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DW are doing everything right. Raising prices right now would be a mistake. Locals see DW as a high quality, good value entertainment option. A lot of people, myself included, have not bothered renewing Village passes and are now more likely to spend those visits (and money) at DW. Continued re-investment into the park will only help to sustain the visitor numbers and revenue, and modest price increases will help to maintain the perceived value. I know I've convinced 5 people to buy passes, and they'll occasionally drop into DW just to eat at Jane's. Great attractions, high quality theming, pleasant staff and reasonable prices. They've got the basics right and they're seeing the benefits.

From the Daily Telegraph: Dreamworld is in its renaissance with the operator of the popular Gold Coast theme park posting record visitor numbers, up 44 per cent and breaking decade-old records. Visitor numbers have surged by 44 per cent for the operator of Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld in the first half of the 2026 financial year, driven by strong annual pass sales, supported by targeted promotional activities. The increase in visitors saw ticket sales increase by 46.6 per cent for Coast Entertainment Holdings’ Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, and SkyPoint attractions in the first 27 weeks of FY26. In a statement to the ASX, Coast Entertainment – which was rebranded in 2023 from Ardent Leisure Group – said operating revenue jumped to $62.2m, up 30.2 per cent, compared to the same six-month period last year. It also exceeded the previous record of almost a decade ago. Actual visitor number were not released but the Group said ticket sales for the six months to December 30 also broke 2016 records. In the latest period, Dreamworld recorded is highest ever daily attendance with new attractions like Kenny & Belinda’s Dreamland and the Dreamworld Flyer, drawing visitors. The six months also saw increased annual pass sales, supported by targeted promotional activities during the period including successful ‘End-of-Financial-Year’, ‘Kings Birthday’ and ‘Black Friday’ campaigns. The international market continued its gradual recovery during the period, although it remains below historical levels but is expected to continue to recover. “On 12 December 2025, the Group successfully opened its new King Claw attraction, the fastest Gyro Swing ride in the Southern Hemisphere.” Coast Entertainment said. “The new attraction significantly improves on its predecessor The Claw in scale and experience and is proving to be another strong drawcard for Dreamworld following the opening of Rivertown just over one year ago. “With this addition, Dreamworld’s ride and attraction portfolio is well positioned to support continued visitation growth and engagement across a broad audience, from families to thrill seekers.” Coast Entertainment said SkyPoint also delivered a robust performance during the period, once again achieving record revenues, notwithstanding low international visitation. The company said ticket sales and visitation to its attractions in the first three weeks of January 2026 continued to show growth. The Group said the state government was still assessing the Dreamworld masterplan which potentially will transform the theme park’s excess land into a mixed-use hub including a resort/hotel, residential areas, dining/retail (Gateway Precinct), and nature-based tourism zones. As at 30 December 2025, the Group had a cash balance of $37.6m, an increase of $3.7m compared to 24 June 2025. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/business/new-south-wales/coast-entertainment-reports-record-revenue-as-new-rides-drive-dreamworld-visitor-boom/news-story/3f37c11c62b11ba401b6878bc68b0f57

It's a false equivalence because it's an entirely different park. The park in 2016 was a bigger park with more attractions. It also didn't have to overcome years of mismanagement an an accident that shattered the public's trust. It is unreasonable to expect DW to be charging the same prices when it doesn't provide the same experience. Clearly $99 passes on sale is the sweet-spot where people find DW to be excellent value. Over time, they will increase their prices when the number of attractions goes up, but first they need to prove their value and sustain the trust and good will that they've built up. Nothing in their document says 'ok, we've finished fixing the park, it's completely back to where it was now'. They're just making comparisons to their previous record revenue year to show how much better they're doing than the previous 10 years since the accident. Extending trading hours doesn't always mean more revenue, it usually just means increased expenses from staff and ride cycles/maintenance - expenses that eat into profits and reduce the money that can be invested in new rides and attractions. Plus, shorter trading hours encourage pass holders to return, generating more days of in-park spend. In addition, the business model has moved from day passes to annual passes. Retaining customers, building loyalty and generating year-round revenue is the new business model. If DW only offered day passes, I would visit once every 1-2 years and they'd get about $150 out of me. With an annual pass I can pay $99 for a full year of access, but I'll visit once a month. I'll spend money at Jane's, on drinks, coffee, snacks, maybe a Tail Whip ride a few times a year. On average I might spend $50 a month at DW, which means across a year DW are getting $700 out of me. Plus it's very easy to convince my friends that it's great value to buy a pass and do the same. I would otherwise spend that money on a day out at the beach or at Southbank, but DW offering low-cost passes redirects that money toward them instead. I have a great day with my friends, DW has a vibrant active park that makes money, and I'm happy to spend money knowing it's going to be reinvested on future attractions and park improvements. Everybody wins.

I adore Gold Coaster. Whilst it does bang your head around, the forces are the best in the park imo. Not to mention its got such an interesting history. I'll personally be devastated when it goes, but that's just my opinion :)

I won't repeat what Dapto said but passes are much better at driving ongoing, long-term revenue than single day passes. Inflation doesn't matter. It is a different park to 2016. It is a smaller park with fewer rides, shorter operating hours and different food and beverage offerings. Higher attendance and higher revenue, increased in-park spend means that DW have won back the trust of the public. They're willing to visit and spend, which means that DW just needs to continue on it's current trajectory of maintaining the basics and building new, high-quality attractions each year to keep people renewing those passes. Modest price increases to passes will maintain the perceived value and encourage more visits and more in-park spend. Nothing in this report is negative. DW have overcome the worst possible thing that could happen to a theme park, and are currently set-up for success.

Assuming a sustainable profit margin either way, is it better to price a pizza at $7 each, and sell 100 of them, or price them at $30 each and only sell 10? A $7 pizza is seen as good value, and many people will happily pay that price, even if it might be slightly smaller, or have a few less toppings. Buying 4 of these with various toppings is great bang for buck and ensures those partaking leave satiated. On the flip side, a $30 pizza would be seen as a premium product. Some people will keep buying the $30 pizzas because they like the particular toppings, or because they want to splurge, but it's less likely the same buyer would order 4 of these and drop $120 - the value proposition isn't quite there... A lot of parks don't really push their single day tickets and want guests to buy passes as this gives them much more data about buying habits and usage, and increases the per cap spend. Passholders are likely to visit a few times wherein someone with a day ticket is unlikely to repeat visit without substantial reasoning. Village certainly don't emphasise single day tickets. They actively push guests - even those who are only on the coast for a short term - to buy a bigger \ longer pass - be that 7-14 day passes or their annual product. Calling out the lack of traction on single day tickets as being a poor performance indicator of behalf of Coast is also a very unbalanced opinion since the other other provider you can compare to doesn't report on this metric in any meaningful way - for all you know Coast's single day ticket performance could be exceeding Village's... It feels like you were Can you explain to me what a calm turnstile is?

Great to hear. As I’ve said before on this forum, we have both passes and Dreamworld is our favourite by far. From staff, park cleanliness and the open areas, it’s definitely in our opinion the best park. Excited too see what’s in store for the Motorcoaster replacement

I agree, and i think 90% of the GP would too. MC may not be the greatest ride experience, and operationally its a pain in the ass due to the harness system, but i've never personally had any issue with comfort on the ride and often wonder what people complain so much about. I rode GC last week, it had been 18+ months since my last ride, and they could rename that thing "Concussion: The Ride". It is now so jolty, so just entirely uncomfortable that i don't know why anyone would choose to ride it. If i was rating the 2 rides, GC would be in the "need" pile when it comes to replacement, whereas MC would be in the "would be nice but not critical". The only reason i feel they are moving on MC first is due to immediate plans for the space, or an immediate buyer for the ride at a price they don't feel they would be able to get again in the future. Or alternatively they've uncovered a critical issue that cannot be fixed without major investment they do not wish to partake in, and its simply being scrapped.

All the models say this; It's just a placeholder image that's meant to display the ride models layout