coastercrazy216 Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) I have been reading some things on the forum and I was just wondering if anyone would please give some updates and explain what is going on with La Qua. I am very curious as to the current condition of the park as it seemed like a wonderful park. Edited August 13, 2013 by SharkTums
SharkTums Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 I have been following the 'situation' at La Qua for about 18 months now and have visited every other year since 2004. Here's the best description I can give: Â - Maintenance Worker got hurt by drop tower - Guest was killed on spinning mouse - Bolt/screw/something fell off of Thunder Dolphin onto a midway below (no injuries) Â All three of these things happened within about a three month period in 2010/2011. Then the large earthquake hit six weeks later. Â Japanese are very safety and image conscious, and these incidents were just unacceptable therefore the mouse is gone, tower is being taken down, and Thunder Dolphin sits in limbo. Before all of this happened they had been working on a big redo of the 'towerland' and indoor area of the park. Linear Gale had been taken out along with GeoPanic as part of a refresh. Now those plans seem to be taking a lot longer, if they ever get done at all. Â I fear we could be looking at a situation similar to Expoland. I don't think the entire park will disappear, but I could see it being the big ferris wheel and some smaller rides only from now on.
australianalex Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 I hope they manage to keep Thunder Dolphin. Sure, its not one of the best Intamin hypers, but it looks amazing in the city of Tokyo. Is Thunder Dolphin still operating?
RideofSteel Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 ^Its been SBNO for a while. Â From what I've read, since December 2010.
dubaidave Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 Oh no. Can't believe I have missed this news. I loved thunder dolphin and ranked it as one of my favorite coasters. Let's hope it does run again
coastercrazy216 Posted January 8, 2012 Author Posted January 8, 2012 Elissa, Â Do you have any idea what they were planning for the refresh? I wonder why RCDB still has Thunder Dolphin listed as operational and the spinner listed as SBNO.
SharkTums Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 ^RCDB is very good, but they make mistakes. Make no mistake about it, Thunder Dolphin has not run with guests since December 2010. Like I had posted. They tested it briefly in April 2011, but it did not run with guests. Â The refresh was supposed to have new rides and attractions, but seems to have slowed down and become much more quiet lately.
gisco Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Wow, I totally missed that Thunder Dolphin has been SBNO for a year.
coastercrazy 9 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 One thing I never understand is how people say that they don't like Thunder Dolphin? I have personally never ridden it, but it looks pretty fun to me!
SharkTums Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 ^You just answered your own question. You haven't been on it, don't judge. Â Look, everyone knows I love Intamin rides, but this one is basically a glorified mine train. Much more like a B&M Hyper with gentle turns and floater air time. That's why some people like it, and some people rate it average. Â It's in Japan, goes through a Ferris Wheel and over a building, so it's still better than 99% of coasters out there...just not everyone's cup of tea!
coastercrazy 9 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 ^ Thanks for clearing that up. It's just that the general consensus is that intamin hypers are pretty awesome. So I guess (from your description) its not a huge loss to the enthusiast community if its gone.
Jew Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) ^You just answered your own question. You haven't been on it, don't judge. Â Look, everyone knows I love Intamin rides, but this one is basically a glorified mine train. Much more like a B&M Hyper with gentle turns and floater air time. That's why some people like it, and some people rate it average. Â It's in Japan, goes through a Ferris Wheel and over a building, so it's still better than 99% of coasters out there...just not everyone's cup of tea! Â Don't forget the pat down before you ride! Edited January 9, 2012 by Jew
Noxegon Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 That's annoying right enough, but there are worse things in life than being felt up by cute Japanese women!
screaminkid2005 Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 Â - Maintenance Worker got hurt by drop tower - Guest was killed on spinning mouse - Bolt/screw/something fell off of Thunder Dolphin onto a midway below (no injuries) Â All three of these things happened within about a three month period in 2010/2011. Then the large earthquake hit six weeks later. Â Dam that's horrible news for the park. Its always sad to lose a park so i really hope the park can survive all it's gone threw. Did the earthquake cause any major damage to the park?
SharkTums Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 ^No. But it just setback any progress or new construction as resources were diverted to areas of Japan that needed actual rebuilding.
gisco Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 In my opinion the reason the ride is so disappointing is because it looks really cool. The coaster offers some great off ride photo opportunities then doesn't deliver as a ride.
cfc Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) ^I felt the same--a decent, but disappointing coaster. I'm actually sadder that LaQua's Zombie Paradise dark ride is no more--now there was something unique. Â Edited January 9, 2012 by cfc
matteocrepaldi Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 Does anyone have updates about La Qua? A friend of mine has started planning a big trip to Japan for 2013 and I was looking for any information about Thunder Dolphin reopening or about the situation in general!
David H Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 A friend of mine was just there last month., visiting Japan with family, and hitting up a few parks. He said that there were no operating roller coasters. But they have added a ride that's similar to Spider-Man, involving some cat-girl character from manga. I'm tempted to stop by in August just to check it out, if time allows, but my time in Tokyo will be very tight, so I probably won't have time.
Big-M Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 I was in Japan about 2 weeks ago, and it was sad seeing Thunder Dolphin closed. It's such an impressive looking ride in person.
SharkTums Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 ^Looking at your signature, don't worry...you got on the MUCH better Intamin coaster in Tokyo!
Big-M Posted July 21, 2012 Posted July 21, 2012 ^Looking at your signature, don't worry...you got on the MUCH better Intamin coaster in Tokyo! Yeah. When I went to Tobu Zoo, the park was mostly empty. I got to ride Kawasemi eight times in a row without leaving the station. Absolutely FANTASTIC ride!
David H Posted July 22, 2012 Posted July 22, 2012 While I haven't been on Kawasemi itself, I've been on its clone Piraten in Denmark. And the mega-lite and Thunder Dolphin weren't even close. It's really pretty much as Elissa describes. A nice, fun ride, neatly positioned on and through the building and through the wheel. But nothing terribly special. (Although I do have it on my keychain.)
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