bert425

and here's the video Robb filmed (I'm way in the back row on the right in my red shirt) BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAA. .this makes me smile so big every time! [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

so Monday morning we got up pretty dang early - we had to: we were going to be spending the day at Nagashima Spaland, and checking out their brand new RMC, Hakugei ! The park opened at 9:30 am, but we were to meet in the lobby at 6:45 to catch a 7am train to Kuwana Station (and then a taxi ride to get to the park ~1 hour prior to open. This was advertised in the lobby of our Hotel, and I never inquired to find out if it was actually IN our Hotel, or close by . . . . because we weren't going to be back in time today (and were leaving tomorrow). so tho I thought it might be a fun thing to do? I was happy with just a pic of the offerings to send to my Hello Kitty collecting friend. since we were leaving so early, I don't believe that I even attempted the buffet at the hotel (it opened at 6:30), and instead just went out and up the block to the 7-11 to grab a snack for the train. here are some pics of the buildings near our Hotel in Nagoya that I found interesting. Directly across the street from the Hotel entrance looking towards the Nagoya Station (those are all restaurants and shops in the "mall" levels stacked on top of the station) the grates in the street are so beautiful, and seemed unique based on what city we were in (or even what area of the city we were in). wish I had taken more pics like this, but only got a handful during our trip Walking up the street to the 7-11. more interesting buildings/scenery a Nagoya specific sewer cover Snacks in hand, back to our hotel to meet up with the group. and what did I get? why: "Whity Latte" BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAA (I remember thinking this wouldn't fly in the USA. . tho nowadays? who knows) also these Tiramisu snacks. . which tasted like powdered air. the Whity Latte was good tho, and gave me some energy. and within ~30 minutes, we pulled into the Kuwana Station, and headed down to flag some taxis to get us to the park. here's a pic from the station looking down an alley in Kuwana if you're wondering why Nagashima Spaland is not located in Nagashima? the answer is - it IS. Nagashima and it's sister city, Tado, were combined into the larger city of Kuwana back in 2004. in the taxi on the way to the park. . what's that I see thru the bridge struts? the drop on Steel Dragon 2000 we're entering the park thru an entrance that is not the standard entrance (since we're going in before park open for a special treat to ride (and let Robb film) Hakugei). So sharing some pics thru the taxi window as we approach, since they might be unique angles. Ltr: Ferris Wheel, Steel Dragon 2000, the drop tower (thru SD2K's lift hill), Acrobat's drop (between SD2K's 1st & 2nd hill) Steel Dragon 2000 really is *massive*. . it just towers over the surrounding area Getting closer, and seeing more and more of the rides in this fantastic park. in this pic, can see Arashi (S&S 4D freespin), the top of the Star Flyer, drop tower, SD2K lift hill, and Ultra Twister coming around to the hotel/resort area, here's Aurora (the giant Ferris Wheel), and the Chute the Shoots ride Wowza. . Hakugei is *beautiful* it's getting a little overcast, and the day is supposed to have some off and on showers . . .so this might end up being a challenging day (since many things shut down if raining), but we're prepared for it. just look at those beautiful curves the Taxis dropped us all off near the "Garden Hotel Olive" and we met up with the park reps.. who started walking us back towards the park. Here's the gate that hotel guests would go thru. . tho we're going to go around this, and enter thru a maintenance gate closer to Hakugei. the 1st drop, thru the trees, as we're walking around to the gate. Holy crap, this is breathtaking. looking across the park, as we walk LtR: Viking (Nagashima Spaland has THREE swinging ships called "Viking" - two giant ones on a raised platform, and a standard size one on the ground nearby), Space Shot (drop tower), Steel Dragon 2000, the top of the Star Flyer, and the top of the Giant Frisbee (you can make out "giant" in the lettering) Employee parking (exciting!!. . LOL), with the Aurora Giant Ferris wheel peeking out behind. and here we go, into the park. this really is a beautiful park. . I could tell from the moment we set foot inside. tho it is very strangely layed out, without any "logical" paths - they seem to just plop rides down wherever they can fit them, and then route paths around (or under) them. It could make it a challenge to find specific attractions, but if you're like me - who just enjoys wandering and riding things as you come across them? I love this. Entering right by the main entrance to Hakugei (that white "tower" structure). . this particular angle gives a great view of Aurora, Hakugei's track, Steel Dragon 2000, and straight ahead: Freefall - a 1st Generation Intamin Drop Tower. this was supposed to be closed for Maintenance (Freefall & Shuttle Loop coaster). .but during our day here today, it was spotted testing, and they actually opened it up while we were there and we got a chance to ride it! the only things that were closed during our visit: Shuttle Loop, Flying Carpet (which was a shame, as it's a suspended version, where yo hang under the chassis), and BobKarts. the last two were because of the rain, which came off and on thruout the day, so i fully suspect that's why they never opened. gives me reason to want to come back (not that Arashi, Hakugei, and SD2K weren't enough reason to want to go back). but really, the park was pretty amazing in getting things back up after they would go down for sudden downpours. and the truth is? the weather kept a LOT of folks away today. . we were expecting a packed day due to a holiday weekend, but the recent Typhoon, and the weather really seemed to impact crowds today. the park ops were fantastic tho, and I really appreciated that they worked so hard to get everything up and running if it went down for weather (took us 2 tries for Free Fall, and three tries for Looping Star (which twice shut down the line as we were getting into it, due to drizzle). .but we eventually got on most everything). anyways, we're in the park, and standing in front of this beauty. stun-ning. this is the only pic I have of me on Hakugei, since the cubbies to store your belongings are the level below the station. So all our phones and cameras, were properly stored away prior to our time riding/Robb filming. here's Luke and I in the front seat I believe this pic is courtesy of Elissa. the ride is amazing, and I love it. . I've gone on and on about how much I loved it before, so won't bore you here. . but I will say again, it's fantastic. and the ride Robb filmed, where it started to POUR the moment the train pulled out of the station, and didn't stop until we got back into the station? one of my favorite experiences EVER on a roller coaster. wholly crap did that rain hurt, but thank goodness on that particular ride, I had moved out of the front seat and was sitting more towards the back of the train - so I had lots of people blocking the stinging rain. But we were all laughing, and screaming, and loving every moment of this ride (I'll link the video Robb filmed after this post so y'all can see just how wet it got). after we got back into the station, we all got handed towels, and helped dry off the train, so we could get another lap or two before Robb's filming time was up. overall, I think I got 5-6 rides on Hakugei before the park opened to the public, and it's way, WAY up there near the top of my favorite coasters list. My favorite element is the outwards wave turn, after the double-up following the 1st drop. But the extended stall about 1/2 way thru the ride is another favorite stand out moment. our ride time done ,we all headed over (with Park reps) to "Cafeteria Picnic" restaurant area, to get a brief presentation of the park, get park maps handed out, as well as give us some "skip the line" tickets - remember, this was expected to be a really busy day due to the holiday weekend. we were asked that if we did *not* use the fast pass tickets, to please not toss them, but rather to return them at the end of day so the park could track how many got used. we were also handed out lunch vouchers, and then we sat and visited with the park reps for about 15 minutes until the park officially opened to the public - at which time we would be welcome to make our way out into the park and we'd be on our own for the day. A few of us inquired about restroom break, and as this particular restaurant didn't have attached restrooms, we had to go out across the walkway to the separate facilities. it was during this break that i noticed Steel Dragon 2000 had started testing, so stopped on my way back to snap a few pics. in this pic LtR: Looping Stars track (orange/white supports), Star Flyer tower , Freefall (which at this point we thought was down0, Arashi (4D spinner), and the Wild Mouse (which I did NOT ride, even tho it was operating, at least 1 side of it). here's a pic of the park map. numbers are attractions, letters are restaurants / shops. so you can see what I mean about how much they crammed into the park. back inside the Cafeteria Picnic restaurant, with a few minutes still until the park opened, they started testing the Shoot-the-Chute. which surprised me, since it was looking like it was going to be a pretty wet day off and on. The amount of water this sucker kicked up would drench any rider - but I guess if you're coming to a park that's 1/3rd water park (or spa-land)? you'd expect to get wet. SKLOOSH !!!! Park was just about to open, and we were going to be released from our holding area. . but of course I had to take a pic of the Carousel horse that was inside the restaurant and then, we were welcomed to the park, and told to enjoy our day. tho it wasn't an "official" ERT, I think pretty much everyone in the group headed directly to: yup. . if it was possible that weather was going to force this to close, many of us wanted to make sure we got at least 1 ride on it we still got to the entrance just a few moments before it was officially open, so Robb took the opportunity to get a "TPR at SD2K" photo. I can't believe I'm here at this coaster, that I've seen online for well over a decade. (and Alex can't believe I'm taking yet another picture). . LOL from the queue, looking up at the lift hill of SD2K the front gates are now open, so a few other folks are headed this way to join us in line. this would be that wave turn (on the left) that is my favorite part of Hakugei. pic from the Steel Dragon 2000 line. the gates opened, we headed thru the queue, and got on the coaster! (tho not before a selfie taken). Elissa wasn't riding, but was able to take these great shots of a mostly TPR train as it pulled out of the station. (the front row went to some folks with skip the line passes, and the rest of the train filled in with the customers who had come in when park opened). since we were right next to it, and it was operating, some of us then headed over to Ultra Twister. I haven't ridden one of these in almost 15 years - not since Astroworld closed (and some on the trip had never ridden one), so I was looking forwards to it. the seat was a little more snug than I recalled it being (heh), and tho i absolutely recalled the "Ker-CHUNK" at the back portion of the ride - and was prepared for it? I wasn't prepared for how rough the rest of the ride was gonna be. It was really shaky. . .shaky to the point of being pretty uncomfortable. for something I had been looking forwards to, I really didn't care for it. Glad I rode it, but 1 and done for me. it DOES photograph well tho, doesn't it? after Ultra Twister, we went over to Arashi - since we were still in the area. I'm not a huge fan of the S&S freespins, tho I like them well enough. Arashi is kind of infamous for how MUCH it spins. and man, those warnings were accurate.. i lost count after the 8th spin. This was an absolutely FANTASTIC ride. i loved this so much? I bought an Arashi T-shirt (which barely fits me). . but I really, really liked it. The magnet I got from Nagashima Spaland? also Arashi. tho I liked Hakugei better? this is my solid #2 in the park. (with my #3 - Steel Dragon 2000 - going up the lift hill behind Arashi in this pic) SD2K thru Arashi's track. Arashi has a unique loading station in that there are separate queues on either side, for loading of the trains. but oddly, the station facing towards Steel Dragon 2000 was closed. and I don't mean it was closed, so they were loading both sides from only one station. . I mean it was closed. They were only loading 1 side of the trains. now this could really hurt capacity - especially on a busy day, tho this didn't really impact us since it was a quiet day. but how can this be good for the trains? wouldn't it mess up the balance on the ride and add up to maintenance issues? it was weird to only see them loading one side of the trains. tho I do really like the different colors on the trains, and think they make the ride look a bit more unique. the "warning" sign at Arashi. i don't read Japanese. . but I assume this says: "This ride will spin the s#!t outta you, you *better* have empty pockets" yup. . I LOVED this. and tho Steel Dragon 2000 was only running one train, they were pumping them out, so I could see even if it had been a super busy day, this line would have been moving pretty steady. Tho it's a fairly long coaster. the park still was pretty empty, so I believe we headed back across the park to take another lap on Hakugei - and to grab these pics as the train flies by. it was starting to drizzle again, and Robb had mentioned to us that the park had recently gotten a new shooting ride (that was an upcharge). looking at the park brochure, the park had gotten a new "digital experience" area, that also included fishing, shooting gallery, and this new ride - that had just opened in April. it's called "FARM de BANG BANG!". . . and it's a variation on Toy Story Mania type shooting ride. it was ~$5 upcharge, but man was it worth it. it was SO crazy/nuts and so much fun. because it was raining and because it was a slow day, we were really the only ones in line. the "guns" are carrots! how awesome is this? our 3D glasses are on. . and we have our carrots armed and ready. . . let's go blow some stuff up! me, David, and Jon (the ringer. . LOL) William took a pic of our carrot car too this is what amounted to "Halloween Decoration' on this side of the park. . tho closer to the spa section - which was closed today - is where all the zombie stuff would be happening later today, so I was fine with just a pumpkin here. shocking. . look who's score broke 6 figures. . .LOL by the time we were done with our ride, the rain had pretty much stopped, and we saw Looping Star cycling. so we headed over that way to try and get a ride on this Schwarzkopf unfortunately, as we got to the entrance gate, the staff had just hung the chain across, saying more rain was coming (which was a bit frustrating, as you can see in this pic, Steel Dragon 2K is going up the lift hill), but oh well, we had the whole day there still, so plenty of time to try and get a ride on this coaster. so we headed next door to it for Nagashima Spaland's Haunted House they aren't kidding around here. . . I mean, yes, the figures are a bit "traveling Carnival" and the animatronic portions are a bit "iffy".. but damn if they aren't effective. and most of the scares involved heads - decapitated heads, floating decapitated heads, stretching decapitated heads. I absolutely adored this attraction. .and it was a pretty long walk thru too. possibly my favorite gag in the whole thing. . . the crucified person's head detached and flew across the room to a cross on the other side of the room. it was so great! this house was so good, that after we finished our walk thru, I went back thru again (and this time we convinced Allison & Alex to go thru with us), to take pictures. many came out too dark to share, but these that I have shared came out pretty good I thought. the drizzle had stopped, tho things were all still a bit moist.. so we decided that we should probably go eat something, as it was getting close to 11:30am. as we passed FreeFall, we noticed there was some activity on the platform, tho it looked like they were just clearing water and wiping down the cars. Stopped and took a picture of it tho, and we talked about how we wished it would open and maybe they would finish the maintenance early and it would open for us anyways, even tho it was supposed to be down. and we continued on our way over towards the restaurant we'd decided to go eat at: "Park Restaurant" (such a clever name). on our way to the place for lunch we walked right underneath the Giant Frisbee. . which although I didn't ride, still thought it was worthy to take a pic of. reminds me of Joker at SFFT, tho this one was actually a frisbee and spun quite a bit as it swung back and forth. ah there ya go. . my memory is pretty good . . the clock on the Aurora ferris wheel appears to be showing 11:27am. to be continued in Part II it is a really great ride, tho without a lot of "air time" on the front half. . but once you hit the bunny hops on the way back after the giant helixes, you do get some . . the speed on it is incredible tho, and I really liked it. enough that a handful of us went right back to get in line and ride it again (on the chance that bad weather might shut it down). ride rules sign. NOTED. the 2nd ride was more towards the back, and I found it rode a lot better in the back - with the train hauling butt, it really pulls the back seats thru those hills. Good stuff.

"kids pole dancing" ? thanks for that image! LOL otherwise, great pics

working on the next update - Nagashima Spaland.. it's a biggie and likely will take me most of the week to get up. but I had filed a pic in that day, that's from the transfer day: Elissa's message to the group showing us that the luggage had arrived from universal port. enjoy the exciting bonus picture !

I love the pic of Ripsaw Falls. . . surprised I've never really heard much about it. the LOOK of it, is fantastic.

thanks. I'm thrilled they are putting it there, since Crackaxle has been in desperate need of flats for a long, long time. to be even clearer, they are in desperate need of "family" flats - since the only non-coasters on that side of the park, are the two kiddie rides in front of Iron Rattler, Gully Washer Rapids (that is often down in "winter" months) and the Train Station. so DareDevil Dive still doesn't address that problem. I've been saying (in park surveys that I get after every visit) for YEARS now - CrackAxle needs a family ride, why not put a next gen Trabant in the space where that radio station building is over by the entranct to Diamond Lil's? It would easily fit, and the park hasn't had a Trabant since they removed the one from Boardwalk in the 2010 timeframe. . .(or maybe it was sooner than that). Theme it to a Wagon Wheel. .presto, fits right into the area. but yeah, they moved Slingshot over to the Fiesta Bay Boardwalk (back where it used to be, funnily enough), and are putting DareDevil Dive on the old Enterprise ride pad, over in CrackAxle. So even tho it's not a "family" flat? I'm glad to have a new flat on that side of the park.

so great to see the Soaring pics. . .we fast passed it, so didn't wait in the outdoor queue line. Some lovely architecture there! also William got reprimanded for snapping a few pics in the pre-show room (no pictures please!), so I'm thrilled to see they weren't being strict about it and you got some pics to share (it must just depend on which cast member is working it). the detail in that preshow room was astounding. . .as was the projection mapping in the next rooms too! hard to figure out how they even did it. thanks for sharing your pics!

So. . yesterday was my Mom's Yahrzeit (the anniversary of her Death). it's been 3 years, but is still a really tough day for me. So instead of just sitting at home and staring at the candle i lit in her memory (and being depressed), I hopped in the car, and headed to Fiesta Texas - Spouse didn't come with, as we're having some work done at the house, and he wanted to stay here to monitor as I put it on Facebook: "think I'm gonna drive down to Fiesta Texas for a couple of hours and ride a roller coaster, instead of being depressed." they were only open from 10:30- 6pm (but were hosting some Membership benefit from 6-7), so figured I'd stay 3-4 hours, and try some of the Mardi Gras food offerings, since on dining plan. Ended up being the perfect day to go. . . not only the typically dead Sunday mornings (pre-church), but it never did get busy (if members were coming out for the ERT, they waited until late afternoon to show up), and as the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS - 1st nice day this year. . . folks apparently did other things rather than go to a theme park. petty much everything was walk on (I rode WW 4X and twice didn't even have to get out of my seat to walk around, since no one was in line). . . Iron Rattler twice (sadly, they are still running only 1 train, so even station wait took a good 15 minutes. .it was nuts!. . .but when I got back and the guy I was sharing with got out, I asked if I could stay in the seat since no one was waiting in my row - 3rd from back - so got two rides in a row). Joker was almost walk on too, tho it went down a few times while I was there, and I ended up waiting ~15 minutes for them to reset and cycle a few times. People will NEVER learn not to pull down on the restraint, even tho they announce that over and over. Superman, Poltergeist, Skyscreamer.. pretty much EVERYTHING was walk on. the only rides that were down? Gully Washer (rapids), and the Train. did a lap of the park, riding things. . . ate lunch, met Sylvester and Tweety, and then headed out by 3:30 pm. all in all, I left my house at 10:15 am, got to park at 11:45. . . left park at 3:30, and pulled into the house right at 5pm. And got a good amount of rides in. checked out the construction for the new Daredevil Dive "air-race" type ride - foundation is poured, and checked out the refurbs they have been doing on Bug's Whitewater Rapids (all animatronics on the flume working, and the new queue looks GREAT) as well as Pirates of the Deep Sea (all targets working, new guns - tho hard to aim, at least they are period appropriate - and repainted cars that look fantastic). on to the pics: I'm here. . selfie sent home to let spouse I made it OK (he was worried about me driving on this day) parking lot was pretty empty since the park is year round now, they are celebrating Mardi Gras from 1/18-early March the signage/decorations look great looking puffy. .which is nuts, since i haven't eaten yet today. I blame the camera angle look how dead the park is behind me! they had been open almost an hour and 1/2 at this point. the Cajun Croc statue is up again in front of the main plaza. there were a ton of photo-ops set up thruout the park, but no park photographers to take pics! Since I was solo, didn't stop to get really any of em, as I didn't want to hand my phone to a stranger for a solo pic. I did get a handler with Sylvester and Tweety later to take a pic of me, and I mentioned the lack of Photogs, and he admitted he didnt' know what was up, since they are "supposed to be out" as I was leaving, I did see a few roaming around the main plaza. . but since wasn't gonna hang around for an hour for the digital pic to download to the photo-stand? still didn't get any. in line for Iron Rattler Sadly, still running 1 train ops (i was shocked to see this). .and due to "holding the line" prior to flash pass merge, was on a ramp, even tho it was really a station wait. looking down at Iron Rattler's empty queue. holding the phone up over the construction walls to get some pics of the new ride going in. you can see the placement of it (over where the old Wagon Wheel Enterprise used to be). this is gonna visually be stunning when they start to go vertical. but the foundations are poured already. here's a better shot of the poured foundation for the central "stalk" that will support the ride a walk on to Skyscreamer (that NEVER happens), and the Hawks were out too. . so cool to be swinging above the hawks - followed by a walk on to Superman. Here's Skyscreamer from Superman's queue. surprising to see empty seats. oh. . how full was Superman's queue? here. PERFECT day to go, wish you were here with me. event tho dead, they were running 2 trains. So got this pic of the 2nd train in the loop, as was going down exit ramp from my ride. I had seen from the brake run that Joker had NO line as well. so headed there. got stuck in this spot, since the ride went down for ~10 minutes as i walked up. But I just waited for it. I mean, it's due to the restraints, and I was in the shade anyways ok. . cycling (3-4 times) after every downtime. . that's what makes the wait on this ride lengthy sometimes. Looking up from my spot in line, as it cycled for the 3rd time. . just before they sent us thru the funhouse. but still got a fantastic ride on it after a short wait. I bypassed Batman since wasn't in a "flipping" mood so soon after Joker, and instead was really shocked to see THIS was the queue for Wonder Woman. I mean. . I knew the park was pretty dead, but I've never (outside of ERT) seen the Wonder Woman queue like this. they weren't even batching riders, and as noted, got to ride it 4 times in a row, twice without having to get out of my seat, since there was no one in line when my train got back! ended up with Jambalaya/cornbread - which is counted as a "snack" on the meal plan! it was ok, but not nearly spicy enough. And I loved interacting with the folks working the food booths. They were kinda bored since it was so quiet, but we had a lot of fun chatting while they were making up my food. Even they commented they wished it was spicer - but I realize they have to "dull it down" for the masses. and to be honest? it did kinda give me the craps later last night. but it was good at the time the Mardi Gras street performers seemed to outnumber the guests in some parts of the Park. but all were in a great mood, and seemed to be having a good time interacting with everyone. i'm guessing the beautiful day helped. took a walk over to the Boardwalk for a ride on Pirates of the Deep Sea. they've done some quiet refurb on it, as all targets are now working, the cars all have the same "pirate-style" guns, and the cars have been repainted and look great! didn't want to ride any of the spinning rides on the boardwalk, so headed over for a ride on Bug's Whitewater Rapids flume. along the way, passed Mardi Gras Tweety & Sylvester out - with a handler who KNOWS how to frame a pic, so got this fantastic pic in front of Sangerfest Halle Bug's still has the sign in front noting "pardon our dust". . it's been over a year! but they actually are doing a ton of work on the queue. the figures are still mostly missing, but the scenes that are there, are looking fantastic. the empty sad throne, now is lit with LED diamonds, and a sparkling LED curtain behind. it really looks fantastic! they've varnished and painted all of the poles in the queue, and hung a lot of new, and touched up shields thruout. again, looks great Sam is back and sleeping. . and a bunch of new, fancily adorned, jousting equipment is next to him. Dragon is still sleeping. .and blowing smoke as he snores. interestingly, none of the TVs in the queue were on, or even noticeable. but it doesn't seem as if they are moving away from "the Singing Sword" cartoon theming. oh. .these are new - they have re-routed some of the inside rooms, taking the queue a slightly different direction. and have installed Medieval Stocks as part of the queue divider. This is great! another re-done room. . now opened up so you can see thru into the room next door, and hear the splashing water from the flume (since the load station is just back there). and what are those up along the top? air blowers! thank goodness, this queue was always very dank and humid. HUGE difference today, and I can imagine that will help with the summer days too. Logs are still 2 across seating. and you only really get soaked in the front seat (tho the spitting dragon will get the whole boat on that 1st turn after the mini-drop). speaking of Dragon.. they now have Sam on Dragon really well lit as you pull out of the station. and Sam crushed by the drawbridge on the other side of the station, as you return from your ride hard to see, but Joker swinging by thru the trees, as I sat and ate my meal credit before heading out. yep. . got the Apple Cinnamon Caramel Funnel Cake Sundae - which is considered a "snack". . but I used my meal credit for it. was still really sweet, but I was able to eat more of it than I had of the strawberry one that I tried in Sept (that was way too sweet). and I drank water with it. . gotta even out the calories. Wouldn't be a trip to Fiesta without a ride on the Carousel. . or on my (different colored eyes) Bowie-Bunny. it was a really long cycle (if I had to guess? he ran a double cycle), and the operator waited maybe 7 minutes before starting it to fill up as many seats as he could. trying not to think about Mom, and instead focus on having fun. oh.. they're painting Boomerang (tho it was running today). looks like a dark orange, and dark teal. you can see the new colors on the spikes, and the new teal on the Batwing element closest to us - tho they haven't painted these supports yet. headed out, but stopped for a moment to watch the stilt walkers dancing with kiddos to the brass band in the central plaza. they put on a good show, with lots of energy, despite the lacking crowd. on to some ride pics. whee!!! and hysterically, since was in the back seat? it cuts off my arms. . LOL I like the 2020 themed border options tho. from my 2nd ride on Iron Rattler, after my seatmate left, but they let me ride again since no one was in the queue. back seat on Wonder Woman, as usual. back row on Superman too .. no wait, walk on. without the frame, you catch Poltergeist in the background. never noticed that!

Imagine if Waco was actually famous for Dr. Pepper instead of a cult massacre. It'd be a tourist trap. it's both! tho the city doesn't focus much at all on David Koresh/the cult stuff, there IS a Dr. Pepper museum (as well as the Texas Rangers Museum is there)

it was the first (and only) Top Spin I've ever been on. made a point to ride it on the USA tour in 2018. wouldn't say I LOVED it, but I liked it a lot. sad it's being removed, as even just for the theming, it was great - and it looked amazing at night.

very interesting. so many new things opening in 2020!

these are some great pics, Chuck. and agreed, the color choice on the track is lovely! Def. on my radar to get back to this park (sooner rather than later), to ride the new hotness!

^ hehehehe

^ good to know. LOL. . so will avoid when/if I ever make it to the Orlando park.

fantastic update, that I loved reading thru. question on the Jimmy Fallon "ride". . .as someone who actively dislikes Fallon's "schtick". . . hated him on SNL, and NEVER watch the Tonight Show. . . . would I still enjoy the ride? or is it SO MUCH FALLON that it would annoy me beyond being able to enjoy?

thanks and yeah, starting off the day with Himeji Castle? it really was a fantastic day (even with no Godzilla today.. that would be in 2 days from then).. .

per CNN, they *are* listing it as a "temporary closure".. but you KNOW it's a pretty big deal if they are shutting down over Lunar New Year Holidays: https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-hnk-intl-01-24-20/h_1eddc64040cb983f0bf96e083ba4a50c (also shutting down: Forbidden City, the Pagoda Forest, the famous tombs, the most touristy part of the Great Wall, and even McDonalds announced they are suspending operations in 5 cities in China). this is some scary stuff, and I hope they are able to contain the outbreak and find a treatment solution for those infected

and as promised.. here is the video from Obachaaan - OBA FUNK OSAKA [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

Once we were back in Shin-Osaka, we exited the station and headed towards the park where the Rainbow Festa was being held (I can't recall if we had to hop on another train or not, but I think we left the Shin Osaka station to walk to the park). This statue was near the exit to the station, and I saw him on a couple of buildings or billboards around while we were walking. not 100% sure, but think maybe he's a mascot for one of the train lines? We didn't know what to expect from a Pride Festival in Japan - let alone a pride festival that was supposed to have happened the weekend of a Typhoon hitting. but the weather was still beautiful, and so on the assumption that day 2 of the weekend festival was going to be happening? we headed in the direction of the festivities. we passed this truck/float on the street, which told us that we were going the correct direction. But there didn't seem to be a lot of activity, so I snapped a picture of it, just in case this was the full extent of "Rainbow Festa!" not horrible tho. . I mean, I've seen way worse in local gay pride parades here in Texas when we turned the corner and crossed over into the park tho, we saw there actually was a really decent set up for this Pride Event. while it wasn't PACKED, it was an ok turnout (again, considering it was the day after a Typhoon hit). here was the posted schedule for the day. Based on the times, that "float" we had passed on the street had been part of the parade, that had wrapped up shortly before we had arrived. we were going to be able to catch some performers tho (I'm assuming the Green Japanese text translates to "Rapping Grannies" - who were awesome, and I also got to see some of "Queen"s performance) Here's a close up of the event posters, near the entrance to the area. it was a free event (no admission), but I was surprised to see how "sponsored" it was, with almost every booth sponsored by a company, that was handing out swag emblazoned with the company logos. or selling lots of merchandise that seemed to focus on the "i'm an ally" angle, rather than "I'm out and proud" there were a lot of families there too, with many little kids roaming around in the park. I was stoked to get to take a look around, I mean, it's a Gay Pride Festival in another Country! (and in this case, Japan. . . so of course I was thrilled). After a quick peek, most in the group split off to do other things - some had their eyes on shopping/visiting Dotonbori area, I think someone wanted to hit a museum, or simply just to go meet up with others. but William and I hung out at Rainbow Festa for ~40 minutes checking it out. here we are showing off our Rainbow Festa! wristbands that I got for a donation to one of the booths. are we SURE we're at a pride festival? yep. this was an interesting thing - in addition to the sponsored booths - in that many of the booths had "spokespeople" out front of the booths to pose with attendees for pictures. (and to hand out flyers advertising the business that sponsored that booth). Most all of the "spokespeople" I met today spoke perfect English (several told me they were in Japan doing Expat work), and were very excited to chat with me and find out all about what brought me to Japan. no i have no idea/recollection what he was promoting. . but yeah, he caught my eye the Drag in Japan (at least on display during the daytime) wasn't as polished as I've seen in the USA, but the girls were all super nice, and as noted, spoke English very well. oh.. like you thought I was gonna walk away from here without getting a pic with me in it? have you MET me? LOL (and there ya go.. he was promoting "Beauty Blenda". .and made sure to get the product flyer in the pic too) Coseup of the rubber Rainbow Festa! bracelet and here they are, on the main stage: the Rapping Grannies the "real" name of the group is: Obachaaan (a play on the word "Obachan" which means "older Women"), and it was formed in 2011. The group has 7 official members, and these ladies are in their 60s & 70's and have a pretty large following as an Osaka Girl Group. you can see from the crowd gathered how popular they are. . and yes, they were FABULOUS I found a video from them online, that I'll post after this update. A song they did in English to promote the G20 summit, called "Oba Funk Osaka" a closeup of the "guide" flyer that I got with my bracelet purchase not sure what they are promoting here. . .but as George Takei says: "OH Myyyyyyyy!!!!!" that's quite the banana they are riding. another shot of Obachaaan, as we headed towards the booths on the other side of the park the booths on this side were mainly booze related Such as this large Skyy Blue booth, which a lovely lady making sure her placard made it into my picture. they were hard selling this too, but I agreed to buy one if she'd put down her sign and pose with me. so she did. . then called over the other spokesmodel, to pose - WITH her sign. LOL. . . drag-queens. . shady, shady, regardless of what Country eh. .it was only $5 and it tasted just like Zima I guess if I can't buy a T-shirt (they were all in teeny-tiny sizes), I guess I can be happy with alcohol. see? look how happy? none of the food was calling to me - and was particularly American festival food (hot dogs, funnel cakes). . . but I picked up some more branded "fans" swag (Ikea), and ran into this lovely lady who insisted I needed a rainbow face tattoo. so I let her "unicorn" me. we wandered the rest of the booths - strangely there were financial planning, and Breast Cancer screening booths mixed in with those selling sex toys (really. . I guess Japan isn't as hung up about this kind of stuff being around kids as the USA is), and some unique clothing/jewellery. and then made our way back to the main stage as Obachaaan were finishing up their set hell of a crowd, right? the Emcee came out to do some crowd work between performers - and I think it's great there's a sign language interpreter on the stage. That's something that I love seeing, and wish more of the local Pride Festivals did that too. She was *everything* I would have hoped for when I thought of "Japanese Drag Queen" LOVED her, even tho she was a bit rough around the edges. and the crowd really started to come in around the stage. I thought Obachaaan had been a draw? This crowd was here to see "Queen" - whom I'm not 100% certain was a single performer, but I suspect a "group name" for several Drag Queens who are super popular in Osaka nightlife at club Explosion. My suspicions seem to be confirmed by this pic I snapped backstage (we were off to the side near the front of the stage). .that shows the next batch of performers getting ready to go onstage. yes, that queen who's blocked a bit IS dressed like a bunch of grapes. ooof.. she was a little rough, but the crowd ATE. IT. UP. tipping of Drag in Japan is not a thing, as I so *no one* with bills out to hand to her. but she got a ton of applause and lots of folks snapping pics. um. . ok. can't recall if this was a Breast Cancer booth, or a booth selling drag accessories (aka - that's a breastplate that can be worn under a bra for a performer). . but notice how many folks are sitting with the Met Life booth, doing financial planning/Insurance planning. while the Drag performances were going on, behind us under a tent? Obachaaan came out for an autograph session, and immediately drew a pretty substantial line. We'd done a lap of the Rainbow Festa!, so William and I decided to head back to the train station, to head towards Dotonbori and meet up with some folks. . maybe doing some browsing of stores along the way. i really wanted to see the famous oval ferris wheel in Dotonbori, so was determined to make it that way. . but wasn't super interested in riding it. Thought the design work on this building was interesting, so snapped a pic as we passed it. whoops, forgot i had a rainbow unicorn on my cheek. but oh well, it's Japan! I'm not taking it off and no one is even gonna look at me twice. William and I wandered up and down some of the long shopping "alleyways" in Osaka - all covered so protected from weather, and all decorated for Halloween. Even if we didn't buy anything, it was so interesting to window shop, as we passed tons of tiny restaurants, bars, pachinko parlors, and stores selling everything from sneakers, to cosmetics. . as well as Dentists, and Doctor's offices. it's sensory overload, but it was so incredible to be in the center of it. the smell coming from this place was amazing! but with only 7 seats inside, and all of them full with locals? It didnt' seem like a good idea to stop in and grab something, even tho there are 4 stools outside that were open. instead, we headed back to the train station - passing a McDonald's - which by now had started offering the Hello Kitty Happy Meal (that I was a little too early to get in Shinagawa at the start of the trip). So we popped in and I ordered a happy meal (scarfing down the burger, which was just so-so sadly), and saving the sealed toy to give to my friend who collects Hello Kitty stuff. while I was inhaling the snack, we got a text from Allison asking where were we, and were we coming to Dotonbori, as they were waiting for us by the ferris wheel. so we said we were on our way, and quickly made our way back to the station, and hopped on a train to Dotonbori. we exited the Dotonbori station, and using Williams app for directions, we found our way thru the huge masses of people in this shopping/entertainment area. There were just so many people moving in every direction, it probably took us a good 25 minutes just to get from the station to the Ferris wheel. . but before too long, we were standing at the base of this beauty, and had met up with Alex, Zach, Jon, and Allison. it was operating (which is fairly rare, since it sat not operating for a long time), but there was concern that if we took a ride on it, we might make it back to the station too late and miss our Shinkansen reserved tickets to get to Nagoya. I wasn't super interested in riding it (as noted above). . tho it would have been fun, if expensive - but several folks on this TPR trip *did* take a spin on it, and I hope they post pics from that ride. So I was ok, just taking pictures of it, and wandering around the Dotonbori area for a bit. it reminded me very much of the San Antonio Riverwalk area. . tho packed with more people and floating barges. there was also a Halloween festival going on today, that had tons of folks dressed up (many in anime costumes).. so the atmosphere down here really was electric toda. see? "Water Taxis" just like at the San Antonio Riverwalk I'm basically standing at the base of the oval Ferris Wheel building, just checking out the sights on the waterfront area of Dotonbori. . . there is a huge shopping/eating/entertainment section that all covered streets too, but the waterway seems to be the central artery of the area. before wandering off? a couple more pics of the Oval Ferris Wheel as noted, there was a festival going on. . so in this pic, in addition to some costumed folks, you can also make out a floating stage - where a brass band is getting ready to perform on the Canal. the most touristy "Japanese" sign I could find on this trip, happened to be here at this Touristy Dotonbori area. this sign has got it all: blue wave, temple/castle, tiger, geisha, cherry blossoms! heh. I snapped a pic of this without even realizing this is a huge tourist attraction! after I got back and saw others talking about it, I pulled up Dotonbori on Wikipedia, and it turns out that I snapped pics of several "Landmark" attractions in my short time wandering this area. this is the "Glico Man", take from just under the Ebisubashi bridge here's an angle looking back down the canal, where you can see the Ebisubashi bridge (and Glico man on the right) on the walkway along the canal - passing under the bridge as we were headed back along the Canal to get more central - so we could head to the train station for our Shinkansen to Nagoya. Hi William! "Hotel Rose Lips" hmmmmmm a Choir performing on another floating stage, as we headed up the stairs to go to the trains. they were singing American Standards, in English (if I'm recalling correctly) But first, we were going to pass back thru the shopping/dining area, and as we weren't rushing to meet up with others on this return trip back to the train station (as we had been from the train station to get to the Ferris wheel), I was able to take pics as we walked back. This is a side angle of the "NamBa HIPS" building, as we passed by it. it's got a super unique architecture with a keyhole cut-out in the center of the building, that features a "rock sculpture" and apparently used to feature a free fall drop tower thru the center. I say apparently, as I don't see the top of the drop tower peeking out, and a check of the website for the building, doesn't show that as an "amusement option". . so it wouldn't surprise me if this thrill ride had been removed, or is simply not operating - since the nearby oval Ferris Wheel didn't operate for a long time. the Giant Mechanical "Kani Dōraku Crab" on the billboard for the Kani Doraku restaurant. built in 1960, this is another landmark (per Wiki) that I snapped a pic of without realizing cool statue advertising Japan 2025 Expo (and cool Alex near said cool sign) closer pic of Kani Dōraku Crab. . I was trying to capture it moving, since the legs and eyestalks all moved. the mascot was even out front snapping pics with tourists and kids. we were walking fast, so didn't stop to get a pic with him, just of him. down one of the streets crammed with restaurants and nightlife establishments. if I ever get back, this area at night is a must do. I'll bet it looks incredible! one doorway, can bring you to two separate worlds! top level is Cat Cafe level below is Dog Cafe The encourage pictures on the sign. I can see it with Dogs, but who needs pictures of a Cat glaring at you while you eat? I have NO idea what this is but it was big, and pulsed, and moved up and down. something with bean paste? the restaurant had quite the line, so it must have been good. really loved a lot of the signage around here. and yet another "landmark" attraction I happened to pass and snap a pic of: the dragon sculpture on top of Kinryu Ramen there are apparently 3 of these restaurants in the Dotonbori area - two on the canal, and one in the shopping area. . so we just happened to go the way that would bring us past the one in the shopping area. it was really huge, and impressive in person. one more pic as we walked along another covered street towards the Train Station. a shot of the station across the street, as we waited to cross. i think it was here where we saw the large group of motorcycle riders revving their engines, and traveling together as a pack. It wasn't a gang, just a bunch of enthusiasts out, showing off their bikes. we came in on the wrong side of the station tho, and so we walked around the outside to get to the area we needed to be in. I didn't mind, as it gave me an opportunity to see a few more very interesting buildings. Red/White/Black. . . the signage here is just my cuppa. Really like it. no idea what this building is (maybe a hotel?). . but really like the mix of classic Japan, and modern building. so unique. before too long, we were back at Shin-Osaka station, changed to our Shinkansen - which we ended up taking a non-reserved car on a Shinkansen that left 30 minutes earlier, as we had walked so fast, we made really good time back to the station. here's what Japan looks like when speeding to Nagoya from Osaka on a Shinkansen in the evening and less than an hour later (if you trust the clock, I think it says 6:30), as we exited the Nagoya Station and crossed the street to our hotel. Here we are standing waiting for the light to change, with a look at our Hotel from the Train Station exit: Meitetsu New Grand Hotel. Elissa & Robb had arrived earlier today, and had checked us all in, so all we had to do was pick up our bags in the lobby (they had arrived via luggage transfer from USJ Port Hotel), and check in at the front desk to get our room keys. this hotel had much smaller rooms than the prior hotels had, but these were single rooms. not capsule hotel, but rather just a small room with a bed, a dresser, and a bathroom. It was a fairly small room - once I laid my suitcase down at the end of the bed, I no longer had space between the bed and the window - but for a solo room? it was perfect. We were going to be here for two nights I somehow never managed to take a picture of the room! I think maybe i just wasn't able to get an angle of the room? or I just forgot? weird, I know. . it's the only hotel I didn't take a picture of the room in. . maybe someone else got a pic? but it was clean, and the bed was not uncomfortable, and I slept well here. and I DID get a picture of the full moon from my room window. . so here's the view I had, overlooking the Electronic's store the Hotel is attached to. it was still fairly early, and some of us were getting hungry, so after relaxing for a short while, we met up in the lobby and headed out to find a place for dinner. this "twisted" building was so interesting, and it looked impressive as hell at night. Not sure that comes across in the picture, but it really is a "wow" sight to see. we headed into the underground mall attached to the Train station, intending to eat at a sushi place that Zach had been recommended. It was a fairly small restaurant with the sushi coming across the bar on a conveyer belt - so it sounded fun. but there were 6 of us, and only so many stools avail. at the bar, so we were going to have to wait (which was fine). . we got on the list and hung out, resting from all the walking we had done today. and then it was noticed that the sushi coming down the conveyor belt was not covered - no protection from sneezing, coughing, etc, at all. That made some uncomfortable, so upon a group vote, we decided to go elsewhere. we took ourselves off the list and headed out on foot to see what we could find. LOTS of folks on street corners, handing out coupons to entice customers into restaurants that are located on higher floors within office buildings. One caught everyone's eye, and was almost directly across the street from our hotel anyways (location!), so we went up to check it out, and found a very traditional restaurant - shoes off, sit at low table near floor, with eating areas sectioned off with rice paper screens (tho many of the screened in rooms had TVs and we could hear groups cheering on the rugby games). we were in, and they seated us pretty quickly. I'm an adventurous eater, and was in Japan, so was willing to try things. so when Jon spotted "Horse Sashimi" on the menu? I was all in. Both he and I ordered it to try (and I think a few folks tried a bite). it tasted a little bit game-y.. kind of like Vennison, but it was very good. I don't know that I'd ever order it again, but I didn't leave any on my plate. In addition to the horse sashimi, we also ordered several plates of Nigiri, and Gyoza for the table to share. all were very good here is one of the Nigiri plates. Everything was SO good. and we had a wonderful time at this restaurant even with a couple of hiccups during the meal: no names but this meal included: - Someone leaning on the rice paper wall while attempting to sit down at the low table, and crashing right thru into the dining area next door - *freaking* out the diners there, who must have thought Godzilla was attacking. Everyone had a good laugh about it, even if the person from our side was a little horrified it had happened. -- Someone on the way out deciding they needed to go to the bathroom (after putting shoes back on) and not realizing - until chased by hostess - that they needed to take shoes off if they needed to go back that way (lots of apologies, and all was good after) -- SOMEONE forgetting to put up the coupon (the reason we were aware of the restaurant in the first place, from the guy on the corner), when we paid. . so we never got the discount that the flyer offered us. But the meal was so good, we didn't even consider asking about it, after we had paid. full, fat, and happy, we popped into the 7-11 next door to get snacks for tomorrow's train ride / late night deserts, and then we all headed back across the street to our hotel. Where I called home took a shower, and crashed hard. I had a fantastic day today, but tomorrow was gonna be a great one (and a LONG one) too. . we were headed in the morning to Nagashima Spaland. . . and to get a ride on Hakugei, the newest RMC in the world!

they tend to keep most everything operating year round, as they tend to do maintenance on stuff during the week when park is open weekends only. that said, they did just go thru some lengthy downtime/refurbs on Waverunner (Scrambler), Fireball (Larson Loop), Hustler (teacups themed to poolballs), Bug's Rapids (flume), Gully Washer (whitewater rafts) and Superman Krypton Coaster. so I'd be very surprised if any of those are down. I'd be shocked if anything was "down" for any extended period if you visit in Jan/Feb. but do keep in mind the wind policy at Fiesta is very strict, so some rides will go down (and then back up maybe) during the day. Typically, rides affected by wind: Poltergeist, Iron Rattler, Superman Krypton Coaster, Goliath (Batman clone) and Batman (S&S Freespin) for coasters. Skyscreamer, and Scream (Drop Tower) for flats. you'll also see Wonder Woman & Joker go up and down several times thruout the day. They typically get them back up quickly tho. have fun. . I'll likely be there this weekend for a visit

the mac & cheese place over near Bad Apple (in Candy Apple Grove) was really good last time I was there (in 2018). but I'd trust any suggestion from Chuck

I'm seeing reports (from KD Fan sites) that Kings Dominion is in process of removing "the Crypt" prior to the start of the 2020 season. I'm kind of shocked that the removal wasn't pre-announced, or that anything wasn't announced for that space - as with Volcano closed, that's a nice corner of the park that now only have Avalanche there, right? hmmm. . wonder if a new flat is going in there, or if they need the space for whatever is going in to replace Volcano?

really great report. I think y'all have had the *best* opinion of the place since I've seen people going. now I know y'all bring the fun with you, but this really makes me want to check the place out. if our Manhattan trip happens in 2020, we'll make a stop here too.

^ one thing to keep in mind: I'm with someone who 1) can't ride most of the big coasters/rides & 2) isn't super mobile, even tho he'll have his cane. 2 1/2 (if we're staying on property) gives enough time to slowly make our way around the park, and get plenty of rerides on things I want to ride. On at least 1 day, fast lane likely would happen too. he's a big NASCAR fan, hence staying by Charlotte for at least a couple of days. Thought there was more "cultural" stuff there. but if not, can possibly do something like fly into Charlotte, and do NASCAR museum, then head to Carowinds Hotel (check in spend some time in park at night), then full day at Carowinds, and then the next morning after checking out, and then driving to Dollywood for a 2 day stay there. Cabin woudln't happen. . much more likely to stay onsite at the DreamMore hotel for 3 days. thanks for the input (you too Coasternut). . it' s on the "plan" as an option depending on what happens with the schedule for the year.