RoCo

Fantastic update! Whoever came up with this "screampunk" idea deserves an award of some kind. CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS THING TO OPEN!

Bill, I'm sorry to say that the percentage is dropping... I need to get back. Very cool that you got to ride an Ultra Twister that far back; amazing!

Continuing: We didn't ride the go-kart track under GO-ON, but we did motor around the track that circumnavigated a lake at the far end of the park. These go-karts were low on thrills, but pleasantly scenic. Hey, look, pedal boats. So I'm standing on dry land, taking pictures, and I hear some kind of commotion going on, and I turn to see what's happening. Steve and Priss are having a very good laugh at something. It appears that Cary and Anth have exceeded the payload ratings for these vessels... ...and are on the verge of a serious maritime disaster. Mayday, Mayday, MAYDAY! Greenland's naval search and rescue team is deployed and speeds to their aid. "You're gonna need a bigger boat." "I'll never let go, Jack. I promise." "Call me Ishmael." Saved! Hooray! These were two souls the sea would not claim, not here, not today. Who was that noble hero in the yellow shirt? We'll never know. He simply bowed and walked off into the sunset, the satisfaction of a job well done his only reward. For those of you keeping score of such details, Hokkaido Greenland has three scary attractions. Quality-wise, yeah, there's a traditional dark ride and a walk-through (pictured above) that are not as bat-poop bonkers as some of the others featured on this trip. But they most certainly don't offend with suckage, and we didn't wait a minute for either of them. I know I go on and on about this matter, but it must be emphasized when appropriate: to find three scary attractions in a park of this size and scope is mega-dope. This is the entrance to the dark ride, which is just down the path from the walk-through. I did not have my picture taken as "stretchy neck geisha phantasm" as I clearly could have, *slaps forehead.* My favorite attraction at Greenland was their spooky Surprising House, which is tucked away under the station for the suspended pirate boat monorail; you can see it behind the entrance to the carousel in the photo above. Some day I'd like to buy a drink for the person who came up with the idea to mate a "3D audio" headset experience with a mini somersaulting room ride. The result is so good, I can only hope there are more of them at other parks we didn't get to. First, it lasts several minutes. Second, there's a story to the whole shebang, and don't ask me to tell you what that story is, but it involves seductive/unnerving whispering and breaking dinner plates and creepy moaning and darkness and the possessed room rocking and rolling and finally flipping all the way over. Marvelous. Greenland is a neat little park; I'll be back. Later that afternoon, a few of us took a stroll through Sapporo. This is Odori Park, which runs quite a few blocks through the center of the city. That's the Sapporo TV Tower in the distance. It's a really nice park with plenty of well-manicured lawns and trees, and art and stuff. (FYI, the Sapporo TV Tower gets totalled in 1991's "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.") We stopped at some beer tent and had blue beer. Why it was tinted blue, I don't recall at all. Pretty, right? Then we just meandered for awhile. I liked this lion statue... ...and this awesome horse-drawn double-decker stage coach tour bus (???). And because it's Japan, Mario and Luigi drove by. Dinner. Holy damn, do I miss Japan all the freaking time, but when I'm hungry, I REALLY, REALLY miss Japan. It was another totally defilious day. Happy Holidays, everyone! To be continued.

Continuing: This is Greenland's jet coaster, called GO-ON. And go on, we did. Most of the ride swoops around over one of Greenland's go-kart tracks, but the lift takes you back into the woods a bit, which is nice. Had the rest of the run been through mountainside trees, like the first drop, GO-ON would have been more satisfying, I think. Looking over earlier photos of GO-ON, it appears that the park has planted more trees around the lift and first drop in recent years, so (green) thumbs up, Greenland. Please plant more. Petty landscape bitching aside, it's a worthy credit. You can see that it has a full spiral on the lower left, which, as I think I've made clear already, is something I relish more than your average amusement park guest. In hindsight, I might have to say that this was my favorite jet coaster of the trip. The over-the-shoulder restraints, so unnecessary. But I will always have a soft spot for that sharp Arrow-style wedge nose. Even more in the spirit of Arrow is Greenland's second major credit, Dragon King, a Senyo "Loopscrew." (See, there are some more of the retired wheel cabins along the walkway on the left...) Loopscrew. *Snicker* I was bracing for serious pain. Even sitting in the last row, Alan and Erwin are going in with much better attitudes. It appeared that Dragon King had gotten a new paint job for the season; the colors were rich and very clean. The black and maroon combo is pretty sharp, I think. Notice that they went to the trouble to paint the loop support spines black and the cross bracings maroon, did the same thing on the rails, too. A little care and affection aesthetically goes a long way in my book. Dragon King is very much like your stock Arrow triple-looper, except there's a much bigger dip after the lift hill... ...and a more gradual slope down to the teardrop loop. (Yeah, a Bantha corral in some Star Wars kiddie area, I would really dig that. But I digest.) I'm including as many photos of Dragon King as I am primarily because these sorts of rides do bring back fond memories. Good old Arrow. Meeeehm-reeees... light the corners of my mind... Misty water-colored MEEEEEHM-REEES... (that's the last time I will quote song lyrics today.) Dragon King wasn't too painful, but watching a train curl through the 'screw was more pleasurable than riding through it. Just go dragon-green with maroon accents on the trains and they'll have a winner, at least in the looks department. At one point during the afternoon, we hung out for a bit in one of Greenland's arcades. Here's Steve, Anth and Cary honing their sharpshooting skills. Let's see, what to shoot at first? The bandits, the pre-teen Native American girl, or Kristy Swanson? "Pink Elephant Teeter-Totter" sounds like a euphemism for something dirty. Maybe that's why Steve is enjoying it so much. So the point of this game is to help Mogy, the boy mole, woo Moglin, the girl mole, while avoiding the gangster moles who want to keep them apart? For a Whac-A-Mole, that seems really overplotted. I'm telling you, I miss Japan. Every. Single. Day.

Part Seven: Hokkaido Greenland Many years ago, I used to ski. Not very well, but adequately enough that the expense of getting to and staying at places where you can ski was worth it. Okemo, Lake George, Steamboat Springs, Park City, we went on some great trips back in the day. Looking back, though, it's clear that I always loved the things that come with the sport of skiing more than the sport itself: the incredible mountaintop views; soaking in the hot tub at night; that moment of raw euphoria when you release your barking dogs from those damned ski boots, the Turkish prisons of footwear. This is all to say that I don't really think much about skiing or where to go skiing anymore. And it never really crossed my mind that people ski in Japan. Guess what; they do. As I learned over the next couple of days, if you want to ski in Japan, you want to stay on Hokkaido, the country's northernmost island, where there are quite a few ski resorts. We visited two of them, because – of course – they include amusement parks that are open during those warm months outside of winter (or, wait, I'm sorry, Frozen®, that's the new name for winter, right? Isn't a bill working its way through Congress?) The city that hosts Hokkaido Greenland is Iwamizawa, a detail I share because that name is very high on the "Fun To Say Out Loud" scale. The park may not be packed with fantastic credits, but it's in a beautiful location and has one snazzy little dark attraction. And pedal boats. After the big, modern, Occidental trappings of Nagashima Spaland, it felt good to get back to a park that was more cozy and Japanese. We wouldn't be here a full day, but you don't really need a full day to cover all the bases at Greenland. The bug band out front was laying down a sweet jam. I'm not sure if "dancing" was what I was going for with this pose. Or am I throwing a punch? It's a mystery. What is invisible and smells like carrots? Bunny farts. I get the feeling Hokkaido Greenland is never overrun with crowds, but it was really quiet for our visit, which was great. This is the main hub just beyond the entrance gates. The park seems just about evenly split between attractions for little kids and attractions for everyone else. I'm still not quite sure for which demo these furry AT-ATs are designed. Neil seems quite happy astride this panda. I believe he named it "Master Po," but I could be mistaken. Speaking of AT-ATs, when Disney gets around to dropping some Star Wars into its Japan properties, I'd hope that ridable Banthas would be included. I love that someone took a look at this desperately sad train trip through Greenland's junkyard and thought, "Let's add a disco ball." I saw a three-year-old walk up to this "ride," yawn, and walk away. True story. For non-little kids, there are a few spin and spew rides, like the Roto-Shake, Flash Dance... ...and a swinging boat. And then there are plenty of rides for the whole family to enjoy together, headlined by the obligatory mega-Ferris Wheel. (Which, again, my group did not ride, because, like, enough already. But seriously, I'll bet the views of the mountains from such a height were probably amazing. Next visit to Greenland, I will make the time for this attraction.) It appeared that Greenland management doesn't like to throw out old wheel cabins. They were repurposed as I'm not quite sure what – diaper changing stations? make-out pods? – at several locations. The Cosmo Tower ride was a unique way to check out the area from above, with a little retro sci-fi flair. That retro sci-fi flair carried over to these monorail space jets, whose "early anime" look got me way more excited I should have been. Unless you are truly a very young child, it's little more than an excuse to sit down for a couple of minutes. The suspended pirate ship monorail was probably a hair less unexciting, but we didn't get to that one. There were two mirror mazes at Greenland; this was the larger, more traditional maze. Poor Lauren, she walked into a pane of glass so hard, the resounding BANG! made me jump. But she was fine, thank goodness, and so was the glass. I don't think I've ever seen a mirror maze primarily covered in mirrors. This is Greenland's other mirror maze and it has an "under the sea" theme going on. But that's not what makes it awesome. The coolest thing about this maze is that it there are "Easy" and "Hard" settings. We went through once, pretty quickly, and then the attraction hostess, seeing that there were no munchkins waiting to get in, asked us if we wanted to try the more challenging version. She hit a switch, or pulled a lever, or whatever, and it moved panels around, and dimmed the lights, I think, too? And sure enough, it WAS harder. That was mildly ingenious, I thought. Go, Japan! It might seem crazy what I'm about to say. Sunshine, she's here, you can take a break! I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space. With the air, like I don't care, baby, by the way... (One of the best pop songs ever written, and that is not a topic for debate. Anyway, this is where we ate lunch.) Look at this: kids left their backpacks out front, knowing that when they were done eating, they would find their belongings waiting for them. I miss Japan every single day. Okay, the credits, let's get to 'em. Greenland has four roller coasters, two intended for small children. This is the Wani Wani Coaster and as you can see, there are no small children on board this train. Judge not, that ye be not judged. I would have ridden, too, but that 'gator car brought back some very unfantastic memories of Fantastic Coaster Rowdy (see the Harikata installment of this report). The other kiddie kredit is the Torokko Coaster, unique for its flume ride-style conveyor belt lift mechanism. (Which happens to run parallel to the park's flume ride lift, so let that blow your mind, man.) I recall some gymnastics getting in and out of the car, and a couple of bumps on the knees going around turns. It was kind of fun, though. Beautiful trains, aren't they? It wasn't super-cold that day, but it wasn't really warm enough for us to want to ride the flume. I liked the sign, though.

Man, I wish we'd get something like this in the U.S., with all the funky Euro attractions like Helter Skelter and that insane mega-Mouse. Cool report; thanks! Also, Dramatic Chipmunk never fails to make me laugh.

Agreed--this is one of the weirdest coaster elements I've ever seen. Thirded. Some part of me is as excited about this section as any other in the entire ride. Fantastic report!

It's so cool to see how this entire park has been revitalized over the last few years, and how much the Boardwalk area has improved, specifically. They are really on a roll at KBF. Can't wait to ride this next year!

Muchos grassy-ass, my man! Thanks so much! I had forgotten that UT had lived at Astroworld for so long, and that it had the angled lift hill! It's a burden, I know. Thanks, Matt!

^And I'm digging the name "Acrobat," too!

It always warms my heart to come back to this thread and see the progress that's being made. Amazing. Thanks to all for the continued updates!

Ditto.

LOL, exactly! Thanks, and yeah, that is one reason I really do want to try out the Jet Coaster some day. Very cool looking ride. Thanks, Neil! It was only when I was researching the park for this report that I realized just how big the whole resort is – there's so much to see. I'd love to spend a couple of days there, do the water park, etc. Thanks! I was able to get photos of at least six, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were one or two more I'm forgetting.

Thanks, Bill, and agreed on all points! I am looking forward to discussing the merits of Rusutsu's Ultra-Twister. That puppy is coo coo ca choo.

Continuing: This is the twin to Cedar Point's maXair, which turned me on to these monsters a few years ago. Oh, how I wish Magic Mountain would put a Giant Frisbee somewhere high up on their property... or anywhere they had the space for one, really. Absolutely exhilarating. Spaland's kiddie area is really well done, bright and colorful, and so clean you could drop food anywhere, pick it right up, and eat it without worry. There's a credit here, the Peter Rabbit Coaster, which is very cute, and bless the Japanese for treating this classic Beatrix Potter character with that kind of respect. For god knows what reason, I did not take a picture of the Peter Rabbit Coaster, but I did snap the barking doggie going in a circle ride, because now I'm a little obsessed with them. And the teeny kiddie flume, adorbs. We found only one dark attraction at Spaland, this walk-through. Inside, it was more moody than scary, but I recall a lot of beheadings, so add a gold star for that. If you choose not to go in, hang around outside and watch what happens when the upper-floor shoji screens start sliding open. I would imagine that this grotesquely surreal presentation sets up the story. We didn't spend any time in Spaland's souvenir shops; someone please tell me you can get this floating, disembodied tri-clops head on a t-shirt, or baseball cap, or keyring, or anything. So awesome, plus look at all the freaky dolls, or whatever the hell they are, underneath! Then the scary witch lady comes. Standing ovation. "POWDERED TOAST MAAAAAAAAAAN!" Bye, Spaland, bye, Peter Rabbit! (I had all those small, green hardbound books as a kid; Potter's illustrations are outstanding.) Behold a completely pointless shot of the pre-board area as we waited for our flight to Sapporo. You would not believe how easy and stress-free it was to check in, get through security, and make our way to the gate. Japan pwnership, per usual. Thanks for being patient with me while I move forward ever so glacially with this trip report. It's half-way done! And trust me when I say that the big Disney finale will be the talk of the nursing home. To be continued.

[youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Back in the day, Premier Rides and Togo struck a partnership of sorts and had considered building LIM-launched Ultra Twisters. Can you imagine? As balls-out wild as Spaland's Ultra-Twister was, we would ride something even more berserk in a couple of days; stay tuned. After a quick head-orifice check – no hemorrhaging or cerebrospinal fluid leakage, yay! – I joined a group that were on their way to the bobkarts, another ride you won't find anywhere in the States. These kooky little electric-powered vehicles zip through what appear to be repurposed playground slides. And they are exactly what I'd expect from Japan: a sleeker, more elegant version of traditionally noisy, rumble-bumbly, gas-powered go-karts. The bobkarts do bring the thrill of go-karts down a notch or two, but that was perfectly acceptable right after riding Ultra-Twister... ...and the course has these wavy bits, which were keen. Plus, you can swoop up into the turns a smidge, if you really mash the throttle. We didn't ride the Chutes, but these are always entertaining to watch in action. You know what I'd love to try someday? Mating a "World of Color" style fountain show with one of these things. Impractical perhaps, but I'd sure love to ride and look at something like that... There is no shortage of flat rides at this park, and a ton of them are pendulum rides (for real, it's kind of weird how many there are). Here's a standard Frisbee, one I stay away from. Behind the Frisbee, you can see Spaland's pair of Wild Mice (built about six years before Animal Kingdom had the idea). They are both right out of Mack's catalog, nothing unique about them at all. Note the expressions of unbridled exuberance. I don't even remember if I got both sides properly "credited." Whatevs. BUMMED that the first-gen Intamin Freefall was closed, but the deep, rich cobalt blue paint job with the bright white and yellow accents looked dynamite. Bummed that the park's Jet Coaster was closed, too. (Another Togo product!) It appeared to be at least partially hidden in the woods, so I was even more intrigued. Great reason to come back to Spaland some day. Not so bummed that the Corkscrew was closed. Doesn't it look familiar, though? White supports with blue rails? It's almost like Spaland and Cedar Point are official "sister parks" or something. I did not get the suspended monorail credit, so I'll be back to try this out some day, too. This was lunch. SO GOOD. If Cedar Point offers anything close to this, I haven't found it yet. The mighty Aurora wheel, just a hair under 300 feet tall. Also to be experienced my next visit. Here's another swinger, the Space Shuttle, which we did ride. I handle these much better than the boats that don't go all the way over the top, for some odd reason. Maybe the gallons of blood pooling in my skull offsets the nausea just so. Schwarzkopf fans will be driven mad with envy to know that Spaland has two of Anton's classic models, and both were open while we were there. First, there's the Looping Star, the only one in Asia. Such great rides... My first was the Jet Scream, when it opened at Six Flags Over Mid-America in 1981. Anyone else remember "Commander Jet Scream?" Spaland also boasts the Shuttle Loop, a Flywheel-powered model from 1980. I suppose this would be an ideal spot to take a dig at Magic Mountain... you know why... but I'll let it go this time. For so long I tried to get a shot of a Dragon train going down its first hill just as a Shuttle Loop train was inverting. That would have been rad... next time, maybe. Cedar Point one-ups Spaland with its four-banger Power Tower, but S&S rides are always welcome, no matter how many legs they have. What Cedar Point doesn't have – what no other park in the universe has, rightly so – are THREE swinging boats, right next to one another. Nobody needs that many swinging boats. Nobody. The Giant Frisbee, however, I could understand any park having, like, ten of these. They are so badass.

Continuing: Look at this train. It says, "I'm bad for you. I'm dangerous. You might as well be climbing into a garbage disposal. You're dog meat, pal." The whole of Ultra-Twister is actually one big visual statement urging you to go do something else. The main vertical tower, the track, the supports, the dead-end rear tower, it looks more like a fracking rig than an amusement ride, even when you tart it up in pretty colors (nice try, Spaland). And we should know better anyway. WE know that Togo created the Ultra-Twister. "Yes, I would very much like a hard kick in the groin. Where do I get in line?" Seriously, why am I doing this? Stupid, stupid, stupid.... Hey, that first drop, intense, but in the same voting district as "fun!" So far, so good! Still breathing, no visible scars or bruises... yet! A nice little hill, just like you'd find on a roller coaster that wasn't designed by sociopaths! Wheeee! Then we hit the first Ultra Twist. Good lord. Up on the rear tilting platform, there's a moment to catch your breath before the vehicle – KERCHUNK! – unceremoniously slams into the brakes... ...and then gets dumped down and backwards into the lower set of Ultra Twists. It's preposterous. See for yourself in the amazing PG-13-rated TPR video immediately following.

Part Six: Nagashima Spaland Gigahertz, gigawatt, gigabyte, gigaflop... "Giga" is a silly sound. It's so close to "giggle." Or "gaga." If a word starts with "giga," I can't take it very seriously. Except when it's in front of "coaster," different ball of wax entirely. (Had Hard Rock Park survived, I'd have lobbied for them to build a 300-footer and call it Lady Giga.) Outside of the Universal and Disney properties, Nagashima Spaland would turn out to be the most Western of the parks we hit on this trip. If you visit and think "Japan's Cedar Point," you'll be in good company; that was my reaction, and it is shared by many others. Spaland is very much a Japanese amusement park, but there are more than a couple of spots where you could convince yourself, if only for a second, that you were in Sandusky instead of Kuwana. Head and shoulders above Spaland's numerous Cedar Point-esque attractions is Steel Dragon 2000, one of only four giga-coasters in the world (until Fury 325 opens for bidness in 2015) and the only one outside of North America. And the only one built by Morgan Manufacturing. And the only one with two-across Bolliger & Mabillard trains (brand new, just in time for our visit!) Annnnd the only one that is still a significant record-holder as the longest coaster in the world. I could be wrong on this last factoid, but I think SD2K also remains the most expensive unthemed roller coaster ever built, with a price tag north of $50 million. Steel Dragon was a blast. It's a big, fast, smooth giga-coaster – what's not to like? Spaland's quirkier, Japanese-flavored attractions were more memorable, though, like the sincerely depraved Ultra-Twister. And their haunted house? The pre-show alone is worth the price of admission. We had a slightly truncated day at this park, as we had to catch a flight to Sapporo late that afternoon. But the weather was beautiful, the crowds were light, and we had no trouble grabbing the available credits. Here we are gathered outside before the park opened to the public. We arrived early to help out with tapings for a cable channel show on international roller coasters and other things of that nature. Big wooden coaster, big wheel, big Shoot the Chutes deal, a big, flat expanse with a wide-open blue-sky backdrop... It's totally Cedar Point, right? Truly, Spaland is a park I would strongly recommend to any homesick American, although the idea of being homesick for America while in Japan is incomprehensible to me. The plan for the morning included ERT on both Steel Dragon 2000 and White Cyclone, which was a fine plan indeed because the film crew setting up their equipment at Steel Dragon took longer than anyone would have preferred. Did you know that Japan has six native species of palm trees? Here's Robb, who knows a thing or two about putting cameras on a roller coaster, doing his best to help move things along. Check out the snazzy lead car on the new Beemers! For the Steel Dragon taping, they only needed one full train of riders on standby, so Elissa led the rest of us over to White Cyclone, Japan's largest woodie and still one of the largest of its kind anywhere. It's a monumentally beautiful thing, and man, does the park keep it looking cherry. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of this ride when it wasn't showroom-clean, and it sparkled the day we were there. I wish I'd gone up in the Ferris wheel to get some shots from above. Gotta hand it to Spaland for the undoubtedly tremendous expense it takes to paint this sucker from top to bottom. They called it "WHITE Cyclone" and they are committed to that promise, because that's the honorable thing to do. You will note that it is not called "Awesome Fun-To-Ride Cyclone." By the time we made our way back to Steel Dragon, it was All Systems Go; hooray! Who's excited?! DAN'S EXCITED!! I can't compare this new custom rolling stock to the original Morgan trains, but I'm 99.99973% certain that they are a major improvement, aesthetically and ergonomically. Bolliger & Mabillard do trains better than anyone else, Eye Em Aich Oh. Time Machine To-Do List Item No. 453: Go back to 1982, form a hair metal band, call it "Steel Dragon 2000," and totally steal this logo, because it is so perfect. Did you know that Steel Dragon's meganormous lift hill has two chains (because it's so meganormous)? One loop for the lower half and one for the upper half. I think – again, don't make a bar bet on it – that's another one-of-a-kind feature. I really should have gone up in the wheel. From high above, you can see the rivers and sea that border the park (one more pointedly Cedar Point-like characteristic). "Nagashima" actually means "long island." So I'd recommend a ride on Steel Dragon for the views alone. They are sweet. Fleeting, but sweet. And you cannot knock that first drop. Even though its 65-degree angle of descent is way off Millennium Force's 80-degree plunge, it's plenty steep enough. Of course, aerodynamic concerns are very important on a ride that hits 95 miles per hour, but if there was a little more "dragon" going on in the lead car, I'd be even happier with the new trains. Even if it was just painted on, make it look a little more like a "Divine Demon-Dragon Gaiking" sort of thing. Seems like a bit of a missed opportunity. Anyway, look at that drop; that is one titanic mofo. I will cop to having a moment at the bottom of this first blisteringly fast dive: "I am riding a giga-coaster in Japan." It may not be the most aggressive roller coaster in its weight class, but you gotta love that the Dragon's second hill is 252 feet tall. That's impressive. And the third hill, the one pictured above, that dumps you into the knot of turns at the far end? It's 210 feet tall, higher than some hypercoasters ever get. The run through these sweeping curves is very pleasant; if you are looking for black-out G-forces, you will be disappointed. Still, they are a nice contrast to the trip home, which is a solid progression of Morgan-style bunny hops. Do I sound less enthusiastic than you might expect? I don't wish to undersell Steel Dragon 2000; it's really great, I swear. The problem is, the next coaster I rode made me forget all about Steel Dragon 2000. That next coaster was the Ultra-Twister.

Great report! That Batmobile limo is godlike.

Awesome report, awesome photos and man, you have really convinced me that I need to get to the Niagara Falls area as soon as possible. I knew there were some haunted houses up there, but nothing like Nightmares. What a fantastic trip!

The Cabana Bay hotel, sorry RESORT, could turn out to be my favorite place to stay in all of Florida, looks completely fantastic. And Daigon Alley is looking just as amazing as they led us to believe it would. Damn.

The fun-having on this trip looks absurd. Must do the next Scandi trip. Can't wait to see what's coming! (Also, for the Man Show shout-out.)

Awesome report, and I'm so glad to see the park still has plenty of dark rides! It is a bummer the Old Mill still has bogus "theming" but at least Rye didn't go with some completely unrelated "brand" character. And I love the latest Dragon! Really sweet. If we lose this park, I'm going into deep mourning.

Thanks for all the very kind comments, everyone! You have no idea how much I wish I was going to be with you all. But have a FANTASTIC time!!!

This is very hard to argue with. Thanks, Bill! ' Wait, WHAT?! Sea Paradise had bumper boats in a dolphin tank?!?! I must be misunderstanding something. Yeah, I really do want to go back to Sea Paradise and spend most of my time there (except for some Blue Fall) looking at the exhibits. This is definitely part of the reason I want to return to Japan with TPR, to check out some other Togo rides that have decent reputations. That's a deal! I've read several TPR Sea Paradise trip reports with some amazing shots of the fish, including the Sunfish. No question, the next time I'm at that park, I'll spend the majority of the time in the aquariums. And riding Blue Fall.