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DREAMWORLD staff have taken their first rides on the long-awaited Sky Voyager as the world-class gondola sits ready to launch for paying guests — although when that will happen is up in the air. The ride is yet to be granted registration from the State Government, whose tough new laws on amusement park rides came into effect this week. While Sky Voyager is fully operational, the park is still working on the internal training, testing and procedures required to commission it. CEO John Osborne said the park was working with the regulator to have Sky Voyager registered, but would ensure the process was not rushed. “I suppose in the eyes of our guests and people watching from the outside, it has been delayed,” he said. “I think the expectation that it could open around Christmas was a bit ambitious. “Clearly we’re making sure, as we always would, that every i is dotted and every t is crossed, so we’re going to the absolute nth degree to make sure that all of the training, commissioning and work required to open the ride is a new benchmark for the industry.” A spokesman for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland said it received a design registration application for a new ride from Dreamworld on November 7 last year. The department said it was awaiting additional safety information, including a compliance check of components used in the ride, before it would issue the registration. Mr Osborne has himself, as part of the commissioning process, ridden Sky Voyager so many times he’s lost count – and is certain it will be a turning point for Dreamworld. “When you’re sitting on it, you feel as though you’re flying. It’s meant to be skydivers diving out of a plane and you go from landscape to landscape and lots of little thrills happen while you’re doing that,” he said. “It stops with a really spectacular finale which I’ll have to let everybody see when they get there. “When I’ve been on it, I literally forget about what’s going on in the rest of my day and for me that’s actually unusual from a personality point of view and with what I’m doing these days.” Six months ago, John Osborne took on arguably the toughest turnaround in Australia, taking the reins of the battered Gold Coast icon, which has struggled to regain trust and visitors since the fatal failure of the Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016. Coroner James McDougall is expected to hand down recommendations after his inquest into the deaths of Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi, and Cindy Low in coming months. “We’ve undertaken to implement all the findings, in conjunction with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the theme park industry, and I just think that will be a really important next step for everybody,” Mr Osborne said of the inquest. Ardent Leisure logged a $21.8 million loss for the first six months of the financial year as costs from the tragedy continued. However, the company said it expected to return to positive cash flow in the next 12 months. Mr Osborne said a focus and investment in safety and guest experience was bringing back the visitors and also benefiting the park’s 1000 local staff. An injection of funds from parent group Ardent Leisure, which secured a $225 million refinance deal, will allow the park to make two major announcements before the end of the year. “We’re scouring the world for the best manufacturers of thrill rides,” Mr Osborne said. “What I can say is that the next big announcement will be of a world-class thrill ride. “We’re looking at all of the options at the moment to land the best one.” Beyond the next thrill rides, Mr Osborne is looking decades ahead. The former casino boss is not ruling out a flutter in the gaming sector for the Coomera site. “I think anything in the entertainment and leisure area is on the agenda but at the moment I think we’re way off being ready to do anything like that,” he said. “ Five to 10 years from now, I see this site being the potential to be an absolutely world-class leisure precinct that includes a theme park with a lot of new and innovative rides, attractions and waterslides, a bigger and better animal display, hotel or accommodation that’s shorter-term in nature – either on our site or adjacent to our site. “If you look at the development of theme parks around the world, they’ve moved into that space where they’ve become all-encompassing leisure precincts with all of that stuff in it as opposed to just theme park rides or a waterpark or a zoo. “I think the time is right in Australia for someone to have a crack at that and if it’s going to be anybody, it should be us.” ———————————————— Scouring the globe for the best manufacturers shouldn’t be needed. There’s only a few of them if what you want is world class. He speaks like buying a coaster is like buying a bed for your hotel rooms, put the order in and they arrive in a week. If they haven’t even ordered something yet we’ll be waiting years

Dreamworld CEO promises two major announcements as Sky Voyager delays continue Dreamworld CEO John Osborne downplays Sky Voyager's unprecedented five month delays while promising new major attractions. Click here to continue reading

Hopefully Village is now in a better position. If MW wanted to deliver a killer blow to DW it's about time for MW to pull the finger out of the butthole and build a descent kids area. And it goes without saying but for the thick people, Village needs to cancel all contracts with Showtimefmx. Showtimefmx is Easter Show level, not theme park level.

But we did also get the Trolls Village

DW (more specifically Ardent) is waiting for the Coroner's finding/report to be handed down. An outcome that will pave the Park's future (or extinction) P.S. great article as always, thank you Parkz.com.au

I couldn't agree more.

Mate the off-show Tigers have been running on treadmills to power those pumps for years...

The best entertainment I have ever seen at any theme park was the BeatBox show and the following year another one that was nearly as good called the Fire Machine. Not the same as Consentino, but I'd love to see another show like those!