Richard

If you want a cool ride in the rain, Giant Drop's your man. If the gondola have had enough time sitting idle in the rain, then you'll get some very cool streamlining effects from the water that's collected under the seat, as it rushes out while you fall. Cyclone in particular isn't a very good ride in the rain. The train really does shuffle all over the place, particularly in the S-bend. Funny to see Eureka Mountain's roof leaking everywhere throughout the ride. At least on a ride like Lethal Weapon, if you're in the second or beyond rows, you're pretty well shielded. I've noticed Cyclone in particular sucks all over... (in the rain, that is ).

As you can see, the theme has been changed to fit in better with the main site. What are everyone's thoughts on this?

This period is always the weakest, Australia-wide. Every park has pretty minimal attendance from about February to June (Movie World was an exception last year with the mid-year opening of Scooby-Doo). Sounds to me like Wonderland is using this time to give the rides a bit of a rest. I don't agree with having two major attractions - Bush Beast and Snowy River Rampage closed at the same time. That seems like pretty poor scheduling. I missed Skyhawk last year on my visit, though it wasn't the greatest ride, there was a pretty nice element of excitement (especially that first moment when you're dropped, as the parachute came into effect). At least they're trying to increase the ride-count (even if it won't ever reach the level it was in the Hanna-Babera Land days).

Total Thrills has officially launched finally. Nothing terribly grand... just the beta logo has been since removed, and a redesigned front page that works better than the old one has been put in place. There is also a new news system that displays the latest news, and archives the old ones (all manual at this stage). I've put off the Wonderland Sydney gallery (sorry to those waiting eagerly for it!), until I've got enough pictures to make it worthwhile (I may put up what I've got some time). A bit strange (though this is the direction I eventually want to go), but by mid-March we'll have Knott's Berry Farm and Disney's California Adventure galleries up, taken with my new Digital Camera. Maybe even a video or two. I will definitely have videos I'm looking into integrating the Forums more with the site, so it doesn't feel so 'out-of-place'. I'm also looking at investing in new forum software, that'll do the job much better than what I've got here. Don't worry - if I do, all your old posts etc. will be saved . -Richard

The rumour would be about as credible as all the speculation we've been toying with here. Well I don't really want a launched coaster. Of the two, I'd have to go with Intamin (you know my preferences ). The almost forgotten Premier would come in before S&S on my list (for those that don't know - I don't really appreciate S&S since the VertiGo incident at Cedar Point). Anyway, the Thrust Air from S&S is a really ugly ride. 8) Then again, I'm not really supporting the 'Matrix launched coaster' campaign, in favour of the 'Matrix hyper' campaign. In the Australian market, there is almost no room for 'duplicates'. Cyclone was booed off by many people as being a big (boring?) Sea World Corkscrew. Meanwhile, something relatively small, Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, gets praised as the greatest thing since sliced bread (and that's not my fault ). I feel that a hyper coaster would provide more appeal than a Rocket Coaster, or Thrust Air (not sure about the Spaghetti Bowl from Premier). Anyway, for Xcelerator's $12m pricetag, you could also buy a Superman: Ride of Steel. I know which one I want (let's face it, as much fun as TOT's launch is... it is a bit gimicky).

About the only thing we know about the future is that there are no plans to develop new attractions in the coming year, and that there are the somewhat slow-moving plans for the shoping centre on unused Dreamworld land. If they want anything big for post-2004, then I'd say that they're probably working on it as we speak, or about to begin. From the tone of things, it is as if their plans (whatever they are) for Thunderbolt are finalised, just waiting for the right time.

Welcome to Total Thrills! Let's not start off on the wrong foot or anything, but... There is an edit feature, that allows you to edit your posts, and rather than starting a new thread for each post, use the 'Post Reply' button, to keep all posts of the same nature together. Also, it'd be much easier to provide a link to the releases, rather than a copy-paste of the entire article. They say they're moving into exotic attractions 'late 2003' in the wildlife park. That'll be interesting to see. Dreamworld or Sea World are perhaps the leaders in that area in Australia, I'd like to see how another park approaches such attractions (Dreamworld and Sea World both took the very natural approach to their wildlife attractions).

We've suffered a bit of downtime over the past day or so. The problem has been with our server - it's had very heavy loads these past few days, and some of its services were killed, and had to be manually restarted. It shouldn't continue, but we've got another server coming soon, that'll help with the load on this one. -Rich

Here's the ThrillNetwork review... finally! http://www.thrillnetwork.com/index.php?pag...=thread&order=0

Incidently, when I noticed the place was shut as I went past, I said that it was probably because of insurance. A real shame too. The place didn't look like it had much, but it's always a shame to loose a park, especially with a nice looking toboggan. We did go through Sale, wouldn't for the life of me remember what it looked like (other than dry), just I know it was somewhere near the turnoff to Heyfield (where Wil Anderson of Triple J/ABC TV fame grew up). It wasn't too smokey when I went through the area, it was a bit hazy. Driving down the coastal road - it took twice as long as it should have ( 9-8 driving days including maybe 4 hours in total seeing stuff), at three days. But it was greener than a central road would be, and some great scenery. We did it almost purely to go to Merimbula's Magic Mountain, I wish I had actually seen what was down along the road in the way of recreation parks, because I missed about two toboggans. As for humidity. I prefer the hot and humid weather we get here to the dry hot stuff that I certainly felt down there in the tennis (as did my wallet - having to buy mineral water several times because I didn't bring a bottle or anything). I don't like extreme humidity (such as on cloudy days when its still hot). Ideally, I like out winters - cold and dry. Let's not go too far off topic now.

Well, we seem to have caught up with the southern states. We got a tiny (a minute of light sprinking at the most) amount of rain the other day. It's getting pretty dead here. It has been pretty humid though. Thankfully not that dry heat (that you're probably used to down there ). Where is this 'Kingcuna Country'? I passed a toboggan down, just near of Lakes Entrance, and the place was shut down (would have been nice to get another one into the count). Where to put a toboggan would be the first question, then where is the money coming from, but other than that, I'd buy it in a hurry. The steel troughed ones aren't fixed to the ground (designed to be able to be moved for the ski season in Europe etc.), so moving would be a breeze. The concrete ones, from what I've seen are not as good. Older ones are made from aspestos... and were largely responsible for the findings that aspestos is actually toxic. They are common in America (who don't have any of the steel ones). To fall off, it isn't too hard I guess. People who force themselves to go faster than their ability permits, tend to do this. The faster you get, the more you'll go up the banked curves. To make this a good transition, you have to really lean hard into the curves. Even when leaning well into the turns, the radius of the curves is simply too much for your body to take suddenly. The most I've ever gotten is a few wobbles (which get the adrenalin pumpin') in awkward curves, I've never fallen. Long story short: going to fast, and not having the experience and familiarity with the particular ride is resonsible for stacks on these rides.

There is one problem with that, it isn't a big one, but it could be seen as significant. Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men 2 etc. are made by various film production companies (X-Men and Hulk are Universal if I'm correct, Spider-Man is Sony). The problem is that while they will be able to use the release of the corresponding movie to draw attention to their own potential attraction, it won't be tied with the movie at all. Wonderland will be limited to generic Marvel stuff - they won't be able to theme it directly off the movie, such as Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster at Movie World, which is in every way similar to last year's movie Scooby Doo, and completely different from the cartoons. Meanwhile, Six Flags and Paramount's recent dark rides (shoot-'em-up things from Sally Corp.) have absolutely no similarity to the movie, but are easily associated with the cartoon shows (not so much the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? shows from 1969, but more the video-release cartoon movies that were released in the late 90's). I understand Universal were in the same situation with the huge Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure, and the Spider-Man Rocks! show at Universal Studios Hollywood. The costumes are very different, most noticably is the Green Goblin's old-fashioned suit. The stories are also not like continuations of the movie or anything, just generic Spider-Man stories. I'm not sure if this holds true for The Incredible Hulk at IOA too, though I suspect the case is the same, even though Universal is the production company doing the movie (with Eric Bana playing Bruce Banner). This shouldn't mean the quality of the ride is any less, though don't get your hopes up on a ride that is a continuation of the movie, like Scooby-Doo. Think more ride themed in a more generic way, such as Wild Wild West/Wild West Falls at Movie World.

It does seem a bit unoriginal - though I think that "Just for fun!" slogan represents what was Dreamworld's best days. Then again, their current slogan "Never had so much fun!" is from Frenzal Rhomb's ) song of the same name. The reason they could use it is it was probably not able to be copyrighted easily, being 90-odd years old, and being used at many parks throughout time. I'm not really an expert (meaning I know very little) on copyright laws, so this is by all means a guess.

Firstly, welcome along :-). Thanks for your support - it's what we need most! I was at the Luna Park site a few weeks back (hence the gallery on the main page). It is indeed not the same as without the Big Dipper. While I never did ride the coaster at Luna Park, I did see it many times, and it indeed was a brilliant sight to see across the harbour etc. I must too, question the idea that there is no room for a significant coaster. The company that owns the park doesn't appear to have any significant experience with the amusement industry. I don't think they've quite investigated all possible options with regards to coasters etc. You spoke of small compact type coasters. I'm going to go an entirely different direction. I'm sure you're all familiar with Intamin's latest work in the area of coasters. Well, there would not be a better style of ride for Luna Park Sydney than a nice big twisted (probably rather short) non-looping coaster that circumnavigates the park. The track they use is able to support itself very well, and consequently doesn't require as many supports, and they can be placed at pretty much whatever angle necessary to fit them in (ie over buildings, pathways etc.). Their elevator lifts are fast, quiet and can be built very steep. Intamin also use special techniques to make the rides as quiet as possible where necessary, including isolator pads and sand-filled supports. I understand much of the problem with Big Dipper wasn't so much the noise the ride directly created, but the screams of riders. Tunnels can be easily used to diminish these sounds in areas that'll most effect local residents. We're not talking outrageously huge costs either. Scooby-Doo at Movie World was a whopping $13m. A ride similar to what I'm talking about would be perhaps $12m at the most. Enough dreaming for one day. I'll have to wait until I get my hands on the park when this one goes bust.

Yeah - I began writing that post probably an hour before your post came up, so I was addressing the post above. It does read as though I were addressing you though. If the new show is more of a childrens show a la Action Man, then I doubt we'll see a Spider-Man thrill ride in the park. It just seems a bit odd to market the one character as a childrens attraction and thrill ride at the same time. Hey - there's always The Incredible Hulk - Islands of Adventure's B&M is no short of amazing. If we got something 1/10th of that thing, I'd be happy. (Seems I've become a bit more eager for thrill rides since my last posts)

Disappointing I think is a bit of an understatement. I'm going to contradict my last post, and talk about shows specifically. The Action Man show, was designed to be an easy to perform, yet visually stunning show. It used annoyingly bad techno beats, and some recorded sound effects and voices. What you get is a show that doesn't require any significantly great talent. It uses the consistency of the sounds & effects to create a show that though easy to perform, isn't much to watch. I just don't find it entertaining to watch people dance around miming. I'll compare it to the Police Academy Stunt Show at Movie World. It is a show from a decade when technology only allowed them to actually 'perform' the show. Every line said is from the actor's mouth, every action is real, and every mistake is real. I've seen that show about 25 times. I know every joke, I know every routine, but the show is always fun and entertaining to watch. It is satisfying to watch, because you know that what you are seeing is genuine performing. If such a show is developed by Marvel, let's hope that they give us something good. If you've heard of the Spider-Man Rocks! show, you'll know what I mean. I don't know if it was done by Marvel, but it was done by them, or Universal - and if that's the best that can be done by them, I'd be worried.

I'd think that rides are to come eventually. From all reports, the shows that they've been holding for children have been a great success. The park has been incredibly crowded over the summer holiday. As I'm sure you know, young children can ben quite persistant in what they want. Develop a (corny) show with Spider-Man in it, pop a few ads on TV during Cheese TV or whatever, and you've got enough kids bugging their parents to get a heck of a lot more attendance than a new thrill ride will get. Of course, the novelty wears off very quickly. Rides on the other hand, won't have as much of a sudden boost in attendance, but of course they remain popular, consistent crowd-bringers for years. As you know, I'm all for Wonderland (or any park) improving what they've got, before going and adding thrill rides. If Big Dipper didn't come onto the market, Dreamworld wouldn't have added anything, and more of that $5.5mil could have been spent on improving the entire park (a good park, but from about 1986 onwards, corners were cut in much of the aesthetical/cosmetic work done to the park). I'd rather Wonderland, who already have a great thrill ride selection, put more into giving families more to do. I think that the future will almost certainly hold more in the way of thrill rides. The idea of the Marvel Contract being used for a single show is absurd. I know it's been a long time for Wonderland, but you've got to look at what they've already got, what they've got not enough of, and see it from their perspective.

I remember when it first opened (1998?), they advertised it a lot on Foxtel. Tickets were around $80-$100 for adults, not much less for children. Abysmal attendance made them rethink their entrance prices and they got smaller and smaller. A few years ago they were dropped completely, I guess the few rides they had were made pay-per-ride (and probably some absurdly high price). I guess they sold/dumped what they could of Titanic, unless it is all sitting there right now. It was mostly film/studio related stuff - think most of Movie World when it first opened (before Batman). Walkthrough 'behind-the-scenes' things and whatnot. Its currently being used as more of a cultural/social venue. They've got cinemas, cafés and all that. People from Brisbane would compare it to Southbank. Channels: [V], Nickelodeon, Fox 8 and others use filming facilities there. [V] and Fox 8 use the streets for filming of shows (V is always doing live gigs in the place, Fox 8 has their new show Chain Reaction). From what I heard, the place was originally meant to be Fox's debut in the 'proper' theme park market, with thrill rides and all that, but went for a more 'filmy' approach. Maybe that's one of those rumours that everyone believes is true because its easy to believe - who knows. 8) I never went there. It's the sort of thing I'd go to if I were in Sydney and saw and ad for it, and had the time to go.

Thanks for the support! I've got two galleries to complete, then the site will be officially open. Hopefully within the week, if I've got the time.

I've been piecing together my latest photos (seen at www.totalthrills.com/scwgallery.php), earlier photos I took up there on previous visits, to come up with a rough idea of the layout of the ride, for those interested. I must stress that this is absolutely not to scale, nor are the angles of some curves true. This is more a look at how the ride looks, for those totally unfamiliar with this ride. The left side is a pretty steep hill (beyond the station and track), the top edge of the image is realistically where the cliff face is relative to the track - it's that close!

That's really terrible! This drought and these fires are just one tragedy after another. When I flew up from Melbourne, it is staggering at how dry it is - everywhere. Sydney was resonably 'alive', but it is so hot and dry everywhere else.

Well, it appears that the photo galleries are coming one a day! Today I've put up the Scenic World gallery. These are the best pictures you'll find of the Katoomba park Scenic World, included the mysterious Orphan Rocker coaster. A small Big (...small big...) Banana gallery sounds good tomorrow. Only about 8 photographs, but then again there isn't much to see there unless you wanted to see pictures of banana shoots. Coming soon is a big Luna Park Sydney gallery (20-odd photos), a small Wonderland, about 15 from Merimbula and a huge Luna Park Melbourne (40 or so). Stay tuned!

I'd have to agree with you on all those points. Kennyland, though having great gardens, and cool water features wasn't really well designed for a large theme park. It was much too inaccessible and 'narrow' to gain any crowds. Nick Central though, is very open, and has several key entrance points. I'm sure it would have to be the highest-capacity area in the park. Obviously it was heavily inspired by Paramount's Nick Centrals, as it really isn't typical of Australian parks to have such large open areas.

Well, Movie World is here too! Take a look: http://www.totalthrills.com/mwgallery.php Luna Park Sydney & Melbourne, Katoomba (Scenic World), Merimbula's Magic Mountain, Big Banana and Wonderland Sydney (small gallery) coming soon!

Aussie World gallery is now up! http://www.totalthrills.com/awgallery.php Only 12 photos, but I think it covers most of the park. There'll be more to come! Movie World gallery (finally!!) coming very soon, once it's been authorised etc.!