Happy National Plan for Vacation Day! In celebration, let’s take a look at the best way to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.
While there are Disney resorts all around the world, most Disney Parks fans will tell you their dream is to visit Tokyo Disney Resort. Featuring Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the Japan resort offers some of Disney’s most impressive and innovative attractions, many of which are exclusive to Tokyo Disney. Now, planning an international trip can be a bit stressful, and, unfortunately, Tokyo Disney’s reservation system isn’t the most intuitive experience for those used to booking trips at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. So let’s go over some tips and tricks of how to make the most of your Tokyo Disney Resort vacation.
Let’s start with hotels. While Tokyo Disney has several incredibly well themed hotels, it is imperative to preplan which hotel and which room type you wish to stay in. The farthest out you can book for a Tokyo Disney Resort hotel is 4 months before the check in day of your stay. Most people flying internationally will likely have already booked flights at that point, meaning that stakes of getting your desired hotel room are high. Unlike US Disney Parks, you cannot add or remove days onto the front end of your reservation, meaning if you want to change your check in day, you’ll have to book a separate reservation. Guests are allowed to book up to 5 nights.
Now, I know I’m making this sound incredibly stressful, and, unfortunately, it is. Going live at exactly 11AM Tokyo time, rooms will begin selling out for the more popular hotels almost immediately. Sometimes, there may even be a queue to enter the reservation site.
Make sure you are logged in to the Tokyo Disney website with your payment information saved prior to whatever time locally that is for you. If you are using the general reservation site, which provides an entire overview of all available hotel rooms, make sure you click on your room type quickly, as availability is not guaranteed.
The first few times I tried my hand at booking a hotel, I clicked my desired room and was given an error message that my room type was no longer available. Unfortunately, at that point, your backup will most likely be gone as well. This goes specifically for Tokyo DisneySea’s MiraCosta and Fantasy Springs Hotels, as they are, by far, the most popular choices for booking. It is easiest to unselect the hotels at the top of the page you are uninterested in.
If you are looking for Fantasy Springs, don’t waste your time doing this, as it is always the first hotel at the top.
Unfortunately, you may find yourself looking at a screen like this.
What I found out quickly is there are frequent cancellations for Tokyo Disney Resort hotels, so try refreshing a few times throughout the day if you aren’t able to find the hotel room you want, especially around the initial drop time. Additionally, you may find a room available that shows up with a red warning bar like this.
Essentially what that means is, the room you are booking is available on check in day, but not for an additional night during your stay. It will allow you to select it, but you’ll have to select a different room for the desired day that is unavailable. Tokyo Disney does offer free luggage transfer to your next hotel room when staying at different rooms and hotels. It was incredibly helpful for my trip, which saw us switch hotel rooms every single night due to availability issues.
Now, you probably won’t be faced with completely full hotels while visiting the resort, but spending more for a room you aren’t excited about isn’t ideal. So I recommend doing a few test runs for the days leading up to your booking time period. It’ll at least give you some practice for what was objectively as hard as getting Eras Tour Tickets. Granted, I visited the resort just a few days after Fantasy Springs opened, but the rush of getting that reservation was real. Be prepared.
Now, if you know exactly what type of room you are looking for, it may be helpful to go to the specific booking page for whatever hotel you are looking to stay at. It will allow you to select your room type and check availability rather than having to scroll through the different room types for the entire hotel. Again, this takes timing, but it may help you be more intentional when booking. I highly recommend prioritizing the Porto Paradiso rooms, but they are a risk, so either have someone attempting to book with you or be safe and book a Venice room.
Another great way to relieve some of the stress of this process is by booking a Vacation Package. For us, the Fantasy Springs package got us a hotel stay, park tickets, pre-booked Priority Passes, and the highly sought after Fantasy Springs Magic ticket, which gives unlimited access to Fantasy Springs and its attractions via the Priority Pass line. You can book those much farther out in advance and can find their current offerings here.
Once you arrive at your Tokyo Disney Resort hotel, you’re in for mostly smooth sailing. Tickets are always available to hotel guests, even during the busiest times of the year. Some hotels also offer Happy Entry, which allows eligible guests to enter the park early to experience attractions. To get to the parks, you can either walk or take the Monorail, which you’ll need to purchase a ticket for. While the parks do offer Priority Pass to all guests, it does require you to purchase them individually through the app, which I highly recommend you do during the beginning of the day. You can choose a time frame, but can only hold one of the skip-the-line passes at a time. When visiting Tokyo DisneySea, you’ll need to use the app to book a free Standby Pass or a premium Priority Pass if you wish to experience the attractions of Fantasy Springs. Unfortunately, without the Fantasy Springs Magic ticket, it is nearly impossible to get on all four rides in one day. The ticket, which is about 3 times the amount of a day ticket, is only available to Fantasy Springs Hotel guests and through vacation packages.
Otherwise, Tokyo Disney is an incredibly classic Disney Parks experience. The only other huge difference between Tokyo Disney and the other Disney Resorts around the world is that they do close their queues prior to park closing. If an attraction has a posted 45 minute wait and the park closes at 9, you can expect that line to be capped off at around 8:15. It’s a really frustrating quirk, but there will still be rides available at the end of the night regardless.
Tokyo Disney does not offer park hopping at the moment, meaning you’ll have to pick one park-per-day to visit. In some ways, this was my least favorite part of the resort, as I love having that freedom at other Disney Parks. However, it was far more conducive to time management while spending your day at the parks. Take your time, enjoy some snacks, and watch the parade. Regardless of the planning stress, you’re sure to have a magical vacation at Tokyo Disney Resort.
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