Fuji-Q Highland: General Discussion

[Rob]

I didn't realise that there was no thread for this crazy park in Japan. For those that don't know, Fuji-Q Highland is located in the shadow on Mount Fuji:

It is home to coasters such as Dodonpa (S&S air launch coaster, 0-106.9mph in 1.8s), Eejanaika (S&S 4D coaster) and Fujiyama (Togo's take on a hyper coaster).

Anyway, it was recently announced that Dodonpa was to close and be "reborn" as "New Dodonpa" in 2017 with a new layout. Not much else is known but everyone is hoping that the ridiculous launch remains the same. It will be interesting to see what they actually do with it!

 

[Spike]

Capacity has always been that ride's issue so hopefully that is improved, maybe longer trains if the weight increase is doable.

 

[Danny]

Having VR slapped on it then?

 

[Dan]

I doubt they will address capacity as the park doesn't seem to give a damn about any of their rides. Eejanika was taking about 10 mins to dispatch each train due to their over the top rules and procedure. I'm hoping to go back next year, fingers crossed Dodonpa is back open when I do

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Capacity has always been that ride's issue so hopefully that is improved, maybe longer trains if the weight increase is doable.

In it's defence, Dodonpa probably has the best throughput of the four main coasters. Unlike the others, their safety checks aren't overly ridiculous, and on occasion they'll even ask guests to fill in spare seats (they did this to me, but as I was already batched in front row I refused to move). On what they consider a 'busy day' (IE weekend), it'll run on three trains.

I'm intrigued by the prospect of 'New Dodonpa' though. I love the original, although I'll admit it's layout isn't exactly the most interesting. If I end up going back to Japan next year, I'll probably pay it a visit (although Fuji-Q is probably the most stressful park I've ever visited, despite the coasters being amazing).

 

[Towerslover]

The park looks amazing! Why is it stressful?

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

The park looks amazing! Why is it stressful?

Two reasons, really:

Firstly, the queues for the four main coasters are very long, and move very slowly - no matter when you visit. This is mostly due to the rather excessive safety checks they do before sending it round. Takabisha, for example, has two safety belts (whereas most Eurofighters don't even have one), and they check it several times. Eejanaika is the worst offender - the restraints are quite faffy, and they check them at least three times before sending it round. Even on a weekday, queues can exceed 3 1/2 hours, and this is no exaggeration. If you want to do all the big coasters in one day, buying priority passes is essential - and they sell out very fast. Queues will also close early. Furthermore, they'll batch single riders by themselves, and won't try and fill up the seats. They can be very strange with this - I got talking to a group of teenagers whilst queuing for Dodonpa, and because I wasn't standing exactly next to them when they batched, they refused to let me sit with them (even though the group protested, and had no idea why I wasn't allowed to sit with them). By the time the hosts decided I could sit with them, I was already batched into the front row, and didn't want to move!

The bigger reason why this park is so stressful is that rides can close the second it starts raining, and will remain that way until the tracks are dry. This means you can spend a lot of time and money to get there, only for a slight drizzle to make it all for nothing. Around an hour after I joined the queue for Dodonpa on my first day, my weather app showed that rain was due any second. Suffice to say, that wait was the most stressful queue I've ever been in. Thankfully, it stayed dry during my entire visit, but you don't want to go all that way not to ride anything!

In defence of the ride hosts, they work as fast as they can. Unlike Thorpe Park, you won't see them doing something stupid to try and trend on Twitter, or stare off into space. They do work very hard.

 

[Towerslover]

Impressed with safety checks but the balance between safety, throughputs and customer satisfaction is crucial. Might have to visit when I'm older, can't see my family wanting to go out there haha!

 

[DiogoJ42]

Sounds like the kind of park that's not worth bothering with, even if Dodonpa looks better than sex. (None of their other coasters interest me).

 

[MaxPower]

We went about 4 or 5 years ago and yes, this is the worst park for throughputs we'd ever been to.

The queues for the the big 3 coasters (Takabisha wasn't built at this point) were all 3 hours or more, in the middle of October!

I've got to say though, the launch on Dodonpa is insane. I just hope they don't ruin it with this refurb (the queue line music however, should definitely go).

 

[Benzin]

To be fair, Cedar Fair parks are also awful when it comes to rain and stuff...

I don't understand why a lot of Asian parks have random pre-ride exercises or whatever other stuff they come up with...

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

Impressed with safety checks but the balance between safety, throughputs and customer satisfaction is crucial. Might have to visit when I'm older, can't see my family wanting to go out there haha!

I might be going back to Japan next year with some non-enthusiast friends, and whilst they'd be interested in Fuji-Q for Evangelion world and Eejanaika, I'm kinda advocating against going. If you're going with a group, you really need to have a plan in place as to which rides to do in what order, and make sure you're there as early as possible just to buy priority passes. If you want to get everything done you can't faff for even a second, and I could imagine that not being fun for people who aren't hugely into theme parks.

On top of that, all your planning would be for nothing if it starts to rain, and as there's so much to do in Japan it might be better doing something else unless you're a coaster geek like us.

Sounds like the kind of park that's not worth bothering with, even if Dodonpa looks better than sex. (None of their other coasters interest me).

It is worth doing for the big coasters, as they are all fantastic. Even Great Fluffy Sky Adventure is kinda fun. But it's certainly stressful. I would go again, though.

 

[Rob]

Ah yes, how could I forget that this park is home to Great Fluffy Sky Adventure, possibly the best coaster name ever!

 

[Rob]

Erm so RCDB have posted this photo of Dodonpa:

Distinct lack of top hat!

 

[DiogoJ42]

If they don't put it back exactly as it was before, then I see no reason for me to ever visit Japan. I've been drooling over Dodonpa for years.

 

[Rob]

Fuji-Q realise that guests may not be happy if they visit and see that Dodonpa is close, so they have come up with a solution. What they are calling it translates to 'Almost Dodonp' and it involves VR headsets, headphones and a desk fan...:

Source

Only in Japan!

 

[DiogoJ42]

I want one!

 

[John]

This being Fuji-Q, expect to wait more than 2hrs to experience it.

 

[shawnoc]

Lol!!! Got to love the Japanese. Alton Towers could do something similar to recreate all the SBNO rides in the park. All they need is to set up a few shipping containers, fill them with plastic patio chairs, office fans and VR and sorted.

 

[Dar]

Screamscape are reporting that the hill is being replaced with a vertical loop.

Yay.