OldJJman

Oh C'mon! This is Rich we're talking about. If it isn't sugared, powdered, glazed, or you can only add milk or ketchup to it, he won't eat it!! In all honesty he did try something near the end of the trip. I just don't remember what it was. He was REALLY hungry! JJ

I went several years ago, and I thought it pretty much sucked then too. Like he said, the 3-D maze "was" good, but that was about it. Every maze aboard ship was an absolute waste. The biggest memory I have of it was the stench or rotting metal throughout the interior. The engine room, boiler room and theater were all pretty rancid. No scare-actors or anything. Just cast members with flashlights point you in different directions. I agree. It stinks. Pass. JJ

My apologies if Jason and I aren't as well educated as you appear to be. But, I'm 99.99% sure of what he was referring to. Are you?

But I did find something with skin thicker than mine!! (They wouldn't let me hold this one either!) You mean one of these guys? There were 4 there, but we weren't around during the "petting" times.

20/20 JJ (feeling like a geek)

Surprise, surprise. The above statement is as bogus as the company has shown they are over the last few months. *(See below) Out of mere curiosity, why wouldn't the CEO, "Danny Rogers" issue this statement? The bottom line is, they (the collective group known as "Southern Star Amusement", apparently they've also now forgotten that they were INCORPORATED!) couldn't dupe anyone into believing their trite crap. They were ("are" would be giving them the absolute benefit of the doubt, something of which I will not do) hucksters. They were trying to broker a deal that no intelligent person could buy into. They tried a lame media ploy by doing a radio show, tried to get a city councilman on their side (who in the radio interview, expressed his own doubts about SSA Inc.), made all sorts of unsubstantiated claims - ALL under the cloak of (IMO) a fictitious "Non Disclosure Agreement". They have no credibility, or credentials to back ANY of their claims. Never had, probably never will. I seriously hope that this is the last we hear from them. JJ *BTW - Go to their website and click on their "Official Press Release". Better yet, let me copy and paste it for you: SOUTHERN STAR AMUSEMENT SUSPENDS NEW ORLEANS PROJECT On Friday, September 12 2008, Southern Star Amusement formally suspended all operations in the New Orleans area. No further details are available at this time. ### After reading that, has anyone else read into it and read it like this: "We are bogus. We've been found out and run out of town". Just wondering. Better yet, take a LOOK at their website here. You will find (as I did) that the links to the following pages have been deleted or are disabled: Vendors Media About Us (disabled link) Privacy Policy Terms of Use And let us not forget the all important: Contact Us Ironically enough, their "Jobs" link still works. Yes, there is a phone # contact, but why waste your time. If an old fart like me can see through this, like I have from the beginning, ANY intelligent investor could see the same thing. Good riddance!

Or, as many of us stated before, the demographics of the location CAN NOT and WILL NOT support a large theme park of any kind. Jeff "I told you so" Johnson

Day -5 Drive to the awesome Guangzhou White Swan hotel. So ended "Day -5" Day - 6 and Chimelong paradise coming soon. Thanks for looking! The storm blew thru, and it cleared up nicely. So here are some night shots from the hotel. Elissa sure knows how to pick 'em! Jade pagoda. Inside the hotel, it was pretty swanky! There was a BIG A$$ storm moving in! I'm a mailman. I needed the picture. Deal with it. I do have a certain appreciation for "Ming" vases now. Figures. I forgot to take pics of the outside of the hotel. But the buildings around the delta area were quite nice (and better at night!). Apparently, no credits here, so we passed on it. (Note to self: When taking a picture, make sure to avoid the "emergency exit" sign. No escape. Absolutely none! Yeah. Like we'd see lots of these on the streets of Guangzhou!

Day -5 Bonus Park! I just can't picture Rich driving one of these. Day - 5 final pics soon. It even had a nice small stadium. It was quite a nice park! They even had KT sized rides! Thru the trees! It had a pretty cool, unique (but brutal) layout! My guess is that this was some sort of mouse coaster. Uh....ok? Safety tip: Always, always, always.. Mind your sreps! ... and got the honorary first ride! George was right... Not to mention having the air force standing by. I always feel safer (in China) with a howitzer protecting me! Not that they appeared to need one! They even had their own police station. That's nice to know! George was convinced that somewhere in this city park was a coaster, so we gave it a shot.

Day -5 continued... NOT a real space shuttle! You could tell by the Nanhu logo on the tail fin. Que sera sera. More pics soon. The grounds around the coaster were nicely landscaped. Damn, I look old! Rich looks a bit worried about this Arrow/Vekoma thing we were riding! (We all were!) That's Bob's head in front, and our 10x better than Frank tourguide, Yang! He had the greatest attitude, said "Chiner" and "Pisser". He was GREAT! Translated: "Crazy Coaster" Falling Star (with boobs, no close-ups. Sorry.) I think that the only people in the park besides us were the people on this boat. That's George, and a powered coaster. Ya know, you can take the whore out of the man, but you can't take the man out of the whore. (Damn, that's bad!) Our major credit was over the hills and far away, so some opted for something a little less... It that a real space shuttle? (Oh c'mon, you knew it was coming. Hi Chris!) Ooooo... Could it be??? The rusty themeing was top notch! The main street pavilion looked quite futuristic (for 1975!). You could buy proper wristbands according to the Mickey height checker. It had a pretty impressive entrance! Nanhu Amusement Park

Day - 5 Flight to Guangzhou, Nanhu Amusement Park and a possible bonus park! Today we left the wonderful city, and experience, of Beijing. It was fascinating to be in a city/culture with such a rich sense of tradition and pride. Not to mention, such a centerpiece in world politics and the recent display of the Olympics. I truly enjoyed every bit of Beijing. Thanks again goes to Elissa for her wonderful timing of our trip, and her meticulous planning, that had plenty of flexibility and no flaws whatsoever. If you've never done a TPR trip, take it from a semi-experienced traveler, the woman has her act together, with pretty much EVERY contingency plan accounted for. Once underway, Robb leads everyone thru that plan. It has always worked. All I have to do is show up at the right time and have a great experience. (BTW - That's NOT a$$-kissing, it's the truth!) Let's let the rest of the day be told in the pics, OK? Enjoy! Our next stop: Nanhu Amusement Park. More pics soon. Nothing says quality restaurant, like an indoor bug zapper!! Of course, TPR's first order of business - FOOD!!! And, perhaps a bit busier! Of course, it was a bit warmer than expected! It was a ways down south! It wasn't exactly a trip to be taken by bus! ...and the inside. Both on the outside... The terminal at the Beijing airport was damn impressive itself! It was an early morning as we had to be on the bus at 5am. There was an opportunity to take some good pics of some interesting buildings on the way to the Beijing airport.

Final set of pics from Happy Valley Beijing. End of the train ride, and the end of day 4. Day 5 coming in a couple of days. Thanks for looking. Bamboo fence. Otay bankey. One last lap around the park. Train ride = must ride! At least it was photogenic. SLC time! Am I cute, or what? I wonder if Angus McNasty would stand a chance against this Chinese bred athlete? OH! Did I mention that whole arm of this flying island does a complete 360? I mean, this looks like a "Water World" type show, as those are ramps for boats, jetskis, etc. Alas, not to be today.

Somewhere inside of Crystal Wings. Maybe it's just me, but that sounded kinda dirty. Sorry. A better veiw of the diving show stadium. Final pics coming soon. The Chute-the-Chutes ride (Olympia) was closed today also. It gave great views of the park. Time to go ride the flying island called "Energy Collector". The Trojan Top Spin. Looking over into the "Aegean Harbor" section of the park. Apparently, a good photo op. Well, it might have been. The show I saw was a diving show from these platforms. This is the area for their "Water World" type show. (NOT!) That's not real water. It's just themeing. Diving into the pretzel loop! Smile! Yay! We're next! Inside the queue building, I couldn't figure out if this was just themeing, or a Dave Thomas torture device.

More Pics.. BTW- This is in the "Maya" section of the park. Let's go ride... More pics coming. From the outside queue, you get a quick glimpse of the trains going by (every 5 minutes or so). Themeing outside the show building. While in line, I first noticed the flying island. Time to get in line for Crystal Wings. Nicely themed frisbee, that swings out over the water. These guys made sure we weren't followed. The pathway between "Maya" and "Atlantis". Looks like Disney's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" made it to China like everyone else! How come this is the only men's throne in the park, NOT carved in the floor? Never found the "Big Straw Hat". Didn't look for it either. Speak no evil. Hear no evil. See no evil. How stupid. Lotsa water! During.... Before the flood... This was a large outdoor stage. All for a 20 minute show.

Still in Ant Land... Not quite an "Elissa friendly" midway game. More pics soon. The Phoenix statue in front of the "Jungle Racing" coaster. It's a standard Vekoma mine train. Think Hard Rock Park, with themeing. Believe it or not, a restaurant. We're now in the "Lost Maya" section of the park. Is that truck themeing, or abandoned? You decide. Noticed. One of those "put out the fire" attractions. Ornamental tree in-between the towers. Shot and drop towers. I haven't ever been happy to see a real SLC, until now. Though, it didn't open until after lunch. Crossing over into Shangri-La. I imagine that Terrance would be having a field day here! Ants with eyeshadow. Yeah. Our second missed credit of the trip. It never opened during the time we were there. Ooooh. Images stamped into the walkways. How un-original! Caro-Seuss-el. Albeit, with BUGS??? Okey Dokey. Can you say BLATANT rip-off??? I see 2 credits!

Time for an update. Day 4: Happy Valley Beijing Here it comes. Highly resourceful insight showing that I am not annoying. You OTOH, usually read enough hogwash anyway. Who’s thinking "shut up and post pictures"? Ok. I will. I took a ton here as *I* thought the park was very well themed, and quite pleasant to look at. Though, operations were absolutely HORRIBLE! Oh well, you probably haven't read this far anyway. Enjoy the pics. JJ More to come soon. (I have a LOT of pics of this park!) An upper eating area for the restaurant below. It's a complete rip-off of "A Bug's Life" As we walked clockwise around the park, our nest area was "Antland", complete with the Ant Palace. It really looks awesome! First glimpse of the centerpiece of the park, the B&M flyer: Crystal Wings. First thing to greet us in the front gate? A bug. A green bug. Oh joy. Ticket windows in front of the entrance. Here's a map for those who don't have a paper one to follow along with. MILES! STEVE! NO DAMNIT! It's to damn early to start drinking! The Yanjing beer, beeramid. Kinda DCA-ish, huh? We have arrived! My first train sighting in China! I believe that this building (when completed) will house the national TV broadcasting offices. I found Beijing to be a very pretty and unique city. That's just early morning fog you see. On the road again. Good morning, Mr. Mao.

Not a first, maybe a second. Robb managed to get us ERT on Big Thunder at Disneyland Paris this past June on the Europe trip! JJ

More pics from Sun Park. I'll end Day 3 with this pic of an odd looking fly/bug/whatever that the doorman at the Marriott pointed out to us. I don't know if I'll get to do more updates before next week (9/17) as we leave for Korea this evening, and then Tokyo. Internet access can be a bit sketchy, so we'll see. Hope you enjoyed the pics so far. JJ Though nit was quite a nice area, I still wish we could've gone up inside. BUT, the damn thing had been closed since BEFORE the Olympics. WTF was someone thinking when doing the planning for this city? Oh well. It was pretty cool looking! To close out this day, Officer rich and I took the daring walk (these people drive quite insanely) to the Beijing Tower. Robb in his glory days. The Olympic Beach Volleyball venue. A good look at "Fruit Worm" They even had a parachute drop (which I somehow managed NOT to get a picture of) and in the red/white dome is the bonus credit that no one knew existed! Yeehaw!!! Callum and Chris defy death in Malaria lake by trying the water zorbs. Ftog Hoppet A truly "sad and pathetic" moment! Worm hole POV. The big hit today was the "Fruit Worm" coaster!! Nice double decker carousel. Complete with "George of the Jungle" being held at gunpoint. Jungle Mouse wasn't really mouse, but a Chinese roller skater type rip-off. Disk-O

Our second park this day would be Sun Park in Beijing. Sun Park was the venue of the Olympic beach volleyball events. Although the park was nice, and fairly clean, I can only imagine how busy and/or packed it was only a couple of weeks before. It was pretty dead, but all the rides were operating. We even stumbled across a bonus credit in the park, that has since been added to RCDB. Please enjoy! It really was quite ghetto, but it did have themeing. (Are you listening HRP?) More pics shortly. Noticw how the real "credit whores" got there first?? (George, Jeff and Ginny) Rich's long lost distant Chinese relative was looking out for us. Next up was the wacked out mine train. Reverse lift hill shot. However, our test dummies concluded that Elissa would certainly "NOT" approved, as it didn't spin worth a damn. That's more like it! A real "Elissa Approved" ride! Oh well. At least Rich approves. Yup. Your basic mouse. It appears that we have come across another "Elissa approved" ride. It may look clean and pretty, it may look like a "bouncy-bouncy" but compared to the "Bouncy-Bouncy" at Zaragoza, all others at just flat rides. That's Callum and Natasha behind me. They're cool. Lift hill shot. It "looked" really nice and clean. First up, the aptly named: "Roller Coaster" The Brave Turntable (aka: enterprise) Yes, that is a ladybug restroom. Bungee tower in the background. More "Do Not's" The name of the park for those that can read Mandarin. It was actually quite large. Nice looking entrance plaza. The first thing we saw: Blood donors station. Don't know if it was voluntary or not.

More from Beijing Amusement Park. Spinny boat ride, that went around the outside of the garden. I don't think the Chinese have the same concept as the Europeans. Pics from Beijing Sun Park soon. Log Flume. Not exactly sure what kind of ride this was. never saw it run. It's not a swinging ship, as it's only half of the ship and semi-circular. Fancy bridge to nowhere. Some monorail pics for Scott. "Go-Kark" Top Scan and Disk-o, from the ferris wheel. Both beautifully set along Malaria lake. They also had a nicely themed frisbee. A really cool triple deck carousel. The top two levels are the ride, and they go in opposite directions. I wish we could actually verify this! Elissa managed to drag Frank (our tour guide) on to the coaster. First train of crash test dummies. After a little hesitation (afterall,they did just replace a wheel assembly) we rode.

Day 3 Had us hitting Beijing Amusement Park and Sun Park. Like almost all days on this trip, it was clear (NOT smoggy) hot and very humid! If you've read this far, I'm impressed. Pics below. Please enjoy! Heading back to the other coaster. They must have finished changing that wheel assembly by now! More later. Understood! I'm now having a sudden desire to get off!! Elissa's face says it all! OK. I could be wrong! Looks harmless enough. High Altitude Roll Slider. Yeah. OK. Figures. The Jew already has a franchise here in Beijing. What's the porpise of this tilt-a-whirl? Transformers: The Ride So we headed to the back of the park for their other coaster. Um.... words escape me. First up: The Super Speed Cool-Cool Bear coaster! Not!! They were too busy changing a wheel assembly. (Seriously!) Typical "Do Not" sign. This one features "No spear fishing, Ice skating or Volvos" Spectacular billboard. Why? I have NO idea. Descent sized ferris wheel (w/o AC!) In case you have a short memory, we're at Beijing Amusement Park

OK - So my last post had pics that never showed up. We're now Hong Kong, and I'll try to get the Day 2 pics finished up (hopefully with the same stupid captions). Enjoy! Another shot of the Beijing Tower to finish off this report for Day 2. Hopefully, I'll get more done soon. JJ They then served us dinner at the silk factory. Showing that he is a true "New Englander", Rich displays his taste in rare exotic foods. Because TPR is rated "PG-13" I can't show any more pics, (Sorry Guy!) but you get the idea. To increase our appitite for things made of silk, they gave us a private fashion show... .. string it up to be unrolled..yadda...yadda... (45minutes of sales pitch goes by) and you get ... silk stuff. Oh joy! Basically, you take a cocoon, soak it in water... Our last stop for Day 2 was a Gov't owned silk factory.

Time to move on to more of Day 2. The cultural aspect. We left the park and headed for lunch... Who am I kidding? I hope you enjoy the pics. This is one of the many guard towers on the wall of the Forbidden city. More pics soon. You can see the Beijing Tower from here, about 2 blocks from our hotel. And yes, it has a moat all the way around it. YAY!! Finally made it out of the Forbidden City! The Emperor's own private lookout tower. The exit! NO! Just a passage way to the Emperor's private gardens. Pretty cool roof details. Yet another throne. Steve, if you want to look like a statue, lose the shades and nametag! The carved walkway was pretty cool. Finally, the exit! NOT! Just a transition to the outer guard areas. and the next. Next building. Throne for this building. Loking back in the current courtyard at a guard gate. I really loved the detail in the roofs. At least it was Robb approved! More gawdiness! Random incense pot. for the Emperor, the Dragon. Symbol for the Empress, the Phoenix... Another long a$$ courtyard! I mean - C'mon. TWO, 15 ft. plasmas?? Get real! This guy knew how to live! Even the Empress was her own loyal servants! Throughout the length of the Forbidden City was some very ornate stone carvings. No one was allowed to walk on them, not even the Emperor. His chair was carried over the stone, by servants who walked off to the sides. One of the many temples/throne rooms that were here. Each one had a specific purpose. Each of the various courtyards were huge! This one featured fancy stone bridges over a stream thru the middle. This is the entrance to the part of the Forbidden city inhabited by the Emperor and other heirarchy. The next few pics show the "outer court where the barracks for the soldiers were, along with other symbolic buildings. Me 'n Mao. Just chillin'. The entrance to the "Forbidden City" was across the street. There were literally 100's of workers changing the floral displays from the Olympics, to the Paralympics. That's a monument to fallen soldiers. We looked everywhere, but found NO tank parking! Those are the major Gov't buildings for all of China. Atsa rotsa bricks! We had to take a walkway under the street AND go thru a security checkpoint to get in. This is some sort of old, fancy entrance to the square (which btw, can hold over 1 million people). Our driver dropped us off about a block from Tien'anmen Square. Right across the street was the Beijing Railway Museum. Our lunch stop happened to be right next to a police equipment store. Naturally, Rich had to check it out.

More pics. Standard swinging ship. Sorry, but culture will have to wait for another update! Thanks for looking!! JJ If you can theme a frisbee to a tornado, it might look as stupid as this. Complete with a Hummer on top. Indian BOOBS! Two reversers, a big drop and... The "Jones Adventure" Chute-the-chutes ride had elephants... Oh, what I would have given to be on a real Vekoma SLC right now!! Nice carousel. It did have some extensive themeing though. Notice the woman washing her clothes behind the final dip. "Crazy Mouse" was their new for 2005 coaster. Yeah. Right. It's an all kind of messed up mouse! Next up: Space Trip. No surprise here. Another castle bigger than Disneyland's. Umm.. Um... Speechless. Poseidon? We never found the show! Best themed Top Spin ever!! Hey! That's a pretty good idea! Maybe Universal could do something like this! A Chinese skyscraper, and a "Big Ben", which was just themeing. What a waste.