TheThemeParkGuy

When I entered Happy Valley Beijing the first time, my attention immediately drifted towards the obvious borrowings from Disney parks. Disney Sea, Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland itself have all left heavy traces here. According to my review standards, the theme park lost one star straight away. However, everything which came after was surprisingly impressive. The state-of-the-art roller coasters, flume rides and park structure made for a great day. The...

You really need a vivid imagination to picture a Disneyland near Chuansha town. At present the area is a stretch of countryside halfway between Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and Shanghai city consisting of wetlands, woods, meadows and streams. We talked to locals in the quaint bicycle-filled streets of Qigan village and Zhaohang village and they are all very familiar with the Disneyland brand. They have been eagerly anticipating the construction of a Disney...

The plans for a Beijing Universal Studios theme park were announced just hours after I had already booked my flight to China. I instantly went to inspect the future site in the south-eastern suburbs of Beijing. Universal Studios Osaka, Seoul and now Beijing? It looks like there will be a (welcome) overdose of Jurassic Park rides in North East Asia. The locals in the villages of the Tongzhou district (the proposed location of the park) were very warm-hearted and friendly but...

When I visited Happy Valley Sheshan, it was still under construction.
The park's five major roller coasters (most of them Swiss-engineered) and other state-of-the-art attractions stick out so contrastingly from the surrounding tranquil countryside of Shanghai's South-Western suburbs, that it looks like a giant alien spaceship landed here and left half of its futuristic equipment upon departure. Thanks to Louis, Louis and Christine for granting me a preview of...

I was really unlucky with the drab weather conditions on the day of my visit to the 2009-opened Happy Valley theme park in Chengdu, therefore my photos turned out a little depressing. However, a closer look behind the fog unveils brand-new roller coasters (the red one manufactured by Switzerland's Intamin is the best), flume rides, river rapid rides and other state-of-the-art happiness-inducing rotators. Happy Valley Beijing looks more attractive and the new Happy Valley...

Guangzhou's Chime Long Paradise resembles a showroom for the latest coasters and thrill rides manufactured in Europe and North America.
Splash Battle, a Waterworld-inspired (though not very original) stunt show, a great dive roller coaster (that pauses just before a vertical drop, letting you peer into your screaming destiny), the first motorbike-shaped launch coaster in Asia and a ten-inversion roller coaster with its record breaking number of corkscrews make...

What did residents of Hong Kong tell me when asked about Guangzhou? 'It's where all the pollution comes from!' 'Forget it, it's just an industrial place!' 'People are rude over there and they don't know how to eat!' I spend a day with clear skies and slap-happy, curious and friendly Chinese visitors and staff in Guangzhou's Chime Long Water Park the next day. Brand-new water slides manufactured by Canadian WhiteWaterWest make the Mainland yell: a funnel-shaped Tornado...

As you can see from the header photo above, the Disneyesque Snow White dwarfs at the entrance to this hybrid theme-park/outdoor-exhibition seem to have a severe drug problem: try focusing on the eyes of the second one from the left and you may start to feel dizzy (like me, I have a hard time writing these lines).
'Window of the World', located in Maniland China a few miles north of Hong Kong, offers miniature model replicas of the world's most famous landmarks...

The oldest of the four Happy Valley parks (Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, being the other three) consists of the usual Disneyland borrowings and is the poorest of the family.
My personal highlight was the river rapids ride featuring super-cold, high-pressure water jets hitting people's faces with such force that it resembles more a war scene than a family outing. The buttons to release the water jets are pressed by slap-happy fellow Chinese onlookers and what you...