Tokyo Disney planning help

[disneydreamer1980]

We’re in the very beginning stages of planning a trip to Tokyo Disney and it is so overwhelming! I’m an expert at WDW but I feel like a fish out of water trying to figure out Tokyo Disney.

My first question is are there any Disney travel agents that help book trips there?

And how many days should we devote to the parks? We’ll be in Japan for 3 weeks, and I was figuring like 5 days for the parks but I don’t know if that’s too much, or not enough?

Also, one of my main worries is food because we have some very picky eaters in our group. Do they have basic American kinds of food there, like pizza, burgers, nuggets? I know you shouldn’t go to another country expecting American food but my DH and some of my kids are super annoying eaters (even going to somewhat familiar places like Europe is a challenge food wise).

There will be 8 of us total. We plan on staying on site (not sure where yet). I’d like to get some kind of all inclusive package if they exist. Not sure exact dates but my eldest wants to go during cherry blossom blooming time, so probably next spring (2027). Sorry for the long post. Ive been reading the posts about the parks on here but they’re just making me more confused lol.

 

[gmi3804]

Boy, you have a lot of planning work ahead of you!

I'd plan on at least three days in the parks: one at Disneyland, two at Disney Sea. Depending on your familiarity with the US castle parks, you might want to add another day at Disneyland.

We did the Unlimited Vacation Package when we went in April of this year. It was really expensive, and my sanity was tested trying to even get the reservation. But it made things so much easier not having to be at the gates at 6:30AM, and getting the unlimited Priority Lane (think FASTPASSES) for every attraction that has one (except for the Fantasy Springs attractions, but that could change by the time of your trip). A travel agent, if such a specialized one even exists, won't give you a leg up.

I wasn't overly impressed with the food. There are some unique treats, but meals themselves weren't much to write home about. There are plenty of things for picky eaters at almost every venue.

The least expensive option which will get you early entry (not necessary if you have the unlimited package) will be at the onsite Ambassador. "Best" hotel is a toss-up between Disneyland Hotel for overall convenience and MiraCosta, for the unique in the park location. We stay at Fantasy Springs hotel, but the theming is somewhat underwhelming compared to the other three, and it was only convenient for its Fantasy Springs entrance and exit. Next time I'd do Disneyland Hotel or MiraCosta.

Ask away, if you have more questions.

 

[SPINster]

TDLR is definitely a bit complicated to figure out. I've seen some TA that advertise for Tokyo but they don't get any particular access/benefits.

Keep in mind TDLR is operated by a separate company, so it's quite different from all other Disney Parks.

The basics:
They offer Vacation Packages-these include hotel stay for 1 or 2 nights, park tickets (2 or 3 days depending on package), fast passes (called DPA there), and a few extra things like unlimited beverages. There are two types of packages: Unlimited (unlimited DPA, meaning you can use the priority lanes at rides as many times as you want) and Enjoy Attractions and More (which gives you 3 fast passes per park day per person). Vacation packages are very, very expensive. Much more expensive than booking a la carte. You are paying for convenience. Vacation packages go on sale 5 months before your booking month, all dates for a particular month open on the same day at 3pm JST. The date is announced about a week in advance. So for example, all of May 2026 goes on sale Dec 6, 2025.

Or you can book Disney hotels as room-only reservations. They open up 4 months ahead of time on the date. So May 10, 2026 opens Jan 10th, 2026. You can book up to 5 days at a time.

We did an Unlimited Package and then two additional park days as room-only, it was perfect for us. As a huge parks lover, I definitely needed two days at each park. Many people say you can do just 1 day at Disneyland though.

We stayed at Ambassador, Disneyland Hotel, and Toy Story. I like Disneyland Hotel the best, though it is more expensive than the other two. You don't get many benefits staying at an official Disney Hotel, so if you need larger rooms and/or want to save money, the Hilton Tokyo Bay is great.

The food is meh. Definitely not as many places to eat (either counter service or table service) compared to the US parks. Also fewer snacks. They offer some mobile ordering-so definitely plan on using that. They do have pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, etc but they are "different" and won't taste the same as American pizza, burgers, etc. The Mickey shaped chicken nuggets are good, but only offered at a few places. You can bring food/snacks into the parks-definitely raid 7/11, Lawsons, etc for snacks. There are these awesome peanut butter or jelly sandwiches that a lot of picky kids live off of! There are American chains at Ikspari, the mall near the train station (Outback, McDonalds, etc). The Queen of Hearts banquet hall at Disneyland is good for picky eaters, they have a basic roast chicken, plain rice, steak, etc.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Boy, you have a lot of planning work ahead of you!

I'd plan on at least three days in the parks: one at Disneyland, two at Disney Sea. Depending on your familiarity with the US castle parks, you might want to add another day at Disneyland.

We did the Unlimited Vacation Package when we went in April of this year. It was really expensive, and my sanity was tested trying to even get the reservation. But it made things so much easier not having to be at the gates at 6:30AM, and getting the unlimited Priority Lane (think FASTPASSES) for every attraction that has one (except for the Fantasy Springs attractions, but that could change by the time of your trip). A travel agent, if such a specialized one even exists, won't give you a leg up.

I wasn't overly impressed with the food. There are some unique treats, but meals themselves weren't much to write home about. There are plenty of things for picky eaters at almost every venue.

The least expensive option which will get you early entry (not necessary if you have the unlimited package) will be at the onsite Ambassador. "Best" hotel is a toss-up between Disneyland Hotel for overall convenience and MiraCosta, for the unique in the park location. We stay at Fantasy Springs hotel, but the theming is somewhat underwhelming compared to the other three, and it was only convenient for its Fantasy Springs entrance and exit. Next time I'd do Disneyland Hotel or MiraCosta.

Ask away, if you have more questions.

Thank you so much! Lots of good information here.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

TDLR is definitely a bit complicated to figure out. I've seen some TA that advertise for Tokyo but they don't get any particular access/benefits.

Keep in mind TDLR is operated by a separate company, so it's quite different from all other Disney Parks.

The basics:
They offer Vacation Packages-these include hotel stay for 1 or 2 nights, park tickets (2 or 3 days depending on package), fast passes (called DPA there), and a few extra things like unlimited beverages. There are two types of packages: Unlimited (unlimited DPA, meaning you can use the priority lanes at rides as many times as you want) and Enjoy Attractions and More (which gives you 3 fast passes per park day per person). Vacation packages are very, very expensive. Much more expensive than booking a la carte. You are paying for convenience. Vacation packages go on sale 5 months before your booking month, all dates for a particular month open on the same day at 3pm JST. The date is announced about a week in advance. So for example, all of May 2026 goes on sale Dec 6, 2025.

Or you can book Disney hotels as room-only reservations. They open up 4 months ahead of time on the date. So May 10, 2026 opens Jan 10th, 2026. You can book up to 5 days at a time.

We did an Unlimited Package and then two additional park days as room-only, it was perfect for us. As a huge parks lover, I definitely needed two days at each park. Many people say you can do just 1 day at Disneyland though.

We stayed at Ambassador, Disneyland Hotel, and Toy Story. I like Disneyland Hotel the best, though it is more expensive than the other two. You don't get many benefits staying at an official Disney Hotel, so if you need larger rooms and/or want to save money, the Hilton Tokyo Bay is great.

The food is meh. Definitely not as many places to eat (either counter service or table service) compared to the US parks. Also fewer snacks. They offer some mobile ordering-so definitely plan on using that. They do have pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, etc but they are "different" and won't taste the same as American pizza, burgers, etc. The Mickey shaped chicken nuggets are good, but only offered at a few places. You can bring food/snacks into the parks-definitely raid 7/11, Lawsons, etc for snacks. There are these awesome peanut butter or jelly sandwiches that a lot of picky kids live off of! There are American chains at Ikspari, the mall near the train station (Outback, McDonalds, etc). The Queen of Hearts banquet hall at Disneyland is good for picky eaters, they have a basic roast chicken, plain rice, steak, etc.

Thanks! This was all very helpful. I’m thinking we’ll do 2 days at each park too. Lots to think about! Thanks again!

 

[SPINster]

I'll also add that cherry blossom time, especially April is EXTREMELY busy. Sea is always very busy, but April is next level. So if you want to go at that time, I would definitely consider either a vacation package, or plan on more park days. Avoid the last week of April/first week of May, that is the single busiest time of year. I'd avoid Japan at that time entirely, anywhere you go will be very busy and more expensive.

If you don't get a vacation package-anyone can buy DPA once inside the park, you pay per ride, like an ILL at WDW. DPA are 1500-2500 yen per ride, so they add up. The good thing is that park tickets are very, very cheap. About $65 USD a day. Currently they only offer single day tickets, no park hoppers. They do have evening tickets-3pm on Weekends, 5pm on weekdays. So if you have a partial day, those are a good option to check out the night shows and get in a ride or two.

 

[gmi3804]

I'll also add that cherry blossom time, especially April is EXTREMELY busy. Sea is always very busy, but April is next level. So if you want to go at that time, I would definitely consider either a vacation package, or plan on more park days. Avoid the last week of April/first week of May, that is the single busiest time of year. I'd avoid Japan at that time entirely, anywhere you go will be very busy and more expensive.

If you don't get a vacation package-anyone can buy DPA once inside the park, you pay per ride, like an ILL at WDW. DPA are 1500-2500 yen per ride, so they add up. The good thing is that park tickets are very, very cheap. About $65 USD a day. Currently they only offer single day tickets, no park hoppers. They do have evening tickets-3pm on Weekends, 5pm on weekdays. So if you have a partial day, those are a good option to check out the night shows and get in a ride or two.

April can be busy, especially the first week, when Spring Break is nearing its end. But the rest of the month isn't so bad until Golden Week usually towards the end of the month. Do NOT go during Golden Week! It's different dates every year, so look up when it is when you're going.

TDR Explorer is a fantastic site, and I highly recommend buying the eBook that he publishes every year. It has a lot of info about when to go, how long to stay, where to stay, etc. Very comprehensive. Also read Disney Tourist Blog, which has a good TDR section.

 

[B3rlingirl]

I am just in the planning stages as well…
I plan to go next Year in April, so my booking window for the vacation package is opening next month…
I try to get a 3 park days/ 2 nights vacation package (so not the one with unlimited rides) at least that’s my plan right now… I somehow avoided doing the exact math yet but time is running out and I get anxious…
we love rides but also just want to enjoy the parks and scenery so I think the unlimited package wouldn’t be worth it for us…(my mom isn’t doing real rollercoaster anyways)

My plan is to do a half day ticket for the first day and the do 3 park days with the vacation ticket… so 1,5 days at the castle park and 2 days at Disney sea… and I try to ad one night the same hotel as the one I book through the package… and hope we can stay in the same room…

This whole booking system is driving me insane… especially having to wait till 5 month out… I am already going. Mad because I can’t book the other hotels in case I need to shift the dates around because I can’t get that vacation ticket the planned dates …

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

From someone else who went they were not up for customization of food items for them meaning requesting something be left out or change something was denied. That person had a gluten allergy.

For us we were able to find stuff we wanted, it was actually fun to try out the various churros and I got a hankering for the jelly drinks. You might want to look online at the menus the best you can. We went in October 2024. One thing to note is that even if a menu has something you may be familiar with it may not be the Americanized one you're used to. Also shows and rides are in Japanese although one theater music show we saw was in English. Their theater shows are done on a lottery where you are randomly selected to be able to go once you put in a request. You may not get it. You are only allowed one theater show a day.

We found instructions like when you're waiting outside the tapstiles to be in Japanese with no English spoken. Some CMs do speak English enough to help you on rides and to order food. You're at an advantage if you've done other Disney parks before since you know more about safety features or even the ride vehicle itself but in truth of the locations we went to in Japan we found Disney to have the most language barrier. That doesn't mean it was awful just that our ability to interact with other people in other cities was far better. Disney is also isolated on basically an island so I wouldn't necessarily try and stay right by the parks but then try and go into Tokyo to site see as you're a good distance away.

For those outside the U.S. it can be very difficult to book things via the website due to its functionality and issues that may present with a non-Japanese credit card. It would be best to have multiple cards and financial backed ones in case one won't go through and you can't get it to clear. Once you're there there's normally not an issue with your card but when you're not in Japan their system can kick it back. We had to buy from Klook for some of our tickets after the initial ones went through (Chase visa card) but an attempt to buy a 3rd ticket was blocked and Chase could not get it to go through as the issue was not on their side.

What we did was a weekday pass (5pm-9pm) at Disneyland, 1 full day at Disneyland and 2 full days at DisneySea. We stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay located next door to Toy Story hotel.

For hotels understand that in Japan they are normally smaller hotel rooms and smaller beds and their room occupancy is normally lower than what you'd normally be able to find in the U.S. You have 8 people and that is going to be really tough to not have to get 3-4 rooms. The beds are often twin sized beds.