Why Tokyo Disney Land Doesn’t Offer Discount for People with Disabilities

 In Japan, if you have an ID booklet for person with disability, you can get  tickets with discounts in many commercial facilities.

For example, you can get a movie ticket at half price, you don’t need to pay at many museums with the ID.

The discounted price applies not only for a person with disabilities, but also a person who goes with the person with disabilities. 

You can also enjoy at many popular theme parks like Universal Studios Japan, Toshimaen, Nagashima Spa Land, and Shima Spain Village with the discounted price.. 

However, Tokyo Disney Land (TDL), the most popular theme park in Japan, doesn’t have discount tickets for people with disabilities.

I wonder why.

I can easily get to know the answer if I Google it, but I wanted to think and come up with my own hypotheses first.

In the first place, why do many theme parks offer the discount ticket for people with disabilities?

What I got soon in my mind was that the majority of the disabled people earn money below the average of all people’s income. 

However, there should be more reasons.

I kept thinking and got the idea that they offer discount because some facilities are not friendly to disabled people.

If my hypotheses are right, why doesn’t TDL offer the discount ticket for people with disabilities?

I know some attractions don’t allow a wheelchair user to take due to safety reasons.

Then I thought,

Disney Land is originally from the U.S. In the country, people think “equality” is very important.

People with disability are supported reasonably, but not given special treatment usually.

Even at school or work place, they are evaluated equally.

It sounds great because you won’t be discriminated.

But if you really get used to the Japanese environment for people with disabilities, you would feel that the environment in the U.S. is very strict by contrast. 

I wonder if the thought of “equality” influences the ticket price at TDL.

Of course TDL has some attractions which can’t accept wheelchair users.

However, non-disabled people also can’t see, buy, ride anytime they want to in there.

All guests are equal. Everyone has something they can do, something they cannot do. 

Another hypotheses I came up.

TDL doesn’t offer the discount ticket because they have pride or just promises to make the disabled people enjoy at the park equally even if some attractions are not accessible. 

With the hypotheses, I called Tokyo Disney Resort information center directly. 

The answer was,

We offer the system and service which both non-disabled and disabled people can enjoy, and keep improving them every single day.

That is why we don’t offer the discount ticket for the disabled people.

My hypotheses are not too bad. Yay!

Now I got to know 2 types of reasons of not offering discount for people with disabilities.

1) They just don’t know or don’t care about the disabled guests.

2) They care and work hard on improving for the disabled guests. 

In Japan, type 1) is majority.

I think more people can enjoy with the thought of 2) than 1).

Only discount and no improvement cannot solve anything.

I really hope more companies think this way and make better products and services for everyone!