Changes to Japan itinerary

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We got back from 2 weeks in Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima a few months ago (on our own not ABD). But we did check out the ABD iteniary to see what they had incase we wanted to add on something to our trip.

In Kyoto some of the highlights we hit not on the ABD tour were:
Iwatayama Monkey Park (this is somewhat near the bamboo groves in Arashiyama). It was so neat wandering around with the monkeys.
Fushimi Inari Taisha - I know your tour goes there, but I'm assuming it's during the day. We did it both at night and during the day. It is so neat at night. But very busy, you just have to start walking up the trail and slowly the crowds will disappear.
Nishiki Market - lots of food stalls and shops (Pokemon store and Nintendo store are also somewhat in this area)
Kinkaku-Ji Temple (Golden Pavilion)
Ginkaku-Ji Temple (Silver Pavilion)
One of our days in Kyoto we did the Sky Hop Bus (a HOHO bus), it was able to hit some outlying attractions that weren't as easily accessible on the subway.
Osaka - does the tour no longer go there? I thought it used to. Dontonbori is neat at night with all the lights, lots of street food vendors, restaurants and shops. Easy train ride between the 2 cities.

I saw some recommendations for Himeji Castle. We did that as well en-route between Kyoto and Hiroshima. It was OK since we were passing right through on the Shinkansen and we were able to stop for about 5 hours. I don't know that it would be worth it to dedicate a trip just there. But we were also getting castled out by that time as already toured Osaka Castle, Hiroshima Castle and still had Ni-Jo Castle (Kyoto) to go.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

S

I didn't travel with AbD, but I did a vacation package. There are pros and cons to doing that vs a normal hotel reservation. Pros are that you get a lot of skip the line passes, everything can be booked at once rather than through the app on the day of, and hotel room availability is normally better. Cons are that it doesn't save you any money and the maximum length is 3 days/2 nights, so you'll still need to book additional room nights. I thought it was worth it because I only wanted 3 park days anyway but also wanted to maximize my time with the premier access.

Here's a link to a previous post where I rambled for a minute about the parks: https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-tokyo-june-2025.3954127/post-65844250

We were able to book two unlimited VPs for June, one at MiraCosta and one at the Disneyland Hotel (in the rooms we wanted). Hopefully we'll be able to book the same room types when the room-only reservations become available. The plan is five nights total, alternating between room-only and VPs: We'd spend the morning/afternoon in the city, spend the night at MiraCosta. The first unlimited VP would start the next day (staying the night at MC). We'd switch to the Disneyland Hotel for the third night (room-only reservation), and start our second unlimited VP the next morning. We'll finish out with a room-only reservation on the final night so that we can maximize our time in the parks.

 

[Plutofan]

Tokyo Disney Resort has announced that select Vacation Package plans for July 2025 will be available for booking starting at 3:00 p.m. JST on February 6, 2025. - according to ChatGPT

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

We grabbed 2 1 day unlimited vacation packages for nights 1 and 3. Fingers crossed we can get rooms in the same category for night 2 and then just stay in the same room the whole time.

I don’t understand why Tokyo Disney makes things so freaking complicated!

 

[Plutofan]

We grabbed 2 1 day unlimited vacation packages for nights 1 and 3. Fingers crossed we can get rooms in the same category for night 2 and then just stay in the same room the whole time.

I don’t understand why Tokyo Disney makes things so freaking complicated!

I just booked the same think in July. One night at Disneyland hotel and third night DisneySea hotel. Hoping we can book the other hotels at 4 months out. Good luck.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Out of curiosity why did you decide to book your packages at different hotels? Ease of early access into the respective parks?

For us we are hoping to not have to change rooms. While we can switch nightly, with 5 people (including 2 kids, one being a preteen girl) it’s easier to stay put.

 

[Plutofan]

Out of curiosity why did you decide to book your packages at different hotels? Ease of early access into the respective parks?

For us we are hoping to not have to change rooms. While we can switch nightly, with 5 people (including 2 kids, one being a preteen girl) it’s easier to stay put.

It is the only way to get the 1 night hotel with 2 days unlimited ride access pass for all 4 days. They only offer this pass on 1 night vacation packages.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

It is the only way to get the 1 night hotel with 2 days unlimited ride access pass for all 4 days. They only offer this pass on 1 night vacation packages.

Yes. We booked 2 one night packages but at the same hotel and room type for the same reason.

 

[Plutofan]

Yes. We booked 2 one night packages but at the same hotel and room type for the same reason.

WE wanted to check out the other hotels. Disney will move the luggage for free so hope to do 2 nights at Disneyland hotel. Then when we leave for the park they will move the luggage for free to our Disneysea hotel for the last

 

[Donalyn]

It just really shouldn’t be so hard to book there.

 

[Plutofan]

It just really shouldn’t be so hard to book there.

Just remember it is not owned by Disney. It is run by a Japan company. Also what Japan ABD are you on? We are doing a Nija dinner experience the first night. Making the family do it since it sounds like fun.

 

[Donalyn]

I know who owns it. Still why make it so hard for people to visit your park? From a marketing perspective, just very very odd.

I’m not on the ABD. I just plan at some point to visit all Disney parks worldwide, so have looked into planning a trip a few times and c keep getting frustrated and stop and put a different trip to the top of the list.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I know what you're saying, having gone through this last summer. To be honest, I don't consider it that hard as I do unfamiliar. It's very different from any other resorts we do, including WDW and DL. But once you know their requirements and limitations, it's very doable.

Yes, they have only 1 and 2 night vacation packages, and they only come out about 5 months in advance. And their onsite hotels are very popular and can be tough to book at times and can only be booked 4 months in advance. We went with an approach of booking all the nights we wanted at the Sheraton (also a nice Hyatt, I believe). Then when our opportunity came, we booked over those nights, got mostly what we wanted, and then cancelled the Sheraton - but we could have stayed at the Sheraton, as well. It's a bit limiting for sure - but I will tell you, for us, it was worth the effort. The trip was amazing. The parks are awesome, and the people among the friendliest we've encountered anywhere in the world. DisneySea is absolutely the best Disney park we've done in the world - and we only have Paris left on our list to experience them all!

 

[sayhello]

I know who owns it. Still why make it so hard for people to visit your park? From a marketing perspective, just very very odd.

I’m not on the ABD. I just plan at some point to visit all Disney parks worldwide, so have looked into planning a trip a few times and c keep getting frustrated and stop and put a different trip to the top of the list.

My assumption is that this is how Japanese folks like to book their vacations. When we went, the VAST majority of people there were Japanese, and they are culturally *so* different from Western countries in a lot of ways. It just seems they are not particularly interested in catering to Western tourists, and really don't need to.

Sayhello

 

[thanxfornoticin]

My assumption is that this is how Japanese folks like to book their vacations. When we went, the VAST majority of people there were Japanese, and they are culturally *so* different from Western countries in a lot of ways. It just seems they are not particularly interested in catering to Western tourists, and really don't need to.

Sayhello

I agree with your comments, and I disagree with your comments, based on our experiences. Absolutely, the majority of guests were Japanese, and yes their culture is very different in some ways.

But I disagree when you say they might not be particularly interested in catering to Western tourists. We were very pleasantly surprised to see buffet meals that were half western/half Japanese foods, many of the cast members in the hotels and restaurants spoke English, and they were very helpful before and during our trip if we had questions.

 

[sayhello]

I agree with your comments, and I disagree with your comments, based on our experiences. Absolutely, the majority of guests were Japanese, and yes their culture is very different in some ways.

But I disagree when you say they might not be particularly interested in catering to Western tourists. We were very pleasantly surprised to see buffet meals that were half western/half Japanese foods, many of the cast members in the hotels and restaurants spoke English, and they were very helpful before and during our trip if we had questions.

I think you misunderstood me. I said catering to, not accommodating. This is how they do their booking, and have for years. I don't see them changing how they book because Western tourists don't like it and would rather they do it a different way. That's different from providing a selection of Western foods at the buffets. Honestly, though, it's been my experience that *Japanese* tourists at Disney *like* trying Western Foods. And Disney always accommodates foreign speakers. That's not true outside of Disney. Even at the nicest hotels I've stayed at in Japan, I have experienced the staff having to search for someone who speaks English.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

Agreed... the western food at TDLR are still very different than what you find at home. Disney is western and so its a thematic choice for them, versus specifically catering to western guests, IMO. At any rate western food is very much a part of the Japanese diet, especially in the morning, with pastries. toast, eggs, omelettes, etc all being prevalent. Burgers, steaks etc are common foods. The only thing I saw lacking was yogurt and oatmeal in the morning some places. They had panna cotta and congee or ochazuke instead.

In my experience booking the expensive vacation package was a breeze compared to trying to do room only - at least at Fantasy Springs. Rooms lingered for hours if not the entire day - I can't remember exactly when it finally sold out. We had SUCH a good time, and the yen is still so low, that I'll take it as a win.

 

[ngl]

I know what you're saying, having gone through this last summer. To be honest, I don't consider it that hard as I do unfamiliar. It's very different from any other resorts we do, including WDW and DL. But once you know their requirements and limitations, it's very doable.

Yes, they have only 1 and 2 night vacation packages, and they only come out about 5 months in advance. And their onsite hotels are very popular and can be tough to book at times and can only be booked 4 months in advance. We went with an approach of booking all the nights we wanted at the Sheraton (also a nice Hyatt, I believe). Then when our opportunity came, we booked over those nights, got mostly what we wanted, and then cancelled the Sheraton - but we could have stayed at the Sheraton, as well. It's a bit limiting for sure - but I will tell you, for us, it was worth the effort. The trip was amazing. The parks are awesome, and the people among the friendliest we've encountered anywhere in the world. DisneySea is absolutely the best Disney park we've done in the world - and we only have Paris left on our list to experience them all!

We are planning a Japan trip for next year. Is there a guide on the Boards regarding all these ins and outs of booking Tokyo Disney? I have heard re different timelines (not sure 4 or 5 months), Credit card issues, etc. DisneySea is a must for us! And we like staying on site. I am posting here so I have your information if you don't mind providing some guidance in the future!! (We have been to Disneyland Paris and love it, by the way )

 

[AquaDame]

We are planning a Japan trip for next year. Is there a guide on the Boards regarding all these ins and outs of booking Tokyo Disney? I have heard re different timelines (not sure 4 or 5 months), Credit card issues, etc. DisneySea is a must for us! And we like staying on site. I am posting here so I have your information if you don't mind providing some guidance in the future!! (We have been to Disneyland Paris and love it, by the way )

We have a forum! Tons of tips and how tos over there. https://www.disboards.com/threads/tdr-hotel-booking-tips-how-to-win-the-room-you-want.3962292/

https://www.disboards.com/forums/tokyo-disneyland.178/

 

[jimmymc]

The only big issue I had booking is that the website is slow and clunky, which seems to be a common issue across Japan even if you can read Japanese. Hotels selling out on opening day isn't great either, but that same issue happens with big Disney cruises or DVC rooms. It's the curse of putting out a good product for a price people are willing to pay.