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[skalos]

Hope you get this reply before you leave Skalos

After April the 5th should be fine for school crowds, but Tokyo Disneyland will be hosting its first Easter Event, so many people will likely turn up for that, although it looks absolutely amazing with a new parade and I will be very jealous. DisneySea crowds will be lighter and more manageable but Spring Carnival will be in season so you may get a few crowds but not on the scale that TDL will be this year.

To find the Store just get off at Shinbashi Station and enter the shopping arcade, here's a map for you anyway, you'll find ticket counter on second floor. http://www.disneystore.co.jp/store/map/201.html

And try and not worry to much about the crowds, even on a busy day you can still get so much done, providing you arrive early and use your FastPass straight away.

I didnt see your post Malin.... But everything went fine! I manage to find the Disney store in Shinbashi because my hotel was in Namba... I did a day in Universal, a day in DisneySea and a day in TDL! I can honestly say that I managed to see everything (with some minor exceptions) and all three parks left me with mixed emotions... Maybe I should write my first trip report...

[Malin]

Maybe I should write my first trip report...

Yes please do, I would especially like to read your thoughts and why TDL and TDS left you with such mixed emotions. Universal Studios Japan very much like you, left me with mixed emotions, so I see where your coming from here.

[skalos]

I am not a "trip report writing" kind of guy but I will write some of my thoughts in here (maybe even post a couple of photos)...

First of all, I will start by saying that my trip to Japan was for work... My former Judo coach asked me to help him organise the whole trip (buying tickets, helping with the team, talking with the Japanese people there etc) so I didn't have much time for sightseeing! We were for 12 days in Osaka with the Judo team and after those 12 days me and some other people from the team went to Tokyo for 4 days to relax after all the Judo training. One thing I can say about Japan is: Japanese people are amazing!!! Very hospitable, very kind... at least the people I met through Judo...

We had Judo training everyday and on my spare time I had to organise the next days trip and training, so I was really occupied with being the assistant of my Judo coach... Of course before leaving Greece I had a chat with my coach and I asked one day off... Well that day was for Universal Studios Osaka!!!

Me and two other people said that we will go there for a day, so we bought tickets prior of going (I was 100% sure that it was going to be packed) in a ticket shop in Nanba (200yen cheaper  :wink:  )  and went really early to Universal City... In the end there was another person added to our group so we ended up waiting to buy her ticket at the entrance! I was really amazed by the camera that they had at the gate for the AP holders... Anyway, we went inside and started with a big attraction with a small waiting line, Spiderman!!! Wow amazing attraction!!! But the queue was really nothing like disney... It really felt "fake". After Spiderman all the other big attractions followed... We managed to do everything except the new space fantasy because it never got lower than 170 minutes!!!

My impression of Universal Studios is mostly positive. The detail on the facades of the park is really amazing and the attractions (as attractions) are top notch and really fan!

The downsides of the park were:

1. Not to much detail on queues, resulting to really boring queues, and when you are waiting for 120 minutes thats a problem!!!
2. Everything on the park was either exact same price as disney or more expensive... And it felt lower quality then Disney.
3. The magical starlight parade felt (to me) a cheap duplicate of Disney's Elctrical Parade with no characters, except Elmo, Snoopy and Kitty...
4. The back to the future ride was the biggest let down!!! I love the film but the ride felt really out of date and the whole effect with the smoke when the car went forward to the screen and back was really a joke... We literally started laughing!!
5. The merchandise, was really not that good... I was really dissapointed that I didn't find a nice t-shirt to buy... (but that happened to me in TDR as well) But thats must be because the Japanese people mostly buy cookies as souvenirs.

The upside of the park were the rides!!! Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Backdraft, terminator 4d, waterworld, sesame street, shrek, animation celebration are AMAZING... but most of the attractions doesn't seem to have any re-ridability...

The park was really packed but we managed to do all the attractions we wanted except of space fantasy and wicked... and the Peter Pan show and fireworks were canceled due to bad weather...  

I will post photos later and continue with TDR...

[Malin]

The magical starlight parade felt (to me) a cheap duplicate of Disney's Elctrical Parade with no characters, except Elmo, Snoopy and Kitty...

I wouldn't refer to it as cheap, certainly not up to par with the amazing Dreamlights, but easily far suppier to SpectroMagic and Fantaillusion. But it probarely would have been more interesting if it didn't try and copy Disney and brought in its own unique characters and not some cheap looking alternatives that look like they have come directly out of a direct to DVD movie.  

The back to the future ride was the biggest let down!!! I love the film but the ride felt really out of date and the whole effect with the smoke when the car went forward to the screen and back was really a joke... We literally started laughing!!

Yeah one or two attractions really need closing and Back to the Future is one of them unfortunaly, byt its certainly not as dated as Backdraft.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, look forward to the Tokyo Disney Resort?

[skalos]

Some pictures from my trip to USJ....

[KaityL]

We haven't been to Disney Tokyo yet but are planning to tour there this summer.  The photos are fabulous..love the pagoda boats!