China, Japan & Hong Kong 18 July - 9th August

[Vik]

Its Holiday time again. This time its something that has been on myself and Daves bucket list for years but always filed away in the too difficult folder and occasional dusted off for another look only to be filed away again for another 12 months. This time though, the file stayed out and the planning commenced.

This trip consisted of visiting China, Japan & Hong Kong over 3 weeks, visiting the following parks :-

1. Universal Beijing (2 Days)
2. Happy Valley Shanghai (1 Day)
3. Disney Shanghai (2 Days)
4. Universal Japan (1.5 Days)
5. Nagashima Spaland (2 Days)
6. Fuji Q (2 Days)
7. Disneyland Tokyo (1 Day)
8. DisneySea Tokyo (2 Days)
9. Hong Kong Disneyland (2 Days)

Of course some 'culture' thrown in to the mix too (I.E Trying out the local beers)

One initial hurdle to overcome was that I thought that a visa would be required for China, involving handing over £150 and going to Manchester to give biometrics during the short daily (Mon-Fri) window that the opportunity to do so arose. However upon more research, discovered that it was possible to has visa free transit, as long as you had a flight booked to a '3rd' country (IE You could not go back to where you started from). Indeed from late last year this transit free Visa was upped from 144 hours to 240 hours, and it was also permitted to be able to travel out of the initial arrival area to other regions (In our case, Beijing), where previously you were restricted to the particular region you arrived in to. Of course the didn't stop me getting absolutely paranoid a week or so before we were due to travel that I had messed something up and our itinerary of arriving in to Beijing and departing from Shanghai would fall foul of the rules.

Our final itinerary was born.. We would fly to Beijing, departing from Manchester Airport on Fri 18th July around lunch time, arriving in Beijing at 6AM on Saturday Morning. Then travel down to Shanghai on 21 July. Fly over to Osaka on 25th July, working our way up towards Tokyo. Another flight over to Hong Kong on 6th August before flying back to Heathrow on 9th August very very late at night, arriving at around 6AM on 10th August, then train back home towards the delightful leafy Cheshire. I would of liked to of gone to Tokyo for DisneySea last, but direct flight home was insanely priced and indirect to anything between 24-48 hours.

So finally after months of planning and lots of money spent, it was finally 18th July and time for the off. First port of call was a ride on a 777. Not of the plane variety, but of the rail variety. This would take us on the first leg of our trip to Liverpool (in the complete opposite direction of Manchester but such is the joys of public transport in the North West



After the 30 minute or so journey to Liverpool James Street, ascending to the rickety old lift to ground level, took the short walk to Liverpool One Bus Station to catch the National Express Coach to Manchester Airport, arriving 10 minutes early just before 09:00. We then had to go to the check in counter as we needed to inform them we were taking advantage of the Visa Free Transit and to show required documentation. It is worth noting we were taking hand luggage only, which was a Cabin Size case and a small (or probably Mega large in Daves case), back pack. All this went pretty smoothly and we passed through security and we airside within about 30 minutes of arriving at Terminal 2, and comfortably in time for our 12:15 flight over to Beijing.

Had initially planned to go the Espire lounge, having a voucher for it, and having confirmation that walk ins were available, only to be met with the rudest person possible manning the entry point who just barked 'No walk ins' before snorting and spitting something in to a bin and walking off. After the less than savoury welcome, we sauntered off the find a bar, which we did. We also got a free beer as someone had poured the wrong beers for an order so offered them to us for free. Ummm. Yes Please!!!

Finally time to board our flight, which was with Hainen Airways, a Chinese Airline. We had back row seats, but due to their location, we could not see out of any windows. Flight time was around 13 hours. Departing bang on time and arriving at Bejing PEK airport bang on time at around 06:00 on Saturday 19th. Flight was OK. The Cabin felt a little forlorn but nothing too bad but was reasonably comfortable and plenty of leg room. The mess left behind at the end of the flight though was really something else. I've travelled on a few long haul flights and never seen a cabin left in such a state as this was.

Then it was time for all the immigration visa free transit fun. Arriving at Immigration point, it was empty, probably about 10 people tops, and all of them in the Visa Free Transit line . After some confusion about what form to fill out, after initially being directed to the wrong one, then made our way to the immigration desk. Boy are they thorough here. Check every last minute detail on the passport. Of course then studying the exit flight details and also details of the planned itinerary whilst in China, giving finger prints, then being directed to a second person who double checked everything the first one did before issuing the 10 day transit visa. Finally we were through. They were very efficient though with all the checking. Took 10 minutes tops.

So, what does one do after arriving in to a new Country after a 13 hour flight, arriving at 6AM? Well of course only the crazy amongst us would head to a Theme Park straight away, and that is exactly what we did, head straight to the first park of the trip, which was to be Universal Beijing, and our accommodation for the next two nights Universal Grand Hotel. We took a Taxi, which took about 35 minutes and cost around £25. This saved us an in to Beijing and out again train ride, which would of took 90 minutes.

Anyway, next part will indeed be Universal Beijing, alas this will have to wait until tomorrow as I am still waiting for the rest of the photos to upload off my phone and Icloud is being an *** and appears to of gone on strike....

 

[Vik]

Guess its time to crack on...

Our first Park of the trip was Universal Beijing. Having successfully navigated immigration and somehow managed to survive the hair raising taxi ride from the airport, we arrived at Universal Beijing, and our accommodation the next two nights which was Universal Grand Hotel shortly before 8AM. The check in process was quick, and though our room wasn't ready yet, we were able to store our bags.



Park opening hours were 09:00 to 21:00 both days, but being hotel guests we got entry an hour early. So with the time rapidly ticking along to 08:00, we made our way down to the entrance to the park. Here we were met with what seemed like a chaotic swarm of people waiting to get through the security check and enter the park. However, the line moved pretty fast, and again, everything was very efficient. To enter the park, you need to show your ID, in our case, Passports. This was the case with all the places we visited in China, and also the high speed trains. Effectively your passport is your ticket, so needs to be carried at all times.

With plenty of time to kill before the masses were let loose, it was time to head off to our first ride, which would of course be hot footing it over to Hogwarts to Forbidden journey. Of course its pretty much a clone of the original, which I do enjoy, but have found on occasions can produce a but of nausea. Though I didn't have an issue with this one. Pretty much walk on at this point.



Flight of The Hippogriff was left until later on as there was already a 60 minute queue for it. Had a quick explore of the area then headed out to get a couple of other attractions in before it got too busy.


Next would be Jurassic Flyers, which is the same type of coaster as Arthur at EP. Having seem some POVs, this looked a bit naff, however the ride itself was very good, getting up to some good speeds and occasionally pulling 1.0001g. The theming though was pretty poor. Looks like they forgot about it, or maybe they went for the minimalist look? Overall, was a decent ride but nothing worth waiting over 30 minutes for. Once the park opened this did generate a queue of 90 mins or more, bit did calm down later to around 40 mins. Following this was Decepticoaster, which is a clone of Hulk at UIA. Rides pretty much the same, and despite the fact that it is fairly new, has that 'old skool' feel to it.



Once the masses started swarming in, time for a quick rest stop. That humidity (and of course lack of sleep, lots of travelling) does really take it out of you. Had the faff of trying to pay for something with Alipay for the first time. This seems one of the main methods to pay for things in China. But once it was figured out it was all quite straight forward really, but Apple/Google Pay is much quicker and easier.

After rest, had a look around Kung Foo Panda land, which was actually really good, all indoors and set up for a night time look, and also nice to get in to an air conditioned building , and also took a ride on Kung Fu Panda Journey of the Dragon Warrior, which is a boat ride. Pretty good, and though we didn't wait long, the queues for this generally got quite big at some points during the day.



Of course, any trip to a Universal Park wouldn't be the same without a visit to Minion Land. So, we came, we looked, we left. . Despicable Me already had a 90 minute queue, so that was a good enough excuse to go on it, and that excuse lasted for 2 whole days, as by the time it was noted as being 20 minutes, just really couldn't be bothered by that point.

Generally rest of the morning and early afternoon was wondering around, admiring the views, riding some rides, cooling down in air conditioned building and taking plenty of fluids (not actual beer). Worth noting that you could buy a Coke for around £1, and water was about 70p.

After heading back to Hogwarts and waiting around 40 minutes for Flight of the Hippogriff, it was nudging 15:00, and we were really starting to hit the wall in terms of tiredness so thought we'd head back to the hotel, get our room and rest for an hour, so that's what we did, however, the hour turned in to 3 hours. More tired that we thought I guess.

Headed back on park just after 18:30 for the last few hours, and also got some night rides in on Decepticoaster as the wait was pretty much 0 minutes.

After Park close, had a wonder round taking some photos as the place was pretty much deserted by then, before heading back to hotel and heading straight to the bar for a night cap or two, eventually heading off for some much needed sleep around midnight.

Next morning, up bright and early, all refreshed, ready for a second day on park. We headed in just after 08:00, it was a lot less chaotic this morning, but still felt like everyone was in a rush. Got in Jurassic Flyers and a couple of goes of Decepticoaster before the masses piled in.

Quick pit stop for breakfast, then a ride on Jurrasic World Adventure via Single Rider queue, which was less than 5 minutes as opposed to a 50 minute wait main queue. Again, thought this was very well done. Also a good mix between proper theming and animatronics and screens, which felt just about the right balance.

At some point late afternoon, it was decided to wait for Raptor Encounter. I was led to believe that this was a walk through attraction where you get to see some nice friendly Dinosaurs. However, it turned out to be be nothing more than a photoshoot with a Velociraptor. 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back, but got a cool photo.



Again, rest of day spent getting in some re-rides. Single Riders were a god send at times being a fairly busy day with queue times up to 90 minutes for the big ticket attractions, but did calm down later in evening.

Had a browse around City Walk, stopping for some much need liquid refreshments before heading off to the Hotel and some more liquid refreshments.

Overall, had a great visit. Whilst fairly busy, we did everything we wanted to do. Theming is generally pretty good. Though they could of 'finished' the Hogwarts theming and maybe covered up the show building for Forbidden Journey? Maybe also put a bit of theming in for Jurassic Flyer they seem to of forgotten about it .

The Grand Hotel was great, and worth the money. Found the staff across park and hotels to be pretty friendly. Some times things did seem a little chaotic, but this is the same as I found everywhere in China, they seem chaotic, but pretty efficient in what they do.









After a hectic couple of days, now being July 21, it was time to embark on our next journey. Heading off to Shanghai for Happy Valley and Disney. I had booked us on to the 12:00 train departure from Beijing South to Shanghai just so we could get a sort of a lie in. we left around 09:30, heading through City Walk to the train station to take us to Beijing South, about an hour journey. Initially very quiet on board, it quickly got busy. One thing I noted, and something I had seen at the park. Everybody is completely engrossed in their phones, usually watching videos etc without headphones. On the train, all you could hear was a multitude of tinny noise coming from everyone. Luckily I can tune out, but a million time worse than I have seen in UK or Europe. Also, all stations have security checks where baggage is screened and go through a metal detector.

Arriving in to Beijing South around 11, had to find our way to the high speed lines which was easier said than done with very poor signage. Found where to go eventually and went through another security checkpoint in to a seen of chaos (I was warned this would be the case), with hundreds of people 'queueing' for different trains. Eventually found the queue (scrum) for our train, passports scanned (these were our tickets again), and about 15 minutes before departure were let through to board.

Had booked first class for this as had heard that these trains can be pretty busy and rather noisy. Thankfully first class, though busy was fairly quiet for the journey, and we got a couple of complimentary snacks and drinks off the first class host.

Journey time was around 4hr 30, reaching speeds of 350kmh



Heading in to Shanghai, we passed by Happy Valley, which was to be the next part of our visit the following day. After arrival in to Shanghai around 16:30, and some brief confusion of what metro to get (I had put in the wrong start station on the journey planner), headed off towards Disney Shanghai, and our hotel for the first 2 nights of a 4 night stay, which was Marriot Courtyard which was a couple of miles from Disney, and about a 15 minute walk from nearest Metro Station. A fairly busy journey, taking about an hour or so, plus the 15 minute walk, which felt like double that given how hot and humid it was.

Finally checking in just before 18:00, much needed shower, then time for some food and drink. Luckily hotel did have a bar/restaurant, which had quite a lot on offer, and very cheap too.

After food, drink, and more drink time to sleep and prepare for following days fun and games...


And indeed, next up will be Happy Valley Shanghai and of course Disney Shanghai

 

[Vik]

Next park of the trip is Happy Valley Shanghai on July 22. Park opening hours were 09:00 - 22:00. Due to the long journey time, we didn't plan to arrive for park opening. We also didn't stay until 22:00 either. Not because it was bad, just simply, we had done many things multiple times. This place is home to 7 coasters.

It was quite the journey on the Shanghai Metro. With the walk to the station, then around an hours ride on the Metro, with one change then a free shuttle bus for the final mile or so to the park. Total cost for this journey was around 40 pence one way. We arrived on park around 10:30. Again, our Passports were our tickets (They know exactly where we are at any time ). Entry was pretty swift.

We decided to head over to the aptly named Wooden Coaster Fireball, to see a wait time advertised at 120 minutes and the queue line full. After waiting around for about 5 minutes and not seeing a train dispatch, did start to wonder if this sort of wait time would be the norm on every ride throughout the day. Thankfully, it wasn't.



After questioning our life choices, headed over to Diving Coaster, which is, well a B&M Dive Coaster. 1 train operation, however there was no queue. The loading procedure is a bit of a faff. There are no air gates. Once the shuttle is ready to board a member of staff opens the gate and everyone is directed to the other side to store belongings before taking a seat. You are sort of assigned a row, but it was a bit of a free for all. The ride itself though was pretty good, quite intense in places, certainly one of the better Dive Coasters out there.

To exit the ride, and indeed any other attraction here, staff wait until everyone is off and collected their belongings, then a quick check to ensure all belongings are accounted for, then they open the exit gate to let you out. Did feel an odd procedure, but throughout the day, there were many times people left stuff behind in storage bins or things such as phones had fallen out of pockets on to the train seats that it did sort of make sense.



There is also a really weird Top Spin ripoff, with two gondolas rotating together. We watched a cycle and decided it looked absolutely pants.



There is an Intamin Ultra Coaster called Blue Moon Speed. Again, 1 train operation, only a small queue, with minimal wait. Before loading here, they get you to do some neck and shoulder exercises and sing some songs. . Another decent ride, with good speed, quite intense and the occasional pop of airtime. Sadly only had one go of this one. Did head back at one point but it was closed (I think for Staff breaks). Though we did pass the area a few times,the entrance kind of blends in to other theming nearby so simply forgot it was there

There was a weird Pink Train that does a circle around the park. Not sure what the actual purpose of this was. It moved at about 2mph and did occasionally have people on. There was some blatant rip off Finding Nemo Theming around, with 'Finding Nemo' Electric buggies available to Hire.

The Intamin Mine Train Coaster, which is Steam Punk themed was actually pretty good. Packed in a bit of a punch, and felt fairly similar to Colorado Adventure at Phantasialand in terms of ride experience. Again, no wait time for this (Probably wait longer for the exit gate to be opened )

There a B&M Family Invert Coaster called, err, Family Inverted Coaster. Bit of a wait for this, probably about 20 mins or so. It was OK, a perfectly decent family inverted coaster, appropriately named as such. The Zamperla Twisting coaster, called Crazy Elves was a bit bland, it didn't spin sadly. Last coaster there is Coastal Ant, a Chinese Knock off kiddie Coaster.

After some re-rides, lots of walking around admiring the views, and many times walking past Wooden Coaster and seeing 90 mins+ wait time, it was finally time to bite the bullet and wait for it. Wait time was down to 60 minutes at this point. Interestingly, the queue line has benches you can sit down on as you shuffle along the queue. Surprisingly for the slow operations, the queue moved fairly quickly, and we waited about 40 mins overall. The ride itself. Ye, one go is enough. It's pretty rough and overall just a bit bland. Wooden Coaster 1, sorry Wooden Coaster Fireball needs a wrecking ball to it.

We left around 19:00 to take the long journey back to the opposite side of Shanghai. Had a pretty good day overall and it certainly exceeded by expectations. Was expecting this park to be one of the most ghetto parks but it was really really nice. Some decent theming, nice surroundings, place was spotlessly clean. Guests were pretty much very well behaved. Staff were really nice. Whilst operations were not the best, it was fine for the level of guests on the park. There was a pretty decent ride line up too. There is also a nice friendly (if you have treats to give) feral feline population that makes an appearance late afternoon.

Later on this eve I will get round to Disney Shanghai...

 

[Vik]

And on to the next park, and our final park in China before heading over to Osaka in Japan. It was of course non other than Shanghai Disneyland, visiting for 2 days on 23 & 24 July. Our accommodation for the 2 nights was to be the Toy Story Hotel.

First things first, need to get there. Luckily the hotel we were staying at ran a shuttle bus to the park departing every 30 minutes, so we hopped on around 8AM. Park hours were 08:30 - 20:30 both days. First thing to do on arrival was to drop off our luggage, which would then be transferred to out hotel later on, so no need to collect luggage at end of day.

After being dropped off, it was one hell of a trek to security and to finally drop off our bags. Obviously set up for large guest flow, the queueing system in place, which thankfully wasn't queueing involved a lot of walking in a long cattle pen. Probably took a good 15 minutes to reach security area where there queue (or swarm of people) was. This was the usual chaotic, efficient service we had become used to in China by now. Luckily we only had to do this on one day, as second day we could access via Downtown Disney which was much quieter.

After dropping off our luggage, headed to the ticket gates, and after Passports scanned we were finally in the park. From arriving to actually getting in was probably the best part of an hour.



Shanghai Disney has come in for some criticism in the past, especially regarding guest behaviour (defecating in the queue lines anyone?), litter and various other issues. It was worth noting that in queue lines they have cast members and various points, so if any guest needs the toilet they can leave at that point and then return to the same spot. Anyone with them must wait at that point. Safe to say did not see any unusual bodily fluids or solids in the queue lines . Generally I thought guest behaviour was fine. There was some queue jumping, but no worse than in Japan as it transpired. Though did find that if you left the slightest gap between you and the people in front, those behind would just push past and occupy said spot. Also they became increasingly restless when near the front with a near desperation to get past and save themselves an extra 20 second wait.

The park was spotless too, no litter. Any litter that was dropped was picked up almost instantly.

Obviously in for a fairly busy day, the only option was really to suck it up and queue for things. Luckily queues moved pretty quickly and operations were on top form.

Our first attraction we rode was Zootopia Hot Pursuit. This was showing a 45 minute wait, which it was indeed 45 mins. Queueing outside wasn't overly pleasant as quite hot and humid, but once inside the building it was fine, and plenty of theming to admire. Overall a pretty decent addition, but not worth the waiting times it seem to generate at points, being 90-120 mins on average. The Zootopia area was absolutely rammed with guests which made getting any decent photos difficult.



Of course, any trip to Disney would not be complete with a jolly on Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily only a 10 minute wait. This is by far the best one I have done to date. Highly immersive, with a good use of screens as well as good theming elements. Also as well the boats rotate in different directions, so not just in a guided trough like the others.

Sadly though the whole immersion thing seems lost on others riding it. Had quite a few rides on this as generally the wait times were short (<15 mins), and every time, as soon as people were seated, phones would come out and start watching videos. Luckily the noise from them was drowned out the the audio of the ride. Just sad to see a great attraction not being enjoyed to its full potential.




Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had what was probably the worst queue line on park. It snaked around a lot, lots of cattle pens, and was difficult to figure out where the end was. That took 80 minutes to find in a rather slow moving queue . Really wasn't worth the wait. Quite short, never really gets going. Decent enough family ride I guess, but they really could do with something along the lines of Big Thunder Mountain or Expedition Everest as well.

Tron had a 60 minute advertised wait. A much anticipated coaster. Certainly lived up to the hype. The launch is does pack quite a punch and it does seem to maintain its speed throughout the course, even with some harsh trimming at points. My only negative would be it felt a bit short.

The area around Tron is very well done, I quite like the interaction of the train flying around the Dome after the launch providing a nice spectacle for passing guests.




Had a walk around Downtown Disney. Not a massive place, but there was somewhere for beer and food and some nice aircon.

Didn't bother with Soarin on first day, never went below 90 minute queue all day. There are better rides to waste my life queueing that length of time for

The park is lit up beautifully at night. The food was good, and beer too. Prices were very very reasonable also. Overall a pretty good day. Looks like they have got their house in order in terms of presentation, guest behaviour etc. Operations were great, the staff were really friendly too, everything was clean. My only negative is that it is (still) missing a few top tier attractions. As mentioned previously, some like Big Thunder, Expedition Everest, also a Haunted Mansion ride, maybe even a Tower of Terror. What is there is good and of a high standard, just feels a bit lacking.




We left around 20:00 to head over to hotel, which was a short walk away, but not very well signposted. Google Maps was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard too. Got here eventually though. Hotel was decent, but sadly lacked a proper bar, which is never good.

The next day was also a Disney Day. Another fairly busy day, but at least entry was a lot smoother with being able to use the Downtown entrance. Also we got 30 minutes early access, so with being next to Tron it would be rude not to miss the opportunity to ride before the queues built up.

One downside of the second day was, that as we had done most attractions on the first day, then we really didn't want to queue a long time for everything again on second day. There were really only 2 of the major attractions we hadn't done, which were Roaring Rapids and Soarin over the Horizon as they had had stupidly long queues on day one. There was no way I was queueing for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train again if it was anything more than 20 mins .

Decided we might as well wait for Rapids on what was advertised as 75 mins but turned out to be about 35. Decent Rapids, got slightly moist but nothing too nasty. Later on in the day Soarin queue had gone down to 50 mins so decided to wait as it was the last big ticket attraction to do. Actually ended up waiting just 20 mins. A few more rides of Pirates were had, plus a number of smaller attractions.

Overall a decent second day. Loved the place overall. Maybe 1 day would be enough if it wasn't mad busy. Was nice to have the second day though so didn't feel compelled to get everything in on first day and allowed plenty of chill time.

One more night in the hotel was had. The following day we were heading off to Osaka. Dave had noticed a few days earlier that it was possible to select seats on the flight and there was no additional cost. So exit row seats were secured.

Pre-booked a taxi with reception for following morning, as, even though the Airport was a 15 minute drive away, it was over 2 hours away on public transport.

So I guess next up is the journey over to Osaka and onwards to Universal Studios Japan for circa 1.5 days.

 

[Vik]

Ok, next part. Apologies for the delay, Work followed by over indulgence in food and alcoholic beverages have hindered attempts to crack on with this.

And today, in a historical sense (25/7), we are travelling over to Osaka in Japan for the first part of our adventure there, Universal Studios Japan. Our flight from Shanghai Pudong Airport scheduled for 11:35, with a 25 minute taxi ride costing around £15, we arrived in good time around 09:15.

The security and departure processes were pretty efficient. There wasn't a great deal airside in terms of places to grab a drink or some food but did find a decent place. When heading to the gate we were departing from and waiting there it did strike how deserted the place was. When we were boarding, it was so much more relaxed than the scrum clambering to board their Ryanair flights.

Our flight today was with ANA Nippon Airways on a A321. With a flight time of around 2 hours. There were other options, one called Spring Air which, judging by reviews make Ryanair look like the best airline in the world. Of course, had emergency exit row seats. Cabin was clean, the crew really friendly and also had a meal, drink and a small snack included.

On time departure, and on time arrival in to Osaka at around 14:30 local time. 1st hurdle was to get through immigration. Having previously filled out all details required online already, first stage was to simply scan a QR code and to confirm everything was correct. Next was to get checked by immigration. We joined separate queues, and the line I was in moved pretty quickly and there was a quick check of passport and waved through with a smile. All done with in 10 minutes with about 15 people in front of me. By that point the queue Dave was in had moved forward a few feet. It actually took him another 20 minutes to get to front, despite the same starting position. The immigration officer here was being a lot more thorough.

After finally getting through, now time to get Train over to Universal Studios. This involved one change in centre of Osaka and journey time of around 1 hour. This is where we found out that the idea that people wait patiently for others to get off the train before boarding is kind of a myth, at least in Osaka. As soon as doors opened there was a stampede to get on, and to hell with anyone trying to get off. Felt like we were travelling in Germany. To get off, suitcases were needed as battering rams.

After arriving at Universal City Walk, short walk to Hotel which was in City Walk, called Hotel Kinetsu. Once checked in, drop bags off in room, quick freshen up and on to park to use our 1/2 day ticket. Park was open until 22:00. After a quick security check, on park for just after 17:00.

First things first though, some food was needed as it had been a long day travelling. We stumbled upon Finnegans Bar and Grill where a few nice beers were had and some really nice food. The staff here were lovely, the food and beer was great, prices were very very reasonable.

After the much needed food and beverages were consumed, it was time to ride some rides. What better way to start than The Flying Dinosaur which was advertised as a 15 minute wait. Ye, this thing is bonkers. If you are on outside seat, those Pretzel loops pretty much rip your chest in to a million pieces. Twice. Certainly not an ride for the faint hearted. Also not something that is instantly re-ridable. Much rest between is needed.

This was followed by Hollywood Dream. This also has a train that faces backwards. Decided on forwards first. Waiting time advertised as 20 minutes. It was good fun. Nothing too intense, decent pops of airtime. Then decided to wait for backwards. Wait time advertised as 35 mins. This queue does move quite slow as the was operating 3 forward facing trains and just 1 backward facing. However, worth the wait though. Backwards is so much better. Usually find these backwards facing trains a bit of a gimmick but here it is anything but. Lots of ejector airtime, the otherwise tame layout seemed insane and was a good laugh to boot. Certainly re-ridable. Shame the queue moves so slow. We did a few more backwards goes during the couple of days we were there.

There is also an odd loading system. Bags are placed on the racks on opposite side of the platform. However, regardless of if you are putting a bag on the rack or not, you have to pass through your assigned row to the exit platform. Here you will then be wanded with a metal detector before being allowed to your seat. This was chaotic with mingling with those trying to get off and then trying to get back to your assigned row.

Then took a look around Hogwarts. Didn't do any rides as the queues were quite long around 60 mins and Single Rider on FJ showing same. Usually level of detail you come to expect. A De-ja-vu moment

Then took a look around Nintendo World. We had many many reminders that you must have a valid timed entry ticket to enter or else. However it was open to all and none were needed. Same following day too. This was just to have a look around at this point. The wait times were insane (120-150 mins). The attractions were ridden via single rider following day which were practically walk on where as main queues were in excess of 150 mins).

Another excellently presented area. It did feel a little cramped, probably down to the fact that it was insanely busy.

Of course, some more rides were had on Flying Dinosaur and Hollywood Dream. With kicking out time approaching we headed off in to City Walk for some food. However it would seem that City Walk restaurants and bars last admissions are with park close so none were accepting any more guests. There was a food hall up a few escalators but was madly busy, I guess being the only thing open. So this night it was pretty much go to one of the Supermarkets and get a couple of snacks.

City Walk did feel a bit underwhelming. Is pretty small. The restaurant area up the escalators and shoved in to one side felt a bit tacky, dated and a bit ghetto. And closing with the park? Not wanting to encourage additional spend?

The following day, opening hours were 09:00 - 21:00. We headed off out around 08:20 for the short walk over to the entrance. The security line was fairly long but moved quickly.

First ride of day would be Forbidden Journey. Used main queue as it was short at around 10 minutes, then Flight of The Hippogriff. Again just a short wait of around 15 mins.

Headed off over to Nintendo World to see queues of 3 hours or more. So Single Riders it was, with Mine Cart Madness first. Short, but good fun, people really do seem to panic when the train 'jumps' the tracks, the poor woman next to me was terrified.

Mario Kart Koopers Challenge was next with about a 30 minute wait in SRQ. Main Queue was 150 mins. Certainly an interesting concept and was good fun.

More rides were had, with many stop offs for refreshments and rest as it was a very hot day. Dinner was again at Finnegans Bar & Grill. Wait times were not too insane, with Flying Dinosaur maxing out at 45 mins, though usually no more than 15. Hollywood Dream max around 50, with Back Drop 60, but more typically 20-40 mins. The main offenders with long waits were those in Nintendo World at 2-3 hours plus, and also Forbidden Journey that sometimes got to 90-100 mins.

Sadly ,never got on Space Fantasy. Decided to head for it as queue had dropped to 50 mins. However, the lockers for this needed a coin and we didn't have any. Off to find cash point machine to find it out of order. So ye, no ride as cant use the lockers for it. Locker system seemed odd with different systems around the park. Space Fantasy was a Key that a coin was needed to release. FJ was a key locker with no coin needed. Flying Dinosaur you got a tiny piece of paper with a QR code on and no back up option such as a pin code if you lost it. And Hollywood Dream was racks on exit platform followed by a wand check which was chaotic as hell.

Jurassic Park The Ride is similar to Orlando's Jurassic River Adventure but seems scaled down quite a bit. Good fun non the less and luckily didn't get drenched.

As park closing time approached, headed off in to City Walk, again to find places no longer accepting any more custom. Hard Rock Cafe was, so guess we had to go here. TBF, it was fine, and prices were very very reasonable. Food was nice, beer was good. Left here around 23:00 to get some rest for a very early start next morning.

Next morning we were leaving at 06:40 to begin our journey to Nagashima Spa Land where we will be spending 2 days. Upon exiting hotel and starting the short walk to train station we seen hundreds of people making their way to main park entrance. Not just a few, hundreds, with hundreds more piling off more train arrivals . Opening time was 09:00. It was 06:40.

And indeed next up will be the journey to Nagashima, the park itself and then the onward trek to Fuji Q

 

[Bowser]

Sadly ,never got on Space Fantasy. Decided to head for it as queue had dropped to 50 mins. However, the lockers for this needed a coin and we didn't have any. Off to find cash point machine to find it out of order. So ye, no ride as cant use the lockers for it

Too late to help you but the lockers are optional for this ride. You can’t take large bags on but phones, small bags etc are fine.

 

[Vik]

Ah, ok next part. Yep been a while, cracked a rib or two, its been painful.

So, where was I. Somewhere in Osaka still, heading off to Nagashima Spa Land, date now being Sunday 27th July and very very early.

Worth noting, as I forgot to mention in the previous post. For using public transport in Japan we downloaded the Suica IC Card to our Apple Wallets. This is one of the JR Rail East (Tokyo) cards that you can add money too and then tap in and out. No matter what area you purchase from, they are valid across the country and can also be used to pay for things in shops and many other places too. Chose this one as can be added to wallet on the phone. With a physical card, to top up, need to go to a ticket machine and top up with cash. Having it stored electronically makes topping up on the fly so much easier.

First of all we took Metro to Tsuruhashi Station, from there we took what is called the 'Limited' Express train to Kuwana, a journey time of around 2 hours. Limited Express being you had to purchase a separate limited express ticket on top of the normal fare, which cost around £5. This is effectively a seat reservation.

After arrival in Kuwana, we popped across the road to drop our bags of at the Hotel for our next two nights called Sanco Inn (More on this later); Then nipped back across the road to get the Bus to Nagashima Spa Land. With Buses in Japan, you board via the middle door and exit via front door. If you are paying cash, you pay on exit. Using IC card or Contactless, simply tap reader when you get on, and same when you get off. The bus was pretty busy, the journey took about 20 mins and we arrived at Nagashima around 10:15.

With the being no option to purchase tickets online and pretty much being advised that it was a 'Cash Only' park, we set off in search of a cash machine in the nearby shopping mall, which took a while, and when we got back to the ticket booths, found they accept contactless. In fact, everywhere on park accepted some form of card payment, whether that be Mastercard/Visa or the IC cards.

After all that faff we were in the park for around 10:45. But rides needed to be ridden. The park was advertised as opening 10:00-18:00 with a 'leaving time' of 17:30. Turned out the rides closed just before 17:00.

The park was not very busy. There was also a big group of American Geeks at the park too, a few of whom we bumped in to waiting for our first ride, which was Looping Star, and got chatting to them (There was plenty of time to talk). We joked about the loading procedures and the safety briefings which meant dispatches took getting about 5-10 minutes from when the train stopped in the station. The ride itself was pretty decent. Not rough at all, but at the same time, didn't really do anything but meander round.

This was followed by another Schwarzkof imaginatively called Shuttle Loop, which was pretty good fun with some harsh brakes.

No trip to Japan would be complete without a Togo, so next up would be Ultra Twister, which was walk on because other people are sensible. Though it was actually good fun, so much so we had a another go later and also following day. Only downside being first time round after slowing down very quickly before we started the backwards bit, some really harsh braking kicked in causing me to somehow bash my teeth together and bite my tongue, which was quite painful. At least next time I was prepared, but those brakes were damn harsh.

We then rode Corkscrew and wish we hadn't. After a beer stop, it was time for one of the main events. First being Steel Dragon 2000. It was on one train operation, but only a short wait. After the 2 hour long safety brief, we started that long long accent up the lift hill. it takes a while.. Ye this ride is pretty good. We got front row. Pick up some speed which it carries on through most of the layout. The bunny hops towards the end were quite good fun, especially later on when we got back row. It also rode very smooth. Overall a pretty fun coaster.

After another beer & food break, next up was Hakugei, which was on 2 train operation,

We had been checking throughputs whilst having a beer rest, (Not something normally do as tend more towards just enjoying the day rather than being totally obsessed with how rides are operating, but seeing how slow ops were it needed to be done) and was getting around 350 guests per hour. There was a reasonably size queue for this, but it did move fairly quickly, which was good considering the operations, and took around 30 minutes to wait for.

Overall first impressions after first ride were not too great. Thought it was a bit rough and janky, and didn't really flow through transitions very well. Tended to get thrown around quite a bit and not overly enjoyable.

Had noticed that Arashi had been testing and had just opened. This is an S&S 4D Free Spin. There wasn't too long a wait. They were only loading one side. After riding, kind of wish it had stayed closed TBH. It was awful. End of.

Wild mouse had left side only open, with a member of the maintenance team working on right side (hitting things with a hammer).

Sadly the 1st Gen Intamin Drop Tower, Freefall, was closed both days. Also the right hand side Wild Mouse never opened either.

We rode the kiddie coasters just because. We went on Jet Coaster which was good fun, with just a seat belt, which was quite funny given the safety spiel you get.

After another rest stop, where it was becoming increasingly hard to find somewhere to get food and drink as many places seem to close about 2 - 3 hours before park close, we went to Acrobat, which is a Manta clone. Ye, not my favourite, nor was Manta to be fair. It was operating on 1 train, but only a 5 minute wait. This does have 2 stations, but the right side one looks like it hasn't been used for sometime. Wonder if it ever has ran with 2 stations? Seem to struggle with 1 station and 1 train.

Now coming to the end of the day, one more ride on Steel Dragon? Nah, izz closed. 16:55 and everything already closed and seemingly they are keen to get everyone out now.

Now time to leave, had a wonder around the shopping mall just next door, before getting bus back to Kuwana. Still pretty busy, but managed to squeeze on. Very rowdy bus, with lots of high jinx going on, very very noisy too. Made it back to the hotel around 19:00 and got our room key and collected our luggage. Here we found possibly the smallest room ever, and we've stopped in Ibis Budgets. Pretty tiny, and the bathroom there was a high step in to what was seemingly a pod with barely enough room to move.

Obviously needed to go out to find some food and beer after a bit of a rest. Found a decent place for some food but it was very quiet so after a short while decided to move on. Other places were quite busy. A lot of Japanese bars are quite small places. They are also quite rowdy as well. People like a drink. Stumbled across another bar to see a mass brawl going on. Found one which was quite big to then see some bloke come out, and drop his trousers in full view of everyone.

Did finally find somewhere respectable to have a beer.

The following day was a second day at Nagashima. We were there in time for opening after another rather rowdy bus ride. Initially Hakuegi was on 1 train, but second train was added later on. This was riding much better today and very much more enjoyable than previous day. Had 3 rides overall.
Steel Dragon was operating on 1 train initially too, which was a different one to the previous days and was quite rattly. Second train was added later, which was riding much better. Had 3 rides on this overall during the day.

The Togo was ridden again. We lived. Arashi wasn't as we wanted to carry on living. Shuttle Loop was closed when we went over to ride it with the train split it two and being worked on. Did not reopen sadly, but the train was back in one piece by end of day.

After another chaotically rowdy bus ride back, had a nice evening out around Kuwana, which was much quieter than previous nights with no brawls or indecent exposure to be had.

Next day, 29th July, we were heading off to Fuji Q, with a nice ride on a Bullet Train. Next bit should follow tomorrow unless something else of me breaks before hand...

 

[John]

On my first visit to Nagashima they were running 2 trains / 2 stations on Acrobat, so it's not unknown. I'm not sure they ever run 2 trains / 1 station - on my more recent trips it's been on 1 train but I don't think I've ever waited more than about 10 minutes for it.

 

[Vik]

Ah ok, next part. Still in July. Now 29th July and heading to Fuji Q and some very questionable translations. First up, need to get to Nagoya to catch the 08:43 bullet train, which is about a 25 minute train ride from Kuwana. It was Rush Hour, It got busy, but we survived. Had plenty of time at Nagoya to get a few snacks to eat on the way. The Bullet Train part of the journey wasn't that long, just over an hour, but after this there was still a 1hr 20 coach journey to make.

Arriving in Mishima just before 10 in plenty of time for the coach at 10:20, turns out we were on the wrong side of the station to get said coach. To get to other side need to take a 15 minute walk or go via the paid route through the station which will cost about £3. We walked around very quickly.

The coach ride was fairly uneventful for the most part until started getting close to Mt Fuji where the scenery got much more interesting. Much nicer to pass the time than passing by many cars/trucks where people seemed more interested in their phones than actually keeping an eye on the road. (In fact there was still worse to come on the coach journey up to Tokyo)

Finally arrived at Fuji Q around 11:30, and also our accommodation for 2 nights The Highland Resort Hotel & Spa. We checked in, but there was some confusion of getting discounted park tickets, so ended up just buying some there and then on Trip.com which was about £3 more, but cheaper than day rate. The following day there were no issues getting tickets at reception.

We then made our way on to park, which was open until 19:00. We were visiting over 2 days, having heard horror stories of awful queue times and very slow moving queues. The pre entrance area is quite nice, being a French vibe, just missing Eurosat...
Entry is via a facial recognition system that links your park ticket to your face, so when you go to an attraction your face will be scanned to see if you are valid to ride.

Most importantly, Fuji Q is home to 6 coasters and the partial remains of another.

First up would be Zokkon, their latest addition, which is an Intamin Family Launch Coaster. This had an advertised wait of 20 minutes, which it was. Again, as seems to be the norm in Japan, there was the safety spiel. At Fuji Q though you are batched pre ride for the this before heading to the air gates. This seems a more efficient way of doing things rather than waiting until everyone is sat down before doing it as seemed to be the case at Nagashima for the most part.

As for the ride itself. It was OK. Had a decent layout, but felt a bit bland. Theming was minimal. Inside just felt a bit like an empty warehouse.

Of course, one of the main reasons for being there was for Eajanaika, which has been suggested is much better than X2. If you like X2, you will love this they say. If you hate X2 then you will hate this even more.

The wait time for this was advertised at 30 mins, and was on 1 train operation. And in the queue line you got to hear the sound track, which is constant chanting of Eajinaika, which kind of drives you crazy after a bit.

So, how as it? Well first of all, lets talk about the safety protocols. You have to take your shoes off for this, and as it turns out, you can't even where a watch on any of the coasters (somehow they didn't see mine on Zokkon). After stripping off, have the safety spiel and do a few exercises before being assigned a number which will be your seating row. We got front. There is quite a lot of faff with restraint checking, but seemingly no worse than X2 was. The ride though was utterly insane, so much more than X2. The final part in to the brakes snaps any remaining part of your spine in to oblivion.

For the weak, and the sensible, once is enough. For us, more goes were needed.

Having not eaten much, it was time for some food. Found a nice chicken place. However, the translations left a lot to be desired.

Chicken Excrement anyone? Have to say though it was very nice, tasted just like Chicken.

After some dubious sounding Chicken, next up was Fujiyama. Advertising a 30 minute wait, once we got to the bays a second train was added. Thinking, with all the extra H&S they like to do here we will be waiting an age whilst they test, surprised to see that the added train goes straight in to service with no testing at all. We had front row again.

How was this. Well, it lures you in to a false sense of security with the first couple of drops being absolutely fine though nothing spectacular. Then you transition through the first bend which is quite slow as you have just ascended a hill. A bit janky but nothing overly concerning at this point. Then it really gets going. Starting to gain speed in the transitions where banking seemed like an optional extra, becoming increasingly violent. By the end the train is flying through the transitions of you body is being contorted and ripped apart in ways that shouldn't be possible. Finally reaching the brakes of salvation and gather your thoughts on what just happened and deciding that a back row ride is needed. It was bonkers, it was violent, but, it was Fun!!.

Just when we thought our bodies couldn't take anymore, there was still a Gerstlauer Eurofighter still to do in the name of Takabisha. Only a 10 minute wait. Was expecting something pretty horrific given it dates back to 2011. I hate Saw as I find it so uncomfortably rough. However it turned out fine. No roughness at all, a nice smooth and fairly intense layout that isn't going to give you a blinding headache afterwards.

Sadly on our first day we never got to ride Nia and Animal Coaster which is located in Thomas Land and also Voyage Dans Le Ciel, basically down to the operating hours, and the latter, opening only for 4 hours getting a stupidly long queue not long after it opened (70 mins) and stayed like that.

It did seem to be the case of some rides operating on rotation a few hours at a time. The Rapids for example was only open for 3 hours 09:00-12:00, which led to 70 min wait times when it was open.

The rest of the first day was generally spent re-riding, eating, drinking etc with a couple of other attractions thrown in.

Later heading back to Hotel, we were gifted with a park view (who the hell wants a Mt Fuji View when you can have a park view?)

The Hotel was really nice, and a nice change from the rather tiny room we had the previous two nights. Glad we chose to stay here and not in nearby town as probably would of had similar issue in regards to room size.

The following morning we had a breakfast buffet with a great view of Mt Fuji, followed by a second day on park (09:00-19:00), though park was open 30 minutes earlier for Hotel Guests.

Today we got to experience the Flying Theatre, which was open from 12:00-14:00 (mind how they go!!), which takes you on a tour of Mt Fuji through the seasons. It was pretty decent. No wait as we were walking passed when it opened. There was also a ride called Clash of the Titans which was open from 15:00-17:00 but never rode that. Other things took priority.

Fujiyama & Eajinaika were operating two trains for most of the day with minimal waits of less than 20 minutes. Takabisha felt a little bit rougher than previous day but still has nothing on SAW.

We did get to ride Voyage Dans Le Ciel, we joined the queue before 14:00 opening and waited a couple of lifetimes (40 mins but felt longer as it moved so slow). It was naff. Did the coaster in Thomas Land too, there was no wait when we got there, bt when we got off there was a massive queue.

Of course Do-Dodompa was teasing us with what could of been with its loop still remaining, and also its ride cars in the Ride Car Museum of past coasters.

Towards end of the day, both Fujiyama & Eajinaika were walk on. Well walk on in terms of having the safety spiel before hand. My body had pretty much given up being able to take anymore Eajinaika, but Dave had another go, just in time for them to take a train off, so ended up waiting about 15 minutes. We had managed front and back on both a few times. Outside Seat, Back Row on Eajinaika is insane as long as it doesn't kill you.

After park close, after a quick pit stop at hotel, thought we'd try the Spa & Sauna as it was free for Hotel Guests. It felt like a very long trek over there even though it was part of the hotel. Here we find that it is textile free. Dave decided not to bother. I thought, hell, who cares so went with it. Spent about an hour in there enjoying the heated pools. Probably would of stayed a bit longer, but outside pool was very busy and there was a long wait for the Sauna so figured that adding to the beer tally was more important. It was nice to relax after what had been a pretty hectic trip with still more to come.

Had a good couple of days at Fuji Q. Not too busy. The operations are not the best, and the H&S is proper overkill. Fujiyama & Eajinaika are bonkers. Eajinaika especially so, not sure how to describe it. X2 on steroids is an understatement. It tries to kill you repeatedly. Your body is destroyed. your insides are turned to mush, but its great, I don't know why, but it is. Fujiyama is much less intense but the last 1/3rd is insane. Everything else is pretty average really. Not a massive place. Probably didn't really need two days but glad we did to get some extra rides in. Glad also that it wasn't too busy, had heard horror stories of 2-3 hour slow moving queues. I would of hated to be there on one of those days. Staff were generally friendly, and thought the food was OK, even with the questionable translations.

Next day, now 30th July, was our checkout day, with us catching a coach in to Tokyo at 10:40 and then heading over to Disney. Breakfast again first before packing up and heading off. The coach was about 20 minutes late, but managed to make up time and arrived outside Tokyo station on time. The journey, which took about 90 minutes was OK. The scenery was quite nice for the most part. Again, seen lots of people on their phones whilst driving, the worst one being a truck driver with a tablet on the steering wheel with a film or something on, holding said steering wheel with an elbow whilst juggling a phone in each hand. Later on in Tokyo traffic noticed someone else swigging back a can of Asahi whilst at the wheel too.

Had some time to kill before heading towards Disney, so thought we'd have a beer and some food. There was plenty of choice in Tokyo Main Station, many places were busy as it's what I called the 'First afternoon Rush Hour' where all the workers head out for food and lots of alcoholic beverages before heading home. Tokyo Main Station is insanely massive, When it come to finally start heading to get our train to Disney, it took over 10 minutes to get to the platforms, and that's with walking quickly down some very long corridors.

Once we got the train, it wasn't too busy thankfully, and the journey is quite quick. Once we got to the main resort station, needed to find the bus terminal for hotel shuttles, this was very poorly signposted but found it eventually. We were staying at Celebration Hotel for 5 nights, which is seemingly the super scum class one as its a 15 minute bus ride. For the record though it was really nice, just lacking a bar (again!!). It was set in a fairly quiet bay area, which was lovely and great to have a bit of sea breeze to take the edge off the humidity (Though the boy racers did come out after midnight).

So, next up will be Disneyland Japan where we spent one day, and also penultimate park DisneySea where we had two days.