Multiple Bucket List items checked off - Dim Sum style: bert goes to China with TPR! (a photo trip report with lots of cities, lots of hotels, lots of parks, and lots and lots of food!)

[bert425]

so. . . one of the reasons I love TPR (and there are many, among them the great friends I've made over the years with other posters/trip goers) is that via Robb & Elissa, I'm able to do things I never thought in a million years I would get to do.

this trip to China was one of them.     I'm serious when I say that this trip knocked out several things from my bucket list, including my #1 (getting to visit all currently existing Disney Parks in the world).

I'd looked forwards to this trip for almost a full year, and now that it was upon me I had a bit of panic (the Government had shut down and what would that do to travel?), and a lot of excitement.   Elissa and Robb were invaluable assets in terms of knowing what to apply for Visa wise, what apps to set up, how much local $$ to bring, what VPN to get, what eSim, etc. etc.  

add to this, my Boyfriend was fully moving in with me, 2 days after I left for the trip - after spending the better part of the prior year and a half traveling back and forth an hour 40 minutes each way to stay with me every few days.   and I'd be gone for almost a month, while he was alone in the house.   

But I valued so much that I was invited to join, and overall, wouldn't trade the experience for anything!    

the first installment here is getting to China, so not a lot of pics of things other than myself and plane food.  but we'll quickly get into many amazing things in upcoming installments. 

*and I'm even gonna go back and finish off my Oktoberfest report from last year. . . whoops!  life got in the way, but gonna finish that, as that TPR trip was amazing as well.

anyways. . here we go, off to the races

 

up at 3am, and Jim and I took a pic before he drove me the 40 minutes to the Austin airport, before he headed back to Waco - as he had to work that morning.

 

I always tend to fly United for international flights, because for me?  they are the best of the worst.   They ALWAYS mess something up, be it delayed/cancelled flights stranding me somewhere, lost luggage, a missed connection. . . something!   
(that said, this trip?  first time, EVER, no luggage lost, and no flight cancelled that left me stranded somewhere.. even tho there was a bit of drama, as you'll see).

the bonus is that because I've always had issues, I have a ton of credit and goodwill from the Company, so when they offered to upgrade me to Polaris Business class (after some flight f**kery that moved my flights around multiple times in the month leading up to the trip), for less than $150?   I grabbed it.

and because of that, I had access to the United Lounges on my flight there.

here I am around 4am having a light snack in the Lounge in the Austin airport.

the first flight went without a hitch, and since they had upgraded me to Business for the long flight, this much shorter one (still 3 1/2 hours tho) bumped me into 1st class:

nice, wide seats

and to my surprise, a served, warm meal!    the rest of the plane got the option to buy those meal boxes, but I was able to have Peach crepes.

and they were good!  (but it was too much food)

landing in San Francisco, I had about 3 hours until my connecting flight to Beijing. . . which was a good thing, as the walk from my terminal to the gate for the international flight took almost 30 minutes.
(the gates are NEVER close to each other. . LOL).

took this pic of the plane I had gotten off of as I passed it walking from domestic into the international terminal.

I wasn't really hungry, but I had almost 2 hours to kill, so hung out in the lounge there and eventually had a light snack here too.

I'd been really trying to lose some weight before China (so my big American butt would fit in the Chinese rides). . .but this was a bad start that I was already eating way too much.

spoiler tho: I was only denied 5 things during the whole trip. . and really, it was only 3, because one I didn't even try (knew I was too heavy) and the other I was *just* below the weight limit, but I didn't want to argue with them, so just said ok and stepped aside to take pictures instead of riding.

beautiful day tho. . . so wasn't expecting any issues.

hahahaha. . yeah.

some of the SF Airport artwork as I headed to my gate.

which as noted, was the ass end of the airport, and down the stairs.

but at least made it and the flight showed on time still.

the Polaris Business Class on United is amazing.   Even tho I tend to get claustrophobic in these "bathtubs". . these ones seemed OK, since I was the only one on this side, and there was no "door" so it was open.   the seat reclines all the way down and slides forwards and turns it into a flat bed for sleeping.   

they give you so much stuff, it took some rearranging to fit in.   but I enjoyed my glass of champagne while boarding.

then we sat.   

and sat some more.

and sat some more.

the pilot came on multiple times to tell us that we were holding for the wind to let up, but he hoped we could take off.

luckily I wasn't the only one on the China TPR trip, as Shane and his son Fischer were also on board, and also in Business class, so we chatted while we sat.

I got an alert from United offering us a $25 (I think?) coupon to use in the terminal to get a snack, but it must be used today.   and I walked up to Shane's seat and said - "they're gonna make us deplane"  

not even 20 minutes later, we got the announcement that the crew had timed out, and we all had to deplane, and to come back to the same gate in about 3 hours, as they had already called a new flight crew.

the conspiracy theorist in me thinks it had something to do with Air Traffic Controllers (as my prior pic showed, it was a beautiful day. . and other flights were taking off.. so very odd, the "wind" was only affecting the one runway that we HAD to use, because the other one was under construction).     anyways, we took all our carry ons off, and since we were all Business class, we 3 headed back to the lovely United Lounge in the international terminal to hang out and wait.

exhausted already - and not even on the 14+ hour flight - but sending proof of life home to Jim and telling him what's going on.

eventually, we made our way back down to the gate at the new time, and tho they were late getting boarding going - we started boarding moments after the flight crew came in, but interestingly just after the door steward had announced that they were delaying boarding so they could finish cleaning the plane (yes, the same plane we had been on earlier).

so this is me not really trusting them, but trying not to panic, that if the flight got cancelled, how the heck was I gonna get to China in time for the food tour I had booked on the day after my arrival?

but eventually, we did back away from the gate. . and about 6 1/2 hours after we were supposed to have left, we finally took off and headed towards Beijing.

 

here's a peek at the menu - they really do love to feed ya on international flights.

I didn't have everything - I was simply too full.

but I did have the beets salad:

the prawns:

a few cold brews:

and tho I watched a few movies, and never sleep on flights, I actually did lay the chair down into bed position and napped for about an hour or so.

woke up to desert snack service (that I passed on), and this beautiful sunrise out my window.

I did give in and try the grilled cheese for the 2/3rds flight snack (it looked way better than it was, and funnily Shane, Fischer, and I had all gotten it and all had the same opinion of it).

we were starting to pass over cities . . .and were supposed to land soon

only ~7 hours after we had been supposed to arrive. . but hey, we were here!

and the perk of arriving so late, was that the terminal was pretty empty.  

Which made getting thru Customs and immigration a breeze

Shane had arranged a car, and the driver had been following along with our flight delays.. thank goodness he was there waiting for us, when we finally came out of arrivals.

we all breathed a sigh of relief, and piled into the car, for the drive to the hotel we were staying in pre-trip.   a Hilton, as had been recommended by Elissa.

not sure if it was because we arrived so much later than intended, or what.. but I ended up in a HUGE corner suite for the night. . .for a super reasonable (ie: inexpensive) price.

really, the room was big: 

the first of many hotels that had the bathroom/shower open to the main room.

yes, you could pull out the sliding panels to block it off, but it seemed to be a thing in China, that one would be able to watch someone in the bathroom (tho not on the actual toilet - in most cases) if one chose to.

most all of the hotels on this trip provided bottled water, so never really worried about getting sick (and didn't really, luckily).

the view from my corner room.

at this point i was exhausted. . so after a shower and a call home to let Jim know I had arrived safely (14 hour time difference, so my 1am was his late 3pm) I climbed into bed and was out cold.

I had a food tour booked in the morning, and had to check out and meet Elissa in the lobby by 11.

tho I did get up to pee during the night, and the toilet freaked me out enough by opening up to greet me and lighting up, that I grabbed my phone from the charger, and snapped some pics.

freaky

let the adventure begin!!

 

 

[AmyUD06]

I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of this.  There really is no better place than TPR for Trip Reports (I've got about two years worth to write LOL), and I always enjoy yours, so thank you.

[bert425]

Day 0 - Beijing Back alley food tour & bus to 1st basecamp hotel: Universal Studios Beijing!

part 1 

Elissa & Robb had found a local food tour company that was very highly rated, and had made plans to take the tour.   She offered to anyone that was arriving early, if they wanted to join in, and I believe we had all 12 spots filled with TPR folks.

after a great sleep (thanks to Tylenol PM to knock me out and help prevent jet lag), I got up and got my first look at the actual view from my room.  pretty nice.

it was nice and cool, and I had slept with windows cracked. . .was loving the weather.

but I had an important task to take care of now that I was actually thru Immigration & Customs:  

China parks tend to be very restrictive on age/weight/height.    so anything I could do to make myself look younger, I needed to do.   Cutoff age was 49, so needed to look at least that young - or at least tell them I was that young if they asked.

Some dyed hair, but for me, that meant shapewear (for weight, since they mainly eyeball), and cutting off the goatee, as I knew that would make me look much younger. 

and it did

I made sure to take note of the warning on the Q-tips the hotel supplied, and was aware of my "ear socket and deep nostril"

checked out, and had the hotel hold the bags (as we weren't headed over to Universal until ~3pm, and the food tour started at 11am).

we met up in the lobby, and grabbed a pic with Robb, and the cow that was hanging out by the hotel front entrance: 

my roomie for this trip, Stacy, also did the food tour with us!

with excellent Navigation from Elissa, we made our way over to the nearest metro station, and headed to the meeting spot for the food tour.

random pics snapped while walking to the metro.

this rail system was super easy to understand, and that was true of every major city we took the train in.   
and it was great to see so many things with English translations, even if the vast majority of the people did not speak English.  (translator app is super helpful)

we got to our stop about 40 minutes early, so we were cut loose to explore the area and meet back to start the tour at 11.

the area in central Beijing is absolutely gorgeous

the stop we were to meet at was apparently next to a pretty major landmark - the Central Axis and Wanning Bridge:

all over the city there were little "workout" areas and many of them were being used by older folks staying in shape.

Andrew and Jon too !

these folks were just hanging out on an afternoon putting on a performance in a music circle.

myself and John - he was a huge hit over in China (especially among the kids). . they just hadn't seen a beard like this often. . so lots of folks snapping pics of him.

the aforementioned music performance.

and yes, the singer really did sound an awful lot like Yoko Ono singing.   was very cool to hear tho, and the folks gathered were very appreciative.

absolutely no idea why this "Patrick and Spongebob holding each other's cakey-butts" was on this bike, but I saw it several places around Beijing.   perhaps a local "graffiti art" type image?

Dancing Children, yay!!!    Not today, as it was Sunday. . but later in the trip, we'd see so many children in the parks on school trips.   

back at the station, we snapped a pic with our food guide and then we were off!

our first stop down an alley was this tiny (well, they were all pretty small, local places) noodle house.

looking around the alley as our guide explained how this local place had been here for many years, and was very popular for their pulled noodles.

a peek into the kitchen from the table I sat at.

the 12 of us on the tour took up pretty much all the tables in this place, so we were able to learn about the food, and how it's made and should be eaten.

 

mixing everything together.  

it smelled incredible.    

as someone who likes spicy, I added chili sauce to mine, but not until after tasting it first, to get the full flavor of the noodles

yum!

you can tell I just *hated* this  

the kewl side of the place being so small, is that the owner and chef came out and sat with us to watch us eat and judge our reactions.

they were so surprised I asked if I could take their picture.  (behind them are pics of Chinese celebrities who have come by this place for noodles)

moving on towards our next stop, I did notice that some of the architecture in this neighborhood was very "heavy". . . what I'd expect from a Communist place. . but most of it was not.  which made places like this stand out that much more.   I truly was surprised how much i enjoyed the people and places in China, and found everyone to be just delightful.

(well. . except for that one Disney saleswoman who couldn't understand I wanted to buy a medium shirt for my bf, and kept pointing to my belly and saying "too fat" when I tried to check out with the shirt).   LOL

our guide explained to us how most of these entrances we were passing in the alleys were homes, and the blue "studs" indicated wealth/prestige. . so the more of them, the higher the rank.

many had 1 or 2, but a few had 4.

then we turned onto a little strip center and into our 2nd stop:

slightly bigger place, and we only took up two of the 4 long tables in here.

some of the options, tho we were going to try the first one, a famous Beijing dish called a Door Nail Dumpling (because it looks like a door nail on the Forbidden City giant red doors)

our guide explained the history of the dish, how it got it's name. . .

and broke out a local alcohol - that was quite strong - for us to try.

cheers!

here are the Dumplings.

and they were OMG so good. . . I think would rank way up there in the top 3 things I ate this entire trip.

absolutely delicious

back out into the main street, and down another alley way, and we were at our 3rd stop.
 

this one just looked like a doorway. . but as you went back, it split off into multiple houses/restaurants.

we sat at a table in the "courtyard". . and were served multiple dishes to make a meal.

Pork (or chicken. . not sure which)

oh, maybe that one is the chicken?

lots of options on the table, and our guide explained the proper way to eat everything.

these were a "desert". . which really tasted like a red bean marmalade.

it wasn't bad, but it wasn't a favorite of mine.  mainly because I really hate being sticky, and you can tell from just looking at these, how sticky it was.

here she is explaining procedure to us

again, everything was quite good.    very low on the "spiciness" level (for me), but really great on flavor.

 

as soon as was done, I had to go wash my hands (the sticky thing). . so got to see my first "traditional" Chinese toilet.

ta-da!

and then we were  on our way back thru the alleys and back onto a main street for our final stop.

it wasn't on the main floor tho. . it was on the rooftop (overlooking the historical landmark "Drum Tower")

noted, ummmm. . .

vampire policeman? 

I think? 

adorable that they put "cloud lights" above the stairs as you ascend three flights to the rooftop.

the rooftop was lovely - and covered in Astroturf.

yup, our final stop was Hot Pot (which many of us on this trip had never had before). . with beef, pork, and tofu options

and ADORABLE mustard dipping sauce bowls

the aforementioned Drum Tower view from the rooftop dining.

food tour over, and myself full, fat, and happy, we headed back to the metro to grab our luggage from the Hilton, and head over to Universal via transfer bus that Elissa had booked.

the front of the restaurant entrance that we went into for the rooftop dining.

yeah. . the metro was a LITTLE more crowded on the ride back to the Hilton.

but the transfer bus was there, and we loaded our luggage and spread out.  

the official trip didn't start till tomorrow, so 15 or so more folks would be meeting us later at the hotel.

pics from the bus window as we left central Beijing (since the Universal resort is on the town outskirts) and it had been dark the night before, so I didn't get to see really any of the city

just a tiny fraction of the apartment buildings, that stretched for miles in every direction around Beijing.   and crossing over one of the multiple "moats" that surround the city.

and then. . .glimpsed thru the window on the opposite side?   we turned into Universal Beijing resort.

 

to be continued. . . 

[bert425]

Day 0 continued:

arriving at Universal Studios Grand Hotel is quite an experience. . it's a huge hotel that straddles the entrance to the park, and the Citywalk.

very "vintage" Hollywood designed too.

and they were decorated for Halloween!

for some reason (VERY unlike me) I don't seem to have taken any pics of the room at Universal?

but each room was themed, and ours was "Back to the Future". . so we had pics of Doc

and Doc, Marty, the DeLorean in our room.

and a nice view

the lobby is pretty art deco.  loved this lamp.

you could take these stairs down to go thru security for park entry.

we were going to meet up with 'the Nicks" to go into Citywalk, but Stacy and I headed to the bar first.

where we discovered an entire drink menu themed to 'spooky' 

it was called the "Moonlight Berry Whisper" and had a Berry Ice Dragon in it. . of COURSE I had to order it.

it was really good, tho not much alcohol in it.

Fischer had "Shrek's Vitality Potion" and Shane had a "Spiced Soul" I believe

 

after drinks, we headed out to Citywalk, passing right in front of the park gates.

while Universal Beijing doesn't have "Halloween Horror Nights" officially, they DO have "Scares @ Universal" with some very familiar park landmarks that are from HHN, and some Houses, that are included with admission.    as well as a big show and 3 "scare zones" that feature their Halloween Mascots - represented below in the neon sign.

but we'd be doing that tomorrow.     Tonight was just a visit to the Citywalk to check it out, and grab a bite.

Can't be a Universal without the famous globe out front!

not as big as some of the other CityWalks I've been to (tho I've never been to the US Universals). . .but this one had very reasonable prices on everything, and some very decent food options.

and a Popstore - that of course, was sold out of Labubu

PLENTY of everything else tho. . but I very quickly got over the blind box craze. . I wanna know what I'm buying . . . did pick up a few as gifts tho.

very large food court, that was open after the park closed. . . i think we came in here to eat close to 10:30 pm?

everything was so inexpensive, I ended up ordering way too much so I could try things.

my stomach regretted it later that night, but at least I didn't eat all of it.

and only had one of these (gifted one to others at the table, and tossed one). . I got excited by seeing Door Nail Dumpling as an option for a side, and ordered them.   but of course, they were no where near as good as the handmade by grandmas ones we had had earlier today.   They were ok tho. . . just not amazing.

on the way back to the hotel, we popped into Toothsome's to check out prices 
 

they were reasonable, and we ended up grabbing some stuff for our room.

and then the robot guy (no idea what his name is) was out and about at end of night. . so for some reason, I did a "gangsta pose" with him while wearing my Chinese Grandma red jacket. . . LOL

still a good pic tho.

a pic of some of the fountains as we crossed the lake back to the hotel.

and then it was time to crawl into bed, and sleep.

tomorrow was a big day - breakfast included in the hotel, and then a full day at Universal Beijing to kick off the official TPR China trip.

[mikeykaise]

what kind of age and weight restrictions do the parks put on adults in China?

[bert425]

2 hours ago, mikeykaise said:

what kind of age and weight restrictions do the parks put on adults in China?

it really depended what park it was.

but most of the restrictions were under 90kg (~200 lbs), but some were 100kg (220 lbs) or even 80kg (180 lbs or less).    not every ride with a restriction had a scale out, but many of them did.

as to age, 49 seemed to be the cut off, but many of us are older than that, and if asked, just said "I'm 49" and it wasn't a problem.

[mikeykaise]

19 hours ago, bert425 said:

it really depended what park it was.

but most of the restrictions were under 90kg (~200 lbs), but some were 100kg (220 lbs) or even 80kg (180 lbs or less).    not every ride with a restriction had a scale out, but many of them did.

as to age, 49 seemed to be the cut off, but many of us are older than that, and if asked, just said "I'm 49" and it wasn't a problem.

wow, that's crazy.

[bert425]

Day 1:  Universal Studios (full day).  

Part 1: 

 

so today was the official kick off of the trip!   a full day at Universal, and it was a Monday which meant the Halloween event was going on!   (I believe it runs Fri-Mondays until Halloween).

it's NOT called Halloween Horror Nights, seemed to be called "Scares @ Universal" , but a very similar thing, with houses and scare zones - tho what is "scary" in Beijing seemed to be very different than what is "scary" in the US, at least as far as the Scare Zones go.   I'll get to that later in this update

first up tho, was breakfast - which was included every morning during our stay at the Universal Studios Grand Hotel.

here's as close as I seem to have gotten to a "room picture", myself and Stacy that I sent home to let Jim know we were ready to go for the kickoff of the trip.

the walkway to the breakfast area goes over the park entrance, so got a preview of where we would be in the next hour.

and what a surprise!  it's a "character breakfast"

I was absolutely thrilled of course. . . even tho I have not seen more than a couple of the "Despicable Me" films, or any of the "Minions" movies.

they wander around during breakfast from table to table, and also pose at the front for photos.

different characters most mornings.  and in costume for Halloween

it was a very good, and large, breakfast buffet.  and tho I didn't take a lot of pictures of the food, I did focus on the sweets table so got lots of those pics!

Toothless creampuffs

no idea, but adorable

spooky donuts!

I tried this thinking it was just a case of "mis-translation to English". . . but nope, it wasn't pieces of chicken. 
it was Chicken Cartilage.

(one of the few things I moved aside once trying a single, chewy/cruncy bite).

and all areas of the food tables were decked out with these adorable Minions in Halloween costume sculptures:

breakfast eaten, we headed down to the main entrance, and went thru Security as a group  (hotel guests get early entry to some parts of the park, and TPR went thru security and the entry as a group to ensure no issues with tickets.   tho we were all gonna meet up in an hour when Transformers land opened to the public to all ride Decepticoaster together as a group thru the general line.

 

the entrance area really is not that spooky in the daytime, before they pump in all the fog.

reminded me very much of several parks in Europe where the front entrance has a "cover" that turns into an entertainment area at night.

spooky hanging tree

a look back at our hotel from inside the park.

that "bridge" on the 2nd level is where I snapped the pic on the way to breakfast earlier.

out of the main entrance street, you are hit with a stunning view of the main lagoon, and the mountain that houses one of the park's signature rides: Jurassic Flyers.
(that area wasn't open just yet either, but would be in about an hour)

headed towards the "early entry" side of the park:  Minions land, and Harry Potter

Minions land is an indoor area. . not really large, but housing the kiddie coaster, and a couple of flat rides.    

tho if you count the coaster in the facade, this park has five credits

lots and lots of fun theming over here, even if I didn't "get" most of it.

 

Group shot before we split up for about an hour (some to get the kiddie in minions land, or the junior in HP land).  Courtesy of Robb

not allowed to go this way yet (the Moose out front - and those employees there - told us).   but the torches were already lit to start the day.

 

park staff directing folks to the right for Harry Potter, rather than to the left for Jurassic Park area.

tho I've still never been to a USA Universal park - so have nothing to compare it to.  and am not a huge Harry Potter fan (and have issues with the Author). . these lands that I have been in at other Universal parks continue to impress me.

they are so well done.

(tho I will say the "moaning Myrtle" in the bathroom here, sounds very "adult" when she's moaning in Chinese, LOL)

this was the ONLY time all day this area looked like this.   it soon swelled up with so many people (MANY of them dressed in robes with wands) that it was hard to move, and became quite claustrophobic to me.   They LOVE Harry Potter here.

taking advantage of the early entry crowds to get a pic with the train.

the main ride in this area, tho we skipped this for the moment to get in the shortist-it-would-be-all-day line for "Flight of the Hippogriff" - I believe a true Mack junior coaster.     it was more fun than the one I remembered riding at Universal Japan. . so wonder if it's the same model? 

 

by the time we finished that coaster, Jurassic Park and Transformers were about to open, so we headed towards Decipticoaster, cutting thru Jurassic Park.

past Jurassic Park, if you hang a right here, is Transformers world.

this intersection would be used as a "scare zone" later tonight.

my first good view of Decipticoaster's launch.

several folks had told me it was a "clone" of Hulk at the Orlando Park, but in talking to some Universal Beijing folks, they explained it's actually NOT a clone, tho it is very close.  this is due to some minor differences in the track, but heck if I can remember exactly what the differences were that he told me.
 

across the plaza is another large Transformers ride, but that one wasn't opening with this area, and they told us to come back after 2 and they'd have it open for guests.

Decipticoaster doing it's thing.

group shot before we got in line to ride (courtesy of Robb)

whee!   (pics thanks to Elissa)

what did I think?   

I really liked it! 

it had a ton of floater air (which I really enjoy) and when I commented to someone that it wasn't as forceful as I had expected and was very re-rideable for me, that's when he told me about the differences with Hulk at Islands of Adventure.

one thing I DO recall, is the storyline - as I asked about that, since the onboard audio is all in Chinese.

he explained to to me, and now I love the coaster even more:   the train is actually a Decipticon.  an evil surfer (dude) who has turned himself into the train to try and torture/kill the riders, and the control unit is trying to safely get us back to the station.

too damn adorable.

then we all split off again for the rest of the day, and the group I was with headed back over to Jurassic Park to get the other big coaster.

but first, we passed "West Dock Dogs". . which amuses me.

this is the Queue Line for Jurassic Flyers - a Mack inverted powered coaster, that has seating similar to the Arthur ride at Europa Park.

EVERYTHING must go in a locker - tho provided free of charge.   so no pics of the station or queue past the lockers.

I did enjoy this ride, but was disappointed by the lack of any dinosaurs on it!  the paddocks you "fly" over, are all empty.  it seemed as if they blew the whole setting budget on the queue line.   (oh, the ride across from it *totally* makes up for the lack of dinos on this ride, but I really do wish at least there were some statues of dinos in the paddocks you go over).    still a fun time, but the line stayed pretty long all day due to capacity on it, so I only rode this the one time.

here's the ride across from it.

and I wanted Dinos ?   yup, this gave them to me.

Elissa told me this was her favorite ride here, and that I'd love it, and yup, she was 100% correct.

I ended up riding this a few times.   

Myself, Nick, Stacy, and Nick are ready for a Jurassic Adventure!

the queue line formation reminded me a lot of "Dinosaur" at Animal Kingdom  (and we saw a bunch of other TPR folks in this line too)

Universal really does do a great job with the theming in the queues. . . and the use of the digital screens.

no pictures from the actual ride, because there were "no photos or recording" signs everywhere.   but EVERYONE was recording or taking pictures.   on most every ride we had been on thus far.    

So I inquired about it, and the advice we got was "do as the locals do". . . .well, the locals were all taking pics and videoing. . . so when I rode this later, I took some pics that I'll share in part 2 (or 3).    it was hard to get non blurry pics tho, as the vehicles are moving pretty well as you're being chased by dinos. . . LOL

exiting tho, I was able to snap a couple of pics of Jurassic Flyers in action:

then my small group headed over to Minion's land to get the last coaster credit in the park:

Loop-Dee-Doop-Dee - a kiddie/jr coaster, that does, in fact, not "loop", nor "dee-doop" . . but some folks count credits, and MUST ride every coaster available.    as it wasn't just an oval kiddie?  I got in line with them to ride too.

from the station, a peek at one of the other rides in this area.    Dumbo as "bugs" I guess?

the train design is fun too.

do as the locals do -   see, folks filming on the ride.

so we got a pic and it's a pretty good one, I think.

we had the whole day, and with the coasters all ridden (tho some would get re-ridden), we took a detour back to Jurassic Park for Raptor Encounter.

is this Blue?   no idea, but it was well done.

we even talked the Nick's into posting for a pic.

tho I ended up purchasing the one of myself and Stacy.  (it's already hanging on the wall at home).

exploring along the backside of the park - as we hadnt' been over here yet, and the map showed a pretty large structure back here.

turned out it was Kung Fu Panda area (another franchise I have not seen any films from). . to get there you have to pass thru the Waterworld Show section.   we made note of the times it was playing, as I've never seen it, so wanted to catch a showing.

and then suddenly, it gets lush, and there are Panda's everywhere:

 

it's the "Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness"

and yeah, I'll agree with them. . it's pretty damn STUNNING inside here.

(and cool. . the sun had come out by now and it was warming up)

the lantern balloon ride looks incredible.

as did the carousel - but we'll get to that shortly.

this was the main reason to come back here:  a boat dark ride.

"Journey of the Dragon Warrior"

note it says wait time is 10 minutes.

so that is ALL walking the queue.   I think this one wins the prize for being the longest queue line I'd ever been in.    it just went on and on, room after room, and it was a double sided queue . . so giant rooms of just row after row of empty queues. . . 

Seriously, the walk was almost 9 minutes to get to the loading station.     it was so long, and with so many steps, that even tho I LOVED this ride?  I declined to go back and ride it again later because I didn't want to do that much walking again.     

I can just imagine if every here on a day so busy that the queue would be full. . this would be a 4 hour wait.

finally getting to the load station: 

as noted tho, the ride IS worth it.   such a great dark ride, even if I didn't know any of the characters represented.

really impressive animatronic movements too.

and some screens.

it's a fairly long, and impressive, ride.

wasn't gonna leave this area without carousel freak me, riding the carousel tho!

even talked some non-carousel crazy folks to ride it with me 

such impressive carvings!

and even the toilets in here were themed to the film. . . 

 

to be continued in part 2

 

 

[bert425]

Part 2

 

it was early afternoon and past time for lunch, so we headed over to Harry Potter land, because one of those I was with wanted to get some ButterBeer, and we figured it was worth it to see if we could get into the restaurant there.  nope, the line to get INTO the restaurant was posting a 45 minute wait, and it was so crowded, it triggered an anxiety attack. . so I stepped way over to the side, and just waited for the Butterbeer to be purchased - took the requisite pic of them drinking it in Hogsmeade and with the foam mustache, and then we headed elsewhere to get food.

and easily found short lines, and indoor seating over by Minions land.
 

there were pretty neat "scary" themed cups for sodas, and some themed deserts too.
oh, and because we were near minions land?  anyone who ordered a burger combo (my 3 fellow TPR folks, and a ton of others in the restaurant), got a burger, fries, a drink. . and a Banana.    

no, really.   LOL

although I went for a standard braised pork and tofu bowl.
 

the themed deserts.

I just had to try the "naughty ghost"

what it looked like on the outside

and inside.   I believe it was Passion Fruit, but was very mild in flavor.

didn't get to try this, as I wasn't hungry again tonight. . but these looked SO good!

as we were finishing up, Robb & Elissa sent a message to the group that the 4 houses were about to open up for the night, and now was the time to grab them while the lines were still gonna be really short.

luckily we had been eating right next door to this gate - not even realizing there was a house back there, so we lucked out and were able to quickly get in the line.

fun fact - was told that Universal Beijing was built with the houses in place.  which was why there were specific areas and gates that led to the haunts.    so these are permanent buildings year round that they close off by closing the gates.   and when they want to change a house, they just change what's inside them.

LOTS of queue space, not filled because 1) it was early, and 2) it was a Monday.

love that you can see the Harry Potter area in the background of this queue.

the line moved pretty quickly too. . don't think we waited more than 15 minutes for any of the houses.

this man is holding a sign declaring no photography and no recording without permission.    

unlike on the rides, it seemed that no one was taking pictures or filming without permission, so my phone was kept securely in my pocket for the houses, hence no pics from inside of any of them (sorry)

luckily, Robb *had* permission to film, and he shared with the group, what I thought was the greatest jumpscare I'd ever seen in a house.

we were all talking about the "bathroom scene" in this one house, and he had filmed it and was able to share.   so I'm able to share with y'all too.

SO well done, and no, I have no real idea (just some guesses) how they managed this. . but over and over all night. . so damn impressive.

after the haunt, we still had a few things we hadn't done yet, and I had told William that I'd meet him over at the theater for the evening performance of "the Untrainable Dragon" - as I wanted to see the shows too.     

we had time, so went back into Harry Potter land (and I immediately felt uncomfortable in the crowd), but surprisingly, the Forbidden Journey ride really did only have a 5 minute wait - as the app has said.   so we walked right on to it.   still a fun ride, with impressive technology.

pics from the queue: 

I know the sorting hat. . yay, something I was familiar with

and coming out of the ride, the Tri-Wizard contest show was going on. . .and just like in Japan?  was filled with very handsome white boys for the male academy . . so of course stopped and watched for a moment, before the crowd forced me to peace out and move out of this area. 

one of the Nicks had mentioned something called, I think, "Lights, Camera, Action" - which I knew nothing about, but said it was something that was in the US parks too, so we went over there and did that.  it's a walkthru/show, with a lot of effects, and hosted via screen by Stephen Speilberg.    the fire effects and water effects were impressive, but I totally get why there was no line, and for our "showing" there were maybe 30 people.

then it was on to the big, impressive, Chinese theater facade off to the left of the main street for the How to Train Your Dragon characters in "the Untrainable Dragon"

William met us out front and recommended we sit at the very top of the balcony in the center, to get the best view.  Since I trust him, I did so, and he was right.

fantastic show, with some really impressive special effects.  particularly the flying Toothless, which we got a fantastic view of from our seats.

pics of the show below:

the staging really is a technological marvel.

finishing that show, we still had 3 houses left before the Waterworld show - something I had also never seen and wanted to see.

so we headed towards the next house, and came across the ending of a street performance in this huge moving stage/orchestra.

this house was themed around a movie studio, and tho not "scary" at all, I appreciated the props and sets in this one.    I was hoping for as good a jump scare as the bathtub ghoul had given, but it seems we had started by chance with the best scare of them all 

actors in the queue pretending to film the victims as they lined up.

not 100% positive, but I *think* some of the footage was shown as we were walking thru the house on screens?

he kept "filming" me, so I took a pic of him.

and then we headed over to Waterworld, where we caught the last show of the evening.

i was surprised and not surprised it wasn't all that crowded - people that were here, were here for the Haunts.  and also this is way back at the back of the park.  in other words, it takes an effort to come see this show.

Luckily it is apparently the same show that has been running in Orlando/California parks, so William was able to explain to me what the hell was happening.  Yup, another film I've never seen.      if I look at this as just a stunt show?   it was quite enjoyable. .  in particular how much movement they got on the boats and jet skis in such a small lagoon.

fire!!!

uh oh.. that leaking "fuel" can't be good.

the plane, the plane!!!!

knew that leaking fuel would be an issue!

it was nice and warm on a chilly evening tho.

the Jurassic area looks great lit up at night. . but we were just passing by on our way to the other two houses remaining

Jack's Circus. . oooo. . this has promise

totally NOT Harley Quinn and Joker. . . . gotta love China.    LOL

was a fun house tho not particularly innovative.   about a standard Six Flags house.  not terrible tho.

we realized we had missed a ride over here too, as Minion Mayhem was kinda hidden in this corner.    So got in line and took a spin on that.

this is the only pic I took from that tho. . . thought it was interesting in the queue.

really impressive looking park at night.

and even tho NOT HHN?   this is very familiar.

the last house was based on Universal Monsters.

and tho VERY light on scares?  I loved this one 2nd best. . the design work and props in here blew me away.  it was like walking into the old movies.   and the cockroach room in the mummy section creeped me the F out.

a look at our hotel from the house line.

the main entrance to the house.

so well done.

as mentioned, the entrances to the houses are pretty well "hidden" because they are there year round. . . so I loved that Universal has folks out in the walkways helping to direct parkgoers to the entrances.

 

to be concluded in part 3

 

[bert425]

Day one, concluded.

part 3:

 

we finished up with the last house, and realized that we had done pretty much everything in the park (at least everything we wanted). . but then remembered we hadn't done that other Transformers ride. . and there were things we wanted to reride.

so headed back towards the Transformers area, but noticed a sizable crowd forming in front of the stage at the main entrance as we were about to pass by.

checking the time - it was close to the top of the hour - we realized that the main event/scare zones were about to kick off, and this was the main stage for that.

for Universal Beijing (and I don't know if this is true of the USA parks, as never been), there seem to be 3 "mascots" for the Halloween scares:  Hami Kuma (a rotting teddy bear), Emo Tu (a damaged bunny rabbit), and Foxy Lady (a sultry cat - or maybe a fox?). . and each of them have their own "scare zones" but they come out and perform with their scare actors before they head into the zones.

so we decided to hang out and watch the show.

things are lighting up!

and the crowd behind us is getting a bit larger. . .

these are the "pep squad" for Hami Kuma - the bear

 

and here he comes to "dance"

next out is Emo Tu  - the scary rabbit.  he seems to be a bit punk, not Emo tho. 

these two have a rivalry. . .it seems.   and a Dance Off

until Foxy Lady comes out, to the biggest cheers, and puts them in their place

it's quite the spectacle.

SO. MUCH. NEON.

each "scare zone" area, has neon of that character. . so this is Foxy Lady's section.

show seen, we continued towards Transformers, as the scare zones filled up.

and I remembered to take a pic of that beautiful theater that houses the How To Train Your Dragon show.

I'm pretty sure this is the Teddy Bear's scare zone.

the actors were thrilled to pose with me, and they were easy to spot as each one has a handler who had a light on their vests.  so I just looked for the lights, then went over for pics.

Stacy staring down a scare actor. .

Decepticoaster looks amazing at night!

and this was kind of a "do-si-do" type ride . . similar to Baymax.  it looked like it had good theming, but still had a bit of a line, so skipped.

this is what we had come back to ride - Transformers:  Battle for the All Spark.

a 3D ride, that was very similar ride system to Spider-Man.

it had a queue line that was pretty dang long, tho not quite as long as the Kung Fu panda one was.   We waited in this longish line, because it was really the only thing we hadn't ridden yet that we wanted to in the park.   Think it was about a 45 minute wait.

and honestly?  couldn't remember a thing about it. . . LOL. . I had to Youtube the ride, to remind me what it was, that's how i remember it was similar to Spider-Man.

oh well. . lots of screens, and I rode it.

after that ride, we stopped by Decepticoaster again. . . so good at night. . 

and then thru the Emo Rabbit's scare zone.

it was time to go back for re-rides, on my favorite ride in the park - Jurassic Adventure, which was showing a 5 minute wait (unlike the flyers that were still showing 45 minute wait).

my pic of the ride vehicles didn't come out well, so snagged this one online. . .but here's what they look like.

this time I did like the locals, and had my phone out !  and already moving fast enough - before we even GET to dinosaurs, that the pic of Stacy and I came out blurry).

this one also starts with some screens

but with some animatronics mixed in.

and then it goes full on physical, with really impressive animatronics.    

this isn't even close to how many are in the ride, but these are the best pics I got:

LOVED this ride.

worth a trip to USB just for this ride!

feet hurting, and close to the end of night anyways (it was probably less than 30 minutes to close) we headed towards the front - which happens to be where Foxy Lady's "Scare Zone" is.   Again, I looked for the handlers with the neon lights to find the actors:

and caught a bit of a 2nd performance by the trio. . with some slightly better pics.

shopping before heading out, of course they have their own merch too

the scary tree at the front, looks really great on the way out!

looking back into the park. . as mentioned, the covered entrance really gets the party feeling going at the end of the night.

and then it was time for the short walk back to the hotel room to shower and crash.

what an exhausting 1st day, but it was so, so good. . . and still had over 3 weeks left to go!

[bert425]

Day 2:  Forbidden City, Lunch, and Sun Park!  Bonus visit to Olympic park area this night with smaller group too.

Day 2 part 1:
 

up and ready to go, but first, breakfast!

another character from Despicable Me. . one of the girls, no idea which one tho

this time I remembered to snap a pic of some of the food on my plate before diving in

and then it was everyone onto the bus, as we headed back into Central Beijing from the Universal Resort area.
today was gonna start with Culture, and end with our first "traditional" Chinese park.

view of some of the massive clusters of buildings as you approach the outskirts of Beijing

this is where it starts to get interesting, as we get into the "inner walls" area of the City, over the Canal guardians.

the building on the far left is the Southeast Corner Tower, of the Beijing Ming City Wall.
it's over 550 years old, and anchors an area called "Beijing Ming City Wall Ruins Park" - that features an almost 1 mile long section of the Beijing City wall from the Ming Dynasty.

we didn't stop to see it, but got a great view of it as we passed it on our way to the nearby Forbidden City.

closer view of the southeast corner tower

and some snaps of the actual wall, as we drive along side it.

 

the tightening Security is VERY noticeable as we get closer to the Forbidden City Imperial Palace - a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is arguably the most famous palace in all of Chinese history, and is the largest preserved royal palace complex still standing in the world. (per Wikipedia).

 

tour buses and cars are not allowed within a few blocks of the Forbidden City, so a tourism spot has sprung up in the blocks around it, as buses and taxis drop of groups that then walk to the front entrance.  so these next pics are walking from the drop off, up to the palace walls.

the "fruit on a stick" encased in Sugar seemed to be VERY popular in China, and saw it at every park we went to, and at many street stands. 
it basically is just fresh fruit and sugar, but it IS very good, and I had it several times.

 

finally approaching the outside (side) wall of the Forbidden City. . tho we still had to go around to the front for entry

we'd be heading up this way to go thru the gates around the corner for the main entrance / security screening

but this is the inner canal that surrounds the Forbidden City. .the last line of defense against attack other than the high palace walls.

TPR listening to facts from our guide about the Forbidden City.

walking along the side wall to get to the front entrance

it really is quite impressive from the outside. . and once you're inside, it's even more so - with courtyard after courtyard opening up, and seeming to go on for miles!

some folks out doing photo shoots off the canal that goes around the Forbidden City

still heading towards the main entrance

and here are the main gates into the front of the Forbidden City - not into the actual palace, but into the area that gets you into the palace

the "Door Nails" that the wonderful Dumpling I had the day before were named after!

and NOW we're in the courtyard that serves as the main entrance to the Forbidden City complex.

 

yeah

 

and this was on a TUESDAY!!!   

just the crowds were impressive

this is the security screening line to get it and have tickets scanned

thru these main gates, you are then in the Palace grounds

our guide, with her "fish on a stick" so we wouldn't lose her in the masses of people!

to see it with your own eyes. . truly, you aren't prepared for the sight once you go thru this tunnel.

 

breathtaking

and this is just the first, of many, courtyards

a quiet back alley off the main square (we had all gone to the side for a bathroom break)

the people lined up in these stanchions are for entrance to the building just off to the right, and it's to view the Imperial Jewels.   A separate ticket (and wait) was required for that, so we didn't do that on this trip - perhaps a visit back just for that in the future. . .but I saw enough stunning things to not miss at all not going into the Imperial Jewels building.

up the stairs and thru these buildings to the next courtyard

over the beautiful carved bridges.

 

TPR at the Forbidden City - thanks to Robb for the picture

up and thru to the next courtyard.

and it's just as breathtaking and awe inspiring as the entry courtyard

up the next set of stairs, and we come across flame pots to light and warm the complex

and thru to another courtyard.

this one including a building with intricate woodwork laced with gold, and containing a throne  (it was gated off, but the doors were open to peek in.  there were SO many people there tho, I got the best pics I could of said throne)

these giant golden / bronze vats that were used to store oil were on either side of many of the "main" buildings in each square.  Our guide told me that these are replicas, but they are all so worn from visitors rubbing them for luck.

all of the buildings in the Forbidden City complex are beautifully detailed, and have intricate carvings on each corner, that represent many things (that I can't recall, or would share with you)

going into the next courtyard - that building way, WAY off in the distance?   is part of the complex. . that's how big this palace is.   

but that far back is not open to the Public, which only can view a portion of the Palace.  Oh, it's a HUGE portion of the complex, but not even close to a third of it.

stepping down into the next courtyard. 

it truly is awe inspiring and overwhelming

looking down into yet another courtyard, as we made our way thru the areas open to the public

this carving up the back side of one of the main buildings in this courtyard is made from just 3 giant pieces of stone.    it's incredible.

one of the many maps in the Forbidden City.  This one just for the Inner court courtyards.

our guide specifically wanted to bring us down this way - saying it would be less crowded, as many aren't aware it's here (and she was correct)

 

 

she wanted to show us into this building/vault that contains some really amazing Jade carvings.

just a sampling of the wonderful pieces on display here:

and then it was off to the back of the "open to the public" areas - the Imperial Garden area - where the Emperor allowed his Concubines to relax, and play (since they were confined to Imperial Palace grounds)

it really was a bit of surprise to turn the corner and find these amazing gardens back here!

and with that, we had walked a (mostly) straight line thru the public areas in the Forbidden City, and headed towards the back gate.

we were off to have our first group lunch on the trip before heading to the next stop.

I am so thankful I got to experience this, it truly is a wonder to see in person.

one of the other buildings off in the distance that's part of the Imperial Palace / Forbidden City

the back exit gate is just as crowded, but less chaotic than the front entrance

an overall map of the palace sections that are open to the public

walking back towards the bus. . one final look back at the Forbidden City

 

to be continued. . . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bert425]

Day 2 part 2:

back on the bus, we were headed to lunch.   This would be the first of many group meals we were gonna have on this trip (a change from many prior TPR trips I'd been on, in that we only had a couple of group meals. . . on this trip there would be many of them, mostly in office buildings that were set up to handle tour group style trips).   I honestly really enjoyed these "lazy susan" meals.  There were always lots of options, at various levels of "spice". . and if we wanted to go off and have truly specific types of Chinese food, we could always get a meal in the evenings.  

but these lazy susan meals were perfect in that there was always something that somebody liked to eat in the options.

here is where our first group meal was

pretty neat design on the building, I thought.

Didn't get a pic before we all dived in. . but here's my one attempt at the main food on the table.

I DID remember to take a picture of my plate.  

the winner here was that Bok Choy/ Chinese Cabbage, which I loved, and seemed to be on most lazy susan dinners.   so I was glad I discovered I loved it early in the trip

wasn't a fan of these dumplings, but I tried almost everything on the entire trip.   
(there was really only one thing I refused to try, and I'll get to that in Hong Kong (eventually))

the surprise in this first meal is that Elissa and the guide arranged for us to have true Peking Duck in China!

the Chef wheeled it into the room and sliced it thin, right behind us

here were the thin pancakes and the veggies that you are supposed to put on the strips of duck to eat them.

to be honest, I didn't really care for it. 

oh, it was good, but a bit too fatty for my tastes. . . 

not to worry tho, as the Chef left the room and came back in with these two that he called "the Sisters"

and these two were gloriously crispy and made up for anything I thought the first duck lacked in terms of texture.

I absolutely adored this, and was only a bit sad that it came at the end of the meal and I was already pretty full.    but the crispy duck was so, so good.

Jonathan's pic of our happy table, most chewing food during pic. . LOL

after the meal, and the culture, it was time for the theme park we were gonna go to today.

a traditional Chinese park.   very large, very spread out, and containing lots of individual rides, that were owned and operated by many different people.

Sun Park.

these were the "main gates" as far as I could tell. . . the park wasn't enclosed, and entry was really available from anywhere.

it's a lovely setting. . tho so big, it really felt like we were the only ones in the park.   Tho we did draw a crowd when we rode the Tagada as a group
 

as we walked into the park from the lot, we spotted a star flyer, so I knew we were in the right spot (not that I don't trust Robb & Elissa to take us to great places regardless).

this park is home to (supposedly) six operating coasters, and a couple of SBNO ones.

we were gonna see what would operate for us, as it truly was a little hard to tell what was running and what had been abandoned. . . 

overall view of this large park.

 

this was the first coaster we came too: Happy Journey Cars.

there didn't really seem to be anyone around, but an operator came over, and spoke with Robb/Elissa, and they took a headcount on who wanted to ride, and the operator agreed to let adults ride, as long as it was only 1 per side.

they looked like "spinning" cars, but they seemed to slowly rotate only once on the ride.

it wasn't much of a layout, and to ME, this is a kiddie coaster.  

as I don't count credits, and don't tend to ride straight out kiddie coasters, I passed on this and just took pics as others rode.

hey, it's got lions (for some reason)

and Giraffes 

Anth was enjoying it.

so were Steven, Colin, and Chris

Johnathan was terrified, but Daniel is having a blast

as were Colin and Adam

 

Andy also took pics. 

as noted, the park seemed pretty empty on a Tuesday afternoon. . .

this is the operator's wife, if I'm not mistaken, watching him run it for TPR.

"Space Journey". . no idea what it was at one point, but it seemed to be abandoned now.

this mini flume seemed to be likewise closed. . but I did see it running later that afternoon for a customer.

oooo. . a wild mouse.

well, actually this is "Jungle Mouse" and it has been sitting here SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) since 2023.    so we weren't gonna get to ride this today.

I think these had operators in case anyone wanted to ride, but no customers when we walked by.

the large flume didn't quite look abandoned, but it didn't have any water or people around it either.   so another no-go

this is the largest coaster in the park, and tho it too, looked abandoned?  there were people who appeared to be there to operate it if there were any takers.

this is "Flying Coaster". . . tho it seemed to have a couple of different names, and is a Moto Coaster

(underneath it was a tiny 4D theater experience called "Tsunami" that was operated by the same owner. . but passed on that as it did not look like a good time)

yeah.. they were drying laundry in between the coaster track, so the exit was closed to keep people from going out that way)

but it's a moto coaster.

they fired it up for us, and I don't recall them even testing it - they just opened it up, and then discussed (a lot) about restraints while they decided if it was gonna kill us or not - I assume.   LOL

they only loaded up the front half of the train. . . but here we are smiling.    
(this was before anyone had ridden it, we were the first riders of the day apparently.. . possibly the month?)

I mean, it LOOKED like it might be decent.  I was thinking Pony Express at Knotts sorta

and you ride it kinda like "Tron" style.

here's Hawk & Dove, and Daniel and Elissa all smiles on the ride after ours.

yeah..I felt for them.    it was . . . um. . . . not good.

for a ride with mainly Helixes?  the transitions are rough, and it was really shaky. . 

but it IS a large coaster, and looks good.

I will admit, being off ride for this run?  the groans and grunts as the train passed over us WAS pretty funny.

yeah. .that smiling Daniel pic from the launch?  I caught him after the ride before he saw the camera and smiled.    LOL. . true feelings on the ride

two down. . apparently 4 to go!  let's try to find them.

I was tempted by this, but we were on a mission as a group, and since this isn't a pay one fee park, we had to stay together as Elissa was paying each operator for rides.
so didn't even attempt to ride this

tho it was running.

I was impressed with how much signage they have in the park.   and how most of it has English as well.

next coaster found (also a kiddie, so I didn't ride this one either):  Fruit Worm Coaster

but most of the folks on this trip lined up to ride it

interesting Seashell themed Tilt a Whirl next door, that looked to be in pieces.

wow. .this is a FUNKY transition here. . .

John and Bill enjoying the ride

with Colin, Adam, and Andy bringing up the rear

there were several of these in the park at different locations. . and none of them seemed to be operating.    maybe they are busier on a weekend?

but some folks were out fishing in the lakes

not "Free Willy" but "Free Whale".. a kiddie whale themed swinging ship.

that looked like it was about to fall apart, but DID have an operator standing by to run it if asked!

coaster #4 was also a kiddie coaster: "Rainbow Children Coaster"

tho honestly, it was more of a family coaster thank a kiddie and I should have ridden.  but I was feeling a little shook from the Moto Coaster full, so passed on this one too.

it had some interesting theming: 

with a monkey on the front (sharing it's Banana with Steve)

I think I had a stroke reading this sign. . .LOL

as a tourist, I made sure to read the notice before participating!

 

there were several small trains I saw in this park. . all adorable, but none of them operating today

the Carousel was a double decker set up to run in opposite directions (as this was the first one I'd seen "in the wild" in China, I didn't realize that the double decker, running in opposite directions - tho only one side at a time - was pretty standard in China).    it sadly looked like it hadn't operated in a long while, tho it seemed to be in pretty good condition.

saw this "game" at a lot of places. . . children "fishing" for gold fish.   cute.

it was getting late in the afternoon and the park was closing down, but we still had two potential coasters if we could find them.

first a potty break tho.   so yeah, another toilet pic

at the big pavilion in the center of the park, there seemed to be a photo shoot going on for wedding planners.

with lots of "brides" and "grooms"

Robb found out where the last coaster was (the other one was not operating) and we headed over there, bypassing this Tagada.

which was running - and we did end up going back as a group and riding after Robb/Elissa slipped the operator some cash to open up for us after close time.   so I got to ride my first Tagada on this trip.   it ran a really gentle cycle, but was perfect for my first one.   and as noted earlier, we drew quite the crowd who came over to watch the "ghosts" ride 

this is the coaster that was "new" and not in operation.   "Crazy Skateboard"

apparently replacing the ride that had been there - seemingly the exact same model, also called "Crazy Skateboard"

note the workmen on the lift hill. .they were not only painting, but *welding*.. . but with encouragement, Robb and Elissa went and talked to them and there was some discussion on if they could open it up for riders.  (RCDB still listed it as not open/unknown)

across from it was the last coaster in the park: "Space Scooter"  - that one had already shut down for the day, but when they saw the crowd around the Crazy Skateboard while Robb and Elissa talked to them, the operator offered to open it up for us, if TPR wanted to ride.

so they started testing it again.

the Star Flyer also seemed to open back up. . tho we didn't ride it, several of the models from the wedding photoshoot did come over and ride.

"Space Scooter" testing

and with TPR on it!

as mentioned. . Star Flyer now going too. . which started to draw some folks over to this part of  the park.

 

Robb and Elissa had worked their magic, and the coaster guys agreed to run Crazy Skateboard for us.. .and started testing it.

the cars weren't set up to "spin" yet, so it was a non spinning coaster, but they tested it, and then gave the OK.

notice our tour guide Paul, laughing in the bottom corner.  that's likely because as you can see on the steps?  the workmen just put the blowtorches down, and stepped away to see what would happen if they operate it.

Robb and these folks are FAR more brave than I.

I (and a couple of others) decided not to take a chance on this, and chose NOT to ride this.    It was really the beginning of my trip, I didn't want to take any risks for any reason. . but good on them for giving it a shot.

and absolutely hysterical watching the workmen "nod" as the car crested the lift hill with no issue.

there are the workmen watching the first car with people in it. . . 

Barry has just noticed the Blowtorch sitting on the steps as they passed by it.

they survived!

yay!!!

most everyone else on the trip gave it a whirl (tho not a spin, as the spinning wasn't working yet)..and the folks riding it drew more folks to this ride as well, as they eagerly lined up to ride something that had been "not operating" yet.

after the Tagada ride, and with the sun starting to set, Robb, Elissa, and some in the group were headed back to Universal Resort.

some went to dinner or to sightsee in downtown Beijing. and a group of about 10 of us wanted to go visit the Olympic Green - site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, and 2022 Winter Olympics.   The metro would take us back to Universal later.

lovely sunset made the buildings around Sun Park look very interesting

 

to be concluded. . . 

 

[bert425]

Day 2 concluded:  a trip to the Olympic Green

 

Stacy has a great sense of direction, so i wasn't worried about getting lost.  and we ended up with a small group that she led on the subway to the Olympic Green

it's a very large park area, that's home to several well known sites from the Beijing Olympics:  the Birds Nest (Beijing National Stadium), the Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatics Stadium), the Fan (Beijing National Indoor Stadium) , the Speed Skating Oval, the Fields, and the Promenade - home to the Olympic Tower and the Beijing Olympic TV tower.

I liked that you could watch the operator of the train at the front of the car, if you chose to do so.

stepping out of the Metro station onto the Promenade

one of the multiple Olympic Mascots for the 2008 & 2022 Beijing Olympics.

the tower in the back is the Olympic Tower (which you can go up to the observation levels) and the closer one is the Ling Long Pagoda (Olympic TV tower) that was used for Broadcasting

here's the "Birds Nest". . .it just looks incredible at night

and the "Water Cube" - also amazing. . tho now home to car/truck ads on the outside. 

 

thanks to Andy for these wonderful pics of the group of us that went to the Olympic Green this night.

LOL. . we were trying to do "rings"

and now attempting the Olympic Rings.

hey. . it was an attempt!

 

loved this sculpture in front of the Water Cube

some Winter Olympics Mascot

the base of the Ling Long Pagoda is home to a giant "Friendship Store".. . we didn't go in, but seemed to offer a lot of Russian themed things

looking at the Bird's Nest from the Field next door (where the outdoor events were held)

the Olympic Torch from across the field

Anth and I sitting, while others with more energy walked to the Olympic Torch.   (I was saving my steps for the Olympic Tower)

here's "the Fan" . . where all the gymnastics were held

not sure what this one is. . but it was all lit up, so must have been used for something  (perhaps the Tennis Center?)

walking the Promenade down to the Olympic Tower

wasn't too expensive to go up. . and we walked all the way here, no way was I NOT going up.

some of the floors have glass panels up here. . . 

oh my!

gahhh!!!!

 

incredible views up here.

 

that blue blur is the speed skating stadium. . the lights on it are amazing.    oh wait, that building next to it is the Tennis Stadium

a bit overcast / pollution. . but great views of Beijing at night from here

Birds Nest and fields on the left straight ahead, Water Cube and the Fan on the right, with convention center next to it.

time to say goodbye and head back. . it had been a very long day, lots of steps.  and the metro would take us about an hour to get back.

it was a little busy, but once we got to the Universal Line?  it was a TPR Train Takeover!

the metro station at Universal was pretty neon.

some folks rushed to get a last drink before everything shut down for the night, but Stacy and I were exhausted. . so one quick stop to ride the "Snail" sculpture in front of Dogfish at City Walk (thanks Sara for the pic!), and then it was back to the hotel for me.

signing off with a great pic of Birds Nest from Andy that he shared with the group.  he's such a great photographer!

back in the room, a shower, and then collapsed into bed and out immediately.

tomorrow was another packed day: Most of it would be spent at Happy Valley Beijing, but then some of us were gonna head to Tiananmen Square as our guide had managed to get us tickets to go tomorrow.

but for now?  sleep!

 

hope you've enjoyed following along.  SO MUCH MORE to come in future weeks.

[bert425]

Day 3:   Happy Valley Beijing for most of day, and a visit to Tiananmen Square:

up and out early, as once again, we had a pretty full day planned.
but we had a bit of a later start this morning, so Stacy and I headed down to the breakfast buffet and found these charming donuts this am.

on the way back up to the room to change for the day, I remembered that I had yet to snap a picture of the fountain in front of the Universal Studios Grand Hotel.   So popped out to grab this one.

as we headed back down, we passed over the lines for guests to queue for entry to Universal Studios Beijing. 

this is the regular line, about 2 hours before opening.   on a Wednesday.  yeah. . .

on to the bus, and headed out to the park chain that is basically "the Six Flags" of China:  Happy Valley.

a shortish drive later, and we were pulling up to the front gates of Happy Valley Beijing.

to be honest, I don't recall seeing very many of these guys in the park. . and one of the ones I DO recall seeing, is on the outside of a long ago removed ride.
but they must be popular, as the park still has them out front on the marquee to greet guests.

the first (but for sure NOT the last) school group we would encounter whilst visiting a Chinese park on a weekday.

lots and lots of kids, tho I don't recall this park being particularly crowded. . . but some later parks were just swarmed with lots of kids who only knew enough English to say "Hello" and "Where are you from"  (I told them Canada)    

all in all tho, the kids were (mostly) adorable, and polite, and I was glad to see so many having a good time at amusement parks.

again tho, I don't recall this park today being slammed with groups.

 

Pic Courtesy of Robb - TPR and our guide ready to enjoy Happy Valley.

before the gates open, the Happy Valley parks all seemed to put on a "show" at the front gate.

and then the performers move to the sides to greet guests as they come thru the turnstiles.

of course, for me?  that's a photo op!   so I went back and forth to all of them - most in Anime or Horror themed outfits for the Season - to snap pics.

they were genuinely surprised that I wanted to take pictures with them instead of just of them.   (something I encountered quite a bit in China.    I found it rather charming).

 

she was a Spider. . LOL

and this one?  oh, I SO wanted her jacket.

past the main gates, and into the park itself!    

not sure why the creepy orange is here?  never saw him anywhere else in the park.

 

This giant coaster (which seemed to have a clone in every Happy Valley we were gonna visit) is "Extreme Rusher" - a unique S&S Air-launch coaster. 
that has been SBNO since Oct 2023 (when there was a minor train collision in the station, and the State shut down all of these coasters).

so yeah. . it's a huge not-operating coaster, front and center when you first enter the park.   Don't think it will ever reopen (here or at any other Happy Valley parks), which is a shame as it IS rather unique.

the park at least tried to "hide" the load station by plopping this giant "stage / photo op" thing in front of it. 

the waterpark off to the right was closed for the season already, but it looked like a decent size.

and more Giraffes. . must be good luck in China?

a peek at the "Scare" map for the "not-Halloween, but spooky" events:  the "Woah!appy Festival"

most of the walkthru things advertised were upcharges - something we saw at a lot of other parks too.   but to be fair, the upcharge was only a few bucks here or there.

photo op?   yes please!

this was the first store we came to, and peeked in just to see what kind of things were being sold.  we were absolutely blown away by this store, so went thru as if it were an attraction.

at the store exit, was a robot coffee machine.

(the coffee was TERRIBLE. . but hey, a robot made it!)

looking over to the center of the park, here's a peek at Crystal Wing - the park's B&M Flying Coaster.   (it's a SFOG Superman clone, but has a unique setting in and out of that mountain fortress).   unfortunately, it wasn't open today.    

not too upset, as it's a clone of something I've ridden (and I don't count coasters anyways). . . but it was really one of the VERY few coasters that weren't operating on this trip.    so all in all, we had incredible luck .

it's even the Superman colors. . .

more Giraffes

and one last look at the Crystal Wing area, before heading back across the bridge to the park, where the pathway goes around the outside.

this section was themed to Candy / baking / sweets stuff

kinda terrifying, but at least it doesn't have eyes

really well designed area

with an utterly charming carousel!

and some "spooky" photo ops up.

it was a little drizzly, but I do think this opened later in the day.

really enjoy the names of some of these rides

 

but here is the first (operating) coaster we would get to in the park.

the uniquely named:  "Family Inverted Coaster"   

it's a B&M inverted that does some fun helixes. . and fun fact, they are building one just up the road from me at SWSA - so I'll get to ride a version of this any time I want.

it wasn't exactly "fluffy friendly". .but I did fit on it.

and oh my. .that Pop Tart cop thing on the sign, DOES have eyes.   creepy as hell.

I know it's painted to fit the theme of the area.. but it looks SO great.

then we continued onward around the park.

I recognized these guys from the statue out front, and learned that this used to be the facade for a spinning mouse coaster called "Harvest Time"

which closed in 2014, and was removed in 2017.   but apparently the facade was well loved, so they just kept it in place for this area.

not sure what (if anything) they ever built back in the space where the coaster was)

what used to be the ride entrance "blocked by rocks". . . LOL

the aesthetic in this park is wonderful tho. . . so many beautiful things to look at!

that turn around up ahead is the Park's B&M Hyper Coaster. . but we're headed to that white track on the left. . yeah, an SLC.    shudder

and here it is. 

Fantastic name and all:   "Golden Wings over the Snowfield - Suspended Roller Coaster"

a lot of it is hidden by foliage.  

below here is one of the upcharge haunts.

the long queues were very well themed: 

but at the end of the day, it's still an SLC.

but I will happily admit it was a very GOOD SLC.   with lots of padding, and little to no headbang due to such good padding.

two of the four operating coasters done, we headed to the B&M Hyper next

fantastic name for the Bumper Cars "Snowland Survival". . but that's where the theming ended for this one.

lots of scare stuff set up on the path tho, for enjoyment.

 

this we had been told about, this was the park's included walk thru Haunt attraction: the Ghost Cave

so we stopped to go thru as we passed it.     

I asked and was told was ok to take pics, so this was the start of many Haunt Pics I took over the rest of the trip.  what can I say, I love em.

especially when the triggers for the effects are working.  which they did in most all of the houses.

Noted!

Andrew, Chris, Stacy, and myself being "scared"

I was trying to get the Nemo transportation car, but instead got this beautiful cherry blossom theming

I believe this was a food court type of restaurant

but the GIANT B&M Lift hill overhead was distracting.

finally made it to the entrance to the B&M Hyper:  "Flight of the Himalayan Eagle - Music Roller Coaster"

yup. .it had onboard audio whilst you ride  (and a splashdown too).    it was a great coaster.

we were only here until early afternoon, so no time for shows (the rides were more important to me), but this looked like it was a stunt show of some kind.

adorbs!

spoooooky!

looking thru Flight of the Himalayan Eagle's track, to see Family Inverted Coaster running, and the SBNO Extreme Rusher track.

but was able to catch the Splashdown

The train didn't seem to be operating today, but I liked they had an engine out for pics

down this way was the train station. . . but again, didn't appear to be operating today.

the final operating coaster at the park today was "Jungle Racing" a Vekoma Mine Train.

and per RCBD?  it's now been closed as of November 2nd. . so we barely got it before they closed it down!

which is weird, because I remember all the mine trains on this trip being pretty dang good, and the one at a later Happy Valley being the smoothest Mine Train I've ever been on.

but I'm really glad I got to ride this one.

great setting and queue too.

leaving the Jungle Racing coaster, I was able to get a better pic of the Nemo transport.   still with no one riding in it tho.

and then?

 

the corn

OMG. . the CORN!!!!

 

to be continued. . . 

 

 

[bert425]

Day 3:   Continued. . . 

across from the corn was the first time I really got to see the treats on a stick that I'd get to know across many parks to come:

LtR: Potato with mayo, Potato with ketchup, Potato, hot dog / sausage made pretty and spices, and fried cheese on a stick (sometimes with a hotdog inside, sometimes not), also along the bottom various filled "pancake".

also a delicacy:  Squid on a stick.

we weren't gonna eat just yet, as were still full from breakfast.  but I WAS intrigued by the "Rainbow EPCOT" Mexican restaurant.  Which seemed to serve "authentic Mexican Pho"   LOL

behind it was a giant Frisbee tho. . so we decided to go on that.

as it had no wait today

it was a fun, tho short cycle, and gave a great view of the Waterpark on one side

and some wonderful views across the central lake at the rest of the park.

here's the top of Crystal Wing (under the water park slide), the Family Inverted, and the most you can see of the SLC (Golden Wings Over the Snowfield), across the lilly filled lake

and looking back towards the "Mexican restaurant", the B&M Hyper 

here comes the train!   let's see if I can get splashdown from this angle. . .

yup!

as we continued around the park after our ride on the Frisbee, we entered into Frontier Town area. . which had some . . . um. . . . "problematic" theming.    I thought it was shockingly hysterical, and they were all the nicest people!     so of course I snapped some pics. 

this looked like another show, but the times listed seemed to be only for weekend operations.    but I did peek into the entry to snap a pic of the stage.

Dying to know what the show would have been like (I have to look that up) based on the next group of folks that were "themed"

 

Yup. . cavewomen in raised huts with Corn, holding bones.

or a leopard skin purse. . . 

although. . this IS the kind of theme park job I'd totally sign up for "lay in a hut all day and wave to people"   LOL

 

this was a huge, and impressive, water feature on the side of the stage building.    it really was massive, and I *guess* it's Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil, See no Evil ?

and I DO love me a throne 

my fist official exposure to smelly Tofu.

we didn't try it hear, but here is where I was able to really put the smell together with what it was, so I always knew when I was near a stand selling it.  
(and yes, I did try it later in the trip, and I liked it).

I honestly have very little memory of this ride.

i THINK it was a boat ride that was kinda like "it's a small world" ?    

I have some pics from outside, and a pic in the queue, but absolutely none from the ride itself.    not even ones that came out blurry or bad, I just didn't take any.   which implies I was very unimpressed by it.   or maybe my feet just hurt, and I was focusing on sitting in the boat?  or maybe my Battery was dying and I wanted to save it for Carousel pics?

anyways. .here's the outside of "Happy World"

and a couple of queue pics.

there seemed to be an entire show building / museum here, and tho it looked interesting, it was more important to eat something and get a few other things in.  so we bypassed this.

my goal (really at most parks, especially if they have a unique carousel)

OMG.  .these Horses!

and it's a double decker. . tho they only operated the bottom

Stacy rode with me

we were really getting hungry, but this thing next door to the Carousel caught our eye.

what the hell is it?

"Flying Cake". .. a stand up Rockin Tug type ride!

which looked like it was once Surf themed before it got moved to this area, and hadn't been rethemed other than the base of it ONLY to add these two figures. . .HA!

not gonna lie tho. . it was really fun, and I'm glad we stopped and rode it.  never been on anything like it before.

a look at the closed today Crystal Wing track, and the B&M flyer across the lake from "Flying Cake"

Crystal Wing theming. . as we headed towards the front to eat something.

 

ohhh.. some street entertainment going on here in the cookie/bakery section. . so we stopped and watched for a moment.

and then went up to the front where there were about a dozen "food cart" stands. . all standing empty.    But the operators were in the back of the carts, and when they saw a customer come up, they came out and greeted you.

still being very early in the trip, I opted for more traditional Chinese street food for my lunch.  (a pancake that had a lot of different things in it)

Stacy stuck more to traditional noodles.

what mine looked like once I got it in a cup

and William had dumplings.

the park was playing some "interesting" music up near the front where the food stands were. . including this nearly 8 minute mix of a song that seemed to be called "put your ass in the air"

it was very catchy, and eventually got to me

getting close to the meet up time, in chatting with someone, they mentioned that the big building we had passed was a large indoor section.   so we went over to check it out with about 30 minutes to spare.

it really was a really large area.   and it appeared that at one point the park did have a junior coaster in here, but now it was just a virtual one, so we passed.

 

but a Dumbo type ride, a small frisbee ride. . .

and then an Air Race on top of a gift shop!

if we hadn't' just eaten, I totally would have ridden the Air Race.

but luckily there's one close-by at Fiesta Texas. . so I didn't' mind skipping it.

 

and then it was time to meet up at the front gate and head out to the next destination.
(for those of us who wanted to go to Tiananmen Square) while others went sight seeing on their own, or stayed in the park for a bit longer.

to be Concluded. . . 

 

[bert425]

Day 3 concluded:  Tiananmen Square 

 

back on the bus, and a short time later, we were back near where we had been the day before, closeby the Forbidden City.

this structure is just outside of Tiananmen Square, and is the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower marking the south end of Tiananmen Square (so we were going around the outside to be let off the bus to walk to the security).

Security at Tiananmen Square is incredibly strict - not only do you need a ticket to set foot into the square (which must be applied for way in advance, but we had an excellent tour guide who was able to swing getting tickets for those who wanted to go this evening), but there is a serious bag check, security pat down, metal detectors, and passport screen before you are even let into the square.

in the below pic, Tiananmen Square is on the right. . the security check point is across the street on the left

random buildings across from the square, as we headed towards security.

the is the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao (taken from the security line to get into the square), that sits at the South side of Tiananmen Square

inside this Mausoleum is Mao in the Crystal Coffin that preserves his body.

tho tourists are welcome, tickets must be gotten in advance (and we didn't have tickets for that), and it was already late in the day so they had stopped letting folks in.
it was still incredible to see even just the building in person.

another pic of the Mausoleum from the Security line across the street.

as noted, they are VERY serious about Security here.

camera was put away all thru the security process. . not even gonna chance it.

but here are pics from actually Inside Tiananmen Square.

the monument in the center is: "the Monument to People's Heroes"
and behind that, across the square is: National Museum of China
 

behind me across the street (beyond security) is the Great Hall of the People. . 

another pic of the museum. . mainly to capture all the cameras that are on the light poles here.

a look towards the most famous part of the Square:  the Tiananmen gate on the North side of the square, that enters into the Forbidden City.

the big basket of flowers is from the "Celebration of the 75th anniversay of People' Republic of China" in 2024 

heading towards Mao's Mausoleum. . .this is one of the giant sculptures out front

and in particular over here in front of the Mausoleum was heavy police presence 

the other giant sculpture out front, on the opposite side of the entrance to the Mausoleum

the Monument to People's Heroes

a selfie to capture the amount of cameras on site

a closeup of the flower sculpture. . now celebrating 76 years (they changed the date to 2025)

 

about as close as you really can get to the Tiananmen Gate while in the square.   

That photo of Mao is huge, but it looks small when viewing from where you can stand.

looking out at one of Beijing's unique buildings in the smog, from Tiananmen Square.

\

we were going to stay for the flag ceremony at the end of the night, but it was still an hour plus away, and my feet were kinda hurting, as were Stacy's.    It was getting a little chilly too, and there really wasn't anything much to do other than sit in the crowd (getting larger by the moment) until the time for the ceremony.

so we decided to bail.   Probably shouldn't have, as it was a once in a lifetime, but ya gotta do what your body is saying to do - and mine was saying "go sit, and get a meal, you've done a LOT of walking today"

luckily, Andy planned to stay, and not only shared photos he took of the ceremony, but also the video I'm sharing below.

it's quite impressive and I'm super glad he shared it with the group, so I can share here!

 

 

once you're in the square via the security?  there's really no exit other than at the corner that will bring you to the other buildings or the subway station.

so we followed the crowd down into the underground (with SO MUCH police presence), but instead of going left to the Tiananmen Gate. . .

or right to the Palace Museum. . .

we headed straight ahead and out thru exit security to the Tiananmen station for the subway

 

even once thru the "exit".. we still saw quite a bit of security around heading to the trains

but, ahhhhh. . . sitting.   (no issue finding a seat as people were coming TO the square, not leaving, so we got to sit for the ~1 hour ride back to the Universal Hotel)

the Universal stop lets you out near CityWalk. . and as we were checking out of the Hotel in the morning, it was our last chance to sample things here at Universal Studios Beijing.

at prices WAY below what they would be at a USA Universal park.

so we headed to Toothsomes' Chocolate Factory for a late dinner, before going back to the room to pack.

sounded kinda gross, but kinda good. . .but the urge for alcohol disappeared when we saw the offerings of milkshakes.

and roaming characters coming from table to table.

Stacy got a Chocolate and Strawberry shake.

I went a little rogue and went for one that was pistachio and cheese.  

yeah. . it was very strange, but oddly satisfying.

She got a burger, but I tried Chocolate braised pork.

it was a bit too sweet for me, so didn't finish, but I did like it and glad I tried it.

the offerings of shakes. . .

and then it was up to the room (after paying way less than I expected it to be) to pack and be ready for tomorrow.

was gonna be a tiring day, as after checkout, we were headed to the Great Wall (another bucket list item), and then we had a flight to another city.

but after packing and before heading to bed, Andy sent the below pic, and i found it to be a perfect ending to what had been another great day on a TPR trip.