Disney Resort might be one of your dream destinations. As for me, I will never go home without experiencing even a day at the happiest place on Earth in Japan, Tokyo Disneyland.
In the following sections, I will share with you the preparations (some tips and guides based on my experience) I made before visiting the happiest place on Earth and also my wonderful and magical experience. At the end of this blog, you can decide whether you will buy Tokyo Disneyland 1 day pass or a 2 days pass.
Draft your plan
For me, to maximize your time and even save money (when you’re on a budget trip), planning your entire trip is a must. Visiting Tokyo Disney Resort will save you time and money if planned well. Your plan should start on how long would you like to experience and explore the place, where are you going to stay, where to buy tickets, when to visit and buy your tickets and even your entire itinerary.
Decide what ticket to buy
You can buy different tickets depending on how you are planning to explore the park. You can actually buy a ticket for both Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea which saves you some yen. I bought our Tokyo Disneyland 1 day pass at 7,300 Yen (Php 3,285) for Tokyo Disneyland, I reserved Tokyo Disney Sea for my birthday.
Buy your ticket ahead of time. Tokyo Disneyland 1 day pass or 2 days pass?
Buying your ticket ahead will save you time for long lines in the ticket booth before entering the park. You can buy tickets online or even in the convenience store when you are in Japan.
I bought our tickets at 7-eleven one month before our visit (we visited Tokyo Disneyland during winter break, which I don’t recommend as it is really crowded during peaks seasons and will cost you at least 2 hours waiting time in every ride.)
Stay at the accommodations nearby disneyland.
It is really better to stay near the area so you can access the park early and it will not be troublesome going home. If you have more budget and really want to experience Tokyo Disney Resort even at your accommodation, you can actually stay inside the park as they also offer accommodations. But if you are on a budget, there are lot of accommodations nearby. We stayed near Kameido Station which is 45 minutes away.
Go to the park before it opens.
If you really want to maximize your time, arriving at the park before the park opens is highly recommended. We arrived at the park at around 7:30 AM, the park opens at 8:00AM.
Plan your itinerary
Exploring the park is like exploring a city. The park consists of several themed parks so it is better to plan where to go first. You need also to take note the time of the parades, as they also have a parades of Disney characters in the morning and in the evening. I recommend to download the Tokyo Disney Resort app so you can have a map of the area, you can also use the app to track schedules of the parades. You can also use to app to secure free fast pass inside the park
Buy your Disney costume
Cosplaying or even just wearing shirts with Disney print on it is a thing in the park. If you want to wear Disney print shirts when going to park, I recommend to buy ahead instead of buying inside the Park. You can actually find this items at some clothing brand or even on the second hand shops in Japan.
This will save you money than buying it inside the resort. We bought our Mickey Mouse long sleeves at Uniqlo for around ￥3000, prices for character T-shirts in Disneyland starts from ￥5,000. You can buy Mickey Mouse headband/bonnet in the secondhand shops at 100 Yen-500 Yen and it cost us 1,700 Yen-3,000 Yen, (depending on the design) as we bought ours inside the resort. I bought my headband at 1,700 Yen and Yammy’s bonnet at around 3,000 Yen.
The Happiest place on Earth
As soon as I set foot on the resort, my heart skipped in excitement. I remembered my childhood dream of becoming a Princess living in a beautiful castle. This place brought out the child in me. I was so happy running around the park hoping to catch the long line to the attractions, dancing and singing through the lively music together with my Disney friends. This is indeed, the happiest place on Earth.
Exploring Tokyo Disneyland for a day is not enough especially when you visit during peak seasons. You will wait on long lines for about 2 hours or more to each attractions. We visited the resort during Winter break, this was our Day 3 (January 3, 2019) of our 5-day Tokyo vacation, so we waited patiently on long queues while treating our eyes with the scenic sights and also enjoying the food inside.
We roam around the place and took photos of the beautiful themed parks. As we walked around we saw some Disney Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping beauty, etc.) in their beautiful gown and some other Disney characters in their costumes.
Mickey’s Philhar Magic
We headed to Mickey’s Philhar Magic, a 3D magical concert of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and some other Disney characters. It was so fun to watch and listen.
Disneyland Parade
After the film, we saw people sitting along the corridors, this mean that the parade is about to start, so we find a spot for ourselves too to have a nice view of the New Years’ Greetings parade. It is important to be mindful of the parades schedule so you can secure a good spot for viewing, they also offer VIP spots but it will cost you some more.
The morning greetings was a happy celebration and a parade of characters dancing and singing while entertaining everyone. We saw Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse dancing and waving at us. It was a lively place perfect to celebrate a brand new year, 2019.
If you are not a fan or prioritizes rides than parades of characters, it is better to ride those with long queues during the parade as many prefer to watch these parades. One trick also to be able to ride as much as you can is to secure a fast pass in attractions.
Machines for fast pass are available in the entrance of the attractions. You can use your Tokyo Disney app or your ticket’s QR code to secure once free fast pass on selected attractions. That is why it is better to arrive early at the park and secure a fast pass to long queues (as your time will be indicated in the fast pass) and line up to other attractions.
Mark Twain Riverboat
After the New Year celebration parade we went to Mark Twain Riverboat known as the floating palace. You can do sightseeing while cruising around a Tokyo Disneyland’s own Rivers of America. This trip lasts around 12 minutes. To watch the view from Mark Twain Riverboat.
Disneyland Icecream
It was a cold windy winter, but it did not stopped us from trying the Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich carved with Mickey Mouse’s face. They sell it at 310 Yen each.
While enjoying our ice cream sandwich we waited for around 2 hours at the line for Western River Railroad. This steam train brought us around wilderness. We went on the journey through a tropical jungle and on the Tokyo Disneyland’s own Old American West.
Peter pan And Wendy
After the train ride, we looked for a spot as everybody were already on the side of the road ready to witness the afternoon’s parade of Disney characters and Princesses. This is one of my favorite parades.
Tokyo Disneyland 1 day pass is not enough to entirely explore this theme park and ride all the attractions especially during peak season. Planning ahead of time, taking note the schedules is really a great help to maximize your time while enjoying the sightseeing and attractions.
Some of the attractions that we were able to ride aside from mentioned above are The Pirate of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain.
Tokyo Disneyland Night Parade
As it gets darker, the beautiful lights gave life to the Park view and the colorful fireworks made it look more magical. The Nighttime Electrical Parade filled the Park with beautiful lights and music on colorful floats parading our Disney friends around the park.
Tokyo Disneyland Castle Night view
Taking photos with beautiful views can be frustrating when there are lot of photo bombers around. So if you want to take photos with little or no people around it is better to stay at the park late or close to its closing time as many visitors have already gone home by this time.
