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If I were running DW I'd be looking long and hard at ToT and seriously considering its future. I would suggest that 1 or 2 properly good thrill rides (not flats) be built first to lessen the impact of its departure

They're nuts if they think a hundred bucks is going to fly for a morning walk for Rivals. Sure, the first few sessions are going to be packed, but once when all the cool theme park kids have gotten there "first" before the other theme park kids bookings are going to dry up. When people ZMOT (research) the climb, they're going to compare it to other local climbs. Something iconic like Story Bridge's Day Climb is $129 whilst Skypoint's Day Climb (which serves up incredible views) is just $75. To further the point, Skypoint's Sunrise Climb is only a few bucks more than the Rivals climb, and I would unquestionably choose sunrise views of the Gold Coast over Movie World's carpark. Now if the walk went behind the scenes for Rivals and showed guests some of the interesting technology that goes on in the station and go over some basic behind the scenes stuff then it might have some great value but who honestly knows - without any information on the Movie World website (certainly nothing on the experiences page) beyond a little blurb at purchase it's anyone's guess. Pretty par for the course though considering Sea Jellies isn't on Sea World's front page yet. :P

Completely agree, I was only there last week and thought of this. Seeing all the other areas have had significant ride investments, why not the kids WB section? It is a well themed area and the rides are great for children, but I would like to see a new family indoor/dark/rollercoaster ride (not superhero theme) targeting families similar to Road Runner. Speaking of this, my idea for long term future expansion would be a brand new additional area of Movie World. Currently we have DC heroes, villains, Wild West and Kids WB. My idea for a new area would be 'WB WORLD', it would be a mix of rides and attractions from various lesser known WB franchises. E.g. a Police Academy Ride, gremlin ride revival etc.

it doesn't fit the overall area it currently sits in, but it may well be an indication of the direction they're going. (all jokes aside). Retheming goldrush into some sort of aviation space would be a far cry from a 'river ride' that killed people. Buzzsaw could easily retheme as the "red baron's barrel roll" - and it wouldn't even need much of a paint job! I'm visualising DCA's Soarin' area of Grizzly Peak. nondescript sheds can be hidden by 'hangar' theming. Paint the ground with random runway \ taxiway \ apron markings. Naturally don't install Grizzly River Rapids! The area lends itself well to many other aviation inspired attractions (such a shame Tailspin is at the other end of the street), but the area would open with a coaster, and a blockbuster 'simulator' style attraction. If you proceed with ToT removal (see other thread) GD would also connect well to the new theme, with plenty of space for outlets, and several flats which could be accomplished at minimal cost. the front building for i-ride could have the 'sidewalk gutter' painted red \ white \ yellow etc, with PA announcements "the white zone is for loading and unloading..." etc. The only difficulty would be the fairy shop - as it would need a retheme also... however perhaps it might be time to bring back the helicopter tours (which would be perfectly suited), provided the helipad is still usable given the buzzsaw sitting next to it. This actually sounds really good to me, and has me excited to see if they go in this direction. Of course, it is Ardent, so I fully expect to be disappointed - but i'd like to be (pleasantly) surprised!

Tower of Terror holds so much sentimental value for me but that ride needs to go. The continued down time isn't great for business. Getting rid of Tower of Terror would open up the Giant Drop to an overhaul with a new gondola.

At the end of April I was fortunate enough to have a spare Sunday afternoon in Copenhagen due to the nature of my trip, not nearly enough for a city like this. But enough for an abridged 10 hour highlights package of the city centre, and time for a couple of parks, one of which was Bakken. https://www.parkz.com.au/parks/DK/Klampenborg/Bakken Bakken is easy to get to, 20 minutes on the S-Tog train from Copenhagen Central to Klampenborg, and then a pleasant walk down a residential street where you find the park hidden in some trees by a lake. The park is the oldest in the world, and has the Rutschebanen wooden coaster dominating the centre of the park, with essentially an oval loop of path around it with amusements on both sides. But i started on Tornado, which an Intamin spinning coaster. You sit in 4 seater cars that face inwards like the Gerstlauer spinners, but they have fabric OSTRs like on the Zacspins. This thing is brutal, the spinning gets unlocked as soon as you leave the station, the lift is fast, and then goes hyperspeed at the top so you get flung off the top and slam into a turn, so its impossible to brace because you dont know which way you will be facing at the top. From there it's high banked turns and helices and fast transitions (imagine riding the 2nd half of Jet Rescue with a spinning car). There is a floater hill halfway through the train just makes it over so you can see the necessity of why the lift has to speed up so much. The ride is mostly enclosed by a building, but it doesn't really do much...not dark or anything. The ride is a bit like a Zacspin in that you'll either love the intensity or hate it, but I liked it. Marihonen had no queue so I had a go on that. Continuing around the main path was Vilde Mus , a fairly typical Mack wild mouse ,but it had a nice facade. I should touch on how the park is. Basically individual operators own lots and have rides and restaurants and so forth, so there is some stuff that looks quite good, and other stuff that looks a bit carnie and old (Though very little actually looks temporary or anything like that), so the park has a certain chaotic character, like an old village or something. An amusement park in the truest sense. A side alley led down to Rutschebanen which is a scenic railway type wooden coaster, meaning no upstop wheels to prevent you from flying off the track, so in the past it had a brakeman. But recently it had a modern safety upgrade, so along the track are big flat brake plates that trim the speed a bit at various points. It was still an enjoyable experience, with decent sized dips and hills, and quite a lengthy layout. Getting back on the main path, I did Hurlumhej which is a vintage fun house, what really impressed me about this is that the whole house seemed to run off one motor, with all elements connected by belts etc, so everything moved in harmony, with entire rooms moving in an oscilating motion. The first bit of this video shows it off well. The next ride along was Racing, a flitzer coaster, which is basically a coaster that just keeps turning and dipping in one giant clockwise turn for the most part...It's sort of what i imagined Turbo Mountain or Geronimo to be like. Had a very retro feel, and the lack of harnesses in the cars was pretty cool. The back of the park was mostly just spin n spews, restaurants and game stands. There was a ghost train Spogelsestoget which was basically just run of the mill old ghost train with dodgy effects. If you've ridden the one at LPM you'd know what to expect. More flats etc on this side of the park, OMG this one was there though! which eventually led to Mine Train Ulven. Loved this one, its a mine train in name only. No boring slow turns or endless lift hills, this was a speedy, smooth family thrill coaster, with a confusing layout, drops into tunnels, leafy sections it would rush through, a bit of rockwork here and there. It had the Intamin flavour for sure. Kaengaru was right there, and an opportunity to try an new flat ride type (and an obligation to ride anything Australian themed). It's just a spinning ride with seats that bounce up and down via air bladders, giving constant pops of airtime, though it might be a bit nauseating if it went on for too long! Skyroller is a Gerstlauer sky roller. This version, where it raises up a tower and spins around is much easier to get flipping, so i got over 50 flips according to the counter! I had limited time, and nothing else really took my fancy, so I did a re ride each on Tornado, Rutschebanen and Mine Train Ulven and took photos. But just as I was about to leave I realised I had almost missed the Safari shooting dark ride. Cue the fake palm trees and fibreglass gorillas and lions. I was fully expecting something politically incorrect where you shot said animals, but instead the targets were giant wasps in the trees. My score was pretty measly; if you've ridden a few of these shooters you might have encountered some where it's a pain to get anything. I think i could count on one hand the number of targets I got. Overall, Bakken was a good way to spend a couple of hours, with a few of the coasters and the fun houseworth the easy quick trip out there, as well as that fun house. You can also get individual ride tickets, but I found the unlimited wristband to worth it for the number of rides I intended to do. Denmark is one of the few places where prices are as high as Australia....It cost 269 DKK which is around 60 AUD.

Dark water ride.

If you're having trouble accessing Parkz on the go could I interest you in a Ipad?

Myth: "the ride sits there for months on end with nothing being done to it" Reality: Many 'coaster style' rides have the ride vehicle removed, and taken to a maintenance workshop for maintenance. This would explain the lack of visual activity, whilst still being more than 'nothing' Extended downtime is usually an indication of an unexpected delay or issue - for example, a fault found during routine testing that was not anticipated requires further investigation or rectification. It can also be because a specific part needs to be replaced that wasn't anticipated, and has to be manufactured \ ordered from overseas. Some maintenance work is carried out outside of hours, due to workloads, or the impact such works would have on guests during the day - such as noise, or dust, or the need for large plant and machinery to move around the park's guest access areas But GD hardly makes any discernible noise if you aren't close by. Roachie said remove TOT, and use the tower for GD upgrades, which would still free up the space without getting rid of the tower. I couldn't say whether it has or hasn't. Fact is that the tower was built by intamin, so in theory they could supply suitably modified upgrades to suit. In theory the rolling stock could remain, and just a new seating arrangement could be attached with minimal modifications.

If anyone is chasing a cheap Ipad contact me.

I definitely think the price would be worth while if there was a bind the scenes element included with the experience. If it is purely $100 to climb some stairs, then it's a no from me. I was thinking they would price it at $50. The website doesn't say whether or not a behind the scenes is included, so we will have to wait and see.

When the hypercoaster climb was first being talked about, figures like $300-$400 were being thrown around. At least village had some sense and didn’t go with that insane idea. Although I agree, for just a walk up and down $50 would make a lot more sense than $100

So a Dreamworld press release has been issued talking about the holidays, and it appears the Bushranger Show is returning, and will be part of the train ride. All Kinds of Happy at Dreamworld - MEDIA RELEASE final.pdf

I'm still shaking my head. Skypoint ranges $75.00 to $105.00. Someone at Village has been on the loopy juice. I would love Village to explain why the Rivals climb is better than Skypoint. I paid $85.00 at Skypoint and the experience took around 90min plus I got a $20.00 dining voucher.

What is the f***ing point of the climb? I prefer the VIP option where I get to sit down all the way to the top.

Hmmm.. 'and this time the Bushrangers will wreak havoc on the Dreamworld Express' The peeps at TPSN once again showing their age and lack of knowledge. Maybe they should consider a career at the Gold Coast Bulletin? In case you were wondering, the Bushrangers along with Ned Kelly once Hijacked the Cannonball Express daily. The Bushranger show from the banks of the Murrisippi on Captain Sturt also ran for many years after the train heist ceased way back in the 80's

I'd keep the tower, run a launched coaster at it along the TOT right of way. Up into a loop (or banked turn) that took it over the railway as and run it around in the old water storage/mine ride area. You'd probably have to run it up to where the station is now to turn around though. But the new station could be closer to the tower with a modern launch system, moving the noise away from the Tigers. My 2 cents.

TL:DR

With the announcement and demolshment of the great escape last year seems a great new announcement of what’s to come. This looks 1000% better than the old park which did have a lot of aging 90s slides. Will be good to see how it turns out. Photos are in the link. Phone wouldn’t let me upload them here. Article credit to Perth Now: https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/pirate-adventure-themed-golf-course-and-surf-machine-planned-for-former-great-escape-site-at-hillarys-boat-harbour-ng-b88957761z

For $300 I’d expect my name immortalised on a plaque in the ride queue that teenagers can stick gum over for the next 20 years. $50 is about the limit of blowing cash for novelty value - and that’s all it is. It’s not a skywalk, it’s not a bridge climb.

I'd feel like DW are ripping customers off by being happy for them to ride it in the state it's been the last several years.

I visited the attraction this morning, and while some changes were made from the original design, i think it’s a great addition to the park, makes great usage of the building, and is internally presented well. The exterior isn’t the best, with them trying to blend it into the old ice cream store.

Disney has the best loose articles policy in the world... NONE. You can take anything and everything on every ride with you. You will be shocked at what Disney does in terms of ride capacity and operations compared to EVERY (yes including Universal just up the road) other theme park in the world. Simply watching the dispatch operations at Space Mountain is an attraction in itself.

My favourite take off from this interview is that it really seems like Clark is saying without saying that he thinks the park got it wrong in making it all about rides and DC. It might be all talk, time will tell, but at least the talk is about getting the sorts of things I think we all want to see into the park. My second favourite thing was the two staff in the background the whole time clearly disinterested and I'm pretty sure one even scratched his balls at one point 😂😂

@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.

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.

I don't believe that for a second.

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?