety of humanity visits toy story land. There is no shade. You’re supposed to feel shrunk down to the size of a toy, often under hot weather. Go with an umbrella. Better still, go to the park very early in the morning and do the charming rides when it’s less crowded.

Moreover, parks are most bustling on holidays. Keep in mind crowds are a conscious choice park operators make. That something has a very long posted wait time doesn’t necessarily mean you will wait an hour. You want to be flexible with your time but not at the expense of an algorithm. Or an operator who superficially inflates wait times to encourage you to go somewhere else. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know but for commonsense. Or use some crowd tracking app with actual user data like Touring Plan.

Lightning Lanes Vs. Genie+ on either Disney coasts

The Disney company hasn’t made secret her aggressive financial strategy since it reopened post-pandemic. The question, however, is whether she ends up discouraging people from limited experiences by charging a premium.

Enter Disney Genie – a set of free-to-use planning tools in your My Disney Experience app. It’s available to everyone and allows visitors to use the resources within the app to plan trips. But that’s not the fuss. 

Genie+ offers paid access to some attractions. Guests pay $15 and $20 per day in Disney World and Disneyland, respectively, to book return times to a handful of the popular rides. You cannot assess some select in-demand attractions on Genie+. You will have to pay a separate cost to skip the queues on Lightning Lane.

Few of these most popular attractions – two on either American Disney coasts – have been placed in the “Individual Attraction Selection” category. Guests, at these very popular rides, will have to pay-per-rides for access via the Lightning Lane. Else, enjoy a 30-minute wait time in a “standby line” that could balloon to 75 minutes for some Frozen Ever After ride at Epcot.  

But do you know what makes these new paid accesses much more confusing? They come with an extra perq to stay in on-site properties and partner hotels. Staying on-property allows park-goers to make these purchases on the My Disney Experience app at 7:00 am each morning. Such properties include all Disney-owned hotels, Dolphin, Shades of Green, the Walt Disney World Swan, and Swan Reserve.

You get to wait till you’re at the parks – physically – before you can make a payment if you were staying off-site or at a local guest. You have to have a Disney park pass, of course, for that park. Park often opens at 9:00 am for, say, Hollywood Studios. Imagine trying to cop the highly sought-after Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride at such time, with limited paid Lightning Lane windows. You dare not be picky about the time of your ride if you happen to stumble on a purchase. To top it all off, you can only make one purchase at a time.

The new features trigger a few mixed feelings. Many park visitors will rather stand in line for some rides and pay for others, depending on the crowd levels at the parks. It’s believed the new a la carte pricing could alter how often (length of time) families may visit (spend at) the theme parks. Others agree the new paid Fastpass does a great job of getting you to rides at healthy times.

Disneyland Paris have a surge pricing model too

Paid Fastpasses are fast becoming the single most certain feature of a Disneyland itinerary in 2021. Before Genie+ and Lightning Lane, Disneyland Paris visitors have had their tale of the added cost.

It’s called the “Premier Access” in Paris. Under the new, paid Fastpass system, guests can buy their way out of the queues, individually, per ride. That access could cost between 8 to 15 Euros. It depends on the ride, the day of the week and the crowd level at the park.

Many park-goers are resentful about the money aspect of Disney’s unprecedented financial strategies, but this is business. Disney lost a lot of money during the lockdown, and they are out to make it back.

Favourite Disney theme park music

Imagine getting stuck on a Disney ride and having to listen to that music on loop for an hour plus. The soundtrack better be a good one, did I hear you say?

It’s understandable how “It’s a Small World” soon becomes your hype song on the way into the parks after having to walk off a broken-down Splash Mountain.

The best part of attraction music is how certain melodies hit you and then make you happy on the spot. How you don’t have to know what those little animals say but want to bump along to it. The way you detest the dropping feeling from riding Tower of Terror but wanna ride for your love for its music.

Whether it’s hearing the little birds sing under the birdhouse, keeping yourself from being terrified by porcupine screeches, chatters, and grunts, theme park music is a whole lot of vibes. You might be “Soarin Over California” in Anaheim or “Soarin Around the World” in Paris, you wouldn’t want to miss one bit of your favorite theme park music.

Bar Hamilton, few stage shows have been more magical than Tokyo Disneyland Mickey’s Magical Music World. Its near-perfect show repertoire segues through the various worlds of Disney films. Characters, such as Minnie, Pinocchio, Mary Poppins, Snow White, Woody, serenades with hit songs upon hit songs. The music, accompanied by acrobatics, is excellent. 

Soon after, King Louie and Baloo belt out a round of “I Wan’na Be Like You.” Timon brings the guests some “Hakuna Matata”, and then Jimmy Cricket vocalizes “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Its physical set is evenly-balanced with projections. It ranks among the best stage shows playing at Tokyo Disney resort 4-5 times daily. Guests get to win a seat, allotted via the Entry Request lottery system. The sad part is guests may only enter for a performance daily.

What to wear to the Disney Parks

It’s post-pandemic, and you know you have to wear a mask, right?

They are probably the only place you care too much about costumes you hardly ever get to wear. Just care enough to make those costumes have pockets to hold money.

We shall break down the Disneyland outfits ideas into categories. It’s super important we start from the ground up because you do – give-or-take – an average of 13 kilometers a day of walking.

Disneyland outfits – Shoes

You don’t want to wear sneakers to Disney parks. If you like to wear those sneaks or flat shoes, avoid the heavy ones and make sure you come with two pairs – at least – so you can switch and reduce pressure points.

But now you have to walk all the way. How about throwing a pair of slides or flip-flops in your bag?  It’s not a lot of impact on the pavement. With crocs, your feet are not flat (they have arch support), breathable, have no friction, and are very comfy.

Disneyland outfits – Bags

Who needs a pack bag when you can, possibly, fit all the essentials in your pocket. We couldn’t have expected every park-goer to be minimalists, could we? Most people need more things than they can fit in their pocket. Others don’t even have pockets.

Crossbody bags, fanny packs (waist bags) are possibly the best bags to bring to Disneyland. They are easy to carry (throw it on) and are super lightweight. Mini backpacks are also perfect for your time at the pack. Remember to get your hands on the types with ample slots for all your day’s needs.

Whatever on mother earth you carry in those bags, remember to bring lots of sunblock or sunscreens – depending on your recommendation. It gets pretty warm out there with lots of ultraviolet radiation. Don’t forget to carry a phone charger and power bank also.

Disneyland outfits – Clothes

It’s not far-fetched to desire an entirely new wardrobe to go to Paris. Aside from the practicality of needing a body covering or wanting to make a fashion statement, clothes are a much more vital aspect of a Disney outfit.

It’s hot out there. Make sure you wear light layers for parking purposes. Go for a colour scheme that’s much easier to clean. Shorts and T-Shirts are well-known ensembles for the day. Keep some sweatshirts for the room and the evenings when it gets cold.

Disneyland outfits – Disney bounding

If you’re curious about it, Disneybounding is a fashion-forward way of dressing as a Disney character, not necessarily in a full-on costume. 

You can Rapunzel Disneybound without the details like the satin bodice, foil filigree, and let-down hair. Wear a radiant gown with Ric Rac trim at the waist, and you’re ready to rock.

You may wear pieces of clothing that give a simple nod to snow white, Ariel, Cinderella, Loki, Ursula, Alice, and a host of other Disney characters, parks, or attractions.

Except for the Halloween party, Disney does not allow adults to wear costumes to their parks. It’s just a cute way to show your love for a character without overdoing it. People get so creative with it. Like cosplaying, it takes lots of planning and effort. 

Disneyland outfits – Accessories

It could be tard gross to wear tons of bracelets and necklaces while sweating and sun-blocking. 

From the very popular wire ears – you can DIY – to the rose gold Mickey Mouse-theme ears, Disneyland accessories are anything but comfy and cute. Some very-affordable stuff often has little nods to Disney characters. You can shop for them from many creators on Etsy or buy them at the parks. 

Evaluating the themes of the different Disney parks oversea

Visit Disneyland if you want to encounter an original castle park with a truly unique theme. All the other castle parks are more or less a clone of the California resort. Forthright dedication to the true American dreams and fairytales, Disneyland can be your Wild West show and a sobered-up depiction of cinematic elegance at the same time.

Shanghai

Shanghai Disneyland utterly shuns that theme altogether with an undeniable willingness to be different. It leaves you wondering, what was the official theme again? Having substituted Main Street (America’s main entry land) with an ill-conceived “Mickey Avenue.” Yet contributes its fair slices to mouthwatering attractions like Challenge Trails at Camp Discovery, TRON Lightcycle Power Run, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland utilizes a small piece of land. Some of the best signature design elements of Disneyland are stuffed into an area of the park while the other parts lay nearly bare. The pastiche nature of the park happens to be a cultural disconnect from the depth that makes up its parent park. Its standout attractions include Mystic Manor, Castle of Magical Dreams, Cinderella Carousel, Ant-Man, and The Wasp: Nano Battle!, and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Fireworks displays and many other improvements return to the park in 2022. Until then, an introduction of some new rides could do Hong Kong Disneyland a lot good.

Tokyo

Disney managed to outdo its original theme in Tokyo. You can hardly find faults here, with a lineup of about 24 attractions mirroring the other castle parks flawlessly – if not better. It’s the first international theme park with two components, Disney Land and Sea. They serve tasty popcorn, snacks, and food. However, no alcohol is allowed inside. One of the happiest places on earth with enhanced Winnie the Pooh ride, Pooh’s Honey Hunt, Monsters, Inc. Ride, and a better version of Disneyland’s Adventure dark ride called Go Seek.

Tokyo DisneySea has some of the best attraction lineups of any Disney park. They did an excellent job replicating popular rides like Soaring: Fantastic Flight, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania!, and Indiana Jones Adventure.

There’s nowhere on this earth you’ll find around 20-something rides in a none-castle park but Tokyo DisneySea. If the depth of both Tokyo theme parks is amazing, seeing them lie next to each other is quite bewildering. Talk of a Disney park with a restaurant inside an artificial mountain – you wouldn’t want to miss the experience.

Paris

Most commentaries find it hard to tell which is better overall between Tokyo and Paris Disneyland. Like the former, Paris clones a lot of American attractions. Their collection of rides are almost the same. Paris happens to edge its Tokyo counterpart by introducing a new twist of storytelling in the park.

For the fact that castles are commonplace in Europe, the Parisian versions stand out with aplomb. Nothing compares to those steam trains powering through the snow-white powder. They offer a unique desire for wanting to visit Disneyland Paris in the winter for gorgeous Instagram-fit pics. Then again, there’s hardly an unsuitable season to visit Disneyland Paris. 

Disney Halloween parties are a delight in the French capital with rich storytelling. Pumpkin men originate in magical pumpkin patches in the wilds of Adventure Isle behind Skull Rock. They take over Adventureland and Frontierland, adding their orange tint to the lands. Their rivalry with the Pink witches soon boils over as the girls crawl from an unknown dimensional door in Alice’s Curious Labyrinth. They start taking over Fantasyland and subtly muck around in Discoveryland. They use their magic to manipulate the lighting in the land to various shades of pink and purple. Disneyland Paris soon becomes a cacophony of bright lights, colors, and waves. Such is the beauty of the park during Halloween and in every other season.

Spending Valentine’s Day at a Disney park

Minnie has hidden Valentine’s all over Disneyland park for Mickey, and it’s your job to help Mickey find it for a surprise gift. Does this mini scavenger hunt sound like a sweetheart story? 

Valentine’s day allows you to add a unique twist of romance to your Walt Disney vacation. You can have all kinds of customized surprises delivered to your room by dream makers. Just don’t include gift cards.

The list of special activities, dining menus, and date nights can be so extensive. There are different recommendations with many caveats. Disneyland happens to make better snacks than Disney World. The latter does meals better, nonetheless. How about that for a Val’s Day caveat.

Disneyland holds several small events that run well beyond Valentine’s day. Few photo-ops here and there for your Instagram shots. Seasonal decorations adorn much of Main Street. They serve love snacks pretty much everywhere. You can readily buy yummy cherries, sweetheart doughnuts, candy flosses, chocolate tamales with espresso at the different ice cream parlors, restaurants, and cothouses.

Final thoughts

Visiting the different Disney parks around the world is the cutest way to spend that hard-earned money. We are kids at heart and understand life is much more beautiful on the inside when we step away from its monotony.

Monotony! It’s that one world without a place in the annals of the different Disney Imagineering, parks, attractions, characters, themes, storylines, and destinations.

As many more countries continue to open their borders to international guests from around the world, it’s time you begin to plan to experience the happiest places on earth.

So, tell us, what are your experiences visiting the different Disney parks around the world? We’d love to hear from you!