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Sea World is to demolish shortly the iconic Rescue Point Lighthouse, which has been a feature of Sea World and it's lake since 1972, the year Sea World opened (or more precisely, got renamed from 'Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens'). It's one of the first things you see after entering the park, immediately across the lake, and gives an immediate sense of the park's maritime theme even though over the years, the Lighthouse has been a low-key attraction at the park featuring mainly exhibitions such as to promote Sea World's Research & Rescue Foundation and their work. It's most recent usage would've been to form part of the outdoor section of the Creatures Of The Deep attraction. In other news, a "Star Flyer" will be built at Sea World - probably the well-noted 2019 attraction publicised when the park's Viking's Revenge Flume Ride was closed shortly after the Thunder River Rapids incident at Dreamworld in late 2016. All of this is described in a recent application made to Gold Coast City Council (not a link to the application - see the paragraph after the embedded YouTube video) in late September: Whilst the application doesn't state it, this highly likely means the outdoor section of Creatures Of The Deep will be removed as well. Currently, according to Sea World's Maintenance Schedule webpage, that attraction is "closed for maintenance until further notice". If it is being removed, that's not exactly 'maintaining' it. However, they could be actually 'maintaining' it with "Star Flyer" being located elsewhere in the park. The application also doesn't specifically state that the "Star Flyer" will replace Rescue Point Lighthouse but it is highly likely. Likewise, it doesn't specifically state that this is the attraction replacing Viking's Revenge Flume Ride, which was promoted as the ride being replaced by the '2019 attraction'. For those who don't know, this is Rescue Point Lighthouse: And here it is in conjunction with the outdoor section of Creatures Of The Deep: The "Star Flyer" is highly likely referring to a StarFlyer, a ride manufactured by local company Funtime, who operate an amusement park in central Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. For those who don't know, details about this ride can be found below. These types of rides are known to be tall. Thus, the height of this ride will be interesting given Sea World has strict height restrictions. However, the simplistic look of the ride may allow them an exemption. Sea World's tallest ever ride was a temporary 60 metre high ferris wheel called the Sea World Eye which was installed in the late 2000's. All of Sea World's permanent rides have never gone higher than 30 metres though. Funtime's website's section on StarFlyer is very detailed but here are some quotes from the 'About' section of the ride for a quick summary: Here is a YouTube video of one of their tallest installations so far, reaching 122 metres high. If Sea World somehow reaches this height, Dreamworld's The Giant Drop may have some competition, even if there are 2 completely different rides, as the latter reaches a height of 119 metres. It's most likely though that the "Star Flyer" will be about 30 metres high to meet with the height restrictions. But given these types of rides are known to be tall, is 30 metres an acceptable height for it or is it too low? I'd add a link to the relevant Gold Coast City Council application but from previous attempts to link applications from there in recent months, I've found it will just lead to an error message for you all due to the recent information technology system upgrade the Council implemented. Regardless of how you feel about Sea World's plans, it's nice to see 2 Australian companies in the amusement park industry working together particularly during the effects on the industry from the Thunder River Rapids incident. As far as I am aware, Sea World's plans have not yet been approved by a private certifier but according to Gold Coast City Council they are "in progress" of being assessed by the private certifier. So let the theming guessing game begin!

I don’t know what’s funnier, advertising the location or the misprint spelling...

Look - I disagree. the location is great. It's a rarely used area of the park that doesn't see much traffic flow, so by placing the new attraction there, it helps to spread the load. Placing it near jet rescue, in that stupid pathway bridge bottleneck, especially with the flume roped off would be a horrible one-way-street dead end. its bad enough as it is. Hopefully the bigwigs see this, and if so - building at the lighthouse is a good idea, but ensure the pathway you have back down to lakeside into Nickelodeon is widened, as the current bottleneck around the rear corner of lakeside is stupid. thinking about it too, depending on height, it'd be a nice mid-size upgrade - kids go from Nick to something like this, before graduating to the big coasters....

An interesting article about Legoland in the UK. Is it a case of you get what you pay for? https://uk.news.yahoo.com/legoland-renamed-deep-fried-crap-105000819.html

Todays update.

Former house prop from Dreamworlds paddle boat. Hire a locker at Nick Central

Of all the areas of SW that need attention, I don't think the lighthouse is the most pressing. However much this project is costing, it would be better spent going towards getting the Flume operational again. I don't think putting a carnival ride in some far flung corner of the park is going to do much to the park attendance wise or add an element of energy and excitement to the place. I'm also not sure totally sure that right next to a dolphin pool is where riders screams should come from tbh. I mean if it's all true then points for remembering they own the park I guess. SW is in desperate need of rides and the star flyers are reasonably well rated. Not what I'd do but at least its something

The main website is yet to be relaunched but tickets/redemptions are now available. Tickets are $40 Adults, $25 Kids Dates Upcharges

I was at Aussie world today and I grabbed a few photos of some of various parts to the new inverting pendulum ride they are building. What looks to be the control booth. Parts of the gondola in some wrapping. Some unknown parts. Part of a sign and more unknown parts. The main arm laying on the construction site.

Hello everyone! Last month I attended the 2018 Euro Attractions Show, which is the IAAPA European event reuniting most of the professionals in the industry. I was covering the show for French website CoastersWorld.fr resulting in several interviews starting with these two: First of all I had the great privilege of meeting Sascha Czibulka and Camiel Bilsen of Intamin. Sascha is the company's Executive VP and has been with Intamin for 17 years, while Camiel is their promising young designer and has been heavily involved in the making of Hyperion. Highlights include: - Going for a bolder approach to design Hyperion and staying ahead of competitors (4:58) - The strengths of Intamin's new track design (5:55) - Intamin's new seat and lap-bar (7:18) Secondly, I also approached James Swinden who was recently promoted to Lead Engineer at Great Coasters International. In a more concise interview, James discusses various creative and technical aspects of designing wooden coasters. I very much thank him for his accomotation and patience doing this report, his serious dedication to his work truly shows I hope you'll enjoy these interviews. In any event, feedback/criticism is always appreciated. More interviews will be coming up, including one with Vekoma's lead engineer Benjamin Bloemendaal! He's arguably the mastermind behind Vekoma's spectacular renaissance and gave excellent insights into his job and the process of coming up with exciting coaster designs Some extra pictures from the event: Model of the Takabisha clone currently in construction in New Jersey

Thanks @Skeeta. I think you are correct. I wasn't even aware that the height restrictions were altered given their significance of them on The Spit. Theme park rides are now exempt from height restrictions which are, on Sea World's land, currently a maximum of 15 metres or 3 storeys. However, depending on the height of the "Star Flyer", this doesn't mean the community won't argue against the development (I realise they can't submit a submission due to the private certifier process though). I wonder how high the "Star Flyer" will go? 122 metres? Impressive if they did and serious competition for DW but maybe too high due to The Spit's nature. 50 metres might be the most realistic height now that height restrictions have been amended. That is, to keep the ride from affecting The Spit's nature as best as possible. However, according to Funtime, a standard StarFlyer is about 70 metres high. Regardless of the final height, I now believe it's very likely this will be Sea World's tallest permanent ride ever. Rescue Point isn't exactly a "far flung corner". It's highly visible particularly if a ride is now going to occupy the space. Castaway Bay is in a "far flung corner"; Dolphin Beach/Affinity is too. Seal Harbour can be considered as also being in a similar corner. If a "Star Flyer" is to be located on Rescue Point, I'd expect the Point will suddenly become a high pedestrian traffic area very quickly and might give them an attendance boost depending on how much promotion they give this ride. Rescue Point has only been a low pedestrian area over time because firstly, there is not much to see there and secondly, the alternative route of going past the Dolphin Nursery was always the main walkway around Sea World. It can't fit "practically anywhere". The tower can but when in operation, the ride swings with a radius of about 20 metres so it needs to be 20 metres away of any structure. Stationary, the ride requires a 10 metre radius. Depending on what height the ride starts rotating fast enough to extend the radius to 20 metres, any structures surrounding the ride must not be the same height. But, in case the ride lowers without slowing down, a 20 metre radius would probably be the safest to apply. The only locations that fit this radius are: The Viking Castle (if they decide to close the 4D Theatre permanently when they remove Viking's Revenge Flume Ride so they can also demolish the Castle and re-arrange the area), The former Sea Viper site and Creatures Of The Deep outdoor section including Rescue Point Lighthouse (if the area is being re-arranged apart from the Lighthouse's demolition) In relation to your latter statement, there is a flaw in that location for the "Star Flyer" compared to the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is only about 15 metres high and entering Sea World involves walking in an undercover area until you reach the former Skyway station. The ceiling was just high enough to allow you to see the Lighthouse. If the "Star Flyer" is built in this location for this reason, when you walk into the park during the ride's operation, all you would see is a tower as most of the ride will be very high in the air.

Gingies Glider 25/10/18. Wipeout not operating today due to no riders. Giant Drop also closed.

Maybe all the work that’s been happening within the area of COTD is related to this. When I visited the other days a lot of the paths had been pulled up, and rollers were being used to flatten out some of the paths (this was alongside the Dolphin Nursery), and looking at this satellite image, I think could definitely be related. The light house will be where the ride is located, and the garden north of it would be where the queue and entrance is They could also keep the COTD there, and the ride could fit into that theme. Some animatronics will have to go or be moved, but I think it could work really well and be a great asset to the park. And I can imagine how awesome the views would be. I do hope this isn’t the only attraction they are planning and they are still going ahead with the Vikings Revenge replacement too

I have been wanting for SW to build one of these forever, so pretty happy at that. Agree with @joz odd location choice. This ride doesn't need much foot print so theoretically it will fit where the Lighthouse goes, but it will also fit practically anywhere else in the Park. I'd rather it be placed by Jet Rescue, keep all thrill rides in the same area. On the other hand , the Lighthouse spot is a fantastic visual location and your eyes are drawn to it the moment you enter the Park. @pushbutton apparently is the exception to the rule. For financial reasons I'm sure this wasn't what was originally planned and something with a much bigger budget had to be put on the back burner, at least for now anyway.

I've never even noticed the lighthouse so I won't miss it. I won't have any interest on going on this new spin n spew fairground ride though.

It's a full traditional Christmas dinner. Very well worth it!

I love this event, but I really hope they change up the Parade this year. With all the financial issues they’ve had, I doubt they will invest in new floats, but it’s pretty much been the same parade every year since it started and it’s time for a new one. And hopefully they don’t have any characters on the floats with poles up their ass rather than getting someone inside it

The lack of competition would be the biggest worry. Village would have no reason to invest in new attractions and as you said can charge what they like. Also besides what other people have stated here, Dreamworld make alot of money from overseas. They have a whole division that work just with the Asian market to bring in tour groups and market to Asia in general. Dreamworld do alot of tour groups from China and its a big part of the business.

That's the exact name of it, but it was initially used for shopping centres, then eventually shops themselves.

Seriously. Like is that park so Shit they can’t maintain a piece of metal that slowly rotates?

I make the mistake of attempting to engage in a civil conversation with AlexB and this is what I get!

The Park is now in soft open. Take a look at these pics of this spectacularly themed New Park. I found this on Disneyandmore and themeparx.com if you are wanting to find out more. Some great ideas for our SW here and look @pushbutton they have a snazzy cable Skyway ride with enclosed cabins. -Something that I am sure you would agree our SW needs! Sunday, October 21, 2018 Shanghaî Haichang Ocean Park Pictorial Update - Part Two New pictorial update about Shanghaî Haichang Ocean Park, still in soft-opening until mid-November grand opening. Although the exterior theming looks finished and the marine life exhibits and shows are operational - except the Orcas show - none of the rides are yet working, including the Intamin Steel Dolphin coaster, always in trial operations. But there is plenty of new pictures shot by Chinese guests and posted on social medias site where Michael from Themeparx found them. I remind you that the park is located near Shanghaî at 30 minutes from Shanghaî Disneyland and will be SDL main competitor once all rides and shows will be fully operational, i.e anytime soon. Let's start by a great panoramic shot of the park, and you can see more great pictures in D&M previous article HERE.. New shots of the snow mountain. The entrance to polar mountain. The train ride is not working yet. The fountain at the center of Christmas Town, in front of the The Seal - Sea Lions show / exhibit pavilion is now working. Below, more building from Christmas town and the Kids zone are now finished. The Mermaids and Shark mosaic sculpture at the entrance of the park. The awaited Steel Dolphin coaster is still in test mode and not open yet. Jet-Ski show in the canal and daily show at Christmas town! The Skyway gondolas going from polar mountain to the volcano are now working, so let's board one of them from polar mountain station to have great aerial shots of the park! Let's enter the Volcano Whale Shark Hall to meet sharks! The flume ride is not working yet. New banners before the start of the Dolphin show. n The park has now three Belugas... ...And Polar Bears. Plenty of Penguins await you in the Penguins exhibit... According to Michael from Themeparx, at the seal exhibit inside the polar mountain, "guests can view the seals from both above and underneath the exhibit and come face to face with the seals at the cylindrical glass part of the tank". Guests can also have a close encounter with Sea Turtles... ...and even Mermaids! More pics of the Coral Reef pavilion. The underwater restaurant. The Jelly Fish exhibit. Sunset and night shots of the park! Make sure to visit Themeparx HERE as there is more pictures available and Michael adds new ones daily! Pictures: copyright their respective owners.

Thanks @cryptichatter. Not sure too much more will come from the state regulators.

Had a quick walk around, here's what I noted: work is barrelling ahead on i-Ride - there's plenty of folks on-site cracking into construction Looks like they're gearing up to start work on the Lazy River in WhiteWater World - plenty of flags on-site. How does this relate to i-Ride you might ask? There's additional temporary buildings on-site near the cinema and a lot of buzz around the reservoir - all signs point to them using the dirt they pull up for the Lazy River to help fill in the reservoir (when I say all signs I mean I easily over-heard a few hard-hats chatting about it from the Giant Drop walkway.)

The exit/shop shelter has been added and a nice touch with the paint work. The entry is now complete

Yes, provided they have the common sense to know not to damage park property! Yeah. That's a maintenance issue, and a very basic one at that!

The height of it will definitely determine whether it is a kids ride or thrill ride. I think anything over 30m would be great, but I can’t see it being too much taller than that due to the height regulations. It was okay for the Eye to be because it was only temporary

Today now marks two years