cost to visit tokyo disneyland

How much does it cost to go to Tokyo Disneyland

Many people who head to Japan for the first time get really excited. It’s a country like no other with so many things to do. Besides temples, futuristic cities and animal cafes, Tokyo Disneyland is one of the top attractions to see.

In case you didn’t know, Tokyo Disney has two theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Although Disney doesn’t own the park (they licensed the theme to the Oriental Land Company), they have creative control. That means everything you find in the parks was designed by Disney imagineers. 

The real question is how much does it cost to go to Tokyo Disneyland? After all, if you’re spending all that money to fly to Japan, does it make sense to go to a theme park? The short answer is yes, even if you’re a casual Disney fan. The parks are surprisingly affordable and are pretty awesome. Here’s what a Tokyo Disney trip cost will look like.

Tokyo Disney trip cost

The above estimate is based on US dollars. If you want to know what it costs in your local currency, use XE.com for the conversion. I’m assuming a single traveller who plans on visiting both Disneyland Japan parks. For reference, this is how much a Tokyo trip costs for one week.

If you’re Canadian, you may want to consider applying for one of the best travel credit cards in Canada to help offset your costs by collecting points. For example, the American Express Platinum Card gives you a generous welcome bonus that’s often worth more than $900 (potentially more if you transfer your points to Aeroplan or Marriott Bonvoy). There’s also the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card that has no foreign transaction fees, and it comes with airport lounge access .   

Okay, you’re obviously not flying all the way to Japan just to go to Tokyo Disney, but I’m factoring it into this budget for illustration purposes. Prices will differ depending on when and where you’re flying from, but I like to use $800 as an estimate. That’s about the price I pay to fly from North America.

Tokyo has two airports, Narita and Haneda. Haneda is much closer to the city and I recommend flying there if you can. Of course, Narita is the bigger airport, so most international carriers end up there. Both airports have direct train access to central Tokyo, so I wouldn’t worry too much about where your plane lands.

Transportation

Getting to Tokyo Disneyland from Tokyo is easy as there’s a direct train. Here are the exact directions from Tokyo station.

• Take the JR Keiyo/Musashino line to the JR Maihama station
• Get off and walk 5 minutes to the entrance

The entire journey should only take you about 20 minutes. If you’re coming from Shinjuku station, it’s about 40 minutes total.

The route above is covered by your JR Pass (if you have one). If not, it’s ¥220 ($2) each way. Since you’re going to be travelling twice each day, for two days, you only need to budget $8 for transportation. 

There are a few direct bus routes available from various spots around Tokyo including Narita airport, but most of the time it’ll be quicker to take the train.

Accommodations

I know you’re going to visit Disneyland Japan as part of a bigger trip, so for this Tokyo Disneyland cost guide, I’m just going to recommend two nights. That gives you one night for each park which should cost you $250 total or $125 a night. 

You might want to check out my guides on how much does it cost to go to Tokyo and how much does it cost to go to Japan to get a better sense of how much your overall trip costs will be. Those guides are for 7 and 14 days respectively.

$125 a night may sound cheap or expensive depending on who you ask, but I find that to be the average price for a decent hotel in Tokyo. You won’t get a high-end property at that price, but you shouldn’t have an issue finding something in that price range.

Here are some cheap hotels in Tokyo that I recommend:

• APA Hotel & Resort Nishishinjuku-Gochome-Eki Tower
• The b Tokyo Shimbashi
• Hotel Sunroute Shimbashi

Now, if you want the full Tokyo Disneyland experience, you could stay at one of the four official Tokyo Disney hotels which are located on-site.

• Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
• Disney Ambassador Hotel
• Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta
• Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel

These hotels will be about $25-75 a night more compared to what you’ll find in the city. Although it’s not that much more, I still recommend you stay in Tokyo proper. The reason I suggest this is that Tokyo Disney will be just a small part of your trip and you’ll likely spend additional days in Tokyo. It’ll just be more convenient for you to stay in the city for your entire trip.

That said, these official Tokyo Disney Hotels are cheaper compared to what you’ll find at Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim, so it might be worth splurging for the experience.

If you have the right credit card, you can save a fair amount of money on hotels. Americans should strongly consider the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card since you can earn up to 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and $300 back at U.S. restaurants as a welcome bonus . Canadians should consider the Marriott Bonvoy American Express , which gives you up to 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. That’s enough points for a few free nights at some hotels, which could easily have a value of over $500.

Tokyo Disneyland tickets

What I like about the Tokyo Disneyland tickets cost is how many options you have. You can buy 1-day passports, or you can even buy passports that will allow you to visit in the afternoon or evening at a discount. 

Passports are just a fancy way of saying tickets, but I also like how tickets can be bought by age. E.g. Child (4-11), junior (12-17), adult/senior (18+). The reason this excites me is that most of the other Disney parks don’t do this. Here’s how much it costs for Disney Tokyo tickets:

1-Day Passport (single park)

• Child – ¥4,700 – ¥ 5,600
• Junior – ¥6,600 – ¥ 7,800
• Adult/Senior – ¥ 7,900 – ¥ 9,400

Early Evening Passport (from 3 p.m. on weekends and holidays)

• Child – ¥3,800 – ¥ 4,400
• Junior – ¥5,300 – ¥ 6,200
• Adult/Senior – ¥6,500 – ¥ 7,400

Weeknight5 Passport (from 5 pm on weekdays)

• Child – ¥4,500 – ¥ 5,400
• Junior – ¥4,500 – ¥ 5,400
• Adult/Senior – ¥4,500 – ¥ 5,400

As you can see, there’s a bit of a discount if you buy the 2-day passport. Prices drop even further, per day if you buy 3-day or 4-day passports, but I don’t see why you would do that as there’s not that much to see, so budget $140 for your Tokyo Disneyland tickets.

Unlike Disney World and Disneyland, there are no park hopper tickets available. However, You could buy a 1-day passport to Tokyo Disneyland and then get the after 6 passport for Tokyo Disneysea. I personally recommend just doing two days so you can enjoy each park. That said, if you’re going during the offseason, it’s not that hard to finish a park in half a day. The lines at Disneyland Japan are a fraction compared to Orlando and Anaheim. 

Food and drink

When people start researching Tokyo Disney costs, they’re shocked to find out how little food and drink prices are. Sure, compared to Tokyo, the food is more expensive, but if you’ve ever been to Disney World, you’ll think Disney Tokyo is cheap.

Snacks such as pastries, ice cream, popcorn and churros are about ¥400 – 700, which is $3.75 – $6.50. Meals are in the ¥1,200 – 1,900 range ($11.15-$17.65). Some of these meals come as a combo which includes a drink and side. Note that in Japan, a combo is called a “set” and there is no tipping.

I would budget about $80 for food for those two days. That would cover one meal and snacks, but it doesn’t include what you would eat outside of the parks.

In my opinion, the food prices are fair. Definitely not as expensive as Disney World and Disneyland (do you see a theme here?). That said, Tokyo Disney has a lot of Tokyo Disneyland merchandise at restaurants that you’ll be very tempted to buy. For example, you can purchase pudding or ice cream that comes with a collectible cup. You can even get cake served on a collectible Alice in Wonderland plate. 

If you go to the Tokyo Disneyland website, you’ll find the prices for most of the restaurants. Alternatively, Disney Tokyo allows you to bring food in so you can keep costs low if you prefer.

Random spending

When I say random spending, I’m really referring to Tokyo Disney merchandise. Like all Disney theme parks, there are a lot of things to buy. The good thing is, it’s not the same merchandise you find at Disney World or at the Disney Store. 

The Tokyo Disney merchandise seems to be focused on items that the Asian market is interested in. For example, there were quite a few themed hats. I don’t mean like a baseball hat, I mean a hat that you can put on your head that will make you look like Hamm from Toy Story or Pooh from Winnie the Pooh. There was also a ton of stationery which I’m surprised isn’t available in North America.

One other item I liked at Tokyo Disney was the credit card and coin wallets that you can wear around your neck. They come themed in all your favourite Disney characters.

Overall, I would budget about $100 for Tokyo Disney merchandise. You might not spend anywhere near that, but it wouldn’t be difficult to find things you want.

Final thoughts

So how much does it cost to go to Tokyo Disneyland? I estimate you’ll spend $1,378 for two full days and that includes airfare. If you don’t count your flights, then it’ll cost you just $578, which is totally worth it. 

Need some more inspiration? Check out my guides to Hong Kong , Dubai , Singapore , Thailand , Laos , Southeast Asia , Bali , Vietnam and Malaysia . 

About Barry Choi

Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who frequently makes media appearances. His blog Money We Have is one of Canada’s most trusted sources when it comes to money and travel. You can find him on Twitter: @barrychoi

We did the trip to Tokyo for two weeks last October. The info that you are giving in this article is very precise. 95% I will say. I said this for the people that read your articles. They can take your advice with total confidence

Thanks for sharing and I’m glad my info is accurate =D

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Adult: ages 18 & over / Junior: ages 12-17 / Child: ages 4-11 - Children ages 3 & under are admitted for free.

1-Day Passport Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed for one day from Park opening time with this ticket designating the date of visit and Park.

• Adult 7,900 yen - 10,900 yen
• Junior 6,600 yen - 9,000 yen
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1-Day Passport (for Guests with Disabilities) Guests with an applicable disability certificate and the accompanying guest can enjoy either Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea for one day from Park opening time with this ticket.

• Adult 6,500 yen - 8,700 yen
• Junior 5,300 yen - 7,200 yen
• Child 3,800 yen - 4,400 yen

Early Evening Passport Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed from 3:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays with this ticket.

Weeknight passport tokyo disneyland or tokyo disneysea can be enjoyed from 5:00 p.m. on weekdays (excluding holidays) with this ticket..

• Adult 4,500 yen - 6,200 yen
• Junior 4,500 yen - 6,200 yen
• Child 4,500 yen - 6,200 yen

1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic This ticket may be purchased exclusively by guests staying at Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel for an even more enjoyable experience at Fantasy Springs (Not available for purchase online).

• Adult 22,900 yen - 25,900 yen
• Junior 21,600 yen - 24,000 yen
• Child 19,700 yen - 20,600 yen

1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic (for Guests with Disabilities) Guests with an applicable disability certificate and the accompanying guest, who are staying at Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel, can purchase this ticket for an even more enjoyable experience at Fantasy Springs (Not available for purchase online).

• Adult 21,500 yen - 23,700 yen
• Junior 20,300 yen - 22,200 yen
• Child 18,800 yen - 19,400 yen

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Adult: ages 18 & over / Junior: ages 12-17 / Child: ages 4-11 - Children ages 3 & under are admitted for free.

1-Day Passport

Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed for one day from Park opening time with this ticket designating the date of visit and Park.

Fixed Date and Time Passport (from 10:30 a.m.)

Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed from 10:30 a.m. with this ticket.

Early Evening Passport

Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed from 3:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays with this ticket.

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Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed from 5:00 p.m. on weekdays (excluding holidays) with this ticket.

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Guests with an applicable disability certificate and the accompanying guest can enjoy either Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea for one day from Park opening time with this ticket.

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Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea can be enjoyed for one day with this ticket offered at a special price, and is limited to eligible Park admission dates. This ticket is available for purchase exclusively by Tokyo Disney Resort Official Park Fan Club Funderful Disney members. - To purchase, you will need to log in with your Funderful Disney account. Sales period: From March 8 , 2024 through May 31, 2024

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Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo Disney Resort is extremely popular with the Japanese and has been very profitable for the Oriental Land Company, which owns and operates the resort. (That’s right, the Walt Disney Company does not own or operate Tokyo Disney. Disney provides the Imagineers, gets final say on certain aspects of the park and gets a piece of the profits, but that’s it.)

Tokyo Disney Resort has two theme parks: Tokyo Disneyland  and Tokyo DisneySea .

Tokyo Disneyland is sort of a cross between Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, but it has a unique layout and there are quite a few other surprises. Some of the attractions are different. For instance, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt is nothing like the Pooh rides in the US. It’s a spectacular ride in Tokyo. Some of the shows at Tokyo Disneyland do not exist elsewhere. There is also a do-not-miss, spectacularly-themed buffeteria restaurant called Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall.

Tokyo DisneySea is ocean-themed, with “ports” instead of “lands.” They even call the employees “crew members” instead of “cast members.” It is a fantastic theme park that no Disney fan should miss. Start saving your pennies for a trip to DisneySea now! You won’t believe what Disney’s Imagineers can do when provided with the necessary resources. It puts the other Disney theme parks to shame. Virtually all of the attractions at DisneySea were created especially for this park and so far have not been duplicated elsewhere.

The resort also includes  three Deluxe resort hotels , the Art Deco-style  Disney Ambassador Hotel , the Italian-themed  Hotel MiraCosta  and the traditional-style  Disneyland Hotel . Tokyo Disney has one Moderate resort , Toy Story Hotel . There is one Value resort ,  Disney Celebration Hotel , however this hotel is not located in the Resort area. A new Deluxe hotel, Fantasy Springs Hotel is under construction near Fantasy Spring, the newest port in Tokyo DisneySea; both will open on June 6, 2024. 

Rounding out the resort is  Ikspiari , a shopping and dining center.

An Affordable Dream?

Hotel options, transportation, general tokyo advice & planning, other resources.

As long as the Yen is relatively weak against the Dollar (trading at 95 Yen or more to the Dollar), visiting Tokyo Disney Resort is not all that expensive for US residents. In fact, if you can afford to fly to Walt Disney World and stay in a Moderate or Deluxe hotel, you can almost certainly afford to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.

Airfares are not an insurmountable barrier. Everyday off-season (non-summer) fares from the West Coast of the US are frequently under $1100 roundtrip in Coach, and sale fares can be as low as $650-$700. If you have any frequent flyer miles accumulated, we strongly recommend using them to upgrade from Coach to Business class (or if you have enough miles, redeem them for free Business class tickets) because it is a long flight. Another good option: ANA and other carriers also offer a Premium Economy service that is actually very comfortable, and basically comparable to flying in First Class on domestic carriers. From Los Angeles, the travel time is 11.5 hours going to Japan and 9.5 hours returning (it’s faster coming back due to the jet stream). From Seattle, it’s about 10 hours going and 8.5 back. Read our tips and tricks to help you find the best airfares.

Tickets for the Tokyo Disney Resort theme parks are much less expensive than tickets for the US theme parks! (As of April 2021, they cost about 50%-70% as much as equivalent Disneyland California tickets and about 45%-60% as much as equivalent Walt Disney World tickets.) One quirk to keep in mind is that you cannot “hop” between parks on 1-day or 2-day tickets. If you buy 3-day or 4-day tickets, you can “hop” only on the third and/or fourth days (unless you stay in a Disney hotel, in which case you can buy special tickets that allow hopping on any day). On most Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, you can buy lower-priced “after 3:00 pm” tickets, and on most week nights (Monday-Friday) you can buy discounted “after 6:00 pm” tickets. There is a discounted 1-day Senior Passport (age 60 and over). Four days is the maximum length of a regular passport. Annual Passports are available, but are very expensive.

Meals at Tokyo Disney Resort are generally somewhat more expensive than in the US Disney theme parks.  Full-service dinners (especially character meals) at the official hotels are especially expensive. However, there are significantly less expensive dinner options at Tokyo Disney Resort, including non-character buffets and “buffeteria” locations. Full service lunches are a lot cheaper than dinners, so if you want to experience the nicer restaurants, do it at lunch! As you’ll find elsewhere in Japan,  “lunch sets”  (full meals that can include appetizer, entree, dessert and/or drink) are well-priced.  Counter-service meals are generally reasonable, with many offering higher-end dining options than you’d find at Walt Disney World. Most snacks and beverages from the theme park vending carts are similarly priced to the US parks, or perhaps a tiny bit cheaper.

If you’re worried that the food will all be unusual and Japanese, it’s really not. The vast majority of the food items in the parks are familiar to any American or European, partially because Japanese visitors to the park want to eat “exotic” (i.e. American) food, but also because Tokyo has a wide variety of food available, and Japanese people tend to be pretty familiar with foreign foods. You can easily find hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, fried chicken fingers, etc. Sometimes you’ll find that a food comes with slightly different condiments or sides, but for the most part even the most picky eaters should find plenty they can recognize. For those who actually do want something exotic, you can find some unusual items here and there, and there are two traditional Japanese restaurants inside the parks that serve fairly straightforward lunch combinations like tempura, chicken teriyaki, tonkatsu and so forth, each served with some rice, miso and pickles.

Some sample meal prices from early 2021:

• Magellan’s (high-end table service restaurant in DisneySea): full adult lunch with starter, entree, dessert, bread and coffee or tea ¥4600-¥5800; child lunch or dinner “set” ¥2100; full adult dinner with hors d’oeuvre, salad or soup, entree, dessert, bread and coffee or tea ¥5800-¥8000
• Vulcania (“buffeteria” casual restaurant in DisneySea): chef’s special (full adult meal with appetizer or dessert and drink) ¥1880; adult entrees ¥980 each; child “set” (full meal with dessert and juice) ¥940; desserts, soups and salads ¥400-¥500; soft drink ¥320; iced tea, coffee ¥370
• Counter service restaurants: meal “sets” (entree, salad and drink, and sometimes a dessert) ¥1000-¥1800; entrees ¥700-¥950; french fries ¥220; small soft drink, iced tea, coffee ¥300; Kirin draft beer ¥620; desserts ¥370-¥550
• Snacks from theme park food carts: packaged ice cream treat ¥400; box of popcorn ¥400; souvenir popcorn bucket ¥2400; turkey leg ¥800

Hotels are the most expensive aspect of visiting Tokyo Disney Resort. Land is extremely precious in Japan and that is very much reflected in the cost of hotel rooms. If you want to stay on-site at one of the three Disney-owned Tokyo Disney Resort hotels, the cheapest room at Ambassador Hotel, in the lowest-priced season in 2021, is ¥32000 a night. Fortunately the resort is very close to central Tokyo — about 15-20 minutes by commuter train from JR Tokyo Station — so there are many other possibilities. See the Hotel Options section below for suggestions.

An important thing to bear in mind is that Japanese hotels typically charge per person, not per room, though if you’re booking at a big international chain or through an online travel agency like Expedia or Orbitz that shouldn’t be an issue; just enter the total number of people and it’ll show you the available rooms and how many people they sleep. (Unless otherwise noted, prices quoted below are for a double room sleeping two people.) Many Japanese hotel rooms are so small that they don’t sleep more than two, or at most three, people. That can be an issue if you’re travelling with a family: you may need to book two rooms, depending on the hotel.

Japanese hotels may be set up with beds that are labeled “single” but are a size we don’t have in America, about the length of an American single and about midway in width between a single and a double. They’re usually set with two small pillows side-by-side, and two small children could share one, but two adults would feel very  cozy, maybe not in a good way. When in doubt, search for an email contact for the hotel and ask questions; most hotels communicate quite well in written English, but understanding spoken English over a phone may be difficult.

Some hotel rooms will have “double” beds, which might be any size from what Americans would call a “double” all the way up to a “king.” There often aren’t very many of rooms with double beds and they tend to book up fast. It’s not uncommon to find all the double rooms booked and only single rooms available. The hotel may be willing to push two singles together and get something closer to a wide king bed, albeit one with a bit of a gap in the center; they offered to set one of our rooms up this way at the Disney Ambassador, so feel free to ask.

You will find that American-style double-sized beds are more common in American and European chains like Sheraton and Hilton. The official Disney hotels tend to follow the Japanese model with lots of single beds and very few double beds.

Deluxe Disney Hotels

Moderate Disney Hotel

Value Disney Hotel

Official Hotels

Hotel Dream Gate

Partner Hotels

Toyko Hotels

The Deluxe Disney Hotels are all very nice, and very expensive. You get a few special perks for staying in the official Deluxe Disney hotels. These change from time to time, but as of April 2021 the important ones are:

• Guaranteed entrance to the parks, even when they have to close them to walk-up guests because of capacity.
• 15-minute early entry every day to either park. Only one area of the park and one ride will be open during that 15 minutes. Generally it’s whatever ride is the newest and/or the most popular. When we were there, it was Toy Story Midway Mania in DisneySea and Monster’s Inc. Ride & Go Seek! in Disneyland.
• You can purchase special tickets that allow park hopping on any of the days, not just on the 3rd or 4th day. They cost about ¥2000 more (per ticket, not per day).
• Free pass to the monorail, which normally has a small fee to ride. Just ask for a monorail pass when you check in if they don’t give you one.
• Delivery of your purchases to your hotel room.

Of the perks listed above, the 15-minute early entry and free monorail are the most useful, but even they aren’t that useful. A monorail pass is worth ¥350-¥650 per day, and 15 minutes isn’t a big head start; it basically gets you one extra ride. On our last trip we bought the special park-hopping tickets, but didn’t actually do any hopping on the first two days, so they didn’t really add any value for us. It’s really not a huge inconvenience to not be able to hop on the first two days. The primary reasons to stay in the Disney hotels are to get more Disney magic in your trip, via the lovely design and theming of the Disney hotels, and to get a somewhat shorter trip into the parks each morning.

Disney Ambassador Hotel is a lovely Art Deco hotel located right next door to the Ikspiari shopping center at the entrance to the resort. It will cost you ¥32000 or more per night, depending on season, for the the lowest-priced double room). It has just over 500 rooms. Standard rooms have two regular single beds and a trundle bed and sleep up to 3 people. There are a variety of family rooms and suites that can handle 4 or more, though not very many of them. The Ambassador is located about halfway between the entrance gates to the two Tokyo parks. You can walk to either park (about 20 minutes), or take a 5-10 minute bus ride to either of them. The buses come about every 8-10 minutes; there’s a printed schedule and they keep to it. You can use the monorail, but it’s about a 10 minute walk through the maze-like halls of Ikspiari to get to the Monorail stop; the buses are much more convenient.

Fantasy Springs Hotel , opening June 6, 2024, is located inside Tokyo DisneySea’s newest port, Fantasy Springs, with a special entrance just for hotel guests. The hotel is made up of two buildings: the deluxe Fantasy Chateau (with 419 rooms) and the luxury Grand Chateau (with 56 rooms, each with a balcony or terrace). Most rooms in both buildings sleep up to 4 people, but there are 250 room in the Fantasy Chateau that sleep up to 5 people. Standard rooms have 2 regular single beds, a trundle bed and an alcove bed. 

Hotel MiraCosta is a luxurious, beautifully-themed hotel located right at (actually inside) Tokyo DisneySea, and has its own private entrance into that park. The lowest-priced double rooms at this hotel cost ¥48000 or more per night, depending on season. This hotel is about the same size as the Ambassador (about 500 rooms), but it’s much prettier and extremely convenient to DisneySea, which means it tend to book up solid, even in low season. You may need to start looking very early and/or keep checking availability to snag a room here. Standard rooms have two regular single beds and a trundle bed and sleep up to 3 people. There are a variety of family rooms and suites that can handle 4 or more, though not very many of them. Tokyo Disneyland is about a 6-8 minute monorail ride away.

Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is the largest of the three on-site resorts (about 700 rooms) and features a Victorian architectural style similar to the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. It’s located right outside the front gates of Tokyo Disneyland. The lowest-priced double rooms are ¥32000 or more per night, depending on season. Standard rooms have two regular single beds and a trundle bed and sleep up to 3 people. There are a variety of family rooms and suites that can handle 4 or more, and there are more of them than at the other two hotels. To get to DisneySea, you just take a 6-8 minute monorail ride.

There are four seasons at the Disney hotels: Value, Regular, Peak and Top. Value season is mainly weekdays in January and February. Regular season is mainly weekdays in May, September, October, November and the first half of December. Peak and Top seasons include most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the last half of July, all of August and the late December through early January holiday season.

Obviously it’s best to avoid Peak and Top seasons, both because of high prices and because of crowds. Read more about the best time to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.

Online reservations are available for the Tokyo Disney Resort hotels, but not all rooms are available online. If you can’t get what you want online, try calling. From the US, you must call 011-81-45-683-3333 between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm Japanese time. That is normally 15-17 hours ahead of US time, but it’s 14-16 hours ahead during Daylight Savings Time, because Japan does not participate in the time change. For instance, from California this would mean calling between 4:00 pm and 4:00 am PST, or between 5:00 pm and 5:00 am PST when Daylight Savings is in effect.

When you call to make a reservation, you will initially hear a recording in Japanese, but the recording then welcomes you in English and tells you if you need to speak to someone in English to please press 9 and then 1. The operators speak excellent English and are very efficient.

Toy Story Hotel  is a moderate Tokyo Disney Resort hotel. The hotel’s décor and theming is based on the Toy Story films. It has 595 rooms. All rooms feature a design inspired by Andy’s room, including blue sky and white cloud wallpaper. A standard room for 3 people has two twin beds and a trundle bed; a standard room for 4 people has three twin beds and a pull-down bed. Other features include a Slinky Dog play area and the Lotso Garden Cafe, which serves a breakfast and dinner buffet. There is a monorail stop (Bayside Station) just outside the hotel. There is a small fee to ride the monorail. 

Disney Celebration Hotel is the only Value hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort. It has just over 700 rooms in two buildings: Wish and Discover. It is the only Disney hotel not in the resort area; it is in the Shin-Urayasu area, which is about a 15-minute drive from the resort area (there is a FREE shuttle bus to each of the parks). The décor is inspired by the Disney Parks themselves – with chairs and tables in the lobby look like the teacups from the Mad Tea Party and couches modeled after the flying carpet from Disney’s Aladdin . Prices start at ¥22000 per room (for up to 4 guests) per night, depending on season. Standard rooms have two regular single beds and 2 daybeds and sleep up to 4 people. Each building offers a buffet breakfast only.

You get a few special perks for staying in a Value Disney hotel. These change from time to time, but as of April 2021 the important ones are:

Of the perks listed above, the 15-minute early entry is the most useful, but isn’t  that useful. Fifteen minutes isn’t a big head start; it basically gets you one extra ride. On our last trip we bought the special park-hopping tickets, but didn’t actually do any hopping on the first two days, so they didn’t really add any value for us. It’s really not a huge inconvenience to not be able to hop on the first two days. The primary reasons to stay in the Disney hotels are to get more Disney magic in your trip, via the design and theming of the Disney hotels.

Near the theme parks, and connected to them by the Disney Resort Line monorail service, are six full-service “official” hotels: Hilton Tokyo Bay , Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay , Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel , Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel Club Resort ,  Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay  and Sunroute Plaza Tokyo .

These hotels have a few special “perks.” Most notably they have free bus service to the Disney Resort Line monorail station (though none of them is very far from the station; it’s probably faster to walk in many cases), and guaranteed admission to the parks even when Disney closes the parks when they hit capacity (which happens often during peak times). You can, if you want, walk from your hotel to Tokyo Disneyland, but it’s a pretty long walk (25-40 minutes). The walk to DisneySea is even longer (45-60 minutes).  Realistically you’ll be taking the monorail to the parks. The monorail, unfortunately, is not free for guests of the Official hotels; you’ll need to get a day pass, pay for each trip, or use a Pasmo or Suica card (a rechargeable train pass available in nearly any Tokyo subway or train station) to pay for each of your trips.

Hilton Tokyo Bay and Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay are both very nice hotels and can be easily booked through their respective websites in English. Both have English-speaking staff members.

• If you are fortunate enough to have a lot of Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy points built up, you might be able to get a “free” stay at one of these two hotels by using your points.
• Otherwise, count on paying a minimum of ¥20000-¥40000 per night, depending on season, for a standard double room. However, if you watch carefully, you may be able to score a last-minute deal. MouseSavers.com reader Larry N points out that he kept checking rates on the Hilton Tokyo Bay website even after he had booked his room. At the last minute he paid just over half of the original rate he’d booked.
• Another option is booking way in advance. MouseSavers.com reader Cynthia reports that the Hilton Tokyo Bay hotel rooms can be booked up to 2 years in advance. In October 2006 she began to plan her trip for November 2008. She was able to get a fantastic pre-paid and non-refundable rate, but she reports that she also had the option of reserving a slightly higher, but still very good rate that included a breakfast buffet for her entire family of 4 and was refundable/changeable. She also notes that the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay can be booked up to 18 months in advance.
• Several of these hotels can be booked through online travel agencies like Orbitz, which is handy if you’ve built up a stash of Orbucks or other loyalty points you want to use.

Another MouseSavers.com reader, Richard K, reports, “I’ve been to The Tokyo Disney Resort half a dozen times and stayed at two hotels: The MiraCosta and the Hilton Tokyo Bay . I am a DVC member and always stay at Disney hotels whether on the east or west coast of the United States. That said, I now ALWAYS stay at the Hilton in Tokyo Disneyland. Considering that it is half the price per night of the MiraCosta or Ambassador hotels, it is (in my opinion) nicer! I always have (for Japan) an unusually large room with two beds and an ocean view. It’s really a lovely hotel and I think a better option for more of your readers than MiraCosta or Ambassador which, in addition to being more expensive, are much harder to actually get into!”

Hotel Dream Gate Maihama is located at JR Maihama Station, the train station that serves Tokyo Disney Resort. Rooms at this hotel are somewhat spartan, with single beds only (up to 3 per room) and still quite expensive, depending on season.

Rooms may be noisy due to the trains overhead. Dream Gate is primarily marketed to Japanese people and the English language website is pretty minimal. The hotel staff speak a little English.

Tokyo Disney Resort has a group of “Partner Hotels” that are outside the immediate resort area.

Bookings for these hotels can also be made via Disney Resort Reservations Center at 011-81-045-683-3333 (9:00 am – 9:00 pm Tokyo time). The phone system is automated and initially the “person” will speak in Japanese. Wait all the way till the English spiel starts and then proceed from there.

Fortunately Tokyo Disney Resort is not far from the eastern districts of central Tokyo. From JR Tokyo Station, it’s about a 15-minute train ride to JR Maihama Station at Tokyo Disney Resort. The trains run very frequently and absolutely on time. There are a wealth of hotel options if you stay in Tokyo. When you get to Maihama, it’s a pretty quick 5-10 minute walk to Tokyo Disneyland, or you can take the monorail to either park.

The thing to keep in mind about Tokyo is that there are no “bad areas” — some are nicer or more convenient than others, but none are dangerous. The overall quality of Tokyo hotels is very good. You can count on cleanliness even at the lower end, though rooms are often very small in less expensive accommodations.

We recommend checking Expedia and searching by price. Expedia frequently has very decent 2-star and 3-star Tokyo hotels at low rates ($100 or less).

Another worthwhile option to consider is Priceline . Only a few hotels in Tokyo seem to be participating in Priceline, which allows you to choose an area and a quality rating (up to 5 stars), but does not allow you to pick the exact hotel. All of the hotels are very nice, though you should expect small rooms, as is typical of Japanese hotels. Most rooms will have either two twin beds or one small double bed in the room — it is highly unlikely you’ll get a room that sleeps more than two.

Getting To and From Tokyo Disney Resort

Airport Limousine Bus (“Limo Bus”) Service

Getting Around on Japan Rail (JR) and Subways

To get to Tokyo Disney Resort directly from Narita airport , simply go to the Airport Limousine  bus counter (it has a bright orange logo that says “Airport Limousine” or “Friendly Airport Limousine”) and buy a ticket for your specific hotel in the Tokyo Disney Resort area (¥2450 adult/¥1230 child, one way). The buses run frequently and will take you straight to the resort in about 60 minutes. If you come in too late (after 5:00 pm) and have missed the last bus to the Tokyo Disney area, you can take an Airport Limousine bus to the Oriental Hotel Tokyo Bay in Shin-Urayasu, which is fairly near Disneyland and then take a 5-10 minute cab ride to your final hotel. Buses to Shin-Urayasu run until about 8:30 PM. If you come in later than that, you may need to take a cab from the airport to Tokyo Disneyland, which will be somewhat expensive (¥16,000 – ¥20,000).

Coming back from Tokyo Disney Resort to Narita, at least a day before you leave ask at your hotel’s concierge or bell desk for a ticket for the Airport Limousine to Narita. They will set you up with a reservation and ticket and tell you when you need to be there to get your bus. Be there on time; everything in Tokyo runs  on time and the bus stops for just a minute or two, so don’t miss it.

To get from central Tokyo out to the resort , get to JR Tokyo Station and find your way to the JR Keiyo Line. (It’s a long walk — be prepared!) When you reach the gate for the Keiyo Line, put your JR ticket through the gate (or tap your Pasmo or Suica card on the glowing RFID reader). Hold on to your ticket, which must be inserted/tapped at the gate on your way out of the destination station.

If you don’t already have a JR ticket, you can buy one from the machines on the walls in the main part of the station, before heading off to the Keiyo Line. There is a button in the upper right corner of the ticket machines’ screens marked “English” that will make the machines switch languages. If you are not sure of the exact fare, you can buy the least expensive fare and then stick your ticket in the “Fare Adjustment” machines before you exit on the other end. The machines will will tell you how much more you owe. Insert that amount and it will be added to your ticket.Alternatively, you may want to consider buying a Pasmo or Suica card.

From JR Tokyo Station, you can take pretty much any Keiyo Line or Musashino Line train (which is just a variant on the Keiyo Line), since they all seem to stop at JR Maihama Station, the station at Tokyo Disney Resort. If you take a “Local” train, Maihama will be the sixth stop; if you take a “Rapid” train, it will usually be the third stop. Normally there will be lots of families and schoolkids on the train, and they’ll all get off at Maihama, which will be a good indication if for some reason you’re unsure. When returning, just make sure you’re getting on a train going to Tokyo. That’s the last stop, so it’s pretty idiot-proof.

The fare will vary depending on where you start from and whether you use a JR train to get to JR Tokyo Station, but it will be relatively inexpensive, typically ¥400 or less.

The easiest way to travel between Narita Airport (NRT) and Tokyo (including Tokyo Disneyland) is to use the Airport Limousine bus service, often called the “limo bus.” Despite the name, this is not a limousine; it’s a bus service, and while lots of people call it the “limo bus,” the company name is actually “Airport Limousine” or “Friendly Airport Limousine” (different posters and signs use either interchangeably). The Airport Limousine buses are frequent and go directly to major hotels in Tokyo and to Tokyo Disneyland. One major advantage of this service is that they handle your luggage for you and take you door-to-door.

Due to traffic it takes quite a while to get into Tokyo. Budget for 60 minutes to Tokyo Disney Resort, 90 minutes to the eastern Tokyo districts (Ginza, Shimbashi) and 2 hours to the western districts (Shinjuku, Roppongi), and if it takes less, count your blessings. Also, the seats are narrow, so if you’re a big person, be prepared for a tight squeeze.

Airport Limousine has somewhat limited service going to the Tokyo Disneyland Resort from Narita. The last bus typically leaves around 5:00 pm, so take that into account when booking your air ticket. You can look up departure times on the Airport Limousine website . Buses run later going into Tokyo.

If you find that you’ve missed the last direct bus (especially if you arrive after 5 pm), they might suggest you go to Shin-Ureyasu station, which has later bus service and is one stop (about 2.5 miles) from the Tokyo Disney Resort. You can easily get a train from there to Maihama station, which is actually at the resort. Taking the train does mean handling your own luggage, and when you get to Maihama you’ll still need to get to your hotel. A better option is to take a taxi direct to your hotel once the bus drops you at Shin-Ureyasu station (about 10-15 minutes, ¥1500-2000).

When going into Tokyo proper, you may find that the next bus that goes directly to your hotel is an hour or more away, and they might suggest (or you might choose) to go to the Tokyo Central Air Terminal (TCAT) station, and then take a cab from there. This is a perfectly fine approach for many hotels in the central area (basically the area near Tokyo train station). There are always buses going to TCAT leaving about every 5-10 minutes and the fare is usually much cheaper (though you’ll still have to pay cab fare, which might wipe out any savings). There are lots of cabs near TCAT, and just about any Tokyo driver can understand enough English to get you to a major hotel. Just in case, it’s a good idea to have a Tokyo map with your hotel marked on it, or the name and address of the hotel in Japanese, so you can show the driver where you need to go.

The trains operated by Japan Rail (JR) and Keisei from the airport to central Tokyo are faster than the Airport Limousine  (about one hour). The cost is about the same. It is perfectly safe and the trains run on time.

To get to Tokyo Disney Resort, you can take the Keisei Access Express to Higashi-Matsudo station (about 30 mins), then get a JR train direct to Maihama from there (about 25 mins). However, this is more confusing than the Airport Limousine bus or other direct options.

Furthermore, you’ll be dragging your luggage up and down stairs, because many stations either don’t have escalators or elevators, or tuck them out of the way where they are hard to find. Also, major stations like JR Tokyo Station and JR Shinjuku Station are extremely large and confusing, which is guaranteed to be frustrating if you’re jet-lagged. If you’re arriving during rush hour, you will find yourself “swimming upstream” through absolutely mind-boggling crowds, too. In short, this is not a fun way to start your trip.

If you will be visiting Tokyo and/or other parts of Japan in addition to Tokyo Disney Resort you may want to consider a Japan Rail Pass . However, it is really only cost-effective if you plan to cover long distances by rail. For instance, it will pretty much pay for itself if you plan a roundtrip between Tokyo and Kyoto plus at least one other fairly long journey. Otherwise, it’s usually better to skip it and buy separate fares for long trips and/or get a Passmo/Suica card that covers all your Tokyo-area subway and short rail hops.

There is also a JR East Pass that is good for travel in the Tokyo area and areas to the North and East of Tokyo, but again you will have to do a lot of rail travel to make it worthwhile.

Bear in mind that if you buy a rail pass, that locks you into using Japan Rail (JR), but often JR is not the most convenient or desirable option. For instance:

• There are smaller, privately-owned rail systems that are cheaper and/or more convenient for visiting many of the popular tourist destinations (i.e. Hakone, Nikko, etc.)
• You can use JR lines within Tokyo, but sometimes the subway is faster, more direct and puts you closer to your destination within the city. Even if you use JR lines in Tokyo exclusively, however, it will take a lot of trips to pay for a rail pass, since fares within the city are generally under ¥200.
• As discussed above, JR transfers to and from the airport are not always your best bet.

Pasmo/Suica

If you will be traveling around Tokyo a lot, consider buying a Suica card  or Pasmo card , either of which works on JR and other (e.g. Keisei, Keihin) rail lines and Tokyo subway lines, as well as the Disneyland Resort Line monorail. Having one of these cards will save you a lot of time and calculation, since you just tap it on the reader at the ticket gates and the fare is automatically debited. Either card costs ¥500 plus whatever amount you choose to put on it (minimum seems to be ¥1500, which will probably last you a week unless you take a lot of trains and subways). The ¥500 base cost is actually a deposit, which you can get refunded on your way out of Japan at the JR office in the airport, if you want. The Suica card can be purchased in any JR rail station or at the airport JR office, for cash only. The Pasmo is available in Tokyo subway stations from the ticket machines. You can refill them at machines in the stations or any convenience store.

Taxis in Tokyo are expensive. The minimum charge is ¥710 for the first 2 kilometers (about 1.25 miles). Plus, due to the constant heavy traffic, taxis are extremely slow, except on Sunday, when the traffic drops to next to nothing. The JR commuter trains and subway trains are tremendously faster and cheaper. That said, when you need to get somewhere that isn’t a simple one-line subway trip, a taxi can be very handy. Taxis can be hailed on the street, or can be found at nearly any JR train station or hotel. Note that we found people understood the word “taxi” more often than “cab,” so if you are asking someone for a cab and getting a blank look, try asking for a taxi instead.

Also, be sure you have written directions in Japanese to your destination (get your hotel front desk or concierge to write them out for you) and/or have a map with the destination clearly marked. Some taxi drivers don’t speak much English, so having a way to show them where you want to go is very handy.

Planning, Maps and Guidebooks

Changing money, language issues in tokyo, language issues in the disney theme parks, cell phones in japan.

• Renting a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Mobility Issues When Visiting Tokyo and Tokyo Disney Resort

Tokyo Disney Resort is most crowded on weekends, especially on Saturdays. If you can manage to visit on a weekday, crowds will be significantly lighter.

Probably the nicest time of year in Japan, weather-wise, is spring (April-May), though you should still expect some rain. However, you’ll want to avoid Golden Week (see below). The fall is also pleasant, particularly in October-November.

Winter can be cold (low 30s to upper 40s F) but January and February offer the lowest crowds at the theme parks.

If at all possible, avoid going in the summer . It’s miserably hot and humid, it rains a lot, and there are also two holiday time periods in mid-July and mid-August associated with Oban that can have bigger crowds (the date of the holiday can vary in different areas of Japan).

Be aware that Japan has two national holiday periods that you will definitely want to avoid : New Year (January 1-3 and any associated weekend) and Golden Week (April 29-May 5 and associated weekends).

You will want maps in Tokyo. If you will have an international data plan on your smartphone, you can use Google Maps. Alternatively, you can pick up paper maps for free at any tourist information counter in the airport or major train stations.

We do recommend downloading and printing out both JR commuter train and Tokyo Metro subway maps in English, before you leave on your trip. Carry these with you in case you get lost or find yourself in a station with no maps marked in English. When you download the files, if you get a pop-up from Adobe recommending you download the Japanese language add-on, we recommend you do this so that the text prints properly. Also, be sure to use a color printer, because the train lines are color coded.

Because relatively few English-speaking visitors go to Japan, English-language guidebooks aren’t updated annually. Most guidebooks to Japan are updated only every 3 to 5 years. So by far the best and most up-to-date planning resources for travel to Japan are online. A few of the most useful and interesting sites are:

• Go Tokyo – Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) Website
• Tokyo Food Page
• The Quirky Japan Homepage

It’s good to have some Yen in your pocket, because Japan remains a relatively cash-oriented society — at least more so than the US. For instance, many small restaurants only accept cash. (One thing you won’t need cash for: tips. There is essentially no tipping in Japan.) However, you can use major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express) at many hotels, department stores and chain restaurants, as well as throughout Tokyo Disney Resort, except at food stands.

You can pre-order some Yen through Travelex or a major US bank, but it’s easier to use an ATM (which is generally called a “cash machine” outside the US) to get some cash once you arrive. Before you depart, call the number on the back of your ATM card and let your bank know you’ll be using your ATM card internationally. Most banks will block international withdrawals if you don’t warn them. Be sure to ask how much the ATM fees will cost you: many banks charge something like 3% plus $3 per transaction. If that’s the case, to save on transaction fees, consider taking your maximum per-day limit in Yen out of an ATM at the beginning of the trip. Lock some of it in your hotel safe if you want, but don’t worry about carrying a fairly large amount. We wouldn’t give this advice almost anywhere else — and certainly not in a major US city — but in Tokyo it’s safe to walk around with cash in your wallet, because there is virtually zero street crime.

Not all ATMs in Japan will accept foreign ATM cards. ATMs in the airport, 7-Eleven stores, Citibank locations and post offices will work. Most ATMs are not open 24 hours, either. In fact, outside of the airport, many ATMs are open for very limited daytime hours. However, MouseSavers.com reader Jae reports, “At most 7-Elevens you can use the ATM free of charge (at least I didn’t get charged) and typically with a better exchange rate than you get from the bank. [You will need a] card with the Plus sign on the back. You have to withdraw about ¥10000 at a time, but it’s a lot more convenient than the post office (which often closes at 3) and 7-Elevens are typically everywhere, at least in Tokyo.” ( Check here for 7-Eleven locations. ) This is good advice if you’re heading into Tokyo. If you’re going straight from the airport to Tokyo Disney Resort, however, you should get your cash at the airport, since there are no 7-Elevens at Disney.

Mary Waring (founder of MouseSavers.com) and her husband Mike headed off to Japan for their first visit knowing exactly two words of Japanese — arigato (thanks) and konichiwa (hi). Yet the language barrier was not as problematic as they expected. When you consider the relatively small number of English-speaking visitors who go to Tokyo each year, it’s remarkable how close the city is to being bilingual (Japanese/English). A great many directional signs, instructional signs, advertisements, “you are here” map displays, etc. are at least partially in English as well as Japanese. Train stations in central Tokyo show the station names and train line names in both languages, so it’s easy to navigate through the stations. On some of the major train lines, all announcements are made in both Japanese and English.

Most Japanese young people who work in public positions throughout Tokyo can speak at least a few words of English. For instance, most of the time restaurant servers know relevant English words and phrases like “thank you,” “water,” “lunch set,” numbers in English, etc. Between that and the common practice of providing plastic food displays and picture menus at many restaurants, you’ll usually have little trouble ordering what you want. Most shops in central Tokyo have at least one sales person who speaks some English.

Every so often you’ll hit a location in Tokyo where everything is in Japanese, and you’ll be confused or disoriented. Don’t panic. The solution is to ask someone who works there for help. Even if that person doesn’t speak English, they will find someone who does, or you can communicate by pointing to places on maps and using sign language.

Make sure you always have a street map (or Google Maps) and both JR and subway maps in English with you, and you’ll be all set.

At Tokyo Disney Resort you’ll have no problem navigating the theme parks even if you know no Japanese. Virtually all of the signs throughout Tokyo Disney Resort are in English.

However, the narration in the the actual show or attraction is often completely in Japanese and can be a bit difficult to follow if you don’t speak the language. You can usually get the general idea. Ride announcements are made by Cast Members in Japanese, but they are pretty obviously the same ones you’d expect in the US: keep your hands and arms in the vehicle, etc. You’ll be able to figure out what you’re supposed to do.

• English guide maps for the parks are available from guest services at the Disney hotels and at the front of the parks. However, the daily schedule of shows may not be available in English, so check the Tokyo Disney Resort website and print one out before you leave.
• An English guide map to Ikspiari is available from guest services at the Disney hotels and from guest services in Ikspiari.
• A few attractions have English subtitle devices that can be requested from the Cast Members when you enter the attraction: Enchanted Tiki Room in Tokyo Disneyland, The Magic Lamp Theater in DisneySea and Mermaid Lagoon Theater in DisneySea.
• A colorful storyboard (complete with English version lyrics of the Menken song) is available from the Cast Members at Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage in DisneySea.

US phones with 3G or later will work in Japan, but be sure to check with your provider about international roaming plans, or you might end up paying through the nose for any calls, texts or data you use during your stay in Japan.

If you have  Skype  loaded on your smartphone, you may be able to call home for very low cost through a Wi-Fi connection, such as the one in your hotel.

Renting a Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot

One handy and relatively inexpensive option for getting online in Tokyo (and potentially anywhere in Japan with cell access) is a portable Wi-Fi hotspot. This is a small device about the size of a smartphone that just connects to the LTE or 3G cellular data network, then opens up a Wi-Fi connection point for you to connect your phones, ipads, laptops, etc. You put your phone in airplane mode or turn off cellular service, but turn on Wi-Fi so it can connect to the hotspot.

This is probably not as useful for the times when you’re at your hotel, as most hotels have Wi-Fi now, but it might be better service than the hotel provides, and it can be very handy for walking around Tokyo and/or Disneyland Tokyo. This device does not enable traditional voice or text service; it is only for internet access, but you can make and receive calls via Skype, MagicJack or other similar services, and sent messages between your family using WhatsApp or other instant messenger.

Typically you reserve and pay for the rental online, then either pick up the device at their booth in Narita Airport, or have the company send it to your first hotel. Then on the way home you drop it off at Narita. Usually the device rental comes with “unlimited” internet. It’s unlimited in that it never actually cuts off, but it will drop down to low speed after you’ve used your daily allotment. The daily allotment for the companies we’ve looked at seems pretty high, though, and you’d be unlikely to hit it unless you start streaming videos or doing big downloads.

We have not rented one of these ourselves (we used the Wi-Fi in our hotels, and then got a small data roaming plan for two of our phones), but reports from the field are generally good. Make sure the device you pick out is going to have service in the places you want to go, and has enough capacity to handle the number of devices you want to use. Devices are advertised as having 3-8 hours of battery life, depending on the specific device you choose, but you would do well to invest in a spare portable battery, since the real-world battery life of these devices is likely to be lower than the advertised life.

Two companies that focus on renting portable hotspots to tourists, have English-language websites and get decent reviews are Global Advanced Communications  and Japan Wi-Fi Buddy .

Thanks to reader Jeff N for info.

Tokyo has an inexpensive and extremely reliable public transportation system, but only if you have full use of your legs. In most train stations you must be able to walk up and down a significant number of stairs. Many stations have no elevators (although more are being installed all the time) and many trains are not wheelchair-accessible due to gaps between the platform and the edge of the car.

For that reason alone, visiting Tokyo has the potential to be challenging and expensive for anyone in a wheelchair or with any kind of mobility issue. Outside of Tokyo things are usually even worse. However, Japan is making greater efforts to become “barrier free,” and with careful planning it’s not an impossible prospect for someone in a wheelchair or who has difficulty walking. If you want to try it, be sure to check out the Japanese Disability Information Resources site (which has an English version) for some useful information.

Walking around Tokyo is extremely tough for anyone with bad knees. There are lots of stairs everywhere and the terrain is hilly. For those who have difficulty with walking long distances and/or up and down stairs, be aware that it is difficult to avoid those things if you’re going to visit Tokyo Disney Resort and stay in central Tokyo. For example, the connection from the central part of JR Tokyo Station to and from the Keiyo Line that serves Tokyo Disney Resort is 520 meters (about a third of a mile) and involves three escalators, three moving walkways and a couple of flights of stairs.

Once you are at Tokyo Disney Resort, the situation is significantly better than Tokyo in general. The train station that serves the resort (JR Maihama Station) does have elevators, though you’ll have to do some research on how to get there and where you can go from there, since many other stations do not have elevators.

Most of the attractions, particularly at the newer park, Tokyo DisneySea, are accessible. The accessible entrances are not always clearly marked and you’ll need to allow extra time. It would be wise to call ahead and ask for help, too. Lots of people in wheelchairs visit Tokyo Disney Resort and there are wheelchair rentals available.

Your first stop should be the official Tokyo Disney Resort  website, which is in English and is quite informative and comprehensive.

The Independent Guide To Tokyo Disney Resort is one of the very few Tokyo Disney Resort guidebooks in English.

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JRailPass.com » Japan Travel Blog » Tokyo Disneyland: How to get there and make the most of it

Tokyo Disneyland: How to get there and make the most of it

July 3, 2023

In 1983, Tokyo Disney became the first Disney theme park to open outside of the United States . It is located alongside the Tokyo Disney Resort, just a 5-minute walk from Maihama Station.

The park stretches out across 7 distinct zones and includes a range of classic Disney rides such as Space Mountain , It’s a Small World , Star Tours , and the Haunted Mansion . An ideal destination for a family day out while in Japan’s capital.

How to get to Tokyo Disneyland

Traveling from Tokyo to Tokyo Disneyland by train is easy using your JR Pass . Tokyo Disney Resort (which includes Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea) is located five-minute walk from Maihama Station, in JR Keiyo line .

From Tokyo Station , take the JR Keiyo/Musashino Line to the JR Maihama Station (the 6th stop). The train traject is about 17 minutes and covered by Japan Rail Pass . The train ticket costs 220 yen without JR Pass.

Narita Airport to Tokyo Disneyland

If you want to go to Tokyo Disneyland directly from Narita Airport , you can take the Tokyo Disney Resort Bus , keep in mind the last bus departs from Narita Airport terminal 1 at 06:10 p.m. The trip takes about 75 minutes and costs 1.800 yen for adults and 900 yens for child. You can buy a ticket from the bus ticket counter at the airport.

If you have a JR Pass, you can use the Narita Express form Narita Airport to Tokyo Station , a 60 minutes trip, and from there, take the JR Keiyo line, as mentioned above, and arrive at Tokyo Disneyland in another 15 minutes. The whole trip is about 75 minutes . Narita Express and the trip by Keiyo line are full covered by your JR Pass.

Alternatively, you can take the Disney Resort Monorail to Tokyo Disneyland Station.

Book your Japan Rail Pass now

Entrance fees, tickets, and Fastpass

Tickets may be purchased up to two months in advance for a fixed date, or you may buy open date tickets, good for one year from the time of purchase.

• A 1-Day Passport costs 7,400 yen for adults, 6,400 yen for ages 12 to 17, or 4,800 yen for ages 4 to 11. It can be used at either Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea.
• The 2-Day Passport can be used in one park. Adult tickets are 13,200 yen, junior tickets 11,600 yen, and child tickets 8,600 yen.
• The 3-Day Passport can be used on both parks and costs 17,800 yen for adults, 15,500 yen for teens, and 11,500 yen for children. The similar 4-Day Passport costs 22,000 yen for adults, 19,400 yen for teens, and 14,400 yen for children.
• The After 6 Passport allows entry after 6 pm and costs 4,200 yen for all ages. The Starlight Passport allows entry after 3 pm on weekends or holidays. Its price ranges from 3,500 to 5,400 yen.

On high attendance days, only those with fixed date tickets (rather than open date tickets) will be permitted to enter the park. You can purchase fixed date tickets in advance. Disney hotel guests can purchase same-day tickets at a welcome center or at their hotel, and they will be guaranteed entry.

The Fastpass allows you to skip the line at a specific ride during your assigned one-hour period. You can get a Fastpass for free by inserting your Passport into a Fastpass machine, located in front of the attraction .

Opening Hours

Opening hours vary by season, but they typically encompass the hours of 8 am to 10 pm . Admission ends one hour prior to closing. The park is open 365 days a year .

Tokyo Disneyland Themed Areas

Tokyo Disney is home to seven distinct areas, including:

• The World Bazaar , a shopping and dining area modeled after a retro American town.
• Tomorrowland , a hive of futuristic and spacefaring technologies.
• Toontown , where characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck “live, work, and play.”
• Fantasyland , home to classic Disney characters and the famous Cinderella’s Castle.
• Critter Country , a haven for Bre’r Rabbit and his friends.
• Westernland , based on the American West.
• Adventureland , where you’ll find the Swiss Family Treehouse and the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Big Thunder Mountain

A mine and train-themed rollercoaster, modeled after its counterparts at Disneyland California, Disneyland Park in Paris, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Splash Mountain

A global park staple that will cool you off on hot summer days.

It’s a Small World

A waterbased ride in Fantasyland, modeled after the inaugural Small World ride that premiered at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt

This ride is unique to Tokyo Disney, not found in any other Disney parks.

Haunted Mansion

Are you brave enough to face the “999 happy haunts” that live there?

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

This 3D motion simulator ride will take you to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Space Mountain

A futuristic rollercoaster and a staple of Disney theme parks.

Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters

To infinity and beyond! This is an interactive shooting ride based on the Toy Story franchise.

Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek!

A dark ride attraction based on the 2001 film.

Best Time to go: Crowd calendar

In order to select the best time to visit when the park is less crowded, avoid weekends, especially extended holiday weekends . Other busy times include national holidays and school holidays . In Japan, school holidays occur mid-March through early April, late July through August, and late December to early January.

The weather is especially pleasant in spring and fall , but these times are also the busiest.

Tokyo Disney Special Events

Decorations and parade events change seasonally . A favorite is the Dreamlights Electrical Parade , which features floats and performers decked in over 600,000 LED lights. Fireworks are a frequent nighttime attraction.

In January of each year, you can celebrate the traditional Japanese New Year with Mickey and Minnie . In June and July, check out Tanabata , a traditional Japanese Star Festival.

In the coming years, Tokyo Disney will also host the opening of two new themed areas , based on Big Hero 6 and Beauty and the Beast.

Cover image by   Gonzalo Pineda Zuniga  used under  CC .

Related posts

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1-Day Tokyo Disneyland Itinerary

Our 1-day Tokyo Disneyland touring plan covers our ideal day in the park with attractions ordered to minimize time in line and maximize efficiency. To that end, these are the attractions we would do, the restaurants at which we’d dine, the shows we’d see, and the details we’d try to enjoy. ( Updated March 5, 2023 .)

In our Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planning Guide we recommend 2 days at Tokyo Disneyland (TDL) if you have the time, as the park has a really impressive attraction slate (and often, long lines). Accordingly, you’ll have to skip some things if you only have one day at TDL. If you’re visiting Tokyo DisneySea, check out our 1-Day Tokyo DisneySea itinerary .

This Tokyo Disneyland touring plan has been updated following the reopening of Japan’s border to international tourists. Although the parks reopened a while ago and pent-up demand is through the roof, operations are still scaled back for some inexplicable reason. As such, this itinerary is very much tentative and subject to change. We hope to have another update this summer or whenever things get back to normal. With that major caveat out of the way, here’s our 2023 Tokyo Disneyland itinerary…

Tokyo Disneyland is basically “Bizarro Magic Kingdom” and this applies to attractions, too. If you only have a single day at TDL, your time is best spent doing original attractions that are unique to Tokyo Disneyland. Aside from Splash Mountain, any rides you’ve experienced at other Disney theme parks around the world are skippable. You can see the full attraction lineup in our Tokyo Disneyland Attraction Guide post.

This Tokyo Disneyland 1-Day Guide assumes you’re visiting during a weekday at a moderately-crowded time of year. Unless you’ve been to Walt Disney World or Disneyland on New Year’s Eve or some other major holiday, you probably have never seen the kind of crowds the Tokyo parks get on weekends or during busy season. If you visit when it’s busier, you will wait in long lines for everything, including to get into the park. Read When to Visit Tokyo Disneyland in 2023  to prevent yourself from having these issues.

One final note before getting started is that you should consider staying at one of the Disney-branded hotels if your budget allows. See our Hotel Reviews & Rankings at Tokyo Disney Resort for comparisons and recommendations. Staying at the Disney hotels gives you the “Happy 15” perk, which is 15 minutes of early entry into the park.

Once you wake up from wherever it is that you are sleeping, eat breakfast, and then get started on your day…

Arrive Early – If you’re staying at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, plan to arrive at the Happy 15 entrance no less than 45 minutes before official park opening. If you’re staying at a non-Disney hotel, you will want to arrive even earlier than that because the regular turnstile lines will be even longer than the Happy 15 line.

On busy days, we try to arrive an hour before park opening (even if you get there that early, you’ll still find other people in front of you in line. If you’re eligible for Happy 15, your first destination is easy: Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. This is the blockbuster new trackless dark ride inside Beast’s Castle in Fantasyland that seats guests in gigantic tea cups that dance in rhythm to the music from Beauty and the Beast , while showcasing scenes depicting the story of the classic Disney animated film.

Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast also sells Disney Premier Access , which is essentially a paid replacement for FastPass. If this  Beauty and the Beast  ride is incredibly important to you, consider buying that. (It’s also included via standby in this itinerary.)

Monsters & Pooh/Pan Dash – If you’re not eligible for Happy 15, you should save Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast until later in the day. The vast majority of the early-arriving crowd heads there first, and you’ll be behind all of them. You’ll be wasting valuable time stuck in line behind thousands of other people while wait times are low elsewhere.

Consequently, our strategy for first thing in the morning is running to Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek (use the shortcut through World Bazaar into Tomorrowland on the right) and doing that first. Alternatively, you can proceed directly to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt in Fantasyland and do that first. With that in mind, there are basically two options for starting the day:

Option 1 (Maximize Efficiency): 

• Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Haunted Mansion
• Jungle Cruise

Option 2 (Minimize Backtracking):

• Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek
• Space Mountain
• Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
• Cross through Cinderella Castle’s Central Plaza to Adventureland
• Pirates of the Caribbean

If you choose the first option, which is what we’d strongly recommend, you will keep bouncing around throughout the day. Tokyo Disneyland is not  that  large of a park, and if you can handle walking around Japan, you’re probably fine criss-crossing a theme park a few times in a day.

If you choose the second option, you’ll proceed with the lands in clockwise fashion, doing Westernland and Critter Country after finishing up Adventureland, ending the day in Fantasyland. This second approach is actually a surprisingly organic and efficient way to do Tokyo Disneyland (save for Big Thunder and Splash Mountain, which might have long lines when you arrive at those attractions).

Here are some additional notes, plus how to fill out the middle of your day, regardless of the first option you choose…

Splash Mountain Single Rider – Although Splash Mountain is similar to its US cousins, we still highly recommend doing it in Tokyo Disneyland. Critter Country at Tokyo Disneyland was built specifically for Splash Mountain, and the level of detail in this entire area–including in the queue and on the ride itself–is unparalleled.

The other reason we recommend doing it is because there’s a Single Rider line that is relatively unpopular, meaning you can wait about 5-10 minutes for this attraction, even when the posted wait time exceeds 2 hours.

Lunch at Grandma Sara’s – Did you know that Grandma Sara (who is actually an opossum that looks a little too young to be a grandma) has a kitchen in Tokyo Disneyland? Well, she does, and her kitchen is spectacular. This restaurant is inside  Splash Mountain and is actually amazing .

The design is the main draw, with the food being pretty good, too. Go here for an early lunch, as this place gets busy at lunchtime. (“Rope dropping” Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, mentioned below, might be a good alternative.)

Mickey’s Magical Music World Lottery – The popular new stage show in Fantasyland Forest Theatre, Mickey’s Magical Music World utilizes a free lottery system for seating. This is now accomplished via the Tokyo Disney Resort app rather than at a physical in-park location. We recommend picking an afternoon showtime for Mickey’s Magical Music World.

If you win, great. If you don’t, oh well. Mickey’s Magical Music World is good and worth seeing, but it’s not altogether dissimilar from any montage musical at other Disney parks or aboard Disney Cruise Line. It’s not in the same league as Big Band Beat at Tokyo DisneySea, which is an absolute must-see.

Afternoon Shows – When crowds are at their peak in the middle of the afternoon, consider watching one of the park’s less popular shows: Country Bear Jamboree and/or The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!”

The latter is a bit divisive (I like it), while the former is undeniably awesome. If you’re visiting between summer and Christmas, note that you’ll get a seasonal version of Country Bear Jamboree, which is basically like winning the lottery.

Daytime Parade – We really don’t have a ton of attraction recommendations, which may cause you to wonder why Tokyo Disneyland will take so much time: it’s the entertainment. There are (at least) 2 must-see parades, plus other shows and entertainment, all of which eats big chunks of the day.

Disney Harmony in Color! Parade is the new parade for Tokyo Disneyland’s 40th Anniversary. This will start on April 15, 2023 and likely run until April 14, 2028. As with its predecessor, Harmony in Color will likely be incredibly popular, so you’ll want to grab a spot ~45 minutes before parade time. Consult our Tokyo Disneyland Daytime Parade Viewing Tips for recommended locations. ( That covers the current parade, but the advice will be the same.)

Dinner with the Queen – So I’m putting the next two items right next to one another, even though they probably won’t work out to be that way unless you’re a pig like we are. You either want to do an early dinner at Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall and snacking throughout the rest of the night, or snacking all afternoon and a late dinner.

Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall–based on Alice in Wonderland–is the most popular restaurant in Tokyo Disneyland , and its lines can be pretty long right around meal time. We’ve had the best luck going here right when it opens or 2-3 pm.

Strategic Snacking – There are some mega E-Ticket attractions at Tokyo Disneyland that you won’t find on any map, and these are the snacks. From the highly-touted popcorn to Tipo Torta (think churros, except actually awesome) to Toy Story Alien Mochi to Squeezers mango drinks to the seafood pizza at Captain Hook’s Galley to the pizza (and bizarrely-awesome show) at Pan Galactic Pizza Port, Tokyo Disneyland has some amazing snack options.

Read our Awesome Tokyo Disneyland Snacks post to get an idea of what other snacks you might want to try throughout the day. A possible alternative to all this snacking is eating at Crystal Palace, a buffet that includes some of the snacks found in the park . This is cost effective, but as Crystal Palace also exists at Walt Disney World, it’s sort of a boring pick.

Ambiance on the Rivers of America – Right around sunset, consider doing the Rivers of America Trifecta: Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes, Western River Railroad, and Mark Twain Riverboat. The canoes are great with the late afternoon light in your face, Wester River Railroad is stunning at dusk, and by the time you get to the Mark Twain Riverboat, it should be dark.

Every truly patriotic person enjoys a good nighttime cruise aboard the Mark Twain. In fact, I believe Mark Twain said this about nighttime cruises on his namesake ship: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Sage words, Mr. Twain.

Night Parades & Shows – You’ll want to get good spots for both the seasonally-changing Cinderella Castle nighttime spectacular (currently nothing) and Dreamlights. Other guests will stake out spots early, but the good news here is that guests in the front “rows” are required to sit and there are no kids on shoulders (it’s prohibited–and enforced), so you’ll be able to see over other guests.

Because of this, you shouldn’t have an issue getting spots 30 minutes before showtime with good visibility. You could theoretically get one spot for both, but with the way they are usually spaced apart during the course of the night, I don’t recommend this.

Sometimes the Cinderella Castle show is being shown twice nightly. While the second show is far less crowded, it also interferes with the best time to do attractions with minimal waits. As such, we recommend seeing the first showing of whatever that might be, and doing attractions immediately after Dreamlights.

Fantasyland Favorites – As soon as Dreamlights passes, you will want to high tail it to the headliner rides you haven’t yet done. On a normal night at Tokyo Disneyland, you’ll have a little less than 2 hours left in the operating day after Dreamlights. Here are potential plans of attack:

• Watch the Happy Ride with Baymax
• Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast
• Ride the Happy Ride with Baymax (if time allows)
• Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (if time allows)

• Watch or ride the Happy Ride with Baymax
• Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast (if time allows)

Okay, let’s explain the pros/cons & problems of these approaches. First, it’s a race against the clock after Dreamlights ends to your next destination. If you’re not fast and you pick Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, you’re behind a ton of people with the exact same idea. Either of the Tomorrowland headliners are lower stakes and easier to ride with short lines.

Second, we’ve recently run into problems with Tokyo Disneyland cutting the line for Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast before park closing. It used to be the case that you could get in line until the minute the parks closed. That’s still the case for most attractions, most of the time. But not always. So if Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is really important, you  need  to line up for it at least 60 minutes before park closing.

Third, we see little reason to actually  ride the Happy Ride with Baymax. The fun of this is the energy of the audience, and that exists whether you’re riding or standing outside the attraction doing the little dance and wave routine. That part is a ton of fun, but the attraction itself is so-so at best, and a long wait for what it is. Don’t miss being part of the fun at the Happy Ride with Baymax…but that fun does not require riding it.

Finally, actually results will vary. Post-reopening, we have had success doing Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast back-to-back-to-back, getting in line the final time less than 5 minutes after park closing, and never waiting more than 15 minutes for it (the final ride was a literal walk-on, with empty tea cups). The  very next night , the line was cut ~30 minutes before park closing and the posted wait time was still 45 minutes.

Without question, Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is the most popular and inconsistent ride in the park, and this holds true even at the end of the night. You may get lucky riding it three consecutive times like we did, but based on subsequent nights at Tokyo Disneyland, it appears that was an outlier.

We have had far more predictable and consistent rules riding Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and other Fantasyland or Tomorrowland attractions at the end of the evening. Regardless of what you do last, take the long route out through Fantasyland Forest and towards Tomorrowland, where the dances lights on Space Mountain and the future is a desolate place.

Slow Stroll Through World Bazaar – World Bazaar closes roughly 30 minutes after park closing, but I would not plan on shopping during that hour. The stores are chaotic, with guests rushing to buy trinkets or cutely-boxed foods for friends and family who didn’t accompany them on the trip. Instead, slowly make your way out, noting the differences between World Bazaar and Main Street . Look at the windows, which honor Imagineers, Disney executives, and Oriental Land Company executives.

Some of these things are going to have to be cut depending upon how much time other things take, but if you’re able to do even half of the things on this 1-Day Tokyo Disneyland Plan, you have knocked out a good chunk of the park’s highlights. Regardless, you’ll have a great time if you follow this itinerary.

Planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort? For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Trip Planning Guide ! For more specifics, our TDR Hotel Rankings & Reviews page covers accommodations. Our Restaurant Reviews detail where to dine & snack. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money  post. Our What to Pack for Disney post takes a unique look at clever items to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Consult our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto, Japan and City Guide to Tokyo, Japan .

Your Thoughts

Have you done Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland? How long did you wait? What was your strategy for knocking out this and other headliner rides? What would you include in your ideal visit to Tokyo Disneyland? Does your day or strategy differ at all from what we’ve shared in this touring plan? If you haven’t visited Tokyo Disneyland yet, what do you plan on doing? Any questions? Share your questions and thoughts in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

Tom, as an update to this post it’s worth mentioning that Splash no longer offers single rider. (source: the TDR faq and a CM at the ride) It’s too bad, I wish more rides had it for increased efficiency.

This is correct. The single rider line was cut after pandemic re-opening and as far as I know has not come back.

I have 1 free day in Tokyo. An I do half day in Disneyland?

Hi, thank you for sharing this. This is very helpful for my next trip to TDR.

I have plan to stay in Tokyo Disneyland hotel. Since it will be for 1 night, Would you recommend to stay before or after the park visit? Note: I’m travelling with 5-year old kid. Thanks a lot!

Angelia, I have some experience there that might be useful. Whatever you do it needs to allow you to be in the line at least 30min before the park opens. An hour b4 would be ideal, although that makes a long day of it. So you don’t want to be travelling to the park (from another location a train-ride away) on your first day. There are other hotels near the DL hotel. (Check a Google map for names) The hotels are happy to transfer your luggage between hotels (luggage transfers are one of Japan’s treasures!!) What we did is stay in a nearby hotel the day before. Checked out early, had them transfer our luggage to DL Hotel, and got in line early. Then, after a massive DL day, we checked into the DL Hotel and relaxed. In fact, I think we had a break mid afternoon and went back in to the park late afternoon. The next best option is to stay at DL the day before, and get ready to hit the queue early. Hope that helps.

Thanks for including different alternatives and providing the reasoning for each!

(So far my aging has made me like my father. He can criss-cross back and forth across the parks, but standing perfectly still in lines could be problematic for his back.)

I also appreciate the international content, Tom! I get the US resorts are what the largest number of people are interested in but I love reading about the international parks and dream of being able to visit them all one day (or at least the ones outside of China, I’m a bit conflicted about going there currently). Thanks to this blog and Travel Caffeine we had an AMAZING trip to France last fall – my first ever. Japan and the Tokyo parks are next on the bucket list!

GO TO CHINA!

I didn’t intend to but it came up as business travel and I am so happy it did. Not only were Shanghai Disneyland and HK Disneyland amazing but I think they deserve their place alongside the others. Everyone was wonderful to me and my family and the rides / attractions which are exclusive are stunning.

We’d love to do a Japan trip with the kids – a little overwhelming for us in terms of travel planning, especially since we’d like to make Disney part of a larger trip with the Studio Ghibli park, Kyoto, etc. Are there are any good travel planning services you’d recommend for Japan that focus primarily on Disney? Disney would be the main focus, so I’d like to use someone who has that as their main knowledge base!

Sorry, I don’t know of any travel agencies or agents that specialize in Tokyo Disney Resort. We’ve always booked everything ourselves.

There are definitely good agencies for Japan as a whole, but I’d hazard a guess that their Disney knowledge will be limited.

One tip for Mike– Disney Tokyo is on the main rail line and bus lines from Tokyo to Narita Airport, so you can hit Tokyo Disney on either way in or way out of country. I had a great time stopping at Tokyo Disney for 1.5 days on my way from Downtown Tokyo to Narita without a hassle in terms of transport. Since the hotels around Tokyo Disney are all great family hotels and guest service is top notch, I’d recommend if possible going to Tokyo Disney on the way OUT. It’d be like a vacation ending treat for your family after doing “other” Japan tourist stuff.

Thank you guys, that’s helpful. I think doing Disney at the end is a great plan – at that point, a little experience by that point navigating the language and cultural differences should make things easier. Navigating the parks themselves should be doable with Tom’s help – we’ve already had amazing trips to Disneyland and Disneyworld using this blog, so can’t imagine it’ll be any different for Tokyo! We can use a planner for the rest of the trip.

Definitely agree with doing TDR on the way in or out of Japan. We almost always do it at the beginning or end of our trips (sometimes both!).

There are pros & cons to both approaches. My pitch for doing TDR upon arrival: it’s a good way to ease into Japan if you’re overwhelmed by the culture/language barrier and jet lag works in your favor for rope drop (and assuming you stay on-site, you can take an easier midday break if needed).

We usually take the train from Narita to TDR, but I’d also recommend using the Airport Limo (it’s a bus) for your first time. It’s too easy to take the wrong/slow train and have a 2-hour commute.

OK, you might have convinced me with the jet lag rope drop, that’s a Disney power move! A lot of good info here, thank you guys.

Thank you, Tom. Really appreciate you updating this!

You’re welcome–hope the branching options make sense. Have a great trip!

Same – many thanks, Tom! We head to Tokyo around Easter and can’t wait to see the parks for the first time. We will sadly miss the April 15 switchover but hope being there a few days prior means fewer crowds. Fingers crossed!

I’d like to put a plug in here for MORE international park content. You personally inspired me to visit the Tokyo and Paris parks, and I’m still hoping one day to make it to Shanghai and Hong Kong. I appreciate everything you do.

Always appreciate hearing that, and the ‘vote’ or feedback for more international content. So long as it’s moderately popular, I’ll put more of an emphasis on it later this spring or summer. Hopefully with the borders reopening, more readers will be interested in international posts. We are also incredibly eager to get back to HKDL!

How well will this itinerary work early January, We will be spending 3 days at the parks Jan 4-7 , 2021? We are Disneyland APs but really enjoy doing the duplicate rides as well as (and especially) the unique ones.

A little confused on the shows – if we don’t win the lottery are they not viewable? I was assuming it acted like a show fastpass that gave you access to a preferred viewing location but after reading above, it sounds like you can’t see the show at all if you don’t win. Can you please clarify?

Appreciate the insights!

Can you please explain a little more about the “lottery” passes. I read you said to go to the Lottery Drawing location in Tomorrowland, but then what happens? Do you find out right then if you win? Can you put in for all the shows that are on the lottery system or just some? If only some, which to you recommend? We will be traveling to Disneysea on June 8 and Disneyworld Tokyo on June 9, 2020. Thanks so much, great post 🙂

I used this as a starting point and guide throughout my 1 day at Tokyo Disneyland and couldn’t be happier. I focused more on rides instead of shows but short wait times for classic rides, along with Disney characters speaking Japanese (I’m an anime fan so the language drew me in) and Christmas theme’s throughout was my inspiration to do so.

The mochi are now Star Wars themed only and Pooh’s Honey Hunt averaged a 60 minute wait time all day. It was well worth jumping on as my first ride and ending my day with it as well.

I highly recommend this guide as a starting point and altering as necessary along your day. Oh and snacking throughout the day definitely helps maximize your time on rides or at shows.

Thanks for sharing your experience, it definitely helped ensure I had a great time during my holiday.

Hello! I LOVE this blog! We are planning our first trip to Tokyo Disney! My husband is military and we are stationed in Okinawa, Japan, so we decided to make a trip to Mainland for Disney! However, we will be bringing our 6 month old son, and from what I understand they do not allow infants in laps like they do at Disney World in Florida. We are hoping to take advantage of rider switch options if our friends can make it with us, but if not do you know which rides at both Disneyland and Disney Sea have single rider line? If our friends can’t make it, that may be our only option to get on any rides

Greetings from Singapore! Just wanna tell you guys that this 1-day guide is simply ON-POINT for Tokyo Disneyland. I even made a vlog out of the entire experience, based on the tips I picked up from this site!

https://youtu.be/Oys46aVXGao

No Part 2 Mervin?

Thank you – I enjoyed both videos! Very helpful to see what the park looks like in action!

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Guide to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea: tickets, fastpasses, fireworks and more

Follow these insider tips to have a smooth and unforgettable time at Tokyo Disney Resort

Disneyland promises to be the ‘happiest place on Earth’, and it can be if you know how to navigate through the (overwhelming) crowds and queues and not miss the top things to do at the two theme parks that make up the Tokyo Disney Resort . 

Whether you are a Disneyland veteran or a first-timer, the first decision you need to make is which of the two Tokyo Disney parks you want to visit. As a general overview, Tokyo Disneyland caters more to families and kids while Tokyo DisneySea is popular among couples and young adults.

For more on that, and everything else you need to know, here are some essential Disneyland tips to make sure you have the happiest time at this beloved Tokyo attraction.

Going to Universal Studios Japan instead for the Super Nintendo World? We have a guide for that, too.

First, decide on one of the two Disney parks

The massive 47-hectare Tokyo Disneyland , opened in 1983, was the first Disney park to open outside of America. While it’s technically in Chiba, the prefecture bordering Tokyo to the east, it’s still easily accessible from the capital. The park is divided into seven areas: World Bazaar, Adventureland, Westernland, Tomorrowland, Critter Country, Toontown and Fantasyland. 

The biggest and most sought-after ride in 2022 is the Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast. The latest attraction in Tokyo Disneyland ’s Fantasyland lets guests cruise through key scenes of the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1991) while being seated in cup-like vehicles.

Other popular attractions include Big Thunder Mountain, a thrilling roller coaster through the ‘mines’, the log flume Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion inspired by ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, high-speed roller coaster Space Mountain, and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, where you board a honey pot to help the teddy bear find his favourite treat.

Adjacent to Tokyo Disneyland is the younger but larger sibling Tokyo DisneySea (at 71.22 hectares), which opened in 2001. The park capitalises on its setting by the bay with a maritime theme. It has seven zones: Mediterranean Harbor, American Waterfront, Lost River Delta, Port Discovery, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast and Mysterious Island. The new extension ‘ Fantasy Springs ’ is scheduled to open in 2023.

The rides and attractions at Tokyo DisneySea include the carnival-like Toy Story Mania, the Tower of Terror free fall, the high-speed ride through Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull, the roller coaster Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the simulation experience called Soaring: Fantastic Flight.

Download the Tokyo Disney Resort app prior to your visit

Pre-Covid, you only had to bring your phone to snap a few photos inside the parks. However, a smartphone is now required to get entry to a number of attractions at both Disneyland and DisneySea. Make sure to download the official Tokyo Disney Resort app ( Android / iOS ) prior to your visit. You’ll need it to get a Standby Pass, Entry Request or Disney Premier Access. Plus, you can also check the waiting times for each attraction.

Standby Passes, Entry Requests and Disney Premier Access

Some of the rides are so popular that waiting time can take up to two hours, especially on weekends and holidays. Pre-Covid, the solution to shorten waiting times was the so-called Fastpass. However, this system has been upgraded with three new options to allow you to skip the lines. 

Standby Passes are implemented during peak periods (e.g. Halloween, Christmas) for highly popular attractions and souvenir shops. Upon entering the park, you can open the Disney Resort app and choose a time to enter the attraction or shop. To find out which venue currently requires a Standby Pass, see here . We recommend arriving early as time slots of the Standby Passes could be fully booked later in the day.

The Entry Request , on the other hand, is a lottery-based system to enjoy character greetings and shows. Open the Tokyo Disney Resort app to see which events and shows require an Entry Request at the moment. After you’ve picked a time slot of your choice, you’ll be immediately notified if you were able to win entry or not. Note that you can only make one Entry Request per day for each eligible attraction. 

Tokyo Disney Resort has introduced Disney Premier Access , a new service that guarantees access to three of its most popular rides: Tokyo Disneyland’s Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast as well as DisneySea’s Soaring: Fantastic Flight and Toy Story Mania . However, you’ll need to pay an additional ¥2,000 per person per ride, on top of park entry . Note that a credit card is required to make the purchase. If you don’t have a smartphone or a credit card, you can obtain Disney Premier Access at Tokyo Disneyland’s Main Street House and DisneySea’s Guest Relations .

When visiting in a group, register all entry tickets through QR codes in the app. This way, you’ll be able to make the bookings for all members in the group at the same time and you can enjoy them together.  

Parades, shows and fireworks

The seasonally changing parades and shows are a big highlight at both parks. Over at Disneyland, the main parades traverse through a large part of the park, whereas DisneySea holds its show over water – on boats and special stages.

Also, don’t leave the parks too early in the evening as there’s a daily five-minute fireworks display (subject to weather conditions; check the schedule on the day of your visit).

The parks are generally less crowded in the summer due to the extreme heat and humidity. Halloween season from mid-September to October 31, however, is especially popular. Expect spooky decorations at every corner, and you're encouraged to dress up as your favourite Disney characters.

Disney character greetings

Look out for the Disney character greetings . They are usually held inside each of the characters’ homes and during the characters’ walkabouts. You can line up and have your photo taken with them by a professional photographer – both with your own phone and the photographer's SLR camera. For the latter, you can pick up your beautifully framed photo for a small fee at a shop near the park entrance. Note that some character greetings may require an Entry Request .

Food and drinks at Disney parks

Both Disney parks feature a variety of eateries and food options, from buffets and set meals to quick snacks on the go. If you pay a little extra, your meal or drink even comes with a Disney souvenir, such as a plate or small mug. Some restaurants can get very crowded with waiting times exceeding two hours, so make an online reservation for one of the more popular restaurants prior to your visit. 

For couples, we recommend the restaurant Blue Bayou in Tokyo Disneyland , which is set inside the quieter part of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. It has a romantic atmosphere, with many lanterns to accompany your candlelight dinner. Tokyo DisneySea , on the other hand, lets you dine inside a replica of the old steam-powered ocean liner SS Columbia; its regal interior is reminiscent of the opulent days of sea travel.

Shopping for souvenirs

Want to bring home more than just the memories? The seasonal and limited-edition souvenirs and merchandise are extremely popular, some of which sell out in just the first couple of days after their release.

Fret not, this being Disney, there is always something to buy. Near the park entrance, the gift shops are organised according to category, ie snacks, kitchenware, toys etc. Those adjacent to attractions or rides stock goods and merchandise related to the theme or movie franchise of which the attraction is based on.

If you’re overwhelmed with the selection, the gift sets in particular are of good value as they consist of up to six pens, note pads and/or key chains – all practical items you can use in your everyday life (or divide up among friends and family).

Note that some shops may require a Standby Pass .

To enjoy the day without being weighed down by bags, you can also shop for all souvenirs through the Disney Resort App. Only park visitors have access to Tokyo Disney Resort’s exclusive online store . You can even do all your shopping in the evening on your way home as purchase is available until 11.45pm on the day of your park visit.

Ticket prices

Tickets have been divided into four categories with prices based on the season and the day of the week. They are more pricey on Saturday, Sunday, national holidays and peak periods such as Halloween and Christmas.

Price categories:

One-day pass

• Adults: ¥7,900, ¥8,400, ¥8,900, ¥9,400
• Children aged 12-17: ¥6,600, ¥7,000, ¥7,400, ¥7,800
• Children aged 4-11: ¥4,700, ¥5,000, ¥5,300, ¥5,600

Admission from 10.30am

• Adults: ¥7,400, ¥7,900, ¥8,400, ¥8,900
• Children aged 12-17: ¥6,200, ¥6,600, ¥7,000, ¥7,400
• Children aged 4-11: ¥4,400, ¥4,700, ¥5,000, ¥5,300

Admission from 12noon

• Adults ¥6,900, ¥7,400, ¥7,900, ¥8,400
• Children aged 12-17: ¥5,800, ¥6,200, ¥6,600, ¥7,000
• Children aged 4-11: ¥4,100, ¥4,400, ¥4,700, ¥5,000

On a budget? There are some noteworthy discounts if you’re not planning to spend the whole day at the parks. On weekends and holidays, the Early Evening Passport allows entry from 3pm for ¥6,500-¥7,400 (children aged 12-17 ¥5,300-¥6,200, children aged 4-11 ¥3,800-¥4,400), depending on the season. During weekdays, there’s the ¥4,500-¥5,400 Weeknight Passport instead, which is valid from 5pm. Don’t worry; you’ll have plenty of time (until 9pm) to explore most of the park, but do note that Standby Passes, lottery tickets and Disney Premier Access may not be available anymore.

Tickets have to be purchased in advance. They go on sale on the official website every Wednesday from 2pm for the same day two months ahead. You can also buy tickets in person at the Disney flagship store in Shinjuku and a few other Disney Stores in the Kanto area. You could also get them at convenience store ticket machines, but the process isn't very straightforward – especially if you don't speak Japanese.

Getting there

You can reach Tokyo Disney Resort via the Keiyo line from Tokyo Station. Get off at Maihama Station and it’s only a five-minute walk from there; otherwise, hop onto the Disney Resort Line at the station. There are also direct buses departing from all major train stations in Tokyo (Shinjuku, Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Tokyo).

Disney hotels

For the ultimate Disney experience, stay at one of the five official hotels in and around the parks. The Disney Ambassador Hotel is inspired by the golden age of Hollywood, with plenty of Art Deco elements. The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel at the entrance of Disneyland features Disney movie-themed rooms, such as ‘Cinderella’, ‘Tinker Bell’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Tokyo DisneySea Hotel Miracosta , on the other hand, is the only accommodation set inside DisneySea, with rooms overlooking the park, of course. 

Considering that the cheapest rooms at the aforementioned hotels start at ¥37,000 (per person per night), it’s good to know that there are two more options that are more affordable. Located in Shin-Urayasu, just one stop from Maihama Station, the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel may be a bit more casual but you’ll still get Disney movie-themed rooms, with rates starting from ¥19,500 per person per night. There’s also the highly-popular Tokyo Disney Resort Toy Story Hotel , which is inspired by the Disney and Pixar Toy Story films and opened in April 2022. Hotels that are not directly in front of the parks offer shuttle services. 

Your Disney hotel stay comes with a great privilege: you’ll be able to enter the parks 15 minutes earlier, which means you can easily get on some of the most popular attractions without lining up, and reserve and apply for the special tickets via the app before everyone else. Happy Entry to both parks is available for guests of the Disney Ambassador Hotel and Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta. Guests who stay at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Tokyo Disney Resort Toy Story Hotel or Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel, on the other hand, will only have early access to Tokyo Disneyland.

Note that Happy Entry is not available at Tokyo DisneySea on November 7 & 10-14 2022 as well as January 17 & 25 2023.

The hotels are very popular, so ideally you should book at least six months in advance.

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Truly Tokyo

A Tokyo Travel Guide

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland is a must-see attraction for many visitors to Japan. Here is our full guide, with transport information, ticket information, park map, and insider tips to skipping lines and getting the most out of your visit.

Tokyo Disneyland Guide Introduction and Contents

If you love amusement parks or have kids that do, you should definitely visit Tokyo Disneyland. It’s well-loved by adults and kids alike, and has a wide range of rides to suit all ages and personalities. The combination of Disney magic and Japanese efficiency makes it one of the most enjoyable amusement parks anywhere.

But it’s busy all year round, so you have to plan carefully and buy tickets in advance to make the most of a visit. Here, we give you all the information you need to skip lines, ride the most rides, and have the most fun.

Tokyo Disneyland is right next door to Tokyo DisneySea, nad you can buy tickets covering both attractions. See also our comprehensive guide to Tokyo DisneySea .

This guide is divided into the following sections:

Admission fees and ticket types

• How to buy tickets
• Transport to Tokyo Disneyland

The FastPass System

Exploring tokyo disneyland.

• Tokyo Disneyland Park map
• Handy money-saving and time-saving tips
• Recommended accommodation for Tokyo Disneyland

Here are the basic admission prices for the park:

1-Day Passport for Tokyo Disneyland

• Adult: JPY7,400
• Junior: JPY6,400
• Child: JPY4,800
• Senior: JPY6,700

2-Day Passport for Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland (select parks in advance)

• Adult: JPY13,200
• Junior: JPY11,600
• Child: JPY8,600
• Senior: N/A

3-Day Magic Passport (Visit each park on one day, and both parks on the third day)

• Adult: JPY17,800
• Junior: JPY15,500
• Child: JPY11,500

4-Day Magic Passport (Visit each park on one day, and both parks on the third and fourth days)

• Adult: JPY22,400
• Junior: JPY19,400
• Child: JPY14,400

After 6 Passport (Visit Tokyo Disneyland from 6pm onwards)

• Adult: JPY4,200
• Junior: JPY4,200
• Child: JPY4,200

Adults are anyone over 12 years of age. Juniors are anyone between the ages of 12 and 17. Children are anyone between the ages of 4 and 11. Seniors are anyone over the age of 65.

The best way to get tickets and avoid waiting on line is to purchase tickets in advance . See the following section for more details.

How To Buy Tickets

• You can buy tickets at the counters at the main entrance to the park. However, there are often long lines at the counters in the morning before the park opens. If you want to ride the most popular attractions, you should arrive before opening time and make good use of the FastPass system detailed below.
• You can also purchase tickets from kiosks at convenience stores in Japan. However, these are in Japanese, which makes it impossible for people who don’t read Japanese.
• A good way to purchase tickets is online . When you purchase a ticket, you can print it out and skip the lines at the ticket windows. You just scan your ticket at the turnstile and walk into the park.
• Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea Ticket 1 Day Pass (Direct Entry at Disney)
• Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea Ticket 2 Day Pass (Direct Entry at Disney)

Transport to Disneyland

• Tokyo Disneyland is 17km east of central Tokyo, in Urayasu City in Chiba prefecture.
• It is very easy to travel there from central Tokyo.
• The journey takes approximately 25 minutes in total from JR Tokyo Station.
• You can use a Japan Rail Pass for this journey.
• Here’s a summary of the basic route from JR Tokyo Station: Take the JR Keiyo Line from JR Tokyo Station to JR Maihama Station. From here, it’s a 5-minute walk to Tokyo Disneyland.

Here are the details: Start at JR Tokyo Station. Look for the signs for the Keiyo Line (Keiyo Sen in Japanese.)

Once at Tokyo Station, you’ll need to look or the signs for the Keiyo Line.

If you’re starting from the South Exit of Tokyo Station , this will take you down Keiyo Street, a restaurant-lined section inside the ticket barriers.

It’s very clearly signposted in English that you’re heading towards Tokyo Disneyland.

The Keiyo Line platforms are about a 10-minute walk away - you’ll take several escalators, flights of steps, and even a walkalator. (There are elevators, of course.) Don’t worry about how long it takes. You’ll get there eventually.

You’ll need to look for Platforms 3 and 4. The trains on both platforms go towards JR Maihama Station. The local takes 17 minutes while the rapid train takes 13 minutes, so it doesn’t matter which one you take as long as you alight at the right station. There will be announcements in English.

Once you’re at Maihama Station, head for the South Exit.

Note: When purchasing your online ticket, you may have a voucher that says pickup is required at the North Exit. If this is the case, take the North Exit at Maihama Station.

There will be a member of staff directly outside the barriers. Show them your voucher with your name on it, and they will hand you a Disneyland ticket.

It’s very important to note that you cannot go directly to the entrance of Disneyland with particular online vouchers - they won’t let you in and you’ll have to head back to Maihama Station.

After picking up your ticket, head back to the South Exit by turning right and following the signs, through the passage that will lead you back to the other side.

After you exit through the ticket barriers at the South Exit, you’ll need to turn left and walk towards the Resort Gateway Station for Tokyo DisneySea. Turning right will take you to Tokyo Disneyland.

Turn right and follow the walkway for 4-5 minutes. You’ll reach the first set of barriers, where the staff will check the contents of your bag. There is a slight bottleneck here, but this will be over fairly quickly.

Have your ticket ready and walk past the queues of people for same-day ticket purchase. The staff will scan your ticket and you’ll be in the park.

Like any popular theme park worth its salt, Disneyland attractions often see long queues and wait times. Disney theme parks have a FastPass system in place to help visitors maximize their time in the park, and you should use it at Tokyo Disneyland as well.

Simply put, a FastPass ticket allows you to skip the queues. You can claim a ticket by scanning the QR code on your voucher or ticket (so don’t throw it away) in a FastPass machine.

The machine will dispense a ticket showing a particular time slot. In the ticket above, this is for 12:45~13:45, meaning you would need to return to the Big Thunder Mountain ride during this window. You’ll join the FastPass queue which invariably has fewer people. In between, you can explore the surrounding area, go on other rides, check out the overpriced snacks, and so on. Waiting time for popular rides can be an hour or more, so it pays to plan ahead.

The important thing to remember is that there are a limited number of FastPasses available on any given day, and they run out much faster for some attractions than others. For example, if you must ride Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at any cost, this is probably the first FastPass you should obtain - passes here run out the quickest. By around 11:30am on a sunny weekday, the earliest available FastPass for this ride may be around 8:00pm.

Also, once you’ve obtained one FastPass, you can’t be issued another unless a) two hours have elapsed since you picked one up, or b) you’ve just used it.

The following attractions are eligible for FastPass entry:

• Big Thunder Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• It’s A Small World
• Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
• Haunted Mansion
• Star Tours: The Adventure Continues
• Space Mountain
• Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
• Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek!

Here, we’ll give a basic walkthrough of the park and mention the main rides and areas. All of the attractions and areas mentioned here are on our special Tokyo Disneyland at the end of this section.

Disneyland is divided into seven zones:

World Bazaar

Adventureland, westernland, critter country, fantasyland.

• [Unnamed Zone]

Tomorrowland

We’ll introduce each of these in turn.

World Bazaar is the first zone you enter. It is styled to look like an early 20th-century American town. There are no rides to be found here; only shops and restaurants. It’s the main shopping area for guests and probably the best place to pick up all your Disney paraphernalia and costumes.

You’ll find restaurants such as Center Street Coffeehouse, Restaurant Hokusai, and Sweetheart Cafe here.

Center Street Coffeehouse is a popular all-day restaurant. Previously, guests were able to make reservations for lunch or dinner. However, this has changed and now you have to show up and queue.

It’s styled to look like a Twenties-style cafe-diner in New York, and has illustrations from The Aristocats painted on the walls.

They serve primarily Japanese-style Western food. Not all of the main dishes - like the meat patty - are accompanied by rice so you’ll have to order this separately. On the bright side, they’ll give you endless refills of rice.

Walking straight on after entering the World Bazaar, you’ll see Cinderella’s castle in the distance. The castle is the central landmark of Tokyo Disneyland.

There is a large central circular space in front of the castle. You’ll see many people seated on the roadside on tarpaulin mats, portable chairs, or just on the ground. Many guests camp out on the roadside to snag prime viewing spots for the parades that take place several times a day. Sometimes they’ll be waiting as early as 2-3 hours in advance, no matter what the weather is. If watching a parade up close is a priority for you, you may want to join them.

Between the World Bazaar and the entrance to the park, you’ll see Disney staff dressed up as different characters throughout the day. You’ll also see permanent queues for photo opportunities with characters like Minnie Mouse and the mice from Cinderella.

Exiting the World Bazaar and turning left will take you to the next zone, Adventureland.

Adventureland is, as the name suggests, all about adventure. There is a distinct New Orleans swamp-theme to this zone, and many tropical plants here.

This zone is home to rides such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, Western River Railroad, and Jungle Cruise: Wildlife Expeditions. There are also a number of restaurants and stalls here, such as the Blue Bayou Restaurant, China Voyager, Polynesian Terrace, and The Gazebo.

On entering the zone, you’ll notice a building to your right that looks like a glasshouse. This is the Crystal Palace Restaurant where you dine buffet-style. It’s extremely popular due to the availability of ‘character dining,’ i.e. Disney staff dressed up as various characters will visit your table during certain hours. This requires advance reservation, preferably online.

It’s also popular due to its location. There are good views of the Disney parade from window seats, and many guests will make reservations online to coincide with the parades, prior to visiting Disneyland.

If this is a must-eat place for you but you haven’t made a reservation online, you will need to head here first thing in the morning to make either lunch or dinner reservations. (In fact, you will see a queue just to make a same-day reservation.) Otherwise, you may need to wait in line for at least half an hour to an hour for lunch or dinner.

If you have not decided to look at the Crystal Palace Restaurant, keep left and walk onwards. You’ll see the Pirates of the Caribbean ride to your left.

Walking further along, you’ll pass many restaurants and shops, such as Cafe Orleans and Party Gras Gifts. Keeping further left will take you down a small side street connecting back to the main road, where you’ll find the Blue Bayou Restaurant. This is another restaurant that’s very popular with guests and where you can make lunch or dinner reservations.

Nearby is the Theatre Orleans, where they hold shows every few hours.

Walking straight will take you to a more open area with several attractions. To your left you’ll see the Western River Railroad ride. This is a steam train which takes you on a loop through the treetops. You’ll have views of Adventureland, Westernland, and Critter Country zones.

To your right you’ll see rides like the Swiss Family Treehouse.

Further ahead, you’ll see a thatch-roofed building. This is where The Enchanted Tiki Room show takes place. Walk past this building and keep left. This will take you to the next zone, Westernland.

Westerland is a zone styled after the US western frontier along the Rivers of America. You’ll see plenty of wooden shanty-style houses, saloon-style restaurants and cafes, and hokey Native American Indian statues. There are also shops selling ‘Indian’ or ‘cowboy’-style clothing.

This area is home to attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain, Tom Sawyer Island Rafts (in the middle of the body of water up ahead), and the Mark Twain Riverboat.

Walking straight but keeping left, you’ll arrive at the Big Thunder Mountain ride. The FastPass ticket machines for this ride are located opposite.

If you keep left and follow the brown road, you’ll encounter the Camp Woodchuck Kitchen.

Following the path will take you to the Woodchuck Greeting Trail. At the end, you’ll meet Donald and Daisy Duck and have the chance to take photos with them. There is usually a queue and waiting time for this.

If you turn right after Big Thunder Mountain and walk straight, you’ll see a large boat on your left. This is Mark Twain’s Riverboat.

Walk along. You’ll come to a passageway under the steam train tracks. Take the staircase pictured above and turn left to enter the next zone, Critter Country.

Critter Country is based on the Disney film Song of the South, and you’ll see characters like Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, and Br’er Bear in this zone. This is a relatively small zone, with only two attractions and two restaurants.

Walking straight, you’ll see Grandma Sara’s Kitchen on your right. They serve rice plates here, with omelettes, cream croquettes, and meat patties. Their special set is the roasted chicken with rice.

Further along, you’ll see Splash Mountain. This is one of the most popular rides in the park and features a 16-metre drop at the end, ending with a splash. There are FastPasses available for this ride. This is also the only ride in the park where there is a Single Rider queue - if you are alone or are willing to ride separately from your friends, you can use the FastPass line and skip the long wait. Just tell the staff, “Single Rider.”

Further along, if you follow the signs to the canoe and head down to the water, you’ll see the Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes attraction, just beyond Rackety’s Raccoon Saloon.

You can join the guided canoe tours along the river here with other people. This is fun for families.

You’ll also see the steam train passing by this area.

Doubling back and heading out the way you came and keeping left will take you to the next zone, Fantasyland.

Fantasyland is a zone based on classic animated Disney films. If you grew up with Disney, you’ll be familiar with all the films in this zone, from Alice in Wonderland to Sleeping Beauty to Pinocchio. This is home to two of the most popular attractions in the park, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and Haunted Mansion, both of which have FastPasses available.

The first ride you’ll see to your right is Peter Pan’s Flight.

A short walk ahead on the right is Snow White’s Adventures.

Opposite that on the far left is the Haunted Mansion. There’s often a long queue for this attraction.

Walking along, you’ll see several more rides along the center of the road. These are, respectively, Castle Carousel (a merry-go-round) and Alice’s Tea Party. Both are very child-friendly rides.

On the right after Castle Carousel you’ll see Cinderella’s Castle. At the castle entrance on this side is the Cinderella’s Fairy Tale Hall attraction, where you can explore rooms in the castle.

Continuing on the path will lead you past the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. It’s another popular restaurant and you’ll see queues for this towards lunchtime.

Just after the restaurant on your left is the It’s A Small World attraction.

Walking further along will lead you to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, one of the most popular attractions in the park. FastPasses for this ride run out the fastest out of all the rides in Tokyo Disneyland, so if this is a must-do, you should aim to pick up FastPasses here first thing in the morning.

Keep left as you walk along the path. This will take you to the next zone, Toontown. (If you turn right instead, you will walk past a construction site before arriving at the Tomorrowland zone.)

Welcome to Toontown. This is a suburban neighborhood where Disney characters live, work, and play. It’s particularly popular with young children and their parents, as the rides and attractions here are specifically designed with younger children in mind.

To the left, you’ll see a number of restaurants and counter-style cafes, such as Huey, Dewey and Louie’s Good Time Cafe.

Further towards the left are a few shops and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.

There are also plenty of interesting backdrops for photo opportunities here.

Upon entering the zone, following the path but keeping right will take you towards attractions such as Goofy’s Paint n’Play House, Chip n’ Dale’s Treehouse, Donald’s Boat, and Mickey’s House.

At Mickey’s House, you can queue up to meet and take a photo with Mickey Mouse (or rather, a member of staff dressed up as Mickey).

Doubling back out of Toontown in the direction from which you came and turning left, with the construction site on your left, will take you towards the Tomorrowland zone.

Unnamed Zone

You’ll pass by a construction site situated between Toontown and Tomorrowland. This is a new area slated to open in 2020. We’ll update this page when the new area is open.

Tomorrowland is, as the name implies, all about futuristic fun and outer space-themed adventure attractions. The buildings are painted in shades of white and blue, and they look a little like someone’s idea of the future from the 90s. This is home to popular rides such as Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, and Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek! FastPasses are available for all of these rides.

The first building you’ll see on your left is Tomorrowland Terrace. This is a large restaurant serving mainly sandwiches and other fast food.

Turn left into the zone and follow the path. You’ll see Treasure Comet on your right.

Opposite this on your left in the distance is the entrance to the Space Mountain Ride. This is a high-speed rollercoaster made more exciting by taking you through outer space, mostly in the dark.

Keep walking straight, between the buildings. You’ll pass by restaurants and shops on your right, including the Pan Galactic Pizza Port.

On your left, up ahead, you’ll see the Star Tours: The Adventures Continue ride.

Walking along, you’ll see the Monsters, Inc. ride on your left. Here, you’ll ‘shoot’ monsters by holding up a flash light while riding on a tram. On your left, you’ll see Plasma Ray’s Diner. This is a restaurant serving rice bowls, Mickey’s glove-shaped sandwiches, and more.

A short distance ahead is the World’s Bazaar zone. You’ll then be back where you started.

Tokyo Disneyland Park Map

Our Tokyo Disneyland park map is realistic and designed for use on a smartphone. You can view the full sized version in Google Maps too.

Handy Money-Saving and Time-Saving Tips

Your time at Tokyo Disneyland can either be one of the best days of your life, or a miserable series of long lines and unhappy kids. Good planning and good timing can make all the difference. Here are some handy tips.

• Buy your Disney admission ticket in advance online. This eliminates the need to wait in line to buy a ticket in the morning before opening time, before having to queue again to enter the park.
• Use the FastPass system detailed above to minimize time spent waiting in lines.
• Make reservations for popular restaurants as early as possible to guarantee your seats. If you are able to, make these reservations online.
• Check the wait-time monitors and information boards around the park.
• Check the weather in advance and dress appropriately. Don’t underestimate how cold it can be in the winter and how hot in the summer. Consider a folding umbrella or raincoat if there is a chance of rain.
• Try to go on weekdays that are not holidays. This means that the park will be less crowded with local visitors.
• Bring your own drinks. You may want to purchase Disney-themed snacks like Mickey Mouse-shaped ice creams for the photo ops, but the drinks sold at the park are average bottled teas and sodas. Better to bring your own if possible.
• Stay near the park to minimize transport time (see the following section for some recommended hotels).

Recommended Accommodation for Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland is only 17 minutes or so by train from Tokyo Station, so you can stay in the center of the city and visit this theme park. But, staying at the park makes everything easier and more convenient. The hotels listed here are all within easy walking distance of Tokyo Disneyland; or are connected by a short shuttle bus ride.

Check Hotel Availability

Destination, check-in date, check-out date.

• Tokyo Disneyland Hotel (View on Agoda.com ) This is the closest hotel to the entrance of Tokyo Disneyland and is perfect for guests who want the full theme park experience to continue after the day is over. All 706 rooms are themed around various classic Disney films, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. Rooms with a view of the park are classified as, appropriately, ‘Park View.’ Staying at this hotel also offers ‘Happy 15 entry privilege,’ meaning that all guests at this hotel are allowed to enter the park 15 minutes before opening time. This might not seem like much but every minute counts when you’re trying to get FastPasses.
• Disney Ambassador Hotel (View on Agoda.com ) This hotel is around 8 - 15 minutes walk away from the entrance of Tokyo Disneyland, which is not a great hardship considering how much walking you will do in the park, but it’s something to keep in mind. It’s closer to the entrance of Tokyo DisneySea. Alternatively, there are complimentary shuttle buses to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea for guests. In addition to various Art Deco motifs sprinkled around the hotel, the rooms here are themed around Disney characters, and guests here also have the privilege of entering the park 15 minutes before opening time.
• Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel (View on Booking.com or Agoda.com ) Located near Bayside Station on the Disney Resort monorail line, this is a large-scale, urban resort hotel that has world-class amenities and spacious rooms. The hotel offers shuttle bus services to both stations on the Disney Resort Line monorail, either DisneySea or Disneyland. It’s a good place to retreat to after the crowds at the theme park.
• Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel (View on Booking.com or Agoda.com ) This is also located not far from Bayside Station on the Disney Resort Line. The hotel is structured around a circular atrium filled with natural light, and the guest rooms are laid out around this central atrium. If you don’t need to eat at the theme park, there are restaurants here, too. This hotel offers guaranteed park admission for its guests and shuttle bus services to any of the stations on the monorail line.
• Oriental Hotel Tokyo Bay (View on Booking.com or Agoda.com ) This hotel is right next to Shin-Urayasu Station on the JR Keiyo Line, one stop away from Maihama Station. Access to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea is easy if traveling by train. However, the hotel also offers shuttle bus services to both stations on the Disney Resort Line monorail, either DisneySea or Disneyland. Some of the guest rooms here can accommodate up to 6 people - excellent for groups and families traveling together - and entire floors are reserved just for guests with infants and pre-school children.

Other Amusement Parks In Japan:

If you want even more amusement park time, there are several other world-class amusement parks in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya that are easily accessible. See our guides to each of the following amusement parks

• Tokyo DisneySea
• Ghibli Museum
• Nagoya Legoland
• Universal Studios Japan

Tokyo Vacation Checklist

• For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Tokyo guide
• Check Tokyo accommodation availability and pricing on Booking.com and Agoda.com - often you can book with no upfront payment and free cancellation
• Need tips on where to stay? See my one page guide Where To Stay In Tokyo
• You can buy shinkansen (bullet train) tickets online from Klook - popular routes include Tokyo to Kyoto , Tokyo to Osaka and Tokyo to Hiroshima
• You can buy a Japan SIM card online for collection on arrival at Tokyo Narita or Haneda airports. Or rent an unlimited data pocket wifi router
• See my comprehensive Packing List For Japan
• Compare airline flight prices and timings for the best Japan flight deals . Check my guides to arriving at Narita Airport and at Haneda Airport .
• If you're visiting more than one city, you might save money with a Japan Rail Pass – see if it's worth it for you
• A prepaid Welcome Suica card makes travelling around Tokyo much easier - here's how
• World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world

Tokyo District Map

• Imperial Palace Area
• Tokyo Station
• Shimbashi Shiodome Hamamatsucho Shinagawa
• Akihabara Kanda
• Roppongi Akasaka
• Harajuku Aoyama
• Ebisu Daikanyama Meguro

Disclosure: trulytokyo.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. World Nomads provides travel insurance for travellers in over 100 countries. As an affiliate, we receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.

Travels with Erica

A Solo Traveller's Guide to the World

A Guide to Buying Tokyo Disneyland Tickets

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Visiting Tokyo Disney Resort is my favourite day trip from Tokyo. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are often regarded as the most popular and amazing theme parks in the world and are well worth taking the time to visit while in Tokyo.

They are amazing to visit, but there are few things you should know about buying Tokyo Disneyland tickets before you get to the parks.

There are a few intricacies that come with purchasing and using Tokyo Disneyland tickets that make them like no other Disney tickets in the world.

It is arguable that it is much easier to buy tickets to any other Disney theme park in the world than it is to purchase a ticket to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Note: Tokyo Disney Resort calls their tickets “passports” but for simplicity, they are going to be referred to as tickets throughout this post.

The reasons for this will be explained throughout this post. It will also give you lots of information and tips to make buying Tokyo Disneyland tickets easy and less confusing.

Types of Tokyo Disneyland Tickets

Before we get too deep into discussing the ins and outs of how to buy Tokyo Disneyland tickets, it is important to discuss the different types of tickets you can buy.

Age Breakdown

There are 4 different age categories at Tokyo Disney Resort:

• Child: ages 4-11
• Junior: ages 12-17
• Adult: ages 18-64
• Senior: ages 65+

You’ll want to make sure you’re purchasing the proper ticket, so you’re getting the best deal on ticket prices. The child, junior, and senior tickets cost less than an adult ticket.

You may be asked to show photo ID if you’re purchasing a discounted Tokyo Disneyland ticket so be sure to have your passport or driver’s licence on you just in case!

Single or Multi-Day Tickets

There are different types of Tokyo Disneyland tickets you can purchase. They range from a one-day ticket to a four-day ticket.

One-Day Ticket

This ticket allows you entry into either Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea for one day.

You cannot park hop between the parks with this ticket. You must stay in the same park for the entire day.

If you purchase a one-day ticket for Disneyland, you must stay in Disneyland and cannot go to DisneySea. The same is true if you purchase a one-day ticket for Tokyo DisneySea.

The one-day ticket does give you the ability to leave the park and return to the same park durning the day. You just need to get your hand stamped as you’re leaving, and you’ll be able to return to the same park later in the day.

The pricing of a one-day Tokyo Disneyland ticket or Tokyo DisneySea ticket is as follows:

• Child: 4,900 yen or approximately $45USD
• Junior: 6,500 yen or approximately $60USD
• Adult: 7,500 yen or approximately $70USD
• Senior: 6,800 yen or approximately $63USD

These prices aren’t too excessive considering a one-day one park ticket at Disney World for ages 10+ is currently $109USD. That, I think, is way too high!

Important: One-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets and one-day Tokyo DisneySea tickets are the same price!

It doesn’t matter what park you choose to go to- you’ll pay the above-listed price.

Two-Day Ticket

A two-day ticket at Tokyo Disney Resort allows you to visit one park per day for two consecutive days.

You can mix and match what parks you visit or visit the same park both days. However, just as with the one-day ticket, you can only visit one park per day . You cannot hop between the parks with a two-day ticket.

When you purchase your ticket, you will be asked what park you want to visit on each day. You need to choose what park you want to visit on each day in advance and cannot change your mind.

T he day you’re visiting each park is printed on your ticket , so it is very difficult to change your mind and switch the day you visit each park.

Prices for two-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets and Tokyo Disneysea tickets are as follows:

• Child: 8,800 yen or approximately $82USD
• Junior: 11,800 yen or approximately $109USD
• Adult: 13,400 yen or approximately $124USD

Unfortunately, there is no senior discount for multi-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets. People 65+ are required to pay the adult ticket price. It is a bit unfair, but there, sadly, isn’t anything you can do about it.

Three-Day Ticket

A three-day ticket allows you to visit one park per day for the first two days and then hop between the parks on the last day.

Just as with the one-day and two-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets, you must stay in the same park on the first two days. On the third day, you can hop between the parks as many times as you want.

You will, again, need to decide what park you will be visiting on the first two days when you purchase your ticket as your selection will be printed on the ticket.

Your ticket will have all 3 dates on the back. The first two dates will have either Disneyland or DisneySea printed beside them and the third day will have “both” printed beside it.

Prices for three-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets and Tokyo DisneySea tickets are as follows:

• Child: 11,800 yen or approximately $109USD
• Junior: 15,800 yen or approximately $146USD
• Adult: 18,100 yen or approximately $168USD

Just like the two-day ticket, seniors are required to pay the adult ticket price and do not get a discount.

Four-Day Ticket

A four-day Tokyo Disneyland ticket allows you entrance to one park per day for the first two days and the ability to hop between the parks the last two days.

It is the exact same as the three-day ticket, but you get an extra day of park hopping tagged on at the end. You have a dedicated park for the first two days that you have to choose in advance then have complete freedom the last two days.

Prices for four-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets and Tokyo DisneySea tickets are as follows:

• Child: 14,800 yen or approximately $137USD
• Junior: 19,800 yen or approximately $183USD
• Adult: 22,800 yen or approximately $211USD

Just as with the other multi-day tickets, there is no discount for people 65+, and they have to pay the adult rate.

Starlight Passport

The Starlight passport is one of the most popular Tokyo Disneyland tickets amongst Tokyo locals.

The Starlight passport allows you to enter either park any weekend or holiday after 3pm. It is only valid for one day!

This ticket is ideal for people who want to frequently visit the parks and don’t mind standing in a long queue (the queues for everything at Tokyo Disney Resort get really long!), and are there to enjoy the atmosphere, food, and shows more than anything else.

One of the good things about this ticket is that it allows you entry into both parks, and you’re able to hop between both parks while you’re there.

By 3pm on weekends and holidays, the park is very, very busy (almost unmanageably busy), so this isn’t an ideal option for tourists who want to experience everything Tokyo Disney Resort has to offer

It is a great option for tourists who just want to get a taste of what the parks have to offer and aren’t hardcore Disney fans. It is for people who don’t mind not riding the most popular attractions or missing some of the morning and mid-day entertainment.

Prices for the Starlight passport are as follows:

• Child: 3,600 yen or approximately $33USD
• Junior: 4,800 yen or approximately $44USD
• Adult: 5,500 yen or approximately $50USD

There is no discount for seniors, and they have to pay the adult price.

Note: The Starlight passport is only offered on certain days during the year. Please refer to the Park Operation Calendar to see when this ticket is available.

As you can see, there isn’t a huge difference between the price of one-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets and the starlight passport.

The Starlight passport is only $10-$15USD less expensive than the one-day single-park ticket. To me, it isn’t worth saving a little money and not being able to enter the park until after 3pm.

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are the least busy first thing in the morning and at the very end of the day. By purchasing the Starlight passport, you are missing out on one of the least busy times of day.

After 6pm Tickets

The After 6pm ticket allows you to enter both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea after 6pm on certain weekdays. This is another one of the most popular Tokyo Disneyland tickets among the locals.

The parks tend to close between 8pm and 10pm on weeknights , so this ticket doesn’t give you a lot of time in the parks.

You’ll really only have time to walk around the park, ride a less popular attraction, grab some food, and do a bit of shopping before the park closes.

This could be a good option if you’re staying around the Tokyo Bay area and want to briefly check out all the hype around the parks, but I don’t think it is a good option for people who really want to experience Tokyo Disney Resort.

Prices for After 6pm tickets are as follows:

• Child: 4,300 yen or approximately $39USD
• Junior: 4,300 yen or approximately $39USD
• Adult: 4,300 yen or approximately $39USD.

As you can see, the cost of the After 6pm ticket is the same for everybody no matter the age.

The price of the After 6pm ticket is about half the cost of a one-day ticket, so it is a pretty good deal. I still don’t recommend it for tourists, but I can see the draw it has for locals.

This ticket, just like the Starlight passport, is only offered on certain days. If this is the ticket you want to purchase, be sure to review the Park Operation Calendar before you go, so you don’t get stuck paying full price!

Annual Passes

There are 3 different types of annual passes you can purchase at Tokyo Disney Resort. Annual passes aren’t a great option for tourists unless you plan on visiting the parks more than 10-15 times.

Annual passes at Tokyo Disney Resort only give you Tokyo Disneyland tickets, Tokyo DisneySea tickets, or access to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

This is quite different from other Disney annual passes that give you special discounts when you purchase an annual pass. In Tokyo, your annual pass only gets you into the park with no other perks, so that is something to consider when purchasing an annual pass.

Tokyo Disneyland Annual Pass

A Tokyo Disneyland annual pass allows you entry into Tokyo Disneyland as many times as you want within the year. The year starts the day you purchase the annual pass, so you don’t need to worry about purchasing it at the start of the year.

A Tokyo Disneyland annual pass basically gives you unlimited Tokyo Disneyland tickets. You can visit the park as much as you want within the year.

The downside is that the Tokyo Disneyland annual pass does not give you access to Tokyo DisneySea. You would have to purchase a separate park ticket if you wanted to visit Tokyo DisneySea.

Prices for the Tokyo Disneyland annual pass are as follows:

• Child: 40,000 yen or approximately $370USD
• Junior: 62,000 yen or approximately $572USD
• Adult: 62,000 yen or approximately $572USD
• Senior: 52,000 yen or approximately $480USD

As you can see, the price for a junior and adult are the same, so anybody over the age of 11 but under 65 pay the same price.

Tokyo DisneySea Annual Pass

The Tokyo DisneySea annual pass is the exact same as the Tokyo Disneyland annual pass, but you’re allowed to visit Tokyo DisneySea rather than Tokyo Disneyland.

It has the same pricing as the Tokyo Disneyland annual pass.

2-Park Annual Pass

This annual pass allows you entry into both parks an unlimited number of times during one year and allows you to hope between the two parks!

Basically you’re purchasing unlimited Tokyo Disneyland tickets and unlimited Tokyo DisneySea tickets.

The upside of purchasing the 2-park annual pass is that you’re not restricted to one park and can enjoy both parks at your leisure. I would guess that this is the most popular annual pass option at Tokyo Disney Resort.

Pricing for a 2-park annual pass is as follows:

• Child: 57,000 yen or approximately $525USD
• Junior: 91,000 yen or approximately $840USD
• Adult: 91,000 yen or approximately $840USD
• Senior: 76,000 yen or approximately $700USD

You get a little bit of a deal when you purchase a 2-park annual pass, and it is definitely the way to go if you’re buying an annual pass rather than single day or multi-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets.

The price of a 2-day annual pass is fairly on par with other two-park Disney resorts. A 2-park annual pass at Disneyland California will cost you anywhere between $599USD and $1,399USD.

The Price of Tokyo Disneyland Tickets

I thought it would be helpful to have a section that just has the ticket prices in a format that is easy to reference. This section will list all the different types of Tokyo Disneyland tickets and the price of them.

• Child: $45USD
• Junior: $60USD
• Adult: $70USD
• Senior: $64USD
• Child: $82USD
• Junior: $109USD
• Adult: $124USD
• Senior: $142USD
• Child: $109USD
• Junior: $148USD
• Adult: $168USD
• Senior: $168USD
• Child: $137USD
• Junior: $183USD
• Adult: $211USD
• Senior: $211USD
• Child: $33USD
• Junior: $44USD
• Adult: $50USD
• Senior: $50USD

After 6pm Ticket

• Child: $39USD
• Junior: $39USD
• Adult: $39USD
• Senior: $39USD
• Child: $370USD
• Junior: $572USD
• Adult: $572USD
• Senior: $480USD
• Adults $572USD
• Child: $525USD
• Junior: $840USD
• Adult: $840USD
• Senior: $700USD

Important note: All prices are as of January 2020 and are subject to change. Please visit the Tokyo Disney Resort website for the most current ticket prices.

Where to Purchase Tokyo Disneyland Tickets

There are a number of different places you can purchase Tokyo Disneyland tickets. They all have their pros and cons, and this section will help you decide where to purchase your Tokyo Disneyland tickets.

You can purchase your tickets at official Tokyo Disney Resort hotels, at the park entrance, at Ikspiari, good neighbour hotels, Disney stores in Japan, online, at Japanese convenient stores, or through a third-party seller.

That’s a lot of choices, and it can get overwhelming and confusing trying to figure it all out. I was certainly confused the first time I went to Tokyo Disney Resort. I tried to purchase Tokyo Disneyland tickets at multiple locations before filing buying them at Ikspiari.

Official Tokyo Disney Resort Hotels

Guests staying at an official Tokyo Disney Resort hotel can purchase their tickets at the hotel. The official Tokyo Disney Resort hotels are:

• Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
• Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta
• Disney Ambassador Hotel
• Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel

Guests staying at these hotels can purchase their Tokyo Disneyland tickets upon arrival and don’t to worry about tickets being sold out for a particular day. Anybody staying at an official Disney hotel is guaranteed entry into the parks during their stay!

There are two other major ticket-related perks that come with staying at an official Disney hotel.

Multi-Day Passport Special

This very special ticket that is only available to guests staying at official Disney hotels allows you to hop between the parks any day your ticket is valid! It costs an additional 1,600 yen (approximately $15USD ) and gives you a lot more freedom than the standard tickets.

You’ll have to figure out if this is something you want to take advantage of or not. I think it is a good option for people who only have a short trip and have been to Tokyo Disney Resort before but would probably not recommend it to first-time visitors.

It can take a long time to hop between the parks (sometimes up to half an hour depending on the frequency of the monorail. This really eats into your park time if you’re hopping between the two parks a number of times.

Happy 15 Entry

The second perk official Disney hotel guests get is what is called Happy 15 Entry. This gives you the opportunity to enter the parks 15 minutes before people who aren’t staying at an official Disney resort.

This may not sound like a huge perk, but it really is! The lines to enter the parks are always really long at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

I always get to the entrance gate an hour before the park opens and am normally at least a few dozen people back in line!

With the Happy 15 Entry, you’re able to get to the parks a few minutes before they open without having to wait in the line. Think of all extra sleep!

There are a select (very select) few attractions open in each park during the Happy 15 Entry time, but they aren’t the most popular attractions .

You are able to be first in line for the major rides when they open or be first to get a Fastpass for them.

The Happy 15 Entry saves you so much time and is a great benefit only available to the select few who pay the fairly high price to stay at an official Disney hotel.

At Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea

You can purchase your Tokyo Disneyland tickets and Tokyo DisneySea tickets at the entrance gate of each respective park. This is a pretty standard feature that every Disney park has.

You’ll need to purchase your tickets at the park that you’re visiting that day or plan to visit first with a multi-day ticket.

For example, if you’re purchasing a two-day ticket and want to visit Tokyo DisneySea on day one and Tokyo Disneyland on day two, you need to buy your tickets at Tokyo DisneySea rather than Tokyo Disneyland.

I hope that makes sense. A cast member will direct you to the proper park if you try to purchase tickets at the wrong one, so one way or another you’ll get your tickets.

Why I Don’t Recommend Buying Tickets at the Gate

I really don’t recommend you purchase tickets at the gate! The queues are always really long and waiting to purchase your Tokyo Disneyland tickets at the entrance will only further delay your entrance into the park.

There are better and more time efficient places to purchase your tickets in advance, so you can head straight into the parks when you get there!

Purchasing Tokyo Disneyland Tickets at Ikspiari

Ikspiari is the equivalent of Downtown Disney or Disney Springs. It is a shopping centre right outside JR Maihama station (the metro station right at Tokyo Disney Resort).

On the basement floor of Ikspiari, there is a Tokyo Disenyland ticket centre, and you can easily purchase your tickets there. This is where I always purchase my Tokyo Disneyland tickets!

You can pay with card or cash, and there is rarely more than a few people in the queue. This is a great option for buying tickets at Tokyo Disney Resort but not waiting the day of your park visit to purchase them at the gate.

At Good Neighbour Hotels

There are a number of hotels that Tokyo Disney Resort considers good neighbour hotels. They are vetted by Disney and are considered to be of good quality.

All of the good neighbour hotels are located along the monorail loop and are very popular. They are a less expensive option compared to official Tokyo Disney hotels but are still close to the parks.

If you’re staying at a good neighbour hotel (my recommendation is Tokyo Hilton Bay ), you can purchase Tokyo Disneyland tickets at your hotel.

You must purchase your tickets with cash. Cards are not accepted.

The problem with purchasing your Tokyo Disney Resort tickets at a good neighbour hotel is that the ticket booth is only open during certain hours.

I’ve stayed at a Tokyo Hilton Bay a number of times and have always had to go to Ikspiari to purchase my tickets because the ticket booth at the hotel was closed.

Ikspiari is also more convenient because you can pay with your credit card. Most people don’t have hundreds of dollars in cash so being able to use a card is helpful.

At Disney Stores in Japan

You’re able to purchase Tokyo Disneyland tickets at major Disney Stores in Japan. Shibuya is the biggest Disney Store in Japan, and lots of people purchase their Tokyo Disneyland tickets there.

This means the queues can be huge! The first time I went to Tokyo Disney Resort, I was going to purchase my tickets at the Shibuya Disney Store, but the queue was at least 50 people deep!

I don’t really recommend purchasing your tickets at Disney Stores simply because the line can get really long. The line at Ikspiari is normally much shorter.

Purchasing Tokyo Disney Resort Tickets Online

Another option available is purchasing your park tickets online directly through the Tokyo Disney Resort webpage .

This is a great option for people visiting Tokyo Disney Resort at a busy time of year where tickets could possibly sell out. You’re able to purchase your tickets online 90 days in advance!

Tokyo Disney Resort only accepts the following credit cards:

• AMEX (American Express)
• Diners Club
• Discover Card

If you don’t have one of those credit cards, you won’t be able to purchase tickets in advance online and will have to purchase them once you get to Japan.

You may also run into problems with paying for things inside the park if you don’t have one of those credit cards so be sure to have enough cash or a backup card if need be!

At Convenience Stores in Japan

Family Mart and Lawson are two popular convenience store chains in Japan, and they sell Tokyo Disneyland tickets.

They are normally pretty quiet, so it can be a good option. The problem is that they only potential issue is that the ticket machine is only in Japanese.

If you don’t speak/understand Japanese, this is not an option for you.

Through a Third-Party Provider

You can purchase one-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets through Voyagin . One-day tickets cost 7,700 yen, which is a few dollars more than buying tickets directly from Tokyo Disney Resort.

You need to pick-up your tickets at JR Maihama station and cannot print your tickets online. To pick-up your tickets, you need your QR code and confirmation.

This is potentially a good option for people who don’t have a credit card that Tokyo Disney Resort accepts, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

You have the added inconvenience of picking your tickets up at JR Maihama station before you enter the parks, can only purchase one-day tickets, and you’re paying slightly more money.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are a number of frequently asked questions about Tokyo Disneyland tickets that I hope to be able to answer for you.

If you have any further questions, please leave a comment, and I’ll try to answer it for you!

Am I able to Change what Day I visit a Certain Park?

If you have a one-day or multi-day ticket and want to change what park you visit on a certain day, you’re able to do so for a fee.

A small fee of 200 yen (or about $2USD) is charged per ticket per day you want to change.

Let’s say you purchased a 2-day ticket with the first day scheduled for Tokyo DisneySea and the second day for Tokyo Disneyland but loved DisneySea so much that you want to spend both days there.

You simply go to guest relations (at the front of each park) or the entrance gate, and a cast member will help you out.

Can I Add Additional Days to my Ticket?

Unfortunately as of June of 2019, you are unable to add additional days to your ticket. You need to purchase a new ticket for the number of days you want to add.

This is why it is important to research your trip and figure out how many days you want to visit. The more days you spend in the parks, the less the ticket costs you per day.

Can I Reduce the Number of Days on my Ticket?

Yes! You’re able to reduce the number of days on your ticket. If you purchased a 4-day Tokyo Disneyland ticket but only want to visit for 3 days, a cast member will be able to refund you for the last day.

There is a 200 yen fee per day per ticket to reduce the number of days on your Tokyo Disneyland tickets, but that is a lot cheaper than paying for a park ticket you won’t use!

These changes can be made to your ticket at guest relations or at the ticket booths at the entrance to the parks.

Should I Visit Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea First?

This is a difficult question to answer. It has more to do with personal choice and preference more than anything, and only you know what you like.

I personally always visit Tokyo Disneyland first because it has the castle and classic Disney attractions. Tokyo DisneySea is a very unique park unlike any other theme park in the world, and I like to get warmed up with Disneyland before I visit it.

You really can’t go wrong no matter what you choose. Both parks are great, and you’ll have a magical time no matter which park you visit first.

I Have a One-Day Ticket. What Park Should I Visit?

This question is a lot easier to answer. I highly recommend visiting Tokyo DisneySea if you only have one day at Tokyo Disney Resort. As mentioned, it is very unique, and you won’t find a lot of the attractions anywhere else.

That being said, if you’re travelling with smaller children, you may want to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

You’ll find the iconic Disney rides and feel at Tokyo Disneyland compared to Tokyo DisneySea. The attractions at Disneyland are also more family friendly than at Tokyo DisneySea.

How Many Days do I Need at Tokyo Disney Resort?

This is another very difficult question to answer and depends a lot on how long you’re in Tokyo and how big of a Disney fan you are.

I always buy 4-day Tokyo Disneyland tickets, but I’m a big Disney fan. A casual fan may not need as much time as that.

For more casual fans or people who just want to see what all the fuss is about, I would suggest purchasing a 2-day ticket. This allows you to visit both parks, see a lot of what they have to offer, eat some food, and shop a little.

Two days is probably enough for people who don’t want to watch every show and parade or ride every ride.

Where do You Recommend Buying Tokyo Disneyland Tickets?

I know I mentioned it earlier, but I wanted to say it again for the people who skim these posts (no shame I do it too!).

I recommend purchasing tickets at Ikspiari. In my opinion, it is the most convenient and easiest way to purchase Tokyo Disneyland tickets.

The one exception to this recommendation is for people staying at an official Disney hotel.

If you’re staying at an official Disney hotel, you should purchase your tickets at the hotel to get the added benefit of Happy 15 Entry and the option to upgrade your ticket to the Multi-Day Passport Special that allows you to park hop your entire trip.

As you can see, there are a lot of different options when it comes to purchasing Tokyo Disneyland tickets!

I think the most difficult part of the process is figuring out what ticket you want to purchase. You have to narrow down what is most important for you to see and then figure out how many days you need to see it.

Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are always busy no matter what time of year or what day of the week. You’ll be standing in queues for nearly everything, and that is something to consider when planning your trip.

Spending 2-4 days at the parks should be enough time for you to experience the parks without feeling too rushed.

Tokyo Disney Resort is magical, and no matter how long you’re there for, you’ll have a great time! Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are beautiful parks with some of the best attractions in any Disney park.

Pro tip: don’t forget to try the Green Alien dumping in Tokyo DisneySea. They’re delicious!

Related Posts

• 5 Reasons to Visit Disneyland Paris
• A Complete Guide to Disneyland Paris Attractions

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Girl Eat World

A girl's adventure in food and travel around the world, tokyo disneyland guide: how to optimize your visit and minimize wait time.

I have been going to Tokyo every year for the past decade, yet I never made it to Tokyo Disneyland… until this year! I am kicking myself for not going earlier. Disneyland in California was fun, but Disneyland in Tokyo? 1000x better! They have super cute food and merchandise that are available exclusively in Tokyo.

Since it’s such a magical place, it’s a popular choice for locals and tourists alike. You can’t avoid the crowd, but you can definitely optimize your trip by understanding how the park works .

I’ve visited Tokyo Disneyland twice now – once in 2019 before COVID, and once in December 2021 in the middle of COVID right before the Omicron wave hit Japan (which didn’t stop people from going to Disneyland!). I’ll try to impart as much of my knowledge as possible.

First, let’s understand the basics of visiting Tokyo Disneyland:

1. Buy Tokyo Disneyland Ticket Online

If there is ONE thing you take away from this blog, do this. Buy your tickets ahead of time! You don’t want to buy tickets on the day. You may not even get a ticket if you are visiting during the peak period.

You can buy Disneyland tickets 2 months before your intended visit date. Here are a few ways to obtain tickets:

• Buy through Klook, an authorized booking partner – When you buy Disney tickets from Klook, you don’t need to do anything else. You just scan the QR code at the entrance and off you go.
• Alternatively, the Tokyo Disneyland ticket can be purchased as an add-on to  Tokyo Pass ! If you plan to visit other attractions while in Tokyo, you might be able to save some money if you get this pass.
• Buy through the Official website

What is Klook? Klook is the leading travel and experiences booking website in Asia. And yes, they are legit! I personally always book my activities through them whenever I am traveling. See my review of Klook here .

2. Download the Tokyo Disneyland Resort App

The Tokyo Disney Resort App is your lifeline during the visit. It is where you can obtain Standby passes (if available for the day you’re visiting), buy the Disney Premier access, book restaurants, and get entry requests for certain events. So make sure you have it downloaded!

Find links to download the Tokyo Disney Resort App here

3. Understand the queueing systems in Tokyo Disney

When I visited in 2019, Disneyland was still using the FASTPASS (FP) system, a line-skipping system that comes with your Tokyo Disneyland ticket. FP allows you to book a 1-hour window to come back and go on an express lane at a later time.

However, when I came back in December 2021, they’d done away with the entire FP system. It has been replaced by a few different types of passes, all of which can only be obtained by using the Tokyo Disney Resort App after entering the park.

There are 4 passes available at Tokyo Disneyland:

• Entry Request
• Standby Pass
• Disney Premier Access
• Tokyo Disney Resort 40th Anniversary Priority Pass (NEW)

What is an Entry Request?

Certain experiences might require an entry request. Currently, it is mostly used for characters’ meet and greet (and not rides). These do sell out, so you’ll want to book as soon as you get to the park.

If this interests you, feel free to check out what experience is available through Entry Request here .

What is a Standby Pass?

A Standby Pass essentially means you are booking a time to join the queue at certain attractions and shops. When you grab a standby pass for an attraction, it will tell you the time you can return to join the queue for that attraction. This makes the queue much shorter and moves faster for those who were able to secure a standby pass.

Standby Pass is not a requirement . Not all of the rides will require a Standby Pass and there might be days when Standby Pass won’t even be released at all. However, for the days that it is released, there might also be a time when only those who have obtained a Standby ticket can join the queue.

You can hold only one Standby pass at a time during your visit. You can only book another standby pass for another attraction once you’ve utilized the standby pass, so make sure to use it wisely.

Check the steps on how to get a Standby Pass here and which attractions, if any, require a Standby Pass on that day. This list is updated daily so you can check it on the day you’re planning to visit the park.

As Standby Passes are limited, it does mean that some of the more popular rides could be booked out for the day and no more standby passes will be issued. In our case, we went during the peak period and despite entering the park shortly after it opened in the morning, we STILL couldn’t get a pass for Beauty and the Beast.

What is Disney Premier Access?

Disney Premier Access is effectively a paid FASTPASS that was launched in May 2022 at Tokyo Disneyland. It has an additional fee of 1,500-2,500 yen that you must pay on top of your entrance ticket to be able to join the express queue to some of the most popular rides, and even the parades.

You can only buy one Disney Premier Access per entrance ticket every hour. Of course, the highly coveted Beauty and the Beast is one of the rides on Disney Premier Access.

How is it different than the other passes? Aside from Premier Access being a paid pass, you’ll also be able to specify which time you want to access the attraction.

Click here for more information on Disney Premier Access

What is a Priority Pass?

Available from 26 July 2023 until further notice, this is the newest type of pass available at Tokyo Disney Resort. It is also branded as the Tokyo Disney Resort 40th Anniversary Priority Pass, which may insinuate that it is temporary.

From my experience, it works almost the same as the Fast Pass system they used to have. You’ll be able to reserve a time to come back for certain attractions to skip the queue, but you cannot choose the time. You can also only reserve one Priority Pass every 2 hours.

Take note that Priority Pass might sell out. On my last visit on Dec 2023, all the Priority Pass was sold out by 4pm.

Learn more about the Priority Pass here

4. How to check ride wait time, operating status, and current wait time

Again when I visited in 2019, the official Tokyo Disneyland website claimed to have all the ride wait times… but in my experience, the website did not work for me when I visited the park! The Tokyo Disneyland iOS App also was only available to Japanese iPhone users at that time. It was frustrating.

I’m happy to report that when I came back in 2021 and 2023, they fixed this issue. The Tokyo Disney Resort App will not only give you wait time for all of the rides in Tokyo Disneyland, but it lets you do pretty much everything you want to do in the park – getting priority passes, booking restaurant, etc. Definitely download this app before coming to the park!

If the app does not work for you, you can check this third-party website for the wait times.

How to get to Tokyo Disney Resort

1. by local train.

Tokyo Disney Resort can be reached via Maihama station on the JR line. So, staying somewhere around the area could help you get to the resort faster. I will elaborate more on this topic in the next section.

2. By Shuttle Bus from Shinjuku

If you don’t want to change hotel, there is a shuttle bus from Shinjuku that will get you to the resort around 9AM. Book the shuttle bus here . However it’s only a one-way transfer, so on the way back you can take the local train.

Where to stay when visiting Tokyo Disney Resort

If you are visiting both Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, you might want to opt to stay closer to the resort. Or if you just don’t want to waste time on the train getting here. There is of course the option of staying at the resort itself, but it is quite pricey.

As I was saying before, Tokyo Disney Resort can be reached via Maihama station on the JR line. So, staying somewhere around the Maihama station or 1-5 stations away in Urayasu would help you cut down the travel time to the resorts.

Here are some recommendations:

• Hilton Tokyo Bay – This hotel is right next to the resort area
• Tokyo Bay Maihama – This hotel is right next to the resort area
• Hiyori Hotel Maihama – About 20 minutes by bus to Maihama station
• Oriental Tokyo Bay – Near Shin-Urayasu station, about 7 minutes away from Maihama station
• Bay Hotel Urayasu-Ekimae – Across from Urayasu station, about 22 minutes by train to Maihama station

How to Optimize Your Tokyo Disneyland Trip

Okay! Now that you’ve been updated to the current ride reservation system at Disneyland, let’s get tips on how to optimize your time in Tokyo Disneyland!

Here are the things you need to do as soon as you enter the park:

1. Download the Tokyo Disneyland Resort App and add your tickets to the app – This should be the VERY FIRST thing you do when you get to the park. This will allow you to manage the entire group’s premier access and priority pass allowance. It will also assist you with other admins during your visit such, as booking restaurants, looking up wait times for the rides, etc.

2. Buy the Disney Premier Access for Beauty and The Beast – This ride is extremely popular and you should purchase the access as soon as you get to the park. Unless, you are okay to queue for the ride, which might take 2-4 hours depending on the crowd on the day. This past December, I arrived pretty late to the park at 10:30 AM, and the premier access for this ride was already sold out for the day.

3. If Priority Pass is available, grab it for the most popular ride at the earliest time – For example, Space Mountain is one of the most popular rides at Tokyo Disneyland. If there is a Priority Pass available then immediately grab it. Then, get another Priority Pass 2 hours later for other attractions.

4. Check other rides’ wait times – Another thing you should do when you get to the park is to look at the map in the Disneyland app and check all the ride wait times – I’ve elaborated on how to do this above. Also, you should check the operating status as some rides might be closed for maintenance. Then, begin strategizing!

5. Know which ride is the most popular in Tokyo Disneyland – The following rides are more popular than the rest, so you should prioritize getting passes for them:

• Enchanted Tales of Beauty and the Beast
• Splash Mountain
• Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek
• Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
• Space Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain
• Haunted Mansion
• Pooh’s Hunny Hunt

6. Check for the park’s special parades – I’m not sure if it’s because I went during Easter, but there were at least 3 parades on the day I went. During these parades, the major streets in the park are closed, which makes it a bit hard to move around. So make sure to keep this in mind!

Tip: You can check the parade schedule in Tokyo Disneyland here

Also if you’re going during a special time like Christmas (which means there will be a Christmas parade), the park will be inaccessible while the parade is going on, as it’s extremely popular and people would “reserve” their spot since the morning.

7. Don’t forget about the daily fireworks ! This usually happens around 8 to 8:30 PM so try to stay at the park as long as you can to witness this fireworks show.

8. Don’t forget to have fun – Last but not least, I know this is a lot and optimizing your Disneyland visit is quite overwhelming. If you didn’t manage to get on the ride you wanted, that’s alright! I have gone to Tokyo Disneyland three times and still didn’t manage to get on Beauty and the Beast, but I still had a lot of fun. And honestly, that’s all that matters right?

What to eat in Tokyo Disneyland

Initially, I was worried about the food situation inside the park. What if all the food is expensive and not good? I was even thinking of packing some onigiri and snacks because I didn’t want to go hungry. But once inside the park, I realized my fears were unfounded.

The food in Tokyo Disneyland kicks butt in SO many ways – The reasonable price, the delicious taste, and the super creative concept! I really appreciate the folks at Tokyo Disneyland for making food such a delightful experience.

The only downtime would be the queue time if you came to Tokyo Disneyland during peak periods, such as summer or school holidays. It could get pretty long. During COVID, it was impossible to eat at a normal restaurant as they had been booked weeks in advance, so we had to resort to eating outside or at the food courts where seats are first-come-first-served. If there are any restaurants that catch your eye, please book ahead!

Here are my favorite eats in Tokyo Disneyland:

1. Three Green Alien Mochi (300 Yen)

This is seriously THE CUTEST food ever! I squealed when I saw this in person. They are three mochis (rice cake) balls shaped like the little green men in Toy Story. The mochi each has different fillings – strawberry, chocolate, and custard. Such a genius concept! You can find this at the Plazma Ray’s Diner in Tomorrowland .

2. Mickey Gloves Chicken Sandwich (600 yen a la carte / 900 yen with a set meal)

Yet another item I squealed when I saw it in person. On the menu, it’s a pretty average-sounding grilled chicken and scrambled eggs sandwich. The kicker? It’s served inside a Chinese bun that is perfectly shaped like Mickey Mouse’s gloves! You can buy this sandwich at Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s Good Time Cafe in Toontown .

3. Mickey-shaped Churros (300 Yen)

The OG Disneyland in Los Angeles might have the most famous churros, but you can only find these Mickey-shaped ones in Tokyo Disneyland! I love the subtlety here. You can only see the Mickey shape if you look at the churros from the top down. I might have missed it myself if I didn’t know about it! You can find this all over Tokyo Disneyland Park. Just keep an eye out for the sweets stand – I got mine at Westernland .

4. Smoked Turkey Leg, a Disneyland Classic! (900 Yen)

This is a Disneyland classic and a must-have. I have been told the portion is not as massive as the ones in the original Disneyland, but it was just right for me! You can find this at the Cowboy Cookhouse in Westernland .

Getting a photo at The Cinderella Castle

Everyone must get a photo at the famous Cinderella Castle whenever they visit Disneyland, right?

Having taken a million photos of it during my visit, I can say the best time to take photos at the castle is right before sunset! So, google the sunset time at the time of your visit, and make sure you are at the castle 30 minutes before the sunset time. This ensures a nice soft pink light which makes it all the more magical.

By the way, if the front of the castle is under construction for whatever reason (like the day I visited), don’t worry: Try going around to the back – it’s just as beautiful too! The photo I have above was taken from the back of the castle, near the Dumbo ride.

Okay, that’s all I have on Tokyo Disneyland! If this guide helped you, please leave a comment below. I love reading your comments.

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16 Comments

• April 30, 2024

Great blog! Thanks for the awesome tips. I am looking forward to going in June!

• April 18, 2024

Thanks for this! ❤️

• March 26, 2024

Lots of great information. I would have liked it if you had compared the names of priority access passes and others with the US Disney Parks names to make it a little easier to understand.

• March 3, 2024

Thank you so much for this helpful and detailed guide! Visiting in March 2024 for my honeymoon. So excited!

• January 12, 2024

Such a helpful post, thank you! This will be our second time in Tokyo but our first going to Disneyland and I can’t wait. Are all the foods that you included here available as takeaway at stands or were some pre-booking only?

• January 16, 2024

Hi Jess, they’re all available as takeaways.

• November 17, 2023

Hi, Melissa, need some advice here. Upon entering the park, should I try getting a Priority Pass (for Attraction A) before getting a paid Premium Pass (for Attraction B), since the time for the Priority Pass is assigned. I can then select a time for the Premium Pass to make sure it doesn’t clash with the assigned timing of the Priority Pass. Is that how it works? Any insights is appreciated!

• November 16, 2023

hiya, i just wanted to say i like your blog a lot, no one makes guides this specific. i hope to use these for my trip next year!!

Seyoo, Thanks for your kind comment!

• September 30, 2023

Very very helpful! We will be visiting from Mexico and all this detailed information is super useful! Thank you!

• October 1, 2023

Have fun at Disneyland, Leslie!

• February 24, 2023

Very helpful and up to date info! Thank you!

• October 16, 2020

oh i miss tokyo disneyland

• June 3, 2019

Love your blog/instagram! Also absolutely LOVE that you visited one of my favorite places on earth, Tokyo Disney Resort!!

• June 2, 2019

Hi! I’m from Chile, and i’m planning a trip to Tokyo next year. I’m planning visiting Tokyo Disneyland too. ☺. Thank you for sharing this! It will be very useful ☺

have fun in Disneyland!!!

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How to Go to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea (Full Guide)

Wondering how to get to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea from Shinjuku, Haneda Airport or Narita Airport? Should you take a bus or train?

In this guide, I’m going to share with you the best and easiest way of getting to Tokyo Disney Resort .

I will let you know which mode of public transportation, bus or train, is best for reaching these two Disney parks.

Pro-tip: Remember to buy your Disney tickets online here for Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea, as there are no ticketing counters on-site for you to buy the tickets.

How to Go to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea

1. from shinjuku to disney.

• 2. From Haneda Airport to Disney
• 3. From Narita Airport to Disney

The Steps for Walking from Maihama Station to Tokyo Disneyland

Getting from maihama station to tokyo disneysea, related posts.

Now, I’ll guide you through the best routes to Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea , whether you’re departing from Shinjuku , Haneda , or Narita .

This includes details on travel times and costs , helping you plan effectively to save both time and money .

Let’s dive in now to make your journey to these fun-filled parks easy and exciting!

From Shinjuku Station , take the JR Chuo Line to Tokyo Station . Then, transfer to the JR Keiyo Line to Maihama Station . From Maihama, exit via the South Exit and walk for about 5 minutes to reach Tokyo Disneyland . The total travel time is about 45 minutes , and the one-way trip costs 410 yen.

To reach DisneySea , simply walk to the Resort Gateway Station from the South Exit of Maihama Station. From there, board the Disney Resort Monorail , which will take you to Tokyo DisneySea Station in just 9 minutes for a fare of 260 yen .

2. From Haneda Airport to Disney (3 Methods)

From the first floor of Haneda Airport , take the Airport Limousine Bus to Tokyo Disneyland. You can board the bus at Bus Stop No. 5 in Terminal 3. The journey takes roughly 25 minutes , and a one-way ticket costs 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children .

Boarding locations for the airport bus to DisneySea are the same as for Disneyland , and the fare is identical . The only difference is that you need to alight at Tokyo DisneySea upon arrival.

The Airport Limousine Bus departs from Haneda Airport and makes its first stop at Tokyo Disneyland before continuing to Tokyo DisneySea .

This is an easy and affordable way to travel to Disney Park because it will take you directly there .

ii. By Train

From Haneda Airport, take the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho Station . Transfer to the JR Yamanote Line to Tokyo Station , then switch to the JR Keiyo or Musashino Line to Maihama Station . Use the South Exit at Maihama for a 5-minute walk to Tokyo Disneyland . The journey takes approximately 65 minutes , costing 900 yen one-way.

To visit DisneySea , first make your way to the Resort Gateway Station from Maihama Station . Next, board the Disney Resort Monorail to Tokyo DisneySea Station . The travel time is approximately 9 minutes , and the fare is 260 yen .

iii. By Private Car Transfer

The easiest way to get to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea is by private car , providing a stress-free journey as you relax and await your arrival .

This service is great for families, older adults, or groups with lots of luggage , making the trip comfortable and easy. Check the transfer pricing here .

3. From Narita Airport to Disney (3 Options)

From Narita Airport , board the Airport Limousine Bus to Tokyo Disneyland at Bus Stop No. 10 in Terminal 1 or Bus Stop No. 17 in Terminal 2 . The journey typically takes about 66 minutes , with a one-way fare of 1,900 yen for adults and 950 yen for children .

This is the best way to travel there , as it provides a direct airport bus service from Narita Airport to both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea .

At all terminals, the bus boarding location is at Level 1 of the arrival hall .

Terminal 1 – Bus Stop No. 10 for Disney

Terminal 2 – Bus Stop No. 17 for Disney

The second option is you can board the Keisei Skyliner train from Narita Airport . But you need to transfer trains 2 times before reaching Disneyland . For me, this is not the good way to reach there . If you plan to take a train to Disneyland, here’s a guide for you.

• Take the Keisei Skyliner from Narita Airport to Nippori Station.
• Switch to the JR Yamanote Line bound for Tokyo Station.
• Transfer to the JR Keiyo/Musashino Line to Maihama Station, using the South Exit.
• Walk about 5 minutes to Tokyo Disneyland.
• The trip takes roughly 80 minutes, costing 2,900 yen.

The final option is a private car transfer , offering a direct and stress-free journey to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea .

This service is especially suitable for groups, families with children, or elderly travelers with big luggage . You can check the private car transfer price here .

The JR Maihama Station is the nearest train station to Tokyo Disneyland . After arriving at Maihama Station, it is a 5-minute walk away.

So, let me show you how to walk to Tokyo Disneyland after reaching Maihama Station in 6 simple steps.

1. When you reach Maihama Station , you should go out of South Exit . After exiting the ticket gate of Maihama Station (South Exit), turn right towards Tokyo Disneyland.

2. Follow the crowd and go straight.

3. At this point, you should turn left.

4. Continue straight and turn right.

5. Go straight to the end and turn left. After turning left, you will find the entrance to Disneyland.

6. This is the entrance gate to Tokyo Disneyland. 😊

Don’t forget to book your Tokyo Disneyland tickets here in advance, as no physical tickets are sold on-site .

From Maihama Station , exit through the South Exit and proceed to the Resort Gateway Station . Then, take the Disney Resort Monorail to Tokyo DisneySea Station . The trip takes roughly 9 minutes , costing 260 yen .

Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to transfer from Maihama Station to DisneySea.

1. Turn left at the South Exit of Maihama Station and walk towards Resort Gateway Station for less than 1 minute.

2. This is the direction you will walk to the Resort Gateway Station.

3. Purchase your Disney Resort Monorail tickets at the Resort Gateway Station.

The one-way monorail fares are 260 yen for adult (Age 12 and above) and 130 yen for child (Age 6 to 11) .

Don’t worry, if you don’t know how to buy monorail tickets using the ticket vending machines at the station, you can ask the friendly staff there. They are always standby to help you and they can also speak fluent English.

If you have a Suica card then you don’t need to buy a monorail ticket as you can use it to board the monorail directly.

4. After purchasing a monorail ticket, you can take the monorail to Tokyo DisneySea Station. Simply scan your monorail ticket or Suica card at the gate at Resort Gateway Station.

5. Note that the Disney Resort Monorail operates in one direction only. Therefore, the travel time from Resort Gateway Station to Tokyo DisneySea Station is approximately 9 minutes.

Monorail Operating Time: 6:31 AM – 11:30 PM

6. When you arrive at Tokyo DisneySea Station, turn left after the exit gate. Then you’ll find the main entrance to DisneySea just ahead.

7. You will see this huge earth structure at the main entrance.

Also, before entering the park, don’t forget to take some pretty pictures at the main entrance with Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and more.

20 Best Tokyo Disneyland Rides You Shouldn’t Skip for All

17 Best Tokyo DisneySea Rides You Can’t Miss Now

17 Best Things to Do in Shinjuku with My Perfect Itinerary

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Travel for Theme Park Fans

TDR Explorer

• Tokyo Disney Resort

How Much Does It Cost to Visit Tokyo Disney Resort?

A recent Fox News story stated that when it comes to Disney parks around the world, Tokyo Disney Resort boasts the biggest bang for your buck – especially if you’re traveling with the US greenback. But just how much might it cost for you to plan a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort?  We crunched the numbers for you, and you might be surprised to see the results!

You could be here! It doesn’t cost as much as you might think to go to Tokyo Disney Resort!

Types of Travelers

We took three typical groups of travelers who might visit Tokyo Disney Resort:

• A family of four (two adults, and two children – ages 4 and 8)
• An adult couple (two adults)
• A solo adult traveler

What’s Included in the Prices

Here’s what we factored in to the cost of the trip:

• A three-day park passport for each person.
• Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
• Disney Ambassador Hotel
• Tokyo Bay Hilton (partner hotel on-site)
• Family Inn + Resort Fifties (off-site)
• For those staying at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Disney Ambassador Hotel, and Tokyo Bay Hilton, we allotted ¥5,000 per day per adult and ¥3,000 per day per child.
• For those staying at Family Inn + Resort Fifties, we allotted ¥2,000 per person per day.
• For those staying at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Disney Ambassador Hotel, and Tokyo Bay Hilton, we used the pricing for a limousine bus service from Narita.
• For those staying at Family Inn + Resort Fifties, we used the cost of taking the Keisei Narita Sky Access train and the JR Musashino line.  We also factored in an allowance of ¥2,000 for train transportation to-and-from the hotel.
• The dates used to calculate these numbers were for a stay in mid-July 2015.

Airfare to Narita has not been included since it will vary depending on your point of departure.

Trip Cost Breakdown

Welcome to Tokyo Disneyland Hotel! (Photo Credit : Junichi Hirane)

With all this said, here are the numbers as we crunched them for each of the scenarios, including a conversion to US dollars using the current exchange rate as of this writing.

3 days, 2 nights at  Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

3 days, 2 nights at Disney Ambassador Hotel

3 days, 2 nights at Tokyo Bay Hilton

3 days, 2 nights at Family Inn + Resort Fifties

As always, we encourage you to use this as a rough guide on what a trip to the parks might cost. Depending on what you require for comfort and enjoyment of the parks, the amount you will spend will vary.

If you find this article helpful, please let us know! And be sure to let us know of ways you’ve stretched a dollar (or a ¥100 coin!) in the parks!

How does the Miracosta compare cost-wise with the Disneyland Hotel?

Is the Tokyo Bay Hilton on site in the way that you can walk or take a monorail directly to the parks and not have to worry about public transportation?

Yes, this Hotel is directly on site. http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/hotel/lists/

[…] But, visiting these world-class Disney Parks does not have to break the bank. We have already priced out the cost of a trip, now we are giving you the insider tips on how to visit Tokyo Disney Resort on a […]

[…] visiting these world-class Disney Parks does not have to break the bank completely. We have already priced out the cost of a trip, and now we are giving you the insider tips on how to visit Tokyo Disney Resort on a budget. Use […]

[…] What does at Tokyo Disney Resort Vacation cost? […]

[…] How Much Does It Cost to Visit Tokyo Disney Resort? […]

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What it's really like to stay at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

• Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is a crown jewel of the Tokyo Disney complex and the closest hotel to Tokyo Disneyland itself.
• You will likely notice some styling similarities with Disney's Grand Floridian, but you could argue that the decor of Tokyo Disneyland take things to an even more 'grand' level.
• The 15-minute early entry to Tokyo Disneyland you get by staying here is very valuable and the character themed rooms are not to be missed.

Are you visiting Tokyo Disneyland and hoping to stay as close to the park as possible while still enjoying comfortable rooms and whimsical decor? The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel may be the best Tokyo Disney hotel for you. Here's what a recent stay there was like.

What it's like at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is directly off the Disney Resort Line Station (aka the monorail) and the entrance to Tokyo Disneyland. It feels like an extension of Main Street crossed with the Disney Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Florida , thanks to its grand, festive stylings like sweeping staircases and soaring chandeliers.

Though slower lines can form at check-in, the public spaces were orderly and in good condition, and the service was very polite and helpful. The presence of various English-speaking cast members was an added perk.

How much Tokyo Disneyland Hotel costs and how to book

While prices vary by date and room type, currently, the least expensive rates start around $390 per night. Conveniently and somewhat unusually for Japan, there are rooms for three and four adult guests, which is great for families. Listed room prices are generally for two adults and up to two children 11 or under, with per-person fees applied otherwise.

You can book stays online starting four months in advance; certain room types sell out fast, so reserve early. There is a $200-per-room deposit at the time of booking. The rest is payable at check-in.

I recommend the themed rooms based on movies like "Alice in Wonderland" and characters like Tinkerbell. We selected "Beauty and the Beast," which had three single beds and cost about $570 for our one-night mid-March stay.

Rooms at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

Our "Beauty and the Beast" room had fanciful, jewel-toned furnishings and sumptuous accents. It featured sconce lighting, fairytale castle-inspired drapes and exaggerated bed headboards with rose motifs that made it feel like a castle room filled with Belle's books and friends. It took the theme of this story into much more detail than you'll typically find at Disney hotels in the U.S. Even the cups and amenity kits in the bathroom were themed.

The beds were a bit firm, but that is common in Japan; the multiple pajama sets we found in the wardrobe to borrow were a convenient touch.

We couldn't have loved this spacious and characterful room more, as it was both functional and thematically bright, happy and full of fun.

Insider tip: If you happen to have a window view toward the park when it closes at night, turn off the light in your room and use your phone's flashlight to wave to those heading home for the evening. Odds are high they will signal back.

What we ate at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

There are three restaurants at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel: Sherwood Garden (buffet-style dining), Canna (higher-end dining) and Dreamers Lounge in the lobby. You can make online reservations for the first two restaurants, but we just popped into the lounge for breakfast.

The buffet was just $24 for adults, $14 for kids 7 to 12 and $8 for children 4 to 6 years old — a steal compared to Disney prices in the U.S. There were Japanese and Western staples such as miso soup, rice, scrambled eggs, sausage, pastries, sliced fruit and juice. It was a simple breakfast, but one that felt elegant, given the refined service and grandeur of the space.

Related: How to use points and miles to get to Japan

Amenities and things to do

The hotel offers several useful amenities, both Disney-related and not:

• Two shops — one for market items and one for Disney souvenirs.
• Bibbity Bobbity Boutique for princess makeovers. Prices here start at about $60, but for packages that include a full princess makeover with a gown (which looked much nicer than U.S. versions), expect to pay over $200.
• Pool (summer only, currently scheduled for mid-July 2024 opening and there are fees to use it).
• Smoking lounge.
• Laundry room.
• Luggage transfer service if you are moving to another Tokyo Disney hotel.
• 15-minute early Happy Entry each morning to both Tokyo Disney theme parks. Tip: Line up for the service at least 30 minutes before the scheduled Happy Entry time. That way, you can line up your daily rides in the app and avoid long lines. (Note that starting June 6, 2024, Happy Entry will only be available for Tokyo Disneyland when staying at this hotel until further notice.)
• Accessibility: The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel has accessible Deluxe Rooms with wide spaces for maneuvering personal devices, grab rails by the toilet and bath tub and a sliding door to the bathroom. For more details and to ensure you can reserve a room that meets your requirements, contact the hotel directly.

Insider tips for staying at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel

Here are some other tips when staying at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel:

• When using Happy Entry, make sure you are directed to the right security line for that service; it's much faster than the normal line.
• Online ticket purchases can sometimes be challenging with U.S. credit cards, but staying here guarantees you can buy tickets to the park when you arrive.
• You can request child-size pajamas from the front desk when you check in.
• Pre-order early-morning room service the day before or you might not get your preferred time slot. It offers a set menu for $32 per adult and $19 per child.
• Some of the many room types have trundle beds, which can help with sleeping arrangements; read each room description carefully to choose the best one for your needs.

Bottom line

While our time at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel was brief, it felt magical and grand — a true highlight of our trip.

Although it's the closest hotel to Tokyo Disneyland, you could spend some time here and then move to one of the two hotels nearest Tokyo DisneySea (Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel and Tokyo DisneySea MiraCosta Hotel) and its soon-to-open Fantasy Spring section for the rest. Plus, the staff will move your luggage for free.

But to feel like you're sleeping in an actual castle, the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel takes the crown.

Related reading:

• Review of Hilton Tokyo Bay Resort close to Tokyo Disney
• First look at Disneyland Paris' reimagined luxury hotel
• Inside Hong Kong Disneyland's World of Frozen

10 Tokyo Disney Resort Tips For First Timers

M ajor Disney Parks fans will tell you that all the parks worldwide may share a vibe, but they are vastly different from one another. Whether you're talking about cultural or logistical park differences, knowing a few insider tricks will undoubtedly help make your visit to any park magical.

You can't go wrong with Tokyo Disney Resort (TDR), which is known for having the cutest merchandise, the best-themed food, and just the general kawaii vibe you can't get anywhere else. Opened in 1983, Tokyo Disneyland was Disney's first international park. TDR changed the game for Disney fans worldwide, who no longer had to come to the United States to enjoy the parks.

TDR comprises Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, as well as the on-site resorts. This Tokyo-based Disney resort is another incredible foray into what it means to be immersed in Disney magic. It's also the home to Duffy and Friends, Mickey Mouse's teddy bear, and his adorable animal companions. What's better than that? Nothing.

Read more: 28 Bucket List Destinations That Everyone Needs To Experience At Least Once

Download The App Beforehand

Disney may know theme parks, but they've also gotten apps down to a science. The Tokyo Disney Resort app will be your best friend while navigating both parks during your vacation. Beyond providing wait and showtimes in Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the app lets you make reservations, access photos, and much more. The TDR app also has maps to help you make the most of your visit to the parks by not spending countless minutes getting lost.

The app also allows you to purchase and utilize Premier Access. Like the Disney Plus system at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Premier Access is an add-on allowing guests to access skip-the-line privileges for rides and attractions. The app also has Entry Request, which is a free service offered by TDR. Entry Request can be used to reserve seating at certain shows and access to character greetings around the park. Keep in mind that Entry Request for show seats is more of a lottery than a reservation system, so you may not get a seat.

Hit Popular Rides Early

This suggestion isn't unique to the Tokyo Disney Resort, but it's still vital to thoroughly enjoy a Disney Park day. It may seem like a lot of people enter the parks as soon as the doors open, yet everyone has their own agenda. So, by planning on hitting a popular or your most-anticipated ride right away in the morning, you won't have to wait an excruciatingly long time, or purchase passes to skip the line later.

Getting to the most popular rides first will also ensure you can experience certain attractions that aren't available at other parks around the world . One ride you won't find elsewhere is Journey to the Center of the Earth, one of the only proper roller coasters you'll find at TDR.

In conjunction with enjoying rides early, you'll also want to keep track of the availability of the shows in the TDR app's free Entry Request service. Since Entry Request operates more like a lottery system, you may want to just queue up for the first show performance of whatever you want to see that day. Chances are you'll be able to get a seat even if you have to wait a while for it.

Get Tickets In Advance

When you're excited for a Disney day, the last thing you want to do is waste time lining up to buy tickets. Your best bet is to get your tickets in advance online or as part of a package. That way, you head straight to the entrance queue and skip yet another line to start your day off strong. Tickets can be purchased for up to five visits at a time.

TDR is only selling fixed-date tickets right now, with no indication that they will change that in the future. As their name implies, fixed-date tickets require the ticketholder to know when they want to visit the resort. That said, you can contact the resort if your plans change and you need to adjust the dates (so long as your tickets are still valid). Fixed-date tickets are available for purchase up to 60 days in advance of your visit.

Plan For At Least Four Park Days

Truth be told, you could probably see all of Tokyo Disney Resort in one day if you spend half at Tokyo Disneyland and the other half at Tokyo DisneySea. There's just no way you're going to get the whole experience by doing things that way, though. The prime number of days to spend at TDR, regardless of how you break it up, is four.

That gives you plenty of time to see what you have to see, experience things you may not have known about, and re-ride the attractions you will inevitably fall in love with along the way. Plus, if you don't manage to get seats for shows through the Entry Request service, four days gives you plenty of time to try and see things with or without winning the app lottery. And it gives you ample time to eat your weight in little green alien mochi -- it's a win-win all around.

Stay On The Property

Choosing a Disney hotel for your accommodation will almost always be a more expensive option. However, staying nearby has many perks that often outweigh the cost-benefit, and TDR is no exception. Not commuting back to a different hotel, getting access to the parks outside of regular hours, and being able to enjoy Disney magic from sunup to sundown are just a few reasons why staying on property at a Disney park is almost always a good idea .

While Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea are smaller parks, you may still want to return to your resort for a mid-day nap or rest. Even though they're both smaller than Florida's EPCOT and Animal Kingdom, you don't want to run yourself ragged during your visit, either. After all, it's a vacation! There are five official Disney hotels on the TDR property (which will become six in spring 2024 when Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel opens), with six additional partner hotels nearby.

Don't Forget The Restaurant Reservations

One of the reasons why Disney fans visit parks all over the world is because they are all so different. All the parks have their own range of unique restaurants you can't enjoy elsewhere, making reservations crucial if you want to eat in one of these coveted locations. With wait times between one to two hours (if waiting is even available), you don't want to expel all of your precious park time just waiting to sit down at a table.

Plus, for a little more money, you may even get a souvenir plate or cup with your food. TDR is known for its absurdly cute merchandise, and who couldn't use more Disney kitchenware for just a few dollars more?

Keep in mind that, unlike Disney parks in the U.S., Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea do not allow visitors to bring in outside food. There are picnic areas outside TDR if you wish to bring food along; you just can't have it in the parks. This means restaurant reservations are even more critical than usual here.

Watch Out For Characters

Frequent Walt Disney World visitors are often thrilled at interacting with characters meandering around the park throughout the day. So, if that is one of your highlights, this tip is for you. Just like at Disneyland in California, some characters wander around TDR, greeting visitors as they do. Although some have permanent locations where they can be found, others you may just run into. If that happens and you want a photo, be sure to get it right then and there in case you don't see them again.

As we mentioned earlier, one of the functions of the Entry Request system is to request a spot for character greetings. Not all characters require these reservations, though the most popular icons, such as Mickey Mouse, may require a booking to meet. The majority of characters do not require reservations ahead of time. These requirements can change, so keep an eye on your app before heading to the character greeting spots.

The Monorail Isn't Free

Hold onto your ears, Disney lovers. You read that right; the monorail to the parks is not a free service like transportation to other Disney park locations worldwide. At TDR, the monorail is considered public transportation and, therefore, requires a small payment to ride. The kicker is that the fee must be paid in cash, so be sure to have some money with you when you visit. Make sure you are carrying some small bill denominations since the fee is only about JP¥260 (around $1.75) as of 2023

The monorail is also known as the Disney Resort Line and runs from the Resort Gateway Station at Ikspiari to Tokyo Disneyland Station, Bayside Station, and then Tokyo DisneySea Station. Should you require them, there are also secure locker facilities at each train station along the monorail's route, perfect if you need to offload some merch.

Bring The Phone Essentials

One thing that folks might need to remember when planning a trip to TDR is how quickly your phone battery will drain, particularly if you're making good use of the park mobile app. That's doubly true if you're visiting TDR from another country like the United States. Your phone is working even harder to stay awake when it isn't always near a recognizable cell tower.

Like at the U.S. parks, you can rent a portable battery at TDR. These rental locations are found both inside and outside the parks. However, the rental fees are based on how long you use the battery, unlike the portable batteries at the U.S. parks. Starting at under an hour and going up to 48 hours, these batteries help in a pinch. Plus, the prices are super reasonable. They start at JP¥180 (just over $1.20) for less than an hour to JP¥900 (approximately $6) for up to 48 hours. Longer rentals are also available. That's a lot more reasonable than the expensive portable batteries at Disneyland and Disney World .

Be Aware Of Holidays

In a place like TDR, crowds can feel a lot bigger. It's about the same park size as Disneyland in California, so the place fills up quickly. That's why you need to be aware of Japanese public holidays and school calendars when planning your visit. Going to a Disney park in the off-season is generally a good idea anyway, especially if you want to avoid significant crowds.

As with other Disney parks worldwide, TDR is packed during the Christmas and New Year holidays . These crowds continue into the start of January. Golden Week, when several national holidays take place over the course of a week, is also a very crowded time to visit TDR. Golden Week spans the end of April into the first week of May, varying slightly each year.

Outside of bigger holidays, the parks remain busy during spring break, which occurs for Japanese students from the end of February into March. Summer is also busy because of holidays like Marine Day and Mountain Day. A place like Tokyo Disney Resort is always relatively busy, but planning your visit wisely can be the difference between a good time and a great one.

Read the original article on Explore .

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Disneyland slashes ticket prices to just $50 a day for the entire summer — but there’s a catch.

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Disneyland will slash ticket prices to just $50 a day this summer — but there’s a catch.

The bargain price at the Anaheim, Calif., theme park requires visitors to purchase three-day, one-park tickets that are only valid for admission Mondays through Thursdays.

The price of the total package costs $149 for children and $249 for adults, which works out to just under $50 per day for kids and $83 per day for adults.

Three-day passes for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are also on offer, but prices increase to $199 for children and $299 for adults — or $67 daily for kids and $100 daily for adults.

By comparison, a one-day/one-park ticket throughout the week costs between $104 and $194.

The promotion is valid from June 10 through Sept. 26 — between its springtime Pixar Fest to Halloween Time in the fall, The Mercury News earlier reported.

The tickets don’t, however, have to be used on three consecutive dates, though advance reservations are required for each visit.

Disneyland warns that reservations are not guaranteed through the 15-week period the tickets are eligible for, and reserving a time to visit could get increasingly difficult as the expiration date approaches, according to The Mercury News.

Tickets will go on sale beginning May 29.

Each purchase can be upgraded with the “Park Hopper” option — which allows entry into more than one of Disneyland’s theme parks in a given day — as well as the Genie+ line-skipping service.

Park Hopper tickets, for example, are typically anywhere from $65 to $75 more than their one-park counterpart, while Genie+ retails starting at $25 per person per day.

The ability to skip long waits increases from there depending on what day the ticket is for, as Disneyland utilizes surge pricing, according to Disney fan magazine WDW .

As part of the summertime special, Disneyland is also offering 20% discounts on single-night stays during the week at the Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, The Mercury News reported.

Stays of four nights or longer will afford guests a 25% discount at eligible hotels, though some suites and villas are excluded from the discount.

The recently renovated Pixar Place Hotel also isn’t included in the promotion, which will also run from June 10 through Sept. 26, and can be reserved starting May 29.

Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The alluring deal comes just months after the Mouse House said it would be hiking prices at its California and Florida theme parks by as much as 10%.

In October, Disney raised prices at Disneyland by 8.9% on single-day tickets, pushing the cost to $194 to enter the Anaheim park.

At Disney World in Orlando, meanwhile, yearly passes were lifted by a whopping 10% — with the most expensive Incredi-Pass now selling for $1,449, up $50.

Disney said at the time that it wouldn’t increase daily pass prices at Disney World, and will keep the cheapest full-price ticket at Disneyland at $104, which hasn’t changed in four years, the company said.

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Vacation Planning

New 2024 Summer Ticket, Hotel Offers Coming to Disneyland

by Valerie Lee , Public Relations Manager, Disneyland Resort

Excited to plan your summer vacay? We’re giving you the inside scoop on a great way to save on a summer getaway with a new  3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer  that’ll soon be available to everyone! You, your family and friends can visit again and again to enjoy the magic of  Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure park for as little as $50 per child, per day (ages 3-9) and $83 per adult, per day, Monday – Thursday, for a limited time with the purchase of a three-day, one-park per day ticket. These tickets, which are an exceptional value, go on sale May 29, 2024, for visits June 10 through Sept. 26, 2024, and require a park reservation for each day of your visit.* This three-day ticket can be spread out over separate dates during the season, and options for upgrades such as weekend visits, Park Hopper tickets or adding the Disney Genie+ service are available at the time of purchase. 

And keep reading to learn about special summer hotel offers, too!

These multi-day visits give you more time to enjoy a summer to remember at the Disneyland Resort with so much to see and do, including the return of  Pixar Fest , “ Fantasmic! ” and even the late summer/early fall favorites of  Halloween Time  and  Plaza de la Familia .

In addition to all the exciting attractions, world-class entertainment and beloved characters, here’s a look at some of the other experiences you won’t want to miss during your visit!

The Return of “Fantasmic!” 

“ Fantasmic! ,” Disney’s longest-running nighttime spectacular, is returning to Rivers of America in Disneyland park beginning May 24, 2024. “Fantasmic!” will return with refreshed moments in the iconic show that features live performances and special effects to take guests on a journey through Mickey Mouse’s imagination, filled with fantastic events and images as seen in some of our most beloved Walt Disney Animation Studios classic films such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Aladdin” and “Tangled.”

The popular production will introduce a new climactic battle sequence between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent, brought to life with updated special effects, plus the return of the thrilling shipboard confrontation between Peter Pan and Captain Hook from “Peter Pan.”

When the show returns, guests can enjoy this spectacular alongside the Rivers of America with standby viewing. Guests may begin queuing no earlier than two hours before showtime. For more information on how to experience this show and for dining package options, check back soon on Disneyland.com .

Pixar Fest is in Full Swing! 

Pixar Fest ,  a celebration of friendship and beyond featuring beloved characters and stories from Pixar Animation Studios, is going on now through Aug. 4, 2024. Heartwarming entertainment includes the new daytime parade, “ Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! ” which just debuted at Disney California Adventure park, and at Disneyland park, the emotional “ Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular ” also returned with some all-new scenes. During the festival, keep a lookout for new characters such as Ember and Wade from “Elemental,” Luca and Alberto from “Luca” and more! 

At the  Pixar Pals Playtime Party , Fantasyland Theatre at Disneyland park is transformed into a daytime fun zone for the entire family. Then, each evening over at Disney California Adventure park,  Club Pixar  comes alive with an energetic DJ-led experience for all ages in the Hollywood Backlot. 

Plus, beginning May 10, six Pixar-themed food and beverage marketplaces will open at Disney California Adventure park to make your day even more delicious! Themed to “Luca,” “Ratatouille,” “Turning Red,” “Soul,” “Elemental” and “Inside Out,” these marketplaces will run throughout the remainder of the festival. 

During Pixar Fest, be sure to see all the colorful décor, enjoy themed food and drinks and snag commemorative merchandise across the Disneyland Resort theme parks, hotels and Downtown Disney District.

Halloween Time and Plaza de La Familia Return Aug. 23, 2024

Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort ,  fun for all ages, will return for a spellbinding season beginning Aug. 23, transforming the resort with autumn décor and characters dressed in hauntingly haute Halloween outfits, plus pumpkins along Main Street, U.S.A., in Disneyland park and cars in their “carstumes” at “Radiator Screams” in Disney California Adventure park.

Plaza de la Familia at Disney California Adventure park celebrates the everlasting bonds of family, Mexican traditions and the spirit of Día de los Muertos with décor and entertainment. Among the activities to enjoy are “A Musical Celebration of Coco,” an entertaining street show inspired by Pixar’s “Coco.”

Stay and Play with Sizzling Savings at Disneyland Resort Hotels

After a day of fun, stay in the magic at a Disneyland Resort Hotel and enjoy special savings.** Hotel guests may save up to 25% on select stays at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the Disneyland Hotel or The Villas at Disneyland Hotel when staying four nights or longer, or may save up to 20% at these hotels Sunday – Thursday without a minimum night stay.*** These offers are for stays June 10 – Sept. 26, 2024, and can be reserved May 29 – Sept. 12, 2024, subject to availability and restrictions. 

Relax in the Craftsman-style elegance of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, unwind amid the enchanting nostalgia and mid-century modern design of the Disneyland Hotel or surround yourself in timeless storytelling and artistry of Disney Animation   at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel, an all-new Disney Vacation Club property.

The Hotels of the Disneyland Resort are ideally located just a short stroll from both theme parks and the Downtown Disney District, and offer  extra special perks  and uniquely Disney experiences.

What’s your favorite go-to, must-do in summertime? We are excited to have you rediscover your favorites and create wonderful new memories, too!

*Tickets valid for use beginning June 10, 2024, and expire September 26, 2024. Tickets are not valid before 6/10/24. Tickets may be used on nonconsecutive days. Monday through Thursday tickets are blocked out every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during the ticket validity period. Each day of use constitutes one full day of use.  May purchase up to 15 tickets per eligible person per day.  Tickets are nonrefundable, may not be sold or transferred for commercial use and exclude activities/events separately priced.  Offer may not be combined with other ticket discounts or promotions. Subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice. Sales may be paused from time to time or terminated at any time.

To enter a park, both a theme park reservation and a valid ticket for the same park on the same date is required. Theme park reservations for 3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer holders are limited in number and subject to the availability of park reservations allocated to the 3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer as determined by Disney, applicable blockout dates, and theme park capacity. Reservation availability for 3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer holders is not guaranteed for any date, and reservations may be difficult to get for any particular date, especially as the ticket expiration date approaches.  To ensure best availability, make reservations early. On any given date, park reservations may be available for general theme park tickets even though park reservations allocated to the 3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer are fully reserved. 3-Day Disneyland Ticket Offer holders are not entitled to any reservations Disney makes available to others.  Parks, attractions, entertainment, experiences, services, and offerings may be modified, limited in availability or unavailable, and are subject to restrictions, and change or cancellation without notice. Park admission and offerings are not guaranteed.  Visit  Disneyland.com  for important information to know before visiting Disneyland Resort.

**A consecutive 4-night or longer stay is required, and cancellation of any nights of a stay may affect discount availability.  Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room stay at the same hotel and is valid for most nights from 6/10/2024 through 9/26/2024.  Book from 5/29/2024 through 9/12/2024; travel must be completed by 9/27/2024.   Not valid for select Concierge rooms, Signature or Premium suites, or 2 Bedroom or 3 Bedroom  Villas, or at certain hotels .  Not valid on previously booked rooms.  Advance reservations required.  Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Excludes applicable fees and taxes. Limit two (2) rooms per reservation, and occupancy restrictions apply per room. Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than two (2) adults per room. Offer applied once per reservation and is not valid in combination with any other hotel discounts or offers.  Subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice.  Separate Theme Park admission and Theme Park reservation for same date and same park required to enter a Theme Park, and a hotel reservation does not guarantee theme park access. Visit Disneyland.com/updates for important information to know before visiting the Disneyland® Resort.

***Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room stay at the same hotel and is valid for Sunday through Thursday nights from 6/10/2024 through 9/26/2024.  Book from 5/29/2024 through 9/12/2024; travel must be completed by 9/27/2024.  Not valid for select Concierge rooms, Signature or Premium suites, or 2 Bedroom or 3 Bedroom  Villas, or at certain hotels . Not valid on previously booked rooms.  Advance reservations required.  Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.  Excludes applicable fees and taxes.  Limit two (2) rooms per reservation, and occupancy restrictions apply per room. Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than two (2) adults per room. Not valid in combination with any other hotel discounts or offers.  Subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice.  Separate Theme Park admission and Theme Park reservation for same date and same park are required to enter a Theme Park. Park reservations are limited, subject to availability, and not guaranteed, and a hotel reservation does not guarantee theme park reservations. Visit Disneyland.com/updates for important information to know before visiting the Disneyland® Resort.

Topics: Vacation Planning

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Entertainment | Universal Studios Hollywood to open Fast &…

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Entertainment | ‘a very bad individual’: man shot, wounded two san jose police officers shot in hotel confrontation, entertainment, entertainment | universal studios hollywood to open fast & furious: hollywood drift coaster in 2026, the state-of-the-art ride system will feature 360-degree rotating ride vehicles themed to look like authentic fast & furious film cars..

The Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster will debut in 2026 on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood, according to Universal officials.

The Hollywood Drift coaster with 360-degree rotating ride vehicles will feature a state-of-the-art ride system with first-of-its-kind innovations and technological achievements, according to Universal.

The coaster track will employ sound reduction technology to lessen the noise from the coaster for Universal’s residential neighbors.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be the first high-speed outdoor coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood. The park’s two existing coasters include the 2004 Revenge of the Mummy indoor coaster and the 2016 Flight of the Hippogriff outdoor kiddie coaster.

Hollywood Drift riders will enter through a red brick auto repair garage before boarding a coaster ride vehicle themed to look like an authentic Fast & Furious film car.

The Hollywood Drift in the coaster name references the 2006 Universal Pictures “Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” action film. Drift racers intentionally oversteer to the point of losing traction while maintaining control of the car.

Cars featured in “Tokyo Drift” included a Nissan Fairlady Z33, Silvia S15 Spec-S, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and Ford Mustang Fastback, according to Drifted.com.

The 2015 Fast & Furious: Supercharged attraction will continue to be part of Universal’s Studio Tour after the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster opens.

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