When travelling to Tokyo, you may face the same problem we had: Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea? We originally planned on only visiting Tokyo Disneyland, but after some research, we decided to buy the 2-Day Passport for ¥14,800, or ~$142USD at the 7-11 across the street from our hostel. This included entrance into one park per day. And we are so glad we ended up making this decision!
Tokyo Disneyland
As avid Disneyland visitors, we had high expectations for this park. Arriving at the park was fairly straight forward, we transferred twice on our 45 minute train ride there, with our last stop dropping us directly at the park gates. As we entered the park, we were surprised by what we saw. Tokyo Disneyland is definitely built for large crowds. The main entrance walkway, known as the World Bazaar, is incredibly wide, allowing space for crowds to roam. And the park itself is quite large. We instantly knew we were in for something very different to the Disneyland in California.
The castle at the end of the main walkway unfortunately did not offer the opportunity to walk over the drawbridge and through, as in Disneyland. However, you could enjoy walking the upstairs corridors, peak into Cinderella’s rooms, and try on her glass slipper. A pleasant surprise!
This park is famous for its popcorn! Scattered around the park, you will find an array of popcorn stands with varying flavours including: Soy Sauce and butter, curry, milk chocolate, honey, salt and caramel. It is a favourite among the locals and tourists alike, to collect the themed popcorn buckets from the different stands.
We enjoyed exploring this familiar yet different park, and the rides it offered. Yet we struggled slightly with the storytelling aspect of the rides, as they were all in Japanese. Our favourite ride was the Winnie the Pooh ride, Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. Which, not surprisingly, was the most popular ride in the park. We waited over an hour in line to finally be whisked away on a high speed, trackless, in the dark, ride.
And of course we ended our visit by watching the Electric Parade!
Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea is incredibly unique, a one-of-a-kind theme park only found in Tokyo! We had no idea what to expect when coming to this park. Upon entering, we were surprised by the Venice theme buildings and canals, with a large volcano in the background. An amazing change of pace from the theme park the day before. We were expecting to find the attention to detail immaculate at Tokyo Disneyland, like Disneyland in California. But unfortunately, we were mildly disappointed. Tokyo DisneySea delivered!
We spent the first little bit of our visit exploring the park; Mediterranean Harbor, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Mysterious Island, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, and the Lost River Delta. Every section of the park whisked you away into a different world!
This theme park was definitely built for an adult crowd with its high speed rides and attractions, much like the Disney California Adventure Park. We especially enjoyed the Journey to the Center of the Earth and the 1000 Leagues Under the Sea rides. One of the most popular attractions in this park was Toy Story Mania! This park also offers an incredible variety of food options. Something we found very lacking in Tokyo Disneyland.
We ended our visit at Tokyo DisneySea by watching a wonderful parade, water and light show on the central body of water. The parade floats were elaborately decorated boats filled with all the Disney characters. You couldn’t help but dance along!
Overall thoughts
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed visiting both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. However, Tokyo Disneyland is definitely more catered to a younger audience. While Tokyo DisneySea has something for everyone.
