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I love travelling dark rides with cheesy or way over the top themeing and paint, lol! That one there, Ghost, looked interesting. Did you ride it? And the photo of that one called "Die verruckte Lachshow" - is that a dark ride, or something else? Not sure from what I could see. Some great photos there of some great flat rides and stuff. Thanks for sharing!

Wow. Second to last day of the tour - still some good parks to visit, but starting to feel a bit sad that it's soon ending and it'll be a long flight home to .....(dread) reality! Ah well.... Two parks again today, both visited before. But the first was in the daytime this time. Cosmoworld was visited by me and TPR in 2007, mid-day, so that by the time we were leaving the place, all the lights were on the buildings were lit up. It was spectacular. But because of the current conditions, and needed speed to save up on electricity and such throughout the country, Cosmoworld was doing it's part and not "lighting up" that much in the evening. So Robb & Elissa decided it would be best if we go to this park in the daytime. And it was just as great a visit as the last time, at night! And it is HERE we found the long-lost MEAT ANIMAL CAPSULE MACHINE! And I say "animal", becuase it just wasn't sheeps or cows in there, showing their insides a la pastique. I got myself a Meat ROOSTER! And it was good, heh heh. So that was a highlight of the park. And the spinning coaster was open this time (down for maintenance back in 07) so ka-ching! Credit obtained, lol. (o: And we got to see the park and surrounding area in a great sunny day, before continuing on to... Sea Paradise Park, home of the (OMG) 300' tall Blue Fall Drop Tower! And where the legendary Boat Jumpers used to be. But - between my last trip and this one, the management decide to re-open the shoot-the-chute type boat spalshdown ride...just without the boat jumpers themself. And although it looked very unique and (probably) neat to ride, the time in loading, bringing the boat back up, unloading, re-loading.... I decided to skip it this visit. But I got in a very nice walking tour of their massive Aquarium, thanks to Rosie and Matt suggesting so (thanks guys!), and (SPOILER ALERT!!!) THIS is where I also got to experience another version of the scary non-reflection room that Alien Panic Attack in SpaceWorld did, in their haunted walk-thru. With Matt and myself holding onto a short piece of string cord (!) we entered this "wating room" with a sleeping attendant - and the whole thing reflected in a large side-mirror (to us). Suddenly the reflection of the attendant Got Up and then stepped over the separation line between the 'mirror'...towards us..... EEEEK!!! Great fun, LOL! Their one coaster (Surf Coaster?) was as helix-ed up as ever, and Blue Fall was of course....amaaazingly tall, heh. It was a good park to end our touring day, this Saturday (July 2). My roomie Bob, getting a few quick winks in before we get to Cosmoworld. Showing us the way to Cosmoworld from the train station. This is Mika, I believe? She said her name was "like Mike - Mika!". Lovely person. Along the way to Cosmoworld - and I now have a fridge magnet with that building and that Skywheel on it, woo hoo! An odd pairing of "media". I'll get closer to The Sculpture, later on here. They're expecting us! And they love Yakatori, too! Meat-on-sticks Rule, lol! This was their big coaster at Cosmoworld, Diving Coaster - Vanish. Only shot taken on the Skywheel - and I loves the number '3' so this was golden, LOL! And after the Skywheel ride - the Meat Animal Capsule Machine was found - and here is my Meat Rooster. Score! In Cosmoworld's Ice House - and Rosie with some florescent little jellyfishes And myself, in the Ice House Bar. And if I'd seen that sign there (how did I miss that?)......oops. Sorry Ice House bar. The Sculpture seen up closer. So, where is the Loading Station, hmmm? On our way back to the train station, and on to Sea Pardise park. A group of divers doing....uh....something. Wasn't sure what. But they still drew a crowd of onlookers. And then I looked down....and saw this in the sidewalk. And there was Vancouver! Must be getting closer to leaving for home, I guess. And here's Surf Coaster at Sea Paradise park! It's nice how part of the coaster juts out over the water. And goes round and round and round and... it likes helixes, lol. Japanese school band practise. I remember seeing the same thing here on this park field four years ago. Different band of course, lol. And - the Boat Jumpers Ride! Without Boat Jumpers! And long, Fuji-Q Park-like (omg) ride operations! So, I passed on it, until the next visit. One more day of touring to go, now....

Still. Neat. And still wierd, lol.

^^ But EB - that drink. Did it really taste like....uh..... pancakes and syrup? Wierd. And you have to love Japan, and cake (or pudding) in the shape of boobs, lol. That second 'pair of boobs' by the way, had little 'blood' packets to pour over them, (eep) and was themed (pretty sure) to the Haunted Hospital walk-thru at Fuji-Q park. More wierd. Great bonus photos, EB.

Melanie won the title of America's Favorite Dancer tonight, on "So You Think You Can Dance", on Fox. Brava Melanie! And Sacha and Tadd and Marko. You were all wonderful this season. It was one of the best ever.

Just found out, yesterday... Amazon.com has the revival cast cd recording of "Anything Goes" listed as being available on Sept. 20.

Mmmm EB, the photos of Disney Sea all look fantastic! Um, when can we go back there???? Great photos of just all that amazing wonderful themeing, which I think really makes this park so awesome as it is, even if you don't even ride anything, LOL! And your new ears = priceless!

^ That looks awesome and crazy-wild, John! But - I love my cds, so I will be looking foward to getting my copy of the production on Amazon or a site you could suggest? One for the production, itself? When the cd comes out, whoo hoo! (EDIT to add, John - did "Theme Park Diva" ever come out on a cd? I forgot if it had or not, and don't have it's link any more, so.....? I still have the t-shirt! ~ Thanks in advance.)

We have a tour of Mama Mia! coming to Vancouver in a couple of weeks. But I'm not planning to see it, as I saw the first (month-long) tour that came through, and it was fun. But not enough to want to see it again. However... in other musicals-related news... I was checking through (my usual sources) any new cast recordings coming up, and over at Sh-k-Boom Records, it "looks" like they've come up with with a possible final design, for the newly Tony-annointed Best Musical Revival cd cover of "Anything Goes". Looks good. And man, what I would give to see & hear Sutton Foster in this production. And Joel Grey, too. But I mean, the dancing! Everything looks right on it. IMhO (o: I believe the release date is near the end of this month? Anybody else know different?

Another day, July 1 (Happy Canada Day!), another two parks to visit, and once again, for myself - one was new, the other was a re-visit.... And that re-visit was a lovely park called Toshimaen, which had the interesting distinction of having a GI-normous Toys 'R' Us near the back of it. And you could use the "special back exit" for getting into the store and then re-entering the park, later. Which several of us did, lol! It was kool, the store WAS huge with stuff, and I found a neat 'souvenir' I will show at the end of the report, in my "Souvenirs Report" lol. The park was great, with a variety of flat rides, a few of which were located above the ground on buildings with shops and eateries underneath. Shades of Blackpool! The coasters we rode were all good for what they were, including the new family coaster, the Mini Cyclone. The dark ride was (to me) 'okay' but not much, considering they had a huge bldg. to run the thing in. The loading/launch building for the old shuttle loop coaster was still standing, looking sad and in need of something, anythign there to replace it, since the rest of it all was now removed. The park had created some lovely landscaped areas for the 2011 Flower Festival they were running during the summer. These sections were beautiful to look at, and I just wished they had done more of this in other parts of the park. But that was okay. Toshimaen is still a fun park to visit, with plenty to do (and eat!) and ride. The second park, Seibu Yuenchi, was the "new park credit" for me, heh heh. Unfortunately, the cloudcover and possible rain (it never did, if at all) kept a lot of locals away from it. It looked so un-used and too spacious for it's own good. A photo below from the skywheel shows what I mean by that. But we enjopyed ourselves there. And the "Strangest Queue-ing Award" has to go to this park and it's ScrewLoop Coaster. The queue is all undercover, but comprised of several rows of seats! And you line up in them and sit there, waiting for your turn to ride the coaster. It was all wierdly done, and the ride op was in a sort-of "tower" above us all. I got the feeling there was a "story performance" in all of this set-up, but not much happened except the usual " Do & Don't..." instructions. And the coaster was ...okay. Had a nice little snack-sized meal in a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) serving tray, got on the skywheel to see how big this park was ~ played Spot Big Mike ~ saw another "lovers capsule" on this wheel, and Rosie got herself an order of machine-fried noodles! Unfortunately we couldn't see the noodles being cooked in the machine - but still, cool to do and get, lol. Enjoy the photos. Entrance gate to Toshimaen park. So, once again, I find the dark ride to be...meh. But the Toys 'R' Us is very very close by, woo hoo! Really pretty floral displays for Toshimaen's Flower Festival this summer. A gerden display for Toshimaen's Flower Festival. With a revolving granite ball fountain! Between Toshimaen and Seibu Yuenchi. Note Elissa is the only one looking down (Kristen and stroller in front of her), figuring out our next move, while the rest of us look up..... Something I spotted just outside our train station. A Louvre Wanna-Be I thought, heh heh. Seibu Yuenchi skywheel, with rides below it. Me and a (yes I admit it) Kids Meal, which doubles as a nice snack while touring parks, lol. Behind me, what's been TPR-called "The Wall Ride"... themed to Hello Kitty. A Kids Meal in a neat serving tray, A La the Shinkansen bullet Train! And the rice 'triangle' has a Hello Kitty imprint on it! Here's me on the park's Skywheel. That's an Inflation Roofed stadium in back, and you can barely make out the ScrewLoop Coaster in the trees, there. Here's a better look at ScrewLoop from the Skywheel. And that building in the middle of it, was where our loading station and "Seating Queue" was. Strange but true. Now it's time to play "Where's Mike?" And this is what I meant about not very many peeps in the park the day we were there. Found him, yet? Great! If not...ah well, you tried. ...And back to our hotel, where I add to my already-enlarging souvenir 'stash' in the hotel room's closet LOL!

Just heard this on the radio... .... so especially to all of you, who enjoy the brew... Happy International Beer Day! Celebrated in nearly 140 countries, too! Chugga, everybody!

^ And it was a great hotel, too! With a really interesting corner bulding nearby. And an equally interesting lower level food mall below the bldg. We had sundaes in the Alice In Wonderland Cafe. And there was a Lovers Cafe there too, although we saw more groups of women in it, at the time... Hmmm.

Our next day's travels (Thurs/June 30th) took us to two parks, one of which I have now been to, three times! But the first, Tobu Zoo was a new park with new credits for me, and a crazy new experience involving feeding some carp... The park has three coasters, the newest of which, Kawasemi, was an Intamin Mega-Lite clone of the one I had ridden on the 2009 TPR Scandi Tour... Piraten, in Djurs Sommerland. Only this was painted in lime green! Kool! So knowing how much I enjoyed Piraten in Denmark, i was very much looking forward to riding Kawasemi. And it did not disappoint. The air time (where it was) was great, good speed, and a nice adrenalin rush from beginning to end. There was also a huge wooden coaster (Regina) to ride, as well as all all-familiar "family coaster", for us to credit whore on, lol. And another skywheel, a nice suspended mini-rail, an interesting walk-through horror house (in the kiddy rides section!), a simple version of a (what's become very elaborately themed in other parks) Haunted Swing, and besides gifts shops, places to eat and such - a little docked part of the park's lake when you could buy feed and "feed the carp", which was a really freaky thing to do, since these fish were literaly climbing over each other at the water's surface to get a bit (if that) of what we were feeding them! Evem the wafer container the feed came in was torn apart and devoured greedily by the carp! Definitely a memorable part of that park's visit. The second park we visited was also the oldest amusement park in Japan, AND it "happened" to open the year that I was born! 1953. Yeah, I'm that old. Phfffft. But Hanayashiki is trippy tiny park that packs as much into and around and above it, like Blackpool in England and Grona Lund in Stockholm does with their space. It's only roller coaster winds completely around it's perimeter - and near the end of the visit, the coaster turned into a marathon riding project for a number of the crazies we had on the tour. I lost cound of how many times it was, in total. But it was alot, that they continually rode and rode and rode... Silly guys. There was also a short rainstorm midway thru our visit there, so we managed along until the rain (and some thunder and lightening some saw over in downtown Tokyo!) let up. Then a few more rides, more capsule machines to look at (and buy! buy!), and we were on our way back to the hotel. Waiting to get a bit of Kawasemi coaster love at Tobu Zoo. And see? There's another skywheel! Kawasemi's lifthill and a bit fo a fly-thru, woo hoo! Kawasemi Happy Hops! Why did they name this wooden coaster Regina? I have absolutely no idea, LOL! Near Regina - there's a dragon fly in there, see it? (o: Everybody getting their family coaster credit. All of them, whores. Teddy Donuts! But plain, they were kind of ...meh. Would have preferred a touch of cinammon sugar on them. But still - Teddy Donuts! A mini-rail vehicle with a Pegasus on top! Neat. I see you hiding in there, you Haunted Swing Face! And you entered it's mouth too! Simlar to The Simpsons' Krusty at Universal hmm? Seen from the mini-rail. And something serene to see, from the mini-rail. Rice fields. Fields of rice. Green. Lots of it, heh heh. And - a bit of the Carp Feeding Frenzy we witnessed, and then helped along with what feed we bought, too. Freeky. A last shot of Kawasemi. Great coaster. Hope they build more like this one, and Piraten in Denmark. Hanayashiki Observation tower ride (car to the left looks like the one we were in) view of Tokyo. And another tall Tokyo city tower there, too. In the tower car with me - Rosie, Cameron and Stacey. A corner building of Hanayashiki. With a rooftop garden complete with a temple, there! During the rainstorm - enjoying an ice cream crepe! They make them ultra-delicious at these parks. And so many varieties to choose from. Awesome eating delight! Everybody on top of one of the park's buildings, looking for lightning strikes in downtown Tokyo. Interesting sign, me and Rosie found in one of the eating spots of Hanayashiki. But - what do bumper cars have to do with ...turning Japanese??? (stay tuned for that one...) Um, one of the 'turns' of the marathon coaster run at Hanayashiki. Wierdos. All of them. Last shot at the park - Rosie on the park's Disk-O - she's there at the top of it. Bye bye Hanayashiki, and Tobu Zoo!

So, after a really great day at Fuji-Q Highland park (still can't believe I was saying that about it), the group was then scheduled to take in Yomuiriland park and the Tokyo Decks the next day, where the indoor coaster Spin Bullet was located. However, I took it upon myself to figure out if there was any park in this part of the tour that I ...A) had all the credits, B) felt that one visit (in this case, back in 2007) was enough, and C) was 'okay' in giving up, in order to give myself a Hotel Day at our current Hotel, the Tokyo Prince Shinagawa. Which had (I remember from the last visit and stay there) a great indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and as well, an outdoor pool which was also open during our stay there! I loved having (if only) a few hours just to kick back (or in this case, paddle, lol) and enjoy a partial Me Day, incuding a nice leisurely lunch, and browsing through all the varied shops in the hotel's mini-mall and surrounding area. It was really nice to just slow down, if only for a few hours. And swim! And then - I was off to re-join everybody at Tokyo Decks for that Spin Bullet credit! Elissa, (as usual Thankyou!) had excellent directions to get there and I had no probs in finding the place and then meeting up with the group from their Yomuiriland day. Not a lot of pix to show. But that's okay, isn't it? (o: Enjoy Once again no panarama shot to do, so here's Hotel Room View, Left... ...and Hotel Room View, Right. Lots of city out there, Tokyo has. After my day at the hotel, I was off to Tokyo Decks! Here's another skywheel near the train station I got out at. Man, they sure like their skywheels, don't they? Didn't ride it, but still pretty to look at. Destination: Joypolis! This is where a lot of simulator "rides" are, as well as a truly f-ed up indoor (bit of) outdoor spinning coaster called... ...Spin Bullet! And once on it was enough, thankyou every much. It was okay. Nothing great, but hey - got the credit! And - a very blurry harbour shot from one of the 'decks' of the Tokyo Decks, lol! And that's not a building on fire. Just a blurry, runny sunset.

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since Atmosfear opened to the public, on Saturday,July 16th. And it was also our annual Gay Day at Playland, the same day! And - true to Vancouver weather being the way it can be - it rained most of the day. But, I went with red (!) kneeboots on and my red Nagashima Spaland rain poncho and red Steel Dragon 2000 t-shirt on (red t-shirts are usually worn at these events) and rode the new attraction, though while I was in line it had a 'minor glitch,' as it stopped twenty or so feet above the loading floor while coming down. And then (after finally getting it to the ground level and the riders off it), had to be shut down for several minues for checking and adjustements, etc. Then, it was up and twirling again, LOL! Photos here besides the ride, also include some of the great volunteers who helped make Gay Day at Playland a memorable (although somewhat soggy) day for all, including us first Atmosfear riders. And - it's Vancouver's Pride Weekend this weekend - the big parade's tomorrow - so Happy Pride Everybody! These were a few of the volunteers who helped you have a great Gay Day at Playland. And this nice volunteer was at the entrance to the Special Events area of the park. And ooooo, Atmosfear's running! In the Special Events area, information booths for Vancouver's Pride Week, with more great people helping out. A shot of Atmosfear, from the Special Events area. With the Hellevator tower in front. This Special Events area also came with a bar and two great bartenders here. Hi guys! Another shot of you-know-what, lol! Looks great doesn't it, even with overcast, rainy-filled skies? Me in my Gay Day Outfit. I also had my red Theme Park Review backbag with me, too! And we got a First Riders button! Wet, but happy that Atmosfear is open. I like this shot I took of Atmosfear, the best - with a bit of BLING along side it. Happy Pride everyone!

^ LOL, Bob. As soon as they announce any future TPR Japan Tours - I'll be there with $$$ to deposit, fast! The Extra Good News about that is, I have convinced (I still hope) my partner David to accompany me on the next TPR Japan tour... as our 40th Anniversay Tour! Even though that number will be hit next year, I know he will love Japan and the parks, especially of course that little Disney Resort part, heh heh. ------------------------------------------------------------ And now - The Big Surprise (for me) of the Japan Tours - Fuji-Q Highland Park! First of all, as a backstory, Robb, Elissa and myself were the only three on this tour who had been to Fuji-Q in past visits, and weren't exactly looking forward to this visit, based on everything (mostly negative) you have read about it, in (most) past trip reports... Coaster shut-downs even when it drizzles, long lines, slow and wierd ride operations... all the bad stuff we remembered about our past visits, especially in 2007. But imagine our surprise when: 1) The bus trip to the park was congestion-free and construction-free! 2) We arrived a good hour before the park opened - and were head of the entry line! 3) It was sunny and hot - all - day! With fantastic views of Mt.Fuji all day we were there! 4) There were (their verison of) FastPasses to be gotten! Now the last part was actually, true to Fuji-Q's history, a bit of a new headache for R&E as the passes couldn't be gotten and given out all at once. The passes had to gotten hour-to-hour, and given out...in batches, best I can describe it. So THANKYOU ROBB & ELISSA for putting yourselves thru that nuisance of an operation - for our day's riding enjoyment! But once again we now know - it's "Always Something", when it comes to Fuji-Q Highland park, heh heh. And there's still that new coaster we have to come back to, and ride. Now on to the photos... Robb wanted everybody to get Bryan to "do something" then photograph it, for a 'contest.' I couldn't show my pic till now - and this is what I wanted Bryan to do - LICK THE SIGN. And he "almost" did, lol. Thanks Bryan! Eejanaika was closed on our visit. But I had ridden it in 2007 - after a 3+ hour wait in the queue. Good times. Waiting to ride another coaster. And they were waiting to ride Fujiyama! Bit of Dodonpa in front. And note the great view of the sky in back? Very rare for TPR Fuji visits, lol. Terry having a Mad Mouse Moment. Right in the middle of the park - with no rides or coasters to see - Me and Mt. Fuji! Skywheel with Dodonpa behind it. Skywheel buddys - Nathan and JC. Bad Dodonpa shot from Skywheel. The new coaster being built - and our eventual lunch spot in front of it... Take 1 Good Dodonpa shot from Skywheel. (o: New coaster - lunch spot in front...Take 2. Lunch at lunch spot! With beer! I was happy. Thanks Fuji-Q! (omg Did I just say that?)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011. In the second week of the TPR Japan Tour. ~ Me and Mt.Fuji ~ Taken inside Fuji-Q Highland park! Me and the Mt. - in Fuji-Q Highland park, right in the middle of the park itself!

So, for my last full day at the Disney Resort, I started in Disneyland, continued over to Disney Sea, then just an hour or so before Fantasmic! was scheduled to run (was going to see it on next TPR Tour, lol), back to Disneyland for a few final hours there - and then meeting up with Robb, to head to our next hotel for the Tokyo Parks Tour - and seven nights in the same hotel, too. Nice! More on that later. But for now... We got our luggage out of the rooms and downstairs to the lobby for transport to our next (and final) hotel, then headed over to Disneyland for some more Pooh's Hunny Hunt, the new "Mickey's Philharmagic" (was great - and Donald was hilarious in it too!), a re-seeing of "Captain EO" (I remember when it first came out and saw it at the Imagination Pavillion at EPCOT!) and a spin on "Buzz Lightyear", although we nearly got cut off by the daily Easter parade that was still running at that time. But later we found out, our fastpasses would still be good (we had them for Buzz and thought the parade would do us in, timing wise) even if we went into the attraction several hours later. Good to know for future use, LOL! So, we did our Buzz thing, and then I headed over to Disney Sea for the major part of my last day there. Got all my faves in - which is pretty much everything in that park, lol - and even took one of the nice and relaxing boat cruises, one way from Mediterranean Harbour to Lost River Delta, and got some fine looks of the park (and that lovelty volcanoe) from the water's viewpoint. Did Indy, and Raging and Sinbad (oh my!) another wacky turn on Aquatopia, strolled thru Mermaid Lagoon for a last look, kept Journey and 20k for last rides, then up to the Tower of Terror for one final....tour. And then, back to Disneyland for dinner (which I managed to have, a few times at Grandma's Kitchen in Critter Country - great food and a neat setting right beside Splash Mountain), a final ride on Hunny Hunt, and Big Thunder, and then I did what did for my last ride in the parks, back in 2007: a nice relaxing cruise on the Mark Twain Steamboat. Took a few night pix, and those of us on the ship could easily see all the light effects and lasers in the night sky, that Fantasmic! was showing in TDS. A great final day at Disney. And then, continuing on to the second part of the TPR Tour - Tokyo Parks including (dread) that "always popular" Fuji-Q Highland Park. Stay tuned..... The band plays for us in the opening hours of TDL, under the Main Street Bazaar's huge steel and glass canopy. There's always room for another castle shot. They have a new "tour" going thru it, but I didn't do it. Maybe next visit. Captain EO! Wow, never thought I'd be seeing this little film again. Still pretty good after all this time. This was the pre-show area. JC and me at the entance to PhilharMagic. It was really good and very cool with some of the film effects and 3-D. Definitely worth a re-visit. Then we got to Buzz Lightyear, and then I was off to Disney Sea! The Mountain at TDS, and a crowd watching.... Another band. Disney does great entertainment, whether on the street or in a theatre. It's all fantastic! Because I don't have anything in my camera to make a Good Panorama - here's Aquatopia, Left Side... ...and here's Aquatopia, Right Side. Fun and silly, and it's the start of trackless vehicles at Disney (Pooh in TDL, Ratatouille at WDS, Mystic Manor at HKDL, hopefully). Inside Mermaid Lagoon. So pretty. And air conditioned! Even with children running all over the place, it felt very relaxing (to me) to stroll thru. And get some Sea Salt ice cream, yum! Not-so-great shot of a terrain vehicle in the "Journey to..." loading station. Love it, love it, love that lava monster, LOL! Start of the boat cruise, to Lost River Delta. And a nice distant view of Hightower Hotel (read: Tower of Terror). The Fortress with Magellan's (a restaurant) and things to do and explore, and Mt.Prometheus. Now where in (the original) Cape Cod do you get a volcanoe as backdrop? Discovery Bay, a bit of Aquatopia, Storm Rider (neat large simulator adventure) over on the left there, and the cruise is nearly over. A few more fave rides, then back over to Disneyland. Last shots from Tokyo Disneyland. This is a model of the MarkTwain, in the loading dock, and the boat is just coming in for us to take a short cruise around Tom Sawyer Island at night. Big Thunder Mountain. Red and a bit blurry, heh. But wait! It gets better!.... My last shot of Cinderella's Castle, wierd exposure and all, from the Mark Twain. I like it. A special shot, it is. Me and the Mark Twain, after returning to the dock. Bye bye Tokyo Disney Reosrt. Miss you already. See you again, real soon I hope.

BUMP for Tokyo Disney Sea visit! This was actually the third day of our four-day passport, and it was the first of the 2 park-hopper days available. But I decided to make this park-hopper day a full-out Tokyo Disney Sea visit. And a few of us left the park before Fantasmic! started up, knowing I/we'd probably "see it next time", when we get back here in another TPR Japan tour (yes!). The new Toy Story Midway Mania wouldn't be ready until next year, and Jasmine's Flying Carpets was juuust about to open - but not till we had already been there. Still, there was a lot to see in TDS, a lot to ride and enjoy and a HUGE GI-normous amount of wonderful themeing and atmosphere. On the Sunday there, the crowds were heavy, but there were a number of Single Rider Lines we took advantage of, incl. Indiana Jones, Raging Spirits, Journey to Lava Monster (hee), and The Hightower Hotel Tours (read: Tower of Terror). It was great and we got re-rides on a lot of the fave attractions. And of course, a few turns on my fave boat ride of all time - Sinbad's Storybook Voyage. It may 'look' like something resembling "It's A Small World." But totally different, and with a story line, beautifully built and run, and the song was very enchanting, if somehwat hard to understand, heh heh. Still, "Compass of Your Heart" was a lovely thru-song for the ride, and I enjoyed it every time. My camera battery decided to die on me just as I got a great thumbs-up shot (you'll see) taken. Eep. But, this was the awesomeness and beauty of staying on Disney property, with the DIsney Transit System (Mono - Mono - Monorail!) to use between parks and hotels. From literally the back of Tokyo Disney Sea, it took me just under 40 minutes or so, to get out of the park, on the monorail to the hotel to the room, get a new battery installed, and then back on the monorail to the park, and re-meet up with those I'd had to leave, for the battery run, lol. Very impressed the the Disney transport. Unfortunately, I had a big complaint with TDS (yes I had one!) and it was about their themed souvenirs I remember from the 2007 tour - now totally gone from most TDS shops (Discovery Bay, Tower of Terror and Nautilus Gifts, particularly), not to be found anymore - and entire roomfuls of Disney character merchandise, there instead. I mean, this stuff wasn't even themed to the "land" or attraction's gift shop it was being sold in. I could find this all in Tokyo Disneyland as well as Disney Sea. I was looking forward to buying more 20K or Nautilus-themed things (actually I remember a nice jacket there, but no more). Sad to see that happen, but I guess the local population who visited the parks more than we did, just weren't buying the stuff. Ah well. Tokyo Disney Sea is still a gorgeous ultra-high-tech marvel for Disney and it's still at the top of My Fave Parks list, heh heh. Now onto a few of the pix taken there, that day... What's becoming my "Regular TDS Shot" in Mysterious Island, Nautilus at the ready. And it's just themeing! Nautilus Gifts is up in the right corner there, too Future Toy Story Midway Mania! So excitied! But not till next year, darnit. A thumbs-up for Raging Spirits ~ actually very good and SO much better than the Paris version - and then my camera battery 'died' lol. After the "camera battery run," back into TDS and quick snack at the New York Deli in 1940s Waterfront. Loved it! The Big Band Beat show sign. Excellent show - actually, all of TDS' shows were first rate, IMhO. And this one - I even bought the show's soundtrack CD! (o: Me, JC and "The Elevator In Question", at Hightower Hotel. Great backstory and total atMOUSEphere (had to say that, lol)!

Okay. I'll bite (ha ha)... What IS the "Stitch Candy".....actually? And no, I won't ask you how you found out, lol.

Tokyo Disney Resort BUMP! We had an interesting way of enjoying the Disney Resort's two parks in this tour. Elissa had gotten us four-day park passes, of which the first two days had to be used, one per park per day. The other two were then park-hopper passes. Fair enough. So - on our arrival at the hotel (after 8 pm, from touring Nagashima Spaland, then travelling to TDLR) the passes were handed out, and we all hightailed it over to Tokyo Disney Sea, just as Fantasmic! had ended. Crowds coming at us the oppostie direction, LOL! I think a good amount of the people just used the pass to go in, then came right back out, and didn't revisit TDS until the park-hopper days (Sunday and Monday). But the few of us (myself included) who just couldn't wait, got up to the "top" of the park, and got in Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull (still awesome to ride again and again); Raging Spirits coaster (very cool at night with all the fire and mist effects - and it was a New Credit! Ka-ching! And honestly, it rode muuuch better than the similar coaster at Disney Paris); Sinbad's Storybook Voyage (still great and I still love it, even though I still cannot understand the song, lol); and Journey to The Center of The Earth (gotta love that lava monster!). And then, out of the park (it was 1/2 hour till closing) and back to our hotel for a nightcap cocktail and bed. The next day was spent all at Tokyo Disneyland with a 'sidetrip' that afternoon to see a performance of the Cirque du Soleil production of ZED. I have just found out they are shutting the show down for various reasons , so I am very glad I decided to get a ticket and see it for myself. Breathtaking show, theatre, set and sound/lighting. It was another wonderful Cirque production, and am sorry I won't get to see it again when I return on another TPR tour. But I got myself a Cirque watch, a facecloth and of course the lovely pictorial programme of ZED. Already got the CD, lol. After seeing the show, then getting back to Tokyo Disneyland, wait times for a lot of fave attractions were really long. And the only Singe Riders Line attraction in the park was Splash Mountain. Which was great as it did bypass a lot of queueing time for it. The major attractions were visited in the morning prior to seeing ZED, so I knew I could/would re-visit stuff on the other two park-hopper days. Monsters, Inc. Ride-And-Go-Seek was a neat new ride to go on. The 'flashlights' were always 'on,' but there were some interesting effects to make happen on it. Pooh's Hunny Hunt was still OMG awesome to ride, as was the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin, and Pirates of the Caribbean too. It was all good. And it was still "Easter Wonderland" at Tokyo Disneyland too (!), which was sort of strange, being there in the end of June, but it was pretty to see all the themeing, etc. So after a couple of hours, a few of us decided to call it a day at that park, and headed back to the hotel for more early evening cocktails and snacks. Our hotel room view at the Hilton Hotel in Tokyo Disney Resort - bridge or coaster? We were hoping... Interesting part of the Disneyland Hotel, seen from the monorail platform, this was the ONLY part of it, I could see that was painted shades or purple. So - I guess this was the gay part of the hotel, LOL! The Main Street covered Bazaar, the (saturday) crowds, and the castle at TDL. Part of the Easter themeing at TDL - living statues! Very neat to watch them. And this one was my fave of the three. She was very good in her 'mechanical movements' lol. After seeing ZED, back in the park, with new Ears - and a pose with Emma with the Main Street Bazaar entrance in back. Tomorrow - I visit Tokyo Disney Sea!

Before the current thing happened with Cirque, ZED had originally been directed as a two act production with an intermission. After a few months of running the show, management was finding that a lot of the (local) audience was leaving the theatre at intermission, because they thought it was over! Really! So the production was timed down to a one-act-only timing of 90 minutes. Which is the version I got to see back in June. Now I am so glad I did see it! It was an awesome show, even at the currrent shorter running time. But that's what I heard a year or so ago, about Cirque and ZED - so this is just more 'stuff and reason' (unfortunately) for them to shut production down.

Tokyo Disney Sea + Europa Park = Uncontrollable OMGness! Easy answer. (EDIT to answer Why? Because thay are two incrediblly put-together theme parks. And TDS would definitely adminsiter the themeing and technology, while Europa would get enhanced its already great lineup of coasters and attractions... ...and it's themeing and technology! )

Yep. That about sums it all up for those parks. EB you're crazy, and inspired. It's all everything....good.

^^ Thanks BB (sorry, don't remember your name if and when noted, here). Camille keeps moving around to hard-to-spot/find places, to sleep thru the day. This morning we actually got her up on the bed to snuggle and sleep. And purr. Mmmm. She still reposnds to to us, which is good, but everything is in slow-motion with her right now. We're hoping it's just all the meds in her system, slowing her down, and not the pain or hurt. And ^ Gregg, already we've been telling each other, "not another one for now." But with Camille, it was four months after we lost our last cat (Calliope) before this one came into our lives, via the BC-SPCA. So, as much as we'll be telling ourselves such things - you never know when the next pet picks you, etc. Fate and such, hmmm? Hope you and your family have been doing okay, since your Feb. loss. EDIT (Sept.7/17): We had to put Camille down on July 25th. I was a mess, as was David. We waited until November, when we picked out Stella, who is still with us.