Mysterious Sue
Strata Poster
At the end of November my work sent me to Hong Kong. As luck would have it, my trip overlapped with Richard's, so we had a few days in Disney and Ocean Park. Then I did some work stuff and afterwards went off on my own, hopping the border into Southern China for a few days. I visited Window on the World, Happy Valley Shenzhen and Knight Valley. I originally hoped to go to Chimelong Paradise and Chunlord Manor as well, but it turns out the visa I bought (just for Shenzhen) wasn’t for use that far west. So here’s a load of pics and a bit of text about the parks I visited. I didn’t take many photos at the Hong Kong parks because I took loads last year. I took lots of Knight Valley though because I thought people would be interested, and it was very photogenic!
Hong Kong:
Disneyland
My first new cred was spited as Toy Story land was only open to annual pass holders. It was opening a few days later to the public. Grrrrr. Grovelling with the staff got me some stickers which were no substitute for RC Racer
Space Mountain here is an absolute joy and I couldn’t wait to get back on it. It’s so perfectly fitting to the music, has a good layout and is quite pretty: everything a family ride should be. We also did Autopia, the Buzz Lightyear shooter, It’s a Small World, the River Cruise, the raft over to Tarzan’s tree, and stuffed our faces with ice cream. It was very hot and sticky that day.
Time for me to see my first Disney parade
It didn’t really have far to travel in such a small park, but it was quite cool
Tinkerbelle was FAB <3
Here’s a model of the new Toy Story land. I love the games boxes as buildings idea
…and a model of Mystic Manor, coming next year – a haunted house ride. Can’t wait. There’s also another new coaster coming that looks huge (in terms of length), from what we could spy though the fence anyway
Disney were advertising their new land at the local shopping centre, including a big display outside and this…ohhhhhh….
Ocean Park
Gaudi-themed entrance fountain
This park loves its pandas
Mine train with a view. The back row in this is awesome – loads of airtime. When the train comes to a halt, the whole structure wobbles precariously :S
We also did the horrifically painful Arrow which I didn’t photograph because of the torrential rain that was setting in
The Chinese are mental on health and safety and put signs EVERYWHERE. Some work better in English that others…
Richard really wanted to visit the Garden of Joy!
Want to ride the new rapids? Would you like a lifejacket? !!!
These were the worst, and yet the wettest rapids I’ve been on. I swear there were just people dropping buckets of water on our heads!
New area for next year (and new coaster) as spied though a bush
A very rainy view
The B&M that spited us (I’ve put loads more photos of it up in the relevant topic)
This trip was shaping up to be a credit disaster
The goldfish breeding centre…as you do. You could write messages for others to see. Richard left his..err..thoughts behind
I was then sick from eating too much greasy duck/hangover, and we headed home
China:
This was my first trip to the mainland and I was really excited. Here’s Shenzhen main plaza
A short metro ride to the west are Happy Valley and WotW. Both are literally on opposite sides of the street
Window on the World
Think Epcot crossed with the Crystal Palace from the 1800s and you’ve got some idea of the strangeness of this place. It’s home to scaled-down models of the world’s most famous landmarks. I only went for the morning and wish I’d left a bit more time as it really is an odd place.
The one cred at this place is an indoor affair called ‘Greenland Underground Exploration’. You have to buy an extra ticket to get on (it’s like a whole pound extra!). Very un-thrilling in terms of ride, but it’s a +1 geology cred with glowing minerals and rocks, which made me very happy. Who knows what the hell the theming outside’s about?
[img]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd446/MysteriousSue/P131111_0401.jpg
Mini Eiffel Tower
This really did look odd
Happy valley
Over on the other side of the road…
This is what I could have ridden, it this trip wasn’t so full of credit spite!
It looks awesome against that skyline. Check out the drop below lake level!!
Instead I get to go on this: my first Golden Horse! Wild Elfin was like any other wild mouse spinner, albeit from the seatbelt, restraint and metal chain they wrap you up in. They also make you take your bag on – I was gripping it for dear life!
This was my first experience of the person sitting next to me screaming in my ear like the floor had just given way, and holding onto me for dear life! It happened on several occasions. Maybe the Chinese just don’t get to go on rides often. or maybe the ones I met were all wimps? All I know is I had a bag clutched in one hand and a screaming, flailing girl in the other!
I managed to go on the park train by mistake after reading the sign for ‘mine train’. It took 45 minutes to get round the park! It was so unbearably slow. I spent the time playing celebrity after being asked to pose in numerous photos for people, and pointing to Buckingham Palace on my WotW map shouting ‘London’ into blank faces!
I finally found the real mine train, a double lift Vekoma. How delightful :/
By now it was late afternoon and Chinese parks have a habit of getting busy at this time. However, nothing prepared me for the HUGE queue for the SLC!
About an hour later I got to the ride ENTRANCE. I was quickly losing the will to live…
The ride was actually quite smooth, and I really liked the cobra roll. By the time I got on the ride it was dark, which helped. The batching was so slow because they were only running one train and were clearing the station of all guests before letting new ones through. The staff were also getting everyone to exercise their arms and necks before riding!!!!!! It was totally bizarre. That is also the worst bunting in the world
Happy times? Maybe. I would have been happier if I hadn’t been spited yet another cred: the kiddie ride, as I was too big.
Knight Valley
I had been excited for months about Knight Valley and had saved it for the last day of my trip. It’s actually miles outside of Shenzhen to the east, and makes up part of a big resort area next to the sea. There are several ‘theme parks’ here, but the others are all ‘cultural parks’ with no creds and the whole place is very touristy. I stayed literally outside the gates and walked in in the morning, which was nice and hassle-free
Lots of tour groups at this park being a burden. I might have given a little squeal on seeing the poster!
Some useful attraction information!
The park is literally built up a mountain and escalators are everywhere. You still end up feeling like you’re climbing Everest though. The humidity up here was also much worse than anywhere I'd been that week. The top of the park is called the Cloud Station because it is almost perpetually in the cloud layer!
One of the first things you see is a giant man-made waterfall with a log flume coming out of it – unfortunately this was broken the day I went. The waterfall actually forms the front of a big building, which I assume is a hotel!
Some weird bike things you could hire
Copyright infringement
First I went on the toboggan which was very, very long and slow, but was saved by circling a coop of chickens! There’s a 3D dark ride that is quite fab based on Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Cue more glowing minerals and geology-based times. It’s so nice going on one that isn’t a shooter for once.
Then it was time for Mountain Flier!! Ekkkk. Photogasm time!
What’s that photo in the queueline? Hahaha
Verdict: It was AMAZING! Definitely a 10 out of 10. The view was fantastic and there was good intensity throughout. However, I was expecting a life-changing experience, and I have to say, there was something a little lacking. For one thing, it’s smaller than I was expecting – not quite on the epic scale I’d pictured from the construction photos. It did get faster in the afternoon, but I never even got a hit of airtime due to the ridiculous habit of Chinese stapling no matter how sneaky I was trying to be! Overall, it was a cracking ride with bucketfuls of speed and intensity, but little airtime and just, I guess, no real sparkle. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want one in my back garden, but if anyone were planning a trip to China on the basis of this one ride, I would suggest a re-think!
Time to go up the mountain. What a view!!!!!
Due to high winds I was saved from having to pluck up the courage to do the boosters
Mountain Flier from the top of the mountain
View from the funicular railway – it was so fab and so fast!
I caught a ridiculous show that involved some woman prancing round in a lifering for no apparent reason
This giant TV screen over one of the main walkways was pretty cool
All in all, Knight Valley really was one of the most scenic and photogenic parks I’ve been to. It sums up my first experience of China: everything is on an epically large and breath-taking scale.
There’s tonnes more photos (including lots more of Knight Valley) on my fb. There’s 4 folders because fb wasn’t letting me compile them, sorry about that.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 9801347c1b
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 240d36e5df
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... e5086a2c19
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 417ecc8390
Hong Kong:
Disneyland
My first new cred was spited as Toy Story land was only open to annual pass holders. It was opening a few days later to the public. Grrrrr. Grovelling with the staff got me some stickers which were no substitute for RC Racer
Space Mountain here is an absolute joy and I couldn’t wait to get back on it. It’s so perfectly fitting to the music, has a good layout and is quite pretty: everything a family ride should be. We also did Autopia, the Buzz Lightyear shooter, It’s a Small World, the River Cruise, the raft over to Tarzan’s tree, and stuffed our faces with ice cream. It was very hot and sticky that day.
Time for me to see my first Disney parade
It didn’t really have far to travel in such a small park, but it was quite cool
Tinkerbelle was FAB <3
Here’s a model of the new Toy Story land. I love the games boxes as buildings idea
…and a model of Mystic Manor, coming next year – a haunted house ride. Can’t wait. There’s also another new coaster coming that looks huge (in terms of length), from what we could spy though the fence anyway
Disney were advertising their new land at the local shopping centre, including a big display outside and this…ohhhhhh….
Ocean Park
Gaudi-themed entrance fountain
This park loves its pandas
Mine train with a view. The back row in this is awesome – loads of airtime. When the train comes to a halt, the whole structure wobbles precariously :S
We also did the horrifically painful Arrow which I didn’t photograph because of the torrential rain that was setting in
The Chinese are mental on health and safety and put signs EVERYWHERE. Some work better in English that others…
Richard really wanted to visit the Garden of Joy!
Want to ride the new rapids? Would you like a lifejacket? !!!
These were the worst, and yet the wettest rapids I’ve been on. I swear there were just people dropping buckets of water on our heads!
New area for next year (and new coaster) as spied though a bush
A very rainy view
The B&M that spited us (I’ve put loads more photos of it up in the relevant topic)
This trip was shaping up to be a credit disaster
The goldfish breeding centre…as you do. You could write messages for others to see. Richard left his..err..thoughts behind
I was then sick from eating too much greasy duck/hangover, and we headed home
China:
This was my first trip to the mainland and I was really excited. Here’s Shenzhen main plaza
A short metro ride to the west are Happy Valley and WotW. Both are literally on opposite sides of the street
Window on the World
Think Epcot crossed with the Crystal Palace from the 1800s and you’ve got some idea of the strangeness of this place. It’s home to scaled-down models of the world’s most famous landmarks. I only went for the morning and wish I’d left a bit more time as it really is an odd place.
The one cred at this place is an indoor affair called ‘Greenland Underground Exploration’. You have to buy an extra ticket to get on (it’s like a whole pound extra!). Very un-thrilling in terms of ride, but it’s a +1 geology cred with glowing minerals and rocks, which made me very happy. Who knows what the hell the theming outside’s about?
[img]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd446/MysteriousSue/P131111_0401.jpg
Mini Eiffel Tower
This really did look odd
Happy valley
Over on the other side of the road…
This is what I could have ridden, it this trip wasn’t so full of credit spite!
It looks awesome against that skyline. Check out the drop below lake level!!
Instead I get to go on this: my first Golden Horse! Wild Elfin was like any other wild mouse spinner, albeit from the seatbelt, restraint and metal chain they wrap you up in. They also make you take your bag on – I was gripping it for dear life!
This was my first experience of the person sitting next to me screaming in my ear like the floor had just given way, and holding onto me for dear life! It happened on several occasions. Maybe the Chinese just don’t get to go on rides often. or maybe the ones I met were all wimps? All I know is I had a bag clutched in one hand and a screaming, flailing girl in the other!
I managed to go on the park train by mistake after reading the sign for ‘mine train’. It took 45 minutes to get round the park! It was so unbearably slow. I spent the time playing celebrity after being asked to pose in numerous photos for people, and pointing to Buckingham Palace on my WotW map shouting ‘London’ into blank faces!
I finally found the real mine train, a double lift Vekoma. How delightful :/
By now it was late afternoon and Chinese parks have a habit of getting busy at this time. However, nothing prepared me for the HUGE queue for the SLC!
About an hour later I got to the ride ENTRANCE. I was quickly losing the will to live…
The ride was actually quite smooth, and I really liked the cobra roll. By the time I got on the ride it was dark, which helped. The batching was so slow because they were only running one train and were clearing the station of all guests before letting new ones through. The staff were also getting everyone to exercise their arms and necks before riding!!!!!! It was totally bizarre. That is also the worst bunting in the world
Happy times? Maybe. I would have been happier if I hadn’t been spited yet another cred: the kiddie ride, as I was too big.
Knight Valley
I had been excited for months about Knight Valley and had saved it for the last day of my trip. It’s actually miles outside of Shenzhen to the east, and makes up part of a big resort area next to the sea. There are several ‘theme parks’ here, but the others are all ‘cultural parks’ with no creds and the whole place is very touristy. I stayed literally outside the gates and walked in in the morning, which was nice and hassle-free
Lots of tour groups at this park being a burden. I might have given a little squeal on seeing the poster!
Some useful attraction information!
The park is literally built up a mountain and escalators are everywhere. You still end up feeling like you’re climbing Everest though. The humidity up here was also much worse than anywhere I'd been that week. The top of the park is called the Cloud Station because it is almost perpetually in the cloud layer!
One of the first things you see is a giant man-made waterfall with a log flume coming out of it – unfortunately this was broken the day I went. The waterfall actually forms the front of a big building, which I assume is a hotel!
Some weird bike things you could hire
Copyright infringement
First I went on the toboggan which was very, very long and slow, but was saved by circling a coop of chickens! There’s a 3D dark ride that is quite fab based on Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Cue more glowing minerals and geology-based times. It’s so nice going on one that isn’t a shooter for once.
Then it was time for Mountain Flier!! Ekkkk. Photogasm time!
What’s that photo in the queueline? Hahaha
Verdict: It was AMAZING! Definitely a 10 out of 10. The view was fantastic and there was good intensity throughout. However, I was expecting a life-changing experience, and I have to say, there was something a little lacking. For one thing, it’s smaller than I was expecting – not quite on the epic scale I’d pictured from the construction photos. It did get faster in the afternoon, but I never even got a hit of airtime due to the ridiculous habit of Chinese stapling no matter how sneaky I was trying to be! Overall, it was a cracking ride with bucketfuls of speed and intensity, but little airtime and just, I guess, no real sparkle. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want one in my back garden, but if anyone were planning a trip to China on the basis of this one ride, I would suggest a re-think!
Time to go up the mountain. What a view!!!!!
Due to high winds I was saved from having to pluck up the courage to do the boosters
Mountain Flier from the top of the mountain
View from the funicular railway – it was so fab and so fast!
I caught a ridiculous show that involved some woman prancing round in a lifering for no apparent reason
This giant TV screen over one of the main walkways was pretty cool
All in all, Knight Valley really was one of the most scenic and photogenic parks I’ve been to. It sums up my first experience of China: everything is on an epically large and breath-taking scale.
There’s tonnes more photos (including lots more of Knight Valley) on my fb. There’s 4 folders because fb wasn’t letting me compile them, sorry about that.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 9801347c1b
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 240d36e5df
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... e5086a2c19
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 417ecc8390
