Questions about April 2020 visit

[James14]

I'm visiting TDR for the first time from Monday 13th April to Thursday 16th April 2020.

Generally, crowd calendars are predicting that week to be relatively quiet (at least in Tokyo Disney terms...) but I just discovered that the new area will be opening that week on Wednesday 15th.

Does anyone know how much that will affect the crowds across the whole resort? Do the crowds generally just flock to the new attractions on an opening day, or is the whole park/resort rammed?

Also, what are the chances of a soft opening for the new attractions on the Monday or Tuesday that week? Do the Tokyo parks even do soft openings?

I'll probably update this topic with more questions that I'm bound to come up with over the coming months.

Any assistance appreciated!

 

[Agent 86]

I'm pretty sure TDR Explorer has mentioned soft openings before, but I don't think there is any kind of "guarantee", so I wouldn't count on it.

Our friend was at DisneySea when Soaring opened. It was crowded across the entire park, well both parks really. There were HUGE lines for Soaring (i.e. all the way back / through the volcano), but everything else was still pretty busy. The Little Mermaid area was very quiet first thing in the morning, but I *think* that is generally true of any morning as families don't get to the parks quite as early as everyone else.

As the FantasyLand expansion is one of the biggest (if not *the* biggest) expansions at Tokyo Disneyland, I suspect that the crowds are going to be next level crazy. I'd sign up for alerts / emails from TDR Explorer as he'll be providing plenty of updates.

 

[Linkura]

I actually had my trip booked that week as well. Since I get very bad anxiety in large crowds (even if I had a good strategy with Happy 15, arriving early, and using the app for FP, the crowds will still be there around me), it's my first trip, I'm going ALONE, and only know very basic Japanese, I moved my trip up a week even though it cost $500 to change my flights to do so. I ended up saving a TON on my hotel with the Hilton Flash Sale, since I don't need Happy 15 for the new stuff anymore, so that helped make up for the flight costs.

I figure if I love TDR, I'll be back in the next year or two and I'll be able to experience the new stuff then. Since TDR actually maintains their rides, I figure the new experiences will be the same, without a possible panic attack.

I heard they did some soft openings for Soaring for select Disney hotel guests, might want to search for those threads for a little more info (there wasn't much).

 

[gelatoni fan]

Soaring did it's sneaks (a type of soft opening) from 10:30 to 2 on the 20th and from opening till 8PM on the 21st (although the standby line was cut at 5PM). On the 21st, the fastpass ran out in about 30 minutes and the line was about 240 minutes. This is considerably better than the 350 minute wait on opening day. I've done soft opening for shows before and compared to opening day, it was much easier to get good seats with moderate (4 hrs) wait during the soft opening.

The elevated crowds will be usually be focused on the new things but if you've never been to TDR before, the crowds may feel large to you anyway.

 

[James14]

When I booked this trip a few weeks ago, annoyingly I didn't realise that the new area was due to open that week. I specifically chose that week because I thought it would be relatively quiet as well. I can't change dates now unfortunately.

Presumably the 15 minute early entry is only for official Disney hotels?? I'm staying at the Hilton Tokyo Bay.

I'm hoping I'll be able to get most of the major attractions at TDS/TDL done in my first two days, before the new stuff opens.

 

[Linkura]

When I booked this trip a few weeks ago, annoyingly I didn't realise that the new area was due to open that week. I specifically chose that week because I thought it would be relatively quiet as well. I can't change dates now unfortunately.

Presumably the 15 minute early entry is only for official Disney hotels?? I'm staying at the Hilton Tokyo Bay.

I'm hoping I'll be able to get most of the major attractions at TDS/TDL done in my first two days, before the new stuff opens.

Yes, Happy 15 is only for the official Disney hotels.

You shouldn't have a problem getting most non-new things done on the first two days. That was my initial plan before I changed my trip dates.

 

[Agent 86]

When I booked this trip a few weeks ago, annoyingly I didn't realise that the new area was due to open that week. I specifically chose that week because I thought it would be relatively quiet as well. I can't change dates now unfortunately.

Presumably the 15 minute early entry is only for official Disney hotels?? I'm staying at the Hilton Tokyo Bay.

I'm hoping I'll be able to get most of the major attractions at TDS/TDL done in my first two days, before the new stuff opens.

I wouldn't stress about it too much. Tokyo Disney Resort is pretty "crowded" at all times. It will be exciting to be part of the "opening day" activities for the Fantasyland expansion. I *think* they may even provide some kind of free souvenir - maybe a badge? And there will be a huge range of merchandise themed to the expansion.

You should be able to get most attractions done, with pre-planning, on your first two days.

 

[James14]

Thanks for the helpful replies. It's good to know that I should be able to get most major things done in the first two days.

Now that I have let the thought of the new area's opening settle in, I'm toying with the idea of doing something crazy....

..... I might rope drop the opening day and run to the Beauty and the Beast ride.

The park opens at 9:00am that day. Presumably Disney hotel guests will get the 15 minute head start, so there will probably already be hundreds of hotel guests in line before me.

How early does everyone think I should get to the park entrance, as a regular guest, to avoid the inevitable 8-hour queue at the new ride?

7:00am? 6:00am even?!

Are Japanese people crazy enough to start lining up more than three hours before opening?

 

[MKTokyo]

Are Japanese people crazy enough to start lining up more than three hours before opening?

No.

... They'd know that was way too late. They'll get there earlier.

You will probably end up in a 4-6 hour queue if you do this. But, hey, it's your vacation!

 

[gelatoni fan]

How early does everyone think I should get to the park entrance, as a regular guest, to avoid the inevitable 8-hour queue at the new ride?

If your goal is to minimize the wait time inside the park, the absolute latest to arrive would be around 5AM because you need to beat the first Keiyo line train. Bloggers that arrived at around 5AM for the opening of Soaring waited about 200 minutes (270 posted wait time). People who arrived later waited around 320 minutes.

7AM is absolutely too late because the hotel guests who eat breakfast will have already started arriving (breakfast starts at 6 or 6:30 depending on the hotel). If you want to sleep in, you should still make sure to arrive before 6:30.

To a Japanese Disney guest, three hours is a short wait, not a long one. The waiting philosophy is also not "how much earlier should I arrive to beat crowds" but "what constraints stop me from arriving earlier".

 

[corgi_monster]

No.

... They'd know that was way too late. They'll get there earlier.

Lol, ain't that the truth!!!

@James14 The trains don't run all night. The first morning train will be considered "too late" so expect people to camp out overnight on (if allowed) or near Disney property. If you can, just book a night at a Disney-owned hotel and do the Happy 15.

 

[James14]

OK. So the answer to my question was, yes.... the Japanese definitely are way crazier than I thought.

The idea of staying my last night or two in a Disney hotel is now starting to become appealing to me.

One thing I can't find out anywhere though is - do you have to book a package to get the Happy 15 early entry? Or can you still access it if you book the Disney hotel and park tickets separately?

 

[Linkura]

OK. So the answer to my question was, yes.... the Japanese definitely are way crazier than I thought.

The idea of staying my last night or two in a Disney hotel is now starting to become appealing to me.

One thing I can't find out anywhere though is - do you have to book a package to get the Happy 15 early entry? Or can you still access it if you book the Disney hotel and park tickets separately?

No package is needed.

 

[corkyburger]

Hi, we also booked our trip not realising the new expansion was opening. I'm now worried about tickets selling out. Do you think this will be likely? Should we buy our park tickets in advance? We are staying at the Shearaton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, which apparently provides guaranteed park tickets for guests, so we were going to wait and buy them when we check in. Given the special opening, do you think we should buy tickets in advance? And where would you advise to buy them?
Will staying in this hotel also give us the early access to parks?
Thanks.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Hi, we also booked our trip not realising the new expansion was opening. I'm now worried about tickets selling out. Do you think this will be likely? Should we buy our park tickets in advance? We are staying at the Shearaton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, which apparently provides guaranteed park tickets for guests, so we were going to wait and buy them when we check in. Given the special opening, do you think we should buy tickets in advance? And where would you advise to buy them?
Will staying in this hotel also give us the early access to parks?
Thanks.

Assuming you plan to go to the hotel before entering the parks, you should buy the tickets at the Sheraton. After checking in, you will need to line up at the Disney ticket center line in the lobby where you can purchase your tickets using cash or credit card. You may be asked to show the paper holder for your room key. I don't think advance tickets sold out for the day that Soaring opened and I don't recall entry restrictions either but even if that happens, you will still be able to buy tickets at the Sheraton ticket center.

Only the Disney hotels have Happy 15 early access to the parks. The Sheraton is a Tokyo Disney Resort Official Hotel, not a Disney hotel and thus does not have early access.