TDR vs DLR

[vault19dweller]

So, since I discovered the magic of Disney parks about 6 years ago - we've done DLR about 4 times and WDW once.

I personally preferred DLR (WDW felt, to me, a lot more hectic - I'm guessing because of more overseas planners rather than locals going on a whim. I do like planning, but the general vibe I guess with everyone there being there for certain / determined reasons gave it a bit of a more intense vibe to it than the more casual DLR - 100% just my opinion, and I understand my age / family situation / time of visit & expierneces may alter my view)

We've always wanted to go to Japan, and I was considering a remote, but wishful (so possible) chance of visiting Japan for the first time ever in December this year?!

I love Disney so much, I cant visit Japan without a trip to TDR!!!
But, I've never been to TDR, and I was looking online, and it sounds a little - intense.

EG: running on open to headliners, arriving 90-120 mins before park opens to queue, general SB headliner wait times 120 to 180 minutes, and FP lines being almost as long as SB lines, stuff like that.

Im one of those people who would go to a DL park in USA during low season as I would prefer to deal with construction / refurbishes / shutdowns, just to avoid big crowds.

I know there will be crowds that Im not used to, but I guess Im just a bit daunted at the moment from a few of the above examples I read.

So, I was planning mid week, to lessen crowds? December - either Mon 5th to Wed 7th (or possibly 8th), or, Tues 6th to Thurs 8th (possibly Fri 9th)
I chose this week because I think it should be before most holidays?

Even with those taken into account, it sounded like the above examples of busy seemed to be the standard level.

I guess, I'm just trying to get an idea from people who know TDR if this is the case. Is it really like this?
Just so I can go with the right mind-set is all

 

[Agent 86]

There are a couple of crowd calendars which you check. The website / blog tdrexplorer should have links.

Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea can be crowded. Very crowded. But, it's organised chaos. On our most recent visit, we waited in line for 45 minutes to get Fast Passes to Toy Story Mania upon opening. We waited in line for 3 hours for the Tower of Terror because it was our third day and by the time we finished at Disneyland and hopped to DisneySea at around midday, all of the fast passes were gone.

But, despite the crowds, the ride closures and some long (and some very long) lines it's still an awesome park. I think most people could have a great day at DisneySea just appreciating all of the fantastic theming, even if they can't go on many rides or see many shows.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

And then I'll come along and tell you my experience was the complete opposite of Agent 86's. Lol. It really depends on the time of year (so make good use of the crowd calendars) plus the luck of some things you can't plan for, like weather.

We went the Monday-Thursday after Golden Week and breezed through the parks for the most part. The first day we showed up to TDL at least an hour early, touring plan in hand, and hit the ground running because I expected the crowds to be an entirely different beast than what I was used to. Got FPs for Monsters, Inc., went straight to Pooh's Hunny Hunt on standby, did StarTours, used the FP for Monsters, got FPs for BTMR and did standby for Splash. Then we scrapped the touring plan because we had the big things out of the way before lunch and could see that the crowds weren't all that bad. That night had howling winds, bad enough to cancel the parade, so that emptied the park out even more. We took advantage of that and knocked out all of Fantasyland in the last couple of hours. By the time we left we had done just about all the attractions. We used our second day at TDL to check off the last couple of things, re-ride a couple of favorites, catch the parade that had been cancelled prior, and spend hours strolling/eating/shopping.

We didn't arrive for our first day at TDS as early as I'd wanted to, showed up only about 15 minutes before park opening. We were about 4th or 5th in line to enter. It was drizzling that morning and the place was dead. The weather was clear and sunny by noon but the crowds remained light. I scrapped the touring plan immediately because the wait times were so short it wasn't even worth getting FPs. ToT standby was 10 minutes, no lottery for BBB, we showed up as they were filling the theater and walked right in, got front and center spots for Mythica and Fantasmic a couple of minutes before they started. We weren't even going to try for TSM but we walked back there at the end of the day and the standby time was 35 minutes, so we jumped in line. That was probably our longest wait throughout the four days we were there. We completely finished TDS the first day there. For our second day at TDS we showed up at noon, revisited a couple favorites, shopped, and were out of there by 6pm.

I'd recommend having a plan in place, but not stressing over it. You may not even need it and if you do, you'll be prepared.

 

[Agent 86]

I had very similar experiences to TipsyTraveler on my first two visits to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. But, my most recent trip was VERY different.

For our next visit in 2017, we're trying to ensure that we go to Disney during the quiet period in April. And keeping our fingers crossed that the weather is terrible, which should also keep the locals away.

 

[RandomlyrachelG]

Thanks for the responses from people who have been there because I'm also really wondering what to expect--the dates we're going in mid-July on weekdays still show relatively low attendance (still in the 'green' zone, but high green zone)--I just hope they are accurate this far in advance!

 

[ivanp91]

I was at TDL and TDS just over a fortnight ago and used the crowd calendars. The dates I attended were green, around 40-50 on the scale. Both parks were more crowded than I anticipated, and seemed around on par with when I attended in June 2014.

TDS was the busiest of the two, but I think that could be attributed to the fact their 15th anniversary celebrations only started a few days earlier. The TDS day started out nice and fine, a little warm, but became quite wet in the evening and rained all through Fantasmic - it was very crowded even with the weather (in contrast, on my first visit it rained all morning and then became beautiful the remainder). Toy Story Mania is just as popular/hectic as it is in the States, it took us 25 minutes after park opening just to get a FP ticket and the return time was already after 1PM! My tip is to take advantage of the FastPasses as much as you can, aside from Toy Story the return times for everything else was much more reasonable, and it means you can go and explore knowing you will still get a chance to try everything. Journey to the Center of the Earth is an absolute MUST.

TDL I follow the same basic strategy with FPs, but I've generally found the standby wait times more reasonable here than at TDS.

As for the crowds themselves, even though it can appear very busy and wait times for certain attractions are quite long, remember the Japanese are very polite people so you should never feel pushed around, ambushed, etc like you would in a crowded American park

 

[aussie shaz]

We were just there in early April. School holidays had just finished. I think the crowd calendar said 50s-60s. We did an afternoon and evening at TDL where we got in a few rides and a good look around the park. The next day we did TDS. This day it poured raining all day. We were at the gates an hour before opening and were pretty close to the front. People did run, but it really wasn't needed. We did everything we wanted, went back to the hotel for a few hours, then returned in the evening. I'm sure this was not a 'normal' day, but goes to show anything can happen. We got on all the rides we wanted, and multiple times, but there were no shows or parades due to the weather, and we really couldn't appreciate the beauty of the place.
Then we did a full day at TDL. We did more rides and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Like you, I was really worried about the crowds. I decided that we would pick a few rides we really wanted to do, and just appreciate being there. We did much more than expected.
We've been to DLR twice. Once in late May and once in August. I think the crowds (at TDL anyway) were similar. We use Ridemax though, so haven't really been in long lines at DLR.

 

[BrianL]

We had no problems while there. We only got there an hour to 45 minutes before open, had a great spot in line and easily got eveything done time and again. It was not that crazy. I will recommend that at DisneySea (greatest theme park in the world!) you skip Toy Story Mania unless you really love it. EVERYONE runs to it at open and the lines are outrageous. It is the same as the ones at DHS and DCA. By skipping that you can get in on Tower of Terror early with no wait, or grab a FastPass for it and head over to other areas for a bit. I don't know if July will be different than our April dates, but it was very manageable.

The shows were the only thing we noticed getting very crowded. We were there for the first week of the DisneySea 15th Anniversary show (Crystal Wishes Journey) and people at Rope Drop literally came in and sat down at the harbor front to stake their spot. Fantasmic! was something else too! But, even when crowded, the Japanese are super nice and polite and very helpful, so it doesn't feel so chaotic even with a lot of people. THey have a level of civility that you just don't see in the US.

So, hey, no worries. You'll have a great time! DisneySea is AMAZING!

 

[momtotaryn]

Our TDL day was in late March (March 30th to be exact), and NEVER again will we go during that time. I believe it was the break for Japanese school students. I was also told that the ticket prices increased on April 1st, so many were trying to get their last hurrah before the prices were raised. I have never, ever seen crowds like that at any other Disney park. CRAZY!!! We traveled with my DD's high school band (they had a performance at the Hamamatsu Festival), so we had no control over the date. If/when we go back to TDR, we will make sure to go to both TDL and TDS, and during a much less crowded time.

 

[shelemm]

I've been twice to TDR, both times midweek in August, about 44-46 days (x thousand of people) according to the crowd calendar. By using FPs, I found no problem with having to stand on long lines except that we did not do Toy Story (have done it multiple times in the US) and we went to Monsters Inc just before park closing. It was out last day and we waited 90 mins. It's a prettty lame ride, IMO.

Both Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain have single rider, and in Japan they will probably put you together anyway. The great thing aobut FP in Japan is that it is truly Front of the Line. You do not merge in most cases with the standby line. So it is super fast.

 

[jsilvers]

The great thing aobut FP in Japan is that it is truly Front of the Line. You do not merge in most cases with the standby line. So it is super fast.

I'm sorry, but that's simply not true. In many cases, the merge point may be close to the front - presumably since the attractions were built with FP in mind - but there aren't entirely separate FP lines. Using Indiana Jones as an example, the merge point is in the room before the safety briefing from "Paco".

 

[shelemm]

IJ is a bad example, since it is a waste of an FP because of single rider. FP is much faster in general than in the states. But that is my impression - confirmed by others- after two visits.

 

[jsilvers]

IJ is a bad example, since it is a waste of an FP because of single rider.

That it has a single rider line doesn't change the fact that is indeed an example of the FP and standby lines merging at TDR attractions well before the boarding area of an attraction.

Off-hand, I can think of only one TDR attraction where the FP line takes you almost to the boarding platform without merging - 20,000 Leagues. There may be a few others that don't immediately come to mind, but it certainly isn't typical - e.g., Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Journey to the Center of the Earth are all off-hand examples of attractions that merge well before boarding.

 

[retwinked]

I covered crowd levels on a blog post here - Worst Times to Go to TDR - based on data collected across Japanese websites. The Japanese crowd calendars are more accurate because they actually track the Fast Pass times and also have corresponding standby times listed.

I've been to TDR in every season and almost every month and found that the time with the fewest crowds are during the rainiest times, ie. June and early July. Weekdays are always the better choice. By all means stay away from Golden Week (May holidays).

Japanese crowds are generally civil given they have a high population in a small land mass so it's practically social conditioning. I have never had any problems with the crowds, they even go as far to ensure that cameras and phones be kept at head level. They have a system, they know it, and it is implemented very well.

The biggest difference I found are that shows and parades at TDR significantly draw more crowds than US parks. If you love to watch shows or parades, the one thing I highly suggest to do is to wait early. As in more than an hour early. Japanese people are more than willing to sit down and wait 3 hours prior to a show in order to secure a good seat.

https://kagayakey.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/the-worst-and-best-times-to-go-to-tokyo-disney/

 

[Looptyloo]

I'm happy to see this, DLR was our last Disney trip, last December, and TDR is our next planned trip late next February. Nice to see some of the comparisons. And we will be sure to avoid the weekends!

 

[Karin1984]

I covered crowd levels on a blog post here - Worst Times to Go to TDR - based on data collected across Japanese websites. The Japanese crowd calendars are more accurate because they actually track the Fast Pass times and also have corresponding standby times listed.

I've been to TDR in every season and almost every month and found that the time with the fewest crowds are during the rainiest times, ie. June and early July. Weekdays are always the better choice. By all means stay away from Golden Week (May holidays).

Japanese crowds are generally civil given they have a high population in a small land mass so it's practically social conditioning. I have never had any problems with the crowds, they even go as far to ensure that cameras and phones be kept at head level. They have a system, they know it, and it is implemented very well.

The biggest difference I found are that shows and parades at TDR significantly draw more crowds than US parks. If you love to watch shows or parades, the one thing I highly suggest to do is to wait early. As in more than an hour early. Japanese people are more than willing to sit down and wait 3 hours prior to a show in order to secure a good seat.

https://kagayakey.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/the-worst-and-best-times-to-go-to-tokyo-disney/

I had read your post a few days ago and what I was thinking, for September: You don't say which week is considered Silver Week. It's the 3rd or the 4th week, right? The crowd calendars I saw give the first week of September as a good time to go. And maybe an idea to list all the public holidays Japan has?

 

[retwinked]

I had read your post a few days ago and what I was thinking, for September: You don't say which week is considered Silver Week. It's the 3rd or the 4th week, right? The crowd calendars I saw give the first week of September as a good time to go. And maybe an idea to list all the public holidays Japan has?

That's because unlike Golden Week which occurs annually, Silver Week happens every 5-7 years based on which dates the holidays take place. Golden Week holidays are usually consecutive, but Silver Week is more by chance.

The first week of September is when the second term of school starts again so it's a good time to go to TDR. Any time a school semester begins, ie. first week of April, September, and January, is usually when crowd levels take a dip.

Here's a list of public holidays in Japan: http://publicholidays.jp/

 

[Agent 86]

I know that I already responded to this thread, but I recently returned from a holiday which included four days at Disneyland Anaheim / California Adventure.

Personally, I MUCH preferred the crowds at Tokyo to those in LA. In Tokyo it was organised chaos - the crowd would move with purpose, at a brisk speed in the appropriate direction (or there would be various "lanes" for different directions). The crowd was also polite and respectful about personal space (to the extent possible). In LA it was ... not like that. It was just like getting caught up in a strong current pulling you every which way, full of people forcefully negotiating their way through the crowds. And the strollers and scooters, especially all of the PARKED strollers which sometimes took up at least 50% of the available walking space.

To be fair, it was worst around POTC where the walkway near the Treehouse is closed due to the refurbishments. But, it was also pretty chaotic in Fantasyland and there were a couple of times when we were stuck at a stand-still in Tomorrowland in the space between Buzz / Star Tours / Astro Orbiters. California Adventure was pretty good, especially since it was possible to detour around Grizzly Peak or through Bug's Land if you wanted to traverse from one side to the other in a hurry and avoid the crowds in the central walkway (which I would often do on Fast Pass runs).