rollermonkey

Actually, I have video of Slope Shooter (which is a far more interesting 'coaster') in the Amateur Professional forum: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25655 I'm coming next year, even though I'll get a maximum of 2 credits! For baclueless: My Japan count is 160. Sadly, that's where it will stay until next year, as I leave for Chicago in 9 days. I wish I could have gotten to more places, but it seemed like we (my ship) were hardly ever home! Tegarayama Yuen was 500 yen for admission, but that is still a pretty inexpensive park! The free pass was like 1800 yen or something rediculous like that. I've had a very few parks over here that were less, but they were city parks and charged no admission but had only one small coaster.

No problem, dude! I knew those pictures would be of interest to SOMEONE eventually!

I'm not going with my #1 wood or steel. I'm not picking a flat either. I think I'd want Dragon Khan. I really enjoyed it a lot, and I think I could marathon it for years and not be unhappy about it.

I actually sent them to Duane at RCDB two weeks ago, and I waited to let hime post them first. (I always give him various periods of time for exclusivity, I've been chatting with him online for more than 6 years. He never gets around to them before I get tired of waiting and post them here though! This time he was uploading damn near all the coasters in Japan without photos from Lisa Scheinen's last 5 trips out here. That woman is a machine when it comes to coasters! She's got me beat in Japan by about 50 coasters, and I LIVE here!) I'm glad everyone likes them!

If you are still planning on modelling a 4D train, I took pictures of the third train at Eejanaika disassembled. They provide kind of an exploded view of the mechanism involved. That should help with the vehicle design. Those pictures are here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27325

Dave, I think it's funny that all these credits keep coming to you!

Jeff, Titan, as big as it is, is surprisingly difficult to get decent pictures of. The out and back layout is mostly behind other large attractions such as the river rapids, the log flume mountain and the large building housing the indoor coaster and the motion simulator theaters. I have a couple pictures from the ferris wheel but they aren't any better than what you see on RCDB. Sorry! ParkTrips, you're just jealous! Nuff said! James, There is some air as you float up the top hat, and a little as you drop off the other side. The 'second' hill has pretty strong floater air.

ROFL! Flipdude! You are too good to us! Elissa, remember when we went to Nasu last winter I asked you and Robb what you guys thought about Lil' Robby Robb? I remember your answers... Well, NOW what do you think of it?

My ship pulled into Himeji, Japan late in August, but I had already been to Himeji Central Park, so I figured I would explore some of the lesser known parks in the area. I also hoped to get to Space World and check out Zaturn. If everything worked out, Zaturn would be my 600th coaster. Off we go! Slope Car is similar to Slope Shooter, but with mechanical brakes instead of the Flintstone System. Tegarayama Yuen is a kiddy park about a 10 minute walk from Himeji Station. I call these 'bucket' coasters. They were selling Kobe Beef for the bargain price of only 300 dollars per kilogram! The amusement area looks pretty nice from over here. The wedding chapel is between the two areas. An overview of the gardens and hotel. Yum! Fruit flavored Ferris Wheel! The other coaster is more family sized. (RCDB had zero on this and Tojoko, so I was investigating more than anything.) This little coaster reminds me of Peekaboo Town at Hirakata Koen. The amusement area looks a little more temporary. The garden, wedding and hotel area of the park look very nice. The next morning I worked my way over to Kobe Fruit and Flower Park. This was actually my second attempt at this park. This was one of the few open rides the first time. Here's some of that waterpark with the coaster in the background. How did I get to LAX? This coaster travels around the waterpark. More like a mini mine train than mouse, it wasn't too bad. The name of this coaster is Hill Billy Rail Road Texas Bronco. Yeah. Whatever. I've seen a lot of strange seat belts outside the US. This wasn't the first coaster with SCUBA straps for a lap belt! New for 2006 was this kiddy coaster. Not too far away is Tojoko Land, possibly now named Toy's Kingdom. This park had a small surprise. Hey! Where'd the loop go? I don't think I've ever seen a carousel like this. Anybody else? So... What's with the pink dancing thing? They are dismantling the large shuttle loop. It seems that they are trying to skew the park towards a younger audience and this was the most intense ride in the park. Separate unload station. There I am! There I go! Looks like it's going to work out! Yuck. It's got those new OTSR's. I hope they don't $uck as bad as they do on some of the other rides with them. The catch car on this thing is huge! I don't remember any of the other ones being as long as the train. Still working... I was very disappointed in the unthemed station. the rest of the park is so nice! Well, it's running now... The big question I had was whether or not I'd get schwacked by the Intamin Curse! Zaturn really is just a slightly larger Stealth. Zaturn towers over Space World's entrance building. I did get to see the 'Liftoff' show, but I was really let down. I expected it to be much louder. That's it! Zaturn looked pretty sweet after dark. As we left the rain came down again. This show was kind of weird, too. See! The goddess of coasters. Twisted, tangly, num nums. Venus is... Zaturn looks so small from up here! The day got pretty bleak, but once the rain passed we did get in the rest of the rides. Here's a different view of my favorite coaster in Japan! Cool twin boat flumes. Have a nice time today! Don't talk to strange sailors! Taking a picture of having my picture taken? And you have to cross this little drawbridge when you get off. The second train is the same colors but reversed. The transfer track is between the load and unload platforms. The onride photo is after the brakes. How long is the trip to Zaturn at this speed? Some more pictures of Zaturn for you before moving on to the rest of the park.

I can almost see this happening. I wonder if the folks up at Knoebels' would be able to lend a hand with the work going on there. If they do buy this coaster, it's going to be a steal and it shouldn't affect whatever plans they have for the future too dramatically.

Elissa, I just realized something! I posted a 'POV' of the Ice Castle walkthrough at Parque Espana MONTHS ago! I guess you weren't one of the 44 people to watch it! http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26372&start=0

You couldn't pay me to ride the Williams' Grove Cyclone again for $20!

I'm glad you're having a good time here in Japan! I find your itinerary order a little odd, but however you make it work! Agreed, fantastic pictures, but as has been said before, TDS is a beautiful park!

Elissa, this was my second trip to Parque Espana (PE) and Nagashima Spaland. (NSL) The first time at PE, I did everything BUT Pyrenees, which was down due to an apparent lift motor breakdown. I stayed at the on site hotel and it was broken both days. So, I have been on the weird Pirates and Pan ripoffs and done the 'Magic Escalator Ride.' The first time to NSL, I also did Suzuka Circuit that day, but that's a very small park. I did all the coasters but SD2K, and I even rode several flats before returning home. As I had thunderstorms in the forecast for Nagoya last Friday and only one chance to check out Pyrenees and / or SD2K, I rushed through both parks. I arrived at PE before opning and I got 7 laps on Pyrenees and one on Matador: The Bullfight Coaster. Then I made max speed for Nagashima Spaland and got 4 laps on SD2K before they closed the line. In the last 15 minutes before closing, I snuck on the second side of the mouse and grabbed the last train of the day on Looping Star. Believe me, Elissa, I would NEVER have done these parks this way if I hadn't been to both previously! I'm not THAT big of a whore!

^ Now that you mention that, there are a couple shuttle loops here in Japa with side-by-side chains. Atomic Coaster at Mitsui Greenland (Arao) and the one at Nihon Monkey Park.

Nope. Don't ride horses, In fact, I am allergic to them. Do you feel the need for speed?

^Is unemployed \/Is younger than me.

Thanks for the reminder about Dragon Maountain. I've been on it, but either I didn't notice the double chain, or I didn't remember it. Remember, Robb, Elissa, and Don all came to Japan during off season. I also stay out of parks on Sundays when possible. This leads to an illusion that these parks are all always dead. On my trip to Universal Studios Japan, I went during Golden Week, one of the biggest holiday periods in Japan. Spiderman and Jurassic Parc both had 3+ hour lines. (The only open single rider line was on Spidey: Walkon! Whootah!) I waited more than an hour for my credit on Snoopy's Great Race. Also, nearly all of these parks are part of larger companies. Examples: Yomiuriland is owned by the same newspaper company that owns the Giants Baseball team. Tobu Zoo and Seibu Yuenchi are both owned by railroad companies. I believe this is true for the majority of the parks over here, I just don't know who owns a lot of them. 2800 yen is about 25 bucks US. Out of 600+ coasters, I tentatively have SD2K penciled in my top twenty.

Hey, James, have you ever been to Oktoberfest? I know you love the flats, and that's the time and place for them to be operated at peak insanity. Just curious.

You got some very nice and unusual angled pictures in there! Nice stuff. (Try to get your lens centered in a diamond in the chain link fence, though. ) Welcome to posting! I hope to see more from you. (Is 6FSTl your home park?)

Since over 1000 of you have downloaded the videos, I don't know how much to say here. If you downloaded the video and didn't comment... If you did, thanks! Oh, and thanks if you voted, too! If you HAVEN'T seen the videos, see them here, but you have to be a member: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29210 Well, here's the pictures from last Friday: Bye bye Steel Dragon! See you next year! Looping Star, THROUGH THE TREES! Hey, Joe! (Or any other Schwartzkopf nuts) This padding is to protect the train from damage by people on the train. Ooh! The left-side mouse is running this time! BONUS CREDIT! One! There's a lot of green buttons on this one. Can I push them all? How many ride ops does it take to man SD2K's booth? I don't know if that's an all new train, but that's a fresh coat of red paint. It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock and roll. This is what I call a 'Good Sign.' It says: Steel Dragon 2000 Wait time for this attraction aproximately 30 minutes. I don't like the photos of the station I found elsewhere. This one, though... I forgot that it has two chains. Is this the only coaster with two chains on the same hill? Six cars, three rows of two per. Same as standard Morgan hypers. Well, here's the 'money shot.' Is this a completely new train? I sure don't know. Lifthill (and brake run) enthusiasts rejoice! This is your grail. (It's the biggest lifthill in the world.) Wrebbit calls this the "First Church of Airtime." He's not too far off the mark. I see you, killer yellow train! There's a happy sight! It's a mile or two walk to get this picture from the other side of this barrier. Deal with it. Steel Dragon 2000 can be seen from the train. Ten minutes out of Kuwana station and a 30 minute bus ride from there. You know how it feels when you first see a park's signature coaster off in the distance? On my way out, I snapped this lovely Spanish Fountain. Awww... I did learn that Pyrenees has three trains: Brown, Tan and Teal. Only the horse collar changes between the trains. Here's that photogenic Loop/Helix combo from another angle. This had an interesting feel to it. Kind of the opposite I imagine Hydra's feels. A wide base and sharp twists. Derek, does this do it for ya? Loop, Cobra roll, Helix. Pretty. Pyrenees, on the other hand... This makes 2 B&M's in Japan that I've ridden by myself. Actually, I ended up in the fifth or sixth row. The Bullfight coaster was very popular that day! English Translation: In case of fire, die as the capsule melts and fuses to your body. No, there was no High-class British porn. And, no I didn't watch the Japanese porn either! That's a pretty high tech system! Lights, Radio and TV controls! Hey, for 2800 yen, you can't sleep anywhere for less! Well, there is the sidewalk... Because I'm a cheap ba$tard, I stayed at a capsule hotel!

Steel Dragon 2000 (Your choice, use the 'N' or the 'D')

Try a PM. (That's a Private Message.) In the interim, while you wait for a reply from Robb, try reading these: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=137 Welcome to the group and have a nice time!

Guy, I think that we'd all be happy if the budget included funding for FULL staffing and FULL maintenance at all the parks. Some employee training sounds as though it is needed too at the mountain. (No offense to those on this forum that work there!) I wonder just how crushing the debt load really is at 6F? What are the annual interest payments like? I'm sure I wouldn't want to have to deal with THOSE particular numbers if I was part of 6F corporate.

Looping Star at Nagashima Spaland.