Gutterflower

Hey you made the news in China http://news.xinmin.cn/shehui/2012/09/21/16426019.html Rough (see: very bad) translation below (thanks to google)

oh good god... OSTR's on this thing. If you look really closely at this shot it looks like they might be using a different track system to Maurer on the pull outs. Don't be scared... be happy...

someone over at CF mentioned that if the inversion roll thing was true it could be done like this Rolling the inner cylinder around with a motor.

By sheer coinicdence I posted pictures of that skyloop yesterday at the factory. Although I didn't know which park it was going to. Now I do, many many thanks. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35614&start=1790 Be afraid... be very afraid.

Didn't really know where to post this. But here will do... for all those scared of Chinese Knock-Offs this should freak you out SBL have built one of these at their factory. No news on where it's going yet though. Be afraid. Source: http://vhcoasters.com/

Awesome glad you guys likes Starry Night Ripper, It's just a notch above any other new B&M I've ridden recently. Did you guys get to see many of the shows at World Joyland? I thought the Spiderman Style 3D ride and the Big surround thing in the Yellow Dome were both awesome.

Great TR as always. Victory Kingdom is one of those parks I've been following for a while and it just seemed like another Chinese park they had grand plans for and then realised that good coasters are expensive. If you want to be worried there is currently a full size Maurer Sky Loop Knock off at the SBL Factory in Beijing. No idea where thats going though. If you cant see the image _koppen posted earlier of the Intamin track then I've added it to this post. The original post was linked to a forum you need to be logged into to see the pic. It does look like Intamin track to me although is it a new configuration or do they use the triangle design on Skyrush?

Thanks guys Thankfully I have this covered, I am meeting some non theme-parky friends who are currently traveling Asia, I am flying to Tokyo a week early to get some parks in, Then when we all meet we can do some proper sightseeing. So i get the best of both worlds This is indeed sad I had hoped maybe it had somehow stayed open, Things like this (also the Crystal Maze in Wales) seem to be shutting down far too quickly. yeah I'm torn here... I've heard bad things about Fuji-Q pretty much across the board, but there are some pretty unique rides there and it might be worth it during the week, At the same time Yokohama Cosmoworld will give more of a chance to explore Yokohama itself.

Hi guys It looks like I may get to spend a little time in Tokyo next month with 6 or 7 days to do as I please. There are tons of parks in Japan I really want to do but what would peoples tips be for getting the most out of the Tokyo area park wise. I've done a fair amount of research but a bit of first hand knowledge would be much appriciated. My current thoughts are as follows 1) I could get Tokyo Aqua Stadium and Joyopolis done in half a day (as far as I'm aware Tokyo Dome City is still pretty much SBNO for the time being?) 2) Yomouri Land is pretty much a must for me and looks like it wouldn't be too bad to get to. 3) The 2 Disney Parks would take up 2 days 4) A day for general sight seeing would be nice That leaves me with a few days spare so I have a few questions. Is Fuji-Q possible in a day from central Tokyo, I've read yes but is it really worth it? If so and you had the choice of Yokohoma Cosmoworld, Fuji-Q and Tobu Zoo which two would you advise? Now that HayaBusa is gone is there much to do at Tokyo Summerland? And finally, I remember a crazy thing you guys did on a Japan trip which was essentially like an Indoor Crystal Maze type thing with loads of games and challenges, If I remember correctly though this is now closed correct? Any help\thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks

Vertical Construction is properly under way. Unfortunately no sign of a better layout drawing yet. But it does look pretty sweet. Source: http://vhcoasters.com

Part of the watercoaster rises. (supersplash is in the background) Supersplash also going up with pretty much the same colour track but different supports. The B&M is in the foreground still not vertical. Source and more pics: http://vhcoasters.com

After leaving Seoul Land I made the short trip across the city to Lotte World. This was easily the busiest park of the trip and resulted in about an hour and a half wait for Atlantis Adventure. However it is a brilliant park and perfectly located slap bang in the middle of the city. Atlantis Adventure doesn't disappoint at the air time in the top hat is insane. French Revolution isn't a bad ride at all and I like its little S-Cuves after the loop, The random section around the roof through some tunnels it pretty strange though. Comet Express is awesome but very very strange. I can't figure out if the thing is powered all the way round or just part of it. An odd Intamin ride indeed and stupidly hard to find. The parks other rides are all pretty awesome too Gyro Swing and Gyro Drop are insane and even the indoor water rides are a step above everything else on the trip so far. Anyway on to the pictures. The entrance is in the shopping mall and you can walk out of the subway into the park. The entrance is in the shopping mall and you can walk out of the subway into the park. First Stop was French Revolution. its an old school Vekoma Looper but its not too bad. A little rough but nothing spine breaking. Nicely themed cars too. The ride winds through the park. The lift hill is nestled up against the wall of the mall. The dive into the helix finale is pretty sweet. yeah this place is huge HELLO UP THERE. On the way outside... did someone say disney? This is what I am here for really. And boy did it not let me down. This ride pops in and out of the themeing with almost alarming randomness. Back into the castle. Being below freezing there was no water in the pool... So i guess this is just a Trax... The changes in direction on this are excellent and the cars do make you feel nice and exposed. Up and Over we go. Feels weird without a splash down. The loading is slow but they load 2 trains at once which is a nice touch. My first Gyro Drop. And its pretty darn good too. Sure is tall. Indoor log flume. didn't get to ride this but it looked pretty good. This crazy lady was doing some acrobatics on a balloon in the main hall. she was guided by some blokes with ropes. The inside of the park is gorgeous ice rink on the lower level with some shops This looks pretty cool from below too. The main hall is massive and they cram so so much in. BEST attraction of the day. there was a little cafe in the same mall that you paid a little to get in and then they gave you a box of Lego and the tables all had lego board surfaces. Sinbad was pretty awesome. I have NO idea how they fit the ride in. It's really rather long. Curved Escalator? I didn't even know this was possible Thats it for today. Next back to China for some smaller parks.

Nope its actually a Mack this time

This image of the revised plan for Ocean Kingdom shows the Wingrider in the back right.... (VERY small image though ) The mack supersplash is front left and the woodie has gone from plans. Source: http://vhcoasters.com

So the award for longest gap between Trip Reports Goes to.... Anyhow I've finally found time to carry this on so following my disappointment at Everland I headed to Seoul Land the next morning with a bit of a hangover and low expectations. I've heard mostly bad things about Seoul land and the coaster lineup doesn't inspire confidence. However I found I really enjoyed Seoul Land. Sure its fairly Ghetto but I enjoyed all the coasters. They weren't great but they were alright and not too rough, While the park staff were friendly and being the only Westener in the park I got a ton of offers from school kids to ride with them which was pretty funny. The cheap entry price deal came as a surprise and it seemed to be because I was a foreigner. The park does have a hidden Gem though. The shooting Dark Ride "Den of THieves" was great fun and miles better than the one at Everland. Something this highlighted for me was you can go to any standard park on a good day and have a better time that visiting worlds greatest parks on a bad day. For me I had a much better time at Seoul Land than Everland just because Seoul Land made me feel more welcome and had a great friendly atmosphere. Anyway on to the pictures. The park the theme park is in is stunning. even in the cold. Like Everland the park had its Snow Attractions open for the winter. The parks entrance area has seen better days. Yeah it was darn cold too. Cheap? yes... Tacky? Certainly... but i liked the parks fairly ghetto vibe. Even the geodesic domes happy. The park has a decent line up of flats. My first credit here was this fairly odd wild mouse. It uses Arrow style track and was a little rough but not too bad. It wont win any awards but the helix at the end was fun. Lotteria food for lunch... Think Mcdonalds but more greasy. Next up was the Meisho double loop. Again its quite rough but it won't kill you. The loops are fairly intense and I do like the colour scheme The other big credit is the strangely named Black Hole 2000. The ride sprawls across the back of the park with the corkscrews coming around halfway round. This ride was pretty rough but I've been on worse. And those corkscrews are REALLY high up. Some of the more random parts of the layout. I didn't credit whore today Ghetto but a good laugh. This thing was huge.. but sadly closed. Once again due to the freezing conditions the flume was shut. Sad times. The final credit was this little thing. The lift on this thing is just about the loudest lift i've ever heard. Ropes course. Always good fun... but also closed. This was a big surprise though. Didn't know what was in here but its a really well themed fun shooting ride. Smokers can smoke in the smoking areas... Although they did appear to be tucked away in some forlorn looking alleys. This did look fun. but that double drop looks really quite odd with a big flat section between them. After this i headed across town on the Metro to Lotte World

I assume that this will be the location of the Mack launched coaster (ala Blue Fire) which was reportedly sold to IMG in Dubai? I could be wrong but sounds like it could fit?

Theres some new concept art around. Looks like a lot of this park will be undercover. (well more than usual). In this art the Woodies lift hill is indeed the other way round And it's recently been announced the ride will also get an S&S El Loco with a 120degree drop. Source: http://vhcoasters.com/

Excellent report so far Stayed a couple of days in Rimini last year. was really unexpected how nice it is. Any idea if the Dolphin show on the beach is still there? The Mini (Rimini) Golf was a rather nice course too.

I'd keep an eye on this year's IAAPA Asian expo. The rumours have said ocean kingdoms new woodie will be the tallest in the world and they are planning on announcing their wing rider there next week. So its not impossible we may see something on the woodie next week too..

I've read reports that Vertigorama did open briefly in the 90s but it was rough as hell and closed down soon after. I've looked for years for proof of this but so far just have peoples written words. I guess it's a bit of a coaster Urban Legend. I just wonder which is better... Vertigorama or Orphan Rocker

Well the Intamin rocket may have been a misleading but the parks Intamin Topside Impulse is apparently already built. I'd not seen the rendering of the cars until today but they do looks pretty sweet with Wing Rider style seating. Unfortunately there's no photos of the ride yet but I expect to see something at the IAAPA Asian expo next week. For now this rendering shows them pretty nicely. Source: http://vhcoasters.com/

I visited in Jan and the GIB broke down while I was on it and got stuck for an 30mins on the first tower, the ride then never reopened. The Stingray then broke down the next day soon after the opening of the park and never reopened. Maybe i caught them on a bad day. but in my experience they weren't too reliable

Attractiepark Slagharen in the Netherlands looks like it will be getting a new Intamin Launched Coaster next year. The ride is really quite similar to I-Speed, the plans look like Intamin have put the inline twist on the original plans for I-speed back in. It's going to be nice to have another Intamin close to home, and I-Speed gets good reviews so an I-Speed with an extra inversion should be excellent Source: http://www.theparks.it/attractiepark-slagharen-p448/notizie/2012/04/un-launched-simile-ad-ispeed-per-il-2013-n1183/

Is it me or is the layout reversed compared to the original image. A mirror image so to speak?

The latest online game on the Happy Valley Wuhan site showed this. So it's not confirmed the 3rd one of these rides is a mirror image of the Shenzhen one above