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VRTP apologies that due to circumstances beyond their control, SW is still open.

She's a bit wet today boys and girls

I went to Japan for this years Christmas Break, from the 20th of December to the 5th. Many trip reports and photos to come, but I’ll start off with Fuji Q. pics here: https://www.parkz.com.au/search/photos/location/park-130-Fuji-Q_High_Land Basically, I had a tight-ish schedule, and began to fret a bit when I saw snow forecast the night before I visited. Still, I went through with it, and arrived to about 20cm of powdery snow. It was very pretty, but kept the crowds away, but a double edged sword as it meant only indoor rides were open for the first half of the day. The Japanese are very industrious, and right from the early morning, staff were all hands on deck clearing snow and opening attractions. In the end, I managed to ride basically everything I wanted to (Ok I wouldn’t have minded trying Panic Clock, but it ended up that Tondemina was the only major flat to open) But the one notable exception was Eejanaika. I guess it would have been cool riding X2s bigger brother, but I would have been far more shattered if I missed Do-Dodonpa In the end I rode the following: Thomas Treasure Hunt – A surprisingly good kiddie dark ride where you shine a torch on treasures. Fuji Airways – Brogent flying theatre with a hilariously good preshow. The film was okay, focusing on repeated “big reveals” of Mt Fuji. One point had you passing through a storm, and another point had a faux air force fly by, but instead of jets, it was CGI people flying in the winged seats of their Gerstlauer sky roller. Scientific Ninja Dojo Hall – A Naruto themed toy story mania type ride where you shoot ninja stars, fire etc etc, rather well done. Shining Flower – Giant ferris wheel great for photos. There was an option to ride in fully Perspex pods, but they seemed much more faded / grimy than the usual ones, which wouldn’t be good for photos. Nagashimuska – A rapids ride with some scarily steep drops and a cool whirlpool element. A poncho is a must considering it was 8c outside. Rock n Roll Duncan – A kiddie coaster more gentle than a wacky worm. Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear – An upcharge, pre booked horror walkthrough set in a Hospital. You go in groups of 4, but if you are alone, you end up shelling out for a full slot, costing a whopping 4000 JPY. Was very long though, and could be a stand alone attraction outside a park imo. The childrens ward scene is particularly creepy, and you do get chased a couple of times. Evangelion World – I have no idea about this series, it was walk through with several giant robot heads and vehicles from the Anime. Im sure if you were a fan you’d get more out of it. Fujiyama – A very long, not too rough hypercoaster that was quite intense and fast. Felt way ahead of its time. In particular, the wave turns at the end are nuts. I did 2 laps on single rider. Takabisha – A great launched / lift hill Eurofighter. Great pacing, a good pop of airtime on one of the hills. I thought the section after the beyond vertical drop was a bit brief though. I did 3 laps, including one with a fast pass from the vending machine out front of the ride. Do-Dodonpa – A launch so fast your brain doesn’t process it for a second, and one of the few rides I’ve had an oh gawd moment on (prior to the launch) The train does bounce around a bit, so its an experience, but probably wouldn’t want to be much longer. I did 2 laps, including one with a fast pass from the vending machine out front of the ride. The park has Pizza La, so I had some japanse pizza (Including a Teriyaki one with seaweed flakes) Overall, despite the hiccups, the low crowds ensured a great day, and it was quite magical being in a snow filled park. Anywhere else and they’d say “Stuff it, we’re closed today”

For Fuji Q, it's much cheaper and simpler and quicker to do it as a day trip with the highway bus from Shinjuku. You can get an all inclusive Q pack ticket, and departures are available that get you to the park nice and early.

Credit to rcdb.com This has appeared at Aussie World

I visited the parks you plan to in May last year, Nagashima Spa Land was easy with a Train to Nagoya Station and a Highway Bus from there.

Yes. There was at least four coasters open yesterday.

I went in late March early April a few years ago and would highly recommend them. It wasn’t too cold and wasn’t overly busy either. The bullet train will be your friend for travelling long distances. So fly into Tokyo, do Disney, then train to Fuji Q then continue on to Osaka to do Universal. And if possible, fly out from there. While your in Osaka definitely spend a few days in Kyoto too. Beautiful part of the country. If you want some tips for Universal, happy to share

But Jet Rescue was built well before Corkscrew was gone? I know what you’re trying to say, but it wouldn’t have worked with the timing of everything

It doesnt suck the enjoyment out of it. It would be cool.to hear it in English but the ride and the animatronics etc take your mind off it. Japan is amazing

Japan is a very easy country to travel in, and really quite cheap, just make sure you have a roaming bundle or a sim card so you can use maps and translate. You can relax a bit because things aren't a hassle, and its very safe. Oh and the food is exceptional, doesn't matter if its local or western food. Everything is geared well to access without a car, so public transport to parks is easy, and every station and park has ample coin lockers to leave your luggage in. Parks open year round, winter is mostly like a Melbourne winter, though sunset was quite early, just before 5pm. Operations are slow, but medium and smaller parks never tend to get busy. The bigger ones get rammed with people, but you can always pay to skip lines or use faspass. Your mindset changes and you get into "Japanese park mode", if you are at Disney etc, you will get to ride everything becase the operating hours are long, but you have to accept that for a couple of rides you'll just have to wait 2h. And yes definitely arrive an hour before opening so you can nab a fast pass and get in line for a major early.

@AlexB Man sometime you just sound like such a wanker... and sometimes is maybe being generous... I am/was one of the hugest critics of what happened with Scooby. It was a travesty that it sat open for so long as a dark warehouse, and yes the 'next gen' stuff is a joke. My point was they SPENT the money, they didn't just leave it like Dreamworld did, and are spending again because management have seen it's not up to scratch. You complaints are really quite small nit pics, two lighting issues, hardly make something a complete pile of shit. I'm not passionate about something I'm involved in, I didn't build the theming for Scooby, I'm simply saying if you cry wolf and say that something that is pretty much good is a complete pile of shit, how would anyone listen to you when you have a genuine critique. As for Wild West... dunno where you get this idea that every single staff member in the park is some kind of dumb asshat but did you perhaps think that photo was taken on one of the biggest, hottest days of the year at the park, and normally no bin is required there, but after all that mess was dumped they added one. I know no more than you do, but I don't jump to a conclusion that everyone is a lazy dumb ass. We have no proof that mess existed a day before that photo was taken, so how do we know the park didn't see it the same time we did? How do we know it wasn't cleaned up 5mins after that photo was taken? I strongly suggest you just stop visiting any Australian parks altogether because it's clear they do nothing bad aggravate you and hold you in contempt anyway.

Hagrid's Magical JetSki adventure?

No