Is TDL or DS even worth it in late July?

[tentaguasu]

I've heard that the crowds in late July and early August are out of control.

I had been planning to be in Japan in early July, before kids were out on break. At that point, I was thinking one day at each park.

Now, with a trip date of late July, early August, I'm thinking of skipping TDL and only doing DisneySea... but I'm even worried about that.

Given that DS's most special part is the theming and ambiance, is that effectively destroyed with that many people? Is it so bad that it's not really fun anymore? Or is it manageable and still a great experience?

For reference, this is my first time and may be my last time in Japan. I'll be in the Tokyo area for probably 5-7 days.

 

[Leilanie94]

My family and I are going to Japan from July 10-19, 2018.

We got the airlines and hotel reservations (staying at 3 different locations). We are planning to purchase Tokyo Rail tickets, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea tickets.

We understand humid and hot weather and large crowds during the summer. We are alright ....don't know the next time we will travel to Japan.

 

[Bobb_o]

I'm going 7/21 because like you said I don't know if I'll be back to Japan. If you get there are rope drop you can at least guarantee 2 big rides (FP for one and standby for the other) and even if the rides get long everything I've heard is just walking around is great.

 

[indoshakespeare]

DisneySea is more managable. It's bigger and has less eticket ride. You can skip toy story since its the same as in America. Grab ToT FP then standby line on Journey.

 

[Bobb_o]

DisneySea is more managable. It's bigger and has less eticket ride. You can skip toy story since its the same as in America. Grab ToT FP then standby line on Journey.

I'd like to think so but I've still checked wait times and seeing multiple rides with 100+ min waits scares me. I know I'll be able to knock out Journey and ToT pretty early but after that there's still Indy, 20k, Nemo and Raging Spirits (which I will probably single rider or skip)

 

[CourtGW]

I definitely agree that just walking around is the real highlight of this park. It feels enormous and there are tons of hidden corners and experiences to explore. We spent a couple hours just walking through the park and grabbing snacks along the way.

And the shows are great as well, we went to "Out of the Shadowlands" twice on our trip just because we loved it so much!

I would definitely prioritize Journery, it's one of my favorite rides I've ever been on. ToT has an AMAZING pre-show, but the ride itself wasn't my favorite. As for the others (20k was closed while we were there so can't comment) they were enjoyable but I would still consider it worth going even if you never got a chance to try them out. If you haven't already, I would highly suggest downloading the TDR Now app as it will give you the list of current wait times as well as what fast passes are still available. We used that to see which fast passes were going quickest and what we needed to prioritize.

No matter what you're able to get done, just try to take in the beauty of the park and I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[ChanduTail]

Summer weekends are crazy but weekdays really aren't so bad. It will be crowded, yes, but manageable. Avoid Friday through Sunday and have a plan. You will have a great time.

 

[addiemon]

I went in early July, but on a weekday (Friday) and it wasn't too bad. Show up at least 30 (better to do 60) minutes before the doors open and hit all your biggest priorities first!

 

[Leilanie94]

Excited for our July Tokyo trip!

We got our Tokyo Disney Sea and Disneyland tickets!!!

We got out Ghibli Museum tickets too!

 

[addiemon]

Oh, random addendum to my note about showing up early / Friday morning crowds in July: I started at Sea. I don't know if one park is more popular than the other or anything. ^^

 

[maverik85]

If you don't think you'll be back in a long time I'd definitely check it out. At least Disney Sea. I haven't been but it is on my bucket list as it just looks so amazing and have heard nothing but good stuff for it. Even if it's crowded I'm sure it's still amazing to see and it looks like stuff is spread out a little bit so shouldn't feel to crammed in most areas. I'd judt make sure to list out the attractions you really want to hit, especially stuff like Journey that is exclusive to that park.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Just finished a Monday at sea. It wasn't bad crowd-wise. In fact, I was surprised at how few people there were, especially for the pirate summer show. Toy Story was around 140 min wait, Journey around 80 and Tower around 25. I arrived 71 minutes before park opening and was 5th row center of main stage for the first pirate's summer show.

 

[Bobb_o]

I went on Saturday 7/21 and it wasn't bad at all. I had the happy 15 and skipped toy story so by about 11 had ridden all the FP rides only waiting aax of 25 min. Didn't do the Mermaid kiddie area but I could have had I wanted to (I rode ToT, Indy, and Journey twice all with fast pass)

The biggest thing was the heat. From about 1-4 it's really bad so like all parks that's the time to take a break. Also the layout can get a little confusing.

 

[mjantz]

We were in Tokyo July 14-17 of last year (came off a cruise ship). We did Tokyo DisneySea on that Friday & it wasn't too bad and we even showed up late. We did the Nemo ride first (Journey to the Center of the Earth was closed ) & did a FastPass for ToT. Note: Be sure to get the English Translation before you go in. We didn't & missed a lot of details (although we still enjoyed it). Did several other rides and watched the summer Pirates of the Caribbean show as well. We were hot & sweaty but we had a good time & the crowds were not bad IMO.

 

[sippican]

We were in Tokyo July 14-17 of last year (came off a cruise ship). We did Tokyo DisneySea on that Friday & it wasn't too bad and we even showed up late. We did the Nemo ride first (Journey to the Center of the Earth was closed ) & did a FastPass for ToT. Note: Be sure to get the English Translation before you go in. We didn't & missed a lot of details (although we still enjoyed it). Did several other rides and watched the summer Pirates of the Caribbean show as well. We were hot & sweaty but we had a good time & the crowds were not bad IMO.

Which port did you travel form - and how? We will be arriving April 13th in Yokohama, traveling to DisneySea.

 

[mjantz]

We rented an apartment & the owner recommended a shuttle service that offered a flat rate so we took advantage of that. We were coming off a Princess cruise ship and were at the port of Yokohama as well. We had a slight bit of trouble connecting with the shuttle driver but once we found each other it was easy to get to our apartment.