Step-By-Step Guide to Booking Your Tokyo Disney Visit

Booking a visit to the Tokyo Disney Resort can be a logistical challenge. Many steps and dates are involved, so I decided it might be helpful to put everything down in one handy guide so you know what to do and when. Keep this one bookmarked so you don’t miss any important steps.

Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

At Least Six Months Out

Many people who are used to booking the US Parks up to a year in advance are surprised to learn that you can’t book anything at Tokyo Disney Resort that early. Many hotels in Japan, not just Disney, generally don’t open booking until 3-6 months out. So, don’t panic if you go on to book your dates and don’t see anything available yet—you’re just too early.

But if you are ready to go this early, you can use the time to get a headstart on your planning. Here are the things to look at.

1. Decide On Your Dates

There are some times of the year when the park is busier than others, and, if at all possible, you want to avoid these when planning your stay – the main ones are Japanese Spring Break, which takes place mid-March to early April, Golden Week, which happens April 29-May 6, Obon 13-15 August and New Year which is the busiest time of the year of them all.

But even if you are not traveling, some days are busier than others, and random holidays do pop up, so check our guide to the days to avoid here.

Then, when planning your Tokyo itinerary, you’ll ideally want to make your Tokyo Disney days the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of your trip. Monday and Friday are a little busier. Try to avoid weekends if you can.

2. Should You Visit Disney First or Last?

This is tricky, but if you’re coming from somewhere with a big-time zone change or a long overnight flight, I wouldn’t suggest going straight to Disney. The days are long and tiring, and if you’re also dealing with time zone changes, you might not want to drag yourself out of bed at 7 a.m. to get to the park or stay there until 9 p.m. to crank out the last ride on Baymax.

If you can’t make your schedule work any other way, you might want to read our guide to how to sleep on a plane, or our guide on ways to avoid jetlag on your Japan trip to try and increase your chances of hitting the ground running.

3. Back-To-Back Days or Spread Out?

Many people organise their Disney days together, spending two or three days exploring the parks. But, if you do this, I strongly suggest staying in the Disney area rather than going back and forth between the parks and Tokyo; this gets a bit wearing two to three days running.

It’s also easier to take a break during the day if your hotel is nearby.

But what if you’d prefer to stay in Tokyo itself? Then I’d suggest spreading out your Disney days a little more and booking a hotel in an area that’s handy for going back and forth to the park (we cover this in more detail in our guide to pros and cons of staying at Tokyo Disney Resort).

4. Decide If You Want to Stay in a Disney Hotel

Staying in one of the seven Official Disney Hotels does help extend the magic, but they aren’t necessarily the most wallet-friendly choice, so don’t forget that there are other options close to the park.

The Monorail hotels, including the Hilton Tokyo Bay and the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay, are all within an easy journey to the parks on the official Disney monorail.

It’s also easy to reach the parks from the hotels in Shin Urayasu. Many of the hotels around here have Disney Shuttles (see a full list, including details on the bus timetables here).

On my last trip, I stayed at the Mystays Maihama, a great budget choice (that’s the room below). I walked to DisneySea and on my Disneyland days I caught the bus to Maihama Station. You can easily walk to Disneyland from here.

5. If Onsite, Decide Between a Vacation Package or Hotel Only

There are two ways to stay at the Official Disney Hotels: book a Vacation Package or Room-Only at one of the hotels.

The Vacation Package includes your room, park tickets, and some Premier Access Passes that let you skip the lines. Being able to book these in advance does reduce some of the stress from your trip.

You can see a breakdown of exactly what the different packages include in our guide to Vacation Packages here, but there are three important things to note. Vacation Packages are much more expensive than booking the different elements yourself, and you can only stay for one or two nights on a Vacation Package, but they can be easier to book than hotels.

If you book a room at the Tokyo Disney hotels, note that rooms can be booked for a maximum of five nights. If you want to stay longer, you must make two different bookings.

6. Book Your Fallback Hotel

Now, we’re crossing all our fingers that the steps that follow go smoothly, but the official Disney hotels can sell out quickly, so it’s always a good idea to book a fallback hotel, like one of the monorail hotels, or a hotel with a shuttle, for your desired dates at a refundable rate, just in case things don’t work out.

It just gives you a sense of security that you have something near the park, at a price you like.

7. Set Up Your Disney Account

The Tokyo Disney App and website use the card lodged in the main Disney account, so if you already have one of these from the US, it will be valid. Make sure you know your password and check which card is registered to it.

Japanese websites can be a bit glitchy with foreign credit cards, and Disney particularly doesn’t like VISA cards. The card you use must also use a system called 3D Secured to work, so just check that’s the case to reduce the chances that the card will be rejected during any of the steps below.

Five Months Out

8. You Can Book Your Vacation Package

If you decide to book a Vacation Package, these go on sale around the beginning of the month, five months before the date you want to stay – so, if you want to stay on January 17th, for example, your package will become available early in August.

The exact date varies, but it is announced on the Disney website towards the end of the previous month. Also, note what time bookings open.

Things to Have Ready For Booking

Before you book, you’ll need to have a few things planned out. You must know the dates you want to stay and the hotel and room type you hope to stay in.

But…

You also need to know what type of package you want – there are different types and we explain them and what they include in this post.

If you are booking one of the packages that include a couple of Premier Access passes rather than the new one that includes a heap of rides, then you also need to know which ones you want and roughly what time of day you might want to go on the rides.

Lastly, have an idea of what time you might want to eat breakfast so you can make a booking at the best time available, and, if there are other dining options included in your package, again, think about where you might want to eat and what time.

Four Months Out

9. You Can Book a Disney Hotel

If you decide to book a room-only stay in one of the Disney Hotels, these open up four months to the day you want to stay, so be ready to book. If you are staying on the 31st of the month and need to book on a month that only has 30 days, you will book on the 1st.

The slots open at 11 am Japanese time – and it can get a bit busy around that time.

If you don’t get the room you want immediately, have a look again later that day. You might be surprised, as things do reappear.

Three Months Out

10. Take a Second Look

If you didn’t get your first choice of hotel or any choice of hotel when booking, keep checking. Rooms do open up if people cancel—don’t give up!

11. Book In-Hotel Dining

If you want to dine at one of the hotel restaurants, Disney Hotel guests can book these from 10 am Japanese time, three months before the date they wish to dine.

Exceptions to this are Lotso’s Garden Cafe, which is only open to Toy Story Hotel Guests, the Fantasy Springs Hotel restaurants, which are only open to Fantasy Springs Hotel guests and those using specific Vacation Packages, and Chef Mickey, which opens a month before.

Two Months Out

12. Tickets Go on Sale

If you are staying offsite or like to get organised, tickets for the Tokyo Disney parks go on sale two months before the date you want to enter. The good news is, you don’t need to get up at some silly hour of the morning to snag them.

Tokyo Disney tickets rarely sell out; if they do, it doesn’t happen overnight (this is not like buying Universal Studios Express Passes –  those do go fast).

The only thing that can be annoying when buying tickets is that, as we said, Tokyo Disney systems don’t always like some credit cards, so you can have issues buying tickets directly.

If you do, don’t stress. Head to one of the official ticket sellers, like Klook, and buy your tickets there. Whether you buy your tickets directly from Disney or via a third party like Klook will make absolutely no difference to your experience on the day.

One Month Out

13. You Can Make Park Dining Reservations

If you would like to dine at the park restaurants, priority seating reservations are available 30 days before the date of your park visit. The exact time varies; those staying in a Disney Hotel or with a Vacation Package can start booking at 9 a.m. Japanese time, and reservations for everyone else open at 10 a.m.

The restaurants with Priority Seating in Disneyland are Blue Bayou, Restaurant Hokusai, Crystal Palace Restaurant, and Center Street Coffeehouse.

In DisneySea, they are Horizon Bay, SS Columbia Dining Room, Teddy Roosevelt Lounge, Magellan’s, Restaurant Sakura and Ristorante di Canaletto.

The Dining Show Restaurants are also very popular in Japan, especially the Duffy and Friend’s show. Prior reservations to these open one month before your visit, at 9am Japan time.

Chef Mickey, Tokyo Disney’s only character dining restaurant, also opens bookings for non-Disney hotel guests 30 days before the day you wish to dine.

Two Weeks Before

14. Think About Your Airport Transport

There are a few different ways to get from Tokyo’s airports to the Tokyo Disney hotels. The easiest is the Airport Limousine Bus, which picks you up at the airport terminals and drops you at the door of the Disney Hotels and many hotels in Shin Uruyasu.

It doesn’t run all day, though, so it’s good to know if you can use it, and if not, what the alternatives are. You’ll find all the details in our guides to getting from the airport to Disney.

Read this one if you’re traveling from Haneda to Tokyo Disney Resort hotels.

If you’re landing at Narita, check out our guide to traveling from Narita to Tokyo Disney Resort hotels instead.

And lastly, read this one if you’re traveling to Celebration Hotel from either airport. It’s also relevant for the other hotels in Shin Uruyasu, although you’ll need to adjust the last steps to get to your exact hotel.

A Few Days Before

15. Understand the Different Skip-The-Line Passes

Tokyo Disney Resort offers several ways to skip the line in the park: paid and free passes. You can’t buy either of these until you enter the park, but it’s good to familiarise yourself with them to understand how they work and which rides you might want to use them on.

Here’s our guide to the different types of passes and the rides they apply to.

16. And Know How to Use Rides in Fantasy Springs

This is the newest area at the Tokyo Disney Resort and it works a little differently from the other parts of the park in that you have to have a separate pass to ride the rides inside. These are included with Vacation Packages, but if you book a hotel-only booking, or are staying offsite, then you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the process.

Find out how to use the rides in Fantasy Springs here.

Park Day

17. Arrive At Least an Hour Before

The big day has arrived, but if you just turn up at the park at the official opening time, you might be a bit surprised to discover it’s already in action!

The Tokyo Disney Parks can open up to an hour before the official opening time, and if you want to beat the queues or snag Fantasy Springs passes, you’ll want to be through the gates early.

Exactly what time you should arrive depends on how busy the park will be and how disappointed you’ll be if you don’t get into Fantasy Springs. Some people queue very, very early – they have more dedication than I do. But, if you are visiting on a busy Disney day, you might want to get there a bit more than an hour before.

18. Apply For your First Queue Jumping Passes

Some of these will run out quickly – Frozen at Fantasy Springs, for example, is normally gone by about 9.15 am – so it’s good to try for them as soon as you enter the park.

The free passes also run out faster than paid ones.

While first thing in the morning has the most opportunity to get passes, they do release them on and off throughout the day, so if you didn’t get lucky, do keep checking, but while doing all of this, remember, the most important thing to do on park day.

19. Have Fun!

You’re in Disney. It’s going to be a good day, whatever you get to ride.

Hopefully, that has helped you organise your thoughts and plans for booking your Tokyo Disney visit, but if you do have any further questions, head over to our Tokyo Disney planning group on Facebook and ask them there.

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