How to Book a Disney Hotel at Tokyo Disneyland
One of our most asked questions is how to book a Disney Hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort. The experience is less than stellar, as many of our fantastic readers have pointed out, but that is where we come in. This guide will give you our best tips and suggestions for booking a Disney Hotel.
Note that these are not silver bullets, nor are they for everyone. This guide includes Hotel MiraCosta, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, Disney Ambassador Hotel, and Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel Discover & Wish.
This guide won’t go into details about each hotel or go in-depth about the benefits. You can read that in our full hotel guide and read our list of hotel reviews and recommendations (including Disney and Non-Disney Hotels). The purpose of this is to give you different options for booking your hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort. It is possible; there are just a couple of hoops to jump through.
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel. Photo by Duy Phan Photography
Credit Card Issues
The official website is now taking most major credit cards from overseas again. So, the information below is not relevant anymore, but we are leaving it in for reference. There is no guarantee your card will work, so you’ll have to try.
In November 2016, Tokyo Disney Resort stated on their reservation website that they are not accepting credit cards (except MasterCard) which were issued outside of Japan to make reservations for Park Tickets or Disney Hotels with their reservation system. The message has since changed to:
Please be informed that currently we are tightening the security on the use of credit card. Accordingly, some of the products that you already purchased may not be changed or cancelled due to such circumstance.
This is the source of a lot of stress and frustration for those with credit cards issued outside of Japan. We are unsure — at the moment — if this is a permanent change or a temporary one. We will continue to update this with any new information.
Many guests are experiencing errors with the reservation system involving credit cards such as:
- Visa
- American Express
- Diners Club
- Select MasterCards
- The reasons that some are able to work and others are not is unclear
However, some MasterCard credit cards issued outside of Japan will work with the system. As an example, we were able to book the Disney Ambassador Hotel through the reservation system with no issues with our Canadian-issued MasterCard. This is not true for all cards, however. You will have to try your card and see.
Accepted Credit Cards
This is not an exhaustive list, but ones we know of at the moment. If you have booked a hotel with a certain credit card, please let us know what card you used and the country it was issued to contact@tdrexplorer.com (You don’t need to provide any more information than that for security reasons). We will update the list accordingly.
- MasterCard (Canadian Tire)
- MasterCard (Australia)
- MasterCard (US Barclays)
- MasterCard (UK Capital One)
Unaccepted Credit Cards
- Visa
- MasterCard (certain types)
- American Express
- Diners Club
How to Book Online
The easiest way to book is online through the official website. This is subject to your credit card working. All credit cards need the “3D Secure” associated with it. Reservations open 5-months in advance.
Unfortunately, the only way to know if your credit card will work is to go through the entire process up until you need to enter your payment details.
- Select your dates and number of people
- Select your desired hotel
- Select the type of room you want
You need to create an account with the website, so you are able to manage your booking.
My Card was Declined
If your card is declined, most of the time it is the Tokyo Disney Resort system not authorizing your payment. If the payment did not go through, an error message appears. You need to try another credit card.
How to Book Over the Phone
If none of your credit cards are accepted, then another option is booking over the phone. This does not need a credit card, but a few points to be aware of:
- Phone reservations are accepted 4-months in advance (Online is 5-months so rooms may fill up)
- The resort faxes your confirmation to you or provides a confirmation number
- Use the confirmation number to add your reservation to your account
- There is no toll-free number from outside of Japan.
- 045-330-0101
- Calling from Australia : 0011 + 81 + 045-330-0101
- Calling from Canada or the US: 011 + 81 + 045-330-0101
- Calling from Singapore: 001 + 81 + 045-330-0101
- Calling from the United Kingdom: 00 + 81 + 045-330-0101
- Other countries
- If you do not speak Japanese, an interpreter may be available over the phone to help. If they are not, you may have to phone back.
- The full payment is made when you get to the resort. Most forms of payment with credit cards are accepted. Have a spare credit card (or cash) handy if your main card does not work (this has happened to us in the past).
- Once you are booked, create an account (if you haven’t already) with the reservation website and navigate to “My Bookings.”
- “Click here if you booked through the Tokyo Disney Resort Reservations Center,
or if you booked online without registering as a user.” - Note: This is not working (as of January 2017), so you need to phone and ask them to add it to your account. It’s best to do this when making your booking over the phone.
- “Click here if you booked through the Tokyo Disney Resort Reservations Center,
This is not the ideal way and is time-consuming. You’re also at the mercy of the time zones, so you may have to phone early in the morning or late night, depending on where you are.
Booking Through a Travel Agent
This is one option we have the least experience with. This is a list of travel agents we found, but have no experience with, so we cannot speak to their service. But I wanted to give all possible options. If you have any success or not with these, please let us know in the comments.
There are a few travel agents in Japan which offer service in English. Some even allow you to book Tokyo Disney Hotels online through their system. As for travel agents in other countries, we have no experience with any. If you know any, please let us know.
Staying at a Non-Disney Hotel
If all else fails, the best alternative is staying at one of the Official Hotels right at the resort. They accept most major credit cards and you’ll have no issues booking online. They have benefits such as guaranteed entry to the parks, which means you are able to buy your tickets at the hotel regardless if the park is full or not. Read all the benefits in our hotel guide.
Name | Official Website | Booking.com | Agoda | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hilton Tokyo Bay | Check Rates | Check Rates | Check Rates | |
Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel | Check Rates | Check Rates | Check Rates | |
Sunroute Plaza Tokyo | Check Rates | Check Rates | ||
Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel | Check Rates | Check Rates | ||
Tokyo Bay Maihama Hotel Club Resort | Check Rates | Check Rates | ||
Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay | Check Rates | Check Rates | Check Rates |
Airbnb
Another alternative is AirBnb near Tokyo Disney Resort. Signup and receive ¥3,500 ($31 USD) in travel credit for your first trip. There are some affordable rooms in the area. Just note, you don’t receive the benefits of staying at Disney Hotel, and I recommend you buying your tickets ahead of time through Klook.
Can You Book a Hotel for Us?
Since we are not a travel agent, we are unable to book hotels. Please refer to the list of travel agents listed above.
Conclusion
There are a number of ways to book a hotel. Not all are ideal, but they are options nonetheless. Bookmark this guide and check back often, as we continuously update this with the latest information about credit cards and the reservation system.
Disclaimer
TDRExplorer.com is not affiliated or associated with Tokyo Disney Resort, the Oriental Land Co., Ltd, or the Walt Disney Company. Therefore, we are unsure of the exact security reasons they have stopped accepting foreign-issued credit cards, nor do we know when/if they will begin accepting them again.
Start planning your trip to Tokyo Disneyland with our Ultimate Guide to Tokyo Disney Resort. It covers everything from tickets, hotels, and how to score discounts!
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hi guys,
TDR online didnt accept my VISA card from Australia, so tried a friend’s Mastercard (issued in Australia).
The Mastercard worked for booking a ‘Vacation Package’ online!
Now my concern is, when I front up to the Ambassador Hotel will they ask for the card that was used to make the hotel booking? Would the hotel want to use that same Mastercard for room incidentals?
Or you think they would accept any of my VISA cards for incidentals? Does Ambassador Hotel require card that was used for the booking to be shown to them even though my booking is now all paid for.
Thanks
p.s. your site is fantastico!
Can you explain how this photo site works? Will it work from Australia once we return home from TDR?
https://www.tdronlinephoto.jp/
We are looking forward to our trip this April.. especially character photos. Could you please explain our options at the parks? e.g. How many shots do cast members take using our own smartphones?
If we let cast members/ professional photographer onsite take our pics, how do we pick these up at end of the day?
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The Capital One MasterCard (UK) works. Almost as much fuss is the problem caused by post codes – the U.K. Post code contains letters, which are not permitted by the TDR system, even though the account details are shared across disney.com. I’ve put random digits in that box, and my real post code in the address box. Seems to have worked so far.
[…] The Chip ‘n’ Dale room starts at ¥47,400 (~$425 USD) and the Stitched-themed room starts at ¥53,500 (~$480 USD). Before booking a room, read our guide to booking a Tokyo Disney Hotel. […]
You’ll be able to use a different credit card. As long as your name is on the reservation and they can verify it is you, then you’re fine 🙂
Thank you for the info Phil!
thks guys
[…] You have a variety of choices for hotels. All of which depend on your budget and time in Japan. A list of hotels on and near the resort is available on the official Tokyo Disney Resort website in English. Be sure to read our full guide to Disney Hotels for further details. We also have a guide on how to book Disney and Non-Disney Hotels. […]
[…] a number of Official Hotels in the area (I recommend the Hilton Tokyo Bay or Sheraton Grande). Learn how to book a Disney Hotel and read our complete hotel guide for more […]
We’ve been trying to order tickets for 2 days now from the US….it won’t let us past the update our account….it keeps going in circles. Very frustrating…we are trying to buy 3 day passports. But so far we can’t. I tried and it says my postal code is invalid… only accepts numbers, but that’s what I have 5 numbers. So we are just gonna have to purchase tickets there, on the day we arrive…can’t forsee any other way. Unless someone can help us by pass or get past the “Change account” page.
Has anyone had any trouble with just creating the Tokyo Hotel account online? It won’t accept ANY of my passwords I put in and I have tried everything. It comes up with an error saying that the password was not changed as it may be a weak password and to input a new one. I am at my wit’s end!
Hi, Theresa,
Were you able to get your tickets sorted? You may have to call the Resort and speak with an English speaker Cast Member.
If not, you can buy a 2-day ticket from Klook (one of our affiliates) and then upgrade your ticket to a 3-day passport (Guest Relations can do this for you).
https://www.klook.com/activity/695-tokyo-disneyland-disneysea-2-day-pass-tokyo/?aid=334
Hope this helps!
Hello, Lexie,
Were you able to get this sorted? If not, you may have to call the Resort and ask to speak to an English speaking Cast Member.
I went through and was able to create an account with a password. Make sure it follows the criteria listed on the site: “combination of 8 to 25 letters and numbers”.
I hope this helps!
Chris
You can get a photo keycard from a Photopass Cast Member. You have to buy your photos in the park, as to my knowledge, they do not offer digital downloads (they create a CD for you and since you don’t live in Japan they cannot ship it to you). The photo centers in each park will be able to help you.
You can ask the CM to take photos for you with your smartphone, they will do one or two photos.
Thank you!
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[…] If you’re having issues booking a hotel read our guide on how to make a reservation. […]
I know this is an older post, but I have questions! The Klook site currently is OUT of 2 day tickets!! I emailed them to check on availability but they said they don’t know when they will be available again. We are about 3 weeks out so our only option now is to buy online to avoid the lines at the resort. Is there any updates on types of credit cards accepted on the Tokyo Disney website? Would calling my CC company ahead of time to approve this transaction make a difference or it it the Tokyo DL website denying the CC?
You can buy a one day ticket with Klook and upgrade it at the Park the day of your visit at the Ticket Counter or Guest Services (I’ve done this a few times).
As for the website, you’ll have to try your card and see if it works. It seems like a lot of the issues have been resolved. It’s always a good idea to tell your CC company you are making a purchase overseas just in case 🙂
Just got through this rigmarole tonight… they don’t make it easy to give them a lot of money. 🙂 We really wanted to book the TDR vacation package for the included Fastpasses and other perks. Having a terrible time with the website, and quickly learning that there are no 3rd party vacation packages that have the same inclusions.
We are US-based, using Visa cards issued by Bank of America (which does not offer the ‘verified by Visa’). Once we learned that, we switched to a Chase Bank Visa which DOES have the ‘verified by Visa’ designation.
The charge still did not go through online.
Reading this post, I signed up our cell phones for International calling plans, and called the resort. As described above, we were given an English interpreter for the call. Going back and forth with the interpreter and the call agent, they said they will not book the vacation packages over the phone (this may be only true for non-Japanese transactions). We called twice, spoke to different agents, and received the same answer… can’t help. *To be fair: the service was excellent, they just couldn’t do what we needed.
My wife then found a user comment on a different post on this site that was VERY helpful. The user suggested calling the CC company and having them on the phone as you process the charge online… this worked!!! Another key: the card MUST have the ‘verified by Visa’ or similar security designation.
So excited to keep reading more posts here to prepare for our upcoming trip!
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Hi!! I am super excited to take my first trip to Tokyo Disney but the Disney website keeps giving me an error when trying to book the hotel 🙁 I can’t even get to the page to enter my info or select a room. Anyone have any tips? Or will I just have to call and pay the international calling fee?
I recommend calling them using Skype or try clearing your cache in your browser and trying again (or going into Incognito Mode).
How do I add a booking to my Disney account if i made a booking reservation from agoda and not through the TDR website?
It’s best to contact Tokyo Disney Resort directly. I’ve never done that.