This article will be in multiple parts, exploring our experience at Disney and with the second part providing a little more insight into our adventure and some tips on how to get the best out of your trip.

Since we were in Japan, it made a lot of sense to return to Disney in an entirely unique location: Tokyo!

Disney Tourist Blog writer, Tom Bricker, actually cites Tokyo Disneyland as the second best out of all parks, and, having recently visited with my sister, I fully agree. It doesn’t stand out because it has unique takes on rides like in Tokyo DisneySea, but it does have a gorgeous display of theming, an incredibly well-maintained park, fantastic service and a nonetheless brilliant array of attractions that make the Disney experience as perfect as expected.

We arrived pretty far past the opening time, around 12 PM, but lines into the park were minimal and tickets were surprisingly fairly priced at around $50.

As soon as you enter the park you’re greeted with Disney’s take on Japan’s unique culture. Mickey strikes a taiko drum in the centre of Main Street, U.S.A.; the classic promenade of shops covered by a huge glass canopy lined with colourful banners and lanterns. Cinderella’s Castle sits in the very middle of the park circled by the different themed worlds. Like with every Disneyland, it’s a sudden rush of nostalgic excitement as you witness all of the characters and monuments that filled your childhood.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: a random couple just handed us free FastPasses to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt; a brilliant ‘trackless’ dark ride. It appeared these park-goers had to leave early, so they just handed us these passes to one of the park’s supposedly best rides.

Oh, and it was just that.

As expected, the queue is rich with theming centred around Winnie the Pooh’s life in the Hundred Acre Woods and its inhabitants’ inability to spell. For the ride itself, the cars are hooked up to a master computer that essentially dictates where the honey pots will travel, taking you through the entire ride how it wants you to experience it.

Inside, you witness some of the adventures Pooh experienced like ‘Blustery Day’ when the Hundred Acre Wood experiences a freak hurricane that devastates the village, or when Pooh trips the hell out and experiences some sort LCD-elephant nightmare. Of course, being Disney, it’s not exactly conveyed that way, but the ride manages to make the child-friendly interpretation of otherwise traumatic events entertaining and cute, not to mention brilliantly themed with such highlights like the trippy glow-in-the-dark sequence with the Heffalumps and Woozles.

After riding it, we totally understood why it was held in such high regard—it’s definitely one of the best dark rides I’ve ever been on.

After this, we fit in one more ride before we had lunch, one of Disney’s renowned dark rides: Space Mountain. This was the first ‘classic’ Space Mountain I had ever ridden, as the only version I had experienced was Space Mountain: Hyperspace Mountain (prior to its renovation) in Disneyland Paris; an intense ride that is essentially the lovechild of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Space Mountain.

The station was my favourite: it’s an awesome interior filled with lights giving a futuristic vibe and atmosphere built up with the eerie Martian music surrounding you as you wait to board.

Enclosed inside a huge dome, you travel in rocket-themed cars through the darkness surrounded by glowing stars as you’re thrown down sharp hills and tight turns. I didn’t expect it to be as rough as it was, but since you don’t know where you’re going every twist and turn is a complete surprise, and it puts you in this constant state of ‘oh god, what’s next’. It’s one of the more intense attractions Tokyo Disneyland has to offer, so if you’re into that then you've gotta check it out.

After some lunch at the Pan Galactic Pizza Port, you can see a review here explaining why it’s really cool, we went on Star Tours; another staple of the Tomorrowland section of the Disney parks.

Like Space Mountain, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is a dark ride with elaborate, futuristic theming that encapsulates you in the world Disney has created: animatronics line the queues, characters from Star Wars like C-3PO and many other items are dotted about to really drive the atmosphere further as they interact with each other.

The ride itself is a motion simulator, and you’re supposedly on an excursion trip of some sort in the Star Wars universe. What’s incredible is that you’ll only experience one of a whopping 96 potential journeys, meaning each ride experience is different.

Our journey was a combination of a space battle and an underwater dive to Otoh Gunga. The ride is in 3D, and while the effect is mostly minimal (except for when BB-8’s hologram appears), it does help pull you into the experience, and the constant bumps and shakes of the ship make it far more immersive as lasers pummel the screen and the C-3PO in charge of your journey freaks out constantly as you warp through space. It's highly entertaining, a great family ride and definitely worth the wait!

I'm afraid that's all the space I've got for Part 1. Next time, in Part 2, I’ll review our rides on Monster, Inc. Ride & Go Seek, Pirates of the Caribbean, and provide some tips on how you can ensure you get the best experience at the park.