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 first screen you see. Select Hotels followed by your criteria then hit search.

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.

After the first screen, this appears and you can filter down to what Disney Hotel you like.

The rooms display and you click on the name to expand and it’ll show if it’s available or not.

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.

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.

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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