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A good report OG, and probably what i'd have expected to hear given the park's current state. I think we'll have to frame your observation regarding AA - I don't think i've met many people that consider an SLC to be their favourite - although clearly it has some sentimental attachments as well. As for the time share folk (we've debated their merits to death in another discussion) I usually just keep to the opposite side of the path, a quick 'no thankyou' and i never stop walking. They aren't allowed to move away from their 'stall' so they can't follow you and are quickly left behind. I find they usually recognise me on the way back, and usually leave me be. Ok - let's make this clear - the PARK doesn't OWN the SOUNDSTAGES. They're all part of the same parent company, which is why they're able to utilise them for FN mazes - especially if they aren't being used... but the stages are PART OF A WORKING STUDIO. If you start opening that area up to park guests on a regular basis, you can't rent the other stages out for filming as the sound around the stages needs to be kept low. This is why the stages have red lights and signs that indicate when filming is on so people outside shut up. Sure - they could look towards doing some sort of 'studio tour' like they used to - but they need active filming to be going on so there are sets to see, or they need to utilise one of the stages for a 'permanent' set like they did with Riddler's a while back... but they still need to keep it fresh or people lose interest. Then they need the trams to actually take people on the tour, so that they don't wander off on their own - and they are currently much better utilised at Paradise Country. There is no backlot outdoor set like Universal has in Hollywood - these 'sets' would probably be something interesting, and worth running a tour for - but as you can see by taking a look at the current POTC set - it was far easier for them to construct the set from scratch at another location, than to try and create the 'look' at the studios. Australia's film industry is one heck of a lot smaller than in the US. A film studio tour is never going to happen again unless we start getting some massive budget films shot here (which might happen more now that our dollar is weak) to keep the tour interesting. History has shown that people would much prefer a blockbuster coaster, than some outdated blockbusters.

A friend of mine just posted this on facebook! What do you think?

It certainly does. However there's a whole lot more space in all the sound stages which is also very under-utilised (except during Fright Nights). I'd really like to see either a new version of the original studio tour, or some other walk through(s) / dark ride(s) in these.

This is the area that definitely needs *something*.... been unused for way too long. Eta: excuse my two random photo bombers lol XD

So I went to Movieworld today for the first time in over two years. Thought I'd share my thoughts and experiences as well on some of the new stuff, and also some of the older stuff The good stuff: DRIVING SCHOOL: The Driving School is really great, such a good idea for the little ones, especially the little bonus of printing them a "drivers licence" for free before riding. My 5 & 10 year old loved it! Although I though the session was a little short, much like bumper car time. Can understand this is to keep the queue moving, though. The whole mini-MW theming is great, too. ROAD RUNNER RC: Not bad for a kiddy coaster, have to admit it was the first time I've ever been on it. Was the first coaster my 10 year old ever rode a few years ago. Was actually surprised with the G's it pulled after the initial drop lol. ARKHAM ASYLUM: I know the Arkham Asylum is not exactly new, but it sorta was for me today, since the last time I visited MW it was closed for annual maintenance. Now can I just say, I have a LOT of history and somewhat of an emotional attachment to this ride. My best friend and I bought annual passes for MW not long after it opened back on the early 90's, and (no joke) we used to ride the Lethal Weapon up to 10x a day. We knew the opening video word for word. Yes, she was a rough girl, but we LOVED this coaster to bits. So yeah, today was the first time I had ridden it since it's conversion to Arkham Asylum. And can I just say, what has been done with it is AWESOME and I totally commend Movieworld on such fantastic upgrades to an old ride. The new train is so much more comfortable to sit in, no more head banging issues, and a lot more freedom to move around whilst in the harness. The ride seems a lot smoother as well now, and gosh, it's either gotten faster or I had just forgotten exactly how fast it was!!! The new asylum/joker theming is fantastic, too. Either way, I was so impressed and very happy to ride LW/Arkham again after all these years, brought back so many memories and I would have gone right back on it again, had there not been a 40 minute queue lol. It's definitely my favourite rollercoaster still SCOOBY DOO: Still an old favourite, my 10 year old loved it as well. Only had a 10 minute queue. Good to see they fixed some stuff too which people previously had been complaining about (ie. swinging axes not working, no lasers etc). But did notice she is getting a little rough with age. JUSTICE LEAGUE: Been on it once before and my kids loved it, especially my 5 year old son. Another -10 minute wait. Great theming inside Obviously a lot tamer ride than it's brothers and sisters, but hey, it's a great family ride and lots of fun for the young at heart. Oh, and I got the highest score, hahaha. Go me GREEN LANTERN: still closed. No updates. Meh. SUPERMAN: didn't get to go on it this time round, queue was too big. Meh. Next time WILD WEST FALLS: also didn't get to go on it this visit round, but my husband and daughter did and loved it. Ok, now onto the bad stuff.... STUNT DRIVER 2: The new Stunt Driver show sucked. Sorry but we were really, really disappointed with this one! As someone said in another thread, it really was just 5 minutes of utes doing burnouts. Don't get me wrong, the stunts were clever, but there was very little variety in them. No comedy (what happened to the dude in the red hat and blue overalls? Can't remember his name, but he was great!!) No real storyline. Very bland and no heart to it at all. Oh, also... the clips shown on the big screen that the director supposedly filmed during the live show didn't match (for example, it showed jumps and ramps in the footage that weren't actually there in reality, there was footage of a car up on it's side on two wheels, yet no cars did that stunt either during our show session, car colours were different etc) which just seemed lazy and sloppy on movieworld's part, as they were obviously filmed at another time and they didn't bother to even *try* to make it look consistent. The fireball at the end was completely random. Was better when it was related to a helicopter crashing/exploding. And then it was over, just like that. We walked out fairly bitter, complaining about how bad it had become and feeling like we had just wasted quality ride time. Seriously... just bring back the Police Academy stunt show. At least that was entertaining! PARK THEMING: great as always around the main areas of the park, however when ARE they going to do something with the old maverick show area? It was completely empty and deserted, and most visitors looked awkward walking through it. Such wasted opportunity. Would love to see the western show make a comeback, especially since they only have the one show offering now. Also noticed they have closed off the Chinatown alley, since obviously it was the old entrance to lethal weapon. But also another wasted opportunity. Would have been nice to see them add some street/food markets or something along there like Dreamworld recently had for the Chinese New Year. Or change it to something else to match the Arkham Asylum's theme and reopen that walkway for peeps to use. Noticed the tombstones in the graveyard no longer snore, move etc. It may be trivial, but sometimes it's the little things that make it so much more enjoyable as a whole. Got pounced on by the time share people on the way to Wild West falls, and they were persistent, despite us initially declining. Have had similar issues with the ones at Dreamworld & Seaworld. Seriously, they need to get rid of these fools :/ Overall, despite some of the disappointments. we had a good morning, were only able to stay a few hours due to hubby's evening work commitments, but still had fun nonetheless... look forward to going back on Wednesday when hubby & I have the day off work and the kids are at school lol. More quality coaster time

Aussie World have announced a new evening event to be held on the 25th of July, InvaSCIon. The science fiction and pop culture themed event will run from 6 - 10pm and cost $25.00. From the website: