Meteornotes Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Awesome report. I really liked the park when I was there in 2007, and would love to visit it again. And I need this: dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosscoe Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I thought all the Back to the Future rides had closed, no idea there was a remaining one here. I need to get myself back to Japan and more so to this park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 If the Back to the Future attraction jumps to the year 2015 and says it's the future, aren't the ride's days numbered? Pretty soon guests will be going back in time to get to the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 If the Back to the Future attraction jumps to the year 2015 and says it's the future, aren't the ride's days numbered? Pretty soon guests will be going back in time to get to the future. I pondered the same question in my TR, unlike the original versions these ones have been dubbed over in Japanese so the lips don't really match up so its not like they need to re-film the actors, I wonder if they really want to keep it if they will just re-record the dialogue and update the dashboard on the deloreans to read 2055 instead. Since the dashboards change every day to show the current date changing the future date and changing the lines of dialogue that mention 2015 shouldn't be too expensive.... maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 ^This is true of almost every movie about the "future"--for example, the TV series Space: 1999. Heck, according to some old science fiction, we should've had regular flights to the Moon and Mars by the late 1960s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Awwww, they changed Hollywood Dream's Song List. When we were there two years ago, there were two Japanese dance songs to choose from. And the one I chose was great! And everybody around me seemed to have picked the same popular song and we were singing away, (fake) head banging. It was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 ^This is true of almost every movie about the "future"--for example, the TV series Space: 1999. Heck, according to some old science fiction, we should've had regular flights to the Moon and Mars by the late 1960s. True, I was just thinking that because back to the future ride is always set on the day that you visit that day becomes the present in terms of story purposes so the dashboard reads 2013 and then jumps to 2015, as opposed to those movies which is that era's idea of the future at that time. They could always just change the present day so instead of reading the date you ride it shows the day the ride opened and is set then, so like those movies it shows their idea of the future from back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 If the Back to the Future attraction jumps to the year 2015 and says it's the future, aren't the ride's days numbered? Pretty soon guests will be going back in time to get to the future. I pondered the same question in my TR, unlike the original versions these ones have been dubbed over in Japanese so the lips don't really match up so its not like they need to re-film the actors, I wonder if they really want to keep it if they will just re-record the dialogue and update the dashboard on the deloreans to read 2055 instead. Since the dashboards change every day to show the current date changing the future date and changing the lines of dialogue that mention 2015 shouldn't be too expensive.... maybe? I imagine it would be something like this, I obviously don't know the numbers to tell if the ride is popular or not but I am sure they could come up with a solution if they keep it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 What an awesome trip report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 ^ Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 The next day we got up early grabbed breakfast and headed out to the train for our next stop Hirakata Park! This is also the last park of the "Add-on". Originally this park wasn't on the itinerary as this was the day we were supposed to be at Nagashima Spa Land. However Nagashima several months before the trip Nagashima put that it was shutting down for a few days to perform maintenance. Quickly our guides (Robb and Elissa) came up with a solution to move Nagashima to the main trip and do this park instead which I'm glad happened because this turned into a great day! Anyway onto the report... We got to the park and were met by the park hosts who were even nice enough to hit the crossing signal as we approached. We were than escorts to the parks 'major" coaster so Robb could film. Elf This giant looking woodie rests in the center of the park. From far away it looks impressive but the ride is nothing more than a family ride. It has a traditional figure-8 layout and nothing really stood out with the ride. However it was still a fun ride and I think the group enjoyed it. After we continued around picking up our credits. Red Falcon Is the parks other "major" coaster. It is a Japanese jet coaster. It spread out over a nice chunk of the park but isn't really exciting either. Log Flume This Log Flume had a screaming game so we had to try it out! Never did find out where you had to scream though. Crazy Mouse A spinning mouse by Reverchon. Nothing special. Peekaboo Town Nothing wrong with a bunch of grown adults riding a coaster called Peekaboo Town? Right? Dark Ride They had a traditional Japanese dark ride where you wore headphones through the ride. It was kind of creepy. Animal Safari You ride in jeeps and shoot at the friendly animals of the wild. Fun right? Fantastic Coaster Rowdy Was the last coaster of the park. It had a really weird layout but was a pretty fun ride. Next we did some of the walk troughs all of which gave prizes! There was a mirror maze game, and a shooting 3d ride. On the 3d ride if you reached a certain amount of points you won a prize. We all tried several times to get it while some came close. We grabbed lunch at the McDonald's in the park and walked around also did the Giant Wheel before meeting up at the front of the park to head out. At this point we were free to do what ever we wanted. Some went back to Osaka and some went to a baseball game. Some went back to Nagoya but we went to Kyoto. Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine Some of us wanted to dive as far as we could into Japanese culture so we made our way to the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine which was a one train stop from our station and it was still on our JR system! (The rail pass we were using for our tour). We checked out the tourist stuff and the Orange gates at the bottom before starting our way up the mountain. Originally I don't think anyone planned to go the entire way but it was one of those things that we made it to one point and decided to go a bit further and before we knew it we were at the top! Unfortunately there wasn't much of a view but we light our own candles before heading back down. Some parts of the train were really beautiful and it was a nice visit with some great exercise but it was time to head back. We caught the bullet train and got back to Nagoya where I grabbed some McDonalds from the train station and we hung out in the hotel lobby for a bit before heading to bed. Yokohama Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise up next! Oh Poo... it's another report! I'm very curious what this is? Welcome to Hirakata Park! Looks nice! First stop! It was a cute little/big woodie. Next up Red Falcon! (The old sign looked much better!) A look at one of the midways. The Log Flume Next credit! All we need is some ice and beer for those coolers! Looking down on Falcon's platform. Where are we going?? Peekaboo Town... They are so thrilled! Next up the dark ride! You wear your headset as you hear some random things through the ride. Yes... we did this. You can ride a subway train! Random band on a building. First time seeing this... so weird. Last credit of the park! Hey guys Lift hill... Hi Cary They also have a train. This guy really loves this dolphin And so does Dan! Also this... Why didn't Hirakata just hire him for the photo shoot? Another random ride. Safari shoot-em-up. You can ride another train! Palm Walk was this nice section in the middle of the park. Eat Circus? The 3D shooter.. we tried several times to win the prize. This was another game but it was a walk through where you get wands and collect some magic lights? At the end you put your wand in here and enter the final battle where you win your prize. This was my guy! Sounds like a good place for lunch! Next we did this upcharge walkthrough Dragon in the center of the mountain! The Giant Wheel was next! Elf Red Falcon! More Elf! Going down Another overview. Fantastic Coaster Rowdy! Hi Julie! Top of Red Falcons lift! Going down Red Falcon is still a cool ride to look at. More Elf Peekaboo Town overview! Hi Steve! Hey guys! "Wooden Roller Coaster Episode of Little Fairies" Mhm.... Slow day today. In the middle of Elf was this nice and very green pathway. Random tree house They also had some animals A quick visit to Hug Hug Town (petting zoo) and we are out of here! Welcome to Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine! A map of the shrine There were vending machines at random spots on the trail. But the further you go up the more expensive it got. You can even but some orange gates! One of the first buildings you come across. Pretty Nope not one orange gate. Heading up! Need an orange gate? This trip report will have a severe lack of orange gates... This is the only view we would get. Mid way point. Another gate. This was the pose to make so here is my impression of it... next up Yokohama Cosmoworld and Sea Paradise! Near the bottom. Back at the bottom. We reached the top and all of us lit a candle. Here is mine. Still not enough gates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I enjoyed Hirikata and the long walk some of us took up the mountain to the Inari Temple (beautiful place). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 ^ Yes, I forgot about that long walk after a nice time at Hirikata - made up for all the beer we tasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie200330 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Why is Red Falcon not red.....I love the quirkiness of Japanese parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Another great update! Hirakata park is still one of the park I need to visit in Japan. The temples looked really nice as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollin_n_coastin Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Ken, awesome pics as always. Hirakata was such a fun spot. Japan pulls all of us in different directions so it's such a blast seeing what everyone else was up to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 (edited) The next morning we once again left early to head up to Yokohama to meet the rest of the group for the start of the official TPR Japan 2013 trip! After meeting we were than taken to the gates of Yokohama Cosmoworld where a very welcoming Mr. Kitagawa would greet us before walking us around his park giving us ERT on several of the most popular ones. Diving Coaster: Vanish First up was the park's signature coaster and the one I'm sure you seen a million times of those facebook chains "Would you ride This". The coaster looks great from a distance and the "dive" part is pretty cool but there is some head banging. (Not so) Spinning Coaster A spinning coaster that doesn't spin, nothing more fun than that! Log Flume This was the best ride at the park, the flume was laid out all over the wheel side of the park and had two drops. The second drop offered some decent airtime! The screaming contest they have set up on it is really fun too! Family Banana Coaster Next Mr. Kitagawa took us to the other side of the park, see Cosmoworld is actually 3 (or two depending how you look at it) separated by the river. The major rides are on the side of the giant wheel while the more kids stuff and smaller attractions are on the other. Mr. Kitagawa opened up the kiddie coaster for us to get our credit which was really nice of him! Ice House Next Mr. Kitagawa as well as our guide Robb and Elissa took us to the park's Ice House for what we thought would be a quick walk through. Little did we know Mr. Kitagawa came up with the idea of locking us in! After that Mr. Kitagawa also opened the Disko for us but some of us were getting hungry so we decided to wait out the opening of the "pancake bear" stand. I think the girl working it was quite surprised to see a line of grown men before opening! Dr. Edgar Next we did the several walk-troughs that were on our side of the park one was like a fun house and one was another game like at Hirakata Park where you win a card. The Haunted House was the one I was most interested in. They gave you a candle to hold as you went through where they challenge you not to get scared and shake it. The house wasn't bad and I seen at least one actor. Next we returned to the wheel side and did the other dark rides. Mirror Adventure This was a really neat game which revolves around your astrology signs. It had a mirror maze of course and at the end you an win a prize. Matt won a lego toy. Ghost Train We next did the Ghost Train where you ride in a cage. It was pretty much like the other Japanese dark rides. Judge The last thing we did was the main walk through. Judge is set up with 3 levels and provides the opportunity to back out between each level. They also offer a flashlight but we ended up turning it off. It was a rather lengthy walk through and was pretty good. I can't remember if there were actors or not. At the end you can win another prize and all 3 of us got skull wrist bands. At this point our point card for the park was depleted so we left the park to check out Yokohama before we had to meet up for the train station. We first grabbed lunch at the mall across the street. We went to a restaurant called "American House Bar & Grill". Yes an American themed restaurant in Japan. It was as stereotypical American as you can get, it had country music blasting, americana memorabilia and waitresses wearing daisy dukes! And you can't forget the 100% authentic texas food that includes rice. It was a rather interesting experience. But it is like our Japanese restaurants. Next we walked around for a bit checking out the water front as well as some of the local sites (And a Krispy Cream) before heading back to the station for our next stop.... Sea Paradise which will be in part 2 I will post in the next few days. Welcome to Yokohama! Getting closer to Cosmoworld! I'm sure you seen this already but Yokohama Cosmoworld was excited to welcome us. First up.... Vanish! Going up Going down Diving Vanishing Spinning Mouse Heading to the other side of the park. Next up Banana Coaster! See Bananas! Station and the group. Next up Ice House! Moose! Well since we are locked in here can I get a drink please? Main street? First walk through... Dr. Edgar Don't get scared and shake the candle Random game/walkthrough The park is in a very nice setting. The giant wheel. Vanish going up. Vanish again! This gives you an idea of how the park is split up. Heading back to the Amuse zone! Here it is... the famous meat key chain! Out side of the 3D shooter. Set up just outside the cage ride. Haunted House First they lock you in the cage. Please decline to use flash bulbs... Another angle of the wheel. Vanish again! Here is the water front. Which way do we go? Umm... what??? Matt pointing the way... The middle section. Sick of seeing this wheel yet? What about Vanish? Thanks for a great visit Yokohama Cosmoworld! And Mr. Kitagawa Another angle of this section. Next we checked this out. What do you think it is? This was once a dry dock.... Looks like it has some stores. A neat old ship Heading to our next stop! More coming soon...! Edited December 23, 2013 by kidcoaster 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 I become even more amazed by Japan every time I see a photo of it. Can't wait for my inevitable future trip there! Nice photos, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attack7 Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Such a nice batch of pictures to see when the weather is so ugly outside right now. Thanks Ken! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 So happy to see the glory of Meat Cow can still be experienced! dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 I didn't know they had Amazon pick up points in Japan yet! Great report, thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 The more I see photos of Cosmoworld the more it confirms the park has the coolest backdrop with the skyscrapers of Yokohama. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more Japan pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Love that park and at night with the lights it is spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted December 25, 2013 Author Share Posted December 25, 2013 (edited) The second half of our day took us a little ways south to Sea Paradise. Now this park doesn't have a large number of rides but it is in a nice location on it's own island. It is a marine animal park / amusement park mix and features one of the best drop towers out there... Blue Fall! Blue Fall After leaving the train it was only a short walk into the park and after getting our wristband we all made our way to the park's signature ride Blue Fall. Now the neat thing about this ride (Well besides being 300ft tall) is that there are two different drops you can choose from. You have your normal drop and you have the fake drop. The fake drop is where after reaching top and being released your car falls about 10 feet into a set of brakes before being dropped for the rest of your fall. It is a really weird feeling. I put this right behind Lex Luthor for my favorite drop tower. Surf Coaster After our Blue Fall rides we wanted to get our credit so we made our way to the other side of the island. Surf Coaster is a Togo but honestly it wasn't that bad and it's in a nice location where it hangs out over the water so half the ride is above the bay. We than did the sky tower and made our way around the park. Pedal Boats Sea Paradise has a typical pedal boat ride but it has dolphins in the pond with the boats. The dolphins also do tricks... it's really screwed up! Whale Show/Aquarium The main attraction for the park is the aquarium. It's a large complex with lots to see. The aquarium also features a show with dolphins, seals, a penguin, and a whale shark! After this we did one more ride on Blue Fall before heading out. The park also offered a Carousel, a swinging ship, some spinning rides, and an upcharge ice house and Haunted House which we didn't do. Next up is Nagashima Spaland! Welcome to Sea Paradise! After getting off the train I seen this in the train station vending machine and as I am a fan of the show I had to try it. It was like a berry flavor energy drink. This is the 20th Anniversary of the park. Heading across the bridge to the park. Getting closer! The first thing you see is the carousel. The sea train which loops the park. I also just noticed the ride names on the side of the cars. Looks nice! There she is! The greatest! Freaking tall! Carnival House Next up is some Togo! Here is the sign. You can see here how the coaster extends into the bay. Colorful trains. Steve looks like he liked it... Anth looks confused. Overview of some Togo All that remains of the boat jump. Looking towards the weird giant bridge into the park. Looking towards the Aquarium Looks innocent enough... Dun dun... dun un... The dolphins also do tricks around the boats Really weird Panormama Dolphins Surf Coaster in the distance From the stadium towards Surf Coaster The park also had a very intense rapids ride. Time for the show Standard tricks Whale Shark circled the tank the entire show but did one trick After the show we went to the best family restaurant around A friendly reminder to not be an idiot One more ride! Viking Some of the rides had cartoon network themeing That's it for Sea Paradise What's this??? Find out this weekend! Edited December 25, 2013 by kidcoaster 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 I always enjoyed visiting Sea Paradise park, not just for the rides, but for how it's laid out with the landscaping, and the Aquarium and all the marine life exhibits, for sure. Yeah and Blue Fall, too. Great ongoing TR, Ken! Looking forward to more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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