Credit: Jeremy Thompson, FlickrNext time you feel frustrated in line at Disney, remember that it could always be worse, as proven by an incident at one Disney resort this week.
Queues are part of the parcel at any theme park, but Disney tends to see some of the worst of the worst. While its parks provide paid line-skipping services – such as Lightning Lane at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, plus Disney Premier Access at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort – those who stick to standby queues can attest to the fact that multi-hour waits aren’t impossible on property.
While new rides tend to generate the longest wait times, we’ve also seen guests queue en masse for everything from popcorn buckets (lest we forget the Figment frenzy of 2022) to character meet and greets in the past.
Further afield, we’ve also seen guests wait eight hours for new merchandise at Shanghai Disneyland in the past, with one incident in 2024 growing so out of control that some guests waiting to purchase Duffy and CookieAnn backpacks fainted and security was summoned.
At Tokyo Disney Resort, queues of this scale are somewhat notorious, despite the resort apparently reducing its maximum capacity since COVID-19. This week, another lengthy line broke out at the Japanese theme park destination for the final performance of Big Band Beat – and this time, the situation grew to such an extent that police were summoned.
The show – which has been performed at Tokyo DisneySea since 2006, when it debuted for the park’s fifth anniversary – sees Mickey Mouse and his friends perform with a live big band at the Broadway Music Theatre on the American Waterfront. A new version of the show, known as Big Band Beat: A Special Treat, was introduced in 2021, which added Donald Duck to the mix and the resort claims “keeps the concept of a stylish revue featuring swing jazz.”
Earlier this year, Tokyo Disney Resort confirmed that the show would end for good in September.
Today marks the last day of Big Band Beat: A Special Treat. Fans arrived at Tokyo Disney Resort in droves to catch one of its final performances, with some arriving hours before the park even opened.
According to one X, formerly known as Twitter, user, guests started arriving late last night.
Waiting for tomorrow’s Sea opening
At 22:30, 40-50 people
明日のシー開園待ち
22:30時点で40〜50名 pic.twitter.com/gEF16Mjwkb— BKのディズニーChannel (@maihama_sanpo) September 29, 2025
As the crowd grew to around 150 people, police allegedly arrived on the scene. Attendees were apparently warned that a report had been made, but it appears no further action was taken.
On the final day of BBB, the all-nighter group waiting for opening (at the pedestrian entrance) had about 4-50 people by 23:45, and roughly 150 people at the sports park.
The police were here until just now, announcing over the speaker that a report had been made, but they basically did nothing and left.
BBB最終日の徹夜組（開園待ち）は23:45で歩行者入口前に4,50人くらい、運動公園にざっと150人ほど
先程まで警察もいて通報入ってまーすってスピーカーで言ってましたが、ほぼ何も対応せずに帰っていきました。 pic.twitter.com/MuvZsrOqLd
— 【ジョマジ】ジョー・マジック【YouTuber】 (@joejoemagic) September 29, 2025
However, some Tokyo Disney Resort fans have since noted that police should have done more to discourage similar behavior in the future.
“Just talking ain’t enough—this crowd won’t listen…” wrote one X user (translated from Japanese). “If you don’t take action and just rely on words… the anniversary event and all the events to come will keep going like this!”
Here are the folks on standby duty for tomorrow
There are so many it’s disgustingly depressing#TDR__now
こちら明日の待機組の方々です
気持ち悪いくらいいて鬱#TDR__now pic.twitter.com/TMHzIv6auz— ｷｰﾁｬｿ (@guwaguwa_love) September 29, 2025
Unsurprisingly, Disney Premier Access tickets for the show – which cost 2,5000 yen, or $16.90, per person – quickly sold out, with one guest claiming that they were gone by 8.01 a.m. (For context, Tokyo DisneySea opened at 9 a.m. today.)
Guests are also able to make an entry request, which allocates time slots to attend one of today’s five performances to lucky guests.
Tokyo Disney Resort plans to undergo further transformation in the coming years. Fresh off opening Fantasy Springs in 2024, complete with areas inspired by Frozen (2013), Tangled (2010), and Peter Pan (1953), it reportedly hopes to expand its Port Discovery area and replace an opening day attraction, Aquatopia, in the process.
It has yet to confirm what will replace Big Band Beat: A Special Treat. However, if it generates even a fraction of the enthusiasm as its predecessor, it’s sure to be a hit.
What’s the longest you’ve waited in line at a Disney park?