Japan Travel Planning: Ultimate Guide to Japanese Theme Parks

This week Tracy is joined by Japan travel specialist Helen Foster to share expert advice on visiting Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

If you are planning your first Japan trip and considering adding a theme park, this episode covers what you really need to know before you go.

Helen draws on nine trips to Japan to explain how each park differs, how ticketing systems work, what catches first-time visitors out, and whether Japan’s theme parks are worth it if you are not a huge “theme park person”.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The differences between Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and Universal Studios Japan
 • How far in advance you need to book tickets and hotels
 • How Disney Premier Access and Universal Express Pass work
 • Common planning mistakes to avoid
 • Whether you need a full day for a theme park
 • What to expect during busy seasons like Golden Week
 • Cultural differences inside Japanese theme parks

If you want to avoid long queues, understand the booking systems, and plan a stress-free visit, this episode will help you do exactly that.

⭐️ Guest - Helen Foster (Japlanease)
📝  Show Notes - Episode 91

🎧 Listen to next

• Episode #38 – Top Tips and Insights for First-Time Travellers to Tokyo Japan
• Episode #13 – Discovering Japan: A 21 Day Itinerary
• Episode #14 – Visiting Japan: Top Tips for First-Time Travellers

Transcript

Why Japan’s Theme Parks Matter

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Visiting a theme park in Japan for the first time, from Tokyo Disney and Disney C to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, there's more to planning than you might expect. In this episode, Japan travel expert Helen Foster shares what you really need to know before you go.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is founder of the Global Travel Planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy is joined by expert guests as she takes you on a journey to destinations around the world, sharing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas, and practical tips to help you plan your next adventure. Join us as we explore everywhere from bustling cities to remote landscapes, uncover cultural treasures, and discover the best ways to make your travel dreams a reality.

Meet Helen Foster, Japan Expert

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hi everybody and welcome to this week's episode of the Global Travel Planner Podcast. Now, this week I am joined by Helen Foster, who is our Japan destination expert. And I know how many of you are planning to visit Japan because I could tell by the number of people who downloaded Helen's previous episode, which was episode 38, all about travel tips to Tokyo. So now Helen is here this week to chat all about theme parks. Theme parks, Tokyo theme parks, which apparently is a big thing. So, Helen, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background? Tell us about your website and your Facebook groups and all the fantastic things that you're doing around Japan.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Um, so well I'm Helen. Hello. Um so yeah, as you can tell by the accent, British originally, but live in Sydney now. Um and yeah, I started a website on Japan during COVID, which is really sensible because it then didn't open for like two years or something silly. But anyway, since that time I've been back many, many, many times. Um I'm just planning trip number nine now. Um, and despite the fact that I've been nine times, every single time I go to Tokyo Disney. So it's become a bit of a sub-specialty for me. Uh, it's my happy place, and so yeah, um, it's become something I get a lot of questions about. So, as Tracy said, I've got Facebook groups, I have a Japan trip planning group for beginners. Um, I think Tracy will probably link it for me because I can't remember the URL. And I have one for Tokyo Disney, Land Disney Sea, and Universal Studios Japan, which are probably the three most popular parks for international tourists.

The Big Three: Disneyland, DisneySea, USJ

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Okay, well, well, this is going to be interesting. So I have been to Tokyo only once. I've only been to Japan only once. So I'm incredibly jealous about the fact that you are gone on your ninth trip. It was it it is a destination, it's one of those destinations that Doug and I have travelled to over the last three years, and I think we've been in maybe 30 places 30 countries or something. Oh, we've done a lot in the last three years. Anyway, and Japan is consistently in the top three of places we want to return to from yeah, it's it seems a bit like that. Yeah, and um, like you say, there's just so much to do and see in Tokyo itself. I actually loved Tokyo. Now, we didn't go to theme parks because they're not Doug's favourite thing, but I am gonna ask you about that if they're suitable, if I could drag him along next time I get to Tokyo. Um, but okay, just give me give me an outline of the three you've just mentioned the three major parks. So to talk about the parks that people are probably thinking about going to visit.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Okay, well, one thing I've got to say is that one of them isn't in Tokyo, and that's what we'll get on, we'll get on to mistakes in a minute, but so there's the two big parks in Tokyo, it's set well, even these aren't quite in Tokyo, but we'll get to that in a minute as well. So basically, the quick answer is Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Sea, which are next to each other, and Universal Studios Japan, which is not next to either of them. They're the three really big ones that international travelers go to. There's some smaller ones as well. If you want to go for thrill rides, you can go to Fujiq Highland where you can ride a roller coaster and look at Mount Fuji, or Nagashima Sparland, where you can ride a roller coaster and basically just scream because it's really terrifying. Um, and then there's some other like little small ones. There's a new one opening called Pokey Park, which a lot of people are going to want to get tickets for, don't ask me how, because I haven't got a clue. And then um Ghibli Park or Gibri Park, um, which is the studio Ghibli Park in Nagoya. But they're sort of if we talk about all of those, we will be here for the rest of our lives. So I think probably if we focus on the first three, and then just so people know that the others kind of exist and uh there. If you want something different from an international, international brand, but with a Japanese spin.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Okay, cool. So tell me a little bit about each of those three parts because you've mentioned Disneyland C, which I'm guessing is something sea themed. Oh, I'm good today. Um so to so to what what do they all specialise in?

Smaller Parks And New Openings

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Right, so Tokyo Disneyland is the Disneyland that you know. It's Mickey Mouse, it's Donald Duck, it's the castle, it's fireworks, it's jungle cruise, it's basically walk Disney World in Orlando in Japanese form, um, or Disneyland Paris in Japanese form. Um Disney Sea is unique, it's the only one in the entire world. Um, none of the other Disney parks the same theming, um, on the same, some a lot of the rides in in Disney Sea are also unique. So it's it is Mediterranean themed, is kind of what they say, but seems to have a big volcano in the middle of it, and then what looks like Portofino around the edge. Um, so I mean it's it's it's it's beautiful, it really is beautiful, and the level of detail is fantastic. Um, it didn't used to feel very Disney, but now it's got a new thing called Fantasy Springs, which has really Disnified it. Now, a lot of people think Fantasy Springs is a third Disney park, it's not, it's inside Disney C. So that's one thing to clear up straight away. So they're the two Disney parks. So you've got Disneyland, which is your traditional Disney, and Disney C, which is a bit more unique, and then Universal Studios Japan, which is actually in Osaka. And that is the same, it's like basically Epic Universal and and Universal Studios in America had a very small baby. Um they had they had Super Nintendo well before the US did, um, but it's it's still in the scheme of it sort of having two giant parks, or three giant parks, I think Florida's got now. Um you've got one one park and everything within it. Um it's got Harry Potter World, Super Nintendo World, Minion World. It's not called Minion World, but yeah, yeah, that type of thing.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

I know what you mean. Anyway, but it's not in a it's not in Tokyo.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

It's not in Tokyo, it's in Osaka.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Ah, okay. Okay. So that's worth knowing because if you want to go to Universal Studios, you're gonna have to go to Osaka, not stick around in Tokyo. That's one of the big mistakes. So, so alright, planning a trip to to Japan, and if you're gonna include a theme park, what do you what do people tend to gravitate towards? Is there one or other that people go, oh, I definitely want to go to that one? I mean DBC sounds cool to me, but I don't know.

Disneyland vs DisneySea: What’s Different

SPEAKER_02 6:48

It it is. Um, I think people divide into of most people in my group are going to both. Um, if not, they're very much Disney people or universal people. Uh, universal people tend to be people who love Super Mario, love gaming, love the characters from there, or love anime because it's very, very heavy on anime, or love trail rides. Um, if you want to be, if you want an international theme park that will flip you up and down six times and make you feel slightly sick, then Universal Studios is it in a good way. Um, Disney tends to appeal more to those who love Disney. Um, I know it sounds ludicrous. Um, but there's a real affection for the Disney brand. Um, and the chance to go to Disney C for a lot of those people, because it's the only one in the world, will see a lot of them gravitating to that. But most people will do both parks. If they've got an interest in Disney, they do both parks.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

Okay, so if I'm if I decide to go on my next trip to Tokyo, what do I need to know? Like, how far and advanced do I need to think about booking it? How much time do I need to give it? Yeah, basically. Okay, let's dwell in Disney.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Stick with Disney for now. So, Disney. Um, time to give it. The ideal amount of time, if you're a Disney person, is one day for Disneyland um and two days for Disney C. DisneyC is big, um, has a lot more of things you probably haven't seen before, and just needs more time. Um, also, the cues can be quite big, but we'll get to that in a minute. Um, so as for buying tickets and organizing Disney, if if you just go into the parks themselves, you don't you can buy tickets normally on the morning. You don't have to be super organized. It's not like Universal, where you really do have to be organized. Disney tickets go and sale two months in advance. There's you don't have to get up at two o'clock in the morning when they go and sale to snag them like you do with some other things in Japan. This is not one of them. You literally can wait a few weeks. Uh, it very, very rarely sells out, possibly New Year's Eve and Golden Week, the two big public holidays in Japan. Um, if you want to stay near the parks in the Disney hotels, that takes a little bit of forward planning. Um, I won't go into too much detail with this because we could be here forever. They have a package called the vacation package, which is everything bundled together. So it's your hotels, your park passes, your skip the line passes, and there's about four different types. If you want to book those, you have to book them five months in advance. And if you just want to stay at the Disney Resort and you want a good choice of hotel rooms, they go on sale four months to the day you want to stay. And again, if there's certain you want to stay in one of the hotels called Fantasy Springs, or you want a park front view of a hotel called Miracosta, four months on the day. They sell out fast. The other ones are gonna get a little bit more leeway. I just took Toy Story because I couldn't decide if I wanted to do it about three days after they went on sale and got it. So it's it's possible.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

But I guess it's gonna be the usual. I remember taking my daughter actually to Disneyland Paris when she was two. So we're talking nearly nearly 30 years ago, scarily. Um, and I remember at the time you there was all the different uh hotels you could choose from. The the cheaper they were, the further away they were from the park. Um the more expensive they were, the bit more luxurious. Uh is it the same thing in Japan? Have they got kind of like a different system for the hotels?

SPEAKER_02 10:08

And yeah, um the cheapest or value resort is called Celebration, that's about a 20-minute shuttle bus ride away. Personally, unless you're a massive Disney, I wouldn't stay in Celebration over staying at one of the cheaper hotels that is is on the monorail because they have a whole little ecosystem.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Okay, so easy easy enough to get in then, it's not going to take you longer if you stay at one of the yeah.

Universal Japan In Osaka: What To Expect

SPEAKER_02 10:30

No, no, no. Um there's basically so you've got the um there's I think it's five Disney, five or six Disney hotels. So celebration is the furthest away. Toy Story is the next cheapest, that's literally one monorail stop away. Um, and that is surrounded by other big international brands like Sheraton, Hilton, uh, the Grand Nicomahama, which I've stayed at. And they can all have quite decent rates, but be in that vicinity is Toy Story Hotel. Um, and if you if you're a Marriott member or a Hilton member, you can probably use points, um, which is is is good. And it doesn't hugely penalise you because the only benefit of the Disney hotels is you get can get in 15 minutes earlier. But sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

And and and so staying in any of these hotels will give you access to either the Disney parks. Once you bought your tickets, yes. Yeah. Yeah, okay, yeah. Cool. And then they're close enough to both. That's what I'm saying. They're literally next to each other, these two parks. They're next to each other, but you go around them on a monorail.

SPEAKER_02 11:30

Um so depending which way around you're going, whether it's like one stop or six, five, four stops. Okay. Um, but I mean that it's it's really not difficult to get around once you're inside. It's not like Orlando, you don't have to drive between the parks, and if you're staying outside, you're not like sort of out of the ecosystem. Um, it's a it's a smaller area.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

And then if we look at the Universal Studios, I know we've we've kind of just covered a little bit of Disney there, but if we look at Universal Studios and Osaka, would that be similar? Would you say you could get tickets fairly close to or not? Because I know I know Universal Studios of Los Angeles, we went a couple of years ago and uh we did the VIP day, which meant we didn't have to queue. I'll talk about queues in a bit, but we didn't have to do any queuing, which was fantastic. But um, we we bought those quite a bit in advance, actually.

Which Park Suits You Best

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Yeah, so Universal Studios is slightly different. Uh, Universal Studios tickets themselves probably won't sell out. Again, they go on sale two months before. The express passes, which is the like bundles that they sell that allow you to jump either four rides, five rides, seven rides, or eight rides, they can sell out. The sevens particularly will sell out within minutes of them going on sale. Um, so you've if you want what they call an express pass seven, you've really got to be on the ball. That's when you do have to possibly get up at two o'clock in the morning. So that does require a little bit more organization if you want the express pass seven, and you can buy those. Universal Studios can be a little bit interesting in that they do strange things with their tickets. Sometimes they just stop selling them to international guests for no apparent reason. And I think they're in one of those cycles at the moment. So at that point, then you can go to Kluke or KK Day, um uh two of the ones that are official USJ partners, and they will often have them when USJ says it hasn't got them, and it's just because for some reason USJ has decided it doesn't want to deal with foreign credit cards this week. I can't think of any other reason why they do it, but they and they're in one of those cycles at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Oh, and it's interesting that you can there is some way you can go to get them though, so you don't have to panic and think you're not actually going to be able to go if Universal Studios.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

I mean you'll always you'll always get in and you'll pretty much always be able to get um one of the Express Pass 4s or the Fives, they don't sell out as fast, but the sevens, which is the one that gets you on pretty much everything, will sell out very, very, very, very quickly. Hotels, not not so much of a worry. Okay, cool.

How Many Days And When To Book Disney

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Now, I as I've mentioned I've been to Disneyland Paris a couple of times and I've been to Universal Studios in Los Angeles um oh September. Yeah, about a year and a half ago, I went went there. We did the VIP day, um, mainly because I'm nearly 60 and can't be bothered at the queue. Um if I want to go on a ride, I want to go on it. I don't want to stand there and waste half my day. Um tell me about visiting these theme parks in what do I need to know? What can I do? So, first of all, I'm not standing in a queue all day. Like, what how can I get around that? Um, what is it like in terms of crowds? Are there peak seasons that I should avoid? Like, should is it terrible at a weekend? You know, I'm I'm assuming a lot of Japanese people love going to these theme parks as well. So, you know, what do I need to know as a foreigner decide on that? I'm going to one go to one of these Japanese uh theme parks. Okay, they're the biggest, the busiest theme parks you'll ever see in your life.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

No, I'm I don't want to put you off. Um, they're busy. Um, most of the guests are local. Um, they it's not an international park. They love us and they're very well catered for, but the the Japanese is the market, and there are quite a few people going. Um, Universal is the busiest park in Asia, and the I think the fourth biggest in the world. Um, and Disneyland and DisneyC are pretty busy like all the time. Um, some of the rides, I mean, I've just looked before I came out, and Soaring, which is one of the most popular rides, is currently at a three-hour wait on the normal queue. Uh, frozen or Anna and Elsa's Frozen Journey, as it's officially called, is um is at two hours, which is short. And I was really surprised. Um, and that's that's normal. Um, and because the Japanese are so lovely and patient and wonderful, they don't mind. And that in a way goes against us all because they're quite happy to just stand quietly in a queue, there's no reason for the parks to change too much about the status quo. So you've got to know about the queue skipping systems, basically.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Um yeah. So I was gonna say it's a it's a good it's a good job that people can't see my face because the horror on my face about having to stand in the queue for two or three three hours. It wasn't really, was it, Helen?

Disney Hotels, Packages, And Monorail Area

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Let's but let's put it this way. I have been to Disney, I don't know how many times, four or five times. I have never stood in a two-hour queue. I have also never ridden frozen, but I have ridden everything else in those parks. So it is possible to do it without standing in ridiculously long queues if you know what to do. Right, spill the beans, spill the beans. So, okay, we're like reuniverse studios, let's get that out of the way first. Just buy the express passes, find the one that you like best and buy it. That's that done. Because Disney's a bit more complicated. So Disney has so if you're used to going to the US parks, you'll be used to a thing called Genie Plus, which is where you can book your Q skipping rides in advance. There, forget that. That doesn't happen at Tokyo Disney. You can only start to get your Q skipping passes called Disney Premier Access or Disney Priority Pass once you've entered the park. So you can't do anything until you've scanned in the gates. Once you've scanned in the gates, you can open up the app and you'll see two little things. One's called Disney Premier Access. That is basically the paid version of the skip the line pass. You pay between 1500 and 2500 yen for a ride. And it's on about, I think it's eight rides now in Disney C and I think three or four in Disneyland. Um, and you basically just tap on the app, try and buy one, book a time, and then at that point, once you booked your time, paid for your thing, you walk in in about 10-15 minutes. Um so that's those, and then there's another one called Priority Pass that goes, I don't know how many rides exactly, um, because I don't cover it as often, but I think it's about six rides in land, six rides in sea, or maybe a few less in land. They are free. Um, and the same process. Once you tap on the app and you book one, you just join the queue, like way, way, way down the queue. Uh, they go out, they run out really fast. Um, I was looking this morning, park had been open about an hour, and most of them are gone. So you've got to be quick to get them. There's a few rules around them all which I won't go into now, but you need to read up on those so that you can use them to their best advantage, uh, when you can buy a new one and things like that. Um, with Disney Premier Access, it used to be really, really stressful, and people will get really, really wound up by it. It's not quite as bad now. They there is an order which to buy them. Um, if you're going to Disneyland by Beauty and the Beast first, if you're going to Disney C, if you see Frozen, grab it. It's like gold dust. It's normally run out by 9am. The park doesn't open till 9am. Uh, get to that in a minute. And other than that, soaring is also very popular and has the next longest queue after Frozen, although today it's actually beating it. So I would always buy Soaring if you want to go on Soaring. Um, and then after that, it's kind of up to you. Um, Toy Story Mania, Tarot Toy Story Mania, and probably Peter Pan are probably the next ones. And then after that, just if you want to buy more, buy more. The thing is, because Tokyo Disney is actually quite cheap in comparison to the American parks. So even though I'm saying to you, oh, buy six more rides on top of your pass, you actually, I think when I worked it out recently, you actually pay less than you would just for the day ticket to go into Disney. So it's comparable, even if you buy all six. I always buy all six because I hate queuing. Yeah. So yeah, I just go in, buy them, stack them up as best I can within the rules. And and yeah, the only thing I've never written is frozen.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

I was gonna say, we we don't sound very British, do we? Either of us, and neither both of us are British and neither of us like queuing. Right now, I cannot bear it. I don't want to waste my holiday time standing in a queue. I I didn't put this in the list of questions that I kind of gave you beforehand, but what what would you recommend would be your kind of top rides to absolutely do that I can't miss in in each of these places?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

It's it's have you got favourites? So I've got five, I can tell you my favourites. Yeah. Um Peter Pan's Neverland Adventure in Fantasy Springs completely blew me away. I wasn't expecting it at all. It's um a 3D like VR kind of ride, which I don't normally like. Um, but I'd not heard anything about it. Everyone was selling Rapunzel as the best ride, and Rapunzel's not great. Um it it's it's just mind-blowing, although it does make you a little bit motion sick. Um, so that one, um I love Tower of Terror. The Tower of Terror in Tokyo isn't as thrilling as the US one, but it's still my favourite ride, and it's the closest I'm gonna get. Um, Beauty and the Beast in Disneyland, it makes me cry. And I'm not a huge Beauty and the Beast fan. It's just it's basically I can tell you some stuff without giving it away too much. It's got like dark teacups and they just dance. It's like they're literally dancing around the ride, and nothing I've ever been on before moves like it. And then there's the big magic where if I'm sorry if you've never seen Beauty and the Beast, close your ears. When the prince, when the beast turns back into the prince. Yeah, how they do that is just I I've seen it in slow motion. I've I don't know how they do it. It's just phenomenal. So that there would be my big three, I think. I'll probably start shouting a minute, go, no, I've oh god yes, Sinbad. I knew I'd forgotten something. Sinbad is one of the shortest queues in the park and is just adorable. It's in Disney C. It's it's like it's a small world but with less homicidal urge to throw a ball at a doll. Anyone who goes to Disney will know what I'm saying at that point. So yeah, but yeah, I'll stop on the rides now because otherwise we'll be here all day.

Universal Tickets And The Race For Express Pass

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Uh well it's it's it's a long time since I've I've been I've actually been to Disney a long, long time. I think probably oh I'm uh I took my sister when she was 13 and she's 35 now. So there you go. 20 odd years since I've actually been to Disney. So it's about time I actually went to a Disney park again, I think. Um so how is it different? So I cause I said I've been to Disney in Europe and I've been to Universal Studios in LA, but how different is a Japanese theme park to what we are used to?

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Um, it's different in in a number of ways. Uh I ever think Japanese, I sound starved, but people um it can be a bit strange when you go into a ride you've been on lots of times and you're like, oh what's going on? I don't understand a word of it. Um but uh most of most of the time it doesn't really matter because if you've seen, like, I don't know, Beauty and the Beast, you know what's going on, you know the story, so it really doesn't spoil anything. Um, it's the people. The people are what make it um so so different. Um, I I tried to break this down the other day. So the American theme parks, and I haven't been to Paris much, so I'm not I'm leaving Paris out of this, so apologies to any Parisians. Um the American parks are incredibly woo-woo-woo and enthusiastic, and everybody's having a great time and joining in and being really kind of enthusiastic. Japanese parks, they're just joyous. The people are on the rides, and they are they're like big kids. And the amount of people that were sitting there and they'll be like, oh, ah, the fireworks is like like watching sort of 8,000 giant children. And this isn't a diss, this is what makes it so absolutely magical to visit. Um, and they're like, sugoy, sugay, which is like the Japanese word for amazing, amazing. Um, the level of joy is just I think a lot of theme parks in in the US and what have you now, I think there's a lot of cynicism. Um, and people, if it's not perfect and something goes wrong, and a lot of people are saying, Oh, the magic's died, the magic's died. You want to bring the magic back, go to Japan. And that's what it is for me. It just brings back the magic of Disney because everybody that's tough, good god, how they haven't all got RSI, I don't know. They just wave constantly, they are constantly waving at you, and they're just so lovely. Everybody's just it's just nice. And there's no litter, and there's no rubbish, and nobody swears, and nobody pushes in, and it's just lovely.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

That sounds pretty good. Now, I I have to convince the problem I have is that Doug does not like he doesn't like rides, so that's his thing. So I managed to convince him to go to Universal Studios. I do not know how, but I did mention to him the other day, but you know, if we go to Tokyo, we need to do the we need to do the parks, particularly when I really Disney C just really appeals because again, it's so different from anything else. Um, is there something there well that will appeal to somebody who doesn't like rides?

Crowd Reality And Queue Times

SPEAKER_02 24:59

Um ironically, I was writing this morning. Um, I've just written a post um on I did USJ the other day and I've just done Disney. And I have found 16 things that you can do in the parks that have nothing to do with rides. Um, and that's in across both parks. So both parks have got things. It can be as silly as like posting something that gives you a Disney postmark, but that appeals to me. Um, and then in each of the other parks, there's like two or three things to do that aren't rides that will sort of entertain you. I mean, you could easily fill a day without. I mean, you could just eat your way around the place, for heaven's sake. I mean, like they've got curries shaped like Baymax, they've got little tiny alien mocis, they've got roast beef popcorn. I mean, I know that's that's one of the more sensible flavours. Garlic shrimp, I think, is the weirdest one I can come up with. So all the popcorns have got these obscene flavours that are just bonkers. And the shops, uh, I didn't even know there was a stationary shop till the other day, and then had to be sort of like led away because I was I'd already packed my suitcase, I was on the way to the airport. Um, yeah, there's there's definitely plenty to do if you don't like rides.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Brilliant. I think well, I'll share the articles with them once you've got once you've got those uh published so you can have a read. So when we when we're planning our next trip to to uh Japan, we can I'll come, I'll talk them into that. We'll he'll convince them. Um now if if I'm obviously thinking about before we go, we mentioned a little bit there about kind of thinking about rides if you don't want to queue and stuff, and you've mentioned about um food. Do you have to is it kind of the usual where you kind of wander around and just get what you want, or the places in there that you can book up to sit down and have a meal? How does it work?

Skip-The-Line At Disney: Premier And Priority

SPEAKER_02 26:38

It's it's like the the other parks. You there are restaurants with priority seating which you can book in advance if you want to. I personally have never done it. I would only do it for um Blue Bayou, which like in the US parks is the one that's inside Pirates of the Caribbean. Um, or there's a restaurant which is actually in one of the hotels called Oceana at the Miracosta, and if you book that at the right time of day, but you've got to be very lucky, it overlooks the lake on which all the shows are. Um, so you get kind of like a cheeky seat to the show without actually having to be have a park ticket because you it's outside the park. Um other than that, I wouldn't I wouldn't, I've never booked a restaurant and I've never starved. Um one thing you should learn to use is a thing called mobile ordering, um, which is again it's on the app, everything is on the app. Um, and that just saves you queuing. Um, you basically just put your order in for a time, and then it sort of click you click at that time, it sends you a message to go, do you still want your piece of pizza? And then you click I'm here, and then your pizza will be arrived in like five minutes. Um there are some places where that pays off. Um, there's a restaurant called The Hungry Bear, which does a really good curry, and that the cue on that can be ridiculous. And if you book it on mobile ordering, you just walk straight in. Um, and in Fantasy Springs, you have to use mobile ordering. So it's worth just learning where the the sort of your way around it. It's pretty and that that app you download that before you get to the park. It's pointing to the city. Yeah, it's a good idea. And if you buy your tickets direct from Disney, you you do it on the app anyway. So okay, okay, that's cool. Yes. Now it's also good to sorry, carry on. Yeah, no, no, sorry. No, it's good to have the app before you go anyway, and just play around, learn where things are, get an idea of what the queue times are like before you go, so you do know, oh my god, hang on a minute, everything's like tracking at two hours and a bit like this. I maybe I do need to budget in for a an extra sort of um priority pass or something like that. It just gives you an idea of what to expect.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Okay, now I know you help a lot of people plan that the trips to um Japan as a whole, and also obviously to the theme parks. What are the most common mistakes you say see people making?

SPEAKER_02 28:49

The biggest one is not realizing that that um Tokyo Disney is 45 minutes out of Disney and not actually in Tokyo itself. Um the second one is thinking that oh USJ is next to Tokyo Disney like they are in Orlando. I think the third is staying for seven days out at Tokyo Disney like you would do in Orlando. That's too far out of Tokyo for you to then go into Tokyo. Um and they're the three big mistakes I see people making. The other one is either being too overprepared or being completely underprepared and not realizing that you are gonna have big cues and and um or going on a public holiday. Do not go on a public holiday, run, scream, cry, anything, just do not go on a public holiday.

SPEAKER_01 29:36

Yeah. Okay. Do you have a list of Japanese holidays? I do have a list of Japanese public holidays on my website, yes. Perfect. I I just I just know when we're we're helping people travel plan travel to London or UK, we're kind of go, do you know when the public holidays are and the school holidays are? Because it's kind of it is quite important to know those things. Um kind of talk kind of guests in terms of like kind of cultural differences. Are there any kind of cultural or like etiquette rules, things that people should know generally for Japan, but also that play out in the parks?

Must-Ride Highlights Across The Parks

SPEAKER_02 30:06

Um, the two things that come to mind particularly is um the parades. Um, for starters, again, the Japanese do love to queue. You've we think the British love to queue, even though the Japanese. Um, so a lot of the local guests will get there like pretty much a park opening and just sit down and wait for the parade because that's why they're there. Um, but the point of the key point of our sense is they sit down and wait for the parade. The parades are what's seated, so you sit on the floor, you don't stand up, um, which can be a bit confusing for us that aren't used to sitting on the floor or find it really uncomfortable to sit on the floor. Um, I know the last few times I've gone, I had a bit of a leg problem and was finding it quite difficult to sit on the floor for like 40 minutes. Um, but there are some places like there's benches around that if you can find them, or like Tomorrowland Terrace is a restaurant which has a decent view of the parade, so you could just grab a seat there beforehand and sit there. So that's the main thing is that people sit down for the parades. And the other one was cueing to get into the park. Um, I haven't mentioned this yet, and it's really important. Um, the parks can open, and this is USJ as well, up to an hour before they say they will, if it's going to be a busy day. So if the park says it opens at nine and you turn up at nine o'clock and wonder where everyone's gone, is they're already on the rides. So you want to get there at least an hour and a half before opening time to get a decent. I mean, you can just turn up whenever, but if you want to sort of get ahead of the crowds, then I would turn up about an hour and a half before. But a lot of the question people ask, particularly in summer, because Japanese summer can be quite brutal, is oh, if I go and stand there and then my husband and the children arrive like just before opening, is that okay? No. It it doesn't do us as tourists any favours when you do that. You will see people doing it, and that's always the argument in my group is I saw someone else doing it. Yeah, well, as our mums used to say, if that person jumped off a cliff, would you follow them? So it's it's the Japanese wouldn't do it. A Japanese family would be there and they would wait and they would do their time, or they would come later and just stand in queues. So that's the one thing I think if I could ask people not to do it, it's in my preachy voice. Um yeah, don't don't sort of stand there and then bring your family of six, um, because it's just one other thing that's chipping away at the reputation of tourists in Japan, and there's enough of that going on as it is.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

You know what got crossed my mind when you're saying that was just uh sunbeds in Spain. Like just just run, you know, it's it's that usual thing that we have as Brits where you go on holiday and you'll find that half the other nationalities in the hotel will have put their been out at 4 a.m. and put the towels on the sunbeds so there's no sunbeds left. So it's that kind of we don't like that, so I guess it's a similar thing in Japan. You need to stand all together and just wait because that's how it's done.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

Oh just just come later. I mean later. We'll get to that like my best piece of advice I'll probably do later, but um it will come into that in a minute.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Okay, cool. Now, uh because I kind of mentioned that that Doug, I have to drag Doug along to kind of theme parks. Who who do you think these Japanese theme parks and a whole are are best suited to? And would you recommend a visit to a Japanese theme park? It's if it's your first visit to Japan, uh, because I've been to Japan, we didn't include them the first time around. We are planning next time. So, and I know everybody's itinerary is different, but but kind of what do you see and what do you think? If you don't like theme parks, don't go just because it's Japanese, you won't enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Um if you if if the idea of going to Disney is abhorrent in Florida, it's gonna be abhorrent in Japan. So just don't don't do it. There's too many other things to do in Japan. Um so but if you love Disney or if you've never been to a Disney and you've always wanted to go, it's a great it's a great introduction to it. So yes, there's a little bit of a language barrier, but you'll just and it's very busy. But the the atmosphere in the park, I think, will probably make up for all of that. Um who's the best person? Disney fans will love it, you anime fans will love it. Um adults, weirdly. Um, because if you've ever, I mean, I tend to go to Disney on my own, I have no qualms, and it don't care. I'm a big grown-up. Um there's actually more adults in the Tokyo Disney parks than there are families with kids. Uh, most of the time, everyone on the rides is uh like a young adult. Um so if you've ever wanted to go to a Disney park as an adult couple and been too embarrassed because you haven't got a child or on your own because you haven't got a kid, get get don't worry about it. You will not be the only person in there, and you will not be the only person in there wearing ridiculous ears and carrying a fluffy toy or wearing a giant hat shaped like Baymax. Everybody is. Um, so I think it yeah, sort of the only people I would say don't go is people who don't like theme parks anyway.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

I I have to ask you, Helen, because I have seen photographic evidence, but um, how many pairs of mini mouse ears do you have?

What Feels Different In Japan

SPEAKER_02 35:11

If we had this on video, I could show you because uh actually sit next to me on my desk. Uh one, two, three, four. I can see five, and I know there are a couple of others somewhere else. So probably seven, maybe. Oh, and a universal headband shaped like a unicorn.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

And and so next time you will be purchasing another one.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

Fantastic. Basically, because I pack really light, I wear the same clothes pretty much on every trip for the last eight years. Thankfully, still get into the dresses. So the only thing that tells people I'm on a different thing and I haven't just taken all these pictures in one trip is the fact I've got a different pair of ears on.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

That's that's a great that's a great way to show it, isn't it? And actually, that's a great great question because I didn't put that in the in the uh the pre-questions that I sent you. Um clothing, what should what should I wear? What's the obviously, I mean, comfortable shoes, loose clothes, you know, take a water bottle, what how should I kind of arrive? Should I take a bag? Can I take a bag? What do I do with a bag on the rides, that usual stuff?

SPEAKER_02 36:12

Yeah, you can take a bag. Um I wouldn't take a huge great backpack, but um, if there is a ride where you can't take most of them, you can actually shove it down the front of the um of the ride. Most rides, especially at Disney, don't flip you upside down or anything, so they'll let you take the bags on. But when there isn't, there is actually like a secure locker. Like it's not it's like a you know, like you go to the gym and you push it in a kit like a hole. They're like that, but this is Japan, so it's safe. Um, just sort of on the on the X exit side of the ride, and you can leave stuff there if it is too big. Um, so yeah, taking bags, taking water bottles. There are water fountains throughout the park, and they're actually themed, so they're all quite cute. Wear, make sure comfortable shoes you've worn in. I mean, I think our last time I went, I did 15 kilometres just walking around Disney Sea. Um, plasters. Um, the first time I went for a long time, I didn't have any plasters with me. I got blisters and I had to leave early. Um, so now I always make sure I've got plasters in my bag. Um, what else would I say to take? Oh, Disney is by the water, so it can get cold at night. So especially if you know if you're not going in summer, um, make sure you've got something to wrap up in the evening. They've got lockers, so you can put stuff in the lockers if you don't need it all day. Um, and if you do get there and realize you've dressed wrong, something I discovered today is that one of the shops sells hand warmers and cold packs. So if you get there, I've just send it out in my group today, sort of for people going in the next few weeks. Um if they get there and they're suddenly cold, you can go to Agra Ba's bazaar, I think it's called, in Aladdin's coast area, Arabian coast area. Um and they have hand warmers, and then for the summer they have things that make you cold. So there you go.

Non-Ride Joy: Food, Shopping, Shows

SPEAKER_01 37:52

You discovered that today. So that's great. Well, that's a lot of useful tips, Helen. Lots of um I mean, you're so enthusiastic about it, so you're making um I'm always kind of enthusiastic about going to these places because I do enjoy them. I've got that inner child that just loves to go on rides. I just really enjoy it. And um, I have to say, you mentioned about Super Mario, and I did that in LA, and I thought that was amazing. Um, I'd just not seen anything like that. I just thought was just fantastic. Um, now I always end the podcast with the the same question. Um, and this one is obviously going to be about uh visiting the theme park. So, what would you be your one tip that you'd share to someone who's planning to visit uh one or all of the um the theme parks in Japan?

SPEAKER_02 38:33

Um, is the one I give out every time on my group, relax. Um, the amount of people I see getting so so stressed out because what happens if I can't get my passes? What happens if I don't can't get on frozen? What happens if I don't get this? And what and oh because something we didn't quickly discuss is Super Nintendo World in Universal. If you want to go in that, you've got to make sure you know how to get in it. How do I get my timed entrance to Super Nintendo World? Just Google that, you'll be fine. And they get really wound up and upset and they don't want to go anymore. And it's just just relax, don't worry about it. I I I usually tell people don't tell your kids frozen exists because if you don't get on it, then they don't know. They don't know the ride is there, they're not gonna get upset, they're not gonna cry, they're not gonna get sad, they don't know it's there. If you get in into it, fantastic. Hey, look, we've got frozen, woo. Just don't worry about it because you're in a theme park, you're about to meet giant people dressed on giant characters, giant mice, um, and giant tigers and giant minions, and you're gonna eat your own body weight in sugar shaped like small creatures, and you're gonna spin upside down and whiz and scream and like laugh. It's gonna be a brilliant day, no matter what. So don't hang your whole day on whether or not you're gonna get on this one ride. Um, whether that is frozen in Disneyland, Disney Sea, whether it is Beauty and the Beast, or the chances that you're gonna get on there, whether it's getting into Super Nintendo World, if it means that much to you, put the plans in place to allow it to happen, be that getting to there really early, be that booking a package that lets you book things in advance, or and if you can't do that for some reason, be it budget or it's not available, just relax. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Worst, you can stand in a two-hour queue. You're gonna get on it, but don't let it ruin everything else about your trip planning. And I've seen it happen too many times.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

Oh, it sounds like you know, you go there to have fun, so I guess what you're saying is just don't don't let, yeah, don't overthink it and to the point that you don't enjoy it. You've got to go and and have a fun time. So if you're as you say, I love frozen.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

It's my favorite, my favorite film. I know all the words, everything. I have never ridden frozen. You've already said I sound so enthusiastic, it's never ruined my day.

Dining, Mobile Ordering, And The App

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And and and the other thing I'd say as well is to join join both your Facebook groups. Um, if you're on Facebook, definitely go and join Helen's Facebook groups. I will link Helen to your previous podcast episode. I will link to your uh website and to your Facebook groups. Um, I'm interested, those two uh through two or three new articles you said about other things to do. If you're if so, if you have somebody you found me who's not so keen on going to one of the parks, you can show them Helen's article and say, look, here you go, plenty of things to do there for you. So I'll link to those notes. So they're going to be on globaltravelplanning.com forward slash episode 91. It's been great to chat with you again, Helen, all about Japan. You will have to come on again because there is so many things to talk about. There's so much to talk about with Japan. And I know that um I know it was one of our top episodes in 2025 that was downloaded. So I know there's loads of you out there who are planning your trips to Japan. So who you need to talk to? Helen is your Japan travel expert. Um, is this it? I'll link to all of Helen's resources, but uh, thanks so much to for coming on again uh this week. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

I'm I'm going off to Plan Disney again now. Fantastic. It's like 60 days till I go or something.

SPEAKER_01 42:07

So Wow, that's fantastic. Well, I'm gonna just I'll sign off the podcast and say it everybody. Um until next time, uh happy global travel planning from me. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planning Podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes at globaltravelplanning.com. Remember, if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favourite podcast app because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts just like you. Anyway, that leaves me to say, as always, happy global travel planning.