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I think the problem with this event is what people think the motivation behind it is. The comments seem to say that this won't turn the park around and it's not what they need to do to fix the park long term. I agree with this sentiment, BUT I think DW do too. I think someone from DW/Ardent must've come to their senses that all the plans they had were all shit. I mean Lazy River? Amphitheater? A small coaster in a shed (Craig hinted about this publically when they were still hoping to fix Eureka)? Yeah none of that is good, none of that will turn it around and will also coat an arseload of cash. Better to throw those plans in the bin and start again, particularly given they had a slow summer after SV and don't need to be wasting money on mediocre attractions. But what do you do in the meantime? Just fiddle with your dick for 2 years? I think when you view these events as trying to bridge the gap until the bigger stuff gets signed off/comes on line it makes sense and absolutely is what they should be doing. And they can get a surprising amount of traction with these things. Cosentino was a good move. I've never heard of him before and was scratching my head a bit when they announced it, but a lot of people have heard of him; they had a very good Easter holiday season because they had something to market (good weather certainly helped with that too). Doing another event to try and have a good June/July is also a no brainer.

Oh I bet it was!

Recently quite a large area of SWs carpark was fenced off, and from the recent nearmap update (May 7), we can see that construction has begun. I'm not sure if council applications for this can be found, but I can confirm that this area of the carpark will feature an all new helicopter hangar/centre for the park and is due to be completed later this year

...To clarify - Dreamworld's big issue here right now isn't how to attract existing passholders into the park. The per cap spend from existing passholders isn't going to help them in the long term - it should be the cream on top, but for now, its not enough for the park to bounce back hard enough to climb the mountain that is before them. The reason why we have articles coming out about the big ticket things Dreamworld should buy isn't to get a passholder to renew at a bargain basement price - its to bring more people into the park (or back into the park). Increasing visitation, not just repeating it, is the key. An ice rink isn't going to encourage a non passholder to visit - because (as Skeeta pointed out) the cost of doing so far exceeds that which you might pay at a dedicated rink. Its great that they've decided to try adding some additional events to keep the park refreshed and offer something new to those return visitors - but its not going to be a big factor in turning the park around.

*facepalm*

Thanks for the reply and review @DJKostya. Sorry I missed your original trip report- I will hunt it down for a complete look. Yeah I cannot disagree with you here Skeeta- the RMC Hybrid would definitely be the more visually stunning vista for Dreamworld. Its funny that you mention that there appear to be no plans to build further Raptors. Both rides are legitimately qualified successes in their own right- not including DJKostya's excellent review- but I have seen many others extolling the fantastic ride that this coaster brings. Perhaps parks are a little reticent due to its low throughput compared to other coaster models? It could also come down to price and perceived bang for buck? Maybe Dreamworld would be better off signing an exclusive deal with RMC to build both coaster types- with the Raptor coming first and then the larger Hybrid being the cream on the cake......

I have ridden Railblazer at CGA (I did a trip report on it a few months back). I have included my thoughts on it below. A Raptor from RMC would be an excellent addition to any of our parks. They are compact (Think GL size footprint), pack a punch with speed, airtime and thrills and, if run properly, soak up decent crowds but also get them through quite quickly. 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!

I think a Raptor would be a good ride to -'Squeeze in'. If Cyclone is nearly at end of life and the long term plan for that space is a coaster, a Raptor there would be a superb choice. But I also think something bigger in the current vacant land is where the real fertile ground in turning the park around is too be had. A Raptor would be one of the coasters on the Coast, possibly the best, but I also worry that the general public wouldn't recognise it and just view it as a 'mini coaster'.

Sure, you may not inspect the frame of your house, but if your house is getting hit by 6 cyclones a day, you might want to check the frame every few years

I've done Wonder Woman and it is an amazing experience. What it lacks in height it makes up for ride experience. You don't need height for a great coaster and the raptors are proof of this.

Not Raptors. No plans for anybody to build a T-rex which would come very close to, if not knocking off a RMC Hybrid from my number 1 spot. @DJKostyaThe only problem I have with T-rex is it's a prototype which would only add more bad publicity for DW if it had major delays.

Oh I definitely agree that a Raptor has nowhere near the visual impact of a Hybrid but (playing devil's advocate) what it may end up coming down to in the end is value for money. How much CAPEX can they actually spend? If they can get a few CAPEX projects for the same cost as an Hybrid, including a Raptor say, then it may be better to go for the additional attractions rather than 1 big attraction. That being said there's also nothing to stop Dreamworld from approaching RMC about a T-Rex model either. Not only would that one up Rivals visually but being what is likely to be the first T-Rex model would also generate interest in the park.

The carpark gets pretty full a lot of the time. Not sure reducing it is a good idea. Also, why do they need more space for helicopters?

So if I want to go Ice Skating I can pay $85.00 to get into DW and pay an upcharge to go for a skate or I can pay $14.00 to skate at Planet Chill. Oh boy which one will I do.

I don't think you would need to go so deep with inspections for every bit of track. The high speed, high load/force sections would probably be crack tested and inspected like that, but every other bit of track is pretty much like the frame in your house. It's not expected to suffer enough fatigue to cause failure, so a visual inspection is all that's probably needed, then take it further if you find something while looking.

How generous of them!

That's the word on the street but neither Greg nor Ardent have made any announcements yet Aaaand just as I post that, Greg goes and changes his Instragram. I guess it’s official now