Just back from Tokyo / Kyoto / Kawagoe / Disneyland / DisneySEA!

[vinotinto]

We just returned. We were there right before FS opened. Sadly, no previews. Traveled from east coast USA and booked less than 60 days before traveling, so had to scramble to get up to speed quickly (it helped that my son and I had been talking about visiting Japan for years)! 2 adults and 2 older teens (ages 16 and 19). Happy to answer any questions.

ITINERARY:
4 nights Tokyo (including daytrip to Kawagoe) / 3 nights Kyoto / 2 nights Tokyo Disneyland / 1 night in Tokyo prior to flying out.

Tokyo Disneyland / Disney SEA

• Grabbed 2 nights (non-package) at Hotel Disneyland Tokyo. Stayed in the Tinkerbell room with 2 twins (they were a bit larger than twins). 1 Alcove bed and 1 trundle. Trundle was fairly comfortable - it had a box spring and a regular mattress. It was under the bed closest to the window. Room was lovely and very comfortable and the theme was so much better than the rooms at the deluxe hotels we have stayed at WDW (better than Poly, YC, BC AKL, WL, Contemporary, etc.). Lots of little details in the room. Plus, they provided 4 complimentary water bottles daily, cute amenity kits, shopping bags, etc. Teen daughter loved the alcove bed.
• For breakfast, the options were grab and go (cold) items at the combini (e.g., onigiri), full breakfast at Sherwood gardens (4000 yen pp) or room service (5000 yen pp). Combini did not have hot coffee, but there was a tea kettle in the room and you could "brew" coffee in the cups (this was the set-up we had at all but one fancy hotel in Japan).

• ARRIVAL DAY: DL
• We arrived around noon on a Monday, June 3. No check-in until 3pm. Dropped bags at bag valet. Were through Disneyland gates at around 12:15/12:20.
• At 12:20 all the free Priority Passes for Pooh, Space Mountain, and Monsters were gone. There were a couple of Premiere Access slots available for BatB - we grabbed one for 7:30 - 8:30pm. Premiere Passes were available for the parade and Splash Mountain. Priority Passes were available for Haunted Mansion and Buzz.
• Standby line for Monsters showed 50 minutes, but it was actually 35-40 minutes. Standby for Pirates said 25 minutes and it was about that.
• Dinner at Blue Bayou - we enjoyed it.
• It rained, so our Premiere Access for the parade was cancelled.
• We got in line for Pooh (said 50 minutes, but again, it was 35-40 minutes). While in line for Pooh, at exactly 7:30pm some of the floats for the parade went by. We did not realize they would have the parade if it had rained and our Premiere Access were cancelled. However, it was very short (maybe 4 floats), so perhaps they only had a limited parade?
• BatB's theming was awesome!

• NEXT DAY: DS
• We lined up for Happy Entry at around 8:10 am on June 4th. Happy Entry started at 8:30 on the dot. No FS previews.
• We got everything done so painlessly by arriving early. It's funny what that 4-hour difference did, compared to the previous day. By noon, we had done Journey to the Center of the Earth, Indiana Jones, 20,000 Leagues, Tower of Terror, and Raging Spirits. Tower of Terror felt completely different because the story / pre-show is totally different. Do not miss it simply because you have been to the one at DHS!
• Went to Teddy Roosevelt Lounge for "lunch" (only food options were a couple of appetizer "plates" a sandwich / waffle plate and a dessert. But it was fun.
• Afternoon, we got seating at the Beats show (was great!) and walked around enjoying the theming.
• We had an early dinner at Magellan's, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
• Then watched the show from Premier Access area B (the amphitheater area). I would not purchase the premier access again for the show. The show was at 7:30, but they opened up the area at 5:45 and people immediately started to sit down. We entered at 6:15 and sat in the ledge. It was uncomfortable and by 7:30, it was very crowded. The good thing is that it is required to sit down and it was a great view. So nice that they sit in Tokyo.
• Ended the night with Soaring (premier access) and churros. The back story for Soaring is different, but the ride is exactly the same and the back story is not that compelling.

• NEXT DAY: DL
• Since we had such amazing success by doing Happy Entry yesterday, we decided to go to DL on our check out day (June 5th) for just an hour. We lined up for Happy Entry at around 8:10 am. Happy Entry started at 8:45 on the dot. Did Space Mountain, Monsters and Buzz and left happily at 9:50am as crowds started to get really busy!

GENERAL TIPS / THOUGHTS

Loved the Theming, but the Rides were Meh - The theming was amazing, all the details! We literally walked around the entire afternoon at Disney Sea just checking things out. However, all the rides were rather slow and not thrilling. Nothing went fast, not even Raging Spirits. We thought Indiana Jones was Dinosaur with better theme. It make Slinky in DHS look thrilling in comparison. But the theming is amazing. Even the ride vehicles are so themed. 1.5 days was the right amount of time for us in DL / DS. We loved our time, but there is so much to see and do in Japan,

The Credit Card Issue - When I started booking tickets online (for example Shibuya Sky), I ran into an authorization problem with my Visa card. I immediately contacted my bank and told them I was traveling in a few weeks to Japan, and for the next month I wanted all international purchases to go through. It worked. I was able to book everything online / at the parks. Go ahead and call your credit card and explain to them. Whatever they did, worked. I had no problems with declined purchases or authorization issues. I was able to purchase multiple premier access on 3 different days. I was able to purchase Shinkansen tickets on the app.

Transportation

• We took the Tokyo subway and the JR Yamanote everywhere in Tokyo. We all have iphones and loaded Suica into the wallet and topped up daily. We had no issues at all using this method.
• We traveled to/from Kyoto on the Shinkansen. The Shinkansen is awesome, an attraction unto itself. We booked the green car for additional space. Even the regular car was expensive, so why not? I booked tickets in advance using the SmartEX app, which is by the JR Company. I then shared each person's ticket with my DH, DS and DD and they had no problem clicking on the link and getting the QR code. To get into the train, you scan the QR code and then tap your Suica (Apple wallet) card. We needed some help in Kyoto, they flipped a cover for the QR code (took 30 seconds). Using this method, we avoided the long lines to purchase tickets at the train station.

Data - I loaded Ubgi eSIMS into all 4 of our unlocked iPhones. I purchased 10GB per person. DS, DD and I also have T-Mobile slow data. Ubigi worked well all over. Only place that was a dead zone was inside a shrine in Kawagoe. My DS ran out of his 10GB about a week into the trip and had to use the T-Mobile slow data the rest of the trip. My DH ran out of the 10GB on our last day. My DD and I had data left. How much data you need will depend on your usage. You can save data by loading Spotify playlists into your phone so you are not using data when listening to music on the go.

Hotels - I booked 2 rooms for Tokyo (via Expedia and directly through hotel), 1 Mimaru Suite in Kyoto (via Booking) and the Tinkerbell room in DL (directly with DL). No problems with the bookings, all the rooms were exactly what we booked and I requested the rooms to be near each other in Tokyo and we were placed side-by-side at both hotels.

Attractions - We did TeamsLab Borderless and Shibuya Sky. They sell out, so recommend booking in advance. I waited a little bit because I wanted to understand the weather, but we were left with few time slot choices.

Kyoto - GORGEOUS, but so.many.tourists. There's a reason why everyone is there, but there were large groups of tourists everywhere (China, USA, Spain, Australia, Japan schools) it was crazy.

Avoiding jetlag - We had minimal jetlag, despite the long trip and 13-hour time change. Staying hydrated is key. Recommend drinking lots of Smartwater / Powerade Zero in advance, and Pocari Sweat once you are in Japan.

If I had to do this again - I would have arrived late on Day 1 to DL, and spend more time on Day 3 at DL. The advantage of the mornings, when there are plenty of priority / premier passes available is fantastic.

Happy to answer questions!

 

[gmi3804]

Sounds beautiful!

We're doing a 12-night Tokyo-Tokyo cruise on Regent's Seven Seas Explorer next March, then four nights at TDL, then four nights in HI on the way back. We have our land excursions booked already.

 

[djmeredith]

I agree with your assessment about not wasting time by entering @ noon or later. I would not recommend it unless you are truly okay with doing 1 or 2 rides and walking around seeing the sights.

We got into the park at 1:00 on our first day (flew in from Okinawa). I booked the VP thinking that would allow us to still have an enjoyable day with the pre-booked passes. However, that first day in DS ended up being almost miserable. We made the mistake of entering hungry and we couldn't find food without a 1+ hr wait when we were already starving. The crowds were already huge so it was a little overwhelming to start the day in that. We maximized HE/rope drop our next 2 mornings and had awesome days even though the weather was terrible. I wish I would've skipped the VP and not had a park day that first day. We could've had a much better time in the park on our last morning since our flight didn't leave until 5:00 pm.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Nice report! Happy entry at DL is wildly valuable, I feel like I saw many reports beforehand that HE is barely useful but I found it was far more valuable than early entry in the US since you can start making passes ahead of everyone else.

The tour groups in Kyoto were crazy! I beat them the first two days since I was getting up early, but by days 2/3 I was sleeping in already and paid the price! I couldn't believe how large they were, entire busloads all trying to stay together on those narrow streets

 

[vinotinto]

I agree with your assessment about not wasting time by entering @ noon or later. I would not recommend it unless you are truly okay with doing 1 or 2 rides and walking around seeing the sights.

We got into the park at 1:00 on our first day (flew in from Okinawa). I booked the VP thinking that would allow us to still have an enjoyable day with the pre-booked passes. However, that first day in DS ended up being almost miserable. We made the mistake of entering hungry and we couldn't find food without a 1+ hr wait when we were already starving. The crowds were already huge so it was a little overwhelming to start the day in that. We maximized HE/rope drop our next 2 mornings and had awesome days even though the weather was terrible. I wish I would've skipped the VP and not had a park day that first day. We could've had a much better time in the park on our last morning since our flight didn't leave until 5:00 pm.

Exactly this. If I would have had more time to plan, I would have figured this out, but in my rush to plan, I assumed that if I entered at noonish, I could get Priority passes for those sought-after rides for after 5:30pm, with a 9pm closure. NOPE.

Nice report! Happy entry at DL is wildly valuable, I feel like I saw many reports beforehand that HE is barely useful but I found it was far more valuable than early entry in the US since you can start making passes ahead of everyone else.

The tour groups in Kyoto were crazy! I beat them the first two days since I was getting up early, but by days 2/3 I was sleeping in already and paid the price! I couldn't believe how large they were, entire busloads all trying to stay together on those narrow streets

I agree! I didn't think 15 minutes would be that great, but yes, it is because you walk into at least 1 ride and you get a 9:00/9:15 - 10:00/10:15am slot and can get another one very quickly. It was way more advantageous than the 30 minutes at WDW.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thanks for sharing. We arrive in 10 days. we are staying on property arriving Mon leaving Sat. We plan on going to the park on Monday after we arrive @ 2. We have ressies at Crystal Palace for early dinner. I just want to walk around get a popcorn bucket and take it easy maybe shop. Do rides if it works out the line aren't terrible. Not to late I want to do HE at DS the next day.

 

[vinotinto]

Thanks for sharing. We arrive in 10 days. we are staying on property arriving Mon leaving Sat. We plan on going to the park on Monday after we arrive @ 2. We have ressies at Crystal Palace for early dinner. I just want to walk around get a popcorn bucket and take it easy maybe shop. Do rides if it works out the line aren't terrible. Not to late I want to do HE at DS the next day.

I think you'll be fine because you are not trying to do rides on your arrival Monday and you have plenty of additional time to do them in your trip.