The Parkz Update: Gold Coaster opens, Steel Taipan construction progresses at Dreamworld

Works on Steel Taipan steadily move forwards while the third iteration of Dreamworlds double looping coaster opens with little fanfare.

Image: The Gold Coaster. What was old is new in more ways than one.

Update By Parkz
11 February 2021

The third iteration of Dreamworld's Arrow looping coaster has opened. What was once Cyclone, and then Hot Wheels SideWinder is now The Gold Coaster. In fact, this is the fourth name the ride has operated under given it originally operated as the Big Dipper at Luna Park in Sydney.

The ride adopts a theme that celebrates the "Golden Era" of the Gold Coast when it was an emerging tourist hotspot, starting with this classic Holden ute.

The entrance is themed like a seedy roadside motel.

Just inside the entrance are halftone vintage photos of the Gold Coast.

The tropical retro vibes continue up the entrance ramp, which is now a fully open air building and markedly more comfortable.

A huge lifeguard chair sits in the middle of the queue ramp.

As we approach the station, the old Cyclone theming has been painted in pastel colours. Honestly, a bit more could have been done with this space.

The "Cyclone Room" has some surfboards at least.

Thongs as the waiting markers behind each door in the sorting area.

Just like a seedy hotel door.

The station has received a freshen up but still gives off backyard chicken coop vibes.

The pastel colours seen in the queue have carried through to the train.

The stickers in the train are done like the dashboard of a classic car. A bit of a pointless detail given the train's new paint seems to be trying to hide the car details of the vehicles' bodies from its previous Hot Wheels theme.

The ride was running fairly quickly!

The exit corridor.

All that remains is to navigate around this back to the exit.

The queue ramp is so loosely set up it's fairly easy to exit without passing through the gift shop.

The old V8 Supercars redline shop is now known as Shaka Shack, though the interiors are largely unchanged. It's hard to see this outlet staying open long given how tucked away it is.

Work moves forward on Steel Taipan.

Parkz members recently discovered additional track was being stored offsite in the nearby suburb of Yatala.

To the left we can see segments of launch track, with LSMs already attached.

Hoardings are up around the site, with all the main players in the project represented.

Site offices.

The hoardings continue along the pathway to Giant Drop.

In fact, a new pathway has been laid diverting guests around the worksite, and completely covering the railway tracks, which means no trains for the forseeable future.

The temporary path around the Steel Taipan construction site gives the closest views of the Motocoaster launch track to date. And yep, up close it's still as lacklustre as ever.

The site is is still just dirt, with some drainage lines going in.

It's very flat at least.

The "table" being established extends over part of the railway, which would need to be relaid around the new coaster in order for the train to reopen.

A mess of track will soon fill this large void.

Another new pathway has opened right next to the giant drop building, giving some up close views of all that 1998 foam theming.

More covered tracks at Rocky Hollow station.

Over at the Ice Cream Parlour the back has been cleaned up.

The front on the other hand... it has been remodelled with no apparent effort to retain any of the charm of the original archtecture. The original roof had a slight slope, and the dormer windows at the top were built to accommodate this. The new roof is vertical and by recycling the old windows we've ended up with this hideous attempt.

The refreshed Gold Coast has undoubtedly brightened up Dreamworld and puts the park in good stead to keep moving forward towards Steel Taipan's eventual opening.