DaptoFunlandGuy

Like roadrunner and wild west before it, another 3d sign gone 2d. Also - what happened to the door? I'll admit this artwork looks a lot better, and the ride has always been missing a hero sign out front. I'd love to say the ride logo in the middle will prevent guests asking staff where to go to ride it, but it won't....

Look, puffery aside, the use of fake plants isn't a negative and that wasn't the intention of me including it as an option in my post. There are both a time and a place where it's the right choice for the install. Nobody wants real ivy crawling all over the wooden rollercoaster, potentially degrading the timber, making it harder to inspect, and also potentially false triggering safety sensors causing shutdowns. There's plenty of real plants in use within Atlantis (and they also weren't all mature and grown in on opening day either).

The words were mine, not @Michelangelo's - and there's more to the post I can only comment on what i've seen - which has mostly been the corn. if there's also real plants then bully for them - I was describing different methods, it wasn't a slight against Village's chosen theme. Nobody would have expected them to grow real corn all year round...

One would think given the many claims of puffery made by both parks over the years that you'd be managing your expectations a bit better. Given the qualifier 'built by dreamworld ever' the bar isn't set as high as you think. I do hope they do more, but i'm not expecting lush tropical jungle on day one.

Those were fake? I thought they were just pot plants.

I didn't forget it, I was ignoring it as an option for the budget conscious. There's been lots of discussion lately about the park doing things to minimise additional \ unnecessary expenses. So I didn't really consider that mature plants would be an option as they tend to cost a lot more to purchase, transport and install.

I understand the sentiment, but the choices you have are: Plant and wait for it to 'grow in' while opening the ride as soon as it is ready (the apparent JR method) Plant and wait for it to 'grow in' and don't open the ride until the true jungle feel is ready (your preferred method but probably a bit of a poor expectation) landscape with fake plants to achieve the desired look on day one (the WOZ method) And before anyone gets uppity about my comments towards WOZ - the movie was all done on soundstages with fake everything. the "fake" landscaping in WOZ's case is preferred because that is true to the film and is a legit option for this style of theme. JR could have gone down that route, but most of the concept and promo material we've been shown has been live, deep planting, so that's what i'm expecting.

There's 6 weeks to christmas. we know the ride has completed full circuits, and they're landscaping. i don't see any hint of vintage car tracking yet, but its looking a heck of a lot closer. 6 weeks is probably going to be enough time to be ready I reckon - as long as the weather continues to hold. Sure, the landscaping isn't going to be 'grown in' and it will take a while for the real 'jungle feel' to truly grow around everything - but that's pretty typical for opening day landscaping. I think Oz still looks better, from what we've seen so far, but JR is closing the gap here.

So they've just rolled it back ("will return in 2024") so the copy we saw was probably the intended release, but probably hadn't been approved for publishing yet.

And that's the whole point of the pricing structure. Disney does the exact same thing - the more days you visit, the cheaper it gets - because you're more likely to spend money in park that makes up the difference. They want people to come to their property for a week, not a day.

Thanks. Wasn't really clear on the top down map and I wasn't trawling all the old imagery to try and figure it out, but it makes sense. It does appear the full loop is required, though I don't know how much 'active' pre-show there is (seems more passive themed queue to me), but there are merge points I marked out in the map above where one could 'shortcut' the queue, if the queue was short enough. In other words unlikely on debut, but in later or quieter times, you're likely able to cut back into the queue line near the station.

The real world had far less workplace health and safety, insurance, and litigious guests.

They seem to have maintenance accessways marked on the map also, and that 'viewing area' just looks like a vehicle access path. Given the sneak peaks we've seen, and the 'decision point' in the throne room where you enter FOTWW and\or Twister, it seems like both rides may have some indoor queue space, but there's still some crossover points. Depending on how long the queues are you can potentially re-join the queues for FOTWW and KT without going through the old Arkham building (circled in yellow) but if the lines are longer (as they will be at opening) I can't see those coming into play - meaning you've got to go all the way back to the throne room to enter the ride queue. I also have NO clue how the exit lane is going to cross the KT queue line if it drags out that long - but here's what I'm thinking: Purple - FOTWW queue Orange - KT queue(s) Red - Exit pathway Yellow - Merge points where you could re-enter the queue from the exit Black - Back of house access points for maintenance teams

So looking at this map, there appears to be no way to just 'wander' through the land - am I reading that right? There's literally two paths which are both ride queues, and then one path that connects to both ride exits to funnel people back to the emerald city? I'm assuming they open the exit pathway up for people to enter the precinct and check things out - but how irritating is it that they've got to go all the way back to emerald city to enter the ride queue? This can't be the final path design, can it?

Yes it's a good takeaway from the experience and certainly the biggest culture shock most westerners will have visiting Japan. We find it jarring because many western cultures consider that going the extra mile to resolve an issue to your satisfaction is the right way to provide great customer service to you. The Japanese consider that to bend the rules to keep you satisfied actually inconveniences or disadvantages everyone else who followed the rules - so they won't break the rules, because that provides a poorer customer service to everyone. I don't think either is the right way - the western culture has bred "Karens" who demand a manager when they don't get their way no matter the reason or fault, whereas in Japan it can truly leave you with a poorer experience when things that are not your fault occur (we had an experience where they didn't program our room key correctly, and instead of immediately fixing it, they asked us to join a long queue of people waiting to check in to be seen in turn. We felt quite put out by this but the cultural view would be those people were waiting to be served first - even though i'd been there only minutes earlier - it's a tough nut to crack!) I truly feel as a culture - we need to wind back the sense of entitlement that many folk have with 'service industry' folk, and Japan could do with a 'little' flexibility on some of the less critical 'rules'.

You've been a member here for 18 years, and you're not sure? really? I think the discussion has mostly been triggered by the fact that you said you always book 1 person, which - in the context of HHilton makes sense as thats how you claim the perk, but for most people without the Hilton loyalty status (or indeed in any other hotels) this comes across as deceptive. Most people travelling with 2 people would put down that they're travelling with two people, so it's just odd. Are other hotels aware that you're travelling with two people and simply don't charge you? or are they unaware, and you're cheating the system by not declaring the second occupant of the room? That, I think, is the issue being raised here. You do you, but i've never heard of someone only booking a room for one person even though they've got others travelling with them, so it just seemed strange as a tip to tell people "make sure when you book a room for two people, you tell them that you've got two people" - like that just seems common sense - like "press the up button if you want to go up in the elevator" - like... who would press 'down' ??

It all comes down to money\cost. See they removed Police Academy because the stunt performers (of which that show had A LOT) were really expensive - they were paid the same rate as a movie stunt person (naturally so) and the HWSD show was a way to cut labour costs. Unfortunately the guys who drove those cars were also professionals, and cost a bit too. Additionally, within the confines of the arena, there were bound to be collisions with barriers, and other vehicles from time to time, so the body work \ smash repair was also costly. The Mitsubishi Evos were high performance vehicles and required a lot of maintenance - especially the breakway car. We saw the jump ramps in the early show previews (up on two wheels, etc) early on but that element didn't appear regularly and was very high risk. I imagine that the show wasn't as cheap as they thought it'd be - and add on top the cost of rebuilding the arena to accommodate it. They had to cut some parts of the show almost immediately as the chance of damage and the cost of repairs was just too high. HWSD2 was born out of a need to reduce labour and maintenance costs for the drivers and the Evos. Cue Showtime. they've got their own crew, offer a fixed price contract (or at least they have done so elsewhere), and they're used to putting on shows on the show circuit across the country. It sure seems like a no brainer for Village to be able to offer a show without having to bear the risk\cost of damage and drivers. it's basically just outsourcing the show to a third party and letting them use your facility. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the country boy from the outback came to compete with his city cousin in a set right out of an Italian village. Long Live The Police Academy Stunt Show.

The midweek dates tend to start when school holidays does, no? And yeah - they've always added extra dates for WC - they'll wait until these fill up before they release more.

The thing isn't cultural. I've encountered this in many places the world over where they ask you how many people are in your room so that they can ensure the room they allocate to you will accommodate them. Some rooms only offer a double bed, which can accommodate two smaller adults, but sometimes not comfortably. Some rooms say they accommodate 3 people, but this can be only with bed-share (a very asian concept we discovered) and they expect that parents will share a bed with their 12 year old child. And especially in Japan - the home of the Business Hotel where some rooms only have one single bed - it's important that your host knows how many people are with you. Many places i've been to (including around Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States) ask how many people are in the room, and they aren't doing it for fun. Some charge for the second guest, some say 'up to 2' guests are included in the price but charge for a third - but if you're travelling with 2 people, put down two people? If the second person is free, it doesn't matter if you tell them one or two, so the only reason why you'd specify 'one' on a booking you intend to have 'two' for is to try and avoid extra charged or cheat the system - neither of which is something that they'll allow you to do in Japan (and something many other places in the world would consider theft if you'd avoided extra charges in their hotel). The fact that Hilton had an offer that said you wouldn't be charged doesn't then mean that every other hotel in the world just asks the question for fun. The link you provided is specific to the one hotel chain - that's how Hilton have decided you get to use their rewards program benefit - but that doesn't translate to everywhere else, and even Hilton has exclusions to that offer which can negate it on their own properties too: (And just to be clear - Japan has a hotel occupancy tax applicable in many prefectures which is payable on a per person basis, which based on the above would specifically exclude the Hilton offer from applying). Your opinion, sure - but this just doesn't make sense to me - you found the park to be absolutely jammed, but didn't see value in the express pass offering? By your own admission, you screwed up your 1.5 day ticket, which clearly outlines that it must be used on two consecutive days. This makes sense then as to why you didn't get the express pass - because you had to 'spring' for a second day ticket after you wasted your first, and express passes would have been sold out for that day - especially as it was also on a weekend (which is the absolute worst day to go). Overall this is probably the best thing to share to anyone visiting Japan, but especially Tokyo. We have this image of a city like Sydney or the Gold Coast and most people cannot fathom just how LARGE the Greater Tokyo City area is. People plan to visit multiple things in a day because "it's in tokyo" without realising that the distances between things are akin to moving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. Their transport systems are incredibly efficient, but they move so many people that the time it takes to get to a platform is necessarily longer than we're used to here. When we planned our Tokyo days, we mapped everything we wanted to do and then grouped those things that were really close by. We avoided travelling across the city, or more than 'a couple of stops' or 'one line change' for that reason as we saw google's predition on how long things would take to get to. It's a great tip for others when planning.

I would think that's because the ride has opened, and is therefore at least a good chance of being up and running during the event, whereas Oz hasn't debuted, and may still run into issues prior to opening that delay it until after WC. If you're planning WC with a view that WOZ will be open, prepare yourself to be disappointed. If it has soft opened and is operating on the night, consider it a bonus.

Yeah i've got to agree with Brad on this one - it sounds like you went into Japan expecting it to be the same as Australia or the US and it just isn't. Tokyo Disney Resort just feels like work. While the US parks are becoming increasingly reliant on apps and upcharges, you simply can't enjoy your day in TDR unless you've been like this for the past 9 months or more: I found Universal a lot better to get around and their ticketing options were broad but very clear to understand. The best advice for anyone planning a trip - especially to Japan - is to research in advance. Find YouTubers that have done videos in the region - but watch more than one channel to ensure it isn't biased. TDRExplorer does really informative videos of the parks, but if you're wanting info on other things in Japan you need to go a bit broader (Abroad in Japan has given me lots of info over the years on etiquette and food). Join facebook groups. there's plenty out there for every aspect of the trip - don't just join one either! join several USJ groups and several TDR groups and so on, and search the group (don't be a bonehead and ask the same questions that have been asked 100 times before) but by all means ask a follow up question if the original post didn't answer your question fully!) Reddit, cesspool that it may be has some great subreddits for Japan travel - and is the best source for a QUICK response if you need info in a hurry - especially while on the ground. Experienced tourists as well as locals are in the subreddits and they answer very fast and are helpful (though you will have the inevitable trolls) The golden rule for Japan - the more work you do before you go, the less it will feel like work while you're there.

You're getting a little desperate there. Motocoaster had it's opening in 2007 and opened on time. Moving a maintenance date is as much a Motocoaster thing as it is a Trident thing, and not at all the same thing as a ride's debut opening date... As for the cars being rebuilt - the control system for the 'new' cars (similar to the treasure hunters in USS) is entirely different and electric, with power isolation to the entire track able to occur from the control booth. This is a system that would not interact with the old cars. If they have simply taken the old chassis, and they are rebuilding those chassis with new theme pieces and electric motors \ controls, i'm on board with that - recycling the old chassis is a bit of a tribute to old dreamworld, while upgrading them to comply with new tech. I realise it's not what we were originally sold on - but as long as we haven't got Model T's running around on lawnmower engines with zero e-stop ability and restraints that prevent riders from dismounting mid-ride, I think we're ok. Everybody has some speculation here and either side could be correct. The interpretation from the CEO could go both ways. We're only going to know the truth when things start appearing on track.

You could paint them, but you'd turn it into a black hole style slide and end up blocking most of the light inside the slide. It looks like a survey marker on one of the support poles, which I can't imagine you'd need for demolition. This thread is 9 months old and hasn't had updates in a while (personally i'd thought they had already removed the slides but I don't visit the park often) - i'd say the reason they've started removal now is probably because their next attraction will go in this space and this is the timeline needed to open the new one. I'll be very keen to see what they replace it with. Hopefully better than the jetstream replacements.

I don't bother with the show anymore. At this point it feels like an abandoned show set from a long ago time, and a bunch of kids have discovered it while exploring the ruins, and invented their own show in their imagination. The fact that it still looks straight out of a quaint italian town is jarring against the 'city vs country' utes, and it's the same trope rolled out at every capital city royal show by the Showtime team. The park continues to sacrifice their quality entertainment offerings for cheap and lazy solutions.

Depending on how much you want to do, you can reasonably tick off the major points in both Kyoto and Nara in a day. We managed to do the Arashiyama bamboo forest, Tenryu-Ji Temple and flower garden, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine (Thousand Torii Gates), and then detoured to Nara to visit the Deer Park all in the same day. While in Osaka, we enjoyed the Tempozan Aquarium and Wheel. Universal's express pass was essential. Staying on property at universal also means you get the inside scoop on what time the park will open the next day (the park has publicly advertised opening times, however gates open well in advance of those times and the hotels generally know what time it is planned to be, and if you haven't paid the premium prices to guarantee entry to Nintendo you'll need to be first in the park to guarantee you get yourself a timeslot. I'd encourage a visit to Hiroshima Peace Park. Miyajima was also on our list for a day-trip but other events changed our plans and we didn't get to go.