better_by_design

Great update! I really like the idea of Turtle Trek - innovative & new, but still core to SeaWorld's mission (wildlife) and demographic (families). Dying for more details on what's coming for my favourite animals: Penguins!

OK, I promise this is the final post from my visit to BSAP. If nothing else, I pray that the completist nature of these posts will act as a deterrent to all but the most credit-crazy from visiting. Along with the Islands of Adventure "inspired" section next door, BSAP's other new area appears to be "inspired" by DCA of all things. Welcome to Dream World! Most of the rides are reasonably well themed. Most. Any bets on this being a knockoff Frog Hopper? They did return to IOA as the clear basis for their carosel. I mean, are they flying teams of designers over to the US, or just reading TPR Trip Reports? This is NOT actually the Caro-Seuss-El This is NOT actually the entrance to Mermaid Lagoon, just a shaded rest area. I'm not sure what Ents have to do with Splash Battling yellow submarines, but the queue started through this: Hello! I may be a character from a non-litigious franchise! The colour of the water in the Splash Battle was very... organic? Now back to DCA: Jumpin' Jellyfish? And the apparent need for multiple overhead rail rides at Chinese parks continues with what I dubbed "Fruit & Vegetable Express": Spongebob Rail You cannot pass the Gourd Guards without answering their riddle. Pink dolphins are actually a thing in China. Or were. Seriously, go Google it. The big ride in this section was a dark tracked shooter, with back-to-back seating, themed to outer-space & familiar anthropomorphic animals. Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco! Next door was a mysterious forest! It actually looked a LOT like the folks who make artificial Christmas trees went to town here - Can hardly see the forest for the trees. Ah, the infamous SBNO Spinning Batman! Unfortunately this credit was still not operating. Has anyone ridden this in a long time? Given the mechanical quality of the other coasters at BSAP, I'm morbidly curious about what the failings of Spinning Batman could have been to warrant it not running. Oddly, the queue to the station was open... and there were no barriers of any kind, so I went in and took a couple (bad) pictures. It was exceptionally creepy! Abandoned Spinning Batman cars I like to think this is a test dummy from the failed ride. And that is FINALLY it. Next up: a park that is pretty much the exact opposite of BSAP.

So I came to the realization that I never actually posted the third & final part of my photo report detailing the wonders of BSAP. Sorry. Here it is. The third and final section of the mighty BSAP is the "new" part of the park, allegedly built to combat the invasion of bigger, newer, costlier, BETTER amusement parks, *Cough* Happy Valley *Cough*. I'll let you judge if they succeed or not. This is immediately looking more promising. Sort of like Islands of Adventure! It really is a separate section of park... with a distinct entrance from the indistinct areas of the main park. See! More betterer! You'll notice several of the attraction names are "inspired by" familiar properties... for a park that has actually been nailed for IP infractions, this was amusing. Even the signs are more themey! And no less entertaining! Did I mention it looked a bit like IOA? The rides are WAY better themed. King Kong's Spin is still a Chinese knockoff though. And wasn't operating this day. That IS a Hummer on top of the ride. It was placed there by the "Hurricane" obviously. If you read the earlier parts of this report, you'll know that several of the rides essentially dare you to take your life in your hands. While not REALLY that daring, it's still notable that the restraints on "Wings of the Sun" were probably seatbacks borrowed from the factory that makes the $29.97 office chairs at Walmart. Including the cheap black plastic accordion stuff covering the metal. Well themed, knock off Disk-o. The showpiece of this section is a large mountain. It contains the double reversing flume ride, an indoor coaster, and also has a rock climbing wall on one face. Pretty well integrated, really. Ooooh, a mountain! Just like Disney! The Jones Expedition loads from an elevated station, themed to look like... an ark? It's OK, you tried really hard. Everyone get on the ark, two by two! The ride itself is fun, not particularly wet, but the reversing makes the first drop cool. I don't think I'd been on a backwards drop before. The mountain theming is nice, but the interior of the ride looks more Gatlinburg than Disney. Which works for me, in this case. They also hand out disposable ponchos upon boarding! The more terrifying thing was that the seatbelts are weird... and tight... and basically even with a bunch of "obvious weird foreign tourist" gesticulating, the ride op dispatched our boat with me not actually wearing it. At all. Needless to say, my first ride was a little more thrilling than it normally would be. Double reversing flume! Squee! I was relocated through space & time from Orlando! Ever seen a themed skyscraper before? Me neither. This (and other) signs imply rather heavily that there is (or was supposed to be) a drop ride inside this Big Ben-esque tower. We may never know for sure. The Jurassic Adventure is an indoor coaster... in the dark, with dinosaurs. When I rode, it was insanely sunny out, and the seams in the building ruined the dark part. Still, coaster + dinos = OK in my books. Entrance to the Jurassic Adventure coaster I feel some shame being employed here. I'll really finish this off in a day or two... I'm literally about to board an airplane, so bear with me.

I'm about to head to the airport to depart for a business trip - luckily with a stopover in Dubai, so I will be experiencing the "car/taxi to Ferrari World from Dubai" situation first hand in a couple days and will report back! Excited to see the UAE for the first time and ride FR!

And of course, a Cracker Barrel across the street also. I've always been teased by the history and remnants of Opryland when visiting Nashville, but never made it to that fabled land. Have they started constructing the all-suites expansion on top of the remains of the River Rampage ride yet? This is a really fantastic idea for the Gaylord company - bring in an experienced operator with local ties, help to build non-convention (weekend) business, and the snow concept will be a truly fantastic tie in to the already incredible Christmas activity lineup that they already promote (and charge!) out the wazoo. Put some cute little stages in for ambient entertainment, and this could be a big win. Like everyone else, I'd love to see some coasters (even one!) on that expansion section, but what they are proposing makes a TON of sense business-wise first. I'm curious what sort of local partners they're talking about for phase II... may not be theme park related at all, maybe a walking/shopping/restaurant district. And yeah, I think Wild Waves will be dead... Nashville Shores, I feel sorry for, as though it's not terribly impressive, the new owners have been consistently investing over the past couple years, and they'll feel the hammer dropping on their growing business now. In the end, any new themed entertainment is a welcome one, especially from pros like Herschend, and especially close to home!

Very cool! Excited because I've never been able to even *RIDE* Montezooma - I've only been to Knott's 3 times, and it's either been: a) Down b) Not being operated that day c) Had ridiculous lines So this is yet more TPR awesome!

I think your "friends" may be my in-laws!

Bought tickets - excited as a work trip threatened to derail the *obviously* more important trip out to the West Coast Bash, but managed to get things lined up! Excited to attend my first West Coast Bash!

Awesome pictures! You really captured the beautiful oddness that IS Lotte World!

You speak the truth! I am in awe of the powers of Big Mike! Also: 4 duckies. Lock it in!

SERIOUSLY great photos. I am super jealous. What are you shooting with? And especially the daytime shots, really silky smooth - camera settings, or processing? Also really glad to see HKDL doing some business - when I visited a couple years ago it felt like I was on a private theme park tour. Which was cool, but saddening. If nothing else, I need to go back and see the 3 new mini-lands in a couple years - and they definitely look like they do seasonal events right!

Speaking of that...the shuttle loop at Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park is seriously terrifying. Not a good sound to hear the upstops crashing against the track to keep you in place. YES. THIS. Pretty much all the coasters at that place are near terrifying... the cake was taken when I (American-sized male) couldn't get the shoulder belts on for their flume ride (which does forwards AND backwards drops). I was yelling concernedly at the ride ops, who dispatched our boat anyways. Picture arms up to elbows in shoulder straps and bracing like crazy... not that I was in any real danger, but when it's your first time on a ride... More "this would never happen in the US" park stories...

1) FINALLY visiting Tokyo Disney. As a life-long Disney fan, finally being able to visit after years and years and years of wanting to was a huge deal for me. 2) Seeing Tokyo DisneySea for the first time. Without a doubt the most beautiful theme park on the planet. 3) Deep South Bash - my first (and definitely not last!) TPR event and without a doubt the most fun I've had coastering in my life. Great people, great coasters, great event.

I thought some folks may find this interesting - not your normal news story! --- THE TELEGRAPH www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8935184/Skeleton-at-London-Dungeon-found-to-be-real.html It is believed that the bones could have been displayed at the attraction since it opened in 1975. Now the skeleton has been found to be genuine, it must be licensed by the Human Tissues Authority at a cost of 2,000 pounds a year. The remains, which include a rib-cage and backbone, have been named Kate - after model Kate Moss. It is thought she might date from the early days of anatomical research when bodies were regularly smuggled in from the Far East And staff now suspect another skeleton hanging in a gibbet cage might also be real. She is known as Twiggy. It was only when managers learned that real bones have to have a licence they asked an expert to come in and check their bones. Bill Edwards, from London's Guy's Hospital's Medical Museum, took a scraping and confirmed the remains of "Kate" were once those of a person. Based on the way certain bones were wired together it is thought the partial skeleton was put together in the 1950s. Now the London Dungeon is to have "Twiggy" tested as well after Mr Edwards said it looked genuine. He said: "I need to go back and examine that one more closely when the Dungeon team can get it down from the wall. "But from what I could see it looks either human, or a combination of some human and some artificial parts." Catherine Pritchard, from London Dungeon, said: "We have long suspected they might be real. "We decided we'd better find out after learning from the Human Tissues Authority that we could be breaking the law if they were real, and were less than 100 years old. "Both skeletons were due to move to the Dungeon's annual Satan's Grotto feature in mid-December, but will now have to be replaced by other grisly props. "We have no idea where they originally came from, but suspected they might date back to the early days of anatomical research when bodies were regularly smuggled in from the Far East for dissection. "I don't think this revelation will disturb anyone on the team somehow, and I think if they have to go we'll actually miss them."

I am unclear if I am more scared of the gift shop or the Chinese buffet. May need to sleep on it to decide... assuming I can sleep at all, with the mini-golf trip report induced nightmares that are sure to invade my dreams.

The math is simple: More Penguins = More Betterer. All looks quite "cool". Ha, ha, someone had to say it.

YES! This whole ride experience looks like a better twist on SeaWorld's integration of ride+animals. Wild Arctic was (IMHO) groundbreaking and awesome when it debuted... but simulators never age well. As great as the polar habitat still is, a better ride tie in would be very welcome. The freefall element might be a gimmick, but for 98% of people, it will be a unique gimmick. Great marketing opportunity, plus adds some thrill without making the coaster too tall/loopy/scary looking for families to ride. Most importantly, the storyline actually sounds like it is supportive of the element in an interesting way. And heck, anything with penguins gets my vote.

Wow! great looking ride, extremely impressive photos!

Agreed! And the more modest height is still going to be thrilling to smaller people... or those of us who are legitimately scared of heights without being overwhelmed. I'll probably never ride a true Star Flyer, but I'll try this thing out at some point.

So how about this "vertical swing ride" from Zamperla? Nice to see an upgraded flat in addition to Mammoth! "Two more weekends to take a “Midnight Ride” New For 2012: Vertical Swing Ride!After providing 33 years of laughs and thrills, Paul Revere's Midnight Ride will retire at the end of this season. The Everly Aircraft Company based in Salem, Oregon, originally built the Spider for Santa Claus Land where it debuted alongside what is now known as Lewis & Clark Trail in 1978. Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride will saunter into the sunset at closing time on Sunday, October 9, giving you two weekends to enjoy a few last spins before it disappears for good. As we say goodbye to one ride, we’re already planning for another. We’re adding a 65’ Vertical Swing Ride! This new ride has the same 36” height limit as the ride it’s replacing, so smaller children can ride with their families. We’ll have more information about this fun new ride in the coming weeks. "

OK, so let's wrap up the rest of the Beijing Shjiangshan Amusement Park (which I will lovingly refer to as BSAP) today, and move on to much nicer parks in short order. First of all, BSAP is split into 2 main sections - the one we just went through, and another, larger portion. It is split by train tracks... and not any cute theme park train, but an honest-to-goodness-actual-train-tracks. To get across this, you go up, and down a lot of stairs. Going to the (other) wrong side of the tracks. A gate to a magical world... I'm pretty sure these aren't ADA compliant. After entering the "main" part of the park (oddly on the other side of the tracks from the main entrance, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS, NONE OF THIS PARK MAKES ANY SENSE AND MAY KILL YOU!), you are greeted by more high quality thematic elements: I always had a suspicion China was building a People's Liberation Android Army. Here's proof! Nearby are more rides, including "Space Trip" which is vaguely Galaxi-esque. It's became clear (and is worth mentioning) that none of the coasters here are actually good, some are just less crappy than others, and seem to have less chance of killing you. I love a good Moonliner. Right beside "Space Trip" Also nearby is this: Warrior Turnplate is yet another fantastic ride name. A great, GREAT Chinglish name. However, after my recent run-in with Chinese knockoff Death Loop, the chance of me riding Chinese knockoff Starflyer of Doom was zero. There is absolutely no chance I was riding this. I did however sort of enjoy the unadulterated violence of the Crazy Mouse. Crazy Mouse! And there was this: Chinese local theme parks seem to have a thing for overhead sky trains. More importantly... Airvagility? Pretty sure no native English speakers would have approved that name. The log flume was actually decent looking. At various times, it looks like Florida. The feeling doesn't last long. On the other side from knockoff Soarin' over Spaceship Earth, is BSAP's castle. The Chinese government actually listened when Disney complained about the castle and walkaround characters being knockoffs... so they were forced to repaint. I think the bumper boats really add to the majesty of the castle. Dumbo! Errr... Even the souvenirs are knockoffs. My apologies for the over-exposed photos, but I was working with my phone and it was crazy hot and eerily sunny & bright out. The one coaster in the park that was actually sort of enjoyable was the wonderfully named ATOMIC COASTER. It is a knockoff Arrow loop-screw, and actually did not suck. Given the park it's in, this is a major achievement. Atomic Coaster Atomic Chain BSAP's Atomic Coaster Car Hardworking BSAP castmember maintaining their world-class theming & landscaping. China loves giant wheels. Much like Boomerangs in America, Golden Horse Spinning Coasters have spread across China like kudzu. Shoot aliens with your balls! For tickets to ride the Worm Coaster, please inquire at the Giant Worm Head. Also nearby is the infamous "knockoff Vekoma SLC" which I can't seem to find any pictures of. It's highly likely that by this point in my day I was addled by heatstroke, jerky coasters, near death experiences, the lack of Western toilets/toilet paper, or just the sheer WEIRDNESS of BSAP. It's worth noting that the fake SLC would only be dispatched with a 3/4 full train... possibly because of lazy ride ops, or possibly because they were worrying that it was SO slow that it needed the extra weight to get it through the course. That said, I'll add pictures of the (comparatively) NICE, NEW part of BSAP soon. It's nicer, it's newer, it's still really, REALLY weird! Net result though: a bunch of crappy credits. And some good stories. Does this count as a Jeff Johnson credit?

YES! It was very, very disconcerting. It looked "slow" through the loop while waiting in line, but the "thunk" kind of feeling/noise was (in my rollercoaster experience) unprecedented. Not sure if this is a result of poor maintenance or design, but it makes you much, MUCH more appreciative of the high standards of international manufacturers and maintenance folks!

Yeah, riding that shuttle loop was more than a little frightening... I didn't really expect it, since I had ridden the (seemingly) identical one in Shanghai the previous week, and it was well... OK. This video of you guys just goes to show, "Kids, do serious TPR research before attempting overseas theme parks, and infamous Chinese knock off rollercoasters in particular":

Thanks for the great TR! We're (finally!) going on the Dream for a 3 day cruise in a couple weeks... booked it 8 months ago and it's FINALLY almost here. This was a great way to get me even more excited about it! How bad were the AquaDuck lines during the cruise? From what I just saw, I'm packing our swim suits in my carry-on bag and going as soon as we board!

Agree with much of the positivity from earlier folks: - Avatar was the biggest movie of all time, in the world, period. Yes, the storyline was derivative, and I don't feel a lot of need to re-watch it, but it is still a big deal. - Huge future potential with 2 more movies in the pipeline - Attractions live and die by being good attractions, not just tied to a good movie, especially as the lifetime of most major theme park attractions are 20+ years - Wingrider coasters (from whatever manufacturer) would be a natural major attraction. Disney needing to aim for a wide audience means the ride can't be "World class" in forces, but the opportunity to theme the HECK out of it will hopefully more than make up for that Thoughts: - AK is absolutely the right place for an Avatar land thematically (nature, green spaces) though I already really enjoy the park as is, and yes, the Studios desperately need more family & minor rides - Cameron has delivered pretty awesome attractions before (remember how cool T2:3D was when it first came out?) and is personally invested in making the Avatar franchise work going forward Questions: - When they say land, how many other attractions? Any thoughts on what these could be (other than a 4D movie?) - How will the crazy flying dragon/banshee/whatever patent fit in? Live stunt show? - Is there any potential for a VR attraction (you design then walk around Pandora in your own Avatar body?) - How immersive will the theming go as far as the land, shops, restaurants go? - Will the ride(s) tie directly to the second and third movies? - Has anyone at Disney figured out what the Pandora equivalent of Butterbeer is yet? Like someone else said earlier, I had to double check whether it was April 1 or not...