Orange sunset directly over the Immelmann inversion with an incomplete sound shield.

Hopefully not *too* many more sunsets to go before we can ride it.

Wide panoramic view of nearly the entire layout of Hollywood Drift from the upper lot at sunset.

This is going to be such an impressive place to watch this coaster, especially once it opens.

Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift testing around the escalator turn.

Wide view of the stall and lower knot of track.

Looking up at the escalator turn from the landing.

I witnessed my first test run of Hollywood Drift right as I was walking up to the escalators. That ended up being the only one I would glimpse all evening, even as I hung out for another 20 minutes.

That's pretty absurd.

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Glad to see after visiting last year that my 70 year old FIL's car still for some reason defaults to softly playing Britney Spears's "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" on an endless loop. He doesn't understand the words but I hope he still feels the meaning.

Interesting to see this was built without the traditional tapered nose car.

Said goodbye this morning to both the south of China and to a giant cockroach that appeared on our apartment ceiling while packing.

Too big to squish, so I tried to sweep it out the nearby balcony door.

This was when I discovered these roaches could fly, as it flew right onto my back. 😳

I didn't ride anything, but I did investigate what appeared to be an abandoned walkthrough spook house. Turned out it was still fully operational, despite no other humans present. One of the more unnerving haunted houses I've experienced for that reason alone!

A Chinese made looping coaster (abandoned) next to a large Ferris wheel (not operating)

A corkscrew of the looping coaster with faded paint and a young tree growing up through the track

Maintenance workers servicing the ride cars inside the jungle mouse station, one laid upside down on the platform

A father and daughter play on a very empty playground with a single rocking horse

Indeed, the big thrill coaster sat abandoned, the plant growth suggesting several years since it last ran. The jungle mouse was also closed, although it was actively being worked on. A few stray guests rode a couple rides that were open and operating. The closest thing to a zombie park I've seen.

An oversized entry gate and plaza, completely deserted.

A set of Gardens by the Bay style sky trees in a large plaza, all completely bare

A set of water play activities like Archimedes screws, the water rather low and brown

A rooftop garden filled with sunflowers, all brown and dried

RCDb told tale of a couple coasters at a Garden Expo in Beihai. I went to check it out.

While the park potentially has some nice gardens, it's too big to maintain and far from the main city to attract visitors, leading it to feel abandoned. I didn't expect much from the amusement rides in the back.

Red lanterns hang over a historic pedestrian street with numerous Chinese signs

A statue representing the first western motion pictures brought to Beihai in the early 1900s

A statue of an early phonograph playing for an elderly Chinese man and a child

A statue of three local women joyfully singing and shouting

Beihai's Old Town has a history dating back to the early 1800s. Many of the original street facades remain. Bronze statues tell the story of the city and its residents over time.

Plate of clams

Fried seafood skewers

Mango coconut sorbet

Racks of pineapple buns

Snacking our way around Beihai.

A Chinese flagged speed boat parked in the surf overlooking the ocean

A tiny beach crab near a hole in the sand, with numerous sand balls strewn nearby

A gelatinous glob in the sand and receding surf

The last part of our travels through the south of China took us to the coastal town of Beihai. Didn't have much planned for here but did take a walk along the beach, where tiny crabs dig holes and what I think are jellies have washed ashore.

Close up of the entrance marquee for Fantawild Asian Legend

And that was my day at Fantawild Asian Legend!

It has an interesting concept, but being one-of-a-kind may have hurt some of the ambitious attractions not quite getting the same level of craft as some of the better replicated rides at other Fantawild parks. Still glad I could make it on this trip.

Entry facade for the Philippines

A colorful sign reading Manila Manila

The show room, with a large flower and smaller jellyfish overhead, and an array of screens wrapping around one side

A larger screen seen during the show for the Aliwan festival in Manila

Lastly, I had time for a showing of the Philippines's rotating 3D show Manila Manila. The entire seating platform rotates, but since you're only facing different screens the effect isn't used to its full potential. It starts with a cartoony underwater party before joining another festival in Manila.

Cambodian Angkor Wat style entrance to the attraction

Passageway through overgrown stone ruins

Looking up at the raked theater seating

The large screen with the Amazing Angkor title card over a jungle landscape

The silver lining was I instead had time for a couple attractions closer to the front I hadn't originally planned on.

The Cambodian section has this impressive facade for an IMAX 3D show about the creation of Angkor Wat. Some interesting visuals, but I need to improve my Chinese to fully enjoy it.

The preshow room, completely dark except for the green emergency exit signs and an employee holding a flashlight

I took video on my first ride through, and intended to go again for more photos. But during the preshow we experienced a full power outage!

It seemed to affect this entire half of the park, precluding my plan for a second ride on Halong Bay or a third on Jungle Trailblazer.

Entrance as a Vietnamese brick cathedral

The artwork in postage stamps becomes a recurring metaphor for this attraction

A preshow featuring a guy and girl (the girl coming to life from a postage stamp)

A large dark ride vehicle capable of seating around 50 people in a large empty room with oversized stamps on the side wall and a red curtain in front

Vietnam's Meeting in Halong Bay is my pick for the best ride here. Think of the Great Movie Ride that starts as a show before the massive ride vehicles enter the scene, in this case Vietnamese postage stamps. It's mostly a travelogue with a guy and girl, but very cute and some great scenic design.

Exterior to Colorful Trip in traditional Brunei architecture

The water channel through a night scene of a traditional village, each house with a media window highlighting different crafts

A strange recreation of the Under the Sea scene from Disney's Little Mermaid rides

A jungle scene with glowing monkeys

Colorful Trip has been compared to a Brunei version of Small World, but apart from the doll-like characters I found it's really doing its own thing. (Like directly copying the scenic design from the Little Mermaid rides!) Nothing complicated, but probably one of the easiest to enjoy rides here.

Exterior circular show building with Indonesian longhouse styled portals

Numerous dancers in traditional dress striking poses under yellow lighting

Two dancers doing an acrobatics routine with a small boat on a stage in the round

Hundreds of suspended balls dance above and around the stage while the dancers pose from inside the formation

Song of the Thousand Islands is Indonesia's large scale show, featuring numerous dancers and synchronized suspended balls.

The first scene, of highly choreographed dancing to gamelan music, and the final, of the dancers precisely coordinating with the ball movement, were quite impressive.

Entrance sign to Hero of Malacca with several Malaysian mouse-deer props grazing around it

Sitting in the front row of the boat with sets for a Malay water village at night up ahead

Water spectacular show area, with cannons and lots of room for torrential flood effects

Me dressed in a yellow Fantawild branded rain poncho

Hero of Malacca is Malaysia's ride, and certainly the most unique at Asian Legend, if not one I'd ride again.

Think of a larger scale PotC boat ride (complete with soundtrack lol) that ends with a Poseidon's Fury water show. Only you're getting rained on the whole time.

Ponchos are 30 rmb to rent.

Thai temple entrance to Rama and Sita

2D CG still cutout of Rama and Sita near the queue entrance

A preshow room with a large video graphic mural depicting the Ramakien on one side

The loading platform with a set of Transformers-style ride vehicles

Rama and Sita is a 3D motion dark ride representing Thailand, based on the Thai epic Ramakien, itself based on the Hindu epic Ramayana.

Good length and technical achievement. But the story reduces Sita to a damsel in distress while Rama and Hanuman punch a bunch of demons, too often in slow-mo.

Closure sign at the entrance to a kid's coaster

Close up view of the kid's coaster, a Chinese made Wacky Worm style model

Unfortunately I would only go two for three with this park's coaster count as their Puppy Coaster was closed for the full day. It looked like one of the previous days Jungle Trailblazer was the ride selected for random closure, so overall I can't complain.

The first drop

The first wave turn over the entrance

A ninety degree banked turn

The second wave turn mirroring the back of the first

I hustled ahead to the other side of the park to do the Jungle Trailblazer wood coaster before the kids arrived in numbers.

It's a top highlight at the park. The back-to-back wave turns at the beginning are great design. But the second half is more forgettable, and the roughness limited re-rides.

An orange and green Vekoma Boomerang

Looking out from the front row at the orange track curling upward

I next checked off their Vekoma Boomerang, Stress Express. Got the front row, ride was as expected.

A number of school groups also descended as I got there. My favorite interaction from a student wanting to test his English when I said I was American: "I love you. I love iPhone. It's a good phone."

The rainbow styled entrance to Let's Fly

The queue featuring layered 2D cutout art of Southeast Asian scenes

More hand painted queue art of landmarks featured on the ride

A row of empty flying theater chairs

The "Let's Fly" flying theater is a good introductory thesis attraction to Fantawild Asian Legend in that it showcases the entire region (and China's role hosting the ASEAN Expo).

However, the exclusive CGI scenes and repetitive flying over landmarks on centered axis makes for a weaker experience.

Entrance to Fantawild Asian Legend

Fantawild Asian Legend is unique in the Fantawild chain for having a custom theme, not based on Chinese culture but rather on Southeast Asia.

(Specifically, the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN. This is how theme parks participate in international diplomacy.)

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Ah, yet I'm guessing even with one you can still get pretty wet?

On my way there now. I have a rain jacket I can bring with me into the park, so debating if I want to carry it around all day for incomplete protection or buy a full disposable poncho just for this ride.