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I rode Skull Mountain once, and was glad that I was able to sneak it in; still, I wouldn't call it a "great" ride.

I think they've done a lot to make Fantasyland more appealing to adults, as well as kids. Love the look of the new restaurants, and can't wait to try the food. Thanks for the great report!

It looks much, much shorter than the HK ride. I didn't mean to imply that it was going to be as long as the ride in Hong Kong, but I was a bit vague. Only that the Seven Dwarfs ride seemed longer than I had originally thought it would be. But it is much like the Runaway Mine Cars at HDK because it's a "terrain" coaster, of sorts. At any rate, I think it's going to be a good ride for the Magic Kingdom.

You do in China! I've seen cats at Knott's and at SFNE! Disneyland has quite a few feral cats, too--and Kings Dominion has its share of skunks, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg of deer.

I thought it would be smaller, too, back when they first announced it. No complaints about it being a larger ride, though. If it's as good as the new one at Hong Kong Disney, they'll have a winner.

Looks like Disney threw a great party to kick off the new Fantasyland last night. I'm looking forward to that new coaster quite a bit--reminds me a little of the new Mine Cars in Hong Kong (at least based on the layout).

^^There are "fake Amish shows"? (I guess they'd have to be, as the Amish don't have televisions.)

^^Well, it was a Wild Mouse themed to Spongebob on a ghost ship!

^I was fortunate to ride Horizons before they shut it down. While I like its replacement (Mission: Space) quite a bit, I do miss Horizons.

It's a sad day for jazz fans: RIP, Dave Brubeck (91 years old). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92phKzI

^That one intrigues me, too--need to get back to Phantasialand.

^It was a good idea for an interactive attraction, and rather fun to play. It just needed to be more "immersive."

Santa is coming for you, Robb! Run fast, run far!

That's true. For example, the Adventure of Moles building looked nice from the outside, but the inside looked like a college lecture hall with a flatscreen TV.

The snow-play area is in particular a nice touch. I'd like to see Williamsburg do this, as well--and, hey, how about a big ice house with an ice slide and an ice bar, while they're at it? The Busch parks are doing a great job with Christmas events.

^Although I agree that Hex is a great attraction, I wouldn't label it a "dark ride"--it's a Mad House.

The title of this thread sounds a bit ominous: "Yeah, Dolly's got PLANS for you, Nashville!"

That was a pretty impressive display in that park--even in broad daylight.

^I was pleasantly surprised by X2 at Magic Mountain, Bill. It's not something I could "marathon," but it was much more fun than I expected. Dinoconda had a "feel" similar to X2 (Fuji Q's 4D, however, was wretched).

^Just some sort of observation deck--with stylized dinosaur pillars.

Up next was a park that really doesn't need a lot of explanation: China Dinosaurs Park. Yes, it is a park devoted to dinosaurs, and it is, indeed, in China. Now that's truth in advertising. The group was pleasantly surprised by this park. It seemed larger than expected, and the filming session on Dinoconda, the S&S 4D coaster, was a lot of fun--a very good ride that doesn't beat you up as badly as its cousin at Fuji Q. Even the indoor Zamperla Motocoaster, Dinosaur Mountain, was fun (much better than the two other enclosed dinosaur-related coasters we rode on this trip). Whirling Dinosaur Car, though, was a standard issue Golden Horse Spinning Mouse--with themed cars, for a change. Time to get Jurassic! Here we are at Dinosaurs Park, and you can see . . . wait, what the hell is that thing? This is the only China Dinosaurs Park. Accept no substitutes. You see? Dinosaurs! In China! It was a bit of a walk to our main objective. You cavemen are anachronistic! The theming is ruined! It does look a bit "Joylandish" here. "Kookcasuka"? Er, moving right along . . . "Hamburger Love" was a rejected first take of Golden Earring's "Radar Love," but Dinosaurs Park snagged the licensing rights, anyway. If this is a "Kookcasuka," I recommend steering clear, no matter how desperate you may be. Ready to brave Dinosaur Mountain? It really was a good family ride--I hope it holds up. A Spinning Mouse! Phew! What a relief! I was afraid we weren't going to ride one of these today. One can never get enough of this Golden Horse staple attraction. "Best damned Spinning Mouse ever! Golden Horse rules!" Whirling Dinosaur Car is Stacey approved. Tonight, on SyFy . . . Nice station, eh? Again, another ride I slightly dreaded ended up being a lot of fun. (Cheryl looks a bit distressed, though.) I think S&S has gotten the hang of these rides. However, it does look more like a flock of bats than a "Dinoconda" to me. Hmm--is a group of bats called a "flock"? Eh. Doesn't matter. Never mind. Time to leave before the raptors come out. My god! Dinosaurs Park is also infested with zombies! That's all for now.

Prepare yourself for more joy! This is essentially a large 3D arcade that features previews of video games. I guess you could call it a walk-through advertising house. Russ has entered the World of Tron. I have no idea what this is supposed to be, but it does feature another hot warrior babe--and aren't the spitting seahorses adorable? This is Mole's World--we just get to visit it. Any resemblance to any family attraction at a certain Florida theme park is purely coincidental. Aha! We've found Elissa's source of joy at World Joyland! It even has those creepy Coke polar bears. This was essentially just a long line to get a free, shot-glass-sized drink of Coke. Mole's World also features a Magic Baby . . . . . . and a Magic Baby predator. (I hope it eats that damn eTrade baby, too.) You can even get fried ice cream that looks like fish and chips (mushy peas optional, I guess). Adventure of Moles is a bizarre interactive video game that involves rapid button pushing, jerking a handle back and forth quickly, and shouting. The whole thing was strangely erotic. This is "Soarin' Over Mordor" or something. Excuse me--"Fantasia Atlas." It certainly has a high "thrill index." Those who are about to have an alien burst out of their body may not ride. Bowling, a dead pop star, and kung fu. Er, OK. Oh, it's just a bunch of games. If you want a stuffed monkey, this is the place. OK, Larry is enjoying jerking his arms back and forth, and Divv likes to watch. Moving right along . . . At last--more joyful violence! No losers? Well there goes the entire coaster-enthusiast community. Wait--a "splendor index"? The hell? We managed to sneak in, anyway. "I KILL COWARDS AND LOSERS--AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT SPLENDID!" "We are the Keepers of the Splendor Index! Only the truly splendid may pass! So, prepare to die like dogs, un-splendid ones!" We felt like even bigger losers after riding this thing. If you look up "incongruous" in the dictionary, you'll find this picture. I didn't see Ultraman anywhere in this park. I call shenanigans! Farewell to World Joyland, a park of joyous facades and a really good B&M ride. China Dinosaurs Park is next.

Chapter 14: Joyful and Jurassic Hijinks--World Joyland and China Dinosaurs Park People have different concepts of what provides "joy." Some find it through worshiping a deity. Others contemplate the beauty of nature, both pleasing in its surface simplicity, yet awe inspiring in its underlying complexity. For a select few, joy is hacking their enemies to tiny bits, seeing their bodies laid waste before them, and hearing the lamentations of their women. Thus, we arrive at the oddity that is China's World Joyland, a park dedicated to video games and animation. This is, indeed, a place of contrasts. While the park does celebrate the joys of childhood in one small section for kids (Mole's World), a large chunk of the place (Terrain of Magic) is dedicated to World of Warcraft, with its barbarians, orcs, and scantily clad warrior babes bestowing horrible, gory death to their enemies. Come to think of it, even Mole's World features an attraction devoted to helping Mole smite his enemies (sometimes by shouting at them). The park's layout also brings Islands of Adventure to mind (Mole's Land reminded me of Seuss Landing), and while the theming of the place is quite well done, many of the attractions don't measure up. For example, a Spider-man/DarKastle-like simulator themed to Warcraft is better than a similar ride at Happy Valley Shanghai, but still features blurry computer graphics and incoherent action. There's another Soarin'-type ride, too, themed to a world of fantasy--it was OK, at best. And let's not forget the bizarre Ghostbusters type walk-through (Soul Hunter) that made no sense at all. Call it a park of good ideas weakly executed. Maybe I'm not playing the right video games. That being said, there are three good coasters at Joyland. The park boasts would could be the best B&M Flyer anywhere (Starry Sky Ripper), and it features both a Skyloop (Clouds of Fairyland) and another well-themed Golden Horse Mine Train (Dragon Roaring Heaven). Overall, World Joyland is an interesting park, with some excellent theming, that still seems incomplete. It's like most of the budget went into buildings, and not so much into attractions. The staff was nice and accommodating to the group, though. We'll get to China Dinosaurs Park, a place that was better than expected, a bit later. But let's have a closer look at World Joyland first. OK, this has nothing to do with either park. I just found it amusing. This is World Joyland, which is in no way to be confused with "Toyland." One is a theme park, the other a treacly song covered by Perry Como and Doris Day, among others. "WELCOME TO JOYLAND, HU-MAN SCUM!" "You will experience exquisite joy--at the point of my sword!" As I said earlier, much of the park looks great--if a bit wet, thanks to the rain. Hmm--it does remind one of the Lost Continent, doesn't it? OK, I think I'm beginning to understand the "joy" part of this place now. "Quit staring at the comely female's breasts, human slime! Wait, I'm staring at them, too. Carry on." Nothing says "joy" like a "splash of monster blood." I like mine with a twist of lemon. "I bathe in pure monster blood every night. That's how I maintain my complexion." I'm getting a bit of a "JRR Tolkien" vibe here. Kind of reminds me of the "Orthnac" from the first movie. Our quest is at an end! God be praised! This is a surprisingly good B&M Flyer. Still, it does have a bit of an identity complex. Why don't we just settle on "Starry Sky Scrapper"? This is the most intense B&M Flyer I've ever ridden. The layout is compact, but crazy--a big improvement over Six Flags' Superman clones. The rain delayed our filming session on Sky Ripper, so they let us check out their simulator--Cosmo Hacker (sounds like a character from Star Wars). Oddly enough, the 3D movie was something about a roller coaster in the desert. Go figure. Bubbles. Why did it have to be bubbles? Sky Ripper still wasn't ready, so we hit Dragon Roaring Heaven next. Er, isn't "steping" required just to enter the ride? No wonder the line is so short. "ME DRAGON! ME ROAR HEAVEN! ROAR!" Vekoma makes good mine trains. Golden Horse makes reasonable copies of them. We did get in our filming session of Sky Ripper--and it turned out great despite the rain. This is the Chinese Dragon Tower, which is atop the Holy Mountain. Approach it only on your knees! Welcome to Soul Hunter, a good idea poorly executed. You're given what looks like a "proton pack" to blast ghosts, which you can see through your gun sight in various well-decorated, "haunted" rooms. Unfortunately, there is no attempt at mood lighting, ambient sound, or music, so the whole experience is pretty flat. The park even let us sneak in a ride on their Skyloop toward the end of the day despite the rain--many thanks for that to Joyland, Robb, and Elissa! It was a lot of fun. More to come from Joyland.

Regarding the singer's outfits--you can't get much more 1970s than that.

^And it doesn't beat the living crap out of you, like it does in the other seats.