October 2025, so confused by everything TD and Seas

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I see several people have mentioned jet lag this is a main reason we put our TDL trip at the end of our Japan trip when we went October 2024. It took me about 2 to 3 days to get my body to stay up late enough even having done some adjustments on the days before we left to try and get my body up to speed. My husband's jet lag hit him once we got back home, me it was when we got to Japan.

When we went to Europe last May I had jet lag once we got home but my husband when we got to Europe though his was less than mine.

Obviously this takes knowing how each person handles jet lag but to be safe I would not try and start your trip right off the bat in TDL if you're trying to maximize your park touring.

We did not do a vacation package and instead stayed at Hilton Tokyo Bay (located next door to Toy Story hotel). We did a Disneyland weeknight pass (entry at 5pm-9pm) the day we arrived back in Tokyo after having explored other parts of Japan. In addition we did 1 full day at Disneyland and 2 full days at DisneySea.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As far as places to go:

When we went a few months back we did a short portion of an evening in Tokyo then off to Kamakura (see the Buddha and a smaller bamboo forest) and Hakone the next day. In Hakone we stayed at a ryokan and went to Owakudani day trip (recommend that be be prepared for it to smell because it's sulphur).

Next day we headed off to Kyoto. Did a short scenic train into the western countryside (did not see the main bamboo forest that's why we went to Kamakura to do that one), day trip to Nara the next day and then explored some temples and shrines in Kyoto he following day.

After that we went to Kanazawa and saw the great Buddha and some temples as well as enjoyed gold leaf desserts and learning about samurai living. Next day we went to Takayama for Hida Folk Village.

And after that we went back to Tokyo and did our TDR portion before leaving Japan. Aside from the jet lag I enjoyed ending the trip at TDR. Yeah we were a tad tired just from the rest of the trip but we had gotten into our stride and had had some exposure already to local customs in a small enough way. After all the learning we had done in the rest of the trip it was like a time to have the fun.

 

[jujubiee4]

I see several people have mentioned jet lag this is a main reason we put our TDL trip at the end of our Japan trip when we went October 2024. It took me about 2 to 3 days to get my body to stay up late enough even having done some adjustments on the days before we left to try and get my body up to speed. My husband's jet lag hit him once we got back home, me it was when we got to Japan.

When we went to Europe last May I had jet lag once we got home but my husband when we got to Europe though his was less than mine.

Obviously this takes knowing how each person handles jet lag but to be safe I would not try and start your trip right off the bat in TDL if you're trying to maximize your park touring.

We did not do a vacation package and instead stayed at Hilton Tokyo Bay (located next door to Toy Story hotel). We did a Disneyland weeknight pass (entry at 5pm-9pm) the day we arrived back in Tokyo after having explored other parts of Japan. In addition we did 1 full day at Disneyland and 2 full days at DisneySea.

How did this work out? We arent going in Oct but im thinking Feb/March. The trip is really to Tokyo but
kids want to see this Disney also so thought about putting it at the tail end of trip. How long did you stay
in Japan? thanks (thinking about the same Hilton)

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

How did this work out? We arent going in Oct but im thinking Feb/March. The trip is really to Tokyo but
kids want to see this Disney also so thought about putting it at the tail end of trip. How long did you stay
in Japan? thanks (thinking about the same Hilton)

We arrived in Japan on the afternoon of 10/7 in Tokyo and left on 10/19 from Tokyo after having done all the other places we saw. Disney parks were 10/15 (evening)-10/18 (those were our Hilton hotel days as well). We were tired from the other travels we did in Japan by the time we hit Disney but it was far better to do it then than try to do it at the beginning, for us that is. If you're only really doing Tokyo it's possible that you could place it in the middle but that's just a random thought, you know how your family might be.

I think it worked out great for the Hilton, just a quick walk to the station and off you go to the parks. There's also two IIRC convenience stores inside there Lawsons is one of them that we grabbed some snacks when need be. We did use the breakfast buffet (they had two locations inside the hotel not far from each other) though we had to rush on the mornings we did Disney because we wanted to get to the parks early enough. IIRC the buffet starts at 6:30am. In terms of availability of passes for their skip the line it was good for us to get there early (offsets not having the vacation package) but I don't know how crowds would be in February and March. October is Halloween season and they take it seriously so the parks were crowded.

As far as how did the weeknight ticket go it was a good decision to do it, we were arriving back into Tokyo (from Takayama) in the afternoon and I thought it would be a waste not to get into the parks for a few hours at least especially with the park ticket not costing the same as a full day's. For these tickets they will have an area you wait in until the time (5pm for weeknight, 3pm for weekend), you can't really expect there to be Disney Premier Access (DPA) or if the 40th Priority Passes are still around to be available especially if going at 5pm but it's good to get in the parks, explore around some, grab some churros (they have some really interesting flavors), get in a few rides if you can, see the fireworks/night show, etc.

My husband and I were blown away by DisneySea, I really liked Disneyland as well but because DisneySea is so unique in terms of other Disney parks it was good we did 2 days there. Originally our plan was just 1 day at each park, then I changed to saying I really wanted 2 days at DisneySea mostly because of the expansion with Fantasy Springs and then we added somewhat late that weeknight pass for Disneyland.

As a heads up they do refurbs on a much more consistent basis at Tokyo Disney Resort so check their website frequently enough to see when an attraction may be down when you're going.

 

[jujubiee4]

We arrived in Japan on the afternoon of 10/7 in Tokyo and left on 10/19 from Tokyo after having done all the other places we saw. Disney parks were 10/15 (evening)-10/18 (those were our Hilton hotel days as well). We were tired from the other travels we did in Japan by the time we hit Disney but it was far better to do it then than try to do it at the beginning, for us that is. If you're only really doing Tokyo it's possible that you could place it in the middle but that's just a random thought, you know how your family might be.

I think it worked out great for the Hilton, just a quick walk to the station and off you go to the parks. There's also two IIRC convenience stores inside there Lawsons is one of them that we grabbed some snacks when need be. We did use the breakfast buffet (they had two locations inside the hotel not far from each other) though we had to rush on the mornings we did Disney because we wanted to get to the parks early enough. IIRC the buffet starts at 6:30am. In terms of availability of passes for their skip the line it was good for us to get there early (offsets not having the vacation package) but I don't know how crowds would be in February and March. October is Halloween season and they take it seriously so the parks were crowded.

As far as how did the weeknight ticket go it was a good decision to do it, we were arriving back into Tokyo (from Takayama) in the afternoon and I thought it would be a waste not to get into the parks for a few hours at least especially with the park ticket not costing the same as a full day's. For these tickets they will have an area you wait in until the time (5pm for weeknight, 3pm for weekend), you can't really expect there to be Disney Premier Access (DPA) or if the 40th Priority Passes are still around to be available especially if going at 5pm but it's good to get in the parks, explore around some, grab some churros (they have some really interesting flavors), get in a few rides if you can, see the fireworks/night show, etc.

My husband and I were blown away by DisneySea, I really liked Disneyland as well but because DisneySea is so unique in terms of other Disney parks it was good we did 2 days there. Originally our plan was just 1 day at each park, then I changed to saying I really wanted 2 days at DisneySea mostly because of the expansion with Fantasy Springs and then we added somewhat late that weeknight pass for Disneyland.

As a heads up they do refurbs on a much more consistent basis at Tokyo Disney Resort so check their website frequently enough to see when an attraction may be down when you're going.

Thank you for all the great info and advice!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thank you for all the great info and advice!

You're welcome! Enjoy your Japan trip We had so much fun and I know we'll plan on going back

 

[jujubiee4]

You're welcome! Enjoy your Japan trip We had so much fun and I know we'll plan on going back

Well I don't know for sure we are going to go. We had April 2020 Japan trip booked and we all know
what happened then. I never rebooked it. I do like your layout of your trip and will use it as template
for when we decide as I def want the Dis part at the end of the trip. You are the only one I have read that
stayed at the hotel we will (prob) stay at. Much as I would like to book that expensive Disney hotel I cant
stomach the price right now. Thank you again.

 

[mmmears]

Well I don't know for sure we are going to go. We had April 2020 Japan trip booked and we all know
what happened then. I never rebooked it. I do like your layout of your trip and will use it as template
for when we decide as I def want the Dis part at the end of the trip. You are the only one I have read that
stayed at the hotel we will (prob) stay at. Much as I would like to book that expensive Disney hotel I cant
stomach the price right now. Thank you again.

If you're talking about the Hilton Tokyo Bay, I believe quite a few people over on the credit card thread have stayed there and I think there may be some reviews over in the hotel reviews board.