Tokyo Disney mini photo TR -May 2019

[MomoMama]

And of course there are so many things to eat

 

[MomoMama]

We sure had lots of sweets. Most days it was so hot, we were not hungry for a meal... we may have skipped lunch and had soft-serve ice creams. ☺





We tried various flavors in those 2 weeks, peach, mandarin orange, plum, wild grapes, baked sweet potato... the above is black vanilla, which tasted just like vanilla.

 

[MomoMama]

I thought I should mention few more things before I forget..

So we were in Japan end of May to early June, and it was a lot hotter than what I remember 3 years ago in June. In fact, the weather was so crazy that the temperature rose as high as the normal August days on our 2nd day there. It was not as hot on our two Disney days because of rain and clouds, but other days it was mostly so hot. We actually welcomed a rain day to have a break from the heat. But it could get chilly on rain days, so you should be prepared with a light jacket.
And the sunrise and sunset were earlier than we are used to. When we woke up around 4:30 AM and saw it was bright outside, we thought our room clock was wrong. We checked our phone, clock, and turned on TV to triple check the time.


Sunrise over Disneyland...view from our Hilton park view room.

The second thing is that I completely forgot about the morning rush hour on the train.
So we used the JR pass for the first time this trip. We heard about the exchange office at Narita airport being very busy and normal wait time is longer than 1 hr. I thought I would just go exchange it at Tokyo station the next day. Well the next day we did more things and got more tired than we though we would, DD did not have energy left to go look for the JR office in the huge Tokyo station. The next 2 days we were at Disney, and the JR office at Maihama station near Disney does not exchange for JR pass. So we had to get the voucher exchanged on the day we needed to start using it. I had no idea how busy the JR office in Tokyo can get, and since JR pass limits the type of bullet train we can ride, we had to go to Tokyo station earlier than we wanted. We got to Maihama station, waited for the train...and that is when it hit me that OMG WE ARE TRYING TO GET ON A RUSH HOUR COMMUTER TRAIN! We tried to get on the first train, but we could not. We did not have a large suitcase with us, but we still had a carry-on luggage and we just could not get on. We waited for few minutes, and the next train was full again. We knew we had to get on, because it was going to be the same for the next 1 hour. So we did...it was an experience we hope we never have to go through again. I held on to the luggage handle and held DD's hand in other hand, while both of us were squished and tried not to fell on anyone. The following day I felt muscle pain on my arm... It was good that many people got off 2 stations after Maihama. But that day that morning, I was THAT tourist...getting on a morning commuter train with a carry-on and a kid!

So my advice to the others visiting Japan...be prepared for crazy weather and do NOT get on a morning commuter train!

We don't know when we will go to Japan next time. I envy you those who have plans! Have a fun-filled magical trip!

 

[Haley R]

I thought I should mention few more things before I forget..

So we were in Japan end of May to early June, and it was a lot hotter than what I remember 3 years ago in June. In fact, the weather was so crazy that the temperature rose as high as the normal August days on our 2nd day there. It was not as hot on our two Disney days because of rain and clouds, but other days it was mostly so hot. We actually welcomed a rain day to have a break from the heat. But it could get chilly on rain days, so you should be prepared with a light jacket.
And the sunrise and sunset were earlier than we are used to. When we woke up around 4:30 AM and saw it was bright outside, we thought our room clock was wrong. We checked our phone, clock, and turned on TV to triple check the time.

View attachment 414527
Sunrise over Disneyland...view from our Hilton park view room.

The second thing is that I completely forgot about the morning rush hour on the train.
So we used the JR pass for the first time this trip. We heard about the exchange office at Narita airport being co busy and normal wait time could be longer than 1 hr. I thought I would just go exchange it at Tokyo station the next day. Well the next day we did more things and got more tired than we though we would, DD did not have energy left to go look for the JR office in the huge Tokyo station. The next 2 days we were at Disney, and the JR office at Maihama station near Disney does not exchange for JR pass. So we had to get the voucher exchanged on the day we needed to start using it. I had no idea how busy the JR office in Tokyo can get, and since JR pass limits the type of bullet train we can ride, we had to go to Tokyo station earlier than we wanted. We got to Maihama station, waited for the train...and that is when it hit me that OMG WE ARE TRYING TO GET ON A RUSH HOUR COMMUTER TRAIN! We tried to get on the first train, but we could not. We did not have a large suitcase with us, but we still had a carry-on luggage and we just could not get on. We waited for few minutes, and the next train was full again. We knew we had to get on, because it was going to be the same for the next 1 hour. So we did...it was an experience we hope we never have to go through again. I held on to the luggage handle and held DD's hand in other hand, while both of were squished and tried not to fell on anyone. The following day I felt muscle pain on my arm... It was good that many people got off 2 stations after Maihama. But that day that morning, I was THAT tourist...getting on a morning commuter train with a carry-on and a kid!

So my advice to the others visiting Japan...be prepared for crazy weather and do NOT get on a morning commuter train!

We don't know when we will go to Japan next time. I envy you those who have plans! Have a fun-filled magical trip!

That’s weird because we were there the same time as you and we thought it was beautiful. It was mostly 70s-80s in Tokyo with cloudy skies which was perfect. Then when we went to Kyoto from June 3-6 it was so much hotter than Tokyo. But when we came back to Tokyo June 9-15 it was nice again lol.

 

[MomoMama]

That’s weird because we were there the same time as you and we thought it was beautiful. It was mostly 70s-80s in Tokyo with cloudy skies which was perfect. Then when we went to Kyoto from June 3-6 it was so much hotter than Tokyo. But when we came back to Tokyo June 9-15 it was nice again lol.

I think in general it is warmer in western area. Our rain day in Kyoto was cool, but the rain day in Tokyo was cold. Our Disney days were mostly comfortable temperature-wise, but another sunny day in Tokyo was quite hot. That was a crazy day they recorded high temperatures in northern parts of Japan too. Despite putting on sunscreens, we came back from Japan looking like came back from a beach vacation...

 

[Haley R]

I think in general it is warmer in western area. Our rain day in Kyoto was cool, but the rain day in Tokyo was cold. Our Disney days were mostly comfortable temperature-wise, but another sunny day in Tokyo was quite hot. That was a crazy day they recorded high temperatures in northern parts of Japan too. Despite putting on sunscreens, we came back from Japan looking like came back from a beach vacation...

Haha that’s funny. I did get somewhat tan but not as much as I wanted. I think I prepared for it to be really hot and humid because that’s what I read and it was much better than I expected. My expectations must’ve been too high lol

 

[MouseOfCards]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!

Questions:

1. crowds?
2. Was one park better.(hear lots of good things about DisneySea)?
3. How many days do you suggest for each part?

 

[MomoMama]

Haha that’s funny. I did get somewhat tan but not as much as I wanted. I think I prepared for it to be really hot and humid because that’s what I read and it was much better than I expected. My expectations must’ve been too high lol

Expectation is the key! Japan's summer is hot and humid at most places. We were hoping for a bit cooler temperature in June, before entering the rain season. We thought we would escape Texas heat for two weeks...but we didn't.
Going to Japan in June had 2 advantages for us...1) Japanese schools are still in session 2) Not as hot as July or August. Now that #2 might not matter, we might go in July next time.

 

[MomoMama]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!

Questions:

1. crowds?
2. Was one park better.(hear lots of good things about DisneySea)?
3. How many days do you suggest for each part?

Thanks! Glad you enjoy the pics.

1. We check the crowds calendar and try to go "low crowds" days. Avoiding holidays, weekends and school holidays, we would go either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
2. DisneySEA is beautiful, and I agree it may be "better" since it is unique. But kids may prefer Disneyland...DD used to say she would go to Disneyland if we only had one day at Disney. And I like the classical Disney feel at the Disneyland too. It's hard for us to choose which one is "better."
3. When we first time went to Tokyo Disney, we spent 2 and 1/2 days (1 day at each park, 1/2 day at MiraCosta lunch viewing the show from balcony) and thought it was not enough. We wished we had 2 days at each park. But if you are adults only and spending all day opening to closing time in the park, I think 3 days should be enough -1 day at each park, and spend the last day doing things you missed at each park. But everyone's travel style is different... this was our 3rd time at Tokyo Disney, and both of us felt 1 day at each park was perfect. We don't try to do everything...we don't have specific plans, we try to watch some parades or shows if we can, and get on rides with reasonable wait times or using Fastpass. We miss a lot, but we would leave reasons to return for the next time

 

[Haley R]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!

Questions:

1. crowds?
2. Was one park better.(hear lots of good things about DisneySea)?
3. How many days do you suggest for each part?

I'm not the OP, but we were there at the same time so I can give our opinion on your questions.
1. We used this website as a crowd calendar: http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/disney/ It can be translated into English.
2. We actually preferred Disneyland over DisneySea. We went as two adults with no kids. I think the main reason was that it felt more Disney to us and reminded us of home. DisneySea is an amazing park, but it just didn't feel like Disney to us. I still loved it, but we liked the more classic feel to Disneyland.
3. We did 2 days at each park and that felt like enough. We even slept in two of those days and got there a little later.