Originally Posted By barboy Getting back to the Tokyo vs Hong Kong (and you can only do one).....I'd say it depends on priorities. Here's my terribly biased offering: Disney Parks......Tokyo city visual sights..... HK city activities/tours/shopping..... HK eats.....HK culture.....Tokyo **But since I place a huge value on culture and Disney parks for me it's a no brainer: Tokyo all the way**
Originally Posted By Alltwelve I just returned from a trip to TDR on Saturday and stayed at the Mitsui Garden Hotel. There's complimentary bus transportation to both parks (about a 15 minute trip) and the accommodations are really nice. Don't get me wrong, I would've loved to stay at the Disneyland Hotel, but the price was prohibitive. Mitsui is a "good neighbor"-type hotel category. Spent a day at each park: went to TDL on a sunny, beautiful, and busy day and TDS on a rainy, cold, and not-so-busy day. Fun times! Have visited HKDL twice: the first time I stayed at Disney's Hollywood Hotel, which was great but not worth the price. The second time, I stayed at a tiny place called the Causeway Bay Inn. There's only three rooms! It was a wonderful value though and a 30-minute train ride to the park. It's definitely a great value, but with three rooms, its sometimes difficult to secure a reservation. Have fun!
Originally Posted By Brad Personally I find TDS to be BEAUTIFUL on a misty/rainy day. Especially when you approach Mt. Prom and then go into the caldera. The light rain/mist just makes it feel otherworldly and ethereal.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh So how many days should a first timer allow to see the Tokyo resort? We are thinking of going this summer, mid July. Would 3 days be enough, or should we figure 2 days per park? Is it worth going to shows that are duplicated in WDW and DL, given that we go to one or the other at least once a year? Also, what are some must sees in and around Tokyo, and how long should we allow for each thing? If we are able to go, I figure we will have 6 or 7 days to see all that we can, and need to figure out how best to divide our time.
Originally Posted By Brad Both times I have been I have spent four days. Trust me - you will want the extra day just for TDS!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros If you only have 6 or 7 days total, I would recommend 2-3 days at the parks. As much as I love Disney (and especially TDS), it's silly to travel to the other side of the world and not get some real local experiences. No, you won't see everything in the parks, but I think you'll be able to catch the big things As for the shows, other than Fantasmic!, I can't think of any that are duplicated between TDR and the US parks. F! is very different from the US versions (if the DL and WDW versions are sisters, TDS's is a second cousin) so it's probably worth checking out. Fantillusion is similar in concept to MSEP, but everything I've seen blows it away; I haven't seen it in person yet, but I have every intention of watching it on my upcoming trip
Originally Posted By SuperDry My rule of thumb for someone such as yourself (Disney fan, first time visit to Tokyo and TDR) is up to 4 days in the parks, but no more than half of your time in town. And definitely stay on-site during your time at the resort, then stay in Tokyo proper for that portion of your trip. I recommend the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay or the Tokyo Bay Hilton at the resort. Both are on the resort monorail loop. Disney hotels are nicer, but at 2.5x the price, so that's all up to your budget.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh Ok, let's say flights work out that we have four days in Tokyo proper. What should we do? Meiji Shrine, Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Tokyo Tower, Shibuya Crossing, Edo Castle? I need to figure out priorities and about how long each will take to do.
Originally Posted By SuperDry Skip Tokyo Tower and go to its replacement: the Sky Tree. Bigger and better. Other than that, it's really hard to recommend what the "must do's" are without knowing what would interest you. There's all kinds of ways to do Tokyo, as is the case for most places. Do you want to focus on: history, traditional culture, pop culture, architecture, food, or something else? Any of those categories could easily fill 4 days all by itself. If you don't have a particular area of focus, then my best advice would be to draw up a list of things and roughly what category they fall into, and then make sure your plans are balanced. That is, don't go to three shrines unless you have a particular interest in Shinto or the related architecture, no matter how famous or close they are. More broadly, don't focus on just famous historical sights or tourist sites just to see how many you can pack in. Tokyo is very much a city where just being there and experiencing it is the number one activity, with any particular thing you do coming in second. Think New York City: there's many things that you can do there, several of which might be on a first-time visitor's "must do" list, but the main thing is just being there and experiencing it in general.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh Thanks. I am definitely a history buff, but we probably would like to do a bit of everything.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Skip Tokyo Tower and go to its replacement: the Sky Tree. Bigger and better.>> Definitely. I would recommend either an early arrival or pre-book as the queues have been horrific this summer. I'd avoid the rest of the complex as it is poorly planned and executed - especially the mass of a mall.
Originally Posted By leemac <<We are thinking of going this summer, mid July. Would 3 days be enough, or should we figure 2 days per park? Is it worth going to shows that are duplicated in WDW and DL, given that we go to one or the other at least once a year?>> If you can avoid July and August you will enjoy your visit much more. School vacations are brutal in Japan - the parks are rammed from opening to closing and the weather can be hot and humid. May/June and September are far better options for the parks and weather.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Would 3 days be enough, or should we figure 2 days per park? Is it worth going to shows that are duplicated in WDW and DL, given that we go to one or the other at least once a year?>> In summer you would probably need 4 days to cover off everything including the summer events. I would also consider using the Starlight/After 6 tickets too so you could go in during the evening (especially if you want to see Dreamlights and/or Fantasmic!).
Originally Posted By leemac <<F! is very different from the US versions (if the DL and WDW versions are sisters, TDS's is a second cousin) so it's probably worth checking out.>> IMHO I'd have F! at the bottom of the list. I've still absolutely no idea how we botched that one from start to finish. The idea seemed to work so much better on paper than in execution. I literally can't stand to be near it now.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Meiji Shrine, Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Tokyo Tower, Shibuya Crossing, Edo Castle?>> Edo-Tokyo Museum is one of the ugliest buildings you will ever see but it is a fantastic museum about the city. If you like Ghibli movies then a visit to the Ghibli Museum is a must. It is phenomenal.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh Thanks, Lee! Unfortunately we don't have flexibility on the date - my kids have a chance to attend Sophia University on a summer program, so we figured as long as we are paying for two flights we could pay for four and go see Tokyo.
Originally Posted By SuperDry I just saw a mistake of mine in post #27: I meant to say "no more than half your time at TDR." That is, at least half your time in town, not at most half! Regarding dates, since they are not flexible, there are still some things to consider: try to plan days at TDR for weekdays. Any time in July/August will be punishing, but weekends more so. Also, consider the special events schedule: although not announced yet, the schedule is pretty consistent from year to year: Spring special event ends June 30. Tanabata is July 1 - 7ish. Summer special event runs July 8ish - Aug 31. Those dates are important, as especially for spring and summer events, the first and last days of the events tend to be packed, even if they are on weekdays. But, I'd also recommend making it a point to see either the spring or summer event if you can work it in, as those special events are one unique offering at TDR. Assuming you'll be going on busy days no matter what, use all of your Disney knowledge to attack the parks commando style (and then some) and you can make it work. If you take it easy and show up 2 hours after opening on a summer day, you will have a miserable time, with few FPs available and long lines (like of the 3+ hour standby variety) for popular attractions. Get to the turnstiles at least 45 minutes before opening time. The time spent waiting in that like will be paid back many fold: get a FP for a popular attraction straight off, then do another standby. As soon as you can, get a FP for a third attraction, hopefully before using the first one. And so on - I'm sure you know what to do. Then there are some other tricks, such as watching the daytime parade from next to Dumbo. Across the way is the Haunted Mansion, which has no FP when not in HMH mode, and is virtually cut off from the rest of the park during parades. So, the line empties. Cross the parade route as soon as the end passes and get in the HM line. It will be very reasonable at that point, but fill up to 1+ hour within minutes after the parade passes.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh We definitely plan to go to the parks on weekdays. The DVC point charts show that May through July 19 are value season, while July 20th begins peak season, so the plan would be to check out on the 19th at the latest. Hopefully it won't be too bad then, and we have enough experience with Disney to avoid as many long lines as possible. We are mainly concerned experiencing the rides that are unique to Tokyo, and being in the parks. Anything else is a bonus. The kids are supposed to keep asking about what, if any, tours they will be going on with the school. Then we will avoid visiting those. My wife and I might stay a couple of days after they start classes to visit any sites that the kids will visit with their classmates. Definitely open to any other suggestions. Thanks.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh So, what do you know about Kyoto? Could we get up on a Friday or Saturday morning, check out of our hotel, and catch a train to Kyoto and still see things that day? I am wondering if we could stay one night, see stuff the next day and then take the train back to Tokyo. Or is Kyoto a two night minimum to see a decent amount of stuff?
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh Oh and my daughter said the Ghibli Museum definitely has to be on the list. She is willing to skip the Hello Kitty Park though (Sanrio Puroland?). Would children who grew up going to Disneyland be bored by it? And would my 19 son enjoy the Pokemon Supercenter? Sounds like it is just a store.
