Dreamworld, Movie World launch newly refreshed websites

Clean, mobile-friendly design is at the heart of new looks for the two competing Gold Coast theme parks.

For Dreamworld (owned by Ardent  Leisure) it's Let Your Imagination Play front and centre. For Warner Bros. Movie World (owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks) it's Priceless Memories. But for both companies it's a clean, modern and mobile friendly website experience.

Dreamworld (https://www.dreamworld.com.au) have only gone as far as a redesigned homepage (their website was already fairly modern and mobile friendly) with a spacious, simplified look that has current opening hours, pricing information and a carousel of upcoming events and recent news. It's not so much a new look as it is a rejig of Dreamworld's current branding that seeks to frame the theme park in an intangible light.

Movie World (https://movieworld.com.au) on the other hand have taken their dated website out of the past and relaunched with a clean, modern look that carries through the entire website. The design is heavily inspired by the current crop of advertisements from Village Roadshow Theme Parks that use vivid imagery and bold statements to sell a decidedly physical theme park experience.

Both sites rely heavily on modern web UX trends so they both feel similar. From the top "mega menu" style and prominently placed ticketing link to the overall use of whitespace, big text and simple, clean imagery, both websites firmly tick most boxes you'd expect of a corporate website  in 2018. While both sites feel similar – you would be forgiven for assuming both were owned by the same company – this is a reflection of modern design practices than anything else.

Both use the popular Bootstrap framework for a clean grid layout and mobile flexibility. Vector images are relied on heavily for speed and scalability and both sites use a similar library of simple, thin icons – they even use an almost identical park map icon. Both sites look to use SiteCore, an enterprise content management system, as their underlying technology.

Information and updates feature prominently. Dreamworld have elected for a carousel style row of upcoming events, news and recent information. Movie World feature current news and information less prominently, though a fluorescent red alert bar does appear below the top menu to notify of upcoming maintenance attraction. 

Social interaction plays heavily with an Instagram block on both sites showing a constant feed of official and user-generated photos.

Sea World and Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast – also owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks – are expected to follow suit with a refreshed web presence in the near future.