You know what they say, it’s just different when it comes to Disney. It’s the freaking happiest place on Earth – save for the moment when you’re queuing past an hour and have worn high heels because you’re vain and want to look good in all your Disneyland photos. So if you’re feeling like a Chinese girl from the 19th century with bound feet, you can take a break at one of the marvelous musical shows like A Table is Waiting at DisneySEA next to the S.S Columbia at the Dockside Stage of American Waterfront. It’s the Captain’s Dinner Invitation!
Update: This performance had its 10th Anniversary Closing on 17 March 2017.

Duration of the Act
A Table is Waiting at DisneySEA runs for about 30 minutes and features Japanese dialogue in between several song and dance segments performed in Japanese and English.
What is it About
It’s a dinner-themed musical affair peppered with slapstick comedic moves with Lumiere trying to present the perfect dinner featuring cuisine from the world over after Mickey and friends have returned from their world cruise.

I am a fan of musicals and I like the idea that people can break out into songs for absolutely no rhyme or reason, so I enjoyed this so much! I was tapping my feet to the beat and trying to clap my hands while taking photographs.
Lumiere Sets the Stage

What’s hilarious is that I’m watching a stage full of ingredients and Disney characters dressed as food hop around animatedly with insanely perfect grins on their faces.
The Disney training is impeccable. They all smile the same and it’s not just any smile, it’s this wide, lovely, “I love you, come join us” kind of toothy smile. Talk about standards! Oh, and Lumiere’s mouth actually moves, because they revealed a part of the performer’s painted face.
Chip and Dale Tacos the Spotlight

So Chip and Dale start the dinner with a serving of Mexican Tacos and humourous Mariachi Music. After some high-energy butt wiggling by these two manic chipmunks, lots of jumping and belting out of two songs, “Hot Hot Hot” and “My Tacos is Wonderful”, Donald and Daisy are up with their hot and spicy segment featuring Indian curry, bellydancers, and a very cute version of “Spice Up Your Life” (Goodness, Spice Girls).
Donald and Daisy Gets Spicy

Half the fun at this point is just watching the shenanigans happening on stage because there’s going to be all those typical “cartoonish” jokes about things getting too hot with all those spicy choke-inducing peppers and gold curry lamps.

While you’re laughing at Donald’s signature “Wah wah wah wah” screams and silly antics and Daisy just shakes her fluffy duck belly for all its worth, before you know it Pluto sneaks onto the stage and barks his way into a military beat.
Pluto Serves Up an All-American Meal
I kind of got the USA connection with the red, white, and blue plus fast food reference. Everything goes loco here with three songs, “Stars and Stripes Forever”, “Yankee Doodle”, and “Rockin’ in the USA”. This is accompanied by a ton of acrobatic moves as the burger ingredients attempt to gymnastic leap onto each other. Okay guys, take a chill pill.
Sorry, I could have shot a video of this chaos, but all you got is this stupid photo.

Goofy Reps Japan Cuisine
Then comes Goofy and his bento set entourage and BGM of traditional Japanese music, “Zui Zui Zukkorobashi” and “Abukutatta”.

It’s all in the details for this part of the show. I mean, check out those costumes. They stuck on little bits of Japanese ingredients so that it’s unmistakable that the dances are songs are about Japanese food.

Romantic Paris with Mickey and Minnie

Then comes a sickening sweet Disney affair – Mickey and Minnie recount their romantic date in Paris and you get these two tromping all over the stage with cute Parisian desserts doing a kind of cutesy umbrella dance.

I love your get-up, Minnie. Fantastic taste – very Lolita-esque and Mickey seems to be dressed like a chocolate-flavoured Willy Wonka complete with a top hat and brown coat with psychedelic Austin Power swirl trim.
And then there was chaos

Things descend into chaos at one point and Lumiere gets some kind of depressed after “Be My Guest” goes bonkers… everything goes cuckoo. Too much food, too little table space perhaps? But all’s well, ends well and it ends up with a nice finale piece featuring the original “A Table is Waiting”.

I really thought the whole show was really engaging and adorable. My understanding of what was being said in Japanese: Nada! But then again I didn’t really have to because it was so self-explanatory and easy to enjoy.
It was a hoot seeing Disney characters ham it up on stage in food outfits and the dancing was so ON POINT. There’s so much perfection even if these guys are in huge, heavy mascot suits or costumes.

While most Disney shows rely on some lighting or visual effects to create a magical experience, this one is just all music and dance and that really is good enough to set the mood and transport you to where A Table is Waiting. This is an unforgettable performance in magical Tokyo DisneySEA in Japan – definitely a core memory.
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