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Absolutely. Ever since BGH Capital’s takeover of Village, the guest experience has taken such a dramatic nosedive and their poor management and cost-cutting is destroying the park’s reputation at a pretty alarming rate. It’s clear they only care about profits and don’t have a clue what made the park so special in the first place. So sad to see a place I loved so much fall so low.

Funny you should say that... I worked at the park for several years, and Wild West Falls was one of the rides that I operated the most (along with Scooby) and not once did I ever have to stop the ride or witness a ride stop due to someone jumping the fence. It really doesn't happen often at all, people standing up on West was much more frequent but with the new harnesses it would be pretty much impossible to do that now.

On the contrary, the least amount of effort possible is what they've been doing - nothing. This is literally 'A' step.

Guys, they've hung two PA speakers in a tree. That's not a step in the right direction, that literally the least amount of effort possible. Movie World has always been my happy place, but the place now is honestly a glorified shopping centre with 2 decent coasters, a long void of anything interesting and then a water ride.

I don't think anyone is disputing closing once and doing all the necessary work. The thing that people are pointing out is that they're doing that on SE AND Batwing AND DD (which has other issues) AND Scooby all at the same time, with a lot of unplanned stoppages/late openings/closed seats on GL, Rivals, RR, and WWF. There have been several days where MW were charging $110 single day entry for people to watch HWSD2, and see Batman showcase because every single adult ride has been closed, as well as Road Runner - meaning there was not a single roller coaster or thrill ride operational. That is an unacceptable situation to be in and is 100% due to the park's management failing to invest adequately in the maintenance of their rides, plan maintenance schedules properly, and replace defunct rides in a timely manner when it is clear that they've reached the end of their lifespan (SD, AA, DD). But also due to the types of rides and attractions they operate. A simulator ride like Batman could operate even if one or two simulators failed - just at reduced capacity. The Movie Magic show could still operate if one of the show elements failed, other areas of the show could be padded out and the host could still explain how things work with other demonstrations. It also means that annual maintenance can occur on part of the attraction while it is still operational, reducing the amount of time it would need to be closed. It is also apparent that there are management issues from staff attitudes toward visitors. Staff are not friendly, none of them want to be there, and replies to customer complaints on social media have shown absolute contempt for visitors that just wanted a fun day out with their family. Compare that with DW, where they acknowledge they are in a state of transition, they know most of the park is a construction zone, but the staff are engaging, friendly, courteous, and genuinely want to see people enjoying themselves. I visited DW for the first time since 2015 the other week and the staff were the single most memorable part of my day. The staff issue at MW is what really indicates this is a top-down problem because the front line workers are unsupported and have no power to fix the situation for unhappy visitors. A theme park is a retail business, a service industry business, an art/design and performance business and a heavy machinery business. Movie World was once the stand out performer in Australia for all of these, but it's fallen behind in all of them and completely bungled the last one. People are rightfully pointing out that 2 month closures should be unnecessary, and planned overlapping closures are just bad management. But 2 month closures when you've got so many other closures - planned or temporary - happening in the park to the point that people are paying full price entry and cannot go on a single ride, is what most people in this thread are complaining about. Yes, DW have some extended closures for various reasons, but the difference is in the broader context of the park's offerings and operations.

To the park? It makes sense. To the passholder? It's annoying, but it makes sense. To the day guest? The full price gate ticket on a once in a lifetime visit to the park who is confronted with the abomination that is HWSD, Roxy and Wild West Falls as the only adult level attractions who gets told by the park's social team they should have checked the website? get fucked.

That’s good they’ve gone to the effort to adding speakers and bringing back music to the area (because it definitely needed it). Maybe im being too harsh, but that feels like such a half assed effort of hanging speakers from a tree. Why not actually mounted them to a wall or somewhere more inconspicuous so you can’t see them. That tree is already cluttered with stuff, it didn’t need more adding to it. The area needed music, but if this is the best they can do, maybe they shouldn’t have bothered. I don’t know! (someone feel free to call me out if that too harsh). It’s just disappointing to see this is how the park is managed now and they seem to respond to feedback in a panic and just see what sticks.

Those speakers aren’t even new, they’ve already been up in that tree for at least a couple of years. Really all MW has done is bother to actually turn them on. The fact that this area and WWF have gone for years without any audio whatsoever is absolutely pathetic, that’s why I still consider this to be a positive “step” (even though it’s the absolute bare minimum). Real progress will be when they finally fix the rest of the speakers in the area and around the park.

Just to add another thought: Roxy is really the only 'family' ride at the park that is suitable for all ages and body types. It should definitely have some more effort (and money) thrown at it, because it is starting to look a little dated. I'd personally support money spent on this over another roller coaster.

I was about to write queue @ShakeShack but ShakeAttack reply beat me. Must of had a fast pass. 🤪

I give them credit for finding something that works at MW, that they can hang in a tree, in the first place.

*Incorrect thread*

I’m pleased to hear that they’ve finally added music back to the area after having nothing for so long. But the park really needs to get the ground speakers around the Splash Zone and the rest of the land working again too, as the only place you can currently hear the music is directly under the tree and nowhere else. You used to be surrounded by music throughout the entire Looney Tunes area and it really added to the experience, but most of the land is still without audio at the moment. The WWF area also desperately needs its music back, as it hasn’t played there for years. Still, it’s great that the park is at least attempting to sort out some of their audio issues and this is definitely a step in the right direction.