[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to episode 331 of the TDR now podcast. We're the first English speaking podcast about Asian theme parks like Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan and all those other a whole bunch of other places.
You can find us basically under TDR Explorer. You can search basically any social media platform and find it there. And there's going to be lots of fun content. So check it out. I'm one of your hosts, Trish. I'm the one enjoying all the Valentine's Day chocolate selections in the city. You can find me at Dream sweetslove for now at least on Instagram and at Ink Catastrophe on bluesky. And with me, as always, is the charismatic Chris. Hello.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: Hello. How are you?
[00:00:51] Speaker A: How are you doing? I'm good, I'm good, thank you.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: I'm doing good. I'm still kind of getting over this, this, this sickness.
I think I'm on the tail end of it, so.
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Fight.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, it's been a long month, let's just put it that way.
But I'm still able to record the podcast. So here we are. Yay.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: Yay.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: I'm the other host, Chris. You usually see me all up on YouTube. Haven't been able to do that too much last month. But I am there under TDR Explorer, usually stuffing my face in some capacity or something like that. So yay.
Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I know. Like the topic today. We want to talk about Donkey Kong country at Universal. Yes, we, we want to talk about it last month, but, you know, I just, I ended up getting sick and we just could not, couldn't make it happen. So better now than never, I suppose, right?
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: But before we start talking about that, there's a couple, like, things, like news items from, I guess, like the theme park world here in Japan.
Jurassic park is reopened.
[00:02:04] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Was there anything new? Like, any. Did they do anything like, like really?
[00:02:09] Speaker B: No, from what I know. No, it's just they had to, I guess, and they had to fix something on the ride. I don't know, but it looks like nothing was changed.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. Just like sparkly and clean.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: Yeah. So, like, we thought maybe they're going to change it to Jurassic World, but no, it's still just Jurassic Park. And they also, they're doing a, like, they're doing a little, like, event for it.
It just looks like they're just kind of highlighting the stuff they've always kind of done with the area. Like, you know, the, the dinosaur. Greetings.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: Oh, and that's so fun too.
[00:02:42] Speaker B: The food and stuff. Yeah. Jurassic World journey event that's going on until. Well, it starts in March until the 31st.
So adventures in Jurassic World. Okay. So there's.
So they're bringing. It looks like they're bringing out some new dinosaurs from Jurassic World. Like the quote unquote mean and greet stuff.
So that's kind of cool. Oh, you can take a picture with the iconic Gyrosphere.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Oh, that's really cool.
Can you get like inside of it?
[00:03:21] Speaker B: I don't know. It doesn't say.
Oh, and they're renewing the menu at the one Jurassic park restaurant. The one that's usually the one that they change to like one piece and everything.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:34] Speaker B: So they're revamping that menu. It looks like.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Interesting. Interesting because. Yeah, the other one they just revamped last summer and that one has.
That's where a lot of the plant based items are. Which are fantastic, by the way. It's actually one of my favorite places to go in the park now.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Especially for plant based options. It's really good.
There's going to be a raptor and gyrus for your popcorn bucket. I have a feeling, I have a feeling that's been out in the US Maybe. I'm not sure.
It looks like.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: I'm not sure. But we'll find out anyway. Yeah, they're doing an event for that which is kind of fun. And then also there is The Cool Japan 10th anniversary event has started.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: What's going on with Cool Japan this.
[00:04:22] Speaker B: Year has started or is starting? Hold on.
I should have looked up the. I should have looked up the actual dates for these. They're all different. Okay. Oh, it started this week.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: Oh, cool.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: So I guess it's a year long event and they've so far. The only thing we know is the targeted masquerade.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: So it's like a. That's a separate ticketed event which you have to buy through the USJ website.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: I like the logo.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: Yeah. It's based off of Keigo Higashino of their famous series called Masquerade. So it's a mystery solving like dinner type thing.
[00:05:03] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:05:03] Speaker B: Which, which they've done before. It's 8,500yen. My guess is this immersion will be in Japanese only. So if you want to do it, just be aware of that. It's going to be in Japanese only. Like the, the performances will be in Japanese only. I'm not sure about everything else.
And that's going on from January 24th to June 30th and then detective Conan World. Detective Conan's kind of a staple at this point.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Are we just adding world to the end of everything now?
[00:05:34] Speaker B: It seems like. Let's just.
Yeah. So they have the. The. The escape room is back, which is so much fun, by the way. And last time we did it, I'm pretty sure I. I don't know about this year, but I'm guessing it's probably still the. The same. Last year they had it. It was in multiple languages.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Perfect.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: The puzzles were in English and I think Mandarin and Korean, so I would imagine it's the same this year. The only thing that's not in English is, of course, like, there's performances, like, with the characters. That's all done in Japanese, but that's just more like fan service, if anything.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: But, yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's called Detective Conan the Escape Prologue of the After Image.
Then the Detective Conan Story ride comes back to the Hollywood Dream. You know, you just pick the. The track and it's just the characters basically just screaming at each other.
And then the Detective Conan Mystery restaurant is back as well.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: And that's also very popular. And then, of course, we still have the. The. The permanent attraction, Detective Conan 4D live jewel under the Starry sky, which, you know, replaced Terminator.
And then there's food and merchandise as well. So that's all we know for cool Japan so far. So all we know is, like, it's going to be all year, so. And the. The stuff I just mentioned, all of it only goes until the 30th of June.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: So after that, there's going to be something else, and we don't know what that is yet.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: Wow. I wonder what else they're going to do. What? Like, is there anything that you wish that they would do for the 10th anniversary?
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Do you think they'd bring back Attack on Titan?
[00:07:20] Speaker A: I feel like. Let's see. The movie promotion already ended for, like, the, like the movie theater release, so. And I know they're doing it overseas, so I don't think they have anything to promote right now, so I kind of doubt it, but I wouldn't be mad about it.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: It is a fan favorite.
And I feel like they've done enough with Demon Slayer. I don't think Demon Slayer has again, I guess it all kind of, like you said, kind of ties to promotion. I don't think there's anything really to promote for Demon Slayer right now.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Well, they have a movie that's coming out.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Yeah? When's that?
[00:07:59] Speaker A: I Don't know. I saw. I saw the poster at the theater this week, so that's the only reason I know. I know it. The kids do not talk about it at all anymore.
But, you know, like, I feel like One Piece, of course, like, is like a perennial favorite among all generations. Right. So it'd be cool if they do something new with that.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: I can see them doing something One Piece again. But I guess usually, like, you know what? They will do something One Piece. Because they always do. Because there's always the One Piece Summer, right?
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Exactly. I want them to do something, like, new, new with it. You know, like, surprise. You know, they're gonna do, like, something extra or something.
I wish they would do, like, Oshinoko.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: I don't know that one.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: It's like the one with, like, the idol that.
The. So it's kind of. It's kind of like. Okay, so, like, the. The. The. The story is there's an idol and she is underage and she becomes pregnant, and she goes to have the baby in secret. And this cancer patient and her doctor. The cancer patient dies. And then the doctor gets murdered that's supposed to deliver the baby. And then they get reincarnated as her children. But they're, like, conscious of everything. They, like, keep their, like. I guess they're. They're not like baby consciousness. They're like people, like, adult consciousness. And like. Like, it's like a revenge mystery story. Because something happens. Yeah. Like, in the first episode and.
But yeah, it's a really interesting series. And then I wish they would do, like, Free Ren or something, because I think that's another one that's really pop.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm just. I'm just very interested what they're gonna do because. Yeah. Yeah, One Piece is good. Yeah, definitely something with One Piece.
[00:09:47] Speaker A: Classic. You have to have that. Right.
Moon would be great because, like, that's another, like, classic. Right?
[00:09:55] Speaker B: Or, like, they could do something outside of the box. Well, they've done Hunter Hunter already, but it's very small. They've done. It was small. Like, on a small scale. That was like, a year ago, two years ago.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Mm.
They've done Lupin, of course.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: They've done My Hero Academia.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: What's hot right now? They done Chainsaw Man. What's another hot anime?
[00:10:19] Speaker A: I don't know anymore. I don't know the kids. Like, I don't know what they're into anymore. Like, they like One Piece all the time, but I'm not sure.
I feel like, oh, no. Like, what would be cute? Like Retro wise, like Creamy Mommy or something like that.
I feel like that would be a really cute for merch charge.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Dr. Stone, I know, is popular.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Oh, that's true. Yeah.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: They could do something with Pokemon always.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Yeah. 100.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Something like maybe something bigger with Pokemon.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: And again, that's all Generations, you know.
[00:10:55] Speaker B: Or Evangelion if they want to, like, really throw it back to something that's massively popular. I'm rewatching it, by the way.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: Oh, wow. That's a long re. Watch.
[00:11:06] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Well, okay, so I tried watching it back in 2015 and I got halfway through because, you know, I. I don't usually, like, I don't sit down and watch TV shows. Like, I don't binge them all. I kind of like, I try to space it out and like, something happened where it's like, I don't know, something happened in the show. And I was just like, I don't know what's going on anymore. Like, this is so weird. Yeah, I just, like, I dropped off and I tried to go back, but I was like, I couldn't remember where I left off for, like, Netflix didn't keep it for some reason. I was like, I don't know where I left off. So I'm like, I'm just gonna watch it again. Yeah, so I did that. This was a few years ago. Same thing happened again. I just kind of dropped off.
And then now, recently, I'm like, I am determined to finish this. I just. I'm gonna start from the beginning and just start watching it. And I'm. I'm like halfway through. Through it. And it's just like, man, I kind of understand what's going on, but at the same time, like, there's just. There's so much meta to this show.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: For sure.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: Some of that's. Some of the stuff they do in there is very suggestive and very like, oh, I don't think we should be doing that. That's. I'm uncomfortable with this.
Okay, I'll just skip over this part. I don't like this.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: They were promoting it recently, like, at McDonald's. Right. So, like.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Yeah, I could see it. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, So I did. I entered that lottery.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: For the McDonald's toys. And I lost.
[00:12:31] Speaker A: No.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Well, okay. So.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I know.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Well, I didn't want them that bad. I'm like, if I get it, I get it. If I don't, I'm not gonna be crushed. That was kind of a. It's one of those things where it's like, I Live here.
I can do it. Why not? And you know, I like the show enough and if, like, I could just like give it away to a friend too here, like, because sometimes, like, I like getting stuff and like, and I enjoy it for a week. And I'm like, okay. Now I'm like, okay, what do I do with this? What do I do with this? You know, I'll just give it to somebody. You know, I'll give it to a friend that would appreciate it more than me. Yeah, but I didn't win because you had to do it through McDonald's app.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: And of course it was only in Japanese and you had to live here to put in your address.
It was like, it was a 2 sen. So like the, the lottery and you had to pick your top three McDonald's that you would pick it up from.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: Oh, interesting.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: So I don't know if there's like a strategy for that. It's like, oh, do I go for one that not a lot? Like, that's kind of out of the way that less people will be doing or what? I like, I don't know how it works. Yeah, exactly. So I just like pick the ones that were nearest me. I'm like, 1, 2, 3, done.
But I didn't win. So, you know, whatever.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:45] Speaker B: Okay, well, let's, let's take a bet.
[00:13:49] Speaker A: I'm gonna lose because I'm really bad at predicting things.
[00:13:52] Speaker B: I mean, there are no, like, there's no stakes in this. So let's, let's. Let's each guess an. An. Just one anime that is gonna be at cool Japan in the summer other than other than one piece. Because, like, we kind of know that's likely to happen.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: Do you want me to go first?
[00:14:11] Speaker A: You go first.
Wait, is this. Does this include like, things that they've done in the past or.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, just like. Okay, any. They will do, actually. You go first. You. You go first.
[00:14:23] Speaker A: I'm going to go with Sailor Moon. It's a really, really good merch, like seller and it's kind of like classic and everybody knows it. And it's, it's a long, it's a long running thing that they've done in the past.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: See, I'm torn. I'm torn between Attack on Titan and Evangelion.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Oh my God, I hope it's Attack on Titan.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: I'm gonna go Attack on Titan. I'm gonna go with that. Just because it's, it's. It's over now. Right? Like the last movie came out, it's completely Over.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: And they haven't. They haven't done anything at the park for a while.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Mm.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: What, four years now?
[00:15:00] Speaker A: I think three or four years.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: So it kind of makes sense. And with, like, inbound tourism, attack on Titans, huge overseas. And I think the movies are starting to come out in different countries. Dubbed now they are.
[00:15:12] Speaker A: They're doing the release of, like, the last movie. It's about to hit the overseas countries. So.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: So then if they're focusing on inbound tourists, then I think it would be a good.
A good bet. So I'm going to say Attack on Titan and you say Sailor Moon. All right, I guess we'll see. We'll see what happens.
[00:15:32] Speaker A: It's kind of like boring choices because, like, it's like. I feel like those are pretty good.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: Bets, you know, like another one that.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Would be off the wall.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Okay, okay. Okay. Yeah, let's. Okay, so you. Okay, yeah, yeah, let's do that. So we pick ones that are kind of like. Okay, there's a good chance I'll probably do that because it's very wide appeal. Let's go something a little more niche. What would your niche pick be?
[00:15:55] Speaker A: My niche pick is also kind of like Magical Girl. I want to see, like, Creamy Mommy.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: I think that would be great. Or like going like, super, super, super retro. What is the one? I feel like they had a live action movie that did really badly, though. Like, a western live action movie. What was the. The one with, like, the.
I forgot what it's called. The. The one with the. The Knights of the Zodiac. You know what I'm talking about?
[00:16:24] Speaker B: No, not sure.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: What was the Japanese title? The Western title was Knights of the Zodiac.
Shoot. If you're listening, you know what I'm talking about. Sincere.
So again, very, very old. I don't know that they would do it. There's nothing to promote right now. But it's super retro and I think it's popular. I know. In Latin America and I know it was popular around the world. So I think. I mean, it would be kind of cool, but it's not. It's not current, though.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: No.
[00:16:56] Speaker A: You know, so I doubt it.
[00:16:59] Speaker B: You know, I'm just gonna say Evangelion.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: I'm just gonna say Evangelion's a good choice.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: I'm gonna say Evangelion for the other one.
[00:17:05] Speaker A: And I feel like Doraemon would be good.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I feel like they're gonna do it. Oh, no, no. They are doing Drymon. I forgot about that.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: Yeah, they are doing Everyone Loves Dry Emon.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: Yeah, they're they're doing Drymon again, which.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:19] Speaker B: All right, well. Oh, no, wait. VIP tours. I know a lot of people have been asking about VIP tours at usj, so for some reason, they're not on the website right now, the official one.
Not sure why.
So I guess, like, just keep checking that. But I also. I looked on klook, and KLOOK says they're coming soon, so I'm guessing that. I don't know, they're. They're probably working on something behind the scenes. We just don't know what. And I also
[email protected], which is another service. I know we don't talk about it a lot, but I've used trip.com before because it's used a lot in China, Mainland China.
So it's. It's a very reputable service.
They have VIP tours in English for USJ listed for February that you can still buy.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: So there's. There's nothing beyond that, though. So I think it's just a case of just kind of keep checking, it seems, because, you know, they. They like to release, like, their tickets. Like, they do them roughly two months ahead of time, but sometimes they just do, like, these weird, big blocks of tickets sometimes, which is kind of strange.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: It's very interesting.
All right, well, let's get into Donkey Kong Country.
[00:18:34] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. It looks super cute.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: I know. It was so. It was so good.
I really enjoyed it.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: So, yeah, Don Kong country opened in December at Universal Studio Japan, and it's part of Super Nintendo world at. @ USJ. So now they're kind of referring to the super. The Mario area. It's kind of like. It's called Super Mario Land. And then Donkey Kong country is Donkey Kong Country. So there are two areas inside of Super Nintendo World.
[00:19:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:19:06] Speaker B: So with that in mind, I know the big question for a lot of people is if I get in time to entry into Super Nintendo World, do I get into Donkey Kong Country? And the answer is yes, because you have a timed entry into Super Nintendo World, and Donkey Kong country is part of Super Nintendo World, and same with Super Mario Land. So once you have a timed entry, you can go into both of those little areas.
Which is. Which is good.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Excellent.
[00:19:38] Speaker B: Should we just talk about the.
The attraction? Let's just get into the attraction.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah. Because, like, I want to know, does it really feel like you're jumping off the track?
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Yes and no. Yeah, like, of course, like, you're not actually doing it, but, like, some of the parts where it's like, it looks like you're not gonna go on. Like, you're not following the track.
You're on the track, but then the cart kind of jumps and goes on to a different one. Is it kind of messes you up a couple of times. It's like, oh, whoa. I wasn't expecting that. It's kind of a. It's kind of a nice little thrill.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: Nicely.
[00:20:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I, like, I think the attraction is really well done. And it's, it's. It's. It's. It's a family coaster. Right.
So it's. There's a couple parts where it's a little thrilling. It's almost like borderline. Like, borderline. Like, oh, is this. Is this little much?
You know, for. For small children? But, like, it lasts, like, not even a second, so it's like, okay. Before you kind of brain registers what happens, you're like, it's over. Like that. The thrilling. The very thrilling part.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: But is there, like, a height limit, like, for little kids or.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a height requirement for it.
[00:20:55] Speaker A: Would you say it's, like, comparable to, like, like, in terms of, like, thrill for, like, like to like, Big Thunder Mountain or, like, what would you compare it to?
[00:21:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I would say, like, Big Thunder Mountain kind of thing.
[00:21:08] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:21:08] Speaker B: Like, it. It's definitely focused on, like, families. Right.
Like, a toddler wouldn't be able to go on this, but, you know, like, a 7, 8 year old should be able to ride it.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like that, like, starter coaster, right?
[00:21:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I just. Yeah, I think it's a lot of fun. The animatronics, I think, are wonderful. There's just, like, the theming in it, I think, is they've done such a wonderful job with it.
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: A lot of fan service. So if you're a fan of the games, like, you're gonna see all these little things everywhere, which I think is so fun.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: Like, yeah, it was definitely. I've written about four or five times now, and it's definitely a lot of fun. It's one of those things. I would pick it over Mario Kart, in my opinion.
[00:21:54] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: If I had to choose, it's like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do Donkey Kong.
Not that I don't like Mario Kart. I think it's a fun ride. It's just Mario Kart's very, like, AR heavy. Right?
[00:22:07] Speaker A: Sure, sure. I feel like the vibes and the aesthetic of Donkey Kong are, like, really appealing. It's like, super cute.
[00:22:17] Speaker B: And yeah. Like there's the regular standby line and the. And they do have single rider lines, so make sure you, you utilize that.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: Definitely use that. But yeah.
[00:22:27] Speaker A: What have the weights been looking like for it?
[00:22:30] Speaker B: I haven't really been looking, but I like, it's usually over 100 minutes usually.
[00:22:35] Speaker A: But that's not terrible, right?
[00:22:38] Speaker B: No. And it moves pretty quickly. I think. In my opinion it moves pretty quick.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: Is there like fun stuff to look at in the queue?
[00:22:44] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, there's a lot of little Easter eggs and there's a lot of like, for your power up band, there's a lot of like touch points that you got to look for.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Most of them are in the regular queue though.
I think there's at least one or two in the regular queue that you will miss if you take the single rider or express line.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: So just keep that in mind.
But yeah, I think it's a wonderful attraction. Is it the best coast in the world? No, but is very well themed. And the, the trick with the jumping, the track is fun. I think it's, it's fun. It's a fun little. It's a fun ride.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Yeah. And I feel like who, who is to say what is like the best? Because coasters vary so dramatically. Right. Like, some are like, they have like different specialities. Right. And I feel like this coaster's speciality is fun. Right. So I feel like if it accomplishes that, it's worth it 100%.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: As for games, yeah, there's like, there's like a lot of games that you can do and get them all. Like I think you can get them all done in a single visit. Like you can collect the Kong letters. So you go around touch points with your power up bands.
And if you have like the Mario ones, like they all work. And there's the Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong ones that you can buy. So those, all, those all work. You can find the Kong letters, which is really good.
Then there's like a little slot machine kind of game. And it's like in these balloons, it's by the exit to the attraction. And that one's gonna probably be the longest one because it's kind of like by chance because you have to collect all the different items and there's usually a line. So you kind of have to like do it once, get back in line and keep going. Yeah, I was able to get everything done in about a day.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Which was, which was fun. Yeah, the Donkey Kong meet and greet. So much fun.
[00:24:43] Speaker A: So what, what characters can you Meet.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Just Donkey Kong and it looks like he kind of rotates all day.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:51] Speaker B: But they do like change out the, or they do cut off the line because like, you know, it's kind of a smaller space. So the, the, the line to meet him kind of fills up quickly. But if you just ask like they'll tell you when you like when to come back and stuff. Just kind of like keep, keep, keep on, just keep on checking.
It's really fun. Like Don Kong is huge. Like I feel.
Yeah.
The only thing, the only thing I don't like is they, they, they, they take the picture and you have to pay for it, which is like 3,500yen, which is quite a lot.
You're allowed to take your own photo, but it has to be off from the side. It can't be in the middle.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Why? Why?
[00:25:38] Speaker B: I don't know. That's just the rule.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: That's so silly.
[00:25:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Can you just like meet Donkey Kong without taking a photo?
[00:25:47] Speaker B: I mean you can have them take your photo and then just not buy it.
[00:25:51] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: Yeah, so you can easily do that.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: Like what about video?
[00:25:58] Speaker B: If you just like turn your phone, like turn the video on, they're not gonna do anything.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: Yeah, so that I think that's fine. But yeah, it's, it's, it's definitely a lot of fun. I think I really enjoyed that.
Oh, I forgot to mention for the ride there is the test vehicle that's just outside the queue and it's like a self service one so you can check if you fit in the ride. Vehicles are very spacious like from the front and the sides. Like the seats are wide and there's a lot of leg room.
The issues might be just more your thighs for it to come down and lock.
[00:26:35] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Good to know.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: So you can try the, try, try the seat if you're concerned about that. And I know one thing people do ask like what happens if you have an express pass and then you can't get on the ride because you like, you know, for safety reasons, you know, you can't, you don't fit.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Right.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: What they'll do is they'll give you an Express Pass for another ride.
[00:26:56] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: So that, that's what they, that's what they typically do. So don't try not to stress too much about it.
Merchandise. They have quite a bit of merchandise.
But the funny thing is most of it is, is in the one up factory of Super Nintendo World. Not really inside the like they have like a little like a little shop in Donkey Kong country.
[00:27:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: What's your favorite, like, piece of merch that they're selling?
[00:27:35] Speaker B: Probably the ride vehicle. Little Tomica vehicle.
[00:27:38] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, Yeah.
[00:27:40] Speaker B: I really like that. I think it was good snacks.
So I guess there's no restaurant. They just have snacks, right?
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Yeah, makes sense.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: So they have. There's the DK Wild Hot Dog, which has, like, avocado and cheese sauce on it. And it's made to look like the ride. Like, the ride vehicle and stuff.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: And I thought it was really good. Like, the bun was a little. Like, maybe a little harder than I would prefer, but everything else on it was quite nice. Like, there's little tortillas and, like, avocado sauce and things like that on there. And I thought it was. It was actually quite good.
[00:28:15] Speaker A: Okay, cool.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: It was, like, the best thing in the world. But, hey, it was. It was. It was good enough.
And then they have the DK Crush Sunday drink, and it's tropical banana, so there's a hot and cold version. And the hot is for winter only. And I tried both of them. I really like the hot version.
[00:28:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: Because it was like. Like a hot banana smoothie kind of thing.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: That sounds good.
[00:28:40] Speaker B: And it comes. You can get the souvenir DK cup with it. And it.
The whole thing is supposed to represent, like, Donkey Kong breaking a barrel, which I think is really fun.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: Oh, I love it.
[00:28:53] Speaker B: Yeah, it's really nice for that. You might have to do us. Like, you might have to get a reservation. And by that you mean, like, you don't do it ahead of time. You do it when you're in the pot. Like, you're in the area and there's a QR code to scan.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:07] Speaker B: And I'll tell you when to come back.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: But I think that's only when it's busy. I've only been able. Like, I only went in December, so it could have. It probably depends on the crowd levels.
[00:29:17] Speaker A: Oh, so it might have, like, come down a little bit.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: Yeah. But just, like, kind of keep that in mind. But usually, like, it's easy. It's easy to get a reservation anyway.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:27] Speaker B: And the reason is because, like, the line. The queue is not very long and they can't have tons of people waiting. Right.
So. And it makes sense.
Yeah. So, like, overall, though, like, the area is smaller.
Like, it's a smaller area, which makes sense. It looks like it was supposed to probably open with Super Nintendo World, is my guess.
[00:29:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:53] Speaker B: Just based off of how tiny it is. Like, it's. It's not tiny, but it's like it's, it's quite compact. Right. They pack a lot in there, like.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: A whole attraction though. So like it kind of makes sense to space it out. Right?
[00:30:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, and I forgot about the bongo game. There's a bongo game with Rambi, the, the rhinoceros. Oh, it's like, it's a bongo. It looks like a rhythm bongo game. And that also give you stamps in your, in your app and stuff too.
And for those that are asking too, like your power up band will work if you bought it from the states.
[00:30:24] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:30:25] Speaker B: You just have to sync it with the USJ app for it to work is all. You just set it up and it's pretty straightforward.
Yeah, the, the coaster was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Like, I wasn't, I wasn't sure honestly, because they've never really done this kind of coaster before. Yeah, I just really wasn't sure what to expect with it. Pleasantly surprised.
The meet and greet, I think is one of the best in the park. I think it's just so good. They do like this little interactive thing where they tell you like when Donkey Kong comes out, he's gonna like slam the ground. And every time he does, you're supposed to jump up and scream, which is so fun.
[00:31:06] Speaker A: I think I can see like the little kids like, like, like losing it. It sounds like really, really, really cute and fun.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it's, I think it's, it's so good. I think.
Yeah.
A couple things though. I kind of, I kind of wish they had a full blown restaurant though. Like I understand space constraints.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: But I just wish there was another restaurant because I feel like Super Nintendo World needs another one because Canopy's Cafe is so popular.
[00:31:35] Speaker A: Yeah. I feel like it would be super popular. Like even if they had it outside of the land, I feel like it would be super popular.
[00:31:42] Speaker B: Yeah, just like something somewhere else for people to go, Right.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:47] Speaker B: Which I'm sure they thought of. And it's probably a space constraint because.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: It has to be because it's not a huge area, right?
[00:31:54] Speaker B: No, it's not. And the other thing to keep note is the washrooms. There's no washrooms in Donkey Kong Country. You have to go into Super Mario Land.
[00:32:04] Speaker A: Wait, so like when I picture it, I picture it as like almost like, like, like a part of the land. So is it really separate or.
[00:32:15] Speaker B: Well, like there's like a pipe, like a quote unquote pipe that goes into Donkey Kong country.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Oh, interesting. Okay. I did not Know that?
[00:32:22] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's like. It's like a little. It's almost like a portal, Right. Because it's like. It's a different area.
[00:32:28] Speaker A: Oh, so it's, like, transporting you. That's really cool, actually. I like that.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: Yeah, it's fun. The music, though. I love all the music they use.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: Oh, for sure.
[00:32:36] Speaker B: Yeah. So good.
[00:32:38] Speaker A: It's like a total vibe, right?
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Oh, 100%.
Yeah. I think. I think they did such a good job.
Was there anything else you want to know about Duncan Country?
[00:32:51] Speaker A: I want to know, like, you know, we. When we're planning a trip, we go to the website and we check things out. Like, is there anything that it would not be, like, immediately, like, noticeable, like, you're planning your trip? And it would be kind of, like, really good to know. Like, I don't know, like.
Like any. What tips do you have to enjoy the land to its fullest?
[00:33:13] Speaker B: Well, right now, USJ and I think it's also on KLOOK as well. Like, they have a special express pass just for Donkey Kong country for the ride. So if you're. If you're adamant on that, then get, like, get that.
And then it'll come with a timed entry for Super Nintendo World. So I think that's probably the biggest tip.
[00:33:31] Speaker A: Oh, for sure.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: Um, but if you buy other express passes that have Super Nintendo World, like, you. You get. You get into the area, and you can still, like, obviously you can still go into Don Khan countries, so just kind of depends on, like, what your budget is and stuff. So. But, like, you don't necessarily need to get Express Pass. Like, yes, it makes it easier, but if you're there early enough, like, you can kind of get everything done.
[00:33:54] Speaker A: Nice. So, yeah.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Yeah, that's probably the biggest tip.
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. Awesome.
[00:34:00] Speaker B: And you use a single rider line.
[00:34:03] Speaker A: I want to know also what's, like, the best accessory to wear to Donkey Kong Country?
[00:34:11] Speaker B: Probably the headband. I think the headband's cute.
[00:34:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:17] Speaker A: And if you were buying an omiyage souvenir, you're buying snacks to bring home to your friends and family. What would you bring back?
[00:34:29] Speaker B: There's banana chips.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: Banana chips.
So cute.
[00:34:38] Speaker B: Yeah. So we do have a full guide on our website, so you can go and check that out. I'll link it in the show notes for everybody, so.
Well, I think. Yeah, I think we can keep. We can keep this a short one tonight.
[00:34:52] Speaker A: You got it.
[00:34:54] Speaker B: So before we go, though, we want to thank some wonderful explorers who are supporting us on Patreon. So if you want to support the show, head ON over to patreon.com TDR now. So a big thank you to Acro Disney Girl, Adam, Amanda C, Amy B. Amy C. Mama, Explorer, Benjamin, Brent, M, Carrie, Crispy, Claire, Claudia, Dave, David, Baker, Kevin, Harry, Marina, Beth, Eli, Robinson, Taylor.
[00:35:12] Speaker A: And Mel and Jamie, Jose, Kathy, Lee, Marie, Michelle, Murray, Sophie, Spooby, Thomas, Kate, K. Sorry, K. K, Alexandra, Lizzy, Amy and Andy, Dana, Cassandra, Annie, Sonia, W.W. paige, Adelaide, Tara and Nina.
[00:35:31] Speaker B: And remember, if you haven't already, hit that subscribe or follow button so you don't miss any of our new episodes. I'm one of your hosts, Chris, chief content editor. You see me on YouTube and everything. And as always, it's a wonderful Patricia.
[00:35:43] Speaker A: Yeah, you guys let us know. Are you going to go to Donkey Kong country?
What? Are you excited to try? What? What food? Excited to try and let us know how your trip turns out if you do go. Until then, keep exploring and we'll talk.
[00:35:59] Speaker B: To you next time, all right? Yeah. All right, explorers. See you next one. Bye.
