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I think most people are generally understanding when a ride has a minimum number for balance reasons - i was quite shocked when I went to ride Doomsday as a single, only to be told they couldn't take me because they had to keep the ride balanced - despite there being other singles in the queue they could have balanced with (and they did after I pointed out the common sense of it all) - but although I was shocked - had I been there alone, i'd have waited until others joined the queue to balance it out, because clearly its an operating requirement - and I don't want to make it unbalanced, and therefore potentially unsafe. Sure, the new minimum on Wipeout could very well be a cost cutting measure, but at the same time - it's bang for buck time here - on average - a flat ride at Wonderland cost about $900 an hour to operate - with the bigger thrills costing more. Staff costs are a fraction of that cost - so the real cost of operation is the power, and the maintenance. Why would you operate a ride every 5 minutes for two people? 24 people per hour isn't going to cover your cost of operation - in addition, its going to increase your maintenance cost 'per rider' astronomically - full seats make it worth operating. Waiting a few minutes generates a bigger queue. And queues create queues. people see a short queue, and they jump on it, knowing that they will get on quickly. Look - I know purists out there will say 'the park chooses to open every day of the year, they should run every ride every day of the year (excluding maintenance periods) - and thats fair, for the most part. I'll take on the Calypso example above - whilst some (crazy) people do visit WnW in the winter, they manage to stay warm because: minimal queues mean you're running from one slide to the next little wait time at the top of the tower, standing there in freezing winds water is warmer than the surrounding air (when you're wet) The problem with Calypso is that the traditional rider style is laying in a tube - held above water - so you aren't in the warmer water, you are exposed to the colder air and you aren't running around to warm up - you're just laying there... so the popularity of the attraction just isn't there. Sure - some people are submerged, with their head and shoulders above the tube, and actively moving - but it's a LAZY river - its meant to be relaxing, and you can't really relax whilst getting hypothermia (although if you stay there long enough you will relax!) Even the wave pool retains its popularity because the waves encourage active swimming - which warms you up. Back to the purists - some attractions SHOULDN'T run all year. As for the minimum rider requirement - whether it be for operational \ maintenance reasons or pure cost reasons - i'd much rather they staff every ride they have, and only run it when it meets the necessary minimum, than to understaff the park, and alternate operations.

I can confirm that the Wipeout has re-opened but alas, need a minimum of 20 riders

People are free to talk about the theme, pull your head in. Re mack doing a Floorless coaster...nope. I'd consider a floorless one where there is nothing between your feet and the track, so you see the track structure and crossties whizzing below your feet at high speed.

Worth noting that the "whats open" page on Dreamworld.com.au was removed yesterday. Wouldn't surprise me to see them announce it tomorrow or perhaps not at all as it is less than a week before it closes for maintenance.

@Slick I can understand why you'd be doubting that it was operating today - with riders. I'm trying to get a copy of the photo that Dreamworld took of us to commemorate the first ride since closing last year. We were asked to hold our hands in the shape of hearts. Tho I suppose you won't believe that either.

If you're there, would you mind terribly sharing some shots of the ride running with today's newspaper in your hand? I'm joking of course, however the park hasn't shared anything on social nor does their website reflect the re-opening, and every single major attraction re-opening has been a big deal for them, which makes what you're saying very doubtful. Adding to this, checking Dreamworld's & Wipeout's geotags/analytics on social shows a whole lot of nothing, when historically guests have clamoured to be the first to share & ride re-opened rides.

^Good point. Aquaman will be in the Justice League movie though, which comes out in November this year. Which also reminds me that Wonder Woman will be in the JL movie as well. So we have a Wonder Woman (standalone movie) releasing in June and then the Justice League movie in November. The timing of the movies, plus the fact that we are 98% sure the new coaster will be superhero themed......a new coaster opening in September with a WW theme sounds about right to me. Or maybe i'm looking into things, way too much!

Sea World basically exists because of having Dolphin Shows. I don't think Affinity is the best incarnation, but again is see it as 'dolphin shows at Sea World', in which case it totally belongs there. Mammoth Falls I think is also deserving of its place on the list. I mean it has a very long ride time, a small height requirement, genuinely fun for all ages, is rerideable, and a has massive capacity. It was also the first of Wet "n" Wild's big modern slides and really helped the park transition from small local water park, to something quite special. I think it's a pretty good list really. All of those attractions are not only the best the Gold Coast has, but they were also what made the Gold Coast what they are. When you look through the list, (with the exception of PA which was just perfection itself) most of those rides represent some sort of coming of age for the park they're in, and resulted in a boost which propelled the park along. The only change I would have made would be to combine ToT/GD onto one spot and get Corkscrew on the list. While nothing special in terms of a coaster it was able to be the signature thrill ride for Sea World pretty much it's whole life. I'm glad that rides like Green Lantern, Claw and Buzzsaw didn't make the list, because while all fun rides, I don't view them as being anything 'special'.

Doesn't have to be RCT... Never stopped DW when running one attendant alternating between 2 rides in kids areas and we all know that parents will make more noise as they have to deal with the kids complaining... Didn't stop MW alternating BATR and LTRR... Doesn't stop WNW not operating Calypso Beach for almost half the year... Didn't stop DW from closing attractions for half the day or only opening on weekends...

First thing you learn in Roller Coaster Tycoon. How to extend a ride life.

I recon it's a good list and pretty accurate. I would say if you just count Affinity as any show at Dolphine Cove then it's sits right. I would have had Bermuda higher on the list and included Wild West

Yes, film sets are not used in theme parks because: -They are often too flammable, and often use foams etc that are not safe or insurable for permanent installation. -Not durable enough for guest abuse. -Many props and sets look good on screen because they are far away and a camera can only capture a certain resolution, but in real life, up close, are quite rough and don't look good. This goes for sets both big and small.

That would certainly be a pain for those of us who love going in off-peak.

I don't think it would rule out the coaster being themed to Aquaman, but I do think we can rule out the sets being used throughout the rides footprint. Unless they are displayed inside, the sets probably wouldn't last very long. Ride theming is designed to withstand all types of weather and climates and human interaction, while I'd say most film sets aren't, as they are old used for a short period of time, and if any wear and tear appears then they can easily fix it up.

Whoa hold up there. If they want to get on coke or heroin that's their choice. No plane banner can stop them! I've always had my suspicions those penguins were shifty dealers.

My conclusion is it was a waste of an hour I will never get back.

Whatever the case may be, even if it was open it certainly wasn't officially open. Regardless, would be great to see Wipeout open again, it's a personal favourite of mine. @Jordan M. you should check your VPN, when I checked the website this morning it worked perfectly.

And the drinker flyers are closed too... I went to Dreamworld the other day and the donkey flyers had nothing on it like cars or anything. The only thing there was the mumma dragon and also wipeout is open today because I My Friend was there today and was sending me photos and people queuing for the ride

It isn't that hard just to weatherproof props or change them a bit. I can't see why they wouldn't pounce not this opportunity to use the set?!

Omg can everyone please stop talking about the theming and other irrelevant bullshit, its seriously getting real annoying now. Lets just wait for the bloody track to arrive and be built before we even think about the god dam theme, jesus christ people have some patience!! Btw my birthday is in 5 days so it could be a good birthday suprise if the track comes then ???