Tips for Asia Trips

[mickey_079]

Since having a break from travel this year, my partner and I are starting to plan our trip for next year.

After living in North America for the last two years we have decided not to go for another US trip but instead head over and do some parts of Asia. 

So a rough itinerary includes:

• Singapore for a day to do Universal studios - been to Singapore before
• Fly to Hong Kong, meet up with our friend and do Disney, Oceanpark and explore a bit of Hong Kong
• Catch a train from Hong Kong to Shanghai and do Disneyland and Happy Valley Shanghai
• Catch a train from Shanghai to Beijing and do Great Wall of China, Happy Valley Beijing, Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park and check out Olympic Park
• Flight to Tokyo to Disneyland, Disneysea, Fuji-Q, explore Tokyo
• Drive to Osaka and Universal Studios
• Fly back to Sydney

Our friend from Hong Kong has recommended to do Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park just to see how dodgy the park is and c'mon fake Disneyland!

So not sure if anyone has visited any of these places, if so please give me some recommendations on time to spend at certain places, things I have missed and times of the year to avoid. I have been told these parts of the world never really have quiet times, and to avoid April all together. Throw that together with the rumored poor operations it will be an interesting trip.

[jcgoldcoast]

^ I'd get the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka rather than drive. You can also make a stop at Nagoya on the way and visit Nagashima Spa Land to get your Steel Dragon 2000 credit!

Edited April 23, 2016 by jcgoldcoast

[themagician]

^Same. Much easier and a quarter of the time.

[iwerks]

Shinkansen is great.  Flying domestically in Japan is not too bad. 

USS is quiet for most of the year except June and late December.  The zoos, aquariums and gardens in Singapore are also worth spending some time at.

Winter in Hong Kong is pretty mild, much like the winters here in Australia.

I think September is a great time to visit Japan.  You'll want to avoid winter and summer. 

I thought the operations in Japan were excellent - it's just the enormous numbers that really slow you down.  These parks are well patronised and the locals certainly know what they're doing.  Get there early and purchase a fast pass for USJ if you can.  Japanese parks are huge and awesome (DisneySea!) and are full day parks (or longer).  Most of the attractions are in Japanese, but it's not too hard to follow what's going on.  Learn a few phrases of Japanese if you can.  If you're staying outside of the resort area, the trains are very efficient and they have some good apps to help you navigate the subway network. I actually stayed at an Air bnb in Tokyo that was very nice.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I recommend at least two days for HKDL - even though it is the smallest of the Disneyland Parks, it is still worthwhile to take your time and explore it all. Your second day won't be full, and if you caught the fireworks on day one, you'll have an evening free. the park looks amazing at night, but if you've had enough, grab one of the free resort shuttle buses just outside the entrance and go and have dinner in either the HKDL hotel or the Hollywood Hotel. I personally like hollywood better, grab a drink at the bar, wander around and check out the finer details of the hotel and the gardens overlooking the bay are awesome for an after dinner walk.

The hotels are also a great way to get park souvenirs and merch without the crowds, and they sell a lot of the same stuff, as well as some unique stuff you won't find in park.

For ocean park, avoid Thursday - Monday. Best days are tuesday and wednesday to avoid mainlanders as much as possible.

USS can be done in a day, but spend two to cover off everything, and spend part of your second day checking out the rest of sentosa if you haven't done it before.

[mickey_079]

Thanks for the heads up. 

As stated we have both spent a lot of time in Singapore on different occasions, we are only really using Singapore as a lay over and to check out the new additions at USS.

I haven't really sat down and looked hard at it so I was unaware of the train from Tokyo to Osaka, so a huge thanks for that advice. Steel Dragon 

I've heard Fuji-Q in the past has had poor park management, closing a lot of rides down in mist, closing INDOOR rides in rain, and when they are open, have very slow load and unload times. I'll be happy to be wrong! We will definitely be spending lots of time in Disneyland Japan. Both of us are Disney park freaks and spend at least 4 days at Anaheim every time we go, so it was natural for us to be spending a decent time there.

[New display name]

Just a tad too much Disney for my liking.  I love Disney and it’s always a must but I like to mix my trips up a bit more.  Have you been to Dubai before?

[mickey_079]

Not yet. It's on the list for our Europe trip however. The Motiongate park has definitely made us to start out planning for that trip.

[New display name]

3 hours ago, mickey_079 said:

Not yet. It's on the list for our Europe trip however. The Motiongate park has definitely made us to start out planning for that trip.

Start saving up your money now.  Not a cheap place to go to.  If I remember correctly 1pt of beer was $14.00.  Sadly I was only there for work.

[Slick]

Fuji-Q's moved up a lot in recent years, don't listen to what TPR says. You can buy bus/entry combo tickets for Fuji-Q - get these if you're staying in Tokyo, you'll save yourself a fortune. Also, buy the fast passes and get there early. Seriously, if there's one park in the world (Disney included) where I'd want to turn up early for, it's this one.

Depending on how much time you're spending in Japan, you can buy a Japan rail pass and get unlimited Shinkansen use. If you're travelling between Tokyo and Osaka, do stop in at Nagoya and go to Nagashima Spa Land, and do stop in at Kyoto and check out the sites. You won't regret it. Stay near Shin-Osaka and you'll be able to catch a train direct to the door stop of Universal Studios Japan.

Thinking back to Tokyo, Odaiba's worth a visit, it's the man-made island where Joypolis is. It's a great trip out and there's plenty to see and do. If you pick your days and you're prepared to have massive, 8am-11pm days, then you can cram Disneyland and Disneysea into two days if you plan like a boss.

Thunder Dolphin's worth a visit, it's relatively close to the Tokyo Skytree (and also close to Asakusa where that old school amusement park is which is also right around the corner from Sensoji) - it's worth checking the website and social channels for closures and times in advance, I got screwed multiple times with annual maintenance despite my best efforts to work around it.

[iwerks]

Something to look forward to in Shanghai.

http://www.meipai.com/media/515394729?from=qq

[grrofunger]

8 minutes ago, iwerks said:

Something to look forward to in Shanghai.

http://www.meipai.com/media/515394729?from=qq

Mick Doohan Motocoaster: Epileptic Tron Edition

[mickey_079]

Unfortunately we will more than likely be cutting the trip a little shorter now due to time restraints with work and study. The partner has a workshop in D.C she wants to attend so we will end up spending a 2 weeks on the east cost and probably just do a trip to Hong Kong and Shanghai. 

All the help and advice given was very appreciated. Anymore advice or news would be great if people posted it here so it could be a "go to" thread for anyone planning trips to Asia.

[djmcbell]

On 26/04/2016 at 6:48 AM, skeetafly said:

Start saving up your money now.  Not a cheap place to go to.  If I remember correctly 1pt of beer was $14.00.  Sadly I was only there for work.

I actually found Dubai quite cheap for a few things (mind you, I don't drink). Fast food, IIRC, was cheap (though the fries in Ferrari World were expensive, and seemed to consist entirely of salt).

[iwerks]

Peter Pan's Flight @ Shanghai - looks pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ES7iVOYRwI&feature=share

Edited May 9, 2016 by iwerks

[iwerks]

Buzz Lightyear has changed.

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201605/5075/

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^For those that wonder why many of us frequently point out how you can't please enthusiasts no matter what you do...

Quote

This is yet another ride that's 10 times better than what we have in the states. A couple of comments I've read on the internet in response to seeing Shanghai ride videos - "I'm tired of the international parks getting all the best rides", and "I feel gypped".

So here's the thing. When you're dealing with a corporation that has multiple sites (Disney, Universal, Six Flags), they have to start somewhere. They can't build the same ride in 6 parks simultaneously as it would cost too much, as instead of making one mistake they'd make 6. The tech being developed from scratch would also cost more, rather than duplicating the successful finished product once mastered.

If they had chosen to put a new first ever attraction into, say - Euro Disney, and then roll it out to the US parks later, with improvements - the whiners would carry on about how Paris got it first, and why didn't the US parks get it first since they were bigger \ older \ more original \ closer to their house.

So - the US parks get most of the 'brand new' tech, but this also means in later iterations when other parks follow suit and improve, they are left looking like the poor cousin.

[iwerks]

Plus the International parks are closer to us.

[RossL]

On 4/23/2016 at 3:56 PM, jcgoldcoast said:

^ I'd get the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka rather than drive. You can also make a stop at Nagoya on the way and visit Nagashima Spa Land to get your Steel Dragon 2000 credit!

I definitely recommend this!

Lots of rides, a couple of great ones with Steel Dragon 2000 and White Cyclone.  Relatively uncrowded in my one experience on a weekday.  Lots of school kids came from like 11am-3pm and made queue times for the those two rides and the wild mouse go over an hour.  

Also, there's a Legoland is opening in Nagoya next year-apparently April 1.

[iwerks]

Wow - just spent the last forty-eight hours at Tokyo's Disney parks. They were pretty busy, but got a lot done anyway. Certainly took the chance to see things I missed last time. I can also recommend staying at an Air BnB in close proximity to the parks. So much easier to take a 5 minute bus or train ride there than a busy journey across town.

One thing that caught me by surprise at TDL is that Star Tours has been updated to include The Last Jedi. And can anyone confirm what's being constructed between  Toontown and Tomorrowland? 

[RossL]

42 minutes ago, iwerks said:

 

One thing that caught me by surprise at TDL is that Star Tours has been updated to include The Last Jedi. And can anyone confirm what's being constructed between  Toontown and Tomorrowland? 

 

AFAIK all Star Tours worldwide were updated to include The Last Jedi.

Beauty and the Beast I'm pretty sure is what you're referring to.  The tip is for a fantastic e-ticket attraction.

Big Hero 6 is also going in there somewhere too.

https://nerdist.com/beauty-and-the-beast-and-big-hero-6-coming-soon-to-tokyo-disneyland/

[iwerks]

Thanks for that @RossL. Yeah, there were also construction cranes near the front of DisneySea. 

Edited December 26, 2017 by iwerks

[iwerks]

Here's a photo of the show building from TDL's toontown.