Japan Trip Report - September-October 2025

[TBoy]

Just thought I would make a thread for my trip to Japan, all my park visits will be listed here.

Universal Studios Japan - September 26, 2025

We went here the day after we landed. We got up around 6am, leaving at 6:45 and getting there at 7:05. There were a bit of crowds on the train but many were already there once we got to security:

We eventually got to the gates at 7:30, in which the park opened at 8. There were a decent amount of crowds here and we were a good way back from the front.

Anyways, we got in soon after. My first stop was to turn right, in which rode:

Hollywood Dream

A B&M Hypercoaster (not really a hypercoaster as the height is less than 200ft) As this was my first stop, crowds weren’t too bad. I went in standby in which the queue was listed as 15 minutes: it took around that long for me to get on. 

My first ride was the “Backdrop” where the train is facing backwards. I loved it: thrilling but not too intense to start my day. 

Space Fantasy The Ride/SpyxFamily XR Ride

 

A Mack Indoor Spinning Coaster, the ride usually switches between Space Fantasy and an anime-themed overlay, right now it’s SpyxFamily but has been other animes like Demon Slayer and Doremon.

The rides listed wait time was 60 minutes , though I used single rider and the wait was only 20-25 including the short preshow.

You’re supposed to put on VR headsets on this ride, in which it displays an animation themed to SpyxFamily in accordance with the track: mine wasn’t working so I lifted it up, allowing me to see what the ride looked like without they overlay. All the lights were on as if the ride was running normally.

An alright ride but I wouldn’t wait an hour for it.

Snoopy’s Flying Ace Adventure

This is the park’s new coaster, a Vekoma Family Coaster similar to Road Runner but shorter. This replaced another Snoopy themes coaster built by Senyo, and is the parks newest coaster, only opening a few months prior to my visit.

It’s alright for a kids coaster. The theming is good for something that small, simple but it fits in with the area. The coaster was also pretty good for something with young children as it’s target audience. Only a 10 minute wait so might as well get the credit.

JAWS

Originally built with the park in 2001, this is the last remaining version in the world after it’s clones in Florida and Hollywood closed years prior.

Not very intense but the wait was only 5 minutes so we decided to hop on. 

It’s a fun ride: love the audience interaction and the animatronics. The only bad thing is with SNW and Harry Potter it kind of ruins the sight lines, it’s obvious it wasn’t built with them in mind. Still better having that than no SNW/Potter though. 

[TBoy]

Flying Dinosaur 

This coaster is the best coaster I’ve ridden, probably doesn’t mean much as this is my first international park.

It’s a B&M Flying Coaster built in 2016 and a great addition to the park. Queues were short as we had fast passes. Very intense especially the pretzel loop section but I loved it. Whips you around and is very fast.
Very efficient operations with four trains, same with Hollywood Dream.

Only bad part is it can be a bit jolty at times but it’s a small negative, I can see why as 9 years of constantly running faster than most coasters would put a bit of age on it.

The main problem is with the locker system: what happens is you get a slip with a QR code from the ride assistants to scan onto a locker: this opens a locker where you put your stuff in. You take the slip on the ride with you, but what if it falls out? Would just like better communication, otherwise the ride is amazing.

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

Since it was only 10:40 after doing those five and we had time to kill, we decided to do Minion Mayhem. It was listed as 40 minutes: it was a walk-on as we used single rider. This was the only ride in Minion Land we did: skipped Villain Con and Freeze Ray Sliders as the waits were too long.

Unlike the other clones of it around the world, this works more like BTTF/Simpsons, given it was converted from the former in 2017. You enter small pods of 8 rather than sitting in a room together, in which the pods are lifted up into one large room once the ride begins. 

It’s fine for what it is. Nothing too special but not the worst ride in the world. Audio was in Japanese but only the pre shows had English subtitles.

Jurassic World The Ride

 

After having a lunch break and a reride of Flying Dinosaur thanks to one of my family members who was too scared to go on (but had the pass with it), we decided to go on this.

Similar to Jurassic Park it’s animatronic heavy which I love. Theming is great and the drop/splashdown portion is the highlight of the ride. It gets you drenched: fountains burst alongside the splashdown.

Harry Potter

Nearly missed this as I went for a reride on Hollywood Dream (forwards this time) and my phone was missing. I found it luckily and off I went.

Theming is great throughout the land: no Hagrids and it’s a clone but it’s one of the most beautiful areas in the park.

Forbidden Journey

A simulator/dark ride hybrid, it’s wonderfully themed with large portions of attention and detail given. It’s very intense: more than I was expecting. Only 10-15 minutes wait due to our express passes.

The interesting part is that near the end of the ride it broke down in front of a screen. No evacuations: the ride restarted a few minutes later. We got to ride it again which we took advantage of. Not a good idea though: the other two I went with were sick.

Flight of the Hippogriff

A nice ride for the kiddies, it’s a clone of Road Runner at Movie World. Unlike that, the theming is a lot better, Hagrids Hut and other things located as scenery in the queue. Very nice theming for a kids coaster.

Super Nintendo World

It’s a miracle we even got here: a family member got sick from Forbidden Journey and we had to take care of them. They got better and off we went to SNW.

I loved the interactivity through the land, only got 1 of three keys as we had to go to our timed entries so couldn’t finish the Bowser Jr Minigams.

Koopa’s Challenge

The headline attraction of the park. Even with express tickets it was still a 30+ minute wait due to how popular it is. 

I loved it although I wished the glasses were bigger. It didn’t fill my vision and at times it would feel like some characters would just disappear or have only one half of their body visible.

Yoshi’s Adventure

A simple and slow yet fun ride which gives amazing views, especially as the sun sets. One of the things you was hit the eggs located on your vehicle the same time you saw it: I found all three yet no prize.

The wait was 65 minutes yet we only waited 15. Gives great views but best skipping if 65 is stated.

Mine Cart Madness

Added to the park last year, this is the newest addition to SNW along with the Donkey Kong Country mini area.

The wait was 120 minutes: although we only waited 15 with our express passes. It isn’t very long or fast but it’s a fun overall ride for what it’s worth.

 

We had dinner after this and I went on a night ride of Flying Dinosaur: took around 45 minutes although the queue seemed to be getting longer and longer as I waited.
 

Didn’t have time for the mazes: we left after I finished Flying Dinosaur although we did see some performers wondering around the park from around 7 onwards. Universal Wonderland and Minion Land weren’t “haunt zones”: you could spot the performers around the rest of the park, especially in the main circle around the lake.

Overall I had a great day. Good planning meant I got on everything I wanted with time for rerides. There are some flaws with the language difference between the workers (Japanese) and my group (English) but everything else was great. Very efficient operations as well (except for Space Fantasy which only had one half of the trains operating for some reason).

Edited September 26 by TBoy

[Brad2912]

21 hours ago, TBoy said:

The main problem is with the locker system: what happens is you get a slip with a QR code from the ride assistants to scan onto a locker: this opens a locker where you put your stuff in. You take the slip on the ride with you, but what if it falls out?

I may be confusing it with another ride, but I’m sure when I was there in Dec 2023 you got a elasticised wristband with the locker key on it. Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

[TBoy]

2 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

I may be confusing it with another ride, but I’m sure when I was there in Dec 2023 you got a elasticised wristband with the locker key on it. Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

I did see a box full of green wristbands in the locker area, however we weren’t given them and were given the QR code papers instead.

That was the most confusing part of the day for me. Luckily none of the three rides it didn’t fall out (although on the last I felt something falling out, the only thing I had in my pockets was the QR code) but you end up spending the whole ride worrying if the paper slip fell out during the ride or not.

Not sure what happens to people without pockets although I didn’t see people get denied access because of it.

[themagician]

10 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

I thought the same thing when I went on it earlier this year. You definitely used to get a key on this ride, but at some point in reach years they’ve changed to basically a receipt (maybe post COVID).

[TV15]

12 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

I may be confusing it with another ride, but I’m sure when I was there in Dec 2023 you got a elasticised wristband with the locker key on it. Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

It was like this in January 2025, it's a great system and works really well. It's the typical receipt paper material the size of a business card so stays in your pocket well, no point on the ride did I think I would lose it.

A gripe I have with this park is the horrific sightlines... and the operations of Hollywood Dream, they should seriously use some of the gargantuan queue space for the same process as Flying Dinosaur (qr locker, metal detector then up to the station) which would speed up dispatches dramatically it's on par with VRTP operations each side due to the need to wand all 36 riders. Nonetheless it's a cool gimmicky ride but it's butter smooth.

On 26/09/2025 at 10:41 PM, TBoy said:

An alright ride but I wouldn’t wait an hour for it.

I didn't get to ride this earlier this year, it was closed for maintenance, but I've heard great things about the ride. When all seats are being used, the ride has insane capacity 1920rph.. so the wait never really gets over 30 min. 

[themagician]

35 minutes ago, TV15 said:

so stays in your pocket well

But what if you don’t have a pocket? And for the sack of argument you’re either a single rider or no one in party has pockets either!

[Ashley Jeffery]

4 hours ago, themagician said:

But what if you don’t have a pocket? And for the sack of argument you’re either a single rider or no one in party has pockets either!

Bra or in your undies.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 26/09/2025 at 10:41 PM, TBoy said:

after it’s clones in Florida and Hollywood closed years prior.

Hollywood never had a Jaws boat ride. Only the Amity Island set on the Studio Tour, which still exists.

 

On 26/09/2025 at 11:21 PM, TBoy said:

I can see why as 9 years of constantly running faster than most coasters would put a bit of age on it.

Around here we call that 'getting on in years'

 

On 26/09/2025 at 11:21 PM, TBoy said:

the other two I went with were sick.

One of our family has an inner ear condition that makes them violently sick if triggered. They've been on coasters across Asia and America (as well as Forbidden Journey in Hollywood) and never had an issue - but we did forbidden journey twice at USJ and they were hospitalised the next day with the worst attack they've ever had. Suffice to say we don't do Forbidden journey anymore.

On 26/09/2025 at 11:21 PM, TBoy said:

There are some flaws with the language difference between the workers (Japanese) and my group (English)

I think we're a little spoiled given many of our popular "big park" neighbour countries like Singapore and Hong Kong are all well versed in English for most service-based roles that Japan is quite jarring. While many younger people learn English in school, there are many people in service roles that don't speak English at all. I found many of those carried translator devices and google translate was very helpful - as long as you kept the phrase or question very simple. Too many words would result in an unintended meaning when translated.

Most places we went in Japan, the staff had laminated signs printed in English for the critical safety directions, but other than that we were on our own. It's quite the culture shock - but not being able to communicate with the cast is our problem, not theirs.

On 27/09/2025 at 9:08 PM, Brad2912 said:

I may be confusing it with another ride, but I’m sure when I was there in Dec 2023 you got a elasticised wristband with the locker key on it. Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

Can confirm in June 2024 it was the paper slips. Folded inside a pants pocket, it simply cannot fall out once you are seated. 

 

20 hours ago, themagician said:

But what if you don’t have a pocket? And for the sack of argument you’re either a single rider or no one in party has pockets either!

Honestly, it's minimal issue to just hold the paper in your hand. Even if the operators had a problem with it, they can't see it.

 

 

 

Great TR @TBoy - look forward to hearing about the rest of your travels!

[TBoy]

On 28/9/2025 at 9:12 AM, TV15 said:

and the operations of Hollywood Dream, they should seriously use some of the gargantuan queue space for the same process as Flying Dinosaur (qr locker, metal detector then up to the station) which would speed up dispatches dramatically

I honestly prefer the Hollywood Dream locker system. It’s easier putting your stuff in the locker and out of it after. I rode single rider the second time (40 minutes) and most of it was in the indoor section, I would’ve hated not having my phone then. And it’s easier just grabbing your phone out and walking off rather than grabbing the QR code, opening up the locker then leaving.

On 28/9/2025 at 9:12 AM, TV15 said:

I didn't get to ride this earlier this year, it was closed for maintenance, but I've heard great things about the ride. When all seats are being used, the ride has insane capacity 1920rph.. so the wait never really gets over 30 min. 

For some reason only 2 seats out of 4 on each train were used. Possibly due to the VR, but it does slow things down a lot.

6 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

One of our family has an inner ear condition that makes them violently sick if triggered. They've been on coasters across Asia and America (as well as Forbidden Journey in Hollywood) and never had an issue - but we did forbidden journey twice at USJ and they were hospitalised the next day with the worst attack they've ever had. Suffice to say we don't do Forbidden journey anymore.

One of the two recovered quickly after Forbidden Journey but the other we had to take care of for around an hour before SNW, we were sitting outside Snoopy Studios whilst everyone was walking past. I almost thought we would have to go home and miss SNW. Luckily they recovered and we didn’t have to go home or to the hospital, but we likely won’t be doing Forbidden Journey again either. They told me that they think they have an inner ear condition as well so it’s probably that.

6 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Great TR @TBoy - look forward to hearing about the rest of your travels!

Thank you - we’ve left Osaka now after exploring the city and a day trip in Hiroshima yesterday - in Kyoto now. 

We’re visiting Ghibli Park on Thursday, Nagashima on Friday and Tokyo Disneyland on Sunday - only bad part is there might be a bit of rain at Nagashima. There was a bit of rain at Universal but Flying Dinosaur operated, Hollywood Dream was shut in the middle of the day possibly due to the rain but opened later.

Edited September 29 by TBoy

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

2 minutes ago, TBoy said:

I honestly prefer the Hollywood Dream locker system. It’s easier putting your stuff in the locker and out of it after. I rode single rider the second time (40 minutes) and most of it was in the indoor section, I would’ve hated not having my phone then. And it’s easier just grabbing your phone out and walking off rather than grabbing the QR code, opening up the locker then leaving.

If they switched to a dinosaur style system, you'd wait outside, with your phone prior to the lockers and spend little time in the indoor section. Anything to speed up operations should be welcomed!

[TBoy]

7 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

If they switched to a dinosaur style system, you'd wait outside, with your phone prior to the lockers and spend little time in the indoor section. Anything to speed up operations should be welcomed!

I think it’s better for operations but worse for convenience, especially after the ride where you can’t just grab your items and go. I would also prefer queuing in the undercover area for the last part with fans blowing rather than queuing under the sun, although this can likely be fixed easily with shade tents.

I reckon it could work if it was like the old locker system with the wristbands rather than the QR receipt, it sounds a lot easier for guests than the latter, although it’s probably more convenient for the staff who only have to print off a QR code rather than clean the wristbands constantly. The QR codes are probably also a more cleaner option especially in a post-COVID world so I can see why they changed it.

Edited September 29 by TBoy

[TV15]

Just now, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

If they switched to a dinosaur style system, you'd wait outside, with your phone prior to the lockers and spend little time in the indoor section. Anything to speed up operations should be welcomed!

Agreed, anyone that's spent time in that queue knows how awful it is.

4 minutes ago, TBoy said:

I honestly prefer the Hollywood Dream locker system. It’s easier putting your stuff in the locker and out of it after. I rode single rider the second time (40 minutes) and most of it was in the indoor section, I would’ve hated not having my phone then. And it’s easier just grabbing your phone out and walking off rather than grabbing the QR code, opening up the locker then leaving.

The exact same could be copied over to the ride, the station is exactly the same as Flying Dinosaur, stairs up in the middle of the platform and lockers located under the lift hill as you have to exit the ride that way. 

Flying Dinosaurs ability to have low waits and extremely impressive dispatches is due to no messing around with loose articles on the platform and that it can run 3 trains using all stations, whereas if HD is operating with three trains expect a long wait (it technically is)... Even briefly when Flying Dinosaur went down for 30 min ish, the ride was back up with one side of the station open still pumping out trains.

4 minutes ago, TBoy said:

I think it’s better for operations but worse for convenience, especially after the ride where you can’t just grab your items and go. I would also prefer queuing in the undercover area for the last part with fans blowing rather than queuing under the sun, although this can likely be fixed easily with shade tents.

I visited in Winter, most of the outdoor queue was shaded iirc.

[Baconjack]

On 27/9/2025 at 9:08 PM, Brad2912 said:

I may be confusing it with another ride, but I’m sure when I was there in Dec 2023 you got a elasticised wristband with the locker key on it. Getting just a piece of paper to put in your pocket seems rather crazy before a ride that flips you around at speed 

Must have changed it recently. I can remember the key when I first went on flying dinosaur 6 years ago.

They had the piece of paper when I went again December last year.

Keys better - no possibility for issues with the scanners not being able to scan your QR code when you come back. The piece of paper won’t fall out of your pocket when it’s being held in by the lap bar

On 26/9/2025 at 11:21 PM, TBoy said:

Only bad part is it can be a bit jolty at times but it’s a small negative, I can see why as 9 years of constantly running faster than most coasters would put a bit of age on it.

It does get very hot and humid over there in summer. Roller coasters tend to run quicker and rougher in the heat, rivals can get a rattle in summer too. Lots of rides in Asia (and here for that matter) have this problem unfortunately

 

Edited September 29 by Baconjack

[TBoy]

Ghibli Park - October 2, 2025

Unlike Universal which we spent 12 hours at, we only spent 4 hours at Ghibli. The park opened at 8 but we got there at 12.

 

Because we didn’t get there at opening time and the park is a lot bigger than Universal, the area outside wasn’t very busy at all.

You enter by going down an elevator which is nicely themed (can’t remember what it’s from) and you enter the park.

The park looks very nice. There’s a lot of greenery, separating the areas unlike Universal where areas are tightly packed together and the sight lines aren’t great.

The interesting part is I believe only the warehouse costs money, the rest is free. Our tickets to get in were at 2 so we had 2 hours to explore the rest of the park.

The plot twist is there aren’t any rides aside from a few kiddy ones (which we didn’t visit the area they were in). The park is more about the immersiveness and the theming rather than large thrill rides.

We decided to go on one of the walking trails around the park. The forest is beautiful: allowing you to take in the scenery whilst also being immersive.

Our first stop was at Spring Goddess Hill. The views are spectacular: a fun fact was that this was near Expo 2005 but away from the crowds, the forest becoming a popular destination by people wanting to get away from the crowds.

We moved on and entered an area based on My Neighbour Toroto, a statue greeting you at the front which can be entered (only by guests under 12). Despite this, the statue looked great and the area blended in perfectly with the scenery around.

After walking down the stairs we came across a life-sized recreation of Satsuki and Mei’s house from the same movie. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside but we could from the windows.

We walked around a bit more, exploring the park a bit more before coming back at 2 for our entry into ”The Warehouse”

The Warehouse

Upon entering: you are given these tickets for the cinema, which shows a Ghibli short film every 25 minutes.

The area is nicely themed: unlike the house, you can freely take pictures apart from a few areas (A Ghibli Exhibit, a kids area and the cinema)

 

We walked around a bit, taking some pictures whilst exploring the area.

Eventually it was 3:15 and we could go inside the cinema.

It’s nicely themed: modest but it looks like a classic art deco cinema. After waiting a bit we were eventually let inside.

The short film playing was “Koro’s Big Day Out”, a short film produced in 2002 exclusively for the Ghibli Museum and brought over to Ghibli Park when it opened.

I liked the short film: short, simple but nice. Unfortunately I was made to sit at the front: meaning my neck hurted from looking up at the screen for 15 minutes, there wasn’t English subtitles and a baby was scream in at one point.

Either way: I liked the experience, even if there were a few negatives. We left after going through the gift shop at 4: we didn’t want to get home too late, so unfortunately we couldn’t explore more of the outdoor sections.

A few more pics from our day:

Edited Thursday at 08:06 AM by TBoy

[TBoy]

Just have one more question. From our hotel it’s around 1.25 hours to Nagashima tomorrow. I want to get there at 9:30 but the people who I am going with “don't want to be there for 7 hours”.  and would prefer to get there later and leave at closing time.

The park opens at 9:30 and closes at 4:30 which is 7 hours. What time would be good to get there if my group wants to get there late?
 

Edited Thursday at 08:53 AM by TBoy

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

12 hours ago, TBoy said:

Just have one more question. From our hotel it’s around 1.25 hours to Nagashima tomorrow. I want to get there at 9:30 but the people who I am going with “don't want to be there for 7 hours”.  and would prefer to get there later and leave at closing time.

The park opens at 9:30 and closes at 4:30 which is 7 hours. What time would be good to get there if my group wants to get there late?
 

We had to skip Nagashima (the curse of Forbidden Journey continues) but all our trip planning said you absolutely had to get there at opening if you wanted a chance of getting through all the major attractions. 

If you get there at open, you can always compromise and leave earlier (TBH we were warned to either leave early or plan to eat nearby as getting out of the area on public transit at close was supposed to be a bit congested)

One tip I would give you though - ask these sorts of questions earlier if you want more chance of getting an answer you can actually use - By now I assume it's too late.

[TBoy]

1 hour ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

One tip I would give you though - ask these sorts of questions earlier if you want more chance of getting an answer you can actually use - By now I assume it's too late

Sadly they only told me last night, I couldn’t ask any earlier. The plan was to go at opening until yesterday.

I’m sure I’ll be able to do everything I want - I might have to skip a few kiddy credits but it’ll be fine.

I did say how we might miss rides but I was told that was better than getting up earlier. The people who I am going with aren’t that excited for Nagashima as much as Universal/Nagashima, one doesn’t want to go because there “isn’t much apart from coasters” and the other is the one who got sick on Forbidden Journey and wasn’t planning to ride much there anyways.

1 hour ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

If you get there at open, you can always compromise and leave earlier (TBH we were warned to either leave early or plan to eat nearby as getting out of the area on public transit at close was supposed to be a bit congested)

I did ask - would you rather get there at opening time and leave early or get there later and leave at closing?

They chose the latter.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Enjoy the closing exodus!

[Baconjack]

You are probably on your way to the park already but I would recommend getting on steel dragon first as it closes at 2 (I believe) each day

I reckon you’ll have enough time to do a lap on the big 3 coasters, the park does get packed during the summer time. Make sure you have cash with you if you want to get a fast pass (they are pretty cheap) there’s an atm in the 7/11 next to the park 

Edited Friday at 01:54 AM by Baconjack

[TBoy]

Nagashima Spa Land - October 3, 2025

Like I said in the thread, we planned to get at the park at 10:30, which we successfully did.

Our bus stopped at the east end of the park near the waterpark, which meant that Steel Dragon 2000 was on the other end of the park. I originally planned to hit it first, but O did three coasters, all of which were walkons. 
 

Shuttle Loop

This was my first ride, a Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop that does exactly what it says. It’s one of the simplest rides in the park but a goody, the restraints weren’t too bad and it’s a nice simple ride to start off my day.

Dispatches took a bit but it didn’t matter as it was a walk-on for me. The annoying park however is unlike most parks where you grab your stuff and go, you have to wait for everyone to grab their stuff and then they let everyone out at once.

Looping Star (no pics of this or Corkscrew sorry)

Another Schwarzkopf model with the same trains and restraints, this was another walk-on on the way to Steel Dragon, so I took the chance to ride it.

Despite this being longer than Shuttle Loop I have to say that is better, as the turns on this was a bit jolty. The good thing is they actually warned us about it (holding signs saying “this ride violently shakes”) rather than saying nothing.

Corkscrew 

Unlike the other two rides, I had to wait a cycle to ride this, where I discovered another bad part about the operations.

Along with the “no exiting until everyone has their things” rule, guests for the next train cannot line up at their rows until everyone has left the station. This slows operations significantly, and the staff do take their time with boarding. Meaning I probably had to wait around 15 minutes before the ride actually started.

Onto the ride, it was fine. Nothing special, just your average Arrow Corkscrew, although the OTSR restraints hurt a bit during the corkscrew portion unlike the Schwarzkopf restraints which were relatively pain free.

Steel Dragon 2000

It was 11am and I had just done those three rides I had wondered why the park so far was quiet: it was because everyone was here! I waited 80 minutes - luckily the ops were better than the other 3 (you could wait in the station while the train was going rather than waiting on the stairs) and 2 train ops. Dispatches still weren’t Universal or even Gumbaya levels but it was fine.

Eventually I got a seat in row 1, and I was off. I love the airtime which works great with the B&M trains - no stapling. Very long and fast layout which I liked. Probably my 3rd best after Hakugei and Flying Dinosaur.

As I left - I saw that Ultra Twister was unfortunately closed - the trains covered and it didn’t look like any work was taking place on it today.

Acrobat

 

My second B&M Flying Coaster this trip after Flying Dinosaur.

The complaints I had before about the boarding process and operations are nothing compared to this. Steel Dragon 2000 and Hakugei were designed for 2 trains and ran with 2 trains. This? It was designed for four trains but ran with one, meaning operations were cut by 75%.

The boarding process is also terrible for this. You cannot enter the boarding rows or even the lockers until everyone from the previous ride has left. This slows down boarding significantly.

Boarding also took a long time too as they had to try as many seats as possible, asking how many was in each group and assigning rows according to that, moving groups ahead so as much seats are filled.  This was fine, but they could’ve done this while the ride was running like at Universal instead of doing nothing while the ride was running.

I did love the ride but I preferred Flying Dinosaur a lot more.

Hakugei

My first RMC and my favourite coaster I’ve ridden. 

The line was only 20-25 minutes - probably helped by the boarding process and 2 train operations. The boarding process is similar to Flying Dinosaur but a lot better: instead of using paper slips with QR codes (which could fall out during the ride) you lock your stuff up with a key and take it with you, which has a wristband attached.

The ride was almost perfect - loved the drop right from the station before the lift hill and it had lots of airtime and speed whilst also being very smooth. Very long as well with a variety of elements.

Only thing I didn’t like are the restraints - I felt a bit stapled which hurt a little during the airtime sections. Only a small complaint though.

Free Fall

The three rides and a lunch break took me to around 2:30 or something. As I walked past, I saw this was a walk-on - I gave it a go as I’ve heard it’s supposed to be really good. Also a very rare ride as well, I believe most of it’s clones have closed.

I liked it - it’s like a drop tower and a coaster mixed together. Not a fan of those OTSR restraints though. Ouch.

Arashi

My first S&S FreeSpin. It was a walk on so I decided to take it to my advantage. Probably shouldn’t have gone on it like that like that - I was the only one on the vehicle.

My vehicle wasn’t balanced, and also very light with only me - I was spun around a lot. Not good slamming back and fourth between the hard restraints and the seat.

Wild Mouse

Just your average wild mouse, I believe it used to be a travelling coaster from Germany moving between fairs before Nagashima bought it. 

There’s two of the back to back - it’s a less busy day, so only the left side was operating. As said, it’s just an average wild mouse - but a bit painful for my long legs (I’m tall - the short trains aren’t great for tall people). Probably not worth the 15 minute wait I had.

Jet Coaster

A more family friendly coaster by a Japanese manufacturer Meiwa Komuten, this has a few drops and a lot of spirals in between. 
 

I love well this mixes with the forest surrounding this - the brown track and supports really blends into it. Spectacular views both in and out of the coaster, this is what makes the ride great.

Children’s Coaster 

As the name suggests, this is literally just a “Children’s Coaster” geared towards younger kids. I only did this just for the credit.

There aren’t many drops or anything - I can’t really complain as I’m far from the target audience. 2 cycles on this - a bit more speed on the second.

After this I did another run on Hakugei (only running one train this time) before the park closed. 

I managed to do everything I wanted (12 rides in 6 hours is decent) - although I would’ve liked a bit more time for rerides on Steel Dragon/Acrobat.

 

[TBoy]

Tokyo Disneyland - October 5, 2025

Like Nagashima and Ghibli, we arrived at the park later than opening time. We had half day tickets which started at 3.

We arrived at the park at around 2:30 and got in line at 2:40, in which the gates were opened at 3. Many others had similar plans: a lot of people waiting in line but not as much as at Universal.

We got in at around 3:05 and I booked a Premiere Access ticket for Splash Mountain for 3:35. I used this as chance to take a look at the castle as well as Frontierland and Adventureland.

A lot of people were already sat on the ground waiting for the parade that started at around 4:15.

Splash Mountain

I’d been waiting to do this one for years and I finally got the chance. Unlike it’s former clones at Disneyland and WDW which were turned into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Splash Mountain still retains its former theme at Tokyo Disneyland.

At the front of the queue, you scan a QR code with your access ticket on it, and you pass through the queue until reaching another scanner, in which the regular and access queues merge into one. No wait until I reached that point.

Dispatches were quick given the ride had two trains loaded at the same time. I managed to get a front row seat, which I would regret later.

The ride had amazing theming and the drops were larger than I expected, and I loved the use of the animatronics compared to the mix of screens and animatronics in Tiana. The audio apart from the singing was in Japanese: that didn’t matter much though.

I didn’t expect to get so drenched at the end of it: I got a lot more wet than Jurassic Park the Ride despite the smaller drop. Either way, fun ride, loved it.

Big Thunder Mountain

My next stop was Big Thunder Mountain. At this point the pathway between Fantasyland going through the left side of the park was filled with people waiting for the parade: the staff made a small path for people not waiting for the parade to get around.

I arrived and the listed wait time was 40 minutes, but the actual wait was 20 minutes at max, probably due to the fact that most people were waiting for the parade. Very fast operations, felt like we hardly stopped.

Not very intense but the theming was amazing, probably the best themed out of all the coasters I’d ridden over my trip. 

I started to make my way to Tomorrowland but I was blocked off at the castle area by all the crowds. The parade had passed throughout Frontierland/Adventureland and the floats were in the main castle area, and the entrances to anything south were blocked off.

 

Eventually after getting through and waiting for my group to finish shopping for Mickey Ears at the front of the park we made it to Tomorrowland.

Star Tours

 

I’m a big Star Wars fan, so couldn’t miss this. Once entering the queue you are met with animatronics of R2D2 and C-3PO talking (couldn’t understand as they were all Japanese) 

You eventually enter into an area where staff assign you to one of four doors, split into five rows each. It’s a crowd water: didn’t see the wait time go above 5 minutes as this ride can hold maybe 25 people per pod at a time with 4 pods operating .

It’s a simulator which takes you to randomised planets, with a C-3PO animatronic in the front guiding you throughout the ride. We went to Hoth and Naboo with The Mandalorian and Grogu appearing in between: sadly Jar Jar had a cameo in the latter, although luckily minor.

One of the most disappointing things was Space Mountain wasn’t operating, as the ride is receiving a full rebuild that will open in 2027. I took some pictures, looks like the structure is nearly complete:

We then arrived in Toontown where I decided to ride the park’s second coaster.

Gadget’s Go Coaster

Unlike Big Thunder Mountain, there’s nothing really special about this ride: it’s your average Vekoma Junior Coaster. I must say: the theming around the ride is great.

We waited 20-25 minutes for the ride. It ran two trains, but the length of the coaster limits the amount of trains it can run compared to the other three which can pump hordes of people through and keep wait times low.

I wanted to ride the Roger Rabbit dark ride: the wait time was 20 minutes and my group didn’t want to wait that long. Given my group wanted to stay together, we decided to ride another dark ride, one more infamous:

 It’s A Small World

One of the most infamous dark rides in Disney history. The wait was 5 minutes and this was one of the priorities for my group: why not take the chance.

Like most of the boat rides, this is very high capacity and can pump people through. It’s a decent ride, but the theme is stuck in my head! Also seeing all the Disney characters with the same weird faces looks a bit off.

Teacups

An oldie but a goodie, like It’s A Small World, my group wanted to do it as “it’s one of the most famous rides at Disney”.

It’s a fun ride, and it was a walk-on which are always good. Probably not worth waiting 30 minutes which I saw on the Disney app at other times in the day though.

Mark Twain Riverboat

I wanted to ride Haunted Mansion next, but we decided to skip it after learning it had a 60 minute wait.

We instead decided to go on a more relaxing and scenic view for this one. It was dark by now so it was hard to see some things, but also gave beautiful views of the park.

Pirates of the Caribbean 

Our final ride of the night after getting some dinner. Like the other boat rides, it had very high capacity, this being a walk on.

Given the boats had no lap bar, the drop near the start of the ride was unexpected. The animatronics on this ride were amazing: probably the best I’ve seen. The Jack Sparrow one in particular looked just like Johnny Depp himself.

It was 8:15 once we got off: we decided to leave to avoid the crowds. It seemed others had the same idea: we heard as we were leaving one of the parades was cancelled due to weather, so many people decided to leave at the same time as us.

Overall I did like Disney: the immersiveness and operations top Nagashima and Universal, although the others have better rides in my opinion.

And here comes the end of my trip: I wanted to ride Thunder Dolphin at Tokyo Dome City but it’s apparently closed until the end of November so I decided not to bother.

I’ve gotten 18 credits over 3 parks: the only ones I missed were Ultra Twister, the right side of Wild Mouse and Peter Rabbit Coaster, all at Nagashima.

My personal ranking:

1. Hakugei
2. Flying Dinosaur
3. Steel Dragon 2000
4. Hollywood Dream
5. Acrobat
6. Big Thunder Mountain 
7. Shuttle Loop
8. Mine Cart Madness
9. Space Fantasy
10. Looping Star
11. Jet Coaster
12. Flight of the Hippogriff
13. Corkscrew
14. Gadget’s Go Coaster
15. Snoopy’s Flying Ace Adventure
16. Wild Mouse
17. Arashi
18. Children’s Coaster

 

Edited Sunday at 02:18 PM by TBoy

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 06/10/2025 at 12:16 AM, TBoy said:

A lot of people were already sat on the ground waiting for the parade that started at around 4:15.

It's Japan. We entered TDL with our hotel early entry and were one of the first people in the park. On our way to Splash, we saw someone already staking out their spot (8:54am according to my phone's camera roll). 

When we came back after riding Splash, Pan and Big Thunder, she had been joined by a friend, and at least a dozen donald duck plushes. I checked during the afternoon parade and they were still there.

On 06/10/2025 at 12:16 AM, TBoy said:

One of the most disappointing things was Space Mountain wasn’t operating, as the ride is receiving a full rebuild that will open in 2027. I took some pictures, looks like the structure is nearly complete:

We were lucky enough to get on a month before it closed. Having ridden both the Giacchino and Dick Dale versions in California and Hong Kong - it was eerie to ride in silence. On one of our later trips I cued up the dale soundtrack and held my phone to my ear.