TDR trip report Oct 2023

[SeanSD]

We did 4 days, 2 at each park. Stayed at Hilton and really glad we did, great location, nice hotel, HUGE rooms with nice facilities.
The Halloween costumes people wore at parks amazing. They really take it seriously and show quality costumes and makeup. The lines were no joke but we decided to go in just after park opening rather than line up with thousands. The lines move very quickly compared to US parks. We tried to get in the rides we don’t have. The snacks are next level, and very good prices compared to US parks.
The ride lines do get crazy so we used the express passes for pay rides and the reserved rides to make it tolerable. We were able to catch a couple of parades and although people line up HOURS before we were able to find spots about 30 minutes before and still see everything. DisneySea especially has multiple locations that offer decent views for the boat shows. Overall we loved it and think the parks are as good as any in US with the added Japanese flair and snacks to make them something to be experienced.
The workers and other customers are very polite and helpful anytime we needed directions or info. We also walked through Disneyland hotel and Mira Costa both very nice but not sure we would pay those rates to stay there. Ikspiari was also great, went for Ippudo Ramen twice and enjoyed their other stores. For souvenirs we got a popcorn bucket, t shirt and some snacks for people back home. Happy to answer any questions and thanks for everyone who offered help and suggestions on here!

 

[verobeachlover]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! A couple questions regarding the hotels and curious if anyone knows the answers to them. First, if you have breakfast or dine in general at MiraCosta, are you allowed to use the special park entrance, or is that only reserved for hotel guests? Also, I thought I heard something about if you're visiting the hotels, you can't really buy much in the gift shops (particularly the hotel specific merch) as they limit this to hotel guests only. Is this true? Hoping to get rooms for TDR at the 3 month window for March, but otherwise have a Hilton reservation as a backup, but would still enjoy exploring at least MiraCosta and TDH + maybe buying some small trinkets.

 

[SeanSD]

Only a few limited hotel items in the hotel shops that I noticed, you can buy most other merch without staying there. Can’t answer on the entrance we grabbed quick breakfast and boba coffee at Mama Biscottis first thing.

 

[iheartglaciers]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! A couple questions regarding the hotels and curious if anyone knows the answers to them. First, if you have breakfast or dine in general at MiraCosta, are you allowed to use the special park entrance, or is that only reserved for hotel guests? Also, I thought I heard something about if you're visiting the hotels, you can't really buy much in the gift shops (particularly the hotel specific merch) as they limit this to hotel guests only. Is this true? Hoping to get rooms for TDR at the 3 month window for March, but otherwise have a Hilton reservation as a backup, but would still enjoy exploring at least MiraCosta and TDH + maybe buying some small trinkets.

I think the resort exclusive merch is just a tote bag and the little plush keychains (there’s a Mickey and Minnie in themed clothes that’s different for MiraCosta and Disneyland Hotel). I saw a sign last week that said those were only for resort guests, but it didn’t apply to all resort specific merch, just those items.

I was able to buy a Disneyland Hotel drawstring bag even though I wasn’t staying there.

 

[mkh531]

Thank you for your report! We are thinking of a trip to TDR next year. How were the crowds? As bad as in Orlando? The few videos I’ve seen from TDR show a lot of empty space but the ones for the US ones often do too.

 

[SeanSD]

We went mid week, T-F. I felt like the lines to get in were much longer than Orlando but quicker and more efficient. The lines for rides pretty long, as long or longer than Orlando and I know weekends should be avoided. We used the premier access and priority pass which helped a lot. And tickets and food much cheaper than US Parks so didn’t mind paying for couple of Premier Access passes. There is plenty of space, DisneySea is a large park and Tokyo Disneyland has space between areas so some less crowded than others.