First Photo Trip Report (December 2008)

[Loomis]

Better late than never. I took my first trip to TDR on December 28-29th last year, and was overwhelmed at just how wonderful the resort is. While I won't write up a full trip report, the thing that struck me immediately was the sheer amount of people. Lines were long all day in both parks, and not Florida long either. TDL had an average wait time of 2 - 3 hours, as you will see in the photos below, and TDS had a wait time for up to 4 HOURS in the case of Journey to the Centre of the Earth (but I managed to ride that twice...more on that in a moment).

Photos: Picasa Web Albums - Richard - Tokyo Disneyl...

Highlights included:

- Getting to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. Been wanting to do this for years (somewhere) and I was very impressed. (Since buying the Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-ray, I can understand what they were on about in Japanese too).
- ALL of Disney Sea. Very beautiful park, and one of the best designs I've seen of any theme park.
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Did not read anything about this ride (or anything about TDR) before I left, so everything was a surprise. The Indy-style ride was a definite favourite, and the quick take-off took me (pleasantly) by surprise). We got our Fastpass for this around lunchtime, and it was going to check us in around 7:30pm. What the hell, we'd wait. Of course, sometime in the early evening word got around that the ride had broken down. So we went to check it out around 7ish, and sure enough it was true. However, after about a 20 minute wait, the 4 hour line had dissipated, and the ride came back online. Guess who was right near the front of the queue now? Just as we were getting off, we realised our Fastpasses had kicked in, so we used them for another turn. Talk about the luck of the Australians.

Here's a selection of photos from the album linked above:

[BlAcKoUt510]

Wow love the pictures TDR us a beautiful place. Your pictures make me really want to go there bad! =]

[Disney Liz]

Amazing pictures! Thank you for sharing.

[All4dISNEY]

Super Report! And it looks like you had gorgeous weather too! Love the castle pics!

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by BlAcKoUt510

Wow love the pictures TDR us a beautiful place. Your pictures make me really want to go there bad! =]

Agreed. When you have the best Disney resort on earth.. it shows quite well on pictures.

[nish221]

Hey, Loomis!

Great TR!

And the pics came out great, too!

all except for the one w/ the weird bearded guy...

More seriously on the topic of JTTCOTE, I read everything I could get my hands on about it over the years and it *STILL* blew away my expectations!

[richboi117]

150 minutes for Thunder Mountain?!?!? HOLY CRAP!

[jedimaster7313]

And the 150 min wait for BTM is on a good day too!!

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

HOLY CRAP is right!!!!!! I can barely wait 15 minutes for a ride let alone 150 minutes!!!! We are sooo in trouble if our visit is like that.....

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by jedimaster7313

And the 150 min wait for BTM is on a good day too!!

Blame it on Fastpass. The wait time here used to be on average 75-90 mins before FP was added.

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by LeeLeeLuvsDisney

HOLY CRAP is right!!!!!! I can barely wait 15 minutes for a ride let alone 150 minutes!!!! We are sooo in trouble if our visit is like that.....

You can barely wait 15 mins for a ride? At TDR, sometimes you have to wait over 30 mins to get a fastpass!!! and (for example) the Hunny HUnt FP line usually takes about 20 mins to do before you get on the ride! Seriously. If you go to TDR with the same expectations you have at WDW, you will be seriously disappointed. However.. you will NOT be in trouble IF you show up early at the gate and wait to get into the park. Start using FP right away so you can take advantage of it everytime the restriction on getting the next one is lifted.
However, you do have to understand that Loomis visited in the middle of the worst time to visit, between Xmas and New Year's.. You may not experience the same amount of crowds as he did, but still... TDR does pack them all of the time.. reason why I have always questioned WDW's claims that the MK is the most visited park in the World.

As for you Loomis, who is the cute guy in the goatee?
But seriously...your reaction to the resort and TDS park is typical of most disney fans who attend for the first time. TDR is still the very best resort out there, and that shows especially on how they operate the park under very crowded circumstances. Cannot wait to hear more of you impressions.... and be happy for me, as I am going to HKDL and getting together with Katsmom. We'll be thinking of you.

[mikeland]

Originally Posted by Loomis

The Indy-style ride was a definite favourite, and the quick take-off took me (pleasantly) by surprise).

Great TR and fabulous photos.

Actually, JTTCOTE uses Epcot's Test Track technology, not Indy-style.

[LeeLeeLuvsDisney]

Originally Posted by TDLFAN

You can barely wait 15 mins for a ride? At TDR, sometimes you have to wait over 30 mins to get a fastpass!!! and (for example) the Hunny HUnt FP line usually takes about 20 mins to do before you get on the ride! Seriously. If you go to TDR with the same expectations you have at WDW, you will be seriously disappointed. However.. you will NOT be in trouble IF you show up early at the gate and wait to get into the park. Start using FP right away so you can take advantage of it everytime the restriction on getting the next one is lifted.
However, you do have to understand that Loomis visited in the middle of the worst time to visit, between Xmas and New Year's.. You may not experience the same amount of crowds as he did, but still... TDR does pack them all of the time.. reason why I have always questioned WDW's claims that the MK is the most visited park in the World.

I know! I am totally spoiled by living near WDW. If the lines are too long, we just don't go on the ride. We went to Hollywood Studios early in the morning this weekend, and got a FP for Mania, then hit ToT and RnRC since the lines were less than 10 minutes. First time we've rode all three of those in many months. Went to EPCOT yesterday afternoon so my DH could get his $75 birthday gift card and do some shopping. We hopped on Test Track for the first time in a year because the line was so short.

I know it will be a totally different experience at TDR. I am trying to gear myself up for it. We're putting together a touring plan to make sure we hit our "must do's" and to maximize our FP opportunities. We do plan to arrive 30 to 45 minutes prior to opening on each of our 4 days in the parks. We're going on weekdays. They are considered "value" on the hotel calendars. Hopefully we'll get a lot done while we're there.

[Loomis]

Originally Posted by All4dISNEY

Super Report! And it looks like you had gorgeous weather too! Love the castle pics!

Still cold though! I was quite lucky with the sunshine, but as you can see in the pics, I'm rugged up in layers. Sitting here in Sydney with high-30 degree (Celsius) temps the last few days, it seems odd that I was in areas that had snow (Nikko) only a few weeks ago.

Originally Posted by richboi117

150 minutes for Thunder Mountain?!?!? HOLY CRAP!

That's not to mention the 240 minute wait time for JTTCOTE!! As TDLFAN points out, the lines for the Fastpasses are sometimes longer than US wait times. I guess it is all seasonal though, and just due to the timing of my visit (couldn't be avoided) I copped a busy one.

Originally Posted by mikeland

Great TR and fabulous photos.

Actually, JTTCOTE uses Epcot's Test Track technology, not Indy-style.

I stand corrected. That makes sense. The early bit of the ride felt a lot like Indy and Dinosaur in WDW, and now that I think about it, there is another Indy style ride in TDS (i.e. Indy!) It is very similar to the Test Track now that you mention it, and I actually compared the bit where it takes off to Test Track to my friend. I guess the first half of the ride reminded me more of Indy/Dinosaur.

Originally Posted by nish221

all except for the one w/ the weird bearded guy...

Originally Posted by TDLFAN

As for you Loomis, who is the cute guy in the goatee?But seriously...your reaction to the resort and TDS park is typical of most disney fans who attend for the first time. TDR is still the very best resort out there, and that shows especially on how they operate the park under very crowded circumstances. Cannot wait to hear more of you impressions.... and be happy for me, as I am going to HKDL and getting together with Katsmom. We'll be thinking of you.

It is I, the strange bearded man! Glad that I'm still appealing, despite growing very comfortable in domestic life.

Hope you and Katsmom have a blast. I won't be getting back to either resort until earlier next year (possibly around February, which should get me to HKDL around Valentine's/CNY in 2010).

Thanks for the nice comments, folks!

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by Loomis

Hope you and Katsmom have a blast!

We did. HKDL was packed like I have never seen it before. Great Chinese new year stuff over there.. and yes, Katsmon and I had a very long and involved chat about your trials and tribulations and why you do not seem to post the pics she sends you... Hmmm... The shame.