robbalvey Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080319p2a00m0na017000c.html SUITA, Osaka -- An amusement park where a woman died in a roller coaster accident last year has announced that it will reopen before spring in 2009. The Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, has been closed since December after the number of visitors plummeted following the deadly derailment of its "Fujin Raijin II" roller coaster in May last year, in which a 19-year-old female passenger was killed. The operator of the amusement park announced on Tuesday that the park will be reopened before spring next year, and that the demolition of the roller coaster where the fatal accident occurred started on Wednesday. Four other attractions will also be subject to demolition, the operator said. The operator said it hasn't decided what kind of replacement attractions it will install in the park. After a temporary shutdown following the derailment accident in May last year, the amusement park reopened in August, but a problem involving another machine occurred in mid-September. As a result, the number of visitors to the park declined to about 20 percent of the figure recorded the previous year. In December, Osaka Prefectural Police sent papers to prosecutors accusing the operator of the amusement park and its former executives of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, and violating the Building Standards Law. The "Fujin Raijin II" roller coaster is seen getting demolished at the Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Wednesday morning. fujinrainjinii.zip fujinrainjinii.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Force_4_ever Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 well if thats all it takes to reopen the park! this is good news however, because I wasn't counting on being able to visit Expoland during my Japan trip but now I should be able to yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 I thought the entire park was getting demolished due to the accidents as I thought that Beto Carrero World bought a good amount of rides.(including one of the coasters) At least the park is doing what it can to reopen, but they are probably going to have a hard time bring guests back, but who knows, maybe the accidents will be almost forgotten by 2009. Hopefully some flats or a maybe even a new coaster will replace Fujin Rajin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Wow. I thought this park was gone for good. But I'm just glad that now I will someday be able to go to Expoland and ride Raptor's white Japanese twin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Stratosphere Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Has anyone heard what will happen to the ride? I know it says they are demolishing it. Are they dismantling it or destroying it? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 ^ Hopefully destroying it, i can't see any other park that is stupid enough to buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazy216 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 ^ From what I have been told, it is a pretty painful ride. Now if that is true, then bring in the cranes lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Well shoot, I knew I should've gone to Expoland last September! Wait. I forgot. Was this coaster open then when the group went, from Universal Osaka? Or was it shut down, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ^The coaster was shut down, Bill. But some of the group did check out the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmmfreak101 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Thank god there taking that death-trap out. I still have a feeling there attendance won't rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Has anyone heard what will happen to the ride? I know it says they are demolishing it. Are they dismantling it or destroying it? I'd assume destroyed for scrap metal. Most steel roller coasters when removed are sent for scrap. Few rides are taken down carefully to be put back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 No lose on destroying that ride. It was the worst stand-up I have ever rode. Gave me a huge headache. I pretty much gave up on stand-ups until riding Riddler at MM again. Of course then there was MIlky Way ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfne2005 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I enjoyed Expoland quite a bit.......just like SteveC......oh that's right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIPDUDE Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Well, if I know anything about the japanese culture, it's pretty much a guarentee that the coaster will not be bought by anyone, at least nobody in Japan, since their culture would say that it's haunted and cursed. I don't get why everyone is so thrilled to see this coaster go, though. I mean, people die on rides all the time but I don't see anyone protesting to take down american rides which had people die on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 I mean, people die on rides all the time but I don't see anyone protesting to take down american rides which had people die on them? What rides are people dying on "all the time" ??? I think the difference here is that the accident was caused by poor maintenance and it could have been avoided. Most other accidents are rider or ride op error. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIP Psyclone Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I guess it also comes down to how the coaster was regarded. In the case of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it seems most people have put it past them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 ^ Exactly. Fujiun Raijin II was the worst coaster in a mediocre park that always seemed to be grasping at straws to stay open. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIPDUDE Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 ^^^I didn't say there are certain rides on which people die all the time, I said that people die on rides(as in different ones). Though what you said about how it is regarded makes sense. I just didn't know it wasn't considered a good coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 I have posted a POV of this coaster on page 1 of this thread....enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Expoland was an odd experience in that when we were there in September, there was our group of 6, and MAYBE 15 other people in the park. It was really odd, but we did manage to have fun. Here are a couple of pics of the sectioned off portion of Fujiun Raijin II where the accident occurred: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Thank you for the PoV Robb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackskellington101 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Ok Robb, with Togo nut squashing in this video and ghetto fair paratrooper nut squashing later, how in the world did KidTums come to be? I know that the paratrooper incident came later, but I'm sensing a pattern here. Fun POV though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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