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I read an article on Jim Hill a few weeks back that says WDI has been slowly replacing full time Imagineers with outside consultants. It also said that there is a severe shortage of talent in the "consultant" space now that all of the parks in Dubai are under development. I wonder if this also has something to do with it. Of course Disney is always going to be looking for ways to cut back on costs as well, but could it be that Imagineering has a smaller talent pool, so they need to focus their people on the bigger things?

Updated: Luna Park Sydney Warner Brothers Movie World Gold Coast Dreamworld Gold Coast Australia Zoo (Has rides) Genting Theme Park (Malaysia) First World Plaza (Malaysia) Sunway Lagoon (KL Malaysia) Cosmo's World (KL Malaysia) Dream World (Bangkok, Thailand) Dam Sen Park (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) Hanoi Moon Park (Hanoi, Vietnam) Wonder World Fun Park (Bangkok, Thailand) Yoyo Land (Bangkok, Thailand) Siam Park City (Bangkok, Thailand) Pattaya Park (Pattaya, Thailand) Fisherman's Wharf (Macau) In the next week: Ocean Park (Hong Kong) Hong Kong Disneyland

^Yes it is the same road. The coaster is just across the border inside Nevada. You can see it from the freeway. The exit is Exit #1 Primm.

I am in Macau right now and heading over to Hong Kong tomorrow. From there I will pass overland to China. I will most likely be visiting Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. I know you guys have probably done a lot of research for the upcoming trip, so in your opinion, what are the must see parks in these areas? I know of Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou with the Dive Machine and 10 inversion coaster and Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park, but what other parks do you think I should definitely hit? Any help would be appreciated. Shawn BTW any signs or reference to the coaster at Fisherman's Wharf here in Macau are gone!

Thanks Big Mike. Dorney is just another park that I have to get to some time soon. As always your trip reports are informative and fun! I am looking forward to your next update.

Dino - The ride basically moves around in a circle and the wheel spins upside down. The seatbelt holds you in place. Miniviews- I have only been on two hamster wheel flats. Both of them have a simple seatbelt that is locked down manually by the ride op. It does get a little painful as you push into the belt while upside down, but it is so much fun that you don't really care!

^I agree with everyone that said Magnum. I had high hopes for the ride, but found it nothing but a lot of pain. It was one of the worst coasters in CP IMO. In response to another poster, I thought Goliath at La Ronde was a pretty good ride. Given its location, they did as much as they could with the ride. It gives some good airtime and uses the land well. Sure it isn't one of B&M's best coasters, but have you looked at La Ronde lately? Goliath was a great addition to that disaster of a park.

I used to despise it as well. Being gone for 14 months has made me grow fond again. Once I am back though, I probably will hate it again. I think the answers in this thread have been great. There really is so much to do in these places that wherever you go, I am sure you will have a blast. You are young, so you can always come back for more later on! Have fun.

Since there have been so many Thailand posts in another thread recently, I thought I would delay some of my Thailand trip reports for another few weeks and skip ahead to Hanoi Moon Park in Vietnam. When I was in Hanoi, Vietnam about a month ago, I suddenly got an urge to find a credit. After going on RCDB, I found a park that had one operating credit listed. I soon made it a point to get out to Hanoi Moon Park to ride their double corkscrew coaster. What I found was a rather disturbing place and a few surprises. I hope you enjoy. The sad thing is, I'm so sick that if they had started it up at that moment, (and tested it) I probably would've gone on it spiderwebs and all! I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading. Monorail (Rusted) Red Sexy shot! Or at least it used to be. Is that a coaster I see? After the monorail we headed back to the hotel. I now leave you with a few random shots. This building houses a simulator ride. For the girls in the audience, a Vietnamese man in a speedo on a zip line. Seriously though, doesn't the water park look nice? The monorail brought us closer to the water park. It looked sooooo nice. It was like night and day compared to the theme park. After the ferris wheel we headed to the ghetto monorail. I figured if it fell over off of the track that we wouldn't get hurt too bad! We also saw the neighboring water park which looked really nice. Here is a shot of Hanoi in case you are interested. From the ferris wheel we got a better sense of the coaster's layout. The ferris wheel was the only ride that looked to be maintained in the park. Next we explored a bit on our way to the park's ferris wheel. Hey look its the Lady Gay! Oh this extreme close up is almost too much for me to handle. Did I mention this ride is so awesome even though you can't breath when going upside down! And then we found this. This spinning hamster wheel ride is my new favorite flat ride ever. It is seriously like oh my god motherf***ckin better than bikini babes good! The ghetto swings were just a bit to ghetto for us! With the coaster closed, we decided to see if there were any flat rides that we wanted to experience. It didn't stop me from giving some love to you lift hill enthusiasts though. After a climb up to the station and a quick peak, my suspicions were confirmed! Next it was time to check out the coaster. I was 99% sure by this time that it wasn't operating! Oh yah and the lions were there as well! Big Mike also brought his friends Timon & Pumba! From there we could see what was up on the coaster. I have enhanced the image, but it should be clear by now that it is our beloved Big Mike! I didn't know the Road Show was coming to Vietnam! First thing through the gate we saw a whole gang of mechanics trying to bring this ride back to life! On our way to the ticket both we could tell this was going to be an interesting experience by the state of their monorail! Pulling into the park we could see the coaster. In the shed below the lift we saw something strange. We would first have to get inside before we could have a closer look.

^ArrowHater - Happy Birthday! You went from 14 to 15 years old. Only six more years until you get to celebrate at those clubs.

^Two things. Below is a closer up picture that I took. I don't believe they would have a problem with it, but the coaster was not operating anyway. The other thing is that the sign is now gone. I was in the area the other day and saw that the ferris wheel has nothing in the center anymore. Maybe they are going to operate the coaster now and took the sign down!

^Unfortunately poorly treated animals are the rule and not the exception in Southeast Asia!

^I also noticed that the cars all seem to be the same! The only ride I went on in Pattaya was the coaster so I could get the credit. I think 200 baht to ride such a tame coaster is ridiculous! I did also zip line down from the tower which was scary, but a lot of fun. It made the trip out worth it! I think they have no idea how to run a park!

When we first arrived it was only us there. It seemed like all of the kids rides were open. I wasn't really interested in riding the space shot, so the only ride we went on was the ferris wheel. We then took some pictures around the park and went across the street to the mall. I hadn't realized at that point that Siam Park City was so close to Wonder World or I would've gone to both in the same day. Why is it a theme of the company that owns Wonder World and Pattaya Park to build coasters that never operate?

The air conditioning on the ferris wheel at Wonder World was the highlight for me. Seriously, that park is confusing. I can't figure out why they would build two coasters and then just leave them rotting there. I was just in Siam Park a few days ago and a few of the monkeys are on chains, but most of them run freely in the cage. They didn't seem to be well tended too and were quite agressive. Thanks again for the updates!

^You are 14 years old, live in Kansas and a Vegas expert? Wow!

Psyclone at SFMM was so rough, but I still rode and enjoyed it every time at the park. I also think Cyclone at SFNE is rough, but I just didn't enjoy it. For some reason I left without a smile on my face. I also left X beaten up several times, but it didn't stop it from being one of my favorite coasters.

Worst Wood: Was Psyclone and now I can't think of one that I don't like! Worst Steel: Boomerang Best Steel: X2 or Tatsu Best Wood: Roar Best experience: Space Mountain (I just had to work Space Mountain in somewhere. I love it that much!)

I was just at Siam Park City yesterday. I agree the SLC was very smooth in the front row and the best Vekoma SLC I have ever been on. The middle of the train was pretty rough for me and the back wasn't exactly pleasant. Vortex was my 200th credit and even though I was sad that my 200th had to be a Vekoma SLC, at least it was a decent one! The park really is a mixed bag. Half of it seems new and the other half rotting, but it looks like they are putting a lot into expansion. The malaria zoo was a little scary, because one of the monkeys grabbed my shoe from below and started to grab it. The animals weren't very happy at all! Also, the Jurassic Park Jeep ride was blah and the park really lacked character. I also think the water park was disappointing since they advertise it as the largest in Asia and it only has two slide towers! I am still catching up my TRs, but I should have this park in about a month. Thanks for the great pictures. Wonder World was also a crazy park. I visited there a couple of weeks ago. Those two coasters look great, but I wonder why they have never operated. Do you know? I asked, but no one spoke English so I couldn't get an answer. Keep it coming!

^There is a lot to do, but the place is horribly run. The employees aren't very friendly at all and they seem to care more about the gambling business and the theme parks are an after thought. But with movie theaters, arcades, a bowling alley, an indoor snow environment, sky diving simulator, large arena, two casinos and two theme parks along with over 10,000 rooms it certainly has something for everyone. On top of that, the scenery is stunning and I did get to visit two theme parks, so I can't complain. BTW the whole property is owned by the Genting company, the same people who will be part owner's of Universal Studios Singapore. I hope they can run that park better than the Highlands' parks.

The outdoor park at Genting Highlands has horrible operations and closes whenever it drizzles. The pictures were taken at several different times since we were forced to leave the park on three different occasions of light rain. Not only do they shut down the coasters in the rain, but they close ALL OF THE RIDES! Enjoy the update! GENTING HIGHLANDS PART 2: And finally the money shot for all you lift hill enthusiasts. Thanks for viewing! They have a few kids rides. Two dinosaurs kissing. Flying coaster going up the lift. The haunted house dark ride was horribly cheesy. One of the nicer areas of this horribly run park. Psyclone and their drop tower. One of the resort's other hotels. Now that I have covered the major rides in the park, I will leave you with some random pictures. The boat ride was actually a lot of fun. The fog really added to the atmosphere. This section of the park has an adventure trail along with a boat ride that has animatronic dinosaurs. It was at this point that we headed up to the Dinosaur Island part of the park. Visibility was incredibly low and there was literally no one else in the park. At this point in the day we were forced inside by rain and when we returned to the outdoor park the fog had settled in. It looked like a lot of fun! The other major attraction is a luge type ride. I was too heavy and my son too small, so my wife was the only one who got to ride it. Getting on the rides was hit or miss all day since they close every ride in the park with the slightest drizzle. They must have been talking to Cedar Point. This coaster was cool because it sits at the edge of the mountain. The final coaster in the park is Corkscrew. This is a pretty standard corkscrew coaster. One more flying dragon. Flying dragon in the station. It is a Zamperla dragon and runs straight through the entire park with the exception of the helix in the previous picture. We went over to ride it several times during the day, but didn't get to until right before closing. The other coaster in the bottom portion of the park is the Flying Dragon. Yay for Cyclone! It twists and turns on itself. The ride is actually a lot of fun. Next we come to Cyclone. It is Malaysia's first roller coaster. Next to the flume was a small lake with pedal boats. This flume ride runs right next to the mine train coaster and is easily the worst of its kind the world. There was no water flow and the only way the boat would move is when another log went through the drop behind. We had to pull ourselves along. Moving inside the park now here is the station for the mine train coaster. One more look. The ride is short and a little painful. It certainly doesn't compare to a real flyer. I think Big Mike posted an update of a park in NY with this exact same coaster I think. This is the lift. The car is spun up the track by the bracket in the middle. Hmmm do those cars look like anything familiar? I'll start with Flying Coaster. This is the pay per ride coaster and is probably the best in the park. In Malaysia this is Energizer's mascot. Duracell uses a pink bunny for a mascot here. The outdoor theme park houses four coasters with a fifth pay per ride coaster located outside of its gates.

I am sorry for the delay, but I don't always have a reliable enough connection to post these trip reports. Finally I bring to you the Genting Highlands Resort in Malaysia. This place is located about one hour outside of Kuala Lumpur and is often referred to as the Las Vegas of Malaysia because of its two casinos. In addition, they have five hotels, two theme parks and numerous other activities. The resort complex is located on the top of a mountain and to reach it you must take the longest cable car in Southeast Asia and the fastest in the world up to the top. Other than visiting the parks, we thought it would be neat to stay in the First World Hotel, which is the largest hotel in the world. We didn't really enjoy it, leading to us nicknaming it the Third World Hotel. I will bring you this report in two parts. The first will cover the hotels and the indoor theme park, while the second will focus on the outdoor park. For some reason the indoors stuff didn't seem to inspire me and the pictures are rather random. Also, the weather for our day outdoors was horrible and foggy, so those pictures aren't great, but I did the best I could. I recommend anyone interested to visit Wikipedia and search for Genting Highlands and First World Hotel if you are interested in more information. Of course, RCDB can provide more info on the coasters. I also wrote about Genting Highlands on my website with more details on our experiences. Here is the link. http://familyrtw.com/?p=211 I didn't really like the place, but found it very interesting. As always I enjoy the comments and feedback. Any questions or suggestions are always welcomed. GENTING HIGHLANDS PART 1: Finally I leave you with our closet of a hotel room. Here is another picture of the two towers of the Third World Hotel. Here is my one shot of the rather boring indoor coaster. It is the only coaster in the indoor park. And the statue of liberty. They also have large replicas of things like an Oscar. Another hunchbacked gondola driver. On board the Rio carnival ride. They also have a reindeer ride that moves slowly overhead similar to the Rio carnival ride. Its a bird, its a plane, its Gentingman! All of the fake gondola drivers on the Venetian boat ride are hunchbacks! The indoor theme park shares space with shops and a movie theater. Flying overhead is a Rio carnival float ride! It has a large snow tube slide that was a lot of fun! On our first night we visited SnowWorld which is a large indoor snow playground. To check in you must take a number and wait an hour for it to be called! Once at the top we got a glimpse of our hotel. It is the biggest and most colorful hotel in the world! The scenery was truly stunning! This is the longest cable car in SEA and the fastest in the world. To get to Genting Highlands, we first take a bus an hour out of Kuala Lumpur into the mountains!

Big Mike, I am glad to see you beat the rain gods. Just wanted to let you know that I am still enjoying all of the posts. There are so many small parks that I had never heard of. With just 197 credits currently, I bow down to your coaster count! I will be working very hard over the next couple of years to catch you. Don't forget to look over your shoulder! Shawn

^Tatsu's pretzel loop is incredibly intense. I remember that I also almost blacked out the first time I rode it. Now, I exhale as I am going through because it is impossible to breath while going through the pretzel loop. Tatsu is such an awesome flying coaster!

I agree that Vekoma SLCs are the absolute worst coasters ever made!!!!!!!!