Hotel Miracosta vs Tokyo Disneyland Hotel vs Toy Story hotel.

[buzlite]

I am planning a trip to Tokyo Disneyland next February and having a tough time on choosing a hotel.

Some background is that it will be 2 couples with 1 baby each both about 9 months. We are planning to do the 2 night 3 day package. I was initially leaning towards Hotel Miracosta because of the location bit aftee seeing some YouTube videos I'm leaning towards TDLH.

We want somewhere that it would be easy to take 1 afternoon and 1 evening break of we wanted to without spending a long time travelling to and from the hotel. This I think will be important with the babies.

We are travelling with old friends we don't get to see very often so it would be nice to have a casual bar in the hotel we can grab a drink at spontaneously while the babies are napping upstairs (with someone hanging out in the room obv). A casual place to grab snacks and drinks would be great too.

The babies will be too little to really notice the ambiance so we aren't really worried about that. But I'm guessing all hotels will be equally accepting of babies?

Finally wow factor. It will be our friends first time in Japan so we definately want to make it an experience they will remember. Hotel Miracosta's location seems great but the hotel itself seems underwhelming through online videos compared to TDLH. Is this consistent with the in person experience?

The Toy Story hotel looks amazing and honestly I would LOVE LOVE some pictures with the kiddo in there but it seems like its a bus ride away and would take 30-40 minutes to get from the park to the hotel minimum. So maybe I should leave this one as a last resort.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice. I apologize for any typos or poor grammer but I'm typing this up in the few minutes I have while kiddo is snoozing away.

 

[gelatoni fan]

If you want to take breaks during the day, then the Disneyland hotel would be the most convenient for Disneyland and the Miracosta would be the most convenient for Disneysea. To get to the Toy Story Hotel, you'd take a monorail and from there, it's a couple minutes walk to the hotel. To get to the Miracosta from Disneyland or the Disneyland hotel from Disneysea, you'd also take the monorail.

None of the hotels really has a bar but you can get drinks and snacks in the Dreamers Lounge in the Disneyland hotel.

From your description, it seems like the Disneyland hotel may be the best fit.

 

[StarCruzer]

I've done Miracosta (October 2023), would probably not do it again unless I was willing to shell out for the theme park view room. It has it's own entrance to DisneySea, however you can't use that entrance for Early Entry--you have to exit the hotel and do a big loop to get to the entrance with everyone else.

We did a split-stay with the Ambassador Donald themed rooms (which has it's own direct bus to the park) and we actually got more (and cuter!) included gifts in that hotel. The character room theming was top-notch and it was next to Ikspiari, where all the non-Disney restaurants and bars are (https://www.ikspiari.com/en/shop/category/late_open.html). They also had a little convenience store inside the hotel with things like sandos, Pocky, drinks, onigiri, etc. that's open until midnight.

If you're going for the wow factor, I'd say Tokyo Disneyland Hotel--you can hop on the monorail to get to the Ikspiari area.

And hopefully learn from my mistake--if you're going to go big, go all the way and get either a park view room or a themed room (budget permitting of course!)

 

[princesscinderella]

I am at Narita Airport waiting to board after just checking out of Miracosta. If I were planning a trip again I would pick the Disneyland hotel. It definitely has more wow factor in the lobby and we liked the breakfast buffet at Sherwood Garden restaurant better than the one at Miracosta’s Oceano. It had a lot more food options. They also have the little convenience store with snacks that the miracosta lacks. We were in a capitano Mickey room and it was very nice but still just a room at the end of the day. The believe sea of dreams show was canceled due to high winds and a light rain one of the nights we were there so I would have been disappointed if we paid the extra money for the park view room. Fireworks show never happened any of our 4 nights there.

 

[StarCruzer]

Also don't forget they just opened the Fantasy Springs Hotel last month. Looks gorgeous

 

[DizneyLizzy]

We did one night at Miracosta and it was fabulous. Especially since we didn't have a VP and needed Happy Entry into TDS. That said, we decided if we were to come back and do a splurge night or two, we'd prefer the Disneyland Hotel. You're walking distance to Ikspiari and the Resort Gateway monorail station. And you have a convenience store in your hotel. Miracosta had nothing when we needed just a quick snack or drink. DLH has a convenience store and a gorgeous lobby lounge.

 

[buzlite]

I think we’ll aim for DLH! Fantasy springs looks great too but I worry about new Disney growing pains. I love the GF so I’m guessing I’ll love DLH.

 

[soniam]

It will be much easier to reserve room only at Disneyland Hotel. Right now, only Miracosta and Fantasy Springs get Happy Entry to DisneySea, so it's been hard to get. Disneyland hasn't been hard at all.

 

[cinnamoroll]

We LOVED Toy Story Hotel last year and just stayed at Fantasy Springs Hotel in June. FSH is truly gorgeous and the breakfast buffet is delicious. The best part is the exclusive entrance to Fantasy Springs and the goodies we got to take home (grand opening pins, tote bags, little cups, pretty slippers). That said, I think it's more of a one and done thing given the $$$. I'd like to stay in a harbour view room next time at Mira Costa for happy entry and show view.

 

[buzlite]

I think our plan right now is DLH for a 2 day vacation package and to try and book the night before check in at the Toy Story hotel. We can hopefully spend the day exploring the hotel! As a huge Toy Story fan I’m so excited to take pics with the Baby. His grandma already got him a buzz lightyear outfit.

 

[Dani090]

You've made the right decision with Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. I stayed there and then Ambassador hotel earlier this year and TDH was so incredible! It seemed so much better than Miracosta as TDH plays amazing Disney music outside the hotel and you can open the room window to hear it in the morning which is the best way to wake up. Plus they have a really good convenience store that's open late, the lobby is beautiful and the rooms are so nice. Plus you can walk so fast to Disneyland and the monorail and ikspiari. Oh and they have a great guest laundry room! So very useful when lots of other hotels don't have one

 

[BigEeyore]

Planning a trip for early March - trying to decide between DLH and MiraCosta
DisneySea is the priority park for me, and I was surprised to see that if you are at DLH there is no Happy Entry to DS? Is this just for busy summertime or will it continue?

 

[buzlite]

Planning a trip for early March - trying to decide between DLH and MiraCosta
DisneySea is the priority park for me, and I was surprised to see that if you are at DLH there is no Happy Entry to DS? Is this just for busy summertime or will it continue?

Yea it’s true. Once I realized this I am reconsidering my strategy tbh. Not looking forward to waiting 1 hour just to get into the park at rope drop. Even with VP… we might switch to Fantasy springs instead.
Does Toy Story hotel get Happt entry?

 

[buzlite]

I ended up booking the 2 day 3 night unlimited rides vacation package at Hotel Miracosta. Was able to get a superior Harbour view room! Also noticed that they have an indoor pool with a bar. Can’t believe I didn’t see that before. It looks magical.
Now to add on a day at the begining and/or after.

 

[AquaDame]

I ended up booking the 2 day 3 night unlimited rides vacation package at Hotel Miracosta. Was able to get a superior Harbour view room! Also noticed that they have an indoor pool with a bar. Can’t believe I didn’t see that before. It looks magical.
Now to add on a day at the begining and/or after.

They do but they charge admission - you may have already noticed that but thought I should mention just in case. We haven’t swam there due to it.

 

[mmmears]

I ended up booking the 2 day 3 night unlimited rides vacation package at Hotel Miracosta. Was able to get a superior Harbour view room! Also noticed that they have an indoor pool with a bar. Can’t believe I didn’t see that before. It looks magical.
Now to add on a day at the begining and/or after.

I've been following along on this board and I thought I was told that there are no 3 night packages, only 2 nights. We would like to spend 3 nights at TDL. So you found 3 nt packages! Anything special I need to know if I want to book one?

 

[buzlite]

I've been following along on this board and I thought I was told that there are no 3 night packages, only 2 nights. We would like to spend 3 nights at TDL. So you found 3 nt packages! Anything special I need to know if I want to book one?

Sorry yes our package is 2 park days and 2 nights. We added on an extra night at the begining by booking just the night hotel only booking. This also helps get early entry on day 1 of our vacation package.

 

[mmmears]

Sorry yes our package is 2 park days and 2 nights. We added on an extra night at the begining by booking just the night hotel only booking. This also helps get early entry on day 1 of our vacation package.

Ah ok. Thank you so much for clarifying. Looks like I need to do something similar and add on a night either before or after the package I hope to book. I still haven't figured out which would be better.

I think I'm struggling so much with the TDL stuff because I'm not just planning a trip there, but I'm planning for a couple weeks in Japan. Since it's a new destination for us, I have so much to learn and I'm still working on our overall itinerary for the trip, so no time to really do a deep dive into the Disney days yet.

 

[StarCruzer]

Ah ok. Thank you so much for clarifying. Looks like I need to do something similar and add on a night either before or after the package I hope to book. I still haven't figured out which would be better.

I think I'm struggling so much with the TDL stuff because I'm not just planning a trip there, but I'm planning for a couple weeks in Japan. Since it's a new destination for us, I have so much to learn and I'm still working on our overall itinerary for the trip, so no time to really do a deep dive into the Disney days yet.

Japan is a big one to plan! We've gone twice and love it.

I do have to say I had more success for the second time we planned. We did two things differently:

1. "Base" hotel: we got a cheapish hotel in Tokyo for our full time in the country. When we traveled outside of Tokyo we took a backpack full of clothes for 2-5 days. We stepped up a bit from APA and got a Section L in Yushima. It was like a small apartment and it was awesome. Not as cheap as APA for ~$120/night, but a great value for having a kitchen, laundry, small living room area, and large TV with Netflix.

2. We over planned to not overplan When we chose an area to visit, we made a list of things to see, places to shop or eat knowing we wouldn't be able to do all of them. We did this for each neighborhood in Tokyo. We tried to go off the beaten path a little more as well, visiting Uji, Enoshima Island, Yokohama, and Lake Kawaguchiko. Those places are still touristy, but definitely more relaxing than the big tourist areas in Tokyo. Our only big fail was that we went to Enoshima Island for fireworks on a weekend (amazing) but it was SO CROWDED they actually blocked off the train station. Police were over the crowd in cherry pickers yelling in Japanese and we had no idea what was happening it took us two hours to get on a train back to Tokyo.

Anyway I know my advice is totally unsolved so feel free to ignore if it's not helpful.

 

[mmmears]

Japan is a big one to plan! We've gone twice and love it.

I do have to say I had more success for the second time we planned. We did two things differently:

1. "Base" hotel: we got a cheapish hotel in Tokyo for our full time in the country. When we traveled outside of Tokyo we took a backpack full of clothes for 2-5 days. We stepped up a bit from APA and got a Section L in Yushima. It was like a small apartment and it was awesome. Not as cheap as APA for ~$120/night, but a great value for having a kitchen, laundry, small living room area, and large TV with Netflix.

2. We over planned to not overplan When we chose an area to visit, we made a list of things to see, places to shop or eat knowing we wouldn't be able to do all of them. We did this for each neighborhood in Tokyo. We tried to go off the beaten path a little more as well, visiting Uji, Enoshima Island, Yokohama, and Lake Kawaguchiko. Those places are still touristy, but definitely more relaxing than the big tourist areas in Tokyo. Our only big fail was that we went to Enoshima Island for fireworks on a weekend (amazing) but it was SO CROWDED they actually blocked off the train station. Police were over the crowd in cherry pickers yelling in Japanese and we had no idea what was happening it took us two hours to get on a train back to Tokyo.

Anyway I know my advice is totally unsolved so feel free to ignore if it's not helpful.

Thanks for your thoughts. It really helps to see how other people plan it. I have 5 nights in Tokyo and 5 nights in Kyoto booked at nice hotels (on points). Now I'm trying to figure out Hakone and TDL hotels - I actually have both already booked on points, but I think we would prefer to stay onsite in TDL and at a smaller ryokan in Hakone and neither is available for booking yet. I haven't figured out what I really want to see in each place yet. It's a lot all at once. Europe is so much easier for me.