Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks
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- Jun 21, 2016
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It'll be crazy busy (and more expensive) with the olympic games. I'm going to Japan next June with the family- but won't go again until late 2021. The year after the games is also insanely crowded due to residual tourism. Enjoy it if you go- and best of luck to ya! I know you do this, so look into booking with points vs cash rate due to the elevated prices for olympics and you'll need to book a year out for sure as soon as availability comes out.
We usually go in September so hopefully we'll miss most of the busy period. Have you been before?
It's crazy how popular it seems to have got recently. I don't know anybody who had been prior to this year and 5 groups of people I know have been this year so far, a few more people I know are planning trips. The Trackers recently visited. I think their video was the thing to push me over the edge to seriously consider it. The language barrier had been my biggest fear but it seems to be a non issue and the weather looks far better than I had expected.
- Jun 21, 2016
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Ive been, never with my kids though. At 4 and 8 I'm ready to introduce them to Asia and Japan is the easiest introduction to that IMO. The food is great (and not jarring to American kids like many other asian countries), it's incredibly safe, it's clean, etc. It's a pretty incredible place. The theme parks are, of course, amazing- but the people and culture is really impressive. It's nice to see a country who values honesty and honor the way they do. One of my favorite places I've been to in the world. Speaking English will get you by enough as several people speak english and they enjoy practicing (or they're embarassed). But as long as you can pantomime a little, you're good. Not speaking scottish? Best of luck.
Note that I did casually see a couple minutes of the Trackers. It looks like they only did Tokyo. Do not do that. Go to Kyoto for a portion of the trip at the very least- or even consider staying at 1-2 other less touristy districts. Tokyo is cool but it's not my thing. Also- Universal is in Osaka (~3-4 hrs from Tokyo where Disney is via bullet train)- so you'd have to stay in Osaka or Kyoto to go there.
Osaka is a three hour train ride from Tokyo...which I doubt many going to the Olympics will want to take.
Language barrier is non-existent. Especially in Tokyo and Osaka as both as used to foreigners from all around the world. Just don't go during July/August as its extremely humid and also Monsoon/Typhoon season.
Language barrier is non-existent. Especially in Tokyo and Osaka as both as used to foreigners from all around the world. Just don't go during July/August as its extremely humid and also Monsoon/Typhoon season.
I'll second this. I stayed in Tokyo my entire visit and after 2 non-TDR days I realized I should have added a few days in Kyoto to my trip. Tokyo is an incredible place, but it should be paired with Kyoto
- Jul 18, 2008
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I did Tokyo almost the entire time I was there other than the time I spent in Tokyo Disney. I know I should have paired it with Kyoto and Osaka but, at the time, these were pretty cost-prohibitive. It's not as cheap to travel thru Japan like it is in Europe.
Plus, I got to explore ALL of Tokyo and it's different districts: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Odaiba, Harajuku, Akihabara, Asakusa, etc. SO many cool things to see within Tokyo alone.
I was thinking of foregoing a 2020 trip to give Disney time to finish their updates to TDR and HKDL but I think it might still be worth a visit regardless for SNW.
Plus, I got to explore ALL of Tokyo and it's different districts: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Odaiba, Harajuku, Akihabara, Asakusa, etc. SO many cool things to see within Tokyo alone.
I was thinking of foregoing a 2020 trip to give Disney time to finish their updates to TDR and HKDL but I think it might still be worth a visit regardless for SNW.
- Apr 11, 2014
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I agree 100%. On my last trip 3 years ago I spent all of my time at Disney and Tokyo. This trip in October I'm taking my wife and we are definitely going to get out of Tokyo for 2 days. There is a lot to see in Tokyo, but in the end, its a super big city. Sort of like coming to USA and only visiting New York I guess...
Its very much dependent on why you are going to Japan. Without going too off topic, Japan is like any other country where foreigners have ease of access vs some struggle to get around.
Major tourist spots like Kyoto. Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, Okinawa etc are way more westerner friendly than places like Sapporo, Kobe, Fukuoka. Biggest advice is first and foremost, if you plan to travel buy the JP rail pass online and have it mailed to you because its way cheaper overall and saves so much money. If you flying into Tokyo, try to fly into Haneda instead of Narita, its actually in the city, saves you time getting into the city area of Tokyo, saves you money, and shorter lines at immigration/customs. Know the difference between a Ryokan and Hotel before you book your places to stay.
Going back to Nintendo which is located in Kyoto and actually really isn't exciting inside at all located an hour away from USJ and one of the statements made about gaming, one of the things they did with monster hunter and yokai watch was they had exclusive game spots where people could get USJ exclusive gear, creatures, etc.
If anything I would expect them to continue that as the interactive measures to increase the level of merch sales within the parks.
Major tourist spots like Kyoto. Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, Okinawa etc are way more westerner friendly than places like Sapporo, Kobe, Fukuoka. Biggest advice is first and foremost, if you plan to travel buy the JP rail pass online and have it mailed to you because its way cheaper overall and saves so much money. If you flying into Tokyo, try to fly into Haneda instead of Narita, its actually in the city, saves you time getting into the city area of Tokyo, saves you money, and shorter lines at immigration/customs. Know the difference between a Ryokan and Hotel before you book your places to stay.
Going back to Nintendo which is located in Kyoto and actually really isn't exciting inside at all located an hour away from USJ and one of the statements made about gaming, one of the things they did with monster hunter and yokai watch was they had exclusive game spots where people could get USJ exclusive gear, creatures, etc.
If anything I would expect them to continue that as the interactive measures to increase the level of merch sales within the parks.
Reminder: It's July 10th and we still don't have any news on the Orlando SNW side of things. Hopefully we start getting some info soon, as they alluded to on their blog.
- Feb 28, 2015
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With it going to the new park now, it's going to be a long time before we get anything more concrete I bet.
Yeah. At-most, if they reveal cryptically of the Southern Property, I think there'd be a small chance that it'd be glossed over.
- Feb 28, 2015
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Universal Orlando Close Up | More in Store for 2018 at Universal Orlando Resort
Did they edit this? I could have swore it said Nintendo and Orlando in a more direct way originally. Am I crazy?
Did they edit this? I could have swore it said Nintendo and Orlando in a more direct way originally. Am I crazy?
Nope, that’s exactly the same as it was last time I looked at it. (I have it copied on my site too.)
They did change “Super Mario World” to “Super Nintendo World” within 3 days of posting it, but that’s all that’s changed about that line.
Could this finally be more info for the US versions? Remember the last video they made was shot in front of USF.
