We visited both parks with our family of five. Here’s what surprised us, what we spent, and which one we’d return to.
We’ve been to a lot of Disney parks. Disneyland in California. Disney World in Florida. Disneyland Paris. And now we can check Tokyo Disney off the list.
When we added Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea to our Japan itinerary, we thought we knew what to expect.
We were right about some things.
And very, very wrong about others.
Tokyo Disneyland Felt Surprisingly Familiar
If you’re like me, you probably love Disneyland for the classic Disney nostalgia.
Tokyo got every bit of that right.
The rides. The castle. The nostalgia. It was all there.
And some of the rides were the same ones we know from Disneyland in California—just better. Think of the originals on steroids.
Everything felt a little more polished. The theming seemed more detailed, the rides were incredibly well done, and the Cast Members were next-level friendly and attentive.
It felt like the well-oiled Disney machine we know and love, but with the volume turned up.
And maybe this sounds silly, but one of the things I noticed immediately was what wasn’t happening.
Nobody was yelling.
Nobody was cutting in line.
Nobody was drunk and swimming in the fountain.
And, perhaps most shocking of all, I didn’t see anyone wearing booty shorts that showed half their backside.
It wasn’t just that everyone was well behaved. There was a general sense that people were aware of the people around them. People were quiet and respectful.
After visiting several Disney parks, that made a surprisingly big difference.
Tokyo Disney Was Surprisingly Affordable
At American Disney parks, I’m constantly doing the mental math before someone asks for a snack.
At Tokyo Disneyland, I found myself saying yes a lot more often. And as a mom, that’s fun for everyone.
Here’s what we spent for our two days in the parks:
| Cost | |
|---|---|
| Hotels — 3 nights | $741.56 |
| Meals | $218.38 |
| Disney Premier Access Passes | $276.99 |
| Souvenirs | $47.49 |
| Tickets | $416.62 |
| Total for five people | $1,701.04 |
That’s $340.21 per person for two days of Disney, including our hotel, food, tickets, Premier Access and souvenirs.
For our family, that felt pretty fantastic.
DisneySea Was the Park We Were Most Excited About
This was the one we couldn’t wait to see.
We expected something new, and we got it.
New theming. New rides. A completely different layout. A totally different experience.
The anticipation was almost worth it, but the heat and lines tested even my Disney-loving heart.
The heat was brutal.
There is a reason people in Japan carry umbrellas rain or shine. They are smart, and we were not. Even my heels got sunburned.
And Then There Were the Lines
I know I’ve made my point about being a family who loves Disney, but we are not so hardcore that we will wait forever in line.
60 minutes? Maybe.
61 minutes? We draw the line.
Y’all, people in Japan are serious about their lines. They do not mind waiting for hours.
Sadly, we are just a little too impatient for our own good.
I don’t mean that disrespectfully. Patience is a virtue—one my family apparently needs to practice.
I knew this might be an issue for us, so naturally, I spent a lot of time researching wait times and Disney Premier Access before our trip.
I went in with an ordered list of DPAs to purchase and an overall strategy for each park.
Here’s how it actually went:
Tokyo Disneyland
Stayed at: Disney Celebration Hotel — Wish
Happy Entry: We were second in line through the gates.
Rope drop: Splash Mountain. We were second on the ride.
Disney Premier Access: Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast
40th Anniversary Passes: Big Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion
Fill-ins: Everything else
Overall: We rode everything we wanted to ride!
Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek! were closed, but other than that, we didn’t feel like we missed out on a single ride or experience we wanted to do.
We did choose not to ride The Happy Ride with Baymax because it is similar to Alien Swirling Saucers, and that just wasn’t how we wanted to spend our time.
The strategy worked.
We had a full Disney day without feeling like we spent the entire day standing in line.
Tokyo DisneySea
Stayed at: Ambassador Hotel
Happy Entry: We messed this one up.
We went to the wrong line, and by the time we found the correct one, we were way back.
Pro tip: Make sure you know exactly where you’re going ahead of time. There are different Happy Entry lines depending on your hotel and passes.
Rope drop: We headed for Journey to the Center of the Earth, went the wrong direction, and wasted most of our Happy Entry advantage trying to find it.
And then we discovered it was closed anyway. So it probably didn’t matter anyway.
We walked on to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea instead.
Disney Premier Access: Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Tower of Terror
40th Anniversary Pass: Raging Spirits
Fill-ins: Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage and Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies
Overall: We missed more than we expected. Rapunzel was closed, and we were very sad about that. I hear it’s awesome.
We also didn’t get to Toy Story Mania!, Aquatopia, Nemo & Friends SeaRider or Soaring: Fantastic Flight.
And here’s the funny part: we actually had enough time to ride them. We were just tired.
And… lines.
At that point, our family collectively decided we’d rather go sit down than spend another hour waiting.
For complete overviews of our hotel experiences, click here to read our Japan hotel reviews.
So Which Park Was Our Favorite?
Surprisingly, Tokyo Disneyland.
Before visiting, I had every intention of liking DisneySea better. Why wouldn’t I? It was different.
I assumed the more unique park would be the more memorable one.
And it might have been our favorite if we’d ridden some of the attractions we skipped- or if Rapunzel had been open.
But sometimes our expectations are just wrong.
All of those little details at Tokyo Disneyland—the incredible theming, the friendliness, the calm, the nostalgia, the rides we already loved—combined to create the perfect Disney day for our family.
It felt like home.
It felt nostalgic.
It felt like happiness.
It was perfect for us.
Would We Go Back?
Tokyo Disneyland? In a heartbeat.
DisneySea? We’re glad we went. We had a great day, and I’m genuinely glad we didn’t skip it.
But if we found ourselves back in Tokyo tomorrow and had limited time?
Five out of five of us would choose Disneyland.
And honestly, that surprised me more than anything else about Tokyo Disney.