Our trip home was….long. We decided to spring for one more night at The Disney Hollywood Hotel since our flight left at 12:50am and we just couldn’t imagine checking out of the hotel at 11am, spending a few more hot and humid hours in HK Disneyland, arriving at the Hong Kong Airport sweaty, sticky and exhausted. This was a terrific choice for us. Refreshed by a brief nap and a hot shower we got to the Hong Kong Airport in plenty of time for our flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo on ANA airlines. The plane was an old (OLD!!) 767. What the plane lacked in youth the staff made up for in formality, kindness and brilliant service.
We had a 9 and 1/2 hour layover in Tokyo. Oof. Fortunately, we had access to the ANA/Star Alliance Business Class Lounge. 
Perhaps the best shower of the trip was in this lounge. Incredibly refreshing after no sleep on the plane ride here. If only they had yummy food, too. Oh, wait. They do.
They had a noodle bar in addition to some other really yummy food choices. We ate well. 
If you have to spend 9 1/2 hours waiting for your flight you could do a lot worse than sitting in a relatively uncrowded lounge with decently comfortable seats munching on good food.
Our ride home was the same 787-900 we flew across the pacific in the exact same comfy seats. The shorter (bumpier) ride home got us into SFO an hour early. We flew through customs with our new Global Entry cards and were on the road home with Starbucks in hand by 9:45, home by 11:15am.
Lainey was well taken care of by Rachel but she was happy to have us home.
Final Thoughts
This trip turned out better than I’d hoped. The order in which we visited the parks turned out to be just right for us, the hotels choices were perfect and we didn’t run into any real snags that weren’t easy to cope with.
Both of us agreed we are interested in returning to Japan and Hong Kong for a non-Disney related trip. We also agreed that, after using the Japanese toilets, we wanted to install a bidet in our upstairs bathroom (which I ordered during our layover and installed this evening.)
Thinking of a trip to the Asian Disney’s? Here’s our advice.
1. Visit them in this order: Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong.
2. It is a lovely splurge to stay at the MiraCosta Hotel and the early entry helped us hit rides more often but you can be far more budget friendly staying at a cheaper non-Disney option that is still on the efficient Monorail line.
3. Give yourself a minimum of two days at TokyoSea, one day at Tokyo Disneyland, two days at Shanghai Disneyland and one day at Hong Kong Disneyland. If you can do one more day in each country it will allow you to feel a little less rushed.
4. If you can, give yourself a dedicated travel day in between countries.
5. Attempt to schedule your travel days on weekends when the parks are usually busiest. This worked well for us. We planned our travel so we only spent one weekend day in a park.
6. If you are staying at a Disney property in Tokyo, find out which park attractions open early (early 15 minute bonus) and plan your mornings accordingly.
7. Adjust expectations for Shanghai Disneyland. It’s a great park but it’s only a year old and it’s a unique culture so they are still trying to find that Disney magic you’ll find at other parks with their employees. See if you can leave your western sensibilities behind and embrace the experience.
8. In Hong Kong, you can find cheaper lodgings in the city. If you’re on a tight budget staying in the city would work since the park opens later (10:30am when we were there) and there’s cheap taxis and trains that’ll take you right to the park entrance. We enjoyed the benefits of dedicated Entry lines and security checks for Disney Hotel Guests bit this probably only really saved us a 10-15 minutes.
9. Do your research! Find out what and when the holidays are in each country and avoid visited on these dates! The parks will be incredibly crowded. Also, research the weather. We are lock into traveling in the Summer since Mike is a teacher. Summer in Asia can be hot and humid. If you can, find a more ideal weather season.
10. Pack a duffle bag. We threw dirty clothes into the duffle along the way as we filled up our suitcase with gifts and souvenirs.
11. If you are a Disneyland/Disneyworld fan. Go. Just go. You’ll be glad you did.
Art’s Travel Adventures 