Leaderboard

The clues were announcing there is going to be an announcement. It's an announcement you make when you have nothing really going on. A bit like the the announcement about the Superman queue.

I got on on Friday - Kudos to the opening crew - still ironing things out but the process was quite smooth. I'm not sure they're getting the full value out of the metal detector though - I walked through, beeped, pointed to my belt buckle and they just accepted my word on it. In a US park where metal detectors are used, they'd wand you to make sure. The park is looking good again (my last visit it was showing some signs of neglect). The ride itself looks great, the theming work and queue house is top notch. I heard the ambient sounds in the queue but i'm not sure if they were playing the soundtrack during the ride as I didn't hear anything different when riding or observing. It sure packs a punch though. I was absolutely once and done, my son went for a second round while I watched but even that was enough for him. He used to be able to do back to back cycles on The Claw - but two was enough for him... i'm hoping this ride isn't too polarising for guests - if it isn't repeatable, then the park has done their capacity a disservice. @Spotty I feel you on the restraints - Since 2016 I couldn't get the restraints over my shoulders either - but King Claw's restraint is a much nicer fit.

He was looking on with pride at King Claw yesterday and taking some photos on his phone. he seems like a fantastic leader. Happy to jump in and help as Ash said serving in Jane’s (saw this many times), or helping ride ops in busy periods.

Given how he was basically overlooked at village, and with bikash now gone, I really wonder if Greg goes home at the end of his day with a nice smile on his face, knowing the general public is now seeing the positive effects and influence he (and half his team that ended up following him) has had since taking over the company. Must be really satisfying to help turn around a company that was close to insolvency, have a plan for improvements (not just recovery) and start to see the positive feedback from guests following investments in things like this. It looks fantastic, when the other reality could have just been another relocation of old cars running around on a track. It's refreshing to see some care and attention given to the setting and themed elements of a ride again, especially when it isn't a big budget thrill ride. Yeah, limited budgets, limited space are always constraints in Australia, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't at least try to deliver something that improves the overall experience. To me, it really shows intention to build zones or lands back into theme parks, something that at least makes an attempt at something cohesive instead of just plonking something down on a bit of land and calling it done. Makes me wonder just how constrained he was working under the village shroud, when this is like the polar opposite of how things are going over there.