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You don't think that maybe in the interests of the company and its shareholders to have contracted psychologists and counsellors that suggest the park reopen as soon as possible? No one has stated the very obvious (and somewhat cynical) truth. Reopening in a memorial capacity is a logical business decision by virtue of how it can improve the company's goodwill and PR standing. It softens the blow of reopening and shows that as a company they are doing everything they can to support the families. It actively encourages the public to come back with the knowledge that money they spend will be helping. Questions of overall safety notwithstanding, business as usual will be the way Dreamworld rebounds from this, and the memorial day is a masterstroke PR activity to facilitate this.

I think this media witch-hunt is a bit dramatic. Their coverage of this story is exactly the same as their coverage for anything. You can't be disgusted at this and then still tune into the six o'clock news or visit their website day in day out to see them treat any issue of public interest in the same manner. Despite some of the sensationalised aspects of the coverage, the media have by and large been accurate on many of the facts we now know to be correct. Why isn't it perfectly reasonable to ask questions of the safety or maintenance regime of this and other attractions? Why isn't it reasonable to be asking questions of the long-term viability of Dreamworld, or the appropriateness of reopening on Friday? Let's say this was a potential design flaw in a car that led to a fatal accident. The media would be all over that manufacturer in the exact same manner and I guarantee no one here would be questioning this style of reporting like so many here are doing. Because it's a big anonymous conglomerate overseas that should be held accountable, not their beloved local theme park?

I agree 100%. The incident can still be investigated if enough of the park is closed off. Can i also say how refreshing it is to read a much more intellectual conversation about the issue than reading what keyboard warriors post on news websites and Facebook pages.

I'm almost tempted to make a seperate topic for this, but I think Dreamworld's response for the most part has been pretty good (aside from not liasing with QPS with regards to a reopening timeline), Ardent on the other hand has been appalling.

I was planning to attend the Final Party, I purchased a ticket a couple of weeks ago. Admittedly I was a little disappointed at first, especially since I had already gone to the extent of purchasing makeup and stuff to dress up on the night with. However in the bigger picture of things, I understand why Movie World have made this decision, and I'm glad they have. Besides the obvious ie. the park openly showing their compassion and respect for this tragedy and it's victims by cancelling, I find it extremely gracious of them to be openly showing their support and uniting together with Dreamworld on this one, given the two parks are usually in direct conflict of interest with each other. They literally pulled their event less than half an hour after Dreamworld did their Screamworld events, so it seemed pretty clear to me that the did it last in response to that. Also, very rarely do you see one park mention or refer to the other so directly by name, so to see that email from Movie World refer to Dreamworld, it personally touched my heart. Honestly, it would have been poor taste anyway for Movie World to go ahead with a "day of the dead" themed special event, given the circumstances. I am sure they would have pulled the plug on the other remaining nights as well, had they not already completely sold out to such large audiences. Had I not already booked a panic room for tomorrow night's Fright Nights, I probably would have chosen to stay home. Nothing against MW, just still mentally stuffed up a bit over the events of Tuesday and my heart is telling me I shouldn't be out having fun at one so soon in respect to the victims. It's probably gonna take me a few days, if not a couple of weeks, at least to recover from this tragedy

Precisely how dumb are these AWU bastards? I get that they are getting on the front foot to make enough noise to ensure the media narrative doesn't turn towards the potential failings of one or more of their members, but have they not considered that their fear-mongering and management-bashing has the very real potential to affect the popularity and therefore viability of not only Dreamworld, but that of the other parks? Their other members rely on the continued success of the parks to sustain on-going employment. I would suggest that their attitude is pretty on-the nose, particularly to front the media and somehow suggest they knew this was going to happen. If we're going to line up to head-kick the media for doing their job, surely these cretins deserve worse because they should know better?

And I never suggested that I had a "right" to privacy. I simply stated that it doesn't seem fair that grieving public should have to be subjected to the media circus in order to pay their respects on site. As human beings, that they should know when it's time to back off. But clearly they don't when it's related to a juicy news story.

Obviously being the place of relevance to the incident, and also because I wanted to personally deliver a card of condolence and support to Dreamworld staff, as well as leave flowers. Not as sinister as you may think.

I get excited for almost anything, and the Final Party was no exception. It sounded like such a good time. It was going to be the highlight of this year's Fright Nights for me. I don't think the cancellation is the wrong move, however. Considering the sensitive subjects that Halloween events seem to dance around with, it makes absolute sense to me that they would cancel in light of the events that transpired this past week. Changes to events have happened previously, and I'm sure it will happen again. Even some of the world's best Halloween events have had to make alterations in light of local, national and even international tragedies. Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights in 2001 had to make an immense amount of changes for their season in light of the September 11 attacks. All references to gore had to be removed, titles had to be changed, and even the marketing icon from that year had to be scrapped all in an effort to appeal to the more sensitive audience of the time. Just a year later, Universal had to retool their original concept for that season as a string of child abductions rendered their original Village of the Dammed-esque child icon to be in bad taste. The Final Party would've been an absolute blast if everything had gone according to plan. It would've been a treat to experience everything that the team would have provided. Unfortunately, it would have to have been a perfect world for that to occur, and reality just isn't perfect; it's flawed. Life is unpredictable, and I commend the VRTP team for knowing when to fold. I would much rather remember Fright Nights 2016 as a relatively mediocre event in the shadow of a national tragedy, than to remember it as "The Year of Public Insensitivity".

Because when they can't even be respectful enough to allow peeps to lay flowers and have a private moment to mourn over the deaths of fellow park goers without them trying to get news footage of every tear and flower laid, you truly get to understand what low lives they really are. What I experienced outside of Dreamworld yesterday was appalling, I had to practically weave through endless news tents and media cameras to get anywhere near the tribute area, all whilst their reporters were all standing around on standby to do their live crosses for the afternoon news. Yes, I am all for questions asked and some coverage of the tragedy, but there are also times when they need to understand that enough is enough, show some respect and compassion, and back off.

And I congratulate them on this decision... Not just DW, or the GC Theme Park industry, or Parkz enthusiasts or the local public... But parkz around the world are paying attention to the news this week and that is something that definitely needs to be remembered... I was looking last weekend to go to UTT this Friday night for my third and final attendance this year... To me... Now it would just not be / feel right... Guess this is another case of damned if you do / damned if you don't... People are going to be annoyed it has been cancelled as they had prepared to attend, made arrangements, etc... If it went ahead given the main theme is Day of the Dead I'm sure they would cop backlash as well... I am sure they have not made this decision lightly but personally I believe it was the right call to make given the circumstances...

The media have been deplorable throughout this entire time. It's like they are purposely trying to be as negative as possible and it's a competition to see who can be the most negative

****MODERATOR NOTE**** This thread contains all the media beat-up and speculation. While every effort was made to split off the thread in a clean way that makes sense, it wasn't possible with some posts containing comments on several topics. Here is the criteria for posts that were moved here: * Posts which contained speculation about the cause of the accident * Posts which contained misinformation, either from the media or from our own members * Posts which responded to the above 2 conditions. As much as this thread is a dumping ground for a lot of the rot, there are a few really good posts in this thread responding to poor information, as well as people reacting to the various pieces of news. If you find your post in here, it doesn't mean that it has been deemed a 'bad' post, but it is in the same conversation, and has been moved here to make the conversation as flowing as possible. * Some troll comments are included for context Posts from before an official announcement was made by QPS have been left in their original thread. If you wish to discuss issues that have not been confirmed by either QPS or some other regulatory body, or other issues that arise from, but are not directly related to the incident, this is the place. Please be respectful of others and with expressing your opinions, many of the people personally affected by this tragedy will not doubt read this thread. Thank you for your understanding - Joz

Myself, my husband and 2 friends were there the day the tourist lady and the attendant fell off the back of the chair lift. We were the next in the line to go onto the ride. No-one died this day never the less I will never forget this terrible accident. The attendant was the only staff member on duty at the time with no back up, she was a very young girl. The Tourist and her mother panicked as they were getting onto the ride. The mother managed to NOT to get onto the ride, the poor attendant was trying to tell the tourist (daughter) not panic and just sit still. She then tried to stop the chair from leaving the plat form by holding the back of the chair. Before you knew it the chair had gone off the end of the platform with the attendant hanging on the back. There was no other staff in sight or on the platform. My husband, myself and our 2 friends were the only people there at the time that could speak good English. We ran to the control panel and pressed the stop button then we got onto the phone and contacted the Dream World Staff. While I was on the phone attached to the control panel contacting staff, my husband was trying to encourage the attendant to try and lift her leg up onto the bar so she could hold on longer. We also witnessed the attendant fall the tourist lady had fainted and before you knew it she slid down under the rail and also fell to the ground. I believe there could have been a much better outcome this day if there were 2 attendants on duty and there was a reverse button on this end of the chair lift. Apparently the lift needed to be reset from the other end to enable it to reverse back wards. To this day I often wonder how these 2 ladies are and wish that we could helped out more.

1. Velcro straps are on board to promote passengers to stay seated, they are not a safety feature. You're expected to remain seated at all times as per signage plastered everywhere. If a raft were to tip last thing you want is people restrained with lapbars. 2. During a pump failure a loud alarm sounds and the operator initiates an emergency stop which will stop all pumps, conveyors and close all jacks. 3. "18 year old operator, first day on job" - Not possible, this ride required you to be a senior/experienced operator. It was one of the second last rides you were trained on last one being Log ride. It took 2 years before I was trained as an "assist". Main operator is a senior with at least 3+ years experience.

Hi All, First of all - I have cleared this with @Richard and at this stage he has approved this to be posted. I didn't know the Dorsett family personally, but I am good friends with the Brookfield family, having known one of their sons for 16 years. Sandra Brookfield is a lifelong friend of Kim Dorsett. They went to school together. Luke and Katie grew up in Penrith - where the Brookfields (and I used to) live. I give this background as an assurance to everyone reading this that this isn't a publicity stunt. Nobody here is looking for exposure or kudos, and their intentions and thoughts are all about the care and support of the families involved. Funds are banked to a new trust account set up for the family and approved by Kim Dorsett. If you do not feel comfortable making a payment through the mycause site, and you would like to make a deposit directly into the trust account, please PM me for details. Whilst I acknowledge that ultimately Ardent Leisure will contribute towards financial matters for the family, these are things that take time, mainly for legal reasons. In the meantime the family have immediate matters to deal with, and that is what this fundraiser is about. If you wish to make a donation - the link is below. If you wish to leave a message of support to the Brookfields and the Dorsetts, I can assure you that everything in this thread will be passed onto the family. If you disagree with this cause - don't comment, and just scroll on by. https://www.mycause.com.au/page/140360/dreamworld-australia-tragedy-memorial-fund

Police are not finished with the scene and don't want it to be affected by anyone in anyway. I doubt it will open until it's been given the clear. It was said on the news that it was believed that DW would've returned to normal operations on Saturday, with the area and rides around river rapids to remain closed.

Anyone here doing UTT tomorrow night?

So sad to see how much this situation is getting out of hand. It's an absolute train wreck. Janine brought this article to my attention before. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3872842/Outrage-Dreamworld-continuing-sell-50-photos-killer-Thunder-River-Rapids-ride-emergency-services-battled-save-four-trapped-tourists.html?ito=social-facebook_Australia Despite the misleading clickbait headline, it's actually about a guy who has gone to the media over the fact that Dreamworld was selling him $50 worth of souvenir photos in the Kodak shop at the time of the incident, and this act has apparently left him traumatised. Yes, you read right. F*%king appalling. With his logic, maybe I should be going to the media as well (and hey! Why not seek compensation as well? Everyone else apparently is trying to) because I walked past the ride 20 minutes before the accident took place. Scabs

That's not the tone I got from the article at all. I agree with a lot of what is said re: "you could categorise almost anything as risky and there are few guaranteed certainties in life" and having "confidence that theme parks prioritise safety". You're right though, a bit of an oversight to think that the ride will be running again so soon, but I don't think she meant anything like the words you're putting in her mouth about the incident being an inconvenice to her holiday, you've misinterpreted the point of the article.

Never suggested (or even implied) that it was sinister. Just don't think you have a right to privacy in that situation.

The sort of event that attracts completely unconnected people to show up with flowers so they can have their own private grieving moment (don't know why you need to go there for that, but whatever) is the same kind of event that the media is interested in, for obvious reasons. I think the media is filling the role of the villain before we know who the real villain is (if anyone).

No one was forced to go there, but I didn't go there as I had an interest in the manner in which they died. I went there because 4 people died whilst on holidays, leaving families torn apart, all of whom are interstate or overseas and can't place flowers themselves. I went there because DW staff need to know the community is behind them and supportive.

I think what @Theme Park Girl is trying to say if you go to pay your respects your then forced to deal with the media circus as you can't avoid it and you can't tell them to back off as it is a public area.

Surely none of the staff will go back to work in light of the comments their union has made in the media in the last couple of days? I mean, to listen to these blowhards you'd have to assume they are all of the belief that they are in imminent danger.

Bang-on. If grieving for people you did not know in private is important enough to you then you have absolute discretion to not go to the one place in the state that you can guarantee a very high concentration of media.

Please don't misinterpret this as a negative comment about laying flowers or paying respects at Dreamworld @Theme Park Girl, but by the very nature of those actions it constitutes a very public, not private, moment of mourning. Sadly it comes with the territory of paying your respects at the site of an incident of national and global interest. Nor have I @YLFATEEKS... but I get the feeling that a lot of the media-flaming is from people that gladly lap up mainstream news coverage 365 days a year. I do have my genuine concerns about the media in general; but the vibe I'm getting here is that *this time* they've gone too far. Not that they go too far in general.

Ardent asked psychologists and councillors when it would be the best time to reopen. According to the Ardent Entertainment GM it was the psychologists and councillors who said that it would be better to reopen ASAP

I'm not surprised they are reopening tomorrow. The police have given the clear that the whole park isn't a crime scene, despite the investigation continuing until necessary. I imagine that area of the park will be closed for some time, but I'm ademant that the park is safe. I think what happened Tuesday was a freak accident. The ride passed the maintenance period, and despite reports it closing due to issues earlier that day I doubt that'll be linked to the incident, otherwise they wouldn't have reopened the ride. I'm glad they are having the Memorial Day in respect of the victims and their families. I imagine it would a week or so before the majority of the rides reopen, but BuzzSaw I see will be staying closed until the investigation is complete. And for the Rapids ride, who knows what will happen. It's just going to take quite a while before DW is back to normal.

The 'full investigation' could take months. What do you suppose happens to the 600+ staff who need jobs to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads? As for doubts about their ability to judge the safety of their rides, they don't make that judgement alone, that judgement is made by an external & independent body when major maintenance periods occur.

Or better yet, if possible, do both ?

While I understand why someone would be upset, I think you should think about what's happened this week and appreciate the respect Movie World is giving. For a party themed to the dead, it certainly isn't appropriate seeing what's happened recently. I commend Movie World for this mature decision, I'm sure they had made many preparations and had to sacrifice them too.

I must say I find flowers a touching sentiment, but overall a waste. I look at the situation we had after the Lindt cafe siege, where half of martin place was covered in them - even if you say each bouquet was $15 - that was THOUSANDS of dollars spent on something that is swept into the garbage in a week, and the only one benefiting from it really is the florists. Please don't misunderstand me - if you want to, or have placed flowers at Dreamworld, i'm not saying that you wasted your money, or that you shouldn't have done it. I myself would have done so if I were able to get down to the park. The community outpouring we have seen is something that has stood the families in good stead through these times. I know that those touched by this directly have seen both the physical tributes as well as the messages on line, and they appreciate them very much. If you want your message to last longer than a week before it makes it into the bin, please see the fundraiser thread. You can even write your thoughts and messages on the fundraiser page when you make a donation.

FYI: Apparently non-membership holders whom purchased tickets can have them refunded if they contact the park directly via phone or email. On a side note, it's worth noting that there is first indication right there that despite what the media has been claiming, Dreamworld obviously believe they will be reopening at some stage.

I'm also annoyed with the media too with this incident, especially channel 7 with its coverage of this. They pretty much pushed the blame onto an 18 year old girl who's first day working at dreamworld was that day, they also mentioned all the other theme parks in Australia stating that they go through daily ride maintainence and checkups before they're open to the public. Completely leaving out the fact that dreamworld does the same thing. Not to mention they were comparing ride quality between Luna Park Sydney and Dreamworld, which I find hilarious, due to the fact LPS had had a run with inspectors, due to unsafe rides, and even an incident that was worse than this one currently, when 7 people including children were burned alive in the ghost train fire the media is leaving out important information and pretty much making Dreamworld look like an unsafe park. And have the guts to say it's going to affect the Queensland tourism. It will for a little while. Then people will eventually forget about this and be back to normal. It was a freak accident. Media just needs to back off.

Isn't that first picture a picture of Eureka Mountain and not the River Rapids as stated?

That maintenance page was updated to what you posted AFTER the accident. There was no scheduled maintenance for the ride going into the day the incident occurred

Yeah... It probably is time for an update of that area. I don't believe leaving the ride SBNO in the long run is the best idea because it covers such a large area of the park. EMR luckily is enclosed enough to leave SBNO but i agree the 'gold rush' theme is no longer a theme park trend

Not the best ride... 12 months ago i rode the exact same ride at an indoor theme park in Malaysia (which has now been ripped out) and for good reason. I wonder how long Movieworld will keep up the maintenance of the surrounds and ride...

****MODERATOR NOTE**** Many posts have been removed from this thread. Mostly they are about topics not directly relating to the accident (re-opening the ride, reactions to erroneous media reports, trolling and the like). This thread is for the discussion about the CONFIRMED information only, and reactions to that information. If it hasn't been released by Dreamworld, QPS, QAS, or an official body making representations on behalf of those organizations, it doesn't belong in this thread. Unconfirmed media reports are not to be placed in this thread. If the conversation about the confirmed information becomes speculative, it will be moved. (IE speculation about why the raft flipped) If you wish to discuss those topics, please do so in the following thread: Posts from the moment the incident was first reported until QPS making a statement a few hours later have been left in this thread, as they are all genuine first reactions, and when there was so little information around, all many people could do was speculate. I'm aware that some posts which don't fit into either category still remain, this is due to trying to leave behind a thread which makes sense, particularly as people found the official information at different times. It's not going to be perfect, so don't get too upset if there are some borderline posts in the wrong thread. However if there are any obvious posts that shouldn't still be here, or any other comments you have, please message me. I may take some time in responding, but I will endeavor to do what I can. Please be respectful of others and with expressing your opinions, many of the people personally affected by this tragedy will not doubt read this thread. Thank you for your understanding - Joz

Just to clarify, last weekend they were telling us over the PA not to buckle the safety belt ourselves and that the op would do it. A bit unusual, but I did what I was told lol.

For those who can't find it, Ardent have made another Press Release: http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20161026/pdf/43cbh15qtpbqxw.pdf

That is great that DW are opening there gates again and as mentioned by @ClassifiedLlama earlier, Dreamworld have been amazing donating every dime they make on Friday to the families of the victims and working with the detectives closely to find out what happened yesterday afternoon. Even know that what ever Dreamworld do it will not change what has happened they deserve some respect for what there currently doing.

Right I was confused, thanks. I totally agree - media shouldn't be sensationalizing the way many of them are. Totally uncalled for.

There has been a lot more moderating going on, 2 members have been suspended and we've deleted a butt ton of posts. But as you can imagine it is hard to keep up with all the replies, I would say if you see something that you find upsetting or that you take offence to, ignore it. If you do decide to respond (because I know you will anyway) at least don't call someone a shit head and make a valid point in the same post. Just makes removing the crap so much harder. Finally, don't try and solve the mystery before the police do. They've got the facts, you've got idle speculation, so perhaps give it a rest. I'll be back later to purge a lot of this thread.

I've been lucky in that all my interactions with the GP this morning have been quite rational. No ones called for Dreamworld's closure, or lectured about how theme park rides are evil. Most have been explaining to me how Thunder River Rapids was their childhood favourite.

Early thoughts are a major computer malfunction which hasn't stopped the conveyor like it should have. We initially thought rider error but have ruled it out. Still very early though, it's going to be a long night. Engineer and system expert from Intamin currently en route to help with investigations. P.S. Some of the trolling in here is horrible

very tragic indeed. unfortunately eureka will have some company now TRRR will not be opening again. the ride is already gone from the rides list no need to worry about maintenance mode it's history very sad and dw will lose another classic ride that was there when it 1st opened...

MickeyD my recollection of the train accident was: A train maintenance worker was reversing a train back into the shed when the trains collided. If I remember correctly it was not a train engine that was being used by the engineer on track but a maintenance buggy that could move the carriages around. From what I also remember from back in those days was the work on the trains was not completed by Dreamworld but by volunteers from a QLD train club.

Forgive me, this is the first time I have ever had to attend a public tribute site. It just seems a little unfair that park staff and other related industry people are given the option of attending a private ceremony at the site of the incident, yet the rest of us aren't. Instead we are forced to deal with the media circus instead