35th Anniversary Tokyo Trip

[Animaniac93-98]

*EDIT: See updated post from this year*

Since I'm in the very early planning stages, I'm trying to get advice on what to do and where to stay, along with what useful guidebooks are there or if there is a certain amount of Japanese phrases and customs I should learn before I go (I assume there's a few).

What are your tips for Tokyo?

 

[Travel Junkie]

I've decided at this point that for my Spring 2016 trip I'd like to go to Tokyo for a week. It would be 7-nights Sunday-Sunday, leaving on the Saturday before hand to avoid missing more than a week of work.

I'd like to do 3 nights in the city and 4 at TDR split between Hotel Mira Costa and Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. I know that the nearby Sheraton, Hilton etc. are close and at lower price point, but I would like the on-site experience and the early entry perk (even if it's only 15 minutes...for one ride at each park).

I'd like to go in either March or April. I'd LOVE to see Easter Wonderland, and Easter is in March in 2016, but there's a Frozen themed event running until mid-March and it looks like April may be a more expensive time to visit.

Since I'm in the very early planning stages, I'm trying to get advice on what to do and where to stay, along with what useful guidebooks are there or if there is a certain amount of Japanese phrases and customs I should learn before I go (I assume there's a few).

What are your tips for Tokyo?

Spring is a good time to go. Late march to mid April is usually when the cherry blossoms bloom. April is probably more expensive because of the Cherry Blossoms. One thing to check out is when Golden week is. It’s kind of like their Spring Break. Everyone is out of school and the parks are at capacity every day. Look it up and avoid it. I stayed at the Sheraton which is on the monorail route and it worked out great. It is not an official hotel, but considered on site. It is located directly behind the parks and overlooking Tokyo Bay. If you can swing it the Mira Costa is a stunning resort and believe it or not that extra 15 minutes makes a difference even on slower days. Even if you don’t stay there check out the Mira Costa public areas.


I would recommend staying in Tokyo on your Tokyo city visit days. It can take a while to get from TDR into Tokyo city proper. I stayed in Shinjuku (the sky scraper district side not the other side of Shinjuku station which includes their red light district) which is a large business district and are used to having western businessman in town so they are more likely to have English speaking receptionists at the front desk. Look at trip advisor reviews to get a sense of which hotels have English speaking staff. I recommend checking out http://www.japan-guide.com for information on Japan in general. It has lots of good information including customs and what to expect along with traveling tips and descriptions of each part of Tokyo (and all of Japan). Westerners stick out and generally speaking they don’t expect you to know the language or customs and are very impressed if you simply say hi or thank you in Japanese. Another good thing is that most of the restaurants have pictures and/or plastic displays of what the food looks like. You can always just point at what you want.

Also avoid Tokyo rush hour at all costs. You may literally get shoved into a train.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Thank you for the advice @Virtual Insanity. A quick Google search showed that Golden Week will be late April next year, so going early March or mid-April would avoid that time.

I'll definately check out that website tomorrow.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

A couple minor things. The anniversary date, April 15, is exceptionally crowded from what I understand (I know in the past they've done a lot of day-of merch, even in off years). Also, the past couple years Happiness is Here has gone on hiatus during the Easter event, with the Easter parade replacing it on the schedule (unlike Halloween or Christmas, where the event parade is in addition to HIH). If seeing HIH is important to you (and it very well may not be), that's something to keep in mind.

Looks like you'll be there just after Peter Pan reopens from its long refurb, so that will be a popular ride. Maybe it can draw some of those Pooh crowds away.

 

[ThatBrunette]

@Virtual Insanity gave the same tips I was going to give. Golden Week is HUGE in Japan. Many small businesses go on vacation the week after to take a break.

The Disney store in Shibuya is adorable and usually has some sale merchandise available. On our first visit, we had to purchase our tickets from this store and it was worth the visit.

I also recommend learning the phrases for "excuse me" (Sumimasen) and "thank you" (Arigatō). A little politeness goes a long way. Don't fool with the bowing. A polite head nod is okay.

Japan has a *very* polite and respectful society. At most stores, someone will greet you as you walk in the door and again as you leave. I kinda miss it.

@Virtual Insanity I ended up with some sort of fish pizza because the picture made it look like cheese. The literal translation was "Pizza topped with bait".

 

[ImaYoyo]

I've decided at this point that for my Spring 2016 trip I'd like to go to Tokyo for a week. It would be 7-nights Sunday-Sunday, leaving on the Saturday before hand to avoid missing more than a week of work.

I'd like to do 3 nights in the city and 4 at TDR split between Hotel Mira Costa and Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. I know that the nearby Sheraton, Hilton etc. are close and at lower price point, but I would like the on-site experience and the early entry perk (even if it's only 15 minutes...for one ride at each park).

I'd like to go in either March or April. I'd LOVE to see Easter Wonderland, and Easter is in March in 2016, but there's a Frozen themed event running until mid-March and it looks like April may be a more expensive time to visit.

Since I'm in the very early planning stages, I'm trying to get advice on what to do and where to stay, along with what useful guidebooks are there or if there is a certain amount of Japanese phrases and customs I should learn before I go (I assume there's a few).

What are your tips for Tokyo?

We just returned from a trip to both Tokyo and Hong Kong. We hit Tokyo (and other parts of Japan) the week before Golden Week and had no problems with huge crowds or getting shinkansen tickets. However Saturday was the start of Golden Week (the day we left, on purpose...) and wow, shinkansen tickets to ANYWHERE were already booked up. So definitely avoid Golden Week, however I think you'd be good in mid-April. The weather was great and we even caught some cherry blossom trees blooming at the imperial palace gardens and a few in Nara.

We did not stay in the city proper nor did we stay on Disney property - we decided on the Hotel East 21 Tokyo (which is in Koto) since it was "half way" between the Disney Parks and busier parts of Tokyo. Aside from the 7 minute walk to the metro station, the hotel was great, especially given that we paid under $100 USD per night for it. It was only 4 stops from Tokyo Station and only 1 change and 3 stops from Maihama station (tokyo disneyland's station). It worked out great for us.

The early would not have made a huge difference for us we found, but that may have more been based on our plan. We got to the parks 1 hour prior to opening and had a very specific plan. At TDS, we went straight to TOT for fastpasses while everyone else was getting on TSM (we had no desire to ride toy story after we found out it's a carbon copy of the ones here stateside). once we got our TOT fastpasses, we went straight to Journey, which only had a 5 minute wait. Then we went to 20,000 leagues, had some breakfast, then went back to TOT for our fastpass time at 0930. Every other line in the park ended up being 25 minutes or less the whole day, so it was great. The longest lines were definitely TOT, Journey and TSM. At TDL we went straight to Pooh's Hunney Hunt and got fastpasses for 1000. Then we went to ride monsters which had a 35 minute wait. When we got out of monsters our FP window had opened, so we grabbed space mountain FPs on our way to Pooh. It all worked out very well.

Throwing this out there... we ended up adding Hong Kong to our trip because it was actually cheaper for a 3 way flight (MCO to NRT, NRT to HKG, HKG to MCO) than it was to buy round-trip from MCO to NRT. Might be worth looking into if you have the time. I firmly believe that Hong Kong Disneyland was the best Magic Kingdom park of them all (and we've been to all of them now!). It was smaller, but the rides were definitely than their counterparts eslewhere.

 

[Philo]

As others have said, avoid Golden Week! I've been there the week before Golden Week and it was practically empty (although it was raining a bit which might have affected crowds too).

We also stayed in the MiraCosta for 3 nights and what a hotel it is! It's a bit expensive but easily the best Disney hotel I've stayed in for it's style, comfort and convenience. Actually, it might be one of the best hotels I've stayed in full-stop! A cast member walked us to our room, explained a bit about the art, pointed our some nice features and then showed us some nice hidden-mickeys when we got to our room.

Tokyo Disney is very easy for english speakers. Most menus / signs etc are in english and there were good options for my vegetarian wife. A lot of cast members speak english too. That said, it's always a good idea to learn key Japanese phrases to say thank you etc (you'll say it a lot - everyone is so helpful and friendly!)

Custom wise, there are plenty of lists around on what to do, what not to do and they can make you really paranoid! However, the key thing is to just be polite and don't do anything you wouldn't do at home. Don't tip for food / service (it's just not done in Japan and will probably cause confusion). Don't eat whilst walking either - I heard this was something Japanese people don't do and I've never confirmed it, but I've only ever seen non-Japanese people walking whilst eating.

Whilst I loved my time there (and I will be back there in a month!), I think 4 days might be a little too much. There is so much to do in Tokyo itself that I'd recommend having 4 nights there and 3 in the parks. Of course, it depends how buys everything is, and the journey between the major parts of Tokyo and Disney isn't too long so you can always just head back to the city if you want.

Another thing to consider is that when I last bought multi-day tickets, you had to specify what park you were visiting on day 1 and day 2, but then day 3 you could visit either.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

More than two years later and I unfortunately have not made it to TDR...yet! But after visiting DLP for it's 25th Anniversary, I am determined to go to Tokyo for the 35th. If nothing else, I have a more realistic plan to save up and prepare for it this time.

My main goal now is to determine when would be the best time to visit. On one hand, I would like to see the Halloween stuff, but I honestly would prefer to see regular HM as for me it would be like going back in time to before the 2007 MK refurb. The end of the celebration (Jan-Mar 2019) sounds nice, but I'm concerned of a repeat of early 2018 where HM is closed for the first 3 months of the year. Being fixated on one ride sounds weird, but for me it and Snow White's Adventures are among the things I want to do most at TDL (more than Monsters Inc. or Hunny Hunt, lol).

 

[Nightscotsman]

If you want to avoid crowds, yet still have nice weather, I think the best time is the week after Golden Week (which is approximately the first week of May, so go second week of May). Usually lowest crowds of the year besides January. Weather is warm and the rainy season shouldn't have started yet. Easter will still be going on at DisneySea (no Easter at Disneyland next year because of the anniversary). Should have very few refurbs since they will want to have everything running for Golden Week. We're actually going the middle of April this year, which should also be low crowds, but Pooh's Honey Hunt will be down all month :-(

Oh, and if you haven't found it already, do go check out https://tdrexplorer.com (and their podcast) as well as the Tokyo Disneyland coverage at http://www.disneytouristblog.com.

 

[BrianLo]

More than two years later and I unfortunately have not made it to TDR...yet! But after visiting DLP for it's 25th Anniversary, I am determined to go to Tokyo for the 35th. If nothing else, I have a more realistic plan to save up and prepare for it this time.

My main goal now is to determine when would be the best time to visit. On one hand, I would like to see the Halloween stuff, but I honestly would prefer to see regular HM as for me it would be like going back in time to before the 2007 MK refurb. The end of the celebration (Jan-Mar 2019) sounds nice, but I'm concerned of a repeat of early 2018 where HM is closed for the first 3 months of the year. Being fixated on one ride sounds weird, but for me it and Snow White's Adventures are among the things I want to do most at TDL (more than Monsters Inc. or Hunny Hunt, lol).

The far more concerning thing is that you are fixated on TDL rather than TDS! Ya haunted mansion and... snow white of all things? To each their own!

I went for the 30th, and certainly they do a solid job of celebrating every anniversary possible. But they also don’t save up for an over the top blow out like other resorts that promote stagnation betweeen anniversaries.

What are you thoughts on beyond the resort? I’m personally holding out for 2020 at this point in time. Beauty and the Beast, Nintendo (if Uni at all strikes your fancy) and Pre-olympics fever. If you are already thinking of 2019 it’s probably worth holding out. All the 35th stuff of merit will still be around.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

and... snow white of all things? To each their own!

The load area and first half of the ride is a replica of the original WDW version. Even the witch's cackle as she pulls out on her boat is from that ride's audio. Sadly the truly crazy ending was replaced with a shortened version of the 1983 California model. It's stuff like that (along with the sadly now closed Star Jets) that appeal to me the most about TDL.

Of course I want to see TDS in all it's glory. Mysterious Island, ToT and Sinbad in particular. It's just that if I'm going to go, I want to see as many of the resort's highlights (in my view) as possible.

What are you thoughts on beyond the resort? I’m personally holding out for 2020 at this point in time. Beauty and the Beast, Nintendo (if Uni at all strikes your fancy) and Pre-olympics fever. If you are already thinking of 2019 it’s probably worth holding out. All the 35th stuff of merit will still be around.

I can wait for Nintendo to come to the American parks. Baymax's Junkyard Jamboree is not a priority, and neither is BatB as much as I expect that to be good. By 2019, I'll be ready to try something different than the American and French Disney parks, and I'd much rather see TDR than Hong Kong or Shanghai (and yes I've thought about doing both HKDL and TDR, but I'd prefer to wait until HKDL finishes most of its major expansion.)

 

[BrianLo]

The load area and first half of the ride is a replica of the original WDW version. Even the witch's cackle as she pulls out on her boat is from that ride's audio. Sadly the truly crazy ending was replaced with a shortened version of the 1983 California model. It's stuff like that (along with the sadly now closed Star Jets) that appeal to me the most about TDL.

Of course I want to see TDS in all it's glory. Mysterious Island, ToT and Sinbad in particular. It's just that if I'm going to go, I want to see as many of the resort's highlights (in my view) as possible.

I can wait for Nintendo to come to the American parks. Baymax's Junkyard Jamboree is not a priority, and neither is BatB as much as I expect that to be good. By 2019, I'll be ready to try something different than the American and French Disney parks, and I'd much rather see TDR than Hong Kong or Shanghai (and yes I've thought about doing both HKDL and TDR, but I'd prefer to wait until HKDL finishes most of its major expansion.)

Be a tad careful about planning for exactly when everything is open. TDR (as you can tell) is aggressive in their refurbs. If everything is open expect that it is because the parks are going to be overwhelmingly busy.

Counterintuitively the first week of July was when I last went and it is a very slow time. Toy Story Midway Mania was closed (no loss there). The parks were a dream. That may be a good time to go if you want to see the 35th earlier on.

I'd highly recommend a visit to the Studio Ghibli museum if that at all strikes your fancy. You will need tickets ahead of time through a tourism agent. Preferentially I'd recommend carving out at least 3 days for Tokyo itself, a 4th for a Mt Fuji day trip. Don't head South unless your visit is in excess of 8/9 days ( assuming 3-4 days at the parks).

Baymax I left out for good reason, but B&TB from my perspective is worth holding out for, the theatrical show as well may be spectacular. I take it you aren't that interested in Galaxies Edge though?

I think my advice may be a little less applicable due to our different interests. I just worry that 2019 is the year to visit one of the American Parks and 2020 for Asia when both HK and Tokyo have several major projects opening. Of course there is always something new, but I hate recommending visiting on the 10th year cusp of their 11 year E-ticket dry spell. If you see yourself going back again within 5-7 years though that's a little less applicable.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Baymax I left out for good reason, but B&TB from my perspective is worth holding out for, the theatrical show as well may be spectacular. I take it you aren't that interested in Galaxies Edge though?

Aside from not knowing when in 2019 GE will open, I anticipate it to be a crowded mess the first 6-12 months of operation on both coasts. I'm interested, but I don't have the desire to go ASAP.

I think my advice may be a little less applicable due to our different interests. I just worry that 2019 is the year to visit one of the American Parks and 2020 for Asia when both HK and Tokyo have several major projects opening. Of course there is always something new, but I hate recommending visiting on the 10th year cusp of their 11 year E-ticket dry spell. If you see yourself going back again within 5-7 years though that's a little less applicable.

For a variety of reasons, the American parks are losing interest for me, so I intend to visit the Asian ones more often in the next 5+ years.

 

[SweetDuffy101]

The Dreaming up! Theme song will be singed by International Singer Sia! its just a rumor though.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I've decided on the first week or so of March 2019 to go because of my work schedule, and there doesn't appear to be any school holidays at that time.

I'm thinking of either the Sheraton or Hilton hotels, is one really better than the other? Also, which airport is better to fly into?

This is also a dumb question, but do they have English maps at the parks? It just dawned on me that for once I'm going to a Disneyland where I don't know where all the restrooms, rides and restaurants are, lol. I've found some good walkthroughs on youtube though.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I've decided on the first week or so of March 2019 to go because of my work schedule, and there doesn't appear to be any school holidays at that time.

I'm thinking of either the Sheraton or Hilton hotels, is one really better than the other? Also, which airport is better to fly into?

This is also a dumb question, but do they have English maps at the parks? It just dawned on me that for once I'm going to a Disneyland where I don't know where all the restrooms, rides and restaurants are, lol. I've found some good walkthroughs on youtube though.

I prefer the Hilton by a little bit, but whichever has a better price is the one to go with.

There are English maps, and by the time you're there, the official app will be up and running and should offer English as well.

 

[donsullivan]

I've decided on the first week or so of March 2019 to go because of my work schedule, and there doesn't appear to be any school holidays at that time.

I'm thinking of either the Sheraton or Hilton hotels, is one really better than the other? Also, which airport is better to fly into?

This is also a dumb question, but do they have English maps at the parks? It just dawned on me that for once I'm going to a Disneyland where I don't know where all the restrooms, rides and restaurants are, lol. I've found some good walkthroughs on youtube though.

I'm a fan of the Hilton myself. I stayed there for part of my trip back in 2016. The hotel and rooms are very nice and well maintained and it's super convenient to just walk across the street to the monorail station. I only stayed there for one night on my arrival day and then switch to Hotel MiraCosta for the balance of my trip. Don't forget that if you're not staying at one of the Disney owned hotels, you have to pay to use the monorail system so factor that into your cost decisions. In Tokyo, the monorail is considered public transportation and therefore you pay just like using the subway.

I chose to fly into Narita vs Haneda mostly because (at the time in fall 2016) I found it was cheaper to get there from the east coast and the transportation from the airport to the hotel was a lot more convenient. The last thing I wanted to do was figure out a new train system while schlepping luggage along the way. When I arrived in Narita, I just bought my Limousine Bus ticket and they took me right to the hotel. I used them coming back as well- super convenient.

Virtually all signage throughout the park is in both Japanese and English so you should not have any trouble at all. They do have guide maps in English as well. The one thing that I could never find any rhyme or reason for is the language for live entertainment. Some of it is in Japanese and some is in english but there doesn't seem to be any discernable rule as to when you should expect what.

One other really important tip. Make sure you visit TDRExplorer during your planning. Chris has done an amazing job and is pretty much the definitive english-language resource for planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I looked at both hotels, but went with the Sheraton because it was much less than the Hilton for the dates I wanted. Got a rate of about $150USD + tax through Expedia and I'm quite happy with that.

It's still a year away, but I'm excited to know when I'm going and where I'm staying. After all these years, I'm finally going to TDR!

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

I looked at both hotels, but went with the Sheraton because it was much less than the Hilton for the dates I wanted. Got a rate of about $150USD + tax through Expedia and I'm quite happy with that.

It's still a year away, but I'm excited to know when I'm going and where I'm staying. After all these years, I'm finally going to TDR!

It's the BEST.

 

[BrianLo]

I looked at both hotels, but went with the Sheraton because it was much less than the Hilton for the dates I wanted. Got a rate of about $150USD + tax through Expedia and I'm quite happy with that.

It's still a year away, but I'm excited to know when I'm going and where I'm staying. After all these years, I'm finally going to TDR!

Are you able to do a best rate guarantee against Starwood (SPG), or is that their rate as well?