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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sOpZx.jpg)
The plan to visit the Blizzard themed amusement park, Joyland, was hatched while visiting Kaolla. Having some beers and playing some SC2 was what motivated us to undertake this journey. Suffice to say we had some difficulties actually getting to Changzhou, missing the train we had already bought tickets for. We eventually ended up in Changzhou at night and decided to hit the clubs before going to Joyland the next day. Since no one from Teamliquid appeared to have visited we decided to write a blog post to inform you guys about our trip to Blizzardland (Joyland).
Pictures and videos are listed here, so lazy people can stop reading here and look at the pretty pictures:
Joyland Pics
Terrain of Warcraft video impression
Universe of Starcraft video impression
Video of our favorite ride in the park
After a short morning of sleep and with a lot of determination we managed to stumble into the train station and catch a bus to Joyland. Finding the correct terminal was a bit of hassle as there were multiple coach and bus stations. Having found the correct terminal and acquired the correct tickets set us on our way to Joyland.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zZwh0.jpg)
Arriving at the park we were greeted by two rather large black Orcs at the entrance. It was quite a warm day so we thought we would start the day out by queuing up for the first ride we could find. We had no idea what we queued up for and even though it was an indoor ride air-conditioning or fans were nowhere to be found making the temperature a bit unpleasant. After a horrendous wait, the line continued over three separate rooms which were quite effectively hidden from view. The ride, Path to Warcraft, was a bit like watching a 3D World of Warcraft trailer while being in cart. Not entirely sure that was worth the wait. We exited the ride through a giftshop with a whole lot of fake swords and other toys.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/mxJrQ.jpg)
Walking through the park we noticed that the build quality of the decorations and statues seemed quite nice. I actually expected a more cardboard and styrofoam kind of quality but we were pleasantly surprised by the use of proper building materials. The Warcraft part of the park was actually the most impressive with many statues and big stone buildings and of course the Warcraft/World of Warcraft music playing in the background.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/xqa47.jpg)
The StarCraft area was a bit of a disappointing when compared to the Warcraft area. Sure there was the StarCraft 2 music and I think I might have even heard some of the original StarCraft music, but the design was a bit lacking when compared to the Warcraft area. It was entirely in Protoss style, but looked like it was built by an SCV after an all-nighter on stimpacks. There were no Zerg or Terran influences other than the red creature which might have been a Zergling. The rides were nice though, especially the rollercoaster, it certainly made my top3 of rollercoasters. Twisting and flying close to the ground was a nice experience and it was even good enough to queue up a second time. We found some places which were still labeled as StarCraft, someone must have missed the memo that this was the Universe of Starship, not StarCraft 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/jY8CI.jpg)
When we finally decided to go on what seemed to be the main attraction of the park, based on the 2 hour queue we saw earlier that day, the log ride. When we got there the line seemed exceptionally short so we informed and they had closed off the queue because the ride was going to close soon. After playing the 'we are foreigners and came all the way here just to take this ride'-card and exchanging a few smiles with the girl there we were let in through the staff entrance and were able to take the ride without queuing. The people on the boat with us greeted us with big smiles on their faces as we got on the boat without any kind of rain poncho which everyone seemed to be wearing. It is safe to say that I later regretted that decision a bit as I had to take off my shoes to pour the water out. At least I was not bothered by the heat as much after that, being soaked to the bone.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LUn7o.jpg)
We mostly spend time in the Warcraft/StarCraft areas of the park, the other areas looked alright but with slightly more boring rides. There was an NVidia sponsored gaming room, once again without any Blizzard games but they did let you play some 3D games on gaming stations offered there. As it got dark there was also a performance by some kind of rock band, not quite TAFKAL80ETC but they managed to gather a crowd.
Obviously we managed to miss our last bus back to Changzhou so we shared a minivan back to Changzhou with some other people which ended up being quite a nice ride, albeit slightly cramped. We finished off the nice day by hitting up some clubs in Changzhou meeting up with the friendly locals we met the night before. All-in-all a great day and I can recommend going there to anyone who has a day to kill in the Shanghai area. The only disappointed was that after all this I logged into my StarCraft 2 account without receiving an 'achievement unlocked' notification, I would say that visiting 'Blizzardland' should at least be rewarded by some achievement points.
 
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Great blog and pictures! That log ride must be great, you really are soaked :O
Also fun to see Kluivert ^^
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Canada5155 Posts
Is any of this actually officially licensed? I noticed that the Starcraft logo is conveniently obscured in this one shot http://i.imgur.com/UhDhzh.jpg
I'd wager it isn't. Cool theme park nonetheless.
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It's not officially licensed, but it's still really cool.
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its not rly licensed i think, but it was a really nice park actually... much better than i expected from the things i read in advance... and the town also rocked so all in all best trip ever...
good commercial for blizz stuff 
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i doubt blizz really care about this llicense stuff since this it is free advertising for them
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On August 26 2011 20:05 brachester wrote:
i doubt blizz really care about this llicense stuff since this it is free advertising for them
doubt you are right, ogn and mbcgame's starleagues were good commercials.... didnt seem good enough for blizz tho... greed makes the world go around
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Great pics! The Warcraft stuff looks pretty cool. I can imagine that in combination with the game music it creates a pretty cool experience.
The SC stuff does look a bit cheap Seems you guys had a great time though! Good stuff :D
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On August 26 2011 20:14 Smorrie wrote:Great pics! The Warcraft stuff looks pretty cool. I can imagine that in combination with the game music it creates a pretty cool experience. The SC stuff does look a bit cheap Seems you guys had a great time though! Good stuff :D
SC stuff was not a highlight but the trip to the park was great, I can recommend it to anyone who visits Shanghai to go to Joyland if they get the chance!
No official licenses were harmed during the construction of this park, although I do wonder why Blizzard hasn't beat the Chinese to it. I think a Blizzard theme park would draw in huge crowds.
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On August 26 2011 20:06 Kaolla wrote:Show nested quote +On August 26 2011 20:05 brachester wrote:
i doubt blizz really care about this llicense stuff since this it is free advertising for them doubt you are right, ogn and mbcgame's starleagues were good commercials.... didnt seem good enough for blizz tho... greed makes the world go around
Of course they care and I bet they are being paid to use their products. It's business and sorry to say, but it's not "greedy" to want to earn revenue from your inventions.
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looks pretty cool ha
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Netherlands45349 Posts
On August 26 2011 18:23 HawaiianPig wrote:Is any of this actually officially licensed? I noticed that the Starcraft logo is conveniently obscured in this one shot http://i.imgur.com/UhDhzh.jpgI'd wager it isn't. Cool theme park nonetheless.
I don't think its licensed properly, and I am not certain why Blizzard isn't sueing them.
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I was wondering what happened to this place when it was first announced, lmao. If you could post us more pics! ;O
My personal favorite is the Coca Cola polar bears just outside the souvenir shop. 
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On August 26 2011 21:03 StarStruck wrote:
I was wondering what happened to this place when it was first announced, lmao. If you could post us more pics! ;O
Haha, sorry I selected the best 30-something pictures I have, if you want more pics I can post them as a reply to this post. Do you have any request of specific pictures? After about a hundred pictures I put my camera away and tried to enjoy the park for a bit as well
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Well considering I do a lot of traveling, I did put that amusement park high on my list. My friends and I do a lot of traveling and we usually check out the amusement parks if they are close by. Our next trip is to New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia this Fall. I have every intention on going back to China within the next year.
Did you perhaps take any shots on any ride that takes you really high up? Looks like they were still constructing that ginormous pyramid. That and I would like to know which of the rides you personally recommend. We have a habit of being extreme thrill seekers.
I think I speak for a lot of TLers when I say we want more!
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I can only support your travel plans, having traveled through all the countries you are describing I can only say go for it and have a fucking blast. If you need any advice or tips on OZ/NZ/MY/CH send me a PM
Well the roller-coaster linked in the 3rd video was our personal favorite, but I would of course would like to hear your experience when the pyramid is actually finished. Be sure to contact Kaolla once you get near Shanghai, party time guaranteed, speaking from experience here.
Put in specific request/question and I can see what I can do you for you StarStruck
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Sure, I would love to hear your thoughts on some of those places. I usually plan my backpacking trips with the lonely planet guide books.
Most of our trails have already been planned out, but I would like to hear your thoughts on New Zealand. We're planning on doing a lot of kayaking there and I hear Abel Tasman National Park is great for that. Are there any other trails you could recommend?
Any tips on the Australian outback would be nice as well. I've been to places like Perth, Melbourne and Sydney before, but this time we're planning on going all across the country. Especially looking forward to the Gold Coast for the great view and other special attractions.
Will do. There will be a lot more pictures by then!
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To those wondering why blizzard doesn't sue them. Well, my guess is, that it's in China. I don't have any idea how hard it is to actually geta lawsuit going there, but it can't be easy when they are copying everything. Hell, there was some news about fake apple stores some time ago...
And it can't be bad advertisement either unless it's horribly made, and at last it doesn't look like it is.
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On August 26 2011 18:23 HawaiianPig wrote:Is any of this actually officially licensed? I noticed that the Starcraft logo is conveniently obscured in this one shot http://i.imgur.com/UhDhzh.jpgI'd wager it isn't. Cool theme park nonetheless.
Well, if they aren't licensed for the use of Blizzard property, I doubt that they are licensed to use the Decepticon logo's that adorn the same building haha. Makes you wonder if those Spongebob dolls you can win there are knockoffs aswel.
Even though some of the park looks like it's been made on a budget it seems really interesting. I'd love to get the chance to go there some day.
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I didn't know this was open already (^_^). Looks ok to me. Thx for the post.
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On August 26 2011 20:02 Kaolla wrote:its not rly licensed i think, but it was a really nice park actually... much better than i expected from the things i read in advance... and the town also rocked so all in all best trip ever... good commercial for blizz stuff
I knew i recognized you from the first pic, how has shanghai been since the.... er, incident.
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Why the fuck would blizzard not officially license this?
Their greediness knows no bounds.
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It's okay.
It's in China
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On August 26 2011 20:06 Kaolla wrote:Show nested quote +On August 26 2011 20:05 brachester wrote:
i doubt blizz really care about this llicense stuff since this it is free advertising for them doubt you are right, ogn and mbcgame's starleagues were good commercials.... didnt seem good enough for blizz tho... greed makes the world go around
Wait...Blizzard is greedy because they want to protect their intellectual property?
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Hey Jaap
Are you still travelling through China or again? I just started my China trip today, was funny to read a Blog from you on TL.net hahaha. I'm Lars btw, you remember our nights with Noam?
Now I know what I'm going to do when I finally arrive in Shanghai, a good tip indeed. :D
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Blizzard has no involvement with this theme park. For people asking why they don't pursue any action against the parks developers; it is because China is a legal black hole when it comes to Intellectual Property and Copyrights. In short, they are currently losing theoretical monies from the licensing on this theme park. This, of course, is bad, but it does not directly effect their current revenue. If the were to pursue legal action they would have to spend real money for likely little or no reward.
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On August 26 2011 23:04 Enderbantoo wrote:Show nested quote +On August 26 2011 20:02 Kaolla wrote:its not rly licensed i think, but it was a really nice park actually... much better than i expected from the things i read in advance... and the town also rocked so all in all best trip ever... good commercial for blizz stuff I knew i recognized you from the first pic, how has shanghai been since the.... er, incident.
Hehe, I'm missing the reference to the incident, can you refresh my memory?
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
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Oh yeah, I heard of this! Apparently it's kind of "illegal" or something because It's not blizzard-approved? I'm not sure, my memory isn't fresh but there was some news on this a while ago. Looks pretty awesome though, I've always wanted to go to China 
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Well the park has removed most direct references to Starcraft and Warcraft, at least the areas in the park are no longer called Universe of Starcraft and Terran of Warcraft.
Park was pretty cool, I would love to see Blizzard improve on this one though.
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really awesome that you got to see that park before blizzard sends in its secret kill and destroy crew to china
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EPT
