Speed traveling: Tokyo Disneyland in four hours or less!

I am a big fan of Disneyland thanks to various experiences with it as a child, and have been able to visit all the Disneyland / Disneyworld resorts except for the one in Paris (which for some reason, I have no strong desire to do so) and Disneysea in Tokyo (as I prefer the traditional Disneyland).

While Disneyland should be enjoyed by making use of a full day, the After 6 passport, offered in the Tokyo Disneyland / Disneysea resorts, is a great way to see the main attractions on a ticket that is 60% of that of the full-priced one. The downside is of course, you only have 4 hours in the park at most, from 6pm till closing time at 10pm.

But it's completely doable, provided you have already been to a Disneyland resort and been through it for a full day at least once (either Anaheim, Florida or Tokyo - not the Hong Kong one). The trick is, you need to know which rides you want to go for, and which to prioritise.

One thing you need to know... the After 6 passport is popular! When I got to the gates five minutes before 6pm, there was already a huge crowd waiting for the clock to strike 6 and the gates to open. But thankfully, the crowds were moved in very quickly.

Tokyo Disneyland is laid out fairly similarly to the Anaheim one, so that's good to remember when you are rushing for time and don't have time to consult the park map (except for the Haunted Mansion which is situated at Fantasyland for some reason in Tokyo).

Here's my route to see the main attractions. All times indicated below include waiting time but not the time walking between attractions. Oh and don't forget to buy your ticket online in advance to save time.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean (Adventureland): 6pm - 6.30pm
After you get pass the gate and long row of shops in the area known as "World Bazaar", head left and charge towards this classic ride. It should be the first ride you see after you head left from World Bazaar. When I was there, the queue was reasonably short, perhaps because the 6pm crowd just started to come in (and the people with the full-day pass should have finished this ride long ago earlier in the day. Based on this logic, you should run for your biggest priority ride first once you get in at 6pm). One interesting thing is (for people who hate "heights" of any kind, like me), the Tokyo version of Pirates only has one "waterfall slope" instead of two like Anaheim.

2. Haunted Mansion (Fantasyland): 6.40pm - 7.20pm
The queues would have started to build up by now, and the logical "route" would have been to go on to Jungle Cruise, which is also within Adventureland, rather than to head up north towards Haunted Mansion. But there are two good reasons. Firstly, Jungle Cruise tends to have a longer waiting line. Second, by the time you are done with Haunted Mansion, you have just the right amount of time to come out and secure a nice spot for the Nighttime Parade (7.30pm), which passes by the front of the Haunted Mansion.  

3. Nighttime Parade: Electrical Parade Dreamlights (Fantasyland): 7.30pm - 7.45pm
Do not miss this parade... it is truly spectacular! Mickey, Minnie and many Disney characters come out on trains, horses, floats etc, all lit up in hundreds of thousands of lights!

Now here's a trick. DO NOT stay until the parade is entirely over. It's ok, since after a while, you would have seen enough. Instead, run over to It's A Small World, which is usually packed.

Tokyo Disney Electrical Parade

4. It's A Small World  (Fantasyland): 7.50pm - 8.20pm
Some adults will refuse to go in because they cannot get the song out of their heads after that. For me, this is one of my favourite rides as a small child... and still remains so. It makes me happy seeing the little children (dolls) of the world sing and dance a happy tune. It's almost a way of "escaping" the real world of strife, poverty, war, ethnic persecution and being transported into a utopian and childishly naive, but happy, world. Anyway, at this point, people are still finishing up the Electrical Parade, so there should be no queues. I tried this trick and managed to take this ride not once but TWICE in succession... without queuing up either time!

5. Peter Pan (Fantasyland): 8.20pm - 9pm
It's on to another nice ride. As I explained, I don't like heights, so none of the roller-coasters / drop-from-the-high-heavens type of rides for me please. At Peter Pan, the number of people queuing is not long, but the waiting time is long because each car can only take 2 at a go, compared to some other rides which can take more. Oh and yes, the Peter Pan ride takes you "flying" over the city of London, but the heights here are still manageable as there is no sudden drop.

6. Once Upon a Time (Fantasyland): Starts at 8.50pm, but I was there at 9.10pm
Now, it's time to head back for some fun. But not before we catch a quick glimpse of the light projection show at Cinderella's castle, showing scenes from beloved Disney cartoons projected against the castle, set to the Disney tunes.

7. Jungle Cruise (Adventureland): 9.15pm - 9.40pm
Now, the crowds should have thinned pretty much. You can use this time to go to your favourite adventure rides like Splash Mountain (Critter Country), Big Thunder Mountain (Westernland) or Jungle Cruise (Adventureland). I chose the last-mentioned as it was a childhood favourite. The waiting time was only 15 mins now, compared to if I had taken it after Pirates... which would have been 50 minutes!

I finished the above at about 9.40pm, giving me some extra time to grab some snacks and decide whether to try one more ride. In the end, I decided to hit the shops instead, thinking I would need at least 20 minutes. The good thing was... the shops at World Bazaar don't really close at 10pm if there are customers already in the shop by 10pm. I finished shopping and left at about 10.20pm.

So there's my 4-hour whirlwind visit to Tokyo Disneyland!

Some tips to remember if you are using an After 6 passport:

• Before you go, identify which rides you want to go for, and among those, which are the must-go and which are the nice-to-go
• When the gates open at 6pm, go straight to the ride of your topmost priority. The crowds will be the least now, because the 6pm crowd has just come in, and the full-day passport folks would have long finished that ride earlier in the day, especially if it's one of the popular ones
• Watch most of the Electrical Parade, but LEAVE before it finishes. The crowds at so-called popular rides would have thinned out as everyone is watching the parade, so go and take your 2nd biggest priority ride now if you couldn't do it earlier
• Skip the Once Upon A Time light projection show if you're not super keen on it. I only took a quick glimpse as it wasn't as spectacular as the Electrical Parade. Use this time to go for super popular rides, as the waiting time would be way less

Tokyo Disneyland can be reached by subway (Maihama station). Upon exiting the station, do not worry about getting lost. Simply follow the crowds and walk - you'll reach the Disneyland entrance between 7 to 10 mins later.

For tips on how to get through Anaheim Disnelyand in five hours, click here!