TOKYO DISNEY RESORT
If you are a kawaii-lover, then chances are you are a Disney fan as well. Tokyo Disney resort is an enormous property located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. It houses Tokyo Disney Sea, Tokyo Disneyland, Ikspiari, a shopping center, and 9 different hotels. Tokyo Disney Resort is owned and operated by the Oriental Land Company with a license from The Walt Disney Company. If your time is limited, I recommend visiting Tokyo Disney Sea, because it is a park that you will be unable to find anywhere else in the world.
To fully take advantage of all that the parks have to offer, I recommend planning out your day in advance. If you want to sample the amazing, unique, kawaii snacks that are featured at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, look on the Tokyo Disney Resort website to find out which snacks are available and where they are available. Certain snacks are only available in given locations at the park, and some snacks are only available at Disney Sea, while others are only available at Disneyland. Some of my favorites are the Toy Story Alien dumplings, Scrump Dumplings, Mickey-shaped hamburger and castella cake, and a chicken sandwich shaped like Mickey’s glove, among other things. One feature that is unique to the Tokyo Disney parks are the souvenir popcorn buckets, and the different flavors of popcorn available throughout the park – ranging from curry to soy sauce butter, to cappuccino, to honey, and more. I recommend thinking about which popcorn bucket you want, instead of just buying the first popcorn bucket you see. Look online to get some ideas – do you want a traditional Mickey bucket, Pooh’s honey pot, or a flying Dumbo bucket, to name a few? When you find a popcorn stand at the park, you can ask the vendor where you can find the particular bucket that you want.
I also recommend using the Tokyo Disney Crowd Calendar to plan your trip. This calendar which will tell you which days are busy and which are the least crowded days to visit. If you have mobile access while in Japan, I recommend downloading an app which will tell you the wait times for the rides at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. Finally, don’t forget to utilize the FastPass system once at the park! The popular rides are equipped with FastPass stations. You scan your ticket and obtain a FastPass, which will allow you to bypass the long lines if you come back during a certain time later in the day.
People watching is insanely fun at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. Something that is popular at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea, that I haven’t seen anywhere else (except for the Sadie Hawkins dance at my high school) is for couples and friends to wear the same outfits. You will see pairs of people – a male and a female, or more often than not, 2 women, dressed alike in Disney attire or just any matching outfit. If you are into couples dressing, this is the place to break out the matching Pooh Bear sweatshirts and ears.
Disney Sea
Disney Sea is a really unique and special place that you can only find in Japan. It is well thought out, and the attention to detail right down to the decorations and food is unparalleled. Some people say that it is not suitable for young children, but to be honest, both parks were beyond my kids’ ages when we went (they were less than 1 year old and 3 years old). I think I enjoyed Disney Sea the most out of anyone in our group. In terms of atmosphere, my favorite place at DIsney Sea was Ariel’s Grotto, which is an indoor area that is pretty kid friendly. I also liked the Arabian Coast. Two rides you don’t want to miss at Disney Sea are Toy Story and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I would pass on the Electric Railway (it doesn’t take you to a place like the Kingdom of the Dinosaurs). If I could offer one tip: once you enter the park, head straight to Toy Story Mania and pick up a FastPass. We went on a low crowd day, and got our FastPass first thing, but our ride time was not until 8:30 PM. This is the most popular ride in the park, and it is pretty cool.
Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland is very similar to the other Disneyland’s, but there are a few things that make this park special. The first thing that comes to mind is the food. Tokyo Disneyland, like Disney Sea, has a variety of cute, tasty, instagram worthy foods. The highlight for me when visiting Tokyo Disneyland was going on a treasure hunt for all the kawaii snacks that Tokyo Disneyland has to offer. I made a video about it on my YouTube channel. I actually mapped out all the Kawaii food items that I wanted to try, and I made sure to try them all!
In addition, there are two rides at Tokyo Disneyland not available at other Disney Parks: Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and the Monsters Inc. ride. You will want to prioritize getting fast passes for these two rides.
Finally, Tokyo Disneyland has seasonal celebrations, and with those celebrations, special merchandise and kawaii snacks to go with the themes. We were there for Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Fantasy, which is pretty amazing if you have a kid whose favorite movie is Frozen during the time you’re visiting the park.
Ikspiari
Ikspiari is a shopping center located between Disney Sea and Disnelyand. It is comparable to Downtown Disney in Anaheim. There are plenty of restaurants and shops, and even a movie theater to keep you well fed and entertained during the times you are not at one of the parks. The highlight of Ikspiari for me, however, was the Disney Store. It was gigantic and carries a lot of merchandise only available in Japanese Disney stores (but not at Disneyland or Disney Sea). This Disney store carries the same merchandise as other Disney stores throughout Japan though, so if you visited the Disney store in Kyoto, for instance, you can probably skip this store. Note however that the Japanese Disney store churns our new designs and merchandise every month, so if you haven’t been within the last month, they will probably have new merchandise on the shelves.
Disney Hotel Breakdown
There are 9 hotels at Tokyo Disney Resort. 3 of the hotels are Disney Hotels:
1. The Mira Costa, which is across from Disney Sea and actually has a direct entry point to Disney Sea
2. The Disneyland Hotel, located across from Tokyo Disneyland (built with a 20th century victorian style, with disney-themed rooms, themed gardens, and a peter pan themed pool.
3. The Ambassador Hotel (Art deco style) located at Ikspiari, and is a little more budget friendly. Chef Mickey’s is here (character dining). You would have to take the monorail to get to Disneyland or Disney sea, but it is really quick.
Also on the property there are 6 “Official Disney hotels” which are owned by companies like the Hilton and Sheraton.
The benefit of staying at an Official Disney Hotel, is that they are located close to the theme parks – you can walk or take a free shuttle to the Disney monorail, and you can also buy your tickets at the Hotel, and gain access to the park even on restricted admission days.
We chose to stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. I booked our rooms kind of last minute and that was what was available at a reasonable price. We stayed in the Happy Magic Suite which was amazing, and perfect for families. The hotel itself was very kid friendly, and had a nice kids play area in the lobby. The room itself was decorated like a forest, with trees painted on the walls and a blue sky with clouds.
Chef Mickey’s at the Ambassador Hotel
If you are interested in Character dining, check out Chef Mickey’s at the Ambassador Hotel. Reservations are highly recommended, but we arrived right when the restaurant opened, and were able to walk in. You can meet and take photos with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy. Each character comes by your table to say hello and take photos. However if you are looking to meet other characters, this is not the place.
Disney Store
The Disney Store in Japan carries unique and ever-changing merchandise that is only available in Japan. At least every month, if not more frequently, they get a crop of new goods in their stores. If you are a Disney fan, make sure that you stop by! There are multiple locations throughout Japan.
Tokyo Disney Resort:
1-1 Maihama, Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture
www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/
(You can find information for Disney Sea, Disneyland, Ikspiari, and the Disney Hotels on this website.)