3. How much will I pay once I get there?

Image: Disney

Theme park tickets to Tokyo Disney Resort are cheap! While they aren’t quite Shanghai Disneyland-level inexpensive, “passports” to the Tokyo parks cost the equivalent of $75 per day, give or take a bit for currency fluctuation. A four-day stay is around $220. A caveat exists, though. For whatever reason, OLC is down on the idea of park hopping.

The default option for one- or two-day park tickets is that you can only visit a single park. If you purchase the four-day option, you still can’t park hop until the last two days. Options exist to upgrade tickets, but it’s a quirk you should keep in mind. The other oddity is that they have an equivalent of Extra Magic Hours, but you shouldn’t get excited. Guests who stay at official Disney resorts enjoy an extra 15 minutes at the park prior to opening. You basically receive one extra ride on a popular attraction and only if you manage your time well that morning.

As for getting around the parks, the monorail system in Tokyo is dynamic. You’ll want to savor it if you’re someone who enjoys engineering achievement. If you’re staying onsite at Disney or at one of the select company-approved neighboring hotels, you’ll get to ride for free. Otherwise, you’ll pay about $5 for a single day’s pass on the monorail.

Meanwhile, taxis aren’t great in the area, and their equivalent of Uber is basically just a different type of taxi. Guests who don’t want to take the monorail should perform additional research on Tokyo transportation. It’s complex, even by the usual standards of 10+ million metropolitan areas. Just in case you do need a taxi, get in the habit of carrying some local currency while you’re in Tokyo. Even though the situation is evolving thanks to smartphone payments, cash is still king in Japan.

4. I don’t like exotic cuisine. Will I be able to eat there?

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You’ve come to the right place for these questions. I have the palate of a particularly dull four-year-old. Chicken nuggets are haute cuisine for me, and I struggle with this problem whenever I eat at the World Showcase. Thankfully, Disney caters to everyone, even those with bland diets. What’s true of American theme parks is also the case in Japan.

Tokyo Disney Resort actually features enough American cuisine that you’ll eat as well as you would at Disneyland, possibly even Walt Disney World. As long as you research menus before arriving at the restaurants, you’ll find hot dogs and cheeseburgers when so inclined. The prices won’t give you sticker shock, either. The most extreme example, Magellan’s at Mediterranean Harbor, costs somewhere between $35 and $50 per person, which is right in line with the nicest meals at American Disney restaurants (excluding Victoria and Albert’s). Some of the character meals there such as Horizon Bay Restaurant are $25-$35 per person, making them the equivalent of American casual dining establishments.

5. I can’t speak the language. Is that a dealbreaker?

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It’s obviously not ideal. Still, Tokyo is a remarkable city when it comes to the English language. They cater to European and North American travelers in myriad ways. You should get by without incident as long you have a Japanese translator on your smart device. And you don’t necessarily need that. Directional signs in congested areas include English instructions, and the Disney parks and hotels will have plenty of English-speaking cast members. If you’re staying offsite, you should investigate this issue a bit more carefully, but if you’re staying in the Disney bubble, it’s a negligible concern.

Going to Tokyo Disney Resort is something that every theme park tourist needs to do at least once in their life. The information above is a baseline for what to expect. When you’re ready to make the trip, you’ll want to perform some research to fill in the blanks not covered here.