The Tokyo Disney things I wish I knew before I went…

Guys, I still can’t believe that I made it to Tokyo Disney! The hubby and I love to travel, so it wasn’t our first time at the rodeo, but I do have to say that our experience with Tokyo Disney was much smoother than some of our other destinations. Tokyo Disney was the fourth Disney Park we’ve visited, our second overseas, and I would definitely say it was just as easy as the times we’ve gone in the US even though we did not know the language. Seriously, the only thing I knew how to say was “Thank you very much!”… YIKES!

Now, down to business…I’m gonna share with you my tips and tricks for an easy peasy trip from Narita Airport to Tokyo Disney. You might have had a different experience than mine, but this is just my own personal experience on this trip.

Narita Airport to Disneyland Resorts

As soon as you land you’ll definitely notice that you are NOT in Kansas anymore. This is where I began to get nervous but, I did do A LOT of research prior to our trip and even printed maps to where we could purchase our tickets to the hotels. Honestly, I didn’t even use them. Mainly because I forgot to get em off the printer, but honestly everything is so organized and well marked, it’s very easy to find.

• Unlike the Magic Express at WDW, the bus that takes you to the resort hotels is NOT free. Our tickets were about $20 a person and you cannot purchase them ahead of time. You could look up the bus info and company online and follow a bazillion links to how to purchase tickets, but they’re just gonna tell you that you can’t, so please take my advice and save yourself that time. The busses have plenty of space and come by so often that you really don’t have to worry about that.
• The bus counter is located inside of the airport RIGHT before you exit. You’ll probably see a whole lot of people lined up in front of various colored counters. The bus line that takes you to the Disney Resorts is ORANGE, so you can’t miss it. 
• If you don’t know the language, you’re in luck! All of the signs are translated to English in the airport. Basically all you have to say is “DISNEY” and they’ll hook you up! The bus starts at one hotel and goes in a giant loop dropping people off at their respective hotels
• Once you have your ticket, exit the airport using the doors to the right of the ticket stand and the bus stop to the resort lines will be right in front of your face! It’s amazing!
• There are 3 lines on the floor, and an electronic sign. As the next bus arrives and departs you move forward to the next number in line and the sign changes the number next to your bus as well. This way everything is SUPER organized and coordinated.
• Also, prior to your bus arrival, an employee will come by and put luggage tags on your bags. Don’t worry, they double check your ticket to make sure there are no mix-ups. 
• Once you enter the bus, sit back and relax. It takes about an hour and a half to arrive at the Disneyland Resort Hotels and there’s a screen that will show you what stop you’re on but they’ll also call out the stop name in English. If anything, you can probably spot what your hotel looks like. We stayed at the Hilton and it was second to last on the route, so we got to see all of the hotels, and yeah…you can’t miss yours. They’re all so different!

Disneyland and DisneySea Tickets

·     Disneyland does not sell tickets ahead of time to the US. There are some sites that do, but they’re kinda sketchy and if Disneyland finds out you didn’t purchase tickets from them or one of their affiliates, they might not let you in. So, best bet is to wait till you get there. 

• However, if you’re staying at one of the Disneyland Resort Hotels, your hotel sells tickets right there! and they’re the super cute stub ones that you can keep FOREVER!! Everyone does that, right? At our hotel, we just had to head over to the bell hop desk and they printed our tickets out right there!

• You can also purchase your tickets here if you’re not a hotel guest.
• I recommend purchasing your tickets ahead of time because the crowds at opening are CRAZAY! Also, you don’t want to waste a single minute of this awesome adventure waiting I line for tickets and just watching everyone get in. Wah!

Resort to Disney Parks

• First tip, ARRIVE EARLY! If you wanna get the most out of your day, try to arrive 30 mins to an hour prior to opening. Grab some to-go breakfast and eat while you wait. We do this back home too, so if that’s not your cup of tea, arrive at your leisure, but be warned…the fastness to your favorite ride might be gone by then or might not be until very late in the day.
• Tokyo Disney basically has the same monorail system as WDW, only it doesn’t drop you off at/in your hotel. Theres a tiny trek to get there. For us, it was a 5 minute walk (if that).
• If the monorail doesn’t stop directly in front of your hotel, there are free shuttles to take you to and from the rail station. Our shuttle lasted about a minute and a half, but still we took it because the heat was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced (and yes, I’ve been at WDW in August).
• However, unlike WDW (again) you must pay for the monorail. You can purchase a single trip, a day pass, or multi day passes for up to 7 days. Our 3 day passes set us back a whopping $2.50 each. Pretty affordable and you get a cute little ticket to take back home with you. 
• The monorail is ADORABLE and all the signs are translated to English so, again, you can rest easy and feel safe!
• You will notice that the trains/ metro/ monorail is much quieter than ours. You’ll also notice signs asking (they’re not really asking, just don’t do it) that you do not talk on your cell phone.

Entrance Lines 

• Don’t freak out! The lines might look long and treacherous, but they go by SUPER fast. Unlike our US lines, there are no metal detectors and crazy security. They’ll basically blind you with their flashlight as they pretend like they’re looking at your bag, and YOU’RE IN! I mean, yes, there are prohibited items but everyone in Japan is such a rule follower and so respectful, I don’t think they worry about much more than booze and weapons.
• There is a special line for hotel guests who get “Magic Mornings”, so unless you’ve got that perk, do not get in that line. Don’t be like us. HAHA! That was embarrassing.

Fastpass

• I recommend trying to get a fast pass as soon as you arrive. The most popular fastpass for Tokyo Disney Sea is for Toy Story Mania and they WILL be gone within a few hours. I think we were there on a slower ay and they were all gone by 1pm. We didn’t go on this ride because…we have it back home. But we did hang out outside and see how BEAUTIFUL it is!

• The most popular fastpass for Disneyland is Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, and Monsters, Inc. Hide & Go Seek.

• Fast passes work just the same as they do back home. You can’t get the app on US phones, but you can get your cardio in and run over to the kiosks located outside of the rides to grab em. Just like in the US, there’s about a one and a half hour wait till you can make your next fast pass selection. The machines will print out a reminder card but you won’t need that at all. The only thing you will need is your entry ticket. So, DON’T LOSE IT!!
• Like I said you can’t’ get the official Disney App, but you can download an app that can tell you wait times and give you an online map so you know how to navigate. The app is called TDR Alert. Not gonna lie, it looked a little sketchy but I watched a ton of youtube videos prior to my trip, so I recognized the look of the app. It really is a time saver and I highly recommend you download it!

GENERAL TIPS

Maps

• Head to the map station as soon as you enter and if you don’t see an English map, ask for one and they’ll be happy to get it for you. You’ll definitely need it. Honestly, I’d get two just in case you forget one at a restaurant or one gets wet because they’re not super easy to come by.
• If you’re looking for food, the back side of the maps has a chart of all of the restaurants and what type of food they serve. This came in SUPER handy!

Merch

This is really important, if you want to purchase any Duffy & Friends Merch, you HAVE to get it at Disney Sea. They do not sell this merchandise at Disneyland or any of the Disney stores in Tokyo. Tokyo Disney Sea is the only place you can buy Duffy & Friends. So if you see something you like, snag it up because once you exit the gates, all that cute fluffy adorableness will only be available to you via Ebay. *insert broken heart emojis* haha 

Rides

We only spent a day in each park, so we had to make the most of our time. For us, this meant skipping most of the rides that we already have back home and focusing on getting on the rides that are exclusive to the Tokyo parks or very different than ours. If you’re thinking of doing the same, this is what we focused on…

NOTE: A lot of times they will ask you to put your phone away prior to rides. Also, you’ll rarely see anyone recording during the pre-ride experiences such as in Haunted Mansion, and Tower of Terror (where there’s like a pre-ride mini show). I would say, just do as everyone around you does and be respectful so that everyone enjoys the experience.

• Must Do
  • Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
  • Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek (This was our first fast pass of the day because it was the closest to the entrance)
  • Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage
  • 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (I loved this one)
  • Journey to the center of the earth (This was closed when we were there)
• Skip
  • In my own personal opinion, if you’re a pass holder in the US I’d skip all the rides that we already have back home, and focus on trying to get on the rides unique to Tokyo Disney or experiencing the sights and food. For the most part they’re the same, but in Japanese. The only parts that seem to be different are the queues.

Keep Cool

If you visit during the hot months like we did, do NOT underestimate the heat.

·     Bring a small towel for wiping your sweat, or buy one when you arrive. Don’t be embarrassed, everyone has em. I am not exaggerating, I’d say about 80% of the people we saw had a sweat towel in their hands, around their necks, or tucked into their waistband or belt. Yes, it’s THAT hot.

• Take lots of breaks in the shade, go inside of restaurants, or just go into a restroom and relax for a few minutes. It really does help because I can’t say this enough, it’s HOT!! and also HUMIIIID!! We had to take a break mid day and head back to the parks because I thought I was going to faint. So maybe just don’t go when it’s THAT hot. But still take breaks and bring a towel.
• An umbrella comes in handy, it will not be raining but you’ll see a SEA of umbrellas. Especially when the crowds are waiting for a show or a parade.

Popcorn

If you’re looking to get yourself some popcorn buckets, or taste some yummy popcorn Tokyo Disney is for you!

• Almost every cart has a different flavor of popcorn and a different popcorn bucket that corresponds to that land.
• You must purchase the bucket with popcorn, but no to worry…if you love the bucket but the flavor is not your thing, you can let them know and they’ll give you a voucher so that you can get whatever flavor you want at another cart. (however, there are price differences at some carts. We had to pay $2 more for the popcorn we were after)

• Not all popcorn is basic, there are some funky flavors out there like soy sauce, curry, BBQ, garlic shrimp, and Chinese spice. I stuck to my sweet tooth and went for the chocolate, caramel, and my all time favorite strawberry milk!

Fake Food

This is fake food y’all!

This is fake too!

Not sure if you’ll like what a restaurant or cart is serving up? The description has you a little confused? Not to worry, there’s FAKE FOOD right outside to show you what it looks like! This was one of the coolest things for me. I love to try food but I’m such a visual eater. It was nice to be able to walk up and see what they’re serving, not just read it on the menu. 

• The glass displays with the fake food is also where you’ll see what kinds of special seasonal fun items they sell at that location. If you’re hunting down a special treat carrier, bowl, plate, or cup, this is where you’ll see it.
• Aside from popcorn buckets there are these teenie tiny miniature popcorn like buckets to hold things like jelly beans and m&m’s. The glass fake food cases is also where you’ll see if they have what you’re looking for!

Friendliness

Tokyo has honestly been the friendliest country we have visited. I have only flown overseas twice, this being one of them. But I’ve been to several countries via boat as well, and Japan is on my number one list of friendly people.

• If you ask for help, only ask if you really need it because they will go above and beyond to help you and sometimes you’ll feel bad because it might not be a big deal to you, but they will really try and see it through till they’ve finished helping.
• When you’re paying at the registers you’ll notice that 95% of the time they will handle money with both hands, as if being so very careful. They are very respectful and gentle, I found that they seemed very pleased if I did the same. 
• At most places you will not exchange money hand to hand. There is a small tray for you to put the money and they’ll also put your change on the tray for you to take. Some places will hold the tray out for you to place the money, some places set the tray down. Just go with the flow.
• Last bullet reserved for basically repeating that this is the friendliest country I’ve ever been to and I just want to travel here over and over again.

Cleanliness 

If you thought the parks in the US were clean…WHEW! I mean, I clearly remember staring at the floor at one point and thinking that if I licked it it would probably be cleaner than a plate. I cannot believe how clean the parks were and this is because…

• trash cans are not as easy to come by as they are in the US. This isn’t just for the Disney Parks but all over Tokyo. People seriously just carry their trash until they find a trash can. We had to do this in Harajuku and quickly learned that when you do find a trash can, it is strictly reserved for that establishment. 
• Be mindful of your trash and where you leave it. 
• This goes for the restrooms as well. Didn’t run into a single messy restroom our entire trip!

Food

There was not a single thing I tried, that I didn’t like!

• EAT
• ALL
• THE
• CUTE
• FOOD

This was a crazy long post with tons of info, but I hope it’s information that is useful to you and the planning of your trip. I know a lot of this info was not on anything I read and it would have been nice to have this when I was planning my trip. Do you have any other tips to add or do you think your experience was way different than mine? I’d love to know!