cfc

I remember feeling relieved that I couldn't properly fit in the Looping Toboggan.

Yes, go with either the hotel shuttle or Uber.

There aren't any sidewalks, and I doubt the park would appreciate you crossing their access roads. I'd just figure out whether Uber or the parking is cheaper and go with that. BGW does prefer that you not bring your bags into a coaster station, but you can usually keep your phone in a secured pocket (except on Tempesto, where they do supply temporary fanny packs for small items).

I'm glad folks are enjoying this trip report. It's nice to know when one's nonsense is appreciated. Moving right along to a short update. Five Miles from the Epicenter: Hirakata Park Some of you may recall stories of TPR being shook around bit at a train station during the first “official” park visit of the 2018 Japan Trip. Later, we got much closer to the where the earth-shaking action began at Hirakata Park. The quake’s epicenter was a mere five miles or so from the place, but Hirakata didn’t look any worse for the wear. So, what exactly is Hirakata Park? It’s the fairy-tale realm of fairies, dwarves, elves, trolls, and a wizard who looks like Gandalf as portrayed by Bing Crosby. For you youngsters, this is Bing Crosby. He's known for warbling "boo boo boo," narrating Disney's version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," singing "White Christmas," and playing lots of golf. In other words, it’s a family park--and a very nice one, at that. This was my second visit to Hirakata since 2013, and it didn’t seem to have changed much. ELF (Episode of Little Fairies) was still an enjoyable Intamin family wooden coaster; Red Falcon was still a “Jet Coaster” with some funky, neck-snapping transitions; Fantastic Coaster Rowdy still tried to kill us; and the spinning coaster still doesn’t spin. There was a funky “refrigerator” walk through that I don’t recall from my last visit with TPR. Here’s a quick look at Hirakata. The park’s neighborhood looks as funky as some of its attractions. Very nice entrance, though. Hirakata is an oasis amid urban sprawl. Or is the urban sprawl an oasis surrounding Hirakata? Those fairies are tricksy, you know. “Hello. I’m a little fairy. I hope you enjoy my episode.” Time to ride some magical fairy wood. "Phew! Thank god those creepy coaster enthusiasts are done . . . . . . oops! Spoke too soon. There they are taking photos." Up the enchanted fairy lift hill they go. Whee! The best episodes happen . . . . . . on magical fairy wood! There are a few little “episodes” on this ride, too, involving some rough transitions. Red Falcon towers over the non-spinning spinning coaster. Even though it’s bumpy and jerky in a few spots, . . . . . . I kinda like Red Falcon. Nice views of the park and city. I think the kid likes Peekaboo Town. Just a hunch. Hmm--this looks like an Intellivision graphic of a tree squatting and taking a dump. Have you ever peeked in a stranger’s fridge? You can walk through one at Hirakata. How old is that piece of cake, one wonders. “Oh crap! Someone get me an ice pick, or we'll never get outta here." You know that blue juice bar is going to taste just like that fish head. If you ride the dolphin, you must hug the dolphin. “Ew! I just not comfortable with this dolphin-hugging stuff!” If you do not hug the dolphin, you must passionately embrace one of these creatures. “I want in on some of that sweet dolphin hugging!” (This is a “family” haunted house ride--FYI.) Fantastic Coaster Rowdy: Not so fantastic, but pretty damn rowdy. Our ice cream may not be completely frozen, but it is “coolish” and won’t taste like the fish head in the fridge walk through. This is a pretty violent message for a kiddie ride. “Yep. And after slayin' that ol’ Balrog, I sneaked in a quick nine holes at Pebble Beach." Dan wished for his own Shinkansen, and Bing Crosby Gandalf made it come true! Mr. Kitagawa is the one on the right. He’s with the Sanyo ride company, and helped with TPR’s days at Cosmoworld and Harikata. A very nice park to wile away a few hours. That’s all for now.

Thanks for the report. Steel Vengeance is a good example of a "holy crap" ride, in that it's almost too much. I think it's great (definitely top ten), but not as re-rideable as Maverick. I'm not a fan of the "vest" restraints B&M uses on their Wingcoasters and Dive Machines (too constrictive for my taste). Valrayvn is a good ride, but I still prefer Sheikra and Griffon. Raptor is pretty dang insane, though--lots of fun. I agree with you about Blue Streak--stay off the wheel seat, and you'll be OK.

BIER FEST AT BUSCH GARDENS® WILLIAMSBURG TAPS MORE THAN 100 BEERS One of Virginia’s Best Beer Festivals is Back and Bigger Than Ever WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (July 31, 2018) – Summer may be coming to a close, but Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Bier Fest is ready to showcase some of the country’s best beers to enthusiasts. Park guests can toast the final few weekends of summer with some refreshing frosty beverages. This festival spans three weekends and features more than 100 beers tapped throughout the event, brewery talks from popular craft breweries, live local bands, and traditional German food. Bier Fest takes place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from Aug. 17 – Sept. 3. Beer bars throughout the park will offer guests unique draft and bottled beers from around the world, almost half of which come from breweries in Virginia. And what’s Bier Fest without authentic German food? This year’s menu features an array of mouth-watering items, including roasted turkey legs, beer-battered bratwurst, and a giant pretzel with bacon salt known as a Riesenbrezel. Busch Gardens’ Burgermeister will host a firkin keg tapping ceremony on Fridays during the event. Not only will the beer be cold, but park guests can enjoy sounds from top local bands: Daily performances; fan favorite THE HAPPY DUTCHMEN will perform each day during Bier Fest. Aug. 18; Jesse Chong brings his reggae infused jam-rock to the event. Aug. 25; acoustic guitarist Lewis McGehee performs. Aug. 31 and Sept. 1; The Deloreans will take guests back to the sounds of the ‘80s Sept. 1; Buck Shot Band, a modern country group, takes the stage. Sept. 2; the rock-n-roll band Super Doppler performs. Sept. 2 - 3; Kevin MaC brings his “Southern Swag” music to the stage. For more information, including operating times, please visit buschgardens.com/williamsburg/events/beer-festival/.

Hmm--a hot cat woman who uses martial arts and a magic umbrella to fight monsters . . . makes perfect sense to me!

Thanks for letting me tag along for the InvadR ERT. That ride is much more fun after dark. While I'm glad people liked Battle for Eire, I was more excited about all the extra beer taps at Grogan's.

As long as no one is advocating breaking park rules, we’ll leave this thread open. But TPR is not the place to share tips in “rule breaking.”

^Personally, I was blown away by New Texas Giant.

^They were at Busch Gardens last night and today. Kings Dominion is tomorrow.

Fury's a very good ride, but I think Afterburn is still the best coaster at Carowinds.

According to their Facebook page, Knoebels plans to have "90 percent" of the park open on time tomorrow.

Personally, I think you all need to work on these. Let's stop the needless bickering.

Mega Coaster was surprisingly decent, and the pirate version of Desperadoes was a plus.

^Stroopwafels are very tasty.

I didn't know there was a Fun spot in Atlanta. Looks like we need a new page for the park index.

Now it gets really weird. You have been warned. Allow me to share a little fever dream of mine. It started with a balloon. I was accosted by the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion (who was, for some reason, cosplaying a "flasher" version of himself), who asked for my help against . . . . . . the Wizard of Oz, who was now leading a satanic cult and planning to unleash the Devil’s Rain to melt Glinda the Good. He had to eliminate her to corner the Emerald City Green Meth market. (Call it "Breaking Bad: The Wretched Wizard of Oz.") Oz had Mini Me-type minions who rode grasshoppers, which was no stranger than anything L. Frank Baum concocted for his novels. Oz’s evil knew no bounds. First, he stole a sphinx . . . . . . and then the Statue of Liberty! All hail the Great and Terrible Oz! (This is shaping up to be the worst "Wicked" sequel ever.) Soon, Jack Skellington was revealed to be the man behind the curtain, and Oz knew the jig was up. “Don’t ask us. We have no idea what’s going on, either.” Baum couldn’t have imagined this, even after a week-long bender of cough syrup, opium, and vodka. But, like I said, it was all just a fever dream. Maybe it was all the sake and wasabi Kit Kats I ate in Japan. The forecast remained wet. When a park has a train, it must be ridden. Nerd law. I thought the ride op was a good sport to haul us around on such a wet day. They had a Ferris wheel. I know you’re shocked, this being Japan, and all. Ladybird Coaster was surprisingly good. All staff had to stop whatever they were doing and wave at the train. Up close and personal with the Ladybird Coaster “Arise, my son, and feast on man flesh!” The train’s psychedelic surprise tunnel. Utterly mind bending. Suddenly, the bizarre dark ride makes more sense . . . er, no it doesn't. Sorry. One of these gondolas is not like the others. Looks like they have a seat for more daring riders. I always spend the time of the relaxation. This is good advice. Kids: If someone named “Captain Peddy” offers to show you his dinghy, just say “no.” That's all for now.

New Reoma World was a nicer park than Washuzan Highland. It had its own hotel and was more of a “resort.” Plus, it didn’t have nearly as many stairs. That being said, I’m not sure what to make of the place. I liked the park, and it looked nice, but I was perplexed about what the place was about. But this is Japan, and I’m used to those feelings when it comes to Japanese parks. I like how the colorful New Reoma mascots stand out against gray sky in this shot. New Reoma had four coasters: Vivace--I don’t know who built this ride, but it looked and rode a lot like a Schwarzkopf mine train. A very good family coaster. Ladybird--This was a better-than-average “wild mouse” in a rather nice setting. Spaceship 2056--This was New Reoma’s version of Space Mountain, and it had a very spaced-out, Star Trekish queue. The ride itself rumbles around in the dark and is OK. The coaster also offered VR (no, thank you). A kiddie coaster--I didn’t bother with in the rain. There was also this bizarre dark ride, Rainbow Bandits, which was sort of Wizard of Oz mixed with It’s a Small World augmented with a touch of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Fun, but . . . what was it? Like I said--it’s Japan. Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow. When at New Reoma World, be sure to stay at the Hotel Mordor. The Eye of Sauron is on you! “Enjoy your day, you punks!” Hey, no one warned me about this! Whoa! That T-Rex took a nasty bite out of that Triceratops and gobbled up all its organs! I have no idea who built Vivace, but it looks Schwarzkopf-like. It’s a pretty good ride, too--look at that happy if prickly train! (All those lights make it look like a porcupine with a crew cut.) Then again, there is the sad-and-pathetic train. “Whee, for me!” Let's ride Spaceship 2056. It's in that dome. I think the weather kept a lot of people away, but there were more guests here than at Washuzan Highland. At least I think there were people there besides our group. Hmm--no resemblance to Space Mountain at all. “We are in no way reminded of any famous Disney attraction.” Well, the queue is a bit “Space Mountain like,” I’ll grant you that. It is a bit more sparkly than the average Space Mountain queue. These TSA screening areas are getting a bit ridiculous. One more set of photos to come.

A Wet Day at Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland and New Reoma World People like to experience different cultures, but often lack the opportunity to do so. This is as true for the Japanese as it is for anyone else. Some theme parks, such as Epcot, successfully fill that void. For its part, Japan has Parque Espana (more on this later), which celebrates Spanish culture and history. It also has Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland. I was unaware that the Japanese had a burning desire to embrace Brazilian Portuguese culture. Maybe they really like chimichurri sauce and salsa music. It was a gray, rainy day, and I swear we were the only ones at the park, except for the staff, who smiled and doled out complimentary green ponchos as we passed through the turnstile (it was raining fairly hard at that point). Then we learned why “Highland” was such an important part of the park’s name. Stairs. Lots of colorfully painted, Brazilian-looking stairs. We looked like we were on our way to a meeting of the Irish Klu Klux Klan. Breathtaking views of the mountains, ocean, and islands awaited us at the top. There was also a pedal-cycle ride on the edge of a cliff, which was also a bit breathtaking. The park has three coasters, two of which were closed for maintenance: Ultra Twister (which has been SBNO for some time) and Chupy Coaster (a family “Jet Coaster”). However, the big, rusty old Togo looper, Star Jet, was open. This ride has both a standing train (not running) and a sitting train that goes backwards through the course and (it seems) requires only one ride op. (Yep--one guy checked the restraints, walked upstairs to the control room, gave the safety spiel, and dispatched the train.) The ride is surprisingly fun, but made me feel a bit queasy. Once was enough. All in all, I enjoyed Washuzan Highland, and the park seemed like it was a really nice place--once. Now it needs a lot of TLC, but it does have a good location and those beautiful views going for it. Big thumbs up to the staff and the performers at the Brazilian samba show, who really believe “the show must go on,” no matter how small the audience. I hope they can keep going. Forgot I took this photo of “Not Exactly Universal’s City Walk.” Here ya go. Before visiting Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland, one must worship at the HOLY LAND OF JEANS. Blessed be your mighty name and holy flattop, oh Panda of Denim! We were all converted. Would you like a copy of our newsletter? To be fair, I’m pretty sure that my attempt to spell “entrance” in Japanese would be even worse. Brazilian flag + donkey = TPR in Japanese Brazil. Yes, may as well make the best of the weather. We never got a chance to play “Brazilian Bing.” Yeah, they don’t have “Highland” in their name for nothing. Something here is big. I’ll let you decide what. We took a train across that bridge later to get to New Reoma World. Remember that viral video of the scary Japanese pedal-car ride? Well, we rode it. Danger! Watch out for . . . . . . this guy! Yep--it’s hard to beat this park’s location when it comes to views. Yes, this is the lift hill, and yes, they are going up backwards! And here they are going down backwards--or . . . . . . is it merely a clever deception on my part? How can you be sure what direction they’re traveling? Yes, just thinking about it . . . . . . could drive you stark raving mad! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Don’t blame me. I only do this rodent’s bidding! Uh oh! We have to leave soon, but we must get past the guard goat. Good thing he’s easily distracted. I think we were the only people in the park other than the staff . . . . . . but the Brazilian dance show must go on! Nathan and Megan have been swept away by the samba! Yes, they caught the fever and haven't stopped dancing since then. They even taught us about Brazil, . . . . . . along with a little Portuguese. This was one of the most surreal TPR trip moments ever. “Tonight, I will haunt your dreams!” Gulp! On to New Reoma World.

Yep--the best thing about that tour of plywood cutouts was the air conditioning.

^The only ride that I wish someone could've bought and relocated from Hard Rock Park was Nights in White Satin: The Trip.

Could be. All they had was a sign at the entrance saying that the ride was closed "for the day" and apologizing for the inconvenience.

^Yeah, it's like Jet Corster's designer took all the painful bits of Cedar Point's Magnum and magnified them.

We’ll see. They’re both Intamin rides.