Is Tokyo Disney Resort the best of all the Disney theme parks?

I made a trip out to Tokyo Disney back in October/November 2024 and I was blown away.

I haven't been to every single Disney park yet (Paris and Shanghai are the remaining ones for me) but Tokyo seemed to have 2 of the best theme parks out there.

Pros:

1. The upkeep on rides is incredible, the attractions feel like they're still brand new.

   1. For example: Toy Story Mania, the screens were crystal clear

   2. Splash Mountain (yes they still have Splash Mountain there) every feature was working, some that I didn't even know existed.

2. The only Disney park in the world that still has an included skip the line pass. Tokyo Disney's 40th Anniversary Pass is still included with your park ticket, it works like Lightning Lane Multipass in Disneyland California where you select your first ride once you've entered the park and you can select another ride once you've rode your first or 2 hours have passed . It only works for 5 rides at Tokyo Disneyland and 6 rides at Tokyo DisneySea and because it is so limited the passes tend to sell out by late morning but its still included with your ticket price!

3. The prices to enter the park are around $50-60 USD for a 1-day ticket.

4. It sometimes feels like the Disney of old from the 80's. There were lots of characters out for meet & greets, the customer service is amazing and the park is sparkling clean.

5. You can pay for a reserved spot for parades and fireworks! This is a pretty cool concept - there are areas where you can still watch the fireworks or parades without paying, but if you prefer showing up 15 mins before the parade starts and sitting in your spot, you can totally do that. You do not get a seat, it is usually just a numbered spot on the ground where you can sit. People tend to sit for the parade and fireworks rather than stand too which makes it easier to see. The cost is around $10-15 per person.

6. Some of the rides are amazing. Pooh's Hunny Hunt puts the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to shame (both Disney World and Disneyland California), Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is incredible and in Fantasy Springs, Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey makes you wonder why people are going crazy for Frozen Ever After in 3 other parks - this ride is so good, my jaw dropped riding it the first few times.

Cons:

1. Its CROWDED. People start lining up to get into the park for rope drop as much as 3 hours before the park opens. Entry into the park can be daunting with how many people are there - but it generally goes quickly, smoothly and orderly. Once inside the park, standby lines can be extremely long. People don't seem phased by a 200+ minute wait for a ride. Lines also exist for buying popcorn buckets, certain food offerings - if its popular expect to wait in line for it.

2. Not all skip the line passes are free, there are paid skip the line passes called Disney Premier Access (DPA) which cost $10-20 per ride and work like Lightning Lane Single Pass. They're very popular and they tend to sell out quickly for the most popular rides.

3. This brings me to my next problem, while tickets to get into the park are cheap, if you really want to do everything in a few days - you want early entry into the parks. Early entry (called "Happy Entry") is only allowed from certain Tokyo Disney hotels, even some of their "Deluxe" hotels are blocked from Happy Entry at Tokyo DisneySea (currently only Miracosta and Fantasy Springs hotel have Happy Entry to DisneySea). Happy Entry is only ~15 mins early entry into the parks too, which sounds super short - but the big advantage it gives you is being able to buy the most highly desired DPA's before everyone else gets into the park.

4. The other option is to purchase a Vacation Package from Tokyo Disney which includes park tickets, hotel and you can also opt to purchase DPA's for certain rides with the package. Sounds great right? Except Tokyo Disney charges you more overall for the package. It ends up being the best way to see the parks if you're coming for that once in a lifetime trip but it isn't cheap. If you want a 2-day Unlimited "Fastpass", its possible but its even more expensive - but when you consider how much Disney's Premier Pass is for just 1-ride on every attraction, it doesn't seem so bad since Tokyo's version (only available with a Vacation Package) offers unlimited re-rides.

5. There isn't really park hopping or multi-day tickets. You can only buy 1-day tickets and Park Hoppers are currently only available through March 31st, 2026, park hopping starts at 11am and the price is close to double the price of a normal ticket.

If anyone has any questions on Tokyo Disney, let me know! If you've been to Tokyo Disney before - what did you think, are they the best Disney theme parks?

Taken on Halloween 2024, our Zootopia "costumes" paled in comparison to some of the amazing costumes people wore to the parks that day!