1 Day DisneySea Guide
Getting to DisneySea
From Tokyo Station to Maihama Station: Transfer to the JR Keiyo Line or Musashino Line to Maihama Station, the closest station to Tokyo DisneySea. Trains run every 20 minutes and the journey takes about 15 minutes, costing ¥220.
Once at Maihama Station, you can walk to Tokyo DisneySea or take a short shuttle bus.
Top Tips
Ensure you use Disney Premier Access
Make sure to download the official Tokyo Disney Resort app (Android/iOS) prior to your visit. You’ll need it to get, Entry Request or Disney Premier Access. Plus, you can also check the waiting times for each attraction.
Upon entering the park, you can open the Disney Resort app and choose a time to enter the attraction or shop. We recommend arriving early as time slots of the Standby Passes could be fully booked later in the day.
Disney Premier Access (from ¥1,500/access) allows you buy express tickets for specific rides. Purchasing Disney Premier Access: Premier Access is located under ‘My Plan’ in the Disney Resort app. From there you can select the experience and timeslot you want. The QR ticket code will appear 5 minutes before your designated time and you’ll need to scan it to enter via the Priority Access Entrance.
While costing more money if you only have 1 day it is the best way to maximise your time to ensure you get to see everything.
Pro-tip: Try securing Premier Access slots for the afternoon as you’ll have more time to queue for other rides in the morning.From experience, Toy Story Mania! and the Soaring: Fantastic Flight have the longest queues, and Premier Access timeslots also run out quickly.
Avoid Ultra Crowded Day
Weekends: This is obvious but other than the weekends, Mondays and Fridays are sometimes equally as crowded. If you have the luxury to choose, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are your best bet. Check the Crowd Congestion Forecast Calendar and try to avoid the dates highlighted in red.
Japanese School Holidays: However, come school holidays, it probably doesn’t matter which day of the week you’re going. We visited DisneySea in the last week of Japan's Summer Holidays and despite being there on a Thursday, the popular rides had queue times of up to 180 minutes 😱
Tickets
Tickets will be sold daily from 2:00 p.m. for admissions on the same date two months later. Tickets for a one day adult pass are between ¥7,900 - ¥10,900.
Purchase online from the Disney Sea website to avoid long wait times at the gate: https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/tds/attraction.html
When you arrive, there will be two separate queues: one for park goers who already have their tickets and are waiting to enter the park. The other, to get the tickets. You don’t want to be stuck in the latter queue!
Food & Drinks
Food is allowed in the Disney Resort Parks and you can eat them at the designated picnic area — outside the main entrance on the left. To save money, purchase a bento box or a couple of onigiris before heading in. There’s a New Days convenience store just outside Maihama station.
At Tokyo DisneySea, there are plenty of unique and delightful food options to try. Popular snack choices include the Gyoza Sausage Bun at the Refreshment Station in Mysterious Island, which is a steamed bun filled with a sausage and gyoza (dumpling) filling. Seafood lovers might enjoy the special curry with rice served in a bread bowl at the Nautilus Galley. For a sweet treat, the Little Green Men mochi filled with chocolate, strawberry, and custard cream at Mamma Biscotti's Bakery is a crowd favourite.
We also ate at Volcania Resturant and there were so many delicious Chinese themed steamed foods – my suggestion for lunch!!
Unique Popcorn
Additionally, themed popcorn buckets with various popcorn flavours like caramel, curry, and chocolate are a must-try (I would recommend the soy sauce butter, curry or Garlic shrimp for a unique Tokyo flavour). You can also get them in a range of novely buckets that can be refilled.
Caramel Flavour: Popcorn wagon (in front of Sea Turtle Souvenir)
Soy Sauce Butter Flavour: Popcorn wagon (next to Aquatopia)
Milk Chocolate Flavour: Popcorn wagon (before Cape Cod Cook-off)
Curry Flavour: Popcorn wagon (in front of Arabian Coast)
Salt Flavour: Popcorn wagon (next to hanger stage)
Black Pepper Flavour: Popcorn Wagon (Soarin: Before Fantastic Flight)
Garlic Shrimp Flavour: Popcorn wagon (in front of the dockside stage)
Recommended Approach to the Day
Arrive at least 1 hour before the park opens
Park opening hours vary by season, so check the Tokyo Disney Park Operations Calendar before visiting. Queues get quite crazy 30 minutes ahead of opening, so it’s best to arrive an hour before the park opens. Hopefully, you’d already have your pre-booked Tokyo Disney Tickets so you can skip the ticket queue and join the entrance queue instead.
Start by queueing for popular rides
#1 9AM — Gates open: Book Disney Premier Access Rides for Toy Story Mania! and Soaring Fantastic Flight. Right after uploading your ticket in the app, select your desired time slots for Premier Access so you can plan the rest of the rides around it.
#2: Run to Journey to the Center of the EarthQueues can get a little long in the afternoon as this is one of the few roller coasters in the park, located inside the iconic volcano.
#3: 10:55AM* — Catch Big Band Beat at Broadway Music TheatreUse the Tokyo Disney Resort app and submit an Entry Request for Big Band Beat.
#4: Queue for Tower of Terror
#5: 1PM* — Catch one of the Seasonal ShowsIf you didn’t manage to secure an Entry Request for this, we recommend exploring the Arabian section of the park and doing some souvenir shopping.
#6: 2PM — Take a breather and enjoy a picnic lunchExplore the different sections of DisneySea, have your packed lunch at the designated picnic area and book Entry Requests for the Meet & Greet Disney Character sessions.
#7: 3PM — Make way for Indiana Jones Adventure
#8: 4:30PM – 7:15PM: Enjoy skipping the queues with your Premier AccessOnce you’ve caught the first two shows, take note of the timing on your Premier Access tickets and make your way to the rides within the time period. Fill up the time in between by looking for rides with the shortest wait times on the app.
#9: 8PM — Get ready for the Fireworks show by the Mediterranean Harbor at 8:30PMDouble-check the entertainment schedule but it’s good to get seated 30 minutes before the show begins.
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