If you missed part 1 of this trip report or parts 1, 2 or 3 from our Japan Trip Report, click on the corresponding number to catch up!

Certain days on vacation just slip by without notice. Despite our best efforts to savor the last taste, take one last glimpse or be as present as possible, not every day can be the best day of my life. There are plenty of reasons for that – exhaustion, external circumstances and pressure all come to mind. The latter was part of what I was feeling on our second park day and only day at Tokyo Disneyland.

I don’t write that to be melodramatic. Our day, which I’m about to detail, was fantastic! In reminiscing and writing about this trip I’ve been really interested in how certain days feel like cloud 9 and others are simply really good days on vacation. This is not a problem per se, I’m lucky to have plenty of really good travel days in my life and I’ll take them for as long as I’m able. What I’ve concluded is that there are very few days that we’ll be able to remember in totality so I’ve tried to become more aware of the perfect moments that I can carry with me for the rest of my life. Squeezing everything I love about Tokyo Disneyland into one day was, and still is, overwhelming to me but that pressure was alleviated by so many beautiful moments.

What’s not beautiful is waking up around 7 AM on vacation but we do what we have to do in the name of theme park glory! Leaving Hotel MiraCosta a little before 8 and catching the monorail to Tokyo Disneyland, had us there in plenty of time to use the “Happy Entry”. This gets guests staying at a Tokyo Disney Resort hotel into the parks 15 minutes prior to everyone else. I’m guessing 90% of us headed straight for Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast.

As loyal readers and/or theme park enthusiasts know, the morning is for E-tickets! Getting to ride Tokyo’s newest attraction that opened in 2020 was a highlight of the trip. I’ve reviewed the ride in full so I won’t go overboard with the details here but I loved the experience. In fact, I think I enjoyed the ride more than most. The concept is fairly simple but executed brilliantly. I also really love that the attraction lingers in different scenes, perhaps even too long. So many of the classic Fantasyland rides rush through the story but Enchanted Tale turns that idea upside down. My favorite part of the ride is the trick near the conclusion that I won’t spoil here. It’s one of the best on-ride surprises I’ve seen.

From getting in line to off the attraction took a little less than an hour. Even though we were there 15 minutes early, the line was quite long. That queue is fun to go through though, combining some great physical architecture with cool projecting tricks. Even if you have to wait a long time for this ride, I’d encourage everyone to go!

We managed to grab a Priority Pass for Pooh’s Hunny Hunt once we were in the park and the return time was coming up, so we stayed close by and grabbed breakfast at La Taverne de Gaston. That’s Shelby, showcasing the Gaston portrait! Having already reviewed the restaurant, I’ll just say that this is a wonderful spot for breakfast! I’ll save my thoughts on the entire expansion for the end of this post. I’ve got to do something to keep you reading!

It took two trips to Japan and 6 years to ride Pooh’s Hunny Hunt but we finally got on the attraction. And wow, it lived up to the hype. Going between that and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast is jaw dropping. We can have modern Fantasyland dark rides and they can be the best of the best!

Pooh’s Hunny Hunt is somewhat similar to the stateside Winnie the Pooh rides in plot and plot alone. Tokyo Disneyland’s version is a trackless ride, winding through impeccable physical props. There’s a nice mix of straight story and weird, with all of the characters getting a loveable moment. This is my favorite attraction at Tokyo Disneyland and one of the best in the world.

We grabbed another Priority Pass, ordered some popcorn and made our way across the park to the best bears around. It’s funny that the original Country Bears show lasted the longest at Tokyo Disneyland. The oddball comedy seems to work there and the bears remain pretty popular. I hope they never go away at that park. Between that and Splash Mountain, fans can really get a taste of recent nostalgia at the park. As a bonus, both attractions are well maintained.

We ended the morning of original dark rides with Monsters Inc. Ride & Go Seek. While not as successful or enduring as the previous two, this is a very fun ride. There’s a good amount of jokes that I’d missed the first time or two through, including that little sushi loving monster in the photo above. I’m split on the interactivity of the attraction, where guests shine lights on the monsters. On one hand, it’s a pretty entertaining way to spice up an otherwise book report attraction. On the other, Ride & Go Seek looks so good that it might not need a gimmick. Either way, it’s a strong ride in a park full of them.

Melissa set off to find a spot for the daytime parade while I went to get us a slice of seafood pizza. The amount of times I’ve thought about this pizza since our last trip is embarrassing but it is delicious. It’s the best theme park pizza I’ve ever had by a wide margin and costs less than 5 bucks a slice.

We were successful in the pizza realm (incredible realm, if you ask me) but sadly the daytime parade was canceled due to high winds. It’s a shame, as the parade is relatively new and I was looking forward to reviewing it. That’s part of the downside of having one day at a park, you never know what might get canceled or what attraction might be down. We knew going in that was part of the risk so we weren’t too broken up about it.

Plus, we had the wonderful Tokyo Disneyland Cast Members to cheer us up! They are delightful and are a major reason why the parks there deserve so much praise.

We took a nice walking loop around the sections of the park we hadn’t been already, spending some time in Critter Country. Here are a few of my favorite critters!

That section of Tokyo Disneyland is really playful with some surprising colors and tiny characters popping up. There’s nice views of Westernland, paths to the water and a nice continuation of Splash Mountain’s cheerfulness right outside of the attraction. Splash was under refurbishment while we were there (it was December and cold) but remains open in that park.

The little houses in the area are very cute too, in true Japanese fashion.

We headed back towards World Bazaar in hopes of going to one of the restaurants there for lunch. After getting in line and waiting for quite a while, we decided to move along as the wait was clearly going to be a while at Eastside Cafe. Next time!

World Bazaar is very pretty, especially with a giant Christmas Tree in the middle of it. I love the clear roof and there are more prominent side streets in this park’s version of Main Street.

The castle framed by the arches at the end is also gorgeous, whether during the day or night.

And speaking of the castle, it’s most similar to Walt Disney World’s. The hub is entirely different though, being in tiered sections. As you can see above, walking up to the partners statue is easy, as it’s not in the middle of the hub and surrounded by flowers but in between the upper and lower tiers of the area. While Tokyo Disneyland’s hub isn’t as intimate, it’s incredibly practical and leads to better views of the castle. It’s also very open while still remaining green.

We’d gotten an entry request earlier in the day for Mickey’s Magical Musical World and the Fantasyland Forest Theatre. We met back up with Shelby and Ben before the showtime and went inside. The theatre is absolutely gorgeous and should be an asset for years to come. Mickey’s Magical Musical World was decent, centering around different Disney songs and Mickey unlocking them. I didn’t love it but the show was entertaining enough and had some huge numbers.

Golden hour was beautiful as we crossed the park to Adventureland. Tokyo Disneyland’s Adventureland has a mini New Orleans Square in it, right as you first enter. That’s where Pirates of the Caribbean resides, as the attraction is closer to the Disneyland version than Magic Kingdom.

Whether intentionally or not, I found this attraction poster very funny. The dichotomy of “fun loving” and “sack and burn” is impressive to fit into one sentence.

Adventureland in TDL has better spacing than both American park’s versions. There’s a number of changes in the park that are cosmetic like that. Those don’t have a substantial impact when thinking about all that Tokyo Disneyland offers, but they do have an impact on the actual experience. Having that extra space makes everything more pleasant.

We rode Jungle Cruise after Pirates, which is a must do. Yes, the jokes are in Japanese but it’s very funny. Pair that with a beautiful ride and Jungle Cruise is so much fun.

We doubled back to Fantasyland to experience Haunted Mansion Holiday. If you’ve ever wondered what the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay would look like on the Magic Kingdom version of Haunted Mansion, Tokyo Disneyland holds the answer. I guess I hold the answer too, depending on how much you trust me… It looks great!

Really, the changes aren’t much different. The staircase scene, which isn’t a part of Disneyland’s ride, doesn’t include many Nightmare tie-ins. The rest of the Mansion is very similar, meaning that it’s an incredible overlay!

The nighttime parade was approaching quickly so Melissa and I grabbed a quick dinner at Pan Galactic Pizza Port. It’s not a very good option but it is the residence of Tony Solaroni which was enough reason for me to try it.

We were a little late finding a spot for the parade so we didn’t have the best view but Dreamlights is great regardless. Since the parade lived in such an esteemed spot in my mind, I was a little worried that it wouldn’t live up to that memory. Fortunately, it did and remains my favorite thing to do at Tokyo Disneyland. I’d recommend a spot closer to the castle, which we did not get but it’s great from anywhere. Here are some photos!

Following the parade, we had a wonderful time on the Teacups. I enjoy my role as Unofficial Mad Tea Party Photographer for whoever is in my cup. I have not tried this with strangers.

After our spin, we went for the wildest ride in the wilderness! This is a group favorite and we thoroughly enjoyed this ride through, howling at the moon the whole time. Big Thunder Mountain at TDL is most similar to Disney World’s version but has a few more effects.

The last ride of the night was Small World. We didn’t plan it that way but it does seem fitting. Meeting up with best friends from New Zealand to explore Japan is pretty well summed up by that theme park ride with the incessant song. I mean, there’s the hope and harmony aspect too but we’ll use what theme seems appropriate to this trip report!

We all went our separate ways after that which meant it was photography time for me! The park was closing right about the time we exited Small World and they clear the Tokyo parks pretty clearly. I booked it to Beauty and the Beast to get some photos there before exiting through Tomorrowland.

Seeing the new expansion area at night was further confirmation of what a success the area is. Happy Ride with Baymax, which I didn’t really touch on, is a surprise sensation and the Beauty and the Beast areas are phenomenal both in terms of aesthetic and experience. Tokyo Disneyland has plenty of beautiful spots but Beast’s castle, the forest and little French village are in contention for the best one.

I would have liked to spend a little more time there just to soak in the atmosphere. There were plenty of ‘would have liked to’s’ about that day between that, the daytime parade, lunch and a few other attractions. But walking through the park at night as it emptied cleared my mind of that.

Tomorrowland led back to World Bazaar’s Christmas Tree, where I met up with Melissa. We enjoyed a few last looks at the castle before heading for the exit.

Santa Mickey wished us well as we headed back to the hotel. I slept hard that night, gearing up for one last day at Tokyo DisneySea!

Have you been to Tokyo Disneyland? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! If you’re planning a trip there then check out our guide! If you enjoy what you’re reading please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages which you can find on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!