Schwarzkopf Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 ^ You should be! It's a very interesting place... Shanghai sightseeing. Well, before we did any sightseeing we ran to Century Park to grab the Golden Horse cred, which was my 600th! Again, you paid a quid or so to get into the park, then there was a small fairground section inside. I like the idea of paying for parks, it creates jobs and keeps the scum out... The credit... Yeah, it's another Golden Horse, not much else to say really. We then sashayed to a view point for some skyline frames <3 I think at this point someone wanted to go for coffee with us because we were western and amazing, so we quickly rejected and ran away... into the CBD... I forced Ben to go up the Shanghai World Financial Center with me. From now on I will refer to it as 'the bottle opener'... It's one of the tallest buildings in the world, at 1,600ft. This dwarfs everything in Europe, and is taller than any building in the United States. It's also the highest observation deck in the world (the one in Dubai is only like, half way up the tower, whereas this is at the top). Model... ...from the top... 20 million people make a lot of smog... These would all probably be taller than an anything in London... The observation deck is sort of, hanging from the bit at the top of the hole of the bottle opener... Glass floors... Meeee Yeah, it's huge. I thought it was amazing, but Ben wasn't the biggest fan On the way down we bought some Knockoff Vitamin Water. This stuff was actually nicer than the real stuff! Even though we'd already been up the tallest building in the city we still had to go up the Oriental Pearl Tower too because... They have... A CREDIT <3 <3 <3. This giant roundabout pedestrian bridge thing was awesomeeee. The Oriental Peal Tower. The coaster is in the bottom sphere. Even though we only wanted the credit, we had to pay full price, so went to the top anyway. The only good thing was that they had a bigger glass floor (and an outdoor area). Of course, it was an anticlimax after just going up the other tower. So yeah, the coaster. It's in a Space themed arcade. It's SUCH a weird place for a park, and a waste of space really, not that I'm complaining, haha. Gotta love the signage... It was a custom rollerskater type thing. Here's the station... ... and some of the ride... It was pretty fierce for a kiddie credit actually. Yeah. We'd now killed enough time and it was dark, so we went back to the viewing area from earlier for some night shots. Shanghai is so gorge at night <3. Fin. Next Part: Jin Jiang Action Park & Fisherman Warf p.s, if anyone is interested in seeing more of the city I'd recommend these two videos. It really is an amazing place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUXXLqKQ2w4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU_mXe0AChk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 As someone who also has an interest in skyscrapers I really appreciate your views of the Shanghai skyline as well as views from Shanghai World Financial Center looking down on the equally stunning Jin Mao Tower next to it. London has the Shard being built, which is massive for that city, but might pale in comparison to the "bottle opener." Also you have some great shots of Happy Valley Shanghai. That park looks amazing. That mine train looks as though it took a page out of Schwarzkopf's speedracer design minus the sprial lift. Just out of curiosity how is the Intamin Giant Frisbee better than the Huss model since you stated it's more awesome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 ^ It just seemed to swing higher really... and the Intamin restraints are a lot better! I think the location over the lake helped too. Jin Jiang Action Park & Fisherman Warf. Jin Jiang is in a pretty gross area of the city. The entrance is basically under a huge road interchange and there are loads of beggers, loads. We bought a pack of tickets which was enough for the coasters + a couple of extra rides. The first thing you see is the big wheel, because it's HUGE. Well, it's 350ft. I think it looks taller because the cars are so tiny... The Zamperla MotoCoaster was just inside the entrance so we grabbed it first. Not much to say here, really not a fan of these... Here it is again, with the spiteful GIB in the background... It opened a few weeks later. Annoying... After the spite we went over to the shuttle loop, probably named 'Roller Coaster' or something. I think it actually was. You go out of the station forwards, up a lift hill, then come down the drop backwards, do the loop backwards, up a spike, then do the loop forward again. This was the first of three on the trip and was by far the best one. We expected death but got a smooth, intense coaster. It was actually amaze <3. The only issue is the restraints are designed for shorter people, so our shoulders got absolutely ruined. Not enough westerners... Next cred was 'Karst Kave Coaster'. It was a powered coaster, but we couldn't tell if it was Zamperla or a knockoff. Half their other coasters are Knockoffs and the other half are 'real' ones, so it's impossible to tell 3. It was fairly decent though, mainly due to the amount of ghetto-fab theming <3. Our fourth and final cred ar Jin Jiang was ANOTHER Golden Horse... After the creds we had tokens left, so braved the dodgy rapids. They were pretty sick to be fair. Better than Alton's or Thorpe's. ...and the ghetto ghost train. Fisherman Warf is quite far out, so we had to take the metro to the end of a line and then get a taxi from there. What a dump. 'It's actually Southend' The sea was gross... Got the Jungle Mouse first. One of the scariest, rustiest coasters I've ever done... I couldn't get out because my seatbelt was so rusty it got stuck... that's what you get for trying to use safety equipment in the People's Republic of China. The woman kept pointing at this dodgy looking Power Surge knockoff next door, so after shouting 'Zamperla haven't been anywhere near that, have they?' we ran over to the powered coaster... The looping toboggan was closed. Thank god... That Top Spin, OMG... Wish we had a better photo of it... It took us HOURS to get back into the city as there were no taxis ANYWHERE. We went into this random empty posh hotel and got them to call us one. They gave us a free drink too! Next: Suzhou parks (Giant Wheel Park of Suzhou and Suzhou Amusement Land)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 That Top Spin clone looks like it seats...six people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 ^ Yeah, and half the seats didn't have restraints...haha. It was raining pretty heavily in Shanghai when we were at the station waiting for our train to Suzhou, which worried us because the two cities are fairly close together. By the time we arrived in Suzhou (30mins or so on the bullet train) it had stopped, so we went to the Giant Wheel Park of Suzhou This is the place with the Vekoma Stingray. It was closed because of the weather so we got a cab to Suzhou Amusement Land, planning to return later. This place had 4 credits, one of which was an enclosed Galaxi type coaster. It had been taken down and built outside, but was in the process of being repainted, so was closed. . (No photo) So, we minced over to the SLC. It's like the one in Thailand, with the same elements as the regular SLC just in a slightly different shape. No alcoholics... and, Cervical what?! See how instead of sticking to the square footprint it just decides to go a different direction, under the lift hill? It started off quite smooth, then got slightly vulgar towards the end. Enclosed or not enclosed? The last coaster was the Shuttle Loop. We were expecting it to be decent like the one we'd done the previous day, but it just wasn't the same 3. They had the most GHETTO ORPs on this cred. A guy was standing at the bottom of the loop taking your photo, then it popped up on the screen at the end. Some were actually perfectly timed, but some were not. We didn't hang around very long because we had to get back to the other park (and this place was a dive). Giant Wheel Park of Suzhou We couldn't figure out where the name of the park originated from... Well, the Stingray was now open thank GOD. I knew it wasn't going to be great, but it's so unique I would have been really upset to miss it. Even though the rules were RIDICULOUS. Girls had to wear hair nets and they forced you to use lockers, even though there's only one train... the amount of faff was obscene. The lift was quite surreal. It felt like being on a stand up drop tower! Yeah, I LOVED the lift and the first drop/turn, then it was just over. The brake run was HORRIBLE too. Brakes and inversions don't mix 3 This was one of the better bits... So, in summary, it wasn't bad by any means but I can see why there's only one. The capacity is pretty dire. Once the credit was acquired we got a taxi to our hotel in Suzhou. We still had the apartment in Shanghai, but figured it would be better to just leave all our stuff there and bring an overnight bag for these dumps. The hotel was FOUL. There were cigarette burns on the bed and actual unflushed human urine in the toilet when we arrived... Next: World Joyland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowboard83 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Love these TRs! Question about Fisherman Warf, does it look like the looping toboggan is still operating or look like it has been SBNO? Actually, I guess every coaster in a small park in China looks SBNO that is actually operating. I was considering flying in early for the Shanghai TPR trip for some of these random unusual credits. Did you hear about/see the tidal bore that hits the coast near Fisherman Warf at high tide? That and that creepy ass looping toboggan are the only reasons I think I would want to be in that part of town in sounds like. Hopefully might be a BONUS CREDIT with the TPR trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Nope, we had no idea about the tide thing? No idea with the Toboggan, it looked pretty SBNO but all the rides there were so run down it was hard to tell for definite. After riding the one at Chuanlord we were actually quite glad it wasn't open, they really are the worst rides ever. Oh, and if you're over 6ft you'll have trouble closing the restraint on your legs (at Chuanlord they had to remove all the padding so it would lock on us)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_koppen Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 The mine train looks to be clone of the one in Bakken, Denmark. Only with a LOT more awsome theming to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 There's something about some of these crappy-looking asian parks that strikes excitement in me...it's as if you may actually die on their rides! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Please tell me you have a video of Stingray! I would love to see how it reclines and heads up the lift and how it comes back up in the seated position as it's in the brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Thanks for the comments so far! ^ Nah, sorry, we generally don't do videos... and we were only there for a few minutes to ride the coaster as we'd been delayed earlier! World Joyland This park is a bit of a shag to get to but obviously it had to be done. We got a train from Suzhou to Wuxi, which is the nearest major city to the park. From there we took a taxi, which took about an hour. There IS a bus from Wuxi station to the park, but we didn't realise this till we were returning later on. If I could go back I'd still probably get the taxi there just because busses are so much more difficult to understand if you don't know where you're going. Anyway, the park. Due to the fact that it had only been open a couple of months, nobody really knew what rides were there (apart from the 3 coasters), so we did miss quite a lot. To be honest, suprise suprise, the operations were so bad that it was about 4pm by the time we'd ridden all the coasters, and we had to get all the way back to Shanghai from here. The theming looks great, but is already showing signs of decay. Generally, the park felt rushed. I just got the feeling that they'd cut a lot of corners. The kiddie area copied IoA SO much... Of course, we went to the B&M Flyer first. it was worth the trek just for this... The twist/loop/turn is up there with X2's first drop for my craziest coaster moments. Pure fabness. It took us about an hour in the end because you have to FAFF with lockers, then it broke down for about half an hour when we were right at the front of the queue. There were actually puddles of sweat on the floor due to the humidity and so many people being crammed together. It was gross. After the flyer we got some lunch. The service was so terrible that this took the best part of an hour in the end /3. Once we had inhaled some chicken and chips it was X Car time <3 We like these. That's all there is to say really. Oh, they made Ben take his watch off, then put it in a locker, only to get given a wristband with a sharp key attatched to it. I think we were the only ones who were questioning this policy?!? She couldn't count either. The Mine Train didn't open till 2, and by now it was about half past so we sashayed over. This was the most putrid queue of the day for sure. An hour and a half. ONE TRAIN. Oh, and it's a Golden Horse knockoff, not a Vekoma <3. To be fair, it wasn't a bad knockoff. Rapids. Meh, couldn't be bothered. By this point we just wanted to leave, so got some photos just to show how much of a dump it is. Paint all over the floor... THESE ARE SO ANNOYING //3 Finally, a bit of casual copyright infringement... They also use ideas/buildings and stuff from popular games, none of which is licensed. Ben will be able to tell you more about it, but as far as I know there may be a lawsuit? Either way, this place is a massive hole which I don't want to return to. I can't believe THEY got such a great B&M, what a waste. Next: Shanghai Zoo and Shanghai Carnival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Stingray looks wicked but I'd stay away from that beachfront amusement park (well stay off the rides at least - I'd totally take pictures of the place). Such a shame about World Joyland. The flyer and the theming look nice(video game theming especially), but the paint spattered all over the place, (what looks like) unfinished construction areas that were just left to sit there, and the terrible service seems like a major turnoff. I will say that Shanghai looks amazing though. Definitely a city I'd love to visit just to experience it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I understand about the videos... but can you explain how these new vekoma flyers load/depart/ and return into the station (i.e. do they come back up as they are moving into the station)... how comfortable are the new flyer trains. There arent many videos on youtube about this ride... nothing shows the station or loading, depart, and return of the ride. I also agree with World Joyland... such a shame to see it look so amazing but to also see the neglect it is recieving already in it's first year. If was in chase of a park like that... The things I'd do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I'm really loving this report. I admire you guys going to these out of the way places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geauga Dog Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 it was worth the trek just for this... Wow, this just looks insane! Nice to see something new designed for B&M's flyer model. Sorry to hear about World Joyland. Is it so hard for China to come up with new theme ideas instead of ripping off copyrighted materials? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Thanks for the TR guys! I see you felt VERY much the same as I did about China. It's this really cool, interesting, fabulous in spots place, but something about it is also just VERY wrong! The way they throw these buildings and parks together is just so half ass, I can't believe there haven't been more accidents...or there have been and we just never hear about them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odene497 Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I need a looping toboggan in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannerdw Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Lol, the flying coaster is seriously named "Sky Scrapper"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber.Fiber Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Lol, the flying coaster is seriously named "Sky Scrapper"? It was originally named "Starry Night Ripper"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Lol, the flying coaster is seriously named "Sky Scrapper"? No it's proper name is: 撕裂星空 Sky Scrapper is just a poor translation (and misspelling) Why do people get so caught up in the translations of ride names into English? Very rarely is a complex ride name from a non-romance langauge going to easily translate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Shanghai Zoo Firstly, we were going to skip this Zoo and do the one in Beijing instead, then RCDB added a coaster here so we decided to include it. Secondly, I really don't care about animal rights. However, even I was pretty shocked by what I saw at this place. They had a whole section for dogs, which I found weird for a zoo... The Pandas were in much worse conditions than the ones in HK... Other animals, I won't bother with captions... This was horrible... Ben got some nice pictures of the turtles... Finally, the coaster! It was pretty ghetto... The previous day we'd seen a poster for a Canival in Shanghai, occupying some the World Expo site. We went to check it out incase they had some credits, and they did! Suspended kiddie coaster, similar to the one at Bottons in the UK... An actual Pinfari Big Apple! Italian... There were 3 other coasters. A Pinfari looper... ... a Pinfari wildcat... ... and finally, a Pinfari Invert, which was closed, unfortunately. We think it's the one which used to be at Nigloland? That was our final day in Shanghai. Great city <3. Next part: Sun Park in Beijing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Kind of weird about the dogs in the zoo. Cages look a little small for them too. Not a fan of a zoo that keeps animals confined like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Wow--that is one sad looking zoo. The giraffes looks like they live in front of a cheap apartment complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 ^ Haha, I didn't notice that! What a dump... Sooo, we decided to get a bullet train to Beijing, no photos of the journey or anything, but the bullet train was awesome. Sun Park & Beijing World Park On the way to Sun Park we walked past this structure. No expert, but it looks like a roof for something. ... and looked EXACTLY like B&M track! Sun Park was a typical pay-per-ride park. Very RCT1, you pay a couple of quid to enter too. First credit was the LoopScrew, which wasn't bad at all really. Smoother than a lot of Vekomas... Disney infringement... Next credit, the Jungle Mouse... So much rust... SO much... Ghetto mine train... Couldn't really get any photos of this... It looks really dull but has some crazy hidden trackwork. It was actually quite vicious, haha. Powered dragon' coaster, with some more fab english This was really ghetto too, and it's SUCH a credit You also get ravaged by foliage... The kiddie coaster was amazing <3 Bit of a squeeze, but still a lot better than a Go Gator! The last credit was a weird family coaster that did NOTHING. The infringement made up for it though... Yeah, it was awful. Beijing World Park We knew this place had a coaster, but that was about it. The models were pretty good... There was a random elephant hanging around the entrance <3 Here are some pictures of models. This was actually huge... Oh, China. Really? The coaster was another rusty mine train. This is the only photo we have of it It was the least amount of legroom I've EVER had on a coaster. It was actually painful just sitting there... Thanks for reading! Next part: Beijing tourist stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fry Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 The photos from me died there that day because my memory card decided to stop working /3 The Zoo in Beijing looks a bit run down, but, after Shanghai it was MUCH nicer! Loving the memories the report brings <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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