2017年9月1日金曜日 - 
Tony:That Other Amusement Park
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When I first began living and teaching in Osaka, Universal Studios Japan
had been open for a month. Spring 2001.
I remember the whole city was buzzing with excitement. Finally Kansai had an amusement park
worthy of comparison with Tokyo Disneyland.
Eleven million people visited USJ that year, and I'd bet a healthy chunk of that number was
young locals with season passes going every weekend. It was a big deal. I admit, I succumbed to the fever. People's
enthusiasm was
contagious and I went that first summer. And … it was okay. I'm pretty typical in that I don't like lining up, I don't like crowds, I don't like being outside in 35 degree heat. I don't like overpriced amusement park food and drinks. Who does? But … the park was fresh and new and everybody was super happy to be there, to work there, etc. So, things balanced out and it was okay. The rides were fine. It was okay. Once was enough though and I never planned to go back.
contagious and I went that first summer. And … it was okay. I'm pretty typical in that I don't like lining up, I don't like crowds, I don't like being outside in 35 degree heat. I don't like overpriced amusement park food and drinks. Who does? But … the park was fresh and new and everybody was super happy to be there, to work there, etc. So, things balanced out and it was okay. The rides were fine. It was okay. Once was enough though and I never planned to go back.
Flash forward to July 2017. My
son is five and both he and my wife decide this is the year. The Minion Plaza
opened this year and Minions are huge in my house. We are going to USJ. I don't
fight it. I'm 46. It's summer in Osaka.
I'm nervous.
It was AWESOME! We got our face
painted, and saw dinosaurs in Jurassic park, and ate lots of ice cream. We're
parents in our forties so we understand the importance of taking lots of breaks
and applying sunscreen every ninety minutes. No sunburns for us. I might have
even lost my tan. The Minion ride was too cool. The
Wizarding World of Harry Potter was very well done and although I don't regret not
buying a wand, I do regret buying
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Rotten egg jelly beans are not good. Not
good at all. Neither are dirt. Dirt jelly beans are nasty. Nasty.
My wife got her picture taken
with Snoopy. I got a crazy cool Jurassic Park coffee mug. It's black and has a
T. Rex skull embossed on it. If you're not jealous of that, something is wrong.
So… it was great. We're going
back for my birthday. Next month. Yahoo!
buzzing：ざわめく
worthy：ふさわしい
comparison：匹敵
chunk：かたまり
big
deal：大騒ぎ
succumbed：屈服した
contagious：伝染しやすい
lining
up：列に並ぶこと
Flash forward：未来に飛ぶ
Flash forward：未来に飛ぶ
tan：日焼け
wand：魔法の杖
nasty：不快な
embossed：浮き彫りになっている