Which Hotel?

[Version 6]

Sorry, guys! Yet another "Which Hotel" thread.

We are a family of 4, (kids aged 10 and 8) hoping to visit in January 2023.

We'd like to stay in one of the Resort hotels, but are struggling to decide which one.

A bit of info about us which might help you guys provide advice.

• This is our first, and perhaps only visit to TDR.
• We have visited Disneyland Resort, California several times. Typically we stay at the Grand Californian Hotel.
• Our touring style is to hit the parks early. We are rope droppers. So we generally grab a "to go" breakfast from Starbucks on our way to the park.

Question is, what would be the right hotel for us?

I love how close MiraCosta and Disneyland Hotel seem to be to the parks. But I can't see any quick breakfast options at either of those places. Whereas at the Ambassador Hotel, Ikspiari seems to be walking distance, so a lot of take away breakfast options available.

We are fortunate that all of the hotels are within budget. Just struggling to figure out what is right for us.

For example, if we stayed at the Miracosta and wanted to have a day at Disneyland, we'd need to monorail to Ikspiari in the morning to grab breakfast and then monorail from Ikspiari to Disneyland.

So, I'm keen for any intel you guys can share.

Side note: question on crowds in January. Are they so low that getting to the parks for rope drop is not really a concern? Or do the parks still get quite crowded.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gelatoni fan]

We have no idea what a lot of things will look like for January 2023. Note that most info I have is based on being an Annual Passholder pre-pandemic so some things may be different by your trip.

Disney hotels had a benefit called Happy 15 which would allow you to get into the parks earlier. There were rules around which hotels would get you in on check-in day and which parks you could get into. Assuming, the benefit exists and you could get into both parks 15 minutes early (for a while it was 30 minutes early for Disneyland), arriving just a bit before the Happy 15 start time would usually be sufficient for most people who primarily care about getting one ride out of the way early.

After the New Years Event in the first few days of January is over, the parks go into slow season. If you don't have Happy 15, I generally would advise getting to the park an hour early to be reasonably close to the front. This is because most of the Official hotels start breakfast at 6:30AM so if you arrive at 7ish for an 8AM opening, you should be able to beat this rush. For 9AM opening, you could try a little bit earlier.

If there is no Fastpass, arriving early would be even more important as lines for major attractions can get to the 90+ minute range at rope drop. If it happens to be snowing and especially if there is as blizzard in the morning, you can arrive later and still be near the front. The parks are slow for Tokyo standards which is still busier than Disneyland in California.

Ikspiari is not open early enough for rope drop. There is a coffee shop and convenience store at Maihama station where you could get some food but most people would actually buy breakfast the night before to have in their room. There are bakeries in the front area of both Disneyland and Disneysea so many people will buy bread for the next morning as they leave the park. They sometimes close with the parks and sometimes are open 30 minutes to an hour after park closing so check the hours. There's also a grocery store at Ikspiari that is typically open late enough to buy something at after park closing even though it isn't open early enough for rope drop.

There is a convenience store inside of the Disneyland Hotel where you should be able to get breakfast. I don't think there is anything for Miracosta but I haven't really explored in there. For Ambassador, you could walk to Maihama station to get breakfast. If you aren't tied to Disney hotels, the Official hotels at Bayside station are actually great options with convenience stores inside of both the Hilton and Sheraton. If you book a club room or have the appropriate hotel status, the lounge breakfast buffets are really good. I usually stay at the Sheraton.

 

[aussiecookfamily]

If you are thinking that this will be a one and only visit to TDR I would recommend MiraCosta, it is an amazing hotel and the hotel and park totally unique. When we stayed we just sorted our breakfast the night before, dropping into one of the bakeries and picking up goodies for the morning. We visited in January and rope drop was still extremely valuable - the 15 mins early entry you got with being a hotel guest made a big difference. Obviously conditions in Jan 2023 will be very unknown. Make sure you are connected with TDR Explorer to keep up to date with everything over the next 11 months.

 

[Version 6]

We have no idea what a lot of things will look like for January 2023. Note that most info I have is based on being an Annual Passholder pre-pandemic so some things may be different by your trip.

Disney hotels had a benefit called Happy 15 which would allow you to get into the parks earlier. There were rules around which hotels would get you in on check-in day and which parks you could get into. Assuming, the benefit exists and you could get into both parks 15 minutes early (for a while it was 30 minutes early for Disneyland), arriving just a bit before the Happy 15 start time would usually be sufficient for most people who primarily care about getting one ride out of the way early.

After the New Years Event in the first few days of January is over, the parks go into slow season. If you don't have Happy 15, I generally would advise getting to the park an hour early to be reasonably close to the front. This is because most of the Official hotels start breakfast at 6:30AM so if you arrive at 7ish for an 8AM opening, you should be able to beat this rush. For 9AM opening, you could try a little bit earlier.

If there is no Fastpass, arriving early would be even more important as lines for major attractions can get to the 90+ minute range at rope drop. If it happens to be snowing and especially if there is as blizzard in the morning, you can arrive later and still be near the front. The parks are slow for Tokyo standards which is still busier than Disneyland in California.

Ikspiari is not open early enough for rope drop. There is a coffee shop and convenience store at Maihama station where you could get some food but most people would actually buy breakfast the night before to have in their room. There are bakeries in the front area of both Disneyland and Disneysea so many people will buy bread for the next morning as they leave the park. They sometimes close with the parks and sometimes are open 30 minutes to an hour after park closing so check the hours. There's also a grocery store at Ikspiari that is typically open late enough to buy something at after park closing even though it isn't open early enough for rope drop.

There is a convenience store inside of the Disneyland Hotel where you should be able to get breakfast. I don't think there is anything for Miracosta but I haven't really explored in there. For Ambassador, you could walk to Maihama station to get breakfast. If you aren't tied to Disney hotels, the Official hotels at Bayside station are actually great options with convenience stores inside of both the Hilton and Sheraton. If you book a club room or have the appropriate hotel status, the lounge breakfast buffets are really good. I usually stay at the Sheraton.

Thank you for this.

So how would you describe the crowds in January? I'm assuming not comparable to DLR California in January?

 

[gelatoni fan]

Thank you for this.

So how would you describe the crowds in January? I'm assuming not comparable to DLR California in January?

At TDR, more people are in the parks earlier and shows/parades will have more people than DLR. Ride wait times on a weekday in TDR in January would be comparable to ride wait times on a weekend in DLR. Something like an hour to 90 minutes wait for rides like Winnie the Pooh, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and Journey to the Center of the Earth would not be uncommon. Soaring and Toy Story Mania may have longer wait times than that and TDR may use a standby pass like the virtual queues formerly used for Web Slingers and Rise of the Resistance. But there will also be rides with short waits like Sinbad.

The challenge if you really care about the big rides is that the wait times for those get long a lot faster. But Single Rider on rides like Splash Mountain are way more powerful in TDR.

 

[Version 6]

Thanks. I really hadn't anticipated waits that long in winter. Hopefully fastpass is back by then which will make it easier to hit those headliners.

 

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi , ||Past few times I have been to Tokyo Disney ( November/January), even getting there early in the morning, there were no fast passes for Toy Story mania ( Standby time was 140-180mins). However if you leave it to almost park closing standby was down to 45mins ( 30mins actual). Soaring seemed to be 180mins plus all day .

 

[gelatoni fan]

Hi , ||Past few times I have been to Tokyo Disney ( November/January), even getting there early in the morning, there were no fast passes for Toy Story mania ( Standby time was 140-180mins). However if you leave it to almost park closing standby was down to 45mins ( 30mins actual). Soaring seemed to be 180mins plus all day .

That seems about right. At opening, you could get a Fastpass for Soaring or Toy Story Mania but if you aren't lined up outside the park before opening, they could run out. The only time I didn't successfully get a Fastpass for either of those when I was at the gate before opening was during Golden Week.

I sometimes waited like 30 minutes for Toy Story Mania at the end of the day but sometimes it'd still be like an hour. It's like how Nemo and even Winnie the Pooh could be nearly a walk on at the end of the day but sometimes still have like 30 minute waits.

 

[scrump]

If you are thinking that this will be a one and only visit to TDR I would recommend MiraCosta, it is an amazing hotel and the hotel and park totally unique. When we stayed we just sorted our breakfast the night before, dropping into one of the bakeries and picking up goodies for the morning. We visited in January and rope drop was still extremely valuable - the 15 mins early entry you got with being a hotel guest made a big difference. Obviously conditions in Jan 2023 will be very unknown. Make sure you are connected with TDR Explorer to keep up to date with everything over the next 11 months.

This was my first thought as well. For an anticipated sole lifetime trip to TDR, and because it seems within your budget, MiraCosta would be a nice experience.

Personally, I have not stayed there, only Hilton, Sheraton and the Disneyland Hotel. As others have said, we grabbed breakfast items the night before and took advantage of the 15 minutes (with Disneyland Hotel).

I am hoping to plan my next trip in the next 12 - 18 months as well, so best of luck and enjoy!!!!!

 

[Version 6]

A few follow up questions if you guys don't mind.

• If staying at Hilton Tokyo Bay, how far away am I (by walking and/or monorail) to Disneysea, Disneyland and Ikspiari?
• How do the early entry tickets work? Do I need to be staying at a particular hotel to use them or are they open to everyone? Do I buy them when I buy my park tickets or is early entry an add-on that needs to be purchased subsequently in the app.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gelatoni fan]

A few follow up questions if you guys don't mind.

• If staying at Hilton Tokyo Bay, how far away am I (by walking and/or monorail) to Disneysea, Disneyland and Ikspiari?
• How do the early entry tickets work? Do I need to be staying at a particular hotel to use them or are they open to everyone? Do I buy them when I buy my park tickets or is early entry an add-on that needs to be purchased subsequently in the app.

Thanks in advance.

The Hilton Tokyo Bay and the Sheraton are literally right across the street from Bayside station on the monorial. Probably less than 5 minutes walk but if you happen to be there right as the shuttle bus is leaving, you could be there in less than 2 minutes. The monorail goes from Bayside station to Disneysea to Ikspiari (Resort Gateway) to Disneyland and then back to Bayside station.

It will take less time to get from the Bayside station hotels to Disneysea than from the Disneyland Hotel or Ambassador Hotel.

Right now, no hotels allow you to get into the park early. If Happy 15 returns as a Disney hotel benefit, you get passes to enter the parks early and there is no extra charge. There may be restrictions on which park you can enter early based on which hotel you booked but as this benefit has not returned, there is no point looking into it right now.

 

[Version 6]

Thank you very much