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Theme Park Review in JAPAN! 2011


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I can't believe how freaking awesome Japan is! I really need to save up money and convince the wife that we need to do a TPR Japan trip. Every park is completely messed up in an incredible way. The videos and pictures are amazing and it looks like you guys are having a freaking blast!

 

Jimmy "Wish he was there" Bo

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Thank you for helping me relive the life-altering experience that is Nio. Is this still the only SLC in Japan? If so, it needs some sort of plaque to ensure that it is preserved forever.

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Today was Universal Studios Japan. Here's all you need to know...

 

- Space Fantasy is OMFG amazing!

- Retro ride fun! Back to the Future & Backdraft.

- This is the best Universal park I've been to!

 

Enjoy the photos & videos...

 

Next up on TPR's Southern Japan Trip - Universal Studios!

 

Hey look...CityWalk is Elissa friendly!

 

CityWalk does look a bit familiar...

 

TPR is ready for Universal Japan...but...are they ready for us?

 

The park welcomed the group by giving us a brief presentation...

 

And then we had goodie bags which included bonus Express Passes!

 

We were then brought through a super secret entrance for early entry into the park.

 

First stop...Hollywood Dream!

 

Hollywood Dream is like the Rip Ride Rockit of Japan!

 

Next up, it was KidTums' turn to get a credit!

 

I take back what I said about Gadgets being the best themed Roller Skater...

 

The Snoopy coaster is awesome...

 

And yes...this is just a Roller Skater!!!

 

Yay! KidTums gets another Japanese credit!

 

And Hanno, too...

 

There are some people I know who are in desperate need of this service!

 

What is it with Universal parks and their wet/dry slides?

 

New Hotness at Universal Japan.

 

Hanno gets prepares for his Space Fantasy!

 

First they take you in and you get your picture taken.

 

You are given a little card...

 

This awesome Kuka arm robot guy comes and chats with you...

 

Then into one of the most bizarre, elaborate queues I've ever seen.

 

There are sone trippy cool things to interact with in here.

 

And it just keeps getting more awesome and more bizarre.

 

Random stuff everywhere in the queue.

 

More spacey looking queue...

 

These little sun fairies tell you all about the ride.

 

The queue moved pretty fast...

 

...and even with Express Passes you have to wait in about 20 minutes worth before getting to the station.

 

From here you get a glimpse of the trains.

 

"Lack of Sleep???" That's like ALL of us!!!

 

Final boarding! The ride is simply amazing. While not really a "thrilling" coaster, it is a "perfect" attraction in the sense that it is a perfect mix of presentation, excitement, visuals, audio, and interactivity. It's right up there with Revenge of the Mummy, Indy Jones, Spider-Man, etc as one of the best rides in the world!While you are not allowed to take video on the ride itself, this is a GREAT promo video from Universal that gives you some idea of what the ride is like...

 

 

And of course you can even buy one of these cute little guys!

 

Do you know what is in this location at Universal Orlando? If you do...

 

Just in case you forgot what park you are at.

 

Hey, this looks familiar! We should go on Mummy!

 

Oh...

 

Some parts of this park look exactly like Universal Florida.

 

"Gelato isn't vegan?"

 

You know, I really DO need a sewing machine operator. Apply with Dan:

 

Do you feel like getting a bit nostalgic?

 

Yup, they still have Back to the Future... For now...

 

They work better as a display piece than they do as cars!

 

Blah, blah, blah.... 88 MILES PER HOUR ... Blah, blah, blah..

 

Look familiar?

 

Hey...should there be some attraction here? Or is that a different park?

 

Now we enter the "Islands of Adventure" section of the park.

 

"I'm CRAAAAZY hungry dinosaur...and we are going to EAT you!"

 

Yup, it's River Adventure...

 

Identical to Florida's version...but a mirror image.

 

This little "pet the dinosaurs" photo opp show was actually really cool!

 

It's all so very IOA, but also very different.

 

Dine & ride?

 

Oh!!! Eat here and they give you a bonus Express Pass!

 

Where should we go next?

 

Water World!!!! Nah....

 

This is more like it...

 

This area is themed slightly different.

 

This ride itself is in every way identical to Florida's version... BUT ... The completely batshit crazy... Totally INSANE skippers make this version so..so..SOOOOO much more entertaining!!!

 

See....looks the same!

 

The Jaws shop had some of the best ride merchandise I've ever seen!

 

Tons of awesome Jaws stuff!

 

Boxers, T-Shirts, etc!

 

These shorts were awesome!

 

Elissa got an awesome shirt, and KidTums gets a shark puppet!

 

If you think I should buy this hat...

 

A nice relaxing day with not long waits for anything.

 

More random views of this awesome park!

 

10 years old! In another 8 years the park will be old enough to drink!

 

Even at Universal Studios there is a Japanese helix of death!!!

 

"Welcome to Japan... Have a balloon dog!"

 

The Happiness Cafe will happily try to kill you with their hot curry sauce challenge!

 

It looks so innocent, but OMG do they serve up a wicked curry!

 

So Cal Universal fanboys be jealous!

 

Here's the first Backdraft pre-show room...

 

...and the second pre-show.

 

Oooh....fire!

 

The show is still awesome! And there is a VIDEO of Backdraft!

 

Looking across the lake.

 

And another ride on Space Fantasy!

 

It's really hard to describe this ride, and why it's so awesome. It's just very Japanese, very weird, and about as "cool" as a ride can get!

 

The Japanese love their covered "main street" areas, and to be honest, they work really well!

 

The park staff were also great! They were having so much fun and interacted well with guests.

 

"Hi, I'm Ron Howard. If you see a fire truck, get out of the way. They aren't going to the movies."

 

It wouldn't be a Universal Studios park without Mel's Die-In... I mean Dine-In.

 

More park staff having fun!

 

"Wyatt...your shop is PINK!"

 

"Why is Ralphs STILL selling storm troopers???" Can someone PLEASE EMAIL DAN and let him know?

 

Here's the main entrance area of the park.

 

Any covered area with an airtime hill over it is awesome!

 

Hollywood Dream won't make you change your top 20 coaster lists, but it's a throw your hands in the air, and have a good time kind of ride!

 

Magical Curry!!!! (of hot death!!!)

 

This park is just so awesome for taking pictures!

 

I love this Jaws logo!

 

Seriously...best merch ever!

 

NO! DON'T EAT US!!!! (Well, except for maybe the Australian!)

 

...gets posted to TPR!

 

It's like the "Universal Greatest Hits" park! (All they need is Mummy & MiB and it would be perfect!)

 

Parts of this park remind me of Universal Studios Florida...

 

...while other parts remind me of Islands of Adventure.

 

Try song #4 - great J-Pop tunes to rock out to!

 

OM NOM NOM! ME BUILDING EAT TRAIN!

 

Saugus?!?! Why would anyone want to go to Saugus???

 

Ahh, it's Hello Kitty dressed as Pink Panther. Weird. But cute!

 

We were told that getting all four of these characters together on one piece of merchandise was a licensing challenge!

 

"Can you please give me and Tom some alone time?"

 

One more ride on Space Fantasy to close out our day!

 

Awesome...Awesome...AWESOME PARK!!!

 

Now that our day is done...the drinking can begin!

 

For dinner we went to this place where you make your own sort of Japanese pancake thing.

 

All sorts of different flavors.

 

Ooooh...noodles look good...

 

And noodles WERE good!

 

Whatever this is...I WANT!!!

 

We spent some time just chilling in CityWalk, and then it was time to take the train back to the hotel.

 

The train ride back was kind of epic...

 

...and TPR totally drank the train out of beer! NOT JOKING!!!!

 

...and I'm OutAPhotos!

 

More TPR 2011 Japan Trip coming soon!

 

POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!!

Edited by ernierocker
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WANT. JAWS. MERCHANDISE.

 

I loved that park when we were there in 2007, and would love to go back. Good to see the place is still awesome!

 

This might be my favorite report from the trip yet. Thanks for posting these reports, they have all been amazing entertainment!

 

dt

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Looks like a fantastic park! Great photos.

 

And is that a panty dispenser? I'm curious why an adult would suddenly find themselves in need of a cute new pair of panties in a public place. "Oh, darn, I just realized I forgot to put panties on this morning! Luckily there's a panty dispenser nearby!" Now one for children I could understand; accidents happen.

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I spent about a half-hour in the Jaws shop back in 2007--looks like their merch is even better now. (Mike Roddy needs visit this shop! ) And you haven't experienced Jaws: The Ride until you've experienced it in Japanese!

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Robb can you speak/read Japanese at all?

 

This place looks seriously awesome, I had someone come in from USJ the other week in my store and asked if he could get his employee discount in IoA, (they do by the way,) but it was just awesome to meet people from there!

 

Maybe one day I'll have enough to go on these trips...one day...

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An amazing park in one of my favorite cities!

 

Is Space Fantasy based on any movie/cartoon property or is it 100% original? It looks really cool!

 

 

Did you guys film a POV of Jurassic Park The Ride at Universal Studios Japan?

 

If you look at Robb's pictures, Jurassic Park didn't have any water in the splashdown pool...so I'm going to assume it was closed for refurb.

Edited by Wes
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I have to say, I can vouch for the weird Asian ice cream flavors...there is an Asian market a few towns over from me, they have corn and cheese flavored ice cream. I think a fish flavor too...they are on Hwy 9 in Howell, NJ maybe hit them up on the east coast tour, Great Adventure stop. It's about 25 min from there.

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