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When I went to Tokyo Disneyland last year we saw the baby ducks walking around while people were watching them and I looked at my dad and told him "You know if we were in America somebodys kid would be chasing them". I love how the Japanese people respect the animals and let them roam on their own. Robb, I kept bothering you to ride Winnie The Pooh a second time for me. Please tell me in the video the second ride through was for me, that would be better than a Bag O' Crap (but I would not turn down the Bag O' Crap). Easily the best dark ride EVER. I absolutely love Tokyo Disneyland but it really kinda feels like any Disneyland, I wish there was a little more "Japanese" influence there but it still was an amazing experience. Did you guys catch the parade? I am not a parade person, in fact I avoid them like the plague but last year I got caught up in a crowd watching the Halloween parade and was surprised by how good it was. I actually camped out the next day to watch the parade in its entirety. I'm really enjoying the updates and can't wait for the final one. Thanx for all your hard work.

I believe the city of Chiba (including TDR) is actually built on land fill (that is why during the earthquake water was seaping up through the ground because the land fill was sifting downwards and compacting forcing the moisture in the dirt upwards, at least that is what was explained on several Discovery channel shows about the earthquake) so I don't know if the mountain could have already been there, but it would be interesting if that were the case.

Great report, thanx for including all the great rides that DisneySea has to offer. I personally found Storm Rider an enjoyable ride (for a motion simulator) and found it is a great ride to cool down with on a hot day (you get like "flume ride" wet on this ride) too bad you call it a "do once" ride. Thanx for the POV of it though, brought back great memories of the ride. Robb and Elissa, Just want to ask your impression on the "no tipping" policy in Japan. Did it feel awkward not tipping anyone? I stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland hotel and tried to tip out the bellhop girl and she got insulted, it is really a strange reaction. I was told about this policy before I went to Japan but did not believe it was true. Working in Las Vegas where 80% of the jobs here depend on tips I got an awkward feeling not doing it. All the videos so far have been amazing, my goodness so many memories I really need to go back, I can only imagine how much better their Toy Story Mania will be. Oh and the "hot cosplay girls"... When I went last year they were everywhere and they were awesome, definitely the place to go if you have a Cosplay girl fetish... which I do not ,LOL. One last thing, I did not see this mentioned but Tokyo Disney Sea does not have "hidden mickeys" like other parks, but they do have references to "Harrison Hightower" (from TOT) all around the park. When I was there last year I found 5 references to him throughout the park. Just a fun little thing I have not heard mentioned before. Again Robb, thanx for the memories.

Just curious, last year by the waterfall under Mount Prometheus, liquid Disney character silhouettes would appear on the walkway out of nowhere. Does anyone know if they still do this? It was the most unique thing I have ever seen.

My goodness Robb, you have captured the beauty of this park so well its like I am being transported back there. For those of you who have not been to Tokyo Disney Sea, as amazing as these pictures are they do not even begin to capture how much detail is in this park. On my very first visit for the first 4 hours I had only ridden Journey the rest of the time I was looking at all the scenery and attention to detail that is in this park... and this update only includes about half of the park. I agree that Aquatopia is the greatest pointless ride ever created, its hard to describe but as soon as the vehicle starts to pull forward its like your 6 years old all over again. You are constantly giggleing on the ride and you look at everyone else riding and they are laughing and giggeling it just brings out the kid in you. The 3 days I was there last year I easily rode Aquatopia at least 30+ times, words just can not describe how pointlessly awesome it is. Plus as an added bonus the 'strawberry popcorn" cart is next the ride so you have that great smell in the air as you ride. I cannot wait until there are more pics of Tokyo Disney Sea so I can relive all the "other" great attractions like TOT, Indy, Raging Spirits, Storm Rider (one of my favorites at TDS), electric railway and all the rest that this park has to offer. Thank you very much Robb, Elissa and Kid Tums for sharing your Family time with the rest of us, it has been simply amazing.

A couple of things, first off I have to say the framing in the videos is awesome Robb, nice work. Next, is it me or does Big Boom have the worst ending to a coaster ever? I mean a descent drop into the tire brakes into the station. It feels like a giant Japanese helix would have been a perfect ending after the big drop. Well I guess it does have that EPIC 22,000 foot lift hill in its favor, LOL. Now that the trip is over I guess I can go back to my boring life... Until the TDR pics are up that is.

Robb, you have me a happy person. Can I pre-order now???? This entire trip report has been EPIC, I could not make this trip due to lack of vacation time but following along everyday has made me feel as close to being there as possible, Thank you very much, we appreciate the time and effort you put into keeping us updated. Stupid question (please do not ban me for a week, LOL) is the Log flume ride at Cosmoworld the best log flume ride you have been on?

Robb, please, please, please, please, please, please make this japan trip your next Blu Ray disc... Please.

^^^^ LOL, tell me about it. When I go to Cedar Point I always pray when I get on Top Thrill Dragster and Millenium Force ..."Please no walk of shame, please no walk of shame". I've had no problem with Maverick and its OTS restraint though.

I had the same problem for a while (too "fat" to fit comfortably) then parks started to retrofit their B&M coasters with "fat guy restraints". Its usually one seat in row 4 and one seat in row 5 or 6 (the OTS with 2 seat belts), now its to the point I just diet and treadmill 2 weeks before I know I am going to a park (4 weeks for Cedar point, their coasters have no forgiveness what-so-ever). I have been finding newer coasters are being built with "Americans" in mind (B&M flyers are the best). Tell your brother do not get discouraged, there is hope for us.

Is it me or do the "straight section" supports on the log coaster look eerily like the supprt structure of the lift on Millenium Force, Hmmm... Please Robb, you have to announce the next Japan trip at least a year out so I can make sure I can get the time off work, I really need to see these smaller parks for all their twisted Japanese beauty.

Wow either the park is closed or you picked the best possible time of the year to visit, the park is empty, LOL. Have a great time at Disney and please remember to ride Winnie the Pooh an extra time for me (I still say the best dark ride, EVER!!! ).

Thanx everyone for all the useful info. just booked the train travel and now everything on this trip is paid for, except the food of course(gotta prepay because the dollar to pound conversion is horrible now and only gonna get worse). Again I want to thank you all for helping me plan this trip. Now the stress part is over and the waiting begins.

OK, first off picture 1 : Did anyone else automatically think "Human Centipede sequal"? Picture 2 : If they "maintain" it as well as X2 is maintained you should consider yourself lucky. I went on X2 last week and when I got off I felt like I had just received a spine and neck adjustment, haha. I miss the old X trains. Picture 3 : I bet that the Star Flyer works 10 times better than Windseeker... at half the cost, LOL. Again Robb, thanx for putting the updates on here so fast, its like we are there with you in real time. I am so jealous of you guys and you still have an entire second half of this trip to go. Have fun and be safe.

Hey Robb, great trip report so far keep up the great work. The pics make me want to go back and visit Japan it was so beautiful there, and the Japanese women... oh man. I have a question about Space Fantasy at Universal Studios Japan, the trains look like the trains on Sierra Sidewinder at Knotts Berry Farm. Does it spin like Sierra Sidewinder or is it a non-spinning family friendly coaster? Thanx again for the updates. Have fun and be safe... and please ride Winnie the pooh at Tokyo Disneyland and extra time for me (My vote for the best dark ride, EVER!!!)

That trip report is already bringing back memories of when I went last year. I so wish I could have been on the trip but if you guys would have started July 1st I would have had vaca time. Oh well hopefully next Japan trip. Have fun and be safe out there.

Hey all, last year I went to Japan and got a lot of great tips and advice from you TPR members, well now I am planning another overseas trip to U.K. and need help / advice again from the seasoned pros here on TPR. Here is what I have so far so any help would be fantastic, I will be arriving at Manchester international airport (MAN) on Wednesday September 21st at 10a.m. (I need help on how to get to Alton Towers from here preferably by train or bus). We already booked 2 nights at the Splash Landing hotel at Alton Towers (Wednesday night & Thursday night) so Friday morning I need to get to the Saint Pancras train station to catch the chunnel train to Disneyland Paris, I read I have to catch a bus to Stokes on Trent train station BUT I have no idea what train to take to get from Stokes to Saint Pancras, any help would be awesome here, Thanxz. The times and prices for the chunnel train from London to Disneyland Paris won't be availiable until 90 days out so I still don't know what time I need to catch that train but I am figuring it'll be mid-afternoon. The plan is to spend the night at Disney on Friday and Saturday night so I will be at Disney all day Saturday and part of Sunday then we will have to take the chunnel train back to London Sunday afternoon (again I can't get times until 90 days out) and get a cheap hotel in London in the area of London Heathrow airport (LHR) to fly back Monday morning. Again, any help in figuring out how to get to and from Alton Towers would be great, also I hear Alton Towers is in a residential area and there is nothing to do there after the park closes... is this true? This trip is looking to be fun (I wanted to do Blackpool Pleasure beach also but just did not have enough time to fit it in) and I'm starting to get excited about it just need to clear up these few loose ends. Thanxs all. Tom

Its some kind of coaster, at 55 seconds he states "other exciting highlights of this world class... blocked" you can tell by the way his cheek and chin move he says coaster. Unfortunately from the photos its not the announcement of them getting Son Of Beast reopened so I guess the SOB is gonna sit stagnant for another season

Wow, up close and behind the scenes look great. This coaster looks fantastic and when the theaming is finished the whole area should look spectacular. So is it too early to say best new coaster of 2011... or will the track reworking of Intimidator 305 allow it to win 2 years in a row, LOL

Robb, like I said at the beginning of the post I am already sold and ready to pre order, the screen shots were great and really show off how impressive SD video looks on BLU RAY. If I had a say on the "bonus" disc (and I don't) I would say all second tier coasters and save "re-shot in HD" coasters for actual future BLU RAY editions. It would be nice to see obscure coasters that one would normally have to venture to seedy sites to check out but thats just my opinion.

Seriously if only 25 copies I want 1, if you start a preorder link let me know I'll prepay the whole amount.

If and when they become availiable cosider me buyer #1

Speaking on part of one the first people to purchase the BLU RAY disc you offered I would certainly buy these but I would do the 5 disc set instead of each individual since I do not have any of the "RAW" discs and I feel $75 is a fair price for the 5 titles. Just curious you stated in SD there are 10 discs so I take it there are 2 DVD's per title so with the availiable space on the BLU RAY will you include both discs that are on each title on 1 BLU RAY disc?

I was kinda bummed about the popcorn flavors, I watched one of Robb's videos from TDR and there were so many other flavors there but I went to every stand and these are the only flavors I could find. I really want to go on one of the Tokyo trips in 2011 and see more of Tokyo but I have no time off left so I don't know, I hope I can do at least one of them.

I would have to say with a resounding YES it is worth going for the Halloween holiday, both parks are transformed for halloween in a very unique way plus both parks feature halloween themed shows and the parade at Tokyo Disneyland is not to be missed (but start camping out early for it because space fills up quickly). I did not find the crowds to be bad at all of course the major attractions had large lines but use the fast pass system for the major rides and you should be fine (I bought a 4 day pass, on the first day I was at Disneyland open to close and did every ride big and small, the second day Disney Sea open to close did every ride big and small then park hopped the next 2 for many rerides but depending on the age of your kids the open to close might be asking a little bit much plus Disney Sea has hills). One thing to remember in September there are 2 major holidays, first is Kiero no Hi or respect for the elders which is the 3rd Monday in September and Shubun no Hi or autumn equinox which is around September 23rd, the park is extremely packed on holidays and weekends so plan accordingly (I was at the parks Tuesday through Friday on the second week of September) I hope this helps a little and if you have any more questions feel free to ask