I hate scary amusement park rides. I understand that some people love roller coasters and loops and sudden plunges into dark caverns, but it’s just not for me. You can save your trips to Cedar Point and roller coaster road trips for someone else. Because, quite frankly, the looks on the faces of the two men in this video, combined with their deafening screams, basically sum up how I react to amusement park rides. Theme parks can be fun but mostly because so many of them serve turkey legs.
This fellow is from one of Singapore‘s more unusual attractions – the Haw Par Villatheme park, also called Tiger Balm Gardens. Originally built in the 1930s by the creators of Tiger Balm to showcase Chinese folklore and mythology, the park is known for its bizarre and gruesome Ten Courts of Hell with such creepy statues and dioramas as a human-faced crab and bloody dismembered torsos (apparently it all makes sense if you know your Chinese mythology). It’s been relatively deserted in recent years, making it all the more bizarre. You can see more photos of the park in Flickr user SingaPaulie‘s photostream. The MRT metro line was extended this fall and you can now ride the Circle Line train to the park.
Palau is no longer just a destination for underwater adventure. This destination in Micronesia, which is ranked as one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world, has recently opened the Palau Eco Theme Park, home to one of the longest zip line courses on Earth.
The three-course zip-line that allows participants to get really high about the trees, flying over the Taki Waterfall Park in the State of Ngardmau. Because story-telling is also a major focus of the theme park, these waterfalls were selected to provide the backdrop (or underdrop) for the experience not only because of their beauty, but also because of the legend that is associated with them. Apparently, an eel with magic powers once changed into the river itself, with its head being the waterfall.
With the length of each section running between 300 and 340 meters (about 985 to 1,115 feet), this course is no joke, and is said to be one of the longest zip line courses in the world.
For more information on Palau Eco Theme Park you can call (680) 747-1004.
Ready to see some seriously creepy photos from abandoned theme parks around the planet? We thought so. After reflecting on the plight of Six Flags New Orleans after Katrina we got to thinking about other theme parks in similar situations around the world. As it turns out, there are a whole host of abandoned properties in similar states, some with impressively decrypt structures. Check out our gallery below for a few great examples.
Six Flags’ trend of re-theming old rides will continue as New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure will open a relocated stand-up coaster in 2011. Formerly Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, the coaster will be renamed and re-themed as Green Lantern tying into the new movie starring Ryan Reynolds. The coaster was removed from Kentucky Kingdom just months before Six Flags decided to close the park.
Green Lantern will feature trains where riders stand rather than sit, while an over-the-shoulder harness will secure them in place. At 15 stories tall with a 14 story (144′) drop, it will be one of the largest stand-up coasters in the World. Green Lantern’s exciting course will include: a huge vertical loop, a dive loop, an inclined loop, and two corkscrews. In its new form, the ride will be painted green and it may have some tunnels and special effects.
Stand-up roller coasters are somewhat rare and really good stand-up coasters are almost impossible to find. Green Lantern, on the other hand, could be an exception. If this coaster runs as well as it did when I rode it at Kentucky Kingdom, then Great Adventure guests will be treated to an impressively fun and thrilling ride. Thanks to its Bolliger & Mabillard design, it’s smooth enough to pull off a great experience while most stand-up coasters are rough and uncomfortable.
Green Lantern is being built on the former site of the Great American Scream Machine. For two decades the red looping coaster had been a fixture of Great Adventures’ skyline. Over the years Scream Machine had gotten so rough that it boxed ears and produced headaches. Still, the ride had its supporters. Hardcore coaster enthusiasts claimed it was a fun ride if you knew how to ride it. While there were some that were sad to see it go I feel that most, like myself, were happy that it was scrapped. Great Adventure fans should be excited about the new world-class stand-up roller coaster that will replace it.