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I don't think the park needs any sort of "theming", as @GoGoBoyhas said the way things like Volare have been done are perfectly adequate for the park, but yeah things like the temporary barricades instead of proper queue rails just seems needlessly cheap. I was thinking they could arrange alternative access via the lift in the Big Top foyer (presume it has one?) and then up the exit, but then the exit has steps as well so 💁‍♂️ Granted the ramp would be too steep for independent access, but a staff member would be assisting anyway and it would be better than nothing: ******************** I headed down to Sydney and rode this on Saturday. To echo everyone else, yes it shakes a lot, except in the front, and I put this down to how light the trains are. In the station if you rock in your seat side to side you can get your car to jiggle, so theres def a bit of play in the wheels. Likewise every time you pass over a friction wheel the whole car bumps up. Seats are comfortable, surprised there is no back up seatbelt, but echoing Doms comments that you could get struck by the harness opening since it springs open so quick at the end….It doesn’t raise up gently like on Superman or Rivals etc. First launch starts steady and then suddenly kicks right at the end into the turn. The dips feel like the start of Steel Vengeance or Twisted Collossus, with random little bumps and twists. 2nd launch is spirited, with a good bit of force in the loops, but some definite shaking at the bottom of the loops. The top of the non inverted loop doesn’t have the same ejector DC rivals have. Overall, the transitions and track design are well done, no sudden neck snapping moments or anything like that. I was worried being a compact design that might happen, but really its just the cars themselves making it bumpy. The airtime hill has a good little moment of ejector. The s bends are cool because theoretically this is the ideal coaster for heartlining, so you actually feel your bottom swinging outwards with each bank in the track. The turn dives under the bridge (which looks like those freeway footbridges with barriers to prevent rock throwing, but the holes are big enough to poke your phone lens through for photos) and then you go up and over the station entry stairs, and its actually very close in terms of clearance, surprised there is no netting. The corkscrew is drawn out, with a moment of hangtime at the top, then as you come out is a super close near miss with that first turn after launch #1 Hit the brakes and the ride is done. I did about 8 laps, including the back, and twice in the front. Try and get a front row ride if you can. It was quiet for a Saturday so I rarely waited more than 1 or 2 cycles. As for Boomerang, so smooth in every way, not just on the track but even when it stops and changes direction there is not a single lurch, it has been finely programmed. The helix on the reverse trip is quite dizzying.

That really sucks. I know he's had his health worries for a while now but doesn't make it suck any less. I've been thinking a lot about DW's history lately, and one thing that has occurred to me is how rough calling his DW a 'Disney knock off' is. I'm sure I've even been guilty of making that point somewhere in the past. It's true that the influence is there to see, from building designs to the Paddle Steamer to the Matterhorn with a ride in it, to the animatronic animal show to so much else. It's there and it's not a secret. He wasn't alone in it; there are a lot Disney knock offs out there The thing about John though, is he studied it understood why it worked, and took that understanding to make his own totally different and unique thing. Look at all those Disney knock offs that have sprung up in Asia (or even the entire Chinese amusement industry as a whole) and tell me the people behind them understand what makes a park good. John not only understood why Disney worked, but was able to craft it into something else entirely, an Australiana version, that was really charming and amazingly good. That's an effort, I don't think there's any one else that could have done it. There are a million other things he did, but that will always be the one that made the most impact on my life, RIP mate, see if you can book a chat with Walt while you're up there.

It's a nice theory, but it seems more like wishful thinking than anything that will actually happen. I'll still probably visit early in the year to have a go at BD so I guess they got their money. I guess I'll figure out when I'm there if I'll be back again without another major ride.

all rides have reopened at the park, let’s hope they are able to keep it like this

I like the idea of an 'Aussie' jungle cruise. They've shown a willingness to have a few 'aussie jokes' thrown in with the SV and ST videos - if you could get people who were willing to play the part of Skipper well - I think a uniquely Australian take on Jungle Cruise would be an absolute winner - Given the infrastructure in place, and the fact that they can't do anything with the murrisippi to remove it, running a few little clippers on the river, chucking a few effects and writing a kick-ass script... it wouldn't take long to screen the river from the pathways surrounding it to make it a real private feel... I wish that this was realistic! I meant to mention this in my trip the other week. It was just as overgrown and covered in algae or whatever as i've ever seen it, so while I don't doubt your pictures, it doesn't take very long at all for it to grow back. Something kinetic on the river to keep it stirred up and stop it collecting and multiplying is needed - running boats - or at the very least a couple of water spouts, fountains, wheels, anything to churn it up and oxygenate the water would be better than letting it sit motionless.

I absolutely agree, but this is Luna Park Sydney after all. Beyond a select few experiences, presentation has not been a huge priority for the modern iteration of the park considering that traveling flat rides have been a staple of the park for almost a decade. It is shame because when they put in the effort then they can produce some spectacular results like with Volare. My hope is that in the future something will be done to bring these attractions up to par. The park is in an awkward transition stage where it's now much closer to a fully fledged and realised theme park, but they're still treating it like the small boardwalk amusement of yesteryear. It is important for the park to realise that with this expansion and the expensive ticket prices comes greater expectations from guests and their old tactics just aren't going to cut it. I don't doubt the park will mature, but it will take time and we're basically seeing the awkward teenage phase of LPS at the moment.

This aligns well with what @joz mentioned in the tributes thread for John Longhurst's passing - they're so keen to be like Disney or tap back into the past of Dreamworld without understanding the question of "why?" In this particular case, why build another Captain Sturt when towards the end of its life the Captain Sturt was robbed of any purpose? Initially the boat was an elegant and beautiful solution to meet up with the steam train and put hundreds of people in-front of where the bushranger show was being performed. But for close to a decade after the show stopped, all it did was ferry Japanese tourists to the koalas and, occasionally, have the Wiz put on a hand-magic show in the back. It was originally a large audience mover, but it was eventually a boat to nowhere, and like so much of John's legacy, was misunderstood, left to rot and eventually bulldozed. Rebuilding the Captain Sturt at a time when the park can barely get enough people in the door to watch the light version of the bush-ranger show out the front of the train station would be wasteful spending at best, and at worst, nostalgia for nostalgic sake. It's akin to nearly building a lazy river for WhiteWater World at a time when driving gate was critical and park throughput and capacity was anything but critical (which is precisely why Fully6 was built and not the lazy river.) If it were up to me, i'd be building attractions on the island FIRST, and then building some cool, smaller, steampunk style boats (like Tokyo DisneySea's) to navigate the waters and build on the park's kinetic energy.

You know how I said that John didn't just do what Disney did, he understood why? Adding a statue is literally just doing something Disney do without really understanding why. Given John's public statements of what he thinks of the park nowadays, I don't think them adding a statue is quite the grand gesture you think it is.

This guys seem to mix the definition of “prediction” and “idea”. this guy isn’t in Australia and has zero actual insight or knowledge of Aussie parks. he starts with “if I was running movieworld…” so anything after that - it’s not a prediction, it’s a thought. if he was titling his videos as “this is what I think would be cool!” then I’d be all for it, but just because a ride is being demolished and another rides footprint fits within it doesn’t make that a prediction (imo..)

As reported in the GCB, John Longhurst has passed away, aged 90. Most folks will remember John as the founder (and builder) of Dreamworld, responsible for literally carving out the rivers and buildings that exist today. John was a visionary and will be missed. If you'd like to learn more about his legacy, I interviewed him a few years back and turned our chats into a three-part series which is, as far as I can find, still the best source online about how he built Dreamworld.

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