Steel Dragon 2000

Well, when I do buy out Camden Park, maybe I'll buy SD2K and put it there;).

I also enjoyed spending an hour or so reading the trip reports, good stuff. It seems like such a shame to have SD2K sitting there, maybe it'll open next year. Just to clarify, did someone actually die or did a wheel just fly off and cause the train to halt. It seems like a bit of an exaggeration if that's all that happened, I mean just make sure the wheels are on tighter... ;p

No one died...just a wheel fell off.

Okay, I just got confused from an earlier post, I didn't think anyone was killed. They must be seriously careful over there, if it'd been Six Flags... I also thought it was interesting how they clean the trains, but does that take a long time?

No, not really. But get this, when I was there (and this is true of most major Japanese parks), they have free lockers on the platform for you to put your stuff in, take the key, and bungee it to your wrist or something. How cool is that?

The irony is, Japan doesn't even have petty theft. People leave their valuables out all the time, because they KNOW no one will take them. Example: I exited SD2K into a huge open air gift area. I started loading up my arms with stuff to buy....shirts, keychains, etc. I went to pay and, no one there! The shop didn't open until noon! (this was 10:00). In the meantime, a trainload of 36 walks through the shop every 90 seconds and no one takes anything. No cameras, no guards, etc!

Speaking of cleaning off trains.,..after a rainstorm, Nagashima wipes down every inch of track BY HAND!!! Nasai and I both saw it on seperate occasions. That took a good 45-60 minutes.

If anyone is interested, here's my old TR about riding SD2K with pics:

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/forum.aspx?mode=thread&TopicID=13666

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Robb Alvey said:
^^ Not at all guys! It's totally cool. Just wanted to post a bit more about our experiences. And absolutely it's a reason for us to return. =)

^ We didn't do much else other than the coasters at Fuji-Q. It took us about an hour per coaster, and Dodonpa and Fujiyama took nearly two hours each. And we never even made it on all the coasters! =( And then it started to rain which meant ALL the walk throughs had a 1-2 hour wait. It wasn't the best of days, that's for sure.

Oh, well, we're already planning out 2006 Japan trip!

--Robb "Will go back in a second for Tower and Raging Spirits!" Alvey

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Take me with you!

But really, when are you comming down to VA for some parks?

'Sa shame Robb didn't enjoy White Cyclone, as we all know that's the REAL reason to visit Nagashima. Although the awesome, smooth as silk Looping Star was probably the biggest surprise of my day there.

Robb, was WC just rough on you, or was it more than that? Poor maintenance?

When was the last time you rode it, Nasai? Any chance they're just letting it rot?

BTW, Robb, I think the reason people (myself included) liken Nagashima to Cedar Point is more about its atmosphere than its rides... Its location near the water, the landscaping, the lagoons, it has a similar 'stuck in the 70's' feeling to much of the midways.

Although there are many ride correlations, too.... the Corkscrew feel smuch like CP's, The drop rides (both S&S Tower and Freefall rides), SD2k's similarities to Magnum, etc etc.

Exactly..read the first paragraph of my TR I linked to before for my CP comparison :)

^^^ Brian, the last time I was at Nagashima was July 2001, just before Peabody, so................ sure, anything can happen. It's possible WC is very rough, but from my own experiences, I imagine it's more his personal experience that particular day. The reason I say this is my 2 rides on it in 2001 were seperated by 6 or so hours, and a few rainstorms. The early morning ride was an absolute pleasure, but the "before close" ride was headache inducing. I don't recall where I sat, and if this was the difference in my feelings about the ride. What I enjoyed most about WC was the extremely tight clearances. There are headchoppers, and then there are White Cyclone headchoppers. ;)

Sorry about the confusion about SD2K in my post at top. I wasn't trying to say there was a death "there." I was just recalling the death at Fujikyu, and the government response to that years back. That's all. Sorry I didn't clarify.

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Robb, was WC just rough on you, or was it more than that? Poor maintenance?

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It actually wasn't that 'rough' (at least not compared to the woodie at Yomiuriland we had been on just a couple of days prior!), but it was just kind of 'un-interesting.' It was actually VERY much like Mean Streak. It *looked* awesome. You are just in awe looking at this beautiful monster, but the ride on it just doesn't seem to deliver what you'd expect. "Good things don't always come in big packages." It was a bit bumpy, but not that rough.

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Robb, I think the reason people (myself included) liken Nagashima to Cedar Point is more about its atmosphere than its rides... Its location near the water, the landscaping, the lagoons, it has a similar 'stuck in the 70's' feeling to much of the midways.

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Oh, totally. We said that also. I mean, its right on the water, it's got a corkscrew that 'corkscrews' over the midway, it had that same 'retro look' to it, the water park is right next door, etc, etc.

It's like "Japan's answer to Cedar Point, but about 1/2 the size, and with 1/2 the rides!"

The park looks amazing from the Ferris Wheel! I mean, from there, it looks a LOT like Cedar Point!

--Robb

^ nice.

I had my Japanese friend translate it, this is what he came up with, pretty much the same as the direct translation:

They're examining it whether or not it's safe to ride it, so they wont let anybody ride it. It doesnt say when they'll open it again.

Maybe it pays off to live in Asia, haha. I'm actually taking a trip up to Japan at the beginning of November, but not going down there. Going to try and get to Thunder Dolphin though! :)