***Tokyo Disney Resort - FAQ***

[diswis]

Never mind. I looked at their posting history & I think we fell for something. My radar is off today.

Huh? Lol
and I was wondering about Visas.

 

[diswis]

Lol

You guy's did not fall for anything, my mom is taking me for my 18th birthday (I am currently 17) and have a very very blended family (divorce) with all Disney fans, so we go at least 3 times a year (thus the reason i have so many plans).
And, for my 18th bday trip, I was wondering about visas. I have heard stories about it not being the easiest. I have never travelled overseas - so I'm not sure about how multiple woudl work.
Budget wise it is not very doable, but if i save I might be ok.

 

[Sandeep1]

You guy's did not fall for anything, my mom is taking me for my 18th birthday (I am currently 17) and have a very very blended family (divorce) with all Disney fans, so we go at least 3 times a year (thus the reason i have so many plans).
And, for my 18th bday trip, I was wondering about visas. I have heard stories about it not being the easiest. I have never travelled overseas - so I'm not sure about how multiple woudl work.
Budget wise it is not very doable, but if i save I might be ok.

You're 17 or 23?

 

[diswis]

You're 17 or 23?

17. Put a random birthday in, I wasn't sure if there were age restrictions, so I put a random year.
I have to do that for most apps (snapchat, kik, my playstation+ account, gmail, iCloud, apple pay, venmo, etc.) because otherwise I am restricted severely. I can't even use venmo, which is a necessity in my life if I use my real birth year.

 

[Flossbolna]

I'm supposed to go to WDW for my 18th birthday (it would be a VERY late present, like end of 2020-mid 2021), and am interested in going to TDR instead. When I say to go to all the parks is my life goal, I mean it.
I have 1 question - is there any way for me to hit the other asian parks while I'm in the general area?

Quite a few people do this. This is an article from a website that is a good resource for planning a trip to the Asian parks: https://tdrexplorer.com/disney-asia-parks-itinerary/

You asked about visas and that would not be an issue is you are in Shanghai for less than 144 hours and fly in from a different city than where you go next. Then you don’t need a visa.

There are more threads about all park trips, Shanghai and Hong Kong on the Other Lands board. This board is Tokyo specific.

 

[diswis]

Quite a few people do this. This is an article from a website that is a good resource for planning a trip to the Asian parks: https://tdrexplorer.com/disney-asia-parks-itinerary/

You asked about visas and that would not be an issue is you are in Shanghai for less than 144 hours and fly in from a different city than where you go next. Then you don’t need a visa.

There are more threads about all park trips, Shanghai and Hong Kong on the Other Lands board. This board is Tokyo specific.

Thank you! I was not aware
I'll keep my toyko questions here.

 

[Coaster629]

Hello everyone! I am new on the boards, but have been following for a long time! I have been living in Japan for the past 3 tears and have been an Annual Passholder for that time. I am no means a specialist or pro about all things Tokyo Disney, but I do know my way around both parks as I frequent them as much as possible. If anyone has any questions, I will be more than happy to do my best and help!

 

[disneylover102]

Hello everyone! I'm hoping to finally make it to Tokyo in a few years and I have a few questions:
1. I see that recently the option to get Fastpass on the app became available. How fast do Fastpasses run out that way? Can you get a Fastpass for one park while in the other? (So could you get a Fastpass for Space Mountain while you're at DisneySea?)
2. Are the 2 parks Fastpass systems disconnected from each other like they used to be in Disneyland in California and like they are in Disneyland Paris? (Like can you get a Fastpass at Tokyo Disneyland and a Fastpass at Tokyo DisneySea at the same time?) Would it be a recommended strategy at all to try and get Fastpasses in both parks?
3. How long does it take to get between parks?
4. How long do regular wait times tend to be (morning, middle of day, evening, etc)?
5. Are there single rider lines? Are they good?

 

[butterscotchcollins]

So happy to have found this thread, DH and I are hoping to do Japan for our Honeymoon and I would absolutely love to visit DisneySea, it looks so beautiful, so following along for the tips!

 

[Coaster629]

Hello everyone! I'm hoping to finally make it to Tokyo in a few years and I have a few questions:
1. I see that recently the option to get Fastpass on the app became available. How fast do Fastpasses run out that way? Can you get a Fastpass for one park while in the other? (So could you get a Fastpass for Space Mountain while you're at DisneySea?)
2. Are the 2 parks Fastpass systems disconnected from each other like they used to be in Disneyland in California and like they are in Disneyland Paris? (Like can you get a Fastpass at Tokyo Disneyland and a Fastpass at Tokyo DisneySea at the same time?) Would it be a recommended strategy at all to try and get Fastpasses in both parks?
3. How long does it take to get between parks?
4. How long do regular wait times tend to be (morning, middle of day, evening, etc)?
5. Are there single rider lines? Are they good?

1. I see that recently the option to get Fastpass on the app became available. How fast do Fastpasses run out that way? Can you get a Fastpass for one park while in the other? (So could you get a Fastpass for Space Mountain while you're at DisneySea?)

So first, the app is only available on the Japanese app store. How it works is that any park related functions become available once your ticket is scanned for entry. Meaning you can’t make any fastpasses until you get your ticket scanned. So you can’t plan fastpasses ahead of time.

That being said, some attractions like Soaring or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (and probably now the new Baymax and Beauty and the Beast) fastpasses go extremely quickly. Typically within the first 30 minutes of opening.

Also, Tokyo Disney doesn’t have a standard park hopper option. Look at their ticket plans. I believe you can only park hop on the 3rd and 4th days of tickets that are longer than 2 days.


2. Are the 2 parks Fastpass systems disconnected from each other like they used to be in Disneyland in California and like they are in Disneyland Paris? (Like can you get a Fastpass at Tokyo Disneyland and a Fastpass at Tokyo DisneySea at the same time?) Would it be a recommended strategy at all to try and get Fastpasses in both parks?

See above.


3. How long does it take to get between parks?

If you are staying outside the Disney Resort Line loop, Disneyland is the easiest to get to from Maihama station. It is maybe less than a 10 minute walk. If you walk to Disney Sea from Maihama station, it is about a 20 min or so walk.

Of course you can use the Resort Line system. If you are not staying at a Tokyo Disney hotel, you will need to pay. There are daily passes available. But if you are paying for each trip on the resort line, it is a waste to use for Disneyland. Use it for Disney Sea. It takes maybe around 10-15 minutes to get to Disney Sea. The monorails only go one direction with Sea being the last stop.


4. How long do regular wait times tend to be (morning, middle of day, evening, etc)?

Well this is difficult because it depends on the month and day you go. I recommend looking at Tokyo Disney wait time guide websites that can show you the history and trends.

What I can tell you is to AVOID THE WEEKENDS!

Generally I think the daily crowds and wait times may be the worst compared to other Disney properties.

During the weekdays I compare it to a busy day at a park is WDW. Weekends are like the peakiest peak time at WDW. On weekends, your E-ticket attractions could have a several hour wait while other attractions may be over an hour. Also lines for food will take an incredibly long time too on the weekends. People in Japan will wait a very long time for things, even to use the bathroom. If you are not used to that, it will overwhelm you possibly. Weekdays are the way to go, but check out the guides online.

5. Are there single rider lines? Are they good?

There are single rider lines, but only 3 I believe:

Splash Mountain
Indiana Jones
Raging Spirits

They can be good, but you still may be waiting a while since the seating arrangements are of even riders. But more than likely you will wait less than the stand by line.

 

[disneylover102]

1. I see that recently the option to get Fastpass on the app became available. How fast do Fastpasses run out that way? Can you get a Fastpass for one park while in the other? (So could you get a Fastpass for Space Mountain while you're at DisneySea?)

So first, the app is only available on the Japanese app store. How it works is that any park related functions become available once your ticket is scanned for entry. Meaning you can’t make any fastpasses until you get your ticket scanned. So you can’t plan fastpasses ahead of time.

That being said, some attractions like Soaring or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (and probably now the new Baymax and Beauty and the Beast) fastpasses go extremely quickly. Typically within the first 30 minutes of opening.

Also, Tokyo Disney doesn’t have a standard park hopper option. Look at their ticket plans. I believe you can only park hop on the 3rd and 4th days of tickets that are longer than 2 days.


2. Are the 2 parks Fastpass systems disconnected from each other like they used to be in Disneyland in California and like they are in Disneyland Paris? (Like can you get a Fastpass at Tokyo Disneyland and a Fastpass at Tokyo DisneySea at the same time?) Would it be a recommended strategy at all to try and get Fastpasses in both parks?

See above.


3. How long does it take to get between parks?

If you are staying outside the Disney Resort Line loop, Disneyland is the easiest to get to from Maihama station. It is maybe less than a 10 minute walk. If you walk to Disney Sea from Maihama station, it is about a 20 min or so walk.

Of course you can use the Resort Line system. If you are not staying at a Tokyo Disney hotel, you will need to pay. There are daily passes available. But if you are paying for each trip on the resort line, it is a waste to use for Disneyland. Use it for Disney Sea. It takes maybe around 10-15 minutes to get to Disney Sea. The monorails only go one direction with Sea being the last stop.


4. How long do regular wait times tend to be (morning, middle of day, evening, etc)?

Well this is difficult because it depends on the month and day you go. I recommend looking at Tokyo Disney wait time guide websites that can show you the history and trends.

What I can tell you is to AVOID THE WEEKENDS!

Generally I think the daily crowds and wait times may be the worst compared to other Disney properties.

During the weekdays I compare it to a busy day at a park is WDW. Weekends are like the peakiest peak time at WDW. On weekends, your E-ticket attractions could have a several hour wait while other attractions may be over an hour. Also lines for food will take an incredibly long time too on the weekends. People in Japan will wait a very long time for things, even to use the bathroom. If you are not used to that, it will overwhelm you possibly. Weekdays are the way to go, but check out the guides online.

5. Are there single rider lines? Are they good?

There are single rider lines, but only 3 I believe:

Splash Mountain
Indiana Jones
Raging Spirits

They can be good, but you still may be waiting a while since the seating arrangements are of even riders. But more than likely you will wait less than the stand by line.

Thank you so much!!!! This really helps! On the 3rd and 4th day when you can park hop, can you get Fastpasses for both parks separately or are the Fastpasses from both parks connected? If they’re disconnected I probably won’t take advantage of it a ton since the parks take a little time to get in between.

 

[Coaster629]

Thank you so much!!!! This really helps! On the 3rd and 4th day when you can park hop, can you get Fastpasses for both parks separately or are the Fastpasses from both parks connected? If they’re disconnected I probably won’t take advantage of it a ton since the parks take a little time to get in between.

I have an Annual Pass, so some things I am not sure about.
Since I have an Annual Pass I can always “park hop”. I have done it many times, getting fastpasses from each park in the same day.

What I can say, is that again you will be able to choose fastpasses for the attractions once you enter the park with your ticket.
I have done things where I started at Sea, got a, for example, 5pm fastpass for Soaring, and then went to Disneyland around 12. After entering Disneyland, I got a haunted mansion fastpass.

It should keep any previously made fastpasses, so you shouldn’t lose the Soaring one. You can go back to Sea and use it with no problems.

Now I have actually never tested trying to make fastpasses for each park after entering each one. That would be a question for another user or TDR themselves.

To be honest, getting between each park is way faster than any mode of transportation I have used at WDW. The Resort Line comes about every 4 minutes. It is very efficient. I don’t mind walking as going from Land to Sea, you will pass by Ikspiari, which is the “Downtown Disney” of the area. So it is a good way to get a quick snack or rest if you need.

Also be aware that on weekends, it is virtually impossible to get any dining reservations. So you may want to stop at Ikspirari.

I think for many people the 4 day pass may be good, because you will want to revisit each park. Could you grind and get everything done in a day (weekday)? Probably. But would you actually take in and appreciate everything each park has to offer? I think probably not. There are many fantastic quick service locations (best overall quality quick service food of all Disney parks imo), vistas, characters, attractions, shows, etc... For example, the show Big Band Beat is my absolute favorite Disney park show. You can either wait hours to get in and sit at the top. Or you can try the lottery and get lower deck seating. That show is a must do! But if you try to grind all attractions, you will probably miss out doing BBB.

I love having my annual pass, because I can take things slow and discover a lot of small, easily missed details or interactions. If you can do a 4 day pass during weekdays, I think that may be best. But of course once things go back to normal I am not sure how crowds are going to be. But generally weekdays are a lot more manageable. Again, people have no issue waiting for anything.

For example, the women’s bathroom line can last between 10-20 minutes. Whenever my girlfriend needs to use the bathroom at Tokyo Disneyland, we just leave the park and go into Disneyland Hotel and use the bathroom there. Nice AC break, beautiful hotel, and no bathroom lines. It is quicker than waiting to use it in the park. So again I feel if people do not research how the crowds can be on weekends, I think they will be very shocked, overwhelmed, and disappointed that they need to wait 30+ minutes to do Philharmagic.

Only some attractions have fastpasses, so you will NEED to do the standby for the rest.
I have some tricks that I do to best optimize my time and efficiency to get attractions done, which I can share, but that is what works for my style and needs.

 

[disneylover102]

One more question (for now): can anyone tell me what the regular room rates vs vacation package room rates are for the Tokyo Disneyland hotels? (Everything's "sold out" on the Tokyo Disneyland website and I'm assuming that's because of COVID-19? ) Is it worth getting a vacation package for the extra Fastpasses and park hopper tickets?

 

[MKTokyo]

One more question (for now): can anyone tell me what the regular room rates vs vacation package room rates are for the Tokyo Disneyland hotels? (Everything's "sold out" on the Tokyo Disneyland website and I'm assuming that's because of COVID-19? ) Is it worth getting a vacation package for the extra Fastpasses and park hopper tickets?

Nobody knows what the rates will be when they reopen.

Last year, DH & I booked a Halloween package at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.

It included:

TDH theme park view room
2-Day special passport (per person)
2-Day monorail pass (note this is FREE if you're staying at a monorail hotel, so don't include it in your calculations when deciding whether to book a package or not)
Reserved viewing for the Halloween parade at Disneyland & Festival of Mystique at DisneySea
Dinner at the Blue Bayou
Breakfast at Sherwood Garden
1 FP Type A, 3 FP Type D (per person)
2-Day free drink coupon & ticket holder
Choice of gift (tote bag, leisure sheet, water bottle or toy set)
Popcorn bucket

Price was 131,200 yen.

This particular configuration was a domestic-only package but you can get overseas packages that include show tickets & those show tickets will function in the same way.

We are passholders so we gave the included tickets to some friends & they came to the parks with us. We had a lot of fun and they treated us to lunch, which was very nice. We don't get to see those friends very often because our work schedules seemingly never sync.

Was it worth it? You could do just about everything we did for less money without a package. But, it would take you more time, and I generally value time more than money. We probably wouldn't have been able to see our friends that day because saying "we won't use these tickets & they're only valid during our stay; would you like to have them?" is a lot different than asking a couple to spend upwards of 25K yen just to come hang out with you.

Things you could not do without a package:
- reserved viewing for the Halloween shows
- free drink coupon, gift & popcorn bucket

Price of room: 51,700 yen
Price of tickets: 26,400 yen
Dinner at Blue Bayou: 8,400 yen
Breakfast at Sherwood Garden: 8,000 yen

I thought about including the extra FPs, but you can pull FPs on your own & this is really just less stress. That's kind of the point.

So, we're up to 94,500 yen worth of items that actually have a defined value.

That means we paid 36,700 yen for the convenience of extra FPs, reserved viewing areas, and the miscellaneous trinkets. There is basically no way that those things have a value of 36,700 yen - on paper, anyway.

So, is it "worth it?" Strictly speaking, no, but we don't care.

And that's the decision you will have to make for yourself

(You mentioned single rider lines. Are you a solo traveler? If so, the packages are priced for two or more. You will have to pay the full price. That may make a package less desirable to you.)

 

[Coaster629]

There is also the Celebration Hotel (i think that’s the name) that is off property, but it is an official Disney hotel and offers free shuttle services to the front of the parks. It is meant to be the budget hotel.

Many hotels in the surrounding area offer free bus services to the parks.

I personally have wanted to stay at the hotels, but the price for the rooms is way to expensive imo, but that is just me. A one night stay in one of the 3 main hotels is almost half the price of the annual pass. So I either look at the cheaper hotels in the area or I just do day trips.

There is a hotel called “Hotel Mystays Maihama” that is maybe a 5 minute walk from the Disney Sea ticket gate. Also the partner hotels on the resort line generally have much more affordable rates while still giving you the luxury of being on the line.

If you have the funds and availability to stay at one of the 3 main Disney hotels, then go for it! But generally the rates are up there. Like deluxe hotel rates or above. Especially Mira Costa. That is always most expensive and hardest to get a reservation for of the 3 I believe.

 

[disneylover102]

Yeah, it looks like the vacation packages and the Disney hotels in general are pretty expensive. Honestly though, going to Tokyo (whenever I finally make it lol) is going to be a once in a lifetime thing so I want to make the most of it while I'm there. And honestly, the fact that I'll most likely be doing this trip solo and a vacation package requires a reservation of 2 people is part of the reason I want to get it because it means 2 tickets to get Fastpasses on and I can use all the Fastpasses that come with the vacation package...

As far as single rider lines go, I've been doing my research and it sounds like the ones for Indiana Jones, Raging Spirits, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain (apparently that one just got added) are pretty good. Has anyone had different experiences there? Those are the ones advertised on the Tokyo Disneyland website but as I've been reading a bunch of articles on Tokyo Disneyland, there's been a couple that say that Space Mountain has a single rider line and Wikipedia says that too. Is that true? It would be really nice if it did. Are there any other secret single rider lines?

 

[Teaheehee]

I wasn't planning on staying on-site, but seeing as covid had cancelled my plans I'm now starting to think more carefully for next year. Does anyone know if the Kingdom Hearts themed resort rooms are still available? I heard that they were temporary, but can't find any solid information. It would be so cool to stay in one of those!

 

[MKTokyo]

I wasn't planning on staying on-site, but seeing as covid had cancelled my plans I'm now starting to think more carefully for next year. Does anyone know if the Kingdom Hearts themed resort rooms are still available? I heard that they were temporary, but can't find any solid information. It would be so cool to stay in one of those!

Any kind of LE room or monorail overlay would be just a temporary tie-in to promote a new show. (Game? Movie? I can never remember what Kingdom Hearts is.)

Not enough interest to sustain something like that permanently.

There are Disney character-themed rooms at a few of the hotels, if you'd be interested in something like that.

 

[disneylover102]

Since nobody knew the answer to my question the other day about whether or not the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Fastpass systems are connected to each other, I emailed them and asked and just got a very informative reply and I figured I might as well post it here for anyone it might help!

“We have started the digital FASTPASS system on a Tokyo Disney Resort App since last year; however it is only available with a Smartphone which sold in Japan and is required a Japanese address for registration at this moment.
We do understand how inconvenient this current system is and we are deeply sorry for the Guests who visit to Tokyo Disney Resort from abroad.
While exact release date of the App in English version has not been set in stone yet, it is under arrangement to provide a convenient App for English users as well.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but please be patience for a little while longer.

For your reference:
We provide you with general information how to get a FASTPASS.

In order to get a FASTPASS, it requires a Park ticket scanned in getting into the Park.
If you enter the both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, you can get a FASTPASS for Tokyo Disneyland from Tokyo DisneySea or vice versa.

Regardless of the App or FASTPASS issuing machine, the FASTPASS systems between Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are connected to each other.
Your next FASTPASS issuing will be available after a certain period of time, which is indicated on the FASTPASS you get earlier.

Please also check the following link.
https://faq.tokyodisneyresort.jp/tdr/en/faq_list.html?page=&category=21
We hope this information is helpful.”


So, there’s 2 very important things to come out of this:
1. Digital Fastpass is only available to those who live in Japan (although I read an article with instructions on how to get around this) but they are working on an American version of the app.
2. The Fastpass systems between the 2 parks are connected to each other so if you want a Fastpass for Space Mountain and Toy Story Mania, you would have to wait 2 hours (in most cases) to be able to get both.
3. With digital Fastpass, you can get a Fastpass from the other park but you need to have entered both parks.

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone who might need it!

 

[Markolodeon]

While exact release date of the App in English version has not been set in stone yet, it is under arrangement to provide a convenient App for English users as well.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but please be patience for a little while longer.

This is awesome news! Thank you for sharing!!