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OK, so I've been one for knocking and whining over most things that happen at the park for a while, so I thought for a change of pace, rather than pissing and moaning over everything that management do without having anything constructive to say, I'd chime in with my own suggestions. This is a long read, and honestly the video at the bottom sums it up pretty well if you can't be bothered reading, it's only worth reading if you like excessive detail. I feel I should also point out that this is borderline obsessive, and I'm actually much more normal in real life than you'd think just by judging from this post So, I started by looking at the creatures of the deep attraction, and what might replace that once its time is up. I quickly realized that any development would need either a large concrete wall, or to be elevated so the area can still operate during Jet Stunt Extreme. The obvious way to do that would be to theme it after one of those Pleasure Piers that are popular all over the world, but are curiously lacking in Australia. This creates a new themed area, that exposes people to something new, while also seeming familiar. That theme of combing new and old elements into something original also manifests itself in the replacement for Dockside, the Sea World Pier Bar and Restaurant. On the outside, its look is loosely based on the old 'Southport Pier (See above)', on the inside it's a slightly more modern, but still in an old school style. There are lots of photos of hard hat divers, skin divers, longboard surfers, and other sea related photos stretching back in time. The idea is that these photos were put up new, and we never taken down, giving the interior a more timeless feel. Downstairs is a massive arcade, a Gold Coast classic, Grundy's, named for the famous attraction in Surfers Paradise. Both the arcade and bar are placed as the Northern Entry to the pier, this should ensure good foot traffic, something Dockside Tavern in it's current state doesn't really enjoy, which does hurt it's revenue a lot compared to Dirty Harry's. The restaurant and bar is place between Sea World Pier, and the nearby Nick Land. The idea is parents of older kids (like 10 and over) would be able to relax at the bar, while the kids will explore the nearby rides and attractions without being too far away. This combination should be enough to encourage more visits and more spending out of VIP Pass holders, as well as creating a laid back ambiance for less frequent visitors. Outside on the pier is a gazebo that would house live music on weekends to add to the atmosphere of the area. Down stairs is Grundy's, and the draw card here (aside from the massive arcade) is 'Sir Reginald Grundy's Castle Defender'. Sir Reginald Grundy's Castle Defender is a shooting dark ride, on a slightly smaller scale than Justice League 3D, (and with no 3D screens and all the headaches they bring). It's a free attraction, that should hopefully draw people into the arcade, in a similar way that the dodgem cars draw people into Intensity at Movie World. The idea behind the arcade here is that it would work like Timezone in Surfers; people buy game cards pre loaded with cash that they can spend on games, and the more they load, the more perks they get. A further revenue raiser would be to allow people to swipe their card when they board the dark ride, this would take the score they make on the ride and convert it into prize tickets (eg 10,000 points = 1 ticket), effectively turning a free attraction into a revenue raiser, but doing so in such a way that wouldn't alienate other guests. It's also somewhat true to theme, the original Grundy's had a ghost train, hence the theme of skeletons in a castle that is shown in the video. The family friendly vibe continues across the water where a modest Ferris wheel takes up residence, roughly where the water fall now stands. It provides a great aerial view of the Dolphin pools, something that made the Skyway a popular attraction for so long. Balancing out the area with something a little more grown up, is the "Wild Surf" Spinning mouse Roller Coaster. The ride begins by taking a dive underneath the Pier, before coming back up through a hole, in the middle of the ride area. It's a short ride, not designed to be too challenging, but adult enough that even a thrill seeker would come off the ride satisfied with the experience. The rest of the pier is given over to a viewing area for Jet Stunt Extreme (and a potential new Nighttime Spectacular) on the main lake. A path also leads towards the east, which serves as an emergency exit, viewing area for a new thrill ride, and potentially as a path to a new Monorail station. A new Monorail station would allow the Pier to be opened early or late exclusively for resort guests, driving either an increase in yields at the resort, or occupancy. There is also room on the Pier to add another flat ride in the future to keep the area fresh. The aforementioned thrill ride would be "Serpent's Fury", a MACK launched coaster, which would actually have it's station next to Jet Rescue. Serpent's Fury would take up some (but importantly not all) of Corkscrew's old footprint, and would take on the role of signature thrill ride at the park, occupying the same role that Corkscrew did for 30 odd years. It's layout would leave room for new flat rides to be added near Jet Rescue, and the expansion of NICK Land. Because the Pier is 2 stories, it is space efficient, and creates other opportunities for development. For example, change rooms and a new filtration and pumps system for the Dolphin pools could be built under the pier near where the Endeavour Replica used to sit. This would allow the current change rooms to be demolished, leaving a decent sized plot of land next to the Seal Stadium that could house a new attraction or an expansion of the Dolphin pools. It's easy to see it taking more than a decade to use the land that this attraction opens up. All of this is to improve the park for guests, and improve financial results. As well as the Pier hopefully increasing overall attendance, the arcade and bar would both become important revenue streams, it's also not difficult or offensive to picture carnival games in such an environment, which could also add some extra revenue. The restaurant/bar would also make a more intimate function venue than anything else the park has, and is also wheelchair friendly. The new mix of attractions would help shake the unfortunate reputation that Sea World has these days amongst many of being 'the one you skip unless you have small kids' to being 'the one with the best mix of everything that's also really close to your hotel'. This isn't all to be built in one go either, it's too big and expensive. It would take a couple years to get it to the point it's at in the video (The Serpent's Fury alone would probably set the park back around $20million, easily swallowing a couple years worth of capex), but I think in the long run it'd be worth it. The theme park industry is a long game, and I think it's at it's best when ambitious things are done. Video included

If I ran Sea World, I'd quit my job and put Joz in charge.

For the same reason it would be a fail if they only ran it on say a Wednesday night. A lot of people work regular shift work, so having only 1 day each week this event is happening makes it harder for those who attend. Granted not everyone in society works shift work, but it would be nice to see more than one regular day a week to help cater to others.

Holy crap @joz. I wasn't expecting to wake up and see something of this calibre on the forums. Out of curiosity, how long did that take you from concept to execution? It's so well thought out and planned that I'm honestly a little stunned.

I doubt Village will buy anything from S&S again. @joz - this is freaking great. This is why I like coming to these forums. It's such a grounded, practical, realistic yet totally awesome idea. I would love to see some more screencaps of the area as a whole and how it fits in etc.

Saturday nights only? Fail!

Pretty spot on Joz. It's sad that MW gets most of the love - I'd like to see them set up in such a way that regular night time events were a thing - as more people would be able to get there easily - and head to surfers afterwards to keep enjoying the night. Putting aside the expensive factors - what could they realistically achieve in a short period of time - ie: what should they start on first? Should they put the coaster in sans anything else? Or should they build the pier and add to it over time?

Would easily visit Sea World more often if they did something like this. Fills two voids in the missing thrill coaster and the dark ride. Also like the wheel idea and would give great views over the park and the local area. Before people complain about two coasters the park (ironically like Dreamworld) is missing a signature thrill coaster and would love to see something like "Serpent's Fury" built. Great for what sounds like a part one and would be interested in seeing what you do for an expansion to Nick or added flat rides.

An Aussie named Flabaliki is doing a similar thing to Silvarret, but a few steps down the ladder in minute detail but still explains the how, what and why in his work. His work is the Pirate theme with homage to Harry Potter.

Well going off council it seems you can get past the 3 stores limit if council signs off on it being okay. Considering the coaster and any other ride plans for the park aren't full on building but only rise up here and there I don't know why the council would have an issue. Joz I also love the nod to Corkscrew in Serpant's Furt with the corkscrew over the monorail.

OK...... Read the above posts

I'm very tempted but it's currently over $90 AUD to get it and the EarlyBird access. It's just under $40 AUD if I wait for the actual game release in Q4 this year. Convince me, @reanimated35!!

Hi and sorry for the delay in responding. The rule has always been no tandem rides so I was surprised to hear that you had been allowed previously. This is the manufacturers recommendation and we follow these. The team have been thoroughly re-briefed on this matter so do let me know if you are allowed in future. Mark

I reckon. Hardest night of the week for hubby and I to get off of work, too. As T-bone has mentioned, Saturday nights are not good nights for hospitality and shift workers. Why they couldn't throw a couple of Thursdays and Fridays into their schedule is beyond me... they didn't have any problem doing it for past events ? Here's hoping they will add some extra days, like they did with White Xmas last year ?

Well, for those who are otherwise occupied on saturday nights - eg: have to work, etc - having it on only one day of the week is a pain. At least if it were on fri\sat, or even a sunday - perhaps Sunday 24th - considering the monday is a public holiday for Anzac day. Side note - have we heard any word from the parks on trading hours for Anzac day yet? My memory is fuzzy but i seem to remember some parks haven't opened in previous years. Opening from 1pm to 5pm is stupid IMO though - so a later night's trade (eg: another Carnivale) could be good (although that would need to be weighed up against those who would consider it an insult to hold a carnivale event on Anzac day - so not sure.... :S )

A nice picture posted of the Baldwin on the Dreamworld Railway Appreciation Club Facebook group. Its always nice to see some old photos of the engines and park. Makes you wonder what else is out there, hiding in peoples photo albums. Engine is running this weekend (well according to the Website). Anyone going?

With two major parks in the US in essence only just adding copies of Giant Drop as major attractions I don't think we'll see it close any time soon.

Silvarret has just uploaded Part 5. His work is stunning. Such intricate detail with the limited resources available, as said above.

Odd, I found GD to be relatively tame in comparison to Larson drop towers like the one at Luna Park. Still, quite a scary ride.

I was there yesterday and it was working all day