Janfusun Fancyworld

Gukeng, Taiwan

“B&M goodness in Taiwan”

We spent a night in Douliu during our trip to Taiwan. Unfortunately, Douliu isn’t the most exciting city on Earth. Our room at the Metro Hotel was fine (it even featured a cool Japanese toilet) but there’s hardly anything to do for tourists in Douliu. So honestly, why the hell did I spent my precious vacation days here, while Taiwan is full of exciting destinations? The reason is Janfusun Fancyworld, an amusement park that’s located approximately 12 kilometres from the city centre. We boarded the so-called Taisi Bus next to Douliu Station. This bus brought us to the park’s main entrance in just under 40 minutes.

Taiwan isn’t expensive at all. That was once again confirmed at Janfusun Fancyworld. The bus ride from Douliu cost 50 Taiwanese dollars (1.50 euros) and we got an unexpected foreigner discount at the park’s box office. This meant that we paid just 21 euros per person. Good deal for an amusement park with two B&Ms, right? It’s even a crazy good deal when you realise that those B&Ms treated us to private rides all day long. Yes, it was very quiet at Janfusun Fancyworld.

ROLLER COASTERS

Diving Machine G5 was the first coaster on our itinerary. Dive coasters are anything but unique these days. Therefore, the thrill of such a vertical descent a little less intense than it used to be. In my view, however, these are still excellent coasters. They’re short, but to the point. Diving Machine G5 (named after the g-forces it creates) also boasts a stunning location on a tropical mountain slope, which definitely adds to the excitement. By the way… attentive coaster enthusiasts will recognise the layout. This is a mirrored version of Alton Towers’ Oblivion. However, it features a considerably shorter tunnel and a happier colour scheme.

The park’s second B&M is a floorless coaster. It could use a fresh coat of paint, but its beautiful location makes up for that. Interestingly, nobody seems to know the name of this ride. The Roller Coaster Database and Discovery Channel talk about Insane Speed, the park plan says Crazy Coaster and at the ride entrance, I read Floorless Coaster. Luckily, it’s mainly the ride experience that matters. And just like I expected it from Bolliger & Mabillard, that experience was excellent. It’s not the smoothest B&M, but it’s still a very enjoyable ride. The first drop is great, the track contains four good inversions and the curves are intense. In combination with the heat, Floorless Coaster even gave me a short greyout. Theming is nonexistent, but this coaster just doesn’t need it.

Janfusun Kiddie Land is an indoor themed zone filled with playgrounds, a fun house, claw machines and KuKu Coaster. This is a cute powered roller coaster manufactured by Zamperla. The station is located within Kiddie Land, but the rest of the curvy layout can be found in the open air. Although it’s not a crazy thrill, I recommend bracing yourself during the ride. One of KuKu Coaster’s curves was actually so brutal that it may cause minor bruises. So don’t judge this ride by its cute look; it may hurt to get this credit.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Janfusun Fancyworld is one of those cool amusement parks which has been built on hilly terrain. This provides stunning panoramas, but steep mountain slopes can be exhausting if you’re walking through the park. Fortunately, Fancyworld’s management installed a series of escalators which makes it a lot easier to navigate the park. And to emphasize the amusement in the word ‘amusement park’, you can even use a slide. Nice touch!

A decent part of the park is dedicated to Vicky The Viking. This animated character fits perfectly in Taiwan’s adoration for everything that’s cute. The Viking male lends his name to the central part of Janfusun Fancyworld, which also contains a significant water park. That water park was closed during our visit in October, but it looked pretty colourful and cosy.

It was only our second amusement park day in Taiwan, but I was already able to notice some typical things. They have adorable little characters everywhere and there also seems to be a national adoration for Ferris wheels. The Taiwanese prefer to make them as tall as possible and the colours must be bright. Unfortunately, dirty windows also seem inevitable. Both at E-DA World and at Janfusun Fancyworld, it was therefore quite difficult to get nice views.

I had already seen many uncrowded amusement parks, but I had never seen a place as quiet as Janfusun Fancyworld. It may look like I took most photos in a closed park, but that definitely wasn’t the case. On the one hand, this emptiness wasn’t favourable for the overall atmosphere. On the other hand, I prefer too quiet over too busy. The low crowds even stimulated the dark atmosphere during our visit to Horror Train. This walk-through was inspired by the queue of Platform 13 (Walibi Holland) and it also seems to recover some scenes from Derren Brown’s Ghost Train (Thorpe Park). The result is an excellent maze with surprisingly good theming. A few creepy actors would’ve made it even better.

WORTH A VISIT?

Janfusun Fancyworld surprised me in a very pleasant way. The location was beautiful, the B&Ms made a good impression, staff were incredibly friendly, the decoration was quite okay and the park was impeccably clean. However, Janfusun Fancyworld could use an extra eye-catcher. I missed an exciting family roller coaster, a water ride and a dark ride. These rides could make the park even more complete.

PHOTO GALLERY

What’s your preferred B&M at Janfusun Fancyworld? What do you think of the park’s theming level? And would you use the escalator or the slide? Share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this page.