Tokyo "Virgins" Please help.

[greenkai3000]

My family and I would love to visit Tokyo DL and would love some feedback if you don't mind.

1) When is cheaper to visit both Tokyo and DLP? (relatively speaking since I hear Tokyo is expensive in general)
2) Does cheap mean a slow season as well?
3) Can we do both parks in 2 days, or are they as big as the parks in the US that you need at least 3 days to truly experience everything?
4) Are the parks open year round, even during inclement weather like heavy rain and snow?
5) Is it cheaper or more feasible to stay on property? We are not familiar with how accessible the Resort is from Downtown Tokyo

Sorry if all of this has been discussed before so please feel free to move this post if necessary. Thanks in advance.

 

[ChrisFL]

I can answer a few of your questions.

The parks are open 365 days a year for the most part unless something major happens, like earlier this year.

I don't know if there's really any cheaper season, there are a few slower seasons though. Early April and Mid October I've heard are slower.

You could do both parks in 2 days, however, I'd recommend at least 3 days because if you're like most people, you will want to visit DisneySea on more than one day, it's just so incredible! They are just as full and big as the U.S. parks.

While I haven't stayed on property, Tokyo transportation is sooo easy, it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

There are 3 Disney hotels and 3-4 off-site partner hotels right next to the parks, however, anywhere you stay in Tokyo near a subway station, you can easily get on their elaborate train system and be there arriving right at the entrance.

 

[nytimez]

If you're Tokyo "virgins," I'd skip DL and spend a day in DisneySea. It's a fantastic park... and both parks are great... but unless you're uber-Disney fans, it seems to me a shame to go all the way to Tokyo -- a once-in-a-lifetime trip for many people -- and spend that much time in a theme park.

Having said that, if you ARE an uber-Disney fan or if you visit Tokyo regularly, Chris' recommendation of three days is spot-on.

It is way more expensive to stay on property. But if you have the scratch, the Mira Costa has the novelty of actually being inside DisneySea... plus, it's a fantastic hotel.

 

[ben1993]

1) January and February will be the 'cheapest' season and lightest crowds too. But Tokyo is Tokyo, it's still pretty expensive.
3) Casual tourists would probably be satisfied with 2 days BUT if you're a real big Disney fan, 3 days at least!
4) Parks are open year round, but weather conditions in Tokyo do occasionally force some shows and attractions to be cancelled/closed.
5) It is ridiculously expensive to stay on-site at one of the 3 Disney hotels, but they are all stunning hotels. The 'official hotels' on the edge of the resort like the Hilton etc. are much better value, and just as easy to connect to the parks via the monorail. It's also very easy to get to Disney from greater Tokyo as well, about 15 mins on the train from Tokyo station.

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

If you visit on a Fri-Sun be prepared for crowds! I went to TDL on a Friday and only got in 5 rides, 3 of which were fastpass and all FP ran out by 2ish. I ws even there at rope drop .

AS per how many days 3 is good, though I did 2 for TDL and one for TDS. I found I accomplished all I wanted at TDS in one day, while TDL I could not do everything even with visiting on a wednesday in a downpour.

I just got back in October feel free to PM any questions

 

[AussieSing]

We have been there twice now, once we stayed onsite and the other off-site. Staying on-site was really worth it, just for being able to go back to the hotel room during the day. It can be expensive, but it depends on the room type you stay in. We also found it was cheaper to book through "disney" then through an agent, we even phoned them to do the booking. Just rang and asked "speak english" and it was fine.

I would recommend 3 days, you can't park hop here so once your in a park for the day that is it. On both occassions we did Disney Land in 1 day and Disney Sea in 2 days. Avoid the weekends as yes they are busy and it will get busy in the evenings when everyone comes after school or work.

Also if it is bad weather, you can get on heaps of rides as the locals won't go if it is raining, we found this excellent.

With the strong Aussie Dollar, it is cheaper, both times we went the dollar was weak, but Japan isn't "cheap" in anything so you can't compare it.

We all loved it.

 

[Anaheim boy]

I've been twice, both times in March. It was cold and rainy the last time and everything was still going as normal. I'm not sure that Tokyo itself gets that much snow. (am I wrong???). I would say you need at least one day in each park. If you're going that far you should at least experience both parks. Last time, we actually squeezed in seeing the Cirque show ZED on the day we did Disneyland, as it is a bit similar to the US ones. But DisneySea is an absolute MUST!! I could easily do 2 days there, but we did do it in one day. Lines were fairly long. But we managed.
Each time I've been there I've stayed at a little hotel near Ueno station, which is a major hub. Easy to get to from the airport and then about a 20-30 minute ride to Disney (with one transfer). The metro station stops right at the Disney property.
The Disney property is a bit out of the city from downtown, so if you want that experience I'd say stay off property somewhere closer to downtown. By all means though, you have to see the city. It's a beautiful and very polite city, perhaps some of the most courteous people I've encountered anywhere in Asia.

 

[glendroid]

Stay at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel. Never have I stayed somewhere so beautiful.

Too bad its so expensive

 

[danceintherain]

From my research, it seems that the spring is the best time to go, as long as you avoid any major holidays. It gets cold during the winter and the hot rainy monsoon season is during the summer. The fall is supposed to be nice weather-wise, but the crowds at Disney are supposed to be higher than the spring.
You can look at seasonal information on the TDR website. Similar to the US parks, the hotel "seasons" coordinate with the crowd levels. ie. it's less expensive to stay on property during low crowd times. It seems that the non-Disney hotels have similar lower prices during those times.

My plan is to do 11 days in Japan - 4 at Disney (I'm Disney obsessed, so I want to see as much as possible while there, and I live near Seoul, South Korea now, so a lot of the stuff in the rest of Tokyo is similar to what I can see on any day. Obviously not exactly the same, because they're completely distinct cultures, but similar enough that I can handle a day in normal Tokyo without feeling as if I missed something) 1 day in Tokyo, 4 days in Kyoto.

 

[dee slack]

other than location, are there any benefits for staying in a Disney property, like early entrance, character visits or priority dining?

Are there plenty of character photo opps in the parks, as I have a slight obsession

starting to get excited and we're only just at the planning/reservation stage for Oct-Nov.

 

[SaliAli]

I believe that people who stay on Disney property can enter the park an hour earlier than the actual opening time. This is a plus especially if you are going on the weekend.

Character visits and priority dining IN THE PARK are separate. I am not sure about the Disney hotels although you can check with the hotel management itself. In the park, priority dining is limited to a room capacity, ie. first come first serve to a certain number of guests. There are 1 or 2 restaurants where you have to make an online reservation ahead of time.

In TDL, most character ops happen near the entrance of the park, or in the World bazaar, an area where all the major shops are (which conveniently happens to be the first thing you go through from the entrance).

Disney Sea doesn't have as many character op as Disneyland, but their feature and most popular character would have to be Duffy. He also has a show, so if you are a Duffy fan, brace yourself, you will be among a crowd of dedicated Duffy-lovers.

Since you are going in the fall, there are 2 events that might be happening depending on the date you go to. October is the Halloween event. In November, the Christmas event. Of course, you can do both by going on the last day of October AND a day in November.

Hope this helped!

 

[disneydad981]

Our family visited Tokyo Disney/DisneySea in July of 2010 (july 5 -15th) Little rainy but warn, and crowds were very low. We stayed off property at Mitsui Garden Pranah Tokyo Bay. The staff was amazing, the hotel was clean, the rooms were very large (compared to hotels downtown tokyo) We stayed at a hotel in Akasaka, and the rooms were soooo small, we checked out early and went back to Tokyo Bay.

They have a shuttle that runs very often and is about 10-15 min away from the parks. But it lets you off directly at each park, and JR Train/Subway station is directly across from Disneyland, making it sooo easy to get anywhere in Japan. And the train/subway systems are SO clean it was amazing. If you plan to travel the train or subway system often to go out and explore, buy the pass they offer opposed to the single day tickets. For what we did, we found that would have been the cheaper way to go.

Dont worry about the language barrier, everyone in the resort and area are soo friendly and accomodating, as well as businesses in downtown Japan.

Japan was amazing, i cant wait to go back

 

[RHMH]

My family and I would love to visit Tokyo DL and would love some feedback if you don't mind.

1) When is cheaper to visit both Tokyo and DLP? (relatively speaking since I hear Tokyo is expensive in general)
2) Does cheap mean a slow season as well?
3) Can we do both parks in 2 days, or are they as big as the parks in the US that you need at least 3 days to truly experience everything?
4) Are the parks open year round, even during inclement weather like heavy rain and snow?
5) Is it cheaper or more feasible to stay on property? We are not familiar with how accessible the Resort is from Downtown Tokyo

Sorry if all of this has been discussed before so please feel free to move this post if necessary. Thanks in advance.

Hello - All of the OP have answered your questions. The only thing I would add is take lots of pictures and videos. Japanese Cast Members and even the Japanese Guests visiting the Park love to be included in your pictures. Some of them will even share their e-mail address with you so you can e-mail the pictures to them.

Have a great time.