Although I am sure we would have loved it, we did not have time to visit Tokyo Disneyland both times we were in Tokyo with kids. Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea Tokyo are unlike any of the other Disney properties in the world. Guest blogger Erica Riley gives us a Disneyland Tokyo review and 7 Disneyland Tokyo tips to make the most of your visit.
Tokyo Disneyland is not like any other Disney park in the world. It requires a lot more planning, and there are a number of huge Tokyo Disneyland mistakes you can easily make. Among other Disneyland Tokyo tips, purchase your Disneyland Tokyo tickets online, visit Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari, and don’t miss the Disneyland Tokyo Parade! Most importantly, with a Tokyo Disneyland Fastpass, you can skip the epic lines on the rides at Tokyo Disneyland.
If you’re willing to follow these Disneyland Tokyo tips, you’ll have a much better Disney experience in Japan.
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7 Tokyo Disneyland Tips
Tokyo Disney Resort is made up of two parks: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Tokyo Disneyland is the classic castle park and Tokyo DisneySea is unlike any other Disney park in the world.
Excellent Disneyland Tokyo reviews rate it the best theme park in the world, and it is easy to see why once you’ve been there!
Buy Disneyland Tokyo tickets online to save time and money.
Disneyland Tokyo Tickets Online
The Tokyo Disneyland ticket system is unnecessarily complicated. There are a number of rules you have to follow, and they impact how easily you can move between parks.
One of the worst Tokyo Disneyland mistakes you can make is not buying the the right Disneyland Tokyo tickets.
You can purchase either a 1, 2, 3, or 4 day park ticket.
On days 1 and 2, you have to choose between Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea, and you can only visit the park you chose. You can’t park hop between Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
Whether you choose to visit Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea on days 1 and 2 is printed on the back of your ticket. You can change between Disneyland or DisneySea Tokyo on each day by visiting guest services at the park entrance. There is a small fee for changing your selection, so it is best to know what park you want to visit on each day and stick to your plan.
You have more freedom on days 3 and 4. You can feely hop between Disneyland or DisneySea Tokyo as much as you want on the last two days.
Fantasyland, one of the themed lands at Tokyo Disneyland (Image credit: Erica Riley)
A lot of people don’t visit Tokyo Disney Resort for multiple days, so the ticket rules force you to make difficult decisions about when to visit Tokyo Disneyland vs Disney Sea.
There are a number of unique rides, characters, and shows that are worth experiencing. Tokyo Disneyland has a number of unique and award-winning attractions as well, but they are not worth skipping Tokyo DisneySea to experience.
If you have 2 days, start at Tokyo Disneyland and visit Tokyo DisneySea on your second day.
Use FASTPASS Tokyo Disneyland
Both parks are extremely busy every day of the year. Having a Disneyland Tokyo FASTPASS strategy is an essential part of any Tokyo Disneyland trip.
You won’t get a lot done without the strategic use of FASTPASS Tokyo Disneyland tickets.
Both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea have star attractions, and their FASTPASS distribution ends in the first couple of hours.
You want to get a FASTPASS for them first or else spend hours waiting for the rides at Disneyland Tokyo.
Tokyo Disneyland Tips
At Tokyo Disneyland, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek are the most popular attractions with Tokyo Disneyland wait times to match.
A Fastpass Tokyo Disneyland will speed things along at Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (Image credit: Erica Riley
You won’t be able to get a FASTPASS for both unless you’re the luckiest person on the planet. Choose one, get a FASTPASS for it as soon as you enter the park, and then wait in the regular queue for the other.
Tokyo DisneySea Tips
At Tokyo DisneySea, Toy Story Mania!, Soaring: Fantastic Flight, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and Nemo and Friends SeaRider are the quickest to run out of Fastpass Disneyland tickets.
Toy Story Mania! and Soaring: Fantastic Flight are the exact same as in other Disney parks. If you’ve ridden them before, you should focus on Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Nemo and Friends SeaRider. Both are unique rides at Tokyo DisneySea and hugely popular attractions.
The DisneySea Fastpass for Nemo and Friends SeaRider goes quicker than Journey to the Centre of the Earth. It is best to get a DisneySea FASTPASS for it first thing in the morning because there is a solid chance you can get a DisneySea FASTPASS for Journey to the Centre of the Earth later in the morning.
No matter what rides you want to go on, it is essential to have FASTPASS Disneyland tickets before entering Disneyland or DisneySea Tokyo.
Your day will be wasted standing in lines for rides at Disneyland Tokyo without the Disneyland Tokyo Fastpass!
Disneyland or DisneySea Tokyo
If you only have one day to visit Tokyo Disney Resort, it is impossible to visit both parks.
Ideally, you can plan your Tokyo vacation to allow for two days at Tokyo Disney Resort, so yo can experience both parks.
Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea and completely different from one another. Tokyo Disneyland has a number of rides, parades, and shows that can’t be found at any other Disney park.
Things also move slower at Tokyo Disney parks, Tokyo Disneyland wait times are long and you don’t get as much done in a day as at other parks. You likely won’t leave feeling like you had the complete experience if you have to choose betweenTokyo Disneyland vs Disney Sea.
Assuming you’re a Disney fan, it is worthwhile to arrange your Tokyo schedule to allow for at least 2 days at Tokyo Disney Resort. Although more days allows you to see and do everything in the parks, 2 days is a great way to experience the highlights without taking too much time away from everything else Tokyo has to offer.
Disneyland Tokyo Parade and Shows
Skipping the Disneyland Tokyo parade and shows is one of the biggest mistakes you can make!
Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are known for their elaborate parades, shows, and costumes.
People wait in line for a long time to catch a glimpse of the Tokyo Disneyland Parade (Image credit: Erica Riley)
Tokyo Disneyland Shows are so popular that you have to win a lottery to see many of the shows. People even start waiting for a Disneyland Tokyo parade 90 minutes before the start!
Both the Tokyo Disneyland Shows and the Disneyland Tokyo parades are taken very seriously, and the guests love it!
DisneySea Shows
Tokyo DisneySea doesn’t have parades, but they have DisneySea shows around the Mediterranean Harbour. There are stages at the front and on both sides of the water. The characters move from stage to stage, so you see all the characters no matter where you’re watching from.
DisneySea shows happen at the Mediterranian Harbor at DisneySea (Image credit: Erica Riley)
One of the best parts of entertainment at Tokyo Disney Resort is you get to see so many rare characters!
Clarice, Max, Gepetto, Scrouge McDuck, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie are just a few of the rare characters you can see.
Tokyo DisneySea is also home to Duffy and Friends who you can only see at the Asian Disney parks and Aulani.
If you like Disney characters, watching the shows and parades are a must at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea!
Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari
Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari is a multi-story shopping and dining district at the front of Tokyo Disney Resort.
It is often overlooked because people want to spend all the time they can in the parks. That is a huge mistake though!
Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari (Image credit: Erica Riley)
Disneyland Tokyo Food
Ikspiari has some of the best food at Tokyo Disney Resort. There are table service restaurants serving everything from American hamburgers to sushi and quick service restaurants. There is even a food court and grocery store on the basement level!
Not only does Ikspiari have some of the best Tokyo Disneyland food, but also some of the most affordable and accessible food, especially when it comes to table service dining.
It is extremely difficult to get a reservation for the restaurants in Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland restaurants fill up months in advance, and only recently were you able to make reservation online in a language other than Japanese.
Trying to get a stand-by table service meal at the restaurants in Tokyo Disneyland is even more difficult. Tokyo Disneyland wait times for restaurants are as long as wait times for rides at Disneyland Tokyo.
That isn’t the case at Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari. You can often get a table with little to no wait.
Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari is, of course, busier on weekends and holidays, so you might have to wait half an hour. But it is still a lot easier than trying to get a table at Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea.
Tokyo Disneyland Merchandise
The shops at Ikspiari range from the Disney Store to high-end fashion boutiques. You can find basically any Tokyo Disneyland merch you’re looking for there.
And if you want to relax and watch a movie, you can do that at Ikspiari too! Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari is the perfect place to get away from the parks and relax for a while.
Tokyo Disneyland Food
Don’t make the mistake of not eating all the Tokyo Disneyland snacks you can find.
Tokyo Disney Resort is famous for its incredible and unique snack foods. You need to go to the parks hungry and ready to eat! There are so many incredible Tokyo Disneyland snacks to try, it is difficult to choose what to prioritize.
Unique and delicious snacks can be found in every land. There are sandwiches, mochi, donuts, cakes, and most importantly popcorn.
Popcorn carts in each land offer different flavours of popcorn. From curry to chocolate, they are impossible to resist.
The Tokyo Disneyland snacks on offer change constantly and with each new holiday and season.
Tokyo Disneyland food is always new and exciting, and you never quite know what you’ll stumble on.
A park guide shows you where you can purchase the special seasonal Tokyo Disneyland food. A lot of the times it is only sold at one or two places, so it really helps to have a copy of the park guide handy to reference.
But that isn’t the case with Tokyo Disneyland snacks! Outside of the sandwiches, most Tokyo Disneyland snacks are vegetarian. They are mostly sugary desserts, but they are a great way for vegetarians to participate in the hype surrounding Tokyo Disney food.
No matter what your food preferences, you’ll leave Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DinseySea full. There is no shortage of snack foods to try!
Also, get the melon Fanta. It is life changing and only in Japan.
Tokyo Disneyland Accommodation
One of the biggest Tokyo Disneyland mistakes you can make is with Tokyo Disneyland accommodation.
If you’re spending more than 1 day in the parks, staying at a partner hotel is essential.
There are a number of partner hotels located along the monorail loop, and they are the best options for Tokyo Disneyland accommodation. They are close to the parks and cut down on your transportation time.
It can take over an hour to get from downtown Tokyo to Tokyo Disneyland.
Since Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are always so busy, it is best practice to get to the parks early and be one of the first into the parks.
Tokyo Disneyland Accommodation in the Disney park itself is a time saver.
You should aim to be in line at least an hour before the park opens. That may sound extreme, but being early is one of the best ways to make sure you get a lot done in the parks.
The lines start to get extremely long (at least a hundred people deep) 45 to 30 minutes before the park opens. You want to beat that crowd!
The partner hotels are expensive, but if you have the budget, it is worthwhile to splurge on Tokyo Disneyland accommodation. The convenience and ease of access to the parks is well worth the price.
The Hilton Tokyo Bay is your best option. It is one of the most affordable, closest to the monorail, and has 3 great restaurants to eat at if you don’t want to eat in the parks or at Tokyo Disneyland Ikspiari.
Disneyland Tokyo Review
With these Tokyo Disneyland tips and Tokyo DisneySea tips, you will avoid the mistakes that newbies to Tokyo Disneyland make.
The pre-planning and strategy for Tokyo Disneyland is worth the effort. You get to ride so many more attractions and experience more of the parks when you are armed with a Tokyo DisneySea Fastpass, Tokyo Disneyland Fastpass, stay at a partner hotel for your Tokyo Disneyland accommodation, and know what Disneyland Tokyo parades, Tokyo Disneyland shows and DisneySea shows you want to watch.
Tokyo Disney Resort is home to 2 of the best theme parks in the world. They are hugely popular with both tourists and locals, so these Tokyo Disneyland tips will certainly enhance your trip!
Erica Riley
About the Blogger: Erica Riley is an avid solo traveler who has been to over 40 countries. She loves spending long periods of time in each country to get a sense of the country and culture. Erica’s favourite travel activities include attending local theatre and dance performances, wandering through museums, eating way too much food, and riding every rollercoaster she comes across.
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7 great travel tips for your trip to Tokyo Disneyland including where to get the best Tokyo Disneyland food, what Tokyo Disneyland merchandise to buy and whcih Tokyo Disneyland hotel is the best value for ease of access. Also included are tips for which Tokyo Disneyland rides are the best, how far in advance you need to wait in line for a Tokyo Disneyland parade and information on DisneySea Tokyo (a Disney attraction unique to Tokyo). Disney vacation planning means the best family vacation!
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