DreamSweetsLove
Loves Mickey
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2010
We ended up going to Tokyo Disneyland during Golden Week, a week of national holidays that most everyone has off of work in Japan. Maybe it's because the anniversary year is over or maybe it was because Golden Week was a little shorter this year with two of the days landing on the weekend but we went to Tokyo Disneyland on the last day of the Golden Week holiday and it was very doable. We had a group of 11 total with 6 members of the group being children and could do everything everyone wanted to do. Although the crowd calender was predicting 51,000 for that day I believe it was much less than that, maybe in the 40's. In total we took 6 FP's (Pooh, Buzz, Splash, Big Thunder, Star Tours and Space) and rode 21 attractions, we did not stay until closing leaving around 8pm. I'm writing this short trip report in the hopes that it may help anyone else who decides to brave TDR during the holidays.
Prep before going:
Usually I avoid TDR like the plague during Spring break and Golden week but this year during both holidays friends really wanted to go together so I agreed. Going during a busy time doesn't have to be a nightmare as long as everyone is at least a little organized and there is a basic plan. The day before going I watched the wait times during the day on the official website to see what FP's went first and to check the general wait times and made a plan from there.
After making a plan we made sure everyone purchased their tickets in advance and printed them out the night before so we would not have to exchange them at the ticket booth the next day. We also set a meeting time and place for the next morning. We came early and because we had a large group took a position in line for two ticket gates next to each other. The rest of our group arrived one hour before opening.
Goals:
Our main goal was attractions, all the headliners and the classics. The kids also wanted to catch the Easter parade and since they would not get another chance to see it this year I wanted them to have a good parade positition, front row of course! Last we wanted to sit down for lunch although if it was too crowded snacking would also be acceptable.
How did we do it?
We organized into two groups in the morning. Group A would take the kids on attractions starting with Monsters Inc. Group B would take the parade spot (Minnie position, first row sitting, first showstop) and one person, myself, would collect FP's for everyone.
The reason we chose to watch the first parade was because of the new FP rule enforcement. Because we could not be late we had to get the parade out of the way to have more flexibility with our time. The parade started at 11:40am that day so until it was time for the parade we took turns riding attractions.
Tip: Water both iced or hot is free at the parks. Because it was a chilly day the hot water is a really nice option if you bring tea bags or powdered coffee or even just to hold to warm up your hands.
Choosing a parade position at the very beginning of the parade also helped us keep to our schedule as well as allowed us to ride attractions like Peter Pan and grab a table for lunch without a long queue while everyone else along the parade route watched the parade.
Because we were visiting with kids we decided to eat lunch at Grandma Sarah's. Near the entrance to the restaurant there are some tables by some windows that overlook the Haunted Mansion, the outside facade is actually the Haunted Mansion building so the children got a kick out of "haunting" the people in the queue outside and the guests in line also seemed to enjoy it as well!
Another favorite table area is outside where you can see the Splash Mountain attraction vehicles drive by but it was a bit chilly that day so indoors was more comfortable.
After the parade and lunch everything else was easy! We just continued to collect FP's and make it on time to the FP's we already had and enjoyed less crowded attractions along the way and atmosphere entertainment along the way.
We ended up riding Monsters, Buzz, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Gran Prix Raceway, Pooh, Pinocchio, Snow White, It's a Small World, Tea Cups, Carousel, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, the Canoes, Big Thunder Mountain, the Western River Railroad, Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates and Gadget's Go Coaster. One family stayed a little later and also did Captain Eo. If we had stayed until closing we could have done even more.
I found Golden Week was not as bad as Spring Break probably because it was closer to the event start date but even with the bigger Spring Break crowds we had similar results with a group of 8, and I thought this might be useful for people planning a trip to TDR. Also sorry for the lack of photo's and the quality as I just used what I had on my phone. I may up some more photo's later from the DSLR.
Prep before going:
Usually I avoid TDR like the plague during Spring break and Golden week but this year during both holidays friends really wanted to go together so I agreed. Going during a busy time doesn't have to be a nightmare as long as everyone is at least a little organized and there is a basic plan. The day before going I watched the wait times during the day on the official website to see what FP's went first and to check the general wait times and made a plan from there.
After making a plan we made sure everyone purchased their tickets in advance and printed them out the night before so we would not have to exchange them at the ticket booth the next day. We also set a meeting time and place for the next morning. We came early and because we had a large group took a position in line for two ticket gates next to each other. The rest of our group arrived one hour before opening.
Goals:
Our main goal was attractions, all the headliners and the classics. The kids also wanted to catch the Easter parade and since they would not get another chance to see it this year I wanted them to have a good parade positition, front row of course! Last we wanted to sit down for lunch although if it was too crowded snacking would also be acceptable.
How did we do it?
We organized into two groups in the morning. Group A would take the kids on attractions starting with Monsters Inc. Group B would take the parade spot (Minnie position, first row sitting, first showstop) and one person, myself, would collect FP's for everyone.
The reason we chose to watch the first parade was because of the new FP rule enforcement. Because we could not be late we had to get the parade out of the way to have more flexibility with our time. The parade started at 11:40am that day so until it was time for the parade we took turns riding attractions.
Tip: Water both iced or hot is free at the parks. Because it was a chilly day the hot water is a really nice option if you bring tea bags or powdered coffee or even just to hold to warm up your hands.
Choosing a parade position at the very beginning of the parade also helped us keep to our schedule as well as allowed us to ride attractions like Peter Pan and grab a table for lunch without a long queue while everyone else along the parade route watched the parade.
Because we were visiting with kids we decided to eat lunch at Grandma Sarah's. Near the entrance to the restaurant there are some tables by some windows that overlook the Haunted Mansion, the outside facade is actually the Haunted Mansion building so the children got a kick out of "haunting" the people in the queue outside and the guests in line also seemed to enjoy it as well!
Another favorite table area is outside where you can see the Splash Mountain attraction vehicles drive by but it was a bit chilly that day so indoors was more comfortable.
After the parade and lunch everything else was easy! We just continued to collect FP's and make it on time to the FP's we already had and enjoyed less crowded attractions along the way and atmosphere entertainment along the way.
We ended up riding Monsters, Buzz, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Gran Prix Raceway, Pooh, Pinocchio, Snow White, It's a Small World, Tea Cups, Carousel, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, the Canoes, Big Thunder Mountain, the Western River Railroad, Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates and Gadget's Go Coaster. One family stayed a little later and also did Captain Eo. If we had stayed until closing we could have done even more.
I found Golden Week was not as bad as Spring Break probably because it was closer to the event start date but even with the bigger Spring Break crowds we had similar results with a group of 8, and I thought this might be useful for people planning a trip to TDR. Also sorry for the lack of photo's and the quality as I just used what I had on my phone. I may up some more photo's later from the DSLR.
I'm so excited about our visit!!
