Reader questions about Tokyo Disneyland

I got an email from a reader with a number of questions about Tokyo Disneyland, and I realized there are number of things which need to be cleared up. So let me try to answer the questions inline:

Hey Wisterian
Thank you for been so helpful....Appreciate all the kindess
So I have a lot of questions to ask but more importantly is the decision whether to do Japan in July or not. My daughters birthday is in July and me my hubby thought it would be nice if she could be in Disney Castle on her birthday... Like all the small girls, she is one big fan of everything that is dreamy-castles, princess, magic... We just want her birthday to be a big memory of her childhood.. thats why we are thinking of this.

Yes, I am sure it will be. Our kids still talk about how they got to take pictures with Goofy and that was a year ago.

Going to California or Orlando is not a option as my hubby can take off from work only for 10 days, and Japan is closer distance wise... Paris Disneyland we did last year but that too was pretty crowded even in first week of June with most time spent standing in queues.

That is how Disneyland is built. If you can afford it, get FastPass. That allows you to bypass the lines. At some attractions. Check out the website to see which.
Even if end of July is not a major holiday season in either Japan or the neighboring countries, and is in the middle of the week which means no weekend crowds, it will be crowded. But it is survivable, especially if you do not try to have lunch at the same time as everyone else. If you have dietary restrictions you may have to decide when & where to eat in advance.
Japanese food, even the fastfood served in Disneyland, does not consider vegetarians (fish stock is a normal ingredient) and do not even get me started on kosher or halal.
That is also one reason I would recommend staying at a partner hotel, not the Disney hotels. Another reason is that the Disney hotel pools only are open in summer, which in Japan basically means August (maybe a week at the end of July).
That was one reason we stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Apart from being part of the Hilton group and more aware of the needs of international visitors, they have a pool which is open all year. No magic fountains or captain Hook, but our kids just loved it and my daughter was so incredibly proud she could float by herself. With float cushions, of course. If you did not bring those, they will lend it to you.
You can book at the guaranteed best price through Booking.com at this link. Kids under 6 stay free!
There is a Sheraton next door too, but we have not stayed there yet. Both however are within easy walking distance from the Bayside monorail station, although if you are coming from Maihama station (the JR railway station), take the shuttlebus to the hotel. The times are not posted on the website so you may have to call the hotel and ask. The shuttle bus is free as is the shuttle buses from the monorail (useful if it rains).

We understand we cant expect no queue at all ... i mean its holiday season...so everything is gonna be crowded..

You can buy tickets online in advance. I would recommend you get a 3-day Magic passport and buy online, but you have to buy one month ahead of the first day you want to use it. You have to stay in one park the entire day but there is more than enough to do. See tokyodisneyresort.jp.
As you may know, there are actually two parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea. Me (and the kids) love Disney Sea. But Cinderellas castle is in Disneyland.
The passes are only valid for one park per day, so you need at least two days. Especially since you really want to see the parade in Tokyo Disney Sea, normally around 8 PM. That is guaranteed to be interesting and different, since the parade is on water.
The parks are actually quite a distance outside central Tokyo, but only about 15 minutes from Tokyo station with a fast train. They are built on land that used to be mudflats in Tokyo Bay. It is a fair distance from Narita Airport, and you are better off taking the airport limousine bus, since it stops at all the hotels. Same if you come from Haneda. Even more actually since you would have to change trains twice.
What i want to understand how bad would be the queues... like a rough estimate about how much time in a day would be spend standing in queue
Hard to say, depends on the weather too. We had an average of 40 minutes to the attractions when we went, but you should probably expect an hour. Try doing the most popular attractions as early as possible, the park opens already at 8 some days and closes at 10 PM, and it is usually less crowded before lunch.

how bad is the heat ...we are used to the tropical heat ..so can bear a 30 C but its not very pleasant though... so we usually, for a holiday, travel towards west which is colder for a break from our usual heat.
30 degrees centigrade in Tokyo in July is not unusual. But it does not go up to 40 deg C until August. Tokyo can actually be hotter than Bangkok at that time. Even though it is quite far north, almost as far as Beijing. But the climate is very different, Japan is a chain of islands between a tropical and an Arctic sea. Which means that weather can be quite unpredictable. With the exception of the long spring and fall, the hot summer and not-so-cold winters, and the rainy season in June, weather can change instantly. Tokyo is a local hotspot so there are frequent thunderstorms in summer. If there is one you may get soaked but it lowers the ambient temperature several degrees.

anyways heat and long queues can be quiet a terrible combination and the brithday can turn a complete turn off..
You had better plan your day well. Check which rides you want, where you can use fastpass, where you can eat what, and when the parades are. If you want to see a parade, bring a sheet to sit on. And wear sun hats. Take a place at least 20 min before the parade starts if you want a reasonable chance to see.
Generally the queues for the rides are in the shade, and when you get tired there are usually places to sit (even if you have to buy drinks, that is not a bad thing on hot days - the authorities always warn about heatstroke this time of year).
Oh one more fhing: Ask the staff st the entry gate for a lost child sticker (maigosticker in Japanese). You write the name and contact drtails, place the upper sticker on top, and then attach to your childs clothes. They stick superbly but come off without residue ur clinging. Much better than the birthday stickers. The idea is if your child gets lost, the staff can peel off the upper part and identify her. But your phone number is not visible to all and sundry in the meantime.

so if you can give me a idea about the heat and the crowds, it would be deciding factor in whether we do Japan or not
I would say you will be OK with the heat, and the lines are what you would expect. You probably have heard that Disneyland is so good at queue management that people from other businesses come there to study it.
One more thing: once you are done with Disney, you will have at least three to four days to see Tokyo proper. I recommend that you stay in Tokyo, and visit the sumo arena - no tournament, but you can see training. Edo-Tokyo museum is great and close by. Asakusa is very accessible for foreigners with a famous temple. And then you should visit the East Garden of the Imperial Palace, it is closed mondays and Fridays though.
There are a number of Japanese gardens you must see, and since they will take half a day or so each, you will not have time for much else, especially if you want to do some shopping. I recommend Tokyo First Avenue, the shopping mall under Tokyo Station on the Yaesu side for "character" goods.
They have some good restaurants there too, look around for once which kave typical Japanese food. They often have English menues as well.

and once again thanks for the time ,,, you been a great help....
My pleasure. Hope this helped
/W