Richard

Those particular pictures were taken with two different cameras - both of which I don't use any more. The 2002 photos were taken with a Kodak DC3400, a nice 2 megapixel digital camera that was about a year old at the time. The 2003 ones were taken with a Canon EOS1000 SLR, a 35MM camera, using a 28-80mm lense. My current camera, which I chose solely because of its size and high regard, is a Canon IXUS V3. It's got great low battery consumption, a decent 3mp resolution and it's small enough to fit in any pocket, so I don't need to take a backpack everywhere I take my camera anymore (which can be a nuissance on rides). I'm going to buy a waterproof housing for it in a few weeks time (when I buy the digital video camera for my trip), which will mean I can take it to all sorts of places, and onto all sorts of rides.

Yeah, I don't think it takes much more than a look at Disney's latest efforts, in the form of Disney's California Adventure. I'm by no means suggesting it's bad - heck, it beats every park in Australia for quality, and it's one of the most anticipated parks of my trip (Busch Gardens Tampa is also very high). The theming is great, but it's certainly not to the extent that DisneySea appears. I like your point about the Japanese ownership. I'm pretty sure this is also the case with the two mainland Asia parks that are planned or under construction. Straying off for a second, this is also why there's no Disney here - Disney aren't in a position to build new parks, and I doubt there's many companies in Australia that could cough up the sorts of money we're talking about, for something that's not overly lucrative. The USA Disney parks are certainly realising that some real effort needs to go into the future rides, and with Tower of Terror at DCA coming, and many seriously awesome looking rides planned for the next five years or so, you can see that they're back into their original ways. I've not read Imagineers, and I'll indeed look for a copy when I'm in that part of the world. I've read another book, which is a more general look at Walt Disney's life, with only a chapter on the theme parks, but it is amazing the vision he showed, and his amazing perfectionist attitude. If you've read anywhere about his plans for Walt Disney World, you'll know that what currently exists is almost insulting (compared to what he had planned), and only a fraction of what his mind concieved. It was so fantastic yet fully achievable (with the right amounts of money). One thing I really regret about my forthcoming trip is not being able to afford to stay at a Disney resort in Florida (unless they've opened a new resort that's $40/night for a double ) - the infrastructure really does have to be experienced from 'within' to be truly appreciated. We're getting further and further from the original topic, but this is just getting more and more interesting.

Damn... that truly is quality. I remember photos from a few years ago of DisneySea. I think I'll agree with you in that it's the best themed park in the world - having never been there. As with everything, they always look better in real life than they do in photos, and that's just amazing in the photo. When are your photos, videos and other miscellaneous items from the trip going up? I think I mentioned to you before you left that if you're after some space to set up a little site for all that stuff, I'm happy to give you some (I know that the space you get with your ISP, or from Geocities or whatever is never enough, and always slow loading). Just catch me some time when I'm online if you wanna chat about this. Of course, the reason that parks like DisneySea and others similar don't get as much of a look in as the American parks is the obvious fact that the voters are largely Americans, and certainly westerners. If you want an unskewed poll, check out The Internet Roller Coaster Poll - he uses some nifty mathematics to mean that regardless of how many votes a ride gets, it won't do well unless all the votes on it are positive. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that simplifies it enough.

I think rabid said it all right there. Numbers can prove what they want. It sure shows that the parks and companies have produced rides or attractions that are universally accepted as good, but I don't think it's a good idea to condemn the poll, or be let down by rides based on what a survey said. Hey, my favourite Aussie looper is Sea World's Corkscrew. Eureka Mountain does it better for me than Scooby-Doo. Sea World's water ride duo to me are the best water rides in Australia. Toboggans beat out any other rides for sheer thrill quality for me. Sea World is also my favourite theme park in Australia. I know that there are people out there that will disagree with every point I made there (thunder? :twisted:), but like other people's opinions should matter to you. Thanks for tuning into Total Thrills: Lessons in Life. :bert:

I've added a Wonderland Sydney gallery of some sorts - 8 shots of Bush Beast. Check it out: http://oldsite.totalthrills.com/wlsgallery.php Comments adn thoughts are as always appreciated. Stay tuned for more little updates like this over the coming few months. Things like added photos here and there and other small updates.

I've never really agreed with the placement of Magnum-XL in the past few years. Granted, I've never ridden it (July 2004 - Cedar Point, here I come!), and I'm sure it's a quality ride, but I'm sure the thrills on it really don't come anywhere near those of newer rides. Surely Kennywood's Phantom's Revenge or SFA's Superman: Ride of Steel hold up as better hypercoasters, and deserve placements above it. The results are always pretty uneven and skewed anyway, so it's no big deal. The wooden coasters, from all reports, seem pretty accurate (again, July 2004 - Holiday World, here I come! ). Though the fact that the infamous Mean Streak just creeps in at 49 really is a testament to the somewhat inaccuracy of the system.

Sea World decided last week to release their four metre Tiger Shark. They don't state any reasons in the release, other than that they're doing it. I assume it went ahead - they weren't totally clear on the weather for Friday, when it was scheduled. I'm guessing that they're primarily doing it to keep certain circles happy. It's clearly as a result of the media backlash (who will be there come December, smiling as they read the weather, stating how fabulous Shark Bay is), but I'm doubting that it had much to do with the RSPCA.

Suitcase? I really wish it were that sort of trip! Unfortunately, it's backpacks and Greyhound coaches all the way. There's going to be a lot of walking, fast-food and hostels. There will surely be something for Total Thrills during and after the trip. I've mentioned the site that I'm (hoping) to get up for it, which will include photos and trip reports, but I'll be here as well to talk about it. If I take anything less than 1,500 pictures on this trip, then I'll be disappointed - and you'll all get to see them. At least I'm not the one carrying the video camera.

Try contacting Wonderland (or frontdesk@----URL removed for non-compliance with Community Guidelines----) - I'm sure they're in a position to help you better with your request. Make sure you include the date you're going.

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.