Is there anything else worth doing in the TDR area outside the parks aside from Ikspiari? Any other notable restaurants besides those in Ikspiari? That may be enough. But don't want to miss any hidden gems. Anything in the other hotels outside the parks worth experiencing? Again, I'll be staying at the Hilton Tokyo Bay, but am curious about the other hotels around the monorail loop.
Thinking it could also be fun "resort hopping" to explore the interiors of Disney hotels--ones I couldn't afford staying in (or rather, chose not to pay the price). My wife and I will often "resort hop" the Disney Deluxe hotels during Christmas when we're visiting family in Orlando. Would be insane to go to the parks with peak crowds, so we enjoy looking at how the resorts are decorated.
Getting really excited about seeing the Halloween decorations at TDR, given Halloween is my favorite holiday; and the Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride.
Speaking of the Haunted Mansion at Tokyo Disneyland:
1) What are the cast members like? Are they allowed to stay aloof and spooky like the ones in the U.S.? Or must they have perma-grins?
2) I once got a cool certificate of being an Honorary Caretaker of the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom from a Butler who saw I was obviously into the ride. Are there any similar such certificates HM cast members can give out to guests? Would love to have a Japanese one. What triggered the CM's interest, I believe, was my strange looking "twinned" 3D camera rig. The Butler in question let me hang out in the ante-room and stretching room when no one else was around to take 3D photos. Very cool experience. Now I use the Fuji W1 and W3 cameras--these are single-housing 3D cameras (dual lensed) vs. having two separate cameras on a bar with a sync cable (a real conversation starter--perhaps I ought to go back to my twinned-rig).
Just got my HM Butler T-shirt--wife already has the HM maid T-shirt--for some lowest key possible cosplay at the parks; if I can get my wife to play along. :-)