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Some shots from today guys. Lots of activity around the site, many parts prepped and ready to go.

Here's some piccies from my visit today. Lots of working happening on the lift hill ☺️

I've been following all the coaster updates for a while now, thought it was time to maybe return to the forum after years and join in the fun. I honestly can't get past the name of this coaster. Visiting parks overseas and seeing all the types of coasters emerging, it seems like Australia is the only ones being totally literal with this. The fact that the word "Megacoaster" is in the name frustrates me a bit. It's like MW have to explain to people what the thing is. "DC Rivals" doesn't even feel like a name, it feels moreso like an explanation of the theming.... I would have gone with something towards JOKER also...

Because we're not megalomaniacs that just want to throw bans and punishment around despite otherwise interesting discussion. Pretty sick of the backseat moderating and witch-hunt that everyone seems to be engaging in here. This a thought-provoking topic backed up with well reasoned opinions and facts. It's totally worthy of discussion. Keep your conspiracy theories to yourselves, and if you're posting replies or hitting that downvote button based on anything other than what's being discussed in this topic, then maybe take a break from Parkz for a few days because it's obviously all too much for you.

I reckon if they said how much it costs, the shareholders would shit themselves.

My 2c is it will make a small difference but not a devastating difference. The business they will lose is the tourist that only has a short amount of time to visit all the parks and has to sacrifice one. However by MW having the hyper it should increase tourism to the area anyway. I know each of the 3 times i've been to the GC i've done all the theme parks. Really the only ones i would skip now are Sea World and Wet n Wild. Playing arm chair CEO / Marketing Dude i would think the following... I'm on the too soon band wagon for Dream World to go out and build something massive and go all in your face with the marketing something like that would deserved. I think they need to be spending this time removing TRRR, building the memorial they've spoken about and planning. Get everything behind them, and then start with a clean slate. Otherwise they will just keep dredging it up again every time they do something with the area and keep tainting their image and bringing it back up in peoples minds. Out of sight = out of mind. Then come the new year - 2018 - they need to start with a bang and then keep it rolling - Maybe a massive new years party, followed by a new years day party. Regular announcements about new things and changes. Doesn't have to be expensive new rides, hold a new event - funny hat day, dress like a wiggle day, hell hold an eating competition! Good clean fun style events. Throw in some prizes - free return entries / season passes / discounted F & B / Merch etc. These will do two things - bring back the existing pass holders and encourage them to spend more time in the park, which will make for a better atmosphere all round and 2) draw in the kids, and the parents and hopefully just make people happy all round. As an added bonus the winners of the free return entries / season passes they will hopefully return again. Come April they'll have the Commonwealth Games in town - so big time for tourism. They should have some related activities scheduled for that period - IE mini commonwealth games events. These things will not only continue the good clean fun, but also soak up the crowd a bit. Then in the lead up to the end of the year start an adventure world style campaign like they did for Abyss. Gorilla style marketing, subtle hints and challenges to solve a riddle and get the story line etc. Basically do the complete opposite of Movie World.

Hey, just totally curious, and look, totally cool if you did, it happens, we're all human, but.... Did you forget that Disneyland's mascot hasn't been in a feature film in nearly 2 decades? I'm just curious because it makes your whole argument about nostalgia kind of bunk, that's all. And you know Dreamworld works closely with Dreamworks, right? I'm not 100%, but they've also had big blockbusters around the same time as Pirates, Star Wars, Pixar etc etc the list goes on and on, as you say. And we won't worry about Dreamworld's connections with ABC Kids World, The Wiggles etc. as you say, Dreamworld has nothing to fall back on. We done here? Can we get back on topic? TLDR: Nostalgia & Innovative ideas are key.

Haha cheers @Tim Dasco - like I said yesterday, I was working on to something about this topic. I'll save some of you the jump and re-hash the main points: One of Dreamworld's biggest strengths is the nostalgia and the culture that's wrapped around it. Dreamworld isn't a theme park, it's an iconic Australian powerhouse, one that people are far more loyal to compared to Movie World. You only have to look at the last seven months to see that loyalty in action. The recipe then is simple, give people what they want, give them a chance to relive nostalgia and good memories, and do it well. Now, before you go down the "oh but no one cares about X&Y thing at Dreamworld anymore" route, spare me, because the world's largest operator of theme parks has rides from the 50's people still give a crap about. I'm talking about Disney of course, and their guest's loyalty stems from the fact that Disney is relentless in ensuring they can do everything to better their attractions and ensure every facet of the experience is unforgettable. Who doesn't remember the Bush Ranger show? Bring it back. Remember the smell of the steam train? Bring it back. Remember the quartet? Bring it back. Log Ride, Mine Ride, Model T Ford Cars, bring it back, and do it well. But also don't stop there, make sure every facet of your park is being done well. I walk through the Tower of Terror & Giant Drop queue lines and wonder if anyone's paying attention. They're so horrible that I think a walk down a dreary hospital corridor would at least be cleaner and more maintained. No one's asking you to be Disney, but they are asking you to look after what you have and keep at it, every single day. You could knock the wind out of Movie World's sails tomorrow with two rides and half the money. Here's how. Hypercoasters are incredible, but almost all of them, including DC Rivals, lack one thing, inversions. Dreamworld could easily build what's known as a Gerstlauer Eurofighter (like Abyss at Adventure World) for a fraction of the cost, build it with seven elements that go upside down, and there you have it; Movie World might have the tallest and fastest, but if Dreamworld built an inverting, launched Eurofighter, they could have the country's fastest ride that goes upside down more then anything else in Australia. And if you theme it well, you might just be able to put enough pressure on the HyperCoaster to hold it at bay. The second ride you'd build is a Soarin' style attraction. Disney pioneered it, they're popping up all over the world thanks to companies like Brogent Technologies, and Dreamworld is perfectly positioned to build one for the cheap. How? Well, Dreamworld once upon a time had an IMAX theatre with near vertical seating, and as a result, have more than enough clearance to nearly literally just "plonk" a soarin' style ride system right into the existing structure with minimal fuss. Given that most folk's biggest wish list is for Movie World to return the Police Academy and the Mavericks show, a Soarin' ride would deliver a show quality experience, at high capacity, and mix it in with something the country's never seen before. And this is by no means an original idea, it was hotly rumoured that Movie World were considering a similar move around a decade ago, but opted out due to costs, something that has changed considerably. Read the full thing here: http://ourworlds.co/2017/theme-parks/whats-dreamworlds-next-move/

I sure as hell didn't go to Disney for the current film tie-ins. I went because it's a family friendly, magical and historic theme park. Getting a photo with Mickey, riding the train, wearing the mouse ears un-ironically, seeing the Dumbo ride, Carousel and walking through the Castle. Then came the next reason: rides. Disney Parks don't thrive because of current films. It helps, but it's only a fraction of the attraction. The magic of Disneyland for me reminded me of the magic I felt as a child visiting Dreamworld in the late 80s and early 90s. The fountain, main street, singing quartet, paddle steamer and bushranger show, Village Green and the Jamboree show. I now understand the leaked email and subsequent release on their focus of an experience of visiting Dreamworld. I long to see Gold Rush and Blue Lagoon turned into an RMC and well-themed Australiana area. I do, I want signature rides, but that's only ever been a small part of the magic Dreamworld gave me as a kid and teenager (in the way of Thunderbolt and Eureka). It's a bold step to take the park on this 'nostalgia' and 'memorable experience' route, to sever the cord on the thrills arms race against VRTP, and I guess history will only tell if it's the best move. An ARG would send this site nuts.

Testing has started!!!!! Well on the lighting anyways. On way home today they had crews playing with coloured purple spot lights on the Stengel dive supports. Looked awesome!

Wouldn't a B&M hyper just be a less exciting version of what MW is getting?

Hopefully wooden coloured

I agree comparing Disneyland to Dreamworld is ridiculous. The biggest difference is Disneyland doesn't skimp on theming. They want full immersion as soon as you walk through the gate and they certainly achieve that. DW is light years behind Disney in theming. Also Dreamworld seems to do everything on the cheap. It honestly feels like Wonderland part II. The only money they seem to spend these days is on advertising trying to convince the gp they've got 9 of Australia's biggest thrill rides. Its disappointing because I've been visiting DW for 30 years and I remember as kid how magical the place once was.

Or claim they're aiming for October when in reality they plan on being the good guys and soft opening it in late September and making people feel special about getting to ride it "early".

I don't agree with this at all, i'm sorry. The market TODAY is so so different to the market back in the 80's when Dreamworld launched. First of all, Dreamworld only had to compete with Sea World and it's main competitor today (Movie World) was still a decade off launching. Second of all, people back then didn't have the expectations they do today. It was such a huge thing to even have the Thunderbolt back then. I remember in the early 90s, when I was a small child, driving past DW and being in awe of the Thunderbolt from the highway and always wishing I could go on it. Thirdly, there is a huge reason why DW went the way of the 'big thrill rides' as their park stared to evolve; they saw the market changing and they realised they needed to keep adding these type of attractions to grow their business and keep existing customers coming back. Your point about "appealing to people's nostalgia and planning to bring back old favourite family rides" is really only going to appeal to parents who went to DW as children. No one under the age of 25 will care about that "nostalgia" at all unfortunately and I certainly think it could be in vain if they spend big money trying to bring back these rides that have far less appeal in today's market than they did when they launched. My two cents.

I have shared similar sentiments in another discussion - i thought the slipping accent was distracting. I'd have preferred no accent to that. I was at the Australian Celtic Festival as a herald last month, and I did not attempt an accent - we had people praising our performance and compared me to 'that other guy in the main arena' because he was trying (and failing) to do an irish accent. They'd said they preferred no attempt to a poor one... and I kinda agree in this case too. ETA: let me just say though that given the more specialised load procedures with the new Arkham trains, and the additional load process when VR is involved, this video was long overdue, and its great to see something that makes it very clear how the load is supposed to occur.

100% agree with this, and I completely disagree with the concept of Dreamworld adding a major rollercoaster or thrill ride of any time at this still early stage of their recovery. After seeing the list of what they have. planned for the remainder of the year, I think it's fantastic that, after nearly two decades of Dreamworld focusing on exhilarating rides (ie. building up their "Big" thrill ride repertoire), they are finally going back to their roots to explore and resurrect various aspects of the park that made everyone fall in love with them to begin with. Anyone who knew the "old" Dreamworld back in the 80's and early 90's would know that "big, fast, twisty, full circuit record breaking rollercoasters" weren't really their forte at all. sure, they did have one of those on offer with the Thunderbolt, but the whole theme of the park was mainly focused around family rides and creating a vintage, natural look park wide. This is essentially what people loved about Dreamworld, especially compared to other parks during this timeframe. It had a certain charm to it that no other gold coast theme park could match. It's no secret that the incident last year has made guests more cautious toward Dreamworld's rides as a whole and, subsequently, it appears to me that their managers have acknowledged that the path to recovery isn't to focus on building more thrill rides that people aren't going to immediately warm to, given the circumstances. Instead they are taking the path of appealing to people's nostalgia and planning to bring back old favourite family rides (Log Ride, Vintage Cars, even the Mine Ride), refurbishing the original wildlife and indigenous areas, and focusing on introducing new memorable experiences that leave lasting memories as opposed to (quote) "momentary exhilaration" ie. the definition of thrill rides. Personally I think that Dreamworld are taking a huge step in the right direction with these future plans. Thrill rides can come later down the track once they have managed to completely win everyone's hearts and trust back, and essentially restore their original daily park numbers once more. But now is definitely not that time. Fact. (😛) Just my 2c, take it or leave it. But that's how I feel 👍

Just adding a quick recap: Richard's closer look article is up on Parkz My in-depth article is now live on OurWorlds For those who don't like clicking or tapping, here's a quick photo dump from my end ( @Richard was ever so lucky to go on-site, meanwhile I snooped off-site with my telephoto lens.)

I'm about done with this forum. Is this a place where theme park enthusiasts meet or.... ?

Agreed, hand the keys over to someone with a ton of money, and will completely revitalise the place. I visited only days before the accident, and the lack of atmosphere didn't entice me to want to go back, and this is coming from a Melburnian that was overly excited to visit the park for the first time since 2010. I had forgotten how much ocean parade felt like a painted concrete car park with poorly placed rides, and i'm all for travelling amusement rides. Bringing the mine train coaster isn't going to bring in hoards of crowds like a brand new shiny coaster would.

might as well call it batman the ride reborn

off topic... holy shit! Is @HussRainbow87 the very same @HussRainbow???

I think you'll find nostaglia is the key to Disneyland, and pretty much the whole reason it exists. Sure they bring out new movies regularly - most which are based on nostaglic characters from the past. But i think you'll find the actual people with the money buying the tickets are doing so largely in part because of their memories of childhood visits.

@AdrianHallam 'DC Battle for Justice' sounds more intriguing and holds a bit more umph than DC Rivals Hypercoaster. @Tim Dasco And yeah good point Tim. I would have just preferred 'The Joker', seeing as there is a giant 2D Joker face crowning the lift hill.

The Mack Hyper down the road from DW looks to be way more intense and awesome than the B&M hypers.

I would call it joker the ride or the battle between Joker and Batman. It had a giant joker face on top of the lift hill. So I call it joker.

As a 'plus' size gentleman I've always found DW rides a lot more accommodating in comparison to MW rides. Having played rugby in the past I have large muscle build legs which prevents me from riding Scooby doo for example. I have monthly premium passes to both and will continue to go to both. I actually prefer DW for the whole experience and friendliness over movieworld. I mean there is more than just a few decent thrill rides there. It's a day of family fun. And I for one am actually really looking forward to the reopening of some of the other attractions there I never got to ride in the past. Sure Ardent and the DW board need to do *something* but I agree with the many that making it a more family friendly environment will pay off more than a new hyper (as awesome as that would be to see two hypers within one city) long term.

@Slick i agree a euro fighter style coaster is such an underated coaster that is great value for money. However a coaster like takabisha is still an expensive ride (28.5 million us), but i think a euro fighter around 35-40 metres tall, around 800 metres long with 5 or 6 inversions could have been a great addition to Dream world instead of spending 10 million on MDMC and 7 million on Buzzsaw.

Yeah but the point of that part of my post was to list some arbitrary things they COULD build to have something to market next year. I don't think they'll build a Eurofighter or a new dark ride either. My point was that no matter what it is they want to build, pretty much they can and they need to back themselves and do something really good and it needs to be done by Christmas next year.

Disneyland has changed immensely since opening though. The park didn't have a single coaster when it opened. The flip side is that Disney's "family" attractions are enjoyable whether or not you have the nostalgia factor. Eureka without the nostalgia would just be a painful, cramped ride comparable to any carnival ghost train. Rocky Hollow isn't anything special either. If it were Splash Mountain quality - sure. Popularity away! But it isn't. There is no charm to Rocky hollow. I think to point to Disney as a reason why the 'experience' path will work for Dreamworld is quite foolish.

Just to further what AlexB has said, last year DC Super-Villians Unleashed advertised an October opening all year round, only for it to open officially during the September school holidays. Anything is possible. They likely just go with adding an extra month as insurance against any unexpected issues that may arise last minute 👍

Lol... you do realise that Dreamworld was based on Disneyland to begin with, right? Family rides, vintage charm and lush gardens etc.... all Disney inspired. If the market has allegedly changed, then why do Disneyland parks remain the most popular chain in the world?? No offense but I think you need to pull your head out a bit, POP.... Dreamworld aren't going to make a comeback taking the Six Flags approach right now. They are looking at the best of the best for inspiration, which appeals to ALL ages and generations, not just the thrillseekers. And good on them, I say 👍

I personally think its a good video. Well done @Slick!

If Dreamworld don't want to spend a lot of money, Intamin make a tilt version of the giant drop. They could update one or both sides of the ride to be be a face-first drop. It definitely wouldn't be enough of a draw-card on its own, but it would be the new 'big thrill' that they could promote while they built some new attractions to replace GoldRush, and it would be much cheaper than a Dive Coaster for the same effect. I would love to see a Hybrid Woody, a new Wild Mouse (to replace Eureka) and a new dark water ride (to replace TRR)... but all of those things are expensive and Ardent are cheap.

Especially when nobody outside of the park and manufacturer knows how to divide by two.

All Eurofighters come with a nice indoor section from the factory in Germany?

For what it's worth, I actually do agree that Dreamworld could do with a decent coaster as well as (not instead of) other new attractions. However it would need to be something significantly different to the hypercoaster at Movie World. It's highly unlikely a new coaster at Dreamworld would be better than, or even as good as DC Rivals, and I don't think they should even try for it to be. However a large coaster that offers a different kind of experience, or indeed something that's not a coaster but a major non-flat ride nevertheless, could pull the crowds. I'm thinking maybe a wooden "runaway train" type of coaster. Something like the "Soarin" attraction at Disney World Epcot centre would also be something I think could be a great addition to Dreamworld, and very different to anything at the Village parks.

I think it's good that each park focuses on different types of attractions. I wouldn't want Dreamworld to be basically a copy of Movie World. I think the recent statement by Dreamworld that they intend to focus on offering "experiences that stay with you" rather than thrills, is potentially on the right path. Just depends on them making sure those new experiences are of high enough quality to impress their target customers enough that they'll go to Dreamworld in preference to Movie World. In other words, not everyone thinks a rollercoaster is the best type of theme park attraction, and if Dreamworld creates new rides and other attractions that appeal to those people who don't, then they should be able to secure those people as long-term customers. I keep saying this, but Dreamworld should focus their investments on creating Dream-like experiences (which can include rides, but also other attractions too).

If you don't like my maze, then get out of it. @Gold Coast Amusement Force You probably will not like the part I trip you over and push you down the slide.

I think it also highlights just how poor Dreamworld's thrill offerings are in comparison though. I don't think this announcement which is specific to Movie World will positively impact Dreamworld in any way. If it's going to have an impact on Dreamworld, it will be negatively. D/W's thrill seeker crowd will be decimated as the thrill seekers will be throwing their money at Village for a VIP pass so they get to ride DC Rivals. The majority of the population don't spend their money on Ardent's theme park pass AND Village's VIP pass in one year so if the choice is going to be made, D/W will lose out big time. FACT.

I guess you could bring up the same argument against Sea World. They lack rides, they've got a bunch of complete idiots protesting against them, and yet they're still surviving. The worst (best) case scenario for Dreamworld is that it gets sold to someone who cares and turns the place around.

With now over 1.3 million views and 70 thousand comments of people tagging friends saying how excited they are, i think MW would be more then pleased with the exposure and response it has gotten on the first day.

I don't think the clearance is to allow turning, I think it is to prevent the headrests from colliding. During tight dips and during the helix the tops of the seats could collide.

The DC Rivals coaster has a lot of sharp turns and rapid banking. Both of these slow a coaster down because they're pushing the coaster into the track instead of letting gravity push the coaster along the track. Flash is much straighter with inversions rather than twists. They may also be using a slightly slower chain speed on the lift hill, or they may be using softer wheels which will give a much smoother ride with all of the twists, but will also slow down the coaster. There are a lot of reasons it could be a longer ride, but it will be the right ride length for this coaster.

Arkham Asylum has railings on both sides and the incline isn't as steep as something like green lantern. So it's more accessible for people without safety equipment, so we don't need to wear harnesses or something when doing the tour. It's more like just walking up a set of stairs.

Are you talking about the Hyper? If so I defiantly think Mack will be showing of this coaster and trying to sell Hyper coasters like this to American parks. As it is a quality ride.

Also none of you were right. I give this thread 0 out of 10.

A lot of ride manufacturers just use the Allen-Bradley computer systems. They can control everything from theming cues to brakes and safety. Google 'Rockwell Automation'. It makes sense for Manufacturers to use an industry-standard system, because it means the park's in-house maintenance staff can maintain the rides and trouble-shoot any issues because everything is compatible. B&M uses Allen-Bradley PLCs.

I think it is an orange version of Kenny: The Down Syndrome Tiger.