live2tell75 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Final Night and Day In Tokyo. =( On our train to the Tokyo Narita International Airport. This is what trip participants look like after an amazing adventure filled TPR trip! Next up my final thoughts of the Tokyo Trip. Stay tuned! Hi Dave, we missed you in this store! Show us how it's done Lauren! They had everything, including these interesting computer mice. The electronics district went on forever! From city block after city block. One of the biggest department stores I have ever been in. After breakfast, all the groups started breaking apart to head to the airport. Martin, Cheryl, Lauren and I spent some time in the electronics district before our flight. On the day of flying home. My last look outside our hotel window. I will miss you city of crazy lights! With my lovely babe, Lauren. And he's all about the panthers too! Robb is such the ladies man! The boys hanging out. One of the busiest crosswalks in the world. Julie in the middle of the awesomeness that is Tokyo at night. It was a great dinner with great friends and good times! The Yakatori (sp?) bar was yumo! Our last meal. =( Meat on a stick time! Words can not describe the amazing lights and sensory overload of the city. The beginning of the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 I now present my personal top 5 favorites of the TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip Favorite Tokyo Theme Parks 1. Tokyo DisneySEA 2. Tokyo Disneyland 3. Cosmoworld 4. Hanayashiki 5. Nasu Highland Favorite Tokyo Coasters 1. Kawasemi at the Tobu Zoo 2. Eejanaika at FujiQ Highlands 3. Thunder Dolphin at LaQua 4. Spin Turn at Nasu Highlands 5. Cyclone at Toshimaen Favorite Tokyo Disney Resort Attractions 1. Pooh’s Honey Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland 2. Journey To The Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySEA 3. Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySEA 4. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull at Tokyo DisneySEA 5. (Tie) Sinbad’s Storybook Musical Voyage at Tokyo DisneySEA (Tie) Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare at Tokyo Disneyland Favorite Old School Dark Rides/Walk Throughs 1. The Madhouse at Hanayashiki 2. The Mirror Maze at Toshimaen 3. The Haunted House Dark Ride at Cosmoworld 4. The Wacky Maze at Hanayashiki 5. Dark Castle at Nasu Highlands Favorite Theatrical/Sensory Show Experience 1. The Room of the Living Dolls at Joypolis 2. The Haunted Coffin Experience at FujiQ 3. Magic Lamp Theater at Tokyo DisneySEA 4. Mermaid Theater at Tokyo DisneySEA 5. The Mickey Mouse Revue at Tokyo Disneyland Attractions that Scared The Crap Out Of Me! 1. The Room of the Living Dolls at Joypolis 2. The Haunted Coffin Experience at FujiQ 3. The Log Flume at Cosmoworld 4. Big Boom at Nasu Highlands 5. Roller Coaster at Hanayashiki (Head Chopper Effect) Most Painful Coasters On The Trip 1. Spin Bullet at Joypolis 2. White Canyon at Yomiuriland 3. Vanish at Cosmoworld 4. Regina at Tobu Zoo 5. (Tie) Zola7 at FujiQ Highlands (Tie) Loop Screw at Seibuen Overall Favorite Attraction 1. Kawasemi at Tobu Zoo 2. Pooh’s Honey Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland 3. The Room of the Living Dolls at Joypolis 4. Eejanaika at FujiQ Highlands 5. Journey To The Center Of The Earth at Tokyo DisneySEA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Favorite Part Of The Trip: Connecting with some old friends and meeting some new ones, I now consider great friends! Tokyo was awesome, if you ever have the chance to go, GO! Now I have experienced 2 completely different TPR trips: the 2006 UK trip and this. It has reconfirmed that even if the trip size has 20 participants or 60 participants, you will have an amazing time and meet some really great people! A GIGANTIC world of thanks goes out to both Robb and Elissa for organizing this amazing trip. Thank you to them for constantly arranging our visits so we would have the best time. I know it must I have been hard with the weather constantly changing, but you guys made it awesome! All of your hard work is truly appreciated! It was great meeting all 15-20 of our trip participants. It was nice to meet each and everyone of you. All of your uniqueness and special stories you brought to the trip made my trip that much more memorable! Special thanks to my fellow Disney freaks and panthers: Dave Lawrence & Simon - I couldn't have asked for better Disney partners, you guys rock! Mike and Julie congrats on your wedding, you guys were a blast to hang out with! Martin, Cheryl and Lauren - you 3 were awesome! Thanks for all the laughs - (Lauren this is your stop!) Thanks to Dave Thomas and Ice Bat for being great roomates and putting up with my crazy snoring! Once again thanks Robb and Elissa for creating TPR, I've got to meet so many great people and made a ton of fantastic memories! That's it for my TPR 2008 Tokyo Trip. Next up: A day at Wet N' Wild Orlando and a creepy night at Halloween Horror Nights. Stay Tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 A couple of weeks after the Tokyo trip, I made a trip up to Orlando and joined up with Erik and Andrew (Swimace) for a fun day at Wet n' Wild Orlando and an awesome night at Halloween Horror Nights. First up: Wet n' Wild. Visiting in October is the best time to go - no lines! Even though the park is all concrete compared to some other water parks, Wet n' Wild has some of the coolest and best attractions found at any water park! Between Disco H2O, Brain Wash, The Black Hole and The Blast are just plain awesome! Onto the photos! Love the special effects inside Brain Wash, it's pretty trippy. The very cool Brain Wash. Looks like Erik and Andrew were all thumbs up for the Storm. I'm too chicken to ride this one. The intense Storm. The drop on Disco H2O is crazy! It's like the floor drops out from under your raft! Erik and Andrew before riding my favorite ride in the park, Disco H2O. Is this Spish or Splash? Returning from space, we made a splash landing. Andrew and Erik survive their trip through time and space. First ride of the day, the newly re-themed Black Hole: The Next Generation. The added effects and new loading area were good additions to a Wet n' Wild classic. Met up with Erik and Andrew for a fun day at the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Wet n' Wild Cont. I forgot about this last photo. The three of us on The Flyer. Next up our night at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Eric, I just read through everything, and this was an AWESOME report! Naturally, I loved all the Disney pics, but especially the Mickey Mouse Revue shots!! Thanks for some great memories of that attraction. Glad you enjoyed your trip, and thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I never had the chance to see the Mickey Mouse Musical Revue when it was in Florida, but it was fun to see it in Japan (even if a lot of it was in Japanese). Great stuff, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 ^ & ^^ Thanks guys! I thought the Mickey Mouse Revue was cool. I feel like it should be in all the Magic Kingdoms around the world, since it features most of all the original classic Disney characters. I guess the Mickey's Philharmagic 4D attraction is a good balance of some of the old characters mixed with the newer ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanlv Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I am also sad that the Mickey Mouse Revue is going away at Tokyo Disney. It is an old school charming Disney attraction. Thanks for all of the great pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 ^Thanks! Halloween Horror Nights 18: Reflections of Fear After a fun day at Wet n’ Wild, Erik, Andrew and myself hit Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights. I consider myself a Halloween Horror Nights veteran. Since the first event I attended in 1994, I have experienced every Halloween Horror Nights since then with the exception of 2001. So this year was my 14th year attending. The first year I attended will always hold a special place in my heart. Experiencing my first HHN house, the Psycho Path Maze, built behind the then-Bates Motel and Psycho House sets was awesome. Over the years the events start to blur into each other. There are always highlights: like one of the event’s earlier houses, Thc Dungeon of Terror. At the end of this house you had to find the right stone to get out of a room that’s walls were closing in! The awesome flying jack-o-lantern room and amazing recreation of some classic horror movies in the All-Nite Die Inn House still amazes me. The first time ever seeing the bungie-flying vampire effect in Castle Vampre was awesome! And finally watching Bill Clinton, Monica and the rest of that political scandal’s players dance in a big production of “You’re The One That I Want” from Grease during the final of Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure. Those were the days. 2007’s event, Carnival of Carnage was the first year where I actually felt underwelmed. I had a good time, but that year’s event lacked a lot of atmosfear. The event lacked scare zones and heavily depended on your knowledge of the movies that were featured in all the houses. So last October going to the event I didn’t hold high expectations. Well I was wrong! It all started with the advertising campaign and it rocked! From radio, T.V. and the web, the whole “Bloody Mary” campaign was very effective in getting people’s interest and scaring the crap out of some of them! I felt this year’s event was very immersive. The event was set up so every guest had to go through at least 2-3 scare zones to get anywhere in the park. The details of the themes, costumes and make-up were top notch! The flying monkeys in the twisted Wizard of Oz themed, “The Path of the Wicked” scare zone was a great effect. The costumes and make-up in the “American Gothic” scare zone made you look twice. The ambieance of 400 jack-o-lanterns that hung from the trees in The “Skoolhouse” scare zone was awesome. What can I say about the houses, this was the first year that I felt that almost every house was truly awesome. With the exception of Doomsday, which I think if I had seen the movie I would of liked it better. The artistic direction and details in all the houses were amazing. Loved the "Dead Exposure" house, had a great disorienting effect that didn’t blind you like a typical strobe light. "The Hallow" felt and smelled like you were underground in the dirt! There were some very cool special effects in the "Interstellar Terror" house that were very effective. For the shows, we saw both Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure and The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute. Bill and Ted was fun as always, but I know what I'm about to say is going to irritate some, I actually liked the Rocky Horror Show better this year. This was the first time ever seeing the Rocky Horror Show. I’ve seen the movie a couple of times but never been a die-hard fan. This show was so much fun! The cast sounded awesome and crowd really got into it. And to be honest it was A LOT more raunchier than I thought it would be, which made it even better! So with out any more delay here are a few photos for our visit. Enjoy! Thanks Mary for scaring the crap out of us! Two thumbs up to this years event from both the Eric(k) Johnsons. The Wicked Witch wished us all a life full of misery. She is so sweet! One of the "Gentlemen", I mean Body Collectors roaming the "Streets of Blood" scare zone. If they have this show next year, be sure to check it out, it quite entertaining. The awesome cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute. Bloody Mary's drink prices. Got to take a night photo of the Simpson's Ride! An element of "The Skoolhouse" scare zone. Erik and Andrew with a new friend. Major scare for me, not expecting it! She doesn't seem very nice. "Fractured Tales" scare zone was another well executed area. Cool prop in the "Streets of Blood" scare zone. Queen of Hearts looks pissed. So while I was taking a picture, this thing jumped in my face and scared the crap out of me! The Mad Hatter from the "Asylum in Wonderland" scare zone. Now imagine this creature blending in at night with cool lighting. I see you pumpkin man. Yeah, very cool effect. The entrance to "The American Gothic" scare zone. A hot, I mean scary lion man. =p One of the witch's minions. The Wicked Witch tormented guests as they entered the "The Path of the Wicked" scare zone. Strange mirror people greated us once entering the park. The main entrance of the Studios was a decked out to "reflect" the whole Reflections of Fear theme with our host for the evening, Bloody Mary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 So my final thoughts of 2008’s HHN, it is in my top 5 HHN’s. Great job to the whole design team and all the scare actors. You guys for me, breathed new life into a great event. Special thanks to Erik and Andrew, you guys were great hanging out with. Below is a ranking of the event's attractions. And also added 2008's event into my rankings of all the events I have been to. Scare Zones: The Path of The Wicked: A American Gothic: A Streets of Blood: B Asylum In Wonderland: B The Skoolhouse: A Fractured Tales: A Haunted Houses: Dead Exposure: A The Hallow: A Scary Tales: Once Upon A Nightmare: A Body Collectors: B Interstellar Terror: B Reflections of Fear: B- Creatures: C Doomsday: C- Shows: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure: B The Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute: A My ranking of the events I have been to: 1. HHN IV (1994) 2. HHN 13: The Director Will See You (2003) 3. HHN: Reflections of Fear (2008) 4. HHN V: The Curse of the Crypt Keeper (1995) 5. HHN VII: Frightmares (1997) 6. HHN: Islands of Fear (2002) 7. HHN: Sweet 16 Horror Comes Home (2006) 8. HHN VI: Journey Into Fear (1996) 9. HHN: Tales of Terror (2005) 10. HHN VIII: Primal Scream (1998) 11. HHN IX: Last Gasp (1999) 12. HHN X: You Don’t Know Jack (2000) 13. HHN: What’s Your Breaking Point? (2004) 14. HHN: Carnival of Carnage (2007) Next up: Orlando fun with TPR Orlando trip group. Stay tuned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimace Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ooh, awesome update Eric! That was a really fun day, I ended up going back two more times! I think after doing the mazes multiple times I have to say that Scary Tales would be my favorite of the year, it was very clever and really well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 ^ Thanks Andrew. I'm so jealous that you got to go again! Scary Tales was pretty awesome. It's weird I felt the best houses were in the portable tents. Usually the best ones are always in the sound stages. Glad you had a good time. Can't wait for this year's event! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I agree--Universal really upped the ante with HHN last year (particularly with Scary Tales, Body Collectors, and Dead Exposure). As for Doomsday, the maze was better than the movie (which isn't saying much). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenaapple1974 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Very awesome TR's! As always. Thanks for taking the time to post them! My top five faves of the portion of the PTR I read tonite.. 5. The "Gentlemen" dude pic (OMG...was that the guys from the Buffy episode "Hush"? They creep me out!) 4. The HHN dark shots (yes, like all of them!) 3. The Tokyo monorail. The detail is awesome! 2. DisneySEA's area (I forget the name) with King Tritan. Awesome!! 1. The Confessions M shirt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 Very awesome TR's! As always. Thanks for taking the time to post them! My top five faves of the portion of the Photo TR I read tonite.. 5. The "Gentlemen" dude pic (OMG...was that the guys from the Buffy episode "Hush"? They creep me out!) Thanks, and yeah for liking Buffy - you rock! I thought those guys were the super creepy Gentlemen from "Hush", but I have been told they are not them. By the way, along with the episode, "Once More With Feeling", "Hush" is one of my all time favorite Buffy episodes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 1. The Confessions M shirt! Glad you liked the Confessions shirt. Between M and you knowing about the Buffy "Gentlemen" Hush episode, I think we are long lost soul mates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenaapple1974 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 We now have two awesome things in common! Yeah, Im a huge Buffy fan. Did you know out of the top shows of the 90's.. That beat out Friends!!!!! Friends was 5, that was 4 or 3. There is one more thing that I would like to have in common with you though... an awesome PTR in the year 2009!! I totally love your pics. I know I won't be going to Japan anytime in the near future but your pictures make me want to teleport into DisneySEA!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 ^ Thanks! I saw that too that Buffy beat Friends on AOL or CNN. It totally deserves to be in the top 5 best shows of the 90's! If you ever can, DisneySEA is a must for any theme park junkie, it is truly amazing and gorgeous! If I can save up my pennies, I would make that crazy long-ass flight again just to go back to Tokyo Disney for a long weekend. Too bad I'm not made of money, but hopefully someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at The Magic Kingdom I headed up to Orlando after work to meet up with the TPR crew at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at The Magic Kingdom. This was the first of a bunch events that weekend that I got reconnect with old TPR friends and new ones. As always MNSSHP is awesome. Special thanks to Reed and Stacy for giving us the special ride on Haunted Mansion and leading us around to all the great Halloween treats throughout the park! Because I got to the park kind of late I only took a few pics. If you want to check more pictures of the event, you can check a bunch I took a few years ago here. Otherwise here are a few I took from 2008's. Enjoy! Our group for the night was a lot of fun to hang out with. Thanks guys! Next up - our day at Islands of Adventure. Stay tuned! Met up with some old and new friends for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I love the creepy theming of the train station. The spooky decorated entrance to The Magic Kingdom sets the mood for the night. I'm here! Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a must for Halloween fans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divv3k Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Great photo's Eric! I don't think I have many photos of my own from this night so it's really great to see these! It was really great meeting you there and what a great event MNSSHP is! I wanna go back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Eric, that last picture is so perfect! I only wish you were in it with us! It was so great to hang out with you again (and the other Erik Johnson for the first time!) even if only so very briefly! That whole trip was amazing beginning to end and the Magic Kingdom is always the icing on the cake for me! Much fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 ^^&^ Thanks Divv and Lou! It was great to met you Divv and to see you again Lou! The Magic Kingdom does rock! Hopefully you both will be able to someday come back out again during all the Halloween festivities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 The next day I joined up with the group at Islands of Adventure. After almost 10 years of visiting IOA, I finally got a new credit, the Pteranodon Flyers. Of course the main highlight was a special behind the scenes tour of 2 of the haunted houses from Halloween Horror Nights with one of the creators of HHN. Since I visited HHN a few weeks earlier, this was a real treat to see the mazes with a new perspective. Thanks again to Robb and Elissa for organizing this great tour! After the tour a group of us had a nice relaxing lunch and some yummy drinks at Margaritaville. Unfortunatly, after lunch I had head home to attend a weeding on St. Pete Beach. But I got to meet up with everyone the next day at Busch Gardens. Cheers! Next up the last part of the TPR October Orlando trip: Busch Gardens, The TPR BBQ & Disney. Stay tuned! A little bit less disturbing than the last picture, our fun lunch group. Just chillin'. And I forgot to mention this house was kind of gory! This maze was full of lots of happy people, just hanging out. When I visited the event a few weeks before, this was one of the scariest rooms in any of the mazes! During the event, many live actors would be mixed in with fake ones causing some good scares. I think Guy was diggin' this house. Creepy. Matt don't touch the random body parts! Imagine meeting this figure in very dim lighting! One of the not so real collectors that waits for guests in the maze. The Bone Collectors had a lot of details. Our awesome guide and one of the creators of HHNs gave us a behind the scenes of 2 of the fantastic HHN's mazes. With Melanie on the Caro-seuss-el. After climbing around, Mel found a new friend. Mel, Rich and Renee explore the obstacles in Camp Jurassic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live2tell75 Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 On Saturday, I joined up with group with their stop at my home park, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay/Africa. We had a really nice easy morning and afternoon. Kevin joined us around lunch time and got to experience Jungala for the first time. It was a great day. Onto the photos! Thanks guys for a great and fun day, you all rock! Up next, the TPR BBQ and Disney, stay tuned! What's wrong? A little wet? You guys are not going to stay dry for long! TPR takeover on The Congo River Rapids. More TPR'ers. Kumba is always a crowd favorite. Kevin does his part to help save wildlife on the Living Wall. Renee meets a few new friends. Jungala is a really cool addition to the park. Kevin has found Jungala. Chuck was our fearless co-pilot during our off-road adventure. TPR takeover of Rhino Rally! Kevin's best imitation of a tiger, kind of scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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