Richard

Just to complicate the matters, let's not forget that the S&S rides aren't drop rides - there's no 'dropping' involved - compressed air pulls them down and up using cable systems. So in actuality, it'd have to claim the tower ride record, which I'd imagine is currently held by some Observation tower type ride somewhere in the world. Then there's Stratosphere Tower's (which made a quick appearance in CSI on Tuesday) Big Shot, which would technically be highest (how's a man-made mountain any different from a man-made casino). Personally the idea of the 150+300ft ride sounds a bit more plausable than 450ft straight off. Not that the actual 400ft mark won't be broken by a tower ride some time in the future. As long as Intamin et al keep on introducing new concepts for their Tower Rides (gyro, floorless, standup, tilting...), then Dreamworld will be relatively safe for a number of years to come. But still, they should be aware that their records won't stay forever, and if they want to keep on top of the 'competition' (even if in Canada), they will have to bring us bigger and better things.

The Wet'n'Wild Gallery is now complete, and almost ready to go (just have to wait for various authorisation )! This completes the Queensland parks and reaffirms the fact that Total Thrills is the most comprehensive Australian coaster/thrill site. This will bring the total photograph count up to 333! I'm hoping for 500 by the end of this year, and many many more in years to come. Thanks everyone for your support! The conversations are getting better, as well as the general activity around here, which will lead to great things over time.

That's a really good pick up there joz! I would try and defend Dreamworld, but their use of the word "fully" kinda shoots them in the foot. Well, seeing as Dreamworld defines "fully" as "mostly", then I guess Movie World's also been "fully" operational this whole time.

Good to hear that they're back to normal. The theme parks here run much the same as the four major banks in Australia. They compete, but they do all get down "in secret", and get standardised entrance prices, and know that if one park of the three upped ticket price, they'd in the long run hurt themselves, for a little added profit in the short run. The Village Warner studios have seen many different production companies through their doors, and that can be clearly seen at: http://www.movieworldstudios.com.au/previo...ous_clients.htm. I guess it all bubbles down to costs - its a well known fact that you'll get world-class facilities for a fraction of the cost of filming in Hollywood etc. There was a clear-cut reason that The Matrix was shot at Fox Studios, despite being a Warner Bros and Village Roadshow production, but I can't for the life of me remember it. Something to do with the size and cityscape of Sydney I think.

Yeah - certainly not a computer freeze that would cause the ride to hit 180mph. Maybe a sensor issue, or a glitch in the system etc., but I assume that's what you meant. 99.9% of the time, a glitch will result in the ride stalling, especially with the timing required with the LSMs, and a slow magnetic pull back into the station (or if they've really stuffed the system, a winch does this job), but there's always that incredibly minute chance that something could go wrong in the right way, causing an over-fire. Rare, but I'll accept that it could happen (as did Intamin, hence installing the various backup safety systems).

This should help you (and anyone else): http://www.totalthrills.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=168. It's not the most detailed, but if you follow it, you should get somewhere.

I've had a few questions, so I've put together a short tutorial on how to attach files to your posts. Of course, using the Attachment system. Please note, for it to come up as an image, it must have one of the following extensions. GIF, JPG, JPEG, TIF, PNG or TGA. You can also upload just about any other file kind you've got (including music/sounds and videos). It's a pretty simple two step process. You can repeat the steps to attach up to 10 files. Once you've added the files, finish typing the message, or just click "Submit". If you go back and edit your post, you can add/remove/modify attachments.

I'm guessing it's a bit of both. It is quite common for people to mistake Dreamworld as one of the "Worlds", so it'd be easy to think that Dreamworld was under the same scheme. And when your competitor gets a front page mention (and I don't think any news is good news), this is certainly a good way to make your park immediately look like the better option to potential guests.

Brett Ratner (director of Silence of the Lambs "prequel" Red Dragon, Rush Hour 1&2&3) was working on a new Superman movie, with Anthony Hopkins (Red Dragon, Silence, Hannibal, Bad Company...) being paid a whopping $30mil to play Jor-El, Superman's Krypton father. However, this project was killed by Ratner, because he was finding it difficult to find someone capable for the lead role. As far as I know, until they find another directer with a little more patience (Brett Ratner is a younger guy who obliterated the great novel that was Red Dragon with his fairly dry and shallow rendition of it), the project is on hold. Wolfgang Petersen (Perfect Storm) has been said to be taking it on board, but all I care is that they get Hopkins for the supporting role. I'm probably going into a little too much detail for most of your likings, but that's life. I doubt Movie World have looked at this new film in much details, so I'd cross it off your list of potential new rides (though it'd make sense once the film comes closer) for the time being. They could always be referring to the Special FX show, which includes the Superman blue screen bit.

The speed you mention, which I believe was with people (officials) on board during testing, was 107mph. That's about 172km/hr. I'd expect both this speed, and 180, would be screaming into the brakes at the top, which I'm told is an interesting experience, as the brakes actually hold you for a short amount of time, a la Impulses.

Just a point: Cyclone's train is mechanically and structurally the same as the old style, the only thing different is the fibreglass shell. You'll also find that the paint doesn't affect roughness at all. You'll find that the new paint will usually be gone within weeks. If you want a smooth ride, new wheels and grease are the answer. They more than likely won't be bothering with anti-rust paint in an on-the-fly repainting like we're talking about here. This will be for aesthetical reasons, but even now, it certainly looks a lot nicer than Tower of Terror.

It's been confirmed as a Premier ride because of track that was spotted and photographed several months back. Whether or not that means it'll be launched isn't known, but one thing for sure is it'll be an amazing ride.

One of those Setpoint Swing Things would suit the park a lot better. It's an idea that has been done at several water parks around the world. They'd fit a water park a lot better, because of the crowd interaction and more fun feeling to them. An actual water coaster (Mack or Premier) would on the other hand need its own separate area, and I don't think is really the sort of 'togs wearing" ride like a Swing Thing is. Overall, something other than slides would be great (and I don't mean spas), and certainly a welcome change for guests.

I'm all too well aware of the fact that Movie World is a family park above all. Never once did I say I wanted a coaster, or a thrill ride. My argument against a show is solely to do with crowd management. My opinion is that a show wouldn't be done as well as it once could have been. Movie World is a very small park, with a pretty undesirable layout. It doesn't handle even small crowds terribly efficiently and easily. You've all seen Main Street after Police Academy, where it is impossible to get anywhere. During the Bat Spectable, it's near impossible to get out of the Southern end of the park. Adding more shows will reduce the numbers of people around the park for the duration, but look out when the show ends, particularly if they take the (pretty well thought out) Sea World approach, to synchronise shows (which is fine for Sea World, where its bigger, and more ways to get from A to B, but it mightn't work as well at Movie World). Really, it is my thought, and always has been, that whatever comes for Matrix (or anything in the future), should involve a major expansion, creating a loop at least around Maverick and Scooby Doo into Lethal Weapon. That'll let the crowds at least flow smoothly in a circle. Once this recurring problem has been solved, and I've not even talked about new (high capacity) rides, then we can put something in the Maverick building. Warner Bros. Movie World may have once been considered to be in competition with Universal Studios Hollywood, but I'd think that the Japanese Universal and Disney parks have pretty well fixed it. And if we're going to compare these two studio parks, then let's give it a go: Wild West Falls - Jurassic Park Batman the Ride - Back to the Future Special FX Tour - Special Effects Stages (Universal uses films people might know) Studio Tour (well and truly gone, but no loss) - Studio Tour (it's kept modern) Marvin the Martian - Shrek 4D, Terminator 3D Superstars (gone) - Spiderman Rocks! (though one, I know) Gremlins (gone), Looney Tunes River Ride- Backdraft Looney Tunes Revue - Animal Planet Live Looney Tunes Village - Nickelodeon Blast Zone Harry Potter - Mummy Returns: Chamber of Doom Police Academy Stunt Show - Water World Bold is the winner (of course, all my uneducated opinion), if there's no bold, there's no winner. Universal seems to come out on top to me. All that's left at Movie World is Lethal Weapon and Scooby-Doo. Two fantastic rides, but let's face it, bigger budgets would blow these two out of the water. Universal Hollywood also looks at least double or triple the size as well, so it might be possible to movie around there.

Well, if you've got pictures and you're willing to share , then feel free to use the Album, or upload them into the forums.

I'll accept SARS as a decent enough reason, but the war is a pretty weak excuse that many many industries are trying to use. Let's face it - it doesn't affect us, nor would it affect our theme parks. Also, Village Roadshow are again withholding dividend payments to try and let themselves cope. Some of the major shareholders aren't terribly happy either. The company isn't faring too well at the moment. You're quite right, domestic guests won't spend much, especially when they can get the same things for usually half the price elsewhere. Maybe, just maybe, if promotions were started where people could get in with discounts, and they had vouchers for cheaper food and/or merchandise, then they might be doing a lot better than they are. I guess it seems that getting their Outback Adventure up and running is highest priority for them. Which'll do a whole lot of good with no international market at the moment.

Okay, I'm in B&M's shoes. I see five new coasters open/ing this year. I saw seven last year. They recently released their flying coaster, which is just picking up with great interest. B&M isn't a terribly large firm. They build fewer coasters each year than other companies, they charge a lot more for them, but its a more reliable end product. At this stage, B&M seem to be right for work. They wouldn't need to turn to a less glamorous project like a refurbishment of an old ride, to sustain themselves. If you think about it, the R&D money they would pour into a new design is taken from their profit, and the time spent could be time spent working on other designs, where the profit margin is much larger because all the development has been done. And in my opinion, if they were to go after a project like this, it'd be pretty close to a once off thing. Not many parks would opt for a retracking of an older coaster, if they could, for the same price get a brand new coaster, which would be easier and more effective to market, and at the end of the day, give better return than a slightly smoother old ride. Parks will approach B&M for a completely new replacement ride, over a retracking (no matter how good it makes the ride), simply because it'd be a better investment. The list if firms wasn't given by the chief engineer. And we're not talking about some highly secretive new prototype coaster, where a single leaked detail could ruin the whole ride. I was informed of the three companies they were talking to, and that the project is a long way from completion. It's really not that special, and I doubt the information could be used in any way to benefit a competitor. Okay, let's move away from the fact that B&M could fix Thunderbolt. I don't deny that if US$20mil was popped into their pockets, they'd probably consider this project (B&M coasters average at about US$16m). However, it is my thinking that this project won't be anywhere near US$20mil. I'd estimate it at closer to AU$10mil. This doesn't need to turn into any feud. I'm not trying to start any fights, I'm just trying to be realistic.

I'm by no means putting the parks down. I'm just giving my learned opinion on the park. These aren't moodswings or anything. I praise Movie World for the high quality and thorough ride that is Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster. I praise them for the brilliantly themed Wild West Falls. I praise them for the intense and thrilling (though often rough and slow-loading) Lethal Weapon. I praise them for hands down the best theme park food in Australia. However, as I've said before, there are problems with the park. I believe that their live attractions have been steadily going downhill, as I mentioned previously. My ideas have been communicated with the park.

Well, not just because I'm a thrill junkie (I will gladly watch any theme park show, even over rides), but I really think that is a really poor choice, for reasons I've said a lot, mostly to do with park capacity and flow of people. Another reason would come if you look at what they've done to the shows around the park. They've essentially ruined Police Academy with a new intro, which really does take away from the show. They gradually turned the Wild West Action Show, something that was to me, far better than Police Academy, into a pathetic light and smoke show, and then into an even more pathetic superstar show. They turned the street parade into a tacky, unoriginal show, and completely ruined the aesthetics of Main Street with the disgusting cable and adjoining platforms. A particularly unspectacular 'Bat Spectacle' takes place every day, which combines bad audio with pretty plain visuals. And you really think that with that track record, something good could ever, ever come out of Movie World's inhouse staff? Sorry if my pessimistic mood is coming across strong recently, but I think the truth hurts. I'm curious as to how it looks more like a show over a ride. I know I've not been visiting the parks as much recently, and there are undoubtedly rumours that are skipping me , but the way I see it, at this stage, it might as well be either, both or none. Anyway, Movie World, go with the show, take the cheap, easier option, and sack another group of performers 18 months down the track as a result of unpopuarlity. I'm sure the recently delayed Superman movie that (was) due out within the next few years would make a good theme for the next show. What the future holds for the Maverick building after that, no one knows.

On the front page of the Courier Mail today was an interesting article regarding some measures that Village has taken as a result of not keeping ahead of the market. Essentially, they're now 'rationing the rides', much like what Wet'n'Wild will do during the coldest, wettest days of winter. I've been saying for a few weeks now, this is all because Warner Village haven't been able to keep up with a pretty obvious trend, and have gone against what you'd have thought were pretty obvious instincts, and actually shifted their focus to international markets in pretty dodgy times. And well, it's pretty obvious that they've just dug themselves into a hole, and detonated some TNT while down there. Look at Dreamworld. They've gone the other way - the right way, and they're certainly not in the same position as Movie World. I sure as hell won't be going to Movie World while such a programme is running. And who knows, maybe I won't go back for quite some time even after they return to normal. Cutting staff and costs is not the way to go when you've got a huge and easy local market who'd gladly visit the park if attendance wasn't so outrageously high.

I spoke with someone reliable at Dreamworld (exactly 16 months ago to this day ) regarding Thunderbolt. I was told pretty much everything I've mentioned here (and of course some things I haven't mentioned ). I also was informed a bit later that the plans were on hiatus for the development of Nick Central, but would be made a high priority following Nick Central's launch. What they are looking at doing, I don't know. They wanted to address the issue of roughness, which means make it a more pleasant ride. Around 50% of the problems with that ride are the train and restraints, and the other 50% is the track. The basic fix for this ride to me would be as follows: Replace the trains (lapbars anyone?) with sleeker, better articulated trains, completely replace the first drop and the transitions into and out of the loops and you've got a half-decent ride. There are problems with the track (you can see the badly joined sections of track quite clearly) - some decent shock absorbers, and more padded trains would remove this problem. Fix some of the transitions in and out of turns, and you've at least got a rideable ride. It should also be faster through the second half - those bad transitions kill all the speed - which would mean some gentle airtime and overall more thrills. Regarding B&M, I'd again have to disagree . The US Amusement Industry is quite different to the European market. Look at the leading US Companies: Arrow (don't bother correcting me), S&S, Setpoint etc. They could all be considered innovators. Meanwhile you’ve got Intamin who seem to have made their niche by perfecting older styles (hypercoaster, inverted etc.). Vekoma specialises in a few very specific and similar/identical designs. B&M have become to be known for their consistency and reliability on their small but perfected selection. If I were B&M (and I’m not…), I wouldn’t even bother bidding for a project like Thunderbolt, if approached. The time they’d spend designing a completely new style of train and track, is time that could have been spent designing a new coaster from their current selection. And it’s often suggested that B&M coasters are heavily in demand. Besides… B&M certainly wasn’t on the *list* I was given. 8) That’s my 400 word effort at stirring trouble.

Of course keep in mind that the biggie, number three comes out in November, and works a lot better for the park (summer season and all). If we're to expect anything, expect it for number three. Oh, and it sure as hell better not be a show. Another show isn't exactly going to help with the park's horrendous bottlenecking.

And believe me when I say that the contention for that record is intense among Australian parks.

Nah, again, I have to disagree with you (or your source). There's no way anything with the existing ride (lift inclusive) would be compatible with B&M. It'd be easiest (and cheapest), if that's the way they were to go, to simply knock the whole lot down, and start again.

There is quite a bit of truth in that story. Dreamworld investigated possible courses of action to make Thunderbolt more pleasant during early 2002. They spoke with (at least) three companies, Vekoma (whose Asian partner is Meisho), KumbacK Coasters, a spinoff company that came as a result of Vekoma's bankruptcy, and the then Arrow Dynamics. Whatever has been heard about B&M is undeniably false. The thing the three companies above have in common is a similar track style to that of Thunderbolt, which suggests existing technology could easily be implemented in a rehaul of the ride. B&M on the other hand, have always worked with their European track style and quite simply, the technology is really in no way compatible. There have been rumours of a B&M replacing Thunderbolt, but that's about it. The picture attached is one of my old ones from RCDB. The project was originally penned in for a last-2003 release, but that was around 18 months ago, and obviously things change (there's a bit more to it, but I won't go into great detail). Between 2004-2005 Sounds right though.