Here is a Trip Report that I've shared with a few other sites and it's gotten such a good response that I would like to share it with you guys also. If you've seen it already, I apologize, but if you haven't, I hope you'll find some very good information about some little known parks on the other side of the planet! (You guys may really appreciate to see how China themed a S:UF clone!)
Some of you may know that Elissa and I have just recently toured several theme parks in China. Below are tons of pictures from that trip.
Overall the parks of China were *much* better than expected. I thought many of them would wind up being pretty crappy but what we discovered were not only some of the best looking parks in the world, but quite a good collection of rides as well!
I'll let the photos speak for themselves....
Day Zero - China Culture Day! Our aircraft of choice...this snazzy Korean Air 747 equipped with all the bad movies you can watch at your finger tips and an outlet to plug your laptop into! Yes, all this in economy!!!
Yet another reason why international carriers are FAR superior to American airlines. This is what I saw in front of me when I woke up...
We have arrived in Beijing! First order of buiness? FOOD!
I'm happy to report that traditional Chinese food in China is pretty much the same as a "good quality" chinese place back home.
TPR at the Great Wall of China! This goes down in TPR history as the most cultural thing we have ever...EVER done!!!
This would be our carriage of choice getting up the Great Wall. 15 Apline Coaster cars all hooked together.
Yup! KidTums is allowed to ride....OUTSIDE the restraint...better hold on tight! Well, at least this is only the going up part!
"Wyatt...Your kitchen is BLUE!"
You have to admit that is really freaking AWESOME!
ROBB!!! DO NOT EAT THE GREAT WALL! IT HAS NO SOY SAUCE!
The trip down the mountain is "fun"...not really thrilling or very fast...but fun. I think KidTums actually looks bored!
Day One - Beijing Shijinshan Park! Group photo at our first China park. Don't we all look excited?
Ahh, yes...the Chinese knock off Wacky Worm...this should be a QUALITY ride!
"Um....mommy...I don't need the credit THAT bad!!!"
Ooh! "Spinning Batman!' Now THAT sounds awesome!
So here is Spinning Batman...not only did it not spin AT ALL it had nothing to do with Batman!!!
Chinese Knock Off SLC!
It looks like an SLC...but it is NOT!!!
This was the park that a few years ago was sued by Disney for copyright infringement. This was really the only thing left that was Disneyland related. Two things to note...one it's bigger than Disneyland's castle...and two, it wasn't as ghetto as Nara Dreamland.
We took a visit to the Forbidden City...I have two things that remind me of this place. 1. Wonders of China film at Epcot, and 2. The "Just Say Mao" sampler CD from the 1980s. (Anyone else know what I'm talkin about?)
Day Two - Beijing Park and Sun Park Yup, we are at Beijing Amusement Park...at least I hope so...that's what the sign says.
first we'll go to the Togo Loop Screw for some real good pain.
This is two days in a row now I felt like I *could* fall out of a coaster.
Yes, the name of the coaster is "Super Speed Cool Cool bear."
Joey sits in the "Big Thunder Death Seat!'
I'm CRRRRRAAAAAZZZZYYYY Disk-O Monster! Feed me some PEOPLE!
It *looks* like a normal Top Scan...
Nope! Just another Chinese knock off!
This is the entrance to Sun Park... 'Nuff said!
Some of the park rules were very interesting.... "No Assasinations..."
"No outside food"
This mouse is what happens when a Hershell and a Maurer Söhne moue have sex.
This coaster was bad...like really REALLY BAD!
Proof that EVERYTHING is made in China!
"Thunderclap Tank!!!"
This cats name was "lunchmeat"
This was the "cutest" coaster of the trip so far! "The "Fruit Worm Coaster!"
"I'm gonna DIE!!!!"
Yay! KidTums gets her fruit worm credit!
Yes...you are seeing that correctly...you can rent hamster balls and they drop you in the water.
Elissa got to hit up her first Chinese McDonalds.
"This is even better than kinky sex!"
That night for dinner we did Chinese Pizza Hut!
ok, we are certainly not in Kansas anymore... "Assorted Seafood? Octopuses?!?! WASABI SAUCE!?!?" On a PIZZA?!?!
Day Three - Happy Valley Beijing
Yay! Another group photo! They have giant letters that spell out the parks name ala California Adventure.
Someone should tell Hard Rock Park that THIS is how to theme a Vekoma Mine Train!
It's hard to believe that this is the EXACT same ride as Life in the Fast Lane at Hard Rock.
Same thing goes for the B&M Flyer. The pretzel loop is about the only thing you can really see.
The rest of it ducks in and out of the rock work.
I kind of wish Dueling Dragons was built more like this.
It was a lot more like Nemesis or Black Mamba the way it was hidden within the theming.
And it *felt* like you were getting VERY close to some of those rocks!
The bottom of the pretzel loop looked like it should have had a splash element!
Just look at how amazing that is!
An overview shot of Crystal Wings from the flying island.
Once again KidTums was pretty popular with the locals! I take it they don't get many "Western" babies here very often.
With a Tesco across the street from the park we figured we'd go check out a Chinese grocery store (Dan, this is where you need to pay attention)
That's a lot of....yup....*FEET*
"Grab a bag and fill it with meat!"
All we need is a deep fryer and some Blazin' sauce and we're set!
Good to know you can buy a scooter at the grocery store!
MINE!!!! ALL MINE!!!!
So that's a pretty good start to this update! If you'd like to see more, we've posted the rest of the photos HERE
I will most photos and park updates here soon!
--Robb
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Thats is an awesome Trip Report. Cool to see how there parks are. The Kitty was cute. They just built there first American TESCO in texas not to long ago. They do not hire cashiers, just Self Checkouts, maybe 1 or 2 associates to watch over them. It was an amazing experience, maybe someday i can hit up China Themeparks.
That flyer is a clone. It's the exact same layout as Superman. It just has amazing themeing, whereas all we get is grass and the Fortress of Styrofoam.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
FParker185 wrote:That flyer is a clone. It's the exact same layout as Superman. It just has amazing themeing, whereas all we get is grass and the Fortress of Styrofoam.
That's more than SFMM's B&M Floorless got!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Day Four - Nanhu & Jing Ying Amusement Park aka - Ghetto Park Day!
Today was our transfer day from Beijing to Guangzhou. We boarded an early morning flight on one of those 747 "Combi" planes which is 1/2 passenger, 1/2 cargo. It's weird in a way, but also kind of cool.
We hit up one small park called "Nanhu Amusement Park" which looked like the kind of place that closed a little over a decade ago, but they forgot to tell the employees who dilligently keep it open. It was "weird."
Then we headed to a bonus park, Jing Ying Amusement Park, for a bonus credit! Yay!
Photos....
Here we are at the Beijing Airport. Every time we fly internationally we realize how crap most of the US airports are!
The girls of TPR...totally crashed out!
Um...did we just land on the SUN?!!?
We stopped off for a quick dim sum lunch where green stringy stuff seemed to be the dish of choice!
"Welcome to the most ghetto park of the trip so far!"
"Nanhu Amusent Park"....um, yeah...
Our first credit that isn't a credit of the day was the powered Dragon. KidTums says "Why am I riding this? I don't even count it!"
Yay! Finally we get to the Arrow/Vekoma mutation!
The story behind this ride is that it was started by Arrow, but then later finished by Vekoma...yeah, we're going to die!
The first drop was....well.... "Weird"
GO! GO! GO!....we nearly stalled out in the corkscrews!
When you were done getting your skull beaten apart, they had exercise equipment for you to use.
Gift shop anyone??? Gift shop?
Hmm...I actually think this ride may be OPEN! Let's not go find out, shall we?
The splashdown boat has seen some better days.
It was time to board the Elissa Alvey bus of death and mortal sin.
Yay! Bonus Park!!!
Well at least I feel safe that no one will be touching my self esteem!
BONUS CREDIT!!!
This is why we like keeping TPR trips to small groups! It doesn't take an hour to get through the coaster that only holds one person.
It was a very bizarre mouse...not like anything I've ever been on before.
This is a "two packs per day" control panel.
Momma gets a coaster credit...
...while KidTums gets a carousel credit!
Rich has found a new career as a Chinese laborer.
Here is the view from our hotel.
Day Five - Chimelong Paradise Obligatory front entrance shot. We would have done a group photo, but we ate everyone else.
Our ERT/filming session started off with 10 Inversion Coaster...yes...it's REALLY called "10 Inversion Coaster!"
Here's one inversion.
There's a bunch more in there somewhere...
"Ten Circle Roller Coaster bring you Orgiastic Scream." Um...first off all the word is "orgasmic" and secondly.... WHAT?!?!??!
WTF! I really think they actually DO want you to have sex while on this ride!!!!
Yup, next on the ERT schedule was the Dive Coaster.
And it is as advertized!
This Dive Coaster is a SheiKra clone right down to the water splash. The ride is totally awesome, though!
Our carriage waits...
That's right! The ghetto rig is going to suck out all your happiness and bottle them into a future TPR DVD!
Ok everyone! ORGIASTIC SCREAM!!!!
Into the tunnel and then splash down.
There's a little bit of theming on the 2nd drop.
Half Pipe was next. Does this really even count as a coaster?
"Permanent" memory...it will be burned into your skull!
KidTums tries out for the part of "Zombie Baby" at Halloween Horror Nights.
Cedar Fair marketing anyone?
When they say "Spicy Chicken Wing" they mean the WHOLE wing!
UM....WTF is that thing!??!?! It just randomly wandered around the park!
Random Dive Coaster photo...just because!
"Can I ride too? I promise I'll hold on REAL tight!"
"Um, hello....DABBLED?!?!?"
That's a LOT of water for just a "dabble"
Overall it was a GREAT day at Chimelong...everyone is wiped out because of all that orgiastic screaming.
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Day Six - Mysterious Island, Pearl Land, and Amazing World
Today was kind of a "Credit Whore Day" that started out at a really nice park!
Our first stop was Mysterious Island in Zhuhai. A nice little park with two coasters, one of them being an Intamin launched that while small in size, really kicked a$$!
We then headed on to Pearl Land also in Zhuhai which was a nice park, nothing amazing, maybe slightly on the ghetto side, but overall a good place to pick up 4 random coaster credits.
And then we ended our night with a small park called Amazing World we tried to go to last night, but was closed due to rain. Since it was not very far out of the way back to our hotel we decided to hit it again and tonight we were in luck! It's a mostly indoor place with a few outdoor rides much like Toverland! There was a custom Vekoma Roller Skater here (again, just like Toverland) and to some there was even a total of four credits!
Now some pictures....
We started at Mysterious Island...a little damp, but we were here for some filming so they would open the coasters for us anyway!
We arrive at the park about an hour before the public was allowed in. The Intamin Launch (called Sky Car) looks small, but man it was GREAT!
Everyone ready to ride?
It basically has Storm Runner's top hat, although a little shrunk down.
LOOP -DE- LOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!
Sky Car + foliage.
Next up was the Screamin' Squirrel...this coaster was not quite as good as the Intamin.
What's the one thing I like the best about mermaids in China?
NO SEA SHELLS!!!
1Overall Mysterious Island was a really NICE park! Some great rides, good landscaping and theming. The park is only a few years old so as it fills it in should be even better!
Now we are at Pearl Land...it was a little ghetto, but overall nice. By far not the worst park we visited on the trip.
The first coaster "Jet Coaster" had some bizarre looking trains.
It actually was a lot of fun!
You dirty, dirty whore!
KidTums is all "C'mon mommy, do I *really* need to be riding all these Chinese death traps?"
The "Jungle Mouse" was quite twisty. I'm not sure I've ever seen a mouse with THAT many turns.
This was called "Pearl Land's Screaming Loop."
And then yeah, you are pretty much screaming in pain the whole time. Note that this *looks* like an Arrow/Vekoma looper, but it's just another Chinese knock off.
Next we went over to Amazing World which is inside the South China Mall...it's a giant indoor park with a Vekoma Roller Skater, much like Toverland.
This version is a custom one and it's really tall and very long. It's mostly indoors, but has a partial outdoor section.
Since this place wasn't on the original itinerary it was a BONUS CREDIT!!!
For those REAL Jeff Johnson credit whores there were a few other rides here that could be counted as a coaster with some stretch of the imagination.
"That's right this is TWO credits!!!"
This thing is almost more of a credit...
It's this kiddie spinning thing that moves along the track and is powered by drive tires. I can see some people counting this for sure, but for me, heck, I didn't even bother to ride them!
"Hi, my name is Bob and I *am* ...sad and pathetic!"
Day Seven - Happy Valley Shenzhen, Honey Lake, Donghu Park Today was another day of many parks! We first started out at Happy Valley in Shenzhen which was another awesome park! I never imaged we would encounter such amazing looking parks in China. Seriously, the Happy Valley parks are nicer than 80% of USA parks. The only thing that have lacking is the operations are a bit odd, but I think it has more to do with how the local culture navigates through the parks.
I think I may have even liked this park better than the one in Beijing, but without the B&M flyer the ride selection wasn't quite as good.
Next we visited Honey Lake Park. This was a strange, STRANGE place. When researching all these parks we were told that Honey Lake is basically on death row. Half of the park now has a new highway running right through it and you can see the old entrance on one side of the road and a defunct old roller coaster on the other.
Across the park they have one roller coaster that looked barely operating and a couple other flats that kind of, sort of worked. If you didn't see rides running you would think that this whole park had already been abandoned years ago.
Then the final stop for the day was Donghu park. I nice city park with a small amusement section that included two coasters and an alpine slide. Great little park, mostly for kids, but still a lot of fun!
Onto some photos...
We arrive at Happy Valley Shenzhen where they are celebrating 10 top hats full of sex and hot oil.
Just like the Beijing version, there was a Vekoma mine train, totally crazy themed and different from the other park and a bazillion times nicer than the Hard Rock Park version!
Yup, they had a Vekoma SLC just like the Beijing Happy Valley. At least aren't the same as every other damn SLC in the world!
The Chinese knock off Wacky Worm with the punching bee.
"This is the proper riding position for the Punching Bee coaster."
They also had one of those "Fire Academy" rides from Legoland, but this one you had to put out the fire on the...um...CRASHED PLANE?!?!
In the shops you are encouraged to buy your kids machine guns.
Oh, look! They have a dark ride here themed to Santa Claus. How nice!
Wait a second...if this is a dark ride about Christmas and Santa Claus why do they have guns? OMG! It's a shooting dark ride themed to Christmas! This might very well be the BEST DARK RIDE IN THE WORLD!!!!
The splash battle ride looked great...
And this awesome kids ride in the "Typhoon Bay" area where you ride in beds and bathtubs!
There was a lot of mystery meat on sticks...
This is "Honey Lake" and at first glance it may look really nice. That coaster there is just sitting in the water rotting away. I don't think it's been opened in YEARS.
The coaster that was open was ALSO rotting away!
By the looks of the queue, I don't think this ride sees much love.
Although for a rusted out dilapidated coaster, it actually ran pretty good!
I don't think too many children will be playing today.
The water park seems to be closed at the moment...I think we'll wait it out though as it may be open a bit later.
Next up was Donghu park where we DID find kids playing! Donghu is a large city park with a small amusement section and an alpine slide.
And yes there is ANOTHER one of these knock off spinning coasters. We think the Chinese government forced all the parks to buy these!
It doesn't matter...we are dirty dirty whores and will ride anything!
Including ride the powered coaster! (Even kidtums got this non-credit!)
There was also this really AWESOME Alpine Slide. Not sure how long it is, but this had to be one of the longest I've been on.
Alpine Slide POV!!!
Before dinner we had a "McDonald's Appetizer."
At dinner had a special guest! Mr. Chicken! Turns out Mr. Chicken's name was "Ed." He had quite an interesting past. He was a gansta rapper than lived in South Central Los Angeles. He didn't run with a very good crowd most of his life. There came a time though where he met a girl and started to turn things around because of her. On the night he was going to propose he went to a party where some of his friends got into a fight with some chinese mobsters. He was told that if he didn't come with them he would never see his woman again. After doing unmentionable acts to some birds living on the street he stood up for his rights and fought to come back to his true love. He almost made it out but was caught right before boarding a crate that would bring him back to Los Angeles. Today he was our dinner...and I gotta say, Ed tasted DAMN GOOD!
"I'm sorry things didn't work out Ed, but man, you made one great meal!" (KidTums doesn't look so sure!)
Ed says "Can you eat my breasts first? I was very fond of them and I'd like to share them with you."
Tonight we crossed into Hong Kong...tomorrow Ocean Park and then Hong Kong Disneyland!
Thanks for reading!
--Robb Alvey
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
We have checked into the Disney Hollywood Hotel on the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and then we have headed out to Ocean Park.
I knew that Ocean Park was in the middle of a huge expansion project, but what I didn't know is that the construction is so massive that it spreads to both sides of the mountain and it looks like more than half of the animal side of the park has been leveled and it's being re-built!
It doesn't leave much to do on that side of the park but when it's all done in 2012 it should be amazing! The new expansion even includes a tunnel that connects both sides together.
While we didn't visit Disneyland today we did spend some time at the resort and the hotel. I for one absolutely *love* the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and if it wasn't for the unfortunate fact that the park still has very few attractions this would be my favorite Magic Kingdom behind Tokyo Disney. But I'll get to that more in our HKDL update!
Hello Ocean Park! How's the family been treating you?
From the entrance to the Cable Car ride you can see the massive construction project that includes the tunnel to the other of the mountain.
The Cable Car ride is still amazing and terrifying at the same time.
"This is PURE SNOW! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"
Here is... "The Dragon"...Arrow at it's coat hanger finest!
Rough Coaster...great view!
Ocean Park's mine train is the coaster with one of the best views in the world!
That is really hard to top!
Oh, yeah, that's the money shot!
This is pretty much the rides side of the park.
The top of the mountain is all under construction.
Reverse POV of the cable car!
KidTums has got that Asian "peace" photo taking thing down!
The other side of the park has been practically gutted. The only thing really left to do on this side of the park is the giant balloon and the pooping pandas.
Here we go! Cross your fingers that they will be pooping.
Even better!
"Mommy, how much longer until he poops out that bamboo?"
We made a brief stop to Avenue of Stars so everyone could check out the Hong Kong skyline.
We went back and checked out the Disney Hollywood Hotel.
We went for an amazing dinner at Chef Mickey's.
Chip N Dale where there so I tried to have my way with them...
That of course wouldn't fly with Elissa around...
They saw that KidTums was totally crashed out....
And took her off to their treehouse while we had dinner...
Disney has such awesome babysitting service!
Next up....Hong Kong Disneyland!
More to come soon!
--Robb Alvey
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Today was our first of two days at Hong Kong Disneyland. While some people went off to Macau to do crazy things like jump off the tower, Elissa and I decided we would take KidTums to Disneyland!
Now first off, I do want to say that I absolutely *love* the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. I do not believe it deserves the bad rap it's gotten over the years.
The problem with the park is that there just isn't enough to do and when this park does fill in I think it would be my 2nd favorite Magic Kingdom behind Tokyo Disneyland. The park has all the charm, spirit and customer service as Tokyo Disneyland, just not the ride selection.
Anyway, onto some photos! (note - I will warn you that there will be a LOT of photos and probably even a few Disney dorky ones as well...)
Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland KidTums!
Much of Hong Kong Disneyland was based off Disneyland in California. So much so that some people may not even be able to tell the difference.
Wait...are you serious? You can upgrade to an annual pass for just.... THIRTY EIGHT DOLLARS?!!?
There are many "small castle" jokes that can be made here and I'm sure you've heard them all...but for now I'll just stick with "The castle may be small, but it still makes Joey jealous."
OMG! The marching band has blocked out the castle!!!!
Here is something the park did that I wish the other Disney parks would do also...they hand out instructions on how to use Fast Pass! Other Disney parks listen up. The IDIOTS out there need this! Don't just put it in the guide book that they will never read anyway, HAND THEM SOMETHING to read...or better yet, create a "book on tape" for how to use fast pass!
It's no Tokyo, but at least it's not the California version!
Chapter 11. As in "if the park doesn't do better soon, it may have to file for Chapter 11...."
It's a Small World...yup...this was the new kid on the block, the bad-ass new attraction, the dogs bollocks, etc, etc....
Yeah, it pretty much looked like Small World as seen in all the other Disney parks...
So for the most part this version of Small World looks like all the other ones...except for one change...there are now popular Disney characters scattered throughout the ride. Now I had heard all the Disney purists moan and complain about this how it "ruins It's a Small World", blah, blah, blah....
This is what I have to say about it...first off...it's freaking It's a Small World...so you pretty much need to do SOMETHING to get me to come back in. And secondly, I thought the Disney characters were really well done and a very nice and welcome addition! There are apparently 38 of them, I think we found most of them below...
There was Bambi and Thumper hanging out in the snow....
One of the prissy Astriocats looking all complain...
Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell hovering above London.
I think this is either Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty with her latest dude of the week.
The 16-bit Sega Genesis version of Pinnocchio.
Aladdin has that smile on his face because he knows the perfect place to park that carpet!
Abu doing his East Los Angeles impression.
Some Lion King dudes in there somewhere...
TRON?!!?!?
Donald and his pals doing the Mexican thing.
Poke-My-Hauntus
There really is a "boy gets girl" theme going on here...
Baloo and Short Round.
The Little Mermaid looking as HOT as ever! (C'mon...who DOESN'T want to bang Ariel?)
Lilo & Stich in Hawaii (of course!)
Shake it girls!!! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! "If I had some Hong Kong Dollars I'd be putting them in your grass skirt!"
Seriously, we all loved it! As much crap as this ride gets, this was a really good version of it!
Kristen was being assimilated by the corporate rat. She looked very cute.
Dave also was being assimilated but he is not so cute. In fact, just moments after taking this photo we started to claw our eyeballs out because we couldn't stand the sight of half-Dave, half-girly rodent anymore.
Buzz Lightyear was pretty much the same as all the other versions.
"Pixel Mickey & Minnie" were all the rage at Hong Kong Disneyland. They were very cool...almost a throwback to the "NES Video Game" days.
It's odd (and for Elissa very cool) how prominent Chip & Dale are here in all the Merchandise. It's almost like they and Stitch are the 'secondary' main characters behind Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Pluto in Asia. Turns out these toys were VERY cool! You can attach them all together, and the more you attach, the more songs they play and the more moves they do! Why don't we have this cool stuff in the US?!?!?
Entrance to Tomorrowland....yup!
There really was not many people at the park today. It was kind of sad really. During our first visit a couple of years ago the places was PACKED! This park is fantastic and with a lack of attractions I think comes a lack of people. Hopefully they will fix this problem soon.
When was the last time you saw a Magic Kingdom this dead?
We see you Space Mountain!
There are only three lands other than Main Street - Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland.
The Jungle River Cruise is the "badass" version of the traditional Jungle Cruise.
It's in three different languages and it's "Dan Friendly"
"...Licensed by Nintendo"
Elephant in water or Robb taking a shower...you decide!
Jungle Cruise + Fire = Awesome!
Adding fire and explosions to anything instantly improves it!
I know I've seen these dudes somewhere before...
"Where is everyone!?!?"
Those of you who grew up with Disneyland in California probably can appreciate this...
Lunch Time!!!
Oh, man...all that looks yummy!
I'm not exactly sure what it is...but it looks really good!
"Around the world with Elissa and plain pasta."
WUUUUULLLLLFFFFFF!!!!!!
Professor Honeydew & Beaker made their way down Main Street talking to guests, spraying them with water and basically being both cool and creepy at the same time!
Just in case we forget what her name is!
We could be in California...we could be in Hong Kong.
Don't worry Hong Kong Disneyland...we will be back tomorrow!
Next up...MORE Hong Kong Disneyland Photos with SPACE MOUNTAIN!!! Oooh! Ahhhh!!!!
--Robb Alvey
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Our 2nd day was one of our best Disney days ever! We started out with ERT on Space Mountain!
"That's right! We're all on Space Mountain and YOU'RE NOT...so THERE!"
"This is what ERT should be like!"
And if Space Mountain wasn't enough we also had ERT on Buzz Lightyear!
TPR members with guns...probably not the best idea!
Thank you to Hong Kong Disneyland from TPR for all the awesome ERT this morning!
Next up was a take over of the Autopia. We tried "Death Race" rules, but that didn't go over so well at Disneyland! =)
What a nice view of Space Mountain from the Autopia.
Jewy is licensed to drive in at least one country now.
OMG! Mickey is cheating on Minnie! With an 18 month old!!!!
Awww! Now mommy wants in on the hot rodent action.
It takes a small castle to make Jewy feel like a man!
"Silence.....of the lambs!!!"
Dave and Joey auditioned for the band. They were told never attempt to play a musical instrument again!
Since when is eating a competition in the Special Olympics?
DETAIL SHOT!!!
If you like Nightmare Before Christmas then you NEED to get out to Hong Kong Disneyland!
HA! Joey is the same size as Alice!
We headed back to our hotel (Hollywood Hotel) which was AWESOME! Top notch Disney resort.
All the chocolate covered strawberrys you can eat!
The fireworks show is a bit different...it's more ground based pyro than air. Which is cool as it ads a bit of variety.
Lots of stuff is set off right on the castle.
And did we mention there are fire cannons? Adding fire to anything makes it cool!
There IS a castle down there somewhere. If you squint you might be able to see it! =)
We want to say THANK YOU again to Hong Kong Disneyland for making our time spent here AWESOME!
Next stop...KOREA! Next park...LOTTE WORLD!
We had just visited South Korea in 2008, but with T-Express just opened and we were not that far away, how could we not make at very least a quick trip? That we did! We figured we would also visit (and stay on property) at Lotte World, which, in my opinion, is one of the nicest parks in the world, especially for an indoor park.
Lotte World is one of those parks where I can spend a couple of hours just walking around the place in amazement that it's all contained within the walls of a shopping mall for the indoor portion and over/under ground for the outdoor portion.
We also worked out a film shoot on Atlantis Adventure so we could get some great footage and lots of rides! Last year we waited almost 90 minutes for our one ride, this year we rode the crap out of it for over an hour!
I'm not sure where exactly I'd place Atlantis Adventure but it's truly "up there" as one of the most unique, most fun coasters in the world. Top 20 or 25 for me, and from someone that's been on well over 1,000 coasters, that's saying a lot!
Anyway on to some photos and just for you all a bonus VIDEO!!! Enjoy!
Oh, good...the bus brought us to Lotte World instead of Nara Dreamland...but what do those two parks have in common? That's right! They both have a castle bigger than Disneyland's! =)
Of course we were here for Atlantis Adventure...so that's what we did!
Atlantis Adventure is currently the world's only Intamin "Aqua Trax"...unless of course you count Maverick at Cedar Point as well! =)
Here is the first launch on the ride. Sexy, no?
Here you can see the "aqua" portion of the ride.
We learned the hard way last year that the Korean's make a sport out of soaking passengers on the ride.
Here's how it's done....if you're in the last 2 rows you can stick your hand out of the car and reach the water below...
It creates a massive wave, and oddly enough a fatter looking version of Rich's face.
After the wave is created Rich's face goes back to normal and the passenger behind him looks like he just had a golden shower with an elephant. (And the only thing that would turn Jeff on even more is if that elephant was crushing bugs.)
The ride is awesome....you can see how compact it is.
The theming is impressive too. When you walk up to the ride, you can't see most of it! It's inside the giant castle/mountain/whatever it is.
And of course after riding the Aqua Trax for an hour there was really only one thing to do.
That's right....ride the bizarr-o underground spinning coaster where you get swallowed by a giant monster...no, I'm NOT making this up!!!
When you get old...you require at least 26 plates in order to eat lunch.
Now it's time for the creepy giant teeth monster dark ride.
"Hmmm...I wonder which of those beans turns the blob into a ladder?"
OMG! I just died and went to meat-on-stick heaven!
The indoor part of the park is just amazing looking....
Yeah, that's right, this is all INDOORS!!!
From the interiour of the park, you can see the entrance to the rides, but the actual show building is set back even further beyond the walls of the park, or in some cases underground!
This absolutely is the best "Indy rip-off" ever...in fact, in some ways it's BETTER than the actual Indy ride!
Oh, no! Don't look into the eyes! You will start rapid aging!!!
Too late!
HISS!!! HISSY HISS HISS!!! HISS!!!
The queue is also equally well themed...(yeah, this is the queue!)
"Here we are...still in the queue!"
BLARRGGGHHHHH!!! BLEEGGGHHH!!! BLEECCCHHH!!!
Here is the outside...
Looking awesome...
And inside looking equally as cool.
Except for the Vekoma death machine...that's the only amount of suckiness at the indoor section.
And yes, the ride on pandas can also be found here too!
After a full day at Lotte World what else do you do except drink ELEVEN beers!
Here's to Lotte World, Atlantis Adventure, and....um....ELEVEN BEERS!
KidTums says "I'm cute dammit! Send me stuff!!!"
Next up...Everland and...OMG...T-Express!!!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Now for those of you who have watched our Eagle's Fortess Video (and if you haven't download it now) you'll know that Everland is home to the best Arrow Suspended coaster in the world which also turned out to be one of our top ten coasters overall! (And if you want to see how an Arrow Suspended lands in someone's top ten out of over 1,000 coasters, download that video!)
This year Everland has built "T-Express" (The T comes from the Korean Mobile company T World who sponsors the ride) and this could be one of the best wooden roller coasters in the world, and for many of our group is was #1!
The story goes like this...we asked the project manager about the ride and he simply said "We rode Balder, then we rode El Toro...we asked Intamin if we could have BOTH."
And that's pretty much what they got! It's like a mini El Toro plus Balder!
Since our visit T Express has gone on to be ranked the #1 wood coaster in the world which has brought forth much controversy. If you are one of the many people who rank El Toro very highly chances are this ride will beat our Toro on your list. If you're not into the type of ride that is El Toro, this may not be your thing. I'll let the photos and the video speak for themselves....
"Hi everyone! We are all here to ride one of the top roller coasters in the world....why aren't you here with us?!?!?"
So the next series of photos will basically be "coaster porn" starting with this one right as you exit the station. Check out how massive this ride is and it's built right against the side of the mountain!
Hello Mr. Cable lift hill! We are glad you don't slow down as much as your cousin El Toro in the US!
If that hill doesn't scream "pop my cherry" I don't know what does!
Yeah...I think that is what's happening here! =)
Hellllllloooooo 77 degree drop!
That should be known as the sea of airtime!
Or maybe "hairtime!"
Um...there is a bottom to that drop right? RIGHT?!?!?
This is hands down the best first drop on any wooden roller coaster in the world!
And this second drop ain't half bad too! =)
Mmmm.....nice curves baby!
The drop off the midcourse into...well... "Balder"
Balder in the foreground, El Toro in the background!
Get ready for EXTREME HAIR MAKEOVER!!!
Hmm...I've suddenly got the urge to buy a mobile phone but I'm not sure why.
Head choppers anyone?
Good luck down in front!
Could this hill be the most extreme airtime ever?
Seriously the ride is airtime hill after airtime hill. It never lets up! If airtime is your thing you HAVE to come ride this!
I do believe everyone looks just a skosh happy! =)
At night, T-Express got even better!
Even without all the Halloween decorations it was eerily creepy and awesome!
Ok, so enough T-Express...now on to some other stuff! The park also has a lot of animals (think Busch Gardens Tampa) along with the rides. This one is the Zoo in SPAAAAACE!
Dammit! Every time I took a picture of these guys my browser crashes!
Just in case you wanted to try flying...here's how!
"These don't taste anything like Polar Bears!"
"Hey! C'mon now! Enough with the damn scooby snacks! Throw me that kid!!!"
NICE BEAVER!!!
This one is for you Mr. Turtle.
Aha! A Camel...you know what that means! That's right...
CAMEL TOE!!!
Just in case you forgot there is awesomeness right around the corner.
We attempted to watch the parade which included a sun and a giant Taco...
KidTums was more confused than anything else!
"Um, excuse me sir, are you aware that you have a smiley face pumpkin on your a$$?"
"Now how to I shift this Panda into 2nd gear again?"
Mmmm...Eagle's Fortress...an hour of ERT... *AT NIGHT*
"This is number TWO in the world...behind T-Express!" =)
Seriously, this ride is freaking AMAZING!!! We would post more photos, but there was nothing to see. They turned out the lights for us and it was PITCH BLACK Arrow Suspended awesomeness!!!!
"Do you think they will let me ride?" Sorry KidTums you have to wait until later...and who knows, maybe this ride will have new trains on it by then! (I didn't say that outloud, did I?)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the T-Express video! Another new update coming soon!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Ok time to come back to this thread and come back STRONG!!!! How about a little Tobu Zoo and a Kawasemi video as an "apology" for not getting to these updates sooner?
Anyway, Tobu Zoo is home to a new for 2008 Intamin "Mega Lite" called Kawasemi. All I can say about this amazing coaster is that it's all the power and airtime of Superman: Ride of Steel and Expedition GeForce packed into about 1/4 of the size. It's absolutely incredible! I really hope parks pick up on this little ride as the perfect "small coaster" that isn't too intimidating for older guests and really delivers.
The rest of the park we did a quick run through. Got on Regina which is still very good, although a bit rougher this year. The Togo Looping Mouse was down for maintenance which is a bummer, but like we've always said be prepared for coasters to be closed in Japan. I do think Kawasemi more than made up for this! =)
I still think that if you're in the area of Tokyo be sure to hit up this park. Even without Kawasemi it was a great place to visit and now it's got, in my opinion, the best steel coaster in Japan!
This is what the group looks like all hyped up on caffeine and Japanese crack!
Still hyped up there is NO WAY we are going to turn down the opprotunity for a group photo in front of the coaster-morphing, huge knockers hot chick in the train station.
My god STOP GIVING THESE PEOPLE CAFFEINE!!!
Ok, let's pause for a moment. This is a lift hill shot, yes. And it's for those lift hill enthusiast dorks, yes, yes...but let's just point out that this is the lift to a coaster that will make our group scream with ultimate Intamin pleasure for the next hour or so. Read on...
The first drop may not look like much, but OMG does it deliver!
Are you wet yet?
It's just a mess of track everywhere!
Three airtime filled bunny hills in a row, thank you very much.
Mmmm....
Dave looks happy...like a school boy who just found the hidden key to dad's liquor cabinet.
Just look at it...perfect curves and hills. Dolly Parton would be proud!
EXTREME AIRTIME AND GUM LINE!!!
Did we mention it goes under water?
Everyone's hands up? Check!
I beleive they are having a good time.
Three sexy bunny hills!
It's like there two of them...I wish there were two of them!
You guys don't mind riding like, 17 or 18 more times, right?
Wow! That is like the meanest Bob face I've ever...EVER seen!!!
Regina...she's sexy...and rough!
She'll give you a good beating but some men like that kind of thing! Yowza!
The park has a lot of nice curves.
Yay! Everyone is either happy or invisible!
"Hi, this is Robb and Martin, and I just want to let you all know that we normally don't look this bad...seriously...this could be the worst picture of us ever taken!!!"
OMG! P-O-VEEEEEEE!
Ok so maybe Martin always looks like that! =)
Bob and his fan club!
"We are the world's thumb wrestling champions!"
Robb and Yoshi will challenge Bob and Tim to a thumb wrestle duel!
As you can see Dave and Jeff also want in on this thumb wrestling action. They are showing off their goods.
Ok, enough of the other rides, did we mention this is one of the best coasters in the world?
Amazing...
It's like Superman, Goliath, and Expedition GeForce shrunk down and cute!
Three little bunny hops sitting in a row...
"Itarian"
The world can never have too many Kawasemi photos.
"I would like to introduce you to my robot ride-on beetle!"
OMG. Is he finally....dead????
--Robb
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Our morning started off with breakfast...except this is NOT what we ate!
"I think I'll settle for the plain bread, please!"
Mmm...KidTums goes MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH on the yummy plain bread.
You guys look so happy and we're only in the train station!
Hello everyone! Face the camera and look happy.
TPR Takeover on Mystery Zone!!!
We pretty much had the Arrow Corkscrew to ourselves...in fact, we had the entire park to ourselves!
Here's a shot for those Arrow lovers out there.
Japan is so awesome. Many of the coasters are plush and carpeted!
Cyclone aka "The Log Ride!"
"It doesn't matter if it's rough...your butt will be plenty cushioned!"
"Everyone loves a log!"
Here goes the log ride...
OMG! TREE CHOPPER!!!
The log ride is certainly a crowd pleaser.
Every drop you have to duck from the trees!
I just love it when my log goes into a dark tunnel.
Condor...yup!
"Hello world, this is my 250th Condor credit and I'm going to rush home and post to condorcounter.com right after this ride."
There is just something about the Japanese warning signs that makes me laugh!
Hooray! For crazy Huss flat rides!
You all look happy now, but when that bar closes and squashes your nuts and boobs into oblivion your going to have a MUCH different look on your face! =)
This ride is "Creepy Trio of Clowns" approved!
This is the log ride aka "Cyclone"
It's their "O Face!"
"Same"
"Hey someone get this human out of my a$$!!!"
"We beat up 10 children to get on this ride!"
Sadly, the Schwarzkopf shuttle loop is still down for the count.
For those of you who are Japanese train fanatics, there was a model train fair going on today.
Tables and tables full of train toys and other random stuff.
You could even buy the JR station and train signs, light boxes, control panels, and more!
There was TONS of it!
I'm not even sure what some of this stuff is, but Jeff Johnson sure would have loved to be here!
Yay! We get back to a REAL train and head to our next park!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Yay! Here we are at Yomiuriland again! Not much has changed since our last visit, but this is still a very nice Tokyo park to check out when you're in town.
Unfortunately today weather would not be the best for us, we were very lucky that Yomiuriland kept all the coasters open in the rain.
No matter how many times you see it, "The Wish of The Emergency" never gets old!
Here is the park from the skyway...as you can see there is NOBODY here!!!
When you see the funky dogs ass, you're at the main entrance! =)
Bow down to Mr. funky dog! Do it! DO IT NOW!!!!
"GRRR!!! I am the Bandit!!! I will steal your money and rape you of your SOUL!!! GRRR!!!!!"
LIFT HILL SHOT!!!
The Bandit is a seriously fun Togo coaster (yes I said that!) If it didn't have the OTSR's it might actually kick even more ass!
Hooray for meandering all over the park!
Like I said, there is NOBODY here!
We see you funky dog!
"ENT" is Japanese for "DIE!"
Remember, NO DUCKS on White Canyon!
Yes, White Canyon is that RCCA wood coaster death machine that is ranked one of the top ten WORST coasters in the world!
These "phone booth coffin cars" may be the last thing you ever see.
"No, really guys...it IS that bad!"
Dave made it out, but now he's permanently slumped for the rest of his life!
Ouch!
We're actually not whores, this is actually a full sized adult coaster!
OK, maybe we're just sad and pathetic liars! =)
See! They all feel VERY good about themselves!
I know what the "Standing and Loop" part is, but what the hell is "MOMOnGA???"
One side of the track is a stand up train.
Martin prepares his "Human hand rain shield" to fight off the what feels like needles in your eye!
The other side is a sit down. (Don't worry guys, after White Canyon this will feel like a B&M!)
Yay! SL Coaster! It's like a really big kiddie coaster that doesn't seem to do much of anything.
"We got in all the credits!"
BIG EYE! BIG EYE! BIG EYE!!!
Yomiuriland also has a number of strange walk through and dark rides.
Don't be fooled by their pale appearances...there is some wacky s**t going on inside these buildings!
I see a demon head, and upside down human leg, and some sheets. Yeah...
It's like "Thomas the Brickwork..."
We have to cut our day a little short at Yomiuriland so we can beat the rain to the next park.
Say goodbye to the Bandit...we'll miss you!
Goodbye SL Coaster...we still don't quite understand you...
..and HELLO to "Ghetto Umbrella Man!" See you at the next park!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
I'm now convinced that Fuji-Q is the worst run amusement park in the world. We have had three visits there over four years and each visit has been equally as horrible but for different reasons.
This time around it was mostly weather related. Yes, the ride capacity and slow crew issues were still there, but on this visit I saw some of the worst park policies and operations I've ever seen. Let me just describe our day....
On the day of our visit we knew there would be rain. It was fore-casted for the bulk of the rain to start about 4pm and thanks to the nearly perfect Japanese weather forecasting that's exactly when it started. But up until then we were supposed to get patches of good weather here and there. And that's what we got.
We also know that Fuji-Q has a tendency to shut down almost everything in the rain, even a slight mist. Which is completely retarded because for a country where it rains 300 days out of the year and where most of the other parks seem to be able to operate their attractions in the rain, why has Fuji-Q purchased rides that can't be operated even in a gentle mist (so they claim.)
We arrived at the park with a good amount of time to spare which is good because the line to get into the park stretched so far back that I'm sure it took some people two hours to get into the park with the only 4 ticket booths they had open. (watch the video, the clip at the beginning with the long line is the line to get in the park!!!) Luckily we were in the front of that line. Score one for TPR trips always getting to parks early!
Once we were in the park and we could see what rides were operating I told the group "Ok, it's going to rain...at the moment it would appear that Dodonpa and Fujiyama are running, but Eejanaika was not. You guys now need to make a choice...do you want to jump on Dodonpa or Fujiyama or try to wait it out for Eejanaika knowing that one is the most temperamental in the rain." Some of the group headed for Dodonpa, the other half went to Eejanaika.
I was with the group that went to Eejanaika. We got to the ride to find it closed. We were told it wasn't due to the weather but due to the block checking taking a long time (not surprising since Magic Mountain's also seems to open late quite often)
About 10 minutes later they let us in line, we board the train, and are on the first train out. The rest of our group is on the 2nd train...and then it starts to rain...actually it started to gentle mist!
They closed the ride.
In fact, those two trains were the *only* trains to dispatch that day. We ran off the ride and it started to rain a bit harder. By this time everything was closed. Luckily one of the walk through dark rides where you stand in a coffin was open! Oh, yay! Most of the group went and did that, the rest of us had a beer because we needed it to get through our day at Fuji-Q.
Then the weather got a bit better and rides started to re-open. Since the Thomas coaster was right nearby we hit that one up. At this point the rain had stopped but the only coasters open were the Thomas coaster, Fujiyama, and Zola 7.
The group figured it would be best to try for Fujiyama since Zola 7 will run in the rain anyway....We get over to Fujiyama...the line is posted at *three hours* Ugh.
It rains on and off, scattered showers, some scattered clouds and sometimes we even see the sun break through now and then. Oddly enough Fujiyama never shut down even during the scattered rain showers.
There was a point in time where we had no rain for about 90 minutes of the group waiting in that three hour line but nothing else ever re-opened...Wild Mouse, Hamster Coaster, Dodonpa, even the Thomas coaster had finally closed. And like REALLY closed. All crews were sent home and the trains covered up.
It seemed to make no sense that they could operate Fujiyama in rain, but nothing else. Why is this?
And of course they were running Fujiyama as slow as humanly possible. For those who were waiting in the 3 hour line it was PAINFUL. I did some walking around the park while they waited and made even more observations about how horrible this park is run.
For example, why is it they seem to go out of their way to buy low capacity rides? For one of the busiest parks in Japan, why did they buy a Wild Mouse that only seats two people at a time? Why did they get Dodonpa that only seats 8? Their kiddie coaster is one of the smallest I've ever seen and the Hamster Coaster also only seats up to 2 people!
Even the "new for 2008" ride which was a river rapids ride only had boats that held 4 people at a time, and they were only putting 2 per boat! WTF! A park of this size should be buying a river rapids ride that holds 10 to 12 people per boat and sending out a crap load of them.
Anyway, back to our group waiting three hours for Fujiyama...
They have now been waiting over 2 hours and are only at the bottom of the outside ramps (for those of you who know the layout of the park know what I'm talking about.)
All of a sudden...the ride closes. No warning, no reason, the rain hasn't gotten any harder, it's still *exactly* how it was for the last two hours. And it REALLY closed. They shut all the doors and one of the employees even came out and emptied the ticket machines. They told everyone to leave the line.
WTF?!?!
So now after waiting over two hours, we're totally screwed. At this point the group is so frustrated.... We go over to Zola 7..it's another 45 min line. *sigh* Fine. They ride that...we wander around for a bit more hoping more rides open up. The rain hasn't gotten any worse in the past hour and a half and we're all just baffled as to why Fujiyama ran just fine in the rain for 2 hours and then shut down.
We check out the Thomas dark ride, ride the carousel, and wander looking for any open ride. Even the walk through haunted hospital is a *FOUR HOUR* line not including the 45 minute attraction. So if we wanted to do this ride it would be a *FIVE HOUR* commitment! WTF is wrong with this park!??!?! Why do they think it's totally acceptable to offer attractions that are 3 to 5 hours worth of waiting in line?
Now we finally start to get that heavier 4pm rain.
"SCREW THIS PLACE!!!"
Finally we leave....and I really never ever want to come back. I really believe that Fuji-Q is the worst operated park in the world! In all my travels I have never found any place as terrible as this park.
The park is operated like crap, the rides aren't very good, and the crews are just miserable. When the best area in the park is your kiddie land and the best ride is your Thomas the Tank Engine dark ride and everyone can't wait to leave, you really know the place sucks.
Here is the new entrance to Fuji-Q. We think that Fuji-Q *actually* on fire would be much better than this.
Make a mental note - Do not fight the bears while at Fuji-Q!
Yay! We all look so happy! Boy, our attitude will change REAL QUICK!
Oh, look, they can't get Eejanaika open with the park. Here, let me put on my *shocked* face!
Finally they get the ride open and let us in. Now let's take a look at how Eejanaika does their loading because it's quite interesting. There are three of these "pens" where everyone has a foot mark to stand on and lockers to put your stuff...
You put all your crap in the locker and no one else will be in this pen until you get back, so it's nice and safe.
The trains you can see are the older style X trains with the "pickle forks"
Note the additional padding that has been added to the restraints! (It needs it!)
And also additional seat belts.
Since they have three of these pens, one is always getting ready to load, one pen worth of people is out on the circuit, and the third pen is empty ready to be loaded. It actually works awesome, and this is the *only* ride in the park where they actually have their act together for loading/unloading.
Of course they can't seem to operate the ride in a gentle mist, which is what happened right after we rode. The coaster looked like this the rest of the day. I will say that my ride this year was much better than last year, but it's still nowhere near as good as X2 is.
Hmm...with all the rides closed due to the gentle mist, what's the only thing you can do to keep yourself sane in this horrible park?
DRINK BEER!!!
Don't be fooled by that sign! This is attraction is actually OPEN! (They just didn't bother to move the sign because, well, why bother, it will just close down in ten minutes anyway...)
Ooh! We are actually getting a hint of blue sky! Does that mean rides will open? Well, maybe one or two for a VERY short time...I mean, it's is Fuji-Q, they can't possibly have rides open for people to enjoy!
There is some curious nerdy stuff going on here....
NERD!!!!! (Really Julie, we love you...but you're a NERD!!!!) =)
This is pretty much how these two coasters looked the rest of the day. As you can see, it's cloudy...but it's not raining.
OMG! OMG! OMFG!!! A coaster!!! And it's....it's....OMG! OPEN!!!!
YES! And *only* a 2 and a half hour line!!! (Well, actually it was 3, but we were being hopeful!)
We'll get back to those standing in that three hour line later, but for now, let's have a look at the rest of the park. Here is the "new for 2008" rapids ride...
Ok, can someone please tell me why the f**k this park buys a rapids ride that only seats four people and then only puts two in a boat?!?! Seriously, it's like they are trying so hard to win the "lowest capacity park" award.
Yay! Only TWO HOURS if you want to ride the new rapids ride! You know, Fuji-Q, Intamin and other companies sell a rapids ride that seats 10 to 12 people per boat and most small parks even have this model. Not sure if ever noticed that.
Oh, look. Another god-awful capacity ride that only holds TWO people per car...and it's CLOSED. Do you see rain? I don't. But it's Fuji-Q, and Fujiyama is open which means they couldn't possibly have other rides going at the same time.
Oh, look. The Thomas coaster is closed for "bad weather" which is odd because the weather conditions are EXACTLY the same when we just rode it an hour ago.
Here's the haunted hospital that everyone goes ga-ga about. It's a 45 minute attraction that only has a four hour line! That's right, if you want to experience this attraction you only have to dedicate *FIVE HOURS* to it. WTF?!?!
Dave and I decided we would buy some weapons out of the capsule machines for our friends in line so they can shoot who ever is making the line take so long!
Yup, there is the line...3 hours long...as you can see, the ground is wet, but it's only raining lightly, on and off, can you even see some blue sky hovering over Eejanika. A park like this should be able to operate at least more than *ONE* coaster in a light scattered rain. It's so irresponsible of the park to purchase a collection of rides they can't operate (so they say) in a country where it rains 300 days out of the year. And they make NO EFFORT to try to get any rides open when the rain stops. They just send their crews home. This is the park's fault. And another reason why I feel they are one of the worst run parks in the world.
The crew decides to use the weapons on themselves because it's a general consensus that suicide may actually be BETTER than being at Fuji-Q.
"Kill me...please kill me...get me out of this park!"
Actually, screw that...everyone KILL LAUREN!!!
Ok, now the biggest WTF of the day. All of a sudden, they just close Fujiyama. No explanation, no nothing. It's been raining on and off the same and they've kept the ride open the entire time. And NOW they decide to close it?!?!?
And like they REALLY closed it. Shut all the doors, emptied the ticket machines, it was DOWN FOR THE COUNT the rest of the day. Why?!?!
Ugh, fine...might as well try to get on Zola 7. This coaster is all indoors and I would assume that it's still open! (Please also note - it's NOT RAINING!)
Yay! We get to shoot stuff! You need to take your aggressions out somehow.
"Two...that's right...hopefully we'll get at least TWO credits today!" (I think most everyone in the group actually managed to get THREE!!!)
"I really hope I get to shoot the park manager"
"Would anyone like more alcohol to get them through their day at Fuji-Q?"
Hey look! More closed rides! (note while there are scattered clouds in the background, it's NOT RAINING!!!)
The fog is quite low which is what seems to be causing the gentle mist which keeps all of Fuji-Q's rides closed. You can ALMOST make out Mt. Fuji!
Lydia, who hates Thomas even decides "I'd rather be in Thomas Land than anywhere else in Fuji-Q!"
Seriously the dark ride is great!
And even though the park completely sucks, at least TPR members are still managing to have a bit of fun!
Even Mr. Angry insect says "Please get me the hell out of Fuji-Q!!!"
"Cake the Pocket" is better than anything at Fuji-Q
Finally about 4pm it starts to rain hard. It makes no sense why the park would basically "pack it up" about 2-3 hours before hand. Why not at least TRY to keep some rides running as long as possible? (I like how someone has stolen the menu to keep dry!) LOL!
Good thing everyone has that TPR poncho in their goodie bag! =)
After a craptacular day and one of the worst parks in the world what better way to make it up than to hang out in Tokyo!!!
Ahh, this is so much better than the lights of Tivoli! =)
Dave and Eric are proud of themselves...they have successfully bored a poor old Japanese lady to death!
Wait, I know this place...there is something very amazing near here!
That's right! MEAT ON STICKS!!!!
"Screw Fuji-Q...we have meat and beer!!!"
Suck it down baby!!!
"Hey Joey! Watch me eat the quail egg!"
There really isn't anything better than this...and certainly NOT at Fuji-Q!
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
This is one bizarre, but AWESOME park! It's smack in the middle of the city (in the Asuska area) with some amazing looking temples and street markets surrounding it.
The park itself houses the "Oldest coaster in Japan" as well as some other cool, messed up, awesome attractions. It's one of those little "gem" parks where you have to try to see and do everything!
We must now look at photos...
Here we are arriving at Hanayashiki...looks innocent from the front, right? This park was amazing! It was like the Bon Bon Land or Klotten of Japan!
Pretty gardens, looks good so far!
First up was the "Roller Coaster", and this one is the oldest in Japan built in 1953.
TPR Gang is ready to roll!
The park manager tells us these trains are brand spankin' new! And they look it!
Although they aren't kind to long legs! =)
It's ok Dave, I'm sure you've been in rougher positions!
Here is what the oldest coaster in Japan looks like!
In very much the "Blackpool fashion" you can see how the rides and shops are built on different levels to help save space.
Japanese Fun Fun Ride!
The park is plopped right down in the middle of the city! (I just really wanted to use the word 'plop')
Here we have a look at the rest of the park. Yes it's small, but it's some quirky awesome fun!
First drop! Can you guys take it?
The faces of joy!
Yay for the oldest Japanese coaster tunnels!
It almost looks like you're going right under someone's house!
On one side of the street, some random buildings, on the other side, Japan's oldest coaster!
"We love the ride....but we can't feel our legs!"
Still nowhere near as old as Jeff Johnson!
Religious experience on the Space Shot or bowel movement...you decide!
"Ok, quick...everyone do your best 'scanners' impression!"
The rotating house was a bit...um.... "cozy?"
Next up was the "Sit around the table in the dark and listen to weird stuff being pumped into your ears" attraction.
The camera flash reveals that in the dark, we all make really dorky faces!
"Hello, I'm the funny blue troll monster. Please come inside my maze torture and insanity."
But first, RANDOM BOOBS!!!
The maze of wackiness including passages made for Oompa Loompas and random hanging foliage.
That's a lot of rusty steps!
MUST! GRAB! BOOOOOOOB!
"I'd say she's at least a D-Cup."
"GRRR!!!! I'm ANGRY lion guy...GIMME SOME CANDY!"
Like I said, Dave has been in worst positions! =)
PUSH...DAVE! PUSH!!!!
OMG! Now there are two of those hideous creatures!
Um...what...is.....THIS?
OMG! OMG! OMFG!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!?
PEE CAM!!!!
I think it makes sense to transition from little boy fairy peeing on passers by to the crepe lady...yeah.
Ok, forget the crepe and the lady...I WANT YOUR DOMOKUN!!!!
"I'm CRRRAAAAZZZZZY EVIL MCP LOOKING DARK RIDE HEAD...GIMMME SOME AMERICANS!"
Yo lady statue, wassup?
Not even sure what to say here.
It's one of them rock-n-roller rides...in the shape of outer space!
"You know what goes good with a wacky park like this? BEER!"
Just outside the park are some awesome Japanese buildings.
Japanese temple-looking thing..CHECK!
And a HUGE street market is here also. The whole area was awesome!
Cube fans, rejoice!
The entrance to the market.
Godzilla Sperm?
Dear Hanayashiki! TPR says "THANK YOU" for having one of the most awesome bizarre parks in the world! (And special thank you to Takashi for helping us out!)
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Since we were doing some credit whoring today, we made a brief stop at Sea Paradise for two reasons: Blue Fall and Helix: The Ride, aka "Surf Coaster!" Both rides are awesome and well worth the train ride out to Sea Paradise...
Onto some photos....
Hey everyone! You all excited about Blue Fall?
KidTums is already knows how to ride the train!
Fuk-U-Ura...this is not our stop!
Yay! Our stop is dolphin-safe!
Here we have "Helix: The Ride."
Surf Coaster has to be one of the best Togo coasters in the world!
It has airtime, it doesn't hurt, but most importantly it has *two* helices!
Yup, that's a Surf Coaster photo!
There is giant helix #1. (We see you Blue Fall!)
There is Giant Helix #2!
Yup.
A moment of silence for the "Boat Jumpers" please...
This is where they would do their thing...
Ahh, now to what we came here for...BLUE FALL!!!
Yes, that would be a 330 foot tall Intamin drop tower! Watch out for the "fake drop!"
Natural reaction to Robb naked.
Mmm....so pretty!
They all look so happy! They have NO IDEA what they are getting themselves into!
Bye guys! Good luck! =)
"Honey...I love you almost as much as Blue Fall."
Group photo in the Ice House!
"Whatever you're going to do to me...please make it QUICK!!!"
Um...are you seeing the same thing *I* am seeing?!??!
Choose wisely!
Awww....you have chosen poorly! All your skin will now fall off.
Wow, the Japanese have a strange way of getting their bowling balls!
Oh wait...
Anyone remember this ride from Magic Mountain?
Pinocchio says "Eat lots of Frozen Coke!"
Next stop was Yokohama Cosmoworld which I still feel is one of the "prettiest" parks in the world. There is no denying this place has an AWESOME setting! Especially at night. Have a look....
Today it was KidTums turn to get us to our next park! She's got the directions, she's ready to lead us!
Wait! She wants us to do morning calisthenics before we hit up the next park???
"STEP ON THE BUG!!! STEP ON THE BIG BUG!!!! Before it gets to the children...."
See Comoworld during the day is nice...
...and the setting right in the middle of the city is fantastic...
...but it's at night when this park REALLY comes alive!
The park is located on both sides of the bay. The Ferris wheel and "Diving Coaster" is located on one side...
...and there are some flat rides and the kiddie coaster are located on the other. It's a short walk between the two.
Enough pretty lights talk...let's ride a roller coaster!
Yes, Diving Coaster is pink...very pink...
You guys all ready for the pink diving coaster?
"Dive! Dive! Take her down easy!"
And there they go! Pink and diving!
Even the trains have glowey lights!
Diving coaster is ICE BAT APPROVED!
I'm not even sure what this is, but damn it looks awesome!
Why do we keep bringing these maniacs on our trips with us? (Except Lauren...she's cool.)
Seriously though, while Diving Coaster isn't the greatest coaster in the world, the park really is amazing!
Everywhere you look everything glows!
This place must have been a lighting designers wet dream!
And in addition to the awesome lights, Cosmoworld is also home to some REALLY wacky dark rides! You guys ready?
This one they almost didn't want us to ride because it's all in Japanese and they were afraid we wouldn't understand the story...
Who needs to speak Japanese to understand "BOOBS!!!!"
This dark ride is "Dolphin Safe"
There is even something for our gay contingent to look at!
But most importantly...BOOBS!!!!
"So you guys ready to go on the ride with boobs and half naked dudes while holding a phallic object?"
CAPTION CONTEST!!!! EMAIL DAN YOUR CAPTION!!! mrt0ad13@aol.com The first 10 people to have their caption posted will get a TPR Bag-O-Crap! Be sure to email him your mailing address too!
Why are these dudes in every Japanese shooting dark ride?
Even KidTums got to play this one!
Cosmoworld is also one of the homes to the original "Meat Animals" and especially "Meat Cow."
No, Dave is not dead. Although he looks dead. He is actually overwhelmed with joy and happiness that he has found Meat Cow. You just can't tell because joy and happiness in Dave looks the same as death.
These "Meat Animals" tell you what meat parts are included. There is Meat Cow, Meat Pig, Meat Fish, Meat Chicken, Mean Human (yes, that's right), and now the brand new Meat Holstein which is a descendant of Meat Cow.
Ok time to head over to the other side of the park! Get your jet packs ready to FLY!!! (Yes, they have Jet Packs in Japan because they are so advanced.)
The other side of the park looks just as awesome!
Lots of lights and dizzy stuff.
You guys ready for your "Family Banana Coaster" credit? (I don't make up the names of these rides I swear!!!)
Yay! Banana credit!
See! Even the Banana Coaster has more theming that most US parks!
And what does every TPR member do after a day of coasters? That's right! Close one eye and stick your tongue out!
Thanks for reading!!! One of the most bizarre parks EVER is up next!
--Robb
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Our last stop before Tokyo Disney was the "Tokyo Teleport" area which has a ton of amusements, shopping and lots of crazy stuff!
One of the best arcades with tons of capsule machines is located here, Sega Joypolis is also across from the station at a huge entertainment complex called "Tokyo Decks."
Also housed in that complex is this update's showcase destination "Muscle Park." Some of you may remember Muscle Park from last year's update, but we made a very quick visit. This year now that we know more about the place we spent some time and all I have to say is that this is a *MUST SEE* if you are into some awesome 'wacky' places to check out and have fun at while in Japan.
Onto some photos....
We head out to "Tokyo Teleport" on a very crowded JR train!
"Why are all the Japanese taller than me?"
Tokyo Teleport is an amazing place. It houses lots of amusement areas, shopping malls, etc, etc...
Today we challenge MUSCLE PARK!!!
Muscle Park is home to the official "Sasuke" course which for those of you may not know, is called "Ninja Warrior" here in the USA!
And yes, for women to compete you gotta chop your nails!
Elissa's "s**t eating grin" on the hand bike!
Mike is the only one of us who was able to defeat the salmon ladder!
Julie shows off some belly on the arm rings!
Rich! Just pretend they are donuts and you'll make it!
Looks like Joey is going to make the hand bike!
Oooooh! Jew down!
Elissa is almost at the end of the course!
OMG! A shark is eating her off screen!!!
"I might be dead....but I made it!"
"Almost there... just a couple of seconds..."
"Raise your hands....if you're SURE!"
'I am woman! Hear me roar!'
Yes, Elissa is a Ninja Warrior fanboy!
Elissa says "I love you Makato Nagano and Shingo Yamamoto!"
The rest of the park is like Wii Fit on steroids! Watch your balance guys!
Smooth moves!
"Every time you press that button, god kills a kitten."
'With much concentration comes greatness!'
42 kittens...dead!
All the games here were awesome! This one you had to press the buttons in a certain pattern as fast as humanly possible.
"Ranking Park!" Is that anything like the Rankin Bridge?
It's like IAAPA exploded in Japan!
And yes, they even had Ninja Warrior for kids!
More awesome crazy games!
And GUNS! You can't possibly have a muscle park without guns!
I'm not even sure what this is, but it's got two balls and a strange looking guy.
Of course no theme park would be without some kind of eatery.
And if you're going to work out you need to eat! And this "Monster Burger" is no exception! Have a look at that thing! Each stack is a separate entree!
Mmmm...and burger that comes in a box that big has to be awesome!
C'mon guys! Scarf down that Monster Burger! Make Takeru Kobayashi proud of you!
Two wheels of numbers, a wheel of random geometric shapes...I'm so confused...but it's so awesome!
Baseball Tic-Tac-Toe....yup!
They had models of the real Ninja Warrior courses on display.
Fans of the TV show must be drooling right now!
Like many other Japanese parks you have to buy tickets for each of the "attractions" (don't worry, it's not as confusing as it looks!)
This game was awesome! Basically each person (Rich and Elissa here) have a movable piece of track that they have to move while the train is in motion. They move the track piece, pick of a block out of the storage and put the block on the stack. Then they have to move the stack and the track back into place without the stack of blocks falling over. Got it? Let's watch....
Elissa has a small stack of blocks...track is in place...train came through...looking good!
Rich's stack is getting bigger, train is coming around faster now...
Elissa just barely gets the stack in place for the train to safely make it through!
Woah! Rich has a BIG stack! =)
Uh oh....this game is getting close now!
Rich freaks out like a little girl who just got her training wheels off!
SKLOOSH!!!! Oh no Rich just lost to a girl!
Ice Bat does NOT approve of this epic fail!
"Jews don't play sports, man!"
Elissa versus Rich once again! This time, it's a mental challenge....
Elissa: "YES!!! I am smarter than a police officer!!!" =)
Right next door to Muscle Park is Sega Joypolis. Another awesome, crazy, must see attraction at Tokyo Teleport!
Joypolis is a multi-level indoor amusement park with roller coasters, flat rides, video games, virtual reality and all kinds of crazy stuff.
Spin Bullet is one of the most brutally messed up must-ride coasters ever!
"You guys are all about to get raped!"
but forget about Joypolis....GIVE ME THAT MOUNTAIN OF SUSHI!!!!
And of course the most amazing attraction in all of Tokyo Teleport...Condomania!!!!
Thanks for reading! Next up...the grand finale of this update! Lots of Tokyo Disney Resort photos!!!
--Robb
Theme Park Review's 2010 Trips: http://www.themeparkreview.com/trips/
Luckily one of the walk through dark rides where you stand in a coffin was open! Oh, yay! Most of the group went and did that, the rest of us had a beer because we needed it to get through our day at Fuji-Q. 
