DisneySea is a feast for the eyes, but a limited experience without planning and Japanese

Someone may demand the retraction of my U.S. passport for this heresy, but I honestly believe the Japanese may do Disney better than the Americans.

I grew up believing that my homeland had cornered the market on the giddy enthusiasm, excessive customer service, fanatical brand loyalty and ability to embrace fantasy that delivering the Disney experience demands. I've never been able to bring myself to visit the park in Paris. Talking mice, flying nannies and magic carpets are all more credible than French people staffing the Magic Kingdom.

But the Japanese? Those qualities are their sweet spots. The country resonates with care and respect for the customer. The skepticism that's challenged big brands in the West hasn't yet pushed aside a culture that still respects "company men", loves uniforms and joining in. And then there's the otaku.

The term was coined in the early '80s to describe a subculture of nerds addicted to manga and anime who often embraced dressing up. The phenomenon has grown to the point that it's often associated with any Japanese under 40. I first encountered it, and found it more than a little disturbing, at a Japanese festival in London thick with cosplaying 20-sometings. (I think it was the bearded men in baby-doll dresses that sent me over the edge.) When I set out my expectations for this trip, I admitted that I thought I'd be bothered by Japan's pre-occupation with the juvenile. In reality, though I saw a few weird cafes and the occasional group of young women dressed like 8-year-olds, the otaku didn't really make a dent in our awareness. Until we got to Tokyo Disney, when they made it a strange but wonderful delight.

Tokyo also holds a trump card for any Disney fan: a park that exists nowhere else in the world.

DisneySea is themed around water. Though some of the rides are repeated from other parks, the look of the "lands" is completely new and there are plenty of attractions unique to this location. Disney fans will thrill to the novelty, and find it all absolutely gorgeous. The Little Mermaid section is particularly striking, with design inspiration taken heavily from Gaudi, while the Aladdin area gives us a complex of minarets, domes, Islamic arches and geometric patterns worthy of a billionaire sultan's capital.

Admittedly the "sea" connection is often tenuous. I remember deserts in Aladdin. Oceans not so much. Nemo is a natural fit, but the American Waterfront in which he swims ... with bits of New York and Cape Cod ... isn't a clear link with any part of the Disney canon I can remember. Despite this, they've managed to slip in the Tower of Terror (adjusting the plot to be the haunting of a New York archeology treasure plunderer), a Toy Story attraction and an American music hall.

Even more perplexing is the Mediterranean lagoon that forms the heart of the park. I can't think of any Disney plot beyond Pinocchio with Italian connections, and he's not referenced here. A shame, since he had an underwater adventure and was swallowed by a whale, giving plenty of scope for a new attraction. But who cares, frankly, when you see how undeniably gorgeous the whole area is, providing a delightful pastiche of Venice and the Italian Riviera. There's even a sailing galleon moored beneath an atmospheric castle. Captain Hook makes an appearance here, evidently having drifted in from Neverland. This Italian harbour sits at the foot of a volcano which rumbles and smokes ominously and has the occasional small, red eruption after dark. This dramatic scene takes the centre role filled by the castle in the Magic Kingdom parks.

On the Mediterranean harbour you'd probably call the peak Vesuvius, but it plays a more intriguing role on its back side as the mountain looming above an area called the Mysterious Island. I was delighted to see the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride resurrected here. It was a favourite of my childhood that's been replaced by a Little Mermaid ride in the Anaheim and Orlando Magic Kingdoms. In Tokyo it's been reimagined in new steampunk glory, with a magnificent spiral entry and a queuing system through Captain Nemo's HQ before you clamber into 6-person subs to take your journey. The Mysterious Island extends the Jules Verne theme with a Journey to the Center of the Earth ride just across the volcanic lagoon from 20,000 Leagues. (Disney had nothing to do with either the 1953 or 2008 film versions; one wonders if the attraction here suggests that the studio will someday contemplate another adaptation.)  It was my greatest disappointment that this combination ride through exotic underground worlds and roller coaster was closed during our visit, as it's the park's blockbuster attraction and only exists here.

In the very back of the park you'll find the Lost River Delta (which presumably flows into a sea) with two jungle-ensconced Mayan temples ... one containing a roller-coaster and one with an Indiana Jones-themed adventure ... across a river from a Mexican village and landing with shops and a Mexican restaurant. The Indy ride is excellent, with a fun plot line that mixes up several films and highly atmospheric interiors. And, frankly, it's worth the queue just for the laugh of Indiana Jones delivering his lines in Japanese.

Everything is created to typical Disney standards: design details, landscaping, costumes. The illusion in each world is complete. The cosplay-accustomed Japanese seem to relish their "cast member" roles, whether they're playing Mexican senoritas, Venetian gondoliers or turn-of-the-century American servers in the Teddy Roosevelt bar & restaurant. If anything, the architectural touches here are even more lavish than in the Orlando parks. Roosevelt's is within the cruise liner moored in the American section, rich with dark woods, leather, stained glass and polished brass. There's an enormous marble fireplace and carved wooden bears holding up the bar. There are paintings and display cases with memorabilia dedicated to the 26th American president, with detailed historical descriptions in Japanese and English, to celebrate the history of a hero of the modern age. (One assumes this would never get built in the States, as pressure groups would probably insist that we mustn't lionise someone who started a dodgy war in Cuba and conducted some irregular politics. The Japanese seem happy with the myth.)

The only surprise? No Moana. It might not have made the same cultural impact as Frozen, but the 2016 tale of the South Pacific made money, was critically acclaimed and is the only Disney animated film other than Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid to be set at sea. Disney's imagineers could have re-purposed designs from the Magic Kingdom's Tiki Room or their Polynesian Resorts. A section set in the South Seas would, frankly, make far more sense than the American Waterfront. But maybe it's a little too close to Japanese cultural reality so doesn't provide the same hit of escapism as the other lands.

And make no mistake, Tokyo Disney is escapism for the locals, or visitors from neighbouring Asian countries, not targeted at Western tourists interested in a bit of familiar entertainment culture. With hundreds of thousands of Westerners in the country for the Rugby World Cup, I was surprised by just how few white faces there were at Disney. It was a weekday, and kids were at school, but the Japanese ... especially those in their 20s and early 30s ... were out in force. Disney is an otaku paradise.

I spotted them on the public transport system before we even arrived. Packs of young women who'd clearly coordinated their clothing so they'd be dressed as a matched set for their day out. Elegant and restrained types went for all-black ensembles with sequinned Minnie Mouse ears. A pack wearing Winnie The Poo hats went for brown. They were the subtle ones. Grown-up versions of Disney princesses were out in force. I even saw what I assumed to be a mother-daughter team dressed as Snow White and the wicked witch. Alice in Wonderland was also enormously popular, though the Japanese have infused her with a steampunk vibe.

Appearing in photos, in costume, with your mates seems to be as important to the locals as going on any rides. We quickly discovered how much fun it was to offer to take their photos, sharing smiles as they flashed the ubiquitous peace sign at us. (Evidently, this is what you do when photographed here.) If you want to step your photo shoot up a level, it appears you can actually procure a service from Disney to source a full, official costume and a photographer to accompany you around the place to give you a professional shoot. I spied a complete Cinderella from the monorail doing this as we passed in the morning, and we trailed two Jasmines around the Aladdin section for a while covertly marvelling at how seriously they were taking it all.

The most amazing sight, however, was young couples out in the park in matching costumes. They were far less common than the packs of girls, but far from unusual. We ate lunch two tables over from a group having a magnificent, boozy lunch, dressed as Cinderella and Henry, Belle and her (transformed) beast and a magnificently sexy Cruella de Vil ... bonus points for carrying off a fur coat in that heat ... and her date dressed as her chauffeur. I'd love to know more about that relationship.

Watching the otaku at play is one of the joys of DisneySea. It's a good thing that, between them and the fabulous sets, there's so much to look at. Because one of the drawbacks of this ... and probably any Disney park these days ... is that you won't be enjoying many attractions without military-style organisation.

In these days of Fast Passes, show pre-bookings and in-park restaurant reservations, you need to be entering the park when it opens and attacking the first hour with a plan researched in advance. Which Fast Passes will you grab? Which restaurants will you eat at? Which shows do you want to see? If you saunter into the park as the clock approaches 10, and wander pleasantly with only the intention of enjoying your day, it's unlikely that you'll get onto more than four rides all day. I miss the old days.

There were a couple of other drawbacks to the day. It's easy to forget how language-dependent most Disney attractions are. The stories they set up while you're queuing, the lines characters say during rides, the entire run of the shows. You can still enjoy the park without understanding Japanese. All the restaurant menus and signage is also in English. But be prepared to miss a big chunk of the experience. It's also worth remembering that Japanese people are much smaller, on average, than Westerners. The rides we did get on had no leg room at all ... we only fit in the 20,000 Leagues capsules because we could swivel our legs sideways ... and there's a roller coaster on the the Lost River Delta where a helpful attendant spots large Westerners, advises them about the snug cars and offers a chance to test the fit in a sample car in a quiet jungle alcove. We didn't ride that one.

I hope that someday DisneySea turns up in the Anglosphere. It's a spectacularly beautiful place with some exciting new rides. It would be even better with full understanding and generously-sized seating. I might even put the required attention into a plan of attack. But only if they add Moana.