Our 2023 Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea trip planning information affords information for visiting. We have ideas & methods, the place to remain, how lengthy to go to, must-eat meals & snacks, greatest sights, avoiding crowds, and different issues to do whilst you’re in Japan. (Updated January 15, 2023.)
Whether you’re desperate to take your first go to to Japan or make a return go to for Tokyo Disneyland’s fortieth Anniversary “Dream-Go-Round” Celebration, we’re right here that will help you begin planning! That’s the subsequent huge occasion on the horizon at Tokyo Disney Resort, and our hope is that it coincides with the parks restoring extra normalcy. (See What’s New & Next at Tokyo Disney Resort in 2023 & 2024 for a extra detailed take a look at what else is on the horizon.)
The excellent news is that Japan has now reopened to particular person vacationers, and we’ve already returned to Tokyo Disney Resort to expertise the whole lot that’s new and see how the parks have modified as in comparison with pre-closure. The dangerous information is that Tokyo Disney Resort remains to be fairly removed from firing on all cylinders…
If you’re acquainted with Walt Disney World and Disneyland, the simplest method to consider present operations at Tokyo Disney Resort is that they’re about 18 months behind the U.S. parks. In basic, it looks like that is the dynamic throughout Japan, not simply at Tokyo Disney Resort. Face masks are nonetheless ubiquitous, plexiglass partitions are frequent in eating places, and different well being security protocol stay commonplace lengthy after they’ve been deserted in the remainder of the world.
At Tokyo Disney Resort specifically, there are nonetheless shuttered eating places and retail that haven’t reopened prior to now ~3 years following the closure of the parks. While individually minor, these considerably influence retail and restaurant capability in mixture. The finish result’s crowded retailers and really lengthy traces for eating choices, particularly at peak occasions.
There are additionally plenty of leisure choices which have but to reopen, which is very noteworthy as a result of a lot of the expertise at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea is based upon leisure. There are nonetheless daytime and nighttime parades, however they’re missing performers or have in any other case been truncated.
Many stage reveals are equally scaled again, or not being offered in any respect. The daytime harbor reveals in Tokyo DisneySea have been decreased to transient smile & wave greetings. Seasonal leisure has been decreased throughout the board. If it’s your first go to, you most likely received’t even discover this–Tokyo Disney Resort nonetheless has extra (and higher) leisure than the U.S. parks. However, when you’re a repeat customer, there are methods that the parks presently really feel like shadows of their former selves.
All of this impacts park capability–the parks really feel extra crowded even with decrease uncooked attendance ranges. As a end result, multi-day tickets and Annual Passes nonetheless haven’t returned, nor has QuickPass. In its place, Tokyo has rolled out the paid Premier Access line-skipping, which might be the everlasting alternative at no cost QuickPass. Standby Pass can be out there for choose retailers and sights, albeit normally solely on merchandise launch days or significantly busy dates.
In any case, there’s a really totally different dynamic as in comparison with pre-closure. Unless most of that is rapidly restored for Tokyo Disneyland’s fortieth Anniversary, the parks are going to really feel unbearably crowded as soon as that celebration begins. In quick, there’s a provide and demand imbalance at Tokyo Disneyland–and that’ll develop into much more obvious as worldwide journey comes roaring again and home subsidies proceed to gas pent-up demand among the many Japanese. Here’s hoping that Tokyo Disney Resort adjusts accordingly–and quick!
Already, Tokyo Disney Resort has felt busier throughout our current visits than throughout comparable dates in 2019 and earlier. Speaking of which, we spend a ton of time in Japan, and we’ve up to date this virtually neurotically as we be taught from our travels and analysis. This Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland Guide has been refreshed dozens of occasions since we first wrote it, and extra might be added over time as sure elements are clarified or expanded. We are barely obsessed followers of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.
Prior to the closure, we visited Japan a number of occasions per 12 months for 7 consecutive years, together with a number of multi-month stays. We have been Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Annual Passholders (till TDR cancelled these) who’ve dined in virtually each restaurant and stayed in each single resort at Tokyo Disney Resort.
If you’re simply beginning to plan a visit to Japan, there’s quite a bit to contemplate. We advocate planning your time at Tokyo Disney Resort in tandem with the place else you need to go to in Japan. Consult our Ultimate Tokyo, Japan City Guide for suggestions within the metropolis. While we like Tokyo, we far want Kyoto.
Kyoto is our favourite metropolis on the planet, and a spot that we view as important to a visit to Japan. In our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan, we provide our “sales pitch” as to why we like it a lot, and canopy the whole lot you want to know for planning a go to to that fantastic metropolis. Total, we’d advocate Disney followers allocate round two-thirds of their journey to the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo–with extra time in Kyoto.
Of course, all of this assumes that it is best to go to Japan within the first place. Let’s backtrack and tackle that threshold query…
Should You Visit Japan & Tokyo Disney Resort?
If you could have the means to go to Japan or can save for it as a once-in-a-lifetime journey, we expect you’ll be very happy with the choice to go. While there’s no query that worldwide journey is expensive, touring to Japan won’t be fairly as costly as you would possibly suppose; you actually ought to crunch the numbers earlier than ruling out the opportunity of swinging a visit to Japan. Without query, it’s well worth the cash for Walt Disney World regulars to go to the Japan parks.
Since we go to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea repeatedly, we’ve been accused of being biased in direction of the Japanese parks. That isn’t true in any respect. We’re biased in direction of excellence. From upkeep to meals high quality to Cast Member friendliness, Tokyo Disney Resort is in a league of its personal. Moreover, we’ve got but to come across anybody who has informed us they regretted visiting Japan. (If you need to be the primary, be happy to say so within the feedback.)
Without a doubt, touring to Japan is outdoors consolation zones and one of many largest issues holding individuals again from visiting. From the lengthy worldwide flight to the prospect of navigating a international nation with out talking its native language, a visit to Japan may be overwhelming. This is regular, and there’s completely nothing unsuitable with being anxious about touring someplace as a result of it’s outdoors of your consolation zone.
Tokyo is a protracted flight to a spot the place English is a second language (at greatest). However, the Japanese are among the universally nicest and most useful individuals on the planet. Once you perceive the ‘system’ at one Disney theme park, you perceive it in any respect of them, no matter their dominant language.
In phrases of the language barrier, there may be not a lot of 1 in any respect. All indicators are in English, park maps can be found in English, and plenty of sights have dialogue in English. Even the sights which have dialogue completely in Japanese principally convey their message by visible means.
More importantly, most Cast Members both communicate sufficient English to successfully talk with English-speaking company or can discover somebody that will help you who does. Failing that, a little bit of pantomime will get the job accomplished. Verbal communication and pantomime with the primary Cast Member you encounter is all you’ll want.
My social expertise are poor and I can barely talk with individuals in English, and I nonetheless do exactly tremendous. Irrespective of that, Cast Members in Tokyo are by far the nicest and most useful on the planet, and they’ll do the whole lot they will to make your expertise optimistic, as long as that doesn’t contain breaking guidelines.
The Japanese idea of guidelines is totally different than the US idea of guidelines. Calling them “rules” could be a little bit of a misnomer, as a result of it some instances they’re unflexible insurance policies. For instance, you could be used to creating substitutions to your meals within the US parks due to a meals allergy or choice.
What’s on the menu is what’s on the menu in Japan, and makes an attempt at substitutions or adjustments will sometimes be met with resistance or confusion. Americans usually tend to query the “why?” of a rule or coverage right here within the US and take a look at whether or not it actually is smart given the circumstances. In Japan, adherence to each rule/coverage/process is universally anticipated, regardless of how arbitrary it may appear.
Most of the time, this leads to a extra orderly, pleasant expertise. Only in Japan is there no line leaping, and everybody sits down for the parades! Sometimes it does have unintended penalties. We know some vegetarians who’ve gone to the parks and didn’t have one of the best of occasions as a result of there have been restricted vegetarian choices and so they have been unable to make substitutions as a result of a substitution goes in opposition to established coverage.
If you need to really feel extra snug earlier than you go to, learn our 101 Great Tips for Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea publish, which affords a wealth of random recommendation that may familiarize you with a ton of ‘little things’ (and loads of huge ones) that it is best to know in regards to the quirks of Tokyo Disney Resort. Our purpose with that publish is to assist first-timers really feel like they’re touring the parks like locals.
With that query settled, let’s dig into planning a visit to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea…
How Many Days?
Part of answering this query requires figuring out how a lot time you may spend in Japan. If you’re touring midway around the globe, hopefully you’re planning on seeing extra than simply the 2 Disney theme parks in Japan. In addition to those, we’d additionally strongly advocate spending an excellent period of time in Tokyo and Kyoto on the very least.
The different a part of answering this query is contingent upon whether or not you’re a Disney fan planning a pilgrimage to the 2 greatest Disney parks on the planet, or an everyday particular person visiting Japan who stumbled upon this publish by way of Google. If the latter, two days is enough. We have itineraries beneath for seeing all the highlights in a single day, and this information might be greater than you need or have to learn about Tokyo Disney Resort.
Those itineraries cowl the whole lot from the order it is best to do rides to expertise them effectively, to the place it is best to eat, and extra. Following these touring plans will allow you to profit from your time within the parks and see as a lot as doable in solely 2 days.
If you’re a diehard Disney fan questioning what number of days it is best to spend at Tokyo Disney Resort…that’s a trick query. No variety of days is sufficient…and that’s solely a half-joke. Tokyo DisneySea is one of the best Disney park on the planet and Tokyo Disneyland can be close to the highest (second greatest, when you ask me). Think of those parks as “fine moonshine.” You need to sip them slowly sufficient that you’ve a pleasant intoxication, as a result of when you drink them in too rapidly, you’re more likely to go blind.
Hardcore Disney followers nonetheless shouldn’t overdo it, and will intention to spend not more than one-third of your journey to Japan at Tokyo Disney Resort–or a most of 4 days, whichever is much less. Two days in every theme park may appear extreme, however we don’t suppose a visit to Tokyo is for the kind of fan who views the parks as a set of rides to “complete” as rapidly as doable.
In our view, a balanced journey to Japan for a Disney fan consists of 4 days at Tokyo Disney Resort, 3 days in Tokyo outdoors the parks, and 5 days in and round Kyoto. If something, we’d be inclined to drag a day or two from the TDR and Tokyo portion of the journey to reallocate to Kyoto and different areas of the Kansai area (Osaka, Kobe, Nara, and so forth). Reasonable minds could fluctuate on that, although.
These parks, DisneySea, particularly, are supposed to be slowed down and brought in. The greatest “attraction” at Tokyo DisneySea isn’t an precise attraction that you simply’ll discover on any park map. It’s the sense of place that it has, and that is one thing that you simply’ll need to spend a while savoring.
When it involves precise sights, the traces may be lengthy at each parks. These traces truly beginning earlier than the parks open, and company working for fashionable sights instantly. Tokyo Disney Resort’s foremost demographic is locals, and so they don’t thoughts ready hours in line for a single attraction as a result of they will all the time come again later to see others.
When to Visit
Choosing one of the best time to go to is crucial facet of planning a go to to Tokyo Disney Resort. We extremely advocate studying our When to Visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2023 publish, as that covers this important matter in a lot larger element. Everything from climate (Tokyo has extremes in each instructions–it may well even snow there!) to seasonal occasions to crowds is mentioned in that publish.
When choosing our days to go to Tokyo Disney Resort, the very first thing we think about is what season we need to go to. For subsequent journeys, we wished to see Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and Pirates Summer. We’ve now visited throughout each season, and so they’re all very effectively accomplished.
Halloween and Christmas are the 2 hottest seasonal occasions at Tokyo Disney Resort, and the parks look superior for each, with lots of particular seasonal leisure. You can “double dip” by planning a HalloXmas Trip to Tokyo Disney Resort that coincides with each Halloween and Christmas. That’s our absolute favourite time to go to!
We have separate posts on these holidays and different seasonal occasions at Tokyo Disney Resort, so for more information, take a look at the next posts:
With it narrowed all the way down to which season we wished to see, take into consideration crowds…
As with climate, Tokyo Disney Resort is a spot of extremes with regards to crowds. This makes it actually vital to decide on the least-crowded dates. Once we select the time of 12 months we need to go to (see our ‘When to Visit’ publish above for suggestions), we typically seek the advice of 2023 Crowd Calendars for Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea to choose particular date ranges inside the season which are predicted to be calmly crowded.
More vital than the time of 12 months is the times of the week you go to. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are least busy Monday by Thursday. Friday is the busiest weekday, and weekends are extremely busy. Avoid weekends it doesn’t matter what time of 12 months you go to. This will prevent appreciable time in traces.
If you’re researching a visit, you might need encountered pictures of insane crowds that make you apprehensive about visiting. We suppose the crowds in Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea have taken on “urban legend” standing as these pictures unfold.
The actuality is that weekends and holidays may be insanely crowded–precisely because the pictures depict. On the opposite hand, low-season days in the course of the week can really feel extra nice than mid-January at Disneyland. The crowds at these parks fluctuate greater than any different Disney parks on the planet, which actually underscores the significance of fastidiously selecting days to go to.
The notion of crowds all the time being insane at Tokyo Disneyland is completely inaccurate.
What to Pack
For any Disney journey, the issues on our Unique Disney Packing List might be useful. There’s not likely something particular to Tokyo that you’ll want. No voltage converter is important. However, there are some things you would possibly need to pack for the lengthy worldwide flight.
Sarah had hassle sleeping on our first couple of flights to Japan, so she bought these reusable earplugs, this sleep masks, and this fancy inflatable airplane pillow (no matter pillow you get, be sure it’s inflatable–carrying a traditional pillow whereas touring is a problem). Now she swears by all 3. I might sleep on a pile of hay throughout a demise metallic live performance, so I don’t use earplugs or a particular pillow.
If you’re visiting in the course of the summer time, issues like Frogg Togg Chilly Pads may also come in useful, as will moisture wicking clothes as a result of Japan will get actually humid in June, July and August. Consult our Beating the Summer Heat at Disney publish for more information. In the winter, it’s chilly and might even snow in Japan, so learn our Packing for Disney in Winter publish for recommendations on visiting then.
We would warning in opposition to overpacking. This is very true when you’re doing extra in Japan than simply Tokyo Disney Resort. The rail system in Tokyo is extremely complicated, with lots of transfers. You will do lots of strolling, driving the rail, and so forth., and you actually don’t need to be encumbered by extra baggage, particularly throughout rush hour on the trains.
Perhaps one of the best recommendation we may give you is to pack mild. Lay out the whole lot you’re planning on taking earlier than you pack it, and decide when you really want it. Not if it “might come in handy, maybe,” however when you truly will use it. Don’t pack belongings you received’t use. If you’re going to be staying in a number of resorts throughout your journey to Japan, we extremely advocate packing cubes or compression baggage (I want the cubes) for group. You can learn extra of our “carry-on philosophy” and which sorts of baggage we use right here.
Buying Park Tickets
There are a number of ticket choices at Tokyo Disney Resort, we focus on them in additional depth in our Money-Saving Tips for Tokyo Disneyland Park Tickets publish. If you’re going on weekdays throughout non-holiday season, the simplest possibility is just buying your park tickets on the day-of on the ticket cubicles in entrance of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. These not often have traces, and by doing this, you’re least more likely to have complications. This is what we do the overwhelming majority of the time.
If you need to save a bit of cash and purchase tickets earlier than leaving house, we advocate Klook (if they’ve stock–which isn’t all the time the case). Not solely are their tickets discounted, but it surely’s simpler to navigate than the official (and costlier) Tokyo Disney Resort web site. Unfortunately, that web site doesn’t promote each kind of park ticket, and sometimes they’re bought out completely.
If Klook is bought out, we merely advocate ready till you arrive to buy your park tickets. Although it does occur occasionally, it’s uncommon for Tokyo Disney Resort to promote out of park tickets prematurely. Moreover, company of monorail loop resorts (just like the Sheraton and Hilton Tokyo Bay) could buy tickets from their resort’s concierge even when the parks are bought out to most of the people.
Unfortunately, the Tokyo Disney Resort Online Reservation & Tickets web site may be troublesome to make use of, and might typically have points with bank cards issued by U.S. banks.
Where to Stay
We have stayed at 10 totally different resorts in and round Tokyo Disney Resort, plus Airbnb flats. Suffice to say, we’ve got lots of expertise at resorts in Japan, and virtually all of it’s optimistic. For our ideas on resort choices, learn our Hotel Reviews & Rankings at Tokyo Disneyland publish, as that covers the subject in larger depth, and supplies hyperlinks to particular resort evaluations.
As for an summary, you principally have three choices: off-site, on-site “official,” and on-site Disney. We’ll begin by protecting the Disney resorts. These are Disney’s Ambassador Hotel, Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Hotel MiraCosta, and Toy Story Hotel. They are all very expensive. If you could have the cash, think about an evening or two at Hotel MiraCosta or Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. We’ve stayed at each, and they’re two of probably the most unforgettable resort experiences we’ve ever had.
If you’re approaching them solely from a cost-benefit or worth perspective, it’s troublesome to justify any of the Disney resorts. Their huge benefit is location, and that’s largest by way of the view out of your room (which may be into the park at each Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and Hotel MiraCosta) and never from entry, because the on-site official resorts are additionally situated on the monorail loop and now have theme park views in some instances.
Is it value doubtlessly $200-300/evening extra than the official resorts for that view into the park? Probably not, except cash is not any problem otherwise you’re viewing this as a as soon as in a lifetime journey.
As for the on-site official resorts, these are resorts which are on the monorail loop, and sometimes supply massive, Western lodging, and are reasonably priced given the circumstances. Many examine very favorably to a Walt Disney World Deluxe resort. Large, good rooms. Cinderella Castle or ocean views. Location on the monorail loop. All for $130-180/evening, more often than not. (Prices do spike for these resorts sure occasions of 12 months and on the final minute, so e-book early.)
Finally, there are the off-site resorts, which we don’t advocate. There’s nothing unsuitable with lots of the off-site resorts, however they’re a extra unknown amount with rooms that may sometimes skew in direction of small, Japanese lodging. Plus, most of the ones closest to Tokyo Disney Resort are overpriced contemplating what they provide.
There’s additionally the factor of attending to and from the parks on public transportation, which is usually a actual problem. Public transportation can be utilized by enterprise individuals and college students across the identical time you’ll be heading to the parks, making it chaotic.
If it’s essential to keep off-site as a result of the on-site resorts or full, or since you’re on a good finances, we extremely advocate doing an Airbnb rental as an alternative…
We have a publish that discusses our Tips for Using Airbnb in case you’re unfamiliar with the service. We’ve used it quite a few occasions in Japan, close to Tokyo Disney Resort in addition to in Kyoto and Osaka. We sometimes apply it to Friday and Saturday nights close to Tokyo Disney Resorts, as resort charges sometimes skyrocket for these nights.
When we’re touring all through Japan however aren’t at Tokyo Disney Resort, we want Airbnb to reserving resorts as a result of it offers us the choice for a a lot bigger room, normally a whole condominium. Japanese resort rooms (that aren’t Western chains) are typically very small, and utilizing Airbnb is one of the simplest ways to keep away from this problem.
Plus, the worth is normally cheaper than a resort room, and Airbnb hosts typically embody free MiFi so you need to use the web on the go. We’ve had some enjoyable experiences staying at distinctive Airbnb areas all through Japan, too. (The picture above is from an Airbnb we rented in Japan that was transformed from a bar downstairs.)
Attraction Strategy
Even when you go at a less-busy time of 12 months, we advocate arriving at both park half-hour earlier than it opens on your first couple of days. There will already be a protracted line (or traces) to get inside if you get there, so don’t be alarmed. Once you get inside, stroll briskly (or run calmly) on your first trip of the day.
This is roofed within the technique guides above, but it surely’s good to reiterate. Once you knock out the principle headliners, you may take the ‘sleep in and go late’ method, on subsequent days when you so want–however your first day in every park it is best to arrive previous to opening.
We’ve already written in depth attraction guides for each parks, so there’s no level in rehashing these right here. Those guides comprise technique in addition to evaluations of the sights. There might be only a few sights you’ll need to skip in Tokyo DisneySea, maybe extra in Tokyo Disneyland (the place there are extra clones). Here are these guides:
Refurbishments are frequent at Tokyo Disney Resort, so ensure you seek the advice of the 2023 Tokyo Disney Resort Refurbishment Calendar earlier than reserving. It’s good for about 6 months out, so it might not be of a lot assist. Much just like the US Disney Parks Blog, Tokyo has an official Parks Blog the place information on seasonal happenings and different stuff is posted.
Where to Eat
Dining at Tokyo Disney Resort is a large matter unto itself, and this information is already getting actually lengthy, so this may simply cowl the fundamentals. First, for particular eating places, be sure to take a look at our Tokyo Disney Resort Restaurant Reviews.
We have particular person evaluations from each Tokyo Disney Resort restaurant, plus restaurant rankings for each parks. We’ve eaten at each single restaurant within the parks, plus many within the resorts and Ikspiari, so that ought to assist.
Snacking needs to be an enormous a part of your journey. The price of this may rapidly add up, but it surely’s an integral a part of the Tokyo expertise. We have posts on Awesome Tokyo Disneyland Snacks and Awesome Tokyo DisneySea Snacks you could take a look at to get some concepts. Tokyo Disney Resort has some loopy popcorn flavors, and so they’re undoubtedly value making an attempt so you may kind your personal opinion.
We additionally like stopping for full meals. In our expertise, Tokyo Disneyland is the place to do counter service and Tokyo DisneySea is the place to do desk service (its counter service choices are additionally good, although). Both parks have some actually superb eating places which are experiences in themselves.
The Tokyo parks have a popularity for small portion sizes and excessive costs, however that’s hit and miss. Portions may be small, however they aren’t all the time. We suppose costs are similar to the US parks for counter service meals (for related portion sizes and high quality), and desk service is cheaper at Tokyo Disney Resort. There’s no tipping (and it’s a strict rule–they received’t allow you to tip) in Japan, which performs an element within the value variations.
If you do plan on doing desk service, know that eating places typically are absolutely booked prematurely. Unfortunately, the one option to make eating reservations is by the Tokyo Disney Resort web site (in Japanese) or by emailing the resort if you’re staying at a Disney-owned resort.
As talked about above, substitutions should not a ‘thing’ in Tokyo, neither is accommodating these with particular dietary wants or preferences. If you’re a vegetarian, eating within the Tokyo parks might be a problem, as there are restricted vegetarian menus. If you could have different restrictions or preferences, you will have an much more troublesome time.
Neither of us are vegetarians so we’ve got no first hand expertise on this regard, however we’ve heard tales from others. Fortunately, Tokyo Disney Resort has a listing of eating places that may accommodate company with particular dietary wants. Here it’s for Tokyo Disneyland, and for Tokyo DisneySea. If you’re a vegetarian, the buffets are your only option, however vegetarian choices at counter service eating places are beginning to develop into extra frequent.
Shopping
Merchandise at Tokyo Disney Resort may be very totally different from what you’ll discover at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Instead of things with the park logos or attraction names, most gadgets at Tokyo Disney Resort are character-themed or kawaii. Depending upon who you ask, Tokyo both has one of the best or worst merchandise of any Disney vacation spot on the planet.
Our Guide to Tokyo Disneyland Merchandise offers you an concept of what to anticipate as a way to plan accordingly and modify your expectations and finances. It’s value noting that in the previous couple of years, Tokyo has elevated the quantity of emblem merchandise and both issues interesting to broader tastes. We’ve discovered ourselves “embracing the kawaii” of Tokyo Disney Resort’s merchandise increasingly, but it surely’s undoubtedly an acquired style that isn’t for everybody.
On your arrival or departure day, think about visiting Ikspiari, which is a eating, purchasing, and leisure complicated situated inside strolling distance of Tokyo Disneyland, the JR Maihama railway station, and with its personal monorail station. It’s Japan’s tackle the Downtown Disney idea.
Ikspiari has over 150 eating places and retail retailers, the highlights of which we cowl in our Shopping Guide to Ikspiari at Tokyo Disney Resort. Note that whereas we referred to Ikspiari as Tokyo Disney Resort’s twist on Downtown Disney, it’s decidedly not Disney. Oriental Land Company purposefully developed Ikspiari with out Disney branding to keep away from paying licensing charges.
For those that are huge into purchasing and need to do a few of that in Japan, we’d encourage you to take action in Tokyo correct. Literally each main prepare or subway station in Tokyo has an above or underground labyrinth of retail and eating. Highlights may be discovered within the stylish storefronts of Ginza and Roppongi Hills, and the otaku gadgets of Asakusa and Harajuku.
However, none of those locations might be as compelling for Disney followers as Nakano Broadway, which is filled with second-hand shops that cater to collectors and geeks, together with Disney followers! We go to Nakano Broadway often to purchase nice Tokyo Disney Resort collectibles. For extra information & ideas, see our Shopping Guide to Nakano Broadway on our non-Disney weblog, TravelCaffeine.com.
Flights & Transportation
Flights to Tokyo from the United States are 10+ hours, which is lots of time within the air. Fortunately, the bigger planes used for these flights are far more snug than your regular planes used for home flights. Complimentary in-flight leisure (together with the newest motion pictures and tv reveals) additionally makes issues simpler.
If you understand your journey dates and haven’t any flexibility as to if you journey, we advocate ITA Software to seek for flights. ITA is one of the simplest ways to search out the bottom costs on airfare for set dates of journey. Either HND or NRT will work as arrival airports. HND is situated nearer to the town middle, whereas NRT is (barely) nearer to Tokyo Disney Resort, however farther from downtown.
If you’re within the preliminary phases of researching your flight, use fare alerts on Airfarewatchdog.com. You can set some parameters for the alerts right here (though not as many as I’d like) and obtain e mail updates once they deem costs to be low.
Airfare costs are all the time altering and are extremely dependent upon metropolis of origin, time of 12 months, and so forth., however with round-trip airfare out of Los Angeles to Tokyo repeatedly within the <$600 vary, your full airfare package deal ought to price beneath $1,000/particular person when you put effort into choosing the proper occasions to journey. If you’re reserving on the final minute or don’t do any work to search out offers, the sky is the restrict on the higher finish of airfare pricing.
If you’re on the lookout for a option to get extra bang on your buck, you need to use it so as to add stopovers to go to a number of areas. We cowl this in our “How to Visit 3 Disney Destinations on 1 Airfare” publish. It may appear difficult at first, however it’s effectively value studying that publish and figuring it out. That publish covers the right way to incorporate Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney Resort right into a single journey.
That covers airfare. Now for utilizing floor transportation in Japan…
Out of all the cities on the planet we’ve visited, Tokyo has by far probably the most difficult transportation community. This ought to come as no shock, because it’s the world’s largest metropolis. However, enhancements to Google Maps since we’ve began visiting have made this a breeze. (Google now has crowd predictions for trains at totally different occasions of day, and recommends sure ones to take!)
To get from both Tokyo airport to Tokyo Disney Resort, it’s comparatively straightforward. You simply take the Airport Limousine Bus, which you catch outdoors the airport after buying your ticket close to the exit at a desk or the ticketing machine. It’s costlier than public transit, however simpler and direct. Note that whereas this bus runs repeatedly, its schedule typically stops round 5 p.m. Here’s the full schedule to TDR from Narita. If your flight arrives into Tokyo after 4 p.m., it is best to most likely take a look at different choices.
If you’re getting in actually late, the simplest various is a taxi. These are ready outdoors the airport and simple to search out. The draw back is value. Our understanding is that the price of a taxi to a Tokyo Disney Resort space resort from Narita is $200.
The least expensive various is to make use of public transportation. It’s intimidating at first, as Japan’s public transportation system may be very complicated, however we finally have had no points and it’s a comparatively simple route from the airports to Tokyo Disney Resort. Just use Google Maps.
Getting round Tokyo Disney Resort, you’ll need to take the monorail. It prices cash, but it surely’s environment friendly, dependable, and clear. (That all would possibly sound weird to Walt Disney World followers…particularly the “reliable” half!) There are additionally Resort Cruisers, that are buses, which are freed from cost. Just pay the minor payment for the monorail except you could have a big celebration. It’s enjoyable and completely value it. Walking can be an possibility, though it may be convoluted to get to Tokyo DisneySea.
Phone/Internet
There are three good choices for this: renting a SIM card, renting a pocket WiFi/MiFi, or utilizing your service as regular. We now use T-Mobile and easily use that as there’s no further cost to make use of our information in Japan. It runs a bit slower, however we’ve discovered it completely usable for normal web searching. It’s turning into extra frequent for mobile suppliers to supply worldwide day passes which are comparably priced to MiFi, so take a look at that.
Renting a SIM card is a good possibility for some individuals, however we actually appreciated the MiFi rental for our journeys previous to switching to T-Mobile. For these unfamiliar with the machine, it’s principally a pocket WiFi hotspot, offering you with limitless LTE web. MiFi/Pocket WiFi rental is fairly straightforward. You merely select what number of days you need to hire, what number of units, and specify at which airport you’ll need to choose it up. Here’s a comparatively cheap and dependable possibility for MiFi rental.
We advocate renting one MiFi per particular person in your group, so you may talk when you separate. If you’ll not–beneath any circumstances–separate, simply get one MiFi. A single MiFi can deal with just a few telephones on it concurrently. We extremely advocate renting prematurely of your journey. If you wait till you arrive and easily choose one up from the retailers on the airport or at a comfort retailer, costs are larger and information is often restricted.
While the web can typically be spotty in Tokyo DisneySea, the MiFi general is de facto dependable. We’ve used it repeatedly for iMessage for speaking with each other, e mail, Dropbox, and even importing to YouTube. Most importantly, having the MiFi gave us the flexibility to make use of Google Maps on our telephones for public transportation, and this was an enormous lifesaver.
There is not any publicly-available WiFi web at Tokyo Disney Resort, besides on the entrance to every park. Free public WiFi is rare in Japan. (By distinction, it’s quite common in Hong Kong, when you’re going to each.)
Money/Credit Cards
Tokyo Disney Resort (and most Japanese retailers) accepts commonplace US magnetic strip bank cards, or chipped bank cards. Chipped playing cards aren’t required. With the parks, Tokyo Disney Resort accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. (If you’re making an attempt to pre-book one thing on-line, you’ll want a bank card issued in Japan or a Mastercard. Even then, it may be a painful course of.)
If you want an ATM, there are two at Tokyo Disney Resort that settle for American Visa debit playing cards. One is within the basement of Ikspiari close to the meals court docket, and the opposite is within the foyer of the Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel Club Resort (pictured above). If you’re staying at one of many official resorts on the monorail loop, the second location goes to be much more handy to you. Typically, you do not want to hold money at Tokyo Disney Resort, however you would possibly want it within the metropolis of Tokyo.
Other Resources
For basic journey recommendation to Japan, we’ve got one other weblog: TravelCaffeine.com, the place we share our non-Disney experiences. We have written extensively about our favourite metropolis on the planet: Kyoto, Japan on TravelCaffeine. Kyoto has one thing for everybody, and affords quite a bit by way of Japanese tradition and historical past. As talked about above, our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan additionally supplies a wealth of planning info.
If you’re additionally visiting the Hong Kong or Shanghai parks, be sure to seek the advice of our Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planning Guide and our Shanghai Disneyland Trip Planning Guide. There’s much more you’ll have to know for these visits!
There’s much more we might embody on this information, however that is already the longest publish on the weblog to this point, so let’s minimize it off there. We will certainly add to this based mostly on frequent questions, and I’m very happy to supply help and recommendation within the feedback when you’ve got questions. Want to see extra pictures or examine Tokyo Disney Resort in agonizing element? Check out our Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Report from our very first go to to Japan, after we too have been newbies!
Your Thoughts
Planning a visit to Japan is lots of work, but it surely’s finally effectively well worth the effort! Hopefully this information supplies an excellent leaping off level. If you’ve visited Tokyo Disney Resort, do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions? Hearing your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!