If you’re planning to visit Tokyo Disney Resort and its two parks, Tokyo Disneyland & Tokyo DisneySea, this is only guide you will ever need. (Remember to bookmark this post!)

With tips on how to skip the long queues at the theme parks, the best time to visit, what to eat, which attractions to go for first and more, this is truly your ULTIMATE Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea guide.

Contents

• Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea?
• When is the best time to visit?
• What to pack?
• Buying park tickets
• FASTPASS guide
• Tokyo Disneyland FASTPASS rides to prioritise
• Tokyo DisneySea FASTPASS rides to prioritise
• Lottery System
• What to eat
• How to get to Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea
• Staying connected at Tokyo Disney Resort
• Does Tokyo Disney Resort accept credit cards?

Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea?

“Should I go to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea?” is a question we get a lot from first-time travellers to Tokyo.

Tokyo DisneySea is one of its kind and can only be found in Japan. However, if you’re travelling with children, definitely go for Tokyo Disneyland. Disneyland has more child-friendly rides while DisneySea is geared towards adults with more thrilling rides such as the Tower of Terror and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

If you have the budget, we’d recommend you go for both parks as the experience is really different.

When is the Best Time to Visit?

If you’re trying to find the best dates to visit Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, take a look at this crowd calendar. We personally use it to choose the least crowded dates to visit while on our trip.

In general, the parks are busiest from Friday to Sunday, and least busy from Monday to Thursday. Try to avoid weekends no matter which time of the year you visit as they’ll always be packed. This will save you A LOT of time from waiting in lines!

Once you’ve entered the parks, we advice you to check the FASTPASS waiting times for Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. These waiting times are “live” and really helpful in planning your route around the parks!

What to Pack

We’d recommend you pack light on your trip to the Tokyo Disney Resorts, but here are some necessities you should carry along:

• Poncho or a small umbrella (in case it rains)
• Portable charger
• Camera
• Water bottle
• Wet wipes, tissues
• Optional: Sunscreen, Hat, Disney pins (for pin trading!)

Buying Park Tickets

If you want to save money and buy your tickets in advance, Travel Recommends’ Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea tickets are sold at discounted prices of RM 289 for adults and RM 189 for children.

Plus, take advantage of our HUGE discounts of up to 15% OFF on all attraction tickets, TravelWiFi, transport passes, and SIM cards! Click here to check out all of our ongoing promotions.

Fast Pass

Express entry to the theme park’s most popular rides and attractions? Yup, we’re not kidding — and the best part is that it’s absolutely free!

Steps to get your Disney FASTPASS ticket:

1. Check Return Time
2. Head to a FASTPASS ticketing machine
3. Scan barcode on your admission ticket or annual pass
4. Print FASTPASS
5. Enjoy other rides and attractions
6. Return to the attraction at the stipulated Return Time
7. Queue at the FASTPASS express queue
8. Enjoy!

The FASTPASS service is free and available to everyone with an admission ticket (or annual pass) into the park. The concept is straightforward: At the entrance of each eligible attraction is a FASTPASS ticket machine where you can see the next available Return Time (to take the ride). This timing is fixed, and will only “refresh” after all seats for it have been taken. If the timing works for you, select it and insert your admission ticket to print your FASTPASS. Then, all you need to do is return to the attraction when it’s your turn!

To be eligible for the next FastPass, you have to wait for your return time to start or two hours after receiving your previous FASTPASS — whichever comes first.

Tokyo Disneyland FASTPASS Rides to Prioritise

Big Thunder Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain is a popular ride among adults. You’ll get to ride on a runaway mine train with sudden drops and turns. This is one of the most enjoyable rides in Tokyo Disneyland!

Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain features a thrilling boat ride that takes you through the world of Disney’s classic film, Song of the South. Be prepared for a 45-degree drop from a 16-meter high waterfall!

Don’t forget to bring a raincoat if you don’t want to get wet!

Space Mountain

Space Mountain is a popular roller coaster in the dark with the theme of high-speed interstellar travel. It’s thrilling, but has no huge drops. Only quick, unexpected turns, and small drops. You can’t see what’s happening next for the most part of the ride, and that’s where most of the thrill comes from! You never know what your rocket will do next!

The other popular rides at Tokyo Disneyland include:
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek!, and Pooh’s Hunny Hunt.

Tokyo DisneySea FASTPASS Rides to Prioritise

There are only eight FASTPASS ticketing machines in Tokyo DisneySea. Since you can only get one FASTPASS every two hours, you probably will only get three passes before the popular rides run out.

Toy Story Mania! and Journey to the Centre of the Earth are usually the fastest to run out (usually within the first hour after the park opens!), so be sure to go for those first!

Try queueing for a FASTPASS from these rides in the following order:

Toy Story Mania! (American Waterfront)

This unassuming ride is one of the most popular rides in Tokyo DisneySea – and for good reason too!

The queueing area (yes, I know!) is a well-decorated space which replicates the experience of being shrunken down like one of the Toy Story characters. The ride itself is an interactive 3D trail where you get to shoot at aliens to earn points.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Mysterious Island)

Journey to the Centre of the Earth is another popular ride in DisneySea. The tracks for this ride are hidden inside the mountain, so you won’t know what to expect!

The official DisneySea website describes this ride by saying, “while exploring on a subterranean vehicle, unexpected danger sends you hurtling through the caverns.”

You just have to ride it for yourself to see why everybody loves it so much!

Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull (Lost River Delta)

While on this ride you will get to climb aboard an oversized jeep for a wild ride inspired by the Indiana Jones movies, travelling around a hidden temple, dodging booby traps, and even scary, supernatural forces in your quest to find the Fountain of Youth! This is another roller coaster in the dark with many surprises in store for you.

Lottery System

The lottery system is different from the FASTPASS system. Park guests can enter the lottery system for a chance to watch one of the more popular shows at the park.

In Tokyo Disneyland, the lottery machines are located in Tomorrowland.

You only get your chance at the lottery system once, but if you don’t win it, just look out for the first show timing and go for that instead! These tickets will be given out on a first come first serve basis, so remember to queue early!

What to Eat

Churros

• 

• 

These churros are a must-have – they look so cute! They are sold at a number of cafes and food carts at the park. Mickey-shaped cinnamon and strawberry flavoured churros, as well as melon soda sugar lightsaber churros are available. Sometimes they even have limited edition seasonal flavours like pumpkin and taro for halloween!

Price: 300 yen (about RM 11)

Character Mochi

You might have seen the little green alien mochi on your friend’s Instagram when they’ve been to Tokyo Disney Resort – it’s one of the most popular snacks in the park, and has been known to sell out on some days!

Each of the little mochi are filled with different flavoured cream, usually chocolate, strawberry, and custard cream. Depending on the time of the year, the strawberry flavour is sometimes swapped out for cherry!

These are one of the most photogenic desserts available at the resort and you can find them at both parks:

• Tokyo DisneySea
  • Mamma Biscotti’s Bakery
  • Food Cart Outside Toy Story Mania
• Tokyo Disneyland
  • Food stands in the Hub
  • Pan Galactic Pizza Port
  • Soft Landing

Price: 360 yen (about RM 14)

Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich

If you’re looking for a little pick-me-up during your visit to the theme parks, this chocolate cookies-and-cream Mickey ice cream sandwich will do just the trick!

If you’re worried about your chocolate wafers getting soggy, this one isn’t at all. The wafers are crispy, just like actual cookies!

Price: 310 yen (about RM 12)

How to get to Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea

It’s really easy to get to Tokyo Disney Resort from Tokyo’s airports! All you have to do is take the Airport Limousine Bus. This bus generally stops running from around 5pm, so if your flight arrives in Tokyo after 4pm, you should look into other options.

If you’re arriving in Tokyo really late, you’re best off taking a taxi. Though these are relatively expensive, it is the best option for late flights into Tokyo. The general cost of a ride from Narita to Tokyo Disney Resort is around RM 830!

If you’re looking for cheap alternatives, then go for public transportation! It may seem daunting at first, as Japan’s public transport system is quite complex, but an easy way is just to use Google Maps.

If you got your Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea tickets from us, you’ll want to get to Maihama Station where you can collect your tickets. Head towards the North Entrance where you’ll see a representative holding a signboard that says “Disney 1 Day Tour Meeting Point”.

When you reach Tokyo Disney Resort, you might still have to get to your hotel. One way to do this is to take the resort monorail. It costs a little, but it’s really clean and efficient! There are also buses called Resort Cruisers which are free! We recommend paying the small fee for the monorail unless you’re going there in a large group. You can also try walking, but it can be quite challenging to get to the DisneySea theme park!

Staying Connected at Tokyo Disney Resort

There are two cost efficient options for this: getting a SIM card or renting a Travel WiFi.

There is no publicly-available WiFi at Tokyo Disney Resort, except at the entrance to each park. Free public WiFi is uncommon in Japan. If you want to stay connected, make sure you have either a SIM card or Travel WiFi on hand!

Does Tokyo Disney Resort Accept Credit Cards?

Within the theme parks, Tokyo Disney Resort accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. You don’t need to carry cash at Tokyo Disney Resort, but you might need it when you’re travelling around Tokyo!