Richard

And wouldn't our friends in the apartments above just adore the lovely roar of the steel wheels. Hey, I'd love that, but that's about as likely to happen as my proposed coaster atop the Sydney Opera House.

As I know it, they've been simply putting on an audio track of some nature for the ride. If that's what you'd call a show, then yeah, there is still a show. The last show they did was a comedy western stunt show, with real live performers and lots of gunfire. Now, the show before that was the real gem. It to me represents Dreamworld when it was truly at its peak (to me, it's all been downhill since about when Wipeout showed up). It might have been a bit before you, Slick, but they had their "Just for Fun!" campaign of the early 90's, with the TV ads had that classic footage of one guy jumping up with a firestick between his legs which was from the original show. The park's now got nothing more than the Nickelodeon shows left. If it were up to me, I'd at least go about bringing back (obviously in a new, revamped form) the old shows that have died. They've got the one from Captain Sturt, and an empty theatre in Gum Tree Gully. Shows add flavour to a park. As it is, Dreamworld is pretty well flavourless.

Though the emphasis has shifted from focusing nearly entirely on photographs as with this site to more of a general coaster site, the photographs will indeed by kept as interesting as possible. I'm looking at buying yet another new digital camera in the near future (it's time for me to go back to SLR after four years with compact digitals) and some decent lenses to try and boost the general quality and consistency of the photos. I want to start completely from scratch with all of that, so that you're not all seeing the same stuff as on this site and what you do see is truly high quality. The site won't focus on one particular thing like some sites do (for instance Westcoaster is really only about construction updates). What I've got coming will be equally strong in news/articles, photo galleries, construction updates, park/ride database, so as to please as many people as possible. One thing I would like to add is that the park/ride database is going to be fantastic and comprehensive. For instance, the coaster database is about half complete in terms of entering data, and there's currently more operating coasters in it than there are at RCDB for Australia.

It's all database driven - everything is stored in a database - all ride information, park details and even news articles is linked and cross-linked with everything, making it not only reasonably complex, but very neat and easy to manage at the same time, and making the pages all consistent in layout and dynamic (i.e. you change one thing and it changes them all). To give you an example, there are a series of parks, in the "parks table", with all the information on the given park, as well as a parkid column. Now, in a separate "coasters table", I store the coaster information and stats in there, as well as a parkid colum. So that now links the coaster to the park. News articles also have the parkid column as well, so each article knows what park it is about, and each park knows where to find any articles that are about it. At the end of the day there's no simple way of factoring in rides that periodically move (and I probably would include it if it were easy enough to do). It would be possible with another database setup, but that's certainly nothing that's on the list for the initial opening of the site. I could say (very doubtfully) that further down the track if there's sufficient interest, as well as adequate assistance (I know next to nothing about the travelling rides of Australia), it might be more feasable, but certainly not in the forseeable future.

I've thought about that, but at the end of the day, it's not something I'm interested in catering for. I'm not really a carnival fan, so in my mind, it wouldn't be a good use of my resources to cover something I'm not that keen on. Aside from that, it'd also be very difficult to implement given the current database structure - it'd essentially require a whole new system to what I've got now - which works perfectly for fixed rides and parks.

The paddleboat does still run, but there's no longer a show, which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole boat ride. I know I haven't ridden it since I think 1999, because of the lack of the show.

The new site's coming along nicely - still looking at the same early-2004 launch. Features of the new site: •Park database, including all roller coasters, and most other rides/attractions in Australia. •Frequently updated articles and content, including latest news from Australian parks, reviews, interviews, editorials/feature articles etc. •Park guides and strategies. •Photo galleries, both general park/ride/coaster shots, as well as construction updates. •High-quality videos of many rides and attractions (more details yet to be announced). •Forums - similar to the Total Thrills forums, though great improvements in terms of how it looks and ease-of-use. •Full-fledged staff. Details will be announced, and applications will be accepted shortly for a variety of different positions. As always, we're all out to have a good time, but professionalism will be of highest importance. Stay tuned on this one! Now, here's where you, the members come in. Are there any feature you'd be interested in, something/s that you think would benefit the site and the readers and general community? If so, then please don't hesitate to let me know. Post in this thread, email me or send me a PM. I'm open to pretty much anything that you think will help. I went somewhat blindly into Total Thrills. As there was no Australian community, I didn't know what to expect, or what people would want. Now that I've got the benefit of an established community and ever-useful hindsight, I can tune this new site to exactly what you, the users, will want. Thanks for helping to create a better future for all Australian thrill seekers! Richard

Great thought, that'd be a great ride, but Luna Park in Melbourne is a truly tiny park, and the ride would seriously not fit. Thunderbolt was a huge ride.

The story behind Thunder River makes the theming slightly more logical. I can't elaborate much more than this, simply because I don't remember the exact details, but essentially it's a journey down a magic river that was found by some drunk old fossickers or something along those lines. It's not supposed to be a journey through a mining town or anything, and frankly the rusty roofs and junk has been well and truly overdone. The track on Eureka Mountain is exactly the same as it was when it was first built, and I'm certain that the trains were always two rows of two passengers.

I'd imagine this is the style of ride: http://www.totalthrills.com/lpmgallery.php?page=misc01 It's very similar to Tasmanian Devil, but leaps and bounds above it in terms of intensity (it's one fast ride!).

Unless they're different dinosaurs (in the first cave, right?), they've been there for over a year now. What they did was stuck a few remaining figures from Creature Cruise in the cave to the sides, and it goes pretty well with the loud noises of growling and galeforce winds and thunder and everything, and strobe lights to add the lightning. Nonetheless, it's a pretty good way to add some more fun to an already pretty decent (and certainly popular) ride. The elephants still look worn out, and the old clunky photography equipment is still decaying over near the elephants (they went digital quite a while back, and now take the photos in the station). Cleaning and repairing I'd say are by all means maintenance. There's no way you can do this effectively (well there is, but we're talking old-school Disney budgets ). Now, pray that they're replacing the wheels on the train while they're at it, and Cyclone might be able to return to some of its former glory (saying that like it's a 20 year old ride that's no longer one of the central attractions). Gum Tree Gully and Rivertown, where the maintenance is going on would have to be my favourite section of the park. I'd love some life to be brought back to some of the old shops, many of which aren't used anymore, but let's hope they don't go overboard and ruin the pleasant feel of the area. There is a series of walkways connection the islands, which is what's seen on the old maps. I'm assuming that they're for staff access etc., as anyone that remembers the old Captain Sturt shows will remember the series of scenes, which would have required the same actors to move very quickly from place to place to keep ahead of the boat. Still, you're very correct in that there is quite a lot of room to spare, but the bridges you see aren't new, and there are some docks etc. that would be used for scenery more than anything. Walk around to the wildlife park some time via Gum Tree Gully (past the Billabong Restaurant), and you'll see the bridges you're talking about.

Let's get this back onto the topic at hand. There's a Wonderland Sydney forum for all these discussions. And please use the 'Edit" button if you wish to add something to a post Daniel - don't just post twice in a row.

In that case, my vote goes for Shock Drop at Luna Park in Melbourne. It provides the exact same thrill as the other two. The height adds two things. Firstly, you've got the added exhiliration of floating 120m above the ground (nearly twice as high as Space Probe). There's no such thing as not being afraid of heights - it's a hard-coded human instinct. It's just that some people are more able than others to cope with the inevitable fear. It's only after you become incredibly familiar with the environment (as many of our Wonderlanders are on Space Probe) that it becomes so familiar that it doesn't affect you. Then you've got the fact that you're falling for considerably longer, so there's more float time. You actually have a chance to soak in what's happening, which I don't believe happens on Space Probe. As far as I'm concerned, theming doesn't come into play here. If that's your reasoning, then I'd say that you'd be at home on a ride like Looney Tunes River Ride. The theming's about the quality of Space Probe's, so you've definitely got a better ride.

I think inspiration for the new Luna Park definitely came from what Fox Studios set up. They've also basically decided that there's a bunch of rides on-site that will help to boost popularity of the new park a little more. Coasters aren't everything there is to a park. I like djrappa's example with SFMM and Knotts (which I've not experienced... not for another 48 days anyway ), but bringing it closer to home, look at Dreamworld up against Sea World. Many of you may believe (and there's nothing wrong with that) that Dreamworld is the better park for its superior collection of coasters/thrill rides, whereas myself and at least a few others would see Sea World as the better for its fantastic atmosphere and excellent staff. As for these alleged "ars holes" at Luna Park. I think the right thing to do is build something that attracts people, and keeps everyone happy. Regardless of your opinions on the Northshore residents (and I'm with you on probably all of it), they do live there now, that's not changing, and Luna Park have to keep them happy enough to get them off their back for the park's own good. Now, I'd love to see the place set up like an RCT park with coaster upon coaster with other rides everywhere, but the fact is, that's not happening any time soon - or ever.

Dreamworld's just gotten their hands on another tiger, named Soraya, a 14-month old female Sumatran tiger, and it's set to debut October 30. For those that don't know, there are five remaining different subspecies of tigers. The odd thing is all of Dreamworld's other tigers are Bengal, and this one is a Sumatran. It's a great deal smaller than the Bengal tiger, so I'm not sure how it will affect the exposure to other tigers etc., if it does at all. They suggest that when breeding becomes a possibility (sexually mature at an age of three), they will get a male from another zoo in Australasia, so there's no cross-breeding going on obviously, and offspring are to be raised at Dreamworld until they're "required" overseas. There's a bunch more information in the press release. I'm not the sort who justs copy-pastes a whole press release, but if anyone's interested, I'll be happy to get some more specifics for them. Anyway, this is pretty interesting news, and I suppose these are the things that Dreamworld's counting on for a bit of extra attention over the next year.

In future, Chippy, please use the button which is found in the top right hand corner of every post, rather than posting twice in a row to fix up mistakes etc. -rich

The issue with Big Dipper wasn't the noise that the ride created. I mean, it's a relatively quiet ride (still pretty noisey as you'd imagine though), but the issue was with the noise that riders made from what I've gathered. As I see it, Luna Park won't go back to the true amusement park style park ever again. Though I certainly think there are ways that some of the most exciting rides available could be installed without disrupting the neighbours, it just won't happen.

I don't know if anyone else caught the story in "MSN Today" yesterday, but there was an article about Steve Irwin's latest plans (if you've not been watching the news or reading the papers, you probably have missed all the stirring that has been done about his plans to move the park to Brisbane). Anyway, he's now saying he'll keep Australia Zoo where it is, and build a Crocodile Hunter theme park in Brisbane that has the rides and more gimicky attractions rather than the wildlife (though I'm sure there'll be plenty of that). A bit of poking around the ninemsn.com news site got me this: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/s...story_52400.asp I think the writer starts to loose track of what he's talking about and which park is which, but from what I make of it, there's also going to be a heap spent on the Beerwah park to bring it more into the future. Anyone that's been there knows that in some/most parts, it isn't exactly "natural habitat" animal exhibits that have become the norm in the 2000's, so this'd be very welcome I think. While on this topic, anyone catch Steve on Enough Rope (season finale) a few weeks ago? After seeing that, I'm convinced he's the Marilyn Manson of the nature world. The guy's found a fantastic selling point, and he religiously sticks by it... and certainly by the sound of things, it really is working him wonders.

Construction is done by contractors, who are legally responsible for safety etc. on the construction site, not the land owners. Also, there's not going to be any forfeiting of plans to construct at Wonderland, regardless of who sues who. There's a little thing called a contract. Unless the construction company wants to get into trouble with Wonderland, the job will be done. That's of course assuming any legal action takes place, which would happen if there was some sort of fault on the contractors part (if they've provided safety that meets the standards of workplace health and safety, then they shouldn't be negligent and insurance will come into play and make everyone happy).

Setpoint is an up-and-coming (saying that like it's a small indie band) company based in Utah (home of Arrow, S&S and S&S-Arrow ). The ride referred to is their Swingthing, an interactive suspended coaster where riders and bystanders have opportunities to wet each other.

Movie World are great at theming individual rides and attractions, I'll give them that. When it comes to areas though, this is where Movie World really pales. I'd go so far as to say that absolutely no thought goes into how it affects the surrounding rides and attractions, when they are designing their rides. Scooby-Doo has fantastic theming, but to say it at all fits in or does the atmosphere of the park any good is a lie. However, I'll agree with you that rides should be spread out (or at least the entrances), but by no means for the reason of clashing of themes. They have some serious conjestion issues, and rides need to spread the crowds out, the exact oposite of what they currently do. One thing I hate about Movie World (and this is a true hate), is the fact that for one reason or another, when they designed the park, they went for the most narrow path width they could. It really infuriates me that when I want to get from A to B, I can't because there's a show or parade on that completely blocks movement in any direction. I can live with a design that creates horribly unevenly distributed crowds, but to make it impossible to get out of some of the traps is what gets me.

The fact that Wet'n'Wild is just down the road makes it that little bit more potentially lucrative. You're right that not many people even know it exists or where to find it - but if even 1/10th of the guests at the park on a summers day went to the water park, it'd be insane. Invest a lot into it over a few years and realistically you could have something that equals Wet'n'Wild. Now, obviously if they were to do this, there'd be big advertising, and more emphasis within the park would be put on it, so there's no problem with getting people in there. Just imagine the selling point of a fantastic quality water park included in the price of a single day ticket. Add something about the wildlife park, and you've got better value than the three park savers in the eyes of comsumers .

Here's their latest map.

Okay, last year was a big one, with Scooby-Doo opening. This year was a pretty empty year. They opened Matrix, which is pretty good (gallery additions coming within the next few weeks) but it's certainly nothing really to be singing and dancing about. What's it time for Movie World to do? I'm of the opinion that it's time for a real thrill ride. Scooby-Doo wasn't one, nor was it marketed as one. Wild Wild West was getting there. Lethal Weapon, added in 1995 is the only thing that resembles a truly intense thrill ride, and even it's not exactly great. Give some of our Swiss friends a call and give us something to be proud of! Theming is not a concern - there's plenty of Warner Bros. action movies coming out in the future. Placement is a concern. I think they've pretty well conjested the areas they've currently got to breaking point (and beyond at times of the day...). They really do need to put down the capital for a bit of an expansion - and there's a nice dead-end path over next to Wild West Falls which I'm guessing on their master plans has already been labeled as the next expansion point. We've all been talking about that loop around Maverick and Scooby Doo, coming in and connecting to the Lethal Weapon dead-end. You've got a whole nice grassy hill (scattered with junk) that's waiting for something big and fast.

It's not as though the tubes are a necessity in the wave pool though. There's plenty of other ways you can have fun, without spending the few dollars on a tube for the day. The tubes will almost certainly (what do I mean almost... more like 100%) be kept in the Whirlpool area. Never at Wet'n'Wild have there been any free-range tubes.