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All of the audio should be a bit louder as of today.

His point still stands though. Compare the reactions for KC to SDSC and it's exactly as Michelangelo described. But it would also be true for Rivertown vs. WoZ, Jane's vs. Star Cafe, Dreamworld Flyer vs. Flash. There's a clear pattern that has emerged for both Village and Dreamworld over the last few years. One is consistently getting 'meh' and the other is consistently getting 'wow'. Comparisons between the parks are going to be made and are valid. People will choose where to spend their time and their money. Given that SDSC closed early and they had to wait for Mack, that should have given them more time to plan the guest experience, source props/lights at the best prices and spread their cost out across multiple financial years to ensure that the ride wasn't just restored to the original standard, but exceeded people's rose-tinted, nostalgic expectations in a way that genuinely surprised and delighted them. While the upgrades might have been technically difficult to achieve, the general public will never see them and don't care. The complaints people are making (here and on Socials) aren't dumping on MW for the sake of it. It's because they have seen the quality of what MW can be and they have a deep desire to see it restored to it's former magic and glory. They want MW to succeed and they want to have a great experience at the park. DW is working toward that goal and successfully executing it because the management cares as much as the people on this forum do.

Because they didn't just replace brake sections. People don't realise but scooby doo was originally designed to be able to be transported. Many parts of the high zone exist on turrets, not fixed to multiple columns like you would expect of an in built track. It's very fluid and moves a staggering amount, as attested to by anyone who has ever worked the high zone with the lights on (especially with the ride in operation!), There are witness marks in many places showing how far it actually moves if you only know where to look. It's like a living, breathing thing every time a car comes through. And thats before you get started on the lift system, not just the cab and track itself, but the winch control and braking systems utilised by it. The braking system is so much a part of the run environment, each one represents a block after all, that simply removing them requires a complete change to the ride control systems as there is a lot going on within each brake zone. Speed monitoring, brake over/under runs, distance monitoring, plus obviously the block system and safety brakes. The ride is so sensitive to car timing not only through the brake block, but between blocks too that changes in speed monitoring registering in milliseconds can send the ride into safety faults. Think of how different friction brakes perform vs mag brakes, think of the hours upon days, upon weeks of testing you'd have to perform to just account for how the brakes will perform once installed, not to mention when jammed inside a hot tin shed. It was always due for a ride control system upgrade as part of the safety case put forward after the dreamworld accident. It was one of those rides that was identified as falling within the new 10 year MAJOR inspection and safety upgrades were put forward as part of the upgrade. You saw the first round of similar upgrades at road runner with new trains, new brakes, new ride control, basically, all that was left was the track. How long was the shutdown for it? and thats a system with only 2 trains and 3 block zones! It was a similar story at wild west falls and I don't think people understand just how much of an investment this was by village. Not just in immense cost, but the man hours that went into even getting to the point of rolling out the upgrades, the testing, the changes made, modifications. It's probably easier to roll out a new ride than it is to try and integrate more functionality and different control systems into an existing PLC based ride control system. It essentially meant the death of arkham asylum, it nearly took down road runner too. It shows you how determined village were to see the ride reopened and not replaced. So, not only were sections of a very unique track design replaced, new cars designed taking them away from the manual, ratchet operation of the restraints, new frictionless brakes installed, along with complete upgrades of the ride control system to actually have all this function, including actually pushing all these upgrades through to the qld government for certification, you go and throw unscheduled downtime into the mix and a ride manufacturer that wasn't expecting to have to develop new sections of track until a later planned shutdown; what do you get? Chaos. You get chaos. You can be disappointed at the results, but I don't think its fair to downplay the amount of work that went into just keeping this ride open for future generations. I can guarantee you there were discussions surrounding its closure, it could have been a vastly different outcome. People talking about possibility of injuries riding in the darkness, this was a very real thing when they opened after gutting the ride. Greater levels of darkness experienced then, but it really makes a difference when your body can't brace for intended changes of direction. Certainly saw a rise in complaints for not only things like neck and back pain, but just overall perception of how rough the ride experience was too.

Not trying to make it excuses, but you have to understand the vastly different work/employment environment in Australia though too. Nobody (or the overwhelming majority) wants to work at night. There are also what are essentially block out periods which are considered unordinary work hours. Working during them attracts heavy penalties. Work during night is often considered high risk, sometimes it attracts penalty rates (again), other times it's just not deemed possible as it's becoming increasingly unacceptable for staff to work by themselves in adverse conditions (night time with lack of lighting, lack of staff, combined with things like at heights are considered high risk environments). So, negotiating your way around these sort of things when Australia has some pretty well defined laws, especially when you are up against bargaining agreements, and the vastly increased costs that come with it, it's not always so easy as just thinking you can work at night. What Australian parks could really benefit from is an off season. But, due to our largely tropical to temperate climate found throughout the year in South Queensland, that's not something that is really a consideration.

You’ve lost me here, unless you’re talking about the volume of the theme in the disco room. Sounds are largely original with a few additions by Mark Watson (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSMSF5LALBZ/?igsh=Zm95ZnU3anMxbmNv) Disco room and loose item storage aside I certainly feel it’s back to the original standard (initial dark ride section) and better (tiki room/drop). The negative reactions I’ve heard in person have been relating to the disco room and “it’s no different”. Remember they did advertise “thematic improvements” and that’s very much open to interpretation. It’s not unreasonable for the public to expect modern animatronics for example in my opinion. And they deserve the credit, it’s certainly a lot harder to do all that to an existing infrastructure than to simply build a new ride. Whilst I certinally appreciate the park made to call to retain the ride I don’t feel they deserve huge applause for this, nor a pass for the disco room being as it currently is simply due to the money/effort to do so. There’s some enthusiasts that seem to think the park should be celebrated for doing what was ultimately likely a smart business decision, 7 News originally reported a figure of 4million for the refurbishment, that’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a new equivalent ride.

To clarify,

That is an absolute amazing summary of the entire project. I feel like we sit here and discuss and focus on the shiny show side of the attraction, but as you say, it can’t be overstated enough just to share amount of work and effort that had to go into upgrading the mechanical and control side.Hell I won’t even say upgrading the control system because it’s completely new. It’s not even an upgrade. A lot of very passionate people in a hard and rough environment to pull all of that off just to get the same ride back. It’s not even like you get to go and reuse code and software because of how much has changed. It’s not even like you get to go and reuse code and software because of how much has changed. The original ride control system needed three PLC‘s just to keep track of the block zones and check each other. With the development of today’s modern safety rated PLC’s it can run on one. And then you can’t even use the same parameters for things like speed, etc., because with the new breaking system, the ride performs totally differently. Big big job

Totally agree! Such a major water park should be adding attractions that are somewhat unique and special, not something you could find at a council aquatic centre, or the Big Banana.