HyperspaceMountainPilot
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2019
We just returned from 3 days at Tokyo Disney (2 at DisneySea and one at DL) and I thought I’d share a few high level takeaways that are unique to the Tokyo parks and that I would have liked to know before going:
1. Paid fast passes: You can buy several fast passes (called priority access) to the same ride (but not until you’ve completed the prior FP use), they mostly do not sell out that aggressively the way Genie+ passes do. For example, we did bought 2 fast passes for journey to the center of the earth on a Monday, and 3 separate fast passes for Beauty and the Beast on Tuesday. You can hold multiple paid FP at the same time if you choose a later return time, but have to wait 1 hr between purchases for rides. I think purchases for shows are treated separately.
2. Food scarcity: OK, so there’s not an actual risk of starvation but very few places to eat are open for the first couple hours and last couple hours of the park day—which caused major disappointment for Disneyland regulars who planned to get favorite snacks at the end of the day on the way out of the park. Most food places closed 1h before the park and many closed 2+ hours— especially popcorn carts. Then on our third day at DisneySea, very few snack places were open before 11, causing extremely long lines for the churro, popcorn, bakery places that were open.
3. We loved the electrical parade at Disneyland and our paid FP seating (purchased shortly after park entry) got us an assigned set of seats in the first row— at least I think they were assigned, very few people were around when we showed up 1h before the parade. We bought FP seats later in the day for the Sea of Dreams at DisneySea and the seats were awful (for paid— would be mediocre for free) they did not appear to be assigned and we were seated on an uncomfortable gravel floor (I got ant bites!) maybe 6-8 rows back, even though we arrived to the VIP zone 30m before show time. The people who showed up with “vacation package” seats got seated in front of the 4-5 rows of regular paid fast pass seats in front of us. If shows are your thing, plan accordingly. If I could do it again, I think I’d rather watch sea of dreams from an elevated position rather than designated seating zones.
4. Vacation packages— I’m still not entirely sure what they are or how you book them, but they appear to include some fast passes and priority show seating, so I recommend other people look into the option.
5. Climate— it was hot, really hot— and I say this as someone who goes to WDW in August from time to time. I think many of the Tokyo Disney ride queues are inside or in the shade for much of the line, but you are often also dealing with significant food queues as well. If you’re going during a hot period (or rainy period), have a plan for activities for when you need a break from the elements. We watched more shows than we ordinarily would at both parks and had mid-day table service reservations at indoor restaurants to get a break from heat and crowds.
6. I don’t know when the advertised free fast passes for the 40th anniversary are set to be rolled out but they aren’t out yet.
Overall we had a great time, we have loved (and preferred) DisneySea for a long time, but between my childhood nostalgia for the electrical parade and Beauty and the Beast, I now think I might actually prefer Tokyo Disneyland.
Happy to answer anybody’s questions to the best of my ability!
1. Paid fast passes: You can buy several fast passes (called priority access) to the same ride (but not until you’ve completed the prior FP use), they mostly do not sell out that aggressively the way Genie+ passes do. For example, we did bought 2 fast passes for journey to the center of the earth on a Monday, and 3 separate fast passes for Beauty and the Beast on Tuesday. You can hold multiple paid FP at the same time if you choose a later return time, but have to wait 1 hr between purchases for rides. I think purchases for shows are treated separately.
2. Food scarcity: OK, so there’s not an actual risk of starvation but very few places to eat are open for the first couple hours and last couple hours of the park day—which caused major disappointment for Disneyland regulars who planned to get favorite snacks at the end of the day on the way out of the park. Most food places closed 1h before the park and many closed 2+ hours— especially popcorn carts. Then on our third day at DisneySea, very few snack places were open before 11, causing extremely long lines for the churro, popcorn, bakery places that were open.
3. We loved the electrical parade at Disneyland and our paid FP seating (purchased shortly after park entry) got us an assigned set of seats in the first row— at least I think they were assigned, very few people were around when we showed up 1h before the parade. We bought FP seats later in the day for the Sea of Dreams at DisneySea and the seats were awful (for paid— would be mediocre for free) they did not appear to be assigned and we were seated on an uncomfortable gravel floor (I got ant bites!) maybe 6-8 rows back, even though we arrived to the VIP zone 30m before show time. The people who showed up with “vacation package” seats got seated in front of the 4-5 rows of regular paid fast pass seats in front of us. If shows are your thing, plan accordingly. If I could do it again, I think I’d rather watch sea of dreams from an elevated position rather than designated seating zones.
4. Vacation packages— I’m still not entirely sure what they are or how you book them, but they appear to include some fast passes and priority show seating, so I recommend other people look into the option.
5. Climate— it was hot, really hot— and I say this as someone who goes to WDW in August from time to time. I think many of the Tokyo Disney ride queues are inside or in the shade for much of the line, but you are often also dealing with significant food queues as well. If you’re going during a hot period (or rainy period), have a plan for activities for when you need a break from the elements. We watched more shows than we ordinarily would at both parks and had mid-day table service reservations at indoor restaurants to get a break from heat and crowds.
6. I don’t know when the advertised free fast passes for the 40th anniversary are set to be rolled out but they aren’t out yet.
Overall we had a great time, we have loved (and preferred) DisneySea for a long time, but between my childhood nostalgia for the electrical parade and Beauty and the Beast, I now think I might actually prefer Tokyo Disneyland.
Happy to answer anybody’s questions to the best of my ability!
. Where is the elevated seating is that something you have to line up for? 
(and yet, still a 9.5 hour flight 
).
