Finalising Japan Trip in April

[galvainze21]

I'll be heading to Japan in April. Due to a tight touring schedule I'll only be able to hit 3 parks - USJ, Disneyland and DisneySea. Whilst in Tokyo I might try and pick up a few other credits too.

 

 

Osaka: 4th - 8th April

 

- I am planning to visit the USJ on Friday the 5th, as I can spend a whole day. I know that this is school holidays, but would it be less crowded on the Friday rather than Saturday or Sunday?

 

- How do the "Express Pass" booklets work? Is it unlimited Front of The Line access or just once per ride?

 

- How effective are the Single Rider lines? I'll be with my girlfriend and we don't mind splitting up to minimise waits.

 

 

Tokyo: 14th - 21st April

 

- I'm going to buy a 3 day Passport and visit the parks Tuesday 16th/Wednesday 17th/Thursday 18th in an attempt to avoid crowds as much as possible.

 

- For the 3 days at Disney is it worth staying closer to the parks? I was thinking around Tokyo Station (20-25 min single train ride) rather than Shibuya/Shinjuku (45-50 min multiple train ride). I looked at the Maihama area itself, but hotel prices were out of my budget (max 12,000 yen/night).

 

 

Cheers!

[rockysam382]

Hey there!

 

Please see my reply to your questions in red below. My apologies if the color's too dark so ya might need to strain your eyes a litte? Thanks!

 

Osaka: 4th - 8th April

 

- I am planning to visit the USJ on Friday the 5th, as I can spend a whole day. I know that this is school holidays, but would it be less crowded on the Friday rather than Saturday or Sunday?

Since it's the school holidays, expect Friday's to be equally as crowded as the weekends, if not more so.

 

- How do the "Express Pass" booklets work? Is it unlimited Front of The Line access or just once per ride?

They are once per ride and you have the option of purchasing 4 or 7 Express Passes per booklet.

 

- How effective are the Single Rider lines? I'll be with my girlfriend and we don't mind splitting up to minimise waits.

They are extremely effective in helping to minimize wait times. Be aware though that single rider lines are not open all the time?

 

 

Tokyo: 14th - 21st April

 

- I'm going to buy a 3 day Passport and visit the parks Tuesday 16th/Wednesday 17th/Thursday 18th in an attempt to avoid crowds as much as possible. Sounds like a reasonably good plan though I spent 4 days at TDR in October last year and I barely managed to cover everything? Add another day for visitation if possible because getting the 4 day Passport will not cost you much more over a 3 day Passport.

 

- For the 3 days at Disney is it worth staying closer to the parks? I was thinking around Tokyo Station (20-25 min single train ride) rather than Shibuya/Shinjuku (45-50 min multiple train ride). I looked at the Maihama area itself, but hotel prices were out of my budget (max 12,000 yen/night).I stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay and thoroughly enjoyed myself as it was extremely convenient to take the Mickey buses which brought you to the Monorail station from where you'd take it straight down to the parks and Ikspiari. But if your budget's too tight, staying around Tokyo Station's just fine?

[SharkTums]

Would have written pretty much the same as above...but in a color that wouldn't have destroyed my eyes!

[galvainze21]

If I can get to USJ on the Monday (8th), should it be significantly less crowded as that is the day that school goes back?

[rockysam382]

My bad about that Elissa!

 

I'd expect the crowds to be somewhat lighter on a Monday. Still be prepared for moderate crowds as since it's a Universal park, it's never gonna be really empty. Getting there early should allow you to get most of the stuff done in the morning?

 

Tip: Space Fantasy's queue's almost always down to 5mins towards the end of the day so it's something you might want to take note of?

[galvainze21]

Thanks for the advice!

 

I've decided I will go on the Monday, the park is open 9:30 - 20:00 so I'll make sure to get there early. I can't really justify the cost of an express pass (4200 yen each) for my girlfriend and myself so I'll just have to hope I can get on all of the rides.

 

rockysam382 can you give any more pointers on a touring plan? Space Fantasy last as you said, should I head to Hollywood Dream first thing or are there other attractions which are likely to have longer waits later?