Not everyone loves Disney at first, but there is still hope.

You may know about our Disney-loving writer Tashiro Daiichiro, who has shown the magic of Tokyo Disneyland to both children and adults. With his pure love for all things related to Disney and his deep knowledge of both Disneyland and Disney Sea, he has found out the best way for everyone to enjoy Tokyo’s Disney parks to their fullest potential. But Tashiro was presented with a new challenge recently – how do you convince someone that had a bad experience at Disney to open their heart to the Land of Dreams again?

Enter Nakazawa Seiji, another writer on the SoraNews24 team who claims to have experienced an episode at Disneyland that left him traumatized for life. When P.K. Sanjun asked Nakazawa exactly what happened, here’s what he said.

“When I was a kid, my whole family traveled from Osaka to visit Tokyo Disneyland, and we stayed in a fancy hotel the night before.”

“That sounds awesome!”

“No, it wasn’t. I ended up falling over in the bathtub and was injured so badly that I had to go to the hospital. As a result, I was made to wait around all day while only my older brother rode on all of the rides…That’s when I stared to hate Disney.”

“That just sounds like you’re being resentful.”

“No, I’m not, and I don’t think I’ll ever go again. It was a traumatic experience for me. I don’t think I’ve been there in over 20 years.”

That’s when Tashiro appeared out of nowhere and declared his intention to save Nakazawa’s lost soul by showing him around Disney Sea instead of Disneyland. Nakazawa begrudgingly agreed to give it a try, but after getting lost on the way to the park, he was already in “I wanna go home” mode.

▼ Not the best way to start off a magical day.

That mood wasn’t enough to deter the happy-go-lucky Tashiro, who was so excited that you might have thought it was his first ever visit to Disney Sea. As every Disney park-goer knows, the first step to initiating a new Disney fan is getting them some character swag to dress up in from one of the park’s many souvenir shops.

“First off is dressing up! Let’s get ready to embark on an adventure to the Sea of Dreams! So, which character do you like?”

“Jafar.”

“Ah…Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll find any Jafar goods…Oh, what about this? You like dogs, right? Here’s a warm and fluffy hat from 101 Dalmatians. It’ll look stunning on you!”

“Oh…sure, I’ll leave it up to you.”

▼ Ta-da! He also got a blue hoodie that was supposed to represent the sea. Nakazawa admitted that the hat was pretty warm.

The pair’s first stop was Mermaid Lagoon Theater, which was created by King Triton for humans to enjoy, according to Tashiro. “We’re going into the ocean, so you might not be able to breathe once we go in!” he warned cheerfully. Nakazawa wouldn’t believe him especially after realizing that he could, in fact, breathe. “That’s because King Triton cast a magic spell on us!” Tashiro argued, believing in the magic of The Little Mermaid.

▼ Will King Triton be the one to inspire a deep love of Disney in Nakazawa?

After watching a full show, though, Nakazawa’s heart was unswayed. He was more interested in Ariel’s Room and Ursula’s Dungeon, which arguably aren’t even attractions at all…

▼ Everyone has their own way of enjoying Disney, we suppose!

The next stop was the Magic Lamp Theater, where Tashiro hoped to win Nakazawa over with his already-established interest in Aladdin. The Magic Lamp Theater shows are enjoyed with 3D glasses and also include a live performance by a magician, making it much more entertaining than simply watching a movie. How did Nakazawa take to it, though?

“So how did you like it?”

“I realized that I still don’t like Genie. He doesn’t have a real reason for not liking the magician. I mean, he’s the master, right? You can’t hate the master.”

“You’re right.”

“But Shabam (the magician’s) performers were honestly great. I felt like I was being pulled into the show, and it really felt like a live performance.”

With two attractions down and a shadow of a smile on Nakazawa’s face, you’d think that Tashiro and Sanjun’s mission was accomplished, right? Wrong. Tashiro would not stop until Nakazawa’s heart was completely lifted by the magic of Disney. So they made a stop at Turtle Talk, where characters from Finding Nemo answer fan’s questions live.

▼ Whose questions will be answered? You have go to and find out!

But while this, too, was Nakazawa-approved, Tashiro and Sanjun still weren’t satisfied, so they waited for the grand finale: the Fantasmic! show that happens on the water at 8 p.m. every night and is said to be the climax of every Disney Sea visit.

▼ Even though we didn’t have the best spots, Tashiro was convinced that the spirit of imagination in Fantasmic! would warm the cockles of Nakazawa’s heart.

Unfortunately, the magic spell didn’t work, and the group decided to leave with a job left unfinished. After the Fantasmic! show is fireworks time, so as they made their way out, fireworks were bursting into color in the sky around them. That’s when a miracle happened. Nakazawa turned to his comrades and said,

“Watching the same fireworks in the same moment with everyone…is priceless.”

That’s right – though it wasn’t necessarily from the attractions themselves, Nakazawa finally discovered the spirit of imagination within Disney Sea’s fireworks. And so Tashiro and Sanjun declared their mission complete.

So if you, too, want to convert someone to the magic of Disney, search for inspiration within any of the many attractions and details in Tokyo’s Disney Parks, and most importantly, do it together!

▼ And eat lots of good food.

Because, as we all know, Disney food makes everything better.

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Photos by ©SoraNews24
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