Richard

Ultimately I believe it all falls down to Movie World's poor execution of Superman Escape. The park set out to make cheap ride in the first place and I believe the public has caught onto this. Taking the emphasis AWAY from Superman and the fact that it is a roller coaster in the advertising certainly can't have helped. Customer service would not have a profound effect on attendance. It would more likely affect the operating margins, but shouldn't directly affect attendance. Needless to say, you can't use a few isolated examples you've been involved with to suggest that customer service is lacking. I've had bad experiences at many, many parks, including all the Gold Coast parks and yet I would maintain that they all have excellent customer service on the whole. A few bad examples don't speak for the majority in this case. I don't think this is Wonderland all over again. It just shows that you can't short-change the public when it comes to new attractions. Dreamworld has proven that rides can just be "good" (yet pulled off in an effective manner) and do wonders for attendance. If Movie World put less emphasis on trying to make the best without a development budget to match, I think we'd be seeing much better things in terms of attendance.

It's certainly not the end of movie rides. To elaborate further on what matty said, Village have now entered a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. that will allow them to utilise the extensive catalogue of Warner-owned concepts. Up until now, new attractions have been developed by WVTP but approval for their use of whatever Warner Bros. licenses the have used had to come from Warner Bros - either their Australian offices or from the USA. Under the new licensing arrangement, Village Roadshow will be able to utilise the WB property in pretty much the exact same way that the parks have in the past. It'll still mean they have to go to Warner Bros. to get everything approved (WB are very protective of their property and how it can be used or portrayed, as all entertainment companies naturally are), but it shouldn't change exactly what they can do with the licensing.

Want your chance to be seen in a thrill ride documentary? Read on! The important details:Must be available to be at Movie World on FRIDAY June 2 (tentative date - could change) in the morning (before the park opens). You should be an enthusiastic thrill ride fan. You will get to ride Superman Escape to your heart's content. If this sounds like you then contact me (via email, PM etc.) with your details - name, address, contact phone number and email address. I'll forward your details onto Malcolm.

There are implications to revealing information that go beyond even WVTP's policies. Things like insider trading come into play with this kind of thing, which the Australian Stock Exchange does very much frown upon. If a park staff member says no, then this means no. Most people would value their job well over making a few theme park fans happy or getting bonus points for knowing what a park is getting before anyone else. How would knowing information change the fact that the ride won't open until a set date? Ask yourself this before you pressure people who have already given a resounding no into revealing information that will potentially jeopardise their job.

A bit late but nonetheless important I think. All the damage and injuries caused on the Mad Mouse incident were operator-caused. There were fundamental errors with the way they were operating the attraction which, if they were operating it correctly, would have resulted in no damage and no injuries. I dare say that Disney has probably given the issue more thought than any of us here.

I'm keeping Outback Spectacular in this forum until I figure out what to do with it in the database. It's listed as a Movie World attraction, which is based on how it was initially advertised - through Movie World. I know it's not the best place for it, but it makes some sense until it's all sorted out.

The subtext to that John Menzies quote was something more along the lines of being disappointed that Wet'n'Wild would no longer hold the monopoly for water parks on the Gold Coast, and might actually have to invest a bit more regularly than they have in the past.

It is a separate entity, with its own management team etc. and will be reporting its own profit and loss statements to WVTP like the individual parks do.

Yeah there's a few issues with the way the Forums fit in with the site which I hope to fix soon.

Based on the choices given in the survey linked in this thread, which name do you think is most suited to Dreamworld's new water park? Don't forget to let us know a reason why you chose what you did, or if you have other suggestions or particularly dislike any of them.

For what it's worth, a Flowrider 3400 (the largest model) is not that much over $1 million. They're not that hugely expensive.

Universal is easy enough to do in two days if the crowds aren't too bad. You can probably see everything at Universal Studios in maybe 2/3 of a day and have a whole day-and-a-bit for Islands of Adventure. It isn't necessarily a huge park in terms of how long it takes, but it will give you extra time to get plenty of rerides on Dueling Dragons and The Incredible Hulk, which are some of the most amazing coasters out there. I would definitely say in my experience that three days really isn't enough for Walt Disney World if you want any hope of seeing everything on offer. I had a five day Park Hopper which let us see the theme parks pretty thoroughly, but there was still a lot of things we had to miss out on simply because there is so much to do. I think the three-day Hoppers come with an extra ticket to one of Disney's non-park attractions, which I'd recommend using to check out one of the water parks. Makes me realise it's time I started thinking about heading overseas again.

Think of this year's addition to Movie World as a ride like The Claw. They're not out to break any records, they're just adding a ride to cater for demand and fill in a few gaps in their current thrill ride lineup.

The new attraction is somewhat external from the water park which opens in December. All will be revealed soon enough regarding the interim attraction.

With the advent of the new site, several positions have opened up that need to be filled. Minimum Requirements To be a successful candidate for any position you must meet the following: A registered member of Roller-Coaster.com.au for at least 6 months. A post count of at least 50. Shown to have good people skills and a friendly attitiude with post history. Good general writing skills (use of capitals, punctuation and spelling etc.). At least 16 years of age. Access to a computer and at least 5-10 hours of free time a week. A willingness to be a part of a team. No affiliation with another Australian theme park site. Access to a 3 megapixel (minimum) camera. Positions Available The following positions are available: Database Editor We are looking for one or two dedicated individuals to take care of the Queensland section of the database. This includes adding new attractions and editing old ones to make them more complete. In order to fill this position you should be currently located in Queensland. Position will largely involve research. You must also be willing to become a Community Leader in the forums, with duties relating to moderation. Persons located in South-East Queensland and with easy access to the Gold Coast theme parks are ideal. One aspect of this position will be to document construction at the theme parks. Roller-Coaster.com.au will finance such undertakings wherever possible. Perks As well as contributing to Australia's most popular theme park site there are a number of different bonuses. These include:Access to private Subscriber & Staff forums. Access to content, including galleries and videos, before anyone else. Full access to the Video Archives. Occasional bonuses which may include media day attendance, event tickets and Roller-Coaster.com.au merchandise. How to Apply Contact me via PM or using the Contact Details page in the main menu.

Article (review): http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=86 I've had the chance to see some form of the show twice now. I must say it's grown on me, and I think it's a worthwhile attraction to check out. My original concerns were that it is too expensive, but given it is a restaurant-quality meal, which would set you back at least $40 for the three course meal plus drinks etc., $79 for a show and a decent hat really isn't too bad.

The Videos section is still not yet complete. It should be running shortly. Likewise I'll be getting the old uploads and avatars running on the new version shortly.

Thanks for all the comments. There are still a few things that need to be fixed, but many of them can't actually be fixed for a few days because of how domain propogation works. Definitely take a look at the park database - it's a vast improvement in terms of layout and navigatability. Give the new search system on that page a go too - Adam spent a long time perfecting that system, and no question it speeds up finding content on the new site. Also the Photo Gallery has been completely rebuilt and should make viewing galleries much, much quicker and easier. Also look forward to topical changes of the site's background image. Superman's the flavour of the month right now, but expect to see routine changes to reflect what's happening out there.

Alongside a brand new layout, Roller-Coaster.com.au has been moved to Australia where it belongs. The site is now hosted in a Brisbane CBD datacentre on a state-of-the-art server. What this means for the user is unparalleled site download and response speeds so you can get around much quicker, as well as uptime that is as close to 100% as it could ever possibly be. I can assure you that short of routine maintenance this site will be up all the time now. There are still a few things to come yet with the new site - I'm sure these will appear obvious as you look around. Of importance is a newly rewritten and condensed Community Guidelines. The rules are more or less the same, but they've been vastly improved to make them much smaller and easier to read. As always feedback would be gladly appreciated regarding the new site, server or any other issues.

They've still got ET at the Orlando and Japan parks -- thankfully, it's a really fun little ride.

Thanks to all those who came and made the day so enjoyable. I think everyone would agree it was a great chance to meet and get to know some of the people you've gotten to know through the site.

That's like saying that Lethal Weapon was a bad investment because the general public can't see the difference between it and Thunderbolt. Giant Drop and a S&S tower are fundamentally different rides, that create vastly different ride experiences. If there's one thing Movie World needs, that's smaller flat rides. It's a very easy way to diversify the theme park offerings. If they add a handful of smaller rides like this over the next few years, I would see it as a very effective way to boost the park's profile, more so than their traditional approach of installing major rides every few years. Of course there still needs to be major rides, but their current approach of adding shows and walkthroughs as fillers between the major rides hasn't gone too well, as there seems to be a lack of creativity in everything they've tried in recent years.

With sharing of vouchers etc., it's best that we meet outside the park. It should be a very easily distinguished spot. Just in the shade of the tree directly to the right of the ticket booths. I'll see what I can do with some kind of small sign to make it easier. If you don't know anyone else in the group or don't have anyone else's number please do write down my number. We will wait around for a while, but if you are running late, it wouldn't be too fun trying to find us within the park.

I have a few copies of the 2006 Roller-Coaster.com.au Calendar that need urgent clearance. Get yourself a copy of the 2006 Calendar, bundled with the 2005 Calendar for just $25.00, including all shipping costs. First person to contact me will also receive a copy of the Total Thrills 2004 Calendar. All calendars are high resolution and professionally printed. Great if you want to pull them apart to stick on a wall etc. All up there are a total of 37 high-quality photographs from all around the world. Please contact me immediately by PM or email if you are interested. Strictly first-come-first-serve. Very limited supplies remain! Ideally payment should be by direct bank deposit (details will be provided), but I can also accept credit card if required.

OK here is the current list. Please speak up if you think you will be coming and aren't on the list, or you are on it and can't come. joz, Flea, anyone else? Richard scott jcgoldcoast Spotty djrappa matty_o_911 (maybe) Adam I've had a look at the Translink website for buses and trains on Saturday and I think to make it easier on people we should meet at 10:00am, not 9:30am out the front of the park. People catching public transport from Brisbane should catch the 8:25am Gold Coast train from Central Station, then the 9:46am 1A Bus from Helensvale Station. Meet to the right of the ticket booths. It'll depend on the crowds, but hopefully we can meet under the tree directly to the right of the booths. I think most people coming know others in the group, so it should be easy to find everyone. If you don't know others and can't find us on the day (or are running late and we've already headed in), send me an SMS or give me a ring and I'll try and sort it out. It will be just Movie World on Saturday. If you're eager to hit up another park (or Movie World again) another day with other members by all means sort that out among yourselves, but the only "official" meet will be Saturday at Movie World.