I got the chance to visit TDR last month as a portion of a larger Tokyo trip. It had always been a bucket list item for me to go to Japan and being that we love Disney it was a no brainer to visit the parks. My girlfriend I could tell was slightly apprehensive about Japan overall because she had been to China for work and while she isnt ignorant enough to think the two are similar, I could tell she was concerned about food and cultural differences. She is the planner in the relationship and has planned all of our trips, but let me take the reigns here as she really wasnt sure what to expect.
I decided to start our trip with Disney because of logistical reasons and because I really want to ensure we had time to decide on a Mt. Fuji day trip (which is very dependent on weather.) We ended up visiting on a Sunday, Mon and Tues even after we had heard weekends were horribly busy. We also decided to stay at the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel to ensure we would be guaranteed admission. Staying at a Disney resort ensures you can buy tickets otherwise you run the risk on having to buy them the day of and possibly being at capacity. We tried buying them online but evidently it is difficult as your US c.c. will get declined. There is another option through Klook but you can only get a one or two day pass. We wanted the 3 day pass because it is the only park hopper option available at the resort.
Day 1- we arrived super early because we had read up on the resort and learned that people show up very early. Coincidentally it was also the first day of their 35th celebration so we anticipated crowds. The forecast called for light rain and the night before was quite rainy and windy. I chalked it up to us being right on the water (TDR is essentially right on the bay) but good God was "light rain" the understatement of all time. As someone who has lived in FL all my life, this was tropical storm level weather possibly weak Hurricane Cat 1. There were gusts of winds that almost knocked me down. As a reddit user said in a more vulgar way, "Japanese people do not give a crap about the rain so dont think less crowds if its rainy" and it was all I could think about. No one cared. Babies in strollers, the elderly, people getting soaked and having their umbrellas broken...no one batted an eye. We waited in line in horrible wind and rain for an hour and we were finally allowed in. Resort guests are allowed 15 minute early entrance which makes a huge difference here. As we walked in it was a mad dash to get to Main Street since its covered entirely with a roof. When we got in, there were dozens and dozens of cast members waving frantically and smiling from ear to ear. High fiving everyone with excitement as they came in. The first thing I did was walk in a buy a new pair of socks. FINALLY it stopped raining around 10am. By then we had started at Space Mountain and worked our way through the park counter clockwise. Unfortunately Pooh was closed for refurbishment but we did nearly every attraction here. The park is very similar to the US twins, but much more spacious. Tomorrowland is a little bland, and Fantasyland is a little bare but it's still a lovely park. We saw people lining up 4 hours for the new parade, Dreaming Up. No that's not a typo. Four hours. It was a great parade and I'm still trying to figure out who the singer is. If you remove the Disney aspects of it, it is quite easily a top 40 song on the radio. It's very modern by Disney standards and very catchy. The parade is excellent and the floats are top notch.
The attractions are fine, if not a little different. Space Mountain is strange because theres no music. Just oddly silent. Monsters Inc is cute. Way better than the DL version but not something I'd say is a do or die attraction. Their HM is strange because it's in Fantasyland and adjacent to their very very large Splash Mountain.
After spending a very long day it was time for their night parade. Did I mention everyone sits for the parades? Yes what a novelty. No one stands. Everyone brings these plastic mats to sit on. They're almost all Disney themed and can be bought in the parks. At first when the parade started I heard the all too familiar MSEP music and noticed the beginning was the same float. I thought to myself sort of disappointingly, "wait...its just the same old MSEP?"
Of course not. Like everything in Tokyo Disney, it was way better than whatever versions we had and the tech was glaringly different as well as different floats. Excellent parade and as soon as it ended we were worn out. Winds cancelled the fireworks so we headed back. Unlike the nightmare that is when you leave MK after their fireworks and make your way back to the TTC, it seemed way easier to get out of the park. We walked straight to the bus station which doesnt seem miles away like it does in other parks, got on the shuttle and went back to our hotel. Ready for another long day.
I decided to start our trip with Disney because of logistical reasons and because I really want to ensure we had time to decide on a Mt. Fuji day trip (which is very dependent on weather.) We ended up visiting on a Sunday, Mon and Tues even after we had heard weekends were horribly busy. We also decided to stay at the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel to ensure we would be guaranteed admission. Staying at a Disney resort ensures you can buy tickets otherwise you run the risk on having to buy them the day of and possibly being at capacity. We tried buying them online but evidently it is difficult as your US c.c. will get declined. There is another option through Klook but you can only get a one or two day pass. We wanted the 3 day pass because it is the only park hopper option available at the resort.
Day 1- we arrived super early because we had read up on the resort and learned that people show up very early. Coincidentally it was also the first day of their 35th celebration so we anticipated crowds. The forecast called for light rain and the night before was quite rainy and windy. I chalked it up to us being right on the water (TDR is essentially right on the bay) but good God was "light rain" the understatement of all time. As someone who has lived in FL all my life, this was tropical storm level weather possibly weak Hurricane Cat 1. There were gusts of winds that almost knocked me down. As a reddit user said in a more vulgar way, "Japanese people do not give a crap about the rain so dont think less crowds if its rainy" and it was all I could think about. No one cared. Babies in strollers, the elderly, people getting soaked and having their umbrellas broken...no one batted an eye. We waited in line in horrible wind and rain for an hour and we were finally allowed in. Resort guests are allowed 15 minute early entrance which makes a huge difference here. As we walked in it was a mad dash to get to Main Street since its covered entirely with a roof. When we got in, there were dozens and dozens of cast members waving frantically and smiling from ear to ear. High fiving everyone with excitement as they came in. The first thing I did was walk in a buy a new pair of socks. FINALLY it stopped raining around 10am. By then we had started at Space Mountain and worked our way through the park counter clockwise. Unfortunately Pooh was closed for refurbishment but we did nearly every attraction here. The park is very similar to the US twins, but much more spacious. Tomorrowland is a little bland, and Fantasyland is a little bare but it's still a lovely park. We saw people lining up 4 hours for the new parade, Dreaming Up. No that's not a typo. Four hours. It was a great parade and I'm still trying to figure out who the singer is. If you remove the Disney aspects of it, it is quite easily a top 40 song on the radio. It's very modern by Disney standards and very catchy. The parade is excellent and the floats are top notch.
The attractions are fine, if not a little different. Space Mountain is strange because theres no music. Just oddly silent. Monsters Inc is cute. Way better than the DL version but not something I'd say is a do or die attraction. Their HM is strange because it's in Fantasyland and adjacent to their very very large Splash Mountain.
After spending a very long day it was time for their night parade. Did I mention everyone sits for the parades? Yes what a novelty. No one stands. Everyone brings these plastic mats to sit on. They're almost all Disney themed and can be bought in the parks. At first when the parade started I heard the all too familiar MSEP music and noticed the beginning was the same float. I thought to myself sort of disappointingly, "wait...its just the same old MSEP?"
Of course not. Like everything in Tokyo Disney, it was way better than whatever versions we had and the tech was glaringly different as well as different floats. Excellent parade and as soon as it ended we were worn out. Winds cancelled the fireworks so we headed back. Unlike the nightmare that is when you leave MK after their fireworks and make your way back to the TTC, it seemed way easier to get out of the park. We walked straight to the bus station which doesnt seem miles away like it does in other parks, got on the shuttle and went back to our hotel. Ready for another long day.
