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robbalvey

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Everything posted by robbalvey

  1. Some video I shot on Rock N Roller Coaster at Disneyland Paris last week:
  2. "Beta Testing" has nothing to do with the outcome of one coaster over the other. I guess it just happened to be that most other people didn't like Wild One as much as those other two coasters.
  3. Then don't use the mobile version.
  4. OK, so I will see what I can do about working on the color theme, but it won't be able to happen until I get back from Japan on July 3rd. So hopefully people can hang in there until then!
  5. Bert - It looks like the one in Austin is the same chain: https://kurausa.com/
  6. Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not convinced this will look better with a darker background on a mobile device. It may just take some getting used to. Either way I won't have time to mess with it until after we get back from Japan so for now it will stay as is...
  7. The mobile version now "auto-detects" a mobile device. You can switch to the browser version by clicking "Switch to full version" which should appear on every screen. I haven't messed around with the colors yet just because I want to see how the functionality of this works before I start tweaking anything else. I also do ask the question - does a lighter background lend itself better to a mobile device than a darker background?
  8. Click the # on the bottom of the screen.
  9. It’s a standard concept that is all over the place but the one we went to is a popular Tokyo chain of them.
  10. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day Five - More random Toyko stuff and DISNEY!!! Any day that starts with authentic Japanese sushi and ends with Tokyo Disney is, in my opinion, as perfect of a day as you can have! Follow along... Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! [twitter] [/twitter] Here’s where we will be spending time at in Tokyo today! [twitter] [/twitter] The sushi in Japan is of course legit and awesome! You can either grab something traveling by on the conveyor belt or you can order from the menu and your food arrives via the express belt! These places are amazing and another example of Japanese efficiency! Fun Fact! The more sushi you eat, the more prizes you get! For every 5 plates you deposit into the plate repository you get the chance to play a capsule game at your table! These places are all over Japan and they are amazing, delicious, and FUN! [twitter] [/twitter] Our arcade winnings! Tokyu Hands is one of our favorite stores in Japan. 8 floors of the most random stuff! From arts & crafts to giant toy squids, toilet seats, bullet train fabric and devices that remove from foam from your beer! Literally millions of items! If you need “hats for your cats” you can get them at Tokyu Hands! Because that’s the kind of random stuff they have here! If you’re looking for a Store that has cosplay dresses... Toilet Seats... ...and hand-made knitted Ocean Sunfish coin purses all in one place, Tokyu Hands is where you need to be! OMG! I just found a Mappy battery pack at Tokyu Hands! Looks like they are repurposing old Nintendo Famicom carts to make these! Awesome!!! We have made it to our first Pokémon center of the trip! This will be one of many... Lots and lots of money will be spent here! Damn you, I mean LOVE YOU Nintendo! Ever wanted your very own Pikachu that you could play dress up with? Now you can at the #Pokémon Center! FUN FACT! There are almost no kids shopping here, it’s mostly adults... and I have so much respect for that! If you know who Sumikkogurashi is, we just walked into the Mecca of Sumikko stuff! Dear America... Japan has managed to keep all these retail companies going strong. What’s your excuse? Don't answer...I think we know. Pro tip when ordering Starbucks in Japan! Want to avoid any confusion when picking up your drink at the Barista of which cup is yours? Just order a Venti! Almost nobody else here orders that size! Just us fat Americans that want to chug a ton of coffee!!! [twitter] [/twitter] Dinner tonight? Some Wagyu & Kobe beef! [twitter] [/twitter] Dear cows... thank you for being sooooo tasty!!! This place we went to is in Shibuya. We highly recommend it! Oh... Hello there. Funny how we keep running into each other... Love this!!! (Especially how Chip n Dale are front and center!) Tanabata Days really is one of my favorite times at Tokyo Disneyland! I love watching everyone writing their wishes on the cards and them posting them to the wall. It’s so cool! It’s so weird to see so much of Tomorrowland gone (this is where Speedway and the Rocket Jets were) but all the new additions and attractions will be well worth it! Woah! It’s a Small World is apparently super popular on a Saturday night! Happy 35th Tokyo Disneyland! In the “absolutely adorable” food category, Tokyo Disneyland takes this round. Yes, that is a Mickey Mouse shaped hamburger and chicken nuggets you are looking at! ...and if you liked your Mickey Mouse shaped hamburger enough to buy a giant plush version of it, you CAN at Tokyo Disney! Everyone needs to stop and watch this video: [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dream Lights is by far the best nighttime parade Disney has ever done! I really hope they bring this over to WDW to replace Electrical Parade there! I’d cry if they did! As I’ve said before that “Chocolate Crunch” is like crack for Tokyo Disney guests. I’m totally serious... these shelves were stocked 10 minutes ago, and they will be restocked again only to be picked bone dry! They can fund their next attraction from sales of Chocolate Crunch! I found one and I’m buying it! I *have* to know what they are putting in this stuff!!! Sooooo much Country Bear Jamboree merch! As someone who used to work in Bear Country at Disneyland, this is awesome!!! This is what the shops looked like tonight at Tokyo Disneyland. I stood in line twice at two different stores. Never waited more than 5 minutes. The efficiency of both the CM’s and guests is amazing! (And yes every person had at least one Chocolate Crunch in their hands!) I love seeing Roger Rabbit merch at the park! How much Roger Rabbit stuff do we have in the US parks? I don’t recall seeing anything recently. Another great night at Tokyo Disneyland! Going to try to get back one more time this week before our official TPR Tour begins but then I’ll have four more days at the end of the month! SIDE NOTE.... We opened the tin of “Chocolate Crunch” Japanese guests were going absolutely INSANE over at Tokyo Disney & I have to be honest, it’s pretty damn amazing!!! There are four flavors: Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana, and I think Vanilla! It’s great! 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 Six of our Japan 2018 Update!
  11. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day Four: Hanging out in Tokyo! Today was just a day of doing random stuff in Tokyo. Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! Good morning from Japan! You know it’s a nice day here when we can see Mt. Fuji from our hotel in Tokyo! [twitter] [/twitter] Spending some time in Harajuku this morning. This area has become waaaaay more touristy over the years but it’s still fun to go check out some of the shops. Japanese Crepes are like crack! These things are soooo good! And you can pretty much find a crepe place on every other street in Tokyo! You know you’re in a touristy area of Tokyo when they have English instructions on how to use a Japanese vending machine! Most people come to Harajuku for Japanese clothing & cosplay but Kristen is here because it’s also a “Squishy” Heaven!!! This store right here is one of the more popular "Squishy Stores!" Squishies are all the rage now! Everything squishes. Animals, hamburgers, animals in the shape of hamburgers... bakery items, etc. If it exists in this world, it squishes!!! So she ended up with an entire bag of squishies! Going to need charter a plane to bring back all the squishies, Disney stuff and all the other random things we will buy! (I’m not complaining!) For lunch we’re at a fairly popular & highly ranked (although a bit touristy) Gyoza Bar in Harajuku. Those dumplings are delicious!!! Yup... This exists. [twitter] [/twitter] The “Hedgehog Cafe” was amazing! ROBB!!! DO NOT EAT THE HEDGEHOG!!! Tails would be very upset! “Hi!” Were you aware that we needed cosplay costumes for our Tsum Tsums? I wasn’t either... But now that I know... I want all of them!!! [twitter] [/twitter] Yes, Tower Records is alive and well in Japan! We have been coming to this Yakitori place in Shibuya for 11 years... ...and it’s one of our favorite restaurants in Japan! I love eating vegetables... ...as long as it’s wrapped in bacon! 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 Five of our Japan Trip Report!
  12. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day Three - Tokyo DisneySEA! Keep in mind that everything I've posted so far is just a "Bonus" before the official TPR Trip begins! Normally with these trips we don't have too much time to ourselves as we get into Japan and then go right into a TPR trip. But this time around we got here about 10 days early just to hang out a bit on our own and take things at a more leisurely pace. Today we decided to have a day at Tokyo DisneySEA because, it is our favorite theme park in the world so why not? We'll have four Tokyo Disney days on the official trip so it's nice to have just additional time "just because...." Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! When we spend time in Tokyo not at a Disney resort we like the Shinagawa area. Hotels are great. Shinkansen operates from this station. It’s not super busy like Shibuya or Shinjuku and there are plenty of good restaurants & shopping in the area. Very convenient. Hey! Look where we ended up today!!! Happiness is being on a Tokyo Disney monorail! About to head into Tokyo DisneySEA!!! Very excited!!! This view right here... OMG!!! New popcorn flavor! (At least to me!) It’s delicious! It’s like BooBerry cereal, but popcorn! Tanabata Festival starts today at Tokyo Disney! The merchandise looks great! I’ve always loved this festival and happy It expanded to both parks a few years ago! [twitter] [/twitter] I picked up a 35 Happiest Celebration ShellieMay! She’s in good company with the other characters on my bag! Time for some Tower of Terror Tokyo Disney style!!! By far my favorite version of the attraction! [twitter] [/twitter] Yes, that is Gelatoni with gelato! Vulcania is probably my favorite Disney “quick service” restaurant. The theming is fantastic and the food is delicious, too! Just look at the interior of this place! And here’s a look at some of the food we got at Vulcania! Delicious!!! For the record I have a huge amount of respect for a culture that brings their stuffed animals to lunch with them. This is pretty much me at home! [twitter] [/twitter] They take popcorn VERY seriously at Tokyo Disney! Curry Popcorn is one of my favorite flavors! We may have done a *little* bit of shopping at Tokyo Disney today!!! [twitter] [/twitter] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DfERE4PUYAAu4Ht.jpg So that’s FOUR new popcorn flavors at Tokyo Disney that I’ve never seen before! Herb-Tomato (smells like Pizza!), Garlic-Shrimp, Blueberry (YUM!), and Barbecue! My American brain still can’t get over this... These are Duffys people have left on display. I don’t think the owners are always around. They just leave there here for people to take photos of. Nobody steals them. People respect them. They will all be here when the owner returns. I love these photo spots made specifically to put your Duffy & Friends on to take pictures of them! You’ll find them all over the park! Cuteness overload in this pic!!! These Toy Story Green Alien Mochi Ice Cream Dumplings are the cutest food item you will ever eat in a theme park! I sometimes have to stop and remind myself that I am in a theme park!!! [twitter] [/twitter] The Indiana Jones queue is one of the best themed queues I’ve ever seen! I love this new collection of “rainbow” merchandise at Tokyo Disney! The new Nemo Searider is super cute and a much better fit for families & the park than Stormrider was! Fun Fact! It’s one of the few “rides” with a lap bar or seat belt that I’ve seen that allows lap sitting with kids! I love these 35 Happiest Celebration Mickey statues they have around the park. They look awesome at night! If you thought Tower of Terror looked awesome during the day, it looks even better at night!!! WOW! Today starts “Tanabata Days” based on the traditional Japanese Star Festival. People write their “wishes” on Tanabata Greeting cards and leave them for the Star-Crossed lovers to read, in this case Mickey & Minnie! It is such a cool little event and I love it! Here is my Tanabata wish! People go absolutely BONKERS for that Chocolate Crunch! I swear that shelf was full 5 minutes ago! lol As fast as they can stock it, people take it! It’s been a Tokyo Disney tradition for years! So Herb-Tomato popcorn FOR THE WIN!!! It seriously tasted like pizza sauce! So that right there is a “Toy Story Mania Ride Vehicle Chopsticks Holder.” That’s right. You’re seeing that correctly. And this is why Tokyo Disney is better in every way than any other park! Because of this chopsticks holder! Since we are talking awesome merch here, the “Tokyo Disney Parks Food Playsets” are insanely cute! I want that mini Gyoza Bun & Green Alien Mochi Dumplings! Tokyo Disney is the only theme park in the world where, no matter how young or old you are, every person here *TRULY* transforms into and acts like a child... and that is completely “okay!” (If not even completely encouraged!) 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 Four of our Japan Trip!
  13. For those of you who browse TPR on your mobile phone, please try this "mobile theme". Here's how to enable it.... 1. Click "User Control Panel." 2. Select "Board Preferences" 3. Choose "Mobie" and click "Submit." When you refresh the page you'll be on the mobile theme. NOTE that this theme does not look well on a desktop and as of right now I don't have a way to auto-detect or auto-change themes so you'd have to do it manually. But if you're someone who browses the forum almost exclusively on your mobile device this may be a good option for you. Thank you!
  14. REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Click HERE for an index of all our Japan 2018 Trip Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Day two - KidZania! If you've been reading any of our international trip reports over the past few years, you may remember that we have started taking Kristen to the "KidZania" educational theme parks. There is nothing like this in America (yet) even though people keep trying to tell us there are "similar" things, but really nothing like KidZania. In short, KidZania is an indoor theme park based around a fictional city with REAL companies teaching kids about future careers as an adult. Kids will use REAL equipment and go through the same motions as these jobs would in real life giving them some idea of career opportunities later on in life. There has been talks about bringing KidZania to the US (There was a failed example called Wanadoo City that didn't make it in the Miami area) and there are plans to open one in Dallas. Curious to see how that all goes. Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! Anyway, onto our day... [twitter] [/twitter] I want to live in a world where you get updates on the train from the characters of Animal Crossing! I love these little “mini escalators” you see all over Japan! This morning we are at KidZania! We’ve covered this park before and we love it! It’s a kid-based theme park all about learning different careers! It’s incredibly life-like and IMO the best “educational” attraction ever created! It’s “English Wednesday” at KidZania today! And not just for English speaking people living in Japan but also for Japanese kids to practice their English! School groups will come to KidZania on Wednesday’s to practice English! (Note how well behaved they are following the “stand on one side of the escalator” guideline they have here in Japan. [twitter] [/twitter] [twitter] [/twitter] Kristen’s first “job” is working as a bad-ass courier for the Black Cat delivery service! Black Cat is a REAL delivery service here in Japan. I love that they use actual companies. [twitter] [/twitter] Kids earn money for each job they complete. They open up a bank account and even get an ATM card! Then they can buy stuff in the shop at the end of the day! Her next job is working in a glasses shop! She will learn to make glasses and even cut the lenses and put them together! It’s all REAL equipment! Including cutting the lenses. Here are the glasses she made! lol And yes, she gets to keep them!! The variety of jobs at KidZania is amazing! Here’s kids working in a call center... repairing cars, working at a gas station... and these kids are legit making pencils! Yes, there is currently a kid wedding going on right now!!! “Science Lab” and “Fire Department” are two more activities kids can do here! There must be around 100 different “jobs” to choose from! Now Kristen is working for the bakery! They made and baked real croissants! We just ran into a Japanese TPR fan, Ryo working at KidZania! Thanks for saying hello to us! Kristen’s final job of the day is working in the “soap factory!” (She really wanted to do this one!) We’ve had an awesome day at KidZania! More We had such a great day at KidZania! Photos & video does not do justice how great this attraction is! Easily the most practical and entertaining of any “educational” attraction I’ve been to! The variety of "jobs" is just amazing. Everything you could imagine being in a real city from practical jobs like utility workers to fast food and even being a photographer or radio host! It's such a great learning experience. Side note - KidZania is located in a giant mall in Tokyo and when you arrive the mall is still closed... These shops are currently closed & it is amazing that some mall shops don’t have giant doors covering the front. It’s because they don’t have crime in Japan like in other countries. Can you imagine if GAP Kids in the US just had a small “please don’t come in here” barrier? 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 Three of this report!
  15. Update Index! Day One - Arrival & Tokyo Disneyland Day Two - KidZania Day Three - Tokyo DisneySEA! Day Four - Hanging out in Tokyo! Day Five - More random Tokyo & Tokyo Disneyland! Day Six & Seven - Tokyo Teleport, Making Gyoza, Tokyo DisneySEA! Day Eight - Yomiuriland! Day Nine - Tobu Zoo & Toshimaen! Day Ten - Yokohama Cosmoworld & Sea Paradise! Day Eleven - Hanging out in Tokyo & more DisneySEA! Day Twelve & Thirteen - Misaki Park & Adventureworld! Bonus Osaka earthquake! Day Fourteen - Universal Studios Japan! Day Fifteen - Washuzan Highland & New Reoma World! Day Sixteen - Hirakata Park! Day Seventeen - Nagashima Spaland Day Eighteen - Parque Espana! Day Nineteen - Legoland Japan! Day Twenty & Twenty One - Hamanako Pal Pal, Lagunasia, Tokyo Stuff, & Tokyo Disneyland! Day Twenty Two - Fuji-Q Highland! Day Twenty Three - Benyland & Lina World! Day Twenty Four - Tokyo DisneySEA first "official" day! Day Twenty Five - Tokyo Disneyland! Day Twenty Six - More Tokyo DisneySEA! REGISTER for our forum to leave a comment! Be sure to follow our Twitter and Instagram Stories for live updates from our trip! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ That's right! TPR is back in Japan because this country is awesome and we can't get enough of it! We will be live tweeting and posting to our Instagram Story during our visit to be sure to check there for up to date posts! Here's some of the updates we've posted so far! Day One - Arrival and Tokyo Disneyland! First of all, this.... WOW! I did it! Three different Disney Parks on three different continents in three days! lol (technically less but time zones weren’t in my favor!) Getting invited to the Paris Disney FanDaze event was most certainly a nice last minute surprise, and it allowed me to be able to do this! I just got back from Paris less than 12 hours ago and we are already off on our next adventure! Japan, here we come!!! One nice benefit of having loyalty status with Delta? A bowl of Cheerios for breakfast!!! (Seriously, LOVE this!!!) Am I the only one who can’t see a bowl of blueberries without thinking about Judy Hopps and her family’s farm? Almost to Japan! Only four hours left in the flight! Who thinks we should go straight to Tokyo Disneyland once we land? Just walked off the plane in Japan and these were the first two signs we saw! Just an example of the amazing Japanese efficiency... The plane landed at 2pm and we’re already on the bus to the hotel at 2:30. That includes going through Immigration, getting baggage, pee stop, through customs, buying bus tickets, boarding bus... Oh Japan! Once we’ve seen our first Taiko no Tatsujin machine we know we are officially in Japan! Here’s the Tokyo subway map. It’s not as difficult as it looks! Have Suica card will travel! I'm about to get on a train...I wonder where I'm going? [twitter] [/twitter] And this is why the Japanese will always kick ass in video games!!! [twitter] [/twitter] I am so happy right now!!! Watch below to see the replay of our "Tokyo Disneyland Dream Lights" parade footage! [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew] Love the “Happy as a rainbow!” theme!!! I should also point out that I only came into the park for the last four hours of the evening and was only charged the equivalent of about $40 for the “after 6 passport!” What an amazing deal I love that 30 minutes after walking into the park I’ve already ran into one of our Japanese TPR friends! I am not here for the rides... ...I’m here for the popcorn!!! OMG! These two shirts are amazing! I love the Oswald one!!! Which one would you buy? I’ve always though it was cool that Tokyo Disneyland has Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin! Many people don’t realize it’s here and is always a nice surprise! This is an attraction I wish had made it to more parks. Normally we start our day at Tokyo Disneyland with these INCREDIBLE Mickey Mouse waffles... ...but since I’m only here in the evening, I’ll end my day with one! This is a MUST HAVE food here! The projection show in World Bazaar for the 35th Celebration is just magical! [twitter] [/twitter] 35th Celebration Chip n Dale anyone? They are soooo cute! These gift boxes are some of the most popular merchandise at Tokyo Disneyland! That “Chocolate Crunch” seriously flies off the shelf!!! If you stand here 15 minutes you will watch them re-stock the entire shelf at least once! Just ran into two more Japanese TPR fans! Great seeing you guys! Got to ride Pooh’s Hunny Hunt twice tonight right at park closing! This is still one of the most impressive Disney rides! I wonder if the locals still love it or if it is not as special for them anymore? I think it’s amazing!!! ear America - can we please have shelves and shelves full of Baymax merchandise, too? Thank you! So there is this weird "fruit theme" going on with some of the Tokyo Disneyland merchandise right now. At first I was all "This is really odd" but then as I kept seeing more of it, I kinda like it! What do you think? We had a great first day in Japan! Remember to keep up to date with our trip via our Twitter and Instagram story! 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 Two of our Japan Trip!
  16. I'm not sure but unfortunately those issues aren't on TPR's end, they are either on whatever is happening with your device you're viewing the content with or your internet service provider. The only other explanation would be Twitter is temporarily down. Sadly, I don't have a fix for it since it is out of our control.
  17. Some of the pics are on Twitter. You shouldn't be seeing "image" unless Twitter is being blocked by your ISP or their system is not working. All the images show up just fine for me. They load just fine if I quote the post and copy-paste the URL into a new tab, but they don't show up on the forum itself. That is really, really bizarre. I don't think I've ever hard of anyone else having that problem as this is quite commonly how we will post trip reports.
  18. Um... Their most recent attraction was a direct clone of Soarin'! I'm not complaining, I LOVED that ride, but it was absoultely a direct copy of a Disney attraction! That being said, I really hope they DO bring back the Pirates ride but instead give us the Europa Park take on Shanghai Pirates! (Seriously, that would be amazing!)
  19. If I had to guess, I don't think Europa Park will waste much time at all once the dust settles to re-build this area of the park. I would also not be surprised to see them completely re-build it just as it was, updating things where it makes sense to. What does everyone think? Two years and we'll see this area back in operation as normal?
  20. I mean, that's a start, but relationships don't build overnight with a single email. There are parks that I have been working with for 10 to 15 years. Those relationships build over time. You also will need something that would be attractive to parks to work with you. Do you have a large base of users? Will you be bringing a group to the park? How large is the reach of your audience? These things are all very important.
  21. Oh, good. I'm glad they've made that decision.
  22. Here is a video of the ride that we shot last September for those of you wondering what the ride was like: I have to be honest, my "hot take" (no pun intended) on this is the following: If there is a "silver lining" to this disaster (and trust me, it sucks. I hate to see anything like this happen to one of my all-time favorite parks) I have a feeling that Europa Park will waste no time in clearing that area and re-building such a classic popular attraction. I'm hopeful that they re-build it using some very current technology, and while it's always a shame to see beloved rides be lost, I have to be honest, if something happened to, let's say Pirates of the Caribbean at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World and after the fact they said "This is a huge bummer, but we are going to replace it with the more updated Shanghai Disneyland version of the attraction" you wouldn't see me shed a tear. So we just have to hope that, as the saying goes, "things are going to get worse before they get better" that this is the worst case scenario that breathes new life into an absoultely amazing future attraction!
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