Theme Park Review's 2008 Asia Tour!

[CoasterBill04]

Great trip so far guys!!! Can't wait for you all to invade Japan again in a few days. Speaking of which, Robb or Elissa, what is your tentative schedule so I can maybe meet up with you guys?

[bhartley]

"This mountain is PURE SNOW! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?"

 

 

Got to love the Better Off Dead movie quotes.

[RaptorBoyASU]

Wow, Kristen is absolutely adorable in those "peace sign" pictures.

 

Of course, she's been practicing it since the Spain trip.

 

[robbalvey]

^ OMG! That's like the WORST PICTURE EVER!!!!

 

ps. HKDL pics will be coming soon! We had some late nights so I wasn't able to do updates the last couple of days.

[Mr. Starr]

Great Report so far!

 

There was some earthquake in Japan yesterday I think, but I don't know where you were.

[ThatFalafelGirl]

This pic seemed like it should be Falafel's next Avatar for some reason. It seemed to suit her humor.

 

wow. it's all most freakish that you know that/figured that out... um, but TRUE! i totally Nearly squeaked when i saw that. I'm pretty tired right now, which may have prevented the squeaking but yeah, bang on.

[disneyfan1313]

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to post these every few days. I'm sure its the last thing you want to do after your crazy days, but they are so fun to read!!

[robbalvey]

No photo updates yet. It's midnight and we've just gotten back in from our day at Everland. This was, no joke, one of the *best* park days TPR has ever had!

 

Why?

 

1. T-Express was absolutely amazing. Our morning ERT rides were great yes, but by night time, OMFG...this is a new #1 for many people on the trip. We asked the project manager how this ride came to be and he simply said "We went and rode El Toro and we also rode Balder. We asked Intamin 'Can we have both?' and that's what we got!" And when you put two #1 coasters together, it's impossible not to have yet another #1.

 

2. Eagle Fortress - Holy f**king s**t! This coaster remains in our top 5 steel. And I think everyone else who joined us for our 14 lights off night rides tonight will agree that if there is *thee* surprise coaster in the world, it's Eagle's Fortress. It really is that good! (Download our POV video HERE!)

 

3. Korean BBQ - That's right, we took some time out during our Everland day for some kick ass meat and garlic! The bus smelled AMAZING after we were done.

 

4. Everland - The park itself is just fantastic. It has two top 5 coasters, not something a lot of parks can boast, a great animal section, well themed kids section, and overall just a really great place to spend a day. We started our day with T-Express and ended it with Eagle Fortress. Perfect bookends to a perfect day!

 

More photos will be coming soon!

 

--Robb "Gotta go get some sleep!" Alvey

[ParkTrips]

^ I'm glad you guys had such a kickass day!

[ginzo]

1. T-Express was absolutely amazing. Our morning ERT rides were great yes, but by night time, OMFG...this is a new #1 for many people on the trip. We asked the project manager how this ride came to be and he simply said "We went and rode El Toro and we also rode Balder. We asked Intamin 'Can we have both?' and that's what we got!" And when you put two #1 coasters together, it's impossible not to have yet another #1.

 

So, what's the verdict chief? El Toro or T-Express?

[BeemerBoy]

1. T-Express was absolutely amazing. Our morning ERT rides were great yes, but by night time, OMFG...this is a new #1 for many people on the trip. We asked the project manager how this ride came to be and he simply said "We went and rode El Toro and we also rode Balder. We asked Intamin 'Can we have both?' and that's what we got!" And when you put two #1 coasters together, it's impossible not to have yet another #1.

 

Can someone please forward this to Cedar Fair and Six Flags?

 

 

Oh, and I'm guessing the Acers of the world will continue to be ticked off that Eagle Fortress will still rate high in Mitch's poll.

[Erik Johnson]

Next time you guys go to Korea, even if it is another 3 day trip, I am most certainly going to go. I must ride Eagle's Fortress!!!!!!

[Shockwave]

1. T-Express was absolutely amazing. Our morning ERT rides were great yes, but by night time, OMFG...this is a new #1 for many people on the trip. We asked the project manager how this ride came to be and he simply said "We went and rode El Toro and we also rode Balder. We asked Intamin 'Can we have both?' and that's what we got!" And when you put two #1 coasters together, it's impossible not to have yet another #1.

 

Can someone please forward this to Cedar Fair and Six Flags?

 

 

Oh, and I'm guessing the Acers of the world will continue to be ticked off that Eagle Fortress will still rate high in Mitch's poll.

 

^Too bad. They'll keep giving their hard earned subscriptions for the trips of the group's higher echelons and never get to go there themselves.

 

I honestly think getting Cedar Fair to put an Intamin wooden coaster in one of their parks is like telling people from the middle ages that the world is round.

[robbalvey]

Yeah, the midcourse doesn't ruin the ride at all. If anything it's even less the midcourse on SheiKira or Griffon and when you get to it you already feel as though you've had one complete ride, and now you're about to do another.

 

--Robb

[Jew]

I'm not really sure anyones lower body could handle the ride without the MCBR. The ejector airtime is already insane!

[Wood Dragon 1988]

RCDB says the top speed of Eagle Fortress is 40 mph. Looks a lot faster than that! Can't wait to see Everland pics/videos. That park really looks fantastic!

[lond]

You can see how intense the ride is in the graph.

 

// Marcus Löfstrand

wwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!

[robbalvey]

Can't wait to see Everland pics/videos. That park really looks fantastic!

Download our Eagle's Fortress video here:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/videos/eaglefortress.zip

[TheRapidsNerd]

Quote:

This pic seemed like it should be Falafel's next Avatar for some reason. It seemed to suit her humor.

 

 

wow. it's all most freakish that you know that/figured that out... um, but TRUE! i totally Nearly squeaked when i saw that. I'm pretty tired right now, which may have prevented the squeaking but yeah, bang on.

 

You wear hilarious shirts like "I heart Toxic Waste" and "Hellery", so that pastry pic was a natural. Same for octopi. I always think of you, Dave, and Wes, or rubber duckies with Moose and Big Mike. It's a humorous association.

 

Back to topic, Nice Eagle Fortress PoV! Know it's been crazy busy there in Asia, so hope it's been a blast as well. Cheers all!

[xcastn0shad0wx]

So from the POV of Eagle's Fortress it looks like it's just going down hill the entire ride and only gaining speed in the process. That thing looks awesome!

[robbalvey]

Today was our first of two days at Hong Kong Disneyland. While some people went off to Macau to do crazy things like jump off the tower, Elissa and I decided we would take KidTums to Disneyland!

 

Now first off, I do want to say that I absolutely *love* the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. I do not believe it deserves the bad rap it's gotten over the years.

 

The problem with the park is that there just isn't enough to do and when this park does fill in I think it would be my 2nd favorite Magic Kingdom behind Tokyo Disneyland. The park has all the charm, spirit and customer service as Tokyo Disneyland, just not the ride selection.

 

Anyway, onto some photos! (note - I will warn you that there will be a LOT of photos and probably even a few Disney dorky ones as well...)

One of the prissy Astriocats looking all bitchy...

There was Bambi and Thumper hanging out in the snow....

So for the most part this version of Small World looks like all the other ones...except for one change...there are now popular Disney characters scattered throughout the ride. Now I had heard all the Disney purists moan and complain about this how it "ruins It's a Small World", blah, blah, blah....

 

This is what I have to say about it...first off...it's freaking It's a Small World...so you pretty much need to do SOMETHING to get me to come back in. And secondly, I thought the Disney characters were really well done and a very nice and welcome addition! There are apparently 38 of them, I think we found most of them below...

...although all these people weren't here...so you know what that makes them? "Smarter than us!"

Yeah, it pretty much looked like Small World as seen in all the other Disney parks...

It's a Small World...yup...this was the new kid on the block, the bad-ass new attraction, the dogs bollocks, etc, etc....

Chapter 11. As in "if the park doesn't do better soon, it may have to file for Chapter 11...."

It's no Tokyo, but at least it's not the California version!

"I wonder how many E Tickets the two-women-on-a-waterbed attraction is?"

I Eat...

Yup, this ho is here to!

I actually think the mountain behind the castle makes this one look more "Californian" than the one in California does.

Here is something the park did that I wish the other Disney parks would do also...they hand out instructions on how to use Fast Pass! Other Disney parks listen up. The IDIOTS out there need this! Don't just put it in the guide book that they will never read anyway, HAND THEM SOMETHING to read...or better yet, create a "book on tape" for how to use fast pass!

"How!"

OMG! The marching band has blocked out the castle!!!!

There are many "small castle" jokes that can be made here and I'm sure you've heard them all...but for now I'll just stick with "The castle may be small, but it still makes Joey jealous."

This looks like something I've seen before, but this is in a better place.

Wait...are you serious? You can upgrade to an annual pass for just.... THIRTY EIGHT DOLLARS?!!?

"Are you SURE we're not in California?"

Much of Hong Kong Disneyland was based off Disneyland in California. So much so that some people may not even be able to tell the difference.

Welcome to Hong Kong Disneyland KidTums!

Our day starts out with Breakfast at the hotel. Yes that is Elissa and yes her breakfast consists of a single slice of bread.

I thank Disney for setting up these awesome photo spots for me to take a picture of.

Hello giant spaceship!

Entrance to Tomorrowland....yup!

It's odd (and for Elissa very cool) how prominent Chip & Dale are here in all the Merchandise. It's almost like they and Stitch are the 'secondary' main characters behind Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Pluto in Asia.

You can even proudly wear Pixel Mickey & Minnie on your chest.

"Pixel Mickey & Minnie" were all the rage at Hong Kong Disneyland. They were very cool...almost a throwback to the "NES Video Game" days.

Buzz Lightyear was pretty much the same as all the other versions. Don't forget about this hidden targets in the lightspeed tunnel or the one under Zurg's medallion!

"I may not be cute, but I've got a tazer and I know how to use it!"

Dave also was being assimilated but he is not so cute. In fact, just moments after taking this photo we started to claw our eyeballs out because we couldn't stand the sight of half-Dave, half-girly rodent anymore.

Kristen was being assimilated by the corporate rat. She looked very cute.

Stitch Encounter....it's like Turtle Talk, but with Stitch...and not as many duuuuuuuuuuudes.

Mmmmm....Frozen Coke!

Seriously, we all loved it! As much crap as this ride gets, this was a really good version of it!

Shake it girls!!! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh! "If I had some Hong Kong Dollars I'd be putting them in your grass skirt!"

One of Jahan's people and a Jeff Jonhson credit!

Lilo & Stich in Hawaii (of course!)

The Little Mermaid looking as HOT as ever!

Baloo and that damn kid!!!

There really is a "boy gets girl" theme going on here...

Poke-My-Hauntus

Donald and his pals doing the Mexican thing.

TRON?!!?!?

Some Lion King dudes in there somewhere...

Abu doing his East Los Angeles impression.

Aladdin has that smile on his face because he knows the perfect place to park that carpet!

the 16-bit version of Pinnocchio.

I think this is either Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty with her latest dude of the week.

Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinkerbell hovering above London.

[robbalvey]

More pics...

Don't worry Hong Kong Disneyland...we will be back tomorrow!

We could be in California...we could be in Hong Kong.

Yeah, this all looks very familiar!

Just in case we forget what her name is!

"Um, can you please take this off my head please!"

Professor Honeydew & Beaker made their way down Main Street talking to guests, spraying them with water and basically being both cool and creepy at the same time!

Then we saw this creepy thing from Muppet Labs.

WUUUUULLLLLFFFFFF!!!!!!

The hot dog is now "Elissa Friendly."

More condom-mints are applied...

The hot dog is then cut into small hamster-like bite size peices.

Then the condom-mints from Elissa's "Secret Stash" are placed in very strategic locations. (Note the secret stash hiding in her crotch....yes, this is where she keeps it!)

Then comes off the hot dog skin. Hong Kong Disneyland's hot dogs get bonus points since the skin comes off all in one easy-to-peel piece.

First she skins the hot dog bun...can't have any horrible sesame seeds on it...oh no!

"Around the world with Elissa and plain pasta."

 

And now! For something you have all been waiting for! The complete photo trip report of Elissa versus the Hot Dog!

I'm not exactly sure what it is...but it looks really good!

"I'm ready for my close up..."

"Can I just eat some stickers, please?"

Oh, man...all that looks yummy!

Lunch Time!!!

You just can't escape these stuck up bitches no matter where you go!

Here comes High School Musical to block out the castle!

Detail shot!!!!

Hong Kong Disneyland has characters that are 100% to scale.

Those of you who grew up with Disneyland in California probably can appreciate this...

"Where is everyone!?!?"

I know I've seen these dudes somewhere before...

"GRRRRRRRR!!!! I'm crazy tiki head guy! Gimme some humans!"

Oooh! There are the Disney executives planning out the next big ride! I'll bet those blueprints scream "B&M Dive Machine into a pit of fire and human flesh!"

"Have you seen my mother?"

If you want to see some plush animals sing and dance, this is place you need to be.

OMG! OMG! Construction wall! What could it be? Pirates? B&M Dive Machine? Intamin woodie? Halloween maze?

These little dudes were hanging out laughing at us.

Adding fire and explosions to anything instantly improves it!

Jungle Cruise + Fire = Awesome!

"You need more lube!!!!"

Elephant in water or Robb taking a shower...you decide!

Our skipper was awesome. He told us bad jokes. He made us laugh. We are easy.

"...Licensed by Nintendo"

While on one hand it's nice to see no one in line, I do hope this park sees bigger crowds at different times of the year.

All day long the cast members kept giving Kristen stickers. We now have enough to wall paper her room when we get home.

It's in three different languages and it's "Dan Friendly"

First off, your boats go around the island, which is where Tarzan's Treehouse is.

The Jungle River Cruise is the "badass" version of the traditional Jungle Cruise.

There are only three lands other than Main Street - Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland.

You'll need about three Hong Kong turkey legs to equal one American version.

We see you Space Mountain!

When was the last time you saw a Magic Kingdom this dead?

There really was not many people at the park today. It was kind of sad really. This park is fantastic and with a lack of attractions I think comes a lack of people. Hopefully they will fix this problem soon.

"Instant castle...just add water!"

[BarryH]

Hi There! I'm a Chinese, it seems like you guys are EXTREMELY excited about the chicken head on the plate... ^^"

 

This is a Chinese tradition, it happens all the time, especially when you order a whole chicken plate.

There are many different story behind, but one of the reason I've heard was because the restaurant want to show that they didn't cheat you, they really did serve you a whole chicken, instead of serving 2 chicken for 3 dishes. Since there can only be 1 head for a chicken, so they can only able to show you a head only if they serve you one whole chicken.

 

I am Chinese and I never knew this! I thought it was just a Chinese thing to have chickens with heads and feet on them.

 

My mom would have probably have eaten the chicken head. Heck, her favorite part of the fish is the fish head! Yes, my family eats weird things. My grandmother used to eat the chicken butt. Yes, you heard that right...chickens have butts.

[Guest]

While on one hand it's nice to see no one in line, I do hope this park sees bigger crowds at different times of the year.

HKDL gets insanely packed, I saw a news story maybe a year or so ago where they hit capacity so many days in a row the vacationing tourists became so irate they could not enter the park they knocked down the gates.

[printersdevil78]

OMG, a $20 hot dog!? I had to open a currency converter to calm my heart rate! I'm better now that I know that $20 wiener is less than $2.50 U.S. (and that the $110 three-course meal is actually under $15). Those are better prices than the original Disneyland!

 

^^Barry, the first I heard of it was a couple years ago when a group of professors and students from the university where I work went to China as part of an exchange program with a partner university in Dongbei. They said tradition dictated that the oldest and wisest man at the table received the head as a special honor, as it is the part of the chicken that holds the knowledge. In their case, the head went to the interim dean of our business school.

It's a Small World Hong Kong is now officially natatomic's favorite attraction!