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we've seen maintenance periods and downtimes far more in recent years than we ever have before. Regardless of the reason why, it leaves a hole in the park's lineup. When you take down attractions for massive overhauls, it highlights the park's capacity constraints and everyone can feel it. Dreamworld could feel the loss of Giant Drop while it was closed for refurb (especially having lost so many others permanently in recent years too) - but with Batwing, Superman, Doomsday and Scooby all down simultaneously, we're left with Green Lemon, Wild West Flaws and Dc Rivals to prop up the park for almost two entire months. Now, I understand there are new requirements on machinery maintenance that must be adhered to, but come on - stop taking the piss - there had to be another solution than to take down those three major attractions at the exact same time, and FOR the exact same time.

Busch Gardens Tampa - 12/11/23 https://www.parkz.com.au/search/photos/location/busch-gardens-tampa (Plenty of photos) 3rd time back to this park, which remains one of the best rounded in the US, with pretty decent theming, impressive coasters and a good collection of Animal exhibits too. Perhaps the one thing that has gone backwards is the operations. Previously Busch parks were usually pretty rock solid with operations, but this time around you'd encounter one train ops and sluggish speeds which kind of surprised me! Arriving at the Moroccan themed entrance: Its right there next to the entrance, so of course I started off with Iron Gwazi Wow, what to say, this ride is crazy. More intense than my previous favourite, Hakugei, but IMO more imaginative than Steel Vengeance. Pretty wild how they have made a hypercoaster out of what was once a pair of 28m high dueling coasters, and it almost looks bodgy how they have added extra steel tubes to hold up the ride. Once the muck around of the loading is done, a steel drop and turn out of the station leads to the huge lift. The first drop is out of control, being slightly steeper than vertical, a true freefall. From there you come up and up onto a huge outward banked hill, down and around an up to another apex, followed by a roll that spirals towards the ground. The pace continues with a quick flick into an overbanked turn, and then an element I wasn't really aware of, a drawn wave turn that crosses over the front of the station. The rest of the ride is a bit lower (relatively), banking and dipping around, really throwing you out of your seat. Frequently you look at the messed up looking track ahead and wonder how on earth the train is going to get through it with the speed it is carrying, but somehow does. The finale really shines, with a zero g stall, and then an airtime hill where it has double humps at the top, perhaps the most agressive airtime in the ride. A couple of turns later and you hit the brakes with plenty of speed. So there you have it, its neck and neck between this and Velocicoaster. Continuing around the park, I grabbed a ride on Tigris, another one of those Premier SkyRocket coasters. Turns out I've been on half of the ones operating worldwide, Ill recycle my review from the one at Sarkanniemi: A punchy launch, really fast vertical twist, good pop of airtime as you transition at the top, then a fun heartline roll. The 2nd half rapidly picks up speed as you dive down again, with more air in the non inverted loop. So despite looking quite simplistic from the outside, it's quite forceful and varied. I disagree that it is anything like Buzzsaw. Continuing around, it was time for Falcons Fury Along with Ikaros, would be my favourite dark ride. There's nothing like being slowly rotated to face the ground, and then freefalling, seeing it rush up towards you. It was telling though that it was virtually a walk on all day. They probably overbuilt the thing, with capacity for 32 people, so would take time to actually get enough passengers to cycle it. I had hoped to ride the new Serengeti Flyer, but every time I went by it was closed, and I don't recall seeing it operate all day. The other new coaster I had to ride was Cobras Curse, a unique Mack Spinning coaster with short little 2 car trains where everyone faces the same way. Also had a nifty conveyor belt loading system (Wouldn't it be great if Scooby got this!) The queue goes through a well themed queue with an archeological exploration theme. The ride has a vertical lift like scooby in front of a giant cobra statue, with some cringe audio, but what was interesting was they figured out a way to keep the platform level as it ascends (though it does shake a bit as a result). It's a ride of 3 parts. The first third is forwards with a first drop and couple of quick turns. The next third is backwards around a couple of helices, and the final 3rd has actual spinning, through 3 horseshoe turns in a row. I think it must have the energy efficiency of a brick though, its a large drop, but it seems to run out of momentum after a few turns. There's a 2nd lift to give it a bit more height, but even after that its slowing down by the end. The ride does look great, and integrates well with the theming, but perhaps a bit mid overall. By that point I was just about around the park so it was time for a few re-rides on some old favourites, starting with Montu Get out there and ride some of these older B&Ms, they really keep their pace up, and alternate between hard pulling inversion and hard pulling turns. Montu is extra interesting, with a few elements sunk into trenches, themed like Egyptian ruins. Cheetah Hunt So it wasn't until it was pointed out to me that the first element is supposed to be like a giant tree that a cheetah is jumping in and out of. I think maybe at the early stages it was meant to be an actual themed tree, but of course the reality of budgets means it is what it is. A decent launch coaster, but perhaps a bit more drawn out and less intense than the others, since a lot of the ride is this big long run with shallow drops in and out of trenches, though there is a slalom, barrell roll and airtime hill towards the back of the layout that amp it up a bit.. I think the likes of Taiga, Toutatis, and even our Superman Escape eclipse it. SheiKra Was my favourite in the park last time, and probably still is, with its huge scale, hang time through the elements, and just the sense of fun with such a large group of riders screaming together in the front row, with kids on the ground being soaked by the water splash. Kumba Still holds up, with its non stop elements perfectly sequenced to flow into each other, and runs pretty well still. Scorpion Another ride type you should get out and see while you can are these old schwarzkopf looping coasters. They were ahead of their time, with fun well designed layout and lots of intensity. Always wondered why Arrow sold more rides than these guys. There are plenty of bad arrows, but no bad Schwarzkopfs. Serengeti Express Train One thing I have never done until now. It's quite a long ride, and the only way to really see the animals on the open range section up close (Rhino Rally is long gone, and I wasn't gonna fork out for one of the safari tour feeding experiences) As the day wound to a close I checked out a few of the Animal exhibits, wish I had allowed more time for them, since they are genuinely excellent, and typically slightly off the main paths which makes them a quiet escape. And a couple of night rides on Iron Gwazi, fully warmed up. Wahooo! And a few more photos....

I’d be a little more forgiving of the extended maintenance windows if the parks acknowledged the impact it has on the guest experience. Their current attitude is basically “too bad, suck it up, something something safety” which is pretty poor when half a dozen attractions are down simultaneously (MW for most of March this year) plus whatever unexpected downtime happens. Anyone on a single or multi day ticket is going to feel royally ripped off when they see that maintenance A-frame on arrival.

A great opportunity to revisit some old faithful “only one in the southern hemisphere” marketing. A serious replacement might be a Zamperla NebulaZ, they are popping up everywhere and have the added benefit of being more of a family ride than Doomsday.

Exhibit C - (6 weeks) Exhibit D - (4 weeks)

Things get old therefore they need more time to be worked on. who knew?

Gosh it would be a real unpopular opinion to actually believe that they have genuine planned annual R&M to complete on these complex pieces of machinery that are outlined by the OEM, whilst at the same time continuing to maintain the operation of the other attractions, completing daily, weekly and monthly periodic inspections so the business can continue to operate for 7 days a week.

that model looks fun but, replacing an unreliable problematic flat ride with another unreliable problematic flat ride doesn’t sound like a good idea.

So if the link ever gets broken. Jungle Rush, manufactured by rollercoaster giant, Vekoma, is set to be the first of its kind in Australia, with the ride design supporting multiple different cycle paths. This has never been seen before in Australia and is only the first of a series of ground-breaking features being offered in the new precinct. Today marks a momentous occasion as Dreamworld officially begins construction on its highly anticipated Rivertown precinct, following months of demolition and site preparations. Rivertown is destined to become the most thematic and experiential land ever delivered by the iconic Gold Coast theme park. Rivertown is set to redefine family entertainment with a spectacular array of attractions, featuring the centrepiece ride, Jungle Rush – a thrilling new family rollercoaster that promises to be an immersive adventure for visitors of all ages. This, along with a host of other attractions, contributes to Rivertown's commitment to providing a brand-new theme park experience for families. (Jaggs Jouneys)