Which would you choose for a two night stay in July? We are first timers, and it will be me, DH and DS age 10.
I've actually heard mixed reports about whether or not the ticket counter at the Sheraton accepts credit cards. Haven't tried it myself though. While a slight inconvenience, if they actually don't accept credit cards, you could also purchase tickets at the Ticket Center in Iskipiari or the Annual Passholder Center outside Disneyland (I've successfully used credit cards at both). Or if you aren't coming directly from the airport, you could buy at a number of Disney Stores.
As a note, it is faster to get to/from the parks from the Sheraton than the Celebration hotel.
I would pick the Sheraton. It's right at the parks so I think it's more convenient. Because you can see the parks from the hotel I find it very much in the disney bubble.I
I really thought last time we paid credit card for our tickets here. At the hilton they only accept cash though.
Silly question about the guaranteed admission from Sheraton and the other official hotels: Do you have to buy the tickets from the hotel in order to get the guaranteed admission, or can you still get it as a guest if you buy your tickets elsewhere?
I’m not worried about this happening on our trip but I didn’t know you had to get your tickets at a certain place for it to apply. InterestingFrom what I've read/heard from other passholders, you get guaranteed admission if you buy your ticket at the hotel or welcome center (to the left outside Maihama station. NOT the ticket center downstairs). If you buy your tickets elsewhere, you must wait for a park to reach capacity and then go to the hotel and have them issue a certificate. They can only issue a certificate for one park so you will not be able to park hop if both parks reach capacity.
I think most foreigners worry about this too much. In an average year, about 6 days will see one park get entrance restricted and 3 days will see both parks restricted. Even if you didn't know to avoid weekends and holidays, you'd probably be in the parks early in the morning and not leave.
For reference, this site has a table showing the 7 days the parks had restrictions through the first 9 months of last year:
https://www.disneycolors.net/blog/disney-halloween-2018-03.html
Two days it was because a new event started at DisneySea. The other days were long weekends. One collided with D23 Japan and two of the days had bad weather the day before. September and October are the months most likely to see capacity restrictions. Other than one day that TDL got restricted at 9:20, the parks weren't restricted till at least 10:45.
Can you buy Disney Sea or TDL tickets online?
Which would you choose for a two night stay in July? We are first timers, and it will be me, DH and DS age 10.
Here is my pros/cons list for these two hotels! And maybe this may help you choose.
Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel
Pros
- Disney Hotel
- Happy 15 Entry
- Guaranteed Entrance to Parks
- Purchase Park Tickets at Hotel with a Credit Card (this is important)
- Free Shuttles to Park
- Airport Limo Bus has late arrivals to this hotel from airport
- 24 Hour Convenience Store
Cons
- Its about a 15 minute shuttle to the Parks (similar to WDW bus travel times)
- Only serve a simple breakfast (no lunch or dinner)
- Can be pricey depending on what season you go. Can go as low as $157/night though!
Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay
Pros
- Official Tokyo Disney Hotel
- On monorail line
- Guaranteed Admission
- Luggage transfers are usually free
- More amenities such as pool, more room types, more dining options
Cons
- No Happy 15 entry
- You do have to pay for the monorail (not that expensive)
- Park tickets bought at hotel are cash only (no credit cards)
- Airport Limo Bus arrivals from airport end sort of early, typically last bus is at 6pm from airport
- Not Disney themed if that's important to you
That's all I can think of right now! If I think of more I will add or ask any questions
I am going in July myself and booked 3 nights at Celebration Hotel. Main reasons were the ability to buy tickets with our card, Happy 15, and I was able to get the room for less then Hilton Tokyo Bay & Sheraton as well.
We are doing another couple nights at Disney Ambassador Hotel but that's a whole other animal.