Disneyland -Tokyo
 |
| Tokyo Disneyland |
Where we stayed
We stayed at Hotel Mystays Maihama which was a 7 minute walk away from DisneySea and a 20 minute walk from Disneyland. The hotel provided a free shuttle bus that took you to both parks and was very convenient. The hotel is about a 10 minute walk to the Ikspiari shopping mall (which is next to Disneyland). Ikspiari had lots of shops and even a supermarket in the basement where we bought breakfast items most days. To read more about how we got to the hotel from the airport please visit my page about the Airport Limousine bus and getting around Japan
From MyStays its an easy 20 minute trip into Tokyo Station so we did all our commuting to and from Maihama Train station. The Hotel is clean and the staff are very friendly. Some staff speak very good English.
Buying Tickets
Don’t book Disneyland or DisneySea tickets
during Japanese school holidays, or weekends. If you can - also avoid Mondays and Fridays as generally kids take those days off of school too. Japan also has ‘Golden Week’ (a week long
public holiday cluster first week of May – so avoid that time of year also!). If you google 'Tokyo Disneyland Crowd Calendar' you will find crowd forecasters – so double check with these crowd calendars, or even check
previous years crowds on there if your visiting month is not there.
We have bought E-tickets direct from the official Tokyo Disneyland Website and printed them off at home. The E- ticket guarantees you entry into the park and you can go straight to the entry gate. The E-Ticket also doubles as the ticket to scan for the Fastpasses. Tokyo Disneyland do limit numbers entering the park, and if its busy that day, they close admission. That is why we bought the E-Ticket.
The official ticket website doesn't always accept foreign credit cards. On our second trip to Tokyo Disneyland we found ourselves in this predicament. Not to worry though - its super easy to buy tickets at the Disney Store in Shibuya and also in Lawsons. The store in Shibuya is a lot of fun though - three floors of Disney merchandise in the heart of Shibuya. The tickets are sold on the third floor and the attendants speak English very well. You just need to know exactly what dates you wish to go.
We have bought E-tickets direct from the official Tokyo Disneyland Website and printed them off at home. The E- ticket guarantees you entry into the park and you can go straight to the entry gate. The E-Ticket also doubles as the ticket to scan for the Fastpasses. Tokyo Disneyland do limit numbers entering the park, and if its busy that day, they close admission. That is why we bought the E-Ticket.
The official ticket website doesn't always accept foreign credit cards. On our second trip to Tokyo Disneyland we found ourselves in this predicament. Not to worry though - its super easy to buy tickets at the Disney Store in Shibuya and also in Lawsons. The store in Shibuya is a lot of fun though - three floors of Disney merchandise in the heart of Shibuya. The tickets are sold on the third floor and the attendants speak English very well. You just need to know exactly what dates you wish to go.
Tokyo Disneyland Rides
Tokyo Disneyland has ‘cherry picked’
the best rides from Disneyland Anaheim and Walt Disney World Orlando. Pirates of the Caribbean ride was closed for maintenance for both of our visits (avoid April if desperately want the Pirates ride). Tokyo has all the big rides, and they are mostly the same,
except with a Japanese touch. Strangely, the Indiana Jones ride (my favourite
ride) is in the sister park, DisneySea which seems a bit odd as its not 'water related'.
One of the most popular rides in Tokyo Disneyland
is the Winnie the Pooh ride. You literally enter a storybook, and when you
enter the ride, you are in ‘honey pots’ that move quite independently in all
four directions, and shift you around from scene to scene. It is very new
technology (trackless) and a fun ride and totally different from other Winnie
the Pooh rides elsewhere in the world. It is an extremely popular ride with the
local population and you might need a Fast Pass for this ride. This was our first 'go to' ride in the park as its very popular.
 |
| The Winnie the Pooh Ride- Lines can be very long. It is one of the most popular rides in Tokyo |
The Monsters Inc ride had a huge line and we waited
until very late in the day after getting a Fast pass ticket for it. It was a
very bumpy ride and I probably would hesitate to do it again because of it. Not
sure if the suspension had gone in my car. The ride is different from the more passive California Adventure park with
the same name. The Californian ride however was a lot smoother ride. The Tokyo version
you shine ‘flashlights’ anywhere in various scenes and this animates the
objects. It is a fun ride.
The Star Tours ride was a lot of fun and the lines
were very short. We rode on this ride about 6 times and
once I was identified as the ‘spy’. It is all in Japanese, but there really is
no dialogue that you really need to know. Also, if you have been to Anaheim
Star tours, you will know the general story line. The storyline is updated to
incorporate the latest movies.
The Haunted Mansion ride is nearly identical to the
Anaheim Disneyland. When there is a parade happening, it is impossible to get
to the ride as its kind of cut off by people waiting for the parade.
 |
| The Haunted Mansion Ride |
The Peter Pan ride was a very nice ride. It was
closed for maintenance when we went to Anaheim's Disneyland, so we were happy to see the ride here
in Tokyo and it’s a really nice ride that we rode on about 3 times. You board
flying ‘boats’ and fly over London and Pirate ships etc and there are twinkling starry lights.
 |
| Peter Pan's Flight, was a fun trip where you travelled by ship, of course |
The Jungle Cruise is one of my favourite rides...
Tom Sawyers Island was great fun at Tokyo
Disneyland. You get there by raft and are provided with a map to the island as
its quite big. There are lots of rope bridges and areas to explore. The outdoor
caves are really good fun but the Injun Joe caves were even cooler. Be warned, my
daughter A.J got very scared in the Injun Joe caves – they were deeper then the
normal caves (and full of dark displays like pirate treasures, skulls and
things). The whole island was terrific to explore. There is a Fort Clemens and
Indian Tepees. We actually lost Dear Husband DH temporarily in the Fort Clemens and the caves.
If the park is extremely busy, Tom Sawyer island is always a good escape to get away from the crowds. Its calmer there and quieter (this is the same for similar islands inside Disney Parks worldwide).
If the park is extremely busy, Tom Sawyer island is always a good escape to get away from the crowds. Its calmer there and quieter (this is the same for similar islands inside Disney Parks worldwide).
 |
| Caves and Mountains to get lost in on Tom Sawyer's Island |
 |
| These bridges were alot of fun on Tom Sawyer Island |
The
Western River Railroad was a surprise ride, near the Jungle Cruise. Other than the usual sights on such
a train trip, the ride actually went into this cave area, into a primeval world
full of animated dinosaurs! I had not read this in any guidebooks and this ride
really was an afterthought to go on for us - but it was so worth riding.
The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents
"Aloha E Komo Mai!”, we had seen this (without Stitch), in Anaheim many
times as this was daughter A.J’s favourite attraction. We knew what to expect but this attraction
was all in Japanese. You can ask for a translater device however, its not really the same as listening to it in your own language though. Other live shows in
DisneySea you can also ask for Translator devices, which are handy.
 |
| The translation device you are given (you must ask for it though) |
Paddle-boat Steamer
This is also something that is relaxing inside Tokyo Disneyland. For the best view - head to the top deck on the left hand side.
Tokyo Disneyland Shows
Mostly, Disneyland is such a visual experience, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t understand the language totally, as you understand the meaning. However as a lot of the shows are in Japanese only, if you are short of time and don't know much Japanese, I would strongly suggest you skip all the shows and just do the rides.
Cinderella’s Castle
Unlike other Disney parks, you can actually go inside the castle and into the throne room, where you can be king or queen for, I don’t know, maybe 30 seconds, until someone else in line gets to sit! You can also try on the glass slipper!
 |
| Inside the Castle |
 |
| Inside the Castle, you can actually try on the glass slipper - and see whether it fits! |
 |
| Tokyo Disneyland Its a Small World ride |
 |
| Tokyo Disneyland Its a Small World ride |
I really recommend the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. Read my post about it here.
 |
| Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall |
Tokyo Disneyland Pins
Tokyo Disneyland did not have a huge selection of pins like Anaheim Disneyland unfortunately, but you can still get them, particularly anniversary pins like the one below.
 |
Tokyo Disneyland Popcorn Containers
Tokyo Disneyland has a rather low supply of Disney
Pins. However, it does make up for it by having these Disney Popcorn containers
which are unique to this Disneyland. Basically when you buy the container, you get free popcorn with it. But if you don’t
like the popcorn flavour it is selling with, you get a voucher to get the
popcorn flavour you want at a different popcorn stall. You can get these popcorn
containers refilled too. And the popcorn comes in multiple flavours, some
rather unusual including Caramel, Milk Chocolate, Soy Sauce and Butter, Curry,
Honey and Black Pepper. There are sometimes other flavours offered like
Coconut, Strawberry and Cappuccino but we never saw those. The buckets come in
all sorts of characters such as Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Olaf and more. We
bought the R2D2 and the Mickey one.
The Popcorn buckets caused some amusing scenes at Narita Airport
Security who wanted to know what on earth we had in our carry-on luggage bag
that was shaped like a bowling ball! When we took out the Mickey mouse popcorn
bucket there were smiles all round. The popcorn containers are bulky items to
be carrying around, so save for later in the day to collect. They don’t seem to
run out of them.
 |
| The popcorn buckets |
Electric Parade
I really recommend seeing this. Its amazing. There are heaps
of floats. My favourite was the Genie.
To read more about Japan, please go to:
More on Japan
36 Tips for Travelling in Japan
Pokemon Cafe, Tokyo
To read more about other Disney parks around the
world, please go to:
Something
you might also be interested in:
Japanese Dancing Robot (my YouTube video)
This site may contain affiliate links. When you click on
a link, we receive a small percentage of an affiliate sale without
any cost to you. Thank you for your support!
This Website is neither endorsed nor affiliated with any
Disney Park or Universal Studios park worldwide. This website is unofficial. To
avoid disappointment please always check the official websites for current
details of rides etc. Please read my full
Disclaimer
here.
Comments