OCT East + OCT Shenzhen (Knight Valley + Happy Valley): My Fabulous Far East Trip Report - Part VIII

Great, you're here! Just in time! We're about to leave on a grand expedition! An expedition to a land that's 20 miles from Kaitlin's neighborhood, but still a world away! We've set course for a wild, uncharted landscape, where Facebook and Twitter don't exist and the air tastes like industrial overgrowth! Hide your cats, everyone!

We're going to The People's Republic of China!

(or simply "China" to us westerners)

What lies ahead is a figurative and literal jungle. While there's no guarantee that we'll make it out alive, the endeavors ahead are destined to compose a tale of epic proportions.

This is a tale of mystery and adventure! A tale of thrills and triumphs!

This is:

A Tale of Two Valleys.

While Kaitlin's neighborhood is in the part of Hong Kong that's attached to the mainland, the easiest way to Shenzhen is a bus ride across a large stretch of ocean. It certainly added to the experience. :}

NEW COUNTRY!

We are now entering the People's Republic of China!

This must be the right way!

Immigration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is serious business. This is a highly secure border shared by two countries that do not particularly like each other; people going from one to the other are under a fair amount of scrutiny. Traversing customs in this bus station takes about twice as long as the average customs procession in an airport.

Cranes upon skyscrapers upon the backs of un-unionized workers?

Unscrupulous taxi vultures preying upon travelers?

An excess of fresh sidewalk loogies?

Welcome to China.

Enjoy!

I'm being dramatic. It's not that bad. :}

Our home for a night! The King Key Palace Hotel!

(Or "Kinky Palace," as it quickly came to be known.)

Hoo! Not bad for Days Inn pricing. :}

In fact, our hotel here in Shenzhen ended up being the swankiest hotel of the trip! I love when the underdog triumphs. :}

Pretty solid digs for sure. And the guest manual with an inventory of everything in the room, accented by a threatening note about the action that would be taken should any of the room's belongs disappear, was a nice touch. 

There it is in the distance! Our first mission: Knight Valley, home to the world famous "Wood Coaster!"

OCT East is home to several hotels, shops, attractions, a golf course, and two theme parks: the visually-spectacular-but-utterly-rideless Tea Stream Valley, and the still-not-very-many-rides-per-acre Knight Valley. Now we just need a quick short taxi ride to the park!

China and Hong Kong have their own separate governments, laws, flags, currencies, and Disneylands.

And the one here is a genuine fake. :}

I say that OCT is China's "Disney" because that's what most people say. This is China's answer to Disney, and, for better or for worse, it's done China's way. With Shanghai Disneyland opening in a few years, it'll be interesting to see just how well the genuine Disney influence permeates a population so accustomed to imitations. 

I don't know where to begin with this advertisement for Wood Coaster. It kind of hurts to look at it for so many reasons, not the least of which being the evidence of rust from polluted rain.

However, the park seems to have a thing for rainbows, which I completely approve of. :}

At the entrance of the park is Knight Valley's indoor waterpark, which was closed for the offseason (although isn't the point of putting a roof over your waterpark so you can run it all the time?!).

OCT East is comparable in size to Disney World, and midway to midway, Knight Valley takes up more space than just about any other theme park in the world. This is thanks in no small part to the enormous expanse of unspoiled forest that separates the upper and lower parts of the park, but it's still an astounding feat.

Oh, and today's theme is:

Escalators, Stairs, and Ramps! Oh My!

They're pretty big on water features around here. Feng shui and all that jazz.

This dazzling natural wonder of a waterfall is actually completely manufactured. There's nothing natural about it. :}

Piggish Panda = commentary on the nature of American food. 

Hey look! It's Seafield Village!

(I say this having no clue what Seafield Village is)

Oh, cute! Seafield Village actually kind of looks like a theme park!

Now, I'm sure by now you're wondering

"Where the eff is the GCI Wood Coaster I was promised?"

Thar she blows!

(no, not the shoot-the-chute ride. Look closer!)

See! There it is! Cute little thing.

:D

Now…….how do we get there?

Maybe the magical tunnel of changing seasons will lead us to Wood Coaster!

Brrr! I can tell it's winter because of the super realistic leafless branches of the trees!

And yet…….these flowers tell me it's spring!

I'm so conflicted! 

There on the left is one of the OCT Hotels. We'll be up there by it later today, and fortunately we won't have to walk all the way. :}

Ok! It looks like it's just a straight shot to the coaster! We just need to take another escalator!

Make that two escalators. 

Erm, three escalators. And these ones are broken! 

Okay, we've walked over a mile now and taken five escalators and we're still not at Wood Coaster. Should we just take the space shuttle the rest of the way?

Or maybe a slingshot would work...

After two more flights of escalators (including another broken one), we made it to the park's Spiderman-style dark ride. More on this mess later.

Yes! Finally! Now we just have to walk up the equivalent of Six Flags Magic Mountain's Heart Attack Hill to get to the coaster. lol

Absolutely no slippers. Period. 

Finally we are here! We've made it to Wood Coaster!

I feel like we've accomplished something. :}

Ohmigosh you guys. I'm so excited. It looks like a giant Double Stuf™ version of Thunderhead!

Wow! And there's actually a line! 

To help bide your time in line, you read inaccurate, poorly-translated information about the world's roller coasters, complete with horribly misshapen and falsely-corresponding pictures. :}

Guests are sent to the station one trainload at a time, and once you're up there its a free-for-all for seats! 

And we're in luck! TWO TRAINS are running today!!!

Wood Coaster is so fast and so loud that its trains sound like jets taking off as they fly around the valley.

Anyone else feeling the Thunderhead similarities right here?

STATION FLY-THRU ACTION!

Climbing the lift of our first ride, Kait and I are still a little tired from our hike.

DISCLAIMER: In China, theme parks do not have loose article policies for their rides.

Because it's China.

Thrillography does not condone the use of cameras, cell phones, or other things of that nature on rides UNLESS special permission is granted by the park and / or using said cameras, cell phones, or other things of that nature on rides is not in violation of any posted park policy. :}

Wood Coaster is awesome, by the way.

Like…whoa.

Looking a bit more spirited now. :}

The name of the game for Wood Coaster is pacing. This ride is well over 4000 ft long, but it shreds through the layout like nobody's business!

WOOOSH! 

Time for ride two! Front seat this time!

XTREME POV OF GCI'S TALLEST LIFT HILL RAAAWWWR!

YAY

See that airtime hill that kinda hovers over everything?

That right there is some of the best ejector air I've ever had. It is NO JOKE.

Also, Wood Coaster has TWO first drops!

(It is a contradiction, I know. Maybe we should call it a two-part first drop instead? The point is you get a nice first drop after the lift turnaround and then ANOTHER one into the valley before the ride reaches that first killer airtime hill.)

First drop #1.

Or the first 50% of the first drop.

Whichever you prefer. :}

Feeling now quite accomplished after our front and back rides on Wood Coaster, we headed back down to Seafield Village for some lunch!

IT'S PIZZA HUT TIME!

Chinese Stuffed Crust is best Stuffed Crust! ^_^

We decided to walk around Seafield Village a little bit more and digest before heading back up the mountain. Here we have some totally-legit Plants vs Zombies military propaganda.

The Seafield Village shops are cute and full of little knick-knacks 

Look! This monkey is riding a space ring. :}

They sure love their hourglasses here!

Look at this odd building! What is inside?

It's a magic shop, of course!

Next we went back and rode "4000 Miles to Earth Center," aka the hilariously bad Spiderman-style dark ride. We don't know if this thing is in a terrible state of disrepair or if it was just this bad to begin with, but Kaitlin and I laughed the entire time. I guess it's kind of a shame; the ride looked to be a pretty sizable investment. We enjoyed it nonetheless. :}

As far as thrill rides go, however, this right here is the only reason to set foot in Knight Valley. 

Let's take the scenic route up to Wood Coaster!

The park's pirate show is quite popular. It was letting out just as we walked by and the midway was flooding with people!

The splash battle, however, doesn't seem to have the same level of popularity.

I don't know about you, but I think it's time for another ride on Wood Coaster.

I think we came to the park on a pretty good day; decent weather, enough crowds for full trains (but not enough to create lines for much of anything), and a cool 65 degrees. Wood Coaster obviously responds well to the climate here, because it runs like a dream!

Here's a guide to Wood Coaster, for all you guide enthusiasts. :}

Wood Coaster took over a year to build. The project started in March of 2010 as the sign indicates, but with the high level of difficulty involved with getting all of the materials to the construction site, coupled with the sheer size of the project, the ride did not open until June of 2011.

But boy was it worth it! And with fresh trackwork on the turnarounds underneath the lift hill and solid tracking elsewhere, the park seems to be taking good care of the coaster.

The same cannot be said for the Millennium Flyers, sadly. One of the benches on train 2 is so bad that it was blocked off from riders. 

After our third Wood Coaster ride, we headed in the general direction of the gondolas to the top of the mountain. On the way, we stumbled upon this curious curio stand, selling what appeared to be toy animal keychains.

Wow! Jellyfish? They're so life-like!

After a few seconds, it set in that the jellyfish and turtles inside the keychains were real.

 A keychain is not adequate housing for a turtle or jellyfish, China! :{

I don't know how you could even walk down the mountain with a bottled jellyfish without killing it from shock. And, while jellyfish are brainless therefore unaware of their predicament, I suspect that the little turtles are at least intelligent enough to feel claustrophobic. 

Seeing live animals being sold as keychains in a foreign country definitely put things in perspective. My home country has plenty of problems, but at least seeing living creatures being sold as fashion accessories isn't one of them.

…and that concludes our animal rights PSA for the day. Switching gears now.

It's time now for a gondola up to the top of OCT East!

You're not off the ground for long before you start to get a great view of Knight Valley!

In a country full of local knock-offs, it was so comforting to step into the gondola and see all of the warnings and labels written in German. :}

(That, of course, says nothing of how the ride is being maintained, but at least we know for sure it was built right. lol)

Enter: Wood Coaster! The King of Knight Valley!

We're pretty close to the ocean right now, but sadly there's no fresh ocean smell. Just the smell of industry...

But who needs the scent of sea breezes when you've got this badass coaster in the valley?!

To the right of Knight Valley are some nice-looking dwellings. Probably OCT condos or something.

We've reached the top! 

Isn't it beautiful? :}

I'd love to know how long it took for them to build an Intamin observation tower and, not one, but two Fabbri Boosters up here. We're well over 1000ft above sea level right now!

#skyhighselfie

This spectacular golf course, along with that golden monument in the distance, are also part of OCT East.

On the other side of this monument is Tea Stream Valley, a series of OCT East hotels, and a shopping village.

Yes. This place is huge. 

But this part of it down here is what we're most interested in.

Wood Coaster looks like Roller Coaster Tycoon from all the way up here!

It may have its flaws, but very few parks can compete with Knight Valley when it comes to views and flagship roller coasters!

We contemplated going for a ride on the Booster, but only one was open. Plus we'd certainly had our fill the other night at the fair. :}

Wood Coaster is sooooooooo far away! 

To the right is our ride back down the mountain: the funicular!

On the other side of the mountaintop from the gondola is a couple of OCT East's hotels. A second funicular takes guests from here to Tea Stream Valley.

There's even a subdivision of houses just on the other side of the funicular terminal. What a neat place to live! A thousand feet above sea level and within earshot of the one of the world's greatest wooden coasters!

This man traveled all the way up here just to take a picture of this waterfall. 

Hooray for the funicular! The only other place I've done this is at Six Flags magic Mountain! This one's a wee bit bigger. :}

Do you see Wood Coaster in the distance? :}

Magic Mountain could take a cue from Knight Valley when it comes to transportation rides. Magic Mountain used to have so many! The Orient Express is all that's left.

Half way down the mountain! Everyone wave to the northbound passengers!

The Funicular lets out inside Knight Valley's indoor kiddie area.

There isn't a whole lot going on in here, but the motif for the restrooms back there is the best thing ever!

If you've ever seen one of these Zamperla bouncy-kiddie rides, you know that they are quite popular with kids and adults alike! This rings true even in China. :}

The cheeriest, most delighted guests in Knight Valley can be found right here. :}

Need I say more? 

There's just no stopping the giggles on this one. :}

The same can be said for this Regeta-type-ride, which features rotating cars! Kaitlin approves!

We tried to ride the Disk'O, but the ride operator felt like my backbar needed to go down further than was physically possible, and he ultimately kicked me off the ride for being too fat. >.<

Fortunately there is no weight or height requirements to visit the park's macaws. :}

"They kicked you off the Disk'O?"

"Don't feel bad; they won't let us ride either!"

"Psst….why did you tell him we can't ride the Disk'O? We rode it last week!"

"Because! Maybe he'll feel bad for us and feed us breadcrumbs or rice!"

"You keep eating all those carbs, you won't be able to ride Disk'O either."

In addition to macaws, Knight Valley also boasts a high volume of peafowl. :}

Shhh! Look! This one is trying to sleep.

: >

What lovely plumage. :}

And what a lovely plunge! Probably gonna pass on this one today, however.

Hiding in the overgrowth near the shoot-the-chute ride and Seafield Village is Knight Valley's famous abandoned hotel with a log flume going through it; it too is defunct. Such a shame. 

There's a line between cute and creepy and this crosses it. Thanks, China. 

In a shop closer to the front of the park, we found displays that were much less appealing than those found in Seafield Village. I have a feeling that the water in these snow globes is not supposed to be that color.

Well, it looks like we may be scraping the bottom of the barrel of things to do at Knight Valley, and the park is closing soon! Time to call it a day. 

We decided to walk back to the hotel (turns out it's a lot closer to the entrance of the park than we realized). On the way back, we witnessed a television shoot of some kind.

Not In America Level: Pepsi and Sprite in the same vending machine.

For dinner we ate at the Japanese restaurant inside our hotel. All ordering is done via this tablet. :}

Sushi, miso, edamame, and tea!

Tuna!

(I think it was safe to eat. It tasted good. And I'm not dead yet)

Spider roll!

Possibly the most beautiful shrimp tempura roll ever. Black AND orange caviar!!!

And Japanese ice cream with fruit and nuts. :}

After dinner we decided to walk around the outdoor shopping mall next door. The stores were closed, but still made for a nice setting. :}

Rainfall lights!

(they look cooler in person, I swear).

Here's the King Key Palace Hotel. To the right is the Hilton, which is twice as expensive and doesn't have free WiFi! #nope

Walking back to the hotel, I noticed several large palm trees being supported by steel scaffolding. I found it ironic to see trees being held up by steel stilts in a part of the world where buildings are constructed using bamboo scaffolding! So basically:

Steel thing = Use plant support

Plant thing = Use steel support

It's time for bed and my dogs are barking (and by dogs I mean feet, and by barking I mean I think they might fall off).

Tomorrow we take on the second of two valleys: Happy Valley, the flagship park of China's original theme park chain!

Good morning from OCT Shenzhen, home to the original Happy Valley theme park! The Happy Valley chain has now grown to 10 amusement parks (including Knight Valley) since the opening of Happy Valley Shenzhen in 1998; right here is where it all started!

Basically, we're in China's version of Six Flags Over Texas.

OCT Shenzhen (which stands for Overseas Chinese Town, by the way) is the original OCT resort from which OCT East stems. Despite this, getting from one to the other requires taking a taxi. 

Like OCT East, OCT Shenzhen is home to hotels, shops, a roller coaster-laden "Valley" park, and other, more traditional parks that lack roller coasters.

OCT East has everything, including all the stuff you need for your shotgun wedding at Happy Valley!

This is already looking way more like a theme park than Knight Valley.

Christmas may be over, but things are still quite jolly here at Happy Valley. :}

Bathroom break.

Happy Valley immediately felt cleaner and more well-cared for than Knight Valley. It's hard to believe that they're kind of part of the same resort. Let's see if this trend continues...

Plenty of nice touches and cute things to see. :}

While other Happy Valleys are larger, more elaborate, and feature larger collections of coasters (ranging from B&M Dive Machines to Intamin Mega Lites to Gravity Group woodies), Happy Valley Shenzhen has strength in its atmosphere and beautiful, mature foliage. 

And in its really nice looking water park.

AND in its custom S&S ThrustAir 2000 coaster, Tibetan Eagle (English: Bullet Coaster).

Tibetan Eagle is in Happy Valley's Shangri-La-themed area. Can't argue with a canyon of waterfalls leading to a massive launch coaster. :}

The misty smell of the area is much nicer than the smells inside the city. :}

Waiting in line for Tibetan Eagle / Bullet Coaster is an experience. Trains only dispatch every 10 minutes or so, so get comfortable. Luckily there's ample seating in line.

Every guest in line must partake in some pre-flight calisthenics before they can ride Tibetan Eagle! They go through a 1-minute routine about every three trains to make sure they get everyone. 

FIRST TRAIN OF THE DAY IS DISPATCHED AND WAITING FOR LAUNCH!

……….

!

…the train is already up the top hat…!

And now the train is over here! Such amazing speed!!

Make no mistake: S&S thrust coasters move. 

Riders of the first train of the day are elated!

Unlike the LIMs and LSMs of traditional high-speed launch coasters (which start with an initial launch and then continue to gain speed as they pass each set of magnets), the compressed air of an S&S coaster or tower launches riders to their maximum velocity almost instantaneously.

Kaitlin and I became quite nervous and excited after watching the first few trains. I've never seen a coaster launch so swiftly in my entire life! Sitting in the launch bay, I was genuinely sweating with fear.

The launch is truly terrifying. And loud. My mental and emotional preparation for this experience was no match. It is so fast that I could feel the G-forces in my ribcage; I actually felt my ribs compress as the train flashed out of its state of rest.

Try as they might, one's eyes cannot follow the changing views quickly enough to catch up with the train. Peripheral vision becomes mush wrapped around tunnel vision that seems to shake wildly despite the smoothness of the ride.

Only when the train reaches the top hat do riders actually become self-aware again, during which point Tibetan Eagle actually begins to feel like a roller coaster. :}

A very good roller coaster, in fact! After the top hat, Tibetan Eagle is still full of excitement! Lots of great drops and transitions! New favorite launch coaster right here.

I think these guys agree that this thing is pretty amazing! No wonder its other name is Bullet Coaster. :}

Ok! We'll be back for more Tibetan Eagle later!

In the Tibetan Eagle gift shop, you can find an authentic knock-off K'NEX replica of Tibetan Eagle!

This person has just gotten off of Tibetan Eagle. He has seen it all.

WHAT I HAVE SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN.

Well, I guess we should ride the other rides in the park.

Enter: "Snomy Mountain Flies the Dragon" /  "Snow Capped Mountain Flying Dragon" / "Shenlin"

Yes. Those are all names for this ride. 

But we in America like to call it a painful Vekoma SLC.

XTREME SNOWY CAPPED MOUNTAIN FLIES THE FLYING DRAGON NAMED SHENLIN POV!!!

Actually, it wasn't painful at all. Adequately smooth with nice, gentle transitions. Leaps and bounds above the typical SLC. 

In the back of Happy Valley is this huge beach! There's some water too, but you can't see it in this picture. :}

And…just…some seriously nice foliage! This isn't what I was expecting at all!

Like, this is really nice! Not even just by local standards; this would be an amazing park anywhere!

And, I know HypersonicXLC didn't exactly work out, but can somebody in the U.S. try again with S&S? I think they've got it figured out now. Maybe.

I need a coaster with a launch like this in North America. I NEED ONE.

Don't get me wrong, Powder Keg at Silver Dollar City is awesome, but now I think the U.S. needs a 200ft version, amirite? 

I mean, c'mon. We all know Powder Keg doesn't have curves like these!

Powder Keg aside, there are only 4 ThrustAir 2000 Coasters currently in operation. Dodompa at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan is the oldest, and the only one left with the original track style.  The other three are in Happy Valley parks; Happy Valley Beijing has one with a shorter, more compact layout, and Happy Valley Wuhan has a mirror image of this one.

Ring Racer, at Germany's Nürburgring race track, was originally intended to be the fastest roller coaster in the world, with a top speed of 134mph. Built between 2008 and 2009, Ring Racer experienced an explosion (!) upon initial launch testing. This led to a four year tweak-and-test period, during which time the ride's top speed dropped to 100mph. It finally opened on Halloween of 2013 and operated for a whopping 4 days. Ring Racer is now closed until further notice for financial reasons.

Bearing all of this in mind, I don't honestly believe we'll see an S&S launched coaster in the United States ever again. But I can dream, right?

Switching gears, now! It's time to get wet!

Kaitlin and I aren't wearing ponchos because we're crazy Americans. :}

OOOOOOOH! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED BY SUSHI!

The cruise-like nature of the first half of this ride is a lot like Jurassic Park, but with a dumpy fishing town instead of a dinosaur place thing. 

Up we go! It's got an enclosed lift hill and everything!

Kaitlin and I got really, really, really wet.

And this is why.

The only thing the Chinese seem to love more than staying completely dry is getting other people wet. As a result, Happy Valley makes a killing on rain ponchos and coin-operated water cannons.

And the splash is pretty gnarly too. You ready?

voooooooooooooooooooomm-SPLAAAAT!

Btw, pay close attention to this Top Spin. :}

But seriously, take a look at this insanity at work.

The water cannons are basically fixed fire hoses. They spray for the entire length of time that the boat is within range. This nonsense could blast the contacts lenses right out of your eyes! 

Everyone knows that the cure for excessive wetness is green tea gelato, and Happy Valley's got us covered!

When Bullet Coaster takes off, everyone takes notice. It's so remarkable and so loud that it stops everyone in their tracks. 

The attention that Tibetan Eagle commands is also accentuated by the infrequency of its launches.

Now for the 3rd credit of the day, Gold Mine Train! (Same in English as in Cantonese).

What we have here is your garden variety Vekoma two-lift mine train dressed up with an outstanding amount of scenery. 

And while the surroundings are rustic, the trains are quite colorful!

Like most mine train coasters around the world, Gold Mine is a hit with the kiddos. :}

My 150th roller coaster was Eagles: Life In The Fast Lane at Hard Rock Park. It's the same as this, only Eagle was in an otherwise empty field. Riding this would be a completely different experience all together!

Still a bit damp, but ready for our ride!

For the first half of the ride, I sat back and admired the scenery. For the second half, I decided to take some pictures. :}

There's something rather elegant about this ride, which is about the last thing that comes to mind when I normally think of mine trains.

This is the only mine train I've ridden that gives you a look at the backside of water! ;}

Here we go! WOOOOO!

As you can see, China is full of defensive riders. :}

Taking photos on rides is fun, but aaaaaaalways check to make sure you are abiding by the posted park policies!

We decided to pass through Shangri-La one more time before we went back into the front of the park.

We simply could not leave the area without another ride on Tibetan Eagle! 

Take some time to appreciate that Bullet Coaster not only launches stupid-fast, but it launches a twenty-four passenger train stupid-fast. One that seats four-abreast, no less! It doesn't exactly look like the most aerodynamic thing on the planet, but hey! Whatever works!

While waiting in line, Kaitlin and I inspected the park brochure. I love the list of designations at the top of the map. The brochure is full of statistical inaccuracies and false facts, but without unrestricted use of the internet, the Chinese will never know...

Technology restrictions have their silver linings, however. People around here find ways to pass the time without staring at their phones all day, like this park employee, who's practicing juggling on his break. 

In addition to pre-ride stretches, the ride operators like to provide other forms of entertainment for queueing guests, including stand-up, sing-a-longs, and yes, juggling. :}

But for many, the best entertainment comes from watching Tibetan Eagle do its thing. 

It just eagles around so effortlessly. :}

Bullet Coaster opened with two trains. I suspect it was soon realized that only one train was necessary per the park's operating practices.

Construction for Tibetan Eagle began in 2010 for a 2011 summer opening. Unfortunately, some kind of accident during testing in June of 2011 kept the ride closed for over a year. It finally opened to the public in July of 2012, but was nevertheless grounded again from November of that year until the following June for reasons unknown to the public. The ride now seems to run consistently without problems.

After our second ride, I got a hat. <:}

With every trip there are losses. Of all of the coasters on this trip, this is the one that I expected would have the highest likelihood of being broken or closed, but good fortune was our side. :}

As a lovely bonus, I got to take pictures of this one without sending Kaitlin in to make sure a train got dispatched!

Look at that train full of happy riders!

They're happy because they just regained their consciousness and remembered that they're on the coolest launch coaster on the planet! :D

Other launch coasters just won't feel the same. ;}

As we passed this area again, Kaitlin made an important discovery. 

LOOK AT THIS. IMPOSTOR! 

Man, this place just got real Asian, real fast. It was not this Asian two minutes ago.

Time for a few more glamour shots of Bullet Coaster and Gold Mine before we retreat to the front of the park. We still have two coasters to ride!

Look closely; Gold Mine has real cacti in its garden! Wouldn't wanna snag one of those with a raised hand. :}

Alright! It's time to get movin'! We've got more stuff to ride!

One last launch shot!

Goodbye Tibetan Eagle! I'll never forget youuu! :'}

We need to go back to the front of the park, but the livestock is running the other way! What's going on?!

Another TV shoot! And in involves three cowboys! No wonder the steers were running!

After our stellar shoot-the-chute adventure, Kaitlin and I knew we couldn't pass up the rapids. 

And this one is quite beautiful! Notice: what looks like misters in this picture are actually sprinklers, which recreate heavy rainfall! At first it feels like a mist, but then the droplets get bigger and SUDDENLY IT'S A MONSOON.

AND THEN THEY NAIL YOU WITH THE FIRE HOSES!

Yeah, we got soaking wet. Again.

And now our day is coming to an end! We'll be enjoying the distinct privilege of navigating Chinese customs with 100% damp clothes. Still worth it, though. :}

Just because: official-looking people on Segways.

Culture Credit! Wild Elfin (Crazy Elf), a spinning mouse coaster from the world-renowned knock-off artists, Golden Horse Amusement Machines: supplying Mainland China with shameless imitations of roller coasters that weren't all that great to begin with since 1997!

First, you fasten your three-point seatbelt. Then you pull down your lap/shin bar. Then you wrap a large steel chain around the bar as an additional precaution. You cannot make this stuff up.

I don't know if this ride was trying to protect us from any possible harm or just trying to kill us faster, but either way we survived. And we spun a lot, too. :}

Next door to Wild Elfin is a rooftop Chinese knock-off Wacky Worm coaster called "Ant Soldiers Mission Impossible!"

(English speakers are stuck with "Baby Coaster.")

ANT SOLDIER MISSION IMPOSSIBLE SELFIE!!!

That concludes the credit whoring portion of this trip report! Let's skedaddle before one of these Chinese knock-offs tries to kill us!

Shops in Happy Valley proved quite fruitful. Just look at all of this neat stuff!

For a country that doesn't believe in a free market economy, they certainly know how to appeal to a buyer!

I bought myself this collared shirt in the largest size they had, but I found that it was still too small once I tried it on at home. Cool to have, though. :}

Remember the Top Spin from earlier? Well, here it is in 3D PUZZLE FORM. Naturally I bought it; this may be the single-coolest piece of ride-specific merchandise I have ever seen. Get on Happy Valley's level, Disney! ;}

AND THEY HAVE GUAVA FANTA! This place has everything. :}

On our way out, we passed a Christmas-themed shooting dark ride. We couldn't resist!

The ride made no sense and was totally hilarious. It was everything it needed to be. :}

We needed to get some food before heading back to the bus station; Pizza Hut was once again the obvious choice!

Mmmmm. Every day is pizza day in China. ^_^

Thirty hours later, we're back at the bus station! Time to go home and…like…bathe. And use Facebook. I NEED FACEBOOK IN MY LIFE SO BAD RIGHT NOW.

And so ends The Tale of Two valleys. 

Shenzhen was an amazing, thrilling, eye-opening experience. Knight Valley and Happy Valley are really something special, and Wood Coaster and Bullet Coaster really take the cake. Who woulda thunk that I'd travel half way around the world and ride 20+ different coasters of all makes and models, only find that the two best coasters of the whole trip were designed right in the United States?!  :}

And it's not over yet, y'all! We've saved the best for last! Tomorrow we hit park #7 of the tour, Hong Kong's world-famous Ocean Park, and then finish out this Fabulous Far East Trip Report with our 6th and final Day at the Happiest Place in Hong Kong, Disneyland, complete with fireworks! <3