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Mozart67 Full Fledged Donkey Enthusiast! Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Total posts: 204 Location: Connecticut Age: 41 Gender: Male |
 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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Hey all! Just stopping by before I disappear for another amount of time or something. Robb, I was happily eating Oreos when I got to the buttsniffing picture. Thanks  Sun Park is like the antithesis of Disneyland, i think: it has a great entrance but not so great park and Disneyland has...
Have a great trip and keep the updates coming!
Scott
(BTW, KT is officially the second most adorable kid in the world..I have to be biased; we are expecting our 5th grandchild in Oct., my youngest daughter's first!!)
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| robbalvey Site Admin
Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Total posts: 18522 Location: So Cal Age: 39 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:46 am Post subject: |
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| Dleo wrote: | | Question. Is there a habit over there in China with spitting? I had a friend who went to China, not sure what areas, but I couldn't believe his stories about having to dodge as people sometimes spit. |
Not seen much spitting at all. In fact I saw WAY more spitting on my last trip to Ohio than I've seen in China.
So far the country has been much nicer, cleaner, and friendlier than the stories I've heard.
--Robb
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| robbalvey Site Admin
Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Total posts: 18522 Location: So Cal Age: 39 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:16 am Post subject: |
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Today we were at Happy Valley. This is a very new park, opened in 2006 and wow, this place looked AWESOME! Some of the theming was right up there with parts of Islands of Adventure or Alton Towers.
What this park lacked though was in the operations department. As far as ride crews go, they kicked A$$! We saw 30 to 45 second dispatches all over the park and a real effort made to filling every seat on the train.
The bad part was the one train operation on all the coasters and the bizarre staggered opening times. Rides opened from 9:30am to 1:30pm, some of the major rides even opened late.
This created quite some massive lines because all the three main coasters opened one after each other. The hour long queue basically went from one ride, to the next, to the next. It was very strange.
Overall though it was a great day and it's amazing how a bit of theming really adds to a B&M Flyer (Superman Clone) or a Vekoma Mine train clone.
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| On our way to the park we passed a bus that was going straight to hell. |
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| Yay! Another group photo! They have giant letters that spell out the parks name ala California Adventure. |
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| To pay homage to the Simpsons out front was the Duff Beeramyd. |
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| Ok, so the characters didn't have the actors faces inside hidden....CREEPY!!!! |
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| Kidtums is all "Um, dudes, I can SEE YOU! You're not fooling me!" |
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| Someone should tell Hard Rock Park that THIS is how to theme a Vekoma Mine Train! |
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| Look at it! There is so much rock work and foliage that you can't even see the train! |
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| It's hard to believe that this is the EXACT same ride as Life in the Fast Lane at Hard Rock. |
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| Same thing goes for the B&M Flyer. The pretzel loop is about the only thing you can really see. |
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| The rest of it ducks in and out of the rock work. |
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| I kind of wish Dueling Dragons was built more like this. |
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| It was a lot more like Nemesis or Black Mamba the way it was hidden within the theming. |
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| And it *felt* like you were getting VERY close to some of those rocks! |
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| Meat on sticks was the desired meal of the day. I think we consumed at least a few chickens. |
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| Thanks to the one train operation, we saw lines for the first time on this trip. The crew did kick ass though with their 45 second dispatch times (How's the Tatsu crew doing Jahan?) |
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| The bottom of the pretzel loop looked like it should have had a splash element! |
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| Just look at how amazing that is! |
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| The entire park was so heavily themed it was like being at IOA or a Busch park. |
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| "I'm CRAAAAAZY Deformed Rock Guy...give me some special olympics!" |
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| Hmmm....I just *know* I've seen something like this somewhere before.... |
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| Yes, it's a REAL TCBY...although with Mango yogurt! |
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| The splash down boat also looked pretty darn amazing...but this ride didn't open until like 4pm! |
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| Dude! Even the water cannons have a backstory!!! |
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| An overview shot of Crystal Wings from the flying island. |
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| Apparently you're not allowed to skip around the park. |
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| I have never been happier to see a *REAL* Vekoma SLC! |
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| They had a wheel here just like the one Southport used to have. Too bad everyone else was in line for stuff! |
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| Another odd thing about this park was the amount of vehicle transportation there was. These carts were everywhere and they would pick you up and drop you off someplace else. |
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| Scooter rentals were also popular...and we kept saying how it's odd that in the US it's fatties and disabled people who use them, but we haven't seen any of them here... |
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| ...and apparently, you're NOT ALLOWED to rent them if you're disabled! In china, the scooters are just a means of getting around the park! |
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| Once again KidTums was pretty popular with the locals! I take it they don't get many "Western" babies here very often. |
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| She's found yet another boyfriend! |
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| With a Tesco across the street from the park we figured we'd go check out a Chinese grocery store (Dan, this is where you need to pay attention) |
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| "OH NO! I hope we don't get kicked out for taking pictures of the Snickers bars!" |
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| That's a lot of....yup....*FEET* |
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| This made Joey insanely jealous! |
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| "Grab a bag and fill it with meat!" |
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| All we need is a deep fryer and some Blazin' sauce and we're set! |
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| Good to know you can buy a scooter at the grocery store! |
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| I gotta feeling that's not the REAL Lion King! |
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| Elissa would normally buy all her lingerie at the grocery store. |
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| And you didn't think we wouldn't go back to McDonlads did you? |
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| McDonalds also has the "Hold on and Look Up" rule. |
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| "Hey little girl...why don't you sit on my lap and let this old man tell you stories about working in the sausage factory." |
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"Even I'm enjoying my McDonalds...and yes, please keep that old man away from me!"
Tomorrow we fly to Guangzhou. We are hitting some parks in the afternoon, but it may take me an extra day to get the updates done. I hope you are enjoying these so far! |
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Last edited by robbalvey on Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:34 pm |
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| Erik Johnson Former captain of the Arrow bus.
Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Total posts: 5303 Location: Gainesville, Florida Age: 36 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:50 am Post subject: |
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Wow that is awesome. That has to be the best Superman clone simply for its theming. Thanks for spending the time posting these, it has been enjoyable to wake up and read these right before heading out to work.
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| coastercub I Love Donkeys!
Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Total posts: 76 Location: South Coast UK Age: 38 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:55 am Post subject: |
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Great TR there Robb. That B&M Flyer looks a whole lot of fun !!
Ta for the taking the time out to do the reports, it's much appreciated...
_________________
Dumb people are like Slinkies....
You can't help but laugh when they tumble down the stairs !!
Last edited by coastercub on Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:56 am |
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| tigerxeyez Full Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!
Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Total posts: 356 Location: San Fernando Valley Age: 23 Gender: Female |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:23 am Post subject: |
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| You guys look like you're having an awesome time!!!
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| Mr Pete I Love Donkeys!
Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Total posts: 67 |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:28 am Post subject: |
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You just cannot go anywhere without there being a Tesco nearby!. Awesome updates, would love to go out there someday.
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Pete
http://www.twitter.com/UncleMuttley |
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| pianojohn What I do and who I am
Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Total posts: 689 |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:41 am Post subject: |
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Awesome photo TR! Love to live vicariously through your adventures.
But it must be frustrating when you encounter a park with strange operating procedures. I guess the cultures in Japan and China are used to standing in line whereas the US people expect instant gratification.
Keep the great pics coming!
_________________
John
COASTER COUNT: 423 (314 Steel, 109 Wooden) PARK COUNT: 106
Check out my music at www.cdbaby.com/dehaas2 or on iTunes! |
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| themeparkguy27 Full Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!
Joined: 27 Jul 2006 Total posts: 109 Location: Gurnee, IL. Age: 34 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:47 am Post subject: |
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Great update!
Love the scooter rental sign. A polite refusal for "the drunks."
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| cfc Having a Senior Moment
Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Total posts: 11224 Location: In the lair of the Huge Hummel Boy (which is conveniently located near Williamsburg, Va.) Age: 49 Gender: Male |
| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:55 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Someone should tell Hard Rock Park that THIS is how to theme a Vekoma Mine Train! |
Ah, but did it play an inappropriate Eagles' song while you rode? (Actually, no Eagles would be another plus.)
Thanks for the update--this park looks great.
_________________
Awaiting the return of Huge Hummel Boy |
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