Janfusun Fancyworld: My Fabulous Far East Trip Report - Part III

Hello again. :}

I hope everyone's having a great winter offseason! 

If you're not having a great winter offseason and would like a dose of roller coasters and palm trees, you're in the right place!

Today, Kaitlin and I leave our cozy spot in Tin Shui Wui, Hong Kong to set out for a country that is new to us both: The Republic of China, known more popularly as Taiwan (not to be confused with The People's Republic of China (mainland China), which we'll get to later).

The report begins with our travel day to Taichung City, Taiwan, during which we fly from Hong Kong to the capitol city if Taipei, Taiwan. We then take the local high speed rail half way down the island to Taichung City, home to our first Taiwanese park, Janfusun Fancyworld! 

• If you've got the time and wish to join Kaitlin and me for our travel day, sit tight!

• If the bitter cold of the offseason has you feverishly chomping at the bit for the aforementioned roller coasters and palm trees, scroll down until you hit the pictures of Kaitlin and me running around our hotel's swanky breakfast buffet like unruly children. That's where our day at the amazing Janfusun Fancyworld begins! 

Every good travel day begins with a good meal; and what better meal than Dim Sum?!

Can you say "BBQ pork buns?!"

How about some yogurt-gelatin wontons?? :}

Kaitlin is sitting pretty with some veggie dumplings!

Shrimp dumplings and fish dumplings!

And finally, crispy glutinous potato dumplings!! :}

Time to take the bus to the airport!

Next to the airport is the cable car station, which takes sightseers to Hong Kong's famous Big Buddha monument.

The super-open Hong Kong airport! It feels like we were just here a few days ago. :}

Today we're flying Hong Kong Airlines! I'm totally down with any airline that has an orchid as its logo.

"Yeah, so, if I order $2000 worth of duty free stuff, I get a year of free lamb, right?"

"No, sir, that's not what that means. It means–"

"The sign clearly says "Year of Lamb." I don't understand how that could possibly mean anything else. I want my free lamb."

Vending machine time!

This Schweppes vitamin C lemon soda is the best. Why can't America have nice things like this?

Kaitlin looking ever-so-glamorous as we board the plane.

This may be a one hour flight, but that doesn't stop Hong Kong Airlines from serving us an actual meal. And frankly, the pork bun wasn't terrible.

Hooray for another new stamp on the passport!

Taiwan's customs are impressive and very quick. They look at your passport, scan both of your index fingers, and do a face scan. The future is now!

FIRST SHOPPING IN TAIWAN!

I wish every convenience store had culturally relevant knick-knacks.

More vending machines!

This orange juice looks strangely familiar. And it tastes like Sunny Delight! :}

While Hong Kong has a reputation for its westernized culture, there were aspects of Taiwan that felt even more western. Unlike Hong Kong, people here drive on the right side of the road and use standard issue American wall outlets!

After getting to the local high speed rail station, Kaitlin and I were thrilled to find vending machines full of official merchandise!

Here's a close-up of some of the goods. I, of course, bought each of the train keychains. :}

Time for our first Taiwanese 7-11 credit!

This 7-11 is equipped with a large meal station, featuring lots of travel-ready meal options!

Other standards include a rather pristine drink display,

Gay Pride shirts,

and strawberry shortbread Pepperidge Farm cookies!!?

Dinner: round 1

I'd like to applaud Taiwan for providing enough room in their long-distance trains that even a gargantuan American like me can have ample leg room!

We made it to the Janfusun Prince Hotel!

Following our unbelievably comfortable train ride to the Taichung City station, we took a 40 minute taxi ride to Janfusun (the price? About $20 USD!). Our taxi driver was awesome! He played the best EDM I've ever heard in my life and asked for our picture when we got to the hotel. The hotel had about ten concierges waiting outside the lobby to greet us and carry our bags as soon as we arrived. Superstar treatment!!!

The hotel (which cost per night about the same as your typical Hampton Inn) completely blew our expectations away.

We were upgraded to one of the nicest rooms on the Bo Bo Floor. :}

Kaitlin and I got to the room and freaked out over how nice it was.

Look at the view! This place is definitely serving some Embassy Suites realness.

We quickly started running around the room like children to see what kind of complementary things we could find. Kaitlin found good tea!

I found a cute bag!

Then we found the nice shower that's actually tall enough for me!

Then we raided the cabinets for free toiletries! :D

After dividing up all the free stuff in our room, we decided to goof around the hotel a little. 

Janfusun is very proud of their Ferris Wheel, which I learned after the fact had recently re-opened from an extensive rehab project!

Time for more shopping! Janfusun Prince's shop was the icing on the cake of this amazing travel day!

There's a great deal of nerd-tastic merchandise inside!

Here's one for one of my editors, Julie, the One Piece fan!

Here we have an array of themed wooden pinball games. Could this country possibly get any better?

SO MANY KEYCHAINS!!! (that answers that question).

The store also has a fairly large grocery area.

Hard-boiled quail eggs in three exciting flavors? Check.

Roast chicken, nori Pringles? Yes. 

Like Hong Kong, people in Taiwan love their photo spots. Here's Vicky and friends in front of the lobby.

This might be my favorite thing ever.

Dinner: round 2.

Fast forward to morning, and Janfusun Prince's swanky breakfast buffet!

MISO SOUP BAR!!!

Kaitlin feels highly accommodated. 

Like we did in the hotel room, Kaitlin and I ran around the buffet like children. The local children, on the other hand, all sat and ate their breakfast like civilized beings. 

Breakfast: complete.

Let's get a move on!

Being in the rural mountain landscape of Taiwan offered some unique culture opportunities.

Like black squirrels! :D

Onward to Janfusun!

First ones here!

And there's no moose out front! The park is actually open!

Welcome to Janfusun Fancyworld; entertaining the Taiwanese public (and the occasional crazy tourist) since 1988!

Here's the view in the other direction from the entrance. Palm trees as far as the eye can see (See? I told you I would bring palm trees!).

A day at Janfusun Fancyworld involves a climb to the top of the park's mountain before approaching its ride-filled valley. 

The trek is long, but easy on the eyes!

There's two ways to the top: a quick way via stairs, and a scenic, handicap-accessable way. We took the latter, since the coasters wouldn't be open for another hour.

Snap dragons were my favorite growing up. Have you ever seen such a lovely collection of them?!

I think they're quite underrated.

A look back towards the entrance. We're almost to the top!

We made it! Let's check out the "Super God Store."

The store has a selection that even the likes of God would find expansive! :}

Janfusun turned out to be one of the most scenically outstanding parks I've ever visited.

The landscaping, as you can see, is pretty stellar also!

WE HAVE REACHED THE FIRST B&M.

I REPEAT, THE B&M HAS BEEN REACHED.

Now to enjoy the view as we await the ride's opening!

IT'S TESTING! OHMYGOSH IT'S TESTING!

Kaitlin began to feel uneasy after watching the first test run, but I assured her that Dive Machines are only moderately horrifying. 

I give you: "Diving Machine G5," a.k.a. "Flying Submarine," a.k.a. Taiwanese Oblivion.

The ride has an incredible presence. It's one of the most entrancing coasters I've witnessed.

You can't help but hold your breath as you wait for G5 to hurl itself into the valley.

Its unmistakable B&M roar echoes across the landscape.

It's showtime! Let's roll!

"I'm so excited I could pee."

EXTREME DIVING COASTER G5 / FLYING SUBMARINE STATION POV CRAZINESS!

Seems fairly benign from right here, right?

Kaitlin is petrified. 

Like Domino's Pizza, G5 delivers all freaking day. What a rush!!!

This is my second B&M Dive Machine, after Krake at Heide-Park. Thanks to G5's might, speed, and incredible location, I'd definitely say it outperforms its floorless German counterpart.

The local flowers agree: G5 is a sight to see!

The ferocious wind and deafening roar of G5's tunnel (which is significantly lower on the ride than on Alton Towers' mirror image incarnation) provides a thrill that simply having a vertical drop does not provide.

Flying Submarine's dive is 180 ft. It wasn't until researching this coaster that I realized that Oblivion's tunnel is actually a whopping 12 stories deep.

Flying out of the tunnel and rapidly ascending to over 100 ft off the ground is also amazing in and of itself. 

The experience of G5 is something that I would compare to Top Thrill Dragster. While easily pigeonholed as a one-trick pony, the ride's experience is so remarkable that it's hard to come off the ride feeling in any way dissatisfied. 

The dive is quite an ominous thing. 

When the initial terror subsides, the remaining sensation is magnificent.

Yay! Floorless Coaster is testing!

When G5 dispatches, it's hard to look away.

Crowds were insane.

We found a beautiful babe!! :D

Down the colorful escalator to the valley of rides! 

A few years ago, Vicki the Viking made landfall at Janfusun Fancyworld. Since then, her presence has been abundant.

Like the hotel store would suggest, the shopping in Janfusun is amazing.

BAYMAX PILLOWS!

I wanted one badly, but pillows take up too much space. Also, it's entirely possible that they're copyright-infringing knock-off Baymaxes, which would make me feel immoral somehow if I bought one.

Near the front of the ride valley is a rare treat: a Huss Flic Flac (known locally as the "Swinging Can Can," which I think might just be the greatest flat ride name ever).

Deeper in the valley we find some theme park suspects that are a bit more conventional than the Swinging Can Can and the Flying Submarine.

Here's the man of the hour! It's Janfusun's freshly-remodeled "Rainbow Wheel," featuring  colorful spokes and cabins.

Until 2014, the iconic wheel was painted entirely white.

The valley continues in a "?"-like shape, dead-ending at the park's other star attraction:

Floorless Coaster!!!

Like Diving Machine and Flic Flac, Floorless Coaster has a unique Cantonese name: "Bright Insane Speeding Car," or "Insane Speed" for short. :}

B&M: round 2! Kaitlin is far less intimidated.

CONTINUED B&M STATION POV CRAZINESS!!!

Yes.

Janfusun would end up being the only park on our trip that uses official trade names as the English names for several of their major rides: Diving Coaster, Floorless Coaster, Flic Flac, Frisbee, etc. (Also, for whatever reason, the English website for Janfusun offers an additional moniker for Floorless Coaster: "Crazy Coast").

Rainbow Wheel is one of the only rides in the park that has even a remotely creative English name (Its Cantonese name also translates into "Rainbow Wheel").

Frisbee time! This Frisbee (Cantonese: "Hurricane UFO") runs a ride program that would make the Germans proud.

Next door is a Huss Fly Away, which seemed to have been "out of service" for several years.

Time for our ride on the amazing Rainbow Wheel!

The wheel's station is underneath its own footprint, with the loading area on the second floor. Inside are arcade games, picture areas, and concessions!

Rainbow Wheel quickly provides a great view of Floorless Coaster and Inverter ("Super Tomahawk").

Unfortunately, the windows in the cabin aren't as clean as they could be.

Ferris Wheel selfie with bonus G5!

The Rainbow Wheel provides an excellent view of the rides area of the park, which is is called "Sky Plaza" (or "Ferris Wheel Plaza"). From here we see Super Swing ("Whirling Magnetic Field," a modern incarnation of a Swing Around), Sky Jet ("Atlas Shuttle," an S&S Combo Tower), and a mishmash of family rides surrounding the indoor "Janfusun Kiddyland." 

Look familiar to anyone?

  

Insane Speed opened in 2001, following the runaway success of Flying Submarine the year before. Six Flags New England would see a variation of Insane Speed the following year, with a curved first drop instead of a straight one, and a zero-g roll in place of the second turnaround. Batman - The Dark Knight also lacks Insane Speed's helix, and has one long break run instead of two short ones. 

Even in the off season, Janfusun's waterpark impresses! 

(Also, notice the Top Spin in the upper center. There's no evidence of its existence other than the park map. It's off the website too.)

Flying Submarine is a true thing of beauty.

What have we down here?! The powered "Kuku Coaster" ( or just "Kuku" in Cantonese), and…

…wait for it…

 the MISCHIEVOUS BEE BEE ride!

(Also Mischievous Bee Bee in Cantonese, but oddly, the "Bee Bee" part is written out in English along side the characters for "Mischievous.")

It's great to see these rides around, especially in such nice condition! 

Look out there! It's some nature!

Only the Turbo Drop side of Atlas Shuttle is open today.

For extra daredevil-ish guests, the Rainbow Wheel even has a few glass-bottom cars!

For young thrill seekers who'd rather stay on the ground, coin operated drive-em-yourself animals are available.

We'll be back for some more Insane Speed later.

Now for something completely different! Let's sanitize our hands, put on some one-size-fits-all gloves, and take a stroll through Janfusun's Magic Mirror "Maz"  (a.k.a. the "North-Star Mirror Maze").

This was Kaitlin's first house of mirrors. It was a good one too!

The rooms are filled with dazzling displays of LEDs.

Mirror Maz selfie!

Outside the maze is evidence of the recent Christmas celebration.

The waterpark's midway is still open to guests, so lets check it out!

Snaps for Janfusun and their sandy beach!

If I'm not mistaken, all of Janfusun's waterslides are by ProSlide, including their "Deep Sea Fishing" sprayground. 

Connecting the waterpark and the dry park is a nice, open shopping and dining area.

These may come in handy later. #foreshadowing

Janfusun has some of the cutest menu options ever.

(Also, can we talk about how Vicki is eating that fish's spine? That's so metal.)

On the roof of the building is a nice veranda, which connects to the midway near the escalator to G5.

Who's up for a train ride?! Both of this ride's names are equally bewildering:"The Texan Train" (English) and "Haha Treasure Train" (Cantonese).

Hello happy train travelers!!

Haha Treasure Train offers some very nice views of the park's fraternal B&M twins.

As you can see, Floorless coaster is partially carved into the earth, which probably explains the shape of the ride's first drop. 

The airtime on said drop is marvelous! 

With bonus airtime in mind, I'd rank Insane Speed as one of my favorite floorless coasters! 

G5 is also my favorite Diving Machine of the two I've ridden. :}

Someday I'll be able to compare this oddball thing to SheiKra and/or Griffon. Hopefully. I've planned and cancelled my first trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg four separate times now. I think I'm cursed.

What time is it?

Definitely homemade vanilla bean ice cream time. :}

I missed the signature shot coming in. Better late than never. :}

Let's head into Kiddyland for a ride on the Kuku "Coaster."

The English name for this large foam ball play area is "Robo Ball." The Cantonese name is…

…you ready?

"Battle Chatter Lala"

It wouldn't be the Far East without a copious volume of "Gashapon" machines.

Kuku and the rest seem to be having some kind of conference. 

Ooh! A Funhouse!

(There's no mention of it on the website, but it was open.)

The indoor amusement park is larger than we were expecting. I would imagine its quite popular during the rainy season.

Horseback riding simulator is a thing here. Taiwan officially has it all. 

Look! They even have mini bowling!

Over here we have "Happy Kid Cars" (or Tuk-Tuk, which is a traditional Taiwanese 3-wheeled taxi) and the "Flying Stars" ("Flubber").

Yes. The plane ride is called Flubber.

You can't make this s**t up.

Here's a more normal name for a not-so-normal triple decker carousel: Royal Carousel (Royal Carriage).

And here's a mini Mentos conveyor/scooper game. :}

For all you map enthusiasts, here's the layout of Kiddyland.

Ducked back outside for a bit and got distracted by the Rainbow Wheel.

Then we grabbed a quick ride on Whirling Magnetic Field!

Ok! Back to business. Time for Kuku.

Absolutely no umbrellas or sticks at any time.

WOO! Front seat!

INCREDIBLE KUKU COASTER POV MADNESS WITH BONUS MISCHIEVOUS BEE!!!

Blistering speeeeeed!!! (and a peace sign from a local :} )

Flying back towards Kiddyland!

Some of the transitions hit pretty hard. This picture was originally supposed to have Kaitlin in it too. I got the Rainbow Wheel instead. :}

Each ride on Kuku coaster is two complete circuits! 

Next we took a spin on "Royal Carriage."

CAROSELFIE WITH BONUS HARE

"I would like the commercial airliner meal, please."

Next we checked out the funhouse, but it was kind of a dud. All of the floor gags were not only turned off, but welded to the floor. I don't know if the locals quite understand the concept.

Here's the second Giant Bendy-Straw Credit of the trip.

View from the top! We might've taken the spiral slide down, but it had a strictly-enfored 6ft height maximum.

In the Kiddyland shop we found MORE FERRIS WHEELS. Obviously.

Back outside, we were humbly asked to not across.

"No across what?" you ask?

The Log Flume, of course! (or Whitewater Canoe)

Before.

After. Totally soaked. This is when the hairdryers come in handy.

Though short, the little flume is quite thrilling! It really picks up speed on the turnaround and has some awesome air on the drop!

This is actually a pretty well-rounded little park, don't you think? :}

Swinging Can Can was sensational. I'd ridden one once before (Tivoli Gardens), but this one seemed to be in better shape. 

I wish more parks had wheels like this. 

Next up is this odd-looking chair swing, know as "Air Shower" (or "Tiannvsanhua," which is some kind of multi-armed mythical goddess-type-thing).

It doesn't go very high off the ground. lol

This restaurant didn't have very good-looking food, bit the murals were pretty cool.

Next we wandered into a candy shop!

They had candy boxes that look like novelty firework packs!

This will have to tide me over until we find some real food. 

Ok! Back to our regularly-scheduled B&M programming. 

Insane Speed's queue has great views of both of the park's star coasters.

Like most floorless coasters, there's a bit of a rumble on Insane Speed, but its not particularly noticeable.

A once highly-popular element, the double interlocking flatspin has only been seen on one new coaster in the last ten years: Idlabs Imagica's "Nitro," which happens to be the second variation of Insane Speed's layout after Batman - The Dark Knight.

I'm a much bigger fan of this layout than, say, Scream! at Magic Mountain and its predecessor at Great Adventure.  It's smaller, but more forceful I think. 

And, like I said, the first-drop airtime makes this ride. We'll be riding another floorless coaster with airtime next week! ;} 

The twins certainly play well together. Now if only it wasn't such a long-ass walk from one to the other...

I really, really want Dive Machines to be everywhere. They might be my favorite style of B&M at this point.

Time to make our way back up to G5 for some last rides!

Anyone else get a Universal Studios Hollywood vibe from the escalators?

Don't fool around on the escalator! JAWS will attack you!

Janfusun Fancybabe hasn't left her spot since this morning. This must be her favorite spot. :}

Back on Flying Submarine's bridge, it's time for a few more pics of B&M goodness!

My cup runneth over! Now we just need a train...

-Story Time-

Kaitlin and I sat on the bridge waiting for G5 to send another train. We waited for over 20 minutes. The ride would occasionally make noise, and there were people milling about by the ride's entrance, but no train. Finally, Kaitlin and I investigated the station to see if there had been some kind of breakdown. 

As it turned out, G5 was open, and there were lots of locals admiring the ride, but nobody seemed to want to get in line. Nobody. I thought to myself, "this is pretty much the weirdest thing ever. What to do??" Kaitlin and I ended up deciding that she should ride Flying Submarine by herslef so that I could get a picture of it running. And it would be super funny, because she'd totally be the only person in the train.

Nope. That isn't what happened. 

"Kaitlin! What DID happen?!"

Once I'd met back up with Kaitlin, she explained to me a rather strange phenomenon. While I raced back down to the bridge and as Kaitlin got in line for G5, the locals took notice. When Kaitlin entered the queue, a couple of locals got in line behind her. Then a few more. And more.

Kaitlin eventually collected about 12 curious co-riders who apparently just needed a little encouragement. Groups of people watched from the station area (cell phones and cameras out) as the train climbed the lift and reached the precipice of the dive. As it dove, the viewers gasped. When the train reached the brake run, the viewers cheered with excitement.

As Kaitlin exited the train and as I made my way back up to the station, we were met with a warm reception from the 30+ person crowd of locals. Soon thereafter, the entire crowd vacated the area by way of the escalator into the valley. 

"Kaitlin. What the hell just happened? Are you secretly The Pied Piper?"

While we tried to think of an explanation, we ultimately figured it was best to just marvel at the phenomenon and not worry about asking questions. :}

Also, here's a sign reminding you to (among other things) not try to wheelchair your way up the escalator.

Oh, and we're definitely still hungry! And the banger stand is closed! *pouts*

Fortunately we found this amazing mochi stand.

AND another store!

Hooray for a bag of delicious mochi to finish the day!

(Don't read the bag. The bag lies.)

Upon returning to our hotel, we discovered live music playing in the plaza. What a wondrous place we're in. :}

After packing up our stuff and bidding a fond farewell to Janfusun Fancyworld, It was time to taxi our way to our next destination:

The Fullon Grand Yamay Hotel and Lihpao Land, home of the world-famous Gravity Max tilt coaster!

The hotel is fairly new; it opened in 2012, the same year that Yamay Recreation World changed its name to Lihpao Land.

The lobby is posh as hell and is roughly the size of a high school gymnasium.

It's just not a fancy hotel without a decorative flower taco.

We were quite tickled by the large window between the beds and the bath. Fortunately it has blinds. :}

FREE TOILETRIES!

FREE FLIP FLOPS!

And just look at this lovely pool! Too bad it's not open this time of year.

To the right is the wave pool for the resort's water park, Mala Bay.

Every swanky hotel needs a swanky Japanese restaurant! 

Seafood Miso, pickled radish, and fried tofu for dinner! :D

Tomorrow Kaitlin and I will be tackling the spectacular and horrifying Gravity Max tilt coaster, as well as all of the other exciting attractions Lihpao Land has waiting for us! We'll also make quite a few new friends! Tomorrow night, we head back into Taipei for an evening of amazing shopping, amazing culture, and amazing food! See you then! :D