Back from Tokyo Disney - Highs, Lows and Tips

[1nfrequent]

Thought I'd share my highs and lows of my trip to Tokyo Disney last week. I went from Wednesday to Friday with a 3 day pass.

HIGHS

- I really enjoyed the Japanese take on Tower of Terror (which doesn't have the Twilight Zone element to it, substituting an original story involving a cursed idol), the Haunted Mansion (which was themed with Nightmare Before Christmas) and the Winnie the Pooh ride (such a lot of fun and very cute).

- Cast members were superb - always smiling and waving, even when it was peeing it down during a tropical storm - and if you had a question or issue they were doing their best to help answer it notwithstanding the language barrier.

- I got picked as the Rebel spy on Star Tours for the first time ever! So excited to have Boba Fett try to bring me in.

- Food was actually pretty good - I ate at Blue Bayou (good food but small portions - the chocolate pecan tart was divine though) and Ristorante di Canaletto (big portions and excellent service). I didn't get to do the popcorn due to diet restrictions but the smell was incredible.

- Space Mountain - loved it. It's my second favourite of all the parks I've been too - not least because it's completely pitch black.

- Theming at Disney Sea - they've done a hell of a job with this and I was really impressed with the detailing. Absolutely lovely to wander around.

LOWS
- 2 of the days were impacted by bad weather - not Disney's fault but it did feel pretty miserable at times, especially as parades and fireworks were cancelled so the queues were pretty long.

- some of the rides kept going down for long periods - Space Mountain and Pooh were the big offenders here.

- didn't get the Monsters Inc love - cute ride but I waited 90 minutes and didn't think it was worth it. Ditto the mania for TSM - waits were 2 hours at times - completely nuts.

- queue management - I get that fast passes need to get priority but on some rides they were letting on 100 FPs for every 10 standby - that made standby a lot longer than it needed to be for some rides.

- Hilton Tokyo Bay - this was the most expensive hotel I had booked for my trip but the hotel room itself felt cheap (wall mounted soap and shampoo, plastic cladding in the bathroom) and unlike every other hotel I stayed in in Japan, they charged for in room wi fi (even though it was available for free in public areas). I get that you're paying for location and I did have a view of the fireworks from my hotel window but I really did not feel like I got value for money. If I go again, I would try one of the other hotels instead.

TIPS:
- Get there at opening time and get FPs for popular rides - TSM, Space Mountain, Monsters Inc and Pooh would be my top targets but YMMV.

- If you're going during low season, don't automatically go with a 3 day pass. I had all the rides done that I wanted within the 2 days and just used day 3 as a mop up and a chance to meander around and check out the detailing.

Hope that's useful.

1F

 

[swooshbear]

- queue management - I get that fast passes need to get priority but on some rides they were letting on 100 FPs for every 10 standby - that made standby a lot longer than it needed to be for some rides.

Yes, this was the one thing that bugged me the most. A small handful of standbys would go, then the entire FP line was let through. I did standby for Pooh, which was estimated at 50 minutes but it felt much longer because we were so close to the CM but they kept letting FP people through. In the US parks, the percentages seem to be more balanced.

 

[Simba07]

Which kind of room did you have at the Hilton? I'm probably staying there in about a month (I think it is the only one in the area with a rate I can possibly justify) but you experience has me worried.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

- Hilton Tokyo Bay - this was the most expensive hotel I had booked for my trip but the hotel room itself felt cheap (wall mounted soap and shampoo, plastic cladding in the bathroom) and unlike every other hotel I stayed in in Japan, they charged for in room wi fi (even though it was available for free in public areas). I get that you're paying for location and I did have a view of the fireworks from my hotel window but I really did not feel like I got value for money. If I go again, I would try one of the other hotels instead.

1F

Yikes. May I ask, what type of room did you have? I was in a Celebrio King park view and that wasn't my experience at all. No wall mounted soaps, no plastic cladding that I can recall, no upcharge for wifi. I would concede that the design aesthetic of the room was a bit cheesy but it matched the online pictures so I got what I was expecting. I was pleased with the Hilton especially for the price and location. I'm sorry you didn't have the same experience.

 

[1nfrequent]

Simba07:
Which kind of room did you have at the Hilton?

TipsyTraveler:
May I ask, what type of room did you have?

I went for a Twin Hilton Guestroom, which was the cheapest available - I would have loved a Celebrio but they were just outside my price bracket. I've stayed in Hilton basic guestrooms before all over the world and never had one that felt as cheap as this one was. It was like being in a British Travelodge.

Part of the issue here for me was that I stayed in basic rooms in chains throughout my stay in Japan across a number of chains and the Hilton was way below all of them. I will say though that the staff are incredibly good - only saving grace IMO.

I may have been unlucky or it may have been the result of going through hotels.com, but it's really soured my view of the Hilton chain.

1F