Richard

With schools back, any time in the next few months will see the parks reasonably uncrowded.

tom, if you do get any video footage feel free to send it through. It does need to go through their marketing department for approval, but we sort that out. It's a good way to get your content featured on the site, and our name out there. Slick, that photo is metered for the Superman Escape sign, so naturally the brighter background will appear washed out. Basic photography principal - it's certainly not over-exposed.

Roller-Coaster.com.au now has many high quality photographs of Superman Escape in action on the main site. Photo Gallery: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=125

For Dreamworld to succeed with this attraction they will need to be able to market it successfully. To let people know it's not just Dreamworld, that it's a separate new park on the level of the existing parks on the Gold Coast. I personally wouldn't be so convinced Wet'n'Wild will win in the long run. It seems to me like WVTP always plays defensive. Their attractions almost always come after Dreamworld's (Giant Drop to Wild West Falls; Cyclone to Scooby-Doo; The Claw to Superman) - John Menzies was even quoted saying that Polar Bear Shores was added solely to give them the edge on Tiger Island. Even with Wet'n'Wild, we wouldn't be seeing a $20 million investment right now if Dreamworld's water park wasn't in the pipeline. I have no doubts that the first few years will be tough, but Dreamworld would know this and have it accounted for.

The reason for the delay in a response is that I have been away for most of the time since Christmas - until just yesterday. The resolution of each page of the calendar does vary based on the original photograph from 150dpi (which is standard high-quality print resolution as you'd see in most glossy magazines) - which is around 2.5mp for the page size used, up to 300dpi (very high resolution as you'd see in a high quality coffee table book etc.) which is around 5mp for the page size used. I do apologise for not getting up a preview calendar. Interest in the calendars was significantly down on previous years, so the focus was shifted to making sure those who had already expressed interest got the best product possible, rather than focus aimlessly on converting new members. When you're dealing with uncompressed 1GB+ print files, it is actually a pretty timely process to extract compressed versions of the images. I know neither of you have any intention of purchasing a calendar, so I do appreciate the attempt to stir what trouble you can.

As an interesting side-note, Lethal Weapon is actually an incredibly efficient ride when staffed properly with motivated staff (a rarity in our parks). Unfortunately, this rarely happens these days.

This concept simply will not work in a park which has all of around 6 major attractions and is only open 7 hours a day. It doesn't at all increase the cycle of the attraction, but merely offers a flexible way to queue. Instead of standing in a line, you can be out in the park riding other rides, shopping, eating or just walking around. It would never work effectively in a park the size of those in Australia.

This will either answer all your questions, or pose a whole heap of new ones. Let us know how that site goes in terms of explaining it and we can go from there.

Intamin coasters coat the tracking section of the rails in a different paint compound that is grey in colour. It's a very rough, matte coat that holds up better over time. As for Intamin's smoothness (which, it's interesting to note, is a very different feeling of smoothness from other manufacturers such as B&M), it's a combination of a few things, the most important of which is track engineering. Other factors that come into play include the design of the trains (independant bogies follow the track precisely unlike older coasters), suspension and comfortable and padded seating.

I certainly would have hoped for something more down the path of Xcelerator's trains. They don't exactly scream "subway train".

Just an observation - Cedar Point had huge troubles keeping simple rubber tyres attached to their trains on Top Thrill Dragster. Now, that ride may be significantly faster than Superman, but the forces exerted during the elements of the ride match those on Dragster, so in effect there's no difference, aside from Superman being subject to these forces for shorter periods of time. After that incident I wouldn't be in any great hurry to attach seemingly more delicate fibreglass figures to the backs of the trains. Fingers crossed though. Either for safety or for that inevitable amateur video footage, taken by an unsuspecting visitor, of Superman coming to life and flying through the sky in the general direction of the studios.

Press Release: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/release.php?prid=47 There's nothing terribly new or noteworthy about this release. Just an interesting read. Nothing like a press release that takes a few swipes at the competition. As far as I'm concerned the jury is still out on Movie World's storytelling ability (someone tell me Scooby-Doo or Wild West Falls' or Lethal Weapon's stories and I'll be very happy).

There's almost always adults at kid's prices and half price vouchers out there during non-peak periods (pre-December and post-January especially). If you hold off until February you'll be able to find something in a local shop. There's also the added bonus of having a less packed park.

I'd be more concerned about the obliteration of the English language that is the Superman Escape site. I don't know what's more alarming - someone actually thinks this is the only way to market a ride to a younger audience or that someone is actually paid to put it together.

That's correct. We didn't delete any posts here.

Full details are here.

Wet'n'Wild experienced what I believe was their first fatality a few years ago when a man drowned in the wave pool.

This won't be terribly new news to those that have been to the park recently, but pre-construction of the new water park is very much underway at Dreamworld in the carpark. Gallery: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=121

The ride opens December 26. Short of winning any of the various competitions that have been running for the ride, this will be your first chance to ride Superman Escape. Wherever possible we try to cover events so that you guys get a closeup look at these things before you can check it out in person. Sometimes we can't attend (our schedule, parks' agenda etc.), and the best we can do is hope to cover the attraction at a later date once it's open to the public.

Yeah, it does seem a little odd to complain about it, then shoot down any suggestions about hypothetical ways they could fix it. I agree that the first suggestion would not be appropriate given the water conditions here, but shooting down the others because they cost money? I don't quite understand why you'd complain if you didn't want to promote a conversation about possible solutions. Of course any fix to this would cost money! I think one solution is to put in many more plants and bigger (rainforest) trees to provide natural and aethetically pleasing shading. I can't say I'm a fan of the cheap shadecloth style that this cancer-hating society seems to love.

Recent construction images: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=120

Galley: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=118 Just looking at the tower, I think it would be interesting (though most lilely unfeasible) to install a second slide of this style parallel to this. Make it have one steeper longer drop where you really pickup speed, followed by a smaller one into the splashdown. Thanks again to joz for these photographs.

This attraction is nearing completion, and is looking very impressive. Thanks go to joz for these images. Construction Update: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=119

I cannot see any reason for long-term negative effects of a second water park. I could only predict positive things for both parks and the Gold Coast as a whole. Five major theme parks to choose from? That kind of selection within such a close proximity doesn't exist anywhere in the world. Even within Orlando there are only four parks (Busch is an hour away and Disney is a similar distance by the time you actally get to a park). This kind of thing is advertising heaven. I agree Movie World started out as a very different thing from Dreamworld, but certainly in recent years it is becoming more and more similar to Dreamworld in terms of attraction offerings. Yes, they will always have the edge on Dreamworld with their superbly themed attractions, but make no mistake, they are trying to capture Dreamworld's lucrative thrill market. It just puzzles me to see criticism of what Dreamworld are doing - it's like the pot calling the kettle black.

What rides do you most want to see in this new water park? I'd recommend taking a look at ProSlide's incredibly range of water slide offerings if your inspiration is running dry. I for one would like to see a racing slide along the lines of Super 8 Aqua Racer, though obviously one of the newer concepts. I believe that the level of interactivity that rides like this bring make them some of the most enjoyable attractions out, and are one of the few that a family of any size can ride simultaneously. It's also time Australia got some new proper thrill slides. Something tall, fast, steep and downright scary. The distinction between a family slide and a thrill slide at our water parks is pretty much negligible these days, and I think it's unfortunate because the technology has changed significantly in recent years, making these styles of slides a fraction of the fuss they once were in terms of rider safety and comfort. I think a Lazy River is also crucial, especially implemented in such a way that it is a transport system within the park. Disney have proven that this concept works wonders and becomes a very good way to handle large crowds. With the amount of barefoot walking one does in a water park, it's also good to relax for a change.