News in English

We stayed in a 'Toy Story'-themed hotel for $280 a night. Our small room was a great value with tons of awesome details.

At around $280 a night, staying at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo is a steal compared to American Disney hotels. Here's what it's like to stay there.

Writer Amanda Adler stands in front of a cartoon mural at the Toy Story Hotel, located near the theme parks at Tokyo Disney Resort.
We enjoyed our stay at the Toy Story Hotel, located near the theme parks at Tokyo Disney Resort.
  • My family of 3 recently stayed at the Toy Story Hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort.
  • At $280 a night it was a steal compared to American Disney hotels that can cost twice as much.
  • Our room was snug, but the larger-than-life décor and proximity to theme parks made it a winner.

The Toy Story Hotel at Tokyo Disney Resort allows guests to feel like they are stepping into a larger-than-life land of toys, without the larger-than-life prices that can come with staying on Disney property.

This spring, my family of three checked in to the 595-room hotel, which is located near Bay Station on the Tokyo Disney Resort Line, the resort's dedicated monorail line.

Our room was cozy but comfortable and only cost about $280 a night — a steal compared to American Disney hotels that can cost twice as much.

And that value may be growing even more. Recently, the Yen dipped to a 34-year low. Although this has caused turmoil in the markets, it may be good news for American travelers looking to save even more cash.

At any cost, this themed hotel that opened in 2022 was a fun place to spend a few nights and offered superior access to Tokyo Disneyland.

Here's what our stay was like.

Toy Story Hotel, located near the theme parks at Tokyo Disney Resort, is incredibly colorful.
The colorful exterior of the Toy Story Hotel, located near the theme parks at Tokyo Disney Resort. The setting includes and oversized Buzz Lightyear statue and other colorful toy-inspired elements.
The colorful exterior of the Toy Story Hotel makes guests feel like they're stepping into a life-size board game.

Immediately, I noticed the hotel exterior was bright and colorful. We were greeted by gigantic statues of toys and game pieces.

The main building is designed to look like it's made of toy building blocks and the ground was painted to look like we were stepping into a board game.

The parking garage was themed to resemble RC car storage.
The parking garage at the Toy Story Hotel remained on-theme with RC cars. The garage is blue and tan in color and looks as if a child decorated it with car and racing stickers.
The parking garage at the Toy Story Hotel remained on-theme with RC cars.

We didn't bring a car, but I appreciated the attention to detail in the garage space. Here, I noticed that sticker-like decals adorned the parking garage as if they had been applied by a child.

The front desk welcomed us with a message spelled out on an enormous Lite-Brite.
The Front Desk of Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel is marked with Scrabble pieces and a sign that resembles a classic Lite-Brite toy. In this image, it reads "You've got a friend in me," and shows a green and yellow dinosaur.
The check-in counter at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel welcomes guests to an experience that promises to be playful.

While checking in, I saw that the hotel's designers took the toy and game theme and ran with it. A giant pencil and large Scrabble tiles completed the playful aesthetic at the reception desk.

Even the elevator doors embraced the "Toy Story" theme.
A shot of the inside of elevator doors at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo showing a Buzz Lightyear cartoon flying in space.
The elevator doors at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo stay on-theme with fun murals.

The hotel has two wings, one themed to Buzz Lightyear and the other to his pal Woody.

We were booked on Buzz's side and noticed creative details throughout our stay, including the mural on the interior of the elevator doors.

Our room number was colorful and popped against the whimsical black-and-white wallpaper featuring toys from the film.
A room entrance at the Tokyo Toy Story Hotel shows a colorful pink door that is lined with the numbers 505 in blue, green, and red.
There was no shortage of color anywhere in this hotel.

We stayed in room 505, a standard room that sleeps a maximum of three guests. Larger rooms that sleep up to four guests are also available to book.

Our room looked like it was straight out of a "Toy Story" movie.
The guest room at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel features an oversized headboard with two twin beds with white sheets and a red blanket. Blue wallpaper with white clouds covers the walls.
Our room was meant for three guests, but only two small beds were visible at first.

The cloud-covered wallpaper made me feel like I had stepped into Andy's bedroom.

The oversized bed frame reinforced the larger-than-life theming found throughout the hotel. Our room looked just like Andy's room from the "Toy Story" movies.

The third sleeping space was hidden beneath one of the beds.
A roll-away cot tucked under a bed at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel.
A child-size cot was tucked under one of the beds.

The two beds were each about the same size as a US twin bed, but we found a roll-away cot for my son tucked underneath one of the mattresses.

The extra bed took up almost all our available floor space but allowed us to sleep three people more comfortably.

The room was small, but a lot of fun details were packed into the space.
A view of the inside of a room at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel stays on theme with a TV designed to look like an Etch-A-Sketch, a blue retro Mickey watch clock hanging on the wall and a red desk lamp that looks like Pixar's Luxo Jr.
Room decor at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel stays on theme.

Enhancing the theme even more was the TV, which was designed to look like an extra-large Etch-A-Sketch. I also loved the retro Mickey Mouse watch-shaped wall clock.

The desk lamp design was also a fun nod to Luxo Jr., the lamp featured in the Pixar Animation Studios logo.

One thing I didn’t like about the room was the lack of a closet.
Three empty hangers, pink, green and light blue, hang on wooden pegs on a blue wall with white clouds in the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo.
These hangers were cute, but didn't offer enough storage for our family.

Although we had several colored hangers for our clothing, this didn't offer nearly enough storage for my family.

We were unable to unpack our clothing, so we lived out of our suitcases for our two-night stay.

I loved the fun tile work in the bathroom, which featured the character Wheezy surrounded by bubbles.
A guest bathroom at Tokyo's Toy Story Hotel features file with a Wheezy character singing in the tub with blue bubbles and music notes surrounding him.
Wheezy provided some fun company for anyone who wanted to sing in the shower.

Other areas of the bathroom included flooring that resembled large puzzle pieces.

I also enjoyed the view of Tokyo Bay from our window.
A view from the window of a guest bedroom at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo showing a water, a bridge and Mt. Fuji in the distance.
Many of the guest rooms offer views of Mt. Fuji on clear days.

Our room was listed as having a bay view and it certainly delivered. On a clear day, we were able to see Mt. Fuji.

Other rooms overlook Toy Friends Square, a courtyard featuring toys, games, and characters from the "Toy Story" universe.

Our room came with Buzz Lightyear-themed pajamas, too.
A child wears a set of pajamas included with a stay at the Toy Story Hotel. He poses in front of a dinosaur poster with his arms raise and a smile on his face.
My whole family appreciated the cozy pajamas included with our stay.

Come nighttime, we found the Buzz Lightyear-themed pajamas that were available in our room to be a comfy sleep option.

The pajamas came in a variety of sizes and were free to use throughout our visit.

At night, the courtyard leading to the hotel was illuminated with enormous lights that made us feel toy-sized in comparison.
A courtyard at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo is shown at night. A dog house, toy trees, and other oversized toys are visible.
At night, the courtyard was illuminated with strings of colorful lights.

Oversized Tinkertoys, popsicle sticks, dominoes, and other play elements encouraged my family to interact and play in this space.

These and the other kid-friendly elements, were just what you would expect from a Disney property.

The hotel also had a buffet-style restaurant, Lotso Garden Café, which only serves registered hotel guests.
The entrance to Lotso Garden Cafe is shown at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo.
A character from "Toy Story 3" adorns the entrance to the hotel's buffet-style restaurant.

A Lotso-themed restaurant (he's the teddy bear featured in "Toy Story 3") offers buffet-style dining for breakfast and dinner.

The hotel also had an on-site convenience store with grab-and-go food options.

And like any Disney theme park or hotel, there was also a gift shop.
The exterior of the gift shop at the Toy Story Hotel in Tokyo showing a sign that reads, "Gift Planet."
Good luck escaping your stay without a trip to the gift shop.

As you might expect, the store featured a wide variety of merchandise that fits with the "Toy Story" theme.

But the best thing about Toy Story Hotel was its location.
The Disney Resort Line, shown in aqua and white, stops outside of the Toy Story Hotel.
The Disney Resort Line provides easy, stress-free access to the nearby parks.

An automated monorail takes guests to and from several hotels, resorts, and nearby parks. We were just a quick ride away from Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea theme parks.

Our stay also gave us early access to Tokyo Disneyland Park, allowing us to enter 15 minutes before non-hotel guests. This perk alone made our stay well worth it.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Читайте на 123ru.net