If you could pick one restaurant...

[DrPooh]

Hi all! My husband and I will be in Tokyo Disneyland for one day in April. We are going to Tokyo for other reasons, but we are squeezing one day in where we can. Our plan is to do both parks in one day (I know it is crazy, but I'd rather see as much as we can than to not do it at all...) Anyway, if you had to choose one sit-down restaurant over all of the others for dinner that day, which one would it be? It can be in either park or one of the resort hotels. I am leaning towards the SS Columbia dining room just based on my research, but I would love some input from folks who've already been.

Thanks so much!
Amy

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

Hi DrPooh!
Are you really sure you want to do both parks in one day? I really recommend doing it on a week day and checking the crowd calender before doing so. Probably you should start the day in TDL grab a Monsters FP run to Pooh do what ever else you would do there and get out as early as possible to enjoy TDS. Instead of SS Columbia I would have dinner at Magellans and try to get priority seating for the hidden wine cellar. When are you going? If Fantasmic has already started showing do dinner at Oceano so you can see the show from the balcony without having to camp out!

 

[DrPooh]

Hello! Thanks for your quick response! We are going on Monday April 18th, which I understand is during a slow time relatively speaking. I really wish I had two days to spend, but we are only in Japan for 8 nights and our schedule is packed. This is actually meant to be our ultimate baseball roadtrip, as we are going to 6 different baseball stadiums in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Osaka. That Monday is an off day in the Japan League, which is why we have that day for Disneyland.

From what I understand, TDL is fairly similar to WDW's Magic Kingdom ride-wise. I've been to the Magic Kingdom more times than I can count, so things like Splash Mountain that may have long lines we can really just skip. My goal there is really more to walk around and just soak it in, follow the paths to see what's around the corner. I do intend to ride the Pooh ride since I've heard so much about it

I was thinking maybe of starting the day at TDS and heading right for things like JTTCOTE, Indiana Jones, and the ride I am most eagerly waiting for--The Tower of Terror. The Florida version is my favorite amusement park ride ever. Then I thought of heading to TDL mid-day, watching the Electric Light Parade, and either finishing the night there, or heading back to TDS to catch one or two more attractions we may have missed.

I guess I'm at that age now at 37, with no kids to entertain, that the rides themselves aren't quite as important to me as just appreciating the parks themselves--the architecture, the landscaping, the cast members...I know our time there will not feel like enough, but I'm happy to have even that one day.

By the way, I've been trying to find a crowd calendar for TDL but I can't seem to track one down. Do you know of one you could direct me to?

Thanks so much!
Amy

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

This is one of the crowd calenders:
Crowd Calender

It will be Easter at TDL and the 10th anniversary will have started at TDS so it's a pretty fun time to go. I still recommend TDL early in the day and catch the Easter parade then going to TDS sometime in the afternoon into the evening especially if you are interested in atmosphere and park design. For dinner I still say go with Oceano close to show time either buffet or course menu is fine.