Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea

If you know anything about me, you know I’m a huge Disney fan. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to go to every Disney park in the world. Alex’s work trip to Japan opened an opportunity to finally achieve this goal of mine, and we jumped at the chance to add a few days in Tokyo at the beginning of our trip to be able to go to the parks before Alex had to begin work.

When we arrived in Tokyo, we headed to our hotel the Hilton Tokyo Bay, which is located directly across from the entrance to the parks. The hotel itself was amazing and had features of Disney throughout the lobby, as well as a Disney store located on the first floor. We loved being able to stay in such a nice hotel without paying the expensive price tags of an actual Disney hotel.

We spent our first day at Disney Sea, and our second day at Disneyland Tokyo, and we’ve outlined our favorite moments and best tips for both days for you below!

Park Entrance

Short and fast lines

Getting into the parks wasn’t difficult, but definitely took a little more work than we were used to. Unfortunately, all my research ahead of time didn’t completely prevent all obstacles. Our short walk over to Bayside Station was the easy part of the start of our day. Once there, we were a bit confused about how to get through the initial gates and on to the monorail platform. There were many kiosks to purchase tickets to go through, but we couldn’t determine how to purchase them and what type. Eventually, we located a staff member who indicated we needed cash to purchase the ticket for two days. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an ATM here to get cash. Alex walked back to our hotel and got the yen we needed to enter, and then we made our way on to the platform. Luckily, the monorail arrives every few minutes and the ride over to the park is very short.

Once at the park, we headed to the area just in front of the entrance where very organized lines were formed and guests were starting to make their way into the park. This moved very quickly and was pretty straightforward. Once inside, we stopped to take a few photos and then made our way to the main area of the park.

Disney Sea

We had a very rainy, chilly day for our first day at Disney in Tokyo. We first headed through the main entrance plaza and headed right to start making our way around the park. If you know us, you know we had to immediately find something to eat, and found our first snack at the Refreshment Station and snagged a Potato Churro. This snack was especially delicious and addictive, with a potato filling and hint of tangy ketchup in the seasoning. They were so good, I managed to get two more later in the day.

Potato Churro

Under the Sea

My first priority today was seeing the incredible world of the Little Mermaid. I’d done my research and learned that the detailing in this area of the park was unmatched, and as a huge Little Mermaid fan, I had to see it for myself! We were absolutely amazed the moment we walked in here. It was beautiful and whimsical and incredibly fun! We were surprised to find so many attractions in here that were great for little kids. Finn was able to ride the Jumping Jellyfish, run around the splash pads, and play in the undersea coves and playgrounds. We spent a lot of time in here, and came back later in the day, too, to let Finn have more fun!

Underwater Play Area

After the underwater world, we made our way over to Toyville Trolley Park where we had a chance to ride Woody’s Rootin Tootin Shootin Gallery. This ride is very similar to one in Hollywood Studios in Disney World Orlando, and is a 3D experience where you can turn your car around and shoot at the screens to get a high score. We did purchase the Tokyo version of Lightning Lane for this ride so that we wouldn’t have to wait in a long line with Finn, which we were very grateful to do as we essentially walked right onto the ride and we were back out in 15 minutes.

We stopped to get another snack and indulged ourselves to some sugary treats. We got the Mickey Ice Cream Bar (Tropical Fruit) and honestly were shocked at just how good it was. It was refreshing with hints of orange, mango, and pineapple and even on a cold day, it was very good!

Tropical Mickey Popsicle

After we left this area, we headed closer to the port where they have American Waterfront and most of this area is filled with restaurants and food carts. We stopped to find another snack, and settled on the Pork Roll. Sounded promising, but unfortunately, this was super disappointing and I ended up not finishing it. It wasn’t quite the texture I expected, and didn’t have a whole lot of flavor.

Sausage Roll

Before we completely left this area, we found the hidden Holy Grail of all snacks: The Alien Mochi. These are cold, dessert filled mochi with different flavors inside each: chocolate, custard, and strawberry cream. Alex LOVED these! I let him have the rest of mine since it was honestly too much sweet for me.

Alien Dessert Mochi

We did a little bit of shopping in this area before leaving it. This area is where you can find most of the iconic Duffy merch. (For those of you unfamiliar, Duffy is an adorable bear gifted to Mickey Mouse by his sweetheart Minnie.) You won’t find Duffy and his friends in other parks in the world - he’s exclusive to Disney Sea! We made sure to grab a small souvenir for Finn while we were here.

Duffy Bear Mug

After a quick stop to shop, we made our way back over to Mediterranean Harbor to grab some lunch. We wanted to play it a little safe for this meal, so we decided to get some pasta. Finn has never turned down a noodle (just like his mom), so we knew he’d get a hearty lunch he was sure to enjoy. Alex and I both got two seafood pasta specials, and seriously enjoyed them.

Mediterranean Pasta

Right after lunch, the rain really picked up and started pouring. We quickly found a stroller rain cover, and found a small bench and alcove near the entrance to hunker down for a little bit. (We knew Finn was going to fall asleep soon, so we decided to go ahead and relax here for a bit while Finn napped.) While Alex held him, I ran inside to the small café next door and grabbed a couple cups of coffee and snack for Alex. He spotted this insanely big donut that he just had to have, and the fact that it’s Mickey shaped had me running to get it for him. It must have been delicious because he absolutely devoured it!

Giant Mickey Donut

We made our way back around the park to Lost River Delta to finally do a bigger ride for us to enjoy. (Here’s a tip not many people know: they have single rider lines here! Alex hopped in the line and went and rode Indiana Jones Adventure while I continued to hold Finn for the latter part of his nap. We had stopped to get some popcorn on the way over so I was also able to finish my snack before heading into the ride myself. This ride is a little differently themed than the one in Disneyland California, but definitely a fun experience. (It is a very rough and bumpy ride, so keep that in mind!)

Flavored Popcorn

After the ride, Finn finally woke up and we decided to head back to Mermaid Lagoon so that Finn could run around and play some more. Once again, the rain had picked up so being back inside was definitely a good call. It became a little crowded, but never felt like there wasn’t enough space for Finn to actively play. (I also got to do a little more shopping here and picked out some exclusive Disney Sea and Mermaid Lagoon merch to bring home!)

Mermaid Lagoon

We quickly realized that Finn wasn’t going to make it much longer, and would be falling asleep again soon. (Jetlag really hit him at this point, and we were feeling tired, as well.) We made the decision to slowly make our way out of the park and head back to the hotel to grab dinner and head to bed early. It was a good decision, because by the time we made it back on to the monorail Finn had fallen asleep again.

We loved our day here, and I’m definitely glad we didn’t make a huge schedule to follow (like we have to in Orlando) because we were able to spend more time exploring and had a much more relaxing day as a family here. We absolutely understand why this park gets such a stellar reputation, and we can’t wait to come back one day!

We headed to Tokyo Disneyland the next day, and with one day already under our belt, we felt a little more prepared and a lot more excited!

Main Street Pavillion

Tokyo Disneyland

Our second day in Disney started off more smoothly, as we made our way through Bayside Station with ease and arrived at the entrance to Disneyland quickly. The line for the park entrance was much longer today than the day before, and quite a bit more disorganized as people crowded together. However, we were in the entrance within 20 minutes and made our way into Main Street.

Fun Fact about Tokyo Disneyland: their Main Street is completely covered! It has a glass covered roof and is an enclosed plaza with all the familiar shops and restaurants (and some unique ones)!

Tokyo Disneyland Entrance

Our first stop was Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was already starting to fill up outside the ride entrance so we quickly joined before it got too long. All in all, the line was about thirty minutes long and most of it was indoors and had very similar theming to the ones in the States.

After Pirates of the Caribbean, we decided to grab lunch quickly before making our way around the park. We were very excited to learn they had a Casey’s Corner here in the same location on Main Street as Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Instead of corndog nuggets, they have Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets, which were delicious. We also bought a hot dog, some fries, and a few Cokes to enjoy.

Casey’s Corner

Going clockwise, our next step was exploring the rest of Adventureland, Westernland, and Critter Country. We stopped to get another snack and decided to get the Teriyaki Chicken roll, which was surprisingly good and very hard not to go back to get another one.

Teriyaki Roll

Westernland has plenty of shops and is mainly themed around the culture of the American Cowboy. There’s clothing, souvenirs, and toys all centered around it, and it was quite fun to see things like cowboy hats and leather pants for sale in Japan. This is where you’ll find all the familiar places of Frontierland, like Big Thunder Mountain, Country Bear Theater, and Peco Bills Cafe. While here, we saw another cart for ice cream and couldn’t resist grabbing another snack. We decided to get another tropical Mickey popsicle and a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich, which were both very sweet and very good!

Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich

After our snacks, we started doing more rides. First up was the Tiki Room (which has a unique theme where Stitch has interrupted the show). This is a personal favorite of ours, and Finn loved all the songs and was clapping along. Next up, we did the Haunted Mansion. This ride had a little bit longer wait that started outside the building, but again, we were inside and on the ride in under half an hour, so we definitely couldn’t complain. This ride is IDENTICAL to the one in Orlando (except there are a few parts in Japanese, but that was no surprise). We then headed over to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. I’d read great reviews of this ride, and heard it was one not to be missed, especially if you have little ones with you. This ride had quite a long line, probably our longest. We were prepared, though, and gave Finn a snack and some water while in line. (We also had some great people around us who helped entertain Finn while we waited!) This ride was absolutely incredible, and I can see why it gets such a good word of mouth. I personally enjoyed the store more, though, because it was nearly impossible not to buy everything in here. I settled on a small board book for Finn to keep as a souvenir.

Winnie The Pooh

After we got off the ride and exited the store, we had to quickly make our way down the path towards Toon Town. The parade was making its way through, and the cast members were guiding all guests to areas they could watch. We were focused on getting some more food to eat (and some lunch for Finn) so we decided to skip the parade and head to Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s Good Time Cafe. We ordered a pizza for Finn, which came with corn on top (I know, WEIRD - and was honestly not very good). Alex ordered the chicken Bao Bun which was shaped like Mickey Mouse’s glove. Alex said it was okay, and while good, it needed more flavor. I ordered two spring rolls, and these luckily were very delicious.

Favorite Moment of the Day: We went to sit down after ordering our food, and a cast member came running up to us. We were nervous at first, thinking we may have done something wrong. She grabbed my tray and waved us to follow her as she walked through the outdoor seating. When we got to the edge of the dining area, she placed our tray on a table and guided our stroller next to it and told us “Good view!” We now had a place to eat our lunch while watching the parade. Even while typing this, I get choked up thinking about it. This is the magic of Disney for me, and as a mom, having someone go out of their way to make sure we had a great experience made me teary eyed as we ate our lunch (much to Alex’s humor). What can I say? I love Disney!

Spring Roll

Toon Town

After lunch, we ran around Toon Town for a while. This is the area of the park that has the most activities for toddlers to enjoy. There’s games, water fountains, and plenty of areas for little ones to run around and explore. We played over here for about an hour before the rain moved in and started pouring. It was a short shower, though, so we quickly dried off and headed out to explore the rest of the park.

Beauty and the Beast

Another very popular ride here is the Beauty and the Beast ride. This is another one I read about in advance that was a ride you couldn’t miss, and so we decided to get Premier Access for this ride. We had a very short line where we walked through the castle and made our way to the ride entrance. While this ride is very fun, it is a LOT of spinning. A LOT. Finn looked like he was going to either get sick or pass out and I watched in horror at his eyes rolling around trying to focus. In retrospect, I would probably wait to do this one with older kids. (Also, if you’re the type to get nauseous easily - like me - this and Winnie the Pooh may be ones to avoid!)

Beauty and the Beast Castle

As our day was winding down (and it started getting chillier and wetter outside), we decided to finish up the day at the park and make our way out. We found another snack at the popcorn cart near the entrance to the park (Soy Sauce flavored and honestly the best one we had the entire time), and took one last photo of the castle on our way out. You’ll find the castle mostly empty almost the entire day so feel free to take your pictures whenever it works best in your schedule.

All in all, it was a definitely great time exploring the Disney parks in Tokyo and a memory we’ll not soon forget. We can’t wait to go back one day when Finn is older and see how much more fun he can have!