This was my fourth visit to a Disneyland Park so you would think I would be quite an expert by now but boy did I learn some lessons from our latest visit to Tokyo Disneyland. Tokyo Disneyland is definitely busier than California and Paris
I absolutely love everything about Disneyland and it is truly my favourite place on earth as a huge Disney fan. However, if you do not plan your day properly it can make it go from being a really amazing day to an “ah it was okay” one despite all the magic so below I am sharing ALL of my tips for Tokyo Disneyland including our favourite rides.
TIP #1 Book online
Avoid buying tickets at the gate because there’s usually a huge line in the morning to purchase them versus having your prepaid tickets AND certain days can actually get to capacity so you could miss out. If you are there within a specific time frame with only a day or two spare for Disney, definitely order online. Book through the Disney website itself or Klook who often have discounts as well.
TIP #2: Avoid going on weekends & Mondays
Boy, did I learn this the hard way. We went on Sunday because it was my actual birthday but I would avoid weekends at ALL costs. It was absolutely crazy busy. Lines for everything including food and drinks were a minimum 45 minute wait and with young kids that is pretty impossible. Some rides were already at 2 hour waits at like 10am. It was madness. Because it was winter, I really expected less locals to be there but this was not the case and being close to Christmas it was a popular time. Also, for some reason Monday’s are also considered pretty busy so if you can time it, go from Tuesday-Friday. However, the best thing to do is jump on to the website and check out the attendance numbers expected for the week you are going and work out which day is the lowest. Because Disney tickets are pre-booked these can be pretty accurate.
TIP #3: Get there early and get FASTPASSES!
This is of upmost important to get the most out of your day and I overlooked it this time.
For those who haven’t been, a FASTPASS is a free option of skipping the queue for the most popular rides. When you arrive, go to your favourite rides and collect a FASTPASS ticket by inserting your park ticket (it is fiddly) and you have to do it for each person. It will print out your FASTPASS tickets with an allocated time slot of when you can return and do the ride (it can cut you wait time from hours down to 10 minutes). This time slot can be anywhere within the hour OR for us we got our ticket at 10am and we could not ride until 6pm because of how busy it was. DON’T LOSE THEM!
Tip: After learning from our experience at Disneyland, at Disney Sea after arriving in to the park my husband took our tickets and ran to the rides to collect our first FASTPASS so I didn’t have to race with the kids which would have exhausted them very early in the day.
Another important note: You cannot get fast passes one after another. At the bottom of your ticket it will tell you when you can get your next fastpass. Generally, this is two hours from when you got the ticket OR the start of the return window on your ticket (whatever is sooner).
My best advice: Plan out your day BEFORE you go. Download a map off the website (their app is only for Japanese phones at this stage) and work out your absolute MUST do rides first. Go to your first choice as soon as you arrive in the morning (Monsters Inc and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt are usually most popular). Whilst waiting to return for your allocated time slot, you could go on a smaller ride, check out the characters, eat food, etc. Then as soon as your time slot is “up” make sure you are at your next favourite ride to get that fast pass ticket and so on.
Another tip: You can check on the Tokyo Disneyland website for wait times for any ride. This saves you walking across the park, to then find out a ride has a two hour wait. The link is here.
My last visit to Disneyland was in California and there was literally no queues for FASTPASS ever so I was too relaxed this time. Tokyo Disneyland is not like the others. Unfortunately the difference in Japan is that there is a Disney app that gives local residents the ability to secure fast passes as soon as they walk through the gates whilst tourists have to physically scramble to the machines at the rides themselves leaving us at the bottom of the pile and usually the latest available ride times.
Getting to the park early will also help you as people are lining up hours before it opens at 8am, ready to rush in and grab their FASTPASSES. By 11am, they had already closed the FASTPASSES off for the day because they had exhausted the times which leaves you no choice but to line up for hours. I couldn’t believe it. This is a big factor in how many rides you will achieve in a day. Half of the FASTPASSES are suitable for small children as well (check out our favourites below) so don’t feel they are only the thrill rides.
This leads to my next point which is our favourite rides.
Our top rides at Tokyo Disneyland
Before I start here, it is important to note that everything is spoken in Japanese with no English version so if you are planning on watching any of the 3D movies just be prepared that you won’t really understand what is being said. We avoided anything with real dialogue and stuck to the rides as the kids just wouldn’t have understood what was going on. Here’s our favourite rides.
For the big kids & adults:
- Big Thunder Mountain (FASTPASS). This is my favourite ride and Finn absolutely loved it. It is a roller-coaster and does have a height restriction for over 102cm. It is thrilling but exhilarating. I much prefer it to the dark roller-coaster rides.
- Splash Mountain (FASTPASS)-A classic throughout the parks and definitely a favourite for us. Again ride restriction of 90cm as over so Finn was OK but Leo didn’t quite make it.
- Space Mountain (FASTPASS) -It’s not my favourite but people love it for the thrill factor as it is basically pitch black and super fast!
For the whole family (no height restrictions) :
- Buzz Lighyear’s Astro Blasters (FASTPASS) -This is a fun interactive ride where you get little guns on your ride and can help Buzz shoot his enemies.
- Monsters, Inc-Ride & Go Seek (FASTPASS)
- Peter Pan’s Flight-you fly through the air and it has amazing graphics. Leo loved it and he was 3!
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Jungle Cruise-this is a beautifully relaxed boat tour and the kids loved it.
- Also, visiting the Minnie & Micky houses was a top priority for me the first time as I am an avid Disney fan but you will line up for at least an hour to see them at any time of day. Worth it for the photo and hug and we didn’t have to go back the second time.
The one ride we missed because it was too popular was Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and I have heard it is amazing so try it for sure and it is a fast pass ticket.
Character Greetings
Character greeting times are listed on your English map however you’ll see characters randomly mingling with the crowds throughout the day. For most of them it’s a first in, first served basis. You’ll have to get the characters attention to get a photo and it can be pretty difficult with the crowds so don’t be too disappointed if you miss out. Apparently you can catch Mickey and Minnie at the front of the park in the mornings but we haven’t seen them there yet and have had to line up at their houses for photos. I would ask the staff when they are appearing outside as it may save you heaps of time.
TIP #4 DON’T BE FOOLED-There’s merchandise everywhere!
Don’t get stuck at the Disney shop before heading in to the park trying to find those cute little Micky or Minnie ears for that perfect photo because guess what? everyone else has the same idea AND there’s a tonne more of them when you go inside with little to no queue! I made the rookie mistake when we first visited and started lining up and after 20 minutes though “stuff this” and walked out. When I got in to the park, I walked in to the first souvenir shop and they had exactly the same stock for the same price and I didn’t have to line up. Learn from my mistake! But also check out the Disney Shop on your way out because there’s heaps of awesome gift ideas in there but just avoid it in the morning.
Tip #5 Pack your own snacks
With the possibility of a 45 minute wait for food (in the busy periods), the last thing you want to be doing is wasting precious time at Disneyland with hungry, grumpy children. You are able to take your own food to Disneyland and everyone does. Pack a comfortable backpack you can lug around with you and fill it with snacks for the kids. Things like sushi, popcorn, crackers, fruit are great ideas from the convenience stores. Because you are walking around so much as well, everyone is hungry and food is demolished.
I would say aim for one big meal at Disneyland and a few cute snack options and try to avoid the lunch hour as this is when it is busiest. There are food options everywhere and expect to pay more than what you would outside of the park which is why it’s also good to minimise what you eat there.
Also, pack a water bottle because all the excitement will make you thirsty and there’s drinking fountains placed throughout the park to refill!
Also again! There’s no espresso coffee at Disneyland so don’t waste your time looking!
Do try a Mickey shaped waffle
However, I will say you must try the Great American Waffle Company (situated at the beginning of Disneyland with all the foodie places). This is one of the most popular places in Disney because they do the Mickey shaped waffle. I waited 45 minutes for mine and yes it was worth it.
Some of the other food we did try was a Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream (delicious), pizza spring rolls and Micky Mouse shaped burgers.
Tip #6 Stay at accommodation close, and with free shuttle service
Ideally you would want to stay in the Disney hotel because the convenience of it absolutely the best. Being able to go in and out as you please makes your days a lot easier especially if your young ones need a nap. However, with rooms of up to $1000 AUD or more a night this just isn’t feasible for a lot of families. In saying that, Tokyo Bay is filled with hotels that are affiliated with Disneyland and offer free shuttle services. We stayed at Comfort Suites and they had regular shuttles all day. They were located about 25 mins from Disneyland and we used it to return in the afternoon for a rest and go back at night for the fireworks. It was also much cheaper at $200 AUD a night. Do your research and you’ll be fine. Our first time as Disney we stayed in the city and the train home was over an hour and so much walking on top of such a huge day. It was awful so late at night with the kids so definitely stay in Tokyo Bay.
Tip #7 Hire a stroller!!!
We very stupidly decided not to bring our stroller to Japan for Mr 3 as he never uses it and it can be hard to lug around, however you will absolutely use it in Japan AND especially at Disneyland. Luckily for us, they hire out the most awesome strollers for 1000 yen (around $15 AUD) for the day and boy were we saved. You will find the stroller hire right at the entry down a side alley so check out a map or ask for directions.
Tip #8 Catch the parades AND electric parade/fireworks
The parades at Tokyo Disney are awesome and not to be missed. There’s one usually during the day and in peak times like Christmas there is often two so make sure you add the time in to your itinerary. People take picnic mats and find their spot at least 60 minutes before the shows start for the best view however we don’t like wasting that time so we squeeze in somewhere before it starts and still get a good view. I would definitely recommend going to the Electric Parade at night. It’s so magical! You’ll need to be dressed warm and even have a blanket if possible. Shortly after this the fireworks will begin and this is one of my favourite parts of Disney because it’s just so magical, the buildings light up with animations and Disney music comes on. Truly the most special place in earth!
That about wraps it up for my top tips on Disneyland and I really hope they improve your overall experience when visiting! I will also be sharing another blog post on Disney Sea soon and I definitely recommend attending both if you are able too! Although we had been to Disneyland Tokyo before, this was out first time to Disney Sea and it is rated one of the top Disney parks out of all of them across the world and for good reason. It is amazing! Keep an eye out for the blog post.
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