If you're planning a trip to Tokyo Disneyland check out our ebook travel guide! It's a comprehensive guide to plan a trip from start to finish. When to visit, hotels, itineraries, custom park maps, allergy information, merch, and Japan travel info. It's become THE source for planning a trip to Japan. tdrexplorer.com/ebook
I highly recommend the tip about choosing Tower of Terror as your first FastPass at TDS! Just this past Jan (Yes, I was crazy enough to go just after New Years, but I had no choice), we were there and it was like a bull run to get to the Toy Story Mania. My friend and I had already decided that we would skip it, and veered off from the crowd and made it to Tower of Terror to get FastPasses (hardly anyone there). Then we went to ride Journey to the Centre of the Earth on standby (30 min wait). By doing this, we then basically got to ride all the attractions we wanted (at least 6 different rides) as well as catch about 3 shows. AND we went back to Toy Story Mania towards the end of the day and found that the standby line was about 2 hours (shortest I've seen) so we grabbed dinner from the kiosks to eat in line and finished what was already a magical day with Toy Story Mania (which is pretty cool!). This last part was a fluke but sometimes you get lucky.
The tips Chris provides are spot on. Listen up kids as he knows what he’s talking about. However I do disagree about staying on property, unless you are going to japan to just see Tokyo Disney Resort. But I find there are many economy hotels within a 15 minutes train ride to the hotel. And the Tokyo Disney hotels are simply the most expensive of the Disney hotels worldwide. Hilton and Sheraton do provide great deals from time to time for their frequent stay program members. Take advantage of that instead. But the money you save staying in overly priced Tokyo Disney hotel can better be used to buy nifty souvenirs or treat yourself to elegant dining while in the parks.
I don’t find the Tokyo Disney hotels that expensive, especially compared with similar hotels in Walt Disney World. And Tokyo Disney hotels are also VERY well themed, with the best service we’ve ever experienced in any hotel. I’d definitely recommend splurging some money on either the MiraCosta hotel or Disneyland hotel, but otherwise the Hilton is great as well. And very close to the parks, which saves you a ton of time.
That's a good point, but I only tell people that if they are seasoned with the Parks or don't mind having a bit of a commute. Staying on property makes it much easier to get to the Parks quickly. Taking a train could make you late if there are issues.
@@tdrexplorer You're absolutely right. However, I don't think trains in Japan have issues? :p We've never experienced more than a 2 minutes delay on one train, though we've been travelling a lot in Japan, both on the JR lines and Metro lines.
You are a one-man army version of DFB for Japan and China Disney and Universal parks. I see the hard work you do. I give you kudos and would like to say I am proud of you.
Well, it seems like I know what I'm doing...for the items to do ahead of time, I've done them. The planning of the days there? Pretty well what you just said. Guess it's time to sit back and wait for the fun times ahead!!
Just went on April 10th, 11th, and 12th. We didn't get long lines thankfully. 5 min to thunder mountain at night, 15 min peter pan, pirates was 5 min. We easily got a monsters inc fast pass and we got there late around 1pm or so. Star tours was 5 min. We also got a fast pass for space mountain. Those days weren't that busy. We had a blast! Great merch and parks feel bigger than Anaheim.
Went to Disneyland last year and planning on going back - thanks so much for your tips! We loved it and managed to make it on 9 rides/attractions using the wait time app and fast passes. 😊😁
If it’s in your budget definitely stay in one of the Disney Hotels so that you can take advantage of “Happy 15”. This is their version of the Extra Magic Hours that we have at US Disney parks. 15 minutes may not seem like much but it makes a huge difference if you want to get on one of the more popular rides over there like Tower of Terror, Toy Story, Monster’s Inc or Pooh’s Honey Hunt.
Great tips! Aside from staying in Disney property. Not unless you wont mind splurging uneccessary expenses. You really don't have to wake up 3 am to be there even least 2 hours before the park opens. For instance you stay in Shibuya or Shinjuku. Wake up at 430am, leave hotel at 5am arrive in Disney at 6am. And i won't mind arriving 7am too. Waiting for 2 hours in line would already drain my energy and excitement. Haha. 😁
At least I know how to handle my trip in early June now. I’m getting my park tickets at the Hilton Tokyo bay the day after my mom and I arrive, have early dinners at times between 3 and 4pm at non-priority restaurants, pick up the maps in both languages and the fast passes are the first thing when coming in the parks
I’m so glad i went there nowadays!! Because of corona they limited the number of visitors and restaurants aren’t full and I didn’t need a fast pass at all!!! Btw thanks for all the tips ☺️
If you forgot to reserve a table but are traveling with friends/family, what I like to do is get note of what everyone wants then send someone to scout for a table and save it. Usually if there's something on a table/seat, it means Someone saved a spot, so do Not take it or it'll come off as rude. I also recommend getting the outside tables rather than inside. Specifically in Tokyo Disneysea, there's this one restaurant in the Arabic area. They sell really good curry, and usually the outside tables are open especially in summer. I recommend going when it's not lunch time (12-2pm) and sometimes there's a band playing outside if you're lucky.
Meanwhile in my country there's a debate over whether its ungracious to reserve tables by putting something on it, as this is argued to violate the "first come first serve" principle
Thanks for the tips !! I'm going there in March ( Didn't even know its school holidays till you mentioned it) P.S I love that you changed your shirt for different tips, very creative haha !
I actually really like to ride Pooh's Hunny Hunt in the evening during the Electrical Dreamlights Parade, or right when the park is closing... usually for a second time if I managed to get a Fastpass earlier in the day. The biggest issue with this ride is that it's always full of people/got a long line, and the queue for it is easily 60-100+ minutes for most of the day. It'll go down to 50-40 or even 30-20 towards the end of the day, which is when I try to get an extra ride in. The thing with the Tokyo parks is that you need to know which rides are the real 'filler' ones, and which are the genuine E-ticket attractions (or at least, for the Japanese public). Pooh's Hunny Hunt is MASSIVELY popular and will remain that way for majority of the day. So is Big Thunder Mountain, ESPECIALLY with school kids (so you know what to look out for on school holidays!). However Star Tours in Tomorrowland is nearly ALWAYS a walk-on ride in Tokyo. For some reason, Star Wars isn't as huge in Japan, so most of the times I go it's usually a 5 minute wait, the highest I've seen it go has been 15-20 minutes, I believe. Pirates of the Caribbean can also be a 15-20 minute wait too unless you go on the wrong day/peak times. 'Medium' wait time rides are like Haunted Mansion. The wait can be pretty short especially during the parades, I've gone on it at 20, but I've also seen 60+ during high volume days. But I don't think they've even opened Fastpass queuing for that in years. In general, Japanese parks tend to clear out more in the late afternoon/evening (ESPECIALLY true of Universal Studios Japan), so I actually like to leave "bigger rides" for after lunchtime. Also rainy days can be your friend! I've been to DisneySEA on a "rainy day" weekday and it was EMPTY. I waited like 15-20 min for Tower of Terror! If you're going on dark rides most of the time it really isn't an issue, plus it rarely rains non-stop/every hour. Choice of day is a BIG factor in Japanese parks, as a large majority of the park-goers are adults with jobs or school students. You don't actually see that many young kids outside of school holiday/vacation times (but high schoolers are everywhere)!
This is great, thank you!!! Our trip is in 535 days!!! So glad I found this now, plan to buy the book semi soon, but we have time, lol. I wish more of my friends would join on our trip but I shared your channel with those who are interested!
You love questions on old videos, right Chris? At 1:46 you mention that it's best to avoid New Year at Tokyo Disney. I know that Christmas Eve is crazy busy there, and so would be the days off around the 1st of January. But what is the week in between like? Are lots of people taking holidays around that time in Japan. Your intel, as always, is appreciated!!
Thank you so much for this video !! It makes me super excited to plan my TDR trip for June/July ! And I know that thanks to your ebook it will be super easy and well planned ! :)
I found Tokyo Disneyland so stressful. They had long lines on a slow day, and fast passes were for 8 hours later. Line for food (not peek hours) was 45 minutes long. The rides had pretty sad animatronics and not much different than Anaheim. That being said, I LOVED DisneySea! Great cheap food with no wait, unique rides, beautiful scenery, single rider lines, and way less busy!
Great advice!! I'm an old campaigner at the original Disneyland and WDW, but I'm planning on taking the plunge with TDL and TDS in 2021 and I can use all the advice I can get. I want my first experience to be as smooth as possible and your advice is really useful. Do you sell hard copies of your ebook? I wouldn't mind having a copy I can carry with me. Again, thanks for the great video. Pounding the Subscribe button now.
Im from canada and it wont let me use my credit card on their website, we are going in march, now that we have to wait until we are in tokyo will we might not get tickets? thanks Billi-jo
Hi, Chris I'm hoping you can help me I'm from Australia & I plan to go to Japan in October staying at a hotel that's a 7minute train ride away from disneyland I tried buying the 3 day pass as an e-ticket for October 22 - 24 from the official site but it only asks/allows for a Japan resident delivery I've tried Klook which I know is an official other seller but sadly they've sold out. I've looked at the crowd calendar & see that it should be a normal crowds. Can I risk buying/ am I able to buy a 3 day pass at the park on the 21 of October as I arrive that day and have nothing planned for that day. Any help you can give me is GREATLY appreciated thank you
I plan to purchase tokyo disneyland ticket via disney website because i travel with big group and children. My question is with disneyland printed copy, do i need to change original theme park ticket? I saw some of youtube and they do it. is it necessary and would it cost any money?
Wow, this is such an awesome video. So informative. Much appreciated. Thank you. I just purchased your ebook. 😊 Question: What do you recommend if we want to purchase merch from TDR. Is there a good website? I'm in the US.
Thank you for the support! There's no official way to buy merch online outside of Japan. You'll have to use a personal shopper (there's a lot if you take a look on Google) or eBay.
Best time to go is off peak season on a week day when it's raining all day! Just bring a raincoat. Went on many rides multiple times on standby like Tower of Terror.
Is having a fastpay on rides have different price when you bought your ticket online or you will just have to convert it in there ticket booth b4 entering?
I dunno if you can sneak food in TDR but i'd advise you bring something with you. I've eaten at every TDR restaurant in both parks and the food there is just terrible. (Unlike Universal Studios Japan where food is incredible). You may end up eating just churros and hot dogs from food stands alone because at least those are somewhat edible. Even bringing combini onigiri is million times better. After riding a ride you can purchase your derpy photo and it's prohibited to take smartphones photos of it for obvious reasons. Bu everyone still does it. Thing is, the resulted pics are obscured by animations like lightning etc. So if you wanna snap your derpy photo just set your smartphone camera to burst mode and take several pics in a row. Then just pick the one which is less covered in animation.
Alan C. I don't know if it's event specific but if I'm aware some convenient stores have Disney ticket booths where you can actually buy a ticket. It's the same as ordering online, but I'm not sure if there's an English translation.
If you want them shipped to you, you have to live in Japan. See our ticket guide on how to buy tickets. tdrexplorer.com/buying-park-tickets-for-tokyo-disney-resort/
The most important things is just choose priority ride/attraction do you really want.. And never be enough for all attractions in one day at one parks.. No matter what wheather you can find happines there.. I already go last week still worth it to me even I'm late for open time parks.. Good luck and smile.. Thanks for sharing good video chris..
I will be visiting both Shanghai and Tokyo - which Disney Park would you recommend? I can only do one! That being said, I really want to go to Disney Sea...
Last Summer I was in TDS en TDL and Yes, there was a short(!) line for buying tickets for both parks.. So, rookie or not.. If you arrive on time and on weekdays there is a short line for the ticketbooths.. Wait I was there when the parks opened 3 days in a row.. There were no long lines so being there 30 minutes earlier.. Not always necessary.. Does that TDR Wait also work for Windows-phones? Probably not.. So, sorry.. Not for me.. Just go in the park and get some fastpasses.. I am happy I amn't a showperson.. So I can easily skip those lotteries..
Hi Chris, great content. We are travelling to tokyo from Australia in june 2019 for the parks. Will definitely get the e book as i dont currently know anything about booking the trip. Will the book explain how/where i can book hotels with the vacation packages for fast passes and tickets? Really want to be as efficient as we can. Also, how many days do think we need to have a good look at each park? Thanks for the video
@@tdrexplorer Hi Chris, just a quick one, I have been trying to book a vacation package through the website but every time I go there it says it is too crowded and to come back later, do you know if there is an issue with it or is there an alternative place to book vacation packages? I purchased the ebook, great info, you have put a lot of work into it well done.
Hey, so I was planning to go to both Disneyland and DisneySea in July but when I checked the website, around 7 attractions will be closed in DisneyLand and only one will be closed in Disneysea, should I just go to Disneysea then ?
For Disneyland the ones I’m sad about that will be closed are the monsters inc, splash mountain and gadgets go coaster and for Disneysea is the sinbad storybook voyage
I’m unsure if because of the amount of attractions closed at Disneyland, if it’s worth it and I checked and I will still be able to do about 15 rides/ attractions but I wanted to know what you thought
Online they say February isn’t busy so I’m going to beg my parents for my birthday to go to Tokyo! I’ve never been to an amusement park before and I don’t celebrate my birthday so hopefully in 2020 (if I’m lucky 2019) we can go
Just make sure it's not February 11th. Try to go there from Tuesday to Thursday. Avoid Weekends at all cost. Sometimes Mondays and Fridays are very busy too because japanese take days off to make 3 adjacent weekends in a row. Aim for the park's main rides first. Get the app to monitor ride waiting times in real time and get fast passes for the longest waiting lines. Arrive as early as you possibly can, even if it means getting up at 5:00 or something, because Toy Story, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones and Journey to The Center of the Earth rides usually have no fast passes left at around 12:00. And those fast passes which remain will probably be scheduled for evening riding like at 20:00 or something. So arrive as early as you can and go straight towards fast pass booths (you get the map at the entrance) of one of the above mentioned rides which is usually right next to the ride. Toys Story fast passes always end the fastest due to popularity. Tower of Terror is located right next to it so it suffers from Toy Story crowd stealing the fast passes for themselves. I like toy story movies but the ride isn't worth it unless you have a small kid with you, so just go to ToT. Arriving at noon or later will simply ruin the rest of the day. During fireworks show lines get thinner but if it's your first time you should probably watch the show too. Bring handheld games, tablets, smartphones, books, powerbank etc to kill time in lines. You may want to consider a usb powered fan too, because most lines are indoors and for example Journey To the Center of the Earth line is usually hot and humid. Being there for 3 hours is a torture (been there, done that).
thanks for the tips, is there any single lane just like in Universal Osaka? Last time i bought fast pass at universal before i saw that people who was single (like me) took the same line X'D.
We have photos up on the website :) That area, in particular, is a new Beauty and the Beast part of Fantasyland with a new attraction, restaurant, and theatre. tdrexplorer.com/tokyo-disney-resort-construction-update-spring-2018/
I am sure it will. Japan itself is gonna be quite busy during that time. The country is busy getting ready for the huge influx of tourism. It's been increasing every year (last year being the biggest on record). All the things they are adding are to help with the crowds (which is the biggest complaint people have both locals and tourists alike).
And Tokyo Disneyland's margarita earth is the land's Critter Country, but not due to the land sells such cocktail, instead because of the theming of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, the US states that ever held margarita festivals.
All are true because I have experienced it myself. Maybe it's pure luck, maybe it's not . But there is one mistake in this video. That is, december-january might be really crowded. But if you want, go to the disney parks at exactly 31st December. I went to Disneyland at 28th and it was hectic, but I went to Disneysea on 31st and there were way less people there. The longest queue for me was 50 minutes and that was for Tower of Terror. The reason? I googled and found out that when the year is nearing an end, Japanese people have a habit of cleaning their houses for good luck for the next year. So the park will not be crowded during the day and only start to fill up when the sun goes down And one more crazy tip. Again I could be lucky, but I experienced this the second time I visited Disneyland Tokyo last year in June. Go when it's raining in the morning. People tend to skip going to disney if it's raining since it is an outdoor park, but last time my family and I risked it because we didn't want to let our ticket go to waste. We bought a raincoat beforehand, and when it was still raining we stayed in main street and played indoor rides in tomorrowland. The rain did last 3 hours but as a drizzle, not heavy rain. But due to that reason, the park was so empty that day even a cast member called my group to play pirates of the carribean since there was nobody playing
Aurelia suarly Yep! We had similar experience on a rainy day, cast members would literally stand out and try to drag people in! And they do have some very cozy places to go when it’s raining, so for us it was a really great experience.
Loving this video it’s so helpful! And I love the fact that you change keep changing your tops 😍 we are staying at hotel that’s about half an hour walk away and they even run a free shuttle which is great. Thank you for the wait app so helpful as I was wondering when the parade times were!
I actually went to both Tokyo Disney Sea and TDR last May, generally the parks weren't too busy. the day i went to Disney sea i arrived shortly after the gates opened, but i guess the crowds depend on the month, but i recommend going on a weekday. Luckily it wasn't that busy like some places like Mysterious Island wern't too busy at all, infact 20,000 leagues had no love at all I also disagree with staying on Disney property. you can generally finish disneysea and disneyland in a day each or less. and plus Maihama Station isn't as convenient as other stations if your going to the main wards of Tokyo. I actually didnt end up using my fast passes, so ended up just keeping them as souviniers. I can also state that Toy Story mania is one of the first rides you should do in Tokyo Disney Sea, its definately one of the most busiest attractions. there is also something that Chris hasn't stated but with Tokyo DIsney Sea when your going for Toy Story mania, I actually made this mistake when visiting toy story mania, but on approach to the attraction there was a long line on the left (which i thought was the actual line for the ride, it was for the fast past queue. the actual standby line was on the right hand side. I actually bought tickets at the Shibuya Disney store, With Disneyland, i thought the park opened up 9 so was waiting for a hour to get in due to the park opening in 10, I thought the lines were waiting to buy tickets but instead was the wait to get in the line. on a good day the lines get it rather quickly.
If you're planning a trip to Tokyo Disneyland check out our ebook travel guide! It's a comprehensive guide to plan a trip from start to finish. When to visit, hotels, itineraries, custom park maps, allergy information, merch, and Japan travel info. It's become THE source for planning a trip to Japan.
tdrexplorer.com/ebook
I highly recommend the tip about choosing Tower of Terror as your first FastPass at TDS! Just this past Jan (Yes, I was crazy enough to go just after New Years, but I had no choice), we were there and it was like a bull run to get to the Toy Story Mania. My friend and I had already decided that we would skip it, and veered off from the crowd and made it to Tower of Terror to get FastPasses (hardly anyone there). Then we went to ride Journey to the Centre of the Earth on standby (30 min wait). By doing this, we then basically got to ride all the attractions we wanted (at least 6 different rides) as well as catch about 3 shows. AND we went back to Toy Story Mania towards the end of the day and found that the standby line was about 2 hours (shortest I've seen) so we grabbed dinner from the kiosks to eat in line and finished what was already a magical day with Toy Story Mania (which is pretty cool!). This last part was a fluke but sometimes you get lucky.
The tips Chris provides are spot on. Listen up kids as he knows what he’s talking about. However I do disagree about staying on property, unless you are going to japan to just see Tokyo Disney Resort. But I find there are many economy hotels within a 15 minutes train ride to the hotel. And the Tokyo Disney hotels are simply the most expensive of the Disney hotels worldwide. Hilton and Sheraton do provide great deals from time to time for their frequent stay program members. Take advantage of that instead. But the money you save staying in overly priced Tokyo Disney hotel can better be used to buy nifty souvenirs or treat yourself to elegant dining while in the parks.
I don’t find the Tokyo Disney hotels that expensive, especially compared with similar hotels in Walt Disney World. And Tokyo Disney hotels are also VERY well themed, with the best service we’ve ever experienced in any hotel. I’d definitely recommend splurging some money on either the MiraCosta hotel or Disneyland hotel, but otherwise the Hilton is great as well. And very close to the parks, which saves you a ton of time.
That's a good point, but I only tell people that if they are seasoned with the Parks or don't mind having a bit of a commute. Staying on property makes it much easier to get to the Parks quickly. Taking a train could make you late if there are issues.
@@tdrexplorer You're absolutely right. However, I don't think trains in Japan have issues? :p We've never experienced more than a 2 minutes delay on one train, though we've been travelling a lot in Japan, both on the JR lines and Metro lines.
That's a good point! But the Tokyo Disney parks are so cheap compared to Walt Disney World in Orlando!
@@tdrexplorer I live about an hour by train or 30 minutes by car. I have a car. Would you recommend against driving to the park if I live so close?
You are a one-man army version of DFB for Japan and China Disney and Universal parks. I see the hard work you do. I give you kudos and would like to say I am proud of you.
Well, it seems like I know what I'm doing...for the items to do ahead of time, I've done them. The planning of the days there? Pretty well what you just said. Guess it's time to sit back and wait for the fun times ahead!!
YESSS!
Just went on April 10th, 11th, and 12th. We didn't get long lines thankfully. 5 min to thunder mountain at night, 15 min peter pan, pirates was 5 min. We easily got a monsters inc fast pass and we got there late around 1pm or so. Star tours was 5 min. We also got a fast pass for space mountain. Those days weren't that busy. We had a blast! Great merch and parks feel bigger than Anaheim.
Went to Disneyland last year and planning on going back - thanks so much for your tips!
We loved it and managed to make it on 9 rides/attractions using the wait time app and fast passes. 😊😁
Omg this is awesome :) I'm glad you made this video and have an account dedicated to covering Disney parks overseas! Thank you so much for this!
You're welcome and thank you for watching!
If it’s in your budget definitely stay in one of the Disney Hotels so that you can take advantage of “Happy 15”. This is their version of the Extra Magic Hours that we have at US Disney parks. 15 minutes may not seem like much but it makes a huge difference if you want to get on one of the more popular rides over there like Tower of Terror, Toy Story, Monster’s Inc or Pooh’s Honey Hunt.
Your advice is great :) we followed it all for our trip last year and had an amazing time. Going back next year! Thank you!!
Awesome! Thank you so much. Also, YAY you're coming back!!
Great tips! Aside from staying in Disney property. Not unless you wont mind splurging uneccessary expenses. You really don't have to wake up 3 am to be there even least 2 hours before the park opens. For instance you stay in Shibuya or Shinjuku. Wake up at 430am, leave hotel at 5am arrive in Disney at 6am. And i won't mind arriving 7am too. Waiting for 2 hours in line would already drain my energy and excitement. Haha. 😁
At least I know how to handle my trip in early June now. I’m getting my park tickets at the Hilton Tokyo bay the day after my mom and I arrive, have early dinners at times between 3 and 4pm at non-priority restaurants, pick up the maps in both languages and the fast passes are the first thing when coming in the parks
Sounds like a solid plan to me!
Loving all the style on display here!
I’m so glad i went there nowadays!! Because of corona they limited the number of visitors and restaurants aren’t full and I didn’t need a fast pass at all!!! Btw thanks for all the tips ☺️
If you forgot to reserve a table but are traveling with friends/family, what I like to do is get note of what everyone wants then send someone to scout for a table and save it. Usually if there's something on a table/seat, it means Someone saved a spot, so do Not take it or it'll come off as rude.
I also recommend getting the outside tables rather than inside. Specifically in Tokyo Disneysea, there's this one restaurant in the Arabic area. They sell really good curry, and usually the outside tables are open especially in summer. I recommend going when it's not lunch time (12-2pm) and sometimes there's a band playing outside if you're lucky.
Meanwhile in my country there's a debate over whether its ungracious to reserve tables by putting something on it, as this is argued to violate the "first come first serve" principle
Thanks for the tips !! I'm going there in March ( Didn't even know its school holidays till you mentioned it) P.S I love that you changed your shirt for different tips, very creative haha !
Thank you for watching! It'll be busy in March, but if you study our website you'll be more than prepared!
I actually really like to ride Pooh's Hunny Hunt in the evening during the Electrical Dreamlights Parade, or right when the park is closing... usually for a second time if I managed to get a Fastpass earlier in the day.
The biggest issue with this ride is that it's always full of people/got a long line, and the queue for it is easily 60-100+ minutes for most of the day. It'll go down to 50-40 or even 30-20 towards the end of the day, which is when I try to get an extra ride in.
The thing with the Tokyo parks is that you need to know which rides are the real 'filler' ones, and which are the genuine E-ticket attractions (or at least, for the Japanese public). Pooh's Hunny Hunt is MASSIVELY popular and will remain that way for majority of the day. So is Big Thunder Mountain, ESPECIALLY with school kids (so you know what to look out for on school holidays!).
However Star Tours in Tomorrowland is nearly ALWAYS a walk-on ride in Tokyo. For some reason, Star Wars isn't as huge in Japan, so most of the times I go it's usually a 5 minute wait, the highest I've seen it go has been 15-20 minutes, I believe.
Pirates of the Caribbean can also be a 15-20 minute wait too unless you go on the wrong day/peak times.
'Medium' wait time rides are like Haunted Mansion. The wait can be pretty short especially during the parades, I've gone on it at 20, but I've also seen 60+ during high volume days. But I don't think they've even opened Fastpass queuing for that in years.
In general, Japanese parks tend to clear out more in the late afternoon/evening (ESPECIALLY true of Universal Studios Japan), so I actually like to leave "bigger rides" for after lunchtime. Also rainy days can be your friend! I've been to DisneySEA on a "rainy day" weekday and it was EMPTY. I waited like 15-20 min for Tower of Terror! If you're going on dark rides most of the time it really isn't an issue, plus it rarely rains non-stop/every hour.
Choice of day is a BIG factor in Japanese parks, as a large majority of the park-goers are adults with jobs or school students. You don't actually see that many young kids outside of school holiday/vacation times (but high schoolers are everywhere)!
This is great, thank you!!! Our trip is in 535 days!!! So glad I found this now, plan to buy the book semi soon, but we have time, lol. I wish more of my friends would join on our trip but I shared your channel with those who are interested!
You love questions on old videos, right Chris? At 1:46 you mention that it's best to avoid New Year at Tokyo Disney. I know that Christmas Eve is crazy busy there, and so would be the days off around the 1st of January. But what is the week in between like? Are lots of people taking holidays around that time in Japan. Your intel, as always, is appreciated!!
Thank you so much for this video !! It makes me super excited to plan my TDR trip for June/July ! And I know that thanks to your ebook it will be super easy and well planned ! :)
Awesome! Thank you so much for watching and for the support :) You're gonna have a fantastic time.
You can buy it at a Lawson as well, in Tokyo area if you’re taking a train in
How are the crowds for Thanksgiving week do you think the park will re open by then? Any character dinning in either park?
I found Tokyo Disneyland so stressful. They had long lines on a slow day, and fast passes were for 8 hours later. Line for food (not peek hours) was 45 minutes long. The rides had pretty sad animatronics and not much different than Anaheim.
That being said, I LOVED DisneySea! Great cheap food with no wait, unique rides, beautiful scenery, single rider lines, and way less busy!
do you recommend skipping? I hate disneyland in Anaheim. Way too many people.
Go weekdays! No weekend or public holiday. You will be fine
holy moly im so happy i found your channel. i really want to get your book for planing!
Great advice!! I'm an old campaigner at the original Disneyland and WDW, but I'm planning on taking the plunge with TDL and TDS in 2021 and I can use all the advice I can get. I want my first experience to be as smooth as possible and your advice is really useful. Do you sell hard copies of your ebook? I wouldn't mind having a copy I can carry with me. Again, thanks for the great video. Pounding the Subscribe button now.
OMG I love your shirt!
This is SO helpful!!! Thank you so much 😊👍🏻
For people who r planning to go there DO NOT TAKE A ROLLY BAG they require u to carry it so u don’t trip people
Thank you!! When I go to the parks I usually get there on time but I have heard on tokyo they are hardcore!! I am going in oct. 2021!!!
Were going in janurary do you think fast passes will be needed for anything
Enjoyed your video. Thank you
You can also purchase tickets at any Family Mart.
Im from canada and it wont let me use my credit card on their website, we are going in march, now that we have to wait until we are in tokyo will we might not get tickets? thanks Billi-jo
Thank you so much!! So rare to find good info about Disney Tokyo in TH-cam
Very helpful, thank you! I’m planning a trip in early June so this will come in handy.
Awesome! Thank you so much for watching. You're gonna have a lovely time in June :)
Thank you for your help Chris!!! Will be visiting soon! Would like to check about the “story cards” I believe they stopped giving?
Hi, Chris I'm hoping you can help me I'm from Australia & I plan to go to Japan in October staying at a hotel that's a 7minute train ride away from disneyland I tried buying the 3 day pass as an e-ticket for October 22 - 24 from the official site but it only asks/allows for a Japan resident delivery
I've tried Klook which I know is an official other seller but sadly they've sold out. I've looked at the crowd calendar & see that it should be a normal crowds. Can I risk buying/ am I able to buy a 3 day pass at the park on the 21 of October as I arrive that day and have nothing planned for that day.
Any help you can give me is GREATLY appreciated thank you
Thank you for this! Will be there in October. So excited!!!
Thank you, you're gonna have a great time.
Thank you for this because I plan to visit Tokyo Disney in December
Ah I wish I could go to Tokyo sooner! But now I know what to use when I finally get to go!
I hope you get to Tokyo soon!
I plan to purchase tokyo disneyland ticket via disney website because i travel with big group and children. My question is with disneyland printed copy, do i need to change original theme park ticket? I saw some of youtube and they do it. is it necessary and would it cost any money?
You are right I went to Tokyo Disneyland 3 times and I’m going tomorrow
I never understood why people still buy tickets at the ticket booths when you can buy in advance. The US parks even charge a little more at the gate.
I like the wardrobe changes.
feel well prepared now! cant wait to leave in 8 weeks
Tokyo Disneyland monorail is the cutest ride.
I have two 1 day tickets on mobil voucher do I need to print them put or can they scan them on my phone?
Thank you so much for all the info! Love all your tshirts!!
Someday I will get to go to DisneySea!
Subscribed!!!! I need this channel as I plan to do a trip next year! :)
Welcome, you're now an Explorer!
If I buy tickets in advance, I can't take the ticket with the Disney image?? Like the one you showed
Can you please change the font on the TDR app? It's very hard to read. Thank you for all your helpful info.
Wow, this is such an awesome video. So informative. Much appreciated. Thank you. I just purchased your ebook. 😊 Question: What do you recommend if we want to purchase merch from TDR. Is there a good website? I'm in the US.
Thank you for the support! There's no official way to buy merch online outside of Japan. You'll have to use a personal shopper (there's a lot if you take a look on Google) or eBay.
@@tdrexplorer You're welcome! Thank you!
Best time to go is off peak season on a week day when it's raining all day! Just bring a raincoat. Went on many rides multiple times on standby like Tower of Terror.
Galaxys totally agree. We did 3 rounds on the tower of terror. Amazing!
I dream of going there one day! Your videos are so helpful!
Is having a fastpay on rides have different price when you bought your ticket online or you will just have to convert it in there ticket booth b4 entering?
毎回Tシャツ変わってかわいい🤣💞
私もオーストラリアの友達にディズニーのTipsを聞かれた時に「go on time or earlier 」って言ってます˞͛ʕ̡̢̡◌･ꄃ･◌ʔ̢̡̢˞͛
Thanks for this video!! We’re going in September & can’t wait!😊
Can you buy tickets online while in the US?
Hi. Do you have another link for waiting time app for android? The link you gave is already not available
I dunno if you can sneak food in TDR but i'd advise you bring something with you. I've eaten at every TDR restaurant in both parks and the food there is just terrible. (Unlike Universal Studios Japan where food is incredible). You may end up eating just churros and hot dogs from food stands alone because at least those are somewhat edible. Even bringing combini onigiri is million times better.
After riding a ride you can purchase your derpy photo and it's prohibited to take smartphones photos of it for obvious reasons. Bu everyone still does it. Thing is, the resulted pics are obscured by animations like lightning etc. So if you wanna snap your derpy photo just set your smartphone camera to burst mode and take several pics in a row. Then just pick the one which is less covered in animation.
Could you help with explaining how we can go about purchasing Disney tickets at a konbini?
Alan C. I don't know if it's event specific but if I'm aware some convenient stores have Disney ticket booths where you can actually buy a ticket. It's the same as ordering online, but I'm not sure if there's an English translation.
Thank you for this, helps me out tremendously :)
Hi! ❤️❤️❤️ do I need to ask for permission to shoot take a video on Disneyland of my TH-cam is going to be monetised
What’s the name of the pastel Easter shirt you got looks great!
It's from Tokyo Disneyland's Easter Event in 2017 (it's no longer available).
the official tokyo disneyland website won’t allow people to buy internationally? I live in the US and it says I need a tokyo address for the tickets
If you want them shipped to you, you have to live in Japan. See our ticket guide on how to buy tickets.
tdrexplorer.com/buying-park-tickets-for-tokyo-disney-resort/
Another good video
I could still go in March right?
I envy the Japanese so much for their extensive and gorgeous Chip n Dale merchandise.
The most important things is just choose priority ride/attraction do you really want.. And never be enough for all attractions in one day at one parks.. No matter what wheather you can find happines there.. I already go last week still worth it to me even I'm late for open time parks.. Good luck and smile.. Thanks for sharing good video chris..
Thank you so much for watching :)
I will be visiting both Shanghai and Tokyo - which Disney Park would you recommend? I can only do one! That being said, I really want to go to Disney Sea...
I think you have your answer ;)
Last Summer I was in TDS en TDL and Yes, there was a short(!) line for buying tickets for both parks.. So, rookie or not.. If you arrive on time and on weekdays there is a short line for the ticketbooths.. Wait I was there when the parks opened 3 days in a row.. There were no long lines so being there 30 minutes earlier.. Not always necessary.. Does that TDR Wait also work for Windows-phones? Probably not.. So, sorry.. Not for me.. Just go in the park and get some fastpasses.. I am happy I amn't a showperson.. So I can easily skip those lotteries..
Thank you very much for all the tips!
Hi Chris, great content. We are travelling to tokyo from Australia in june 2019 for the parks. Will definitely get the e book as i dont currently know anything about booking the trip. Will the book explain how/where i can book hotels with the vacation packages for fast passes and tickets? Really want to be as efficient as we can. Also, how many days do think we need to have a good look at each park? Thanks for the video
Hey Mick! I do explain the Vacation packages briefly in the ebook :) You're gonna have a wonderful time!! Thank you.
@@tdrexplorer Hi Chris, just a quick one, I have been trying to book a vacation package through the website but every time I go there it says it is too crowded and to come back later, do you know if there is an issue with it or is there an alternative place to book vacation packages? I purchased the ebook, great info, you have put a lot of work into it well done.
The vacation package is very good. Most importantly free fast pass
Thank you for this information! It will be very helpful when I go in June :)
You're welcome! Thank you for watching :)
Hey, so I was planning to go to both Disneyland and DisneySea in July but when I checked the website, around 7 attractions will be closed in DisneyLand and only one will be closed in Disneysea, should I just go to Disneysea then ?
For Disneyland the ones I’m sad about that will be closed are the monsters inc, splash mountain and gadgets go coaster and for Disneysea is the sinbad storybook voyage
I’m unsure if because of the amount of attractions closed at Disneyland, if it’s worth it and I checked and I will still be able to do about 15 rides/ attractions but I wanted to know what you thought
Online they say February isn’t busy so I’m going to beg my parents for my birthday to go to Tokyo! I’ve never been to an amusement park before and I don’t celebrate my birthday so hopefully in 2020 (if I’m lucky 2019) we can go
Just make sure it's not February 11th. Try to go there from Tuesday to Thursday. Avoid Weekends at all cost. Sometimes Mondays and Fridays are very busy too because japanese take days off to make 3 adjacent weekends in a row. Aim for the park's main rides first. Get the app to monitor ride waiting times in real time and get fast passes for the longest waiting lines.
Arrive as early as you possibly can, even if it means getting up at 5:00 or something, because Toy Story, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones and Journey to The Center of the Earth rides usually have no fast passes left at around 12:00. And those fast passes which remain will probably be scheduled for evening riding like at 20:00 or something. So arrive as early as you can and go straight towards fast pass booths (you get the map at the entrance) of one of the above mentioned rides which is usually right next to the ride. Toys Story fast passes always end the fastest due to popularity. Tower of Terror is located right next to it so it suffers from Toy Story crowd stealing the fast passes for themselves. I like toy story movies but the ride isn't worth it unless you have a small kid with you, so just go to ToT.
Arriving at noon or later will simply ruin the rest of the day.
During fireworks show lines get thinner but if it's your first time you should probably watch the show too.
Bring handheld games, tablets, smartphones, books, powerbank etc to kill time in lines. You may want to consider a usb powered fan too, because most lines are indoors and for example Journey To the Center of the Earth line is usually hot and humid. Being there for 3 hours is a torture (been there, done that).
All your T-shirts!!! So cool! How many do you have? My favorite one was the galaxy with Buzz light year〰❤ I want it!
Why is it Tokyo Disneyland But it's located in Chiba Prefecture? Can you answer that, I'm confused?
"Chiba Disney Resort" doesn't have the same ring to it ;)
thanks for the tips, is there any single lane just like in Universal Osaka?
Last time i bought fast pass at universal before i saw that people who was single (like me) took the same line X'D.
Hi!👋🏻 Can I buy a ticket similar to the one you have in the video (with the characters on it) at my Hotel?
Keep up the great work! I noticed the map says there's an expansion in 2020, any updates on that?
We have photos up on the website :) That area, in particular, is a new Beauty and the Beast part of Fantasyland with a new attraction, restaurant, and theatre.
tdrexplorer.com/tokyo-disney-resort-construction-update-spring-2018/
Awesome! It's great to see "Soarin'" coming soon too! Kind of wondering if the Olympics will make Disney resort even more crowded during that year.
I am sure it will. Japan itself is gonna be quite busy during that time. The country is busy getting ready for the huge influx of tourism. It's been increasing every year (last year being the biggest on record). All the things they are adding are to help with the crowds (which is the biggest complaint people have both locals and tourists alike).
Thank you for all the helpful info. Also, LOVE all your t-shirts!
Thank you! I had a hard time just picking the ones to wear for the video. I have tons more!
Were they all purchased in the parks? Would love to get the majority of the ones you wear in this video.
And Tokyo Disneyland's margarita earth is the land's Critter Country, but not due to the land sells such cocktail, instead because of the theming of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, the US states that ever held margarita festivals.
Hi Chris does Tokyo Disneyland provide Premium Tour?
WHERE DO I GET THE SHIRTS
All are true because I have experienced it myself. Maybe it's pure luck, maybe it's not . But there is one mistake in this video. That is, december-january might be really crowded. But if you want, go to the disney parks at exactly 31st December. I went to Disneyland at 28th and it was hectic, but I went to Disneysea on 31st and there were way less people there. The longest queue for me was 50 minutes and that was for Tower of Terror. The reason? I googled and found out that when the year is nearing an end, Japanese people have a habit of cleaning their houses for good luck for the next year. So the park will not be crowded during the day and only start to fill up when the sun goes down
And one more crazy tip. Again I could be lucky, but I experienced this the second time I visited Disneyland Tokyo last year in June. Go when it's raining in the morning. People tend to skip going to disney if it's raining since it is an outdoor park, but last time my family and I risked it because we didn't want to let our ticket go to waste. We bought a raincoat beforehand, and when it was still raining we stayed in main street and played indoor rides in tomorrowland. The rain did last 3 hours but as a drizzle, not heavy rain. But due to that reason, the park was so empty that day even a cast member called my group to play pirates of the carribean since there was nobody playing
Aurelia suarly Yep! We had similar experience on a rainy day, cast members would literally stand out and try to drag people in! And they do have some very cozy places to go when it’s raining, so for us it was a really great experience.
Thanks for the tips, my dad and I are going in December/January for my birthday.
I remember wanting to go on tower of terror. Got there at 11am, the days fast pass was all gone..
Is the prices st Disney Tokyo pretty much the same as Disney in the usa
TDR is cheaper on average than the US.
Wow 2 hours in advance to avoid long line on holiday season. This makes me think twice on going again
Why not Monday?
Can we buy fast pass like in Disney Shang Hai
You can't buy fast pass. Unless you buy the vacation package. That package includes free fast pass.
Very informative!
When Disneyland ends for the day, the shops on Main Street remain open for one hour after closing. Does Tokyo Disney do the same thing?
Jasmine Arriola no one was leaving. So I guess you are right.
I’m going to Japan tomorrow to see my family and I’m going to Tokyo Disney land
nice vid... i'll be making my own vlog soon in Tokyo Disney Sea...
thank you!!im going there in about 3 weeks^^
Loving this video it’s so helpful! And I love the fact that you change keep changing your tops 😍 we are staying at hotel that’s about half an hour walk away and they even run a free shuttle which is great. Thank you for the wait app so helpful as I was wondering when the parade times were!
Oh and btw.. I like how every money and time wasting tip comes with a unique Tokyo Disney tee shirt. Hehe
I am the master of costume changes.
I actually went to both Tokyo Disney Sea and TDR last May, generally the parks weren't too busy. the day i went to Disney sea i arrived shortly after the gates opened, but i guess the crowds depend on the month, but i recommend going on a weekday. Luckily it wasn't that busy like some places like Mysterious Island wern't too busy at all, infact 20,000 leagues had no love at all
I also disagree with staying on Disney property. you can generally finish disneysea and disneyland in a day each or less. and plus Maihama Station isn't as convenient as other stations if your going to the main wards of Tokyo.
I actually didnt end up using my fast passes, so ended up just keeping them as souviniers. I can also state that Toy Story mania is one of the first rides you should do in Tokyo Disney Sea, its definately one of the most busiest attractions.
there is also something that Chris hasn't stated but with Tokyo DIsney Sea when your going for Toy Story mania, I actually made this mistake when visiting toy story mania, but on approach to the attraction there was a long line on the left (which i thought was the actual line for the ride, it was for the fast past queue. the actual standby line was on the right hand side.
I actually bought tickets at the Shibuya Disney store, With Disneyland, i thought the park opened up 9 so was waiting for a hour to get in due to the park opening in 10, I thought the lines were waiting to buy tickets but instead was the wait to get in the line. on a good day the lines get it rather quickly.