Time for the first super big park of the trip. This park had recently opened when we last visited Japan in 2005 and a small minority were able to escape Expoland to go and ride the Snoopy coaster. I didn't so this was my first time here.
We had been fortunate with the crowds so far on the trip but not today. The schools were here in their droves. Seeing as it was so busy a few of us decided to purchase queue jumping tickets, behaviour that seemed to upset some of the group. But they served their purpose beautifully getting us around the park without the stress that some others were exhibiting.
First up was the big coaster in the park, Hollywood Dream the Ride. The entrance is down there on the right. Bags aren't allowed in the station so no photos in there. In fact nothing is allowed in the station with rides being delayed for someone having so much as a tissue in their pocket. Nicely dressed ride ops, just a shame you can't see 'em.
The ride itself is great but safe with gentle hills and OK forces. It had a very long queue (I reckon around 12 hours) so we used the tickets to jump the queue and rode together at the back of the train. It was a little weird to be chastised for doing so by some of our own group who hadn't bought the tickets and were making do with the single rider queue, but c'est la vie. The ride has an on-ride system and I got to bop my head to Eminem.
Following the B&M coaster we headed down to the kids area to ride the Snoopy coaster. This was just a rollerskater ride but had some nice effects along the way, the best being the sweeping camera as the ride enters its final helix.
The park had done a good job on its Halloween theming. Not surprising considering the budget a park like this must have to spend.
From kiddy land we headed towards Amity, a small seaside community that was being terrorised by a giant shark.
Jaws was great and using ticket number 2 we jumped the queue and got to enjoy this. I'd done the one in California and Hollywood and now Japan. Much the same as the other rides but this had the cutest boat pilot who was outsized by the shotgun she was wielding.
Having escaped the shark we then headed to Waterworld. No fast pass this time but we'd saved plenty of time already and had the time to fit this in.
The pre-show was a blast with the pirates not holding back on the water throwing.
The show itself was exactly the same as the one I'd seen in America, with the same Russian stunt team (probably). Plenty of stunts and even more explosions and the same plane throwing finale that took my breath away the first time I'd seen it. Not this time though, I remembered to inhale.
Jurassic Park is again the same as in California and Orlando (supposedly a mirror image but I can't recall), with the same technical issues that meant you don't get to visit Hydrasaur cove here either and are again knocked off course. The T-Rex ending is done to perfection with the jump out of darkness being the best I'd seen.
Back to the main lake and another shot of Amity.
Hollywood coaster across the lake.
Backdraft was next and as well as having plenty of explosion effects I also managed to dry some of the excess water that my clothes had picked up in Jurassic Park. Be wary of this ride if you're pushed for time. It has 2 long pre-shows before you get to the best bit.
It was busier than these photos make it look.
A little more indicative. That's the crowd pouring out of Terminator 3D. Still a good attraction. The only difference in Japan is that the blonde "super" woman is replaced with a Japanese woman who judging by the crowd reaction was taking the piss out of the audience. I have no idea if we were part of her act or not.
Nice OTT Halloween theming. The area was being used for a stage show that mixed Ghostbusters with Sesame Street.
Back to the Future now only resides in this park with the American ones having been replaced with Simpsons. This was likely to end up the same way so I took a last chance to ride it. Not bad but I understand why its on its way out.
Spiderman is my favourite dark ride in Orlando and with the only other one (to date) being here I had to ride it. The ride is exactly the same, the only differences being that this one had a dual loading station and the 3d glasses were a different colour.
Having done all the rides it was time to enjoy the park's Halloween parade, which was great.
Lots of sexy costumes and dancing going on :) My head was also filled with a terribly addictive version of "I want candy" sung in a Hello Kitty voice.
With the parade over I spent the final 30 minutes getting some more photos. Adrian looks like he's having a good time on the coaster.
Outside the park, the B&M runs over the ticket booths.
Finishing with the infamous globe.
Universal is a cookie cut park with little unique to Osaka but its still a great park. The only downside was the over-zealous ride ops on the Hollywood coaster. Did I have any regrets about spending extra on the queue jump tickets? Not a jot, it turned what could have been a stressful day into an easy one.
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