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What annoys me on this front is Village practically gift wrapped DW a place in the market. They basically said we're going to move on our prices, you can now have the advantage on price if you want. DW's response was to raise prices too. So stupid. Village raised their price, saw a tiny decrease in attendance but much higher profits. DW raised prices, much lower attendance and slightly less revenue. Good going there Ardent you sure understand the pressures facing your business. I don't think they like to highlight things which will reduce the guest experience

Well, they've appointed an obviously poor candidate as CEO, and by the looksof it also given him no real incentive to actually spendthe money that's obviously needed. Quite the opposite, in fact. Of all Australian theme parks, the one thing Dreamworld really has an advantage over the others is its size. So now they want to reduce that, rather than being bold and brave and utilising it to really make people go "Wow! Dreamworld is way bigger and better than the other parks!" Sad, and disappointing to say the least. Oh, and "capital light" events are definitely NOT a solution!

Ardent is well over due to get out of the theme park industry. I’m embarrassed to see the way they run dreamworld. Ardent, please piss off away from our theme parks.

For all who lambasted VRL for upping the prices and ending the age of the discounted annual passes - this is proof that the higher priced tickets do reap rewards, and that the punters they lost wouldn't have spent much more than the $99 they paid for the pass.

Hopefully the lack of direct competition doesn't have them rest on their laurels. They've already slipped on their efforts with Scooby Doo half arsed effects coaster.

Fixed. Pay no attention to the earthworks behind the curtain. We weren't building anything - just moving dirt to build a drainage hill behind Sky Voyager. The hill is definitely not a previously proposed ampitheatre either, and its to drain the mist effects away from Sky Voyager, to rectify the defective issues with the mist effects where we accidentally installed fire sprinklers instead. In the coming weeks.

They do actually. When idiots fountain vote posts that don't deserve fountains, it encourages people like me to give the post a thumbs up to compensate...

I DON'T NORMALLY DO THEME PARKS, BUT WHEN I DO

Wow. This is disturbing news. Is this the beginning of the end??? Pray it isnt so....some one send out an SOS to a decent international theme park operator immediately!!

There's no new major rides or attractions coming to Dreamworld after Sky Voyager At the release of today's disappointing half-year results, Dreamworld's owners have pulled the plug on future expansion plans that were meant to total more than $50 million. Click here to continue reading

I'm pretty sure you've already been busted, and considering I gave TWO reasons it COULD be and DIDN'T give just one reason - i think you've just been busted again...

It could be hard to find some footage but a friend in need is a friend is a friend indeed so I will give you the low-down. Close your eyes @Gold Coast Amusement Force (last time I said that to someone I ended up with a kid) & picture yourself on the GD at the top. LITTLE DROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LITTLE SLOW DROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIG DROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIG SLOW DROP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STOP @Www worker 3.0 Give me 1000 more fountains please because all you're achieving is proving me right. (side note @Www worker 3.0fountains don't do anything 😂)

I’d say it’s not killed off, just on hold/they are going to try and lower the cost of the attraction. If I were them, I’d remove any animal aspects of the ride they were going to be include, and just purely create a lazy river, with a possible rapids section or route on the course. Make it feel like a tropical get away, and add immersive theming and facilities

VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GRAHAM BURKE AO TO RETIRE AT END OF 2019 22 February 2019: Village Roadshow Limited (ASX: VRL) today announces that Graham Burke AO has decided to retire as Chief Executive Officer at the end of calendar year 2019. The Board has determined it is in the best interests of the Company that Mr Burke remains in his role until the end of 2019 to ensure a smooth succession. Upon the appointment of a new CEO, Mr Burke will remain on the VRL Board as a Non-Executive Director. The Board intends to conduct a wide-ranging, global and domestic executive search, with an external search firm to support this process. Clark Kirby who is Chairman and CEO of VRL’s largest division, Village Roadshow Theme Parks will be an internal candidate for the role. Graham Burke started work for Roc Kirby, Village Roadshow’s founder, at the age of 14 as a ticket collector and floor sweeper at Town Hall Pictures, Ararat in Victoria. At age 23, he became Managing Director of Village Drive-In Limited. In 1988, Village Roadshow listed on the ASX, and Graham was its inaugural CEO. He led the company into its highly successful theme parks investments, and was the driving force behind the establishment of Roadshow, which was key to the production of more Australian films than the rest of the industry combined. More recently, Graham has been at the forefront of the campaign to tackle content piracy both in Australia and globally. Executive Chairman Robert Kirby said, “Graham is a giant of our industry and has been an integral part of Village Roadshow. Together we have seen the evolution of this company into the incredible entertainment business it is today, Graham having been a part of it for 63 years. “We thank him for his enduring commitment and the leadership he has shown. Graham leaves an extraordinary legacy as CEO and we look forward to his continued involvement on the Board. “Graham’s agreement to remain on the Board ensures that his invaluable experience and knowledge will continue to benefit Village Roadshow, and allows him to provide advice and mentorship for the incoming CEO.” Graham Burke said, “It is an honour to lead Village Roadshow. I am exceptionally proud of everything that has been achieved. I am incredibly optimistic about the future of the company and look forward to serving on the Board in support of the new CEO. I want to thank the thousands of my colleagues who come to work each day with passion and dedication to creating great entertainment experiences for our customers. “From humble beginnings as a small cinema circuit, we’ve contributed hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, provided employment and careers for thousands of Australians, become a mainstay in Australia’s tourism industry and been involved in the production of some of the most iconic films of all time. Having said all of that, I firmly believe the best is yet to come.” Page 2 GRAHAM BURKE AO BIOGRAPHY Graham Burke is Chief Executive Officer and an Executive Director of Village Roadshow Limited. With a contribution to the Australian entertainment industry spanning more than half a century, Graham has had a profound impact on all aspects of film production, marketing, exhibition and distribution. Graham has devoted his entire career to Village Roadshow Limited, having joined the company at the age of 14 as a ticket collector and floor sweeper at the Town Hall Pictures in Ararat, rural Victoria, owned by the late Roc Kirby. At age 23, Graham became the Managing Director of Village Drive-In Limited. In 1968, Graham and the Kirby family founded Roadshow Film Distributors (Roadshow) which became the most successful film distribution company in Australia. In 1988, Village Roadshow listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, with Graham the inaugural CEO. Graham is considered one of the most strategic and creative forces behind Village Roadshow's development. He has been integral to the success and development of the Theme Parks business (Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild) as well as an advocate for ongoing Australian and international film production. Through such initiatives, major international films such as Happy Feet, Mad Max and The Great Gatsby have been produced in Australia. During his tenure as CEO, Graham was the Founding Commissioner of the Australian Film Commission; a Trustee of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust; and a Board Member of the International Cultural Corporation of Australia. Graham continues to Chair Creative Content Australia, a position he has held since 2016. Graham was also key in revolutionising the FM radio industry and was a founder of the Sydney 2Day FM company, serving as Non-Executive Director between 2001-2011. In 2018, Mr Burke was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for services to film production, broadcast media and leisure industries, and to the community.

He's butt hurt because of his web of lies. My fav is still when @www worker 2.0 was watching the footage of TRR and having discussions with Intamin about what went wrong. What type of person talks themselves up with lies while a tragedy is unfolding?

Village Roadshow CEO: Dreamworld is no longer a competitive factor The owners of Movie World, Sea World and Wet'n'Wild have reported theme park earnings of nearly $40 million for the half year and a record-breaking January period just hours after the announcement of a $12 million loss at Dreamworld. Click here to continue reading

Dreamworld can be Australia's best theme park. All it needs is a decent operator. The longer Ardent own it the worse it gets making it cost more to restore the park.

Maintenance, cost-saving closure, who cares anymore?

Here's our first inside look of AW's first attempt of a scare maze. A bit of a shame that it seems as if guests will have to walk through the maze with some parts consisting of a sandy flooring (I'm pretty sure some will also consist of paving as the maze will be utilising the old pathway to the castle). Looks like I'll be wearing thongs during my walk through. Other than this it seems pretty cool.

Basically everyone has already said, why can't Ardent just fuck off already? The only answer I can think of is the Company has a reluctant obligation to see out the TRRR inquest, will hopefully be charged for reckless negligence ...and then forced to sell it.

Main Event in the US is clearly their major focus in terms of investment, growth and profit

But do they even have any other business now. Didn't they used to own bowling alleys, but sold them off to "focus on" (destroying) their Theme Park business?

Holy Wall of text Batboyd! Can someone TL:DR, or alternatively, insert a few carriage returns?

I'm just glad to see you learned how to use paragraphs! Happy 16th old boy!

that usually isn't a big focus of the Half Year presentation... unless its something that will be visible or impacting their P&L in some way prior to June 30.

slightly off topic and I think it might have been discussed? Would it be viable for MW to build a 3-5 story car park structure so they can expand further? visually it wouldn't be amazing and could possible dwarf existing / smaller rides + planning permission is required...

Hahahaha...16 years ago!! Wow! Nice find! That's from before the site was even called Parkz!!! Very cool!! Its good to see things are rapidly taking shape. The ride will come together quite quickly now. Great work and lets hope this is just the tip of the iceberg for changes to LPS over the next couple of years.

16 days later & SkyVoyager is still not opened. 10am is when the results are released, which is not far away. When the results are released, how many think Ardent will explain why SkyVoyager still has not opened or why they are reducing ride operating hours?

It seems to be jealousy that you got to rub shoulders with The Bat. New headgear inspired by watermelon man.

The new Batman at MW is looking great 😂 (Photo TPSN)

Respecting loyalty? Because in business it's cheaper to keep an existing customer than obtain a new one? Because they can? No. And i'll tell you why - A while ago, an entrepreneur launched a business in Australia, and his aim was to undercut the big players by offering a budget product. He was successful, and managed to get quite a bit of market share from the big players. Later down the track, he rebranded it slightly - but kept a fairly similar name. He started providing a more polished product. Offering extra services. Then he started charging a bit more. These days, he tries to market himself as being on the same level as the big player in the industry and the product is far closer to 'on par' with other big players - but unfortunately, many still regard the product as a 'lesser standard' than the big boys, because of their budget, cut-price history. The minute Dreamworld tries to tackle the 'budget' angle, their reputation will forever stay in the toilet as the sub-standard park against Movie World \ VRTP. No matter what they do to the park after that - the budget monkey will forever be on their back. If you haven't yet figured out the entrepreneur's business, its

Dreamworld! This kind of thinking would've be good 3 years ago.

Ardent would have to sell it at bargain basement cost for anyone to be interested in rebuilding the park, brand and image. Theyd make 10x more on land alone for developers - that’s what they’d be aiming for

I don’t see another operator being overly interested unless it was at a bargain place as the park would largely need a broom through it. Theyd maximise their land value by selling to developers if the council/govt indicated they would happily rezone (in exchange for copious land taxes). I personally think we’re stuck with Ardent until the decide they want out, and then we have nothing at all..

Best guesses are not all we have - there are several people on the forums who know the precise reasons. Or, you know - you can listen to @Www worker 3.0 - i'm sure there's another award winning fiction out there just waiting to be told... I would suggest the 'defects' alleged to have been the cause of the delays are probably either construction defects, requiring rectification by the contractor, or safety defects identified by WHS inspectors, requiring rectification by the park. Nothing about 'defects' screams "a company that has built quite a few of these already couldn't get the video synchronised"..... that's just laughable, IMO.

yeah i'm a bit over the fountains too... maybe he's trying to get rid of some of the water as HMAS Dreamworld sinks....

It's worth pointing out that as it stands today Dreamworld (without WhiteWater World) is a smaller park per m2 than Movie World. If you were to compare apples vs apples (so say PC, WNW & MW against DW & WWW) the gap is even greater.

Apparently... depends how long it takes to fix the defects... nothing like spending $20m+ and your ride can’t be registered due to defects....

To my knowledge, there was never a plan for a lazy river. However there is a plan to construct an adventure river in Whitewater World, which as far as I know is still happening.

Yep.. just listening in. Someone has just asked in the first question. SV - construction was 4-6 weeks behind needed for Christmas. Ride is finished except for some defects which are being resolved before the ride can be registered. They hope this will happen “in the near future” capital light focus on entertainment offerings to bring local/pass holders into the park more master plan underway with focus to increase profitability on a much smaller footprint - analysing what/how land can be utilised for commercial and residential development. $5m per annum reduction in expenses (read: less staff, less operating hours)

Although not solely responsible, it seems that @www worker, i mean @www worker 2.0, errr I mean @Www worker 3.0 might be a little butt hurt about the reactions to this comment: Although - on review, it seems to be about the only reaction you get from them... so it appears to be just a normal thing...

There goes the shop... Also not understanding the fountain of improb votes on my previous post? I took the photos, so they have no improbability haha