Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
Introduction
I went to Japan for a couple of weeks last month (with layovers in Beijing) and I just can't shut up about it. I was going to film it and put it on youTube to remember it, but I kept forgetting to film and I don't have enough footage
It would be good to log some thoughts here as it was the theme park days I didn't film. I definitely over-extended myself with my itinerary and got ill in the first few days (which happens every time I leave the continent), but I'm so satisfied with how much I got done. I won't go through my non-theme park days, but here are some pictures. If you are thinking of coming to Japan, I recommend taking advantage of whatever season you are coming in, but I also understand for your first time you will probably want to focus on the major tourist areas (Tokyo/Kyoto). There is so much to do!
Tokyo Disneyland Resort
I spent 2 days at Tokyo DisneySea and 1 day at Tokyo Disneyland. This was due to the rides at Fantasy Springs needing Standby passes or Premier access passes (when I went, there was no option to wait in the queue) and the fact that most of the rides under maintenance were in the castle park. I stayed 3 stops on the metro which worked out fine. Each metro stop has its own jingle and the one outside Disney was Let It Go. It doesn't feel very resort-y compared to places like Orlando and Paris (same with USJ), but I didn't mind this at all. I did my research and turned up 90 mins before park opening to nab those elusive fantasy springs tickets. I was super stressed out because my security line was moving so slow compared to the others and then I got in the park and it got worse.
Much needed rant
As time goes on we are having to use apps more in the park. It is great having a lot of functionality at your fingertips, but this all comes crashing down when the app doesn't work and in tokyo, you need it for everything (paid fastpass, free fastpass, stand-by fastpass, reserving tables, ordering at counter service restaurants, entering lotteries for shows etc). I didn't forsee these problems as most of the functionality can only be accessed once you have scanned your tickets in. So once I was through and trying to book Peter Pan fast track, the app didn't remember my card details (my fault) so I was having to manually input them, then they didn't work so I was trying other cards, then there were more errors. I kept going back and trying again and again, closing and re-opening the app, restarting my phone, re-installing the app, trying it in quieter areas of the park. The error I was getting the most was that my name had a space in it, but when I tried to edit my profile details I was just getting a loading spinner everytime which never went away. At this point I was so distraught and close to tears as this would ruin the next 3 days. My first impressions of the park, Mediterranean Harbour, Vulcania, the park I been looking forward to for so long, was spoiled. I retraced my steps to guest services (there was one almost outside the park, by the turnstiles). They couldn't fix the problem, but they could book them for me using their app. Luckily I figured out the issue in the first queue line I was in. I remembered I had to register on the MyDisney website before registering on the tokyo disney app, so I checked my profile there and there was a space after my name
This fixed the problem and I could now book things myself! 
General thoughts
After that I had the best time. Despite the start, I got on so much (including Peter Pan and Frozen). I think I read somewhere that they release premier access passes every half hour, so I checked on the dot and that's how I got the frozen FP. Although I prefer DisneySea, my favourite day of the trip was Tokyo Disneyland - I got so much done as it was quieter. My last day at DisneySea was really busy though (Sinbad was a 25 minture wait! Usually it's like 5-10), I didn't get on very much (8 proper rides plus fortress explorations, the Venetian boats and the railway). The demographics were very different to the other disney resorts I've been to. It was mostly groups of young people, some couples and few families. I think it had one of the best atmospheres of any parks I've been to, everyone just got so into it. If you did not have any merch on your head, you were the odd one out. Also the staff kept waving which honestly seems so small, but made a big difference to me.
Food
I'm pescatarian and I assumed Japan would have been perfect for me before going but that was one of the biggest surprises of the trip. On the second day at DisneySea, when taking into account what is closeby and the virtual queues (some were 60 minutes!) for the counter-service restauarants I was struggling to find things I hadn't had already. I kept coming across restaurants that had like 3 things on the menu and they were all chicken/beef/pork. I really liked the counter-service reservation system. You order on your phone and choose when you want to pick-up and pay. You do have to plan a bit, and some places had a long wait, but it was so convenient just turning up and getting your food and not choosing what to have or paying. I also found that this meant there was always seating available, even at the busiest of times. I was so glad to have finally had the alien mochi!
DisneySea, the ports and the smaller rides
Not sure what to say about it that hasn't been said already - the theming is top notch! I didn't spend too long in Mediterranean Harbour, so there are things I probably missed here. I bought a fastpass for Soarin, mainly just to see some of the queue. It was the most popular ride when I went. Usually around 150 mins. It was themed to renaissance inventions, which makes it better than the one in Florida, but the ride is only ok, I just don't think flying theatres are that good. I get that it appeals to a wide demographic though.
Vulcania is my favourite. Most of the ports are based on real life locations, which I don't like too much in the theme parks and I think this is one of the reasons it is such a standout. It's also completely enclosed from the outside and has a good amount of kinetic energy. 20,000 Leagues under the sea was a very good supporting ride and I couldn't have asked for much more. I don't think everything should be top tier 'E-Ticket' attractions, but this was done very well. Annoyingly there is no merchandise with any of the lands/rides. There is only generic Disney merch. I would have loved something from here.
Mermaid Lagoon is just an indoor kids area, but done beautifully. Arabian coast is one of my favourites, there's not much there though. The Lost River delta was always crowded. I was not offended by Raging Spirits. I went on towards the end of the day in the hidden single rider queue and it was walk on.
Port Discovery was the weakest and it's next attraction should be a bulldozer. There's no theming and the rides aren't great. I don't even know what the theme is. Cape Cod is a lovely quiet spot. Fortress Explorations is great during the middle of the day when everything is a 2 hour wait. American Waterfront is my second favourite area as there is so much variety. I enjoy Toy Story Mania, but it is one of those rides that gets less enjoyable with every ride. I don't why we are still playing the same shooting games. I'm sure they could have done it so that it's not hard to create new shooting games with the screens. It's just software.
Fantasy Springs and the smaller rides
Very nice, but what is the theme? Rock work? I want to applaud that it's not based on a real life location, but how can I when there is nothing there. I'm being very overly picky here as it would the best land in any other park, but criticism is my forte. the rides have theming around it based on the film, but there's nothing in between, apart from princess shaped rocks. It's like 3 mini-lands and a hotel in one area. The Tangled ride is a supporting attraction that presents itself as a headline attraction. It is a huge IP with an impressive facade, but it's really just Na'vi River Journey. It's nice but I prefer Na'vi River Journey. I hadn't watched POVs before coming to Fantasy Springs, but I knew it wasn't rated as good as the others and I heard someone saying it was short outside the entrance area, so my expectations were met. They did let 3-4 times more people through from the fastpass line than from stand-by, which was frustrating! I've been critical because of what the rest of the park is like, but it's overall a very good area.
Disneyland thoughts
It's a weird park, it's very similar to Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, but with each new addition, it's starting to forge its own path. It has a lot of unique rides Beauty & the Beast, Monsters Inc, Pooh, (now) Splash Mountain and will have a unique Space Mountain and Wreck It Ralph attraction soon. Splash Mountain was closed, but critter country was my favourite area to look at. Tomorrowland was the worst, (possibly the worst Disney land ever), but they are building a lot of new things there, so will hopefully improve. Out of the non-headline attractions I did, I really loved getting on Roger Rabbit. I love the film and this ride was a good tribute to it. Fun, silly and playful. For what it is, it's fantastic and has one of the best queue lines in the park. I rate Big Thunder Mountain very highly as an experience, but it was a bit underwhelming this time, but being towards the front at night is not the best seat. My bucket list restaurant for this resort was the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. The food wasn't that nice, but you don't go to the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall for the food, you go because it's the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall.
My rankings of the best dark rides
I know this is coasterforce and not darkrideforce, but Tokyo is dark ride heaven. This is controversial, but I would say I enjoyed these more than my rides on Jurassic Park River Adventure and Forbidden Journey.
12. Haunted Mansion
It's kinda crazy it's this low. Such a feel-good classic. Feels a little dated in some places.
11. Sinbad
This should be higher. It's long, the song is great, everything is stylized beautifully. Very underrated. If it was anywhere else it would be considered one of the best dark rides on the planet.
10. Monsters Inc
Wow, I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It was so much fun. I think I enjoyed the active participation with the flashlights. We need more Monsters Inc.
9. Frozen
So much better than the one at Epcot. I keep seeing so many people rate this as the best at the park and I can see why if this is your thing, but ultimately it is still a Frozen sing-a-long boat ride, so there is a ceiling to it which prevents it from being higher up the ranks. It's very well done though. #9, #10 & #11 could have been in any order really.
8. Peter Pan
This is nothing like the versions in Fantasyland. It's the same ride system as Spiderman/Transformers. It's no Spiderman, but it's remarkably fun. Definitely the best of Fantasy Springs.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean
I'd say this is Disney at its best but it's #7. I always expect a second drop, which makes versions like this anti-climatic.
6. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
I feel like it's sacrilege not to have it at #1, but it feels too short. The first half of the ride could have been better too. Still a masterpiece and has the best animatronic ever. Absolutely jaw-dropping!
5. Beauty & the Beast
I assumed this would have been my favourite too. I actually found a corner near the exit and let out a cry after my first go. I was an emotional wreck. This ride is huge in scale and is certainly a spectacle to behold, but I found that it wore off a little during re-rides. There isn't too much to look at as you keep going round and round and I sometimes ended up just looking at the other tea cups instead.
The queue is fantastic, the lead up to the castle and then entering it and going through the subsequent rooms to the pre-show was magical.
4. Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Disney has done a number of perfect rides and the following fall into that category. The 1977 Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one of my favourite Disney films and I think it is the most visually gorgeous (like Studio Ghibli level for me). This is based on that film and does a fantastic job translating that aesthetic into a dark ride. I think this is the perfect use of trackless technology. Re-riding this was as good as going on it the first time as the cars take different routes so you see different things.
3. Tower of Terror
Different but still perfect.
2. Splash Mountain
This is such a cop-out putting it here as I didn't go on it and I know it's got an unfortunate IP, but this is where it would go. Pooh doesn't have the thrills and TOT is short, this was always my favourite dark ride before this trip.
1. Indiana Jones
This was a very easy choice for #1. The scale of this ride is ginormous and the sets are HUGE. I went on 3 times and my favourite run was the 3rd time. Being in a car full of Japanese women who screamed at everything just made it more fun. Like I truly lost myself in the entire ride duration. I love the way the car moves and that it's so dynamic and exhilarating than most of the other dark rides. So much better than DINOSAUR.
Nagashima Spa Land
Time for coasters! To buy tickets and get here. Go to the Meitetsu bus station at Nagoya, up the escalator and inside the ticket office. There will be vending machines where you can buy a transport and park pass combo ticket. With the blue skies, glistening sea and palm trees found all over the park, I thought I was Barbados! But Barbados would never have operations like this
I fumbled my time management at this park, I forgot to research fast track at this park, but decided I didn't need it because the park is so quiet, there's not many people walking around. I think the long days at Disney messed with my perception of how much time I would have and I wasn't even planning to go on every coaster.
Hakugei was everything I hoped for. I got awarded the back row and during the ride flashbacks of Zadra kept coming back to me, but I think the Polish sibling is the better of the two.
Steel Dragon 2000 was next. I've never been on a coaster this tall and it's crazy how high you get, the lift hill just goes on and on. Great first drop with high positive Gs at the bottom. Very windy on the pair of turnarounds and the long series of airtime hills back just felt like a celebration. Spectacular.
I got on Ultra Twister which was terrifying, but I'm glad I got the bucket list cred. Acrobat was.... good and I walked round the park and did some of the other rides that didn't have a long queue. They are so keen on health and safety here, but I wish they could do that without holding up the queue. SD2000, the longest coaster in the world, was running 2 trains and still sat on the break run for 1 or 2 minutes waiting for the other train to be dispatched. I was like 'what on earth are they doing in that station?!' Honestly I prefer the peace of mind having nothing in my pockets and knowing other riders won't either, but do it in a way that it doesn't hold up the queue. On the Looping Star, we had to sit in the vehicles and watch a flip chart presentation on how to ride the coaster safely.
While I was away, there was a string of days in a row where I accidently ate beef or chicken. This was one of the days The katsu curry I ordered had beef in, I ate it though. It's rude to leave food. SD2000 was closed 12:30-2:30 and was reopening soon and I thought the queue would be short as it has been closed so I headed over there. I wanted a re-ride on it and before going on Arashi and then some re-rides. The park closes at 5:00 and I didn't do the temporal maths in my head to work out how I was going to fit it in. In my head, it still felt just after lunch so half way through the day. The queue was packed. Even longer than it was before and I didn't have any fast tracks as they had sold out by the time I checked the machines and for some reason, I stubbornly waited in the queue. This was my last ride of the day. It took 90 minutes as the fast track queue filled up and they closed the Hakugei queue as I approached it 
It was 4:00 (where did the time go!) and I couldn't really go on anything so I left as I had to be check into my hotel in Kyoto that evening and I needed an early night.
It's very frustrating, but I can't really blame anyone but myself, for not thinking and doing more research. I knew the operations were going to be bad, but couldn't picture how bad. I think the operations did impact my enjoyment. I'm fine standing in a single rider queue which doesn't move, but I can't deal with 4-5 minute dispatches. I'm also fine with the huge queues at disney if they are nice and keep moving.
Universal Studios Japan
When planning this trip, I had originally intended to visit Osaka as a sightseeing day trip from Kyoto instead of staying there as a (very) quick google search told me it was only 25 mins away, so I didn't need to stay at an extra hotel. I had to cut down my trip and I didn't end up visiting Osaka as a sightseeing day. My hotel in Kyoto to USJ was actually quite a bit longer
which I found out when finalising the itinerary a few weeks before I went. This would have been fine, but USJ opens at 8 and closes at 9. And this would have been ok, but you need to arrive at least an hour early, which is 7am. Luckily I am an early bird and was able to leave the hotel at 5:20 when ill 
Next time I will stay close to Universal!
Queues
I was disorganised when planning this trip and only booked my ticket a month in advance and when I tried to add express pass, there were so many different configurations you could choose, but almost all of them were sold out and I was not interested in any of the ones that were left, so I didn't use Fast track here either
When I got in everyone was running to HP or Nintendo. I went the other way round the park and that worked out quite well as I got on a lot in a short space of time. There loads of single rider queues here which I made use of, though I couldn't find the entrance to the one for Forbidden Journey and when I asked someone, they said they didn't have one, so I got in the main queue. Turns out they did (and that was the longest queue of the trip as it broke down). I got on 10 rides (all major) in 13 hours, which wasn't too bad without Express Pass, but if I had skipped Forbidden Journey or had Express Pass, I could have gotten on more.
General Thoughts
I was not feeling this park at first. It doesn't help that Universal Orlando Resort is just head and shoulders above all the other Universal resorts and then you come here, which I guess is one of the better ones and it didn't feel like there were many appealing rides and coasters. I was like 'wow is this it?'. I did end up having an amazing day. Both the Disney and Universal days were some of the best days I've had this side of covid
I just felt so good here and I hope I can feel this good in Bedford too! However, the park does have issues - It's the only park day I've been to and felt that it was over capacity. There were so many people sitting on the floor like homeless people (and not for a parade) because all the benches were taken and there were a lot of benches. At times the toilets had queues like you get at concerts. I've never seen anything like it. It was difficult to eat again as there was nowhere to sit and people were reserving seats with their Universal IP headbands like Germans reserving sunbeds. I took my tray outside the bounds of the restaurant and walked around to find somewhere to sit. There was a viewing area which viewed the lake and I could sit at the back of that on a ledge.
Hollywood
There are supposed to be 10 lands, but I only did rides in 4 of them, so I will stick to these. I'm not going to lie, I keep forgetting Space Fantasy exists, which might be why I only went on once, but I adore a spinning coaster (Even smaller ones. Dragon's Fury and Spinball Whizzer are some of my UK favourites) and wow this is the best family spinner I have done. It's the whole package! And there is this crazy, bright, flashing room towards the end with a bunch of mirrors which was an assault on the senses. Hollywood Dream was a big surprise - It was the Live Laugh Love experience. Both times I was on everyone was so pumped, living the moment as if it was their last, the energy was infectious and the on-board audio really made the difference. Plus this was the little B&M Hyper that could. It doesn't have big hills or layout that showcases the strengths of this model, but it was giving me airtime at every opportunity it could. It's like an angel came down and touched the track and it was flying both times. It was a euphoric experience.
Jurassic Park
I was really worried about Flying Dinosaur. At this point in the trip I was ill, coughing a lot and not feeling great and I was scared for my health on this ride. I was so dramatic But wait why is this ride actually so good. I was not expecting to like a B&M Flyer so much. The lift hill offers great views of the land and there's always a bunch of people waving at you! The drop is really steep for a flyer and it feels like you are close to being upside down as you go down the drop. Then we go into this zero-g, which flips a third time and this is such an elegant maneuver, I was obsessed with it. Before you can process it, the surprise positive Gs hit you as you go through the half loop you can't see. It's then into a pretzel loop which dives underneath a bridge. Wasn't keen on the pretzel loop on Acrobat, but it works here. Then an airtime hill, which is taken quickly, a zero-g, a forceful helix and an in-line twist. It just all works. The ride doesn't need theming as the coaster itself is the theming as it flies over the entire land. I had 3 rides on this andI think it's a really special coaster. The River Adventure is an all time classic, but after going to Disney, these animatronics are looking really rough. This ride needs an animatronic rejuvenation. I had a great ride nonetheless.
The Wizarding World
It's nice, but I think I'm a bit fatigued by Harry Potter, it's not the same as when I was younger. It's like when you used to care about Santa and then you don't. Forbidden Journey wasn't as good as I remember, the screens were poor. I wanted to properly look around but didn't want to get in the way of people who were trying to use their wands (a similar issue exists in Nintendo World).
Super Nintendo World
Walking into Super Nintendo world was surreal. It's an incredibly kinetic mini-land that engulfs you. So much movement and so many levels - It's a bit overwhelming! I am obsessed with the queue line and entrance for Mario Kart, it is such a shame the ride is what it is. I think the technology is not suited for a racing game and would have fitted better on something like an FPS. It's nice inside, but it's all blurred out as I'm focused on what I see in the glasses in front of me. It's a big shame as they could have had their own Radiator Springs Racers, if they ditched the items. What a waste! The Donkey Kong area is fun-size and I love watching the coaster go round. The coaster is very cute (most of the time)l but not a great ride experience. I saw people complaining that not all the track is themed and I wasn't bothered about that on-ride. The coaster did jolt a lot from side to side and the restraint kept tightening. Like the swinging cars on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you don't really notice the jumping over things. There were some nice things I liked, but it's new so I don't want to spoil the whole ride.
Fuji-Q Highland
I booked my transportation with highwaybus.com which took me to the park from Shinjuku bus terminal. The views of Mount Fuji from the park were unreal until the cloud came. Eejanaika was probably my most anticipated coaster on the planet and it was closed. I was gutted until I found out someone had died
and it was now sbno and I lost all desire to ride it. Honestly, I started to forget it was there.
I did Fujiyama first thing and was surprised how good this was. The view from the long lift hill was amazing, airtime was so good, the transitions were hilarious, the layout was long and varied, and the finale was bloody insanity 10/10. Zokkon was long as well, this ride didn't really speak to me though, but it was a nice ride, just nothing special. Takabisha opened midday and I got in the queue 30 mins early this time. It was a good idea because the queue build up massively. I thought I would like Takabisha more as I love gerst rolling launches, it's long and has a steep drop. On paper it's got everything, but it's quite low down in my gerst rankings. It's good, not great and I can't explain why.
The park is a dump and I felt uncomfortable all day with finding out someone had died a few weeks ago, the army being there, the interiors of the buildings. The queues were very long (the only day I could visit was a Saturday) so I bought 2 fast passes for Fujiyama and after riding, I bought an earlier bus ticket back and got the hell out of there.
Thunder Dolphin
This meant that I could ride Thunder Dolphin on a day when it wasn't raining. This was such a bucket list coaster since forever even though I expected it to be bad. The views on the lift-hill were so cool, it looked like we were going higher than some of the highrises. The first drop and the mid-ride bunny hop were the good parts. The bit on top of the roof was shockingly poor. I'm so glad I got on this!
Reflection
I've gotten both extremes on this trip. I started off in DisneySea and ended in Fuji-Q Highland (ignoring TD) and they are polar opposites of one another. I think I've come to realise how much the environment affects my enjoyment and how I value a pleasant park (doesn't have to be themed). I think it didn't help that the operations were not good in Fuji-Q Highland either. Usually the theme park days are my favourite days of the trip, but I wouldn't say that was the same with Nagashima Spa Land even though it was good. Fuji Q Highland was the worst
I feel so fortunate to live in Europe where we have such a diverse range of amazing theme parks and coasters. I would love to come back and give these parks another go at some point (even Fuji-Q Highland 
) and maybe go to Shima Spain Village too. If you made it this far thank you for reading! I wanted to log my thoughts before I forget them!
I went to Japan for a couple of weeks last month (with layovers in Beijing) and I just can't shut up about it. I was going to film it and put it on youTube to remember it, but I kept forgetting to film and I don't have enough footage
It would be good to log some thoughts here as it was the theme park days I didn't film. I definitely over-extended myself with my itinerary and got ill in the first few days (which happens every time I leave the continent), but I'm so satisfied with how much I got done. I won't go through my non-theme park days, but here are some pictures. If you are thinking of coming to Japan, I recommend taking advantage of whatever season you are coming in, but I also understand for your first time you will probably want to focus on the major tourist areas (Tokyo/Kyoto). There is so much to do!Tokyo Disneyland Resort
I spent 2 days at Tokyo DisneySea and 1 day at Tokyo Disneyland. This was due to the rides at Fantasy Springs needing Standby passes or Premier access passes (when I went, there was no option to wait in the queue) and the fact that most of the rides under maintenance were in the castle park. I stayed 3 stops on the metro which worked out fine. Each metro stop has its own jingle and the one outside Disney was Let It Go. It doesn't feel very resort-y compared to places like Orlando and Paris (same with USJ), but I didn't mind this at all. I did my research and turned up 90 mins before park opening to nab those elusive fantasy springs tickets. I was super stressed out because my security line was moving so slow compared to the others and then I got in the park and it got worse.
Much needed rant
As time goes on we are having to use apps more in the park. It is great having a lot of functionality at your fingertips, but this all comes crashing down when the app doesn't work and in tokyo, you need it for everything (paid fastpass, free fastpass, stand-by fastpass, reserving tables, ordering at counter service restaurants, entering lotteries for shows etc). I didn't forsee these problems as most of the functionality can only be accessed once you have scanned your tickets in. So once I was through and trying to book Peter Pan fast track, the app didn't remember my card details (my fault) so I was having to manually input them, then they didn't work so I was trying other cards, then there were more errors. I kept going back and trying again and again, closing and re-opening the app, restarting my phone, re-installing the app, trying it in quieter areas of the park. The error I was getting the most was that my name had a space in it, but when I tried to edit my profile details I was just getting a loading spinner everytime which never went away. At this point I was so distraught and close to tears as this would ruin the next 3 days. My first impressions of the park, Mediterranean Harbour, Vulcania, the park I been looking forward to for so long, was spoiled. I retraced my steps to guest services (there was one almost outside the park, by the turnstiles). They couldn't fix the problem, but they could book them for me using their app. Luckily I figured out the issue in the first queue line I was in. I remembered I had to register on the MyDisney website before registering on the tokyo disney app, so I checked my profile there and there was a space after my name
This fixed the problem and I could now book things myself! General thoughts
After that I had the best time. Despite the start, I got on so much (including Peter Pan and Frozen). I think I read somewhere that they release premier access passes every half hour, so I checked on the dot and that's how I got the frozen FP. Although I prefer DisneySea, my favourite day of the trip was Tokyo Disneyland - I got so much done as it was quieter. My last day at DisneySea was really busy though (Sinbad was a 25 minture wait! Usually it's like 5-10), I didn't get on very much (8 proper rides plus fortress explorations, the Venetian boats and the railway). The demographics were very different to the other disney resorts I've been to. It was mostly groups of young people, some couples and few families. I think it had one of the best atmospheres of any parks I've been to, everyone just got so into it. If you did not have any merch on your head, you were the odd one out. Also the staff kept waving which honestly seems so small, but made a big difference to me.
Food
I'm pescatarian and I assumed Japan would have been perfect for me before going but that was one of the biggest surprises of the trip. On the second day at DisneySea, when taking into account what is closeby and the virtual queues (some were 60 minutes!) for the counter-service restauarants I was struggling to find things I hadn't had already. I kept coming across restaurants that had like 3 things on the menu and they were all chicken/beef/pork. I really liked the counter-service reservation system. You order on your phone and choose when you want to pick-up and pay. You do have to plan a bit, and some places had a long wait, but it was so convenient just turning up and getting your food and not choosing what to have or paying. I also found that this meant there was always seating available, even at the busiest of times. I was so glad to have finally had the alien mochi!
DisneySea, the ports and the smaller rides
Not sure what to say about it that hasn't been said already - the theming is top notch! I didn't spend too long in Mediterranean Harbour, so there are things I probably missed here. I bought a fastpass for Soarin, mainly just to see some of the queue. It was the most popular ride when I went. Usually around 150 mins. It was themed to renaissance inventions, which makes it better than the one in Florida, but the ride is only ok, I just don't think flying theatres are that good. I get that it appeals to a wide demographic though.
Vulcania is my favourite. Most of the ports are based on real life locations, which I don't like too much in the theme parks and I think this is one of the reasons it is such a standout. It's also completely enclosed from the outside and has a good amount of kinetic energy. 20,000 Leagues under the sea was a very good supporting ride and I couldn't have asked for much more. I don't think everything should be top tier 'E-Ticket' attractions, but this was done very well. Annoyingly there is no merchandise with any of the lands/rides. There is only generic Disney merch. I would have loved something from here.
Mermaid Lagoon is just an indoor kids area, but done beautifully. Arabian coast is one of my favourites, there's not much there though. The Lost River delta was always crowded. I was not offended by Raging Spirits. I went on towards the end of the day in the hidden single rider queue and it was walk on.
Port Discovery was the weakest and it's next attraction should be a bulldozer. There's no theming and the rides aren't great. I don't even know what the theme is. Cape Cod is a lovely quiet spot. Fortress Explorations is great during the middle of the day when everything is a 2 hour wait. American Waterfront is my second favourite area as there is so much variety. I enjoy Toy Story Mania, but it is one of those rides that gets less enjoyable with every ride. I don't why we are still playing the same shooting games. I'm sure they could have done it so that it's not hard to create new shooting games with the screens. It's just software.
Fantasy Springs and the smaller rides
Very nice, but what is the theme? Rock work? I want to applaud that it's not based on a real life location, but how can I when there is nothing there. I'm being very overly picky here as it would the best land in any other park, but criticism is my forte. the rides have theming around it based on the film, but there's nothing in between, apart from princess shaped rocks. It's like 3 mini-lands and a hotel in one area. The Tangled ride is a supporting attraction that presents itself as a headline attraction. It is a huge IP with an impressive facade, but it's really just Na'vi River Journey. It's nice but I prefer Na'vi River Journey. I hadn't watched POVs before coming to Fantasy Springs, but I knew it wasn't rated as good as the others and I heard someone saying it was short outside the entrance area, so my expectations were met. They did let 3-4 times more people through from the fastpass line than from stand-by, which was frustrating! I've been critical because of what the rest of the park is like, but it's overall a very good area.
Disneyland thoughts
It's a weird park, it's very similar to Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, but with each new addition, it's starting to forge its own path. It has a lot of unique rides Beauty & the Beast, Monsters Inc, Pooh, (now) Splash Mountain and will have a unique Space Mountain and Wreck It Ralph attraction soon. Splash Mountain was closed, but critter country was my favourite area to look at. Tomorrowland was the worst, (possibly the worst Disney land ever), but they are building a lot of new things there, so will hopefully improve. Out of the non-headline attractions I did, I really loved getting on Roger Rabbit. I love the film and this ride was a good tribute to it. Fun, silly and playful. For what it is, it's fantastic and has one of the best queue lines in the park. I rate Big Thunder Mountain very highly as an experience, but it was a bit underwhelming this time, but being towards the front at night is not the best seat. My bucket list restaurant for this resort was the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall. The food wasn't that nice, but you don't go to the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall for the food, you go because it's the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall.
My rankings of the best dark rides
I know this is coasterforce and not darkrideforce, but Tokyo is dark ride heaven. This is controversial, but I would say I enjoyed these more than my rides on Jurassic Park River Adventure and Forbidden Journey.
12. Haunted Mansion
It's kinda crazy it's this low. Such a feel-good classic. Feels a little dated in some places.
11. Sinbad
This should be higher. It's long, the song is great, everything is stylized beautifully. Very underrated. If it was anywhere else it would be considered one of the best dark rides on the planet.
10. Monsters Inc
Wow, I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It was so much fun. I think I enjoyed the active participation with the flashlights. We need more Monsters Inc.
9. Frozen
So much better than the one at Epcot. I keep seeing so many people rate this as the best at the park and I can see why if this is your thing, but ultimately it is still a Frozen sing-a-long boat ride, so there is a ceiling to it which prevents it from being higher up the ranks. It's very well done though. #9, #10 & #11 could have been in any order really.
8. Peter Pan
This is nothing like the versions in Fantasyland. It's the same ride system as Spiderman/Transformers. It's no Spiderman, but it's remarkably fun. Definitely the best of Fantasy Springs.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean
I'd say this is Disney at its best but it's #7. I always expect a second drop, which makes versions like this anti-climatic.
6. Journey to the Centre of the Earth
I feel like it's sacrilege not to have it at #1, but it feels too short. The first half of the ride could have been better too. Still a masterpiece and has the best animatronic ever. Absolutely jaw-dropping!
5. Beauty & the Beast
I assumed this would have been my favourite too. I actually found a corner near the exit and let out a cry after my first go. I was an emotional wreck. This ride is huge in scale and is certainly a spectacle to behold, but I found that it wore off a little during re-rides. There isn't too much to look at as you keep going round and round and I sometimes ended up just looking at the other tea cups instead.
The queue is fantastic, the lead up to the castle and then entering it and going through the subsequent rooms to the pre-show was magical.4. Pooh's Hunny Hunt
Disney has done a number of perfect rides and the following fall into that category. The 1977 Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one of my favourite Disney films and I think it is the most visually gorgeous (like Studio Ghibli level for me). This is based on that film and does a fantastic job translating that aesthetic into a dark ride. I think this is the perfect use of trackless technology. Re-riding this was as good as going on it the first time as the cars take different routes so you see different things.
3. Tower of Terror
Different but still perfect.
2. Splash Mountain
This is such a cop-out putting it here as I didn't go on it and I know it's got an unfortunate IP, but this is where it would go. Pooh doesn't have the thrills and TOT is short, this was always my favourite dark ride before this trip.
1. Indiana Jones
This was a very easy choice for #1. The scale of this ride is ginormous and the sets are HUGE. I went on 3 times and my favourite run was the 3rd time. Being in a car full of Japanese women who screamed at everything just made it more fun. Like I truly lost myself in the entire ride duration. I love the way the car moves and that it's so dynamic and exhilarating than most of the other dark rides. So much better than DINOSAUR.
Nagashima Spa Land
Time for coasters! To buy tickets and get here. Go to the Meitetsu bus station at Nagoya, up the escalator and inside the ticket office. There will be vending machines where you can buy a transport and park pass combo ticket. With the blue skies, glistening sea and palm trees found all over the park, I thought I was Barbados! But Barbados would never have operations like this
I fumbled my time management at this park, I forgot to research fast track at this park, but decided I didn't need it because the park is so quiet, there's not many people walking around. I think the long days at Disney messed with my perception of how much time I would have and I wasn't even planning to go on every coaster.Hakugei was everything I hoped for. I got awarded the back row and during the ride flashbacks of Zadra kept coming back to me, but I think the Polish sibling is the better of the two.
Steel Dragon 2000 was next. I've never been on a coaster this tall and it's crazy how high you get, the lift hill just goes on and on. Great first drop with high positive Gs at the bottom. Very windy on the pair of turnarounds and the long series of airtime hills back just felt like a celebration. Spectacular.
I got on Ultra Twister which was terrifying, but I'm glad I got the bucket list cred. Acrobat was.... good and I walked round the park and did some of the other rides that didn't have a long queue. They are so keen on health and safety here, but I wish they could do that without holding up the queue. SD2000, the longest coaster in the world, was running 2 trains and still sat on the break run for 1 or 2 minutes waiting for the other train to be dispatched. I was like 'what on earth are they doing in that station?!' Honestly I prefer the peace of mind having nothing in my pockets and knowing other riders won't either, but do it in a way that it doesn't hold up the queue. On the Looping Star, we had to sit in the vehicles and watch a flip chart presentation on how to ride the coaster safely.
While I was away, there was a string of days in a row where I accidently ate beef or chicken. This was one of the days
The katsu curry I ordered had beef in, I ate it though. It's rude to leave food. SD2000 was closed 12:30-2:30 and was reopening soon and I thought the queue would be short as it has been closed so I headed over there. I wanted a re-ride on it and before going on Arashi and then some re-rides. The park closes at 5:00 and I didn't do the temporal maths in my head to work out how I was going to fit it in. In my head, it still felt just after lunch so half way through the day. The queue was packed. Even longer than it was before and I didn't have any fast tracks as they had sold out by the time I checked the machines and for some reason, I stubbornly waited in the queue. This was my last ride of the day. It took 90 minutes as the fast track queue filled up and they closed the Hakugei queue as I approached it It was 4:00 (where did the time go!) and I couldn't really go on anything so I left as I had to be check into my hotel in Kyoto that evening and I needed an early night.It's very frustrating, but I can't really blame anyone but myself, for not thinking and doing more research. I knew the operations were going to be bad, but couldn't picture how bad. I think the operations did impact my enjoyment. I'm fine standing in a single rider queue which doesn't move, but I can't deal with 4-5 minute dispatches. I'm also fine with the huge queues at disney if they are nice and keep moving.
Universal Studios Japan
When planning this trip, I had originally intended to visit Osaka as a sightseeing day trip from Kyoto instead of staying there as a (very) quick google search told me it was only 25 mins away, so I didn't need to stay at an extra hotel. I had to cut down my trip and I didn't end up visiting Osaka as a sightseeing day. My hotel in Kyoto to USJ was actually quite a bit longer
which I found out when finalising the itinerary a few weeks before I went. This would have been fine, but USJ opens at 8 and closes at 9. And this would have been ok, but you need to arrive at least an hour early, which is 7am. Luckily I am an early bird and was able to leave the hotel at 5:20 when ill Next time I will stay close to Universal!Queues
I was disorganised when planning this trip and only booked my ticket a month in advance and when I tried to add express pass, there were so many different configurations you could choose, but almost all of them were sold out and I was not interested in any of the ones that were left, so I didn't use Fast track here either
When I got in everyone was running to HP or Nintendo. I went the other way round the park and that worked out quite well as I got on a lot in a short space of time. There loads of single rider queues here which I made use of, though I couldn't find the entrance to the one for Forbidden Journey and when I asked someone, they said they didn't have one, so I got in the main queue. Turns out they did (and that was the longest queue of the trip as it broke down). I got on 10 rides (all major) in 13 hours, which wasn't too bad without Express Pass, but if I had skipped Forbidden Journey or had Express Pass, I could have gotten on more.General Thoughts
I was not feeling this park at first. It doesn't help that Universal Orlando Resort is just head and shoulders above all the other Universal resorts and then you come here, which I guess is one of the better ones and it didn't feel like there were many appealing rides and coasters. I was like 'wow is this it?'. I did end up having an amazing day. Both the Disney and Universal days were some of the best days I've had this side of covid
I just felt so good here and I hope I can feel this good in Bedford too! However, the park does have issues - It's the only park day I've been to and felt that it was over capacity. There were so many people sitting on the floor like homeless people (and not for a parade) because all the benches were taken and there were a lot of benches. At times the toilets had queues like you get at concerts. I've never seen anything like it. It was difficult to eat again as there was nowhere to sit and people were reserving seats with their Universal IP headbands like Germans reserving sunbeds. I took my tray outside the bounds of the restaurant and walked around to find somewhere to sit. There was a viewing area which viewed the lake and I could sit at the back of that on a ledge.Hollywood
There are supposed to be 10 lands, but I only did rides in 4 of them, so I will stick to these. I'm not going to lie, I keep forgetting Space Fantasy exists, which might be why I only went on once, but I adore a spinning coaster (Even smaller ones. Dragon's Fury and Spinball Whizzer are some of my UK favourites) and wow this is the best family spinner I have done. It's the whole package! And there is this crazy, bright, flashing room towards the end with a bunch of mirrors which was an assault on the senses. Hollywood Dream was a big surprise - It was the Live Laugh Love experience. Both times I was on everyone was so pumped, living the moment as if it was their last, the energy was infectious and the on-board audio really made the difference. Plus this was the little B&M Hyper that could. It doesn't have big hills or layout that showcases the strengths of this model, but it was giving me airtime at every opportunity it could. It's like an angel came down and touched the track and it was flying both times. It was a euphoric experience.
Jurassic Park
I was really worried about Flying Dinosaur. At this point in the trip I was ill, coughing a lot and not feeling great and I was scared for my health on this ride. I was so dramatic
But wait why is this ride actually so good. I was not expecting to like a B&M Flyer so much. The lift hill offers great views of the land and there's always a bunch of people waving at you! The drop is really steep for a flyer and it feels like you are close to being upside down as you go down the drop. Then we go into this zero-g, which flips a third time and this is such an elegant maneuver, I was obsessed with it. Before you can process it, the surprise positive Gs hit you as you go through the half loop you can't see. It's then into a pretzel loop which dives underneath a bridge. Wasn't keen on the pretzel loop on Acrobat, but it works here. Then an airtime hill, which is taken quickly, a zero-g, a forceful helix and an in-line twist. It just all works. The ride doesn't need theming as the coaster itself is the theming as it flies over the entire land. I had 3 rides on this andI think it's a really special coaster. The River Adventure is an all time classic, but after going to Disney, these animatronics are looking really rough. This ride needs an animatronic rejuvenation. I had a great ride nonetheless.The Wizarding World
It's nice, but I think I'm a bit fatigued by Harry Potter, it's not the same as when I was younger. It's like when you used to care about Santa and then you don't. Forbidden Journey wasn't as good as I remember, the screens were poor. I wanted to properly look around but didn't want to get in the way of people who were trying to use their wands (a similar issue exists in Nintendo World).
Super Nintendo World
Walking into Super Nintendo world was surreal. It's an incredibly kinetic mini-land that engulfs you. So much movement and so many levels - It's a bit overwhelming! I am obsessed with the queue line and entrance for Mario Kart, it is such a shame the ride is what it is. I think the technology is not suited for a racing game and would have fitted better on something like an FPS. It's nice inside, but it's all blurred out as I'm focused on what I see in the glasses in front of me. It's a big shame as they could have had their own Radiator Springs Racers, if they ditched the items. What a waste! The Donkey Kong area is fun-size and I love watching the coaster go round. The coaster is very cute (most of the time)l but not a great ride experience. I saw people complaining that not all the track is themed and I wasn't bothered about that on-ride. The coaster did jolt a lot from side to side and the restraint kept tightening. Like the swinging cars on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you don't really notice the jumping over things. There were some nice things I liked, but it's new so I don't want to spoil the whole ride.
Fuji-Q Highland
I booked my transportation with highwaybus.com which took me to the park from Shinjuku bus terminal. The views of Mount Fuji from the park were unreal until the cloud came. Eejanaika was probably my most anticipated coaster on the planet and it was closed. I was gutted until I found out someone had died
and it was now sbno and I lost all desire to ride it. Honestly, I started to forget it was there.I did Fujiyama first thing and was surprised how good this was. The view from the long lift hill was amazing, airtime was so good, the transitions were hilarious, the layout was long and varied, and the finale was bloody insanity 10/10. Zokkon was long as well, this ride didn't really speak to me though, but it was a nice ride, just nothing special. Takabisha opened midday and I got in the queue 30 mins early this time. It was a good idea because the queue build up massively. I thought I would like Takabisha more as I love gerst rolling launches, it's long and has a steep drop. On paper it's got everything, but it's quite low down in my gerst rankings. It's good, not great and I can't explain why.
The park is a dump and I felt uncomfortable all day with finding out someone had died a few weeks ago, the army being there, the interiors of the buildings. The queues were very long (the only day I could visit was a Saturday) so I bought 2 fast passes for Fujiyama and after riding, I bought an earlier bus ticket back and got the hell out of there.
Thunder Dolphin
This meant that I could ride Thunder Dolphin on a day when it wasn't raining. This was such a bucket list coaster since forever even though I expected it to be bad. The views on the lift-hill were so cool, it looked like we were going higher than some of the highrises. The first drop and the mid-ride bunny hop were the good parts. The bit on top of the roof was shockingly poor. I'm so glad I got on this!
Reflection
I've gotten both extremes on this trip. I started off in DisneySea and ended in Fuji-Q Highland (ignoring TD) and they are polar opposites of one another. I think I've come to realise how much the environment affects my enjoyment and how I value a pleasant park (doesn't have to be themed). I think it didn't help that the operations were not good in Fuji-Q Highland either. Usually the theme park days are my favourite days of the trip, but I wouldn't say that was the same with Nagashima Spa Land even though it was good. Fuji Q Highland was the worst
I feel so fortunate to live in Europe where we have such a diverse range of amazing theme parks and coasters. I would love to come back and give these parks another go at some point (even Fuji-Q Highland ) and maybe go to Shima Spain Village too. If you made it this far thank you for reading! I wanted to log my thoughts before I forget them!
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