thomas2

Ah, then they replaced it because that's now some sort of fantasy ride in 3D with 360° view. I didn't ride it because it looked rather lame. RIP Musical circus

Do you remember where the Musical Circus ride was?

Hey guys, I went to Parque Espana here in Japan a couple of weeks ago only to be horrified to find Pyrenees closed because of the accident that happened here. Of course I had to go back before I leave and after making sure Pyrenees is open and running, I took the limited express from Osaka all the way down to Ugata. I was by myself because I'm sad and pathetic. The total journey was about 4 hours but it was worth it. I figure you guys want to hear about Pyrenees so I'll post about that now. First of all the bad news. Pyrenees has a serious case of B&M rattle. Especially around the cobra roll gives some bad headbanging. To be fair there was almost noone riding Pyrenees (summer season wtf),and when the train did get filled half way the roughness significately improved. On the other hand, I rode it all by myself a couple of times and I'm not lying or exaggurating when I say this but Pyrenees was more rough than the SLC at my home park in Belgium. That should give you an idea! The good news is that this coaster is so intense and awesome. The difference this coaster has with other B&M's I've ridden is the sheer speed it has when going through those inversions. I was very impressed!! I rode it some 20-ish times and after trial and error I can say the right seat on the last row is the best of them all. Not only because it actually feels less rough than the front seat, but because the back gets pulled out of the inversions by the front so fast that it'll make you giggle like a small child. I rode it once with me all the way in the back and the first 4 rows filled, and the way I was being pulled through and out of the zero-G roll was heavenly. I also blacked out several times which only happened once on a batman clone. And the airtime hill right at the end of the ride is very good too. I never knew inverted coasters could have airtime, but here I'm riding one that gives the same airtime as a B&M hyper like Hollywood Dream. The only part where this insane speed is not all that fun is in the cobra roll, where you're being slammed in the hard restraints because of the sudden transition. Also, talking about restraints, I can happily say that the new cushion they placed doesn't affect the ride at all. I'm average height (178cm) and the cushion is way below my head so it's not in the way or anything. It also looks less ugly in real life than in pictures. One last thing I have to say is that both the flying island AND the weird musical circus were nowhere in sight. Those attractions are gone! On to the pictures! L From the parking you're greeted by this beauty. Too bad it's not that smooth. Did I mention the park is beautiful? Do NOT be fooled by this nice front. What lies behind it pure evil! This Bull fight coaster Matador is the worst coaster I've ridden. Granted I haven't ridden alot of coaster but this one is lonely at the very bottom of my list. The cars are small, the OHSR are very painful and the ride is crap with bad transitions and the constant fear of a whiplash. Don't do it! Time for something much better I'd say. Height restriction is still 130cm. Kudos to the park for making the coaster safer without raising the limit. This is the only waiting area. None of the rides had long queue areas, which makes me think if they ever have alot of people there. I mean I was there in the summer season (the park was open till 20:30) and yet there were few people. Granted it is in the middle of freakin nowhere. Hmmmmmmm B&M all for myself. It's like having your own B&M staffed and all! Here's a picture how the cushion doesn't affect you. And I'm only average height. Also don't mind the hair, I haven't seen people in months. So glad it was working this time around. Notice how there's like 1 person in there. First drop goodness!! This makes any enthusiast drool *drools* Pretty! And best zero-G roll I've ever experienced. New paintjob needed much? Exiting the MCBR gave some bad jolt. Still haven't figured out if it's the transition or the brakes. Row 8. Remember! Row EIGHT. "Your coaster is ready sir" Demonstrating the cushion again, being Japanese AND not doing it right because I should be in the right hand seat! One last look for those still worrying. A mine train, how good can it be right? This is the most full I've seen it all day. OMFG! The drops after the lift hills are insane! And the fast that the restraint doesn't close all the way makes it soo much better. Hands down the best mine train coaster I've ever seen, heck it beats most other coasters I've been on. We love you Mack! Cute trains to lure people and then throw them merciless around in it's psycho drops and turns. Haha awesome coaster. They had this parade going through the park, featuring real spanish people (yes, REAL). I talked to one of them for a bit. Kawaii~ The area with Pyrenees and Gran Montserrat is kinda ugly, with rides just slapped on pavement. Another area lies lower than the entrance and the coasters, and you have to go through this little street to get there. Amazing theming will await you. Adventure lagoon. I was expecting a boring tour in a boat but I got much more than that. I won't reveal anything, you'll have to go and see for yourself! Hmm I wonder what this is... It's the infamous escalator ride! I thought it was great and actually took the escalator back down and up again haha. It's actually called Sun Cavern, and you better follow these instructions or you'll piss off the sun! OMFG DO I REALLY SEE WHAT I'M SEEING??!! Real life Pikachu! I loved the way he bounced and waved his arms. And all kids who saw him were freakin out, it was hilarious! I assume this is where the musical circus used to be. They now have a new attraction there, Nutcracker dolls. It's a tour in a car past all these scenes, accompied by music of Tchaikovsky. I actually thought it was very well made! Gotta love Christmas in the middle of the summer. Very well made. Sunset brings a nice red shade to the park. Impressive theming. Another strange attractions was Alice in Wonderland. It's a walkthrough and you get this magic wand to hit enemies. It was all very bizarre. Card maze! And then night fell over the park. So time to whore Pyrenees again! I became friends with this group of hot chicks because they were impressed with me riding Pyrenees twice in a row (and they were blown away when I said I rode it like 20 times that day). We hung around for some time and rode attractions togheter. See guys, being a coaster nerd DOES pay of! They had another parade in the evening with beautifully lid cars. Pyrenees in the dark! So gorgous *sniff* And the night ended with fireworks. An amazing day. Thanks for reading!

Not to be nitpicky but the ride is called "El Péndulo" instead of Pndol like in the title.

There have been rumours for some time now that Gardaland would get a B&M prototype, and you can clearly see the B&M backbone in the picture.

Rumours are that this prototype will have non-spinning seats, but that in the end the goal is to have spinning seats similar to X. Very anxious to see how B&M will handle that concept.

My apologies if there's already a topic about Gardaland or the new coaster, but I wasn't able to find it. Gardaland has announced it's newest addition, which is a new B&M type where passengers sit on the sides of the track. The coaster's temporary name is X-Raptor. Some more information: - The station will be underground - 800m long track - 30m tall - 90° high speed turn - Close encounters with objects - Will go over water with special water effects added - 2 elements where passengers will feel zero gravity Source: http://sondaggi.gardaland.it/sondaggioXRAPTOR15-24.php (you have to fill out the short questionnary to get to the announcement)

And Monstre is officially open now! According to a trip report I read on themeparkvision.net, they only run with 1 train so far, but it doesn't seem to be all that of a problem seeing the lines for the ride were remarkably short during their visit. Also, the MCBR doesn't have brakes yet! See for yourself in this onride video. Apparently the brakes are ordered and will be installed this winter, according to TPV.net. Onride:

The height difference they used to have indicates that you can't just say that inverted coasters have the same height requirements as other types. The child was 133 cm, so he was taller than the lower limit. Like I said before, Pyrenees is the only B&M inverted rollercoaster with a height requirement of 130cm, altough Batman is practically the same I don't know how this could have happened as the police investigation clearly says the child is 133 cm tall. Coincidence?

From what I've heard Pyrenees is a pretty intense rollercoaster. Don't know about Wildfire though.

Pyrenees is the only B&M inverted rollercoaster with a 130cm height limit while the others have 140cm.

Actually no need to wait for me, I found some pictures on the internet of the new cushion that has been added. It also states that the child hit his face against the buckle that's at the bottom of the restraint (clearly visible in the first picture). He did not hit his face on the two metal thingies where you can hold yourself. The new cushion is 17x25cm big and 10cm thick, which is quite big. I don't know how this will affect the ride but I'll test it out and report back. According to the source I found the ride experience doesn't change at all, but we'll see. How it was before. Give his short stature the child could reach the buckle with his face and hit into it during the ride. Here's the new configuration. It looks rather bulky but I shall test it myself.

http://www.parque-net.com/news/10070818/10070818.html Pyrenees is back open from july 9th. According to the park website they have added an extra protection cushion to the lower part of the restraint. Following test runs with this new addition, the park has reopened the ride. I will try to go there and see what this extra cushion is. Can't wait to ride Pyrenees!

I wonder how close the gap will be between the hands of the people on both trains. If the trains travel at roughly the same speed then they can make it pretty close, maybe even so that you can touch the other people's hands like you can do on horizontal track on other coasters like Grand National. Also interesting to see wether they will impose a height limit because taller people have taller arms. Interesting concept, looking forward to finding out more

Viper's days are numbered, mark my words!

Sorry if this already has been asked, but why exactly will GASM close? They aren't replacing it (I think), is it because of high costs or unpopularity?

Hollywood Dream: The Ride at USJ. Marathoned it for exactly 20 times.

I only rode Silver Star once. They gave us first rides in the morning after our Eurosat ERT but to be honest it's not my favorite ride in the park, and there are so many photos of it already. I can't imagine we would be taking photos that aren't already in our park index, and you pretty much have to go outside the park to get decent photos. How did you like it? I know at first you thought the ride was tame, and then in 2008 you thought it was much better. How was it this time around?

Awesomness! Have a great time in the other parks and thanks for sharing. Did you get ERT on Silver Star?

Well, I'm not a CP fanboy, but I think the phrase you were looking for there was "slightly edges out." Thanks for the TR! Haha I know but I was going for the maximum effect Thanks everyone for your replies.

Hello TPR! Last week i deceided it was time for another trip to Nagashima Spa Land, home to of course Steel Dragon 2000, the coaster that crushes MF both in height, speed and lenght (*prepares for CP fanboy attacks*). Since it was a weekday it was so deserted at the park that you could go on any attraction without having to wait a single bit. All coasters ran with 1 train but that was more than enough since they couldn't even fill the train up. Only downside was Shuttle Loop where the operators waited for atleast half a train of passengers before they would launch the ride. That took 10 min. which was the longest wait of the day. Steel Dragon 2000 is still the same as the other times I rode it. It's still very tall, fast and long, and the trains still ruin the experience quite alot. Who was it that said SD2k is kind of like the worlds largest mine train coaster? That person is in a sense right. I still can't believe how many missed opportunities this coaster has. But regardless of that it's still a VERY fun ride that ranks 3rd on my list after Silver Star and Expedition Geforce. And it's especially fun if there's no waiting time for it Anyway, on to the pictures! The side entrance to the park where the busses and taxis from the trainstation stop. As you can see it's VERY crowded! First ride of the day was Shuttle Loop since it's on the path to SD2k. This coaster is so simple yet so amazing, and also kind of scary as the train travelled quite slowly through the loop because it was never full. With only a lap bar to hold you from falling a gruesome death... The entrance to the holy grail in lift hill coasters. The sign is kinda cheesy but I like the pointed arch/gothic influence. Obligatory shot of the huge queue. I would never go to a themepark on a day this would be full. That's just insane! Luckily this was how the queue looked liked all day. There's noone queuing except me! I didn't have the chance to ride SD2k by myself but I didn't have a single ride with a full train either. Low season FTW! The station for all you station enthusiasts (are there even people like that?) Again, gothic influences in the station building. I thought it was a succes. The gigantic lift hill of SD2k is still the tallest in the world, and the only one in the world with 2 chains! The first drop is insanely fun. Not very intense but just really, really fun. It brings an instant smile to your face. Train full of happy riders. This is the most full I've seen the train be all day, and they were running 1 train on a 4min. course. Have I mentioned how awesome that day was? The second hill is still bigger than most coasters and has some fun airtime in the front seat. Someone give me tissues right now. The 'noodley bits' are fun but you get attacked by wind constantly. It's hard to keep your eyes open! Alone in the backseat with 11 empty rows in front of me. Awesomness for sure. I had the feeling the ride was a bit more shaky this day though. Could it be because there was less weight in the train? Last time I was here they filled 5 cars with people and there were sandbags in another one. The way back is just an endless row of hills. Not really inspirational but it's fun and gives some nice airtime. Oh and of course 2 tunnels, which felt like ovens. There was so much heath trapped in there! I really like this photo for some reason, so I'm posting it (original eh). In case you forgot what this ride is called This is the new main gate they were building when I was at the park earlier. I think it looks very good. This is the most evil water ride ever. All Japanese were riding this with a poncho but like a real enthusiast I boarded without one. The operator let me ride by myself and while I was going up there were actually Japanese gathering around the water area because they were so surprised to see someone ride without poncho. I got alot of applause after getting a wall of water on me. It was so funny but I was completely soaked to the point where litterally everything was wet. Thankfully it was a warm day but it still took several hours to dry up completely. I rode the ferris wheel to get dry. It's so big but I like riding it because it offers some very nice views. And of course there was airconditioning in each car! White Cyclone train leaving with exactly 1 guy in the front row on the right. One of the most beautifull, if not THE most beautifull wooden coaster in the world! Piece of crap. The corkscrews were so god damn painfull. I only ride this once if I'm in the park and there's no line. I don't think I can handle two rides on a single day! Steel Dragon doing it's thing, being humongous. Noodle bits BEHIND GLASS!! I kind of like this ride except that it's very jerky (not the fall itself but all the other stuff). Just look at this evil torture machine being all pretty. Ugh. The ultra twister is an interesting ride but the transition of forward to backward is so jerky and painfull. Surprisingly the ride itself is smooth, and the vertical lift hill is fun haha. I finally got this credit because I litterally rode every other ride in the park (except the kiddie flat rides of course). I was all by myself in the last car and it was soo embarrasing to see the children waiting in the line stare at me, obviously thinking what a white grown-up was doing in this coaster... When this ride is over there's a voice that says 'make sure you try all three towers'. Only one was open all day =[ Yummy This park is right at the sea! Only downside is that SD2k closes during high winds, which are of course more frequent at seas. White Cyclone being all pretty and shiny. Entrance to White Cyclone. I like this station alot too! Enormous queue again. When does this ever fill up?!? Luckily there's absolutely noone in sight! We see you lazy trains. Just for the record: If you didn't know already, this is made of wood Wow they managed to almost get a train full. How did that happen?! This pretty much sums the ride up.

That could always be the case, but it's very unlikely. There are no trees under/close to the coaster and apart from one or two places you cannot go under it. It could be that he was hit with something from his fellow passengers but it's Japan, if the rules are that you have to remove all your items from your pockets (assuming that's also the case at Pyrenees since they did that at Gran Montserrat), customers will remove them. Of course there can always be someone who didn't obey the rules. But I'm sure they questioned the boy thoroughly as to find out what happened and I don't see how you can confuse being hit in the eye with an object and hitting your face on the restraint. If they think it was a loose item than why are they investigating the whole rollercoaster for a month now? I saw them entering and leaving the station all the time. Seems a bit weird to do if it wasn't ride-related. Here's a picture I took yesterday to show there's no trees under the coaster.

Because I was at the park yesterday and asked multiple people when it would reopen. They all said it'll reopen when they found the cause of this accident but noone could (obviously) put a date on that. It's been closed for a full month now. Also the article is from may 25th. Anyway I'll translate the article myself. EDIT: translation complete! I hope it's not too bad since neither japanese nor english are my first languages

Thanks for the edit, altough by safety bar they mean the harnass. Just making things clear for people who might get confused with the terms.

I went to Shima Spain Village today hoping to ride Pyrenees but to my shock the ride was closed. I asked the information desk and they told me an accident happened some time ago where a child received wounds while riding on the rollercoaster. I didn't get more information on how this happened because they weren't too fishy about telling me. I asked when the rollercoaster would reopen and they said it's not confirmed yet, but it's certain that it wouldn't open this week. They are at the moment investigating the ride (I assume because of strict new rules after the Expoland death). EDIT: I checked some newspapersites : I made an English translation for those that can't read Japanese. http://mainichi.jp/select/jiken/news/20100526k0000m040112000c.html?inb=ra Apparently the accident happened almost a full month ago on may 25th. A 11 year old boy who was at the park on a school trip rode the coaster and during the ride somehow hit his eye against the restraint which broke his lower eye soquet of his right eye. When he got off the ride he had a nosebleed and shouted 'my right eye hurts'. Has this ever happened before (hurting yourself on a B&M restraint)? Seems like a strange accident. Hopefully the ride will reopen soon! ADMIN EDIT: I went ahead and added a translation of the news article you posted, plus I updated the thread slightly to have a more descriptive title and subtitle. Thank you again for sharing this with us!