cfc

Yep, that all sounds about right to me. The coaster had already been closed for two years when I went there in 2016, so I didn't even get a credit out of the deal. TPR spent one night in Amsterdam in 2008, and the plan was to visit the Dungeon for that credit; unfortunately, there was a power failure, so that was that.

And the green bunny ears.

Vee vill now pass zis vay some more. I don't remember much about Tivoli Karolinelund, but it was nothing like Vegas. I sort of remember this guy, though. Tusenfryd in Norway is the home of some big rides, like Speed Monster . . . . . . and wee, little rides like Teeny Weeny. Welcome to LIseberg, which is having a very strange effect on Elissa. Must be some Swedish virus. My god! It's catching! Kanonen was a fun Intamin launched coaster, which has since been removed and replaced with a B&M. Look! Donald Trump is at Liseberg! Skara Sommerland is the only park with one of these bizarre S&S creations. It's an interesting ride. No waterpark for us on this chilly day, although we did get to experience Swedish Mexican food. Grona Lund's Insane does, indeed, look maniacal in this photo. I love how this park uses the space it has--all kinds of rides crammed in here. Here's a look at the old Spokhuset before Sally transformed it into House of Nightmares. Jetline is still my favorite coaster at Grona Lund. Power Park is Finland's northernmost theme park. It boasted a shockingly decent Boomerang (called Cobra). We loaded up this train with TPR's biggest guys and broke Thunderbird's speed record. These are go-karts? Looks more like NASCAR. Sarkanniemi features Tornado, an Intamin inverted coaster. Too bad more of these haven't been built. They also had this huge Intamin Half-Pipe. Linnanmaki in Helsinki was the last park of the trip--and our last old-school woodie with a brakeman. It was named Vuoristorata, which I guess is Finnish for "Rutchebanen." Kirnu was Insane's not-as-crazy cousin. My favorite attraction there was the dark ride--beware the wrath of the Lost Viking Skeleton of Linnanmaki! The sign says it all! That's it for now.

Scandi 2009 Ah, Scandinavia! Can you not smell the salt air, salmon, and pickled herring? Do you not hear the battle cry of the Vikings? Let's go back to 2009 and the region that gave us Epcot's Maelstrom, er, Frozen Ever After. Yes, vee haf passed zis way before, and vill pass zis way again (as the narrator of Epcot's Maelstrom might've put it). This trip started in Denmark and took us to parks in Sweden, Finland, and Norway (with a bit of time in Germany, as I recall). You'll recall that we had previously visited Tusenfryd and Liseberg, but the remaining parks were all new to me. It was great to finally see the acutal Tivoli Gardens after experiencing the Japanese version. But the Japanese parks had nothing on the Scandinavian parks when it came to sheer weirdness. We started in beautiful Copenhagen. Our hotel was a short walk to the classic Tivoli Gardens, although that isn't where we started. We started with Bon Bon Land, a magical realm devoted to cartoons and various bodily functions. Most of you will know this place as the home of the infamous Dog Fart Coaster. But did you know that it also has the largest, creepiest Santa Claus ever? It's easy to see why Walt Disney found Tivoli Gardens so inspiring. It's absolutely beautiful. Tivoli's Rutchbanen was the first of three old-school wooden coasters on this trip. But it was the only one to boast a former U.S. president as a brakeman. Daemonen was just cutest lil' old B&M coaster ever. Wait, who's that handing the brakes on Bakken's Rutchebanen? Oh my god, those poor people! Bakken was also the home of Tornado, one of Intamin's more insane creations, which is saying a lot. Hansa Park had a very impressive entrance. Fulch von Novgorod, a launched Eurofighter with a vertical lift, as well, was also pretty dang impressive. They opened the ride even though the theming, both inside and out, wasn't finished--and it was still a great ride. They also had a nice old Schwarzkopf--Nessie. Hmm--either it's pouring rain at Somerland Syd and everyone is wearing ponchos, or we've stumbled into a Klan meeting. Yes, the rain continued at Legoland Billund. But that didn't stop everyone from riding this rather RTC-like coaster. I'm not saying that it rained a lot that day, but . . . At Farup Sommerland, you can pilot your own speedboat. No tracks here! Falken was a fun S&S wooden coaster. But Lynet is the park's star attraction. It was pouring when we hit Tivoli Friheden. Dropping into the net of their SCAD Tower was like plunging into a swimming pool! Mr. Big boasted authentic American cuisine--that is, a hot box full of fried everything! I didn't hit Tobu Zoo while TPR was in Japan in '07, so my first Intamin Mega-Lite was Piraten at Djurs Sommerland. It did not disappoint. And remember: Pirates don't say "whee," they say "arrr!" Who would've thought that my first sighting of a monkey water skiing behind a croc would be in Denmark? Funny little world, isn't it? More to come.

Amsterdam is a unique, beautiful city. I hit the Amsterdam Dungeon, and it was fun, but pretty cheesy.

This is at the top of my list when Disney's Hollywood Studios reopens!

Another great walk down Memory Lane, John! I miss the old "oom-pah band" elevator in the Festhaus.

I'm willing to give it another chance with the new trains. Vekoma has even made Boomerangs bearable with those.

We're not done with Europe just yet. Not by a long shot. Phantasialand offered a number of great attractions, in addition to the Dragon Bar at the Hotel Ling Bao. I liked Black Mamba a lot. The theming really makes this ride. Silbermine was like Pirates of the Caribbean, only with Mexicans. Alas, it is gone now. But you can still see King Kong attack a PT boat on the Hollywood Tour boat ride. Tripsdrill had a winery to go along with its coasters and other attractions, . . . . . . such as this death conveyance. Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park is still in my top ten. What a great ride! Sigh! Remember when this wench flashed you in Burg Falkenstein? She doesn't anymore. Europa Park had my favorite hotel of the trip--the Colosseo. Spaceship Eurosat. Euro Mir has the catchiest theme music of any coaster ever built. It will stick in your head for days, nay, weeks afterward! Here's a peek at the old Piraten in Batavia. I wonder if this pig-wrestling buccaneer will be back in the rebuilt, post-fire version? Geisterschloss was a great Haunted Mansion knockoff. Walygator had the worst coaster since Movie Park's Bandit . . . . . . but, hey, Fatal Bazooka! We ended the trip with a few days at Paris Disney. I think there was some sort of special event going on, so the castle was decorated with Disney and Pixar characters--very nice. I understand that their version of Space Mountain is much better now. Someday, I'll find out. I liked the walk-through Nautilus tour in Discoveryland. Kinda wish DisneySea had it, too. Phantom Manor was a unique version of the Haunted Mansion, with some extra gore--nicely done. Walt Disney Studios was a bit better than I'd expected, but it was the weakest Disney park I'd ever visited. Whoa! Are we back in California? Behold the last remaining Catastrophe Canyon. Crush's Coaster was fun, but that line . . . sheesh! When in Paris, watch out for Geppetto. He's a bit of a perv! That's all for now.

Europe 2008 Who's ready to fly into Paris for another great TPR trip? Yes we started and ended this tour in the City of Lights--a beautiful place with absolutely insane traffic. I got to climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, cruise on the Seine, and hobnob with the gargoyles of Notre Dame (where I also had the best ice-cream cone ever at a little place across the street from the famous church). And, of course, we visited a lot pf parks of all different kinds in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. I learned a number of things about European theme parks during this trip, too. For example: 1. There are parks that can rival and, sometimes, top the Disney parks. Europa Park in Germany is the best park in Europe (and one of the best in the world). 2. Paris Disneyland is beautiful and has a number of good attractions (particularly Big Thunder Mountain and Phantom Manor). But it's not the best of the Magic Kingdoms. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed myself there immensely, but when it comes to customer service, it's no Tokyo Disney. That being said, I'm looking forward to visiting it again, someday. 3. Walt Disney Studios, while hardly a great park, was a bit better than I'd expected. Now that it's had a chance to grow a bit, I'd like to visit it again. 4. There are worse coasters than SLCs in the world: Movie Park's Bandit and Walygator's Ananconda, for instance. 5. The food at most European theme parks, particularly Europa, is much better than the park fare in the U.S. 6. Some of the quirkier European parks offer plenty of opportunities to hurt yourself. C'est la vie! On to the photos. Like last time, I'm sticking to the two-photo rule, with a few exceptions. We kicked things off at Jardin d'Acclimatation, a beautiful little park in Paris. It had a few eccentric family coasters . . . . . . and a few opportunities to injure yourself. This pattern will repeat as the trip goes on. Next up was Parc Asterix, which offered some interesting views . . . . . . and one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. (Well, we probably deserve it.) Walibi Belgium was a bit "generic," but it did have some interesting merch, especially if you like ties that stare and smile. The park also an enclosed Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, which was pretty cool, and a great shooting dark ride with fire (Challenge of Tutankhamon). Let's not forget Adventure Parc near Walibi Belgium, . . . . . . where I learned I'm not all that adventurous. Remember, at Bobbejaanland, no one, but no one, messes with Speedy Bob's wheelbarrow! This was also my first "Bench: The Ride" experience (aka, El Paso Special). Toverland's Troy was one of my favorite coasters dueing that trip, . . . . . . even though the Trojan Horse killed me. Efteling was definitely a Disney-type park--with the size to match. Lots of great dark rides, as well as Pegasus, a family wooden coaster that has since been replaced. Someone want to get that dude a magazine? I think he's going to be there a while. Formule X at Drievilet was a great launched coaster. Maurer Shone redeemed itself with this ride. Why, we even had a hoedown to celebrate. This is park is no longer Walibi World (just Walibi or "Walibi Holland"). But Goliath is eternal (and awesome). But one mast take the good with the bad--in this case, El Condor, the first-ever SLC. It looks appropriately sinister in this photo. Heide's Colossos was a great Intamin woodie (ran really well in 2008). I like the Knott's Berry Farm vibe of the park's old log flume. Alas, it's gone now. Yes, I felt transported to Hollywood at Movie Park, . . . . . . especially when I beheld the animal perversions of the Ice Age boat ride. If you were going to injure yourself, Schlossbeck was a good place to do it. It's also had a rather puzzling castle full of odd dioramas. I felt I was in Japan for a moment. More to come.

I'm sure some ride will be taking the place of Aladdin's Funhouse. Haunted House and Pirate's Cove are not going anywhere soon, they said that when the closure of the funhouse was announced. The Haunted House and Pirate's Cove are the two best attractions there.

Here's some Haunted Mansion stuff I've collected over the last few years. 45th-anniversary print (Art of Disney Store in Epcot) 50th-anniversary print done by a Marvel Comics' artist (Disney Co-Op in Disney Springs) A 50th-anniversary Doombuggy that plays "Grim Grinning Ghosts" (Momento Mori shop in the Magic Kingdom) Hmm--need to find a spot to set this up (Momento Mori shop)

^Yes! Dan has surfaced! The amazing power of Texas Select! Wasn't that swill about $1.98 /six pack?

That's because it's a funky Togo loopscrew.

^Me, too. I'm glad I got to visit Space World, and I'm a bit worried about Parque Espana. My thanks to you and Robb for making it all possible.

We're not quite finished with the 2007 Japan Trip yet. Parque Espana is a Japanese park themed to Spain. Why not? It makes more sense that theming a park in California to California. Pyrenees, a B&M inverted, is great, too. Unfortunately, Adventure Lagoon, the park's unique splash boat/dark ride doesn't exist anymore. Well, the outdoor portion of the ride is still there, but the park no longer uses its huge show building. But this duck might still be sniffing this poor guy's butt. Nagashima Spaland's Steel Dragon when it still had its Morgan "bathtubs on wheels" trains. Oh, this big wooden coaster. Anyone know what happened to it? I loved the sophisticated braking system on the Nagoya Zoo's "trough coaster." Not sure if this is a dog or a floppy eared bunny. Behind the scenes at Lagunasia and Robb's filming session on Aqua Wind. This was the first Gerstlauer Bobsled I ever rode, and it was a good one. Lagunasia also featured the mondo bizarro Magical Powders dark ride, which seems to encourage drug abuse. Hamanako Pal Pal's Mega Coaster was another surprisingly good Togo. It's pretty much the same as Vegas's infamous Manhattan Express, only decent. I just called this ride "Lobster Pinocchio." Pretty sure that's not its actual name. OK, this is the first thing you see when you enter Tokyo Disney Sea. 'Nuff said. Journey to the Center of the Earth was amazing. This is where you escape from Lava Monster! Our first day at Tokyo Disneyland was a bit damp. "We are your gods now!" At Joypolis, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition! But I did expect zombies. The view from the Tokyo Disney Resort monorail. I managed to capture the lightning at TDS's Tower of Terror . . . . . . along with some FIRE! Perhaps the best part of Fuji Q. Here's the pre-loop Dodonpa. The air time over that high hat was terrifying! Sea Paradise also sported a good Togo ride: Surf Coaster. Blue Fall was one of the best drop towers ever. Cosmoworld is best visited at night. Die, monster, die! One bonus photo--me sampling the awesome Texas Select! That's all for 2007 Japan. We will return.

Japan 2007 If you get the chance to do only one TPR Trip during your life, make it to Japan. Heck, I've been there with TPR three times, and each visit has been great, even with the odd earthquake or, in the case of 2007, typhoon. Of course, you can't go wrong with a few days at the Tokyo Disney Resort, and the pre-Harry Potter version of Universal Japan was great, too. But there are all the other fun or just downright quirky Japanese parks, some of which are gone for good. For example: Space Park, where the great beyond was the goofiest final frontier of them all; Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, which gave us an unexpected history of Japanese trains during our journey there, from bullet trains, to modern subway trains, to a train that would've looked at home in the first Godzilla movie; and Wonder Rakutenchi, which I think is now gone (we were all kind of surprised that it was open when we got there--it's the perfect setting for a "Walking Dead" amusement park). Other parks ran the gamut from the beautifully themed Parque Espana to great "traditional" amusement parks like Nagashima Spaland and Mitsui Greenland (and plenty of other little parks along the way). I cheated a bit on the Tokyo Disney photos, as we spent a few days there--but can you really blame me for that? Otherwise, I stuck to the two-photos-per-park rule of this thread. Welcome to Japan in 2007! I arrived in Tokyo a day before the trip officially started. So, I joined the "Jeff Johnson Expedition" to Hayanshiki. This eccentric old park boasts the oldest roller coaster in Japan: the aptly named Roller Coaster. I think that "Angry Loan Shark" would be apprporiate, too. This ride kneecaps you like a Jersey Wise Guy if you miss an interest payment. Here was an "oh god what have I gotten myself into" moment--yes, this enormous butt farts on you as you walk by. We had a night at Aqua Stadium, too, which was in the same building as our hotel (the Shinagawa Prince). This was the home of an indoor launched Intamin ride based on an anime called Galaxy Express. I think this ride is gone now, too, which means that these robot cops had to find new jobs. One must visit LQua to experience the Big O. This was also the home of GeoPanic, another coaster that confused a lot of people. This ride no longer exists. 2007 marked my only visit to Yomiuriland, but I wouldn't mind going back someday (fun place). This is a big, surprisingly good Togo coaster called Bandit. We experienced the "wet" version of Bandit. Not only do they spray you with hoses during the ride, but they give bystanders Super Soakers! "Go go Bandit coaster!" Space World's Venus boasted its very own Space Shuttle . . . . . . and Space Bunny. Welcome to Uminonakamichi, a park I could never quite pronounce. This is Jet Coaster Super Dolphin, a Senyo creation. This park also offered plenty of opportunities to get wet. Harmonyland is the home of the mega adorable Hello Kitty franchise. It is also a shocking den of perversion, such as penguin spanking! Come to Wonder Rakutenchi for the Jet Coaster . . . . . . but stay for the duck races! (Yes, you get to bet on ducks here.) Ah, Kijima, the home of the first Intamin wooden coaster I ever rode! It was, er, not good. In fact, I thought it was going to bounce or jiggle us all to death before we reached the lift hill. The old "loopscrew" wasn't much better, but I loved this park's setting, and they had a funky walk-through haunted house and Zorbs. I liked Mitsui Greenland a lot; in fact, it was my favorite non-Disney park of the trip, even though it was hot and humid as Hell on a bad day. All sorts of cool attractions, from dark rides to a haunt with a possessed toilet to Alpine slides to coasters that look like dinosaurs to . . . . . . the infamous Chairlift of Death (note the cheese-greater-like chain link under it). Central Park had a beautiful mountain setting . . . . . . and seemed an unlikely place to find a very good Batman clone (Diavlo). Hmm--pretty sure this park, Tegarayama Yuen, was on its last legs. Just a hunch. Kurashiki Tivoli was inspired by the same park that inspired Walt Disney--Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, this beautiful Japanese park no longer exists, but it was the home of KT's first coaster credit (a very slow family coaster). This was also the day we had to run from a typhoon. Some escaped by riding a bear, but the rest of us had to crowd onto a standing-room-only train. One of the best coasters this trip was Universal's Hollywood Dream. I hope this guy enjoyed his ride. (I think this was an early morning test run.) Sigh! The only Jaws ride left in the world. More to come.

The Bandit magnet rules!

I'm not a big fan of Wing coasters, but I did like Fenix--the best of the bunch. And I agree about the theming. Toverland did an excellent job with Fenix and the boat ride under it.

Hmm . . . I remember one crazy picture I have of you in Australia.

Aw, shucks, Ms. Elissa. I hope everyone enjoys this thread. I'll probably update it once a week.

Theme park touring wasn't on my radar screen until 2005, or thereabouts. Oh, sure, I'd visit Disneyland and Walt Disney World, Universal, Kings Dominion, and (of course) Busch Gardens Williamsburg from time to time--but nothing outside the United States. I wasn't a member of any coaster- or park-related groups or clubs, either. Then I came across the trip reports on Theme Park Review, thanks to Robb posting about them on another website, and was immediately intrigued. When Robb and Elissa advertised their first "public" tour of the United Kingdom, I thought, "Well, why not?" I'd done the "cultural" tour of Scotland, London, and Stratford on Avon with my brother the year before. Why not see what theme parks were like outside the USA? The 2006 TPR UK Trip was excellent, and I was hooked. I've since been around Europe, Japan, China, Australia, and even the US with TPR. The difficulty of travel today, thanks for COVID-19, has me waxing a bit nostalgic for the trips I'd taken before (with any luck, I'll be hitting the Asia Disney parks with TPR in December). Who would like to join me in a look back at TPR trips past? Here's what we'll be doing: I've decided to post two pictures from each park visited. These photos may be purely scenic--or completely goofy. They may represent "firsts" for me, or just something uniqe about the park in question. Or maybe they're just nice pictures. I'm making this up as I go. Let's set the Wayback Machine for the summer of 2006 and TPR's wanderings about the UK, Norway, and Sweden. I was intrigued to visit some places I'd actually heard about (such as Alton Towers and Blackpool Pleasure Beach), places with which I was vaguely familiar (such as Liseberg), and places I'd never heard of (such as Lightwater Valley). OK, we're landing at Heathrow. Be careful getting your stuff out of the overhead compartment. Now where's that Hotel Hoppa shuttle? Our first stop wasn't technically part of the trip: Legoland Windsor. Robb and Elissa were going, and there was so much interest on the part of the rest of the group, it became the first TPR "pre-trip" park. This was the first Legoand I'd ever visited, and the only one that can boast a view of the actual Windsor Castle. My first-ever Miniland--one of a number to come. Next up was Chessington World of Adventures. Any ride featuring a vampire playing an organ is OK in my book. Chessington's Vampire was a lot of fun, even if trees did slap you in the face from time to time. Time for the first TPR "surprise" park of the trip: Coney Beach in Wales, home of the "DEATH RIDE"! This reminds me of one of the funniest conversations of the trip. The nice old Welshman asked me, "You the Americans that came in on the bus?" "Yes, we are." "Oh, how nice. Ye want any mushy peas with your chips?" "Er, no thank you. "Ah, afraid it'll give ye the wind, eh?" Speaking of parks in Wales, Oakwood was next. I was glad that I had the chance to ride Brer Rabbit's Burrow, which, unlike Splash Mountain, feature bunnies drinking beer, using the toilet, and gettin' it on. In your face, Disney! Oakwood's Speed was my first Eurofighter--liked it quite a bit back then. On to Alton Towers and Nemesis, the best coaster in the UK. The cool monster theming was a plus for this crazy, intense ride--a pit and a "river of blood"! it's still my favorite B&M inverted coaster. You can see a castle from Legoland, but Alton has its very own authentic castle. Behold my first Maurer Shone coaster: Drayton Manor's G-Force! It was not good. In fact, boy did it ever suck out loud! (The curved lift was a painful experience.) But Drayton had some fun stuff, too, such as the "so bad, it's good" Pirate Adventure. Of course, some of the animatronics needed TLC, such as this poor prostitute whose face has been ravaged by an STD (her nipple appears to be showing, too). Or maybe it's the Nature Boy, Ric Flair! Southport Playland's big attraction was their great, old-school fun house. It was also a good place to catch a nap around a nice campfire. Ah, Blackpool Pleasure Beach--emphasis on "pleasure" here. It's a shame that the wooden Wild Mouse is no more. For me, the dark rides stole the show at Blackpool. Lightwater Valley thought it could tell me how to behave. Ha! Take that! Kumali was a very first Vekoma SLC, and I kind of liked it. As for the ones that followed, well . . . Pleasurewood Hillls' Enigma was a fun old Schewarzkopf coaster. Their Tales of the Coast boat ride gets bonus points for being based on local folklore. This photo features two anusing attractions at Grand Yarmouth Pleasure Beach: the very old school Scenic Railway (my first coaster with a brakeman) and the cheesy Snails and Fairy Tales ride. I know this looks like someone threw up on a baked potato, but this curry chicken jacket was pretty good. The exquisite horror of Joyland's Spook Express. Dracula got me at Joyland, too. He likes to suck out blood and brains. Thorpe Park marked my first-ever ride on one of these crazy Inamin contraptions (Stealth). However, I preferred Thorpe's Nemesis: Inferno. Off to Norway! I love the front entrance to Tusenfryd and how it interacts with Speed Monster. Thunder Coaster was a pleasant surprise. Liseberg was the last park we visited--and my first chance to sign a roller coaster. Balder quickly became my favorite coaster then, and it's still in my top 10 today. That's all for now.

Aw, sorry to see this report come to an end. I'm glad you had such a great time in Japan!

I think Mako is OK, but nothing all that special.

^That would be my best guess. They were shooting for this spring.