Dreamworld welcomes The Claw

With The Claw opening just recently at Dreamworld, read a Roller-Coaster.com.au review of the impressive new thrill ride.

This year, we go back to Intamin with a Gyro Swing - a ride best described as a "swinging ship" ride that rotates. Let's set the record straight. No, it doesn't break any records. It's not remarkably tall or fast or twisted. What it is though is a solid thrill ride which gives an exceptional ride experience.

Yes, it might be overshadowed in stature by some of the bigger attractions Dreamworld has to offer, but in terms of the experience once on-board, nothing in the park - or even in Australia - comes close. Dreamworld spent a long time looking at the different styles of this ride, including the Huss Giant Frisbee and the Chance Revolution. The result was the smaller model of the Gyro Swing from Ride Trade, a division of the Swiss manufacturer Intamin that brought us Tower of Terror and Giant Drop.

Dreamworld slipped the ride next to Wipeout, nestled at the edge of Main Street, extending Ocean Parade to include the attraction.

I first experienced this style of ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California with La Revolucion, a Chance Revolution. It certainly wasn't my reason for visiting Knott's, nor was it even anywhere on my "to do" list. It was however something that I simply couldn't pass up. I'm not what you'd call a flat ride enthusiast, but La Revolucion really did interest me. I don't like spinning rides and I don't like swinging rides, but something clicks when you combine the two together.

Being reasonably familiar with the ride style, I went into The Claw knowing more or less what to expect. The most noticeable differences were that this Ride Trade model is larger than Chance's, and the seating is outward facing, not inward. The rest is much the same - 120º swings to each side combined with a steady rotation of the gondola.

The similarities end there though. Dreamworld have brought to life an otherwise plain-looking attraction. Theming of both the surrounding area as well as the ride help bring The Claw alive. There are touches throughout that only Dreamworld could come up with - the very least of which is Noddy's missing Kingswood, which turns up crushed under the supporting structure of The Claw. Dreamworld also created a great atmosphere with brightly coloured paths, landscaping that would be right at home on any Gold Coast beach and theming elements as the icing on the cake.

Once onboard the attraction, safely locked into the bright 32 passenger gondola, you're soon forgetting how nice the surroundings look and concentrating more on what lies ahead. With a hiss the floor folds down and leaves your legs dangling. Before you know it, the steady 5rpm spin kicks in and the swing kicks into action.

Gentle at first, the swing soon becomes faster and more forceful as the ride's motor thrusts you up to 64km/hr. All the while, the swing becomes higher and higher until you reach horizontal, though it doesn't stop there. The swinging continues to get faster until you reach 120º - that's 30º past horizontal - so you're upside-down, momentarily watching riders on Giant Drop fall from bottom to top or a seriously twisted track on Cyclone. At this point you’re 27m - about nine storeys - off the ground.

An amazing gentle floating sensation kicks in as the massive arm starts to fall back to earth. Moments after this airtime comes the intense positive G-forces felt at the lowest point of the swing, sustained for what feels like longer than any other ride I've ridden. It's this rapid change from the two extremes of forces repeatedly that makes The Claw very easy to re-ride – or never even look at again, depending on the sort of person you are.

It's not what you'd call a tame thrill ride but on that same token, it is still much gentler than many of Dreamworld's thrill rides and is certainly less intimidating than some of Dreamworld's past record breakers.

A solid capacity and efficient queue design top of this solid addition to Dreamworld. If Dreamworld continue down this path, then the future sure does look great for Australia's premier thrill park.

Check out on-ride video footage of The Claw here.

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