It is finally happening...I'm going to visit theTokyo Disney Resort!

Greenkai3000

Greenkai3000

Active Member
Original Poster
So, after a few years of dreaming about it, planning carefully, and budgeting strategically, we are finally going to Tokyo Disney. Needless to say we are beyond EXCITED about it. We will be staying 2 nights (late Wednesday May 6, and Thursday May 7) at the Disneyland Hotel. Miracosta is already booked solid :(. And the Embassador is the only Hotel with available rooms on the 8th, so we might be able to stay there on Friday.

I would love to hear from TDR veterans about all your suggestions regarding a game plan for us, as far as maximizing rope drop being hotel guests, getting the most popular fast passes, and being able to eat all the good food and snacks, when we visit Disney Sea on Thursday (the day after Golden Week is officially over), and Disneyland on Friday. We won't don't have little ones, so all the thrill rides are out top priorities, especially those unique to TDR, as well as being able to see the most popular shows.

What snacks do you recommend? Is there a great table or counter service restaurant at each park we should not miss, and do we need reservations for them? Are some shows really worth trying to get lottery tickets for?

All input is welcome, and greatly appreciated. :bookworm:
 
cdd89

cdd89

Well-Known Member
I can only advise on DisneySea, as I haven't been to Disneyland (very jealous by the way!).

There are four thrill rides at DisneySea (three of which are 'physically intense' thrill rides): Raging Spirits coaster, Tower of Terror, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Indiana Jones Adventure and StormRider. (The first three are the physically intense ones (decreasingly so); the latter two are equivalent to Dinosaur and Star Tours respectively, although the themes are very different).

I guess you probably knew all that (or at least if you didn't, shame on you for not doing a Google search!), so here's some stuff you may not know:

1) Raging Spirits and Indiana Jones have 'Single Rider' lines. For whatever reason, the Japanese don't believe in using these (at least they didn't when I went). So if riding together is not a priority for you, make the most of these. Fastpass is available for both these rides, but it's actaully slower than the Single Rider lines in my experience.

2) If you have done "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril" in Disneyland Paris, I would advise you in the strongest possible terms to skip Raging Spirits. The outside of the ride is great, but the ride experience itself is practically identical. If you haven't done it, I guess you may as well, but don't prepare yourself for a thematically interesting ride.

3) Journey to the Center of the Earth is unbelievably popular (although curiously less-popular than Toy Story Midway Mania - which you should avoid, although I just took that advice from another blog - and the 300 minute wait time was quite helpful in making up my mind ;-). Based on popuarity and sell-out times, this should be your #1 priority when obtaining FastPasses. Tower of Terror should be your #2 priority, and StormRider should be #3. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea should be #999999 (which is not to say it's a bad ride by any means - but it's not a thrill ride, so it's a moot point anyway). On busy days, you may not get more than one FastPass out of the system, so if you feel strongly about a particular ride, reshuffle these priorities accordingly.

4) I know we're discussing thrill rides, but you should do Sindbad's Storybook Voyage. It has the most brilliant score and really clever effects. No FastPass, but you shouldn't have to wait too long (well, in relative terms!)

5) Depending on your budget, consider purchasing more than one entrance ticket per person. This is less important if you have a longer stay, but I was only able to visit for one day and this strategy paid off for me - the second ticket was worth every penny. This is more important if you want to increase your odds of winning lottery tickets.

6) Consider how much you want to see Fantasmic. In its favour, it's an amazing show (and quite different from the WDW/Disneyland versions). On the other hand, it's when the rides are quietest. This is because it's an amazing show and anyone with any sense goes out to watch it. I ended up compromising and 'arriving late' to Fantasmic to take advantage of a few walk on rides - I didn't get the best view, but I thought it was worth the compromise. It often shows quite a while before park closing, so you get two bites at the cherry for 'quiet ride times'.

7) Usual rules about the line closing at Park Close and not the attraction apply. This means you get one ride in which your queueing time doesn't come out of park time.

8) I recommend Nautilus at DisneySea for great, authentic counter-service food. In fact I could eat one of those Gyoza dumplings right now. There's an impressive looking restaurant on the SS Columbia whose name I've forgotten - I entered the ship and looked around but didn't eat there, only for time reasons. It looked great though.
 
DisneyKiwi

DisneyKiwi

Active Member
I haven't been since 2006 but I had a fantastic time. I went in October just after ToT opened and I had 0 issues with crowds except on ToT - which I ended up skipping due to 3hour queues all day. The longest I had to wait for anything else was 15min. Are you staying in Japan long beyond Disney? It's an amazing country and very easy to explore with a rail pass.
 
BrerJon

BrerJon

Well-Known Member
You're already on your way to a great vacation. Planning is key with Tokyo - not in a WDW booking reservations, Fastpass+ kind of way, but in a touring strategy fashion to avoid being frustrated.

I'd echo the points made above about DisneySea, although with good planning there's no need for 3 hour queues, that's an exaggeration. Only one day in each park is going to be a tight squeeze though, I'd advise three or even four if at all possible.

Skip Toy Story Mania. I've ridden it, it's no different to California or Florida, and the line is hours long and the rush in the morning for it is insane. Instead I'd say get a Fastpass for Tower of Terror (which is probably the best attraction - the queue and pre-show are the main event for someone used to the USA parks, as they are very different), then go and ride Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Those are the two largest lines, everything else you can do as you please, and while I'd suggest Single Rider for Indy, I found on Raging Spirits the single rider line didn't move and I left the line because I was waiting so long, but that could just be the CM on duty hadn't been trained properly that day.

Sindbad is a must do - it's an animatronic boat ride in the vein of 'It's A Small World' or 'Pirates' and is brilliant, definitely a don't miss. Say hi to Chandu the tiger.

The only sit-down I'd suggest is Magellan's, which is a great restaurant, but if you only have one day I'd skip the sit-down and concentrate on enjoying the attractions and theming. The Mysterious Island quick service is superb, so a good alternative.

Make sure you explore all the hidden areas - Venice behind the gondolas, inside the Queen Mary boat, Mermaid Lagoon, and best of all, Fortress Explorations, which is the best Tom Sawyer Island type play area in the world, and also the best secret agoon parade viewing spot.

In Tokyo Disneyland, the two big 'get on or miss out' rides are Monsters Inc and Pooh's Hunny Hunt. At rope drop, rush to Monsters and get in the line for the Fastpasses, then head to Pooh and ride standby. If you want a second go, head back as soon as your window opens for another Fastpass and see if they still have any left, as they go quick.

With those two done, however, the rest of the attractions are the same kind of wait times you'd get on a busy day at Magic Kingdom. Tokyo is Magic Kingdom done right - they've learned lessons from Florida, and it combines the best of MK and Disneyland. Splash Mountain is a must do (and eat a Critter Sundae while you're in the area, they're amazing!), but every other ride is similar to American ones so you can pick and choose.

Dont miss the electrical parade though, it's stunning.

Also don't expect to spend a great deal on merchandise - unlike in the USA, the Japanese don't really go in for shirts and things with park logos on, so you'll struggle to find much 'Tokyo Disneyland' souvenir merch, and if you see something you like snap it up because they don't always sell the same stuff in every store. Best shopping is probably McDucks in DisneySea.

Tokyo has a bewildering array of great food items, so it's tough to recommend any, but I had some great melon bread in the shape of Mike Wazowski in the bakery there. The Queen of Hearts restaurant is possibly the best Disney quick service in the world too.

Finally, the most important tip of all, is get there at least 30 minutes before the park opens. Everyone else will, and you can pretty much rule out the biggest two or three rides in each park if you don't.

Also read this thread, it's a really good trip report that gives a good feel for what to expect:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/spirit-inspiried-faux-1-visit-to-tokyo-disneyland.891035/
 
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ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
I'd recommend Ristorante Di Canaletto as a sit-down restaurant at Tokyo DisneySea...I've wanted to try Magellan's but the portion sizes seem very small.

I also highly recommend getting a drink or dessert at the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, great place to relax
 
ArtificialArtist

ArtificialArtist

Well-Known Member
I was there in 2002, wish i could go. Hope you have lots of fun! :)
DisneySea will take your breath away in terms of theming quality.

There is a small booth selling some "idon'tknowwhatthenameis" specialty made of meat and soft dough. (Inside the crater area, near the connecting path to Mermaid Lagoon)
The real attraction of this booth/attraction are the long lines. According to some public Disney-staff statements
the reason this booth is so popular amogst japanese people is (that's their statement) they like waiting in the line so long to get this "rare specialty". I can't tell you if it's worth the 1-2 hour wait, as i skipped this one. :)
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
ArtificialArtist said:
I was there in 2002, wish i could go. Hope you have lots of fun! :)
DisneySea will take your breath away in terms of theming quality.

There is a small booth selling some "idon'tknowwhatthenameis" specialty made of meat and soft dough. (Inside the crater area, near the connecting path to Mermaid Lagoon)
The real attraction of this booth/attraction are the long lines. According to some public Disney-staff statements
the reason this booth is so popular amogst japanese people is (that's their statement) they like waiting in the line so long to get this "rare specialty". I can't tell you if it's worth the 1-2 hour wait, as i skipped this one. :)
Click to expand...

Its a steamed Gyoza basically, though i think they call it soemthing else. The waits aren't as long as they used to be for it...and it's pretty good...not the best stuff on earth :p
 
BrerJon

BrerJon

Well-Known Member
Greenkai3000 said:
Speaking of gyoza buns. I hear there is more than one kind/flavor, sold at more than one place, at TDS. Is this true?
Click to expand...

Not that I know of, but maybe someone was getting mixed up with the popcorn? TDR is famous for its popcorn flavours, with many varieties, each usually only available from one or two places across the resort.
 
A

Admiral01

Premium Member
I just got back to my hotel from a day at Tokyo Disney Resort. I visited DisneySea last year, but today we did both Disneyland and DisneySea.

First, it is clear that OLC takes great care of the attractions and the parks. Riding rides like Pirates and Jungle Cruise you can see the difference - the quality. That said, I was incredibly underwhelmed by Disneyland. The attractions are incredible, but the park design itself feels like a bunch of buildings plopped down on a flat cement lot. Lots of wide pathways of nothing but green pavement. I expected more intimate and interesting settings like Disneyland and Magic Kingdom back at home. Very underwhelmed especially compared to DisneySea. DisneySea is an incredibly beautiful designed park, with some very quality attractions, neat restaurants, and great walking. Next time I visit the resort, I will focus on DisneySea. Best park this side of EPCOT circa 1994.

The milk tea flavored popcorn is great. We liked the curry too.

Make sure you take some time to explore Tokyo. It is a really neat city. Get some ramen in Ebisu. Stroll around Ginza (visit the big Mitsukoshi that you've seen a piece of in the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT). Explore Harijuku. This is one of the great cities of the world. The people are focused but incredibly polite and professional. Lots of pride in all they do. Even people like the janitor is prideful of their profession, as they should be, but which we often see lacking in the west.

Have fun while you are here. It isn't a place the is easy or cheap to get to, so make the most out of it.
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Admiral01 said:
I just got back to my hotel from a day at Tokyo Disney Resort. I visited DisneySea last year, but today we did both Disneyland and DisneySea.

First, it is clear that OLC takes great care of the attractions and the parks. Riding rides like Pirates and Jungle Cruise you can see the difference - the quality. That said, I was incredibly underwhelmed by Disneyland. The attractions are incredible, but the park design itself feels like a bunch of buildings plopped down on a flat cement lot. Lots of wide pathways of nothing but green pavement. I expected more intimate and interesting settings like Disneyland and Magic Kingdom back at home. Very underwhelmed especially compared to DisneySea. DisneySea is an incredibly beautiful designed park, with some very quality attractions, neat restaurants, and great walking. Next time I visit the resort, I will focus on DisneySea. Best park this side of EPCOT circa 1994.

The milk tea flavored popcorn is great. We liked the curry too.

Make sure you take some time to explore Tokyo. It is a really neat city. Get some ramen in Ebisu. Stroll around Ginza (visit the big Mitsukoshi that you've seen a piece of in the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT). Explore Harijuku. This is one of the great cities of the world. The people are focused but incredibly polite and professional. Lots of pride in all they do. Even people like the janitor is prideful of their profession, as they should be, but which we often see lacking in the west.

Have fun while you are here. It isn't a place the is easy or cheap to get to, so make the most out of it.
Click to expand...

100% accurate :cool:
 
Greenkai3000

Greenkai3000

Active Member
Original Poster
Regarding the gyoza buns mystery...I guess the other kind of flavor people have talked about, is more of a hot dog kind of snack served in Lost River Delta (?)

Another question I have, and I'm sure it's been discussed on here before, is whether the Disneyland Hotel, and/or the Miracosta Hotel offer free wifi to guests? I ask because I keep seeing different answers on the message boards. Can anyone please confirm this? Thanks.
 
P

Philo

Well-Known Member
Greenkai3000 said:
Another question I have, and I'm sure it's been discussed on here before, is whether the Disneyland Hotel, and/or the Miracosta Hotel offer free wifi to guests? I ask because I keep seeing different answers on the message boards. Can anyone please confirm this? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I stayed in the Miracosta for a few days back in 2011 I think, and I don't remember there being any free wi-fi at the time, but then I don't remember specifically looking for it either. Not much help there I'm afraid!

If you're not aware, the week you'll be there is Golden Week in Japan (I think it officially ends on the 5th May but I assume people will still be holidaying till the weekend, so do plan for big crowds and long waits. However, both parks are amazing. For me though, DisneySeas is the better park, simply because there isn't another one like it in the world, but there are some not to be missed attractions at both parks (Poohs Honey Hunt is fantastic!).
 

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