Six patterns skirt Tokyo Disneyland’s no-cosplay rule, feature characters as famous as Mickey and as forgotten as Clarice.
Mickey Mouse
Naive question prompts discussion about Disneyland eggs, existence of magical chickens and we get our chef’s hat and apron on.
Have some creative, sweet fun with these “make-it-yourself” Disney-themed chocolate snacks!
Mickey and Minnie have been turned into sweet Japanese confections this winter, and one thing’s for sure: they’re way too adorable!
If you ever thought your charging brick looked painfully boring, Disney has a set of stickers just for you.
Japan may have forgiven the rip-off Disney star, but they have not forgotten what he did 80 years ago on that blood soaked Pacific island beach.
Okay, they’re undeniably cute and stylish, but can you guess what these gadgets are? Hint: you’ll appreciate them particularly in warm weather!
Typically, nail art in Japan is bold and colorful or just plain huge, but it turns out neither are requisites to being impressive! Sometimes small can be just as amazing as big (at least that’s what we tell ourselves), and one Twitter user has gone a long way to proving that with her diminutive and delicate nail art, created by literally carving the tips of her nails!
It’s a well-established fact that Disney theme parks are places of dream and magic. Well, visitors to Tokyo Disney Resort can now feel the magic even while washing their hands — courtesy of the special “Hand Washing Areas” that officially opened today July 1 at both parks in the Resort.
Yes, guests at Tokyo Disney Resort can now wash their hands with adorable Mickey-shaped soap foam, and parents just may have to deal with their children wanting to wash their hands too many times instead of not enough!
You can recite nearly every Disney movie by heart. Disneyland is your second home. You’ve got Mickey and all of his friends adorning nearly every item you own. No doubt about it, you’re a Disney fan. Now there’s something more to add to your collection and let you show your love of the mouse: these cute new Mickey ear USB cables!
Late last year shower specialists Oxygenics released sets of shower heads featuring the faces of Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse. They were warmly received by moms in America, who immediately saw them as a way to get kids motivated for bath-time and praised their easy water-pressure controls.
People in Japan saw the character shower heads quite differently, however, with some even going as far to call them “demeaning” and saying that “I don’t know if this is appropriate for children.”
As the art of cosplay steadily proliferates into the culture of Japan, even traditionally stodgy institutions like universities have begun accepting it at their graduations. So it would seem obvious that more “carefree” places like theme parks would embrace the costumed fun.
Tokyo Disneyland had their own cosplay event and Universal Studios Japan makes provisions for it in their park rules and regulations. Still, with these companies and others protecting their own brand interests there’s bound to be some lines one shouldn’t cross when trying to gain entrance in costume. But with no official bans on dressing up like certain characters it’s up to Twitter users to test the waters and find where these parks draw the line.
Like a lot of kids who grew up in Southern California, I’ve got fond memories of going to Disneyland and seeing characters from my favorite cartoons walking around. So it was a bit of a surprise when I moved to Japan, a country that arguably buys into the concept of Disney magic more wholeheartedly than any other, and met multiple people, generally women, who said the costumed performers were their least favorite part of a visit to Disneyland. “Mickey dances around and acts so cute,” they’d say, “but what if there’s some middle-aged guy inside?”
Personally, I’d say a middle-aged man is still far less appalling than an actual human-sized rodent would be, but somehow that age/gender combination was always held up as the worst possible reality that could be hiding inside the suit.
Meanwhile, in China, Disney fans have come flocking to one Mickey Mouse performer with an even more surprising identity: a 75-year-old woman.
At Tokyo Disneyland and every other embodiment of Disney’s Magic Kingdom, the staff are all referred to as “cast members.” It may seem strange at first to refer to the people sweeping the sidewalks and answering phones the same way you would an actor in a play, but the fact is that all the theme park is a stage and the staff are but players, doing all they can to make the magic of Disney come alive. It’s their primary job to bring a sense of joy and wonder to every last visitor to the park, and yet the magic can manifest itself in some truly surprising ways! Here are a few of the first-person accounts given by people impressed by the Tokyo Disneyland cast.
Disney toys are a dime a dozen, but there’s something special about this Mickey and Minnie – they’re entirely edible! Read More
Who doesn’t love a robot made up of other robots? To western TV viewers they could be represented by Voltron or Power Rangers depending how old you are, but these are just a drop in the bucket of super robot lore that exists in Japan.
Toy maker Bandai on 22 October announced the release of a new legend in their long line of super robot toys known as “chogokin.” Chogodai King Robo Mickey & Friends is everyone’s favorite Disney characters assembled into a giant robot to fight… god knows what but it’s still pretty cool.
The other day, I was walking through sunny Hollywood on my way to a job when, right before my eyes, I spotted everyone’s favorite rodent, Mickey Mouse. I had met Mickey once before in New York, but now he looked different – a little gaunter.
Thinking, “something’s not right” I approached him to ask for a photo like I did in NYC.
“Okay! But don’t forget to tip! Haha!”
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