Richard

Calendars are produced in batches of 15. Currently the first batch of 15 is being printed. If more orders are received I'll order a second batch and so on. This was also done last year, when the site was still Total Thrills. Feel free to ask any of the members who purchased one last year their thoughts on it. As far as I can recall there was no negative feedback aside from a slight printing error or two (which shouldn't happen this year), in these cases free replacement calendars were offered. They are sold exclusively here through the site. They don't necessarily sell to members only, but I'd expect that most are to members of the forums, simply because it's advertised more to them. I know for a fact that at least one or two this year have been sold to non-members.

It's all part of Dreamworld's latest efforts to make the queues more bearable. It's part of the first phase of a park-wide makeover that's responsible for the new shade at Tiger Island and refitted food & beverage places. Evidently, rather than fixing a problem, it's easier to just gloss over it. Make the queues a cheap attraction of their own and no one can complain, right?

Feel free to discuss Soverign Hill in greater depth in the "General Thrills" forum.

Most of you would have received the email regarding the calendars most recently, but for those that didn't, here's a few things to note. The period of pre-ordering for AUD$25.00 has ended. Calendars can now be ordered for $30.00 (incl. shipping), via the methods mentioned above and elsewhere. Once orders are received, calendars are mailed as quickly as possible. If you wish to receive your calendar before Christmas, try to get your order in before December 20 (earlier to be safe). Those who pre-ordered calendars, they will be mailed out as soon as I receive them from the printer. They should be received and mailed out within a week or two. Thanks to everyone that ordered one, or will order one. Your support of Roller-Coaster.com.au is greatly appreciated.

What's playing on these LCD screens for each ride?

Disney won't do something like this without huge incentives and tax breaks from Australian Governments, and for some reason Australian Governments have proven time and time again that they're not prepared to assist a large American theme park. Not just the countless setbacks they've had with Disney, but also Paramount. The Australian population could never sustain a Disney park. The Gold Coast parks don't even push a million domestic guests a year each. How would a Disney park, which needs in the area of 5-10 million guests a year to sustain itself, work in Australia? Asian tourists were the key 10+ years ago. You can't see that happening though with two Disneylands in Asia as of next year, and what looks to be a third on its way before the decade is out. I'd love to see a Disney park in Australia, but it's anything but realistic at this stage.

Blue Lagoon is a collection of three different slides and one small main pool. The area has been there for 21 years with no additions. I can't imagine it holds itself together as well as it once did, much like Thunderbolt wasn't exactly its original self by the time it closed. Obviously if Dreamworld were to build a new water park, it will result in the closure of the existing one. I see no harm in that - Blue Lagoon must be one of the most underutilised sections of the park (both from a guest and management perspective).

I considered going this year, but the one seminar I particularly wanted to attend this year had a presenter change, which was enough to talk me out of it.

A reliable source for full version games is your local computer game store. I suggest that you discuss ways to legitimately purchase games, or move the discussion away from this site.

And that wouldn't be cliché Gazza? I agree that what Paramount did end up with is somewhat tacky, but it's no worse than your average water park. You must keep in mind, (more so with Kings Island than Great America) that the climates vary greatly from those in Australia. Good luck keeping tropical plants alive come winter.

What else would you expect? A water park themed to suburban Sydney? I have always thought the name selections for the Boomerang Bays were deplorable, but the idea of theming is that you create something different and unique.

Actually, I was talking about willsy's post. The truth is that for many years the project was left idle. The original engineer who worked on the project had since retired and Scenic World was working on other things (i.e. Sceniscender, the walking tracks and the many renovations to the facilities). It wasn't until this year that a full-time engineer was appointed to the project. Work on Orphan Rocker is currently on hiatus because of the construction associated with the Skyway, which sees scaffolding over much of the track and one of the coaster's supports has been removed.

What's to question about Scenic World's engineer? She's a qualified Mechanical Engineer, and I believe a lot of the work is done in conjunction with other consulting engineers.

I think there's just a bit of a difference between my thoughts on efficiency, and all these comments that seem to suggest that a new coaster is the only way Dreamworld can go. For one thing my comments on efficiency are all based on observations, comparisons to other parks and the like. I don't see much of that here.

I can't believe the narrow-sightedness that is here. The CEO says in a radio interview that the park is investigating options for their next coaster, which somehow translated to everyone that they are building a new coaster next year. It's good to know that everyone here knows what's better for Dreamworld than Dreamworld do.

Yeah, an imitation that opened 15 years before Sydney's park. Hands down Melbourne has the better "face", but once inside I really don't think there's much going for either. There's very few rides, even fewer good rides and almost no rides that are good if spinning's not your thing. I enjoyed myself much more at Melbourne's park. I spent a day easily at that park, yet struggled really to fill an empty afternoon at Sydney's. Though it certainly does look nicer, I think it lacks a lot of the things that made Melbourne's better to me in terms of atmosphere etc.

Read the Community Guidelines in regards to advertising of sites. There's some videos from various Australian parks in the Videos section here.

If you don't have a credit card and yet you want to purchase a calendar it's quite simple to do. Your local Australia Post will have a "Money Order" service. It is a lot like a cheque, only you don't need a cheque book, bank account or anything like that. The service costs $2.50, so you'll need $27.50 to purchase a calendar - $2.50 + $25.00. If your parents won't let you use their credit card, then this is the answer (of course ask their permission etc. before sending a money order). As far as I know there's no minimum age, and it can be paid for in cash. Australia Posts are everywhere, including just about every decent sized shopping centre. You can read more about them on the Australia Post website: http://www.auspost.com.au/IXP/0,1083,CH202...57EMO19,00.html Make out the money order to: "Richard Wilson" Then mail it to me: Be sure to put your own mailing address on the back of the mail order as well as the envelope if possible so I know where to send the calendar. If possible, try to send them around the 26th at the latest so I can be sure to get them before the end of the month. If you do mail out a money order which is stamped before the end of November, I will accept $25.00 rather than $30.00 for the calendar, but naturally until I receive the money order no calendars will be mailed. I recommend you also email me once you've sent the mail order, so I know it's coming. Of course, the easiest way to pay for a calendar is by credit card. This can be done here: https://www.2checkout.com/cgi-bin/buyers/or...ge.2c?sid=27553. Check out the entire calendar for 2005 here. To everyone who voted "Yes" in this poll, you've only got 12 days to get your orders in. I did ask that you don't vote "Yes" unless you're certain about it.

And there's certainly nothing wrong with a bit of healty competition between the two parks. Of course, in terms of UNO, Movie World looks to be playing the "Draw Four". Dreamworld continually up their thrill ride arsenal. I don't think there's any secrets in the fact that we can expect plenty more thrill rides in the not-so-immediate short-term. Four years ago they invested deeply into the wildlife market with Australian Wildlife Experience. Two years ago the family market with Nickelodeon Central. The only sour spot in Dreamworld's current lineup is the Blue Lagoon water park. Follow the past trends, as well as the more recent trend that seems to involve Paramount Parks in America and I don't think you can go too wrong.

It happens - thanks for letting me know.

Slightly more updated Thunder River Rapids Gallery.

The calendar page has now been updated to showcase the finalised lineup of the 2005 Calendar. Check it out now, and order one now if you haven't already! http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/calendar.php

I do have more, but what I've published is about all you'll ever want to see.

I've finally gotten around to adding some new Dreamworld galleries and updating existing ones. See photographs of: Dreamworld Railway Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler Model T Lane Tower of Terror Thunder River Rapids

It was decided to go with just a photograph on each page, with the ride's name, park and when it opened. There's really not that much more you need to know.