Richard

Yeah, I just consulted an old maths text book, and I think my counting procedure is now correct.

I'm sure I've given my highly professional and non-wrong opinion on how to fix Thunderbolt before. Seriously though, there's really not much that needs to be done to make it a really fun, and essentially smooth ride. Each step gets progressively more complex, so the easy fixes are the earlier ones. 1. Replace the restraints with something a little less encompassing. Sure, lapbars would be great, and make the ride essentially non-rough, and is all that's even required (in reality, Thunderbolt's the sort of ride where no restraint of any kind is at all is needed to keep you in your seat), but even a more open, softer horsecollar would make it more enjoyable. 2. Retrofit the entire trains - suspension under seats to absorb some of the bumps in the track, and get softer seats and side padding to make the jolts at least cushy ones. A softer wheel compound that absorbs some of the bumps in the track would be good, but I feel that the shoddy track would really wear through anything of decent quality. 3. Replace the trains. There's no shock absorbers or suspension underneath - I don't know what was suggested back when they bought a new train in the mid-90's, but there's nothing underneath but a few wheels. Get decent rolling stock that can handle even basic turns. 4. Rebuild the first drop and the turn out of the loops. They've got bad banking and even worse transitions. They're really the worst parts of the ride, and are essentially the parts that are mostly responsible for Thunderbolt's roughness stigma. Design better banking, and more gentle transitions in and out. You may wish to also rebuild some of the other curves and transitions into the banking throughout the ride, though many of the remaining ones are relatively fine as is (the two flat turns aren't bad at all, but the curving drops tend to be). 5. Finally, and this is really the fun one. Take out a 6-inch section of each rail where they were welded together 20 years ago. It was a cheap welding job 20-odd years ago, and you can physically see, and feel the joints (the straight section of track that passes through the loop was the best place to feel this) - they're essentially depressions every few metres in the track, and feel a bit like driving over a bridge's metal strips, only much bumpier. Replace all these joints with a more seamless join and you won't feel a thing. And for cosmetic reasons, we'll take down the entire catwalk, so now the ride's much more quiet. The loops are really among the smoothest parts of the ride, but the high g-forces can be uncomfortable. Change the height of the transition into the loops (much like Zonga at SFMW), and probably won't come off the ride with a headache. Doing all these things, you'll find yourself with a ride you never knew you could have. Also, I heard another rumour about Thunderbolt. Aparently Dreamworld's splitting it into two rides, so it'll become two smaller coasters - Thunder and Bolt.

You'll see I've added a new link (replacing the somewhat useless Park Guides link) in the top menu. Well, I thought it'd be nice to get word out there about my coming trip well in advance - it's still just under four months away. This is essentially my first trip overseas in a long time. Last one I remember was in 1993-94 when I took a family cruise out into the Pacific, and doing the whole tropical thing for a while. It's looking to be a great itinerary. It's amazing what there actually is to do in America park-wise, without most of the parks open. Feel free to add any comments you have regarding this trip.

Yeah, as Andy suggested, Thunderbolt did have a catwalk for the entire track. And yes this is because Meisho is a Japanese company, who in designing the ride, were following Japanese regulations.

Hehe...I thought that was a little to easy. I forgot to link the thumbnails to the actual images. Try http://oldsite.totalthrills.com/ekgallery....php?page=ekka01 to start the journey off in the meantime. I'll fix that right now.

This is I believe the largest update, and the largest gallery now on Total Thrills. There are currently 60 photos, and hopefully more to come over the next few weeks as I've only processed around half of my photos. I'll eventually have shots up of every ride, but until then, you'll have to make do with shots of certainly all the major rides there, and most of the less significant ones. Check the gallery out at http://oldsite.totalthrills.com/ekgallery.php and of course be sure to leave any comments or problems in here. I'm now up to 410 photos! -Richard

Yes, a piece of history that was well due for retirement.

Feel free to start a thread about this aspect of Wonderland in the appropriate forum. I'd be more than happy to discuss it there. And you'd be surprised at how many people were well aware that Cyclone was from Luna Park. It doesn't take more than an article in the paper or a five second story on the news to really get word out. And I guarantee that you'll see something about Thunderbolt on the news in coming months.

Usual cheapness? How's that work? Those rides were added under previous ownerships. Since then, the entire upper management team has been 'rebuilt'. As for Thunderbolt... really, it's not just unlikely that it'll be headed to Wonderland - that's just absurd.

As joz suggested, it's all been blown out of proportion by the media. The greenies are making a fuss because they can. Bringing this back on track, the latest issue of Warner Village Theme Parks' quarterly publication has some nice information about Shark Bay. There was nothing really new in the article - everything said was said here months before the attraction was even announced, but now at least everything's confirmed. The Planet SOS film is also coming in September, as rabid said many months ago. To be honest, it sounds like just about any other glamourous documentary - too short and too fancy to provide any real facts or anything. I'm sure many would have preferred Haunted Lighthouse (myself included - who'll see it soon ), but I'm guessing this might have been a cheaper option that is more marketable with Sea World's environmental focus.

Seriously, the ride would be greatly suited at any smaller park, with a bit of TLC. I'd imagine the ride sold for a pretty low amount. A bit of steel work where necessary, and of course a mega paint job, and you've got a ride that at least looks new. Give the trains some serious altering, and you'll have a ride that could pass off as not being too uncomfortable. I'm seriously interested in where this ride's going. So long as it remains in this country, I'm happy. Of course, if it stays in SE Queensland, I'll be even happier. I know if I were a small park owner, or even had the money just lying around, the ride would be mine in a flash... no matter how rough or painful it is/was.

Alternatively, you could have looked here, and gotten a more correct auction price for the coaster. It was all of Sega Worlds assets that sold for a combined $1 million. The actual coaster sold for a fraction of that - $140,000. I'm sure there's a logical reason for the ride not being purchased by Wonderland - perhaps the most obvious would be that the ride wouldn't be terribly easy to install at Wonderland.

This is pretty sad, don't you think?

Slick, if I were flaming you, you'd know it. I'm just countering your post with some of my own points. I'm personally not a flat ride fan (doesn't mean I won't ride, and indeed have a great time), but I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage.

A) What does the number of inversions prove? There may be slightly longer queues for other rides in the meantime, but last time I checked, there wasn't exactly an emphasis on capacity for rides at Dreamworld. C) That's really the only downside of this. Where did the idea that it's being replaced with a flat ride come from? When Dreamworld's management acknowledge that a ride is "rough" or "painful", then you know that it's a bit more than picky enthusiasts who want rides that parallel a BMW for smoothness. There's serious issues with the ride. It doesn't occur to some that a year from now, we'll be watching construction progress on something that'll really have you all truly excited.

They've updated their ride shutdowns page once again: They've got a few things in store for the next 12 months, but as I've already said, there is NO thrill ride / Thunderbolt replacement until after this period.

See this thread for more discussion about Thunderbolt's current state and future.

Slides require quite literally a fraction of the construction time spent on them. You're assembling a prebuilt fibreglass that's infinitely easier and quicker to assemble than a multi-tonne steel attraction. Honestly, a few weeks tops would be all even the slowest construction company would need.

Well, call me the bringer of good news... I hope. This has actually gotten me very excited. It seems that Dreamworld, in addition to a good relationship with Nickelodeon, they've also boosted their relationship with Paramount, which makes sense due to the closeness of Paramount and Nick. There's a Tomb Raider show coming (though not necessarily a show, just a non-ride attraction). This is due within the next fiscal year. Now, the good stuff. A "Teen Market Thrill Ride" is slated for the 2005 fiscal year. For what it's worth, it also sounds like they're getting a "real" petting zoo for this year - more than just a makeshift fence where animals are brought in daily. Sounds to me like Thunderbolt's immediate replacement (for the coming Christmas) is something very Crofty, and the real stuff comes next year. Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. As I've said in the past, there is no planned significant capital expenditure for this current year. No matter how much they desire, it would technically be illegal for them to surprise us with an unannounced attraction because of the way the stock market works.

In recent years, there's nearly always been two trains in the station. They took one out for a short time last year for maintenance or for whatever other reason, and put it back on the transfer track. Not really anything groundbreaking.

I was out at the Ekka today (don't worry, photos, videos etc. coming "soon")... it's the same ride as it sounds you rode, rabid (well, Reverchon make two models, so there was a 50% chance it'd be the same ride). It's certainly not as rough as some made it out to be. Quite smooth for the entire ride, which is VERY short. The spinning doesn't start until the second level of hairpins, and I was amazed at the affect this has on the taking of the turns. One turn you're barely moving through it, and the next one everything is a blur because of the way you spin around it. The final dip is taken spinning, which was a pretty freaky experience. Now... the bad part. $7.50 for a single ride! :evil: That is outright a joke. As if $5.00 rerides make up for that joke (even $5/ride is way too much). For a company that can't even make up their mind on what the ride is called (Crazy Mouse, Spinning Coaster, Crazy Coaster), they sure do want to get their money's worth... jackasses. What happened to the Ekka where it was about bringing the country to the city for a family day of fun? Don't give me the "insurance premiums" excuse again... RNA are just a bunch of greedy, money-hungry snobs. They had a 21 year old singer from up way north to sign as one of the highlights of the evening, and RNA, who would have had 20,000 people there today (that's 20000 x $15 (or so) = around $300,000 from entrance ticket sales today alone), kindly thanked the kind couple that sponsored her trip to Brisbane to perform. If they can't cough up the $1,500 tops that it would cost to bring her down for a week, then I really think that they've really forgotten what they're trying to achieve. The carnies (we here at Total Thrills are politically correct), food vendors, showbag sellers etc. are just as much to blame as RNA, but it's beyond a joke. It'll take more than a shiny new coaster to bring me out there next year... and indeed ever again. As you can see, I'm somewhat annoyed.

Japanese regulations mean that a coaster must have walkways for the entire track (though looking at Thunder Dolphin, they must have a different way of achieving this than the traditional catwalk). So they've always got ways of getting people off the rides when the strike. I'd also be certain that the rides are designed to withstand particularly rough earthquakes. Looking at Thunder Dolphin's supports, I'd guess they do a very good job of absorbing any forces on them, meaning the structure would probably sway a heck of a lot in an earthquake, but not collapse.

Thunderbolt is blocked to run two trains with easy - such a long course would mean that there's no rush to dispatch trains, and there'd be little chance of stacking. Whether it's ever been done is another question (I'd challenge anyone here to recall a situation where the ride did run both trains).

The major gripe here isn't with the staff's attitudes, necessarily. No one has even hinted that Dreamworld has rude or unpolite staff. Dreamworld has nice staff. I doubt anyone that couldn't smile and ask how someone's day was, regardless of the guest's attitude would actually be hired by the park. The problem, as most people have suggested, is with the efficiency at which they work. 15 minute dispatches on Cyclone are completely inexcusable. There's no other reason for it than slackness, and no attempt by the park's operations department to attempt to straighten things up. And besides, the fact is, even an average employee of a park, in my opinion, should be able to be courteous (is that the word you're after Wayne? ) if you walk up to them looking like the angry red dudes in RCT. I've never been anything but polite to staff in any theme park, and certainly at Dreamworld, they are nearly always the same back. But, boucing back to the efficiency point, an employee of a theme park is hired, regardless of whether they're a sweep, cashier, ride operator or attendant, to make your day good. Queue's are a pretty quick way to deteriorate the quality of a day (especially if the conversation seems to be a perpetual silence), and there's no attempt from most of Dreamworld's staff to speed up queue times. Need I also mention that there have been occasions where queues were moving nice and fast?

This isn't the place to discuss the photos. If you've got something to say about the photos, by all means start a new thread in the park's respective forum.