Richard

Nearly all the photographs featured on Roller-Coaster.com.au are 1024x768 resolution. You are more than welcome to use these as desktop wallpapers.

I can't see any reason that there would be ads displaying on either the index page or the database page. Is this still the case?

There are nicer ways of saying that you know. That said, it seems fine to me still. Are other subscribers seeing ads?

Ads are now removed for all subscribers site-wide. I'd like to thank all subscribers for their patience during this transition period.

A great read. It's especially interesting to hear the extent to which John Menzies actually built the place - it's a bit more literal than you'd think! You'd never think that a travelling ski show would come complete with the pool to ski in.

Article: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050825/six_flags_sale.html?.v=5 Well, this is big news. No matter the way this goes, there is no denying it will have huge impacts on the industry worldwide. Basically, the issue is with the huge debt the company has - $2.6 billion. Most of the parks are profitable - but only on a park level. On the corporate level however the debt incurred largely from purchasing these parks is what has been putting the park in the red year after year. A new owner needs to be able to service this debt ($200 million interest per year) while at the same time putting extensive capital into redeveloping many aspects of their theme park operations.

Major Thrill Rides: Wipeout Tower of Terror Giant Drop Cyclone The Claw Minor Thrill Rides: Eureka Mountain Vortex Reef Diver Total: 8 General Rides: Thunder River Rapids Rocky Hollow Log Ride Angry Beavers Spooty Spin Runaway Reptar Roller Coaster Bumper Beach Dreamworld Railway Total: 6 Major Children Rides: Big Red Car Ride Minor Children Rides: Nick-o-Round Dora the Explorer Swinger Zinger Blues Clues Total: 5 I decided to leave out non-ride attractions, seeing as a) in many cases the lines are blurred between what is and isn't its own attraction and going by things in this thread, not too many people here are concerned with non-ride attractions. It seems to me there are eight rides in the park targeted directly at the youth/teen market, and a further six (general rides) which they can realistically enjoy. Meanwhile children or families with young children have five directly targeted, and then the further six (general rides) which they can enjoy if they meet the minimum height requirements. We're going 14-11 here, and that's including Wiggles World. You just need to look at the bigger picture. Through the 1990s virtually no family additions were made - it was basically all major thrill rides with the exception of Tiger Island and the short-lived Creature Cruise and replacement and also short-lived Kennyland. If you don't remember, the year before Nick Central opened they added Cyclone. In fact until 2002 the children market had gone relatively untapped at Dreamworld (Kennyland hardly attracted significant numbers). Somehow I don't think this pattern of thrill ride then family land will continue. From Dreamworld's perspective it was a matter of bridging the gaps they had in their market segments. Provided Nick Central and Wiggles World are kept fresh with minor additions every few years these areas will continue to sustain the family markets, leaving most major expenditure to thrill rides or attractions the whole family can enjoy (including thrill-obsessed youth).

Look into it further and you will find that Universal's role in creating the Shrek 4D show would have been an almost exclusively a financial one, with limited creative input. Its production was handled by more or less the same people that did the movie (albeit downsized and many of the major production roles were filled by people who were previously lower in the pecking order). Ultimately, Universal approached Dreamworks to develop the film attraction. At this stage Universal had no interest (financial, partnership or otherwise) in Dreamworks. There's nothing new about parks not staying within their brand. Try and name a movie park which hasn't "wandered" - I can't think of any. In fact, even the Muppets joined the ranks of Disney long before they were acquired outright by the company. Don't forget the Star Wars franchise or Indiana Jones, both of which were seamlessly integrated into Disney's parks. At any rate there have been many instances of our Movie World venturing outside of the confines of WB licensing. Perhaps nothing as major as an entire attraction to this date, but if you're observant enough it's not hard to find a number of things "out of place" in any given day.

I figure it's about as bad as Universal "abandoning" their theming and taking on Shrek - which is a Dreamworks product. The other Warner Bros. parks around the world haven't had the good fortune ours has. I'd be willing to bet it is no longer economical to develop a WB-based 4D attraction for a single park with relatively insignificant attendance.

Doesn't it occur to you that families make up a major portion of Dreamworld's attendance, and that they are also a highly profitable market segment? And I don't think they want to make anyone believe anything like that - the fact that Wiggles World is costing more than The Claw did kind of kills that idea. We got a new thrill ride in the park not even a year ago and there will be many more to come in the future. Believe it or not they are running a theme park that caters to everyone.

Tina Cousins will perform live at Dreamworld with two shows daily this Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28 2005. All included in the general admission price. According to her management, Tina Cousins is a 21st century diva, stunningly beautiful with a powerfully emotive voice and one of the nicest personalities in pop. She blew them away at the Brit Awards and sang up a storm at the Sydney Mardi Gras but this weekend, Tina Cousins will head to Dreamworld to promote her brand new album, 'Mastermind'. Tina has achieved chart and radio success in the UK, Europe and Scandinavias and has become one of the best selling female solo artists in Australia. Her latest hit, Wonderful Life, a cover of the 1987 Black classic has put the pop princess back in the Top 20 and has sent her fans into a frenzy. Her past hits include ‘Forever‘, ‘Pray’, ‘Angel’ and ‘Mysterious Times’ and it may be five years down the track, but Tina Cousins has been doing anything but ‘Killing Time’. Working in the UK and around the world, Tina has just released a soaring club track called Hymn and has singing her soul out as a special guest on Anthony Callea’s national tour. Tina will wow the crowds at Dreamworld this weekend and sign copies of her new album ‘Mastermind’.

Well that would be why I can get to six shopping centres in a matter of minutes from here, whereas in the region in question there will only be a select few. It also doesn't hurt to add that one of the key reasons outlined for this development was the tremendous population growth the area is experiencing.

"Just up the road" happens to be a 10km drive. Count how many major shopping centres there are within a 10km drive of your home - I count 6 and that's leaving out the CBD.

The forums are now fixed. They will be fixed shortly on the main site.

A note to everyone that the user features on the main site are now functional again. This includes Park/Ride Counts, Opinions/Reviews and the Video section.

If you genuinely try and do everything in the park, I think it is a solid two-day experience as it is. If you're visiting to ride the rides and nothing else, you're certainly pushing it if you can actually get on everything in a single day. If you are however after a park experience, with time spent taking in the atmosphere and doing things such as taking a ride on the train, then it is an easy two-day park. Throw in an hour or two in Blue Lagoon, time spent in the widlife sections of the park - there's an easy few hours spent between Australian Wildlife Experience, Tiger Island and Farmyard Friends - and that's if you don't decide to see the daily shows at each attraction. I can't remember a visit in recent years where I have actually done everything I wanted to in a single day. Of course having said that, there is always room for new attractions - even in the fullest parks out there. If there were an Australian park I'd have to pick because it's lacking, it would be Warner Bros. Movie World, and I think they follow the "quality not quantity" line of thought.

I received this press release earlier today and I thought it was a worthwhile read. It certainly is a more interesting way to find employees, and seems like the ideal way to get the right people for the customer service oriented jobs that are on offer. It is a bold call, but the team at Adventure World reckon that a job on their seasonal team is a pretty choice way to earn some cash & have some fun at the same time! Adventure World is starting recruiting for the coming 2005/06 season with an interesting approach! With over 200 positions up for grabs to work within the park for the season, they are looking out far and wide for the best people with great smiles, guest focus & who have a sense of fun & adventure. Positions available include working within the Operations, Food & Beverage or Admissions Department with many different roles to choose from… Yes including operating the Rampage! Adventure World understands the importance in looking after the seasonal team as they are the front line to excellent guest service. This season the park has upped the anti so not only will the team receive the normal team member benefits (which includes free tickets!!) but the Team have a few surprises up their sleeves! “Adventure World is a unique working environment with everything from Adults Only Pool Parties & Challenge Cup through to Corporate Night-time Private Functions. Along with our million dollar rides the park boasts, it is a great opportunity for the youth of Perth to actually have FUN at work,” says Chief Executive Andrew Sharry. There is a fresh approach to the recruitment this year with an ‘Australian Idol’ style audition – turn up with your resume in hand & prepare to have some fun. With large numbers expected, it will be a first come, first serve basis with a sausage sizzle, games, music & activities which will hopefully calm some nerves. Auditions will be held on Sat 3rd & Sun 4th September, 2005 from 10am till 5pm at Adventure World. Further details about positions within the park are available on Adventure World’s website – www.adventureworld.net.au Adventure World opens the gates for 2005-06 Season on Saturday September 24th.

Article has been updated to include a photograph of the new Buccaneer Bay. At this stage no artwork is available for the other attractions.

The key reason for this change was to increase the capacity of this ride. Because of the nature of the Mammoth Plunge ride it had a significantly lower capacity than Mammoth River. The tower was already effectively 'maxed out' with two slides there and it would be far less economic to build a new slide of the same style (there is limited marketing potential for a homogeneous ride). It also just so happened that Sea World's speed slide was about at the end of its life. The way I see it they have very effectively hit two birds with one stone.

I have added the quick-reply box and removed the redirect message. As you said, I'm still working through a lot of things with the new forums. Most of the initial effort has gone into ensuring that the user system works correctly to allow the features of the main site to work.

Press release can be read here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/release.php?prid=41 An article for the new attractions can be seen here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=66

Obviously as you can see the site is back up and running. You'll also notice that we have changed forum software, from vBulletin to Invision Power Board. Both vBulletin and Invision are top quality products. Ultimately it was a choice between upgrading to the latest version of vBulletin for USD$30.00, or changing to Invision for USD$70.00. Both are competing products with very similar features. Ultimately what it came down to was what future versions of each hold. I chose Invision based on a myriad of new features to be launched which I think will be of great benefit to this community. I think also Invision Power Board is a better looking programme, and the management side of things is a vast improvement on vBulletin. The site will be customised to fit in with the main site's design in coming days. It will take some getting used to for all, including myself. I welcome any comments or suggestions regarding this new change.

The Roller-Coaster.com.au forums will be going down for maintenance at approximately 11:30pm tonight. I anticipate they will be running once again at 12:00am or there abouts. The main site will continue functioning as usual.

Let's try and put a bit of effort into posts. Just things like capital letters, full stops. You know, basic punctuation. It just makes posts easier to read, makes you sound a bit more credible, and you'd be surprised at how much better the response you get to your posts is if you make them look a bit better.

The latest construction update at Roller-Coaster.com.au can be seen here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=168 one thing is for sure - having seen the small amount of this ride that has gone up over the past few days, I have faith that this will be a world class attraction. It looks to have a blend of elements that will make this ride truly unique, not just among existing Intamin rocket coasters, but I think with coasters around the world. Maybe it's because I've always been a fan of high-speed turns, but a 40-odd metre drop into a highly banked turn is something I'm excited about.