RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Shanghai Disneyland Full Walking Tour!
Just found this awesome full walking tour of Shanghai Disneyland
Just found this awesome full walking tour of Shanghai Disneyland
An Asian Disney & Universal Adventure - A January 2017 Pre-Trip Report includes Shanghai Disneyland
- Thread starter RachelleBeaney
- Start date
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Hong Kong Disneyland Dining
We were recently able to book reservations at restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland hotel, where we will be staying during our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. If you are staying at one of the official hotels you are able to book dining reservations 120 days out from the day of your booking (note you cannot book for all days of your stay 120 days out from the first day, only exactly 120 days in advance of the day you wish to dine). I believe that people who aren't staying on property can make bookings 45 days in advance of their date of dining.
The other thing you aren't able to do is make dining reservations online. All reservations have to be made through Hong Kong Disneyland's dining resort phone lines. There are three different lines, one for restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, one for restaurants at the Hollywood Hotel and one for restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland park. I get the impression that making reservations for the few table service places in the park is not 100% necessary, however the two restaurants we wanted to visit at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel are fairly popular, and one of the meals we wanted does require pre-booking so we thought we'd take advantage of the 120 day window.
We wanted to eat at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant for the character buffet breakfast they offer, so we booked that for the morning of our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland (the park doesn't open until 10:30. which makes a buffet breakfast easy to fit before 'theme parking'). The second place we really wanted to eat was Hong Kong Disneyland's signature restaurant, Crystal Lotus, for their Disney Dim Sum.
If you've never heard of the Disney Dim Sum at Crystal Lotus, then prepare to be amazed! The chefs at the restaurant have created Dim Sum which look like Disney characters, and are apparently amazingly delicious as well!
Take a look at it!
Anyway, you can only get the Disney Dim Sum when by making reservations and ordering the Dim Sum at least three days in advance, and it's only available at lunch times. You can walk in on weekends for the Dim Sum menu but only if there are Dim Sum available that day, so it's always safer to pre-book. As we made the restaurant reservation 120 days in advance, we were sent the menu by the Crystal Lotus restaurant (via email) and advised we could pre-order our Dim Sum right away or up to three days before our visit. We decided to order now as we pretty much knew what we wanted. The full menu was:
We ordered:
The total cost for all these items worked out to about $150 AUD which I thought was pretty good.
Otherwise making reservations at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort was really easy. The staff spoke English well, so I was able to easily communicate what I wanted. They were prompt in their replies to my enquirers. The only thing I'm not sure about is the hours of the reservation lines. We are on the same time zone as Hong Kong here in Perth so I called during business hours, but I assume they would have the phones open to account for calls from different time zones. Still I can't find any info on their website outlining the call center hours.
We were recently able to book reservations at restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland hotel, where we will be staying during our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. If you are staying at one of the official hotels you are able to book dining reservations 120 days out from the day of your booking (note you cannot book for all days of your stay 120 days out from the first day, only exactly 120 days in advance of the day you wish to dine). I believe that people who aren't staying on property can make bookings 45 days in advance of their date of dining.
The other thing you aren't able to do is make dining reservations online. All reservations have to be made through Hong Kong Disneyland's dining resort phone lines. There are three different lines, one for restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, one for restaurants at the Hollywood Hotel and one for restaurants at the Hong Kong Disneyland park. I get the impression that making reservations for the few table service places in the park is not 100% necessary, however the two restaurants we wanted to visit at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel are fairly popular, and one of the meals we wanted does require pre-booking so we thought we'd take advantage of the 120 day window.
We wanted to eat at the Enchanted Garden Restaurant for the character buffet breakfast they offer, so we booked that for the morning of our visit to Hong Kong Disneyland (the park doesn't open until 10:30. which makes a buffet breakfast easy to fit before 'theme parking'). The second place we really wanted to eat was Hong Kong Disneyland's signature restaurant, Crystal Lotus, for their Disney Dim Sum.
If you've never heard of the Disney Dim Sum at Crystal Lotus, then prepare to be amazed! The chefs at the restaurant have created Dim Sum which look like Disney characters, and are apparently amazingly delicious as well!
Take a look at it!
Anyway, you can only get the Disney Dim Sum when by making reservations and ordering the Dim Sum at least three days in advance, and it's only available at lunch times. You can walk in on weekends for the Dim Sum menu but only if there are Dim Sum available that day, so it's always safer to pre-book. As we made the restaurant reservation 120 days in advance, we were sent the menu by the Crystal Lotus restaurant (via email) and advised we could pre-order our Dim Sum right away or up to three days before our visit. We decided to order now as we pretty much knew what we wanted. The full menu was:
- Duffy and ShellieMay Steamed Sweet Buns (2 pieces)
- Olaf Steamed Red Bean Bun (2 pieces)
- Baymax Bun (2 pieces)
- Three Little Pigs Barbecue Pork Bun (3 pieces)
- Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Bun (3 pieces)
- Mickey's Double-layer Turnip and Taro Pudding (4 pieces)
- Mickey's Seafood Glutinous Pancake (with Hot Sauce) (4 pieces)
- Mickey's Chilled Mango Pudding with fresh Fruit (per person)
We ordered:
- Duffy and ShellieMay Steamed Sweet Buns (2 pieces) x 1 (only the Duffy buns are shown below)
- Olaf Steamed Red Bean Bun (2 pieces) x 1
- Baymax Bun (2 pieces) x 2
- Three Little Pigs Barbecue Pork Bun (3 pieces) x 2
- Little Green Men Pork and Vegetable Bun (3 pieces) x 2
- Mickey's Chilled Mango Pudding with fresh Fruit (per person) x 2
The total cost for all these items worked out to about $150 AUD which I thought was pretty good.
We did have one small issue which was with a dietary requirement I had. The menu items weren't very clear about which buns may include shellfish (i am allergic) so I asked if the restaurant could clarify if any of these buns did contain seafood, in particular shellfish. They advised that the Baymax Buns did, and when I asked if we could substitute the shellfish (as I am allergic) for chicken they advised that we couldn't! I was a little mad, because it's not like the chef doesn't make these Disney Dim Sum from scratch and it's not like we weren't giving the restaurant 120 days of notice! HK Disneyland's website also states you can call the resort to discuss dietary requirements, which they can accommodate, so when I advised that I was disappointed with that outcome the staff member who'd emailed me actually went and had a conversation with the chef who advised that it wasn't a problem! Not sure why they didn't just do that in the first place but be aware for those who may have dietary requirements.Otherwise making reservations at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort was really easy. The staff spoke English well, so I was able to easily communicate what I wanted. They were prompt in their replies to my enquirers. The only thing I'm not sure about is the hours of the reservation lines. We are on the same time zone as Hong Kong here in Perth so I called during business hours, but I assume they would have the phones open to account for calls from different time zones. Still I can't find any info on their website outlining the call center hours.
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
JR Rail Passes Info, and Kyoto to Tokyo Disney Travel Info
So today I was doing some research into train tickets for our trips between cities in Japan. The cheapest option, if you are travelling to multiple cities within Japan on the train, is to buy a JR Railpass. Note the JR Railpasses cover more regional trainlines, and do not cover the metro lines in each city, i.e. the Tokyo Metro, the main subway system in Tokyo. There are some JR lines within each city that will get you around but they are usually not as extensive as the metro/subway lines (well at least in Tokyo they aren't).
We will be booking our JR Railpass from the this website, which will charge us in AUD for the passes. The Economy Class passes are about $370 for a 7 day pass per person, $586 per person for a 14 Day pass, and $750 per person for a 21 Day pass.
Apparently once you order the passes you are expressed/register mailed a “Exchange Order” which is like a reservation I guess, which you will need to exchange for your actual pass/ticket. When you get to Japan you just need to go to the nearest JR Exchange office . Apparently you also need your passport with your Japanese visa (provided on arrival in Japan) to exchange the pass for your ticket.
Information on how the passes work can be found here
There are Exchange Offices at all major train stations and both airports in Tokyo as well as Kansai Airport, which is where we will be flying into in Osaka. This link outlines all JR Exchange Office locations.
You also need to select a starting date for our pass, which will be the date from which we have 7 days in which we can use it. Note that your vouchers are only valid for 3 months once purchased so make sure your start date for the ticket is less than 3 months away when booking your voucher. Since we need the pass to cover from the 20 January 2017 (day of our train trip to Kyoto from Osaka) through to the 23 January 2017 (day or arrival at Tokyo Disney), but it’s a 7 day pass which we could use in and around Osaka as well, our start date will probably be the 17 January 2017 (day of our arrival in Osaka).
The pass covers the following Trains/Train Lines:
You can reserve seats on the Shinkansen (bullet train) only. During busy periods it’s recommended to book these tickets 3 days before your travel date, but during quiet periods you can usually do this at the station right before your train departs. You can reserve your seat at a Travel Service Centre or JR reservation Office, and I'm sure there is also a way to do it online but I haven't worked that out yet.
You can find information on how to use your pass and reserve seats here - Use your pass / reserve seats.
This website also advised that HyperDia is the best website (which includes information in English) to use for finding routes/timetables etc for trips in Japan, and book tickets (if you are booking individual routes).
I'm really excited to be going on my first Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to the Tokyo. We can’t take the NIZOMI Shinkansen (the quickest option at 1 hour 40 mintues) because it’s not available on our JR Rail Pass, so it looks like we will have to take the HIKARI Shinkansen, which is a 2 hour journey. Still the best part about the bullet train is not necessarily the time saved on the trip, but the fact it is direct and there are no transfers. The bullet train will only take 2 hours instead of 2 and a half hours (of travel time), but we will have no transfers as opposed to 6 transfers (and however much time that would take)!!
We will then have to transfer to the metro to get to the Tokyo Disney Station though, which will likely be a pain – especially with our luggage and what I've read about the Tokyo Metro Station and getting to the Keiyo Metro Line to Maihama Station to get to Disney. Last time we didn't take the train from the city to the Disney resort, as I read something once about a staircase of doom and a hallway of despair when trying to transfer to the line that goes to Disney. If we do take the Metro we will have to transfer 2 times, and deal with the stations and their lack of escalators and lifts with all our luggage, so we may just end up getting a cab. In addition, we will have to pay for the metro routes not covered by the JR Rail pass, but though shouldn’t cost much.
So today I was doing some research into train tickets for our trips between cities in Japan. The cheapest option, if you are travelling to multiple cities within Japan on the train, is to buy a JR Railpass. Note the JR Railpasses cover more regional trainlines, and do not cover the metro lines in each city, i.e. the Tokyo Metro, the main subway system in Tokyo. There are some JR lines within each city that will get you around but they are usually not as extensive as the metro/subway lines (well at least in Tokyo they aren't).
We will be booking our JR Railpass from the this website, which will charge us in AUD for the passes. The Economy Class passes are about $370 for a 7 day pass per person, $586 per person for a 14 Day pass, and $750 per person for a 21 Day pass.
Apparently once you order the passes you are expressed/register mailed a “Exchange Order” which is like a reservation I guess, which you will need to exchange for your actual pass/ticket. When you get to Japan you just need to go to the nearest JR Exchange office . Apparently you also need your passport with your Japanese visa (provided on arrival in Japan) to exchange the pass for your ticket.
Information on how the passes work can be found here
There are Exchange Offices at all major train stations and both airports in Tokyo as well as Kansai Airport, which is where we will be flying into in Osaka. This link outlines all JR Exchange Office locations.
You also need to select a starting date for our pass, which will be the date from which we have 7 days in which we can use it. Note that your vouchers are only valid for 3 months once purchased so make sure your start date for the ticket is less than 3 months away when booking your voucher. Since we need the pass to cover from the 20 January 2017 (day of our train trip to Kyoto from Osaka) through to the 23 January 2017 (day or arrival at Tokyo Disney), but it’s a 7 day pass which we could use in and around Osaka as well, our start date will probably be the 17 January 2017 (day of our arrival in Osaka).
The pass covers the following Trains/Train Lines:
- JR Sinkansen/Bullet Trains (not NOZOMI and MIZUHO trains)
- JR Limited express
- JR Express
- JR Local
- The Narita – Tokyo Express (NEX)
- Tokyo – the JR Yamanote, JR Chuo and JR Keihin-Tohoku lines
- Osaka – the JR Osaka Loop Line – this could be good for siteseeing in Osaka
You can reserve seats on the Shinkansen (bullet train) only. During busy periods it’s recommended to book these tickets 3 days before your travel date, but during quiet periods you can usually do this at the station right before your train departs. You can reserve your seat at a Travel Service Centre or JR reservation Office, and I'm sure there is also a way to do it online but I haven't worked that out yet.
You can find information on how to use your pass and reserve seats here - Use your pass / reserve seats.
This website also advised that HyperDia is the best website (which includes information in English) to use for finding routes/timetables etc for trips in Japan, and book tickets (if you are booking individual routes).
I'm really excited to be going on my first Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to the Tokyo. We can’t take the NIZOMI Shinkansen (the quickest option at 1 hour 40 mintues) because it’s not available on our JR Rail Pass, so it looks like we will have to take the HIKARI Shinkansen, which is a 2 hour journey. Still the best part about the bullet train is not necessarily the time saved on the trip, but the fact it is direct and there are no transfers. The bullet train will only take 2 hours instead of 2 and a half hours (of travel time), but we will have no transfers as opposed to 6 transfers (and however much time that would take)!!
We will then have to transfer to the metro to get to the Tokyo Disney Station though, which will likely be a pain – especially with our luggage and what I've read about the Tokyo Metro Station and getting to the Keiyo Metro Line to Maihama Station to get to Disney. Last time we didn't take the train from the city to the Disney resort, as I read something once about a staircase of doom and a hallway of despair when trying to transfer to the line that goes to Disney. If we do take the Metro we will have to transfer 2 times, and deal with the stations and their lack of escalators and lifts with all our luggage, so we may just end up getting a cab. In addition, we will have to pay for the metro routes not covered by the JR Rail pass, but though shouldn’t cost much.
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Shanghai Disneyland Wait Times - August - Analysis
So I'm back with my analysis of wait times for Shanghai Disney for the month of August.
So, in July I reported the following:
Tuesday was the quietest week day, and Wednesday and Thursday weren't far behind. Monday's and Friday's were the busiest weekdays, but not as busy as Saturday.
August on average was a busier month than July, so crowds have picked up, which makes sense as the whole months of August is summer holidays and this month is usually one of the busiest at other resorts.
Roaring Rapids is still the attraction with the longest waits, with Soaring Over the Horizon a close second. These are the attractions I'd prioritize for FP each day if possible. The other surprisingly long waits are for Dumbo and the Fantasia Carousel, probably because of their placement in the park, right on front of the Mickey Avenue in the Gardens of Imagination. These rides usually have hour waits first thing in the morning and then tend to have slightly lesser waits late arvo/early evening (early as in before 7:00pm as Dumbo is often closed after this time).
First thing in the morning is the best time to ride attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland as it appears people will flock into Gardens of the Imagination or Adventure Isle first thing, and so Fantasyland and Tomorrowland's attractions tend to get busier late morning into the afternoon. Pirates of the Caribbean's wait times are quieter in the morning and evening, and the Adventure Isle attractions (Soaring and Roaring) are pretty much busy all day so if you plan to do these attractions do them first thing or grab a FP for them first thing.
Headliner Wait Averages August:
Weekday (WD) and Weekend (WE)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Morning - WD: 27 minutes WE: 38 minutes
Midday - WD: 55 minutes WE: 50 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 52 minutes WE: 40 minutes
Evening - WD: 27 minutes WE: 30 minutes
Roaring Rapids - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritize a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 158 minutes WE: 143 minutes
Midday - WD: 148 minutes WE: 128 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 138 minutes WE: No times recorded
Evening - closed
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Morning - WD: 84 minutes WE: 80 minutes
Midday - WD: 114 minutes WE: 110 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 126 minutes WE: 135 minutes
Evening - WD: 96 minutes WE: 115 minutes
Soaring over the Horizon - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritise a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 72 minutes WE: 180 minutes
Midday - WD: 83 minutes WE: 153 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 105 minutes WE: 110 minutes
Evening - WD: 64 minutes WE: 90 minutes
Tron Light Cycle Coaster
Morning - WD: 115 minutes WE: 133 minutes
Midday - WD: 86 minutes WE: 88 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 101 minutes WE: 90 minutes
Evening - WD: 75 minutes WE: 85 minutes
So I'm back with my analysis of wait times for Shanghai Disney for the month of August.
So, in July I reported the following:
- The busiest attractions are without a doubt Roaring Rapids and Soaring over the Horizon. 2 hour waits are frequent and to be expected from mid-morning
- Attractions seem to go down a lot (yesterday afternoon at least half the attractions appear to be down) but none more so than Roaring Rapids, which is frequently closed, especially in the evenings. Also expect Dumbo and the Alice Maze to be closed from about 7pm, I'd say this is probably due to the fireworks. The carousel will close just before the nightly fireworks also
- Wednesday and Thursday are the quietest days of the week to visit, Saturday is the busiest with Sunday not far behind
- Friday is not as busy as Monday and Tuesday, which is odd but appears to be the case so far
- Morning waits are the quietest, but not by much, expect on Saturdays and Sundays when you can save approx 30 minutes in line on average at most attractions going earlier (and of course, I haven't been tracking the waits at opening, when I'd imagine they'd be very quiet, so this is still a good strategy)
- Waits tend to peak around midday-early afternoon and start going down by late afternoon/early evening
Tuesday was the quietest week day, and Wednesday and Thursday weren't far behind. Monday's and Friday's were the busiest weekdays, but not as busy as Saturday.
August on average was a busier month than July, so crowds have picked up, which makes sense as the whole months of August is summer holidays and this month is usually one of the busiest at other resorts.
Roaring Rapids is still the attraction with the longest waits, with Soaring Over the Horizon a close second. These are the attractions I'd prioritize for FP each day if possible. The other surprisingly long waits are for Dumbo and the Fantasia Carousel, probably because of their placement in the park, right on front of the Mickey Avenue in the Gardens of Imagination. These rides usually have hour waits first thing in the morning and then tend to have slightly lesser waits late arvo/early evening (early as in before 7:00pm as Dumbo is often closed after this time).
First thing in the morning is the best time to ride attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland as it appears people will flock into Gardens of the Imagination or Adventure Isle first thing, and so Fantasyland and Tomorrowland's attractions tend to get busier late morning into the afternoon. Pirates of the Caribbean's wait times are quieter in the morning and evening, and the Adventure Isle attractions (Soaring and Roaring) are pretty much busy all day so if you plan to do these attractions do them first thing or grab a FP for them first thing.
Headliner Wait Averages August:
Weekday (WD) and Weekend (WE)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Morning - WD: 27 minutes WE: 38 minutes
Midday - WD: 55 minutes WE: 50 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 52 minutes WE: 40 minutes
Evening - WD: 27 minutes WE: 30 minutes
Roaring Rapids - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritize a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 158 minutes WE: 143 minutes
Midday - WD: 148 minutes WE: 128 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 138 minutes WE: No times recorded
Evening - closed
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Morning - WD: 84 minutes WE: 80 minutes
Midday - WD: 114 minutes WE: 110 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 126 minutes WE: 135 minutes
Evening - WD: 96 minutes WE: 115 minutes
Soaring over the Horizon - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritise a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 72 minutes WE: 180 minutes
Midday - WD: 83 minutes WE: 153 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 105 minutes WE: 110 minutes
Evening - WD: 64 minutes WE: 90 minutes
Tron Light Cycle Coaster
Morning - WD: 115 minutes WE: 133 minutes
Midday - WD: 86 minutes WE: 88 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 101 minutes WE: 90 minutes
Evening - WD: 75 minutes WE: 85 minutes
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RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Shanghai Disneyland Wait Times Analysis - September
September looks like it will be a good month to visit Shanghai Disneyland. Crowds were markedly less with pretty much all attractions seeing deceases in wait time averages across the board. The end of the month looked to be the quietest time of the month, other than the last few days in September which this year fell just before the Chinese Public Holiday National Day.
It looks as though Mondays and Friday's remain slightly busier than the rest of the week - the quietest day of the week was Wednedsay, and Saturday was once again not too much busier than the busiest weekdays. I unfortunately didn't record enough data on Sundays this month (naughty me) to give you any actual indication about Sundays in September but if we are going by other months they are quieter than Saturdays.
The wait times for the two busiest attractions, Soaring Over the Horizon and Roaring Rapids, decreased significantly for the month of September. The averages are around the 1.5 hour mark for the month during the middle of the day but towards the end of the month these waits did sort of stay around 1 hour at their peak during the middle of the day, and I even saw wait times as low as 5-10 minutes for both attractions on a few days in the evening! Pirates of the Caribbean went another unscheduled refurb at the beginning of the month, so the data I have for that ride is not as great as others.
Headliner Wait Averages September:
Weekday (WD) and Weekend (WE)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Morning - WD: 11 minutes WE: 13 minutes
Midday - WD: 45 minutes WE: 50 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 28 minutes WE: 38 minutes
Evening - WD: 8 minutes WE: 20 minutes
Roaring Rapids - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritize a FP for these attractions or ride first thing - (note the large decrease in average waits here from the previous month)
Morning - WD: 77 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Midday - WD: 83 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 75 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Evening - closed
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Morning - WD: 42 minutes WE: 33 minutes
Midday - WD: 73 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 68 minutes WE: 75 minutes
Evening - WD: 37 minutes WE: 35 minutes
Soaring over the Horizon - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritise a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 61 minutes WE: 58 minutes
Midday - WD: 85 minutes WE: 105 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 99 minutes WE: 105 minutes
Evening - WD: 52 minutes WE: 43 minutes
Tron Light Cycle Coaster
Morning - WD: 33 minutes WE: 13 minutes
Midday - WD: 46 minutes WE: 70 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 53 minutes WE: 55 minutes
Evening - WD: 31 minutes WE: 33 minutes
September looks like it will be a good month to visit Shanghai Disneyland. Crowds were markedly less with pretty much all attractions seeing deceases in wait time averages across the board. The end of the month looked to be the quietest time of the month, other than the last few days in September which this year fell just before the Chinese Public Holiday National Day.
It looks as though Mondays and Friday's remain slightly busier than the rest of the week - the quietest day of the week was Wednedsay, and Saturday was once again not too much busier than the busiest weekdays. I unfortunately didn't record enough data on Sundays this month (naughty me) to give you any actual indication about Sundays in September but if we are going by other months they are quieter than Saturdays.
The wait times for the two busiest attractions, Soaring Over the Horizon and Roaring Rapids, decreased significantly for the month of September. The averages are around the 1.5 hour mark for the month during the middle of the day but towards the end of the month these waits did sort of stay around 1 hour at their peak during the middle of the day, and I even saw wait times as low as 5-10 minutes for both attractions on a few days in the evening! Pirates of the Caribbean went another unscheduled refurb at the beginning of the month, so the data I have for that ride is not as great as others.
Headliner Wait Averages September:
Weekday (WD) and Weekend (WE)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Morning - WD: 11 minutes WE: 13 minutes
Midday - WD: 45 minutes WE: 50 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 28 minutes WE: 38 minutes
Evening - WD: 8 minutes WE: 20 minutes
Roaring Rapids - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritize a FP for these attractions or ride first thing - (note the large decrease in average waits here from the previous month)
Morning - WD: 77 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Midday - WD: 83 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 75 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Evening - closed
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Morning - WD: 42 minutes WE: 33 minutes
Midday - WD: 73 minutes WE: 85 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 68 minutes WE: 75 minutes
Evening - WD: 37 minutes WE: 35 minutes
Soaring over the Horizon - this and Soaring appears to be the attractions everyone rushes to first thing so waits climb quickly and the drop later in the day a little - best to prioritise a FP for these attractions or ride first thing
Morning - WD: 61 minutes WE: 58 minutes
Midday - WD: 85 minutes WE: 105 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 99 minutes WE: 105 minutes
Evening - WD: 52 minutes WE: 43 minutes
Tron Light Cycle Coaster
Morning - WD: 33 minutes WE: 13 minutes
Midday - WD: 46 minutes WE: 70 minutes
Afternoon - WD: 53 minutes WE: 55 minutes
Evening - WD: 31 minutes WE: 33 minutes
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Buying Universal Studios Tickets Online (Japanese Language only) - English Guide
So, we recently underwent the most stressful part of travel bookings for this Asia Trip, booking our Universal Studios Tickets and Express Passes. Technically, we haven't booked our Express Passes yet (our dates are not yet available), but we now know how at least!
The thing about buying Universal Studios tickets online is that you can only do it on Universal Studios Japanese website, in Japanese! While you can buy tickets upon arriving at the park that has never been the best option for me, as Universal Studios Japan is an extremely busy park, and tickets do sell out the day of frequently from what I've read, not to mention Express Passes. I knew I wanted to pre-purchase our tickets to be safe, but I also knew it was going to be a nightmare to do. Just FYI, if you are booking your trip through a travel agent, perhaps choose one that can book your tickets for you. The English version of the website advises that the Australian travel agencies that carry Studio Passes (regular day tickets) are Flight Centre, JTB Australia and NTA (Nippon Travel Agency (Australia). Express Passes can apparently only be purchased through JTB.
We have not booked through a travel agency (less one that sells Universal tickets AND Express Passes) so we knew that we would have to somehow brave the Japanese website to book our tickets. Luckily someone else had done a lot of research into how to do this and posted this EXCELLENT guide (in English) on how to book tickets on the Japanese website. There are three sections that are relevant:
First of all, when booking our Studio Passes, we had two screens open, one in Google Chrome Translated into English and one in Safari, in the original Japanese. While you can't actually make any bookings in a website that has been translated by google, it helped as a guide to make sure we were on the right track. We would perform each step (until the actual booking) in both windows, to double check we were doing the right thing on the Japanese site. Now, Google translate is not perfect (there was a HILARIOUS section in the Studio Passes booking page, when asked for our delivery method, where the translation was "From below, please select the receipt method of hope!"). Still, the translated site will give you enough legible information to show you that you are on the right track.
The second thing was to note that the guide says that using the QR Code delivery method (that is getting a ticket emailed to you with a scan-able barcode that will act as your actual entry ticket to the park, so you don't have to exchange it upon arrival - which is much easier in a country where you don't speak the language) was no longer possible. This is not accurate, we were able to get our tickets emailed with the QR Code. This is the best and easiest method (other options include delivery, Japan only and a Will Call voucher to exchange at the park). We were also able to google translate the QR tickets, as I believe the confirmations open up on the website, so we can read (for the most part) the booking info on the tickets.
Lastly I'd advise anyone going through this process to have a lot of time and patience, as this process is going to take you a while, because you are going to need time to make sure it's all done right!
The Studio Pass purchase was pretty straight forward, however the Express Pass purchase (which as I said, we haven't actually done yet, but have sussed out) is a lot more complicated because it involves picking times for your Passes and understanding what passes and options you want. You do need to use Google translate here to see which option is which, so you know you are picking the one you want, as that is not outlined in the guide links above. There are 5 different types of Express Passes available which include:
Express Pass 7 - Standard (7 attractions)
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
Timed entry (one pass) to the WWOHP and Harry Potter attractions;
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
Timed entry (one pass) to the WWOHP and Harry Potter attractions;
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
You then choose two other express entry options from the following:
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
You then choose two other express entry options from the following:
If that GIF doesn't work to show all of the times available here is a shot of just the headings:
Just FYI, you find this timetables on the website, after you've choosen the "Buy" option on the list of Express Passes, towards the bottom of the buy screen. The button looks like this:
The issue with this times guide was that the headings are in Japanese, so we cleverly decided to translate the Japanese page version of the attractions guide for USJ into English, note the order of the attractions, and then translate back to Japanese, so we could review the Hiragana and Katakana names of these attractions. We then cross referenced these with the names on the picture guide and discovered that the first attraction heading is The Flying Dinosaur Express Pass Window, the second is your entry time into the WWOHP, the third your Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Express Pass window and the fourth the Flight of the Hippogriff Express Pass window. The firth column is The Flying Dinosaur Express Pass window again, if the time you pick has the pass in the afternoon after the WWOHP instead of in the morning. These passes, where the WWOHP comes before the Flying Dinosaur are less popular, from what we can tell, then the ones that have the Flying Dinosaur first thing in the morning. The most popular passes seem to be (based on the passes that had already sold out on various dates we checked) the all day ones which cover you from park open to park close, have Flying Dinosaur in the morning, and Harry in the afternoon and it appears they are the first to sell out so if you want one of those passes get onto as soon as Express Passes become available for the days of your visit.
Since I realize not everyone will want the Express Pass with the Flying Dino option I have also discovered the headings of all the other Express Pass options, and have translated them below.
Express Pass 7 - Standard (7 attractions)
Headings are:
Headings are:
Headings are:
Headings are:
Lastly I'll mention the Royal Studio Pass. This Pass includes both your Studio Day Pass (Park Entry) plus Unlimited Express Pass Access to most rides (this doesn't include the Harry Potter attractions, Flying Dinosaur Ride and Hollywood Dream - Back Drop, for which Express Passes are provided but which required timed entry and are only able to be experienced once on the Royal Studio Pass). It also gives you reserved seating at most of the major shows including Terminator 2:3D, Backdraft, Universal Monster Live rock n roll how, Shrek 4D and Seasame Street 4D. This pass would, I'm sure, be worth being almost twice the cost of the regular Studio Day Pass plus Express Pass 7 during the busiest times (where waits frequently get above 3-4 hours) and all attractions were open. However, for our trip, with three major attractions shut, we were really only going to be able to use the Unlimited Express for Spiderman, JAWS and some of the shows it just didn't seem worth it. It is awfully expensive though (it was going to work out to approx $400 AUD per person for the day as opposed to $258 AUD for the Studio Pass and 7 Express Pass) so it may not be for everyone. I am the kind of person who is usually willing to pay extra to not have to wait in lines, especially unlimited not having to wait in lines, but in this case, given all the attractions that were shut, it didn't justify the cost.
I hope that this information is useful to anyone who attempts to book Universal Studios Japan tickets online. It is possible for someone who doesn't speak Japanese to do it, but it's a process and you have to be patient and willing to do a lot of research about what you want and how to buy it.
UPDATE - Re Wizarding World of Harry Potter Timed Entry Tickets
So was having a minor freak out because we just booked our Express passes today and were not able to book times that allowed us to be in the WWOHP at the end of the day for blue hour photos, which means we do have to get another timed entry pass to the area with our Studio Pass (luckily we booked our Studio Passes separately because apparently you are only allowed one entry pass per day, but because the Express Passes were booked separately I think it should be ok). Anyway, I was very unclear about how the whole process worked, but apparently it's super easy, you use machines much like Fastpass machines! The other thing I was worried about was if it gives you a return time that is simply whatever time the machine is up to, or if you can choose any of the available times. Luckily, this guide to getting a timed entry pass when in the parks, confirms you can pick from any of the available times so we can pick a late afternoon / early evening entry!! Freak out over!! I will let you know how it goes RE getting the entry pass on a Studio Pass tickets, even though we have purchased one with our express pass. I think it will be ok as you get one pass per Studio Pass (and it doesn't mention not including those who have also purchase Express Pass which includes the entry time!)
So, we recently underwent the most stressful part of travel bookings for this Asia Trip, booking our Universal Studios Tickets and Express Passes. Technically, we haven't booked our Express Passes yet (our dates are not yet available), but we now know how at least!
The thing about buying Universal Studios tickets online is that you can only do it on Universal Studios Japanese website, in Japanese! While you can buy tickets upon arriving at the park that has never been the best option for me, as Universal Studios Japan is an extremely busy park, and tickets do sell out the day of frequently from what I've read, not to mention Express Passes. I knew I wanted to pre-purchase our tickets to be safe, but I also knew it was going to be a nightmare to do. Just FYI, if you are booking your trip through a travel agent, perhaps choose one that can book your tickets for you. The English version of the website advises that the Australian travel agencies that carry Studio Passes (regular day tickets) are Flight Centre, JTB Australia and NTA (Nippon Travel Agency (Australia). Express Passes can apparently only be purchased through JTB.
We have not booked through a travel agency (less one that sells Universal tickets AND Express Passes) so we knew that we would have to somehow brave the Japanese website to book our tickets. Luckily someone else had done a lot of research into how to do this and posted this EXCELLENT guide (in English) on how to book tickets on the Japanese website. There are three sections that are relevant:
- Information on how to book Studio Passes and Express Passes together can be found here
- Information on how to book Express Passes only can be found here
- Information on how to read the Payment Guide, and record your information appropriately, can be found here - the payment process actually requires you to include your name in Japanese Katakana characters and the guide even provides access to a website that does this translation for you!
First of all, when booking our Studio Passes, we had two screens open, one in Google Chrome Translated into English and one in Safari, in the original Japanese. While you can't actually make any bookings in a website that has been translated by google, it helped as a guide to make sure we were on the right track. We would perform each step (until the actual booking) in both windows, to double check we were doing the right thing on the Japanese site. Now, Google translate is not perfect (there was a HILARIOUS section in the Studio Passes booking page, when asked for our delivery method, where the translation was "From below, please select the receipt method of hope!"). Still, the translated site will give you enough legible information to show you that you are on the right track.
The second thing was to note that the guide says that using the QR Code delivery method (that is getting a ticket emailed to you with a scan-able barcode that will act as your actual entry ticket to the park, so you don't have to exchange it upon arrival - which is much easier in a country where you don't speak the language) was no longer possible. This is not accurate, we were able to get our tickets emailed with the QR Code. This is the best and easiest method (other options include delivery, Japan only and a Will Call voucher to exchange at the park). We were also able to google translate the QR tickets, as I believe the confirmations open up on the website, so we can read (for the most part) the booking info on the tickets.
Lastly I'd advise anyone going through this process to have a lot of time and patience, as this process is going to take you a while, because you are going to need time to make sure it's all done right!
The Studio Pass purchase was pretty straight forward, however the Express Pass purchase (which as I said, we haven't actually done yet, but have sussed out) is a lot more complicated because it involves picking times for your Passes and understanding what passes and options you want. You do need to use Google translate here to see which option is which, so you know you are picking the one you want, as that is not outlined in the guide links above. There are 5 different types of Express Passes available which include:
Express Pass 7 - Standard (7 attractions)
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
- Space Fantasy - The Ride
- The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
- Terminator 2:3D
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and
- Flight of the Hippogriff.
- Hollywood - Dream (The Ride) - forward version of the Backdrop coaster OR Backdraft and
- Jurassic Park - The Ride OR JAWS as options
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
- The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
- Terminator 2:3D
Timed entry (one pass) to the WWOHP and Harry Potter attractions;
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and
- Flight of the Hippogriff.
- Hollywood - Dream (The Ride) - forward version of the Backdrop coaster OR Backdraft and
- Jurassic Park - The Ride OR JAWS as option
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
- The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
- Terminator 2:3D
Timed entry (one pass) to the WWOHP and Harry Potter attractions;
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and
- Flight of the Hippogriff.
- Hollywood - Dream (The Ride) - forward version of the Backdrop coaster OR Backdraft and
- Jurassic Park - The Ride OR JAWS as option
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
- The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
You then choose two other express entry options from the following:
- Space Fantasy - The Ride OR Jurassic Park - The Ride OR Terminator 2:3-^
- JAWS OR Backdrafts
This pass includes one time access at any time during your passes validity to:
- Hollywood Dream - The Ride
You then choose two other express entry options from the following:
- Space Fantasy - The Ride OR Backdraft
- JAWS OR Jurassic Park - The Ride
If that GIF doesn't work to show all of the times available here is a shot of just the headings:
Just FYI, you find this timetables on the website, after you've choosen the "Buy" option on the list of Express Passes, towards the bottom of the buy screen. The button looks like this:
The issue with this times guide was that the headings are in Japanese, so we cleverly decided to translate the Japanese page version of the attractions guide for USJ into English, note the order of the attractions, and then translate back to Japanese, so we could review the Hiragana and Katakana names of these attractions. We then cross referenced these with the names on the picture guide and discovered that the first attraction heading is The Flying Dinosaur Express Pass Window, the second is your entry time into the WWOHP, the third your Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Express Pass window and the fourth the Flight of the Hippogriff Express Pass window. The firth column is The Flying Dinosaur Express Pass window again, if the time you pick has the pass in the afternoon after the WWOHP instead of in the morning. These passes, where the WWOHP comes before the Flying Dinosaur are less popular, from what we can tell, then the ones that have the Flying Dinosaur first thing in the morning. The most popular passes seem to be (based on the passes that had already sold out on various dates we checked) the all day ones which cover you from park open to park close, have Flying Dinosaur in the morning, and Harry in the afternoon and it appears they are the first to sell out so if you want one of those passes get onto as soon as Express Passes become available for the days of your visit.
Since I realize not everyone will want the Express Pass with the Flying Dino option I have also discovered the headings of all the other Express Pass options, and have translated them below.
Express Pass 7 - Standard (7 attractions)
Headings are:
- Wizarding World of Harry Potter Entry time
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Express Pass window
- Flight of the Hippogriff Express Pass Window
Headings are:
- Hollywood Dream - The Ride (Back Drop) Express Pass window (mornings)
- Wizarding World of Harry Potter Entry time
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Express Pass window
- Flight of the Hippogriff Express Pass Window
- Hollywood Dream - The Ride (Back Drop) Express Pass window (afternoon)
Headings are:
- Wizarding World of Harry Potter Entry time
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Express Pass window
Headings are:
- The Flying Dinosaur Express Pass Window
Lastly I'll mention the Royal Studio Pass. This Pass includes both your Studio Day Pass (Park Entry) plus Unlimited Express Pass Access to most rides (this doesn't include the Harry Potter attractions, Flying Dinosaur Ride and Hollywood Dream - Back Drop, for which Express Passes are provided but which required timed entry and are only able to be experienced once on the Royal Studio Pass). It also gives you reserved seating at most of the major shows including Terminator 2:3D, Backdraft, Universal Monster Live rock n roll how, Shrek 4D and Seasame Street 4D. This pass would, I'm sure, be worth being almost twice the cost of the regular Studio Day Pass plus Express Pass 7 during the busiest times (where waits frequently get above 3-4 hours) and all attractions were open. However, for our trip, with three major attractions shut, we were really only going to be able to use the Unlimited Express for Spiderman, JAWS and some of the shows it just didn't seem worth it. It is awfully expensive though (it was going to work out to approx $400 AUD per person for the day as opposed to $258 AUD for the Studio Pass and 7 Express Pass) so it may not be for everyone. I am the kind of person who is usually willing to pay extra to not have to wait in lines, especially unlimited not having to wait in lines, but in this case, given all the attractions that were shut, it didn't justify the cost.
I hope that this information is useful to anyone who attempts to book Universal Studios Japan tickets online. It is possible for someone who doesn't speak Japanese to do it, but it's a process and you have to be patient and willing to do a lot of research about what you want and how to buy it.
UPDATE - Re Wizarding World of Harry Potter Timed Entry Tickets
So was having a minor freak out because we just booked our Express passes today and were not able to book times that allowed us to be in the WWOHP at the end of the day for blue hour photos, which means we do have to get another timed entry pass to the area with our Studio Pass (luckily we booked our Studio Passes separately because apparently you are only allowed one entry pass per day, but because the Express Passes were booked separately I think it should be ok). Anyway, I was very unclear about how the whole process worked, but apparently it's super easy, you use machines much like Fastpass machines! The other thing I was worried about was if it gives you a return time that is simply whatever time the machine is up to, or if you can choose any of the available times. Luckily, this guide to getting a timed entry pass when in the parks, confirms you can pick from any of the available times so we can pick a late afternoon / early evening entry!! Freak out over!! I will let you know how it goes RE getting the entry pass on a Studio Pass tickets, even though we have purchased one with our express pass. I think it will be ok as you get one pass per Studio Pass (and it doesn't mention not including those who have also purchase Express Pass which includes the entry time!)
Last edited:
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
Activity Bookings - Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo
So we recently booked the majority of our activities in Asia, and I'm really excited with the things we are going to see so I'm going to outline the activities booked for you now.
Singapore
So there are quiet a few things I'm looking forward to doing in Singapore. Gardens by the Bay at night is very high on the list (that and the Marina Bay Sands near by are a night photographers paradise), and the Trick Eye Museum and SEA Aquarium on Sentosa Island sound really fun too. Also, there are a few night time shows at City Walk on Sentosa that boast fountains, lights and fireworks, which sound like a lot of fun. The only actual tour we have booked in Singapore however is a Night Tour of Singapore Zoo. My father-in-law, who has been to Singapore many times, told us we had to do the night tour and that it was really an amazing experience. We've booked the Classic Safari Night Tour, which is a little more expensive than the regular standard Night Tour at $140 per person (I think the standard tour is about $60 per person) but it includes a VIP buddy, a guided tour of the walking trails and reserved seats at the Creatures of the Night Show. There was also a Premium Safari Tour that included everything the Classic safari did, plus close encounters with an elephant, a buffet dinner and a souvenir photo, but that was a bit too much at $200 per person. As the Australian dollar buys pretty much exact 1 Singapore Dollar, this makes conversion really easy! We have booked the tour directly through the zoo, and are looking forward to it a lot.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the places I'm most excited to visit. As I said earlier, I'm really excited about it's interesting mix of East and West. We can't wait to take pictures of the city from Victoria Peak at sunset and blue hour, and visit the interestly placed Chi-Lin Nunnery and Nian Lian Gardens right in the centre of Kowloon. We are doing two tours in Hong Kong. The first is a tour to the Po Lin Monastery and Giant Buddah (Tin Tian) which cost us around $180 per person. It's a full day tour, so will be fun. The second tour we booked is a night cruise in Hong Kong's Victoria Habour for the Symphony of Lights show shown over the city. This is a sychronized laser show above the buildings on the Kowloon side of the city (I think). Both of these tours were booked through Viator.
Shanghai
When it come to booking tours in Shanghai through Viator it was hard to find the tour we wanted on the only day we wanted. As Mainland China is probably the place I'm least excited to visit (and because I'm not sure the cultural norms will be conducive to great touring) we are spending most of our time in China at the Disney resort. We have one day (a Saturday) to tour Shanghai, and want to cram a lot into that day. Firstly we want to visit the Yu Gardens and Bazaar, we would like to see the Bund and the city including the famous Nanjing Road and we'd love to visit the Disney store at night (mostly just for photos). However, our most anticipated tour location is a place called Zhujiajiao Water Town, an ancient Chinese water town out of Shanghai. There were full and half day tours on Viator to Zhujiajiao however none available on the Saturday we wanted! We found a tour company however called Shanghai Highlights, a subsidiary of China Travel, who are able to take us to Zhujiajiao, and show us around the Bund as well as a cruise on the Huangpu River at night, and take us to the Shanghai Disney store, all in one tour. So far, I've been extremely impressed with this tour company, they've catered to all our specific requests and been excellent with prompt communication. The cost for the day is a bit higher than the Viator tours at $236USD but if we get a quality guide and flexibility to see what we want then I'm happy to pay a bit more. I'll review the guides in my full trip report but so far wouldn't hesitate to recommend Shanghai Highlights to anyone visiting Shanghai.
Osaka
We have no official tours booked in Osaka, and we will be doing our own touring around the place (including sites like Osaka Castle, Umeda City Building, Hozenji Yokocho, Nakanoshima gardens. That being said we do want to see a show called Sengoku - The Real at Osaka Castle. The name is a bit odd (I'd say it translates better in Japanese) but it sounds like an amazing nighttime spectacular put on by Universal Studios Japan at Osaka Castle. The show is made up of fireworks, projection mapping on the castle, and live performers, telling the story of Siege of Osaka during the Sengoku civil war and the epic story of a samurai warrior called Yukimura Sanada. I'd seen information about projection shows that have been done at Osaka Castle in the past (mostly during winter) and was terribly disappointed when it looked like there wouldn't be one while we were visiting. The funniest part is that it is running from December to March, however it is on a very brief hiatus for the days we are actually in Osaka! So we are going to be seeing it on one of the days we are staying in Kyoto, as it's only about a 45 minute train trip to and from. The other issue, and the reason this isn't quiet booked yet, is that the tickets can only be purchased on Japanese language websites and, from what we can gather from the shoddy google translate versions, only picked up from odd convience store locations in Japan. Luckily Jared has a work colleague who is Japanese and lives in Tokyo who might be able to help us decipher it all and work out how to buy tickets, so I will report back when we know more! I believe tickets will be around $75 per person when booked.
Kyoto
Kyoto has been a nightmare to get our tours sorted for! We booked a tour of the major Kyoto sites (Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-Ji - The Golden Temple and the Kyoto Imperial Palace) and Nara (Nara Deer park, Todai-Ji temple and the Kasyga Shrine) through Viator on the Saturday of our visit (tours were only available Tues, Thurs, Sats during January). But, the one tour I really wanted to do, through a company called the Backstreet Guides to Tokyo, changed all our plans around. The Backstreet Guides to Tokyo tour guide company is made up of local guides (mostly Japanese) who speak excellent English and who are extremely knowledgeable about their cities, culture and history. We used one of their guides on a tour of Kamakura (a suburban town area with a lot of historic temples an hour from Tokyo) on our trip in 2013, and if you read my trip report for that day (that trip report can be found here - see the day 2 links for the Kamakura tour info) you'll know that our wonderful guide, Miwa, gave us one of the best experiences I've ever had on a holiday, ever! Anyway, we had originally planned to do a private tour of Kyoto with the Backstreet Guides on the Sunday, but it turned out no tour guide was available, so we were going to swap that tour to the Saturday, which required a rearrange of all our Kyoto and Osaka plans so we could still do our Kyoto and Nara Tour we had originally planned on the Saturday. We decided we would do this tour on the Thursday, but from Osaka rather than Kyoto, move our Universal Studios Japan day (which we luckily hadn't bought tickets for) and then tour Osaka on the Friday before heading into Kyoto later that evening. This didn't end up working either as the Backstreet Guides were unable to find a tour guide for the Saturday either! I know no one likes working weekends but you would have thought Saturdays and Sundays would be peak tour times. We managed to book the Kyoto tour with the Backstreet Guides on the friday, and we leave Osaka early in the morning to get into Kyoto in time for our tour, do the Kyoto and Nara tour on the Saturday as originally planned, and go back to Osaka for the Sengoku the Real show on the Sunday. It all ended up working out, it was just a nightmare to get it sorted! So much back and forth! Still, Backstreet Guides to Tokyo were extremely helpful at every step of the way, and were willing to work with us to get the outcome we desired. The Kyoto and Nara tour with Viator was about $190 per person and the Kyoto tour with the Backstreet Guides around $450 for us both.
Tokyo
Our final tour will be leaving from Tokyo on the last day of our visit. We will be heading to Hakone National Park and will hopefully see views of the beautiful Mt Fuji (provided it's a clear day, more likely in January than other times of the year so fingers crossed). This tour will be with the Backstreet Guides to Tokyo again and was a lot more expensive than I expected (about $800 for the two of us) but sounds amazing, and will be a great way to finish up our trip.
So we recently booked the majority of our activities in Asia, and I'm really excited with the things we are going to see so I'm going to outline the activities booked for you now.
Singapore
So there are quiet a few things I'm looking forward to doing in Singapore. Gardens by the Bay at night is very high on the list (that and the Marina Bay Sands near by are a night photographers paradise), and the Trick Eye Museum and SEA Aquarium on Sentosa Island sound really fun too. Also, there are a few night time shows at City Walk on Sentosa that boast fountains, lights and fireworks, which sound like a lot of fun. The only actual tour we have booked in Singapore however is a Night Tour of Singapore Zoo. My father-in-law, who has been to Singapore many times, told us we had to do the night tour and that it was really an amazing experience. We've booked the Classic Safari Night Tour, which is a little more expensive than the regular standard Night Tour at $140 per person (I think the standard tour is about $60 per person) but it includes a VIP buddy, a guided tour of the walking trails and reserved seats at the Creatures of the Night Show. There was also a Premium Safari Tour that included everything the Classic safari did, plus close encounters with an elephant, a buffet dinner and a souvenir photo, but that was a bit too much at $200 per person. As the Australian dollar buys pretty much exact 1 Singapore Dollar, this makes conversion really easy! We have booked the tour directly through the zoo, and are looking forward to it a lot.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of the places I'm most excited to visit. As I said earlier, I'm really excited about it's interesting mix of East and West. We can't wait to take pictures of the city from Victoria Peak at sunset and blue hour, and visit the interestly placed Chi-Lin Nunnery and Nian Lian Gardens right in the centre of Kowloon. We are doing two tours in Hong Kong. The first is a tour to the Po Lin Monastery and Giant Buddah (Tin Tian) which cost us around $180 per person. It's a full day tour, so will be fun. The second tour we booked is a night cruise in Hong Kong's Victoria Habour for the Symphony of Lights show shown over the city. This is a sychronized laser show above the buildings on the Kowloon side of the city (I think). Both of these tours were booked through Viator.
Shanghai
When it come to booking tours in Shanghai through Viator it was hard to find the tour we wanted on the only day we wanted. As Mainland China is probably the place I'm least excited to visit (and because I'm not sure the cultural norms will be conducive to great touring) we are spending most of our time in China at the Disney resort. We have one day (a Saturday) to tour Shanghai, and want to cram a lot into that day. Firstly we want to visit the Yu Gardens and Bazaar, we would like to see the Bund and the city including the famous Nanjing Road and we'd love to visit the Disney store at night (mostly just for photos). However, our most anticipated tour location is a place called Zhujiajiao Water Town, an ancient Chinese water town out of Shanghai. There were full and half day tours on Viator to Zhujiajiao however none available on the Saturday we wanted! We found a tour company however called Shanghai Highlights, a subsidiary of China Travel, who are able to take us to Zhujiajiao, and show us around the Bund as well as a cruise on the Huangpu River at night, and take us to the Shanghai Disney store, all in one tour. So far, I've been extremely impressed with this tour company, they've catered to all our specific requests and been excellent with prompt communication. The cost for the day is a bit higher than the Viator tours at $236USD but if we get a quality guide and flexibility to see what we want then I'm happy to pay a bit more. I'll review the guides in my full trip report but so far wouldn't hesitate to recommend Shanghai Highlights to anyone visiting Shanghai.
Osaka
We have no official tours booked in Osaka, and we will be doing our own touring around the place (including sites like Osaka Castle, Umeda City Building, Hozenji Yokocho, Nakanoshima gardens. That being said we do want to see a show called Sengoku - The Real at Osaka Castle. The name is a bit odd (I'd say it translates better in Japanese) but it sounds like an amazing nighttime spectacular put on by Universal Studios Japan at Osaka Castle. The show is made up of fireworks, projection mapping on the castle, and live performers, telling the story of Siege of Osaka during the Sengoku civil war and the epic story of a samurai warrior called Yukimura Sanada. I'd seen information about projection shows that have been done at Osaka Castle in the past (mostly during winter) and was terribly disappointed when it looked like there wouldn't be one while we were visiting. The funniest part is that it is running from December to March, however it is on a very brief hiatus for the days we are actually in Osaka! So we are going to be seeing it on one of the days we are staying in Kyoto, as it's only about a 45 minute train trip to and from. The other issue, and the reason this isn't quiet booked yet, is that the tickets can only be purchased on Japanese language websites and, from what we can gather from the shoddy google translate versions, only picked up from odd convience store locations in Japan. Luckily Jared has a work colleague who is Japanese and lives in Tokyo who might be able to help us decipher it all and work out how to buy tickets, so I will report back when we know more! I believe tickets will be around $75 per person when booked.
Kyoto
Kyoto has been a nightmare to get our tours sorted for! We booked a tour of the major Kyoto sites (Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-Ji - The Golden Temple and the Kyoto Imperial Palace) and Nara (Nara Deer park, Todai-Ji temple and the Kasyga Shrine) through Viator on the Saturday of our visit (tours were only available Tues, Thurs, Sats during January). But, the one tour I really wanted to do, through a company called the Backstreet Guides to Tokyo, changed all our plans around. The Backstreet Guides to Tokyo tour guide company is made up of local guides (mostly Japanese) who speak excellent English and who are extremely knowledgeable about their cities, culture and history. We used one of their guides on a tour of Kamakura (a suburban town area with a lot of historic temples an hour from Tokyo) on our trip in 2013, and if you read my trip report for that day (that trip report can be found here - see the day 2 links for the Kamakura tour info) you'll know that our wonderful guide, Miwa, gave us one of the best experiences I've ever had on a holiday, ever! Anyway, we had originally planned to do a private tour of Kyoto with the Backstreet Guides on the Sunday, but it turned out no tour guide was available, so we were going to swap that tour to the Saturday, which required a rearrange of all our Kyoto and Osaka plans so we could still do our Kyoto and Nara Tour we had originally planned on the Saturday. We decided we would do this tour on the Thursday, but from Osaka rather than Kyoto, move our Universal Studios Japan day (which we luckily hadn't bought tickets for) and then tour Osaka on the Friday before heading into Kyoto later that evening. This didn't end up working either as the Backstreet Guides were unable to find a tour guide for the Saturday either! I know no one likes working weekends but you would have thought Saturdays and Sundays would be peak tour times. We managed to book the Kyoto tour with the Backstreet Guides on the friday, and we leave Osaka early in the morning to get into Kyoto in time for our tour, do the Kyoto and Nara tour on the Saturday as originally planned, and go back to Osaka for the Sengoku the Real show on the Sunday. It all ended up working out, it was just a nightmare to get it sorted! So much back and forth! Still, Backstreet Guides to Tokyo were extremely helpful at every step of the way, and were willing to work with us to get the outcome we desired. The Kyoto and Nara tour with Viator was about $190 per person and the Kyoto tour with the Backstreet Guides around $450 for us both.
Tokyo
Our final tour will be leaving from Tokyo on the last day of our visit. We will be heading to Hakone National Park and will hopefully see views of the beautiful Mt Fuji (provided it's a clear day, more likely in January than other times of the year so fingers crossed). This tour will be with the Backstreet Guides to Tokyo again and was a lot more expensive than I expected (about $800 for the two of us) but sounds amazing, and will be a great way to finish up our trip.
RachelleBeaney
PrincessShelle
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2012
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