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robbalvey

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  1. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates Follow our LIVE updates on Twitter and Instagram Stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day Sixteen - Today we made a stop at one of my favorite "smaller family parks" in Japan - Hirakata. This park has a bit of an old-school feel to it while still remaining a really nice, clean, family park. It's geared mostly towards kids in the same way a Legoland park would be, but it does have some decent rides, a drop tower, and enough fun for a good few hours. Originally this day was supposed to be a morning at this park and then some "free time" for our trip participants to go do some sightseeing (some of them did go to Kyoto this day) but we also build in days like this into our tours as a contingence in case something went wrong at one of the parks. And such a day like this is good to have on a trip as we found out at the Universal coasters that were missed two days ago would be open today and some people in our group used this time to get back to Universal, along with taking a short visit to Hirakata during the middle of the day. Here's how it all went down... First of all... watch this video! lol *Filming was made with safety enough device on Hirakata’s special permit. Today’s TPR adventure takes us to Hirakata Park! A really nice “family” theme park just outside of Osaka! Our day started out on the wooden roller coaster “Elf.” ...which actually does stand for “Episode of Little Fairies!” (Seriously!) Elf may only be a “junior” wooden roller coaster, but it’s a really fun ride! Some surprising moments! Serious question: If Japanese parks can all sell sodas for about $1.50 - $2.00 why do the US parks feel the need to charge so damn much? Hirakata Park has an interesting coaster line-up. Here you can see Red Falcon and the Mouse are very close to each other! Red Falcon sprawls all over the park! It’s kind of a crazy “Jet Coaster!” [twitter] [/twitter] According to the ride sign at Hirakata... ...we assumed the proper riding position on the dolphin ride! Yes, of course there is a giant Ferris Wheel at Hirakata... it’s a Japanese amusement park! The “Big Refrigerator” attraction literally was a walk-through of a big refrigerator!!! GIANT CHEESECAKE!!! This is hilarious! Best themed teacup ride ever? Peek-A-Boo Town. It’s a kids roller coaster not, um... something else! The petting zoo area at Hirakata is amazing!!! Kristen got to feed a Capybara! ...and hang out with a Sulcata Tortoise!!! One of the Hirakata Park characters came and hung out with us today! Huge thanks to Mr. Kitagawa helping us sort out this day and our Cosmoworld day! If you think Dan looks comfy in that Shinkansen you should send him an email to mrt0ad13@aol.com and tell him! (Seriously, do this!) Hirakata Park has a McDonalds in it so we tried some new Japanese McDonalds offerings along with some old favorites! Shaka Shaka Chicken FTW! Even Kristen loved the spicy nuggs! So Hirakata Park is doing some sort of “haunt” later this year. I don’t know about you but that image is CREEPY!!! How many of our followers are deathly afraid of clowns? TPR had a really good day at Hirakata Park! Such a fun "family" amusement park in the Osaka, Japan area! Highly recommend visiting if you're nearby! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it!
  2. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates Follow our LIVE updates on Twitter and Instagram Stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And we are off on our next adventure! Day Fifteen - Washuzan Highland and New Reoma Park! This ended up being a "wet" day but thankfully all the parks we visited today operated everything in the rain, which a lot of parks in Japan do NOT, so that was a huge plus for us today. I was disappointed to see two of the coasters at Washuzan Highland "closed for maintenance" and I've heard the Ultra Twister has actually been SBNO for quite some time now. Truthfully, I didn't think this park would still be in existence when we visited four years ago and I firmly believe it may not be in another four years. We shall see. Anyway, on to some photos & videos... Heading out on our next Japan adventure today! Any morning in Japan that starts out with Starbucks is a good morning! Our travels this morning have taken us to the world famous “pedal powered roller coaster” over the cliffs of Washuzan Highland in Japan! This ride was kind of terrifying!!! TPR has once again survived the “backwards looping Togo coaster” at Washuzan Highland and honestly, this is a REALLY FUN ride!!! This is how amazing Japan is. As we walked into the park they handed everyone free ponchos and apologized about the rain! (It was only lightly raining!) So that is Megan... She was having “difficulty” putting on a poncho... “Guys! Stop making fun of me! Putting on a Poncho is HARD!!!” #Millennials We all look DAMN SEXY in our green ponchos, don’t you think? Fun Fact! That coaster train is actually going BACKWARDS!!! We have always been impressed with the “rust” theming of this coaster! It has a very realistic “dilapidated” look to it! Well done in the theming department! [twitter] [/twitter] The pedal-powered roller coaster was a lot of fun! And the views of the Seto Sea are fantastic! [twitter] [/twitter] We were just in time for the Brazilian Samba Show and it was quite amazing! Some of our members got a little too into it! lol Yes, that is a “stand-up” train and when it’s not moist outside, this coaster operates as both a sit-down and a stand-up ride! Did we mention this park has an ass-load of stairs? We walked up hundreds!!! Bring your defibrillator! Taking one more ride on the backwards looping Togo coaster because it’s actually shockingly a lot of fun!!! We had a good time at Washuzan Highland. Bummed that a couple of the rides were closed for maintenance but we had fun on the attractions that were open! Our train to the next park leaves from “Kojima: The Holy Land of Jeans!” (Seriously!!!) Everything in this station is themed to “jeans!” The stairs... the vending machines are denim themed... the entrance gates have jean pockets... and there is even a store to buy a pair of jeans! In the shop you can buy “whale shark coin purses made out of jeans!” The lockers have jeans on them! ...and their station mascot is even a pair of jeans! This really IS the “Holy Land of Jeans!!!” We have made it to New Reoma World! It’s wet today but all rides are running! Yay! Started our day at New Reoma World on Vivace! That’s Italian for speed! It’s quite a fun coaster! Space Ship 2056 is a pretty cool indoor “Space Mountain” type roller coaster! It has some really neat effects and at certain times of the day, they run a VR version of the coaster! Rainbow Bandits is a seriously fun and cute dark ride! Suspended ride vehicles like Peter Pan with an anime themed storyline! Took another ride on Vivace! This ride feels like it has way more speed on it that it looks! The “Lady Bird” coaster was a kids coaster but not a “kiddie” coaster. It was fairly unique, spread out, and fun! [twitter] [/twitter] Here’s the park map for New Reoma World. As you can see, it’s a fairly decent sized park! At just about every theme park in Japan you can get Katsu Curry. It’s delicious and is a common staple food in Japan. Even “amusement park” versions of this is better than how you get it in America! Like many parks in Japan, New Reoma’s entrance area is covered so when it rains guests can have a sheltered area to go and still shop, have food, or just relax. The sign showed Capybaras in the water... ...and when we got to the enclosure, we saw Capybaras in the water! Had a fun visit to New Reoma World despite the weather. Even in the rain all rides and attractions were open! So that at least made for a successful visit! [twitter] [/twitter] Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Sixteen of our 2018 TPR Japan Trip!
  3. And it wasn’t even just the closed attractions. The way they are communicated, my dealings with their groups sales/communications departments, the inconsistent policies and operations, and the lack of any understanding or care when we asked for a refund because THREE of the seven rides on the express pass we bought were closed, and keep in mind Japan does express passes very differently. They don’t have a “global” express pass, you have to buy express passes that are good for specific rides. We spent $300 per person for ONE day at the park and each express pass we bought (one was for seven specific rides, and one was for four) had multiple rides closed and they initially were not offering any refunds. I had to fight to get a partial refund. It was just unbelievable. Imagine going into a restaurant and ordering two items and they are out of one but you still have to pay for it anyway, even though you didn’t get it. That was the same logic used at Universal Japan. We were floored just how terrible their guest services were. Fuji-Q level of customer service here.
  4. Don’t go to Universal. Take the bonus day at Disney.
  5. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates Follow our LIVE updates on Twitter and Instagram Stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So we went to Universal Studios Japan... Look where TPR is at today! Universal Studios #Japan!!! Jaws > Potter I can’t be the only one who would LOVE to see a giant B&M flying coaster towering over one of the #Orlando Universal parks, right? Dear Universal Japan - It would be really REALLY nice if you could have posted that three of your major rides were closed before people bought tickets for the park. Flying Dinosaur, Hollywood Dream, and Backdrop were NOT on your “closed rides” list at the ticket booth today. These rides were closed ALL DAY today and you never updated your closed rides list at your ticket booths. I'm sorry but that is a "dick move." Pro Tip! If you don’t care about Final Fantasy just take your VR Goggles off! Most of the Space Fantasy props are still there minus some of the lighting, audio, and video! Even with the missing stuff that’s still better than a VR coaster IMO! The queue and everything for the Final Fantasy ride was pretty cool, but of course I was told to put EVERYTHING in a locker so no photos, sorry! Most of the old Space Fantasy props are gone in case anyone was wondering There are certain areas of Universal Studios Japan that were lifted right out of @UniversalORL! It’s sometimes hard to tell the difference! LOVE this Jaws shirt!!! I admit that I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan so I often miss some details in the lands but is this view of the castle with the water available at @UniversalORL or not? It looks GREAT here at Universal Studios Japan! Megan is having a Harry Potter Churro and a Butterbeer! LIKE or RT if you want one, too! Here’s what the entrance area to Hogsmede looks like at Universal Studios Japan. Looks familiar to the other lands, doesn’t it? This is an odd policy at Universal Japan. The park has an inconsistent “no reentry” policy. When we said we wanted to leave the park to go to City Walk, we were told we needed to buy another admission to come back in. If we said we were going to the hotel, we got a hand stamp. So we went to the “deep fry stuff on sticks at your table” place in City Walk. We have two deep fryers at our table. What could go wrong? At this place you have 90 minutes “all you can eat” and you go to the “stuff on sticks” bar, grab what you want, then go back to your table and deep fry! Come back as much as you want for 90 minutes! It’s delicious! Here’s a few of the characters out on the streets today at Universal. [twitter] [/twitter] Don’t eat here. There are plenty of great Japanese restaurants and quick service locations at Universal Japan City Walk. You would be doing yourself a favor by trying any of those over eating at TGI Friday’s which isn’t that much different than it is in the US. Back to the Future has recently become the “Minions” area including their own ride! More areas of Universal Studios Japan that closely resembles @UniversalORL! I’m not exactly sure what “Thousand Needle” Churritos are but I’m sure someone who is into Final Fantasy can tell us! The proper way to visit a Universal park! Drink your way through it! In 2016 I posted this image from Universal Japan as a foreshadowing of what was to come in Orlando... ... At least today this doorway more closely matches the Orlando version! [twitter] [/twitter] This may be the greatest piece of theme park merchandise ever! Where @UniversalORL has Mummy... Universal Japan has Spider-Man! Oh, hey, look! If Universal Japan ever wants to add Diagon Alley they already have the entrance! These ride vehicle models they have in Guest Relations at Universal Japan are pretty cool! And yes, Spider-Man is hanging out in the model of the “Scoop!” An icon of Universal theme parks! A few more scenes from #UniversalJapan’s version of the Wizarding World of #HarryPotter! LIKE or RT if you wish you were here, too! Choose the one you’d rather have on your butt... he Jaws “hole” or the Minion “eye?” [twitter] [/twitter] Quite possibly the best moment of my Universal Studios Japan visit! While I’ve kept this update mostly positive our overall Universal Japan visit was anything but. Aside from closed rides poorly communicated; park operations, guest services, & my interaction w/ the communications/group sales departments fell way below expectations & made for a frustrating visit. The last time I've had this frustrating of a day at a Japanese park was actually at Fuji-Q. And our frustrations began before the Earthquake and many of them fall outside of that incident. It's a real shame. This used to be my #1 Universal park. EDIT: Two Days Later... [twitter] [/twitter] Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Fifteen of our TPR Japan 2018 Update!
  6. Agreed, I've had so many people look at our pictures from Gyu-Kaku and say "Oh, I have a Korean BBQ near me!" but that's not even the same thing at all. Not even close, IMO. That's like seeing someone with a bowl of rice in Japan and going "Oh, I have a Chinese food place near me." I think people sometimes don't understand that Asian food is very VERY different from culture to culture.
  7. It must be because all the photos are linked to Twitter. But I assume based on all the comments the problem is on your end.
  8. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates Follow our LIVE updates on Twitter and Instagram Stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day 12 & 13 - It was time for us head out of Tokyo and down to Osaka. Don't worry, we will be back to Tokyo again later in this trip... we still have MORE Tokyo Disney (which is awesome!) In fact, technically the "official" trip hasn't even started yet as everything to this date has been the pre-trip stuff we've been doing. Our days in Osaka have been exciting so far considering we were on a train platform when the earthquake hit and even as someone who grew up with quakes in Southern California that quake hit HARD! That being said that, for the most part other than some train delays it didn't impact our day too much and everywhere we went everything was business as usual. Onto some photos & videos... Today TPR is heading out of Tokyo (but don’t worry, we’ll be back) for some time in the Osaka and Nagoya areas of Japan! We will miss this Shinagawa location though as it is one of our favorites in Tokyo! Follow along for the next part of our adventure! Kristen is giving her speech on Japanese etiquette to our TPR Japan trip participants! This is the first time she’s addressed the group on one of our trips! I am very proud of her and hope she continues doing this so I can retire early! Time to get on a bullet train and head to Osaka! Our first Shinkansen of the trip! This bullet train will travel at top speeds of about 170mph going to Osaka today! We will cover 546km in about 2 1/2 hours and that includes 6 stops along the way! Happy to be back on a Japanese bullet train! They are so smooth & quiet! You can sit back, relax, fall asleep, play Nintendo and enjoy one of the best travel experiences you’ll ever have! [twitter] [/twitter] How many of you wish you could be on this train? We just got to Universal City Walk! Our first stop is this amazing take-out Gyoza place! So good for being a “take out window!” For our TPR Japan Trip “Welcome Dinner” we are introducing our trip participants to the wonders of Yakiniku! Amazing Japanese BBQ! Japanese BBQ is soooo good! This place is in City Walk at Universal Japan! We highly recommend it! Our master BBQ tables at the TPR Japan welcome dinner! These guys are turning Japanese BBQ into an art form! The elevator at the Universal Japan Port Hotel terrifies me!!! We came out to Dotonbori tonight but the weird Ferris Wheel is closed! Do any of our local Osaka followers have any idea if it has run recently? I wonder where that train is going? This is by far the best “Women Only” train I’ve ever seen in Japan! We just felt an awesome jolt of a 5.9 earthquake in Osaka! Being originally from Southern California this brought back some “interesting” memories! [twitter] [/twitter] And not only are the trains moving in Osaka 20 minutes after that earthquake but they are already fixing the very minor damage they had here in the station. Again, this is why I love this country!!! [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] This is how amazing Japan is... This random guy approached one of us, gave us a bag of drinks and snacks he bought for us, apologized about the train delays & the earthquake, & wished us safe travels once the trains are back in regular service. I this country! [twitter] [/twitter] We are currently on our way to Misaki Park! Hopefully the roller coasters will be open today after the earthquake! We see the park off on the distance! Our first coaster of the day at Misaki Park was this bizarre looking Wild Mouse ride! It wasn’t thrilling really, but it was WEIRD!!! The park allowed us adults to take over the “Child Coaster”... ...but we had to ride in a very unusual way! Side-saddle! [twitter] [/twitter] We ended our quick visit to Misaki Park with a ride on the Jet Coaster. The park claims this is the second oldest coaster in Japan. We had a great time riding it! It was a shorter visit to Misaki Park today due to the earthquake but we made it & had a great time! Parks like this bring out the child in all of us! We are back on the train heading to our second park! I love that this train was still on time and efficient considering there was the earthquake this morning and we aren’t that far from Osaka. Our next park was Adventure World! Arriving a bit later than expected due to the earthquake, but we made it! We made it over to the “Big Adventure” coaster in plenty of time before it was going to close. The “Pandafull Coaster” was adorable! Not that thrilling, but again another unique “Wild Mouse” style coaster that we rode today! [twitter] [/twitter] Yes, we even took a ride on the powered coaster at Adventure World! (Its themed to bees... we think!) In the “never in America” department Adventure World has penguins in this pond area you can just walk right up and look at. Everyone respects the animals and doesn’t try to touch or pick them up. And of course it wouldn’t be a Japanese amusement park without a giant Ferris Wheel! [twitter] [/twitter] We had a short but fun visit to Adventure World today! Even with the earthquake we still managed to get in everything we wanted to do today! A lot of thanks goes to how efficient and amazing Japan is! We had a pretty crazy day today! We experienced a 6.1 Earthquake very close to the epicenter, but was fortunate the trains we needed out of Osaka were not delayed too long and we made it to two theme parks today! Was great to see how well Japan handled this situation! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Fourteen of our TPR 2018 Japan Trip!
  9. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day 11 - Today we had a nice casual day in Tokyo after doing a few park days, so it was great to take a break and give people some time to see the city. We ended up back in Harajuku to re-visit some shops we wanted to go back to and also find some familiar but different food! I then ventured out to Akihabara, the "electronics district" for some retrogaming fun and ended the night taking advantage once again of the "evening Starlight" pass at Tokyo Disney! Here we go... Good morning from the Yamanote Line in Tokyo! Today’s adventure will bring us back to Harajuku and Akihabara areas of the city! OH, SHIIIiiiii.... Because the world needs...NEEDS a whole section of a store dedicated to squishy bakery products!!! Not kidding, there is a HUGE section of a store decides to fake squishy bakery items that look and smell (and squish) like the real thing!!! It is IMPORTANT that there are four different colors of squishy French Baguettes! Dear world... I apologize in advance that this had to happen... This was a quick service restaurant that ONLY serves things that are "long, longer, and longest." Potato on a stick, Cotton Candy, Churros. All super long versions of it! And now for the food portion of the day... Because we LOVE Gyu-Kaku at home, it only makes sense we go to one in Japan also! While the menu items were slightly different, the concept was the same... And everything is so fresh and delicious! If you live in or near a major city in the USA, you may have one of these close by! Akihabara is the “electronics district” and you can find every electronics item known to man. From iPads, Computers, Big Screen TVs, to wire cutters and soldering irons. I am mostly here for retro video games! You can find LOADS of Japanese retro games dating back to the early Nintendo Famicom days. Super Potato is the most well known retro games store in Akihabara but it’s also become the most main stream over the years. There are other shops like Book Off and Traders in the area, too. The volume of obscure retro game finds and decent prices are becoming less common in these stores and they are now more common to tourists rather than locals selling or trading games. Inside Super Potato you will find rows and rows of Famicom games for “okay” prices (about the same as eBay honestly.) There are still a few oddball systems, like this Japanese Vectrex, but I think this store is becoming less appealing for more hard-core collectors and more for casual retro game fans. Stores like “Book Off” will have bins of old Famicom games as well. Mostly common stuff so if you’re just starting out your collection, Akihabara is a great place to go! Many of you probably know that before I did TPR full time, I spent 20+ years in the video games business. While I’m not as much into modern games anymore, I will always have a soft spot for retro games and I love checking out these shops! It’s sooooo weird that I keep ending up here isn’t it? [twitter] [/twitter] I will never... EVER get tired of this view! [twitter] [/twitter] This is instantly my new favorite store at Tokyo DisneySEA! #NewsiesForever We just shot some really nice 4K low light footage of Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage! Can’t wait to share it with you all soon! It is most certainly a popcorn kind of night! First some Curry Popcorn (still one of my top favorite flavors!) Then the new Blueberry flavor! This one is soooo good! Another view I will never got bored of! Aquatopia is still my all-time favorite “pointless” attraction! (And I mean that in the best way possible!) I always have the biggest smile while riding this! You can find Toy Story Mania in the Toyville Trolley Park! Another completely impressive area of the park! And here are Some of my favorite scenes from Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage... Love this attraction!!! Another amazing evening at Tokyo DisneySEA!!! I can't believe all these Tokyo Disney visits so far have been "un-official" and we don't even start our official visit to the park for about another 10 days! We still have four full Tokyo Disney days to look forward to! While that wraps up this day, I have posted an awesome... AMAZING video from Yokohama Cosmoworld! Be sure to watch with the volume UP! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Twelve of our TPR Japan 2018 Trip!
  10. I didn't do it this time around, but I've done it in the past. It's a type of walk-through you'll find at quite a few Japanese parks.
  11. It was a pet peeve of mine as it's functionality I use quite often (like right now) so I wanted to make it slightly easier to access.
  12. I haven't bought a single one in probably the last 2 or 3 Japan trips. Honestly, I think I'm "over" buying capsule toys for the most part. I'll take pictures of the machines we see that are interesting, but I've just found that the stuff I buy winds up in a drawer or eventually gets thrown away, so I really haven't been into buying many of them lately.
  13. That’s pretty much the last thing I’ve had added to it. So at this point this theme is “done.”
  14. No, not even close.
  15. Working on adding next/previous, but the rest of the stuff you suggest won't happen. Won't happen. Won't happen Live with it. Not really. Unless you want to develop a mobile theme yourself for us as implementing all the things you suggested is probably hundreds of dollars and many many hours of work.
  16. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yay! Another update! Today we visited two parks again: Yokohama Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise! Despite some rainy weather today we had a great time at both parks as the major rides were all open and both parks feature a lot of "indoor stuff" so that's a good thing! We love visiting Comosworld as the parks staff and management are always so nice and welcoming! Highly recommend when visiting Japan! Good morning from Yokohama Japan! I’ve got my Japanese Starbucks and I’m happy! Cosmoworld is home to a giant Ferris Wheel with GREAT views of Yokohama. Yokohama Cosmoworld is also home to Diving Coaster: Vanish! The only “under water” roller coaster in the world!!! (We swear! We would never lie to you!) Are you guys all ready to go “under water?” [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] The dark rides at Yokohama Cosmoworld are super cool! This one you use an augmented reality app to shoot creature in the ride. I’m not exactly sure what we were doing, but it was fun! At the Alien spooky creature shooting dark ride everyone was given tokens based on your score and then you got some sort of trading cards from the machine! Why don’t we have cool stuff like this in the US parks??? Next up we tried Cosmoworld’s new VR attraction you say in this vehicle that moved back and forth down the track while your seats moved in sync with the motion on the VR media. It most certainly was interesting! There are attractions on both sides of the water. Your Yokohama Cosmoworld ride tickets will work at either section of the park. Great morning at Yokohama Cosmoworld! Huge thank you to the staff and management of the park for all their hospitality! We made a quick stop at Sea Paradise for their amazing drop tower and Surf Coaster. The signs advertising the park at the train were just so amazing and Japanese! The girls rode Blue Fall... still one of the tallest drop rides in the world! And because it was lightly raining, the park gave them all rain gear to wear so they wouldn’t get wet at 310 feet in the air! I love Japan! Surf Coaster at Sea Paradise is actually pretty darn good! Especially for a “Togo” coaster that’s 20+ years old! We tried Japanese Shake Shack today! Happy to report it’s just as awesome as US Shake Shack! Here’s the menu for Japanese Shake Shack! I did have the blueberry “Flavor of the Month” Shake! Delicious! I went to Sea Paradise and all I got was this Whale Shark Meat Bun! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for part Eleven of our Japan 2018 Trip!
  17. They are similar but I'd actually say they are more different than they are similar.
  18. You're welcome! Still have a couple of things to finish up. Trying to get the "quote" function working better.
  19. Is the new theme showing up for anyone yet?
  20. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our next day was TWO parks in one day! Both of these parks are fairly decent sized, but for a "roller coaster" fan could be easily done in about a couple of hours each. Our Pro Tip for Tobu Zoo is to at least stay until Kawasemi has warmed up a bit. Those morning rides are "good" but the ride does get much better as the day goes on! Here's some photos & video from our two-park day! Good Morning from Japan! TPR is off on our next adventure to Tobu Zoo! Intamin Mega-Lite here we come! Because... ...Japan!!! Good morning from Tobu Zoo! Starting off our morning right with a few rides on Kawasemi! Kawasemi at Tobu Zoo gets a thumbs up! And these are just “morning rides!” This coaster gets even better when it warms up! That Ferris Wheel is themed to cheese because, Japan... Along with having some great roller coasters... Tobu Zoo is actually... a Zoo! The zoo part of Tobu Zoo is fairly impressive. Lots of animal exhibits to see! The park map showed an exhibit with monkeys riding on capybaras. I thought that must be a joke, but nope! We went over to the exhibit to find monkeys riding capybaras!!! Oh, Japan! We love you!!! Tortoises, guinea pigs, and baby chicks! I love all the animals at Tobu Zoo! The big wooden roller coaster at Tobu Zoo is “Regina George: The Ride!” “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” Regina George: The Ride is kind of rough and sort of, well... “mean” so I guess it’s fitting. The sign claims that the ride will give you “strong vibration” and a “peculiar sense of riding.” That’s one way to put it! We went back to Kawasemi a couple of hours later and it was running much better! Airtime all over the place! Why aren’t there more of these Intamin Mega-Lite coasters??? Kawasemi really is a GREAT ride! Happy that Tobu Zoo has kept it in such great shape all these years! Tobu Zoo also has Chocolate Crunch. This stuff is all over Japanese amusement parks and I have to say it IS delicious! Once again, that is a monkey on a capybara! This bear will teach you the proper roller coaster riding position in Japan! I’ll just leave this right here... Regina George: The Ride or Kawasemi? Choose one! Great day today at Tobu Zoo! Such a fun park with good roller coasters and animal exhibits! We will most certainly be back! Tobu Zoo was great! Now we are off to our second park of the day... Toshimaen! We have made it to Toshimaen! Nice little amusement park in Tokyo! Now time to go explore and ride stuff coasters & flat rides! “Cyclone” at Toshimaen is one of the oldest coasters in Japan... Yes it is “log themed”... ...and yes it’s actually really awesome! I also want to point out that the Cyclone trains at Toshimaen have the most comfortable roller coaster seats with Velour-like material on heavily padded seats! It’s like riding a coaster in a La-Z-Boy! In the “sad & pathetic” portion of the day we have adults riding kiddie coasters! When in Japan, you must ride these giant stuffed ride-on animal things! We rode a ton of flat rides today including a GIANT pirate ship... Break Dance staring Tina Turner (We think! lol)... and a Troika Troika Troika! Classic flat rides are the best! Sad panda alert!!! The Corkcrew is closed... Oh wait, I’m not that sad about it! Just us having some silly fun at Toshimaen! BEWARE the Mirror House!!! Yes, we rode the log flume, and yes we sang the song! In almost every Japanese amusement park you can find a place that serves these awesome crepes! They make them fresh and they are delicious! Was a great day at Toshimaen today! Be sure to check out this amusement park when in Tokyo! For dinner tonight we are back in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. I just love the look of all the streets and buildings in this city! We have ended up back at Kura Sushi because we love it! This is probably the most popular “conveyor belt sushi” chain in Japan! (They even have locations in the US!) Megan is mesmerized by her sushi! [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] When you’re a Disney fan and you’re in Shibuya, you have to make a stop at the Disney Store! Chip n Dale fans should be happy to see all this new merchandise you can find in Japan at the Disney Store! Even more Chip n’ Dale stuff at the Disney Store in Japan! Good night from Tokyo! Another great day on our TPR Japan trip! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Ten of our TPR Japan 2018 Reports!
  21. They were odd yet completely awesome! Why is it that Japan is one of the only places in the world that seems to be truly "Creative" when it comes to theming rides?
  22. It really just depends on our trip and the time of year. In 2015 we were invited to (and apparently were featured guests) of a Disney fan/Bloggers Party. And that was fantastic!
  23. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our "TPR Japan Tour" has officially begun! The first park of the trip is Yomiuriland, a nice Japanese amusement park that we have watched grow and transform over the years. They have removed their wooden roller coaster many years ago (an improvement to the park, IMO) and added super cool very "Japanese" rides like "Spin Runway" (and fashioned themed roller coaster....yes, you read that correctly) and a "Cup O Noodles" themed rapids ride. These new additions are amazing! Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! Anyway, on to a few photos & videos... This morning is the first day of our TPR Japan Tour! Today we are at Yomiuriland! Filming and fun on some of the highlight attractions at the park! It's a nice small group! That's how we like doing TPR tours these days! If you're ever interested in join one of our tours, you should email us! We have started our day Yomiuriland with some early ride time on Bandit! The parks signature roller coaster! Doing some filming this morning on Bandit! Should have some awesome new footage to share soon! Not only was it awesome meeting a TPR fan working at Yomiuriland... ...but he was also sporting a Knoebels shirt here in Japan! AWESOME!!! I’ve always loved the “Standing & Loop” coaster Yomiuriland! Same track, but two different trains! One is a “stand up” train... ...and one is a “sit down” train! The ride is super fun! This is a “fashion show” themed roller coaster! It is totally weird and amazing!!! We have awesome video to share with you soon! So this is a “Cup O Noodles” themed rapids ride and it is ever bit as screwed up and awesome as you would expect!!! At the “Jurassic Car” ride... they have costumes you can dress up in... and then go on a Vintage Car adventure with dinosaurs!!! Oh, Japan! Do you ever stop being amazing!!! It was awesome meeting more TPR fans today at Yomiuriland! [twitter] [/twitter] Here’s a few more pics of Bandit... This coaster is celebrating 30 years this year! Here's the view from the front seat of Bandit! Some amazing flavors in Japanese CocaCola Freestyle machines! Why can’t we have Wild Grape Coke at home? (It was delicious!) "Spin Runaway" is a "Fashion Show" themed roller coaster, which is part dark ride, part spinning coaster, and part video game! It's totally weird and completely AMAZING!!! Bandit currently is running a “Stop & Go” program, meaning when the train gets to the very top of the lift, it will stop for 10 seconds so you can enjoy the view of Tokyo! I love Japan!!! Yomiuriland has this cool “Autopia” mixed with Test Track mixed with a video game car ride! Again, such cool funky rides in Japan! Yomiuriland has a giant Ferris Wheel because it is a national law in Japan that all amusement parks must have a giant Ferris Wheel! New this year at Yomiuriland was a Zamperla Disk-O! These are always such fun rides! Guess what? Land Dog Butt!!! Time to head out of Yomiuriland! Always loved the Gondola ride that you take from the train station to get up to the park! Had a great time at Yomiuriland today! Was nice to see the new expansions and attractions at this park from our last visit! [twitter] [/twitter] Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Day Nine of our TPR Japan 2018 Trip!
  24. They did a mini-version at Epcot last year for one of the festivals, but it just wasn't quite the same...
  25. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This installment will span two days since we had one day where we took it easy, didn't do a whole lot, and just enjoyed being in Japan. The next day we did some kind of weird, but totally fun stuff...and then ended up back at Disney! (shocking, right?) We most certainly have been taking advantage of that $42 "After 6pm Passport" you can buy at Tokyo Disney! Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! Good morning from Japan! We are back at Shinagawa Station heading out on our next adventure! Today we are hanging out in the “Tokyo Teleport” area! Home to all kinds of amusements, random shopping & games, and this AWESOME looking Fuji TV building! [twitter] [/twitter] We normally don’t do a lot of “American food” in Japan unless it’s significantly different or weird. Taco Bell Japan fulfill BOTH of those categories, but in a GOOD way! It’s seriously the best “Taco Bell” you’ll have almost to the point of wishing it wasn’t as good! The menu at Taco Bell Japan may look similar to the US but that’s where the similarities end. The quality of food, presentation, the service, everything we would make fun of Taco Bell for in the US is completely opposite in #Japan. It’s honestly fantastic food! And the BEST part about Taco Bell in Japan? They serve Coca Cola!!! Which makes sense because the Japanese like things that are of good, higher quality which is why you don’t see very much Pepsi in this country! I’d like to point out this Taco Bell location is being run by *ONE* employee! Taking orders, making food, delivering food, etc. And it’s being run so well & efficiently you’d think theres a whole team here. I waited 5 min for food & he apologized for the wait! Time to check out the Disney Store in Japan! Yes that is a Chip n Dale poncho for the rainy season here in Japan! So those are little costumes and accessories you can buy to dress up your mini-plush keychain Disney characters with... because Japan is just THAT awesome!!! I just want to live in a world where Pikachu is everywhere... Just in case you wanted Godzilla on your butt... ...you have that option here in Japan! Because winning a big box of beef jerky in a claw machine is totally “normal” in Japan! Mega Web is a giant display of ever Toyota car you can think of, and maybe you’ve never heard of! There are some super cool Toyota displays here... And yes, you can even test drive a Toyota car! I am taking a picture of this trash can because it is something you very rarely see in Japan... yet you never see trash on the ground or people litter. Isn’t that weird? Because we can sometimes be a creature of habit we are back at our favorite Yakitori restaurant in Shibuya! We love this place! Of all the Asian food to make it over to America I will never understand why Yakitori hasn’t really made it to the States. It is absolutely delicious and much like ordering chicken wings, you order multiple pieces with different flavors and it’s amazing! Even Elissa loves Yakitori now! The next day we ventured out to some very “non-touristy” areas of Tokyo. We like spending time in places where people live day-to-day rather than just tourism destinations all the time. This morning we are at the home of a local Japanese woman who gives Gyoza making classes! We love doing things like this and see how locals live! We have been trusted with sharp objects to cut & chip things during our Gyoza making course! This is us... making Gyoza... and it’s awesome!!! Here is the end result of our Gyoza making class! They are absolutely DELICIOUS!!! [twitter] [/twitter] The Gyoza making class was fantastic and the Gyoza was absolutely delicious! We highly recommend checking out Miyuki’s cooking classes next time you’re in Tokyo! Info: https://www.simplyoishii.com/ Getting back on the train... any idea where we might be heading? (You only get one guess!) Oh. Hi there... Beautiful sunset tonight at Tokyo DisneySEA! You can’t visit Tokyo DisneySEA without having a Gyoza Sausage Bun... And taking a totally ridiculous photo with it! [twitter] [/twitter] Raging Spirits... there’s a roller coaster somewhere in all that theming!!! Tower of Terror’s theming in Japan is in every way better than the theming in Orlando. Please WDW, please ditch the Twilight Zone and bring this incredible original story to Hollywood Studios! How have we never noticed this giant spotlight by Aquatopia before??? I sometimes have to stop and remind myself this is a theme park... Hi, Woody... That Hightower dude looks somewhat familiar... Blueberry is absolutely my new favorite popcorn flavor! Another GREAT night at Tokyo Disney! We got so much done tonight using the “After 6pm Pass!” That was forty bucks WELL SPENT!!! Now, POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!! After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you can do is post something nice about it! Click HERE for Part Eight of our TPR Japan 2018 Trip!
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