OldJJman

I miss Japan!! Love the new Kawasemi video!!! The backstage clips of the video really helps show how AWESOME it really is!!

I pretty much agree, but it's still not the same. In that vein, I also believe that the main parts of Ghost Town will be there forever. That, along with the "shed" on GR, are direct results of the people that live nearby, filing complaints with the city. It was all part of controlling the noise that could be heard from the park. Not long after the shed went up on GR, complaints came from the other side of Beach Blvd about Montezuma's Revenge, (people figured that if ONE noise could be taken care of, why not more!) so the support structure was filled with sand. When SB was announced, it had already been decided to fill the supports with sand so as to appease the obvious complaints that would've been forthcoming. Hence, NO B&M roar. I wouldn't be surprised to see the whole building behind the fountain (ex-KotD, the arcade, Johnny Rockets, etc...), as well as the bumper cars to be leveled for a new area or expansion of the boardwalk area. That could accommodate several new attractions, and remove the eyesore that it now is. A large (giga, hyper, whatever) WAS rumored many years ago, coinciding with the demise of KotD, as that building would've housed the loading platform, queue, transfer track and shop for the ride. The rumor continued that the ride's lift-hill would go thru the roof (ala Desperado). Maybe those thoughts never really went away? JJ

Even with the "new" padding, I don't think I would've ridden White Canyon again. It's on my "Never Again" list! That ride was pretty brutal. Did Elissa ride this time around?

QFT!!

I had no idea that they sold beer on the trains! Just curious Robb - You seem to be getting quite quick at editing the videos and posting the updates. (Which look quite good btw) Using the Mac now?

Space Fantasy looks... interesting. So much there, looks so VERY Japanese... It's gotta be cool!! Time to lose BTTF. I will also attest to the fact that Jaws in Japanese was pretty damn awesome!! But WOW!! The new merchandise looks amazing!! DT would go broke in that store.

Wow, Wonder Rakutenchi looks like it has really been cleaned up!! Did anyone try the go-carts? Are they still there?? Hating the yakatori updates!! JEALOUS, JEALOUS, JEALOUS!!!!

They were! Agreed!!

IIRC, the "Pan for Gold" was just to the left of the entrance (which is now the entrance to GR). From that exit, a little west, is where the volcano was, putting it right about where the candy shop is next to GR Goods. I also believe it made a move (once upon a time) to somewhere near the Birdcage theater. I'm thinking across from the model train store, inbetween the museum and the school house. (But that I'm not positive about.) There's a nice bit about it on the Wikipedia page. JJ EDIT - I just read the wiki page. Evidently the volcano was approximately somewhere near where the current l0ckers and/or gem shop is, right behind the Guest Relations building.

Aside from the "drinking", I doubt that there was any sarcasm. Knot's also used to have: "Jungle Island" which was a huge playground for kids, with wooden carved animals to climb on An antique car ride (which is now at Castle Park in Riverside) A "Model-T" car ride (gas powered cars driven freely (no center guide) around a track) A trolley car in the parking lot, to take you to/from your car to the entrance A 20 foot volcano that erupted every half hour or so.... Etc.... Yup. It was free admission. My parents also used to take my brother and I down there about twice a month, way back when... Barely recognize the place nowadays.

Actually, it was pretty much the norm back then to run all FIVE trains at the same time.

Test Track.

Like they would have only bought 1 car! That's not funny, because it's probably true! (ok, it was F'n funny! ) JJ

Hell yes!!

You've just lost a little credibility there, Richard!!

Who didn't!!

I can understand the disappointment somewhat. The video you posted (which was VERY cool) looked like it told more of a complete story. But, the bottom line with Disney is the almighty dollar. So seeing the changes from the artist's conception, to what we have now, is not surprising. First off, the "gondola" style ride (ala Peter Pan) would be an absolute capacity nightmare, so the omnimover system (which is a people eater) is a logical choice. Second, the choice of turning it into a "greatest hits" ride makes it more enjoyable for children. When kids get off the ride, they would want to identify with it and coax their parents into buying anything associated with it. If it had told a more complete story (as awesome as it would have been) the "scary" or "darker" portions would have not been a plus for the kids. It just makes more sense, from Disney's standpoint, to almost guarantee a return on their investment. Now, if they could only get rid of that dumb, generic, infomercial filled with sprinklers (World of Color), it would be a much nicer place! JJ

Actually, they did. Pre-Six Flags. Their mascots were a wizard and trolls throughout the park. A long time ago...

I have to agree with you Joey about the Disney parks. They're beautiful, but.... they're still in France. Food was terrible, cast members were blasse' about everything, and it was dirty. The only things I really like about both parks in total are: Crush, Big Thunder (and yes, ERT with pissed off people in line was AWESOME!), Phantom Manor and the architecture/themeing. Yes, they are nice parks, but they really are lacking when it comes to providing the "Disney" experience! If there ever would be a Six Flags Disneyland, this would be it. I was also surprised to read that you didn't like Raging Spirits. I really enjoyed that ride, once I got there when it was open. It had been down on my first two trips to TDS. JJ

Between the Scandi '09 and this excellent PTR, Gröna Lund is now #1 on my list of parks to get to!! BTW - sending Divv a postcard was such a nice, kind, pleasant, loving gesture!! You guys are awesome! JJ

Great TR Chuck!! I do agree that both SFoT and SFoG are the two best parks in the chain. I think that comes from the management wanting to provide a better guest experience for their guests. Glad to see that the weird boat ride is still running!! JJ Btw - I have the Judge Roy Scream credit as well!!

Nice pics Joey! I'm guessing that you meant "Magical Circus" (creepy bunnies and all) when you mentioned the "elevator ride"? Yeah, that was ........ different.

Gotta break this up a little bit... I've got NO problem with that. Having the tortillas there, with no viable way of marketing them, seemed like a waste of space. I mean, I love their tortillas (buy them all the time at the store), but apart from a free sample (99% of the time the flour, instead of their awesome corn), WITHOUT BUTTER ( ) it seemed like a waste. To me anyway. I kinda like this idea (even though I don't rank Ghirardelli chocolate all that high) as I think another type of walk-thru would be cool, with a real store makes more sense. As you can see, we definitely agree. But... Themz is fightin' werdz!!!! Actually, I'm quite glad Boudin Bakery is staying. Though I do feel that the walk-thru is quite lame, but there's no denying the impact that they've had all over the resort, with the soupbowls being sold in several locations. Broccoli-Cheese soup bowls ARE the most perfect food!! JJ

Picture the drop over the Rhine river lasting for over a minute, not just 8 seconds, with NO brakes. Seriously. JJ Here's the video, which does a little justice.

Quick question - I went thru the first 15 or so pages and saw no explanation... What were the asterisks next to some of the names for? I thought I remembered they stood for something like you were waiting for pics from TPR trips or something like that. If so, I may have a few of those needed Japan/China ones. JJ