Where do you even start? Disney Tokyo

[diddldonna]

I have been looking at Pricing up to go to Tokyo Disney but I am finding it difficult to figure it all out.

Whats the best way to fly there and whom with.

What hotel to book thats not too expensive but nice enough and with easy reach to Disney.

Is it is easy to get around Tokyo? I.e. I can figure out other languages to read but the Japanese language looks too difficult to read.

Any help would be great.

[Gill H]

We are at exactly the same point!

We've been reading some excellent trippies on here (part way through Hannikins' trippie and going on to read geoffa's again.

We've looked at lots of YouTube videos from TDRExplorer (American guy, mad about Disney) and Abroad in Japan (very sarky sense of humour and some swearing).

We are currently thinking of indirect flights from Heathrow as we live half an hour on the tube from there.

Looking at Citadines Shinjuku for the Tokyo part of our stay, and then Sheraton Tokyo Bay for the Disney part.

Thinking about 2020 for our 25th anniversary so we will have time to save up.

Tim Tracker and Krispy Smore did a joint trip there recently, their YouTube videos are worth looking at.

[diddldonna]

Originally Posted by Gill H

We are at exactly the same point!

We've been reading some excellent trippies on here (part way through Hannikins' trippie and going on to read geoffa's again.

We've looked at lots of YouTube videos from TDRExplorer (American guy, mad about Disney) and Abroad in Japan (very sarky sense of humour and some swearing).

We are currently thinking of indirect flights from Heathrow as we live half an hour on the tube from there.

Looking at Citadines Shinjuku for the Tokyo part of our stay, and then Sheraton Tokyo Bay for the Disney part.

Thinking about 2020 for our 25th anniversary so we will have time to save up.

Tim Tracker and Krispy Smore did a joint trip there recently, their YouTube videos are worth looking at.

See more...

Thank you so much you have been super helpful will check all those out. We celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2020 too xxx

[Caroian]

We spent almost 3 weeks in Japan in April of this year. We flew direct with BA which was a good experience - we got a good price in the sale and collect Avios anyway. We also stayed at a Disney hotel (Ambassador) for that portion of our trip. There are several "partner" hotels on the Disney Resort Monorail line (including Hilton and Sheraton) which seem to get good reviews and very easy to reach the parks. However I wouldn't go just for Disney. Japan is an amazing country and if you are travelling all that way it is worth seeing as much as you can. Kyoto is a fantastic city, and you should definitely spend a few days in Tokyo itself.

Getting around Tokyo is actually fairly straightforward if you just take you time to get used to it. Signage is universally in both Japanese and English. Restaurant menus are often available in English, but also most have pictures, or better yet full scale plastic models of the actual food to pick from. Most people understand some English even if they cannot speak it, and pointing and sign language get you a long way. The transport system is fairly straightforward too once you get your head around it. Stations are numbered so it is easy to work out where you are and which way you are going. There are maps at each station which show the fare you need to pay to each destination on the line (with both English and Japanese versions). The only complication is that there are a variety of operators, so you need to ensure you are paying for and going through the gates for the right line. If you plan to travel around then a JR pass easily becomes good value as it covers all the JR lines (but not Tokyo Metro or other operators) and also certain Shinkansen (bullet) services.

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I did my first trip back in 2016, and wrote a trip report, but with a lot more detail in how to get around Tokyo and Japan in general, as me and the wife are train mad, I thought it was interesting.

You may find it useful. Plus I didn't go because of Disney so its a more different approach.

Don't let the title put you off, its not all about trains!

2016 Trip Report

I loved it so much, I cancelled Disney in 2017 and went back

2017 Trip Report

[sky13]

For Disney one of the partner hotels along the monorail line would be good if you're looking for something cheaper than the official Disney hotels. I stayed at the Sheraton Tokyo Bay in 2015 and loved it - it was a great hotel, and easy to get from there to the Disney parks using the monorail. I would love to stay in the Hotel MiraCosta if I could though (this is the Disney hotel that is part of DisneySea), but it gets booked up way in advance and is on the expensive side.

We relied a lot on Google Maps when we were there. Got a MiFi at the airport (pre-book in advance and collect at the airport in Tokyo, then at the end of the trip put it into a stamped envelope the provide and drop it off at a postbox at the airport in Tokyo), so we could all use 3G/4G during the trip. I found a lot of the signs confusing as they were in Japanese, but Google Maps always pointed us in the right direction.

I really want to go back!

[disneypars]

If you look at the Tim Tracker vlog on YouTube he has just returned from there. Not all Disney either. Looks amazing!

[penguin19]

Just an FYI for those looking at 2020 - If you are looking at summer holidays then Tokyo are hosting the Olympics - so I would imagine things would be a lot busier.

[DisneyKim416]

Originally Posted by penguin19

Just an FYI for those looking at 2020 - If you are looking at summer holidays then Tokyo are hosting the Olympics - so I would imagine things would be a lot busier.

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And the Rugby World Cup in September/October 2019!