Leaderboard

Thanks for the photos! Wow, it's like my childhood visits all over again! That was right around the time I started getting big enough to ride things and my family would take me quite often. The park has changed so much over the years, mostly for the better, unless you count their bad operations or them destroying Monte!

While on vacation in Vietnam, we decided to try to hit up Asia Park. We'd already been to the other Sun World theme park (Ba Na Hills mini-TR coming later), so it wasn't a big priority for us but with the park only open a few hours every day, we decided if we were ever in the city of an evening to see how the weather was and try and squeeze in a trip. The main reason being, as you've probably seen from my decade of reports, I live in South Korea. For a place where theme parks tend to aim at families, there's a surprising lack of smaller-medium family roller-coasters like Ice Breaker or a mine train. Lotte World has none for young children, and Everland and Seoul Land just have 30-year-old powered coasters and old junior coasters then for all 3 parks the next step-up is straight into just as old Arrow Loopers. My son, a year ago, rode Everland's Vekoma coaster but, being almost 20 years old and running backward had a pretty bumpy ride that put him off, so he'd wanted to go out to this park to try to experience something better for his height (he just hit 120cm) to decide if he did actually like roller-coasters. Unfortunately, the park is well known for closing during the rain, which they only announce 4-5 hours before opening. We were greeted to this notice on Facebook on the Monday of our vacation. Although the park was open by Wednesday, a rain shower passed through, and my wife found on a Korean blog that the park was only operating the Ferris Wheel and indoor kids-play area. Before we continue my wife would like me to point out to anyone with young children that the indoor playground that's shown on the website has been ripped out so the indoor play area for children included in the price is actually just a bunch of arcade games and a ball-battle zone so be aware. The outdoor playground and rope-course in some older photos was also gone. On the last day of the trip we just decided to gamble and go for it, despite the threat of rain, even if it was a bust the night market was next door with a lot of food and entertainment to see, and did have some indoor rides and play-area as out back up plan. This park is pretty unique in that with Vietnams heat and humidity the whole park doesn't begin operations until 3PM. Wife edit: She'd also like me to point out for families, that we didn't see any restaurants at all and maybe one place for snacks in the park, so stock up at the Lotte Mart supermarket next door or just wait for the night market to eat. Note all the different times that everything runs, the rides only ran for 3 hours on the day of our visit. On top of all the different times for the parts of the park, each ride also has a different running time. Disaster for my son though, the junior roller-coaster he planned on trying wouldn't open until 5:15 (actually 5:30) and the one he'd really hoped to be his first 'big' coaster the mine train would not be operating... we figured we'd leave and my trip report will end here..... .... until we saw the prices. 200,000 VND works out to just over $8. Even if we only got 2-3 rides and a go on the famous Sun Wheel, we figured we'd get value for our money. 10 seconds before opening and the crowds were getting restless for rope-drop. Rope drop and all of the restless crowd was off. The first ride spotted and we've already found our first Hard Rock Park survivor. It was unfortunately down for the day. And the second Hard Rock ride found, sadly also closed. This was the closure that bummed my son out the most. A third Hard Rock ride already, and this one was open. And a fourth. Next door was another of the rides down for the day was the Singapore Sling. This one seems to have had a lengthy closure. Nearby was a small train ride, I believe another Hard Rock ride (fifth). Over in the China area, we found a 6th Hard Rock ride.... ... a chair ride.... ... and a pirate ship. In the Korea are this ride was blasting out some K-Pop, strangely it had one of the strictest height restrictions of 130cm for riders. Over in the Korean section should have been the 7th Hard Rock ride, Paradise Fall was originally where the Maximum RPM roller-coaster was constructed. However, for whatever reason it was replaced by this Intamin launched roller-coaster. Being that there was almost no one in the park a lot of the pictures will look like this. Even when people did ride, there were 5-10 minute dispatches so it was almost impossible to get pictures of the ride in motion since we'd also be riding. And I do mean we.... With the mine train closed and the junior roller-coaster not opening until 5:30, my son decided he'd try and give this a go. I tried to talk him out of it as I thought this would be too much for his second-ever roller-coaster. He tried it.... hated the launch and big turn then loved every moment after. But again that's a huge jump from a junior coaster as a baby to this. Having only tried 30-year-old powered coasters and his first real coaster being a backward 20 year old Vekoma, he didn't realise roller-coasters could be and I quote 'not bumpy'. He ended up riding 4 times. He never did like the launch or first turn but it was a big achievement for him. The Sun Wheel was now open so we headed there next. Once the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, like a lot of the rides here, it was brought from a closed park. This time from Japan. Some views, you can even see the famous Lady Buddha statue. One ride my son was really bummed that was removed, was the new Intamin monorail. You can see the pillars where it used to run. Interestingly although all of the park is situated to the left of the river, the monorail was the only ride to cross and go on the right side of it. You can also see the overgrown bridge where the monorail would pull into the station. We headed over to the junior coaster, also from Hard Rock Park (7th) however it wasn't opening until 5:30... ... so we grabbed another Hard Rock Park ride (8th)... ... and another (9th). The bumper-cars were also located here. I have no idea where these people came from... we rode and then never saw any of them again, the only place we saw a group the whole day apart from at the Sun Wheel. The junior coaster finally opened. I should mention the sun sets in Vietnam REALLY fast. There's not much time between this photo and the one above. We did 2 rides and I planned to ride until closing and sacrifice my last credit. However he decided he wanted to try out a roller-coaster solo for the first time and loved it, so my wife kept an eye on him so I could grab the last roller-coaster. Heading out as all the park lit up. Grabbing a quick solo ride on the way to experience it properly without having to watch my son. Sadly, despite buying all of Hard Rocks roller-coasters, I was not greeted by a B&M looper, but this instead. At least it had the newer style trains. IT wasn't that smooth, but it was fun enough that I rode again which I think I've only ever done for one other SLC (Fantasy Island's Odyssey opening year) Despite the train only using 2 rows, I ended up waiting a long time for someone else to come along and ride so I bailed after that. I should also point out, since it was in the queue while I waited that even when the rides are open all night and not 3:00-6:30, they operate split-shifts. This style has become really popular in Asia post Corona, if you look at my Korean TR's of Legoland/Everland you'll see that a lot of parks have adopted some form of this style of operations, usually with rides sharing the same crew. Fuji-Q being another example of doing this during Corona (not sure if has been discontinued now though. for them), although this style is still alive in Vietnam & Korea. Heading out, I ended up riding this rattly drop tower, so the two girls lined up didn't have to split up for weight. This was originally the location of Hard Rock's roller-soaker however it was replaced by this suspended coaster. I'm not sure if this roller-coaster ever opened either, every report I'd seen had it as SBNO and I couldn't find out if it'd ever had riders outside of publicity shots. After over 20 rides we weren't sure if we'd got enough value out of our $8 tickets so we grabbed 2 more night rides on the Sun Wheel. Note the Dragon Bridge in the background... ... on the weekends it breathes fire and shoots water to soak people on the bridge at 9pm (picture taken the previous weekend) Being rainy season, despite the forecast saying 0% chance of rain, a shower passed through so we decided to leave early (the ferris wheel and amusement arcade inside runs until 10 but rides were already closed) and head out to the market. Wife final edit: All-weather apps were useless for Vietnam, but really don't use Weather Underground for your vacation planning, we found out too late the app and site aren't even authorized in Vietnam. So that was Asia Park. Were operations slow... yes, 10 minute dispatches if other riders didn't show up. Was the ride opening times very short... also yes. Nowhere to really eat.... yes. But we had an amazing time and would recommend it... if you can get a good weather day, $8 is just too cheap for it not to be amazing value for money. We've been to quiet or dead parks before but this took it to a whole other level. Employees waiting outside asking us what we want to ride, walking us over and starting it up. If you're ever in Danang or Hoi-An you could knock out all the credits in about an hour or two, and that's more because of opening times/split shift rides than crowds.

taken me a bit of time to get back to this, but hopefully worth the wait. my first EVER Legoland, and it's the biggie. . so took a LOT of pics, and will have to split this report up. Day 10: Mon, June 12th part 1 : Legoland Billund so we got up fairly early from the Zleep in and piled onto the bus for the drive. where were we headed? oh my. . .getting giddy! strangely located across the street from a functioning airport - tho it didn't seem to be a commercial airport, so must be mainly for freight (tho I'd guess used for executives coming to Lego headquarters?) - is the biggest and best Legoland (so I've heard. . this is my first one ever) even across the street in the parking lot, there's some theming going on. . . but this was nothing compared to what we'd see when we got to the actual park. it really is a full assault on your senses, with sounds and things to look at EVERYWHERE. this is still outside the front gates! Lego flag of Denmark? Modern Art? I dunno. . but I liked it. the lil Lego guys n gals hard at work building over the actual main gate. TPR Group Pic (courtesy of Robb) before heading into the park with out guide. and because he had on this AWESOME shirt, a pic (also courtesy of Robb) with Erik as the *STAR* - may we all burn so brightly some day! ah. . a bit more like it- as we're heading into the park. a more themed Trash can. wow. .this place is a lot bigger than it looks like on the maps! and that we were in before it officially opened, meant I could get lots of clear pics of many of the amazing Lego art all around the park as we headed to our first ride of the day: a ride on one of the park's 4 family coasters: Flying Eagle. Pizza pizza! . . and now I want a Coke! dang, this park is absolutely beautiful. I'd always heard and seen pics of some of the Legoland "Minilands". . but I was super impressed with how immersive this is! and so many of the parts are moving parts! cars, trucks, planes, trains, ships, even drawbridges. . . all work with the push of a button. a famous Legoland attraction - the boats. Oh yes, I was coming back for this once park opened. and the Lego safari. I didn't ever get to ride the Lego Catipillar. . and I'm wondering since in the pic I took, there's a maintenance guy there working on it, if it ever actually opened on the day we were there? but look how ADORABLE it is !!! and what's this? "Ghost". . . this Legoland has a haunted house walk thru? yup. . . + a surprise ending. naked hairy-chested Lego man in the Western section is making me have "feelings" that I'm not quite sure what to make of them. and adorbs Carousel. . . that I figured wasn't going to be allowed to ride, since it's so tiny (and I was correct.. . don't recall riding it, so must have been told no). ooo. . a log flume too over here. but this is what we had trekked back over here for.. Flying Eagle. since in the Western section, lots of "old West" Lego animals about.. such as this Buffalo and this Bald Eagle. some nice "Lego" theming on the coaster train itself tho the front car had a nice Lego Eagle piece attached. Here's Robb filming in the front row. whee!! the workers in this section were really getting into character. I loved his painted nails, so asked for a pic. whee!!! this wasn't operating yet (remember, we were there, I think, a good hour before park open), but this seemed to be a "Pirates" themed boat Dark Ride. Princess Garden? hmmmmmm. . . we bypassed Dragen (a Mack powered coaster) on our way to the next coaster. . .but I think everyone made a note to come back to this as soon as morning ride time is over, since apparently Dragen at all the Legoland Parks tends to be a slow mover. (wasn't the case here, as not only were they running two trains on this powered coaster / Dark Ride - having never been before I had no idea what to expect, but I LOVED the dark ride section it starts out with - but also because it was a Monday, so never really got super crowded). and outdoor theater for, I think, a Pirate vs Medieval Knights show? not 100% sure, as didn't make time to go see it. the castle that Dragen is located in really is a looming centerpiece here, and it's very cool how they keep the theming all the way around it. with lots of nooks and crannies to explore in. this is where we were headed tho: X-treme Racers (a Mack wild mouse) they weren't quite ready for us, and were testing to get it up and going, so I explored the area a bit. further down this way is the 4th coaster in the park - Polar X-plorer - we'd head there next. aw. . a cute lil dragon for checking heights me being a child.. . put your empty bottles in da butthole. it's a Llego Llama! this was intriguing. . . turns out it's a shooting dark ride. and peeking in the side of a gaming area. . all kinds of large stuffed toys one can win. the blue Koala looks kinda like Stitch to me (and the pink? kinda like Elmo) . . never noticed that. got the call back that it was time to ride X-treme Racers, so headed back that way. being in the front row means Elissa & Robb won, right? they beat those in the 2nd row? Big Mike and Bert going Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (I think this pic is from Andy. . thanks!) Big Mike and Caroline are ready to race. . . but what I think makes this pic? is how thrilled Kristen looks that she's next on and then we headed over to Polar X-Plorer. . . the parks other "big" coaster. It's still a mostly mild family coaster, but this one has a very surprising center section! You break thru the "Ice" when you stop in a show building. . you hear all the ice cracking around you, and then suddenly? a drop track! absolutely thrilling for those few seconds, and the adrenaline keeps you tingling for the remainder of the ride. Someone told me there used to be live penguins around the coaster - or maybe you just ended up in a penguin encounter area? But I only recall seeing Lego Penguins (and Walruses) on this, and I rode it a few times. I think this tied with Dragen as my favorite coaster here, as both had elements that make them a bit more thrilling than just a family coaster. which is NOT to say that Legoland doesn't have rides for thrillseeking adults - oh, they most certainly DO. But the coasters are targeted towards those that prefer rides with no inversions or "extreme" elements. I don't seem to have any pics on Polar X-lorer. . but it was fun. before cutting us loose, our park guides asked Robb if the group would like to head into Movie World and get an opening ride on Emmet's Flying Couch. . . so we followed them next door into Lego Movie World I LOVED this area. . and not just because of the photo ops. but of COURSE I had to be "Banana Man" and Bunny. Kitty had two smaller drop towers. . group pic before going into Flying Couch. . which is a "Soarin" type ride with three stacked couches in each section instead of three rows of "seats" it's actually some pretty perfect synergy, and makes total sense! i did get a little bit motion sick from it - but that could have been as I hadn't really eaten yet that day, or maybe was just too close to the side of the screen. regardless, it was Awesome!! (or as they say in Denmark: "Super Duper!") getting instructions on where to meet for lunch, and planned leaving time. . and then cut loose to enjoy the park on our own, as it was now open. not everything opens at park open, so tho they have a "flipping Plane" type ride, it wasn't open yet. Iit was by a different manufacturer that typically makes air-race, and the folks that were going to be operating it told us the number of flips they have as the record is hard to beat (tho it was fairly low). we knew some in the TPR group could probably beat the flip record, so made plans to come back once open but for now, most of the group headed to Dragen. everything that would be breathing in this pic, is actually Lego.. even the ducks! lovely attention to detail in the large ride queue inside the castle gates. and many of these vignettes sprinkled thruout the queue-line. you pushed a button and they activated, causing song, and some movement. LOL.. I noticed the measuring system for the kiddos here on Dragen for the first time. LOVE it. the outfits for the workers here were cute too - and again with the foam sword. this operator was very into it as well, when I asked for a pic taken *with* permission from the photo booth person, as the machine was down and they couldn't print it out (otherwise would have bought it for a magnet) what is this? let's check it out! hmm. . looks like it's supposed to "mist" or "squirt". . . no harm that it didn't on us. . LOL ooooooohhhhhh. . it's this thing! I saw these last year at Klotten - where it seemed the point was to swing out under a waterfall and get soaked. tho here it didn't seem quite as wet. . and the riders were getting quite a bit of "whip" motion. so we stayed in line (pic courtesy of Big Mike) it was more fun than I had been expecting, and didn't end up wet at all. don't think I rode this again. . . probably just snagging pics as we walked back over to Movie World for the planes. but interesting they are launching the cars much closer together than would be done in the USA. hi David! this is who we figured would beat the flip record here. . and I'm pretty sure he did. actually, I'm positive he did. . even tho the ride plays dirty, and if you flip too many times, it slows you down so you can't get yourself too dizzy (at least that's what the ride op told me). and Jason and Jon giving it a go as well. me too. .tho I'm not really good at getting these things to flip. but whatdda ya know? on this version, I was pretty able to do it. oh, not a LOT of flips, but at least proof I did it a couple of times. to be continued. . .