chipcoaster

As promised, here is my trip report from the recent trip to Fujikyu I took in Japan. I did a lot of research before I went on both this site and tripadvisor.com, and the general consensus was that the park in the summertime would probably be overwhelmingly crowded. The general advice I discovered was to stay at the on-site hotel (Fujikyu Highland), as they offer early admission to the park. I didn't do this because the cost was too expensive, but I discovered another hotel down the street called West Inn Fuji-Yoshida. This street (along with the hotel exterior) looked peculiarly American to me. I walked down the street to talk to the manager at the Highland Hotel to ask him if I could buy a ticket from them, and join them for the early admission the next day, even though I wasn't staying at the hotel (maybe I shouldn't have told him that part). He said no, so I bought a ticket from my own hotel instead. Upon walking around the park that evening, it seemed that there were not "droves" of people leaving as the park was closing. It seemed to me like an unbelievably light day. Talking with some people, they had told me that the waits were only on average about 20 minutes. However, I wasn't going to take any chances the next day (Friday), so I woke up early, and went to the Highland Hotel to join the rest of the early-bird admissioners (I figured it was worth a shot to try to get in early anyway). I joined the lineup, and as I passed through, I saw the same manager who had denied me a ticket the night before. I just waved at him and passed on through anyway (albeit with a reluctant expression on his face). I was worried that I wasn't going to be let into the park because my ticket was different from the hotel-guests' tickets. And as I walked up to the entrance booth, I thought the attendant was saying "no". But it turns out that she was pointing to the ticket booth, where I needed to exchange my voucher for a real ticket before entering. Happily, the ticket booth was already open, and I was able to exchange my voucher and successfully enter the park early! From all the research I had previously done, I heard that the first thing you need to do is to run to the priority-ticket kiosk and buy up your priority passes for the day, as a way to avoid the so-rumored abominable queues. Therefore, I bought about 8 tickets (there was a limit of 9). Looking at the queue for Fujiyama "King of Coasters", as the park opened, it seemed as if the queues would indeed be long for the day. However, I quickly discovered that the coasters had simply not yet begun operation, and that the park would be practically empty this day! I guess you can say that I don't regret buying the priority passes - I tried to get a refund, but of course there are no refunds. And the priority booth stayed open for the duration of the day. But even though the queues seemed very light, the operations of all the attractions were quite slow (particularly Eejanaika, the 4-D coaster). It seems that the Japanese are highly concerned about safety, and therefore quite thorough with their pre-check operations. You have to put EVERYTHING into a locker (which I can understand). But they also check you to make sure you have taken all your loose articles off (at one point, I had to proove it by turning my pockets inside-out). In addition, they check each restraint one-by-one, and even ask you to check it yourself before moving on to the next person. You also don't have a choice to where to sit - they assign you, and if you're sitting alone, you have to sit on the inside seat. For Eejanaika (as well as Tondemina, the "Big Pizza"), they even require you to take your shoes off! Therefore, lines that seemed would be 5-minute waits actually turned out to be 20-minute waits. Fujiyama: King of Coasters! View from outside the park the night before. What a great entrance plaza! "Takabisha" is not only the most unique coaster I've ever ridden, but also very beautiful from a distance "Eejanaika" is a very unique ride! The queues all looked very short. It must be the ride operations! "Dodonpa" was up and running when I was there! From what I understand, it had been running for only one week. Re-opening celebration The queue for "Eejanaika" looked like a Ghost-town. I was almost upset that I bought priority passes for this. Yet the ride ops were still taking their grand-old time! Fujiyama: King of Coasters graveyard! Fuji-Q is a beautiful park in a beautiful setting Takabisha's 90 degree lift and 120 degree drop! Takabisha's got some great curves! Dodonpa's loading station was quite energizing with the LCD screen and music...but I almost felt bad for the op who has to listen to it on a repetitive loop all day long! The car slowly leaves the station and turns before taking off Very unique combination of pizza and soft-pretzel (yet no mustard available) Has anyone been in this? I heard there are many different possible directions to go, just like an actual maze! This sounds like a cool game - anyone tried it? Dodonpa really establishes the main landscape for the park - it's seen just about everywhere! train coming out of the loop A close-up of the new car design. Dodonpa from a distance - takeoff can be heard just about everywhere! Beautiful Mt. Fuji View of the park from top-floor of the Highland Hotel This looks just like an American street! There's even a Bob's Big Boy! View from my hotel nearby

Just got back from my first time ever at Fujikyu, and was lucky enoυgh to check out Dodonpa a week after it reopened! Maybe they fixed somethlng with the launch - several people in this forum were saying it felt like "being kicked in the chest". I don't think it feels like that at all! If anything, I get pulled back into my seat, but it was a very intense, yet comfortable feeling for me. From what I've read, it sounds like they've change the launch announcement. Yoυ hear the theme music progressively get louder, Yoυ just hear 3,2,1, then yoυ take off. The launch was my favorite part. Then the loop! It is very large, and very comfortable. The return back is a bit rough, but it seems they've come a long way since the renovation. Upon looking at the previous photos of the cars, it seems they have taken out the lap restraints. I only remember OTSR's. I liked the LCD screen and musical intro. Of course, I didn't wait in line either, so maybe that's why the repetition didn't bother me so much. I liked it, but felt it was very short. The launch is obviously the exciting part of the ride. To be honest, I was much more impressed with the coaster right beside Dodonpa. Maybe it's called Eejanika? The initial corkscrew (is that what it's called?) and acceleration in the dark really caught me off guard at the beginning. What a unique ride! Anyway, photo trip report of both Nagashima Spaland and Fujikyu to come soon.

AngryDarrenMullins: Do you live in Nanchang? I have already been to this park twice (and to the mall several times). It is a very well done park, and I'm excited to finally have an amusement park right down the street from me! Did you happen to see me there on that day? I was also there on June 4. Were you the guy who was coming out of the garage where they store the extra cars in "Coaster in the Clouds" ? I might have seen you (I was queuing at that time). I would agree with you that the GCI coaster is great. If you're still in Nanchang, maybe we can group up and go together sometime! Let me know your we-chat. I finally got to ride the GCI woodie after having a lot of trouble. The first time I went there during opening weekend (with almost no queue), the operators wouldn't let me ride it (even after bringing out the GCI guys to try to convince them it was safe for me to ride). They set the height limit at 188cm (of which I am 190). The second time I went I followed the advice of one of the GCI guys and ducked down to get measured. It worked at the beginning, but right when I was about to get on (after waiting 45 minutes), I stumbled upon the same guy as before, and he had a measuring tape in his hands! He told me not to duck down, and he was pretty fierce about it. Anyway, I was able to "fight" my way on, and it was well worth it...I would agree this is one of the greatest coasters in China (and arguably all over the world)...no brakes whatsoever, and through the woods! I can't begin to tell you how paranoid the ride-op was: he told me to make sure to keep my hands on the bar at all times during the ride. The one thing that really annoys me about Chinese amusement parks is all the height and weight limits. For the free-drop ride, they insisted on putting me on a scale, and wouldn't allow me to ride. It appears to be the exact same tower-drop ride as in multiple parks in America (and besides, there was no queue, and only a few people riding anyway...why would it matter?) The one ride where I was not pestered about my height or weight was the red Intamin coaster (Coaster Through the clouds). I lost some change on the way up, so it really is a steep lift-hill. There is definitely a lot of airtime on this coaster. My wait time was just about 20 minutes, and was able to "sneak" in the last ride just before closing. The other thing that irritates me about amusement parks in China is the fact that they close all the rides down early, even though they keep the park open until 8:00 (they do this at Happy Valley too). The coasters had all stopped operating by 6:30, for example, and some rides even close earlier. So unlike me...who is always a casual "afternoon arriver", if you plan to come to this park, plan to come here early so you can have a chance to ride everything. Overall, I would agree that the park is done really well. My last question: a Chinese guy had told me that Wanda was built on the same grounds as Bao Hu Lu Amusement Park, which had closed several years before. It makes sense to me, as the lake inside the park looked really familiar. But nothing else looked the same. So was it really built on the same grounds?

While I stayed in Beijing this Summer, I decided to hit up "Baojia Amusement Park", which is also known as Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park. It's quite convenient, because it's located directly on the subway line! I had heard that this park used to be the "place to be" in the 90's, until Happy Valley opened in 2006. I like these kinds of parks where you can see visible "wear and tear". In fact, there were some places that actually seemed abandoned, and where you could roam freely. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of this aspect was that many of the rides that I wanted to check out were closed, and seemed as they had been closed for a long time. My posting is almost two months old - I went back in August, but I'm sure things are not that much different. Sorry for the delay! This is what is looks like after approaching the park from the main street. The subway is off to the left and up the street, not too far away. Looking from this perspective, it seems quite empty and worn down! After the last picture, and turning around, this is the view of the main entrance. Now the park looks more active, with many vendors! View of the entrance from above Look at that old shuttle loop coaster in the background! (I believe that's what it is). It seemed as if had been closed for many years. The landscape of the park in this scene is very nice and welcoming. The water rapids ride looked pretty awesome, because of its scenery. A lot of it was surrounded by and intertwined with rocky landscapes. I didn't feel like getting wet that day! A closer look at the shuttle loop coaster. This was the entrance to a go-kart track that looks as if it has been abandoned for many years! It was not closed off, so it was easy to investigate further Along the old go-kart track... This design looks very similar to Spaceship Earth at Epcot Center! (maybe they copied it?) Supposedly inside was a "Soarin' Over California" style attraction, which was unfortunately closed. I don't remember which place they were actually "Soarin" over Have you ever seen a flat ride like this one? It was closed, so I had no idea what it actually did. But all the chairs were sitting in place, so it didn't seem like it did very much: maybe it just rotates around in circles? How fun could that be? Landscape overview of the park! The themeing is actually quite good throughout the park. Maybe this is a ticket booth? The approach to the "Sleeping Beauty Castle". Surprisingly enough, I don't think this was the entrance and "opening promenade" at the park. Most all of the shops were eerily shut down, and seemed as if the park was almost abandoned! It was truly a ghost town! The Chinese like to copy things...it was interesting seeing the castle in this "low tier" kind of park. When you walk to the other side of the castle, you find that it's some kind of 4D attraction inside. When rides are closed down, do they always usually keep them upside-down like this? Some of the themeing in the park. I think many years ago, the park got in trouble for being too much like Disneyland, so they had to change some things. Are these characters made up, or based on some storybook or children's cartoon? The facades of some of the restaurants looked pretty awesome! Unfortunately, upon closer look, and actually going inside, the food really, really sucked! So I didn't buy anything. It's unfortunate that at most amusement parks in China (if not all), the food is exceptionally sub-par. I could have used a good burger at that moment. The detail is so intricate on the outside...yet the food is so plain and below standard on the inside. Of course the park has seen better days...maybe back in the park's "good old days" the food was much better? Aaaaargh! This walk-through ghost-house looked pretty cool. Unfortunately, I don't do ghost houses, because I'm a wimp! Happy tree! Or...woodchuck? This might be a ticket booth...I can't quite remember! I didn't ride the coaster, because I believe it's one of those standard Vekoma Flyer's (or a copy)...and I believe it might have been closed anyway. A train pokes through the landscape, which is quite fascinating (so you can get a closer look). The overgrown landscape gives the coaster an "abandoned" feel, doesn't it? I don't know...maybe it hasn't operated in a long time! another heavily themed and entertaining ticket booth! I have never seen this before! There was some kind of flat ride here before...maybe bumper cars or something. But they have taken out the ride, and kept the covering! The sign is worn down, but still gives the park a "happy" touch The themeing in this section of the park reminded me a lot of Islands of Adventure! Some of the colorful details that can be seen in this section. Yes, the paint is worn and has seen better days...but that's a big part of what makes this park fascinating! View of this area from the back...I was able to capture the ferris wheel and coaster together The entrance to one of the children's attractions. One of the water rides. In my opinion, the "overgrown" and "unmaintained" aspect gives the park a sense of character. This must be a "shoot-em-up" darkride. It looks like this one might have actually been open! This appears to be a hanging "bat-style" coaster. It was closed ...And it appears to have been closed for a very long time. I was able to walk up into the queue and check it out for myself! Look at all the dust on those chairs! Maybe this thing hasn't been used in years!!! Upon further investigation, this appears to have once been an indoor "drop ride". I think this would have been a very cool concept. Unfortunately, once again, it seems as if it has been closed for a long time. This looked like a cool water flume ride with many drops and tunnels! Even though the park has seen much better days, I can say that they did a great job on the themeing! Is that Evil Shrek? Wow, what a cool theme for a top-spin ride! Unfortunately, it was closed too

Recently I stayed in Beijing for 6 weeks, and was fishing for things to do. I discovered this park located along the subway line. Although the park has seen better days, it was quite an interesting experience, and worthwhile to check out. I arrived in the late afternoon around 4:30pm. They told me that the gates were closing at 7pm, and the cost was 100RMB. I figured since I had come this far on the subway line, that I might as well do it! The main disappointment for me was that even though the park was open until 7:00, all the attractions, including any restaurants, were closing at 5:30pm. Therefore, the place seemed like a Ghost Town [which I thought was kind of cool]. There are very few rides in the park, and it seems that all of the rides have been filtered into one area: the rest of the park consists mainly of miniature replicas of places from around the world. Either way, it was a cool experience for me, and made for an interesting day! The entrance to the park. It looks a lot like the castle at Disneyland! It's the "Community Pubic Park"! What exactly do you do in a "Pubic Park"? European style buildings behind the Community Pubic Park The log flume! It seemed as if it hadn't been operating in many years! Although, the man assured me that I could ride it if I wanted to [it was before 5:30] I was able to walk down the platform to get a closer look... There is an airplane in the park! It appears to be an old Russian passenger plane. If you pay 10 RMB [a little more than a dollar], you can go inside to have a closer look. Had this snack bar been open today? Either way, all the food in the park looked highly unappetizing. It seems that most amusement parks in China don't seem to know how to make food a part of the enjoyable experience. This dragon needs a new coat of paint! Actually, seeing some of the "rough edges" the park has made it more interesting for me. It was a lot like visiting a roadside attraction in America. "I'm very old, and you can see my wear and tear!" Would you let your child play on this jungle gym? Nobody was telling you to stay away! It's very cute This is in the Fairy-tale section of the park. Some of the theming is actually quite intricate! This is a water-ride, which I believe you can ride. Although, there were no people around when I was there. This park is really showing signs of age. And hasn't been maintained very much. But that's one of the things that makes the park more interesting, in my opinion If you peek inside [which I always do], there is a small ride inside! This attraction actually works: you can spin it around. But it looks like nobody has used it in years! A slide that looks like a shoe! Parts of this park bear resemblance to things you can see at other parks, such as Happy Valley, on the other side of the city Inside the cockpit of the airplane! What year is this plane from? And what would these lights actually do? This is a Russian passenger plane, and has an interesting configuration: the seats are turned around to face each other, with a big table in the middle. This wouldn't happen this day in age! "The adult children are buying tickets". Oh, I've been looking for them and didn't know where they were! Thanks for telling me where I can find the adult children. It was after 5:30, so I couldn't ride this attraction. But it sounds quite interesting! Does anybody have any experience going through the Time Tunnel, or a similar attraction? What's it like inside? Arctic snow world? I sense that this attraction has something to do with cold weather. The attraction was closed, but once again, sounded interesting. Maybe it's one of those attractions which contains ice? Any experiences? Ho ho ho! Is this the Grinch? This is the log flume ride! And was supposedly operating, even though the water was very dirty. I must say I was really impressed with the themeing of this log flume. Once again, it looked as if this coaster hadn't been operated in many years. But I assure you I rode it! I asked the operator to make sure it was safe before I hopped in the front seat: he told me it was. The scariest part of this ride was the climb to the top! It was very rickety! The coaster definitely goes through some nice themeing, and its placement is very good. But unfortunately, the ride is very tame, and a little short. Children can probably enjoy it. It's Manhattan! The Golden Gate Bridge! Wow: the Statue of Liberty is a lot smaller in real life than I pictured it being The log flume goes through a tunnel in the mountain! You can see the pedal coaster above [i think that's what it is] The scenery and placement of the coaster in the themeing is actually quite nice. Is this supposed to be the Grand Canyon? Stonehenge! The Eiffel Tower! This park is actually well-known for being a place to take wedding photos. You can compare the scale of the building by looking at the man. I believe this is a castle in Germany. When shot close up, it's hard to tell the difference. Do you think you can go inside? Italian style fountains with dirty water! Just like most fountains in China, this one probably hasn't been operating in years. Park entrance. Very beautiful. The Kremlin in Russia. It's small, but quite well done. Taj Mahal! They have their own version of the Great Wall! It doesn't seem necessary, since you can go see the real thing nearby! Venice? In fact this area looked closed down, and you I don't think you can ride the gondola in real life. But I think before 5:30 you can pay the money to have your picture taken near the bridge. St. Peter's Basilica!

Recently I took a trip to Southeast Asia, and for the last day of my trip was able to visit Suoi Tien Park in Ho Chi Minh City! What a treat...though the park is not coaster-heavy, it's still quite intriguing for the theme-park enthusiast. It has been hailed as one of the most bizarre theme parks in the world, as it is heavily themed to Buddhism. Almost everything you see in the park reflects Buddhism...and many of the attractions are not "rides" per se...but buddhist temples. Even so...I was thoroughly impressed, as the theming was quite intricate...even the ticket booths were heavily themed. I had a special treat this day, as since it was a weekday, it seemed as if I had the entire park to myself. So...I thought I would share my experience with you guys. Let me know what you think! Park entrance - as you see here, it doesn't appear to be quite ADA accessible. The Golden Palace - the admission to the park itself is very cheap. And then after that, you pay for the individual attractions. Some are very cheap, as this one...others such as the waterpark and ice castle are much higher. The landscaping in the park is amazing! Just think the buddhist version of Busch Gardens! This dragon fountain was quite large, and its tail continued throughout this section of the park, meandering in and out of the pavement! Big dragon claw Very big buddha indeed! Here...let me give you a hand. The other side of the big buddha statue Can anybody read Vietnamese? This is one of those caves that you can go into. There are many things inside the park that you can go inside! Inside is a pretty awesome temple with neon christmas-style lights Colorful dragons! Since I would be returning to China the next day, and it was still February, I used this as an opportunity to prepare myself! They didn't have my size boots, so they just let me walk in with my own shoes. This bird...or whatever it is...is actually a whole lot bigger than it looks in the picture. It covers the entire top of the structure, and branches out very far beyond. I didn't understand the Vietnamese voice was that was being repeated over and over again...but I'm sure it had to annoy the workers. Same ride as in previous picture...this ride is a lot more scary than it looks! Especially when you ride by yourself. It's pitch dark, and there are some things that come eerily too close within your comfort zone. Nine-Headed Serpent! The tree behind this buddha was amazing...once again you could go inside it. It reminded me a lot of the Swiss Family Robinson from Disney World. This is a ticket booth! This is a wild temple! Once again, although the park has some rides, this is more of a religious theme park...just think "Holy Land Experience." Therefore, the main attractions in the park appear to be the temples, and not the rides themselves. Still a freaking cool place though. Part of what you see inside the temple...there are many of these inside, and on multiple levels Sphinxes? Although this attraction looks very inviting from the outside, it's actually a ghost-house of sorts. I would not go in alone, but I peeked in from the side. It looked...really really creepy. Black lights and spinning dead bodies moving up and down. I think it was the story of Buddhist hell. The park had several walk-through attractions. Side view of the "unicorn palace" ghost-house Paintball! Look how detailed the entrance is! Do you see the elephant tusks? A very interesting part of the design here. Somehow or another, elephants must play a large role in buddhism. Tigers and elephants together! More intricate landscaping...do you see the tiger/elephants aligning the sides? This is typically a fountain, but it was dry this day. Maybe it only works when the park is crowded. Wild... Elephant tusks galore This is the "rides pavilion". Contrary to what the picture might show, every one of these rides IS indeed open...and every ride had an operator, as well as ticket taker. They must have been seriously bored this day. Am I the only one here? There's your coaster! No coaster credit for me this day...I was running out of time, as the last bus was leaving at 4pm. Another ticket booth! Yes...it's open Let's get our feet soaked! Entrance to another scary walk-through [which I didn't go in]. Does anybody else have any reports on it? Many many buddhas in this park! Park map! I hope you enjoyed these photos! I would say this was probably the best part of my trip...

It has been awhile since I have been on it, and granted I only rode it once...I liked it, and thought it was pretty thrilling. But yes...I do recall it running a little rough, and shaking me around. I am not so sure that the chinese maintain coasters as well as they do in the US.

Last September I took a trip to Shanghai and was able to visit Happy Valley Amusement Park. Here are some pictures of my experience! The splash ride is well themed! The western portion of the park has some elaborate theming This shoot-em-up style motion theater would be a great addition for Ghost Town in the Sky This mine train coaster has some of the best theming I've ever seen She has some beautiful curves! The kid's section of the park is all indoors under a big pavillion. Maybe it is open in the Winter? This kid's-style monorail begins inside the pavilion, meanders around outside, then goes back inside Once again the theming is pretty intricate and well-detailed This is one of the funnest coasters I've ever been on! It provides a whole lot of airtime. Evidently just like the ones at the Busch Gardens parks. But still fun! Park entrance - the park looks empty, but the queues for the more popular attractions were in full-swing! I finally got to ride this after it was closed the first time I came to this park. Great fun! Hip hop? Although not pictured here, the large pendulum ride continues to be my all-time favorite [just like the one at King's Island, though over the water]. There is also a ride just like "Soarin' Over California", although the line was quite long so I did not ride it that day.

yes, I can see a "Zip-lines course" happening. Maybe there could be the addition of some ropes-course obstacles in between as well. I've seen this in China, and it appeared to work pretty well!

Donkeyman18 or anyone else - where can you find the pictures of these unique slides? I have tried google, bing and panoramio among other places, and just came up on a couple really small shots. The slides to look really interesting and well themed - some themed to temples. Thanks for the input!

Does anyone know when this park is scheduled to open? I had heard that it will be "officially" opening in May. But how about a soft opening? I have a break coming up at the end of March. If there is a rumor of a soft opening, maybe I will go to Wuhan to check it out!

Here are some photos of the ride from Happy Valley in Shanghai. MOD EDIT: I edited your orignal post to include the second photo. You can do this too by using the "edit" button, so there's no need to double post. cfc

No way could that happen! Too steep and too long! But maybe part of the way.

When is this coaster supposed to be ready? If it is ready by April, I will take a trip down there to check it out! Then report on it to everybody.

If I took a trip to Hong Kong [i'm living in China now] here at the end of April, do you think it's possible to get a good view of the construction site?

Yeah, I am talking about Desperados! That was a cool little ride, and, yes, would be a perfect fit for Ghost Town. It seems to be small enough to easily fit somewhere within the confines of the park as well. I think the biggest challenge for this park is the space. There is probably not so much more they can do within the space they have allotted, unless, of course, they want to dig out and flatten more land. Once again, I think one of the things that could really make this park stand out on its own is to utilize the slope where the Cliffhanger is, if it can.

What exactly is topper track? How will this change the overall general "feel" of the ride? When sitting in the back seat of this coaster, I recall it to be a pretty wild, "out of your seat" style ride. Is it still going to be this way?

Maybe this has already been stated somewhere else...but is this ride the first of its kind? Also, someone had mentioned that the coaster has 5 trains. How many cars will be running on each train? Will all 5 be able to run at the same time? I have never heard of a coaster that has the capability of doing this.

If they can get the incline to open, this would be a pretty start for Ghost Town...I recall that to be the biggest problem. However, the elements that make theme parks successful this day in age [particularly smaller parks] are much different from the elements that made parks successful back in the 70's. [1] A virtual shoot-em-up style dark ride would be good. I also saw a 4D shoot-em-up at Happy Valley in Shanghai that was pretty wild, where each person had his own horse that moved. But the movable types I think are more interesting for everyone. [2] More flat rides wherever they can be fit in! The idea that there are still only a "few" things to do up there is still not so appealing. You need to give people a reason to stay, and to continue to come back again and again. [3] There once was a walk-through ghost-house there. I recently went to a theme park that had 3 walk-throughs. They are cheap to build and fun. [3] I think the best way to make this park unique and appealing to guests even outside of Maggie Valley would be to utilize the slope to the best of their ability. This could make way for a very intriguing and 1-of-a-kind waterpark. Even one or two slides to start might be appealing to outside guests! A western-themed children's splash pool would be pretty wild. [4] Alpine slide? [5] How about some good ol' North Carolina style BBQ? I had also heard that a museum was in the works about the history of Maggie Valley and the Appalachian Mountains. This could also be something unique and special.