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Not that many care but Abyss has always had a restriction on being over 8 years old to rides Abyss.

It wouldn't surprise me if Stage 1 the water park, became stage 3. Two good points to mention with this project are ACTVENTURE own the land and all council approvals have been finalised. ACTVENTURE is already two more steps ahead of Wonderland 2.0. On a side note, how far is it from the car park to the water park? I would hate to drag little Jonny back to the car after a long day at the park.

An application has been lodged to change the final heights of Typhoon 360 Ride and Crazy Mouse Coaster. Within this application we now know when the rides will be shipped to Australia. At the time of making the original Material Change of Use development application, the actual rides had not been ordered, so ‘typical’ heights were provided, based on the information at hand at the time. Since then, specific rides have been purchased. The Typhoon 360 will be shipped from Italy by mid April 2018. The Crazy Mouse is being manufactured and will be ready for shipping by the end of June 2018. As a result, the specifications of each particular ride are now known and there are slight differences to the heights approved by the MCU, as set out in the table below. For anybody interested on the new heights please see table. Name Approved height Proposed Height Difference Typhoon 360 (area 1) standing – 27.0m operational – 33.5m standing – 26.7m operational – 33.8m -0.3m (lower) +0.3m (higher) Crazy Mouse Coaster (area 2) 17m 15m -2.0m (lower) Heights in relationship to each other. Typhoon 360 (standing) - 26.7 RH + 36.3m SL = 63.0m AHD Typhoon 360 (operational) - 33.8 RH + 36.3m SL = 70.1m AHD Crazy Mouse Coaster - 15.0 RH + 36.5 SL = 51.5m AHD

But it gets to the point where it becomes overboard, and everything is in bubble wrap and things become less fun or annoying. Most of the changes made at DW already have made some of their rides more annoying than they are worth. So hopefully this stream of in house changes stops. Yes people died, but im sure the chances of something this major ever happening again is very very unlikely. There is being safe and secure, and then there is just being stupid.

Why would they think children over 10 understand stoppages when whole media outlets still can't get their heads around a stoppage.

I don't think the attractions I tried were using StarVR - had very limited time so I couldn't try everything. PVRK This indoor theme park replaced Sega Republic in Dubai Mall (which I didn't know much of - I knew there was some kind of park but didn't have much desire to visit). From the few pictures I've seen of its former self since, they look to have kept a couple of rides but totally revamped everything else... and what a brilliant job they've done. We sort of stumbled upon PVRK after walking past KidZania. The entry is incredibly impressive - it's a giant floor to ceiling curved LED wall with a top-down animation of Dubai. Physical 3D models of the buildings pop out of the screen which make for a really effective, almost imposing upside down view of the city. Quick video of it below, along with a few others in the post - forgive me for the vertical format and shoddy recording, didn't really have a trip report in mind at the time haha The park itself is split over two levels and is big - you could easily spend a half day here. Unfortunately we only had an hour spare before dinner so we decided to scope the park out and choose 2 attractions (approx $15 each). For a "VR park" I wasn't expecting much in the way of theming, but each attraction has it's own stunning themed area. I can't explain how much this adds to the overall experience of VR. The only thing that's stopping it from being super immersive is the staff - would be great if they were in costume (and even acted the part a little), but instead they're surprisingly disinterested for a park that's only been open for a few weeks. Right in the middle of the park is a huge upside-down model of Burj Khalifa. The majority of the ceiling inside also has the top-down view of Dubai, but this looks to be projected so isn't as impressive as the entry. First up was Dubai Drone, the Gerstlauer spinner they kept for the revamp. The majority of the coaster is hidden inside. There was around 20 people in queue but, as with any coaster with VR, it crawled. 3 cars were running but ops were stacking for lengthy periods. The coaster itself is fun - surprisingly punchy layout and not as disorientating as I thought. The VR is ok but it was stuttering a lot. I'm not totally convinced on the effectiveness of fast motion paired with VR... Arkham still remains the best iteration of it though. Here's a lights on POV of the coaster when it was known as Sonic Spingear Payday: The VR Heist was up next. Up until this experience I was really sceptical about VR and the hype surrounding it... everything I tried lacked immersion and focus seemed to be a big unavoidable issue (for me at least). The attraction is set in a bank and is actually very well done - attendants greet you behind teller counters and then lead you to one of 9 vaults. Everyone gets their own vault. I think the headset was a HTC Vive - there were a number of sensors and the room was fairly big, allowing for a decent amount of space to move around and not feel too restricted. Once the headset is on you're placed into a very intuitive tutorial while waiting for other players to join. The game itself was very, very fun. Essentially you break into a bank, shoot cops and load bags of cash into a van. The sensors allow you to move a few steps but any further and you need to press a button with the controller in the direction you want to "teleport" to. Regardless this strangely felt like a natural way to move around in the space of the game and quickly became insanely immersive. The whole experience lasts around 15 minutes. PVRK is a seriously solid attraction in Dubai and is a must visit - even if you only have an hour spare. Ferrari World up next.

Storm and JR also now have 1 hour free locker hire

Great day in the park, today. Beautiful weather in the early to mid twenties. AW was quite empty, which is surprising because it’s the start of the school holidays and there’s only two weeks left in the season. No wait for most rides, except for the Grand Prix, which was up to about half an hour. Kraken was a walk on. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, including some kid who had climbed up a tree near rail rider. Someone else managed to get a mat from the slides into the big pool. Geniuses!

Seems the majority of the world disagrees. I’ve seen the trailer and it looks like typical teenage d-grade rubbish. Wanna see a good horror movie - see A Quiet Place.

Mini Trip Report & Update A belated trip report and photo update from my trip to Aussie World on 31st December. First of all, I expected the place to be busy, but was pleasantly surprised to see the carpark half empty considering it was a long weekend. Obviously, the park was expecting more of a crowd too, as every ride advertised to be open was, with it’s own ride op (most rides run fine here with one) and, as a result, all (except The Plunge, which was about a 5 minute wait) were pretty much a walk-on. On entry to the park, about 11:30, we were promptly and friendly helped to process our passes which we’d received as a gift from my Sister. She’d found an online deal giving a family of 4 unlimited entry to the park until the 31st of March for $145 (through RACQ, I believe). The registration process was quick and they let us head straight into the park and suggested we come back in a couple of hours to collect our pass. My eldest son was a huge fan of the Imaginarium on our last visit, so we headed there first. There was a short wait, due to its low capacity, but most of the rooms and effects were working well (a couple minor things like a monitor not working in the ‘elevator’ detracted a bit) and some of the rooms are pretty impressive. RIP Wildmouse Before I get to the new additions to the park I will cover the most noticeable omission from the park, the much loved wooden wild mouse that was the park’s major drawcard until recently. As has been posted already, the Wildmouse site is now a very flat and desolate looking patch of dirt. The only thing more devastating to a coaster enthusiast than seeing the site bare, is looking directly behind it to discover the whole coaster unceremoniously dumped in a heap. A little solace can be taken from the fact that the coaster lives on as theming next to the new Mayhem Maze (more on that shortly)... and as a poke-stop (it’s sad that I even checked, I know). Bombora This latest addition is a mini drop tower. Think the Sylvester & Tweety one at MW with the addition of it spinning around a pole (& allowing parents to ride) and you’ve got the general idea. Despite being my eldest’s favourite at MW he didn’t want to ride it (although he was a bit timid and stand-offish the whole visit), but it looked only a little more thrilling than that kiddies offering. Having said that, it looks to me like a great ride to go on with younger kids (the accompanied height being 100cm). A 'giant' surfboard completes the surf theme... Beaut Little Toot Toots On my last visit to the park I couldn’t help but notice the ride with perhaps the worst capacity I’ve ever seen at a park. The Tin Lid Trolleys were only ever meant to be a ride for toddlers, but it consisted of two tiny mine carts which each seated one child, and both ran on their own track, meaning a 2 kids per cycle capacity. Aussie World have clearly recognised that their growing popularity no longer allows for rides with such low through-put and have added the ‘Beaut Little Toot Toots’. While still being suitable for the smallest of guests, this new train ride allows parents to ride with their kids, which depending on your tolerance to incredibly loud farm animal noises, may be a positive or a negative. Mayhem Maze I wasn’t sure what to expect from this brand new attraction (had only opened on the 28th December as a permanent part of the park’s attraction roster). I was glad that a local park had decided to add a full-time walk-through scare attraction, but was a little anxious as to what they would’ve managed to pull of for a park of this sizes budget. Now, I must say straight up, I haven’t been through a lot of horror / fright nights style mazes, other than Fright Nights about 5 years ago (give or take) and USH House of Horrors in 2008, but I am not the most easily firghtened, or impressed park-goer, but here goes. The building is themed to a 50’s era, abandoned, fairground-style attraction with ‘funland’ a-blazoned across the front and an overall (not so) fun house look and feel. The backstory is displayed on a couple of signs on approach to the steps, as well as a number of signs warning that the attraction isn’t suitable for younger children. There was also a large sign detailing how the attraction included live actors who would tailor the experience to suit the audience, and therefore give ‘smaller frights’ where appropriate. Despite this assurance and my 8 year old considering going through (I’m bloody glad he didn’t), I decided to go through myself first. I walked, alone, up the stairs and along a thin boardwalk, the sort I have traversed many a time to enter a fun factory or similar type of attraction. When I reached the door there was nobody there, I tried to open it, but nobody came out to meet me. I stood there awkwardly alone for a little while before a group came up the queue behind me. Good, at least I’ll have company, I thought. The newcomers to the line asked me, had I tried the door? Is there anyone in there? Shortly afterwards, an attractive attendant in a 50s inspired costume peered through the door and asked how many in my party. Just me, I replied, at which she took me through into the lobby, where she briefed me on the usual walk-through rules: Don’t touch or try to fight the actors (I didn’t realise I looked like a fighter) and I’ll be fine; Follow the white lines painted on the floor and I’ll find my way out; Don’t burst out of the Emergency Exit (advice not heeded by the group behind me); and if you become too overwhelmed or disorientated, raise your hand and someone will assist you (the same goes for the illusionarium, and they will also stop most of the rides if you raise your hand, a feature that is appreciated when trying to warm kids up to larger thrills). So, the very first thing I have to make mention of is just how dark it is in there. Coming in from a particularly hot and glarey day, I found it extremely hard to see where I was going, and felt lost and disorientated on a number of occasions. I won’t talk about the specifics of the maze to avoid spoilers for those who get to visit, but I will say the main scare actor is an evil clown, and he is menacing and gruesome. Slowly making my way through the maze there were plenty of occasions where a strobe or flash would reveal that the clown was right up in my face, or right over my shoulder. Several other times he worked as a diversion, leering on one side, while another scare actor, one of his victims, would burst out behind you, or even under your feet, screaming for you to run away. Overall, the set design seemed pretty high quality, with each scene revealing just how depraved this sicko clown actually is. The maze was typically quite tight and continuously wound back against itself, providing plenty of scare opportunities for the scare actors. I found it a bit difficult to determine how many were actually in there (I’m guessing 2 plus the beehived greeter, but it felt like more) and to their credit, they got a fair few jumps out of me during the experience. I think it is a really well put together, little scare attraction, and I hope it gets the patronage, and love, it deserves. It was certainly quiet on the day I went, being at the northern-most extremity of the park, behind the Ballroom Blitz, and given the park still attracts mostly families with kids under 12 or so. Once the additional flat thrill ride replaces the Octopus (and the crazy mouse replaces our beloved wild mouse) this year, there should be enough to keep teens amused as well. I can honestly say Mayhem Maze should have them shrieking! Overall The rest of the park is looking good, the mini golf seems to have been done up and is attractively landscaped. The staff were mostly all fairly friendly (except for that damn clown!) and the park was clean and tidy. The shed area is also looking good and is being utilised a lot more for concerts and functions, but during the day serves as a nice cool place to escape the heat and have a cold beer. The back of The Pub was looking shabby, but given it is only a few weeks away from it’s major refurbishment and expansion that is understandable. Work will commence after their Australia Day festivities if you want one last look at the iconic red Ettamogah Pub. I’m looking forward to seeing the park’s growth over the next couple of years and really think it will be a great option for families with kids of any age by this time next year.