Best way to see one ride before it closes, then come back to the parks a week later.

[brandonbr]

Journey to the Center of the Earth closes on September 3rd for a few weeks, and I've heard it's worth seeing if in Japan. This leaves my wife and I in a bit of a tough spot. We also want to do a 3 day trip to Hong Kong to see HKDL and sights there during our 12 (usable) day vacation from aug 29th to sept 12th.

My wifes sister, who is stationed in Japan, can meet up with us sometime after the 3rd and wants to do TKDL&TDS with us. Our first thought is to go to the park for one day and see this ride, before we go to HK on maybe the 31st or 1st. Our flight is scheduled to land on Sunday at 2PM in Japan (from the US) so we /might/ be able to go to TDS that evening (night pass?) or the next day on the 30th (full day) and then go to HK from maybe the 1st and return to Japan on the 4th.

The fact that TKDL doesn't offer a three day, non consecutive, park pass really sucks, especially since you need at least a three day to park hop on the last day.

I think if you stay at the TKDL hotel you can park hop on a single day pass??? But I'm not sure the hotel is worth that perk?

So given our kind of messed up constraints, what would everyone do? Is it realistic (and cost effective. we're on a little bit of a budget) do we even try to hit Journey to the Center of the Earth and a single day in before we go to HK and if it is, what's the best way to do this? Stay offsite to save money and buy a day or even night pass? Is travel to/from the airport and TKDL area fairly cheap and fast to make this worthwhile?

I'm also a big Jungle Cruise fan which also closes on the 3rd for a few weeks but that's, of course, in the other park. Also, Halloween starts on the 8th which is why we want to split the days at TKDL/TDS so we can also see that, since Haunted Mansion is closed until Sept 4th.

Why can't they just make single day park hoppers.

Also, we could travel to HK any days, we just figured we'd go there early in the trip since we can't meet up with her sister until after the 3rd. We're also going to spend a few days in Koyoto and Hiroshima... And we can stay for free at her sisters place near Yokohama any night we want to, but that's a bit of travel time to TKDL I believe???

Anyway, thanks for any help. I've looked into a lot of things but I end up realizing there are lots of options and since we've never been there we don't know if some are better than others.

 

[aussie shaz]

I haven't been to Tokyo Disney yet, but you have to wonder whether it's really worth $140 just for one ride. As much as I've loved a lot of the rides in Disneyland and DCA, not one of them is worth that much.
I guess it's really up to you.

 

[BelleBway]

One more thing to consider is that the 29th and 30th are weekends, which means they'll be more crowded. It also means that they don't sell After 6 passports, but instead Starlight Passports which are good from 3pm but which are also more expensive. (5400 yen for an adult vs 4200 yen)

I think you're the only one who can decide what your priorities should be. 12 days is a short amount of time to do justice to TDR, HK, Kyoto, and Hiroshima (not sure if you also plan to see Tokyo proper?) so you're definitely going to have to decide which places are most important and which sites/rides are the most important in each place.

If you say at a TDR hotel, you can park-hop from the first day of multi-day tickets. However, I don't think they sell single day park hoppers. Even if they did, it would probably be more cost effective to stay at a cheap hotel and buy a full day ticket to one park and an evening/starlight ticket to the other. (the TDR hotels are not inexpensive)

Traveling from the airport to TDR takes at least an hour- however, if you want to take the direct bus (which is easiest and probably quickest since you don't need to walk through Tokyo Station), it only runs at specific times. I wouldn't call the transport cheap or fast, although it's not horribly expensive. The official site has excellent English information on travel times and bus schedules so I'd suggest looking there.

Personally, I think that if there is a decent chance you'll be back to Japan, to just skip JTTCOTE this trip. If this is absolutely the only time you will be in Japan, that makes it a harder decision. I'm still not sure it's worth it for such a short ride, even if it is terrific, but only you can decide this for sure. Good luck!

 

[Agent 86]

I think we're to Tokyo going at around the same time.

This is from the perspective of someone who has ridden Journey before, but I'm not sure it is worth organising an entire holiday to fit in a single ride. It is a fun ride and obviously one of the main attractions at DisneySea in terms of rides, but it's not a mind-blowing and entirely unique experience along the lines of Pooh's Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland or the Harry Potter and Simpsons rides at Universal in Florida.

There is so much else to see and do at DisneySea that I don't think you will necessarily "miss" Journey. The same argument applies to Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, even though after the re-vamp it is apparently a really great experience especially at night.

Also, 12 days for Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama and Hiroshima will make for a fast-paced holiday. It is possible to do the "main" sights of Kyoto and Hiroshima in a single day, but it will depend upon where you're travelling from for those day trips (unless you're planning on staying in each separate location).

 

[BagOLaughs]

I've done journey and although it was a really great ride its not that great. Although the queue line is very detailed and there's a "lift section" the actual ride part of it is very short.

Its not the end of the world if you don't go on it in my opinion.

 

[CharmedCake]

Either way your likely to find a negative, you spent too much time and money on one ride or you've missed out an ride you were really excited for.

So I wish you luck on your trip, if it's an consolation I missed out on Thunder Mountain and the Ariel's Mermaid Lagoon show due to maintenance, but I can assure you'll find attractions which are still fantastic to be apart of and worth it such as Sinbad's Storybook Voyage or Pooh's Honey Hunt.

I hope you make the decision you find the most positives with and have an amazing trip!

 

[bc7ate9]

I haven't been to Tokyo Disney yet, but you have to wonder whether it's really worth $140 just for one ride. As much as I've loved a lot of the rides in Disneyland and DCA, not one of them is worth that much.
I guess it's really up to you.

Tickets to the Japanese parks are MUCH less expensive ($55/day or $45/evening pass). Probably still not worth it for just one ride...

We REALLY liked Journey to the Center of the Earth and I'm very glad we didn't miss it. That being said, I wouldn't go to DisneySea JUST for that ride. I WOULD stay off site, get an evening pass - or a full pass the next day (there is PLENTY to see and do in the park!), and go at the beginning of the trip, though!

Yokohama to DL is doable. It'd probably be about 1-2 hours via train (which is the ONLY way to travel in Japan, in my opinion!)

 

[Tanzanite]

We loved Yokohama we had a wonderful lunch in China town and we walked by the Harbor where all the cruise boats docked didnt have a lot of time but it was loveley will go back again.