Trip Report The Solo Circle Tour of Asia - CONCLUDED!

To all who come to this happy thread, welcome.

Whew! So I just recently completed a super-frantic, super-awesome solo tour of the great Asian theme parks! Why solo? In order to travel fast, light, and to my own interests. Perfect for cramming so much wonder into two weeks!

This trip took me to Hong Kong and Japan. And to which parks?

Ocean Park
Hong Kong Disneyland
Universal Studios Japan
Tokyo Disneyland
Plus the absurdly jaw-dropping Tokyo DisneySea!!! :joyfull::joyfull:

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And since so much of Asia’s appeal extends beyond theme parks, I dedicated an equal amount of time to exploring many fascinating cities: Hong Kong, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo :D

Most trip reports start by introducing the travelers. In this case it’s just me (migrating over from the Imagineer boards):

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This past winter, I broke up with my longtime girlfriend, in part because while in France we learned that she detests international travel. I love it, and that trip rekindled a long-dormant bug. So too did an impromptu side-trip to Disneyland Paris during a snowstorm, my first Disney park beyond California. That visit got me looking to Asia...

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I’m a Disneyland Passholder. I’ve never been to Walt Disney World (I know, I know:eek::eek:) nor Shanghai Disneyland. (Those can be future trips.) I generally visit Disneyland once a month, usually with zero planning. Sometimes I pop in to do a single ride and leave. Disneyland locals are a strange breed. Which means until recently I’ve never even stayed in a Disney hotel! So there’s plenty of new-to-me goodness in this trip report.

This’ll be a very in-depth report – unless everyone wants me to skip ahead to just the Disney parks :bookworm: – full of photographs, park observations, and hopefully advice for anyone who’s ever considered a trip to the other East Coast. It’ll be fun! :p

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Up next: Days 1 & 2, because with time zones that’s how long it takes to fly to Hong Kong and get settled in.
 
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newhorizons1

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
D Hindley said:
Congrats on the one-year-old! From your avatar, you're an adorable family!

I actually more or less lived in Japan from 6 months until a-year-and-a-half-old. I have no memories of that, but Japan still feels like home when I return as an adult.
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Thank you! We try! :)

I think it’s really cool your dad had such a big hand in making TDR possible and that you lived in Tokyo, even if you were too young to remember.

Glad to see you got to see Big Band Beats. We watched this, as well as the now extinct Legend of Mythica and Mystic Rhythms. I’m still amazed we got so much done in one day!

Turtle Talk with Crush was the scariest attraction at TDS because I didn’t realize that it was full audience participation (unlike WDW’s which only focuses on the kids). My husband and I sat there in anticipation of being singled-out as the non-Japanese speaking foreigners, but we somehow squeaked by. Glad you were saved too! :hilarious:

Japan Rail Pass is an amazing investment when visiting the country! We rented the same type of wireless device that you did and used the Google maps app to navigate the rail system. It worked like a charm. The only hiccup we had was during our first bullet train experience from Tokyo to Kyoto. We didn’t get to the platform in time, so we just turned around and got new tickets with our rail pass.

Completely agree with your opinions on Osaka’s castle. The history museum in Osaka wasn’t much better.

Have to stop at Kyoto for the night, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest!
 
D Hulk

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
krisri18 said:
Fantastic trip report! Now I just need to stop going to Disney World long enough to save up for a trip to Japan. Thank you for sharing your journey!
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I highly recommend it! Japan's park tickets are cheaper, lodging should cost about the same I estimate, airfare is the one big "X" factor.

Meanwhile, now I need to start saving up for my first Disney World trip someday.
MinnieM123 said:
OUTSTANDING TR!! Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. It was informative and fun at the same time. :happy:

Glad you are back home, so that now you can get some rest from your vacation. :joyfull:
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Oh I've been home for over a month. This trip report took longer than the trip! Glad you've enjoyed it.
fractal said:
One of the best reports I've read and one I'm sure I'll go back and read again! Thanks for sharing @D Hindley !
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Big compliments from fractal! Maybe now I'll have more time to see how your latest TR is progressing.
spacemt354 said:
Fantastic trip report! :)

Several sections of it actually felt like reading an adventure novel akin to The Swiss Family Robinson...chronically each new daily excursion in a delightfully upbeat prose! Also an incredible stock of photos throughout the trip. Enjoyed it very much!
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Awesome! "Delightfully upbeat prose!" Well that captures the tone of the trip itself, which was a total blast even during downpours and heatwaves.
newhorizons1 said:
Thank you! We try! :)

I think it’s really cool your dad had such a big hand in making TDR possible and that you lived in Tokyo, even if you were too young to remember.

Glad to see you got to see Big Band Beats. We watched this, as well as the now extinct Legend of Mythica and Mystic Rhythms. I’m still amazed we got so much done in one day!

Turtle Talk with Crush was the scariest attraction at TDS because I didn’t realize that it was full audience participation (unlike WDW’s which only focuses on the kids). My husband and I sat there in anticipation of being singled-out as the non-Japanese speaking foreigners, but we somehow squeaked by. Glad you were saved too! :hilarious:

Japan Rail Pass is an amazing investment when visiting the country! We rented the same type of wireless device that you did and used the Google maps app to navigate the rail system. It worked like a charm. The only hiccup we had was during our first bullet train experience from Tokyo to Kyoto. We didn’t get to the platform in time, so we just turned around and got new tickets with our rail pass.

Completely agree with your opinions on Osaka’s castle. The history museum in Osaka wasn’t much better.

Have to stop at Kyoto for the night, but I'm looking forward to reading the rest!
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Wow! Not bad at all for a single park day. I envy you getting to see Mythica and Mystic Rhythms, though at least I got to see both of their replacements. (Mythica's was just seasonal, no idea if there's a permanent replacement yet.)

Until I become fluent in Japanese, I'm not trying their Turtle Talk again. Too risky!

Were you using your Rail Pass to reserve Shinkansen seats? I was basically just walking onto the trains straight away and using the non-reserved areas. Thinking on it now, the trip had very few incidents I'd call "hiccups." I think temporarily losing my eReader on Splash Mountain would be the biggest (huge props to TDR's cast members for resolving the issue).

Nice to hear feedback from others who've been there.
 
newhorizons1

newhorizons1

Well-Known Member
D Hindley said:
Wow! Not bad at all for a single park day. I envy you getting to see Mythica and Mystic Rhythms, though at least I got to see both of their replacements. (Mythica's was just seasonal, no idea if there's a permanent replacement yet.)

Until I become fluent in Japanese, I'm not trying their Turtle Talk again. Too risky!

Were you using your Rail Pass to reserve Shinkansen seats? I was basically just walking onto the trains straight away and using the non-reserved areas. Thinking on it now, the trip had very few incidents I'd call "hiccups." I think temporarily losing my eReader on Splash Mountain would be the biggest (huge props to TDR's cast members for resolving the issue).

Nice to hear feedback from others who've been there.
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I think we got really lucky with our DisneySea day. A new fireworks show was premiering at TDL while we were there, so I purposely chose the premiere date as our TDS day.

Yes, we did reserve seats together. We spent the weekend in Kyoto, so we wanted to make sure that we sat together. We never had to wait long for a train with seats together though. Their rail system was honestly a great experience all around though. We went to D.C. a few weeks after we got back to visit my husband's family and saw a fight break out on a platform. To say we missed Japan at that point would be a gross understatement.

Your USJ day looked great and insane too. I wasn't too impressed with Osaka, but we had a short amount of time to experience it. When we return I'm sure we will be making a trip to USJ. My husband is a huge Nintendo fan, and he can't wait for the area to open in Orlando.
 
D Hulk

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
newhorizons1 said:
I think we got really lucky with our DisneySea day. A new fireworks show was premiering at TDL while we were there, so I purposely chose the premiere date as our TDS day.

Yes, we did reserve seats together. We spent the weekend in Kyoto, so we wanted to make sure that we sat together. We never had to wait long for a train with seats together though. Their rail system was honestly a great experience all around though. We went to D.C. a few weeks after we got back to visit my husband's family and saw a fight break out on a platform. To say we missed Japan at that point would be a gross understatement.

Your USJ day looked great and insane too. I wasn't too impressed with Osaka, but we had a short amount of time to experience it. When we return I'm sure we will be making a trip to USJ. My husband is a huge Nintendo fan, and he can't wait for the area to open in Orlando.
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Japanese rail is great. The best thing about it are the people, like TDR's exceptional guests. No one acts out in public. They're so very polite! I remember my previous grownup trip to Japan, the shock when returning home via the Chicago el train. No fights broke out, but there was the impromptu beatboxing as well as the guy screaming on his cell phone.

Nintendo's coming first to USJ, if you can time a return visit to Osaka before it opens in Orlando. Although with USJ's crowding situation, that's gonna make Disneyland's upcoming Star Wars crowds look like chicken feed in comparison!
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
@D Hindley , I was always fascinated with the Shinkansen (bullet train) since it's inception. On the routes that you were on, did it appear as though the speed got up to (the maximum) of 240 mph? (I know that only certain routes are that fast; but overall, the speed is what makes that train so amazing.)
 
D Hulk

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
MinnieM123 said:
@D Hindley , I was always fascinated with the Shinkansen (bullet train) since it's inception. On the routes that you were on, did it appear as though the speed got up to (the maximum) of 240 mph? (I know that only certain routes are that fast; but overall, the speed is what makes that train so amazing.)
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There were a lot of stops between Tokyo and Osaka, so I doubt we ever got up to the Shinkansen's full speed. You barely sense that speed from onboard anyway, except for the convenience of crossing the country so quickly. It is nonetheless an amazing technological feat!
 

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