Tokyo Disney in 2 days: Disneyland or DisneySea first?

Disney hotel guests can enter before general guests (Happy Entry). It works on the days of your stay except check-in day, and on checkout day. On a one-night stay you only get it on day two, so put the park where the early morning matters most on day two.

Sources:[1]Official info

1. 
   STEP 1

   One night at a Disney hotel → Disneyland on day two

   All six hotels get it at Disneyland, 15 minutes before general entry

2. 
   STEP 2

   MiraCosta or Fantasy Springs Hotel → either order

   Only these two also get it at DisneySea (5–15 minutes before general entry)

3. 
   STEP 3

   Other hotels or from home → DisneySea on the evening day

   DisneySea is where waits drop most at night (next section)

If you want to play on your travel day too, there are evening tickets. On holidays (weekends and national holidays), the After 3 Passport lets you in from 15:00. On weekdays, the After 5 Passport lets you in from 17:00. There's no ticket for two days in a row, so buy two, one for each day.

Sources:[2]Official info[3]Official info[4]Official info[10]Official info[11]Offpeak Parks data

We compared waits at 15:00 and 20:00 over the last 12 months. For the five DisneySea rides below, the average drops from 125 minutes at 15:00 to 58 at 20:00, less than half. Soaring goes from 158 to 69 minutes. Disneyland waits drop too, but by less.

Sources:[5]Offpeak Parks data

This example arrives on a weekday and stays one night at a Disney hotel. Waits are average posted times over the last 12 months.

Sources:[1]Official info[5]Offpeak Parks data[7]Official info[12]Official info[13]Official info

Day 1, midday

Recommended

Arrive at Maihama and drop your bags

Hand them in at the Welcome Center by the station and they go to your hotel

Day 1, 17:00

Recommended

Enter DisneySea with After 5

Start with short waits. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea averages 23 min at 17:00

Day 1, 20:00

Short at night

Line up for the big ones

Soaring 69 min, Journey to the Center of the Earth 57 min

Day 2, morning

Recommended

Happy Entry at Disneyland

15 minutes before general entry. Check out and leave your bags at the hotel

Day 2, 9:00

Rope drop

Splash Mountain

13 min at 9:00, 78 min by 9:30

Day 2, 13:00–17:00

Fine

Rest during the longest waits

Popular rides stay long from early afternoon to evening. Time for a meal or a show

Day 2, 20:00

Recommended

Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast

50 min at 20:00 (93 min at 15:00)

Disney hotels hold bags from 6:00 on check-in day. At the Welcome Center by JR Maihama Station, hand them in between 7:30 and 16:00 and they're taken to your hotel for free. On checkout day, the hotel holds them until 24:00.

Sources:[7]Official info[8]Official info[9]Official info

Two full days means 24 hours in the parks. Start day one at 17:00 on a weekday and it's 16, so you get a proper rest on the first night. On day two, put a sit-down meal or a show into 13:00–17:00, when waits are longest.

Sources:[5]Offpeak Parks data[11]Offpeak Parks data

Soothe your feet on the first night and day two starts easier.

Hotels with a large bath or hot springSoak after the park and get ready for day twoSee hotels

Make one route per day and save each one. You can save up to five on one phone.

1. ♡
   STEP 1

   Pick rides at both parks

   Tap "Want to ride" on attraction pages, and they show up first on the day for that park

2. 
   STEP 2

   Day one: date, park and entry time

   For an evening start, set the start time to 17:00 (15:00 on holidays), make the route and save it

3. 
   STEP 3

   Day two: start from your hotel

   Set your hotel as the starting point, make the route and save it under a new name