Curious About Cost for Disney Sea Trip

[jamarmiller]

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We are going to try Tokyo Disney again in June. All the crowd calendar sites claim it should not be so bad for our dates. I.........................

Crowd Calendar can change a day before you go, or even the day after, be careful I just made that mistake. Also be prepared for Rain , thats why June is slower SOMETIMES

 

[jamarmiller]

The crowd calendar says Tues 83, Wed 48, Thurs 67... was it different before you left?................

yes, I looked at it 3 weeks before my trip to decide when to go, it was 48 percent and less when I choose the dates to go. I checked the site several times before going as well.

Then that Monday 24 hours before, it changed to 83 percent for Tuesday, but stayed the same for Wednesday, then it changed again on Tuesday for Wednesday and then no change for Thursday but crowds and wait times were just as bad. And two of those days we just had rain rain rain. AND IT WAS COLD

I cant bare Florida in the Summer either, So I always leave .

very very few families were there. it was mostly Seniors in High school who just graduated last week. ( High School graduation for japan was last week for most places in Japan )

 

[AquaDame]

Oh, leaving that laughing emoji without what preceded it makes it look like I was laughing at you rather than my husband. I hope you don't think I'm making light of your situation because I am not!

 

[jamarmiller]

no worries i didnt take it at all like that

 

[rkold]

Crowd Calendar can change a day before you go, or even the day after, be careful I just made that mistake. Also be prepared for Rain , thats why June is slower SOMETIMES

We got poured on in Epcot Feb 22nd, and that was actually our best park day. The rest of the trip was so crowded worse than the same time periods in 2015 and 2014. I am going to bring ponchos and possibly 2 umbrellas as well. >>; At least I won't be disappointed about not being able to use the pool because of rain, since Japan has crazy pool rules. I am thinking since kids will still be in school it hopefully won't be so bad? If it is I am swearing off the Japanese parks. We're currently at 25 for TDL and 33 for DS. I have a friend who went to Universal in Feb 2016 or 2015 and had a miserable time, but we got lucky in June 2016 and had good weather and mostly "reasonable" lines. We were able to just walk into Harry Potter land and I had paid for an express pass so no line for the 4 rides we wanted to do. The kiddie rides were dead. We did the kid car rides I don't even know how many times.

So hopefully... I get lucky.

I'm more frustrated that airfares are so high compared to last year. I almost feel like it is worth it to wait until April again!

 

[have2getaway]

Just to warn you now, depending on where you are from, Tokyo in January is COLD! I've been to Japan in January and February and while I've enjoyed my trips it seemed really cold and yes, I am from the NorthEast so I should be used to the cold, but I guess because I was outside touring so much it was harder.

Christmas itself is not a holiday in Japan, but New Years is and there are a lot of holidays in late December around New Years and post New Years making it an expensive and crowded time. I also personally find New Years really hard as a tourist because so many things close for 3-4 days. I've only been to Japan once for New Years, and I'm not willing to go back unless I am actually living there.

I went to Tokyo DisneySea once in '09 in October. It was insanely crowded. Everything had 2+ hour lines and I was pretty miserable. It's a beautiful park, but I'd rather be out being touristy than paying money to walk around a theme park. I go to a theme park for rides and attractions, not to admire the scenery. Yes, while doing my rides and attractions I love a good atmosphere, but that is not enough on its own.

We are going to try Tokyo Disney again in June. All the crowd calendar sites claim it should not be so bad for our dates. I'm planning to stay on property so we can park hop because I know we can't make a day of DisneySea because my daughter is under 117 cm which means: Indiana Jones, Raging Spirits, and Journey to the Center of the Earth are no goes. She didn't enjoy WDW!Tower of Terror so that is also a no go.

We went to Tokyo for 10 days last June post school. I think we paid about 2k for airfare (like a previous poster I only want direct flights, and I specifically wanted JAL or ANA. I prefer Japanese airlines), another $400 for rail passes, maybe $100 for other train/subway/bus trips. (At the time my daughter was under 6 so she was free on public transportation. However I did buy her a rail pass, so we could reserve seats on the shinkansen. I was not going to have her sit on my lap for 2+ hours!) I splurged $450 for 1 night at the Tokyo Station Hotel, which is amazing and might have rooms for a family of 6, but it will cost you a lot. (I would also check other luxury hotels or ryokans since they are more likely to have rooms that fit more people.) We then spent a little under $400 for 2 nights in Hakone. $574 for 4 nights in Kyoto, $250 for 1 night special package for Osaka Universal, and about $500 for 3 more nights in Tokyo for a grand total of: 2174. The Tokyo Station was the only hotel I stayed on par with the Poly. So 4674, plus meals, activities outside of Universal, and lots of souvenirs. This was for 1 adult and 1 child at the end of June. I find WDW is cheaper, but we are DVC owners and I never do a meal plan because it's so not worth it for how we eat. We usually stay at the Poly or VGF. Hope this helps!

Thank you for the feedback. This is very helpful. We were very cold one day in January at Disney as it was 36 degrees, so I understand completely what it means to freeze at a park. We also were slightly hot when it was closer to 80 a few days later. That said, I think I would take the days we were a little hot versus cold. We found it easy to find shade and just do indoor activities on the hot days (theaters and such), but much harder to ride a roller coaster, for instance, when we were freezing. Of course, it didn't help that we went to Animal Kingdom the day it was 36. BRRR! Just glad we had our winter coats.

We have decided, at least for this year, to do Disney again. We are renting a 2 BR DVC villa at Bay Lake Tower and are not doing the dining plan. I am hoping we will not regret not dong at least the basic dining. We did deluxe last time and it was a huge mistake. We are planning to try Universal for a day or two while there. Our oldest son has mild Asperger's, and our younger three (triplets) have minor speech delays. They really flourished at WDW Florida, but I see the language barrier as a bit of a concern, at least for their current age. It is already hard to keep track of 3 rambunctious triplets, but add to it that they are not the best at communicating, could present a big disaster if they were to get lost. Our oldest can't handle lines AT ALL. Do the Japanese parks have any sort of assistance for this, similar to Disney?

 

[rkold]

Thank you for the feedback. This is very helpful. We were very cold one day in January at Disney as it was 36 degrees, so I understand completely what it means to freeze at a park. We also were slightly hot when it was closer to 80 a few days later. That said, I think I would take the days we were a little hot versus cold. We found it easy to find shade and just do indoor activities on the hot days (theaters and such), but much harder to ride a roller coaster, for instance, when we were freezing. Of course, it didn't help that we went to Animal Kingdom the day it was 36. BRRR! Just glad we had our winter coats.

We have decided, at least for this year, to do Disney again. We are renting a 2 BR DVC villa at Bay Lake Tower and are not doing the dining plan. I am hoping we will not regret not dong at least the basic dining. We did deluxe last time and it was a huge mistake. We are planning to try Universal for a day or two while there. Our oldest son has mild Asperger's, and our younger three (triplets) have minor speech delays. They really flourished at WDW Florida, but I see the language barrier as a bit of a concern, at least for their current age. It is already hard to keep track of 3 rambunctious triplets, but add to it that they are not the best at communicating, could present a big disaster if they were to get lost. Our oldest can't handle lines AT ALL. Do the Japanese parks have any sort of assistance for this, similar to Disney?

If you found 36 degrees walking around in FL cold don't go to Japan in January unless you are going to Okinawa. I am pretty sure it didn't get higher than 40, maybe 45 when I went in mid January. I remember being cold then as well as the start of my February trip. I did get great views of Mt Fuji, including from my hotel room in Tokyo.

I think depending on how much everyone eats you might be better off without a meal plan unless you have to do lots of character meals. I found when we did eat at Signature restaurants a lot we still saved money not having a plan because we just don't eat that many snacks and don't want the extra sit down meal. If I were you I would just do the math. Allears.net has Disney menus with prices, add up what you ordered and see what it comes to and compare that to what you paid for your meal plan.

I admit, my daughter wishes she knew more Japanese. It's hard for her not being able to converse with people. I am hoping to get her some lessons before we go. My Japanese is not terribly good, but I memorized a few kanji and some kana. I can speak a little now, but my skills are limited. It helps a lot to be outgoing and not afraid to make mistakes. My daughter knows she will not be going back to Japan unless she stays near me in crowds.