I'm going to TDR!!! WooHoo!!!

[scrump]

It's confirmed, I'm going to Tokyo next March!

It will be a girls' trip (me and a girlfriend), so leaving DH and DS behind. Not a big deal, he's not a Disney nut like I am, so he's all too happy to get me out of the house for a week.

Any veterans on this board? I'm flying into Narita and I don't think I'll make the last limosine bus (5:05pm). What are my options?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm not sure about buses...but Narita, while a nice airport, is a looong drive from Tokyo and TDL, just fyi.

Have you been to Japan before?

 

[scrump]

I'm not sure about buses...but Narita, while a nice airport, is a looong drive from Tokyo and TDL, just fyi.

Have you been to Japan before?

Yes, I've been to Japan before and heard that if you take the buses, it's about an hour from Narita to TDR, but probably longer with traffic. I wanted to avoid the trains, but looks like that might be my only option.

 

[lindsey clare]

scrump, i took the trains to TDL and DS. i wasn't coming from the airport though. but the trains were fine!

 

[*BTMRR*]

If money isn't an issue I'd just take a cab. We were told it would cost about $200. The train route is not direct at all. It would take some time and effort. Certainly with just you and a girlfriend you could manage it, though. We had small children and lots of luggage with us and didn't want to try.

Another thing you could do is get a relatively cheap airport hotel (even the nicer hotels around Narita are really very reasonably priced most days) and then go back to Narita first thing in the morning to catch the earliest limo bus to Disney. You could check your luggage at your hotel and be in the parks by noon for sure, probably much earlier. This might be nice if your flight is getting in very late and you just want to get some rest. It would also save you a night at a probably much more expensive Disney area hotel. That's what we would have done, had we not gotten a flight early enough to make the limo bus.

 

[Princess Melody]

I arrived at Narita just after the last bus due to a flight delay. The people at the transportation counter suggested I take the train. When I told them I would rather not do that (I was traveling alone with a lot of luggage) they came up with the alternate suggestion of taking a bus to one of the Disney area hotels (not the ones that are right across the street from Disney but they are probably a train stop or so away) and then taking a cab from that hotel to my hotel (across the street from Disney). Those hotel buses run a lot later than the Disney shuttle. It was easy to do and since it wasn't a long cab ride the price wasn't bad at all. Can't remember the name of the hotel I took the bus to but I think it had the word international in it.

 

[mmtska]

When we went in 2008, we had a package that included a bus voucher. We exchanged the voucher, took a bus to TDL and then caught a bus to our hotel. I'm pretty sure the bus cost was only like $20 a person. Maybe less-can't remember. There are a lot of people who do that-when we got on the bus to the hotel there were about 4 other parties doing the same thing. We just reserved a bus back to the airport on our way back.

The trains are pretty easy to navigate too. We've been to Tokyo a couple times and didn't have too much trouble. Either way-cheaper than a taxi, but it will take you about an hour

 

[scrump]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I've been snooping around and I think I can take the Narita express (train) from the airport and switch at Tokyo station to go to TDL. Though I would much prefer the busses, this is a pretty comparable alternative.

Princess Melody, do you remember how much your bus cost?

 

[DisCopper]

We went last March (it was a GREAT trip). Our travel agent set up reservations for a bus to the Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo Bay hotel at Disney. The agent told us that if we missed the last bus, we could exchange the ticket for one with another bus company (I think there were several). BUT, if we missed the final bus, she said that we'd have to take a taxi.

I would try to plan out the whole thing as much as possible. If you don't speak Japanese, it's sort of overwhelming trying to exchange money and deal with the shuttles etc... Of course, we whipped through Narita on the way back home... we were pros by then. LOL

 

[Princess Melody]

The bus ticket to the hotel was the same price I paid for the one I got for my return trip on the Disney bus. It was around another $20 USD to get from the hotel the bus took me to to my Disney area hotel so not too bad, well under $200. It was definitely under $50 USD for the total trip from the airport. I would've been okay with taking the train if I wasn't by myself with two suitcases and a carry-on backpack and I'd recommend doing it if you think you'll be able to. The trains were quite busy some of the times I rode them in Tokyo though so I definitely think it was well worth the extra $ I spent because I couldn't see myself wrestling with two suitcases on a very crowded train.

 

[BriarRose59]

I arrived at Narita just after the last bus due to a flight delay. The people at the transportation counter suggested I take the train. When I told them I would rather not do that (I was traveling alone with a lot of luggage) they came up with the alternate suggestion of taking a bus to one of the Disney area hotels (not the ones that are right across the street from Disney but they are probably a train stop or so away) and then taking a cab from that hotel to my hotel (across the street from Disney). Those hotel buses run a lot later than the Disney shuttle. It was easy to do and since it wasn't a long cab ride the price wasn't bad at all. Can't remember the name of the hotel I took the bus to but I think it had the word international in it.

My DD18 and I did this in June this year. We arrived after the last TDL bus had left so the lady at the counter looked for the hotel closest to TDL and put us on that, telling us to get a cab when we arrived at the hotel. They had already called ahead and when we got to the hotel, there was a cab driver waiting to take our luggage to the car and on to the hotel. It was super easy!

 

[teamlouise]

I vote for the train, especially since you can have any big luggage sent from the airport to your hotel for probably... about $20? When I did my study abroad in Japan, I sent my luggage from the airport to Saitama (which is probably a little further than Disneyland) for ~$16 and it arrived early the next morning. SO Convenient!

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Another consideration - find a courier kiosk at the airport and have your bulkiest luggage delivered directly to the hotel. ($15/bag?) With less luggage, you can easily hop on whatever train or bus best fits your schedule. Trains stop running around midnight. (We easily made it from Tokyo station to Maihama station, but we barely caught the last monorail to our hotel.)

You may not get your luggage until the next day, but as long as your carry-on has a change of clothes, you will be fine. Japanese hotels provide most toiletries, including good shampoo and conditioner. Japanese toothpaste tastes weird, but the free toothbrushes work fine.

 

[DisCopper]

Another consideration - find a courier kiosk at the airport and have your bulkiest luggage delivered directly to the hotel. ($15/bag?) With less luggage, you can easily hop on whatever train or bus best fits your schedule. Trains stop running around midnight. (We easily made it from Tokyo station to Maihama station, but we barely caught the last monorail to our hotel.)

You may not get your luggage until the next day, but as long as your carry-on has a change of clothes, you will be fine. Japanese hotels provide most toiletries, including good shampoo and conditioner. Japanese toothpaste tastes weird, but the free toothbrushes work fine.

Shipping the luggage may seem very strange to Americans, but the Japanese are pros at it. They have a luggage transport service called Takuhaibin (tak-u-bean) that will ship your luggage anywhere in the country. All you do is fill out the paperwork at your hotel (or airport)... even the smallest hotels have the paperwork to do it.

Depending on where you're traveling, you might have a days delay before you get your bags, but you just carry a small overnight bag.

In Japan, we ran into an American family who absolutely refused to use the service. They were over there for more than a month, and had huge bags at the train station. They struggled to get them on the train, and then had problems find places to put them all. It was so much easier just carrying a small bag.

 

[BriarRose59]

We will be in Kyoto before our trip to TDL. I was thinking of taking the bullet train. Does anyone know the easiest way to get from Kyoto to TDL by train? If we do the train, we will definitely ship the luggage!

 

[DisCopper]

We will be in Kyoto before our trip to TDL. I was thinking of taking the bullet train. Does anyone know the easiest way to get from Kyoto to TDL by train? If we do the train, we will definitely ship the luggage!

If you're going to Kyoto, you definitely need to take the Shinkansen (bullet train). It's a wonderful, fast, easy ride.

The train arrives in Tokyo at Tokyo station through it's own entrance. You'll have to switch lines and take the JR Keiyo Line to Maihama Station (which is right at Disney).

Although Tokyo station is big, we were easily able to navigate around. You can always find signage in English.

Feel free to private message me if you have other questions. We went to both Kyoto and Disney last March.

 

[BriarRose59]

If you're going to Kyoto, you definitely need to take the Shinkansen (bullet train). It's a wonderful, fast, easy ride.

The train arrives in Tokyo at Tokyo station through it's own entrance. You'll have to switch lines and take the JR Keiyo Line to Maihama Station (which is right at Disney).

Although Tokyo station is big, we were easily able to navigate around. You can always find signage in English.

Feel free to private message me if you have other questions. We went to both Kyoto and Disney last March.

Thanks for the reponse. When we went to TDL last year, we flew in and out of Tokyo so our choices were easier. And there were only 2 of us then, there are 4 going this year. I will definitely be contacting you before we leave for some suggestions. Thanks!

 

[walt's assistant]

scrump: The bus is simpler and less intimidating, but IMO more uncomfortable. If you are confident in using the train, I would take that route.

BriarRose59: I would recommend going to www.hyperdia.com. They have all the train schedules there. Just enter "Kyoto" as your starting destination and "Maihama" as your end station (Maihama is the gateway to TDR). I just ran a query and it looks pretty simple...a Shinkansen Nozomi train in to Tokyo station, followed by a quick local into Maihama. Not too bad.