Where to stay at Tokyo Disney with 3 Kids
Overwhelmed by Tokyo Disney planning and where to stay with kids? Our family stayed at the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel with three children. Here is what you can expect!
What are the Tokyo Disney Resorts?
Tokyo Disney Resort is an enormous complex of parks and hotels. Tokyo Disney is home to 5 official Disney hotels plus 4 Disney partners with nearly 20 other good neighbor hotels.[1]
No wonder you are looking for help!
Tokyo Disney Hotels include:
- Tokyo Disneyland Hotel,
- Disney Ambassador,
- Toy Story Hotel,
- Tokyo Disneysea Hotel MiraCosta, and
- Disney Celebration.
These hotels vary as much in theme and amenities as in price. Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and hotel MiraCosta are the premium hotels, while Toy Story and Ambassador sit somewhere in the middle. Disney Celebration is the Tokyo version of a value hotel.
Additionally, discerning the location of the hotels can be overwhelming. For example, Hotel Miracosta is not only in the DisneySea area, but actually forms the park’s entrance wall. Disney Celebration, on the other hand, is a 30-40 minute bus ride away from the parks and in a different area of Tokyo completely.
After weighing all of the pros and cons with 3 children, our family decided to stay in one of the only Tokyo Disney hotels with dedicated rooms for families of 5 and 6 –Disney Celebration. And, we are glad we did!
What is Disney Celebration Hotel?
Disney Celebration is Tokyo Disney’s value resort. While the hotel is an official Disney hotel, connected to Disney transportation, and boasts the pixie dust service you have come to expect, it is far less expensive than many of the other resorts.
Disney Celebration is divided into 2 separate buildings: Discover and Wish. Our family stayed in Discover where the lobby is adventure and exploration themed.
The centerpieces of the lobby are a long canoe, a giant globe, and other adventure scenes from Disney movies. Wish, on the other hand, is themed to dreams and wishes!
Our kids loved sitting in the canoe and watching the movies in the lobby while they waited for us to speak with the concierge.
Where is Disney Celebration?
Unlike most of the other Tokyo Disney hotels, Disney Celebration is in the Shin-Urayasu district rather than the Mahaima or Disneyland area where you will find the parks. Therefore, it is not on the monorail line.
(Do not take a Limousine Bus to the Monorail station or Disneyland in hopes of arriving at Disney Celebration! Instead, take your Limousine Bus to Shin Urayasu hotels.)
However, the hotel is still located along Tokyo Bay, and many rooms still have a beautiful water view.
How to get to Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel from the Tokyo Airports
After arriving at Haneda or Narita, you might be surprised to find that Tokyo Disney is still quite a long way away.
However, there are several different methods for reaching your destination.
- Taxi: The airports have large and bustling taxi stands that can deliver you to Disney Celebration without any problem. However, this is also the most expensive option. And, after an hour in a taxi watching the meter creep up by thousands of yen, you might wish that you had explored a couple of other options.
- Train: A much more cost-effective option is to travel to Tokyo Disney Resort by train. Tokyo trains are reliable and efficient. In fact, you can board a train from within Haneda airport, travel to Tokyo station, and make the transfers to Tokyo Disney station and monorail. Then, you can board a bus to the hotel and eventually end up with your luggage and (hopefully) your family. Obviously, if you aren’t already familiar with the train system, this might be quite overwhelming and exhausting after a long flight.
- Airport Limousine Bus: The best option, in my opinion, to arrive at Disney Celebration hotel is to take the Airport Limousine Bus. You can purchase your tickets to your final destination at the bright orange ticket booths inside the airport.
Airport Limousine Bus to Arrive at Tokyo Disney Hotels
While at the airport, find this bright orange kiosk to select your destination and departure time.
Then the ticket prints your bus stop where a friendly employee loads your luggage and drives you to your final destination in the comfort of a luxury bus.
Our family of 5 paid less than $50.00 (USD) to transfer us directly from the airport to the front steps of our hotel.
However, if you are traveling to Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel, be sure that you purchase a ticket to the Shin Urayasu area rather than to the parks area or you will still need to board another bus to make it to your hotel.
After traveling for more than 15 hours with 3 small children, having a reliable and convenient option that doesn’t break the bank was perfect for us. We found the ticket booth easy to use and the bus staff incredibly friendly.
Amenities at Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel
If you are concerned about losing amenities at a value resort, I completely understand. Disney Celebration is not the most modern or luxury hotel I have ever visited. However, it was incredibly clean, comfortable, and spacious enough for our family of 5.
In addition to a comfortable room and bed, we were provided pajamas, slippers, basic toiletries, an electric kettle, microwave, and a refrigerator. The room even had a bathtub, which is appreciated by a mom of small children!
Further, the hotel has a restaurant serving a delicious buffet breakfast each morning for a modest charge. Plus, it has a convenience store and even a small souvenir store.
In true Japanese fashion, the hotel also has a long row of mystery machines and a couple of claw machines.
Each floor has a bank of vending machines. We easily found ice, washing machines, and even a beautiful courtyard garden.
Drawbacks of Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel
However, there was not a pool or a dinner restaurant at the Tokyo Disney Celebration Discover hotel. This was not a concern for us as we were spending most of our time at the parks.
If you are hoping to have time to just relax at the hotel, the Celebration hotel is more of a clean, safe place to sleep rather than a destination hotel. Regardless, it is one of the only resorts with rooms large enough for a family of more than 4.
Further, the hotel does not boast the same awe-inducing foyer or amenities that you will find at Disneyland Hotel or other premium accommodations.
Types of rooms at Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel
Disney Celebration certainly has single and double hotel rooms, but it also has rooms with bunk beds for families.
Disney Celebration Hotel would not have been nearly as appealing to our family if not for the dedicated family rooms for 5 and 6.
Our family stayed in a quintet room where we had a set of bunk beds, 2 single beds, and a couch/twin bed. Therefore, everyone in our family had his or her own bed.
If we would have stayed in Disneyland Hotel or Hotel Miracosta, we would have had to book 2 rooms or have all 3 children share one bed. Good nights of sleep with 3 extremely jet-lagged children at Disney is imperative. Therefore, Disney Celebration won our hotel contest.
If you want to stay more central to Disney, Hilton Tokyo Bay also features rooms for families of 5 and 6 that overlook the bay or the parks. However, this is a good neighbor hotel rather than an official Disney hotel and may not include the same transportation and early entry options. (You can access the monorail from Hilton Tokyo Bay)
Breakfast at Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel
Also important to our family was a good, hearty breakfast. Knowing that we would want to head straight for rides and attractions, we wanted to make sure that our family had a big breakfast before we heading to the parks.
Disney Celebration Hotel has an excellent breakfast buffet at a reasonable price for the entire family. We were truly sad to leave it behind.
The buffet at Disney Celebration features American staples, international breakfast selections, and even traditional Japanese favorites. Your children will be thrilled to find churros and pancakes, while the parents might be glad to try a more traditional Japanese breakfast!
We loved the steamed bun breakfast sandwiches, mushroom quiche, and, of course, the coffee machine!
Purchase your breakfast vouchers from a convenient vending machine in the hotel and present them to the restaurant staff. Then stuff yourself before you head to the parks for early entry!
How to get from Disney Celebration Hotel to the Parks
Traveling from Disney Celebration to the parks is very simple even if not quick. Buses run on a strict and timely schedule available from the front desk.
Further, the buses are attended by friendly staff who speak a variety of languages.
Buses deliver hotel guests from Celebration (Discover and Wish) to DisneySea and then Disneyland. Early morning buses can get quite crowded near park opening. Therefore, if you want to arrive for Happy Magic Hours, then be sure to catch an early bus.
As always, be sure to confirm the route and destination with the bus driver before you board to ensure that you are on the right bus.
We found that the bus took about 40 minutes each way to and from the parks. The staff told us 20-30 minutes, but our trip was never that short. Plan accordingly!
Catching the bus back to the hotel from the parks is equally as easy. Each park has a bus stand, and you simply wait at the bus stop for Disney Celebration. The schedule is posted at the bus stand, and you can rely on their punctuality!
Where to stay at Tokyo Disney with 3 kids
Choosing from among more than 30 different Disney area hotels in Tokyo can be overwhelming. Further, finding a room within your budget for 3 or more kids can be downright impossible.
In our experience, Tokyo Disney Celebration hotel quintet rooms balance affordability, location, and comfort, and we would highly recommend it for families looking for a great place to stay for their Disney Tokyo adventures.
[1] https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/en/hotel/
