Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Review: Should You Stay at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel?
Any trip to the Tokyo Disney Resort is bound to be a magical one, by why not make it even more special by staying on-property at one of the Tokyo Disney Resort hotels?
I'm a huge advocate of staying on-property whenever you're visiting a Disney park - I think it just adds to the magical experience and it comes with tons of perks that can help you make the most of your time and energy!
I've already written a post on staying at the Toy Story Hotel which is one of my favorite hotels to date. Take a read if you're interested in seeing what it's like to stay at Tokyo Disney Resort's newest hotel.
About Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
Tokyo Disney Resort has different types of hotels: Deluxe, Moderate, and Value. You can read more about those on their website.
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is considered one of the Deluxe hotel types, and with good reason. It is the closest hotel to Tokyo Disneyland (literally at its front door), the decor and design of the place exudes elegance and classic beauty, they offer special character-specific designed rooms, and more. But of course, with all of this comes the price.
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Cost
During my stay at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, I did a room-only reservation, so the cost here reflects only the room with no additional package costs.
I chose the Tinkerbell Character Room for 4 people for a single night, and the cost of that came out to 68,000 yen. Depending on the country you're coming from and the exchange rate at the time, that can be affordable or it can be pricey. As a comparison to the Moderate type hotel, however, that's about 30,000 yen more. My stay at the Toy Story Hotel the previous night of that trip was 38,000 yen.
Is Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Worth the Price?
If it's your first time visiting and you're okay with a bit of a splurge, my thoughts are a resounding yes. And here's why!
Happy15 Entry to Both Parks
If you're not familiar with Tokyo Disney Resort, they offer Happy15 entry to certain hotel guests to certain parks, which is basically 15 minutes of early access to the parks before everyone else. The crowds (particularly the early crowds) are truly something else in Japan, so these first 15 minutes are everything. Tokyo Disneyland Hotel offers Happy15 entry to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. So staying here gives you an extra 15 minutes at both parks, whereas other hotels like Toy Story Hotel only gives you Happy15 at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. The breakdown of which parks each hotel gives you Happy Entry for is available on their website.
Proximity to Tokyo Disneyland
Again, it is literally at the front steps of Tokyo Disneyland. You step outside the hotel and you're already there! The amount of people who come to Tokyo Disneyland hours before it opens is no joke. If you're trying to be one of the first people to enter the park, you'll still have to wake up pretty early, but at least you won't have to walk very far at all to get there!
And nothing beats finishing up a day at the parks and having to walk only 5 minutes back to your hotel. We all know how tiring a full day at the parks can be, and haing to travel another hour home after while fending off all the crowds? No thank you.
Top Notch Decor
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel definitely has more of a classic, grandeur atmosphere. The lobby is enormous, there's fountains and oil paintings, and this very old-timey looking decor. It's beautiful and fun to be immersed in. They even have a cage elevator from the room floors to the lobby that's a fun ride.
And I absolutely adore the Character rooms. We stayed in the Tinkerbell room and all the attention to detail was so magical! While I haven't seen the others in person, I'm sure they're just as beautiful. From the light fixtures to the furniture, everything was on theme. We also had a nice view of one of Tokyo Disneyland Hotel's many gardens - Alice's Garden. It was so beautiful and serene!
Deluxe Amenities
I'm a sucker for cute amenities to take home, and Tokyo Disneyland Hotel's are supreme!
For each night of our stay (we only stayed one night) we got 2 free Tokyo Disneyland Hotel themed reusable tote bags.
In the bathroom, like other hotels, they provide things like toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and other toiletries. But what I love about their amenities kit in particular is that it comes in a cute little tin that you can have as a keepsake and use for other things in the future! They also had cute little plastic cups that you can keep as well. So cute and functional!
And of course we can't forget about the house slippers! They have adult slippers and child slippers!
Another thing I love about Japanese hotels in general is that they offer pajamas for you to wear during your stay too. I still think the Toy Story Hotel pajamas are superior, but the ones offered at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel are nice as well!
Convenient Shops Nearby
If you're looking for a quick bite to eat, or even some cute little souvenirs, there are a couple shops you can visit that are located right inside the hotel. There's a gift shop with items like those you can find in the park. There's also a small convenience store with fast food items like onigiri, sandwiches, drinks, and candies and snacks. The store also has some little souvenirs like mystery boxes and other little trinkets.
Some Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Drawbacks
The amount of drawbacks of staying here are few and far between, but there were a few things that I think warrant a call out for anyone considering staying here.
The Price
As I mentioned above, the cost for one night for a 4-person room was 68,000 yen. As someone from the United States who has grown used to Anaheim Disneyland's prices, a Deluxe-level hotel room for less than $500 USD (the exchange rate was very favorable when I went) feels like a steal. Regardless that's still quite a high price to pay for anyone, including myself, and it was still a major splurge that I may not want to make every time I visit.
The Rooms Feel a Little Aged
The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel opened in 2008, which as of writing was 15 years ago, and you can kind of tell. The rooms, while absolutely beautiful, do feel a bit older, especially compared to the brand new Toy Story Hotel.
Also because these rooms are older, there are fewer outlets and they aren't refurbed to have USB chargers like newer hotels. If you have quite a lot of people in your group, it might be a struggle for everyone to get everything charged.
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel Tips
Here are some tips to make the most of your stay while you're here.
Check In Early
Regular check-in time starts at 3:00PM on the day of check-in, but they also offer a pre-check-in service when you can check in ahead of time. This is subject to availability and may not be available, but typically is available between 7:00AM-1:00PM.
If you aren't able to check in early, you can still drop your bags off at the concierge for them to hold them so you can go enjoy the park before having your room.
The morning of my Tokyo Disneyland Hotel check-in I arrived around 6:30AM and pre check-in wasn't available so I left my bags and lined up right outside the hotel for entry to Tokyo Disneyland.
Take Those Amenities!
You're paying a lot to stay here, don't be shy about taking home the amenities! (Don't take the pjs though).
We took home all the hygenic items like the amenities kit, toothbrush, etc. and all the slippers. There are also post cards in the bedside table that are so pretty as well that you can take home or send to your loved ones!
Ride the Cage Elevator
This one is just fun. It's a cute little feature of the hotel, and it looks and feels really cool to ride in.
Visit the Gardens
Depending on how much time you have in the area, it would be really nice to take a stroll through the gardens the hotel has to offer. I personally didn't do this, but definitely would have loved to. The view is actually very beautiful from afar, so if you have a view of it from your room, that's also a nice perk.
“Worth” is super subjective and really depends on what you value! But if you’re a Disney nerd like me, I think you’ll absolutely love it here!
