Visit Japan: Tokyo Disneyland

The last time we went to Tokyo Disneyland was when you still had to print out paper tickets on A4 paper and obtain paper fast passes.

It was a crazy experience with even crazier lines and crowds.

On our most recent visit, I was delighted that everything is now digital - from tickets, to "fast passes," to food ordering, which made for a more pleasant experience, despite the rain at the beginning of our visit.

We arrived to Tokyo Disneyland and the lines to the entrance were pretty crazy, and it was moving quite slowly, but we got redirected to a just-opened line so we entered fairly quickly at that specific entrance.

As soon as we got into the park, I went onto the app to get Disney Premier Access and 40th Anniversary Priority Passes (aka "fast passes") for various rides, such as Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast.

I did not like the spinning - it got me dizzy!

Our first stop, however, was "it's a small world," since the last time we visited that attraction was closed for refurbishment.

The Disney Tokyo app also came in very handy to check wait times for rides. We would check the app for any rides with a 20-minute or less wait time, which was quite a few.

We made sure to go on our faves, like Monsters Inc., Ride & Go Seek, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters.

Of course all the fun Disney eats is something we look forward to, including our must-haves - churros, ice cream, and popcorn!

My favorite meal was actually a "hack."  I ordered a Vegetable Curry with Rice + the Chicken Tenders and Fried Cheese from Plazma Ray's Diner, then added the chicken tenders to the curry, to make a pseudo "chicken katsu curry." It was delish!

Last time the Fireworks show didn't happen because of wind, so we made sure to stay for it. We found seats near the ice cream shop which closed at 6pm. We ordered dinner and even got to watch the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights from afar.

Then the Sky Full of Colors fireworks show began.

It was actually (surprisingly) quite unimpressive, however.  It was a short, basic 10-minute show, and one that wasn't worth staying for.

Despite that, I was quite happy with our overall visit, and the utilization of the passes that allowed us to bypass lengthy standby lines.

Tokyo Disneyland still had some pretty intense crowds, but we definitely had a fun and memorable time!

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Visit Japan: Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs

Rapunzel's Tower at Fantasy Springs

Fantasy Springs opened earlier this month and I was so excited to visit the all-new, eighth port at Tokyo DisneySea! It is the location for three areas inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios films, “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “Peter Pan,” plus the brand new Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel.

We went on June 12 and at that time entry to Fantasy Springs was limited to guests with one of the following: Standby Pass for an eligible attraction; Disney Premier Access for an eligible attraction; 1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic; or Proof of Stay at Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel. We were in the security line shortly after 8am and entered the park a little before 9am and using the app, the standby time we received was 4:20pm! If you want to get an earlier standby time, I suggest you get into the security line as early as 2 hours before the park opens.

I definitely thought Fantasy Springs was worth the wait, but I think my son would disagree with me. Even so, we had a great time!

Elsa and Anna ready to greet you at the entrance of Fantasy Springs.

Rapunzel

One of the scenes from Rapunzel's Lantern Festival

Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey 

Arendelle 

Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel

  

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Visit Tokyo: Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

The grand Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

During our 6 night Tokyo vacation, we splurged and stayed one night at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel.  You can book your hotel room on their site from five months out.  I noticed when I tried to pay with my credit card on the site, it was denied and I immediately received a fraud alert from my credit card company.  Once I cleared it with my credit card company, the deposit went through. 

We stayed out of convenience so we could visit both parks and not have to travel back to Shinagawa, where we were staying.  The hotel is located directly across from Tokyo Disneyland.  As a hotel guest, you have the privilege of "Happy 15" where hotel guests may enter the parks 15 minutes before opening.  However, you should arrive early because even the early entry line gets long. 

We chose the Tinkerbell themed room and could not have been more happy with it.  It was spacious and the room was just too cute.  The staff was amazing as well. 

When we first arrived by train, we stopped at the Welcome Center where we left our bag to be transferred to the hotel and received our Disney monorail passes.  We then headed straight for Disneyland where we stayed until the 3pm check in time.  The next morning, we had one bag transferred to the welcome center for a fee of 500 yen so we wouldn't have to return to the hotel after our day at Disney Sea.  Everything was very convenient.

Beautiful lobby.

Tinkerbell themed room.

Alcove with bed.

Loved these chairs!

Amenities include toothbrushes and toothpaste, but not body lotion.

Bathtub and shower.

Pajamas for use during your stay.

Our view from our room.

We loved our stay at the hotel and we wish we could have stayed longer!

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Visit Tokyo: Tokyo Disneyland

After 12 hours at Tokyo DisneySea, we returned to Tokyo Disney Resort the next day to spend another 12 hours at Tokyo Disneyland.

Tokyo Disneyland is the first Disney theme park to operate outside the US.  It's divided into seven areas, and you'll find many of the same rides, attractions, and events that you'll find at the Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Cinderella's Castle

Upon entering Tokyo Disneyland, you step into the World Bazaar, which is like Main Street in the US Disneyland. There are lots of shops and eateries, but one big difference is that the World Bazaar is covered.

After reading numerous websites, we determined that two of the most popular rides were Monster's Inc. Ride & Go Seek! and Pooh's Hunny Hunt. So, as soon as we arrived, we went straight for the FastPasses for Monster's Inc Ride & Go Seek, which was already for 2:45pm! We also decided to try our luck with Pooh's Hunny Hunt at night, hoping the wait would be less than an hour.

We did not ride anything in Westernland, which has rides such as the Mark Twain Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island Rafts, nor in Critter Country, with Splash Mountain and the Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes, but we did ride a lot of other rides in the other themed areas.

In Toontown, the kids had fun exploring Chip 'n Dale's Treehouse, Toon Park, and Donald's Boat, painting in Goofy's Paint 'n' Play House, and riding on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin.

Toon Town

In Adventureland we took a ride on the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions.  

Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions

Although we could not understand a word of our Jungle Cruise's tour guide, having ridden the US version many times, we sort of had an idea of what he was saying.

In Tomorrowland we had fun searching for monsters in Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!, shooting targets in Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, and going on a galactic adventure on Star Tours.

Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

And in an ultimate test of patience and endurance, we stood in line for Space Mountain. The standby line was 100 minutes long in the evening, when I finally gave in and agreed to stand in line. My husband refuses to go on Space Mountain, and my two older kids kept pleading to go on the ride. Space Mountain is my oldest son's second-favorite ride behind "it's a small world," but since "it's a small world" was closed, and my middle son never rode Space Mountain before, I reluctantly agreed.  It was the longest line I've ever stood in for a ride anywhere!

It was pretty torturous since we had already been walking around all day, and it was very cold and very windy, but it was worth it in the end to see the smiles on their faces after the exciting ride (although next time it will be my husband's turn to stand in line!).

100 minutes, which is typical for standby times for many rides. 

We rode a lot in Fantasyland - Snow White's Adventures, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Haunted Mansion, and Alice's Tea Party (my least favorite ride - I always close my eyes since I can't deal with the spinning!).

Alice's Tea Party

Haunted Mansion

"it's a small world" was closed for renovations (scheduled to open in 2018).

"it's a small world"

And luckily, the standby line at night was only 30 minutes for Pooh's Hunny Hunt.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt

Lines at Tokyo Disneyland were generally long, and FastPasses for a few rides ran out quickly. People would just wait patiently in line playing cards or playing on their smartphones, or eating popcorn and churros. With the exception of Space Mountain, all the rides we went on had wait times of 30 minutes or less. Since many of the rides are similar to the US Disneyland, I'd highly suggest getting FastPasses for Pooh's Hunny Hunt and/or Monster's Inc. Ride & Go Seek!, since those two rides are quite different from the Monster's Inc. and Winnie the Pooh rides at Disneyland.

In addition to the rides, we also watched the Happiness Is Here and Dreamlights parades, as well as a bit of the Once Upon a Time Show, during which time Cinderella's Castle is transformed with projected images.

It was very cold and windy that night, so unfortunately the Happiness on High Fireworks show was cancelled, but thankfully we watched it the previous night from DisneySea.

It was another long day at Tokyo Disney Resort, and we were extremely exhausted (my youngest kept falling asleep while standing as we waited in line for one of the rides), but we had a fantastic time at Tokyo Disneyland!

Tokyo Disneyland
1-1 Maihama, Urayasu

Chiba Prefecture 279-0031, Japan
81 45-330-5211

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