Is there some sort of law that prevents Disney Tokyo from being open past 10. That's the latest its open..even on new years!!

Yeah but its 10pm, the next day!:D (you cross the international date line)

I believe the 10 pm time was set due to the fact that a lot of guests arrive by train, and nearly all train service stops around 12-1 am.

Now if the trains would run 24 hours...what a great way to stimulate the economy!

Thanx Insider. That is interesting. I noticed on the DisneySeas website they listed suggested days for visitors to take public transportation due to the fact that parking in the park and neighboring areas. Now thats one big diffference in these two cultures(US and Japan).

Originally posted by Ralph Wiggum
Is there some sort of law that prevents Disney Tokyo from being open past 10. That's the latest its open..even on new years!!

Not really a law necessarily. As another poster commented, most trains lines operate until around midnight at the latest. And since that is the biggest most common mode of trasportation for guests, it is wise to have them leave on time.

I heard that there also may be a agreements with the local municipal government of Urayasu, Chiba where the resort is located. These involved measures to control noise and activity around the area late in the evening.

However, TDL does have different closing times due to the season or special events. For example, during the winter months after the New Years Events, the park closes at 8pm. On evenings where the have Special Fan Previews. the park closes at 6pm in order to have special tickets guests see a new parade. And of course, the New Years Coundtown Party (a traditional event now) on Dec 31st. The park has regular hours from 8am-6pm and then it re-opens from 8pm-2am for the countdown party. Then from Jan 1 at 2am, the park allows regular ticket and AP holders to enter until 10pm the next day.

JoeInJpn
http://www.jtcent.com

Originally posted by Ralph Wiggum
Thanx Insider. That is interesting. I noticed on the DisneySeas website they listed suggested days for visitors to take public transportation due to the fact that parking in the park and neighboring areas. Now thats one big diffference in these two cultures(US and Japan). It may be more a matter of (Southern) California culture than anything else... there are people who live in the bigger cities like SF and NY who don't have driver's licenses because they don't need to drive.

When we lived in Japan, my dad was a a bit of an oddity in that he drove most places. When we moved out from Roppongi (think Manhattan) to Fuchu (think outlying boonies), we found that many of our new neighbors had shiny cars they drove only on Sundays. For their weekly Sunday drives. Then they'd come home, and dad would wash and wax the car. I would assume there's still a bit of that.

Other than riding the school bus, I caught the train everywhere, and augmented it with the bus system.

Originally posted by lani
...we found that many of our new neighbors had shiny cars they drove only on Sundays. For their weekly Sunday drives. Then they'd come home, and dad would wash and wax the car. I would assume there's still a bit of that.

Geez- It looks like I've fallen into the same Japanese routine- I've got a shiny car, (but that's only because I dont have a garage, and it just rained on the weekend) and only drive it on Saturdays and Sundays, too!

Lani is right- you can live your whole life in Tokyo without ever sitting behind a steering wheel. You can see how the novelty of Grand Circuit Raceway (Tokyo DIsneyland's Autopia) still is strong for some adults (like my wife, who is Japanese and doesn't have a drivers license yet!)