Tickets to Tokyo Disney Themeparks and Ghibli Studio Museum

LKTGV on 12/10/2015 - 17:54

Hi everyone,

So my fiance and I are going to Japan for 3 weeks in January 2016 (Oh and we got our tickets to Japan for free because we are also flying to Vietnam and we've booked our tickets to Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines and they were having a promotion which offered free return ticket to a third country for free, I'm not sure if the promotion is still on but check with your travel agent if you're interested).

Anyway back to my question, so we're going to Disneyland and Disneysea and I'm just wondering how long the line will take if we decide to buy tickets on the day, I heard there would be a long line for tickets? Is it worth the wait for us to save $52? (as a 2-day ticket is around $140 if purchased in Tokyo, but it's $166 if bought from JTB here in Australia).

Same question for Ghibli studio museum, if bought in Japan it's 1000 yen (~$12), but it's $30 if bought from JTB here. Has anyone bought the tickets from Lawson when in Japan?

I would greatly appreciate your time answering my questions.

Thank you very much!

Travel

Comments

  • John Stone on 12/10/2015 - 18:13
    +2

    For Disneyland/DisneySea, buy the e-Tickets and print them at home. Alternatively you can buy tickets online and pick them up at a dedicated ticket pickup counter and avoid the long lines. Third option is you can go to a Disney Store in Tokyo and buy them there. There are quite a few (at least one in Shibuya and Shinjuku). Also if you dont know how many days you want to go for just buy a 1 day ticket. You can upgrade it to a 2, 3, or 4 day ticket before you leave the park, by just paying the difference between those tickets. This one is a no brainer, there are many ways you can avoid waiting in line to buy a ticket, and at the same time avoid the price hike of a travel agent.

    Studio Ghibli is a bit different. If you HAVE to go to the Ghibli Museum then pay the $30 to secure your tickets here. You can buy them from Lawson's, but they can sell out or they might only available on days that you are busy. It depends on if the extra $18 is worth guaranteeing the day/time you want to go.

    • KTGV on 12/10/2015 - 19:02

      Thank you very much for your reply! As it says on the Disney's website only Credit cards issued in Japan are acceptable and Debit cards are not acceptable so we can't buy e-tickets. I didn't know about Disney store so I'm definitely gonna do that!

      And yes I guess I would have to pay extra for Ghibli tickets then.

      Thank you so much! :-D

      • John Stone on 12/10/2015 - 19:15

        http://www.disney.co.jp/store/storeinfo_en/ticketcounter.htm…

        Go to Kanto region stores.

        Pick one that is either close to a location that you are already going to be in (ie Ikebukuro Sunshine City, or maybe even Odaiba), or one that is close to a main train line (ie Shibuya)

        • KTGV on 12/10/2015 - 19:18

          Oh wow thank you so much! I was going to check out where the stores are at. The link is so helpful for me!

          You have a lovely evening John :-D

      • rover on 13/10/2015 - 10:09

        Good choice on the the Ghibli tickets, these tickets do sell out in advance, so avoid disappointment and get them well before you go. JTB only gets a limited amount of tickets, so check their website for their sale schdule and get them ASAP. Last time a was too late to get from JTB, so I had to use a "concierge" service at even greater expense :.(
        The JTB price is much more than the Lawson price, but the visit is still well worth the inflated price.

        Apparently the Lawson machines can be tricky to use even if your Japanese is reasonable.

        BTW Lawson rules. For maximum OzBargain points, seek out the Lawson 100 yen stores ("Lawson 100 Yen"). I don't think you get Ghilbli tickets for 100 yen, though!

  • chazfg on 12/10/2015 - 18:16
    +1

    Buy your Disneyland/Sea ticket from Ikspiari the day before. You will pass the shopping mall since the main train line stops there to transfer to the Disney Monorail.
    Having said that, I went to Japan back in April (peak season) and there was no line at the ticket booth when arrived (around 9AM).
    http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3016_ikspiari.html

    I haven't been to Ghibli museum, so I can't help you, but Lawson is almost everywhere in Tokyo.

    • John Stone on 12/10/2015 - 18:24
      +2

      Yeah I think even the Japanese have figured out how to avoid lining up to buy tickets now. Most of them are probably buying online.

      You however will not be able to avoid the lines once you are inside.

      My protip for both Disney Parks is: Get to know the FastPass system before you go. Nominate one person in your group to be the FastPass runner. Start with the premium rides that are towards the back of the park. Get your next FastPass tickets as soon as you are allowed to.

    • KTGV on 12/10/2015 - 19:12

      I guess it would be more convenient to get the tickets from one of the Disney Stores as John Stone mentioned above as we will be staying far away from the parks. But thanks for your answer, I didn't know about Ikspiari, it looks like an interesting place to check out while at the parks :-D

  • mistralton on 12/10/2015 - 18:23

    I went to DisneySea last year in July and I didn't wait long at all to buy tickets to get in the park. Maybe like 5-10 minutes.

    • KTGV on 12/10/2015 - 19:25

      Yeah I thought people now would just buy online and show up as it is so convenient so there might not be long lines anymore.

  • tomatosauce on 12/10/2015 - 20:46

    When we went to Disneyland last year, we got there before the gate was open. There were long queues already. Some are for entry and some are to buy tickets. I made my partner wait in the queue for entry and I queued up to buy tickets(ticket booths open prior to gate opening). After purchasing the tickets, I joined my partner in the queue:)

  • TNDO on 13/10/2015 - 10:02

    I'd suggest you look at purchasing your Studio Ghibli tickets online as they frequently sell out. We purchased ours from JTB and had no issues - just leave sufficient time for them to post the tickets.

    • KTGV on 13/10/2015 - 23:05

      I'm gonna go to a JTB office in Sydney tomorrow and make a booking there then pick up from there too :-)

      • TNDO on 14/10/2015 - 12:12

        Hope you enjoy it!

        • KTGV on 15/10/2015 - 18:56

          Hehe thanks I got my tickets today and I can't wait til January comes!!!

  • 17731773 on 13/10/2015 - 11:49

    I was there last week on a Wednesday, got there an hour after opening. Lined up 10 minutes.
    The rides were all about 1/2 hour wait or so, wasn't as bad as I expected but there were so many people there.

    • KTGV on 13/10/2015 - 23:04

      Thanks for letting me know. Hopefully on the day we go there won't be long queues for rides too

      • 17731773 on 14/10/2015 - 08:55

        Don't go on a weekend. I've heard the lines are the worst then.

        • KTGV on 15/10/2015 - 19:00

          I've had a look at the crowd predictor and chosen the non-busy days, I hope the predictor is correct

  • hilariouspowerr on 14/10/2015 - 10:42

    You can buy the Ghibli tickets at a machine in Lawson Convenient stores which are almost everywhere. The ticket machine has an limited English option which helps.

    • KTGV on 15/10/2015 - 19:12

      I already got the tickets today from JTB. I'm afraid I might not be able to pick the date and time I wanna go if I bought in Japan since JTB has already sold out tickets on some of days in January.

  • piggyfund on 15/10/2015 - 11:11

    I rang JTB and they have sold out Ghibli entry for the dates I want so they suggested Lawsons when I get there. I have friends in Japan so I may get them to buy it for me and I will meet up with them when i arrive. About lines at Disneyland and Disney Sea. Depends on when you are going, if it is the start of Jan it is still holiday time in Japan and it will be crowded everywhere, everyday. If it is later in Jan just avoid weekends and you should be ok but get in early as it took us the full day to do everything we wanted. Disney Sea is a lot less crowded generally.

    • KTGV on 15/10/2015 - 19:05
      +1

      Oh best of luck for getting your Ghibli ticket! :-)
      Maybe ask your friend to buy it soon to avoid disappointment again >_<
      I got mine today from JTB since I'm going in January so there's plenty left for the day I'm going.
      I heard DisneySea is a lot better than Disneyland, I'm surprised that it is less crowed.

      • piggyfund on 15/10/2015 - 19:47

        I like Disney Sea better too, I think that opinion is from people who have been to both but there are plenty of travelers who don't do both due to lack of time or for whatever reason and they choose Disney Land. Though Japanese people I know prefer Disney Land and rarely mention Disney Sea. Disneyland is a date place even for adults, apparently that's how you know someone likes you a lot, they fork out for Disneyland.

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