TDL, TDS and Beyond Trip Planning Advice

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Still catching up on normal life from the long trip, but I believe Sat-Sun-Mon are supposed to be the worst days on the parks in Tokyo— if it works with your time zone, I’d fire up the TDR app around 10AM, 1pm, and 6pm Tokyo time and compare waits on various days for a week or two…It’s possible our week was impacted by some kind of fluke, but I don’t feel the crowd calendars served us well.

I do continue to think that the Tokyo Disney Explorer guy’s guide book is a fantastic resource and well worth the $20 or so fee, and I also think Tom Bricker’s blog (on Disney and Japan overview generally) is a good complimentary resource.

 

[clappyclaps]

Has anyone stayed in the Hotel Okura and got any feedback/concerns? Having looked at hotels on the monorail loop, this is by far the cheapest with the Hilton and Grand Nikko coming out around £200+ more expensive.

Also, slight aside to Disney but has anyone been to the Ghibli Park? I can see it's not particularly near to either of the cities I'm planning on staying in but I can't go to Japan and not visit it, so any tips on how to include this would be appreciated!

 

[gelatoni fan]

Has anyone stayed in the Hotel Okura and got any feedback/concerns? Having looked at hotels on the monorail loop, this is by far the cheapest with the Hilton and Grand Nikko coming out around £200+ more expensive.

Also, slight aside to Disney but has anyone been to the Ghibli Park? I can see it's not particularly near to either of the cities I'm planning on staying in but I can't go to Japan and not visit it, so any tips on how to include this would be appreciated!

While I haven't stayed at this particular Okura yet, I find Okura hotels to be decent. Grand Nikko is the slightly more luxurious brand under the same hotel group.

Ghibli Park is near Nagoya and it's pretty straightforward to take the shinkansen from Tokyo station to Nagoya station. Plan to stay at least 2 nights in Nagoya.

Be aware that tickets sell out fast. If you're unable to buy the premium ticket and end up with standard ticket, then make sure to get to the valley of witches at opening or else the tickets to enter the houses will sell out. If this is a "must do" for you and you can't snag a premium ticket, then you can even consider booking one of the overpriced tours that include it.

 

[clappyclaps]

While I haven't stayed at this particular Okura yet, I find Okura hotels to be decent. Grand Nikko is the slightly more luxurious brand under the same hotel group.

Ghibli Park is near Nagoya and it's pretty straightforward to take the shinkansen from Tokyo station to Nagoya station. Plan to stay at least 2 nights in Nagoya.

Be aware that tickets sell out fast. If you're unable to buy the premium ticket and end up with standard ticket, then make sure to get to the valley of witches at opening or else the tickets to enter the houses will sell out. If this is a "must do" for you and you can't snag a premium ticket, then you can even consider booking one of the overpriced tours that include it.

Wonderful thank you!

 

[Keladry84]

I won't be booking this yet as need to get my WDW trip out of the way, but if anyone has any recommendations for reasonably priced (and decent) hotels in the Tokyo Bay area that aren't a bad walking distance from TDR I'd be really interested. While I'd love to stay at Disney, its extremely pricey and a little too prohibitive. I am considering the on-site official hotels on the monorail loop but as of when I checked, most had no availability or hadn't released rooms.

I'd highly recommend Tokyo Bay Maihama First Resort: https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/hotel/oh/firstresort.html

It's a partner hotel, "on" the Monorail loop albeit with no close-by monorail stop, but has great shuttles (I never had more than a 5 minute wait). Convenient, clean, quiet, and cheap. I stayed for $99 per night, and I absolutely loved the theming in my room. Rooms are small but well-designed and functional.

Getting to/from the parks was actually easier/quicker than when I stayed on-site at WDW, and I was able to go back/forth for afternoon breaks with no problem. It's one that tends to get overlooked by international/English speakers in favor of the more recognized brands with direct monorail stops (and more cost).