Tokyo Disney - here I come!

[dinkerbelle]

I just booked flights for my DH and me to Japan! My SIL is living there for three years and we are going to visit her next Feb. We will be in Japan for 10 days and are spending 2 days at Tokyo Disney and Tokyo DisneySea! Any other DVC members been? Any tips? Must see attractions/shows? I'm so excited!

 

[DVC Mike]

Can I come?

I've always wanted to go to TDLR!

 

[ccigliano]

I saw a show on the Travel station about Tokyo Disney and from what I remember the Japanese tend to dress up when they go the parks. The gals wear high heels and dresses, the guys wear suits. Now I don't suggest that you bring along the formal wear - I would like to see some pictures. That should be a great trip - have fun.

 

[lisah0711]

How exciting! My dream is to go to all the Disney parks someday.

You might want to check out this thread on Miceage:

http://micechat.com/forums/blogs/we...esian-resort-signs-disneyland-paris-more.html

It has a big photo section on Tokyo Disney. The castle shoots water out of the turrets and flames and lasers at night! Yowza!

Have fun planning.

 

[dinkerbelle]

Can I come?

I've always wanted to go to TDLR!

Can you squeeze into a carry-on?

I saw a show on the Travel station about Tokyo Disney and from what I remember the Japanese tend to dress up when they go the parks. The gals wear high heels and dresses, the guys wear suits. Now I don't suggest that you bring along the formal wear - I would like to see some pictures. That should be a great trip - have fun.

I don't know about high heels!

How exciting! My dream is to go to all the Disney parks someday.

You might want to check out this thread on Miceage:

http://micechat.com/forums/blogs/we...esian-resort-signs-disneyland-paris-more.html

It has a big photo section on Tokyo Disney. The castle shoots water out of the turrets and flames and lasers at night! Yowza!

Have fun planning.

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out. I've always wanted to go to all the Disney parks too and after Tokyo, I'll only have Hong Kong left!

 

[vakamalua]

We were at Tokyo Disney for three days in 2006 before a two week tour of Japan. We had a blast! Stayed at the DisneySea MiraCosta which is absolutely gorgeous. Not sure about now, but at the time, admission to the pool was an extra fee. In fact, be prepared, everything at TD (and the cities of Japan) is very expensive.

Be aware that not very many CMs at the hotel or parks speak English. We were always able to make ourselves understood but sometimes had to wait until someone went to get an English speaking CM. Everyone was extremely helpful and were delighted that we'd traveled all that way to visit TD. In the three days at the parks and at the hotel, we only saw about three other "western" families."

Yes, the Japanese do tend to dress nicely at the parks. But they dress nicer than Americans everywhere. Just be comfortable; you will stand out no mater what. Be sure to dress for the weather; Tokyo can be very cold in February.

The restaurants cater to Japanese tastes but you should always be able to find something familiar that you like (especially in the parks), especially if you are adventurous.

The Magic Kingdom is very similar to WDW/Disneyland with some unique restaurants touches. For example, World Bazaar (Main Street) is covered by an elaborate glass roof structure since it gets REALLY hot and rains REALLY hard in Tokyo (a lot like WDW in the summer). All the shows are in Japanese but you can get an English audio translator for some of them. But for us, hearing the Country Bears speak Japanese was worth the trip! We really enjoyed the beautifully themed "Queen of Hearts" Banquet Hall. Sometimes when you see characters, they'll be dressed differently than you've seen before (although we never saw Minnie in a kimono).

Even though you will probably have shorter hours in the winter, get an early start and try to do everything at the DisneySea. It is the only one of its kind in the world and really a beautiful place. For that reason alone, the whole park is a "must see." There are a few attractions that will be familiar (Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Ride like in Disneyland and the 20,000 Leagues Submarines), but the rest of the park is different fun attractions like Journey to the Center of the Earth. Triton's Kingdom, an indoor area of rides and Little Mermaid show is really unique.

Have a wonderful time! We loved Japan and would like to go back someday.

 

[dvc_john]

As you can see from my signature, I've been there. Last time was last October. It was Halloween time, and Disneyland was crazy crowded, but DisneySea wasn't at all crowded.

Be sure to see both the afternoon show on the lagoon at DisneySea as well as the evening show on the lagoon. And be sure to see the 'Little Mermaid' show at DisneySea - it's sort of like Cirque du Soleil does 'The Little Mermaid'.

They were nearing completion of a new "Monster's Inc' attraction at Disneyland, so that should be open by now.

Just be sure to have a good time!

 

[larry_poppins]

Tokyo Disney Resort is the best of all the Resorts in my opinion. I love Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland. I love their parades and spectacles. The food everywhere is the best, much better than the States's parks. Don't forget the popcorn!

Everything at DisneSea is gorgeous! Eyecandy everywhere! You will have the best time of your life.


Larry

 

[queenie82]

We were there in Feb THIS year and 2 days is NOT enough. Even our 3.5 days we were pushing it because there are rides you will want to go on multiple times and you will want to see Legend of Mythica more than once (at DisneySea) and the Electrical Parade (at Disneyland). I hope you aren't there on a Saturday because although the fireworks will be on then (they weren't on during the week) and the hours are longer the crowds are incredible even in this "quieter" time of year. [And we didn't even get the proper fireworks on the Saturday anyway and they were cancelled on the Sunday] Also if you get a 2 day ticket you cannot do any hopping. So you will need to do EVERYTHING you want to at the park you are in that day.

We stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel which is very expensive but given the limited time it was well worth it. The entry to Disneyland is right opposite the Disneyland hotel and you get special passes if you stay there which give you a central entry area. Now the benefits of this are limited....but whatever time before opening you will have a shorter wait.
There is NO rope drop...you wait outside the entry gates you put your tickets through at the opening time.

Before I move on I will mention weather. It will be cold...but not freezing cold...assuming the weather is similar to the Feb past. I generally layered because when the sun was out it did warm up. The nights it will chill but as I say layers are the solution. I actually found short sleeve thermals (the polypropylene ones) quite good to go under the bottom layer of a t-shirt.

So....must do's no matter WHAT
Disneyland
- Pooh's Hunny Hunt. This is UNIQUE. I ended up doing it about 5 times...call me crazy. You probably won't understand why everyone says how wonderful this is...but once you ride it you will understand. But if you want to do it more than once then RUN, get a fastpass and join the standby. On Saturday the queue was 170mins a few hours in. Buzz was 150mins.
- Parades....this to me should be the focus. The Jubilation Parade was the one we saw for the 25th anniversary and it was AMAZING...and even if it changes I doubt it will disappoint. Each parade has a sponsor so they can afford quality.
The Electrical Parade is ridiculously amazing....
- ONE MAN'S DREAM II. AMAZING show...I mean it isn't a broadway type show...but I just loved it.
- The Castle Show....the one we saw was "Dreams Within". To get tickets for the seating area it is a lottery. You go to a room near Space Mountain...enter your ticket...say which show you prefer (day or night) and you may or may not win. The ticket has a SPECIFIC seat number which is marked on the (cold) metal benches. So you do need to be there on time but you don't need to be especially early. You could try once only. Otherwise you can stand behind the seating area but like any show you should get there early

Generally
- The Japanese don't seem to like coasters and Big Thunder is very tame.
- Jungle Cruise is very disturbing with a high pitched woman screaming in Japanese at you.
- Country Bear Jamboree was also disturbing in Japanese.
- Pirates...the same
- Tiki Room with Stitch invasion. DO NOT BOTHER. I LOVE Stitch but this was awful. It had me begging for under new management.
- Buzz...the same
- Toontown...the same
- Haunted Mansion is like the pre refurb WDW one with subtle differences but it is fun with the Ghost Host.
- Small World...much brighter, colourful.

Tokyo DisneySea
Must do no matter what
- The Little Mermaid show. AMAZING. As said above like Cirque du Solei but the little mermaid. It is funny in that it is only the first half of the movie but it is AMAZING. The puppetry and everything.
- Legend of Mythica. This is a show that occurs in the lake they have. It is like a massive parade and show. The floats are spectacular and it is a great show spectacular. You should try and get a good spot in one of the 5 "dancing" areas. there are semi circle seating areas where each of the character floats stop. We had Minnie, and standing along the railing immediately behind the seating section is a great view.
- Braviseamo is also stunning and occurs in the same lake, but it isn't as good. I mean it is amazing and definitely a must see...
It is funny though *** I could barely believe this massive dragon rose out of the same lake they had legend of mythica in.
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH! This is hands down the best ride in the park. There is an audio animatronic creature in there that is indescribable. And it is a great ride for all ages. (although there is a height restriction)
- Mystic Rhythms is pretty good. Fun with good quality performers.
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - This is NOT like the one at Disneyland. It is to a very different vehicle and I really enjoyed it. There was little or no queue the whole day.
- DisneySea Transit Steamer Line - this is great. It travels around the lake and through the narrower passages and is a great little tour of sorts.
- StormRider...I was unsure as to where to put this. It is a motion simulator ride and as they go it isn't great. The storyline (even with translation) is a bit unclear. If you have time give it a go but I wouldn't wait long.
- Aquatopia - This is a very silly but fun ride. Right next to Stormrider, it has a random sort of wander through an area or water. I would probably choose it over Stormrider...but it is very silly. Doing it at night there was almost zero wait and I enjoyed it.

Generally
- Indiana Jones is themed with Crystal Skull and the queue area has some nice theming but it is the same track and the same ball rolling scene as in disneyland CA
- Raging Spirits. As I said Japanese don't seem to like scary coasters. This is a looping coaster which warns you about ten times it is a looping coaster and it is ridiculously tame and when it finally gets going you then brake as it is over.
- Tower of Terror. This is a fine attraction....and the theming is pretty cool (although odd). The story is completely different but the organisation on the ride seems very inefficient. There are LONG waits even with no exterior queuing in use as they don't seem to run enough or something was up. It is NOT random...so once on the ride it is disappointing as it is always the same. But if you have time...the inside is interesting and the start room is nice.

I LOVED my experience here. There is a language barrier. There are VERY few CM's who speak english but if you get lost in the park HAVE A MAP and point to where you are aiming for and they can point and guide. I got lost going through the Volcano all the time.

FOOD - there is very...well...interesting food. And it is ALL expensive.
In DisneySea you have much better choices and my pick was the Cape Cod Cook-Off
I don't like odd Japanese food so perhaps picking something so American is strange to you...but it was YUMMY!!
They have burgers, clam chowder and it is a reasonable price.
It was also very quiet...hardly anyone there.
The food places close really early so be aware of this.

Our favourite place to dine was at Ikspiari which is on the monorail line. (there is a looping monorail line to Disneysea, Disneyland, Ikspiari and the other 'official' hotels)
There is a Planet Hollywood with great burgers. And there is a WONDERFUL Hawaiian style burger grill place. The Hawaiian place closes early so we only got to it once, but I Loved it. It was PACKED too...it is very popular.
There is a supermarket there as well and there is a small market in the Disneyland Hotel.

These are photos
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOa3sHGr5qrtAE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney2?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCSxb-n69_WjwE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney1?authkey=Gv1sRgCPKuo6WVp6Ky1gE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/labelmer/TokyoDreamlights?authkey=Gv1sRgCIe5_MG-l73-Ng&feat=directlink

 

[GEB@okw]

DS is a great park. Really enjoyed it. Strange thing is that when I was there 3 years ago, I remember the stage show in emglish??? Our son lives in Japan and now our grandson so it's two trips a year for us. I don't think I will ever get used to that 14 hour flight out of Detroit.

 

[Micca]

I would love to see Tokyo Disney. Enjoy your Feb trip.

 

[nytimez]

I agree with what others have said but want to reiterate that point about no park-hopping, which is kind of a big deal if you're used to WDW. You'll need to decide when you buy your tickets which park you'll want to visit on which day. If you get a three-day pass, you can hop on the third day.

Disney Sea in particular is fantastic. Very different from all the other Disney parks.

 

[dinkerbelle]

The Magic Kingdom is very similar to WDW/Disneyland with some unique restaurants touches. For example, World Bazaar (Main Street) is covered by an elaborate glass roof structure since it gets REALLY hot and rains REALLY hard in Tokyo (a lot like WDW in the summer). All the shows are in Japanese but you can get an English audio translator for some of them. But for us, hearing the Country Bears speak Japanese was worth the trip! We really enjoyed the beautifully themed "Queen of Hearts" Banquet Hall. Sometimes when you see characters, they'll be dressed differently than you've seen before (although we never saw Minnie in a kimono).

Even though you will probably have shorter hours in the winter, get an early start and try to do everything at the DisneySea. It is the only one of its kind in the world and really a beautiful place. For that reason alone, the whole park is a "must see." There are a few attractions that will be familiar (Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Ride like in Disneyland and the 20,000 Leagues Submarines), but the rest of the park is different fun attractions like Journey to the Center of the Earth. Triton's Kingdom, an indoor area of rides and Little Mermaid show is really unique.

Have a wonderful time! We loved Japan and would like to go back someday.

Thanks for the advice! How many days did you spend there? I only have two days because my husband said we're really there to visit my sister-in-law and her husband and see the country not see Mickey.

As you can see from my signature, I've been there. Last time was last October. It was Halloween time, and Disneyland was crazy crowded, but DisneySea wasn't at all crowded.

Be sure to see both the afternoon show on the lagoon at DisneySea as well as the evening show on the lagoon. And be sure to see the 'Little Mermaid' show at DisneySea - it's sort of like Cirque du Soleil does 'The Little Mermaid'.

They were nearing completion of a new "Monster's Inc' attraction at Disneyland, so that should be open by now.

Just be sure to have a good time!

Thanks for the tips, dvc_john! I love Cirque du Soleil so I'll put the Little Mermaid show on my must do list!

Tokyo Disney Resort is the best of all the Resorts in my opinion. I love Pooh's Hunny Hunt and Splash Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland. I love their parades and spectacles. The food everywhere is the best, much better than the States's parks. Don't forget the popcorn!

I'll have to look at the website to see what Pooh's Hunny Hunt is like. I'm assuming it is different from the Pooh ride at WDW. Is Splash Mountain different than the one at WDW?

DS is a great park. Really enjoyed it. Strange thing is that when I was there 3 years ago, I remember the stage show in emglish??? Our son lives in Japan and now our grandson so it's two trips a year for us. I don't think I will ever get used to that 14 hour flight out of Detroit.

Two trips a year! Lucky you! What is your favorite ride/show?

I agree with what others have said but want to reiterate that point about no park-hopping, which is kind of a big deal if you're used to WDW. You'll need to decide when you buy your tickets which park you'll want to visit on which day. If you get a three-day pass, you can hop on the third day.

Thanks for the tip. We usually park hop at WDW and we did both DLRP parks in one day in 2008. I have a feeling that I'm going to be sad I only have two days there!

 

[dinkerbelle]

We were there in Feb THIS year and 2 days is NOT enough. Even our 3.5 days we were pushing it because there are rides you will want to go on multiple times and you will want to see Legend of Mythica more than once (at DisneySea) and the Electrical Parade (at Disneyland). I hope you aren't there on a Saturday because although the fireworks will be on then (they weren't on during the week) and the hours are longer the crowds are incredible even in this "quieter" time of year. [And we didn't even get the proper fireworks on the Saturday anyway and they were cancelled on the Sunday] Also if you get a 2 day ticket you cannot do any hopping. So you will need to do EVERYTHING you want to at the park you are in that day.

We stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel which is very expensive but given the limited time it was well worth it. The entry to Disneyland is right opposite the Disneyland hotel and you get special passes if you stay there which give you a central entry area. Now the benefits of this are limited....but whatever time before opening you will have a shorter wait.
There is NO rope drop...you wait outside the entry gates you put your tickets through at the opening time.

Before I move on I will mention weather. It will be cold...but not freezing cold...assuming the weather is similar to the Feb past. I generally layered because when the sun was out it did warm up. The nights it will chill but as I say layers are the solution. I actually found short sleeve thermals (the polypropylene ones) quite good to go under the bottom layer of a t-shirt.

So....must do's no matter WHAT
Disneyland
- Pooh's Hunny Hunt. This is UNIQUE. I ended up doing it about 5 times...call me crazy. You probably won't understand why everyone says how wonderful this is...but once you ride it you will understand. But if you want to do it more than once then RUN, get a fastpass and join the standby. On Saturday the queue was 170mins a few hours in. Buzz was 150mins.
- Parades....this to me should be the focus. The Jubilation Parade was the one we saw for the 25th anniversary and it was AMAZING...and even if it changes I doubt it will disappoint. Each parade has a sponsor so they can afford quality.
The Electrical Parade is ridiculously amazing....
- ONE MAN'S DREAM II. AMAZING show...I mean it isn't a broadway type show...but I just loved it.
- The Castle Show....the one we saw was "Dreams Within". To get tickets for the seating area it is a lottery. You go to a room near Space Mountain...enter your ticket...say which show you prefer (day or night) and you may or may not win. The ticket has a SPECIFIC seat number which is marked on the (cold) metal benches. So you do need to be there on time but you don't need to be especially early. You could try once only. Otherwise you can stand behind the seating area but like any show you should get there early

Generally
- The Japanese don't seem to like coasters and Big Thunder is very tame.
- Jungle Cruise is very disturbing with a high pitched woman screaming in Japanese at you.
- Country Bear Jamboree was also disturbing in Japanese.
- Pirates...the same
- Tiki Room with Stitch invasion. DO NOT BOTHER. I LOVE Stitch but this was awful. It had me begging for under new management.
- Buzz...the same
- Toontown...the same
- Haunted Mansion is like the pre refurb WDW one with subtle differences but it is fun with the Ghost Host.
- Small World...much brighter, colourful.

Tokyo DisneySea
Must do no matter what
- The Little Mermaid show. AMAZING. As said above like Cirque du Solei but the little mermaid. It is funny in that it is only the first half of the movie but it is AMAZING. The puppetry and everything.
- Legend of Mythica. This is a show that occurs in the lake they have. It is like a massive parade and show. The floats are spectacular and it is a great show spectacular. You should try and get a good spot in one of the 5 "dancing" areas. there are semi circle seating areas where each of the character floats stop. We had Minnie, and standing along the railing immediately behind the seating section is a great view.
- Braviseamo is also stunning and occurs in the same lake, but it isn't as good. I mean it is amazing and definitely a must see...
It is funny though *** I could barely believe this massive dragon rose out of the same lake they had legend of mythica in.
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH! This is hands down the best ride in the park. There is an audio animatronic creature in there that is indescribable. And it is a great ride for all ages. (although there is a height restriction)
- Mystic Rhythms is pretty good. Fun with good quality performers.
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - This is NOT like the one at Disneyland. It is to a very different vehicle and I really enjoyed it. There was little or no queue the whole day.
- DisneySea Transit Steamer Line - this is great. It travels around the lake and through the narrower passages and is a great little tour of sorts.
- StormRider...I was unsure as to where to put this. It is a motion simulator ride and as they go it isn't great. The storyline (even with translation) is a bit unclear. If you have time give it a go but I wouldn't wait long.
- Aquatopia - This is a very silly but fun ride. Right next to Stormrider, it has a random sort of wander through an area or water. I would probably choose it over Stormrider...but it is very silly. Doing it at night there was almost zero wait and I enjoyed it.

Generally
- Indiana Jones is themed with Crystal Skull and the queue area has some nice theming but it is the same track and the same ball rolling scene as in disneyland CA
- Raging Spirits. As I said Japanese don't seem to like scary coasters. This is a looping coaster which warns you about ten times it is a looping coaster and it is ridiculously tame and when it finally gets going you then brake as it is over.
- Tower of Terror. This is a fine attraction....and the theming is pretty cool (although odd). The story is completely different but the organisation on the ride seems very inefficient. There are LONG waits even with no exterior queuing in use as they don't seem to run enough or something was up. It is NOT random...so once on the ride it is disappointing as it is always the same. But if you have time...the inside is interesting and the start room is nice.

I LOVED my experience here. There is a language barrier. There are VERY few CM's who speak english but if you get lost in the park HAVE A MAP and point to where you are aiming for and they can point and guide. I got lost going through the Volcano all the time.

FOOD - there is very...well...interesting food. And it is ALL expensive.
In DisneySea you have much better choices and my pick was the Cape Cod Cook-Off
I don't like odd Japanese food so perhaps picking something so American is strange to you...but it was YUMMY!!
They have burgers, clam chowder and it is a reasonable price.
It was also very quiet...hardly anyone there.
The food places close really early so be aware of this.

Our favourite place to dine was at Ikspiari which is on the monorail line. (there is a looping monorail line to Disneysea, Disneyland, Ikspiari and the other 'official' hotels)
There is a Planet Hollywood with great burgers. And there is a WONDERFUL Hawaiian style burger grill place. The Hawaiian place closes early so we only got to it once, but I Loved it. It was PACKED too...it is very popular.
There is a supermarket there as well and there is a small market in the Disneyland Hotel.

These are photos
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOa3sHGr5qrtAE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney2?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCSxb-n69_WjwE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/labelmer/TokyoDisney1?authkey=Gv1sRgCPKuo6WVp6Ky1gE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/labelmer/TokyoDreamlights?authkey=Gv1sRgCIe5_MG-l73-Ng&feat=directlink

Oh my gosh - information overload! I mean that in a good way though because this is SO helpful! I'm going to print out your post and highlight all of the key points! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

You already got some great advice, so I won't reiterate it. I just wanted to say that we spent 2 days at each park and it still wasn't enough time! These parks are absolutely amazing, and if you could even squeeze out a third day (where you could parkhop), DO IT.

Great theming, great rides, great food, great merchandise (take an empty suitcase with you), great CMs...in my opinion, it's the best Disney resort in the world.

 

[queenie82]

Oh my gosh - information overload! I mean that in a good way though because this is SO helpful! I'm going to print out your post and highlight all of the key points! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

No worries.
Have fun!!!
When I get started on Tokyo Disney by brain does a download...

I see you mention above "I only have two days because my husband said we're really there to visit my sister-in-law and her husband and see the country not see Mickey."
Dear oh dear....your husband needs more training...
I have trained the family well and once Tokyo joined our round the world ticket we went all out Mickey...hehe...

But even if it is only 2 days make sure you have fun! Research will certainly help you pick and choose what to do.