Tokyo Disney Resort is an excellent family experience, where both the Cast Members and the guests are truly lovely, and memories are worth remembering.
If Disneyland is the friendliest place on Earth, Tokyo Disney Resort has to be the friendliest place in the Galaxy. I have been to Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disney Resort, and in all these parks Disney “Cast Members” are friendly and helpful. I can confidently proclaim, however, that guests at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are by far the most pleasant and courteous of all Disney patrons. This view is shared by my daughter, a veteran of the Tokyo Disney Resort, who selected the parks for her 2014 spring break extravaganza.
The Tokyo Disney Resort consists of two parks; the iconic and familiar Tokyo Disneyland (I think a slightly smaller version of Disneyland in Anaheim) and the unique and visually stunning Tokyo DisneySea. While my daughter and I love Disneyland, we are particularly fond of DisneySea (as are many of our friends and their kids). So, if you have a long layover (at least 6 hours to be safe) at either Narita International Airport or Haneda International Airport, you might consider a trip to DisneySea. You can get there, from either airport, using the orange Airport Limousine bus service. Look for the Airport Limousine ticket desk in the arrivals lounge once you exit the Customs hall. The park is about 45 minutes from Narita and 30 minutes from Haneda.
Feast your eyes on a gorgeous version of Venice, Galileo’s castle, the erupting volcano, SS Columbia, Lost River Delta, and a whole lot more. It’s Disney done up very pretty, with lots of fun sprinkled over the top.
The food in the park, as a close friend mentioned last week, is the best food you’re likely to find in any theme park. And, the flavored popcorns (including curry flavored) are always yummy.
There are many hotels close enough to the parks to fit your needs (partner hotels with shuttle and monorail access to the parks are listed on the official Tokyo Disney Resort site). Agoda is a good resource for the best rates on hotels other than hotels in the parks. In our past visits we have been pleased with the very nice Hilton Tokyo Bay (on the Disney Resort Line), much more Japanese, but still quite pleasant, Sunroute Plaza Hotel (also on the Disney Resort Line) and a long-time favorite, but a little out of the way, Grand Pacific Le Daiba, now known as Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba (providing Disney Good Neighbor shuttle bus service).
Tokyo Disney Resort is an excellent family experience, where both the Cast Members and the guests are truly lovely, and memories are worth remembering. My daughter and I loved our more than tenth visit, and I suspect, there’s more Tokyo Disney in our future.
Travel planning notes: We happened to be traveling during Spring break, not just for my daughter but for many Japanese students as well. This put us in “peak season,” which meant substantially higher hotel prices. Official Disney hotel websites are great guides for understanding when are peak and less than peak seasons. I use the MiraCosta Hotel site to get a sense of what I should budget for travel and how crowded the parks will be.
(The photo, such that it is, was taken by me. All copyrights reserved.)
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