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Day 4 concluded: after landing in Chengdu (and I THINK this was the airport where we had quite the walk thru the parking structures to meet up with our bus), we made our way to our hotel for the next few nights: Howard Johnson Zunyue Hotel Chengdu. it had been a pretty long day, and the next day was also busy with a visit to Happy Valley, and then some sightseeing. So I really just wanted to shower and sleep. . but I was blown away by how beautiful the hotel was. i know! Howard Johnson and "beautiful" ??? but this was the case with almost every hotel we would be staying in while in China. . . . reasonable pricing, and pretty impressive hotel (particularly at night, during the day, some maintenance upkeep cracks showed), but wow.. what a stunning adventure this was turning out to be. here's the HoJo we stayed in for 3 nights in Chengdu: the impressive lobby. the breakfast was on the 2nd floor, and you could come down these stairs to meet up in the mornings. the other side of the lobby. even chandeliers by the elevators really nice, comfortable, room. with a fire safety kit - including gas masks. . . noted. . a non smoking room! but with an ashtray and matches. um. . .ok. and a pamphlet about drugs, alcohol, and romance? that can lead to death??? no English translation, so not 100% sure what they were saying NOT to do. . . but the boxed condom that was on the counter for 25yuan told me what they THOUGHT we might do in the room. giggling our asses off, Stacy and I took turns showering, and turned in. after all. . this was still only day 4 !

Day 4 continued: Beijing is VERY proud of their Daxing International Airport. and rightfully so. . it's a pretty stunning building. this stage was set up, looked like permanently. but not sure what for? I did recognize the communist Hammer/Sickle tho as noted, it really is a beautiful airport. we had some time to kill before our flight so some of us went off to explore the airport, and found this really cool "museum" they had set up that showed how they built it. with some interactive exhibits. . .LOL overview of the promenade in this section of the airport this pop singer was surrounded by photogs and shrieking fans. unable to get a good pic (he's in the center of all this). . but an airline person said they thought it was a KPop band member had arrived. still overcast outside, but wasn't going to affect our flight. . so we relaxed and continued wandering. as I had noted in the Parks, China seems to have a real problem with men pissing on the floor. and that seemed to be 100% confirmed by the urinals in the airport having a soccer "game" in them. you aimed for the ball to get a goal. LOL lots and lots of art installations around the airport. mostly "cute" stuff. and even some "luckin" coffee (or better if you just glanced at it) lego store and amazingly, they were selling whole durian at an airport shop. there MUST be rules about not opening it in the airport tho. ' of course, a McDonald's too. from those that tried it, they said it was good. I wasn't hungry as still full from lunch. so instead, Stacy and I found these torture devices. . . err. .. "full massage" chairs. with wooden rollers going up and down your back whist it squeezes you with pressurized pads. it hurt so good. . and was only like $3 for 35 minutes! soon enough we were on the plane. . a totally full plane too. so TPR was scattered thruout my across the aisle seat buddy was William tho D'awwwwwwwww to my surprise, they fed us on this flight too! I still wasn't hungry, but was impressed with the offering, as we each got a bag as noted, not hungry. . but I HAD to try the chicken bun um. . . it was ok. a good deal for the cost of it ? the desert cake was more of a sweet cornbread. as I'd found in Japan, the desert stuff just isn't all that sweet. . which is ok with me. best investment ever. . Apple AirTags. so nice to know my luggage arrives with us since we were doing so much traveling. to be concluded

months later (sorry!!!!). . . Day 4 leaving Beijing with a visit to Badaling Section of Great Wall (with Toboggan ride), then flight from Beijing to Chengdu! getting up in the morning, it was our last time at Universal Beijing Hotel. . . but before checking out, we had one last breakfast included: and this time? I remembered to snap pics of the offerings to give a sample of what was on the breakfast buffet: I forgot to post this yesterday, and Elissa shared it with us from one of the ladies' rooms at the park: yup, it's the Period Fairy! after checking out and loading up the bus, we headed to the Great Wall of China (another bucket list thing for me). the weather did NOT want to cooperate with us, as some low clouds and colder weather had moved in overnight. But you know what? we're here, and even tho it WAS really cold, and windy, I had an incredible time today. the bad weather really did NOT keep people away, as it was still pretty crowded. I could imagine what it would have been like on a good weather day! so I think that worked in our favor. lots and lots of interesting sculptures and tourist-type shops on the winding road you must walk up to the main entrance to this section of the wall from the parking lots. Chinese sculptures, the mountains and part of the wall in the mist, and a KFC/Subway ooo.. a death star! perfect as I had the imperial march in my head as we went uphill to the entrance the main entrance to this section of the wall. I believe this section has 9 tower segments open to the public, tho the majority of our group only did four (at four is where the toboggan down is ). but some in our group did go all the way to tower 9. quite the feat, as the wall is really steep in places, and the mist made everything quite slippery and dangerous. ticket booths. Jonathan, myself, Colin, and Daniel - cold, but excited to be here and onto the wall. the first section is deceptively sloped. . doesn't seem too bad. but it gets to you, and before you know it, those slopes turn into steps. just a wee bit overcast. but seriously. . didn't care. I got to walk on the great wall, and that experience will be forever. inside the first (or maybe 2nd) turret that connects sections of wall. this busy on a day like today. . can't really see the wall ahead of us in the mist. but looking behind, you can see the grade steepening. that's the top of the turret we just stepped thru in the mist behind us. all the group still hanging in there with us, as it gets more steep. Daniel walking against the wind (and slippery stones) another turret stopping for a quick rest before continuing on. there are steps down in several places among the walk, and I believe we lost a few folks at this stop. time to continue on towards turret #4 NOTED! possibly my favorite picture I got today. I look so dang happy. and yes, it's gotten MUCH steeper (now handrails are there for help on the uneven and steep steps) our group photo at the start of the trek - courtesy of Robb. Elissa was apologizing about the weather (absolutely no need to! there are certain things that are not under our control) - so Robb helpfully photoshopped us into warmer environment and shared with the group. here's the Great Wall in Greece and Egypt . at Turret 4, before you head down either via steps or on the Toboggon, there's a market set up for tourists to purchase all kinds of fun chachkis William, Stacy and I all got personalized magnets that they etched name / date into to remember our walk on the wall and tho it was chilly, some imbibed in "Great Wall Ice Cream" headed down into the toboggan station they asked for no cameras out while going down, since it was so slick. . so this is the best I got of the toboggan cars. it was truly thrilling to say I rode a "coaster" down from the Great Wall. at the exit, you walk thru a whole tourist vendor area, and some old buildings. . which looked really eerie in the mist. I loved it. and there's a large bear exhibit there as well. (which apparently you can come into the wall from this side, see the bears, then ride the toboggan up). so cute I'm wiped out too, buddy. . that was a LOT of exercize looking back, here's the exit/entrance to the Bear area we were having a Lazy Susan lunch onsite at the Great Wall. . so it was still a short walk to lunch. which offered opportunities for more cool cultural pics. but we soon made it to our stop for lunch. ooo. .fancy Eric and I enjoying some hot tea, and warming up inside. Nick likes the tea too as with many of the meals we had in China, the options were a mix of some familiar stuff (orange chicken, boiled veggies), and some unique tastes of China. more than enough for everyone to get full. a quick 15 minutes to shop, and pick up some specific Great Wall gifts (got some lovely bracelets for Jim), and then it was time to head back to the bus, and we were off to PKX Beijing airport. to be continued. . .

we were on Brilliance of the Seas a smaller ship, but that meant less kiddos

good report! I too enjoyed that mountain coaster on Labadee when was there in Feb 2025. as you note, the views are amazing.

both can be true! tho I love that you drive, ya gotta admit, we have a BLAST together, and so yes, you are tops as an "event partner"

apparently the deal was contingent on SFStL being part of the parks sold. not sure if it's true, but have now seen it reported several places that THIS park was the one they wanted most.

a good friend was just trapped in the area for 2 1/2 days due to airspace closure, and he mentioned they had gone back to have another day at the park. he didn't say it was crowded. . .but I do know they were/are open. (edit: he's back in the USA as of this morning)

got lucky at ACE Winterfest (well. . maybe not lucky, but smart, and opened with a face value bid), and scored the last two tix available to Holliwood Nights ! The presenter said it sold out in SEVEN seconds this year. so yup, doing HN two years in a row. yay!!! seems the "theme" this year is "Mean Girls". . . guess I'd better watch that movie (and it's a mini Coasterstock reunion, as I again invited Teacher Kim to join me, and we're meeting up with friends from Coasterstock 2022 Danielle and Jan (who scored tix via the on sale time lottery).

no.. . the next big hint will drop and the upcoming fullest moon, but not the announcement of the attraction itself. and that is the blue moon. I suspect we won't know any more detail until after FT92. . . or the giant reveal at next year's Winterfest - which was announced to be hosted by. . . . . Fiesta Texas. and 2027 is the 35th Anniversary of the park. it was a great winterfest, tho really there wasn't much update on SFFT other than the above mention. remember, it was in Grand Prairie (less than 14 miles from SFOT), and it was opening day for that park. So Jeffery was a late afternoon presenter (since he had to be at the park that morning), and most of his presentation detail was on SFOT. Tho he did cover all the other parks under his pervue and give brief updates. as to my take? I've adjusted my guess - which I thought was gonna be a Mack water coaster. --> I now think it's a multi-launch, with an indoor stop (likely prior to a backwards launch). Think Firechaser Express at Dollywood. I truly think that's what's coming in that huge space.

the test runs have looked interesting. now that it's swinging over the refilled lake, it's gonna be pretty exciting, and I can't wait to ride it.

Hey, I'll take it. . .even if it was AI? the guilt will get me back in front of the computer to finish up trip reports! we've been spending too much time at the theater! (Six and Sound of Music Last Week, and Hadestown next Saturday!).

thanks. . I actually still have 2 days at Phantasialand to finish up on. . . and I'm trying to keep up with the China trip too! hopefully soon!

great update! (I haven't had internet access for about a week, so just seeing this now)

while I didn't care for it (I'm just not a fan of the Euro Fighter coasters) , this makes me super happy to see. and if you trust RCDB? Treetops coaster is going to / has gone to Walygator Grand Est. so maybe, just maybe. . someone will save Megafobia next!

I would ride the crap out of that slow moving, suspended, Puss in Boots ride! someday, I've GOT to get to Singapore.

Day 9: Holiday Park (now, Plopsaland Deutschland) this one ended up being a long, but fantastic day. we got up in the morning at Europa Park and after breakfast met in the lobby to check out and hop on the bus. before leaving tho, I made sure to get some daytime pics of Hotel Colosseo. . our amazing resort hotel. after loading up the bus, and after a drive, we ended up in Haßloch Germany, home to what was called "Holiday Park" but has now been renamed as of mid 2025 "Plopsaland Deutschland" so this was my last visit to "Holiday Park" ever. . it's a medium sized park, with some nice thrills, a lot of wasted space/closed attractions, and a killer top coaster in Expedition GeForce. we were also there during the Halloween event, called "Halloween Fright Nights". . tho not certain if they are still doing that now that it's a Plopsa park. there were certainly signs it was transitioning more towards a "tweens" park tho. . . as you'll see below in comments. Front gates Front Gates with TPR, pic courtesy of Robb. loved the light fixture additions. they were cutsey, but fit this front area of the park. I believe this is/was the park's mascot. . tho never saw him really anywhere other than near the front and by one ride at the back of the park. this was the main reason for our stop tho. . the excellent Expedition GeForce - this amazing Intamin Mega coaster, with tons of airtime pops, and that fantastic curving first drop. TPR on GeForce. Hawk seems to imply it was a bit chilly this day. Happy TPR train on Expedition GeForce the Starflyer, which ran a so-so program in an area that was almost completely shut down/abandoned. it LOOKED like they were getting ready to do some construction over here tho, so hopefully Plopsa has put some $$ into adding a bunch of stuff. the other "big" ride at this park: Skyscream (a Premier Skyrocket). i pass on riding, as I've been on several (including this one) before. the queue is really well done tho, and they leaned into the Halloween Season for this area, as the queue already was in the realm of "spooky" I rode this, tho I wasn't as good as getting the planes to flip as others on the TPR trip were. but, yup, it's "Plane on Stick!" the only other place I saw this mascot in the park. This was back over by the Starflyer. . not opening until this year (so yeah, they've been working on it for a while), but per RCDB, it's a Gerstlauer Family coaster with a booster lift, a chain lift, and a roll back. the flume that's over by the "animated" section that was a big "tweens" area already in the park. it has a nice double dip drop. . tho doesn't get one super wet TPR on the flume! and they DIDN'T make us all cram into one log. this was my face upon discovering that my *favorite* ride in the park, is no longer there. oh, Expedition GeForce is my favorite coaster, but my favorite ride in Holiday Park was the Castle Frankenstein dark ride. It was kinda / sorta Haunted Mansion, but done just different enough it wasn't a direct rip off. even tho the ride system is the same. last time I was here? I rode this, easily, a dozen times. this time ? closed down. and why? they are turning it into a Smurfs ride !! SMURFS !!!! bahhhhhh! oh well, I'd drown my sorrow in food, as our day included a meal voucher (along with skip the line passes). not sure what the heck this was, but suitably freaky for the time of year. lunch was pretty good tho. . I had the Schnitzel and a ride on the Carousel will always cheer me up. since I had last been here, a new section of the park had opened up near the front. so we went to check it out. and yeah, it seemed targeting children as well.. so signs were there that the park was gonna get a name change. the scenery looked pretty tho and the rides were all "tween type" rides. mini drop tower, dumbo type ride, and a galloping horse type ride tho instead of horses, one would ride Grasshoppers. I thought it was adorable, but didn't want to try riding in case there was a weight limit. the indoor section is still there, and looks pretty much the same - with the same family rides, including the classic wood carved roundabout, the kiddie roller coaster, and the fairy flight ride. even Jon was willing to pose for a pic on the St. Bernard that's a WHOLE LOTTA SAUSAGE for a teeny tiny bun! tho we had planned to leave after a few hours, the park offered us admittance to the Haunts if we wanted. so a vote was taken, and tho we had been planning to get to Phantasialand earlier in the day, overwhelmingly we all voted to stay at Holiday Park for a few more hours. which meant we got to hang out and drink coffee, and enjoy the Parade. oh look.. there IS the Mascot! so I was incorrect. tho Andrew doesn't look too impressed ? hmm. this parade has a lot of little kids in it (tried my best to take pics around them), but it's pretty spooky. maybe this is gonna be really fun? Spoiler - it was! I've always found the scariest thing about the Grimm Reaper to be his Nike's really cool parade. . and as the sun started to set, the park was getting ready for the monsters to come out, and to open up the houses. this was the entrance to the first house we'd be going thru: Freak Circus but much like Six Flags has "the Arrival". . .Holiday Park has a show, that brings out all the haunt actors for the houses. TPR anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Monsters Sponsored by a local radio station. . . the "show" was about what you'd expect, but I loved that they leave the stage and weave thru the audience as they head towards their houses they have arrived and Bob looks amused. she was great! and ended up in the "Disco Ball Room" of the first haunt. so many flashing lights. in the Freak Circus house, they send you thru in small groups. (actually all the houses did that - groups of 6-8), and in one room the "ringmaster" yells to all get together and smile for a picture that they take, and then hand to you upon exiting. for all the posing and direction the ringmaster gives you, the pictures are hysterically awful - blurry/out of focus - and they got worse as the groups went. she even missed half the group. hysterical! snapping a pic of the drop tower that is a park icon as we passed by it. (it's more of a "floating drop" than a sharp drop. . but it's ok, and it looks great) yes. they have a "Titty Twister" house. and yes! staffed by Vampires, including a door guy who says absolutely FILTHY things to people as they wait to go thru (a'la Cheech Marin in the movie" what I found absolutely the most hysterical thing about this? most of the scare actors - and the park guide who was walking us thru - had NO IDEA this was based on a movie! they were just working off scripts and getting into character that way. HAHAHAHAHA and don't even ask about "Ms Mona". . . poor Jon. no pics allowed inside the houses, but it's an experience we'll never forget (and I bet Jon won't either). this is also brilliant - right next to Titty Twister. This is an actual park restaurant. They closed it down for the Halloween Season, and turned it into a cannibal restaurant house. so you really ARE walking thru a restaurant. lots of random scare actors hanging about outside the main houses. . but that was really the only areas. if you weren't nearby a house, you were "safe" the fourth "house" is an outdoor maze, that seemed to be themed to Rats mutated by toxic sludge, and out front in the queue were protestors arguing for rat's rights. funny. (not really "scary" tho) a peek into the animated Norse land I mentioned earlier that has been the central area in the park (and is also at Plopsa). . with a Disc-o, a splash battle, the flume and a couple of other family rides. of course, it was never a trip to Holiday Park if you didn't stop into the "pipi station" bathroom next to Expedition GeForce. I really hope they kept this! as we finished up with the last TPR group thru the outdoor house, we headed towards the front of the park. as we passed between two "houses". . there was a scare zone here. so some scare actors to interact with. and crossing across the main square by the front entrance, they had turned off the fountains, and had a DJ on stage getting a dance party going. a final shot as we headed to the parking lot to get on the bus. and a pic from either Robb or Andy (since my camera lightened up the above, and theirs captures the beautiful sky) and then back on the bus and continuing on to Phantasialand. . where we were staying at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh on property. I don't think I took any pics of the room this time, as I have stayed in this hotel on prior trips. But snagged some areas I probably didn't get before. like the steampunk registration desk: and the park entrance to the hotel (yup, that's F.L.Y. track on the right. it goes thru the hotel). a sunset shot from the rooftop of the hotel, with F.L.Y. track underneath. could be mine, but I suspect I have to thank Andy for this. time for dinner (included with our hotel stay), the place looks really great at night. hungry TPR ready to chow down. and the food here is so dang good! best part of staying in this hotel? the ride may shut down with the park, but the area (Rooksville) stays open for hotel guests to wander around in if they so please. so able to get some wonderful pics. and then it was off to bed. tomorrow was the 1st of two full days at Phantasialand to end the trip

great pics!

Day 3 concluded: Tiananmen Square back on the bus, and a short time later, we were back near where we had been the day before, closeby the Forbidden City. this structure is just outside of Tiananmen Square, and is the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower marking the south end of Tiananmen Square (so we were going around the outside to be let off the bus to walk to the security). Security at Tiananmen Square is incredibly strict - not only do you need a ticket to set foot into the square (which must be applied for way in advance, but we had an excellent tour guide who was able to swing getting tickets for those who wanted to go this evening), but there is a serious bag check, security pat down, metal detectors, and passport screen before you are even let into the square. in the below pic, Tiananmen Square is on the right. . the security check point is across the street on the left random buildings across from the square, as we headed towards security. the is the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao (taken from the security line to get into the square), that sits at the South side of Tiananmen Square inside this Mausoleum is Mao in the Crystal Coffin that preserves his body. tho tourists are welcome, tickets must be gotten in advance (and we didn't have tickets for that), and it was already late in the day so they had stopped letting folks in. it was still incredible to see even just the building in person. another pic of the Mausoleum from the Security line across the street. as noted, they are VERY serious about Security here. camera was put away all thru the security process. . not even gonna chance it. but here are pics from actually Inside Tiananmen Square. the monument in the center is: "the Monument to People's Heroes" and behind that, across the square is: National Museum of China behind me across the street (beyond security) is the Great Hall of the People. . another pic of the museum. . mainly to capture all the cameras that are on the light poles here. a look towards the most famous part of the Square: the Tiananmen gate on the North side of the square, that enters into the Forbidden City. the big basket of flowers is from the "Celebration of the 75th anniversay of People' Republic of China" in 2024 heading towards Mao's Mausoleum. . .this is one of the giant sculptures out front and in particular over here in front of the Mausoleum was heavy police presence the other giant sculpture out front, on the opposite side of the entrance to the Mausoleum the Monument to People's Heroes a selfie to capture the amount of cameras on site a closeup of the flower sculpture. . now celebrating 76 years (they changed the date to 2025) about as close as you really can get to the Tiananmen Gate while in the square. That photo of Mao is huge, but it looks small when viewing from where you can stand. looking out at one of Beijing's unique buildings in the smog, from Tiananmen Square. \ we were going to stay for the flag ceremony at the end of the night, but it was still an hour plus away, and my feet were kinda hurting, as were Stacy's. It was getting a little chilly too, and there really wasn't anything much to do other than sit in the crowd (getting larger by the moment) until the time for the ceremony. so we decided to bail. Probably shouldn't have, as it was a once in a lifetime, but ya gotta do what your body is saying to do - and mine was saying "go sit, and get a meal, you've done a LOT of walking today" luckily, Andy planned to stay, and not only shared photos he took of the ceremony, but also the video I'm sharing below. it's quite impressive and I'm super glad he shared it with the group, so I can share here! KBKD2717.MP4 once you're in the square via the security? there's really no exit other than at the corner that will bring you to the other buildings or the subway station. so we followed the crowd down into the underground (with SO MUCH police presence), but instead of going left to the Tiananmen Gate. . . or right to the Palace Museum. . . we headed straight ahead and out thru exit security to the Tiananmen station for the subway even once thru the "exit".. we still saw quite a bit of security around heading to the trains but, ahhhhh. . . sitting. (no issue finding a seat as people were coming TO the square, not leaving, so we got to sit for the ~1 hour ride back to the Universal Hotel) the Universal stop lets you out near CityWalk. . and as we were checking out of the Hotel in the morning, it was our last chance to sample things here at Universal Studios Beijing. at prices WAY below what they would be at a USA Universal park. so we headed to Toothsomes' Chocolate Factory for a late dinner, before going back to the room to pack. sounded kinda gross, but kinda good. . .but the urge for alcohol disappeared when we saw the offerings of milkshakes. and roaming characters coming from table to table. Stacy got a Chocolate and Strawberry shake. I went a little rogue and went for one that was pistachio and cheese. yeah. . it was very strange, but oddly satisfying. She got a burger, but I tried Chocolate braised pork. it was a bit too sweet for me, so didn't finish, but I did like it and glad I tried it. the offerings of shakes. . . and then it was up to the room (after paying way less than I expected it to be) to pack and be ready for tomorrow. was gonna be a tiring day, as after checkout, we were headed to the Great Wall (another bucket list item), and then we had a flight to another city. but after packing and before heading to bed, Andy sent the below pic, and i found it to be a perfect ending to what had been another great day on a TPR trip.

Day 3: Continued. . . across from the corn was the first time I really got to see the treats on a stick that I'd get to know across many parks to come: LtR: Potato with mayo, Potato with ketchup, Potato, hot dog / sausage made pretty and spices, and fried cheese on a stick (sometimes with a hotdog inside, sometimes not), also along the bottom various filled "pancake". also a delicacy: Squid on a stick. we weren't gonna eat just yet, as were still full from breakfast. but I WAS intrigued by the "Rainbow EPCOT" Mexican restaurant. Which seemed to serve "authentic Mexican Pho" LOL behind it was a giant Frisbee tho. . so we decided to go on that. as it had no wait today it was a fun, tho short cycle, and gave a great view of the Waterpark on one side and some wonderful views across the central lake at the rest of the park. here's the top of Crystal Wing (under the water park slide), the Family Inverted, and the most you can see of the SLC (Golden Wings Over the Snowfield), across the lilly filled lake and looking back towards the "Mexican restaurant", the B&M Hyper here comes the train! let's see if I can get splashdown from this angle. . . yup! as we continued around the park after our ride on the Frisbee, we entered into Frontier Town area. . which had some . . . um. . . . "problematic" theming. I thought it was shockingly hysterical, and they were all the nicest people! so of course I snapped some pics. this looked like another show, but the times listed seemed to be only for weekend operations. but I did peek into the entry to snap a pic of the stage. Dying to know what the show would have been like (I have to look that up) based on the next group of folks that were "themed" Yup. . cavewomen in raised huts with Corn, holding bones. ? or a leopard skin purse. . . although. . this IS the kind of theme park job I'd totally sign up for "lay in a hut all day and wave to people" LOL this was a huge, and impressive, water feature on the side of the stage building. it really was massive, and I *guess* it's Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil, See no Evil ? and I DO love me a throne my fist official exposure to smelly Tofu. we didn't try it hear, but here is where I was able to really put the smell together with what it was, so I always knew when I was near a stand selling it. (and yes, I did try it later in the trip, and I liked it). I honestly have very little memory of this ride. i THINK it was a boat ride that was kinda like "it's a small world" ? I have some pics from outside, and a pic in the queue, but absolutely none from the ride itself. not even ones that came out blurry or bad, I just didn't take any. which implies I was very unimpressed by it. or maybe my feet just hurt, and I was focusing on sitting in the boat? or maybe my Battery was dying and I wanted to save it for Carousel pics? anyways. .here's the outside of "Happy World" and a couple of queue pics. there seemed to be an entire show building / museum here, and tho it looked interesting, it was more important to eat something and get a few other things in. so we bypassed this. my goal (really at most parks, especially if they have a unique carousel) OMG. .these Horses! and it's a double decker. . tho they only operated the bottom Stacy rode with me we were really getting hungry, but this thing next door to the Carousel caught our eye. what the hell is it? "Flying Cake". .. a stand up Rockin Tug type ride! which looked like it was once Surf themed before it got moved to this area, and hadn't been rethemed other than the base of it ONLY to add these two figures. . .HA! not gonna lie tho. . it was really fun, and I'm glad we stopped and rode it. never been on anything like it before. a look at the closed today Crystal Wing track, and the B&M flyer across the lake from "Flying Cake" Crystal Wing theming. . as we headed towards the front to eat something. ohhh.. some street entertainment going on here in the cookie/bakery section. . so we stopped and watched for a moment. and then went up to the front where there were about a dozen "food cart" stands. . all standing empty. But the operators were in the back of the carts, and when they saw a customer come up, they came out and greeted you. still being very early in the trip, I opted for more traditional Chinese street food for my lunch. (a pancake that had a lot of different things in it) Stacy stuck more to traditional noodles. what mine looked like once I got it in a cup and William had dumplings. the park was playing some "interesting" music up near the front where the food stands were. . including this nearly 8 minute mix of a song that seemed to be called "put your ass in the air" it was very catchy, and eventually got to me AAJM2130.MP4 getting close to the meet up time, in chatting with someone, they mentioned that the big building we had passed was a large indoor section. so we went over to check it out with about 30 minutes to spare. it really was a really large area. and it appeared that at one point the park did have a junior coaster in here, but now it was just a virtual one, so we passed. but a Dumbo type ride, a small frisbee ride. . . and then an Air Race on top of a gift shop! if we hadn't' just eaten, I totally would have ridden the Air Race. but luckily there's one close-by at Fiesta Texas. . so I didn't' mind skipping it. and then it was time to meet up at the front gate and head out to the next destination. (for those of us who wanted to go to Tiananmen Square) while others went sight seeing on their own, or stayed in the park for a bit longer. to be Concluded. . .

Day 3: Happy Valley Beijing for most of day, and a visit to Tiananmen Square: up and out early, as once again, we had a pretty full day planned. but we had a bit of a later start this morning, so Stacy and I headed down to the breakfast buffet and found these charming donuts this am. on the way back up to the room to change for the day, I remembered that I had yet to snap a picture of the fountain in front of the Universal Studios Grand Hotel. So popped out to grab this one. as we headed back down, we passed over the lines for guests to queue for entry to Universal Studios Beijing. this is the regular line, about 2 hours before opening. on a Wednesday. yeah. . . on to the bus, and headed out to the park chain that is basically "the Six Flags" of China: Happy Valley. a shortish drive later, and we were pulling up to the front gates of Happy Valley Beijing. to be honest, I don't recall seeing very many of these guys in the park. . and one of the ones I DO recall seeing, is on the outside of a long ago removed ride. but they must be popular, as the park still has them out front on the marquee to greet guests. the first (but for sure NOT the last) school group we would encounter whilst visiting a Chinese park on a weekday. lots and lots of kids, tho I don't recall this park being particularly crowded. . . but some later parks were just swarmed with lots of kids who only knew enough English to say "Hello" and "Where are you from" (I told them Canada) all in all tho, the kids were (mostly) adorable, and polite, and I was glad to see so many having a good time at amusement parks. again tho, I don't recall this park today being slammed with groups. Pic Courtesy of Robb - TPR and our guide ready to enjoy Happy Valley. before the gates open, the Happy Valley parks all seemed to put on a "show" at the front gate. and then the performers move to the sides to greet guests as they come thru the turnstiles. of course, for me? that's a photo op! so I went back and forth to all of them - most in Anime or Horror themed outfits for the Season - to snap pics. they were genuinely surprised that I wanted to take pictures with them instead of just of them. (something I encountered quite a bit in China. I found it rather charming). she was a Spider. . LOL and this one? oh, I SO wanted her jacket. past the main gates, and into the park itself! not sure why the creepy orange is here? never saw him anywhere else in the park. This giant coaster (which seemed to have a clone in every Happy Valley we were gonna visit) is "Extreme Rusher" - a unique S&S Air-launch coaster. that has been SBNO since Oct 2023 (when there was a minor train collision in the station, and the State shut down all of these coasters). so yeah. . it's a huge not-operating coaster, front and center when you first enter the park. Don't think it will ever reopen (here or at any other Happy Valley parks), which is a shame as it IS rather unique. the park at least tried to "hide" the load station by plopping this giant "stage / photo op" thing in front of it. the waterpark off to the right was closed for the season already, but it looked like a decent size. and more Giraffes. . must be good luck in China? a peek at the "Scare" map for the "not-Halloween, but spooky" events: the "Woah!appy Festival" most of the walkthru things advertised were upcharges - something we saw at a lot of other parks too. but to be fair, the upcharge was only a few bucks here or there. photo op? yes please! this was the first store we came to, and peeked in just to see what kind of things were being sold. we were absolutely blown away by this store, so went thru as if it were an attraction. at the store exit, was a robot coffee machine. (the coffee was TERRIBLE. . but hey, a robot made it!) looking over to the center of the park, here's a peek at Crystal Wing - the park's B&M Flying Coaster. (it's a SFOG Superman clone, but has a unique setting in and out of that mountain fortress). unfortunately, it wasn't open today. not too upset, as it's a clone of something I've ridden (and I don't count coasters anyways). . . but it was really one of the VERY few coasters that weren't operating on this trip. so all in all, we had incredible luck . it's even the Superman colors. . . more Giraffes and one last look at the Crystal Wing area, before heading back across the bridge to the park, where the pathway goes around the outside. this section was themed to Candy / baking / sweets stuff kinda terrifying, but at least it doesn't have eyes really well designed area with an utterly charming carousel! and some "spooky" photo ops up. it was a little drizzly, but I do think this opened later in the day. really enjoy the names of some of these rides but here is the first (operating) coaster we would get to in the park. the uniquely named: "Family Inverted Coaster" it's a B&M inverted that does some fun helixes. . and fun fact, they are building one just up the road from me at SWSA - so I'll get to ride a version of this any time I want. it wasn't exactly "fluffy friendly". .but I did fit on it. and oh my. .that Pop Tart cop thing on the sign, DOES have eyes. creepy as hell. I know it's painted to fit the theme of the area.. but it looks SO great. then we continued onward around the park. I recognized these guys from the statue out front, and learned that this used to be the facade for a spinning mouse coaster called "Harvest Time" which closed in 2014, and was removed in 2017. but apparently the facade was well loved, so they just kept it in place for this area. not sure what (if anything) they ever built back in the space where the coaster was) what used to be the ride entrance "blocked by rocks". . . LOL the aesthetic in this park is wonderful tho. . . so many beautiful things to look at! that turn around up ahead is the Park's B&M Hyper Coaster. . but we're headed to that white track on the left. . yeah, an SLC. shudder and here it is. Fantastic name and all: "Golden Wings over the Snowfield - Suspended Roller Coaster" a lot of it is hidden by foliage. below here is one of the upcharge haunts. the long queues were very well themed: but at the end of the day, it's still an SLC. but I will happily admit it was a very GOOD SLC. with lots of padding, and little to no headbang due to such good padding. two of the four operating coasters done, we headed to the B&M Hyper next fantastic name for the Bumper Cars "Snowland Survival". . but that's where the theming ended for this one. lots of scare stuff set up on the path tho, for enjoyment. this we had been told about, this was the park's included walk thru Haunt attraction: the Ghost Cave so we stopped to go thru as we passed it. I asked and was told was ok to take pics, so this was the start of many Haunt Pics I took over the rest of the trip. what can I say, I love em. especially when the triggers for the effects are working. which they did in most all of the houses. Noted! Andrew, Chris, Stacy, and myself being "scared" I was trying to get the Nemo transportation car, but instead got this beautiful cherry blossom theming I believe this was a food court type of restaurant but the GIANT B&M Lift hill overhead was distracting. finally made it to the entrance to the B&M Hyper: "Flight of the Himalayan Eagle - Music Roller Coaster" yup. .it had onboard audio whilst you ride (and a splashdown too). it was a great coaster. we were only here until early afternoon, so no time for shows (the rides were more important to me), but this looked like it was a stunt show of some kind. adorbs! spoooooky! looking thru Flight of the Himalayan Eagle's track, to see Family Inverted Coaster running, and the SBNO Extreme Rusher track. but was able to catch the Splashdown The train didn't seem to be operating today, but I liked they had an engine out for pics down this way was the train station. . . but again, didn't appear to be operating today. the final operating coaster at the park today was "Jungle Racing" a Vekoma Mine Train. and per RCBD? it's now been closed as of November 2nd. . so we barely got it before they closed it down! which is weird, because I remember all the mine trains on this trip being pretty dang good, and the one at a later Happy Valley being the smoothest Mine Train I've ever been on. but I'm really glad I got to ride this one. great setting and queue too. leaving the Jungle Racing coaster, I was able to get a better pic of the Nemo transport. still with no one riding in it tho. and then? the corn OMG. . the CORN!!!! to be continued. . .

it's interesting.. . they've done it for a few years, but this year has some MAJOR changes - the big one being the Tilt Coaster now open. but another huge change? free parking. and it just doesn't seem to be getting advertised locally that it's now free to go park (tho they DID start charging $15 to enter the grounds). still tho, that's *nothing* to go and walk around! the crowds did seem to be coming in as we were leaving (around 7) and it's open until 10. and as I mentioned, they just recently expanded the hours to 4-10pm instead of 5:30-10.. so they must be starting to draw. It's open thru Jan 4. . . so still a couple of weeks to check it out! https://ticketing.peppermintparkway.com/events/01995544-598c-1dfe-c38e-401c551150a5

I know! the fact they dropped the price, and still no one really knows about it. it's SO smooth too. I liked it better than the Vekoma tilt I rode in China! I honestly think tho, that they are waiting to at least get Wildcat back up and running (it was assembled but not yet testing in the new location) before they really start a media blitz. Palindrome is testing, but there's simply no way to get to it from the Circuit Breaker side (yet). . so even if they did open it, I doubt we'd get an announcement. but once they get Wildcat running again, and that S&S swing? there's enough there to really start advertising a reason to come to the track.

Cher can do what she wants - she's an Icon. but that was some of the worst lip synching ever on the show. which is weird that she lip synced to a track both times, as she clearly still has her voice - she sang in that sketch you just referenced and sounded great.