Tokyo Trip Report 9/29-10/1 2025

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Sunday 9/28
Flew in from Phoenix by way of SFO. Landed at Haneda around 315pm. Very easy to find and ride the Airport Limousine Bus over to the resort. We were staying at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. The bus ride took just under an hour. The experience is a lot like Mears in Orlando. While the bus route lists a stop at every hotel, in reality they only stopped where they had guests to drop off. The Sheraton was the fifth stop, right after Fantasy Springs Hotel.

Spent Sunday evening getting settled. We booked a club room, bay view. It's my second trip to TDR and my second stay at this hotel. I find the proximity to the monorail appealing. Plus, you know, Marriott points. The club level room included an evening happy hour from 4-8 with a surprisingly extensive buffet besides the self-service bar. Certainly enough for dinner and a view overlooking the parks. I will say the vibe was more "cruise ship buffet" than hotel club, especially with all the families with small kids running around. But it was nice having the perk. Club level also includes a similar breakfast buffet.

Monday 9/29 Tokyo Disneyland. High 83, humid but no rain
Woke up at 345am, still adjusting. Was up by 6 and after breakfast was in line at TDL by 820am. Not crazy-crowded, but I think many opted for TDL over TDS that day due to DisneySea closing early for a private event. Park hours at TDL were 9am-9pm. Gates opened at 9, not a minute earlier.

Once inside, we booked a noon DPA for Belle and a PP for Pooh at 11:35. We then decided to go the opposite way of the crowds and head over to Pirates first. Was a walk on, obviously, as was Jungle Cruise right after. But by 9:51 there was a posted 70 minute wait for Haunted Mansion. We got in line anyway and the wait was 57 minutes. The Halloween overlay is excellent, very much like the California verison.

Now is a good time to mention the weather. It was hot and sticky. Temperatures were in the low 80s but with significant humidity and, fortunately, no rain for the first two days. Still, coming from Arizona I had hoped for cooler weather.

After Haunted Mansion, we hopped on iasw and a very pleasant 15 minute wait indoors where the AC was cranking.

Pooh's Hunny Hunt is as fun as I remember. This was my second visit to the resort but my wife's first, so it was fun getting to share this with her.

Enchanted Tales with Belle was a cool ride. Certainly a technological achievement. I only wished it were longer. Also, there was a bit of a wait, even with DPA. Overall though, the DPA was definitely worth it.

Around 1pm we got in line for Monsters Inc. Posted 40 min wait but they blast AC in the outdoor queue which was nice.

We grabbed a burger at Tomorrowland Terrace right as the Harmony in Color parade was winding through. We followed the last float until we got to Tomorrowland. That restaurant was packed with a lot of squatters holding tables so it was tricky to find a place to sit and eat.

General impression on food at the resort. I'm not a fan of the special menus and really don't like that these menu items dominate almost every dining establishment. Sure, I can appreciate the appeal of holidy themed items, but keep some standards on hand too. We found that most of the quick serve eateries had a very limited offering of Halloween themed items at the expense of a "regular" menu. Just wish they could do both.

At 3pm we saw the Country Bear vacation show. Just as fun as the U.S. version, even in Japanese.

Afterward, we took an afternoon break back at the hotel, but after a quick stop in Ikspairi for a pair of shorts. I deliberately hadn't packed shorts, thinking it'd be cooler and shorts aren't as commonplace as they are in the States. But it was hot and a lot of people were wearing them. Not just foreigners either. I noticed this throughout our Japan trip, not just at Disney.

After an early dinner in the hotel club lounge we were back in the park for an evening of fun. A 6:30pm ride on the Mark Twain was a great way to relax. The riverboat is always especially charming at night.

We walked through Camp Woodchuck to look at all the fun camp-themed decorations in that restaurant. It's so cute. Then a PP ride on Big Thunder before the Electrical Parade.

We rode Pinocchio at 7:43 as a virtual walk-on during the E-Parade. Is it just me, or is this version sped up? The cars seemed to be moving 1.5x as fast as the Florida version. We also rode Peter Pan after what was only about a 14 min wait during the E-Parade.

At 8:05pm we were able to experience Pooh two more times before the park closed.

Tuesday 9/30 Tokyo DisneySea. High 81, humid but no rain
We didn't get there early but still managed to enter right at opening. Same posted hours, 9a-9p. Bought DPAs for 12:15pm Journey and 7pm Frozen. Got an 11:45am PP for Aquatopia.

We rode 20,000 Leagues, posted 30 min wait turned out to be about 15. Love that ride so much.

Then we rode Sinbad, the Caravan Carousel and watched the Magic Lamp show.

Aquatopia is running the "Get Soaked Version" where they spray water full on at each vehicle. Truth in advertising, we got wet. It would be nice if one side is dry and the other is wet so guests had the option.

While heading back for our DPA, we walked through The Columbia. When we got to Journey it had broken down. So we were issued the "super DPA" that would allow us to return when the ride was back up or use for another DPA attraction. But, given that Journey was going down for refurbishment the next day I had some anxiety that it would not reopen.

We headed back to wait for Rapunzel. With a posted 70 minute wait we thought it was worth knocking it out. That turned out to be a 58 minute wait that felt like two hours. And the actual ride - not worth a long wait. There are very few scenes and the whole thing is over just as it feels like it's getting started. I'm a big fan of Rapunzel, so this one was a disappointment.

At 2:06pm, Journey was back open and had a 200 minute wait. The standby queue looked short, but as we walked in using our DPA I noticed that they were letting almost no standbys on. There were so many DPAs that, at the elevators, it was like one standby group for every 15 DPA group. Sucks for those who want to ride without the upcharge.

After our afternoon hotel break and early dinner we were back at the park for the evening. We bought a 6:30pm DPA for Peter Pan (fun) and then rode our 7:05pm DPA for Frozen. Wow. Not a fan of the movie but this version of the ride is fantastic. Definitely an E ticket.

Rapunzel had a 25 minute wait which turned out to be a much more tolerable 15 minutes and it was nice to see the outdoor parts of the ride at night.

Rounded out the evening with another ride on Sinbad and two more rides on 20,000 Leagues. No waits for either and the cast member on 20,000 Leagues was kind enough to walk us over from the exit to the boarding area without having to walk all the way up and around.

Wednesday 10/1 Tokyo DisneySea. High 78, intermittent rain
We decided to hang out at the hotel, sleep in and avoid the rain. Instead, we bought Weeknight Passports for TDS. Got to the gate around 4:30pm. It was raining and there were maybe 200 people waiting to get in. Not bad at all.

We hustled over to try to catch the 5:20pm Dreams Take Flight show but no luck, we were not allowed in without a reservation despite it not seeming crowded. This is another peeve, virtual queuing for shows is a hassle.

With the refurbishment cutover we knew that Journey would be closed and Nemo SeaRider would be open. So we were able to do SeaRider and that was cute and fun. Sort of a giant, low-key Star Tours. Wait time was maybe 15 minutes.

Electric Railway (5 min wait) over to Amrerican Waterfront, then spent a half hour walking around Fotress Explorations.

At 6:45pm we walked onto 20,000 Leagues one final time, then found a spot outside the volcano to watch "Believe, Sea of Dreams". That was a good show with nice use of the show barges and visual effects. After that, we were able to watch the beginning of the Disneyland Halloween fireworks show. The audio is piped into TDS which is a nice touch.

I had wanted to ride the Transit Steamer at night. This is difficult. The ride is closed during shows, which means it's closed effectively from 5pm until 830pm. Then there is a narrow 10 minute window where it opens for one boat that leaves the dock at Mediterranean Harbor. To make a comple circuit, we had to get off the boat at the Lost River Delta dock and re-board. Tricky and if we had watched the entire fireworks show we would've missed it.

That was the end of our Disney days. We had a great time. Some misc closing thoughts:
- Drinking fountains are not easy to find. They're not always near rest rooms so it was hard to keep topping up our water bottles. There are lots of bottled water vending machines, though.
- If not staying at a Disney resort, I highly recommend the Sheraton. The proximity to the monorail alone makes it worthwhile. And if you don't want to walk, there is a bus that literally drives back and forth across the street (like a 3 minute ride). Nice when your doggies are tired at the end of a long day.
- As mentioned before, it'd be nice if restaurants maintained some standard menu items alongside the holiday specialties.
- Would've been nice to look at the Fantasy Springs Hotel lobby and maybe have something to eat but they don't let you in if not staying there.