November 2024 Trip To Tokyo Disney !

[Kwami]

I do wish they offered more customizable/longer packages.

It'd be so nice if Disney travel agents could just do it for us, too. It's such a hassle booking anything on that website.

And give us the same benefits that Japanese people get, too!

 

[Dfoerch]

Has anyone ever done both Tokyo Disneyland and Aulani in the same trip? Trying to wrap my head around what order to go in. Also considering stopping at California Disneyland as well. Leaving from Chicago.

 

[Kwami]

Has anyone ever done both Tokyo Disneyland and Aulani in the same trip? Trying to wrap my head around what order to go in. Also considering stopping at California Disneyland as well. Leaving from Chicago.

I did Maui & Oahu + Tokyo (including TDR) on the same trip, but we didn't stay at Aulani that time. We flew to Hawaii first (from Boston), then on to Tokyo later. I guess there's an argument to be made that Hawaii is more relaxing and should come second, but for other reasons, we had to do it this way.

 

[Dfoerch]

How was it time change wise?

 

[Kwami]

How was it time change wise?

For me? Going west is easy and crossing the international date line makes it even easier. I didn't have any trouble at all. Coming back was tough, though, because we landed at about the same time that we left and I'm terrible at sleeping on airplanes. So, it was a long day.

 

[Nakkira]

For me? Going west is easy and crossing the international date line makes it even easier. I didn't have any trouble at all. Coming back was tough, though, because we landed at about the same time that we left and I'm terrible at sleeping on airplanes. So, it was a long day.

Sleeping on Airplanes has never been possible for me.

 

[kristenabelle]

Sleeping on Airplanes has never been possible for me.

Same!!

I got an upgrade to uber fancy first class my last flight to LAX, and even then I couldn't sleep! I could pass out on trains, buses, cars, couches....no planes

 

[Nakkira]

I really like the planning process, I like to plan my trips far in advance...but I hate the long slow Countdown.. like there is all this time between booking and going where you've done all you can do for now and it's too early for specifics (like buying the park tickets) or packing.
View attachment 860783https://www.timeanddate.com/countdo...T1620&p0=671&msg=Japan+Trip+2024&font=cursive

Why does time move slower when counting down to a big vacation?

 

[Nakkira]

I am going to look at that one too.

So I missed the first week of my booking window because of some stuff going on in my personal life. I did manage to log on tonight and none of the choices currently available for an official Disney hotel thrilled me enough to pay the extra price. There was availability at Toy Story but the price difference was too much considering it does NOT include early entry to Disney Sea (that being the one I am MOST interested in). The packages were also way out of my price range. I had previously been prepared to pay a little more however $6000 in dental bills (I have been neglecting my teeth for the last decade and they decided they could no longer be ignored) and $1k and counting in home repairs mandated by my HOA (with me still struggling to find a job) have made that less of an option. I have considered cancelling the trip all together a time or two but Hubby talked me off the ledge and we are still getting by on just his salary, it's just getting a but tight.

I told hubby that if we want to get into Fantasy Springs we are going to have to try to Rope Drop. He's not enthused but willing to do it for my sake. Bless him.

 

[soniam]

So I missed the first week of my booking window because of some stuff going on in my personal life. I did manage to log on tonight and none of the choices currently available for an official Disney hotel thrilled me enough to pay the extra price. There was availability at Toy Story but the price difference was too much considering it does NOT include early entry to Disney Sea (that being the one I am MOST interested in). The packages were also way out of my price range. I had previously been prepared to pay a little more however $6000 in dental bills (I have been neglecting my teeth for the last decade and they decided they could no longer be ignored) and $1k and counting in home repairs mandated by my HOA (with me still struggling to find a job) have made that less of an option. I have considered cancelling the trip all together a time or two but Hubby talked me off the ledge and we are still getting by on just his salary, it's just getting a but tight.

I told hubby that if we want to get into Fantasy Springs we are going to have to try to Rope Drop. He's not enthused but willing to do it for my sake. Bless him.

It should be doable to get into Fantasy Springs and get probably 2 rides: one DPA and one standby. Just get there early. Hope your dental issues get resolved. My mother constantly has dental issues. Well, not anymore, she has dentures now No matter where you stay, it will still be an awesome trip.

 

[Agent 86]

I told hubby that if we want to get into Fantasy Springs we are going to have to try to Rope Drop. He's not enthused but willing to do it for my sake.

From what I can gather from reading reviews I can find and noting that things could change between now and November, if you arrive around 7am for a posted 9am opening (which will probably open earlier, possibly as early as 8:15am), you should be able to get a paid Premier Access ticket for Tangled or Peter Pan and a free Standby Pass for anything, except possibly for Frozen.

Frozen appears to be the most popular ride and it seems as though you need to be there around 6:30am (or earlier) to be able to secure a paid Premier Access ticket for that ride.

They had been releasing additional free Standby Passes throughout the day, but a recent review I read indicated that they may have stopped doing that? It's possible that that guest was just unlucky not to see any others during the day.

It's also been very crowd and weather dependent. I've read reviews where the wait time (with a Standby Pass) was 15 minutes and others where it was 90+ minutes. In general, TDR do seem to be limiting access to try and make the experience within Fantasy Springs as enjoyable as possible for those who are lucky enough to gain entry (as opposed to flooding the area, like what happens with Marioland at USJ).

If you get there early, you should be able to get in for at least one ride. Hopefully two.

 

[Nakkira]

It should be doable to get into Fantasy Springs and get probably 2 rides: one DPA and one standby. Just get there early. Hope your dental issues get resolved. My mother constantly has dental issues. Well, not anymore, she has dentures now No matter where you stay, it will still be an awesome trip.

The bulk of the dental work should be resolved before we head to Japan

On a humorous note: Apparently Hubby has only been half listening to my Disney planning chatter. He just watched a video this evening regarding Fantasy Springs and asked "You can only get into Fantasy Springs if you have a ride reservation???"
I'm like "Yes, darling, that's what I have been saying and that's why we need to arrive before par opening, so we can get in as soon as we can, scan our tickets into the app, and try to get DPA's"

Sigh...

 

[Nakkira]

From what I can gather from reading reviews I can find and noting that things could change between now and November, if you arrive around 7am for a posted 9am opening (which will probably open earlier, possibly as early as 8:15am), you should be able to get a paid Premier Access ticket for Tangled or Peter Pan and a free Standby Pass for anything, except possibly for Frozen.

Frozen appears to be the most popular ride and it seems as though you need to be there around 6:30am (or earlier) to be able to secure a paid Premier Access ticket for that ride.

They had been releasing additional free Standby Passes throughout the day, but a recent review I read indicated that they may have stopped doing that? It's possible that that guest was just unlucky not to see any others during the day.

It's also been very crowd and weather dependent. I've read reviews where the wait time (with a Standby Pass) was 15 minutes and others where it was 90+ minutes. In general, TDR do seem to be limiting access to try and make the experience within Fantasy Springs as enjoyable as possible for those who are lucky enough to gain entry (as opposed to flooding the area, like what happens with Marioland at USJ).

If you get there early, you should be able to get in for at least one ride. Hopefully two.

I am curious, if they don't let you in till 8:15 (earliest) what good does showing up at 6:30 do? Can you reserve Premier Access tickets BEFORE they let you in? Or does that just get you closer to the front of the line so that when they open at 8:15 you are in by 8:30 to make your reservations (as opposed to being at the back of the crown and maybe not getting in till 9ish.

I have heard that one the park actually opens the line moves very quickly, is that true or does it take a long time for everyone to get in?

 

[Agent 86]

I am curious, if they don't let you in till 8:15 (earliest) what good does showing up at 6:30 do? Can you reserve Premier Access tickets BEFORE they let you in? Or does that just get you closer to the front of the line so that when they open at 8:15 you are in by 8:30 to make your reservations (as opposed to being at the back of the crown and maybe not getting in till 9ish.

I have heard that one the park actually opens the line moves very quickly, is that true or does it take a long time for everyone to get in?

The earlier you arrive, the closer to the front of the line you are and therefore the earlier you actually enter the park and can start booking / buying Premier Access, Standby Pass and Priority Pass tickets. You cannot get any passes until you have scanned your entry ticket and entered the park.

As the "early access" folks truly enter first, they get first dibs at the PA and SP for Fantasy Springs. That's why Frozen appears to be completely "sold out" (for both PA and SP) by around 8:30am (even though the park doesn't officially open until 9am). For the regular ticket holders, if you're not at the "front" of the line to be inside the park as early as possible, then your chance of riding Frozen drops dramatically, but you should still be able to get at least one kind of ticket to another ride within Fantasy Springs.

The lines do move quickly, but you're at the mercy of many external factors. The people in front of you may not have their tickets ready, especially if they're foreigners. They may not understand how to scan each ticket for groups with lots of people (i.e. the person who has all the tickets on their phone may go through first and then needs to turn around, unlock and pass their phone back, etc). Sometimes what appears to be two or more distinct lines can suddenly be funnelled into a single, slow moving line. Because everyone is now frantically trying to get passes, the crowd basically "stops" right inside the park (just pass the entry turnstiles) as everyone gets onto their phones and tried to grab passes, so that can create crowding and a backlog as newly entering people have nowhere to go (meaning it all grinds to a standstill).

IF getting passes wasn't such a priority for most visitors, then I understand it's way easier and quicker to rock up just before the official opening (e.g. 8:50am) as you pretty much walk straight in. But, the hundreds of people all trying to get in at opening obviously does cause some issues.

 

[soniam]

The bulk of the dental work should be resolved before we head to Japan

On a humorous note: Apparently Hubby has only been half listening to my Disney planning chatter. He just watched a video this evening regarding Fantasy Springs and asked "You can only get into Fantasy Springs if you have a ride reservation???"
I'm like "Yes, darling, that's what I have been saying and that's why we need to arrive before par opening, so we can get in as soon as we can, scan our tickets into the app, and try to get DPA's"

Sigh...

Totally sounds like my husband, while we were in Japan It was funny that our 18 year old son would say to him "You should know that. I knew that"Our nickname for our son is Captain Oblivious, because he usually doesn't pay attention. I think it irritated my husband.

 

[Nakkira]

The earlier you arrive, the closer to the front of the line you are and therefore the earlier you actually enter the park and can start booking / buying Premier Access, Standby Pass and Priority Pass tickets. You cannot get any passes until you have scanned your entry ticket and entered the park.

As the "early access" folks truly enter first, they get first dibs at the PA and SP for Fantasy Springs. That's why Frozen appears to be completely "sold out" (for both PA and SP) by around 8:30am (even though the park doesn't officially open until 9am). For the regular ticket holders, if you're not at the "front" of the line to be inside the park as early as possible, then your chance of riding Frozen drops dramatically, but you should still be able to get at least one kind of ticket to another ride within Fantasy Springs.

The lines do move quickly, but you're at the mercy of many external factors. The people in front of you may not have their tickets ready, especially if they're foreigners. They may not understand how to scan each ticket for groups with lots of people (i.e. the person who has all the tickets on their phone may go through first and then needs to turn around, unlock and pass their phone back, etc). Sometimes what appears to be two or more distinct lines can suddenly be funnelled into a single, slow moving line. Because everyone is now frantically trying to get passes, the crowd basically "stops" right inside the park (just pass the entry turnstiles) as everyone gets onto their phones and tried to grab passes, so that can create crowding and a backlog as newly entering people have nowhere to go (meaning it all grinds to a standstill).

IF getting passes wasn't such a priority for most visitors, then I understand it's way easier and quicker to rock up just before the official opening (e.g. 8:50am) as you pretty much walk straight in. But, the hundreds of people all trying to get in at opening obviously does cause some issues.

Thank you for that wonderfully detailed answer. That helps a lot!

 

[Nakkira]

Budget traveler though I may be, I made the executive decision tonight to cough up for an Airport transfer.

On our previous trip to Japan, we had booked similar but it got cancelled on due to a Typhoon (this same storm caused many delays that trip and lets just say by the time we arrived in Tokyo we had not slept in almost 48 hours) Dealing with our luggage and Public transport when we were that tired was nightmarish.

This time we are packing a little more conservatively, so there should be less luggage but still, I don't want to do that again.

Luggage delivery for just our checked bags would be almost $60 and then we would still have to get our own exhausted selves and carry-ons to the hotel. (Plus however much $ we would spend on public transportation).

OR

For less than $100 we will be driven directly to our hotel and have the driver waiting for us near the baggage claim. Yes please!

Thankfully on the way back home our Tokyo Hotel has a Bus that goes to the Airport that we can book.

I honestly feel so much better about our travel day now that we have this booked.

One more week and I can buy our park tickets.

 

[buzlite]

30 minutes early is definitely not enough. We tried this for a weekday in February (not holiday week)a couple years ago and we didn't get in for an hour. The lineups were mostly 45-60 minutes already. I would plan at minimum 1 hour early. And even then plan to purchase DPA immediately and book Priority pass immediately as soon as you enter. Use the single rider line for Indiana Jones and book QS online order before it sells out.

After the cost of DPA and time it mikes financial sense to spend the money IMO and stay at a Disney resort for Happy Entry. That's our plan this upcoming year.

 

[jimmymc]

I'll be in Japan around the same time as you, from October 26 to November 11. I'll be at the Disneyland Hotel from October 29 to 31, with one day in Disneyland and two in Disney Sea. I ended up getting a package because of the Fantasy Springs access.

 

[Nakkira]

30 minutes early is definitely not enough. We tried this for a weekday in February (not holiday week)a couple years ago and we didn't get in for an hour. The lineups were mostly 45-60 minutes already. I would plan at minimum 1 hour early. And even then plan to purchase DPA immediately and book Priority pass immediately as soon as you enter. Use the single rider line for Indiana Jones and book QS online order before it sells out.

After the cost of DPA and time it mikes financial sense to spend the money IMO and stay at a Disney resort for Happy Entry. That's our plan this upcoming year.

Well at 7 weeks out it's a bit late for me to change the plan for where we're staying however I will take your advice to mind so far is 30 minutes not being enough. Hopefully I can persuade the hubby that it's worth it to be in line for an hour.