Planning Tokyo Disney Trip 101: A Step By Step Guide
Want to visit Tokyo Disney, but don’t know where to start the planning process?
Here are our planning steps:
Table of Contents
Decide When to Go
First step: deciding when to go. Do you want to see the parks decorated for your favorite holiday and experience seasonal offers? Or you want to visit during low crowds months?
Generally, it’s best to avoid visiting Tokyo Disney Resort on weekends and during the public holidays, especially during the Golden Week (April 29 – May 6 in 2020).
Useful links:
- Tokyo Disney crowd calendar. It is in Japanese. You can use Google Chrome to translate it.
- List of Japanese public holidays
- Seasonal events at Tokyo Disney Resort
- Average weather in Tokyo year round
Check Immigration Requirements
First, check your passport expiration date. Your passport must be valid for the whole duration of your intended stay in Japan.
Then, check visa requirements for your country of citizenship here.
See our post on Japan arrival and departure procedures:
See our Tokyo Narita airport arrival (from immigration to Limousine Bus) video:
Book Airfare
Most likely, the airfare will be your largest expense of the Tokyo Disney trip.
I recommend using Google Flight to find the best option for your preferred travel dates. You can also use this website to track the price changes.
If you are US based and your travel dates are flexible, I’d suggest following on Scott’s Cheap Flights, The Flight Deal, and TPG Alerts on Twitter as you can get some amazing deals on the airfare.
Lastly, you might want to consider using airlines miles to book your flights. See our post on how we used Alaska Air miles to fly in business class for the price of economy class ticket here:
Decide How Many Days You Want to Spend at the Parks
This question gets asked a lot, and the answer is very personal.
It all depends on how much you want to experience and how busy the parks will be:
- Do you want to ride every single ride or just the ones unique to Tokyo Disney?
- Are you visiting on a weekend or during the Golden Week?
- Are you rope-drop-to-park-close kind of person, or you prefer to take mid-afternoon breaks?
Decide Whether You Want to Book a Vacation Package
Tokyo Disney offers vacation packages that include park tickets, hotel stay, breakfast, and more.
They cost more than purchasing package components separately, but they come with such perks as Fast Pass tickets, free drinks, original goods voucher, and more. Also, the package comes with a special ticket that could be used to park hop on day 1.
You can book the vacation package six months in advance.
See our detailed post on Tokyo Disney packages here:
Max package length is 3 days/2 nights, so if you want to have the package benefits for more than 3 days, or you will have to book two packages.
Book Hotel
Despite its name, Tokyo Disney Resort is not located in Tokyo. It is located in Urayasu, Chiba, east of Tokyo.
While you can certainly stay in Tokyo and take the train to the parks, it is easier to stay in one of the hotels on/close to the Disney property. Especially if you are planning a multi-day visit.
You have plenty of hotels to choose from (see the tables below).
You can book the hotel on Tokyo Disney website or via your favorite booking engine.
Disney Hotels
| Hotel Name | Price | Benefits | Getting to/from the Parks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disney Ambassador Hotel | $$$ | – Happy 15 Entry privilege for early entry to Parks – Room amenities with Disney Character designs exclusive to the hotel – Offers rooms themed to Mickey Mouse and other Disney Characters – Disney Character Dining offered at Chef Mickey – Guests can purchase Multi-Day Passport Special ticket (allows to park hop on Day 1) | Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Hotel MiraCosta | $$$$ | – Happy 15 Entry privilege for early entry to Parks – Located inside Tokyo DisneySea – Room amenities with exclusive Disney Character design – Offers rooms with a view of Tokyo DisneySea – Guests can purchase Multi-Day Passport Special ticket (allows to park hop on Day 1) | Disney Resort Line (monorail) to Disneyland; Located in DisneySea |
| Disneyland Hotel | $$$$ | – Happy 15 Entry privilege for early entry to Parks – The closest hotel to Tokyo Disneyland – Room amenities with exclusive Disney Character design – Offers rooms themed to the Disney films Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast. – Guests can purchase Multi-Day Passport Special ticket (allows to park hop on Day 1) | Disney Resort Line (monorail) to DisneySea; Located across Disneyland |
| Disney Celebration Hotel | $$ | – Happy 15 Entry privilege for early entry to Parks – Guests can purchase Multi-Day Passport Special ticket (allows to park hop on Day 1) | Complimentary shuttle bus |
Tokyo Disney Resort Official Hotels
| Hotel Name | Price | Benefits | Getting to/from the Parks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel First Resort | $$$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel | $$$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel | $$$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel Club Resort | $$$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Hilton Tokyo Bay | $$$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
| Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay | $$ | Guaranteed Park admission | Disney Resort Line (monorail) |
Tokyo Disney Resort Partner Hotels
| Hotel Name | Price | Benefits | Getting to/from the Parks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urayasu Brighton Hotel Tokyo Bay | $ | None | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line |
| Oriental Hotel Tokyo Bay | $ | None | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line |
| Hotel Emion Tokyo Bay | $ | None | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line |
| Mitsui Garden Hotel PRANA Tokyo Bay | $ | None | Complimentary shuttle bus to the Disney Resort Line |
Purchase Tickets
If you are not reserving the vacation package, you can purchase park tickets 90 days in advance.
The max ticket length is 4 days, and all days must be used consecutively. You can’t park hop on Day 1 and Day 2 with regular 3-day and 4-day tickets. However, if you are staying at one of the Disney hotels (see above) you can purchase , for an additional cost, a special multi-day ticket that would allow you to visit both parks on the same day starting Day 1 (same as the vacation package ticket).
Tickets prices effective April 2020 are as follows:
| Ticket | Description | Adult (18+) | Junior (12-17) | Child (4-11) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Day Passport | Admission to one park | ¥8,200 | ¥6,900 | ¥4,900 |
| Starlight Passport | Admission from 3pm on weekends and holidays (one park) | ¥6,000 | ¥5,100 | ¥3,600 |
| After 6 Passport | Admission from 6pm on weekdays (one park) | ¥4,700 | ¥4,700 | ¥4,700 |
| 2-Day Passport | One park a day | ¥14,800 | ¥12,600 | ¥8,800 |
| 3-Day Magic Passport | One park a day on Day 1 and Day 2, can visit both parks on Day 3 | ¥19,800 | ¥16,800 | ¥11,800 |
| 4-Day Magic Passport | One park a day on Day 1 and Day 2, can visit both parks on Day 3 and Day 4 | ¥24,800 | ¥21,000 | ¥14,800 |
You can purchase tickets at:
- TDR official website
- Voyagin. This website offers discounted direct-entry tickets or tickets that can be picked up at Maihama station.
- Disney hotels
- Tokyo Disney Resort official hotels
- Disney Stores. See the list here.
- Park ticket booth (same day tickets)
- Tokyo Disney Resort Ticket Center, located in Ikspiari
- Convenience stores, major travel agencies, and JR (Japan Railways) ticket windows
Reserve Dining
Tokyo Disneyland
- Eastside Cafe
- Blue Bayou
- Hokusai
- Crystal Palace
Tokyo DisneySea
- Magellan’s
- Ristorante di Canaletto
- Sakura
- Horizon Bay
Disney Ambassador Hotel
- Chef Mickey
- Empire Grill
- Hyperion Lounge (Kingdom Hearts Special Cake Set)
Hotel MiraCosta
- Oceano
- Silk Road Garden
- BellaVista Lounge
Disneyland Hotel
- Sherwood Garden
- Canna
- Dreamers Lounge (Afternoon Tea & Pasta Dinner)
Dinner Shows
You can also make advanced reservations for these four dinner shows here:
- Horseshoe Roundup (lunch) | The Diamond Horseshoe, Disneyland
- The Diamond Horseshoe Presents Mickey & Company (dinner) | The Diamond Horseshoe, Disneyland
- Lilo’s Luau & Fun (lunch) | Polynesian Terrace Restaurant, Disneyland
- Mickey’s Rainbow Luau (dinner) | Polynesian Terrace Restaurant, Disneyland
Make a List of Must Do Attractions
Get familiar with everything Tokyo Disney has to offer to create your own game plan.
Useful links:
- Tokyo Disneyland attractions
- Tokyo DisneySea attractions
- Tokyo Disneyland parades & shows
- Tokyo DisneySea parades & shows
These attractions unique to Tokyo usually make the must-do list of first-time visitors:
Tokyo Disneyland
- Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
- Monsters Inc. Ride & Seek!
- Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall
Tokyo DisneySea
- Fortress Exploration
- Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage
- Journey to the Center of the Earth
See some of our attraction videos below. Our full Tokyo Disney YouTube playlist is here.
Plan a Few Days in Tokyo
Hopefully, you are already planning to dedicate a few days to exploring the unique city of Tokyo.
Some of the most popular Tokyo attractions include:
- Meiji Jingu Shrine
- Ueno Park
- Samurai Museum
- Senso-ji Temple
- Tokyo Skytree. Get discounted tickets here.
- Robot Restaurant. Get discounted tickets here.
- teamLab Borderless
- Tsukiji Market
- Studio Ghibli Museum
- Tokyo National Museum
- Kawaii Monster Cafe
Staying in Touch
Useful Tips
I am working on the full list of Tokyo Disney tips, but here are our top ones:
Apps
We highly recommend downloading these apps:
- Google Maps (download Tokyo and Tokyo Disney area offline maps before your trip). Download iPhone app here, Android app here.
- Google Translate (download Japanese language so you could use the app without data connection). iPhone app, Android app.
- Tokyo Disney Resort app. The official Tokyo Disney app was released in 2019. It is very similar to the official apps of other Disney parks (Walt Disney World, Disneyland, etc). This app gives you access to such features as ride wait times, park maps, show schedules, dining reservations, and more. Most importantly, you can use it to reserve a digital Fast Pass. iPhone app, Android app.
Tax Exemption
Foreign visitors staying in Japan for less than six months can take advantage of Japan’s tax exemption program. You can pay a tax-exempt price on purchases of over 50,000 yen in most stores. This, unfortunately, does not apply to Disney Parks stores. See more info here.
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Disclaimer: 2-for-1 Around The World is Voyagin affiliate. We might earn a small commission, at no cost to you, if you decide to use our links to purchase tickets.
