We call it the Japan effect. While I usually groan when my half Japanese husband jokes about things being better in Japan, I do have to hand it to him, sometimes they just are. Just look at what they’ve done with public transport, convenience store food, KitKats… and to this list I’d have to add theme parks.
Tokyo Disneyland, like its counterparts in California and Florida, is busy. It consistently ranks in the top five of the most visited theme parks in the world (and queues are part of the deal). But it just makes sense. It’s super manageable, outrageously clean and crazy kawaii (cute). And with a little luck and some solid planning, you can experience the best of the park and fewer of some of the world’s most orderly (and polite) queues.
Just a note that our Tokyo itinerary didn’t hinge on Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, they were a fun add-on. But Tokyo Disneyland is not an attraction you can just casually book. You really do need a plan.
A place to stay
Accommodation, if booked direct and without a travel agent, at any of Tokyo Disney Resort’s six official hotels, its four partner hotels, and even its ‘good neighbour’ hotels can be a mission — especially if you’re booking either too early or too late. There’s a four-month sweet spot.
Bookings at an official Tokyo Disney Resort Hotel can be made from 11:00 am UTC on the day four months before your stay. And trust me, people set alarms to get a room — especially for busy periods (like when we go).
But there is an alternative. We are staying at the Mimaru Apartment Hotel Tokyo Station East. Located close to Tokyo Metro Hatchobori Station (a two-minute walk), Kayabacho Station (a three-minute walk), and Tokyo Station (a 14-minute walk), it offers super convenient access to Tokyo’s airports, its Shinkansen and other Tokyo-based sightseeing. And for Disneyland-goers, it’s on the JR Keiyo line.
We simply walk to Hatchobori Station, jump on a JR train to Maihama station, and after a super short walk (6-10 minutes) we’re at Tokyo Disneyland. We’re only on the train for about ten minutes.
It’s incredibly convenient and the aesthetic of Mimaru Tokyo Station East is refreshingly non-Disney after days in the park. For those who go for the rides more than the shows, there’s nothing better than soaking the day off in a traditional Japanese bath – sans Mickey Mouse.
Know what you like
None of us are really into the shows and even the cutesy Disney food and merch. We are in the park for the rides. That means prioritising accordingly.
With shows, shopping and even eating (more on this later) out of the equation, we can focus on the rides. We know that when the shows are on, for instance, we can aim for the rides with the longest lines.
But this is stuff you know. Here’s what you may not.
Download the app
Before you arrive in the park, where WiFi spots are not guaranteed, download the Tokyo Disney Resort App. If you’ve forgotten, or arrived in Japan the night before as we did, there is WiFi at the Starbucks at Maihama station. We use this to purchase e-sims to ensure that we can sort out priority passes etc (more on this below) while in the park.
We’ve bought Tokyo Disney Ticket 2-Day Passes from Klook because it was easier navigating Klook’s site than Tokyo Disney’s and we had a promotional code. Also, according to reviews, there can be issues with using some foreign credit cards (especially if using e-sims) when booking directly.
We scan our tickets from Klook into the Tokyo Disney Resort app (this is a two-phone process) and we’re good to go through the gates. And trust me, when everyone else is lining up and you skip the long queues, you’ll thank Klook for making the process as easy as it is.
To monorail or not
From Maihama station, there’s no need to take the monorail if you’re going to Tokyo Disneyland. The park entrance is just a short walk from the station.
If you’re going to DisneySea, the monorail is a must – especially for the journey home. You can buy one-way, return or all-day tickets. All-day tickets are useful if you intend to leave the park and return to it during the day. This could be helpful if you want to have lunch outside of the park or if you’re going in summer and want to cool down off-site in the middle of the day. You also get to hold on to the Mickey and Minnie-inspired tickets as cute souvenirs.
Priority passes and Premier Access
As soon as you’re scanned through the gates and I mean AS SOON AS, make use of the priority passes and premier access. These passes let you skip the bulk of the queues for certain rides that normally have incredibly long lines. But the passes sell out and people get to the park as early as possible to start using them.
Once you make the first booking, you can make another booking after a certain time has elapsed or after you use the first booked ride, whichever comes first.
For a limited time, Tokyo Disney Resort has a 40th Anniversary Priority Pass which allows you to book times for the following rides:
- Haunted Mansion
- Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek!
- Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
- Space Mountain
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
- Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
- Big Thunder Mountain
Pooh’s Hunny Hunt is unique to Tokyo Disneyland and pretty cute so we make sure we use a pass for that.
Lines at Haunted Mansion are always long so it’s good to use a pass here too. Essentially, you just want to play it by ear. We use it for rides in which the line looks to be longer than 20-30 minutes, such as Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.
The same pass can be used at DisneySea for:
- Nemo & Friends SeaRider
- Turtle Talk
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- The Magic Lamp Theatre
- Raging Spirits
- Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull
Two of our favourite rides are Raging Spirits and Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull and we would have used this pass on these rides all day if we could have. I wouldn’t have wasted the passes on the other rides — especially as there are few lines for these as the day progresses.
Disney Premier Access can get you onto the following rides at Tokyo Disneyland (for a fee):
- Splash Mountain
- The Happy Ride with Baymax
- Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast
Both The Happy Ride with Baymax and The Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast are only at Tokyo Disneyland and are definitely worth using your pass. And Splash Mountain turns out to be our daughter’s favourite ride in the park.
At DisneySea, the Disney Premier Access will get you onto the following rides:
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth
- Toy Story Mania!
- Tower of Terror
- Soaring: Fantastic Flight
My daughter could ride Journey to the Centre of the Earth all day so we use the pass on this. And while we would have loved to get on Soaring, it was the only ride we couldn’t either bear the wait or get a pass for. Tower of Terror was nixed by my non-drop-loving hubby.
You can also use the passes to nab a prime viewing spot for the parades and shows but as mentioned we’re in Tokyo Disney for the rides so save our passes for these.
There are other booking availabilities for shopping and eating, but again, neither of these is a big deal for us so we don’t bother with either.
What to eat at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea
Given that Japanese convenience stores are among my favourite restaurants, we had loaded our bags up with nigiri, sandos, and pretty much anything that took our fancy (these were our first few days in Japan, so that meant half the store) before entering the park. We eat (discreetly) in longer lines despite knowing that eating while walking is usually frowned upon in Japanese culture. But needs must.
It doesn’t help that we’re vegos. There aren’t a tonne of options for us in the restaurants on site but we are tempted by the popcorn.
Popcorn in Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea is a thing. People seem to madly collect the novelty popcorn buckets too. None of the ones on sale on our visit appeal, but I’ve seen older versions that are cute.
And because this is both Tokyo and Disneyland, this is not just your average salted popcorn, there’s matcha white chocolate, garlic shrimp, soy sauce and butter, pepper, salty caramel, chocolate…and the best popcorn flavour ever: curry popcorn!! If you eat nothing else in the park, eat this and then go back and eat it again.
The other things we eat are the peach and raspberry-flavoured Minnie Ice Bar and tropical-flavoured Mickey Ice Bar. These are 300 yen each and are vegan and vegetarian-friendly.
The only thing we wanted to eat, but don’t is the famous green alien mochi which my mochi-loving daughter mourns. The lines were just too long.
Overall, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are for us two great (and long) days in Japan. Our first day in Tokyo Disneyland isn’t as crowded as expected as it’s a weekday and the weather looked grim in the morning (though got much better). Our next day in DisneySea seems more crowded, but the crowds are polite and things just work well. Just keep in mind that the rides are more thrilling in DisneySea and we spend more time in this park than in Tokyo Disneyland. But that could also be because we found the curry popcorn here.