Disney has announced new ‘Attraction Vouchers’ to be issued to Guests who book stays at the official Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR) Hotels. This is a clear bid to entice people to stay on property as restrictions also begin to ease around international tourism — however, some fans are baffled by several choices made by Disney and the Oriental Land Company (OLC).
How the Attraction Vouchers work
(translated from the official Tokyo Disney Resort blog):
The Disney Hotels (Disney Ambassador Hotel, Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Tokyo Disney Resort Toy Story Hotel, and the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel) will improve your stay at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Starting from Thursday, July 14, 2022, to Wednesday, August 31, 2022, we will provide an “Attraction Voucher” as a Guest perk.
This ‘Attraction Voucher’ is valid for Disney Hotel stay days excluding the date of check-in.
The post continues (translated):
Guests may experience several attractions at Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea with a shorter wait time than usual. With this, Disney Hotel Guests will be able to experience a fulfilling time at the Parks and fully enjoy the Tokyo Disney Resort.
Disney Hotel Guests can expect to receive:
- 2 Attraction Vouchers per person per night at all Deluxe Hotels (Disney Ambassador Hotel, Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, and the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel)
- 1 Attraction Voucher per person per night at all Moderate and Value Hotels (Tokyo Disney Resort Toy Story Hotel, and the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel)
The valid Attractions were also listed.
Tokyo Disneyland (Guests reminded to bear in mind suspended operations periods):
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Haunted Mansion
- Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
- Space Mountain
- Star Tours
Tokyo DisneySea:
- Tower of Terror
- Turtle Talk with Crush
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Nemo & Friends SeaRider
- Raging Spirits
Disney and the OLC are being quite smart, as these Attraction Vouchers cover rides that the new Disney Premier Access does not, so there is some incentive for time-conscious park-goers.
A huge target of this new scheme is clearly the people living in Japan, and many local theme park fans have taken to social media to voice their opinion of this new move — namely, the completely baffling fact that Disney and OLC have decided against allowing Hotel Guests from using the Attraction Voucher on the day of check-in.
Twitter user @cherie7033jong, weighed in:
“Well, there aren’t any attractions that I want to ride with the voucher, so it doesn’t matter.
First of all, with this voucher coming out, would you be satisfied with this substitution even if the popular attractions are even more crowded? I don’t understand why it can’t be used on the check-in date. What are you thinking Oriental Land!?”
まあ、特に、利用券を使ってまで乗りたいアトラクションが無かったから、どうでもイイ。🤣とりあえず、この利用券を出すことで、もっと人気のアトラクションが混んでても、代用で満足してねってことでしょうか。チェックイン日に使えないのも意味分からない。ホントにオリエンタルランド何考えてんの⁉️
— cherie-f (@cherie7033jong) June 16, 2022
User @kuma26_lily28 thanked Disney for the move, saying:
“Thank you for the fantastic benefits. But why can’t I use them on check-in day? If you’re staying at the hotel because you’re going to enjoy the Park late into the night, this perk is meaningless. Please reconsider so that it can be used even on the day of check-in”
ステキな特典ありがとうございます✨
でも、なぜ、チェックイン日は使えないのでしょう?
パークで夜遅くまで遊ぶからホテルに宿泊する…の場合は無意味な特典になってしまいます😭
イン日にも使えるように再考をお願いします🙏— りりぃ (@kuma26_lily28) June 16, 2022
User @sin0203 requested for the company to keep out-of-Tokyo theme park fans in mind, adding:
“Since I’m coming from far away, I don’t have time to enter the Park on check-out day.
Please make this available on the check-in date.”
遠方から行くので、チェックアウト日はパークにインしている時間がありません。チェックイン日にも使えるようにしてください。
— 秦-sin-🌈 (@sin0203) June 16, 2022
Others, however, seem excited about this new offer despite the odd restriction and have almost immediately nabbed their Disney Hotel stays.
Ultimately though, having shortened attraction wait times for ‘free’ still remains a technical net benefit — if you already intend to stay at the official Disney Resort hotels, that is.
All of this sounds great on paper, but some eagle-eyed (or maybe not all that eagle-eyed) fans have noticed that these Attraction Vouchers are glaringly similar to a previous perk that Disney once provided.
For free, daily, to all Guests, and on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Attraction Vouchers?? You mean FP (FastPass)??”
アトラクション利用権??FPってこと??
— おと(人生新参) (@Okuri_wolf) June 16, 2022
That’s right — this all sounds suspiciously like the FastPass tickets system that Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea had until very, very recently!
Back in May, @pomemaru_d spotted a concerning change:
“My chest hurts!!!!
FastPass… ticketing machine… (the sound of creaking/pulling)”
胸が苦しい!!!!
ファストパス…発券機…ぐぎぎ! pic.twitter.com/hwKgmskoGO— ぽめまる (@pomemaru_d) May 12, 2022
Fans were upset when the physical paper tickets FastPass machines were removed outside Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, and eventually, elsewhere in the Parks, sparking confusion and debate about the future of the FP system.
The implementation of the new Disney Premier Access system, (the last Disney park to switch to paid systems like the United States’ Disneyland and Walt Disney World’s Lightning Lane and Disney Genie services) where you can buy tickets to shorter wait times at only three rides (currently) — the Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland, plus Toy Story Mania! and Soaring: Fantastic Flight at DisneySea, for 2,000 Japanese yen (approx. $15) — all but confirmed the fate of the old FastPass system to local Parks fans. This also happened last year at Disneyland Paris, where a similar initiative is in place.
@cdc_pm added:
“Ultimately, if you’re not paying, you’re not able to ride the attraction quickly.
So when will FastPass be abolished?”
結局お金を払わないと早くアトラクションに乗れない。
ファストパスの廃止はいつなのでしょう?— 🐿お栗鼠とピノミー🌼 (@cdc_pm) June 16, 2022
With no official announcement on the true fate of the FastPass system, and the introduction of this new ‘Attraction Voucher’ offered to Disney Hotel Guests (if only for a limited period), the chances of FastPass ever returning to the Tokyo Disney Resort seem to be increasingly slim.
What do you think of this new offer? Do you miss the old FastPass systems? Share your thoughts below!