The Parkz Update: Movie World, February 2016

Movie World comes out of the busy summer period and dives into Chinese New Year, with the park featuring extensive decorations for a holiday that is increasingly being featured at the Gold Coast theme parks. Demolition work progresses as the park's hotly anticipated new attraction becomes a reality.

Image: Parkz. Chinese New Year is in full swing at Warner Bros. Moive World.

Update By Richard Wilson
6 February 2016

Chinese New Year is the focus at Movie World right now. Though perhaps not the most widely celebrated cultural event in Australia, this time of year sees a lot of Chinese tourists on the Gold Coast.

These statues have been repurposed from the old Lethal Weapon area and now sit at the front of the park.

Movie World's own Chinese-themed area is of course off-limits to guests, as it has been for several years.

This Bugs Bunny signage on the Great Wall of Nothing-To-See-Here is a close as you'll get to the old Chinatown alley.

The entire of Main Street has been elaborately decorated with lanterns and wraps around the roof support structure. It's great to see this dominating structure put to creative use throughout the year.

With most of the signage and decoration written in Chinese, the decoration is targeted primarily at international tourists.

New attraction construction

Of course in the past week, fencing has gone up around Boot Hill Graveyard and the surrounding western area.

The fenced area extends as far as Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster's exit. Scooby-Doo will be closed for its annual maintenance from August 29 to September 18, 2016. There's a good chance that Movie World would be opening a new attraction opening for the September school holidays, using Scooby-Doo's closure as a chance to perform final upgrades or construction on this area.

The chronically under-utilised western area looks to be next to face the bulldozer.

Boot Hill Graveyard has been completely gutted, but Parkz members have noticed that the themed elements were carefully transported off-site, indicating that there might be a new home for this attraction that dates back to Movie World's 1991 opening.

If a sledge hammer and a broom are all that they're working with, then progress might be slow going...

The departure of the Guessing Game kiosk ushers in a whole new guessing game for theme park fans as construction moves forward.

Some speculate that the Boot Hill Graveyard might be relocated to the bare hills that surround the Show Stage.

Further up the hill we see some tradesmen working around the Show Stage building.

Several technicians were focusing on the air conditioning system for the currently unused Show Stage.

The "today's grill is" sign has been arbitrarily moved at the Dirty Harry Bar & Grill since our last Parkz Update, prompting hours of online debate and sleuthing.

The sign has reappeared next to the ordering window. It still makes absolutely no sense given that the menu doesn't change daily, rendering it the sort of bizarre mystery that only Detective Harry Callahan could solve.

To answer the question on everyone's mind, yes it does have hooks. The suspense truly is worthy of a Dirty Harry film... JUST TELL US WHAT TODAY'S GRILL IS!!!!

The San Francisco inspired architecture is beautiful, but like the real San Francisco it really doesn't handle wet weather all that well.

Village Roadshow Theme Parks' latest campaign has been appearing throughout TV, web and print advertising. A billboard for this campaign featuring a ride from the very same park that you're in seems to be a less-than-subtle way to advise guests that yes, they are indeed having fun. YES BENEVOLENT THEME PARK, NOTHING BEATS THE FEELING.

Justice is blind... someone should really tell her she has bird poop on her shoulder.

The decoration extends all over the front facade. With the ride going down for annual maintenance next month it might be a good chance for someone to take a hose to its exterior.

The peak summer period is winding down and so begins annual maintenance. Road Runner Rollercoaster is the first ride to go down for annual maintenace.