How to spend 3 days in June? Help!

[Slouvier]

Our family of 5 will be visiting Tokyo Disney for the first time in late June 2024. We have 3 days to spend in the parks and I am not sure how many days I should devote to each park. We are Disneyland California regulars and know those parks well. Our kids are old enough to be in the parks open to close. I know our trip coincides around the time of the opening of a massive expansion at TokyoSea. Any advice as how best to spend our time would be most appreciated!

 

[djmeredith]

My trip is in May, so I haven't been yet. However, the general consensus for 3 days is 1 day for TDL and 2 for TDS. Especially if you are regulars to DL. I have read numerous times that TDL is almost a direct copy of DL. There are obviously differences, but you should be able to do those in one day. Whereas TDS is a whole new park. If you are staying in a Disney hotel, you can wait and decide when you get there. Hotel guests are guaranteed tix. So you could do both parks for 1 day and then decide.

 

[Agent 86]

As you noted, Fantasy Springs, the largest ever expansion to DisneySea, opens on 6 June 2024.

It's hard to say definitively, but I would expect DisneySea to be complete and utter chaos for quite a while after it opens (i.e. the park being at capacity).

On that basis, as much as I love DisneySea and believe it's the most unique and gorgeous Disney theme park, I'd probably prioritise Disneyland over DisneySea, unless you can afford one of the special hotel / vacation packages which include access to Fantasy Springs (although I think they're almost all sold out for June).

You could see how things are developing after 6 June 2024 and make a decision then, but there's a chance (I don't know how likely or unlikely) that tickets for DisneySea could sell out well in advance.

Basically, I'd probably do two days at Disneyland and one day at DisneySea - with the understanding that you're almost certain NOT to be able to even access Fantasy Springs, let alone ride any of the rides. There's still plenty to enjoy in DisneySea, but the crowds level throughout all of DisneySea (not just in Fantasy Springs) could be at peak levels.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Vacation packages for June have been sold out for quite a while now. Once regular reservations for Fantasy Springs Hotel opens, I'm sure they'll sell out almost instantly so I wouldn't plan around being able to get one.

2 days would actually be good for getting on all the attractions in Fantasy Springs once. I'm assuming it would be possible to get at least one DPA and one standby pass each day first thing in the morning before they run out. Someone who's able to book the Disneyland Hotel, Ambassador Hotel or Miracosta should have no problems doing that with early entry. Regular guests should be able to as well although they'd probably want to arrive early, ideally before the people eating breakfast at their hotels starting at 6:30AM arrive at the park.

I actually don't think DisneySea outside of Fantasy Springs and the shows will be too bad on weekdays. There weren't crazy crowds in the rest of Hong Kong Disneyland when World of Frozen opened last year and the summer after Galaxy's Edge opened, Disneyland crowds were actually much lower than usual. A few weeks after Soaring opened at DisneySea, wait times for other attractions weren't abnormally high.

 

[suedon70]

Yikes! My daughter and I will be arriving in Tokyo on Monday June 3 staying in the city for a few days, then planning to stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay over the weekend hoping to then stay at a TDL hotel for 2 more days. Had no idea about Fantasy Springs (guess I should've done more research! lol)

 

[Agent 86]

hoping to then stay at a TDL hotel for 2 more days

I'd check on availability ASAP. I think it may be difficult to get reservations at any official Tokyo Disney hotel around that time.

 

[suedon70]

I'd check on availability ASAP. I think it may be difficult to get reservations at any official Tokyo Disney hotel around that time.

Will do! I know we have to wait to get the park tickets 2 months out, but would we be able to book a hotel now?

 

[Agent 86]

I think bookings opened a while ago (5/6 months in advance), except for the new hotel at DisneySea. These may help:

https://tdrexplorer.com/how-to-book-a-disney-hotel-at-tokyo-disneyland/

https://tdrexplorer.com/complete-guide-to-tokyo-disney-resort-hotels/

https://tdrexplorer.com/tokyo-disney-resort-vacation-packages-return/

https://tdrexplorer.com/tokyo-disney-resort/#hotels

https://tdrexplorer.com/tokyo-disney-resort-hotels-review/

 

[Gocanes0506]

Our family of 5 will be visiting Tokyo Disney for the first time in late June 2024. We have 3 days to spend in the parks and I am not sure how many days I should devote to each park. We are Disneyland California regulars and know those parks well. Our kids are old enough to be in the parks open to close. I know our trip coincides around the time of the opening of a massive expansion at TokyoSea. Any advice as how best to spend our time would be most appreciated!

Just left there.

Things to consider:

Lines will be long so download the app and get virtual passes (should still be free)

Disneyland
Alot like US properties with a little different theme.
If you stay on property, hit up beauty and the beast when the let you in early. Its a long line usually.
You have a monsters inc ride, a snow white ride, and a beauty and the beast that are different (granted snow white is like winnie the pooh). They do have a kids area in the back right. I didn’t ride those.
Everything else is the near identical as US rides. Buzz astros blasters, peter pan, winnie the pooh, thunder mountain, splash mountain, space mountain, star tours, IASW, Pirates, etc. they have a baymax ride but it is just like the aliens saucer ride at Hollywood Studios. Space mountain is slightly more intense here.

DisneySea is all about the themes. Cool park but not many rides. You’ll have to decide between one of the big 3 rides when getting in early: journey to the center of the earth, Tower of terror and Soarin (soarin is the same as the DW version). All 3 will have multi hour waits during the day. Outside of those 3 you have a nemo ride, a water cart ride, indiana jones, kid rides in mermaid area, a “submarine” ride, sinbads (water raft like pirates), mini coaster ride, and a couple of others.

My wife and I could have come close to completing both parks in a day going during non peak season. We didn’t stop to see the shows because they are in japanese. We saw parades.

I would say, it comes down to what is important to you.
If experiencing something different is most important then maximizing your time in DisneySea is the way to go. Lines will be very long for the big 3 rides. My buddy who lives in Japan and goes frequently says the lines can be upwards of 5 hours. But the smaller rides should be normal wait times and you have the virtual queue options for the smaller rides. The bigger ones do have a single purchase pass. 2000 yen for Soaring and I believe Journey to the center of the earth was 1600 per person.
If experiencing the most rides is important, maximizing Disneyland will be important. The electric parade is cool but people line up early for it. It starts in frontier land and goes through tomorrowland. The fireworks show has a good chance of being canceled.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yikes! My daughter and I will be arriving in Tokyo on Monday June 3 staying in the city for a few days, then planning to stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay over the weekend hoping to then stay at a TDL hotel for 2 more days. Had no idea about Fantasy Springs (guess I should've done more research! lol)

Good luck. Your timing is either going to be the absolute best or the absolute worst! Fantasy Springs is a really big deal, though, and I have to think it's going to be crazy. Hope you get the tickets and access you want.

 

[Slouvier]

Thank you to everyone who has chimed in. We are staying at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay. I will have to keep mulling this over until it’s time to buy tickets. Your tips and insight have been very helpful!