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Chapter 18: From the Mountains to the City: Knight Valley and Window of the World Knight Valley is really more of a resort (or, as you'll see later, "rosort") than a theme park--it's also the site of tragedy. This is the park with the "Mission: Space" knock off that essentially collapsed and killed a number of people, leading to a crackdown on park safety in China. It's also the home of one of GCI's best creations, with a beautiful mountain setting (Wood Coaster). In fact, this was the best setting for a ride I'd ever seen, until we hit Ocean Park in Hong Kong. I do like the way this park is incorporated into the mountain. Nothing seems to intrude on the natural beauty of the area, and Wood Coaster fits in perfectly. Wood Coaster is, indeed, a great ride, but much of Knight Valley's other attractions left a bit to be desired; maybe my opinion would've been different if more of them had been operating. The park's flume ride, which used large rubber rafts instead of "logs," looked like it could've been great--especially the way it flowed through part of the park's hotel. Unfortunately, the ride looked as though it hadn't been running for a few years. Their "Journey to the Center of the Earth" knock off was down for maintenance, as well. Many of the flats seemed to be closed; at least, there was a lack of staff to operate them. Many of the park's escalators were also out of commission. (Fortunately, the park's staff was quite nice and gave us a tram ride up to the coaster.) That being said, Knight Valley was worth the trip just for Wood Coaster alone. There was a surprising amount of airtime hidden in the usual "twisty" GCI layout, and it was very re-rideable--in fact, it cracked my top ten in the 2012 Hawker Poll (6th place). A funicular ride to the top of the mountain above Wood Coaster offers great views (and some more rides). There's a stunt show, too, along with a nice set of Bob Karts. Overall, Knight Valley is a beautiful place, if a bit lacking as a theme park. A blessing! A blessing from the Lord! God be praised! Hmm--the maintenance guys seem to be a bit concerned with something they've spotted on this sign. Perhaps this caught their eye. "Oh, crap! How am I gonna scan this into the Park Index?" Hmm--looks like our filming session is a bit higher up the mountain. Fortunately, the staff gave us a ride (it would've been quite an uphill trudge to the coaster). We were lucky that "Aquapig" (?) was there to protect us. . . . . . along with the rest of the Super Friends. Our quest is at an end. The staff warmed it up for us. I think this is Chinese for "Mind Thy Head." Yay! It's our turn now. This filming session was great (maybe the best one of the trip). This ride never lets up from beginning to end. And it uses its mountain setting very well. I really liked this turnaround. Not quite "90 degrees" on the turnaround (as I recall), but close enough. And, yes, there is that trademark GCI "fly through" of the station. It's like riding a coaster in a jungle. Yes, there is a "tunnel," which you do, indeed, "take." Another great run done! TPR at work--great job, Robb and Hanno! I think the whole group was pretty happy with this ride. I think the mountain setting really makes it. We were really looking forward to checking this one out. D'oh! Oh well--such is life. There's always the stunt show with three names. "Roaning Flood" is name no. 1. Name no. 2. And hooray for "fire exploration"! And no. 3--at least they all contain some form of the word "flood." No sign of any flooding yet, but there is a lone woman wandering around on the rocks. "You'd better start the flood or set someone on fire before I get really mad!" Yeah, they love to set dudes on fire at Knight Valley. They love it so much, they do it twice. There is, indeed, a flood. Yes, this is a "flash" flood that "roars" and, er, "roans," I guess. There's an exhibit and a 3D "Circlevision" flick about jellyfish in this building. None of the jellyfish were set on fire. Er, Avatar, anyone? I think this is the building that houses the infamous "Mission: Space" knock off. Nope. Not gonna say it, Chris. The Bob Karts were running--and they were good. This makes Larry very excited. I agree that "real anger" could lead to some sort of "emergency." More to come from Knight Valley--with a bit of Window of the World.

Same. I loved Voyage when I first rode it in spring 2009, but it was horrible and painful in August 2010 (but I understand they've done some work on it since). Aside from that, the top ten looks pretty solid to--glad to see the Chinese coasters doing so well (they were, for the most part, excellent rides last September).

I caught Les Miserables last night, and liked it overall. I agree with others that Russell Crowe was a poor choice for Javert due to his very weak singing (I've liked him in other movies), but the rest of the cast is pretty good (particularly Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter).

Great pictures of a great place! Disney still has yet to top this park.

I don't know. It's a tough call.

^I know the one in Paris is bad, but I don't know about the one in Tokyo. But they are well themed. Love the night shot, Hanno.

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I remember riding the Turn of the Century (before it was "Demonized") at Great America in California (late 1970s). A buddy and I saw what, at first, looked like a big brown bat fluttering in the air--turned out to be some poor guy's toupee.

^Wes, you haven't heard? The removal of Deja Va caused a serious imbalance of tectonic plates, thus triggering a huge earthquake and plunging California into the Pacific! Or at least that's what I read on the Internet.

Yes, I missed out on the original Colossus, but I do have some old southern California friends who loved it back in the day.

Hmm--kind of looks like Mordor in this shot. All kidding aside, I am looking forward to this new ride--nobody does a "family" coaster as well as Disney.

I like Cheetah Hunt's "Figure 8" quite a bit. There's a nice pop of air as you crest the hill after the launch, and the view from the top is great (you get a chance to appreciate it).

That's all the more reason for you to be as clear as possible about what you actually meant.

^Seconded.

Fixed.

^Well, I guess watching TV while taking a dump beats reading a magazine.

^I agree, Hanno. Sound pretty good to me, too.

Is this necessarily a "bad thing"?

^No one outside of China does, either.

They'll incorporate a high-five element in the design, but then never run trains on both sides at the same time after the first month or so. You're giving the park too much credit to suggest they'd run both sides for an entire month. I'm sure they'll confer with the folks at Happy Valley Wuhan if they ever "High Five" the ride.

I had a great time at Ocean Park when TPR visited it last fall. Good to see them pushing ahead with even more improvements.

^Now that's service.

Yeah, that sounds as close to a sure thing as you can get.

^They had misters set up at the entrance of this restroom, which was actually a series of private stalls surrounding an outdoor courtyard. It was kind of nice (would've been better if they'd had facilities other than squat toilets, though).

I think by the time I moved to Virginia in the mid-1980s, the train was gone (although I did do the "safari monorail" ride).