The "Official" TPR Returns To Asia Ongoing TR!

My god, and I thought that my trip to Disneyland CA was crowded...

Am I the only person who think Markus looks a little cracked out here?

Sounds like a much better New Years than I had. I may have to look into flying to Tokyo next time I'm faced with the decision to go to SoCal, Florida, Japan, or some local place at New Years.

The TDL party looks like fun so far, can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!

I like crowds. I would love to be at any of the disney parks on new years eve.

Holy crap! I wonder if the long lines made up for the short lines you had to wait in Also, do I see some people wearing T-Shirts?!

Wow, total craziness!

I was finally able to ride Space, and when I went into the station, I couldn't notice major differences either. There's new paint. There's a new projected movie that looks a lot more crisp and pretty. The airgates are totally cool looking.

But that's about it. They also sharpened the lighting, I think, but yeah. Nothing drastically different.

I did the countdown party at TDS in 2003 and it was awesome! I remember they gave you a coupon book good for 2 snacks and unlimited soft drinks. THAT is unheard of in Japan!

Love the pics but your captions make them better.

Looks like you guys are having a blast. I have never had a desire to go to Japan, but I think you have changed my mind!!

d

Love the pics but your captions make them better.

^^

i dont feel like im qualified to say somthing sarcastic and funny enough for that post...

Wes... im looking at you...

:?

Great TR robb, (and ellisa... does anybody but me think elissa doesnt get enough credit on this site?!) great to see your having a great time in japan, the place truly is AWSOME. Hope you have more fun and a great newyears!

~Mark

Am I the only person who think Markus looks a little cracked out here?

 

Yes, you are the only one who thinks that.

Matt's just a fanboy

OMG, no, Mark didn't go with us to Nasu. He hung out in Tokyo.

 

--Robb "And whoever said 'stalker' I agree!" Alvey

Hey now, Just being a concerned member. Who knows what could have happend to the Quaker in Tokyo.

And I'm not a stalker since I've only been hanging out by his bedroom window for the past few weeks. hehe

I wonder how Robb and Elissa react in cold weather

BTW, was that your first time ever seeing snow?

You know it would be awesome to go to Japan, but I definitely wouldn't go in December...I haven't been anywhere near snow since I was 3 years old

Central Park Photos....

Hi. I post a message for the first time. I like you guys' reviews/reports including the Japan trips. These photos with captions are very fun to see. They made me started frequently visiting this site. It is also very interesting to see how you guys see Japanese amusement/theme parks and its culture (I'm a Japanese). My favorite parks are Toshimaen and Fujikyu Highland. But I havent been to these parks for years and years!! (probably for the last 15 years.) Your report makes me miss these parks so much!!

By the way, I noticed the pictures of the disassembled roller coster in Himeji Central Park. The coaster, which was called "Tornador," used to be at Ayameike Yuuenchi, which was closed in early summer of 2004. I heard befere that this roller coaster was going to be relocated to the Central Park. The pictures look very much like the roller costater, so I am pretty sure this is the one. Here is the link of the roller coaster before being located: http://drkssk.fc2web.com/zekkyou/ayame/tor/tor.html.

(note: this link is not my web site. It has a lot of awesome pictures of Japanese roller costers in Japan.)

I noticed people who posted here were surprised to see Nasu Highland Park was open in a very cold weather. I believe it is kind of an exception. Amusment parks in northern parts of Japan, such as Hokkaido and the Tohoku area, do close during winter. I think the reason why the park was open in such weather is that it is in the Kanto area where is considered to be warmer than Hokkaido and the Tohoku area. Though, I wonder how these amusement parks like NHP can make profits during winter. It must be a very slow season. I think most American parks are closed for winter to avoid unprofitable operation. Anyway, it must be fun to feel like the park was reserved for your guys only. I would love to hang out in an empty park with only a handful of people and with no waiting time for those roller coasters!

[/i]

Welcome to the web site. Thanks for all the information you posted as well.

I wonder how Robb and Elissa react in cold weather

 

BTW, was that your first time ever seeing snow?

I know that Robb used to live in Baltimore. So it is safe to say that he has seen plenty of snow in his lifetime. Elissa is from New York so....

I've always heard (and could be totally wrong) that a lot of the regional parks in Japan are run (or atleast heavily subsidized) by the local prefecture or government. They view it as a way to get people to travel and see their area. Makes me miss Japan sooooooo much.. Stacey and I are considering blowing all our FF miles and going back in January for a fix.... We ate at Mitsukoshi last nite and got all sad..

I believe that one reason that most of the parks here (NOT the ones in Hokkaido!) are open year-round has to do with the absence of the concept of seasonal employment. The kids go to school pretty much all year, (I think the summer break is only about a month long!) so they aren't an option for the seasonal work force. Since company loyalty is a major concept over here still, people often work for the same company for their whole life. One example is that the same operator for each coaster in August was working the same ride on New Year's Eve!

Chris B

Couple of things I totally agree with the parks being open in the off season.

I also saw you mention kings dominion, my wife and I got kicked out when they decided to close the park after the weather prediction was wrong so they only had 250 people in the park. That would have been understandable, but they stayed open during the rain then closed when it got nice. We were very upset especially considering how many laws we broke to get their by opening from South Bend, IN.

Great TR by the way I am so jealous.

Yes, you are the only one who thinks that.

Damn... don't get me wrong, I luzz the Quaker, but I was greatly entertained by that picture.

Great photos!

How much Chinese did you need to know to get around Hong Kong and HKDL?

Day Ten - Part Two: Tokyo Disneyland Countdown Party

 

During the planning part of this trip we found out about this New Years Eve "Countdown Party."

 

So when we found out about this, we HAD to go! Luckily (thanks to Chris) we were able to get tickets via Yahoo Auctions that weren't much more expensive than the face value of the tickets.

As much as I'd love to take credit for getting Robb, Elissa and Quaker into the Countdown Party, my wife Mayumi actually was the one to bid (via cellphone!) on the Yahoo auction for the tickets. She's mostly just surprised that there are people out there that are MORE insane about coasters than I am.

Chris B

^ Now thats just funny

any way awsome TR cant wait to see moer of TDL and TDS