bert425

^ when/if I return, will totally go back to Yokohama - I wanna do CupNoodles museum, in addition to CosmoWorld stuff again. (and of course I want to do that Aquarium in Tokyo that was doing the "fishsex" exhibit. I REALLY wanted to do it, but there was just so much to do, that despite intentions (and some great directions to get to it), I never made it Means I absolutely HAVE to go back in the future! not to mention TDL will have the new Beauty and the Beast section open too)

Great start, Adam, and how exciting to see a report from several of the places that I'll get to in mine eventually! (in particular, Joypolis, USJ, & TDL/TDS). . .as not only was it my 1st ever trip to Japan, it was my 1st ever visit to a Universal Park. gonna be so fun to see how the experiences differ. I may have missed it, but what is the timeframe that you were at Joypolis? Wondering as when we went in early Oct (and i'll have that update up at some point in a week or two, since have a few parks before that point), at that time the Spin coaster was themed to a J-pop boy-band. Playing their video and song, thruout the "dark game" part of the ride, and during the finale end spinning around the "tower" section. the video stage also had turned into a "virtual" concert for the band. I honestly thought they were appearing live (or one of them was) based on the crowd reaction and participation. . but when got a look at the stage - no pics permitted - everyone was just watching a projected performance on the screens. it was so interesting to see. we liked Decks too, and tho we didn't eat at the Ramen Alley, everything you posted looks like it tasted amazing. can't wait to see more

^ yep! that was the creepy little thing! (tho the one I saw in the gift shop window was MUCH larger. .like a giant pillow)

yeah, let me know and I can confirm for you what's going on in Austin at that time (as if you were gonna come to Austin, you have to avoid SXSW, ACL Fest, or any of many other things that really shoot up Hotel rates). tho if you are just gonna hit some Texas parks, I certainly would try to make the effort to meet y'all at SFFT (for sure) and maybe even SFoT if on a weekend - and Nick would even come too, he really liked hanging out with you, Kim! not surprised it got buried tho, LOL, done lots of stuff since St Louis!

wow. .is that really the reason there are so few public trashcans? it's something super noticeable (and yet, there is hardly ANY trash on the ground or laying anywhere). It was one of the many impressive things about Japan - how clean everything is.

Right, all of the “original” SF parks always get the best additions. Just ask SFSL. and SFOT, when they got their FreeSpin in 2018.

Thanks Ryan. I did *not* see any costume characters during our time at CosmoWorld (you're correct. . if I had, of course I would have snagged a picture with them). I assume you mean by mascot, their frightening Ferris Wheel thing? Zoomed in on from the map in the pic behind me. I DID see that as a giant plush in the window of the gift shop, and thought it was bizarre enough that I commented on it. Someone (Elissa maybe?) had to actually tell me it was supposed to be the CosmoClock. . . LOL.. I really had no idea. didn't take a picture of it, tho maybe someone else did? (Brad?). .since we were sitting right near the gift shop windows while eating the Crepes. yah, we TRIED to scream high pitch. . but couldn't quite get it high enough (wasn't about to squeeze anything to achieve higher. . ). No breathalyzer, just the question on the Enterprise. . but what a great story it would have made if we were asked to blow before being crammed into that coaster! as to the haunt with the candle - if it *was* still there, I didn't experience it. Was it over across the water, in the "town" section? it looked like there were quite a few walkthru attractions there that we bypassed (other than the ice house). so would think it might be in that section. the only "haunt" we did was the dark ride in the cage.

oh my! that's quite a compliment, Alice. Thanks so much thanks. . tho I tend to pretty much always have a huge grin on a Carousel - even while on Genie at TDS (and that wasn't a "comfy" ride, since the design of the seat makes one's crotch slide forward into Genie's neck). . LOL as to the Japanese train station signage . . . it's been a ling time since I've been on the Manhattan Subway, but I do think that Japan stations have *way* more signs, but they are posted EVERYWHERE. pretty much any intersection within the station has signs, as do many walls, and along the platforms over each station stop. So it's a lot of signage to follow, but if you know what to keep an eye out for? it seemed to work really well, even when following a sign took one down a long underground hallway, or low-roofed corridor. There is a lot of color-coordinating, which is really good - with the most important color being "yellow", as those signs direct you to exits (and underneath list what exit/lines following that sign will take you to). not sure if that answers your question, but hopefully? I loved the Coaster sculpture too, and had actually thought it was a ride from the promenade - Robb is who corrected me by noting it's a sculpture. So when I saw later that we were sorta/kinda near it, I made a point to go get a better look and a picture. Very happy you're enjoying the report thus far (this is really only still day 2 of 16!! so lots more to come). . but FEH for making me imagine that taste again. LOL. . . if you try Warabimochi? let us know what you think. .as I still go back to "dirt, with worms in it" as the best description. I can't disagree with you, although I have to be happy with my choice since it was my 1st time in Japan, so I just *had* to check out Fuji-Q. I will note that those of us that ended up going to Fuji-Q that free day, really did have a *perfect* day. So good, that I never want to go back, as any return visit will NEVER live up to our day there. so if I make it back to Japan? will totally do Japanese Baseball instead Thanks Bill. I was really impressed how lovely CosmoWorld looked at night. and to be fair, most of the parks that we were at after dark, really looked stunning. Japan knows how to highlight attractions at night.

as it was now night-time, the queue for the CosmoClock had gotten fairly long - starting on the stairs, and going thru several switchbacks on the main platform before getting to the loading area. it still moved pretty quickly, since there are so many carriages in this continually moving Ferris Wheel. Brad wanted to take pictures so he was going to moving back and forth within the carriage, which made Jon a bit nervous, so Brad and Leia rode together in a separate carriage, while Jon, Allison and myself rode in another (but none of us waited for the clear carriages.. which was fine with Jon). William who is also not a fan of heights, killed time in the claw arcade while we took a ride on the CosmoClock, and I think this is where he won that "Spoon of noodles" keychain that i mentioned the other day. in our wheel carriage, and looking out at the spinning Mouse on the rooftop next door as we go up. there are still folks in line, but the queue for that had really died down by this point (recall. . it was a Sunday night, and most of the folks still in the park seemed to be in the queue for the CosmoClock). a lovely view of the Minato Mirai shopping area across the water with the flats lit up in the dark. looking up thru the roof of the carriage at the interior workings of the CosmoClock in LED green a little blurry, but the best shot I have of the Nippon Maru, ship/museum docked in the harbor. myself, Allison, and Jon in our carriage. looking out at the Pacifico Yokohama (on the right, with the "waves" roof) - which is one of the largest convention centers in the world. getting near the top, and looking down at the Flat Rides area of CosmoWorld, and the shopping/dining areas Looking down to see Vanish's track .. . vanishing. would have been nice to get the coaster in motion, but it turned out it had been e-stopped on the lift hill (looked like perhaps because someone had pulled out a phone, or was trying to film)? Not really sure why, but we did see and operator walk out to the train on the lift hill, and sternly talk to someone before the lift chain started up again. Continuing our descent on the other side of the wheel, can see most of Vanish's trackwork. and the LEDs in CosmoClock make riding it at night, so incredibly beautiful. Tired, but happy, and washed out in this selfie against the bright lights. here's Vanish in that eStop I noted. . we saw it much clearer as we came down right next to the lift hill. and lower left, you can see just under the guy in the corner, the Operator coming out to talk to someone in the train. at least this kind of stuff doesn't *only* happen in America. tho if I had to put money on it, I would guess it was a tourist, rather than a local, who caused the eStop. by the time we exited the CosmoClock, the Vanish train was approaching the dive portion to the lake, so snapped a few more pics of it. so fast and blurry. . . and really spectacular at night. . Boom! we met back up with William, and between us all, we still had about 10 ride tickets. Everyone was pretty much 'done' and ready to head back to the hotel, but that was enough tickets to ride or do *something*, and Leia was willing to do the "Mirror Adventure" -the world of giant kaleidoscope- mirror maze, but needed someone to go thru with. William had done it while we were on the CosmoClock, and said it was fun, so when no one else really wanted to, I went ahead and went with Leia to go thru. this was an interactive mirror maze, as when you go in, they ask you what your Astrological sign is, and then you have to navigate the maze to find the rubber stamp that matches your sign (spread out thruout the attraction) and stamp your piece of paper to prove you found it. if you do find it, you get to push a button at the exit and it spins a "wheel" that let's you pick a prize. fun, although I didn't win in the spin, even after finding my stamp. Leia did tho, and I think she chose to take a stuffed animal of some kind (William had taken a diecast truck). the maze was well done, and besides the standard glass/mirror rooms, there was also this really impressive "reflective fireworks" room in there too. although looking at the description on CosmoWorlds website (where I went to get the name correctly), they describe the following: "The highlight is the fantastic giant kaleidoscope in the maze" - so I'm guessing that what I called the "reflective fireworks" room is the "fantastic giant kaleidoscope" really noticeable in this last pic I took. we finished up, Leia won her prize, and it was time to head out and back to the hotel. but what had everyone else done while we went thru the Mirror Maze? why they had found a Crepe place that had a *huge* menu - really, at least 40 pages. and they all looked great, so of course, we both wanted to try those. it wasn't the first crepe I had in Japan on this trip, but i was (I think) the best - I had frozen strawberries and heavy cream. it was so good, I had eaten most of it before realizing I didn't get a picture of it. But I highly recommend it if you go to Cosmoworld - its the place at the base of the escalators by the arcade under the tower that holds CosmoClock/Vanish stations. and with that? it was almost 9:40 and we were ready to head back. . so we all walked back to the train station, excitedly talking about what a fantastic day we had. . and realizing that we had to be up fairly early the next day. It was gonna be another big day for many of us: Tobu Zoo in the morning, and Toshimaen Park in the afternoon. I was tired, but so very content (and not just because of the crepe to end the day).

after leaving LaQua Tokyo Dome City (and having a fantastic morning there), we went back to the Train station as a group. Two trains and about 40 minutes later we were in Yokohama and ready for the remainder of my 1st full day in Japan. Coming out of the Yokohama Train station, we exited facing the Minato Mirai area - an entertainment area featuring tons of Restaurants , Shopping, Museums (including the one on Nippon Maru, a 1930's Sailing Ship that's permanently docked in the Harbor), Yokohama CosmoWorld, and this beauty off to the left - the Landmark Tower - super unique architecture, that I believe is the 2nd or 3rd tallest building in Japan. Crossing the street, and headed towards the Kishamichi Promenade, there is interesting architecture all around. not exactly sure what the Cross Gate is, but the building sure was Unique looking. walking on the Kishamichi Promenade, towards Cosmo World, you can see the amazing Cosmo Clock 21 - which is still one of the world's largest Ferris Wheels (at over 360 ft), and at the time it was built, was the worlds largest. while walking on the Kishamichi Promenade, you really get some stunning views of the area. more to the left, and I apparently cut it off, would be the docked Nippon Maru ship. the Cosmo Clock really is breathtaking in Person. . and as impressive as it is? it's even more impressive at night - and we'd get to see that, as CosmoWorld was gonna be open until 10pm, and we were arriving just around 4pm. that's all shopping and dining surrounding the Cosmo World amusement park. . including the "Cup Noodles" museum - something that I learned from Elissa on this walk: it's NOT "Cup 'o Noodles" or even "Cup of Noodles". . it's "Cup Noodle" I was pretty surprised to discover that I had been saying it wrong my entire life! but there it was, right across the street from the park entrance. (one would think that with ~6 hours to spend at CosmoWorld, I would have found time to venture across the street to the museum. and I WANTED to. but the timing just didn't work out, with just too many other things vying for my time this afternoon. So something to do for sure if I make it back to Japan). looking back across the waterway, at the Yokohama Landmark Tower. truly an impressive sight. Coming off the Kishamichi Promenade, and rounding the walkway towards CosmoWorld. damn, that Ferris Wheel is BIG. and we're almost at the entrance! that pink track is from Diving Coaster Vanish, and the Spinning Mouse is on *top* of the 3 story arcade/dark ride building. it's pretty impressive how they crammed so much into such a tiny space surrounded by shopping/dining/museum areas. and here we are - at the main entrance! pic courtesy of Robb. we're here! Park map, and as you can see, it's actually a bit more spread out than I had thought at first. With quite a bit of things to do on the other side of the harbor yes, bert, that's the Cosmo Clock 21 - you found it! good boy! so overwhelmingly impressive when standing directly beneath is. really gives one a "wow" moment. but before we get deep into the park. . the first thing we come to, just to the left of the entrance? the famous "Cliff Drop” ~ Scream Grand Prix ~ - the log flume where the volume of the scream gets you on the board. scream loud enough, and you can top the board for the day. so OF COURSE, that's what we had to do 1st, so many of us split up into groups of 2 or 3, and attempted to scream our way onto the board. I believe I rode with 1 other guy, and our manly screams (tho I tried to scream higher) were not loud enough to even register on the board, tho some of the TPR folks did manage to get into the top 5. Didn't get too wet on it- only a slight splash - but really, this almost counts as a coaster in my book, because the section from the turn around over Vanish's dive, until the big drop? you're flying in that tube, with very little water flowing beneath your log. Yep, it's got a bit of airtime, before the drop. really enjoyed this flume, even if I wasn't able to scream loud enough. yet another pic of the Cosmo Clock. Not sure why I'm giving a thumb's up. .it's not like Vanish coaster is on the tracks there or anything. LOL Probably because I'm still in disbelief that I'm standing in front of this place that, again, I had only seen/heard about in other trip reports on TPR over the years. speaking of Diving Coaster Vanish? that is where the majority of the group headed to next. it had a bit of a line, but nothing too outrageous, and I think we maybe waited 15 minutes for it. The boarding station for Vanish, is in the same structure as the boarding for the Ferris Wheel (which is on the level above it) - you go up the Left stairs for the Cosmo Clock, and the Right Stairs for Vanish. Getting a shot of the front of the coaster train, and the cubbies on the dock. I can't recall 100%, but I *think* they were only running on train here. it's a little hard to tell from the pic, but if you think that looks like a lot of padding on the restraints? Double what you are thinking it looks like. I was so uncomfortable, and got incredibly claustrophobic, the moment the restraints came down and my head/ears/body was crammed in-between the foam .. smooshing my ears. Oh, I get it, the coaster - while super fast - is not at all smooth, and that padding is needed. but I was so uncomfortable, and just wanted the ride to be over, that I didn't enjoy it at all. (I don't think I was the only one either, and I don't believe any of the folks I was hanging with rode it more than this one time). Certainly none of us got back in line to ride it again. so it's a case of "wow, this coaster LOOKS amazing. . but it is a 1 and done" it really does haul tho, and the dive into the lake really is a spectacular effect to view from the unload platform near the Cosmo Clock station. Looking up at the Cosmo Clock from the Diving Coaster Vanish exit. Some of the gondolas are completely clear! I believe these were an upcharge to ride in them, and there were only a handful on the wheel. it would have been really cool to ride, but since was with someone who is not a fan of heights - but *was* willing to ride it later once it got dark. . .wasn't gonna push to ride a clear gondola. really pretty cool looking tho. Still on the Diving Coaster Vanish exit, looking across the water at more of CosmoWorld - where most of the flats are, and the "island" where all the kiddie rides, and the double Carousel is. Behind on those levels are tons of restaurants, stores, and public areas where bands or clowns were performing. catching the log flume at the bottom of the 1st "splash" before it goes under Vanish, and heads up to what I called the "coaster" section of the flume. but since here, let's grab some pics of Vanish "diving" it's moving so fast, it's a bit of a blur. but that splash effect is great! whee! a bit disorienting, but pointing the phone up to see most of the Cosmo Clock above me. A shot of the loading station for Cosmo Clock behind me. it wasn't very crowded this early - when we came back to ride it after dark, the line had more than quadrupled in size, and I think it was a 20-25 minute wait. but we weren't gonna ride it just yet. this wheel is just SO damn photogenic. I lost most all the pics I took of it against the sky - hard to whittle down so I don't post all of em! we headed up the escalators to the rooftop, with the spinning mouse next on our agenda. From the queue there, you can also get some great pics of Diving Coaster Vanish. as I noted, I didn't really wanna ride it again, but it certainly is very photogenic. here's a lift hill shot. and the turnaround into the 1st "drop" the brick building with the glass upper floor on the right there is the "CupNoodles Museum" I mentioned earlier. nothing super steep, but it does pick up a lot of speed here. it's a fast, if not smooth, coaster. Whee! it was only about 5:15, but combined with the overcast day? it was starting to get dark enough that some of the lights were starting to come on. and I was realizing just how spectacularly lovely this park was going to look at night. not quite dark enough to truly appreciate the LEDs in the CosmoClock, but I love this pic because I was able to get one of the Spinning Mouse cars in the frame. pic courtesy of William (I think). Trent and I riding. . . . Cookie Monster? LOL. . this mouse didn't really seem to be anything super special, but it really did give an awful lot of spinning once we hit the release on the 2nd level. I enjoyed it immensely. While waiting at the exit for the rest of the group to get off the Mouse (they were only operating 4 cars, so although they weren't loading too slowly, capacity is always gonna be an issue with this type of coaster), I was able to get pretty close to Diving Coaster Vanish's helix. again, you can see how crazy fast this coaster is, by how blurred it is (and how little the log in the flume has moved between levels of the helix). again, behind on the right, is the CupNoodles Museum. a good chunk of Vanish, and an view of this side of CosmoWorld.. . .tho keep in mind, we're on top of 3 levels that include 3 dark rides, a Mirror Maze, and a couple of arcades. the darker it gets, the lovelie the park looks. looking out towards the train station, and i believe I was trying to get the TPR folks in that Mouse car in the pic. not 100% sure what this lit up building is on the lower right, but it was very well maintained and looked to me like maybe a performance center. Once everyone was off the Mouse, some of us headed down a level to the infamous Dark Ride: "New Ghost: Terrible Journey" why is it infamous? why, because you ride thru it in a cage. no really. . a cage. . it was awesome, see? and making it even more awesome? you get to choose how scary you want your ride to be. When they asked William, Jon and I, of course we said MOST SCARY!!! which really seemed to translate to: it's going to be mostly dark, with things lighting up for just a second before they pop out at you. it wasn't very scary (even at Most Scary level), but some of the effects - such as the hands dragging along the top of the cage from above, were very effective and fun. Allison wouldn't have liked it tho. . so it was good she didn't ride. . LOL this giant spooky head drops out of the ceiling in front of the ride. so of course, we posed for when it dropped down - with our "most scary" faces. well. .except for Jon. Smiling is apparently his most scary face. LOL Right next door was what turned out to be one of my favorites in CosmoWorld. A shooting dark ride, with a TON of practical, animatronic effects, called "Echidna's Cave" it was kinda sorta Pokemon-type creatures, some good, some bad - I dunno..I shot at anything with a target! Jon, of course, smoked us all again, but what was really cool (in addition to all the really well done practical effects/targets) was if you got above a certain score? you got a coin, that you could drop into a maching in front of the ride (where I took this picture), and it gave you a creature card that you could use to play a pokemon type card game with. it was a neat little souvenir. but the time we got done with the two dark rides, and wandered thru the arcade, it had really gotten dark out, and the park had come alive with LEDs. a nice touch was out by the water, where the "boardwalk" area had set up led glowing tables, and this cool little "heart-light" bench. so of course, stopped for a photo to send home to my Spouse. awwwww. and what's this across the way? a working Enterprise? That appeared to have the double seating configuration? I hadn't ridden one of those in many, many years, and Robb had mentioned that on prior visits it hadn't been operating. so if it was running, then I was gonna try to get a ride on it. dark enough now to really get the full effect of the LEDs on the CosmoClock. just lovely. and on "ground level" by the boardwalk still. . we had to hang out for a diving coaster Vanish pic or two. tho a log from the screaming flume came first ah. .here it comes. DAMN> > > > at night it looks like it's on fire! kewl. Looking across the water to the lights on the Landmark Tower, the rides, and the string of lights on the masts of the Nippon Maru ship (on the far left) We're walking up to the bridge to walk across to the other rides, but looking back at Vanish and Cosmo Clock. this park is *stunning* at night. across the way, before one gets to the flat rides, you walk thru a small "town" area, where lining the streets are claw machine arcades, Mirror Mazes, and Jungle Mazes. and at the end of that "street"? ICE WORLD. . a walk thru Ice House, which is described as: "Polar experience attraction where you can experience the world of minus 30 degrees Celsius" Seeing as we had a few Canadians with the group who had commented that wasn't too cold? oh, we had to do this! pic courtesy of William LtR: David (Canadian), me (Texan), William (Californian), Allison (Canadian), and Jon (Canadian) outside the Ice House, Cosmo World had set up another of the "love benches" as had been on the boardwalk across the river. this one was set up to get a lovely view of the Cosmo Clock behind it in pictures tho. and since it was now dark enough to appreciate the LED designs, I snapped a few pics. in the entrance "lobby". . not cold at all. Trent and I are even wearing shorts. oh, it's made to LOOK like it's cold. . but it's not too cold. hmm. . . a stuffed polar bear. and it's starting to get cold in here the further we get in. holy crap. .ok, it's COLD in here. Whole rooms filled with blocks of ice, and sculptures made of Ice. I dunno if William actually sat, or just pretended to sit in this ice chair, but I wasn't about to. meanwhile, two of the Canadians, just plop down on an ice sofa all comfortable like! I had gotten my "experience" tho. .and was ready to get out. LOL The Enterprise (called "Super Planet") was operating, and it looked to be running a hell of an intense cycle, so a few of us got in line to ride it. We had to wait a cycle to ride it, which worked out perfectly, a I was able to snap this pic, which is one of my favorites from this stop. LOL. . I guess they were concerned about having to clean up vomit, because while we were waiting for our turn, the operator asked everyone in line if they had been drinking today, and wanted assurances that nobody had been. As I suspected from across the river, this is one of the "double seater" Enterprises, and I am so thrilled I got a chance again to ride one. the location of this one added a ton to the ride experience too - not only was it really forceful and a long cycle? but the "dive" seemed to be right into the water due to the placement of the ride. an amazing experience, and one of the highlights of the evening. after our ride, a few folks were starting to get hungry, and so they wanted to go over to the shops/restaurants and grab some food. I was still full from lunch (so was Jon), and David was going to head out to meet Tabitha for dinner, since it was about 6:45 already) so Michael, Allison, and I think Brad, Leia, and Trent (?) headed off to find food. Next to the enterprise was a Swing Around (likely by HUSS?) called Galaxy. I love Enterprises, and can ride those with no problem. but I KNOW that Swing Arounds will make me sick. (the one at Dorney Park had done so). David mentioned they are his favorite ride tho, so I watched while he rode. yeah.. nope. . not for me. but glad he enjoyed it. I had other things on my radar anyways. .I wanted to ride the Carousel, which appeared to be a double decker one. it was on the "kiddie island" section, and it looked like they were shutting down that section - even tho the park itself was open until 10. So after saying goodbyes to David, Jon and I headed across the connecting bridge to the kiddie island for the Carousel. it ended up being the exact correct call, as the kiddie Island area closed at 7, and we were among the last four customers in that area. the operator gladly let us on for the final ride of the evening, and even was patient enough to not rush us when he saw I was taking pictures of the Carousel. Other than the size (it's not a huge diameter, even tho it's a double decker), I'm not really sure why this lovely classic was relegated to the kiddie section. It appeared to be very well taken care of, and had a huge variety of animals, swings, spinning teacups (!), carriages, and "bouncing" options. it's a double decker. . of COURSE we're gonna ride in the upstairs ring. as noted, some beautiful detail on this Carousel. only one row of animals around the inner ring upstairs (tho several bench options on the inside). Jon and I both took Galloping (up & down) horse options, over the "bouncing" horse, or the swings. "bouncing" horse in front of Jon Swing behind me. but as usual. . look how happy I am on a Carousel. Looking down to the lower level, the horses there are two deep. but also options for Carriages, or teacups, that can spin while riding. the only other riders on our cycle (or on the Kiddie Island area) awwwwww. Thanks for taking this pic for me Jon. the ride has ended, but the operator was OK with me taking a few pics (tho you can see them covering up some of the other rides in the background). these carriages on the lower level didn't spin, but they DID rock back and forth, like a see-saw. again, just a lovely Carousel, and appeared to be really well maintained (something I really noticed across the board and most every park we went to). this is one of the ride vehicles from "the North Pole" ride. . a small kiddie flume. which I'm sure I woudldn't have been allowed to ride, even if it *had* still been open. tho I totally would have chosen to ride in a pink dolphin, if I had been allowed to. the "indoor" section of the North Pole ride (pic snapped while walking by the "tunnel"). Exiting the kiddie island section, as they literally closed the gates the moment we stepped thru them. time on the Cosmo Clock shows 7:01, so yep, this section did close at 7pm. Really glad we didn't go eat, so I didn't miss my Carousel fix at this park. We were gonna meet up with everyone to ride the Ferris Wheel in a bit, but not just yet. So we decided to head across into the shopping/entertainment area for a little bit to see if we could find the others, and to Wander. I also had noticed they had a Hard Rock Cafe, so wanted to go into the gift shop there to look for anything KISS related (sadly, nothing) or Halloween related (I picked up a really cool 2019 Yokohama Hard Rock Halloween limited pin). Also in this area is this sculpture that is designed to look like a roller coaster. A really impressive piece of art, that "fits" the area quite well. after wandering a bit, we came back across the street to CosmoWorld, near the "Family Banana Coaster". .the kiddie coaster - which we did NOT ride. But the area around it has a bit of theming, including Banana Trash Cans. So stopped and took a pic of those. the coaster itself goes around "Banana Trees" cute, but still a kiddie coaster, so no desire to ride it. and just look at that track. c'mon, it's GOT to be an Arrow, right? yet another reason not to ride. . LOL. (it's not an Arrow, per RCDB, it's by Senyo Kogyo Co, Ltd, out of Osaka). how lovely and purple the Cosmo Clock is in this pic too. another view of Galaxy as we walked by from the other direction. nope, still wasn't gonna ride it. I texted William to see where they ended up eating, and if they were almost done. They didnt' know the name of the place they had ended up (it was a sit down place), but we decided to cross back over the street and look around in the shopping center until they were ready to meet up. the shopping center was HUGE. So we went where we knew we could find stuff to browse thru, and where they could find us. yep. I had not been to Tokyo DisneySea yet, so really hadn't been exposed to any of the ShellieMay and Friends stuff (other than hearing Robb talk about it). . so I was intrigued by these "costumes" that the Disney Store was selling for the stuffed animals. but it turns out these *aren't* Shellie May and friends outfits. As was explained to me, those are exclusive to Tokyo DisneySea park. . so outside the park, they sell similar, but different. These are "UniBEARsity" line costumes/outfits for the UniBEARsity stuffed animals that get sold outside the park. and tho I didn't get bit by the bug and buy any animals or clothing for said animals? I still found it quite interesting. and was thisclose to buying some Chip & Dale weight bars that were on the clearance rack (but didn't want to carry them around for the whole trip - remember this was the 1st day still, LOL). we met up with those that had stopped to eat, and we headed back across the bridge as a group to tackle the CosmoClock 21 ferris wheel.

you should post in the Kings Dominion thread on the main page - so more people will see it. (Instead of the Random Page) - to let everyone know what you liked about it. but glad you had a good time.

^ that makes total sense. and I will note for clarity's sake - the additional "pocket checks", Rubber Bands to secure loose shoes, and/or "security wanding" did not in any way impact the enjoyment of the rides. Everything was so efficient that in most cases it only caused a slight delay while boarding. Certainly *nothing* to complain about, and only really noticed it since coming from the USA where I'm so used to dealing with Six Flags parks -- where there are metal detectors at the entrance to the parks, but no real checks at individual rides. I also found it super impressive that pretty much ALL of the places we went to had free storage bins (even Space Fantasy: Black Hole at Universal, where it cost 100 yen to rent a space, but then gave the coin back after the ride). so tho it was a little bit odd how careful they were being - especially with the storage bins available, I understand it much better now. thanks Robb!

^ I had no idea the dome was for Baseball! Really. . . I thought it was for Football. (is that where Joey went to the game during the trip?). Yeah, Hollywood Dream with the metal wands was certainly the most "invasive" of the safety protocols. Pretty much ALL the parks were pretty overboard and serious on the safety checks tho, so gotta wonder if maybe there had been a new law passed? or if an accident of some sort maybe happened recently?

would love to check this place out.. likely during our visit to NYC (for a Broadway weekend) in 2020. assuming it's still open by then.

might head down to Fiesta Texas this weekend. not sure, but the weather turned cooler, so might be perfect time to go.

I'm surprised that it's replacing something that's relatively "new". . but I'm super happy that it's not replacing Mystery Lodge. is that still down? that was an experience we really loved when we did our first visit to Knott's a few years ago.

thank you for all the hard work getting this ready to go! my trip to Japan, really has made a difference in my top 10 this year! (and resulted in a TON of tie numbering from rankings after ~15. . I just can't choose, I love a lot of coasters the same). hopefully this won't screw up your results!

yeah, if I had any extra room in the suitcase, I probably would have picked up a few of the plastic food displays to take home. They were so neat to see. (William won a spoon full of noodles keychain (from a claw machine), that looked totally edible. you're welcome, and glad it's "reading" well. There really is quite a bit to do at La Qua/Tokyo Dome. . it could be a most of the day visit, if you wanted to spend time in the arcades, shopping, and ride EVERYTHING (including the Parachutes, the flats, and the walk thrus - there were at least two haunts, but not sure if those are year round or just for Halloween season. one of them looked pretty permanent). But it was perfect for a few hours in the morning visit for us, since many of us were mainly focused just on Thunder Dolphin, Panic Coaster Back Daaan!!!, and the Ferris Wheel. Since it was my 1st time ever in Japan (and to Tokyo Dome City), I can't really answer how much space is being used for the coaster - or if it's even in the same space as the prior one was. If it IS in the same space tho, the 4D theaters are right next door, so it would be logical to think that those used some of the space. the Coaster seemed to be a pretty good size - even tho it was a single rail.. .but it was hard to tell, since much of the forward launch is in complete darkness. It was really fun tho! you could always dip a hot dog bun in Hershey Syrup? seriously, tho the croissants were great, I didn't discover until after Halloween when I got into the Disney Chocolate Crunch, what my *favorite* treat from Japan is. I didn't buy near enough of it! goals for a future trip.

Yep... Infectious song, an incredible number of animatronics, Chandu... There are few Disney attractions I would go as far as to call “perfect” but this is among them. anamatronics that LOOK so simple, but have such an astounding amount of movement. and that song.. oh my, that song! I adored this ride. I think it might have been my 2nd favorite at DisneySea (behind 20000 Leagues). . .but those could adjust if I ever get a chance to ride Journey (it was down for refurb when we were there). but agreed, the video doesn't do the ride justice, it's a stunner of a ride and could have happily ridden it a dozen more times than I did.

these are some great pics in this update, Larry. and how wonderful that y'all were able to keep such a positive attitude - the the trust in Elissa and Robb is so well placed: these two under pressure and/or crazy uncontrollable stuff? it's astounding to see how they can roll with it and adjust accordingly. They are superstars. period. keep the Polish Princes name, you should add it to your signature, as you are Royalty now.

After a great night's sleep (well, at least 7-8 hours of it, since I had gone to bed early due to exhaustion. .but I woke up feeling super refreshed) I was wide awake by 6am. If I had Jet-Lag on the trip, I didn't notice it really affecting me other than my waking up fairly early every morning. I had prepared to really be dragging, but the strong/bitter coffee in Japan really did keep me really perky, and not once on the trip did I need to take an afternoon nap. Those of us who were at the Hotel already were going to start off the "Theme Park" portion of a TPR trip this morning at La Qua - Tokyo Dome. A place I knew mainly for "Thunder Dolphin" and the iconic dive thru the cut out on the top of the building in central Tokyo. I also knew that Japan parks seemed to have really strict weather policies, and if the rain came? things were going to shut down. The weather was acting like it wasn't gonna be cooperating, but I crossed my fingers and said a little affirmation and prayer for someone I had been really worried about, and was ready to kick off my day. The Hotel offered a great breakfast buffet, so I got dressed, and headed down to the lobby to meet up with friends whom had arrived after I had turned in last night. Remember I said the Shinagawa Prince Hotel reminded me of a Vegas Hotel? well, that comparison is reinforced by the lobby art - such as this impressive Stained Glass art display. and the free-hanging sculpture over the main lounge area near check in. not sure it photographed as impressive as it was in person, but it was just lovely. the breakfast was included, and we had our choice of at least 6 restaurants in the Hotel Complex. . but following Elissa's recommendation from the night before - and more specifically her big thumbs up on the French Toast offered there - I think most all of us ended up eating at the buffet offered in the restaurant off the main lobby: Luxe Dining Hapuna It was so good, I never tried any other breakfast place. Hapuna offered a very large variety of both traditional Japanese, and more American fare (such as eggs, pasta, meatballs (consistently on every breakfast buffet I tried), and the mentioned French Toast, which was AMAZING. Kudos for the suggestion, Elissa! I am a pretty adventurous eater regardless, but being in Japan? I was wide open to try pretty much anything, and did a lot of sampling of different options. Most all of them excellent to very good. In this pic, there's a fine assortment on the left of Japanese options, and on the left, the lower part of the tray is L-R: French Toast, Chocolate Croissant, and Meatballs. Top row of tray has dumplings, and eggplant & Pickled vegetables (super popular side dishes in Japan, and always very, very good). and I fell in love with the Melon Cola, which was offered here, and had quite a bit of it during our stay, tho it's not in this picture. what IS in this picture, is the 1st of the two things I noted that I tried during my trip to Japan that I did NOT care for. that's the upper left of the picture - the two "cubes" with the brown sauce Warabimochi this were on the Desert Station, and they seemed to be super popular, so I tried it. with a "black syrup" to pour over the top of them. um. . . I knew from the moment I popped it in my mouth that it was a "no" but I wasn't about to spit it out (besides, there really weren't a lot of napkins supplied - mainly just a wetnap to rinse one's hands is supplied at each meal). Jon could tell from my face that I didn't care for it. . LOL. . and he asked me what it tasted like? My honest assessment, and I just got a PTSD flashback of the flavor thinking of it: Dirt. with worms in it. yeah. . did NOT care for this. at. all. but I didn't spit it out. I forced myself to swallow, and was thankful that I still had the chocolate croissant and the melon soda to help rinse the taste out. No, I did *not* eat the other piece I had taken (if you look at the prior picture, you can see I took two of them). . LOL Even tho I had tried to cleanse my palate, I was still tasting the Warabimochi, so I was happy that we still had a few moments before heading out so I could pop upstairs and brush my teeth. LOL was able to snap this pic in the mirror before heading back down too. We walked across the street to the Shinagawa Station, and used our Suica cards (basically Metro cards to swipe in and out from the different lines in all the stations - since many stations have multiple lines running thru them and they all "charge" separately) to go thru the main gates for the Yamanote line, which is the big "loop" line that connects most of the major stations in Tokoy. So from the major stations, you can swipe out from one line, and swipe into a different line that connects to get all over the City - which is HUGE. the train maps were incredibly overwhelming when we looked at them, but seriously, once we started using them it started to make a lot of sense, and became way less scary to travel around via train system. (tho I fully admit that some of the connections from line to line, were like a scavenger hunt - searching for yellow signs that point to the line, and following them down deep hallways to come out in another hub area to search for the sign of where to go). I had it much easier, as was traveling with TPR for most cases. . so it was more a case of "don't lose Elissa" or one of the taller folks who had been to Japan before. I loved the queuing format for the trains in Japan, and even tho it wasn't super crowded on this Sunday morning? on Workday mornings when the stations were packed? it's really impressive to see hundreds of people getting off the trains, and hundreds of people getting on the trains. .all in less than (it seemed) 30 seconds! People are polite and stand in horizontal queues on either side of the doors, so when the train stops, the folks exiting come out the middle of the space - and then immediately the horizontal queues drain INTO the train for those getting on. quick, efficient, and no American-style "rush the doors as soon as the train stops blocking those from getting out" as I've seen in Atlanta, Washington, and New York when using the trains there. here's Allison and Myself on that first morning (and this a rare pic of Allison, as there's not a Tokyo local sleeping on her, in this pic) During a transfer of trains, looking up at some of the cool architecture in this particular station, as we walked thru it to another line. Love Yourself banner in one of the trains. (to my eye, looked like a drag queen in the ad, so snapped a pic) lots of advertising banners hanging in most all trains - along the walls, and down the center aisle too. but also lots of very clear maps, and electronic signs advising of upcoming stops (both in English and Japanese). Super impressive how well oiled all these moving parts work and I think we only had one train delay the whole trip - and that was after the Typhoon, and still only running 10-15 minutes late. not 100%, but pretty sure this was a poster in the Tokyo Dome Station, warning folks *not* to try to jump between the closing train doors to make the train. and I'm here. . . someplace I'd only ever seen pictures of, or read trip reports on TPR about. Tokyo Dome! The sky is looking pretty overcast, and the coaster is not running yet - since we are here before opening - but that didn't stop me from getting chills (no really) from my first look at "Thunder Dolphin" it looks so big with the buildings surrounding it. better shot from the bridge crossing over the street. the Long Walkway that goes under the lift-hill and drop for Thunder Dolphin, so one could not have to walk thru the La Qua park area, if one wanted to head to Tokyo Dome proper. yep, since here's the more focused on lift hill/drop pic of Thunder Dolphin going thru the Big O Pic courtesy of Robb. . the group getting excited upon arrival at La Qua Tokyo Dome I really can't believe I'm here. .I usually don't look this happy unless I'm on a Carousel. I loved all the little "quirky" elements around the main levels of this shopping/restaurant area. Those weird little balls holding up the railing are so alien. and the park directory, in a "water droplet" . . I think? (and if you zoom, you can see all the smiling faces reflected back in the glass - I see me, Trent, Allison, Jon, & Elissa). for being in the center of a city, the Tokyo Dome City area is much bigger than I was expecting. We're in the "blue" area - where the flume,Ferris Wheel, Carousel, Coaster, and a couple of dark rides/ haunts are located. across the bridge in the Pink area are lots more shops/restaurants, an indoor coaster, 4D theater, lots more rides, including a Parachute drop, a swinging ship, and several gigantic indoor arcades. we had a bit of time before the ticket booths opened so we wandered around the "mall" area looking at the shops and restaurants. this was my first experience seeing the "plastic food" which many restaurants thruout the trip, had on display in the windows. It's hard to decide what you want to eat when everything looks so good, and it can be a little overwhelming when shop after shop has windows full of the food examples. But man, did it all look SO good! I'd think that if a place didn't invest in good looking food examples, it would cause folks to not want to eat there, so the level of detail on some of these was astounding. truly works of art in plastic. my first look at the interior of the park, with the other famous part of Thunder Dolphin - the pass thru the hub-less Ferris Wheel, "the Big O" (the world's 1st) tho honestly, I probably took this pic for the Carousel. . LOL coming around the far side of the 2nd level shops, I get a view of the Iconic "dive thru the building" hole from Thunder Dolphin. No train on track yet, but despite the overcast, there was movement in the station, so we had hopes it would open as scheduled. Escalator down to lower level, near the ticket booths, which are supposed to be opening shortly. . so we'll hang around this area. which lets me get a "great" - up-the-nose shot of Thunder Dolphin's lift hill. what's this? La Qua has a Moomin Cafe ?? Oh my. . but I was still so full from breakfast, and wasn't craving a coffee at all. I was thisclose to getting one anyways, but decided against it. Everything looked and smelled delicious tho. they even were making Moomin-family designs in the foam on the Lattes and a photo op. It's hard for me to pass up a photo-op... but particularly one where I'm familiar with/a fan of the source material. oddly, this was the only time I saw anything Moomin related while in Japan. but I got my memory via this pic, even if I didn't get a Latte. it's starting to lightly drizzle - just before the park opens. . .but what's this? Thunder Dolphin is starting to test? hell yes wheeeee! well, if it hadn't been a train full of employees, they would have been yelling "wheeee" the ticket booth opened, Elissa handed out our wristbands, and I think *everyone* went straight here. this is the main reason to visit La Qua for most of us, so while it's NOT raining, let's get a ride! it took a little bit of time to load us into the train (actually to even get us to the station) as we were asked multiple times to empty our pockets, or to pat our pockets to prove we had nothing in them. Allison was asked to remove her earrings too. They are serious about nothing in pockets. Not even park maps. We weren't patted down or wanded (something that happened at some other parks) but we were asked multiple times to ensure nothing in pockets - and once actually on the station, places were provided to store your things while riding. interestingly, the photo op is in the station *before* the train leaves for the lift hill (done via 3 cameras). They had us all look towards the cameras and be excited. It wasn't really acting for me, I was super excited even tho we hadn't even moved yet. wasn't really *planning* on buying the pic, but once I saw it? (and the THRILLED face of the non TPR rider in front of us?). . yeah, easy sell. especially since it was only ~$10. and I love that "Wooooooow!!" on it. . . LOL pic courtesy of Hanno (I think). . and what's so funny to me is that the guy in front of us? on the actual ride, was hands up, having a blast! What did I think of the ride? the 1st drop is amazing, as is the dive thru the "building hole" on a banked turn. but the rest of the coaster kinda just meanders - in particular the "trick track" that is on the top of the building the 2nd time it goes around. . . the trick track is not 'bad'. . but it IS rather pointless, and it seems they could have done something a little more exciting there. But that drop! SO good. . .and so while several folks broke off to head to the back part of the Tokyo Dome City, a handful of us got back in line for Thunder Dolphin to ride again. there was a delay in getting the train loaded, as the staff were using hand towels to wipe down the seats & headrests from the prior ride (recall, it had been drizzing), so I took this picture from the queue line for the back row while waiting - with the attendant's permission, since I had to take my phone out to snap the pic. by the time they were done wiping down tho, it had started to rain a bit harder, and they announced that they were going to be closing the coaster down, and please exit. I certainly couldn't be too upset, as we HAD gotten a ride on it, and there were several other things in the place that we could go on, even in the rain.. so we headed out, and asked if the Ferris Wheel still operated in the rain. (it was raining just a bit too much to brave walking across the open bridge to get to the back of the rides area.. although it turned out that there IS a tunnel so we wouldn't have had to take the open bridge) the answer was yes, so we headed across the way to the staircase that led to the Big O for a revolution in the rain. it turned out that pretty much everyone that had been in the Thunder Dolphin line when they shut it down had the same idea, and so there were maybe 30 folks in queue in front of us at the Big O. it turns out that on this Ferris wheel? you can sing Karaoke. And everyone was in line for those cars. The non-singing cars were walk on, and since no one was really feeling it (I would think if it were later in the day and we had some drinks in us, we woulda been all in!), we just went for a walk on for a non-singing car. tho some on the trip, including Robb, *did* sing, and had a blast doing so. We shoulda sung, I think. . but we're just too lame so early in the day. LOL Jon is not a fan of heights, but was willing to ride this one with us. So here we are LtR: Me, Jon, Allison, & David in a steamy moist Big O Ferris Wheel car, NOT singing Karaoke. even tho it was raining, and it had started raining fairly hard by this point? We still got some great views from the Big O. tho it did get a bit steamy in the smallish car with four folks inside very grey, but I still really like these pics and Tokyo is still beautiful, even covered with drizzle and clouds still get some great views of Thunder Dolphin's track from the wheel too. by the time we got off the wheel, the rain had slowed down to a light drizzle, but we knew the Coaster wouldn't reopen if raining at all, so we headed across to the back section via the bridge. Doctor Who? in Japan! this made me giggle, so of course I stopped and snapped a pic. we found our way inside one of the giant arcades, full of claw machines - including these machines where you can win a gigantic can of Pringles (or Pocky) or many other boxed goodies, and dioramas. Not that I thought I *would* win, but didn't even want to try it in case I did win. . didn't want to carry around a giant can of Pringles all day! LOL remember what I said about photo ops? La Qua Tokyo Dome City had one that I stumbled across. They were decorated for Halloween. No, i have no idea why a Cucumber and an Eggplant have Jack-o-Lantern faces. nor do I really know why the Eggplant appears to have been circumcised. But oh, Japan, I am fully in love with your weirdness already. we all got in on the photo, and the ladies manning the booth were thrilled to take the picture for us and encouraged us to be excited. after the photo, we hit the stores down in this section, where I picked up a few gifts for co-workers (2020 Olympics related) and then we were ready to head down to the indoor coaster. "Panic Coaster Back Daaan!!" this one is hard to describe, as it's a shuttle coaster, that goes both forwards and backwards, some in the dark, some in disco-party mode, and it's got gigantic LED screens that show explosions, or bombs, or maybe disco balls? I was very confused, but I really liked it. one of the confusing things was the bag they handed us when we got in the queue. It's a big canvas bag that you are to put all your stuff/bags into. and then you just leave the canvas bag between your legs while riding. You don't leave it in the station, you take it with you. so yes, it's a bag for your bags. Weird, but in a fun way. and although the pain looks a bit orange here, it was actually more of a pepto-neon pink in person. They keep you standing outside the doors, that swing open when it's time to load the next train of people. you can kind of see one of the giant LED screens thru the doors on the opposite side of the track. Certainly recommend a ride on it if you visit, it was certainly worth seeking out in the back section of the park. Next door to "Panic Coaster Back Daaan!!" was the 4D theater which is also a shooting ride. They had a number of offerings playing, from kid friendly, to this one, "Carnival" which was considered the scariest. Allison said she wanted to do this one, before realizing it's scary (since she's not a fan of scary things), and then tried to get us to change our minds when we all quickly agreed! LOL Actually, the timing just worked out that this one was about to start when we walked over to the theaters. but what a hoot listening to her in the next seat shrieking every time an evil clown or undead corpse popped out on the screen and tried to grab us before we could shoot it. really, really well done ride/shooting game, with some great movement in the theater to match the motions on the screen as we rode decaying virtual roller coaster, and rotting carousels & tilt a whirls. in our 3D glasses with kewl guns (me and Allison) and the other side (David and Me). this ride is where I discovered that Jon is a shooting game shark. . like a pool shark, but with shooting games. he SMOKED us here (and did again later the submarine shooting ride, the animal poacher shooting ride at Yomuriland, the boy band shooting coaster at Joypolis, the Barnyard shooting ride at Nagashima Spaland, and at Toystory Mania!. . . no I'm not bitter. I'm just jealous). there are cool little features all over the parks in Japan, such as these light up steps coming back up from the coaster/movie, and haunt walk thru. there was a cosplay meetup going on here today. Not 100% sure if it was related to Halloween (it was only 10/6) or if it was just a group that had a meet up at the park. but there were several groups of folks in full costumes, posing for pictures with each other, and wandering around. A couple of them did NOT want pictures taken - which seems odd, why come out in costume if you don't want pictures taken. . but I think it's a cultural thing. They didn't want pictures taken by someone they don't know (or maybe a Visitor to their Country). coming up from the indoor stuff, we spotting this interesting Teacups type ride. With unique cars, and lots of LED lighting, I'll bet this looks fantastic in the evenings. so of course we rode it! Jon and I got this thing spinning like crazy, and had a grand time on it. David and Allison also got theirs spinning pretty good too. Good thing we hadn't yet stopped for lunch. Some of the Cosplayers I mentioned also got in on the spinning fun. it was after we got off the ride, when I spotted the "rules" sign - which was posted on the back of the controller's booth, after you exit the ride. (where ELSE would it be located? ) I was happy to see the "Please take care not to spin too much" bullet point fell under the "request" section rather than the "rules" section. . as we hadn't seen the sign prior to getting on the ride. but the reason I took the pic was because the rule about not giving piggyback rides. That still makes me giggle.. I love Japan. the typo regarding "brining your umbrella" is adorable too this was the first, but not the last, time I saw a stand selling these little bear shaped donut cakes. the booths are all very similar, so they must be franchised out to multiple places in Japan. Got to try them in Tobu Zoo when Leia bought a bag and shared. as I discovered the prior evening when eating a donut - not too sweet, but these were quite good when I got to try it (in particular the Honey flavor). this was apparently also a "ride". . but it was a water shooting carnival type game - with no prizes, just scores to brag about. we didn't stop for this as it only had 4 seats, and with about 10 people in line, it was simply too long to wait. we were on a time limit here, as we were going to head to Cosmoworld in a couple of hours for the afternoon, and we still wanted to eat lunch. so tho took a picture, didn't participate here. I did get to shoot water cannons to "put out fires" at Yomuriland tho. . while wearing a firehat and what is this that we stumbled across? why, it's a Cathedral themed Himalaya! Complete with a back section that had a disco ball and lights. so yep, we went to disco-church. . and I loved it. it didn't go backwards, but the forwards cycle was pretty forceful, and it was hella fun. We headed back over to the main section of La Qua, this time finding and taking the tunnel (even tho the rain had pretty much stopped), and browsed the restaurants to decide where to eat. I wasn't super hungry, since was still kinda full from breakfast. But was eager to try as much Japanese centric food as I could. we ended up going to this place here, which seemed to be a cheese based restaurant, where most of the dishes came in a bowl with melted cheese on top, and an open flame below to keep everything gooey. and yep, success - it was pumpkin based. It was also very good - tho it would have been better with maybe a sprinkling of salt. I didn't ask for any, as when combined with the cheese and rice, the pumpkin chunks were just about right salt wise. I didn't have to use my trainers, since most all of the "flaming bowl" dishes all came with standard spoons. a side shot of the plating of how the food came to the table. probably never in America, as not only an open flame there, but the metal dishes were piping hot, and had to be careful not to touch them while eating. They had a special Halloween Menu, tho even tho the posters said "Halloween Menu" in English, everything else on the poster was in Japanese - and it was not included in the English version of the menu. I took a gamble that it was gonna be pumpkin based and ordered the top one anyways. we finished our meal - think everyone really enjoyed what we each got, and headed back out to see a few brave (and wet) souls no riding the flume - that had been running empty boats earlier. Jon, David, and Allison weren't really feeling it, tho I had ALMOST convinced Allison to ride with me, when we watched a car go down the drop and absolutely *drench* those riding. So she said "nope" LOL I didn't want to ride alone, and besides, knew we were going to be going to Cosmoworld this afternoon, home of the famous "Screaming Flume". . so would get my flume fix for the day in a little later. we were getting to the last hour left and I had my sights set on something more important to me. yep. the Carousel. which is on a pedestal that is OVER a portion of the log flume. a rather cool touch, I thought. There weren't many riders today, as the showers earlier had driven most of the kids away (or to the indoor portions), so I think we may have been the only ones on it. but Carousels are my happy place, and this was a just lovely one. see how happy? I rode a frog! with a duck on it's butt. no, I *don't* know why the frog has a duck on it's butt. but I love it regardless! just look at that smile. Everyone looks happy! wheeeee! some lovely details on this Carousel too, and it appears to be really well maintained. Not a large Carousel diameter wise, but not a lot of peeling paint, and the little cherub faces on the interior watching the riders are adorable. Mr Frog. . happy to have bert's fat butt off of him. But he still has a duck on *his* butt, so HA. we were considering heading back to the back section of the park, or maybe doing one of the walkthru Haunts, as Brad had told us about one he and Leia had done involving Moths, that was kinda terrifying. . when we noticed there was a dark shooting ride right across from the Carousel called : the Dive you ride standing up in "underwater" dive bells, and shoot at creatures, and animatronics in scenes to get points. not really sure what the storyline was, but it was odd, and fun at the same time. here's a pic of the vehicle coming back into the station. I think those are David's arms sticking out holding the gun, in the bell behind us. you can see some of the targets in this ride here too. Doesn't Allison look thrilled? LOL Jon smoked me points wise on this one too.. but I wasn't really good with the two handed aiming, and had no idea what I was supposed to be shooting at. . so was shooting at everything. all in all, it was a fun, if bizarre, dark ride. we had about 40 minutes until it was time to meet up at the Train Station, and Elissa texted the group telling us there was activity going on at Thunder Dolphin's station. within a few moments, all of the TPR folks were standing near Thunder Dolphin's entrance, and employees went up and down the steps and it looked like they were getting ready to reopen the ride, now that all the rain had passed. As we stood by and watched & waited, more folks joined us outside the queue eager to ride the coaster once it opened. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes, an employee came and opened the photo purchase booth, and started letting us into the queue line. we went thru the "check to make sure your pockets are empty" screening a couple of times, and then we were let up onto the platform. other than the front row (a couple had bought skip the line, so bypassed the rest of us) the whole front end of the train was TPR. it was a perfect way to end our visit at La Qua before heading out. . a final Ride on Thunder Dolphin. So we had started out our day at the park on the Coaster, and ended on the Coaster. perfect. it seemed to be running about the same as it had been in the morning - so no real "warming up" thruout the day, but let's look at it realistically: it hadn't run most of the morning due to the weather, so it didn't have a chance to warm up. Still.. excellent 1st drop, and dive thru the building. really liked it and so glad I got to ride it not just once, but twice during our visit. pic by Hanno, who got us having a blast in rows 2-6 pm Thunder Dolphin! what a great morning. and after this ride, we all headed to the Train Station as a group, to go to the 2nd park of the day: Yokohama Cosmoworld.

aw, thanks! everyone took some great photos (the ones you/Allison/Alex have been posting on FB have been fantastic!). Working on La Qua, and hope to have it up in the next hour or so.

^

so slammed, not sure when I'll get around to a more detailed posting. . but back on 8/22 (before I went out of town for a week to Atlanta), saw B52's with OMD & Berlin. Berlin was incredible, and now that most of the original band is back with Terri, they played all the hits, even "Sex" Terri looks and sounds AMAZING, and the new tracks off the latest album were very good. OMD was an hour of hit after hit (only didn't know 1 song), and both singers still sound incredible. It was like listening to an album in the 80's the B's were the B's. . . lots of deep and older cuts (the tour was 40th anniversary - of all the bands, actually - and rumor is it's the last time the B's will be touring). Kate sounded really good, as did Fred, but Cindy was pretty sharp the whole night on anything solo lead - tho her harmonies with Kate were on point. The overall sound was a bit muddy tho, and kinda robbed them of the "party" atmosphere they often bring. We left after set, before Encore, so missed "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster". . but heck, they opened with "Private Idaho" and as noted, lots of deep and classic cuts ("Mesopotamia" !!). . so I was happy. tho we had bought tix just for Berlin, so I was already thrilled with the evening. some pics:

gotta wonder if that big concrete block is going to be a base for a giant statue (of a God/Gods)..that would fit in with the theming for the entrance to the ride, right?