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Larry and I found some more "normal" items on the menu, as well, and what we ordered was pretty good.

Thanks for the pictures, Larry. It looks like Coney Island should recover from Hurricane Sandy, even though it'll be a tough job.

That "Soarin'" type ride looks like the same ride system TPR encountered in China (Happy Valley Shanghai's "Soaring Dragon").

^The English name of TPR's guide in Beijing this year was Bruce--like "Bruce Lee," as he reminded us a number of times.

BGW is also offering a "Bounce Ticket" that's good for not only Christmas Town, but also three days at Colonial Williamsburg. You'll find more information here.

^It was part of the old DCA experience. Hey, if it means Disney gets better coffee, I'm all for Starbucks in the Main Street Bakery.

We already have a thread for this: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1242916#p1242916. Please post your thoughts on this topic there.

Jin Jiang is a nice little park--good times. But it's time to credit whore three other places: Chang Feng, Zhongshan, and Shanghai Zoological Park! Head 'em up and move 'em out! Ho! The entire Blue Gumby family welcomed us to . . . . . . Chang Feng--a park with lots of rules (some of which make sense). It's a very nice park . . . . . . with lots of culture. But who cares about that? It also has a . . . . . . bona fide credit--a non-powered Sliding Dragon! Yay for Dragons with tire-lift hills! Aye, 'tis a grand and glorious discovery, indeed! I think this is Zhongshan. But even if it's not, at least we're in the right place if there's a zombie apocalypse. These men are practicing their zombie kung fu skills. Hello! What's this? Could this be the Big Worm Inertia Train the ancients once spoke of in hushed tones? Yes! The prophecy is fulfilled! The Worm will show us the way! (To what, I have no idea.) This was the biggest challenge of the day. The zoo was closing in less than 20 minutes, and Tom, our guide, went in ahead to find the coaster--but he went the wrong way! Surely a "4-A" tourist attraction has a coaster. Robb ran in himself, went the right way, and found the coaster. Oh, frabjous day! First the Prophecy of the Worm fulfilled, and now this! Well done, Robb. You've earned this ride! (Tom showed up when were were nearly done riding. He seemed astounded that we'd found it.) Not even angry Chinese horses could keep us away from the Sliding Dragon. We finished up in this rather "Tokyo like" shopping-and-dining district, which wasn't far from the hotel. That's all for now.

^"Luck" is relative. Our next stop was a park I rather liked: Jin Jiang. This park marked a first for me--riding an honest-to-god Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang. And, like the Skyloop, I was dreading this one a bit. Again, I was pleasantly surprised--the ride was smooth and a lot of fun. But there was one little kink. When we hit the second spike, our train was slowly lowered down to the evac platform. We sat there for a moment or two, then went up the spike and finished the course. All's well that ends well. (It ran normally the rest of the day, from what I could tell.) There was a Shijingshan-like shuttle loop, as well, but this one was OK--that is, it didn't "drop" out of the loop. The park also had the obligatory Golden Horse Spinning Mouse, an indoor powered coaster themed to dinosaurs, and a Zamperla Motocoaster (it was fun). Here's a look at Jin Jiang Park. Again with the Blue Gumby guy. He was the mascot of Expo 2010, which was held in Shanghai. Welcome to Jin Jiang. "Who can stand before the combined might of the Two Towers of Isengard and Mordor?" It amuses me that I had to travel to China to finally ride a Giant Inverted Boomerang. I've missed them in the U.S. Not a bad ride at all. Just wish they were a bit more dependable. Let's hope that we don't break this one. "Aw, you coaster enthusiasts all look so tasty! I'm sick to death of eating Chinese!" Aren't you in awe of the immersive theming of the station and train? Yes, I felt I was back at Animal Kingdom riding the GREATEST ATTRACTION OF ALL TIME. Golden Horse. Ka-ching. That's all there is to say. Oh. lordy lord. Jeebus, we could use a little help here. Shades of Mitsui Greenland. And, like the old shuttle at Mitsui, it didn't fall out of the loop. Whew! You know, I think this was a first for me, too. I've ridden Vekoma Boosterbikes and even an Intamin motorcycle coaster, but not a Zamperla Motocoaster before. Yay! A dark ride! Granted, it wasn't a good one, but, hey--dark ride! Time to party with buck-nekkid Satan! This is as scary as it gets. "There was no buck-nekkid Satan in there! I call shenanigans!" Larry and I grabbed lunch at this restaurant. Let's have a look at the menu. No, I had that for breakfast. I want my lunch to at least know what it is--no confusion, please. OK--as long as the chicken feet are lightly sauteed. More of this amazing credit-whoring day to come!

Chapter 11: Whose Brilliant Idea Was This?--A Looping Toboggan and Other Shanghai Credit Whoring Another day of culture was behind us, so it was time to get back to what we came to China for--visiting parks and riding coasters. There certainly was an interesting variety of stuff on this day. Oh, there were the usual Chinese knock-off Wacky Worms and Dragon coasters--but where else are you going to find a Looping Toboggan? Nowhere else except China, I'll wager. Yes, one day a ride manufacturer named Credible has an idea. An awful idea. Credible had a wonderful, awful idea: "Hey--why don't we add a loop to a Toboggan coaster? Every park will want one! This will put us on the map! B&M, Intamin, Mack better watch out! Credible is coming for you, baby!" At least, I think the company who built this beast (aka Outer Space Flying Car at Fisherman W[h]arf) is named "Credible," as that's the name on the cars. I may be mistaken. Be that as it may, this revolutionary ride concept didn't exactly set the world on fire. In fact, I never rode it, because the restraints couldn't accommodate me (and a number of other people). But based on what I saw, and heard from those who did ride it, this is probably all for the best. In addition, this is the only ride I know in which you're offered optional protective headgear (like a boxer would wear while sparring). There was a ride on this trip that required women to ear hairnets--we'll get to that one later. For now, let's visit the first stop of this five-park, credit-whoring marathon: Fisherman Warf. (Yes, it's spelled that way on rcdb.com.) If you've ever wanted to save a few yuan by buying an already opened and partially drunk Pepsi, this park can set you up. Just ask Robb. Follow me. Welcome to Fisherman Warf. Or should that be "Worf," like on Star Trek? I wonder if we should pray at this temple or shrine or whatever it is before we enter the park? Yep. Klassy. "Welcome to the Crypt, kiddies! Here's a tale of twisted steel and not much sex appeal I call . . . . . . Loop de Doom!" It looks like some steel foundry had a some random spare parts from a railroad-tunnel job and decided to make a coaster out of them. So, so wrong. Here's a look at the optional headgear. I got a pretty clear picture because the ride often stops there for a moment or two (I guess to allow another car to make it to the station). You see? "Credible." "This is not the death I had pictured for myself!" "What the hell was that?" "Ow! I should've worn the damn headgear!" I'm sure this part of the park will look beautiful when they finish it. Welcome to the Island of Misfit Rides! Will you please tell Santa about the poor rides here? Surely he can find good homes for them all. This was a bit more conventional. This giant crab crowns the ticket booth for . . . . . . Pine Forest Flying Mouse? Disney's lawyers are, no doubt, on their way to China as I post this. Er, that doesn't look quite right. This was somehow missed during the ride's no doubt vigorous morning inspection. Well, it really wasn't any worse than the other Jungle Mouse coasters, which was a bit surprising. Blue Gumby bids you good day. More to come.

I'm leaning toward that one, too--followed by Lightning Racer, Prowler, and Apocalypse.

I imagine Starbucks will be incorporated a bit more tastefully into the Magic Kingdom than at, say, Kings Dominion.

^^Disney has been doing this ever since the original park in Anaheim was built; yes, even back in the 1950s, attractions and restaurants had sponsors. I'm sure Disney will do a good job with "re-branding" the bakery and making sure Starbucks fits in with Main Street USA.

It looks like some farmer fell into some extra money and used it to build a park out in his field.

^It is a riddle wrapped in an enigma--perhaps one of those great mysteries that man was never meant to solve.

It's great that the major parks in Hong Kong are doing well. Both provide different experiences for guests, and a little competition is a good thing.

It's yellow. Dominator's loop is yellow, too. I have no idea why.

Technical Rescue Day at Kings Dominion Fire fighters and over rescue workers from the Central Virginia Technical Rescue Team came to Kings Dominion for Technical Rescue Days last Thursday and Friday (November 8-9). Kings Dominion has sponsored this event for 18 years, which involves fire and rescue workers from Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover performing simulated rescues using the park's roller coasters. The park also hosted a larger, similar competition for rescue workers last spring. This year's exercise involved two different scenarios: 1. Non-critical: A "catastrophic power failure" has stranded a maintenance worker (who is uninjured) in a crane 70 feet up in the air inside Flight of Fear. Rescue workers need to bring him safely to the ground. 2. Critical: A victim has fallen down a "shaft," and a rescue worker has to be lowered to reach him, then bring him up and out safely. This took place at Grizzly, and the same scenario was used during the competition last spring. This is a great way for rescue workers to sharpen their skills, and Kings Dominion certainly provides a unique environment for training. TPR thanks the park for this opportunity to observe the exercise--and for the valuable public service the park provides by hosting it. These training exercises are held quarterly. Here are two brief videos showing rescue workers in action at Flight of Fear and Grizzly. Inside Flight of Fear [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Tech_Rescue_Day_KD_078_oq7v[/coastertube] At Grizzly [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Tech_Rescue_Day_KD_157_v866[/coastertube] Good morning, Volcano. Sorry, but this report is not about you today. Never, ever block the BIG DOOR to Flight of Fear! It's about 80 feet to the top of Flight of Fear. Yes, it's a long way down. Lt. Stacey Harris, a Richmond fire fighter, explains how they're going to rescue the trapped worker. One of the rescue workers mentioned that the ride was "an angle man's dream" because it was "anchor rich" for rigging. The poor guy is trapped about ten feet below us. He's dangling from this crane. "Help me!" "Don't worry--we're on our way. And we won't be sending . . . . . . this guy!" "Good! I don't want to be saved by some chunky coaster enthusiast!" Help has arrived! It took some time to set everything up, but the actual "rescue" took only a few minutes. It was all quite interesting to watch. Almost there. Safe on the ground. Matt Newell (Henrico Fire and EMS) describes today's training to a reporter from a Richmond TV station. This poor dope fell down this same "shaft" at Grizzly last spring. You think he would've learned to be more careful. He's in a pretty bad way. Working on some rigging on one side of Grizzly. The rescue worker will be lowered from this point. And there she is. Both sides have act as a team to make this work. Almost ready. Making adjustments while you're dangling so high up in the air can be tricky. The rescue worker can't use the railings lining the track below her, either--they're out-of-bounds for the scenario. Ready to go. Lower away. I hope that guy is double- or triple-jointed. Otherwise, he's a wreck! That's all.

So, is Shockwave "popular," or just low capacity? It is an unusual ride, which would make people curious, but don't forget the slow operations.

I think the actual ride experience won't change that much--but time will tell.

It's not that odd for people to be stationed at various points at a ride--this is especially common for flume rides.

I'd expect soft openings, especially because it is Test Track, a ride known to have a lot of downtime. Does it really have that much downtime lately? I mean, I know when it first opened it had LOADS of issues...for years. But I want to say that on our regular visits to the park, it doesn't go down that often anymore. At least not that I've noticed... Maybe he's confusing it with Mach Tower.

Adam was probably circumcised with a light saber. It looks like another first-class job by the folks at Legoland. I appreciate the work that goes into these miniatures.

It look like a great step up from the old Test Track experience--looking forward to checking it out.

It's a Very Addams Family Christmas!