Lou's Year In Review: 2007

[Meteornotes]

I am shocked that Chris said something that made no sense.

 

dt

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Hey, it makes perfect sense!

[Louise]

I am shocked that Chris said something that made no sense.

 

dt

 

This made me laugh for about five minutes. Sorry Chris! But it did!!

 

And thank GOD we are on the next page, that one was taking soooooo long to load!! Thankfully I didn't take quite that many pictures any other day. Quite the opposite actually, I got sick of my camera after Disney!

[Moose]

Just wait Lou, I'm sure you will be back there very soon...maybe in 2 years!

 

Really?

[Nrthwnd]

^

 

( TPR Around-the-World Disney Tour)

 

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Just wait Lou, I'm sure you will be back there very soon...maybe in 2 years!

 

Really?

 

Maybe Jon, you never know...

[TheRapidsNerd]

Lou,

I was laughing so hard at so many of the captions I was crying. Just excellent!

 

just as a random piece of Lou trivia, for those of you who collect such facts (RapidsNerd, I'm looking at you ).

 

Hold on...writing that down.....ok. I earned that after the "feeling faint" crack. I just try to listen and be observant. You learn a lot that way. Makes me sound stalker-ish, though. Oh well, still an honor to be mentioned by name. Thank you.

 

Godiva chocolate? Lady, you're speaking my language!

 

This picture came out really creepy, I'm actually quite pleased about that.

Fish so fresh your mother would slap it!"

And whole Dumbo thing. All of these gave me a great laugh. Still grinning while typing this response. Really enjoyed this update.

Holy crap! It's Wayne Campbell in the background!

[RCFreak]

I love you Lou, let's get married on Mount Prometheus. 2010. GO.

 

 

On a seriouser note (I'm tired and made a neologism, get over it!) I will definitely get an erection or pee my pants (maybe both at the same time) when I finally get to make it over to Tokyo Disney. Amazing trip report and thanks for posting pictures with people I know and actually enjoy in them.

[gisco]

Love that picture with only half my face

[Louise]

Much happier about posting Fuji-Q now that I'm engaged to Hector and we're getting married at TDR within the next two years.... Message board posts are legally binding, right??

 

Thanks for all the feedback as always, guys. Glad you liked my award-deserving photograph, Bob.

 

Right, next up...

 

 

Fuji-Queue!!

 

I'd heard a lot of stuff about this park, moreso than anything else in Japan really apart from Disney, some of it good, but more of it bad. I really wasn't sure what to expect from the place except that I was *really* looking forward to Dodonpa, and was extremely hopeful that I'd get to ride Eejanaika. Honestly, I think the fact that that was all I really wanted out of the day helped a lot, because I missed out on a lot (much of it through choice), but didn't really feel disappointed because I did the two things I was really bothered about.

 

 

On the way to the park, we started getting into seriously hilly country!

 

 

I think I was so excited to see Dodonpa that I just snapped a picture of the first view I got. LOL!! So rubbish!!

 

At this point, we were all a little concerned, because despite having changed our itinerary specifically to try and avoid the weather destroying our day, the weather had caused the park to not yet open Dodonpa or Eejanaika. We just crossed our fingers and got in line for Fujiyama.... King of Coasters my arse. Not a bad ride though.

 

As we exited Fujiyama, Dodonpa began testing..... *RUN!!!!!!* Through actually sprinting, we managed to get in line pretty close to the station (well, close to where they were letting us get to), and the line quickly quadrupled behind us. We were really pleased with ourselves, thinking "wow, once they let us into the station we really won't have to wait long at all!!". Wrong!! I could be wrong, but I think we waited somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours. It could've been much much worse, but still. It was more than enough time listening to that freaking chant too. I can still hear it now!

 

 

At least we had good company below us in the queue!! And that isn't the usual Japanese peace pose, by the way, that's "two hours".

 

 

Dodonpa was another really mixed ride! I thought the launch was insane, seriously pushing the limits, and I *LOVE* launched coasters, and right around the curve and up the top hat it's all going well... Then at the top it's fun meets pain as you get this fantastic burst of airtime before your head is *slammed* into the headrest. Seriously, OUCH. Makes for hysterically funny onride photos, but nasty headaches.

 

 

This was in the bathroom of the food court... Oh the irony!!!!

 

 

One of the stall doors.... "Is everything ok?"... I couldn't stand far back enough to fit it all in the frame, LOL. These bathrooms also had "YOU ARE CUTE AND PRETTY GIRL!!" above the mirror, which I thought was rather life-affirming.

 

 

How long do we think we're going to wait for Eejanaika?? (That's two and a half hours, by the way.)

 

It was actually more like three, though we weren't the worse off. We would actually have waited for pretty much dead on two and a half if they hadn't decided to take a train off and then have some problem with the other whilst we were literally about eight feet from the station. Luckily, because we'd expected queues, some of us had brought iPods and other entertainment, and at least as always on a TPR trip I was in great company and we had a lot of fun waiting. We talked about the most random crap! The iPod helped to drown out the "music" that was pumped through every speaker within a square mile of the ride too, which seemed to consist of about a dozen rabid monkeys on speed squealing the name of the ride.

 

I actually LOVED Eejanaika, though I know I'm in the minority. While we were in line, Robb told us that he had ridden outside back, and wanted somebody else to do the same so he could compare notes. I grabbed that seat, and actually thought it was fine!! I didn't get beaten up at all, which I find quite strange, as other people with much bigger frames than I seemed to have real problems, and I would've thought I'd get thrown around more than them. *shrug* The last fifteen seconds or so got a bit brutal, but up until that point, I really liked it! It's definitely a strange ride (more so than X) in some indefinable way, but I liked it all the same. I also had the same problem as Elissa in that one of my legs got literally *thrown* over the divider in the centre of my seat!!

 

Would I ride it again? Definitely. Would I wait more than half an hour or so for it? Probably not.

 

 

We had arranged to all meet at a predetermined time and see if we were ready to leave... We didn't have time to do much else before that time (and we all suspected that we wouldn't be leaving since we doubted anybody had really gotten more than two or three credits), but we nipped into the indoor coaster, Zola 629, on our way past.

 

 

This ride is supportive of horrible illnesses. How terrible.

 

This piece of crap beat me up, so the less said about it the better.

 

 

Walking back past Eejanaika....

They'd changed the sign to reflect something slightly more accurate!! Anybody wanna ride again? No?

 

 

Only in Japan will you find cartoons of fat sumo wrestlers playing volleyball with watermelons.

 

 

Hi Matt and Jow! Boobs and beer makes me think of you guys!

 

 

Jeff just HAD to ride the kiddie coaster... *shakes head in shame and despair*

 

 

I just remembered that we rode the mouse at some point this day!! I was thinking that I only got three credits at Fuji but I guess it was four! Don't remember if it was any good or not though.

 

 

At this point in the day, most of our little group had headed off to get in line for the hamster coaster... Had it been a walk-on I totally would've ridden, but frankly I was done waiting for the day and just didn't care about the stupid hamsters! Bob had been to this park before and was going to wander around for a while so I decided to join him instead.

 

 

Tee hee, Licca Town!

 

 

Boooo to Mount Fuji being covered by cloud! Still a pretty view from up here though, all the way round.

 

 

I love seeing the land disappear into the cloud, very strange. That's Dodonpa in the foreground there.

 

 

I don't know what the point of this photo was, but I'm so impressed that I got the train in the frame that I'm making you all look at it!!

 

 

Mmmmm, Eejanaika.

 

Why are all my shots so badly framed?!?! Am I defective?!?!

 

 

Clouds are starting to clear a little!

 

 

Prettiness! Don't quite know why it's so dark though when it's light again in the next shot! *shrug*

 

 

Is it Mount Fuji, or is a walkthrough treasure hunt attraction we don't have time for? YOU DECIDE.

 

 

It IS Mount Fuji!

 

 

You can see it from all over the park.

 

 

Love it. Next time I'm in Japan I'll climb it.... And then drop dead, probably.

 

 

Do-don-PA! Do-don-PA! IT COMES FROM THE SKY.

 

 

Bye Fujiyama! Bye Fuji-Q!

 

 

That evening, Chris and I took Richard down to our hotel basement to ride Galaxy 999, which he had missed at the beginning as he didn't arrive until Day Two. I tried in vain to get a decent picture of the theming around the pirate ship down there, but I failed. Rest assured though that it's pretty freaking cool considering it's not even in a real theme park!

 

 

Exploring later that evening, we were interested to see these guys around the exit of a Pachinko parlour.... Somebody told me the next day that they were basically a thank you committee. They bowed and spoke in unison to every person exiting the parlour.

 

 

Blue Pacific is the name of the bar in a rival hotel, about ten storeys higher than the bar in the hotel we were in, and with RIDICULOUSLY expensive cocktails, and drinks that got you drunk not from just one sip like in many other places, but from merely being in the same zip code as them. Which of course made me all the more irritated when stupid Aussie Richard managed to pour his $50 cocktail all over the floor after two sips. LOL.

 

Only two parks left in Japan! So sad!!

[sfne2005]

I loved Eejanaika too! Such a good ride. I am definately in the minority by saying I had a good two days there. Also loved Dodonpa and Fujiyama as well.

[Chrissie]

I'm really enjoying your TR Lou! It has provided me with a much needed break from all my exam revision

 

I love Tokyo Disneyland and I too wave and get excited about characters. I blame the lack of Disney in the UK! Lol

[MattyD]

It's funny you should mention the lack of Disney in the UK - we could have had Euro-Disney! One of the original sites Disney looked at was about 5minutes down the road from me, it would have been in the Medway River Valley near Rochester in Kent but the government wouldn't allow Disney to buy the amount of land they wanted and so they bought land in France instead!

 

I guess that's why I get over-excited at Disney Parks too

 

Matt

[mcjaco]

Yay! Boobs and beer!

 

I love the bathroom signs. Those made me giggle.

[SharkTums]

... and just didn't care about the stupid hamsters!

 

[-LILDAREDEVIL5-]

Always enjoy reading the Trip Reprts,Lou!

Wow,Amusement Parks across the world really are um...different than here in the U.S.

[TheRapidsNerd]

I just want to be at Lou and Hector's wedding. The bar, onion rings, and oreos will be amazing. Think Steak 'n' Shake'll cater?

 

Also yay on jugs and suds.

[RaptorBoyASU]

OMG, don't forget the corn dogs!

[TheRapidsNerd]

^ Thank you for that much needed laugh good sir.

[Bucket]

I really enjoyed your TR! Glad you liked the coasters... it seems like a rarity to enjoy coasters at this park!

 

It really sucks that you waited so long for almost everything. I visited the park a few years ago, and I didn't have to wait for more than 20 minutes for anything. It seems operations have really declined which is unfortunate.

 

Did you try the haunted walk through though? I loved that attraction!

[Louise]

... and just didn't care about the stupid hamsters!

 

 

Sorry Elissa!! You know me, I love the rodents and I do keep track of my count but I don't care enough about increasing it to actually wait an hour for that!!

 

LOL Kyle. Mmmmm, corn dogs. When will they catch on here.

 

^ We didn't have time, but I'd be way too scared to do that anyway!!

[Louise]

Last full day and morning in Japan!

 

Our last park day of the Japan trip, the plan was for us to return to LaQua (as some of the group hadn't made it there at all, and others had missed out on credits and/or other attractions), then head to Sea Paradise and Yokohama Cosmoworld. I'd skipped a load of stuff at LaQua at the beginning of the trip, figuring I'd be returning in a couple of weeks, but ultimately I couldn't be bothered and had an extra couple of hours' sleep and then wandering the hotel until it was time to go to the next park.

 

For some reason I remember the train journey to Sea Paradise being *excruciatingly* hot... And I know I've bitched about the heat a lot in this trip report, but I don't think I've mentioned it on the trains before, because generally they were fine, even when quite busy. But this one was bad. Maybe the A/C was broken? All I remember is discussing the heat, and Robb and others winding me up about Blue Fall.

 

 

"Why do they call it Sea Paradise?"

 

 

The ginormous () Blue Fall. This was one of the main draws of the trip to me, and I was panic-stricken when it was closed after the SFKK accident, and *still* closed when I flew out to Chicago. Thankfully it opened in time for our arrival, but I was still irritated when certain fellow-trippers kept saying on the train "oh no, look, it's not running!"... GRRRRR.

 

 

Kristen's all "Will I be rewarded if I destroy Ryan's face??".

 

 

It was around the time that we got *this* close that Brian started sh*tting himself.

 

 

The thing really is monstrous. And I loved it, really really did. One of my all-time favourite drop towers, and they're pretty much my favourite ride, though I do say that about several others. The fake drop thing (where they drop you about ten feet then stop you before you fall the rest of the way) was very cool.

 

 

I'm excited!!! Brian, not so much.

 

 

I feel the need to explain my priorities for the day, which were, in this order:

1. Food

2. Blue Fall

3. Anything else.

 

Which is why I ended up eating (none of my own food but half of Chris's), riding Blue Fall, doing the Rapids, and then wandering off on my own to ride the coaster. LOL. I need to match my priorities with other peoples' if I don't fancy walking alone!!

 

 

After the Rapids. I'm sad because they didn't deliver: Despite 8,000 signs telling us we WILL get wet, I had three drops on one shoulder. And my hair was a mess. LOL.

 

 

On the train to Cosmoworld, Officer Hot Fuzz takes a short break from interrogating me to point out a hot contortionist woman with a laptop... The future Mrs Hot Fuzz, I think.

 

 

Yokohama was a really cool place, lots of unusual buildings and funky-looking stuff.

 

 

Horrendous photography, cool buildings, *amazing* park setting. I love that it's just plonked in the middle of the city, and has all that water... <3 <3 <3

 

That picture was taken from just outside the exit of that Vanishing Dive Coaster, by the way. Rich and I rode in the back row, and WOW was that helix intense back there! I greyed out pretty strongly and I think I have a *fairly* high tolerance for the forces as I've only come close on a few.

 

 

I, umm, Bill, yeah.... Bill makes Richard's sword light up when he licks it?? I really don't know what to say about this picture, so I'll move on.

 

 

What was the prize somebody won on this shooting dark ride??? I don't remember who it was, I just know one of us won a teddy bear or something!!!

 

 

Cosmoworld had an amazing arcade area... And I wish I'd taken a picture of the popcorn machine (which I think was featured in the 2004 Coaster Expedition Japan DVD, for those of you who have it), which produced the second best popcorn of the trip (after Disney's, obviously). The "Cool Gunman" made me laugh. I laughed even harder when Aussie Richard won... Hot Fuzz is a cop for God's sake!!!!!

 

 

Last night in Japan... Sad.

 

 

I really don't know what was going on with my camera this day, but I have about a dozen really blurry evening shots. Perhaps I just couldn't be bothered fiddling with it?? Anyway, the place was pretty, lots of lights and trees, and a pretty funny mirror maze which we spent ages getting through and being embarrassing only to come outside and find out that people had been watching us on CCTV screens the whole time!

 

 

It's like being in London! Dave, I felt so at home at this moment!!

 

 

Heading back to the hotel, I had to help carry some of the awesome stuff Elissa had won for Jahan.... Who by the way sadly died when this giant peanut reached the shores of his continent.

 

 

Back at the hotel, the majority of the group gathered to have a final dinner together and say goodbye. GUESS THAT A$$. After this, myself, Chris, Adam and Mark stood outside for aaaaages!! I was so sad to say goodbye to you guys and then get stuck with Chris for a further week!!

 

 

The next morning, as we weren't flying to Korea (or home in some people's cases) until late afternoon, myself, Chris, Richard and Bob decided to head out to Ginza and try and find this huuuuuge Godzilla statue we had been told about. I know most of you will already have heard or read this story so I won't go into too much detail, except to say that after asking for directions several times, being laughed at several times (and that really means something considering how polite the Japanese are!), and staring up into the sky (we knew the statue was between skyscrapers and figured it was close to them in height), we found THIS:

 

 

"Godzirra???? IN GINZA???? "

 

 

Fearless Lou will not run from the monster.

 

 

*sigh* Not quite what I was hoping for.

 

 

I think I'm actually more scared of the boys than I am of the "giant" statue.

 

 

At this point the builders behind us starting shaking their heads in dismay at our behaviour.

 

 

Despite the disappointment (this statue REALLY Dumboed), yes, we love.

 

 

Having not quite had the exciting experience we expected from Godzilla, we checked out our map to find something else to do nearby (pretty fountain behind us though, right?). We ended up heading to the Sony store (which is like electronics retail heaven, by the way) for a while... Wow that place was amazing. And full of Westerners, I spent most of my time in there trying to geographically identify all the British accents I heard! We definitely saw more Westerners in Ginza than anywhere else in Japan, which Bob had told me to expect. We also shopped in a model store (they sold keyrings that were tiny replicas of the train station signs, a couple of us bought the Shinagawa one) and in an incredible department store that made me nearly jump out of skin with desire to buy everything in sight.

 

 

Nice street in the area. Notice how few people there are, whereas on the main shopping roads, there were hundreds...

See!

 

 

We were boiling from wandering around, so we grabbed an iced coffee in this really cute little place that I couldn't quite figure out... All over every single wall were these publication covers, all in order... I didn't understand whether the coffee shop was owned by a publisher, or whether the coffee shop produced its own magazine!!!

 

 

Back at the hotel, I had to photograph one of my absolute favourite tiny little details about Japan... No, not Jeff, the umbrella lockers! I've obviously seen umbrella stands and stuff in hotels and offices here, but never anything like this. You put in your umbrella, take your key, and you know where it is when you want to pick it up. If they had these in the UK, they'd be vandalised, set on fire, people would steal the keys all the time, etc etc.

 

 

After spending five hours with him this day (and photographing him several times!!) I *finally* notice that Bob has an England football shirt on! LOL! I was very very happy about this.

 

And that was Japan! I was excited to go to a new country, but REALLY sad to leave, both the place and some of the awesome people.

 

South Korea coming up... The few pictures I took, at least!

 

I'm sad that my thread is almost over!

[Loefet]

It's nice to see the rest of your pictures from Japan, they give me some great inspiration while I'm sitting here planning my return trip to Tokyo later this year.

 

After your pictures of Godzilla I looked up where it was, and I was pretty pissed when I saw that I just had walked by it , but that will be corrected this year .

 

Looking forward to see your pictures from Korea soon.

[ebl]

"I'm sad that my thread is almost over!" (Lou)

 

Your thread will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.

 

Eric

[Louise]

^ Erik, that was deep!! As much as I've left huge gaps (it's been five months since I started this for heaven's sake) I've really enjoyed doing the updates and reminiscing, and being reminded of things by peoples' responses!! I've probably got only half a dozen updates left, and I've also finished my update project over on the Europe board... *sad!*

 

^^ Peter, it's worth a look if you're nearby, just for the entertainment value! However, I doubt we would have been half as amused by it (or remember it half as fondly) if it wasn't for the fact that we were expecting a huge building-sized statue! Seriously one of the funniest things that happened to me on that trip.

 

We walked round a corner and Chris goes "I can see it!", and we're all looking upwards... Pathetic. I also think watching Richard do a pretty accurate dinosaur impression in an attempt to overcome the language barrier was really rather funny, and there was one guy who seemed genuinely scared by the prospect of Godzilla. Good times.