Richard

Expansion plans for Warner Village Theme Parks Tuesday 16 October 2007 - Warner Bros. Movie World After spending $13.4 million across their parks this year, Sea World and Warner Bros. Movie World are to become home to a new animal exhibit and stunt show respectively by 2009. Read On...

You needn't look any further than the operating margins between the two parks. Movie World's is around 30% - more or less the industry standard around the world. Dreamworld's is up at 40%. When there are reports that Dreamworld's brand new roller coaster has two hour queues while only running one of the two trains available, it's pretty clear that the dollar is coming first. Per capita spend (revenue divided by attendance) is marginally lower at Movie World; Dreamworld have hovered around $60 for the past few years (in-line with Movie World), but they've managed to push it up to $64 this year. Not really surprising considering you're paying a good $15 for a very sub-par meal at Dreamworld these days (as one example). As far as hippos go, I've seen my fair share of them at zoos around the world. I'd have to say they rate in the top five for most boring creatures out there. Evidently the market research they've been doing in recent times has sampled people who've never had the privilege of seeing morbidly obese animals do nothing for hours on end.

Village Roadshow have always been fairly upfront about some forthcoming attractions for the next year or so in financial releases. Since the 1980s Village Roadshow has been an owner of these parks; the most noticeable thing that changed with the buyout is that now Village takes all the profits. The really interesting thing is this was the first time they've released park-by-park attendance figures in about a decade, as well as such a detailed account of each park's financials. You can also be sure that this isn't everything for the next 18 months mapped out. They're certainly getting closer to floating off the theme parks, that's for sure.

Mail-outs and that sort of thing will go out shortly. I wanted to get it started here quietly first to get regulars involved in the planning. With inevitable cancellations, clashes, work commitments and that sort of thing, plus the fact that we don't have any dates set, aiming for at the very least 50 "yes" responses from registered members would be a bare minimum to go ahead with it. I'd expect once a date, park, price and event details are sorted we'd have a few drop out.

I agree with most of what you're saying. I think it's important to note that if such an event does go ahead, we won't be offering the world and it should be seen as more of a social event with a few perks rather than a "VIP for the day" situation. Things like behind-the-scenes tours and that would be awesome, but the likelihood of getting this is very low. As far as Q&A goes, I'd anticipate it being a short welcome from someone at the park followed by a brief opportunity to ask a few questions rather than a no holds barred 45 minute question session. Of course, all our parks are owned by ASX-listed companies which severly limits what can be talked about, and you'd guarantee that future attractions and that sort of thing isn't on that list. It will absolutely come down to the the goodwill of the park, but at the same time no park anywhere would offer these sorts of events to enthusiasts if they didn't see the value in the image they create for the park and how they can drive word of mouth advertising. Though perhaps not at profitable as private functions and the like, it's still an opportunity for revenue and a great PR boost aimed directly at a segment that, in theory, devotes a significant amount of their disposable income to visiting theme parks. On one hand I absolutely despise the notion that theme park or coaster enthusiasts are somehow better or more important than regular park-goers, but at the same time it's not like they put together enthusiast events as an act of charity. Parks do it because there is value in it. Of course, I can't stress enough that it's purely hypothetical at this stage. It won't go ahead unless we can firstly get the numbers and then, more importantly, full support from a park to put on an event that everyone sees as good value. At this stage we have 11 "yes" responses. We'll need at least five times this before anything more happens.

ERT is 'exclusive ride time'; basically exclusive access to a given ride for a period of time. We won't proceed with formal planning until we have expressions of interest from enough people. At this stage it's about feasibility so there's no way we could set anything in stone yet. Basically all we're working on at this stage is whether people would attend assuming they could get time off from work etc.

The idea with getting the ball rolling so early is so that we can have heaps of time to plan everything. If it goes ahead as described we'll be needing attendees to prepay to confirm their attendance so for that reason we'll be aiming to have all plans set in stone at least a month out from the event. For everyone's sake it'll need to be a balance between enough notice for everyone to make arrangements, yet not so far into the future that it's difficult for us to properly plan all the activities. It looks like Movie World is already the standout choice, but we won't rule anything out becuase ultimately it will fall down to what the parks can offer us that suits our ideal costs for the event. I'd like to think most members can handle themselves with dignity in things like Q&A sessions (if not then they're simply not someone we want in this community). We'd be looking at some stage in March or April, outside of holiday periods. Saturdays would work best for the majority I think but all this will be planned and we'll go with whatever date that will guarantee us the best crowd (while also fitting in with all other requirements of the planning). Logisitcally I think aiming for 200 people for a first meet like this would prove to be a nightmare. If we shoot for 50 to turn up it would still very much be a financially viable event for the park yet not out of the realm of planning. The last thing I'd like to see is 200 people turn up expecting something that can't be delivered. That said of course, we'd never turn anyone away. If we could get numbers in the hundreds we'd start looking at hiring a park for a night. If any sort of ERT were arranged, naturally you can expect it would fall outside of normal park operating hours. As far as behind-the-scenes tours goes, we'll certainly see what can be arranged, but keep in mind that it will be a huge liability issue for the park, so anything they can offer most likely can't involve heights, moving components or that sort of thing. This is one area where a nice big open wooden coaster would be perfect. If there is enough interest from interstaters we'll most definitely look at arranging some sort of group deal. In terms of souvenirs/merchandise, the ideas of lanyards comes up especially because it's a good piece of memorabilia while also makes verifying who's who for catering, tours, Q&A sessions etc easy. Shirts are probably unfeasible due to cost of production (and you're right about not wearing them) but this is the sort of general category we'd look at for souvenirs. All great suggestions, and keep 'em coming. I'm sure we can come up with an awesome hypothetical event that can hopefully be made into a reality.

I'd be interested to hear what people would be interested in attending in terms of theme park events. I'm looking (very tentatively) at some sort of event in early 2008 to be held at one of the Gold Coast's theme parks. Which park will come down to what people would most want, and also what the parks can do to accommodate what we're doing. The idea would be an event structured around a day at the park, most likely a Saturday in the off-peak season to make it all work. Everyone would find their own way into the park, be that by paying for a full-priced ticket at the gate, using an annual pass, a voucher or any other means to get into the park. We'd hopefully arrange a discounted entry fee but it'd be flexible so that those who can get their way into the park don't have to pay needlessly to be a part of the event. On top of entry, there would be an "event fee", say around $30-40. This fee would entitle each guest to some or all of the following: -ERT on one or more major rides at the park. -A fully catered sit-down meal. -A greeting from a "person of interest" at the park, as well as some sort of question and answer session. Basically a chance to find out a bit more about the park, how it is run and that sort of thing. -Momentos/souveniers from the event such as a lanyard, t-shirt, poster and that kind of thing. -DVD + photos of footage from the event sent to each attendee later. The basic premise and what can be offered is totally subject to interest. Early estimates suggest that we'd need at the very least 25 attendees, and we'd aim for around 50. Friends and family would of course be welcome, but they should have at least a basic interest in theme parks because things like a Q&A session or ERT would not work otherwise. I'd like to see at least 30 members from this site at the event, with extra numbers filled by friends/family. Basically just putting out the feelers to see if something like this would be viable. At the moment all we're looking for is a rough idea of numbers and other thoughts, comments or suggestions.

Vekoma was also approached about building (what became) Motocoaster who in turn came up with their own design for the ride. For one reason or another, the park settled with Intamin and here we are today. No idea whether it was similar to their other motorcycle coasters, or more akin to what Intamin installed, but it's interesting nonetheless. Who ever thought we'd see the day where people were wishing for a Vekoma rather than an Intamin?

I'd say this has run its course.

I forget, what's this site called again? I rode Bush Beast when I was six years old. I'd imagine most people signing up here are at the very least twice that age. Every ride at every park in Australia is perfectly safe. The only way to know if you will or won't like something is by giving it a go.

If you compared a wooden coaster to a train/taxi ride then it speaks for itself in that you evidently have no experience to back your views on wooden coasters. Evidently your tastes differ from others. Fair enough you don't find them visually appealing, but I have little doubt that the majority of parkgoers don't mind one way or the other. If we're going to get hung up on aesthetics, then it'd probably be best to disregard that half of the park is plain white sheds.

Your original words were "theming to keep you interested or you become pre-occupied by the tame nature of the ride". I think Scooby-Doo would still be a good ride with or without the theming, because ultimately the ride experience does come down to the physical nature of the ride. I've ridden this exact same ride out in the open overseas, and to say it's only half as good would be a huge understatement. It's still a very fun ride, and I'd go so far as to say Scooby-Doo wouldn't be nearly as good as it is if it didn't have a quality coaster at its core. It all comes down to the physical experience. Theming will make a ride memorable and more interesting, but regardless of the ride type it's absolutely critical that it's a ride system at the core that is exciting and enjoyable. Thankfully I think this is one area Movie World has shown that they are on top of. In terms of overall park developments, I'd have to say I've not been too convinced about a lot of things they've done around the park, not just major attractions. It seems you agree with me that Superman and Batwing are not up to Movie World's previous standards of theming. The reasoning for this is totally irrelevant to what my original point was, and that is we can most definitely be optimistic that Movie World will deliver world-class attractions as they have in the past, but to have blind faith and simply assume that it's a given wouldn't be wise, because their strike rate isn't all that high. No one that has ridden any good modern wooden roller coaster can honestly say that they aren't great rides. If you're honestly comparing a wooden coaster experience to a train or taxi ride then I think that speaks for itself. From a financial perspective they are very sound investments. Elsewhere they prove to be consistently popular year after year. The idea of a wooden coaster at Movie World has been around for years. I wouldn't expect it to happen anytime soon, but I think it's an idea that would be no less successful than any B&M or Intamin that costs 2-3 times as much.

I can't think of too many parks of a similar size that don't have more water rides than this. Most parks in England have more water rides than our parks... and they're in England! As Gazza said, 300 days of sunshine a year on the Gold Coast. Average maximum temperature of 28ºC for nearly six months of the year with peaks of over 40ºC many days. Ever seen the ridiculous queues even capacity monsters like Wild West Falls get the moment the temperature creeps over 32ºC? I can easily see room for 2-3 more water rides in each of our parks. Generally speaking they're cost effective and very high capacity. While I totally agree with regards to story/theming, this notion that 'family ride' means a ride so boring that you'd fall asleep if it weren't for interesting theming doesn't make a lot of sense. I don't think anyone here is envisaging an it's a small world style boat ride. If a below-average ride experience has to be patched up with theming to make it barely enjoyable then the ride system isn't doing its job (see: Motocoaster), and I think Movie World is smart enough to be able to deliver I'd have agreed five years ago Movie World had a nack of sorts for delivering to notch theming, but these days it's somewhat hit and miss. It has been several years since Movie World has delivered what could be considered a world-class themed attraction. I'm by no means suggesting they can't do it anymore (I believe they most definitely can and will again in the near future), but I think that priorities in recent years are such that delivering the same standard of theming doesn't weigh in all that much.

It was a great family attraction 10-15 years ago. What remains today is the dated and overwhelmingly lacklustre shell of the original attraction. Its story makes zero sense, the animation is simplistic, the theming has no correlation to the story and the motion is terribly designed and synced, making for a rough and uninteresting physical ride experience. In terms of Simpsons attractions - rumoured, wished or otherwise - my understanding of the forthcoming Universal attraction is that it is a very Universal Studios centric ride plot, that will ostensibly refer to Universal franchises throughout the ride, making it a largely unsuitable attraction to be cloned in a non-Universal park, a la Shrek 4D. I actually quite like the river rapids / nuclear waste idea. The whole three-eyed fish thing is years old, but I think it's still one of The Simpsons' most identifiable elements. To me the setting isn't really to provide an intrinsic storyline, but rather to facilitate an enjoyable ride experience that plays off many well-known Simpsons gags along the way. Create an overwhelming Simpsons environment with a loose plot that ties together the elements and justifies the ride style and I see it as a very solid attraction. A Simpsons ride shouldn't be aiming to become storyline driven as though it were lifted straight out of a recent episode, but rather it should be an homage to the ideals and nature of the show through a loose story that provides a platform for an enjoyable experience. That's the only way such an attraction could remain truly relevant 5 or 10 years down the track. Popeye at Islands of Adventure to me is the perfect example of this style of ride executed in this manner. That's not to say I don't like some of the other ideas being thrown around, but I think there is a definite need for more water rides at our parks. It's astounding that we live in such a hot area, yet all our parks have 1-2 rides each that'll get you slightly damp at best. I'd like to think our overflowing water parks pretty much show that the public craves attractions that keep them cool.

Batman Adventure has had its day. It may have been a big-budget blockbuster attraction when it opened, but now it's well past its prime and very much showing it. This technology has advanced hugely in the past decade; the current film/storyline is poor at best (and has nothing on the original) and the motion simulation is no better. In my view, there is not enough potential return of investment in replacing it with a new incarnation of Batman Adventure, no matter how much of the dated technology and thematic elements are replaced, and its days are most definitely numbered. To this end, I think the most appropriate action that would maximise the earning potential would be to open a completely new simulator attraction in a different area of the park based on a different franchise and utilising the latest technology. Back to the Future (and its Simpsons replacement) at Universal Studios utilise Imax technology that makes it infinitely more impressive and realistic than any other simulator I've ever been on. Whether they kept Batman running or not could be put down to the costs of running it versus its patronage, but it'd make sense in the long run at least to earmark the area for more thrill rides along the lines of Superman Escape or Batwing.

There is an actual launch soundtrack; it's a generic reving engine sort of sound. There will also be starting lights to complete the effect. 1.5 hour queues and a single train is totally unacceptable. I don't know why our parks can't set realistic deadlines for ride construction that includes getting the ride to a completely finished state and training staff to allow it to operate at a suitable capacity. No one expects peak efficiency right off the bat, but to not even be able to run both trains upon opening in the middle of the school holidays is simply unfair to all those who came on the basis that it would be operating. It seems aside from basic flat rides and the like, new attractions at our parks are either delayed significantly or open before they're really ready to be. If parks overseas can get it right, why not ours?

Here's a few photos that haven't made their way into updates. The first shows the first section of brakes. They are indeed rare earth magnets as seen on most other Intamin coasters, but laid flat and more or less in contact with one another (north pole to south pole as indicated by the colouring on each end of each section). These are fixed and do the bulk of the slowing on the steeper section of the brakes. The second section of brakes is found on the flatter section, featuring the same magnets but retractable (via hydraulics, of course) to allow the train to clear the section quicker after being safely slowed.

The magnets are mounted to the track and react with the alloy on the trains; the same strip as the kicker tyres grip onto. Like just about everything else about this coaster, they're of a new design that is quite different from most other Intamin rides. Gazza, thematic elements etc. are to be included in the ride's general photos, as well as a look at the shop and the surrounds.

We'll have photos up in the near future of the ride in operation. Focused on getting the videos done and up firstly as they're more interesting, but there'll also be a gallery before too long. Anyone find the PDF maps a bit ridiculous? The 800kb version is simply unreadable, while the other version is a whopping 9mb.

There's always a break-in period for components on a ride, but certainly not the the point where it will significantly affect the overall ride experience. The squeaking wheels thing is common for new coasters and has well and truly disappeared, demonstrated by the video of the ride in action.

The issue with the restraints is really just that you have hard plastic pressing down on the thighs. The actual angle etc. of the legs is quite natural and comfortable, but they are then clamped down with a hard plastic restraint, making for a somewhat uncomfortable riding position. It doesn't belong in a "top 6" list any more than a coaster like Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster. It's a family ride start to finish containing very few elements that will be appealing to the teen "thrill seeking" audience. I think it's a great addition for Dreamworld in terms of bridging the growing gap between children's attractions and major thrill rides, but it misses the mark completely as a thrill ride itself. The thing that most confuses me is the $10 million price tag on the ride. That's really up in a price range that's normally associated with blockbuster thrill rides. I feel associating it with other pure thrill rides might serve to dilute their image as a park with quality thrill rides, as they're using what is currently a strong brand (Dreamworld's association with thrills) as leverage in promoting the Motocoaster, which may serve to disillusion the thrill-seeker market segment. One thing that has struck me is that mainstream media seems to have taken this exact same view to some extent; it's not just jaded coaster enthusiasts who feel the ride is underwhelming as a thrill ride. I'm definitely of the opinion that people should try rides before forming conclusions, but in this situation it seems that for the most part people are correct - at least in my view - with their sentiments towards the coaster. I don't think there's any sense in beating around the bush. I think most thrill ride fans will be disappointed to a degree by this coaster.

Subscriber-only version of the above video can now be found here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/videos.php?vid=24 It is the same video but at a higher resolution with better picture quality.

I don't think that the consensus around here has been too far off the mark. Everyone should draw their own conclusions after riding it and/or seeing the videos, but I think a lot of people have hit the nail on the head with their premature evaluations. It's a very noisy ride around the station too as a result of having the pumps directly underneath. Probably the biggest drawback I see with this style of launch system, and with music and queuers it's not going to get any quieter. Anyone wanting to ride should hold off until Sunday when it actually opens. I see it as very unlikely that it'll be open tomorrow given the amount of work still left. There's a lot of loose ends that need tidying up ahead of the public launch. They'd have set the opening for the 29th if they thought it'd be done by then.

Our first of 2-3 videos is now online: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/videos.php?vid=25 (subscriber-only high resolution version) This video is around 4:00 long and features some scenes from the official launch as well as a wide range of different angles and views of the coaster you won't see anywhere else. Includes a full POV of the coaster with bonus commentary by the photographer seated next to me. Mick Doohan Motocoaster launches at Dreamworld Despite the new multimillion dollar roller coaster's namesake being busy with motocross commitments, the official launch of Mick Doohan's Motocoaster went ahead today, ahead of its Sunday opening.