Crowd levels predicted for our visit have risen dramatically!

hpa

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 15, 2005
When we originally booked our trip to TDR for 3/29-4/2, the crowd calendars indicated moderate crowd levels. Now, they are much busier and I’m wondering if we should consider booking a package in order to get some guaranteed fast passes.

Will we be able to pull any fast passes at all since we won’t be able to use the app to do so? (No Japanese phone to download the app). Would staying at a Happy-15 resort help with that? We are currently booked at the Hilton.
 
only TDS crowd level gone haywire due to Soarin & Digital FP.
I would do a Happy-15 if money permitted.
Please note that there are new restrictions on happy-15 from June 2020 onwards, but you are still within current rules.
 
It's possible that whatever crowd calendar you're using didn't have data for prices and the school calendar when you first booked. March puts you at risk of Spring Break which can get pretty busy. Students are very ride oriented so while shows and character greetings aren't that bad, this time gets the longest waits for rides (even longer than golden week). All the E ticket attractions will likely have waits exceeding 200 minutes and FP will run out faster than usual.

If you aren't using the app, Soaring and Toy Story Mania FP will likely be gone. You will be able to get the other ones unless you enter the parks late.
 
You don’t need a “Japanese” phone to use the app.

It takes some work, but a non-Japanese user can download the app, create a Tokyo Disney account and use the app to grab Fast Passes (and try to win the “lotteries”) as well as check wait times, etc.

With the app, Fast Passes are going incredibly quickly. The current A-List closures of Journey and Space Mountain aren’t helping in either park.
 


Manage to get 5 FP including Monster, splash and BTMR at TDL. TDL is so much less crazy than DS.
 
Manage to get 5 FP including Monster, splash and BTMR at TDL. TDL is so much less crazy than DS.

Right? It was so crazy that we HARDLY waited for ANYTHING at TDL and we could have continued to get FP much longer than we ended up needing them. At DS, there were no FP left by 1:30 pm and everything had a fairly sizable line.
 
The TOP liner FP are gone by 10am. Mostly because of the happy15. So staying at a happy15 resort definitely helps.
 


TDL has a lot more rides so it makes sense.
And that’s the reason the family now prefers TDL rather than DS.
We are kind of disappointed with DS now, given that it was said to be the best park. The 2 unique rides at the volcano. Wow now I know why 20K has so short SB.
And Journey speed up section was so short, RSR Beats it hands down.
Sorry if I offended any DS lovers.
 
And that’s the reason the family now prefers TDL rather than DS.
We are kind of disappointed with DS now, given that it was said to be the best park. The 2 unique rides at the volcano. Wow now I know why 20K has so short SB.
And Journey speed up section was so short, RSR Beats it hands down.
Sorry if I offended any DS lovers.

I doubt anyone is offended, I'm certainly not. I think the TDL vs. DS question probably has a lot to do with where one lives. For Americans (not all but probably most), I think the preference would be DS because it's extremely unique with original attractions. If I wanted to go to TDL, I would just go to DL Anaheim as it's a much shorter flight for me.

All that being said, I still like TDL but it's always extremely crowded at the times I've been so I usually find myself gravitating more and more toward DS.
 
I doubt anyone is offended, I'm certainly not. I think the TDL vs. DS question probably has a lot to do with where one lives. For Americans (not all but probably most), I think the preference would be DS because it's extremely unique with original attractions. If I wanted to go to TDL, I would just go to DL Anaheim as it's a much shorter flight for me.

All that being said, I still like TDL but it's always extremely crowded at the times I've been so I usually find myself gravitating more and more toward DS.
We’ve never been to DL in California, only WDW in Orlando and we prefer TDL over DS. There were a lot of dark rides that were new to us but I also loved Monsters Inc while Dh loved Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. I think for me the reason I like TDL more is because it feels like home
 
We’ve never been to DL in California, only WDW in Orlando and we prefer TDL over DS. There were a lot of dark rides that were new to us but I also loved Monsters Inc while Dh loved Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. I think for me the reason I like TDL more is because it feels like home

Different strokes I guess. TDL is cool, but for me, it's basically just DL in Anaheim or Magic Kingdom in WDW. If I wanted that, I'd hop on a shorter flight to either location. If I happen to be in Tokyo, TDL makes a great compliment to DS, but without DS, I certainly wouldn't be going out of my way to visit. DS is the draw for me.
 
I think TDL is more consistently fun but TDS has the better experiences. Fine dining is soo much better at TDS; the harbor shows are more impressive than parades at TDL; and most people's favorite ride between the two parks is at TDS (Journey/TOT for thrill lovers or Toy Story Mania for most others). But if you don't win show lotteries and can't stand waiting, you can end up miserable in TDS. IMO TDL wins if you use an amusement park metric which emphasizes rides and doesn't care about food quality but TDS wins if you're looking for a unique theme park with themed experiences of all types (ambiance, shows, food, non-ride attractions, etc).
 
Soarin, ToT & TSMM has always our must do in any of the parks.
it is a pity that we can only do 2 out of 3 each day.

Journey I consider a land-based Splash... with only a single plunge, not really thrilling IMHO.
Raging Spirit was also not too thrilling, my son complain that it turned too quickly after a plunge & I agree -- it's like 2 seconds of that free fall feeling... I know I know it's Disney not USJ
 
only TDS crowd level gone haywire due to Soarin & Digital FP.
I would do a Happy-15 if money permitted.
Please note that there are new restrictions on happy-15 from June 2020 onwards, but you are still within current rules.
What is changing to the happy 15 after June 2020??
 

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