Our 1-day Tokyo Disneyland touring plan covers our ideally suited day within the park with sights ordered to reduce time in line and maximize effectivity. To that finish, these are the sights we might do, the eating places at which we’d dine, the exhibits we’d see, and the small print we’d attempt to take pleasure in. (Up to date March 5, 2023.)
In our Tokyo Disney Resort Journey Planning Information we advocate 2 days at Tokyo Disneyland (TDL) if in case you have the time, because the park has a extremely spectacular attraction slate (and infrequently, lengthy strains). Accordingly, you’ll need to skip some issues if you happen to solely have at some point at TDL. When you’re visiting Tokyo DisneySea, try our 1-Day Tokyo DisneySea itinerary.
This Tokyo Disneyland touring plan has been up to date following the reopening of Japan’s border to worldwide vacationers. Though the parks reopened some time in the past and pent-up demand is thru the roof, operations are nonetheless scaled again for some inexplicable motive. As such, this itinerary could be very a lot tentative and topic to vary. We hope to have one other replace this summer time or every time issues get again to regular. With that main caveat out of the way in which, right here’s our 2023 Tokyo Disneyland itinerary…
Tokyo Disneyland is principally “Bizarro Magic Kingdom” and this is applicable to sights, too. When you solely have a single day at TDL, your time is greatest spent doing unique sights which might be distinctive to Tokyo Disneyland. Apart from Splash Mountain, any rides you’ve skilled at different Disney theme parks world wide are skippable. You may see the complete attraction lineup in our Tokyo Disneyland Attraction Information publish.
This Tokyo Disneyland 1-Day Information assumes you’re visiting throughout a weekday at a moderately-crowded time of 12 months. Except you’ve been to Walt Disney World or Disneyland on New 12 months’s Eve or another main vacation, you in all probability have by no means seen the form of crowds the Tokyo parks get on weekends or throughout busy season. When you go to when it’s busier, you’ll wait in lengthy strains for every thing, together with to get into the park. Learn When to Go to Tokyo Disneyland in 2023 to forestall your self from having these points.
One ultimate observe earlier than getting began is that it is best to contemplate staying at one of many Disney-branded resorts in case your price range permits. See our Resort Evaluations & Rankings at Tokyo Disney Resort for comparisons and proposals. Staying on the Disney resorts offers you the “Completely satisfied 15” perk, which is quarter-hour of early entry into the park.
When you get up from wherever it’s that you’re sleeping, eat breakfast, after which get began in your day…
Arrive Early – When you’re staying on the Tokyo Disneyland Resort, plan to reach on the Completely satisfied 15 entrance a minimum of 45 minutes earlier than official park opening. When you’re staying at a non-Disney lodge, you’ll want to arrive even sooner than that as a result of the common turnstile strains might be even longer than the Completely satisfied 15 line.
On busy days, we attempt to arrive an hour earlier than park opening (even if you happen to get there that early, you’ll nonetheless discover different folks in entrance of you in line. When you’re eligible for Completely satisfied 15, your first vacation spot is straightforward: Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast. That is the blockbuster new trackless darkish experience inside Beast’s Citadel in Fantasyland that seats friends in gigantic tea cups that dance in rhythm to the music from Magnificence and the Beast, whereas showcasing scenes depicting the story of the traditional Disney animated movie.
Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast additionally sells Disney Premier Entry, which is actually a paid alternative for FastPass. If this Magnificence and the Beast experience is extremely vital to you, contemplate shopping for that. (It’s additionally included through standby on this itinerary.)
Monsters & Pooh/Pan Sprint – When you’re not eligible for Completely satisfied 15, it is best to save Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast till later within the day. The overwhelming majority of the early-arriving crowd heads there first, and also you’ll be behind all of them. You’ll be losing priceless time caught in line behind hundreds of different folks whereas wait instances are low elsewhere.
Consequently, our technique for very first thing within the morning is working to Monsters, Inc. Journey & Go Search (use the shortcut by means of World Bazaar into Tomorrowland on the precise) and doing that first. Alternatively, you may proceed on to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt in Fantasyland and do this first. With that in thoughts, there are principally two choices for beginning the day:
Possibility 1 (Maximize Effectivity):
- Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Splash Mountain
- Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Haunted Mansion
- Jungle Cruise
Possibility 2 (Decrease Backtracking):
- Monsters Inc. Journey & Go Search
- Area Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters
- Cross by means of Cinderella Citadel’s Central Plaza to Adventureland
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Jungle Cruise
When you select the primary choice, which is what we’d strongly advocate, you’ll hold bouncing round all through the day. Tokyo Disneyland isn’t that massive of a park, and if you happen to can deal with strolling round Japan, you’re in all probability wonderful criss-crossing a theme park just a few instances in a day.
When you select the second choice, you’ll proceed with the lands in clockwise style, doing Westernland and Critter Nation after ending up Adventureland, ending the day in Fantasyland. This second strategy is definitely a surprisingly natural and environment friendly method to do Tokyo Disneyland (save for Huge Thunder and Splash Mountain, which could have lengthy strains once you arrive at these sights).
Listed here are some extra notes, plus how you can fill out the center of your day, whatever the first choice you select…
Splash Mountain Single Rider – Though Splash Mountain is much like its US cousins, we nonetheless extremely advocate doing it in Tokyo Disneyland. Critter Nation at Tokyo Disneyland was constructed particularly for Splash Mountain, and the extent of element on this complete space–together with within the queue and on the experience itself–is unparalleled.
The opposite motive we advocate doing it’s as a result of there’s a Single Rider line that’s comparatively unpopular, that means you may wait about 5-10 minutes for this attraction, even when the posted wait time exceeds 2 hours.
Lunch at Grandma Sara’s – Do you know that Grandma Sara (who is definitely an opossum that appears somewhat too younger to be a grandma) has a kitchen in Tokyo Disneyland? Nicely, she does, and her kitchen is spectacular. This restaurant is inside Splash Mountain and is definitely superb.
The design is the primary draw, with the meals being fairly good, too. Go right here for an early lunch, as this place will get busy at lunchtime. (“Rope dropping” Queen of Hearts Banquet Corridor, talked about beneath, may be an excellent different.)
Mickey’s Magical Music World Lottery – The favored new stage present in Fantasyland Forest Theatre, Mickey’s Magical Music World makes use of a free lottery system for seating. That is now achieved through the Tokyo Disney Resort app reasonably than at a bodily in-park location. We advocate selecting a day showtime for Mickey’s Magical Music World.
When you win, nice. When you don’t, oh nicely. Mickey’s Magical Music World is sweet and value seeing, but it surely’s not altogether dissimilar from any montage musical at different Disney parks or aboard Disney Cruise Line. It’s not in the identical league as Huge Band Beat at Tokyo DisneySea, which is an absolute must-see.
Afternoon Reveals – When crowds are at their peak in the course of the afternoon, contemplate watching one of many park’s much less common exhibits: Nation Bear Jamboree and/or The Enchanted Tiki Room: Sew Presents “Aloha E Komo Mai!”
The latter is a bit divisive (I prefer it), whereas the previous is undeniably superior. When you’re visiting between summer time and Christmas, observe that you just’ll get a seasonal model of Nation Bear Jamboree, which is principally like successful the lottery.
Daytime Parade – We actually don’t have a ton of attraction suggestions, which can trigger you to surprise why Tokyo Disneyland will take a lot time: it’s the leisure. There are (no less than) 2 must-see parades, plus different exhibits and leisure, all of which eats massive chunks of the day.
Disney Concord in Coloration! Parade is the brand new parade for Tokyo Disneyland’s fortieth Anniversary. This can begin on April 15, 2023 and certain run till April 14, 2028. As with its predecessor, Concord in Coloration will doubtless be extremely common, so that you’ll need to seize a spot ~45 minutes earlier than parade time. Seek the advice of our Tokyo Disneyland Daytime Parade Viewing Ideas for advisable places. (That covers the present parade, however the recommendation would be the similar.)
Dinner with the Queen – So I’m placing the subsequent two gadgets proper subsequent to at least one one other, despite the fact that they in all probability received’t work out to be that means except you’re a pig like we’re. You both need to do an early dinner at Queen of Hearts Banquet Corridor and snacking all through the remainder of the night time, or snacking all afternoon and a late dinner.
Queen of Hearts Banquet Corridor–based mostly on Alice in Wonderland–is the most well-liked restaurant in Tokyo Disneyland, and its strains might be fairly lengthy proper round dinner time. We’ve had one of the best luck going right here proper when it opens or 2-3 pm.
Strategic Snacking – There are some mega E-Ticket sights at Tokyo Disneyland that you just received’t discover on any map, and these are the snacks. From the highly-touted popcorn to Tipo Torta (suppose churros, besides truly superior) to Toy Story Alien Mochi to Squeezers mango drinks to the seafood pizza at Captain Hook’s Galley to the pizza (and bizarrely-awesome present) at Pan Galactic Pizza Port, Tokyo Disneyland has some superb snack choices.
Learn our Superior Tokyo Disneyland Snacks publish to get an thought of what different snacks you may need to attempt all through the day. A potential different to all this snacking is consuming at Crystal Palace, a buffet that features a number of the snacks discovered within the park. That is value efficient, however as Crystal Palace additionally exists at Walt Disney World, it’s kind of a boring choose.
Ambiance on the Rivers of America – Proper round sundown, contemplate doing the Rivers of America Trifecta: Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes, Western River Railroad, and Mark Twain Riverboat. The canoes are nice with the late afternoon gentle in your face, Wester River Railroad is gorgeous at nightfall, and by the point you get to the Mark Twain Riverboat, it must be darkish.
Each really patriotic particular person enjoys an excellent nighttime cruise aboard the Mark Twain. In reality, I imagine Mark Twain mentioned this about nighttime cruises on his namesake ship: “Garments make the person. Bare folks have little or no affect on society.” Sage phrases, Mr. Twain.
Evening Parades & Reveals – You’ll need to get good spots for each the seasonally-changing Cinderella Citadel nighttime spectacular (presently nothing) and Dreamlights. Different friends will stake out spots early, however the excellent news right here is that friends within the entrance “rows” are required to take a seat and there aren’t any children on shoulders (it’s prohibited–and enforced), so that you’ll be capable to see over different friends.
Due to this, you shouldn’t have a problem getting spots half-hour earlier than showtime with good visibility. You may theoretically get one spot for each, however with the way in which they’re normally spaced aside through the course of the night time, I don’t advocate this.
Typically the Cinderella Citadel present is being proven twice nightly. Whereas the second present is way much less crowded, it additionally interferes with one of the best time to do sights with minimal waits. As such, we advocate seeing the primary displaying of no matter that may be, and doing sights instantly after Dreamlights.
Fantasyland Favorites – As quickly as Dreamlights passes, you’ll want to excessive tail it to the headliner rides you haven’t but completed. On a standard night time at Tokyo Disneyland, you’ll have rather less than 2 hours left within the working day after Dreamlights. Listed here are potential plans of assault:
- Monsters Inc. Journey & Go Search
- Area Mountain
- Watch the Completely satisfied Journey with Baymax
- Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast
- Journey the Completely satisfied Journey with Baymax (if time permits)
- Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast or Pooh’s Hunny Hunt (if time permits)
Possibility 2:
- Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast
- Pooh’s Hunny Hunt
- Watch or experience the Completely satisfied Journey with Baymax
- Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast (if time permits)
Okay, let’s clarify the professionals/cons & issues of those approaches. First, it’s a race in opposition to the clock after Dreamlights ends to your subsequent vacation spot. When you’re not quick and also you choose Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast, you’re behind a ton of individuals with the very same thought. Both of the Tomorrowland headliners are decrease stakes and simpler to experience with brief strains.
Second, we’ve not too long ago run into issues with Tokyo Disneyland reducing the road for Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast earlier than park closing. It was the case that you might get in line till the minute the parks closed. That’s nonetheless the case for many sights, more often than not. However not all the time. So if Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast is absolutely vital, you want to line up for it no less than 60 minutes earlier than park closing.
Third, we see little motive to really experience the Completely satisfied Journey with Baymax. The enjoyable of that is the vitality of the viewers, and that exists whether or not you’re driving or standing outdoors the attraction doing the little dance and wave routine. That half is a ton of enjoyable, however the attraction itself is so-so at greatest, and a protracted anticipate what it’s. Don’t miss being a part of the enjoyable on the Completely satisfied Journey with Baymax…however that enjoyable doesn’t require driving it.
Lastly, truly outcomes will differ. Publish-reopening, now we have had success doing Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast back-to-back-to-back, getting in line the ultimate time lower than 5 minutes after park closing, and by no means ready greater than quarter-hour for it (the ultimate experience was a literal walk-on, with empty tea cups). The very subsequent night time, the road was reduce ~half-hour earlier than park closing and the posted wait time was nonetheless 45 minutes.
With out query, Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast is the most well-liked and inconsistent experience within the park, and this holds true even on the finish of the night time. Chances are you’ll get fortunate driving it three consecutive instances like we did, however based mostly on subsequent nights at Tokyo Disneyland, it seems that was an outlier.
We now have had way more predictable and constant guidelines driving Pooh’s Hunny Hunt and different Fantasyland or Tomorrowland sights on the finish of the night. No matter what you do final, take the lengthy route out by means of Fantasyland Forest and in direction of Tomorrowland, the place the dances lights on Area Mountain and the long run is a desolate place.
Sluggish Stroll By way of World Bazaar – World Bazaar closes roughly half-hour after park closing, however I might not plan on purchasing throughout that hour. The shops are chaotic, with friends dashing to purchase trinkets or cutely-boxed meals for family and friends who didn’t accompany them on the journey. As a substitute, slowly make your means out, noting the variations between World Bazaar and Principal Road. Have a look at the home windows, which honor Imagineers, Disney executives, and Oriental Land Firm executives.
A few of these issues are going to need to be reduce relying upon how a lot time different issues take, however if you happen to’re capable of do even half of the issues on this 1-Day Tokyo Disneyland Plan, you’ve gotten knocked out an excellent chunk of the park’s highlights. Regardless, you’ll have a good time if you happen to comply with this itinerary.
Planning a visit to Tokyo Disney Resort? For complete recommendation, one of the best place to start out is our Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea Journey Planning Information! For extra specifics, our TDR Resort Rankings & Evaluations web page covers lodging. Our Restaurant Evaluations element the place to dine & snack. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash publish. Our What to Pack for Disney publish takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. Venturing elsewhere in Japan? Seek the advice of our Final Information to Kyoto, Japan and Metropolis Information to Tokyo, Japan.
Your Ideas
Have you ever completed Enchanted Story of Magnificence and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland? How lengthy did you wait? What was your technique for knocking out this and different headliner rides? What would you embrace in your ideally suited go to to Tokyo Disneyland? Does your day or technique differ in any respect from what we’ve shared on this touring plan? When you haven’t visited Tokyo Disneyland but, what do you intend on doing? Any questions? Share your questions and ideas within the feedback!