Are We Finally Going? (A Pre-trip Report)

[soniam]

Yeah I think my mistake is partly that I’m comparing this to the wrong thing: I did early entry for USH and it was 30 dollars. Sort of different but VERY worthwhile to do everything in SNW with barely any lines.

We did that too. It was so awesome and total steal!

 

[vinotinto]

Hopping in to say that we'll have overlap in our dates in Japan, which would be crazy if I ran into you @soniam, but my Disney dates are right before FS goes live, so we likely won't cross paths.

My story is a lot less organized than yours. I had been talking with my son for years about visiting Japan, he's a big anime fan, but due to pandemic and Japan closing and other things, we had never actually started planning a trip.

Then my son asked me in mid-March, "whatever happened to that idea of visiting Japan?" So, I started looking at plane tickets and purchased tickets at the end of March for the end of May through early June.

• I don't have much booked, but I do have airfare, hotels, and a loose plan. And I got Shibuya Sky tickets and Disney tickets.
• We've never been to Japan, so just being there will be interesting for us. It's 2 adults with grown kids, ages 16 and 19.
• We are coming from the east coast in the US, so we have an overnight connection in the west coast - it was too tight to try to do it all in one day.
• My DH and I both work and we have limited vacation. With travel time, we're taking off 2 weeks. We hope to get a taste for Japan and return in the future!

Itinerary:

• Days 1-3: Tokyo. Staying near Shimbashi/Ginza. Plan to explore: Shibuya, Harajuku, Meiji-Ji, Asakusa, Senso-Ji, Akihabara.
• Day 4: Daytrip to Kawagoe to visit somewhere a bit more traditional. We talked about spending a night in an Onsen / maybe around Mt Fuji/Hakone, but due to the limited time, we could not make it work.
• Day 5-7: Kyoto. Staying at one of the Mimarus. Plan to do all the major sights: Gion, Yasaka, Kodai-Ji, Kijomizu-Dera, Nishiki Market/Pontocho Alley, Fushimi-Inari, Arasyashima, Kinkalu-Ji, etc. A little concerned about the amount of tourists because our trip falls over a weekend (Friday through Monday! ).
• Day 8-9: Disneyland and DisneySea. - Staying at Hotel Disneyland. Our DisneySea day is June 4. Since we've never been, we're OK not seeing FS, but seeing the soft openings, now I am wondering if they will offer soft openings on that date to the public.
• Day 10: Last day in Tokyo. Staying in Shibuya for last-minute shopping, etc. Possibly Teams Labs Borderless.

 

[soniam]

Hopping in to say that we'll have overlap in our dates in Japan, which would be crazy if I ran into you @soniam, but my Disney dates are right before FS goes live, so we likely won't cross paths.

My story is a lot less organized than yours. I had been talking with my son for years about visiting Japan, he's a big anime fan, but due to pandemic and Japan closing and other things, we had never actually started planning a trip.

Then my son asked me in mid-March, "whatever happened to that idea of visiting Japan?" So, I started looking at plane tickets and purchased tickets at the end of March for the end of May through early June.

• I don't have much booked, but I do have airfare, hotels, and a loose plan. And I got Shibuya Sky tickets and Disney tickets.
• We've never been to Japan, so just being there will be interesting for us. It's 2 adults with grown kids, ages 16 and 19.
• We are coming from the east coast in the US, so we have an overnight connection in the west coast - it was too tight to try to do it all in one day.
• My DH and I both work and we have limited vacation. With travel time, we're taking off 2 weeks. We hope to get a taste for Japan and return in the future!

Itinerary:

• Days 1-3: Tokyo. Staying near Shimbashi/Ginza. Plan to explore: Shibuya, Harajuku, Meiji-Ji, Asakusa, Senso-Ji, Akihabara.
• Day 4: Daytrip to Kawagoe to visit somewhere a bit more traditional. We talked about spending a night in an Onsen / maybe around Mt Fuji/Hakone, but due to the limited time, we could not make it work.
• Day 5-7: Kyoto. Staying at one of the Mimarus. Plan to do all the major sights: Gion, Yasaka, Kodai-Ji, Kijomizu-Dera, Nishiki Market/Pontocho Alley, Fushimi-Inari, Arasyashima, Kinkalu-Ji, etc. A little concerned about the amount of tourists because our trip falls over a weekend (Friday through Monday! ).
• Day 8-9: Disneyland and DisneySea. - Staying at Hotel Disneyland. Our DisneySea day is June 4. Since we've never been, we're OK not seeing FS, but seeing the soft openings, now I am wondering if they will offer soft openings on that date to the public.
• Day 10: Last day in Tokyo. Staying in Shibuya for last-minute shopping, etc. Possibly Teams Labs Borderless.

If I was going to see anyone in Japan, it would be you

 

[soniam]

I decided to try to call Miracosta to confirm if I could stay in the same room instead of moving for our first 4 nights, since it's the same hotel and same exact room type. That was pretty hilarious. My Japanese is terrible; their English wasn't great but was better. I think they confirmed that I could but I'm not sure; they seemed as confused as I was I got a few Japanese phrases in, and I think I did well with months and dates. I decided to use the contact form too, just in case.

 

[YayforMickey]

I decided to try to call Miracosta to confirm if I could stay in the same room instead of moving for our first 4 nights, since it's the same hotel and same exact room type. That was pretty hilarious. My Japanese is terrible; their English wasn't great but was better. I think they confirmed that I could but I'm not sure; they seemed as confused as I was I got a few Japanese phrases in, and I think I did well with months and dates. I decided to use the contact form too, just in case.

Thanks for trying! Many of us want a real answer on that one. Hahaha

 

[Disneyhanna]

I decided to try to call Miracosta to confirm if I could stay in the same room instead of moving for our first 4 nights, since it's the same hotel and same exact room type. That was pretty hilarious. My Japanese is terrible; their English wasn't great but was better. I think they confirmed that I could but I'm not sure; they seemed as confused as I was I got a few Japanese phrases in, and I think I did well with months and dates. I decided to use the contact form too, just in case.

I submitted an online inquiry and they responded in less than a day that it would be no problem to stay in the same room! Hope it’s the same for you!

 

[YayforMickey]

I submitted an online inquiry and they responded in less than a day that it would be no problem to stay in the same room! Hope it’s the same for you!

View attachment 862597

Oh this is wonderful news! This will make our time at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel less stressful if they follow the same procedure.

 

[soniam]

I submitted an online inquiry and they responded in less than a day that it would be no problem to stay in the same room! Hope it’s the same for you!

View attachment 862597

I got this response too I had read of some people not getting responses, so I was very pleased and released.

 

[TwingleMum]

Use the mobile website. I don’t think you can do this in the app easily. Go to Reservations (top right) and My Booking (bottom left). Pick your hotel reservation. Then “Add Online Reservation Privileges/option”. “Add Online Reservation Privileges”, Restaurants. It will list all of the restaurants and when they are available to book.

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I was able to book Crystal Palace. I have to wait for Center Street Coffee House, too early. And now I know what a Travel Case is . Because I booked my Hotel stay through DVC Travel Case wasn't showing but now that I have a Dining reservation I can see it.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm interested in how the weather is. The rainy season and all. I currently have flights booked for March, but I think I'm going to switch to June if I can find flights. I'll have more time off and won't interfere with school. I also have a cruise booked not sure if we will still do a cruise I'd like to see more of Asia then Japan I feel like I need a month off. I've got a year to decide so will see. Looking forward to your report. My son is a little older than yours he will be 20 when we go next year.

 

[Agent 86]

I'm interested in how the weather is. The rainy season and all. I currently have flights booked for March, but I think I'm going to switch to June if I can find flights.

Personally, I would avoid summer in Japan (especially June to August) if possible.

We live in a hot and humid climate, but the summer heat and humidity in Japan was next level.

 

[Kwami]

Personally, I would avoid summer in Japan (especially June to August) if possible.

We live in a hot and humid climate, but the summer heat and humidity in Japan was next level.

On the other hand, most of the great festivals are in the summer!

 

[DCLMP]

Personally, I would avoid summer in Japan (especially June to August) if possible.

We live in a hot and humid climate, but the summer heat and humidity in Japan was next level.

Totally agree, but have to do what works best with schedules. It won't be as hot as where I live so I assume I'll survive.