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Photo TR: 22 Days in China with TPR


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I'm going with Neil on the flat rides. They all had very long cycles, but the frisbee and Somalian Waikiki Wave were so intens that I almost lost breakfast (and whatever else was in my stomach at that moment).

 

I didn't ride Somalia Storm, but something was different with that Frisbee. Very odd swinging motion.

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A Chinese knock-off 4D coaster is too terrifying to contemplate.

 

I dunno. Could it be worse than Eejanaika?

 

That is a good point.

 

The new S&S 4D at Dinosaur Park in China was better than its Japanese cousin, though (maybe by virtue of being newer).

 

Yes, I know this reply is way late!

 

But having ridden both of them a few weeks apart on this trip, I'd actually say it was the opposite. I suspect it may have a lot to do with how the rides are running at the time and where you're sitting. I only rode the one at Dinosaur Park twice. The front seat ride was way too rough for me. The second to back inside seat was ok, though still rough. And I actually LIKE the 4D coasters, so I was surprised.

 

With Eejanaika, since I wasn't with enthusiasts smart enough to snag the inside seats, I only rode in said inside seats. And I have to say that I absolutely loved it. In fact, I rode it three times in one day, with waits of over 2-2.5 hours each time!

 

Maybe I'm just crazy.

 

By the way, great PTR, Chuck! I'm looking forward to the rest.

 

Hopefully, I'll get around to posting my own PTR from the trip. However, since I did a lot more than just the China trip (Japan, Korea and Taiwan, too!), it will be a while before I get to the China part, so all of the good jokes will already be taken my Chuck, Megan and the rest!

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Chapter 6: Epcot Meets Six Flags--Floraland and More Credit Whoring

 

We bid farewell to Bruce and Beijing and flew to Chendu, a large city best known for pandas, in addition to the usual crazy Chinese traffic and our new guide, Sammi. Floraland was our next stop, and while the park boasted only two coasters of no particular distinction, it was a very nice place

 

Floraland is sort of a hybrid of a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park and Epcot; that is, there's a fairly standard "amusement park" section coupled with some re-creations of other countries, such as Italy and France. Well, they're not particularly accurate re-creations, but the park itself is sprawling and nicely landscaped--one of those places that's fun to explore.

 

As I said, the two coasters, the obligatory Chinese knock-off SLC and Golden Horse Spinning Coaster, with the odd name Revolving Pulley, weren't very memorable, possibly because the "SLC" knocks you senseless. However, the park had plenty of flat rides to keep people occupied, including one of those "never in America" Tagadas. For those not in the know, a Tagada is just a rotating platform that bounces people around, over, and on top of one another. There are no seats and no restraints, and no shoes are allowed either. If you're lucky, you'll have a great time and escape without any broken bones or contusions--and you may get to know your trip mates better than you might have liked.

 

Hunt around the park, and you may just find some shooting dark rides, an ice house, and some cool walk-through attractions--and some very amusing signage. Overall, Floraland is a very nice park, and it's expanding into a full-blown resort.

 

Let's venture in.

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Welcome to Chendu, famous for pandas and . . . WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?

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"There is no cause for alarm. A giant tumor was found growing by the river last night, and it is being hauled away for proper disposal. Boy, I wish I had a yuan for each giant tumor I've seen in that river."

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It looks like Busch Gardens' "Root of All Evil" maze sprouted on top of that building.

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You know, this Chinese traffic has gotten way out of hand.

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Welcome to Floraland. Their adorable panda mascots were in no way influenced by a famous team of rodents at another theme park.

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No "four-A" Chinese park would ever stoop to obvious plagiarism.

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Floraland is a very nice park.

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"Ooo! I see non-Asian people!"

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No one knew if she was just some random Chinese teenager or a "pretty, sexy lady" looking for some western business.

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Looks like "It's a Small World" meets the Universal logo.

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Are these pixies or fairies? Maybe I should ask an elf or a hobbit.

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Dadburn kids! They're all alike wherever you go!

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Welcome to Floraland's House of Pain. ("Are we not men?")

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Er, if you say so.

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So, no hearts or burgers are allowed on this ride? I guess you can't ride if you've ever stuck your hand out of a train or jumped from a van, either.

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So, it's not just a coaster. It's a "riding facility"?

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Whatever you call it, the thing looks sort of mean and spindly.

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When riding one of these attractions, just remember this quote from "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao": . . .

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"You are alive. . . .

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"And to be alive is fantastic!"

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"Guys! Spinning Mouse over here! Er, . . . get excited?"

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Jolie and Megan never tire of Golden Horse Spinning Mouse rides.

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"Yay! We've achieved something resembling a 'spin'!"

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Boy, it sure is a long walk to the . . .

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"Fale" room?

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"Arise, my giraffe minions! Arise and kill!"

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And now, the Tagada.

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"Tagada" is Chinese for . . .

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"Super Happy Bouncing Orgy."

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Larry and I went off to explore the rest of the park.

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So many choices.

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"We're coming!"

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We left the evil far behind us.

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Hi, Piers.

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Hmm--looks like the turtles are having their own "Tagada."

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"Oh, yeah--I want me a piece 'o' that action!"

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OK--where to next?

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How about the garden with all the naked women in it? (Hey, it's "culture.")

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Or we could just go to "France."

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"I am French. I think."

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'Well, I am most definitely French!" More to come.

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Still more Floraland--spiced with a wee bit 'o' credit whoring.

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"Your book is right under your arm where you left it! Please quit asking where it is! You also dropped your 'Hidden Mickey.'"

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And what exactly does a "flaming gun" do?

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Oh.

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I'm sure this is based on the famous novel by Edith Wharton.

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What's this? A dark ride! Yes!

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And you can rotate the car like Buzz Lightyear or Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin.

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You make two circuits through this building. Your gun may or may not work.

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Are you a "mirror" or a "maze"? Maybe both?

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Double score! A haunted walk through!

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"Pull my legal and fully licensed finger, dearie!"

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"It's not a 'sheet'! It's a 'shroud'! Shrouds are scary!"

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"Dude, you're wearing a sheet. Deal with it."

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A legal and fully licensed mash-up of two cartoon universes.

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Here's another shooter . . .

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. . . with a bizarre name.

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But the ride won't take my money.

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Someone is "presenting" way too much here.

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Pixies and hookers coexist peacefully at Floraland.

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How about a peek at "Floraland to come"?

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They're building a whole other park across the street.

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They still have to clear away some rubble--otherwise, we could ride this thing now!

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More giant Chendu tumors!

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Our next stop was People's Park. Here we see actual "people."

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It was a short walk to the amusement section.

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Shooting bumper cars?

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Here is our objective: Space Car!

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And it's been certified safe and sane for young and old.

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Low overhead means low prices.

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"Pathetic Earthlings! Hurling your bodies out into the void, without the slightest inkling of who or what is out here."

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"If you had known anything about the true nature of the universe, anything at all, you would've hidden from it in terror."

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Welcome to Xinhua Park.

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It's good to know that if there's some sort of catastrophe, we're in the right place.

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"I wonder where that fish could be?"

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"It is a most elusive fish!"

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It's Jolie in 3D.

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The Outer Space Flying Car rules!

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"Screw Intamin and Jungle Mouse coasters! Outer Space Flying Coaster is where it's at now! I'm startin' a whole new trend!"

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"Hey! Know where a guy can buy a fish?" That's all for now.

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Nice report. I actually saw a Tagada in Korea at a little fair in downtown Seoul. I didn't ride it as it looked like you had to pay and we didn't have too much Korean money with us (I would have if we did )

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This update is making me realize that there were whole sections of Floraland that I copmpletely missed! I don't think I found more than one of those haunted dark rides or walkthroughs, if that. Nor do I remember France or any of that theming.

 

Floraland was defintiely one of those parks that was more than the sum of its parks. And the tagada was probably one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip.

 

Anyone who hasn't seen the video that Robb posted of it MUST do so now, before reading any further! That said, that video was form the second ride we got on it (though it was the first for some people.) I woudl have thought that the first ride, before we knew what to expect, would have looked even crazier. I wonder if that video just didn't come out well.

 

As always, loving the PTR so far, Chuck!

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^I'm sure it would fit behind your house, Elissa. I'm not a spinning-ride fan, either, but this one is great. Here's a link to the Tagada video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151190282908566

 

Floraland was a great park for just wandering around. Larry and I missed out on the ice house because we found it too late in the day (but we did check out the one at Happy Valley Chendu the next day).

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I don't recall ever seeing one in the U.S., but I haven't been to a fair or carnival in years. I think the old Trauma Towers attraction at Blackpool Plesure Beach was an enclosed Tagada (with some added effects), but I'm not sure about this (it wasn't as crazy as the ride at Floraland).

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You could tell that he was giving us extra crazy rides, because we were there and loving every minute of it! I also imagine that we got extra long rides, too. The few Chinese girls on our second ride (who you can occasionally see in the video) started out really amused by us, but seemed to get traumatized by the ride!

 

I was so glad that we got to do this. I'd actually been at Gyeongju World a little under two weeks before that, but their Tagada wasn't open because the park was absolutely dead. I was really bummed out, because I'd been really looking forward to it, after seeing the TPR video of it. So, when I saw this here, I was excited to actually be able to ride it. And riding it with TPR was an absolute blast. One of the single biggest highlights of the trip, IMO.

 

I just asked Robb about the video, and he said that he does have the video of the first ride that we took, and that it's even better! So, look forward to this at some point. He'd uploaded that one because it was on his phone and easy to upload on the fly.

 

(Yes, Robb was on his phone for much of the trip!)

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I remember that this Tagada wasn't as wild as the one we had been on at Gyeongju World in Korea.

 

For those that did both, how did this one compare this time, as it looks MUCH wilder than when we rode it in 2008?

A lot of it has to do with the operator...but I'd say it ran pretty much on par with the Gyeongju World one when we were there this time.

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Here's one...

 

"Guess Whose Legs...."

 

 

(EDIT to add: Ride Op was AMAZING! He had fun, we had fun, it was great!)

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I can't even tell, if this is the one with me in it - I did second cycle. omg.....

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^ Kool.

 

Those poor, poor local girls, LOL.

 

They were beside me, and twice I thought

their heads were going to get crushed by us.

I kept trying to "save them" LOL!

 

Good ride.

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