Picture It with Priscila

Getting into Fantasy Springs on a Budget

Going to Tokyo Disneyland or DisneySea before March 31, 2025 and wondering what it’s like to not book a vacation package but still wanting to see Fantasy Springs? Let me share how I did it and how to manage expectations! 

First, some basics! You will need either a 1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic, a Disney Premier Access (DPA), or a Standby to access Fantasy Springs. Now, how do you get any of these 3 things? For the 1-Day Passport: Fantasy Springs Magic, you can only purchase it as a part of an eligible vacation package. This means that you’re tied to paying a higher cost as a vacation package includes a hotel night, tickets for 2 days (DisneySea and Disneyland), unlimited drinks, other Premier accesses, and souvenirs. It’s definitely a more stress-free experience but if you were to purchase all the components separately, you are paying a convenience fee (~$100-200 per person per day) and would make your overall trip more expensive. For the DPA, that is the Tokyo Disney equivalent of a FastPass, Genie+, or Express Pass (~$10-20 per person). Lastly, Standby is a free option where you are guaranteed a time to queue for the attraction. The key to getting as many DPA and Standby options is to be the first ones in. The earlier you book your first one, the earlier you can book your second one and so forth. This explains the long morning queues you might have heard about that are so popular at the Tokyo Disney Resort. 

An option to bypass the long morning queues is to stay at either the Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel or Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta for Early Entry access into Tokyo DisneySea. This should also be the cheaper option compared to the vacation package as long as you’re able to book a standard room opposed to a suite. Unfortunately, these hotel reservations can be quite difficult to snag. 

However, if you do not want to spend your coins on a vacation package and were unlucky enough to not get a room at either the Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Springs Hotel or Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta (like me), there is still hope! Here are some of my tips from my 2 day experience. My goal was to ride every Fantasy Springs attraction (Anna and Elsa’s Frozen Journey, Rapunzel’s Lantern Festival, Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure, Fairy Tinker Bell’s Busy Buggies) at least once. 

  1. Try to go on a weekday, if possible. I read that Fridays were better than Mondays so we opted for a Wednesday and Friday. It still seemed busy, but I think it definitely could have been worse.
  2. You have to queue early. I know. It sucks, but it’s so true. The first day, we got there at 8A, and we only had Peter Pan for a DPA option and Rapunzel or Tinker Bell for a Standby option. The second time, we got there at 7A, and we were able to snag Frozen as a DPA option (with only 1 time slot left) and Peter Pan, Rapunzel, or Tinker Bell for a Standby option. If you do have Early Entry, make sure you get there by 8:30. They typically allow day Guests in at 8:45 so make sure you don’t miss out on that perk! 
  3. In my experience, weather does not seem to be a factor. Tickets are nonrefundable so I think people still show up. It was raining 2 out of the 3 days we were there, and it did not stop people from queuing early at all. 
  4. Don’t be afraid to call out people who are trying to squeeze their way through! There are going to be a LOT of people, and some people get creative. We called out 3 groups of people who just squeezed their way to the front because no one else did. You might have to give up some personal space to own your space, but don’t be afraid to do it. 
  5. Be prepared for 2 sets of queues. The first is to get through a preliminary security screening. Then, you either keep going or you have to get your bag inspected before going through a metal detector. After that, you get in line again to get your tickets scanned. 
  6. Don’t stop after getting scanned in to book your DPA or Standby! The signal is slower in the front of the park since everyone is also there. I started the process while walking briskly into the park and definitely noticed my Internet working a lot faster the further I got inside.
  7. Make sure you have international data. Tokyo DisneySea doesn’t have free WiFi and you’ll definitely need reliable internet to book those DPAs and Standbys.

My experience was definitely stressful, but I did manage to achieve my goal, and I definitely think it was worth it to do it at least once. I think next time I’d try more intentionally to book either the Tokyo DisneySea Fantasy Spring Hotel or Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta just because some extra sleep would have been nice! 

However, I wanted to share my experience because I did wish I knew what it was like as a “regular” person. On one hand, a vacation package is incredibly stress free. On the other hand, if you wanted to save those coins for snacks rather than a souvenir popcorn bucket or an extra Show DPA instead of unlimited drinks, I don’t think a vacation package is really the right choice for everyone. AND it doesn’t mean that Fantasy Springs is out of reach. You might just have to work a little harder for it. 

Let me know if you have any questions I can help answer! And who knows, everything is changing in a few months so this might just be fun throwback read for me one day!

Best of Pixar Fest 2024

Pixar Fest is back at Disneyland (for another month), and I don’t think I every truly participated aside from watching the original parade a long time ago. However, I was so excited to get to experience all the fun things that were announced. Below are my rankings of my favorite to least favorite festival offerings!

#1 Pixar Pals Playtime Party – I honestly thought this was a hoot-and-a-half. Not only does Troubadour Tavern serve us some spectacular seasonal treats. I personally had the Adventure is Out There! Cold Brew and the Una Papa Loca! which were both delicious. There’s also either a dance party happening, Pixar shorts playing, or characters meeting Guests so there’s entertainment while you eat! The only con is that it ends early (around 6P every night). 

#2 Food – There’s lots of fun Pixar Fest treats all around the Disneyland Resort – the Disney Parks Blog came out with a great and detailed Foodie Guide. This year, festival booths were added, and they are very cute and well themed. Although I only got a chance to try a handful of treats, my favorite was definitely the Gusteau Macaron. Any else got a sweet tooth?

#3 Fireworks – Coming in third is the Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular. Be sure to check if fireworks are planned or you might only get the projection show! The show is great and they definitely added a few new scenes to include the newer Pixar films, but unfortunately, it’s just not my favorite Disney fireworks. I don’t get as much nostalgia when I watch it, but it’s definitely a celebration of the Pixar films and characters.

#4 Parade – Lastly, since Club Pixar closed down, my least favorite offering was Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration!. I know, I know, I feel like it’s a favorite for a lot of people, but I honestly prefer the Magic Happens parade. I just think the music, choreography, and float designs are better. However, Better Together definitely embraces the Pixar theme and the new floats were cool to see at least once. If you’re planning to go, the first parade goes from Hollywood Land (Guardians) to Paradise Gardens Park (Silly Symphony Swings) and the second parade goes in the opposite direction. Just a helpful hint to know since it can take 10-15 minutes after the parade time starts for the floats to start reaching the ending land.

First Post Ever!

Welcome to my blog! I feel like this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I can’t believe it’s happening! Happened. Crazy, right?

My goal on this blog is to hopefully provide a mix of entertainment and information on the things I love to do! Think fun travel, foodie tours, and theme park days to start! But first, you might want to know how I got here.

I was born and raised in Southern California. I spent my childhood weekends at Disneyland. Instead of going on swings and slides at parks, I sailed in the Caribbean with Pirates and slid down Matterhorn Mountain on bobsleds. I have no doubt it planted a seed of love and appreciation for all things Disney as well as theme parks. I’m sure it also didn’t hurt being a millennial and growing up with the classic Disney films of the Renaissance Era! 

While in college, I had one bucket list item: to study abroad. I ended up studying in the UK during my third year, and it was amazing getting to experience a new culture as well as a chance to travel through Europe. It really sparked my love of traveling, and I could not wait to do more. After graduating college and trying to figure out my next steps, I took an opportunity to teach English abroad in China. Although living in China brought new challenges than living in the UK, it gave me a chance to be closer to extended family in Taiwan and go on adventures in Asia.

The last thing you need to know about me is that I love food. Like many people, I wish I could eat anything I want, anytime I want. As I like to say, I am a food scientist by training and a foodie by choice.

Now that you know my story so far, I plan to share more! I’ve got some great trips lined up for 2024. I hope you’ll follow along!