Hi all! We recently visited Tokyo Disney and I thought I would write a trip report. I have never done one before so bear with me. We had an amazing time. We have only visited Disneyworld once (I know!), and have never been to Disneyland. But, we had such a wonderful time at the World on our trip in December that when we were in Japan for work this summer, we knew we also had to visit Tokyo Disney!
We were able to do a nice tour of the major cities in Japan - including time in Kobe, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto - in addition to Tokyo. It was a wonderful trip. But I'll focus here on the Disney part, of course!
The characters - me, the mom; DH, the dad; DD8, and DS5. None of us speak Japanese, although DH, through about six months of work, had memorized enough characters to sound out place names and other words pretty well. The key phrases we used most were: "Are-ee-gah-toe go-sigh-ee-moss" which is the most polite form of "thank you" and also "soo-me-mass-sen" which means "excuse me."
Up first: the journey!
We were flying from Texas to Tokyo. There are direct flights but it was considerably cheaper to stop in California on our way, and with an 8-year-old and 5-year-old I thought it made sense to break up the trip. So we had a reasonable layover in Los Angeles on the way. The entire journey, from our house to the airport hotel, would take about 24 hours.
japan 009 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
This is shortly before DS5 spilled Strawberry Nesquik all over DS8. Luckily, we had packed a carry-on bag with changes of clothes for everyone (highly recommended!).
We flew the trans-Pacific leg with Singapore Airlines, which I highly recommend! Not only do they have special children's meals, but they also pass out activity packets to the kids after takeoff.
japan 014 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
The food was outstanding. We had two full meals on the roughly 11-hour flight over - plus snacks and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Each seat has its own entertainment system with movies and tv on demand, plus video games. The kids were in heaven, and it kept DH and I entertained. The kids slept for about five hours on the flight, although neither DH nor I could manage sleep. I was really dreading the flight (we've never done one that long; especially with kids), but it was as pleasant as possible.
We were the only cheesy tourists doing this!
japan 016 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
We landed about 7pm local time (5am our time!) and headed to the Narita airport Hilton to sleep. The next day we were traveling to Kobe on the bullet train - Disney was at the end of our trip. But as it's a ways to the Disney hotels by bus or train from Narita airport, I would recommend sleeping at an airport hotel when you arrive. I would estimate the round trip is about 2 hours by train or 1.5 hours by bus to Tokyo Disney, so just factor that in. Taxis are available but would cost upwards of $200 for that distance. The train would cost about $50 (taking the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, then the Keiyo line to Maihama, where you pick up the Disney monorail). And buses are about $30 although there may be a free Disney bus to the official Disney hotels, I don't know. Because we were doing so much train travel across Japan, we purchased JR Rail Passes - which are expensive but worth it if you'll be riding bullet trains and subways a lot, which we did. The Narita Express is included in the JR Rail Pass, as is the Keiyo subway line out to Maihama.
In the morning (we woke up around 4am but had to wait until 6:30am for the hotel breakfast!) we took the hotel bus back to the airport, where we turned in our JR Rail Pass vouchers (you have to purchase them before arriving in Japan, and you turn in your voucher when you arrive) and got tickets for the Narita Express into central Tokyo.
It was a little daunting navigating at first to find the right train.
japan 035 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
But DS5 luckily spotted this!
japan 034 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
I have to say that we were very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate around the country. Except in the more remote areas, train station signs and train announcements are in Japanese and English. And the trains are amazing - pristine, quiet, and efficient, and they run on time to the minute! The hardest part might have been trying to keep the children reasonably quiet on the trains - an important cultural norm in Japan. There is very little talking, and definitely no talking on cell phones, on trains. Also, one does not lie down or put shoes on the seats! If kids get on their knees to look out the windows, you'll see mothers take their kids' shoes off.
Here they are waiting for the Narita Express.
japan 041 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
For this train, and also the Shinkansen (bullet trains), you get reserved seats with a car number and seat numbers printed on your tickets. So you find your correct car number on the platform, and form a line there. It's all very orderly.
japan 037 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
There is a nice snack cart on the Narita Express. Here were our options!
japan 049 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
So if you were going straight to Disney on the train, you would switch to the Keiyo Line at Tokyo Station and ride it out about six stops to Maihama, then purchase tickets (I'd get a multiple day pass) for the monorail. It was about $17 for an adult, four-day monorail pass and half that for the kids (under six are free). The monorail makes four stops in a continuous loop - the Resort Gateway Station (which is the connection with the Maihama subway JR Station), Disneyland, the Bayside Station, which is the official resort hotels station (which are different than the Disney hotels, of which there are three), and DisneySea.
Next time, we'll pick up at the end of our trip when we actually head to Disney. Stay tuned! The parks - especially Disney Sea -- are just incredible!!
We were able to do a nice tour of the major cities in Japan - including time in Kobe, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto - in addition to Tokyo. It was a wonderful trip. But I'll focus here on the Disney part, of course!
The characters - me, the mom; DH, the dad; DD8, and DS5. None of us speak Japanese, although DH, through about six months of work, had memorized enough characters to sound out place names and other words pretty well. The key phrases we used most were: "Are-ee-gah-toe go-sigh-ee-moss" which is the most polite form of "thank you" and also "soo-me-mass-sen" which means "excuse me."
Up first: the journey!
We were flying from Texas to Tokyo. There are direct flights but it was considerably cheaper to stop in California on our way, and with an 8-year-old and 5-year-old I thought it made sense to break up the trip. So we had a reasonable layover in Los Angeles on the way. The entire journey, from our house to the airport hotel, would take about 24 hours.
japan 009 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
This is shortly before DS5 spilled Strawberry Nesquik all over DS8. Luckily, we had packed a carry-on bag with changes of clothes for everyone (highly recommended!).
We flew the trans-Pacific leg with Singapore Airlines, which I highly recommend! Not only do they have special children's meals, but they also pass out activity packets to the kids after takeoff.
japan 014 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
The food was outstanding. We had two full meals on the roughly 11-hour flight over - plus snacks and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Each seat has its own entertainment system with movies and tv on demand, plus video games. The kids were in heaven, and it kept DH and I entertained. The kids slept for about five hours on the flight, although neither DH nor I could manage sleep. I was really dreading the flight (we've never done one that long; especially with kids), but it was as pleasant as possible.
We were the only cheesy tourists doing this!
japan 016 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
We landed about 7pm local time (5am our time!) and headed to the Narita airport Hilton to sleep. The next day we were traveling to Kobe on the bullet train - Disney was at the end of our trip. But as it's a ways to the Disney hotels by bus or train from Narita airport, I would recommend sleeping at an airport hotel when you arrive. I would estimate the round trip is about 2 hours by train or 1.5 hours by bus to Tokyo Disney, so just factor that in. Taxis are available but would cost upwards of $200 for that distance. The train would cost about $50 (taking the Narita Express to Tokyo Station, then the Keiyo line to Maihama, where you pick up the Disney monorail). And buses are about $30 although there may be a free Disney bus to the official Disney hotels, I don't know. Because we were doing so much train travel across Japan, we purchased JR Rail Passes - which are expensive but worth it if you'll be riding bullet trains and subways a lot, which we did. The Narita Express is included in the JR Rail Pass, as is the Keiyo subway line out to Maihama.
In the morning (we woke up around 4am but had to wait until 6:30am for the hotel breakfast!) we took the hotel bus back to the airport, where we turned in our JR Rail Pass vouchers (you have to purchase them before arriving in Japan, and you turn in your voucher when you arrive) and got tickets for the Narita Express into central Tokyo.
It was a little daunting navigating at first to find the right train.
japan 035 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
But DS5 luckily spotted this!
japan 034 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
I have to say that we were very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate around the country. Except in the more remote areas, train station signs and train announcements are in Japanese and English. And the trains are amazing - pristine, quiet, and efficient, and they run on time to the minute! The hardest part might have been trying to keep the children reasonably quiet on the trains - an important cultural norm in Japan. There is very little talking, and definitely no talking on cell phones, on trains. Also, one does not lie down or put shoes on the seats! If kids get on their knees to look out the windows, you'll see mothers take their kids' shoes off.
Here they are waiting for the Narita Express.
japan 041 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
For this train, and also the Shinkansen (bullet trains), you get reserved seats with a car number and seat numbers printed on your tickets. So you find your correct car number on the platform, and form a line there. It's all very orderly.
japan 037 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
There is a nice snack cart on the Narita Express. Here were our options!
japan 049 by txmama_dis, on Flickr
So if you were going straight to Disney on the train, you would switch to the Keiyo Line at Tokyo Station and ride it out about six stops to Maihama, then purchase tickets (I'd get a multiple day pass) for the monorail. It was about $17 for an adult, four-day monorail pass and half that for the kids (under six are free). The monorail makes four stops in a continuous loop - the Resort Gateway Station (which is the connection with the Maihama subway JR Station), Disneyland, the Bayside Station, which is the official resort hotels station (which are different than the Disney hotels, of which there are three), and DisneySea.
Next time, we'll pick up at the end of our trip when we actually head to Disney. Stay tuned! The parks - especially Disney Sea -- are just incredible!!
