This is a correction to the Nara Dreamland Theme Park mentioned in a previous chapter.
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The video above is a slightly choppy tour of Nara Dreamland. You need to watch through the introduction (Or skip it). It doesn't include Aska roller coaster or most of the rides. It does show you the wanna-be Matterhorn, Jungle Cruise, The Skyride, and the SpaceLine monorail. Every time there is a squeaky noise or rubber ducky sound, that is when Ken Pedersen says the word Disneyland or Walt Disney. Information about Nara Dreamland is below.
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Nara Dreamland was built in Nara, Japan and was the rip off between California's Disneyland and Coney Island. But instead of playing one flat fee for all the rides, you paid as you played.
It was made in 1961 about 6 years after Disneyland California was made. And about 22 years before Tokyo Disneyland was made. After a Japanese businessman visited Disneyland and thought that the Japanese could use one. Once Toyko Disneyland was made Nara Dreamland was practically run out of the theme park business.
It was like Disneyland in California. It had similar rides and almost exact copies of the various 'lands' such as Fantasyland, Main street USA, Adventureland, Sleeping Beauty's Castle etc. They even went so far as to making a 15 foot tall Snow White where you could watch bits and parts of how the Dreamland came to be. It was also like Coney Island when it came to certain rides.
The rides included a merry-go-round, a want-to-be Matterhorn ride, several roller coaster such as a replica of The Cyclone (from Coney Island) renamed as Aska, Autopia (Similar to the Disney Speedways in Tomorrowland and Disneyland), a Skyway (Much like the one that used to be at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom), a Jungle Cruise (Exactly like the ones in Walt Disney World's Adventureland and Disneyland), Tea Party Cup Ride (much like the Mad Hatter's Mad Tea Party Ride in Disneyland), Submarine Voyage (Much like the old 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Ride in Disneyland), Flying Saucers, a Monorail called the SpaceLiner (Similar to Disney's monorail system), a fire station (Similar to the one in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom), a pirate ship ride, double decker omnibuses, vintage cars, and a train station called DreamStation (That looked exactly the one in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom).
Even the entrance looked just like Disneyland's! They even had the name spelled out in hedges with the train station right in front and Main Street 'USA' as your anticipation to the 'large' Sleeping Beauty replica Castle! You can't forget how nice it looks, until you actually figure out that if you look around the place looks creepy and abandoned. Even when it was opened it had that feeling of abandonment and failure.
Some of the 'orginal rides' were a scary Haunted House-type checkpoint maze, the Screw Coaster, several rides that spin around (typical rides that you'd see at a town carnival or fair), water slides, a water-log type of ride, a Viking themed fast-spinning ride, swan-mobiles, octopus ride, pirate themed swing ride, Mirror Puzzle, Bumper Boats, a Flash Dance ride, a large concrete slab, tons of small children rides, the Ride That Goes Nowhere ride, Wacky Worm ride, Spider ride, Gallantry, a walk-through of the Fantasy Coaster, coin-operated rides, Shake-The-Cage-And-Make-It-Tip-Over Ride, and you can't forget the '100 Splinters in your ass in less than 5 seconds' Wooden Slide Complex!
I'm sure you're asking what the heck is with this place?! What are some of these awesome rides?!
I'll explain a few. And rate them, because why not?
The Swan Mobiles were part of a ride called Swan Cycle which was ironic because the ride was pretty much like bumper cars. But instead of the bumper cars having wheels, electricity, or an actual budget to run on they became a ride where you sat in a giant swan and pedaled your way throughout the little sheltered Swan Cycle ride. Around and around and around in a big circle and you had to pedal to make it go. I say this gets a 2 out of a possible 12. It would get a one but I like swans and they did some fancy word play there. Swan Cycle and you re riding bicycles that have a giant swan on them? Brilliantly hilarious!
I should explain the large concrete slab one above. There was a ride on the large concrete slab but the non-existent management forgot to remove the slab or replace the ride with a new one. Just like they forget to add tires to the pink Cadillac that was parked in the Dream Fire Dept. or how they forgot to park the work truck in a back parking lot instead of just leave them in the middle of Main Street. This was by far one of my favorite rides! That is why it deserves a 3 out of 12!
One of the other rides that I feel like I need to explain is the walk-through of the Fantasy Coaster. There once was a magical coaster in a horrible wanna be theme park that was never very good. The coaster was run down and plants grew on it. Instead of maintaining it or fixing it the management decided to let the throngs of people walk the magical ride instead of just closing it down! The end. Stars? 5 out of 12. Who doesn't want to walk along a crappy run-down roller coaster?
What about the '100 Splinters in your ass in less than 5 seconds' Wooden Slide Complex! It's a fenced in area where your children and the child at heart can run around on asphalt and wood chips, sliding down all wooden slides, playing on wooden monkey bars, swinging on wooden swings, you get the idea. But half the wooden 'playground equipment' had splinters and chunks of wood sticking out from them. I would LOVE to have splinters stuck in my ass! Not. 6 out of 12 stars for creativity!
And my all time favorite ride, the Ride That Goes Nowhere ride! I'd rather not bore you with details, not that there is any except that its a rusty baby blue colored metal staircase. The ride consists of walking up two flights of stairs, walking across a platform that isn't even 5 feet long, and walk back down two more flights of stairs! 12 out of 12! Amazing!
Now after all this fun, you're going to be hungry! Why not stop at Hamburger & ChickenNuggets Burger Rock! Selling you crappy souvenirs, fake guns, Power Ranger masks, and 'food' since 1560! Not all food places are bad. There were actually several places that served awesome food!
Speaking of old age, or old things in general. Who wouldn't want a horrible looking statue of George Washington on his horse in the moat of a Sleeping Beauty Castle replica? Or maybe Washington isn't your thing and you prefer Abraham Lincoln? Well they have that too.
The only remotely good ride at Nara Dream-rip off-Land is the wooden roller coaster Aska. Aska was Japan's old capital back when they were doing dynasties and such. So the Nara rip-off committee decided to name their best roller coaster after that which I suppose it nice. Anyway, the roller coaster is the only thing there that is worth it. It's sad that the roller coaster is still there while plants and other crap is going around it and on it. I mean it was so rockin' you got amazing air on it.
Nara Dreamland closed it's doors in 2006.
Guards patrol the grounds daily. If you are caught trespassing then you get arrested, fined, and may go to prison.
Since this isn't a Disney related one I'm not going to do the QUESTION, WHAT WE KNOW, or WHAT I THINK parts.
Have a Nara (Nice! He He. Horrible joke) day and remember our previous trespassing rules!
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Creepy, Unknown, and Abandoned Disney
Non-FictionWhat has Disney kept from us..? What has Disney abandoned? Find out here... All the creepy, unnerving secrets that Disney hasn't let past its hushed castle doors....
