Intamin

Osaka’s home for little fairies

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Hirakata Park

Hirakata Park originated as the Kikuningyō-ten exhibition grounds in 1912, with chrysanthemum-decorated figures and scenes being displayed in October and November of each year, before the last regular exhibition was held in 2005. The actual development of the amusement park took place in 1926, when the Keihan Electric Railway began operating the park and the first rides moved in. In 1944, the site was put to military use.

After the end of the Second World War, the site was unusable and the Kikuningyō-ten took place on another area along the Keihan Line. The return to Hirakata followed in 1949. Initially run as a city park, the site was again converted into an amusement park in 1952 as part of a tax reform.  The park has always been owned by the Keihan Group.

Magical Volcano

So off we go to Hirakata-kōen and into Hirakata Park. Right at the entrance, a beautiful and spacious rock massif with an integrated interactive attraction awaits us. Personally, I can’t describe the Magical Volcano any better than that, because it really is a lot of things in one; be it an exploration tour with integrated skill games or an adventure playground with a pre-show and storyline. It is relatively simple: at the start you are assigned a mission, after which you have to answer three questions. In the meantime, the volcano almost erupts and we have to throw softballs into its crater. Towards the end, you let your bow be evaluated by a machine and get a corresponding feedback. In our case, of course, this was a perfect score, but we had also received help from the staff. All in all, this is an attraction that we would like to see here in Europe.

Pachanga, Wonder Gaden und Athletic Try-It

Exhausted, but one experience richer, we head straight for the wooden roller coaster Elf. While there, we take a ride on the unfortunately very dry rapid river Pachanga and admire the animals in the Wonder Garden. Unfortunately, the number of enclosures is very limited – this is especially a pity, as Hirakata Park does a good job and the animals are all housed in relatively large enclosures. Meanwhile, on the other side of the main path, we wonder about the Athletic Try-It, a kind of modern obstacle course, before we are finally drawn into the woods.

Elf

Elf, short for Episode of little Fairies, is a medium-sized wooden roller coaster from the European manufacturer Intamin. So far so good, but the expectations for this wooden roller coaster were not as high as they should have been, thanks to its former sister ride Pegasus at the Dutch amusement park Efteling.

After a short wait, it was time to take a seat in the train car, which was then quickly dispatched. Following a short drop out of the station and a short right turn past the storage track integrated into the structure, we immediately found ourselves in the lift hill of the ride. Shortly after, the initial height of 18.5 m is reached, whereupon the train goes down the first small drop. This is followed by a longer turn to the right, where we gain a few metres in altitude. But before the view would distract us from the action, we plunge down the second drop. We are now pulled through the valley with gusto, whereupon we are pulled right onto the next hill. The ascent is quite steep at first and then a little less steep after an apparent crest. Meanwhile, we dedicate ourselves to another turn, which we leave parallel to the lift in a drop down to the ground level. Now we follow the route we have already completed by climbing another hill and also completing a turn. Instead of going straight down another drop, however, we now cross the ride in a diagonal, in which we naturally also head towards the ground.Once again with the funny transition from steep to less steep slope, we now dedicate ourselves to a left-leading turn, where we get momentum for the next ride manoeuvre. With a big bang we cross the following camelback and plunge straight into the dense woodwork. After a final turn, a short dip follows, whereupon we reach the final brake.

Elf is fun! With a good pinch of airtime and interesting incline trajectories, the small ride doesn’t need to hide from any larger wooden roller coaster – especially since the wooden roller coaster seems much higher than it actually is due to its hillside location. In any case, you can and should get on more often, it’s worth it.

Sky Walker and Truck

It would most likely have been worth getting on the Sky Walker Ferris wheel, but unfortunately it is currently being restored. The neighbouring Cycle Monorail was therefore not visited at all and we also had to do without a ride on the children’s roller coaster Truck in Peek-a-Boo Town, as the train belonging to it was missing.

Crazy Mouse

The fact that it doesn’t necessarily take a missing train to rob a roller coaster ride of its main feature can be seen on the Reverchon Crazy Mouse. It turned a bit too well, so it was decided not to release the spin of the cars anymore in order to reduce the ride’s intensity. As can be seen from the ride, this was not a good idea. The hairpin bends in the lower level are driven through in such a lousy way that in the end the pleasure completely falls by the wayside. A real pity, as Reverchon spinning coaster are actually great rides.

Bassh

Whereby I should actually be a little less critical: The ride is quite okay and not being able to show a rotation as a spinning mouse is somehow special. Equally special is its location at a lofty height, elevated on a platform. This has the advantage that there are two other attractions underneath it. Besides the Little Witch’s Labyrinth walkthrough, the station of the Bassh log flume is located here.

The ride begins with a left turn that takes you under the plateau of the Crazy Mouse roller coaster. Past some animal sculptures and with the best view onto the tracks of the mouse one level higher, another left turn leads the boat directly into the ride’s lift. Due to the slope of the ride, you now spend some time in it before a short left turn takes you down just a medium shot. Without a single drop on your skin, a right turn follows immediately, after which you dash like mad through the channel. One S-curve later, you find yourself straight below the first shot, before you tackle a left/right curve combination and make your way towards the second and final shot. Once there, the descent is immediate and exhilarating. In the subsequent splashdown, every drop of water is missing and the score is close to zero. So we did something wrong, but unfortunately that’s what an amusement park with a dry log flume also does.

Red Falcon

So it’s time to ride a type of roller coaster that no one in Japan can do wrong: The classic jet coaster. The one here at Hirakata Park is called Red Falcon and has been wonderfully placed on the big slope. But before you can dare to take a ride, you have to squeeze into the cars, and that is simply impossible, especially for taller people in the back rows.

After a short straight section, the train takes you over a short dip into the ride’s lift. Typical for a proper jet coaster, this one is comparatively steep and you spend some time in it. But that’s not too bad, because it gives us more time to look at the city of Osaka. At the top, the train quickly picks up speed after a first, quite steep, small drop. This is followed by a long left turn before the first long descent. The train takes you rapidly through the first valley and over the top of a hill that bends slightly to the left. Far above the visitors’ heads, the train climbs another hill and passes the log flume.

After another drop, you then reach a tight right-leading turn before you throw yourself properly to the ground for the first time. From then on, parallel to the track you have just completed, the train races over another hill into an extremely funny element. Coming out of a very wide right-hand bend, you drive through a narrow valley with a clear cross slope, which is suddenly followed by a narrow right-hand bend just below the first gradient. As in a very shapeless Bavarian curve, this leads you over a short hill, into another valley. A wide left turn follows. After a very flat drop with an equally flat ascent, a wide 540° helix awaits you, which then releases you into the final shot. After the subsequent ascent, a rather strange transition into a curve awaits you and shortly afterwards the braking section of the ride is reached.

The Red Falcon combines many of the Japanese peculiarities of roller coaster construction, but is a thoroughly nice ride that you should simply enjoy. The ride distance of 1300m gives you plenty of time to whizz over the rather flat hills at up to 70 km/h – secured by a shoulder restraint. The view of the city of Osaka and its imposing location far above the rest of the amusement park benefit the ride immensely.

Meteo

The very late braking on the Intamin Meteo freefall tower one level below is just as beneficial. As already experienced in the Kijima Kogen Park, people in Japan like to do without the secondary safety belt, so that here too the ride seems even more threatening and, in combination with the hard braking, can be described as absolutely ingenious.

In addition to the obligatory freezer, this time (quite small) in the form of a large refrigerator, there is also a very good spinning Disk’o from the manufacturer Zamperla on this level, as well as a kite flyer and a Zierer wave swinger, which was unfortunately undergoing maintenance on the day we visited.

Palm Walk

One level further down, you come to the Palm Walk and its integrated interactive dark ride Gururimori, as well as the Legend of Dark Forest (a mirror maze) and Makafushigido walkthroughs. The area has a lot of charm and is similar in concept to the City Walk at nearby Universal Studios Japan – except that it is integrated into Hirakata Park.

Octopus Panic and Haunted House

On the lowest level of Hirakata Park, you can mainly find various children’s rides, but also some classic rides and gems, such as the Octopus Panic sea storm ride, Japanese tea cups in Hello Kitty design or the child-friendly dark ride Haunted House, where you travel through the chirpy underworld with the Dororon travel company. Of course, the 3D 360° cinema right next door should not be overlooked.

Fantasy Cruise and Gnome’s Train

Meanwhile, if the hustle and bustle has become a little too wild for you, you should take a little stroll through Hirakata Park’s huge rose garden or venture out for a ride on the Fantasy Cruise round boat or the surprisingly long Gnome’s Train park railway. This area is an ideal retreat and invites any garden lover to linger, plus you have an exceedingly good view of Hirakata Park’s final roller coaster.

Fantastic Coaster Rowdy

The ride on the Fantastic Coaster Rowdy begins with a short right turn, followed by the lift hill. Once at the top, the lift makes a 180° left turn before the first drop follows. At a lofty height, the short-raced train now crashes over a camelback before it makes its way up again. Not at all rowdy, another tight 180° left turn follows and soon a very long right turn with integrated straight downhill. After a short right-hand bend, a very tight left-hand turn follows immediately, along with a shot. A left-hand and a right-hand bend join together like serpentines. This is succeeded by a final ascent into the braking section and soon the entry into the station, whereupon a ride not worth mentioning (as it is just okay) comes to an end.

Pictures Hirakata Park

Conclusion Hirakata Park

Although Hirakata Park is now over 100 years old, there are unfortunately no older rides to admire in the park; so they have always stayed up-to-date. This is understandable, but it does make the park a little less charming. It makes up for this with its green spaces, imaginative attractions and a successful overall ambience, which is why you ultimately feel very entertained when leaving the park.

 

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Hirakata Park / Titanic Max Day 5

# Final Summer

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History of the Space World

The amusement park Space World shows us in a very fatal way what fish frozen in an ice rink can do – despite record sales in the same year; whether the now internationally strongly criticised action towards the end of last year led to the collapse of the lease negotiations between the operating company Japan Park and Resort Co, Ltd. and the Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) as the property owner is indeed written in the stars, but it is obvious, since it took place immediately afterwards: On 16 December 2016, it was announced that the theme park would close on New Year’s Eve the following year.

Before I move on to the #FinalYear celebrations, I would like to take a look at the history of Space World, because the land owners were once the main shareholders of the operating company and founders of the theme park. They were in the process of downsizing their local steelworks, which is why Japan Park and Resort Co., Ltd. was founded in 1988 to manage the vacated land and parts of the existing buildings in the future. Two years later, Space World was opened.

From then on, the amusement park was sensibly expanded at regular intervals. In 1997, the park reached its peak with 2.16 million visitors. A serious accident on the S&S Space Shot Atlas Tower, which had opened the previous year, led to the temporary closure of the amusement park in August 1998, whereupon visitor numbers also plummeted. Despite the opening of its own JR station and a 100m high Ferris wheel, visitors remained at a constant level, which is why the theme park was restructured in 2004. From then on, Kamori Kanko Co., Ltd. (operator of the Rusutsu Resort and Himeji Central Park, among others) became the sole main shareholder of the operating company. All kinds of redesigns followed, as well as the opening of the Zaturn launch coaster. At the same time, however, some rides were closed and the Astronaut Training Centre (Astresta), operated under the Space Camp Foundation licence in connection with Space Camp Japan, was abandoned. In 2008, the attraction was enhanced for the last time with the addition of a water park.

The end of the story is known and yet it is celebrated. Honestly, I don’t want to know how many desperate roller coaster and theme park enthusiasts have been drawn to Kitakyūshū this year and will be drawn after this report is published. At least one thing is certain: the time to experience this extraordinary amusement park is dwindling. Tick, tock.

Tour of the park

Clipper

After passing through the generously designed portal, we immediately find ourselves on the Space Bazaar, the main street of Space World. From here, we turn right towards the Big Bang Plaza. Passing the huge show theatre, the anime museum Gundam World and the Astresta Hall – which is empty except for a meteorite and some moon rocks – we head towards the roller coaster Venus GP, which we already marvelled at on the way to the Space World. But shortly before that, we turn left and queue up for the children’s roller coaster Clipper. Because let’s face it, you’re certainly not that interested in a roller coaster from Germany in a report from Japan if there’s also something from Togo. With this in mind, let’s get into the small, extremely cute spaceships.

The ride on Clipper begins with a small right turn that leads the spaceship train directly into the ride’s lift. A short time later we reach the starting height of 10m, whereupon the train immediately throws itself into a left turn. The train then climbs a shallow incline and turns to the right with a pronounced dip in the middle. In a shallow Bavarian curve manner, we float through a high double curve-interchange play before approaching the ground in a right-hand curve. Then, at high speed, we pass through a final left/right combination of curves towards the station. But just before reaching the station, a short dip awaits us, where on other rides of this kind the brakes would be located.  All in all, this is a great little ride with a surprising finale that should be moved to another location in the near future.

Venus GP

A fate that will be certain for the neighbouring roller coaster. After all, Venus GP is one of the first roller coasters of the Munich-based Maurer AG, which shortly before took over the roller coaster division of the Bayerische Berg-, Hütten- und Salzwerke AG (BHS for short), which in turn took over the production of already commissioned roller coasters when Schwarzkopf of Münsterhausen went out of business. To sum up: Venus GP is a genuine Schwarzkopf product, just not from Münsterhausen and certainly not from the manufacturer. But that doesn’t interest anyone, given the external values of this snazzy ride: A height of 40m, a total length of just over one kilometre, a total speed of 86 km/h and an extremely twisty layout speak for themselves, don’t they?

In any case, the staging of the ride with the boarding to the beat of the Queen classic “We will rock you”, the scream rehearsal before the start of the journey and the ear-catching station music when the train is just whizzing along the track makes this a special experience.  In any case, time flies by and before you know it you’re already on the train.

This is then also quickly dispatched, whereupon we leave the station in the direction of the lift hill. After a left turn, a chain takes us up to the starting height of 40m. Once at the top, there is a short moment to enjoy the view before being plunged full of anticipation into the depths on the back of the space shuttle Discovery. With the speed now built up, we climb a high banked turn before entering the almost circular loop with pinpoint accuracy. In the finest S-curve manner, we rapidly gain height, whereupon the train just barely scrapes past the lift hill in a tight curve. The train then crashes to the ground and reaches the lowest point of the ride. Mercilessly, the train turns around another bend, crosses the heads of the willing park guests and the station at a lofty height, and almost madly throws itself to the ground again. This is followed by an extremely rapid section of track in the form of a figure eight, which is followed by an intense upward helix. At high speed, we now go through a wide left-hand bend, which immediately turns into a downward helix. Shortly afterwards we reach the braking section and soon the station.

I have to admit, Venus GP sounds like the perfect roller coaster: powerful, brutal and merciless. During the ride in the Galaxy Racer, you only go through crisp curves and a beautiful loop – there is actually only time to breathe during the ascent in the lift and in the final brake. But why does my euphoria remain so low?! The answer is simple: the restraints!

In addition to the normal lap bar, the ride has shoulder claws à la Olympia Looping, only in extremely crappy. Well, the ride on the Olympia Looping is already a drastic experience due to the (more harmless) variant – but you can endure that if you strictly adhere to the given seating position. With Venus GP, on the other hand, you should give up hope of that as soon as you get in. This is how you experience the extremely appetising track layout with the constant fight with the bar – not pleasant, but the ride is actually top class.

Space Shuttle Discovery and the Space Museum

Let’s now turn our attention to the remaining edutainment offerings of the theme park, i.e. the replica of the space shuttle Discovery on a scale of 1:1 – which is extremely impressive in itself and makes the space station above the queue of the roller coaster Euro Mir at Europa Park look old without any effort – and the Space Museum. The former clearly has the advantage of not being overlooked by visitors, while not a soul gets lost in the well-made museum. Interestingly, an irrelevant anime was shown in the museum’s own screening room and some of the rooms were no longer open to the public – in the early years of Space World, it was certainly once a great attraction, which could actually continue to exist as an independent attraction in the future due to its location together with the space shuttle.

Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster

Past the Space Eye, the 100m high Ferris wheel of Space World – from which you have a great view of the neighbouring Venus GP roller coaster – we follow the path along the Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster, whose entrance is stupidly on the other side. Arriving at the entrance of the queue, you then have the choice between two backward and three forward facing cars. To increase the surprise factor of this little rust bucket a bit, the first ride was of course in the rear front row.

In a wide 180° curve, you leave the station in the direction of the lift hill. The lift then takes us slowly but surely to the top, where we are allowed to enjoy the view in another turn. On the following shot, in a tunnel through an oversized tetrahedron, we quickly gain speed, before the G force tries to kill us in the following valley, which is strangely inclined to the side. This in turn gives rise to a laughing fit that doesn’t subside until the end of the ride. Full of joy, we pass through the next turn, at the end of which a descent with a powerful valley is waiting. Finally, there is a grandiose downhill helix before one is guided in the direction of the station.

The Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster may not be a milestone among roller coasters, but from a ride-technical point of view it’s just great, which is why we were always happy to get on board. Especially the backwards ride adds a lot of value to this snazzy ride. Due to its condition, Space World will probably be the ride’s last venue – which is a shame.

Planet AQA

The situation is just as regrettable with the Planet AQA rapid river. This is the first product of the manufacturer Hafema. In spacious 10-person boats divided into 5 segments of two people each – which, however, due to the Japanese mentality are only loaded with further groups of people if the first group admits to it – you wind your way, after a long wait, through a channel full of rapids. The ride is similar to that of the rapid rivers made by Vekoma, which makes for an extremely interesting, albeit less thrilling, ride.

4D-Vision Pop Stella

If you do get a little wet, you can get a free blow dry in the drying rooms next to the ride.  A slightly different solution would be a visit to the cinema room of the 4D-Vision Pop Stella, where a BBC nature film with all kinds of effects is shown. Here you can experience the daily routine of a chipmunk.

The next attraction on our tour is in the central building complex, which is probably a remnant of the former steelworks. Although you always walk past it, it can happen that you never look inside the building – which we felt compelled to do only when we were looking for the last roller coaster; luckily, however, we knew how many roller coasters there actually are in Space World.

Mission to Mars

In the building complex itself, visitors are greeted by the ice skating rink, which is open in winter, a children’s play area, the Black Hole Scramble indoor roller coaster and the Mission to Mars Imax simulator. After a long pre-show in which the rescue mission is discussed, you board the large-scale simulators and then get a surprisingly stomach-friendly shake.

Black Hole Scramble

The main attraction in this area, however, is the aforementioned Black Hole Scramble indoor roller coaster. After taking a seat in one of the two six-passenger cars, the ride can start immediately. On the way to the first lift hill, you first pass two long straights, each of which is followed by a left turn. The following lift is climbed leisurely and releases you into another left turn. This is followed by a shallow descending straight where the train picks up speed a little. After a short ascent, a long right-hand bend follows, which immediately turns into a Bavarian bend and finally ends in a block brake. You leave this in a very tight right-hand bend, which shortly afterwards turns into an equally tight left-hand bend. After a short straight and another left turn, a surprisingly steep drop follows, after which the subsequent (also very narrow) right turn is traversed with a lot of pressure on the body. Shortly afterwards, you pick up a few metres of altitude again in lift hill no. 2. You then leave this in a right-hand bend, whereupon the train quickly gains speed on the following straight. After the subsequent right-hand bend, the train performs a short dip, whereupon the next right-hand bend is already waiting for you. After this, you climb a comparatively high ascent, which first releases you into a block brake and then into another right-hand bend. This is followed by the second major drop of the roller coaster, which then releases you into the final left turn and shortly afterwards into the braking section.

Even though the indoor roller coaster seems to consist only of tight curves and a few straight connecting sections, Blackhole Scramble is a true indoor roller coaster of Japanese design, which offers a lot of fun in a very small space. So much, in fact, that I would call it one of the best of its kind.

Twin Mercury

The log flume duo Twin Mercury also falls into this category, where you can either go on the Adventure Cruise or the Fun Fun Cruise. While the Adventure Cruise is meant to appeal to the more courageous passengers, you can let off steam with water pistols on a more leisurely ride on the Fun Fun Cruise. However, as we stood our legs in the queue for the Adventure Cruise due to the minimal number of boats, we refrained from taking any further rides.

When it was finally our turn, we boarded the boat and the ride could begin. After a few metres of bobbing around in the channel, the conveyor belt of the first lift hill was already waiting for us, releasing us into the opulent mountain massif. After a short left turn, it becomes increasingly darker and light effects appear. After these are extinguished, you can only hear the water flowing faster and faster, so a drop is imminent, the only question is when. Suddenly you shoot down into the depths, but the water doesn’t come, instead you dash over a small hill and experience a shallow airtime before you finally come into contact with the cool water. Through openings in the façade, we can now recognise the course of the track and so we bob up to the second lift, quite surprised. This quickly brings us towards the second shot, which is completed in the form of a 500° downward spiral – an absolutely magnificent spectacle. Very well moistened, we now bob past the downhill of the Fun Fun Cruise and immediately disappear once more into the rock massif. After a right turn, we reach the third and final lift of the Adventure Cruise. Having reached the highest point of the ride, we now cross the inside of a crashed UFO in a short right turn and soon enter the last descent of the ride. While we are descending, two water cannons are fired in parallel, so that we get in contact with most of the water already during the drop, while the actual watering is relatively harmless. Shortly afterwards we reach the station again.

The Adventure Cruise of the Twin Mercury is undoubtedly one of the best log flumes in the world. The descents are all magnificently staged, whereby the drop in the inner area is an absolute surprise and almost knocks the second shot ride off its throne. This one is known for its unorthodox shape and the resulting, almost absurd, length. In combination with the Fun Fun Cruise children’s whitewater ride, Twin Mercury offers a unique combo that will soon be a thing of the past.

Titan Max

As much as most likely the Arrow roller coaster Titan Max, which was refurbished in 2015. A roller coaster that I was personally very much looking forward to and for which I read over all the negative reviews, because firstly, the ride was from 1994, the same year as the Big One from the Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and secondly, all roller coasters from the manufacturer are usually very good, but often frowned upon by roller coaster fans because of their rougher ride. Admittedly, it was not the reason to come here, but it was the deciding factor for the tour title Titanic Max.

After you have survived the extremely annoying queue including the continuous announcement from tape, you can climb the staircase up to the station and wait there for a few (many) minutes. Of course, Space World does not run at full capacity, so you can look forward to a freshly dispatched train every ten minutes. With 24 people per train, this is a capacity of 150 people per hour, instead of the 1500 people that were originally possible.

The ride begins with a short dip out of the station, followed by a tight turn towards the lift. This then brings us relatively quickly to the starting height of 50m, where the first drop is waiting for us. On the now existing height difference of 54m, the train accelerates to a speed of 115 km/h in a short time. The following valley is glided through smoothly, as is the subsequent camelback. In the second valley, the acceleration values are a little more pronounced, but again not worth mentioning. Now follows a highly banked curvy part with gentle gradients and climbs in the middle, something like a very long and rather shapeless Bavarian curve. After spending a lap in a triangle, the last curve narrows visibly, whereupon we turn to the block brake. This reduces the speed a little so that one crosses the following part with the required speed. Although the subsequent long ramp hardly makes it seem so, we are now approaching the highlight of the ride. The curve narrows increasingly to a radius where it is a miracle that the very massive Arrow trains could have passed through at all. But while the lateral acceleration values get out of hand, the train immediately plummets abruptly towards the ground. The valley that follows is wonderfully powerful and also features a very nice change of direction. The game then repeats itself in reverse order, whereupon the element in the form of a figure eight unfortunately comes to an end. A shallow ramp with an included left turn now leads us parallel to the first camelback of the ride, whereupon the return of the station is initiated. Here, three gentle hills then await the passengers, where one honestly misses the negative forces a bit.  After a short kinky ascent, the final brake is reached and the ride draws to a close.

Unlike other roller coaster fans, I don’t want to complain about the ride characteristics, because they are absolutely fine. Personally, something else bothers me about the ride, because it is simply boring. There is only one element during the ride that stands out in any way, the rest is like a classic jet coaster and let’s be honest, the Japanese can do that much better than the Americans from Utah. All in all, the Meteor Liner with music selection is a nice roller coaster, but not one that I would queue for half an eternity for in the existing conditions at Space World.

Zaturn

The situation is different with the launch coaster Zaturn, where the waiting time never exceeded 20 minutes, despite the pull-in operation and safety briefing ritual. This is a clone of the Stealth roller coaster from the English amusement park Thorpe Park, which is why the layout is quickly told. After the pulse of the light show has subsided, the train accelerates to a speed of 130 km/h. The train then shoots up a 60m high top-hat and leaves it in the same direction from which it came. In the following valley, a vertical acceleration of 5G awaits you before the braking section is initiated on the following hill. After a bend, you reach the separate exit platform.

Zaturn is solid and, despite its short travel time of about 30 seconds, actually offers everything that is missing on Titan. But compared to Stealth, the ride is unfortunately a bit weak, somehow I missed the atmosphere or at least the spillwater that you drive under on the ride; but it may also be due to the minimally shorter acceleration phase on the minimally older sister..

Along the closed Galaxy Theatre and the Maze Alien Panic Revolution, which we spared ourselves due to the high number of visitors, the path now leads us back to the Space Bazar and thus to the end of this report.

Pictures Space World

Conclusion Space World

Space World is a good amusement park, but it has already left its best days far behind. This is evidenced by the many empty spaces, especially in the area around the Big Bang Plaza. On the other hand, the roller coasters (with the exception of the Boogie – Woogie Space Coaster) are well maintained, which is not surprising when they are temporarily closed during operation. Either way, it was a great day in an extraordinary amusement park, which we will soon be able to talk about with a good dose of pathos; after all, at Space World we don’t mourn, we celebrate.

 

What is your opinion about the theme park Space World?  Just write it in the comment field below the report or visit our social media channels:

 

          

Click here for the next report of the Titanic Max Tour

Space World / Titanic Max Day 3

Boats ahead on the Japanese highland plateau

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The History of Kijima Kogen Park

On a high plateau (Japanese Kogen) far above the Japanese spa town of Beppu – which attracts several million visitors every year, mainly due to its large number of hot springs and the associated public baths, the so-called onsen – lies the Kijima Kogen Park (城島高原パーク).

Starting out as a small go-kart track, Kijima Motopia Land was created in 1967. With the longest go-kart track in Japan at that time, new visitors were quickly attracted to the plateau. After a change of ownership in 1971, a swimming pool and a bowling alley were added to the resort. In 1982 the park name was changed to Kijima Kogen Family Park and the following year the looping coaster Super LS Coaster was opened.

In 1987, West Japan Nippon Korakuen Co, Ltd. (operator of the former Kōrakuen stadium and today’s Tokyo Dome) took over the park. In the course of this, the park was renamed in 1992 to Kijima Korakuen Yūenchi (engl. Amusement Park), in connection with a large expansion of the amusement park area and the opening of Japan’s first wooden roller coaster. In 2007, the resort was sold to Morgan Stanley, after which it was operated under the resort brand Centleisure for several years. In 2012, Kijima Kogen Operations Co, Ltd. was established as part of a restructuring process and renamed Kijima Kogen Park.

Tour of the park

If you enter the park, you will find yourself right on the beautiful Main Street of the park. To the left is the indoor playground Toy Kingdom and to the right the souvenir shop of the park, where you can buy mainly the most popular souvenir of the Japanese: cookies from the region.

Super LS Coaster

Of special interest, however, is the big roller coaster directly in front of us: The Super LS Coaster (actually L&S, for Loop & Screw) by Meisho. Wonderfully embedded in the landscape, the train takes you through a loop and two corkscrews.

But before I tell you too much about the route in the introduction I would suggest that we climb the stairs to the station and get on the train. After leaving the station we spend some time on the lift hill. At the top we leave the hill on a ramp with a minimal gradient and make a short right bend. High above the arcades we cross the first valley and start the big shot. In a wide right bend we increase more and more speed, whereupon the train disappears in a pit. Continuing with the same gradient, we now rush through a short straight section with our eyes now always on the next element. Mercilessly powerful we cross the following valley before we find ourselves headfirst in a loop. This is also passed with a lot of pressure. Afterwards the train shoots up a steep slope of a camelback. This camelback brings us with light airtime into the right sitting position for the next inversion figure. In a wide left turn along the minigolf course we slowly increase in cross slope before we are in the starting position for the two corkscrews. Two headstands later we are slowly pulled towards the station in a left turn. We cross the loop and dive down on a longer straight for the last time. Between the two corkscrews we are pulled up to the station level and shortly after into the final brake of the ride.

The Super LS Coaster keeps what its name promises and surprises you all the more with the excellent transfer of its built up speed. In addition, there are three overhead elements that are beautiful to ride and the generally very good ride characteristics of the layout, which ultimately invite you to ride it continuously.

Jupiter

But before we dedicate ourselves to this activity, we first go on an exploration tour to the lower levels of the Kijima Kogen Park. Passing a beautifully designed children’s driving school and the neighbouring footbath (one of the typical Japanese onsen, just for feet) we are drawn to the wooden roller coaster Jupiter. We were told right at the entrance that the ride would not run today – but we didn’t know the reason for that yet. In fact, we thought that the freshly renovated trains were the reason for this and not the death of an employee (during routine work) only a few days before. Of course, such an accident should not happen and the outcome is tragic – so it’s perfectly understandable that the ride was not in operation until it was approved by the local authorities. On site, of course, it was necessary to overlook the loss of a ride – very difficult especially if one person wanted to ride all wooden coasters in the country. In general, however, one thing can be said about Jupiter: The ride looks (if you see it at all) extremely delicious; the first drop seems absolutely wild and in general the track with its 1600m seems to be extremely dynamic.

Mars

I will certainly stand in front of the roller coaster again at some point in the near future. In the meantime, however, we are drawn into the labyrinth Mars, which is actually subject to an extra charge. On two missions – one rather sporty, the other one for thinkers – it goes over several levels, peppered with various tasks through the wooden building. There are three stamps to find for the stamp booklet and if you have passed both missions, you even get a golden sticker. Indeed a fun for the whole family, which might be a great idea to be introduces into serveral western countries.

Poseidon 30

The same applies to the covered water ride Poseidon 30 – whereby the roof of the boats should only be offered as an option for the water-shy park guests. Built by the manufacturer O.D. Hopkins, the Spillwater stands out above all for its impressive wave, while at the same time the passengers and spectators are not getting wet at all. For a water ride this does not sound very impressive, but who am I kidding? It’s about boats. The boat, which at that time fulfilled an involuntary abort criterion of the onride veteran Stilbruch on his Japan trip.

Actually, it’s quite simple: Put your foot on the roller in the floor space and push your harness when the boat hits the wave and you will survive without any insury; promised ;-). We were patiently taught how to do it and after we survived it we were happy to get back on board again and again during the day. However, if something would have happened, it would have been the conceivably most unfavourable tour course. But as it is already said Tidal Wave in the English theme park Thorpe Park: “What is the worst that could happen? Well, it is advertising for Dr. Pepper, but still – this is the only way to start a Japan tour.

Ice World

Survived, but with the best will in the world hardly or not at all refreshed, we were now drawn to a very special attraction: the nicely designed cold store Ice World. With a temperature difference of more than 60°C, we walked in very small steps through the cold chamber cooled down to -30°C and past all kinds of beautifully designed scenery.

Sky Pallet

The next special feature of Kijima Kogen Park was the nearby Giant Ferris Wheel Sky Pallet, where, in addition to the normal gondolas, you can also experience the ride in a kind of open-air gondola at right angles to the direction of travel. Secured by a shoulder restraint, the ride experience intensifies almost automatically, but the field of vision is limited to only one side. Thus, it is a pity that such gondolas are much too rare.

Newton

More often, also in Japan, you can find free fall towers. The local example is called Newton and like an apple, it drops you from a tall height to the ground. The Japanese have an interesting understanding of safety, and although they put additional padding everywhere, they do not use it in free fall towers; even the belts known from Europe to secure the safety bar are simply missing. This results in an even more intensified overall experience that can only be topped by the extremely creative gondola design.

A similarly creative design can be found on the nearby observation tower, which has a stork design and works like a Flying Island ride. From up here you have a wonderful view of the plateau with all its rides, which we will now take a closer look at.

Dragon

Through a small children’s area, including a dragon roller coaster by the manufacturer Zamperla (a small oval with a central downward helix) and past the large paddling pool, which is used as a skating rink in winter, we were drawn to the upper level. Here you can find all kinds of classic flat rides, such as a teacup ride, a horse carousel and a wave swinger, but also rides such as a sea storm ride, a flying carpet and a large swing boat.

360° 3D cinema

Of particular interest was the 360° 3D cinema, where a typical Japanese horror film was shown in the afternoon. Accompanied by all kinds of effects, the film worked extremely well and the 3D effect was also great – which is why we were drawn back to this kind of cinema again and again during the rest of the tour.

Flash Battle K and Shooting Pirates

The same is true for interactive games, like Flash Battle K, where you had to hit buttons – which are spread all over the room – like crazy to score as many points as possible. With the same premise, but conceived as a classic interactive theme ride, Shooting Pirates presents itself to park guests. Similar to the dark ride Capitán Balas of the Spanish amusement park Isla Magica, the ride goes through an elaborately designed pirate theme in small round chaises. The ride is very impressive, but it is also incredibly short and the end comes very fast.

Roller Skate Coaster

Right next door you will find the laser labyrinth (extra charge) and the children’s roller coaster Roller Skate Coaster in the classic roller skater layout of the manufacturer Vekoma. Accordingly, the ride offers some racy curves and helices, perfectly tailored to the young park guests who like to get on and off.

Moon Parade

At first sight, the Monorail Moon Parade looks similarly familiar, at least until you get into the car. Instead of using electricity, you drive along the track with a combustion engine, and the best part is that we can steer. We can only control the speed, but for everything else there is a very long go-kart track directly under the layout.

Gold Rush

Now let’s get to the last attraction of Kijima Kogen Park and my 450th roller coaster: Gold Rush. Nestled in an artificial rock massif, the ride is, at least in the front part of the train, incredibly brute and wild. After the lift ascent, you curve through the layout level by level, starting with a tight left turn, which immediately leads into the first, very flat drop. Interestingly, the ascent is much steeper and the hilltop is very narrow, so you get in contact with the bar and experience some airtime. After a left bend, the game is repeated again on a small scale. After a wide right bend a short dip follows, after which we gain a lot of momentum on a shot. During this we dive into the rock massif, always with our eyes on the coming evil. As if we did not deserve it any other way, we climb a small ascent, the crest of which is once again very narrow and then leads into a curve. Absolutely surprised by the enormous interplay of all forces, we leave the cave under loud laughter and devote ourselves to the rest of the course. Over a powerless camelback we reach another turn-around curve, on which we are now forwarded parallel to the station. In a left-hand bend we cross under the hill we just passed, and with a constant lateral inclination we now cross a short straight line, as well as the last bends in the direction of the station.

I did not expect much from the Gold Rush roller coaster, but it is truly a rush of the senses. Rather rusted than covered with gold dust, the ride convinces with its slick ride characteristics and its, at least in the front part of the train, absolutely terrific transitions. All in all, the Gold Rush roller coaster is a great family roller coaster, which fits perfectly into this amusement park.

Pictures Kijima Kogen Park

Conclusion Kijima Kogen Park

The Kijima Kogen Park was a very special amusement park for me, as it was not only the first one I visited in Japan, but also my 100th visited amusement park! Therefore, it is even better that I really liked the park very much. The atmosphere of the park reminds in large parts of the Danish amusement park Tivoli Gardens, which is also due to its absolutely great gardens. The rides all know how to entertain, which is why I would like to come back sooner than later, definitely not because I miss a ride on the wooden roller coaster Jupiter but rather because I would like to explore the area around Beppu. The hot springs are really appealing to me.

 

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Kijima Kogen Park / Titanic Max Day 1