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Merlin would not be a bad outcome. They know what they are doing, have a strong reputation and bucket loads of cash to splash. The downside from what I know of my old company from colleagues either still working there or those that have recently left is that Merlin is not the company it once was. It is a huge global business that has seen rapid growth and that usually means a dilution of quality.... somewhere, and Oz is a long way from Poole, Dorset. Dreamworld is a fantastic name for a theme park but sadly the dream has turned into a really horrible nightmare, not only because of the incident itself but the handling of it and the subsequent inquest and it would take a miracle to rescue the brand, regardless of a change in ownership (slightly helpful possibly). A name change would not make a lot of difference and people would see straight through it. To make this work someone needs to make Dreamworld appealing again in such a way that helps move everyone on from the tragedy and that would take a world first and brilliantly executed $50m+ attraction launch as phase 1. That would be a gamble for an already bruised Ardent. I was not around during the period but it seems it took Luna Park Sydney decades to recover from the Ghost Train fire tragedy but it did...finally. The question is does anyone have the metal to take it on and see it through for the long term? I do hope so. Australia needs to buck its game up in the Theme Park sector for the greater benefit of the tourism community and economy. I find it frustrating that a country with such a great climate and reasonably strong tourism prospects (See Asia in particular who LOVE theme parks) does not have really great anchor tourism products other than the Opera House and amazing beaches/landscapes (and PLEASE, no one claim Flinders Street Railway station or anything in Melbourne has really strong tourism appeal to compete on a global scale? Maybe for sports tourists/nuts) The landscape in Australia is ripe right now for someone to be bold and build a fabulous theme park that would assist the resurrection of the entire industry. All ships benefit from a rising tide. Is that tide coming from the direction of the South China sea I wonder?

Just a quick update on Luna Park Melbourne- They will be getting 2 new permanent kids rides in the form of a spinning coaster and a kids Ferris Wheel. The make and model of the coaster has not been confirmed but it has been stated as being geared towards younger guests so i would assume that it could possibly be a SBS Visa model such as the Crazy Coaster at Adventure park in Geelong These rides will be installed over the coming months and i expect them to be in the ride lineup for the January school holidays. There is no mention that these new rides would be replacing anything currently in the park, although given the size of LPM and the fact that it has limited room, I would not be surprised if these rides DID replace existing attractions. The Zamperla powered coaster Silly Serpent that is currently in the park is of a fair age now and it would not be unreasonable to see this new kids coaster replace the Silly Serpent. The park has stated that the space on the old Metropolis site will be retained for seasonal and temporary attractions. They have replaced their trackless train with a new model that boasts increased carriages.over the previous version. A new coaster for the old Metropolis site is very much on the top of their wish list but it is not on the horizon for the next couple of years. The reason for this is the expense and upkeep of their heritage attractions such as Scenic Railway, Carousel and Ghost Train. To keep these attractions running and in good condition requires a large budget and this eats into new attraction investment. ( Plus Lyndsey Fox is being stingy..) The 105 year old PTC Carousel has just completed a very delicate and expensive 12 month refit and is now open again to the public. They will still continue to use the Metropolis site for seasonal and holiday attractions such as the Pirates revenge flume and Crazy Spinning Coaster that they have utilised over the past couple of years. This mirrors their sister park , Luna Park Sydney and their schedule of rotating seasonal/holiday attractions. They have in that space for October the Famous Spiegeltent live attraction which will be in the park for a 3 week stay. I am in Melbourne in January for a couple of weeks and will be visiting Luna park Melbourne, FunFields and Adventure Park with the family, the latter 2 for the first time. I will certainly upload some trip reports and pictures from these parks as they get little attention on these boards compared to their giant Gold Coast cousins. Cheers.

So many climbs these days and climbs in the suburbs are stupid. (Hey Jimmy I can see your mother dropping the kids off at school from up here) Nothing new. Sorry I just fell asleep while reading this. Not if MW over sell the FastPass again. Looks like SW continues to let us down with this attraction being pushed back. Stuff the spin, overall this update screams Village are currently not willing to spend any real money. Side note: When did James have a head transplant?

PCL recently interviewed VRTP’s CEO and COO, where they revealed a number of upcoming attractions, exhibits and more to the parks. Check out the full interview within this episode: HIGHLIGHTS: MW: DC Rivals lift hill walk coming when the ride reopens SDSC will greatly improve on the original version of the ride, with the technologies already confirmed The movie magic is coming back, with a new attraction coming later this year exhibiting movie pieces. And this magic will continue to come back Three all new characters within the park coming, not seen anywhere else in the world FN’s is apparently going to be the best ever SW: Sea Jellies opening September 7 All new major attraction coming in the next couple of years Focus on showing the back of house stuff to guests, such as the turtles, with new exhibits Overall: 4 significant new things coming by December which haven’t been announced yet A new app which includes wait times, maps, food and anything guests needs coming soon Voice of People survey is something they are really focusing on

@Skeeta Agreed, but I guess my response is Rome wasn't built in a day. I don't think a museum would be 'mission accomplished', but rather, a step in the right direction. A small welcome diversion in a park that is too coaster heavy. Ultimately I think this, a full blown studio tour, and special effects show would be enough behind the scenes attractions for a park the size of MW, with the rest of the rides being about 'riding the movies'. Also all the shows are appalling. We're a unity ticket on that topic.

Anyone ever told you that you whinge a lot @RossL ? you must be fun at parties...

I've advocated for a memorabilia museum for a while now, it's something cheap that many people would have some interest in (and even if you're not interested you'd still probably have a look) and gives the park a bit of credibility. It's strange to me that the park is 'Movie World' with the studios right next door but there are no references to the studios in the park. An attraction that literally everyone can do is also badly needed at MW so massive thumbs up from me. A studio tour in the long term would be cool now that the studios actually have an interesting history but for now pleased with that move. As for SW, what can you say that hasn't already been said? I guess one potentially new observation is Ray Reef, Paw Patrol and the new undercover Plaza for events are all attractions that you would add to SW if you were focused on the resort first and the park second. Ray Reef is the sort of thing that belongs at a resort really, Paw Patrol (license aside) is not something a decent theme park would highlight as if it's a motivator, and the Plaza, despite being a huge improvement is an events space. Don't get me wrong either, the resort is fantastic right now and the leadership there has done a great job, but SW really needs someone who cares about the park as a theme park, not as the resort's really elaborate Kids Club. Also do they still own WnW GC? Can someone check that and let them know if they do because it seems to be looking pretty forgotten about.

Dealing with the bolded statement first - what absolute dribble. Life exists outside of social media posts mate, and 99% of stuff that IS on instagram is rubbish so there goes that theory. As for “if you want to see props - go to LA”. The average joe, let alone an average family, can’t afford to just “pop over to the US for the weekend”. I think a memorabilia museum would prove very popular, and is a terrific inclusion, especially if it’s included props utilised on the studios for shoots. (You do know there are working sound stages next to movie world, right?) Sea Jellies is world leading In that it’s not just an exhibition, it’s an actual research facility that is staffed by Griffith Uni

About the same time I escaped PCL

That’s what they said last time..

Sea jellies is opening this Friday (Confirmed by Bikash on PCL)

So I have just returned from a trip to San Francisco. Luckily I was able to drop into Six Flags Discovery Kingdom & California's Great America. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (If you're in San Francisco it's easy to get to on the ferry then either bus or uber) To be honest the only reason I visited this park was to ride an RMC conversion. At the end of the day that was about the only thing worth it at this park. I grabbed a Flash pass (Same system as Dreamworld Q4U) as it was a long weekend which helped me to get onto everything and a few repeats. As a solo visitor though carrying around that bulky device was a massive pain in the butt. The most disappointing thing about this park was the downtime. There was 2 rides down for the entire day (Maintenance so that's fair) but over the entire 6~7 hours I was there not ONCE was every ride up and running. Every ride went down at some point, the 2 maintenance guys were running around from ride to ride. Vertical Velocity didn't open until after 5pm, not great considering the park closed at 8pm. Harley Quinn's Crazy Coaster 3/10 OK so this is new this season, and it has not aged well at all. This was very very rough and not very enjoyable in my opinion because of the roughness. If it wasn't sorough it would have been OK Cobra 6/10 No pics of this one, but it was a family coaster. Not a bad ride, quite fast and lots of heavily banked turns. Big plus? You did 2 circuits of the track Joker 8/10 This was my first RMC and whilst not the biggest RMC conversion out there this was an awesome ride, I can't wait to ride one of the bigger ones. Fast and super smooth (By coaster standards!). The inversion where you actually stay upside down and travel for a distance before coming back right way up was awesome. The restrains (lapbars) were also great but word of advice dudes, there is a part the goes between the legs that may hit you in not so great places. Kong 4/10 Standard SLC, rough as guts, need I say more? Medusa 6/10 Medusa turns 18 this year, and it feels like it. This would have to be hands down the roughest B&M I have ever ridden, it's even starting to lose the trademark B&M roar. Aside from that it was a pretty decent offering. The interesting thing I found with Medusa though was the paint fading. IMO it actually looked really good! Superman Ultimate Flight 7/10 BuzzSaw, but longer and with an extra loop. I actually really enjoyed this one! Dreamworld should have built this. California's Great America After SFDK this was a really good park. Well laid out, well presented and super helpful staff, standard Cedar Fair. Again I I visited on $1 day. Hot Dogs, Pizza, Popcorn etc. was all $1, I ate way too many hot dogs. CGA is kind of difficult to get to from San Francisco at the moment but a BART station has been built and should open soon (I had to get the train). Again I grabbed a fast pass and it was worth every cent. RailBlazer 10/10 Brand spanking new RailBlazer. MF has finally been knocked off my number 1 position. This is the future of coasters in my opinion. Compact but once you get off the lift chain this thing does not stop. Fast, intense and the smoothest coaster I have been on in a long time. Massive airtime! This park is worth visiting just for this. Being new the queue was over 2 hours but the staff nailed the reloading and dispatch. One train would go out and the other would come in. Flawless. If you do get there definitely wait for the front seat. It is definitely worth it! Demon 6/10 Made me miss the old SeaWorld Corkscrew. Surprisingly smooth for a coaster of its age. Flight Deck 7/10 This has got to be the shortest B&M ever. That being said it was still a fun ride. The final helix over the water was awesome. Patriot 6/10 I kind of wish that this was still a stand up instead of a floorless. The layout is definitely designed to be a stand up. Still not a bad little ride. Grizzly 8/10 This was a great woodie. Fast with lots of twists and turns. Bumpy but not uncomfortably so. Goldrusher 3/10 This is ripe for an RMC conversion or needs something done to it. Hands down this was one of the roughest woodies I have ever been on. I rode Mean Streak days before they closed it to convert it and this is just as rough. Lots of people complaining as they got off. That aside the layout, speed and overbanked turns were awesome. Well that sums up all the big coasters! Now sleep.

I’m going out on a Whim and guessing it isn’t a movie museum, but will be a collection/exhibit of props and maybe set designs from Aquaman going on display to mark the movies release in December. It then fits the description of unique in the world, and ties into the comments that they’ve worked with the Studio’s team based on work done over there. New characters - Aquaman, Mera and maybe Black Manta

How did DW ended up with the shitest coasters in the country.? @GoGoBoy I would prefer the Raptor go to a different park but I would like to see one in Australia.

@joz I agree a smidge but disagree a lot. Agree Part: When VRS did the 30 years Celebration I thought it would be a great idea for MW to get a hold of the props and set up some mock sets. Disagree Part: Memorabilia museum is only a very small token of what MW have removed. Village have removed so much relating to movies. From pre-shows to tours to non-DC characters to attractions to shows. I am liking it to if MW removed all their roller coasters and 10 years later they give us a memorabilia museum on coasters and expect us to be happy with it. On another note in case Village hasn’t got the picture yet. Every show Village has replaced at SW/MW has a whole mountain of sux about it! (in case somebody has forgotten)

I'd rather not go into details in a public forum but feel free to get in contact with me.

I don't believe that for a second.

It seems Dreamworld are more intrested in their long term future than Movie World are. I mean, it is understandable they are wanting to splash out major cash after DC Rivals opening, but this does give a good oppurtunity for Dreamworld to show off what they are investing in without having Movie World shut them down with a better attraction

Dreamworld don’t own the sheep, they just shear them. Take into account it takes about a year for a sheep to grow it’s wool, they would need 1,095 sheep give or take a few based on 3 shows a day, just to be able to keep the show running. Not feasible. The park has agreements with farms in the region to facilitate this, the same as they do for the koala gum tree plantations.

Really like the sound of movie magic being brought back at Movie World. That's what the park was primarily about when I first visited, and now it's become all about rides. The rides are great, but without the movie magic, it's not really Movie World. Very glad to hear it apparently will be again!

To the 'farm' of course. Times are tough, have to source lamb from somewhere 😂

Here is the article: JULY 9, 2018 3:00 PM BY LAURA MICHELL The first outdoor wave pool in Victoria is on its way to Whittlesea. Whittlesea council voted last Tuesday to approve an application for a wave pool and cafe to be built at Funfields. Funfields owner John Verga said the wave pool was being added to the Plenty Road fun park in response to a patron survey. “By and large, people were asking for a body of water they could chill out in,” he said. “We drilled that down further through further surveys and the preference was for a pool or wave pool.” Mr Verga said he expected the pool to be open on December 1, with the new attraction and cafe set to create 15-20 jobs. Before the pool can be opened, Funfields will need to build sound walls along the northern side of the pool and along the northern site boundary, along with a 2.4 metre sound wall along the park boundary which will be tapered at the eastern and western ends. Landscaping will also have be carried out on council land to the north of the park, at a cost to Funfields. An acoustic report must also be submitted to council to monitor noise levels. Councillors included the conditions in their planning permit for the pool and cafe in response to concerns from Funfields’ neighbours. The application received six objections, mainly around noise levels. Cr Tom Joseph said Funfields was important to the municipality. “It is a business that is beneficial to the entire municipality and as a fun park, it is important for them to bring in new attractions,” he said. “These types of conflicts will be there but we need to manage them taking into consideration the concerns of residents and the interests of the owners.”

Merlin entertainment.

Yes, not everyone can go to LA and most things on instagram are rubbish, if it isn't good enough for a filtered photo, then what is it? There is just no way that this is going to be a world first attraction as it was spun. Maybe you'll have some interest in some props for five minutes but in all likelihood an underused facility that may as well be an air conditioned room with some comfy sofas. Well aware they have working studios next door....are they going to give the general public a tour and let them in more? If so great, not what was suggested in the spin. An actual research facility? Not like other aquariums don't collaborate or research either...and the aforementioned is the world leader in breeding jellyfish-don't think SeaWorld is going to claim that title overnight. I've got low hopes of what the "interactive research" will be like.