Richard

I don't think anyone would deny that it's name has a reason - and a good reason, might I add. That doesn't mean that GoBoi didn't make a perfectly valid point, that is people may confuse it with the far less grand portable ride of the same name. I'd like to think that future marketing of the ride will make it clear that it's not the same. One thing I'm not clear about is that Dreamworld seem to be proceeding with this ride as a full-fledged, heart-pumping thrill ride. It is a thrill ride, but certainly not in the same league as Tower of Terror, Giant Drop, Wipeout or even Cyclone, which is what they're making it out to be. People will come off it and look at it more as an enjoyable experience rather than a thrilling or at all intense one. My experience with this type of ride is limited to Knott's Berry Farm's La Revolucion, which is a Chance Revolution. Roughly the same size and specs, only with inward-facing seating rather than outward. There are probably a few others who have experienced the same, and I'm sure they'll agree with me in that it's a highly enjoyable ride (and amazingly not nauseating at all), but more fun than thrilling. Reviews of Maelstrom at Drayton Manor suggest the exact same thing. Read over the press release, and look at some of the phrases used: "The ultimate thrill ride" "the most terrifying talon in the world" "the most powerful pendulum on the planet" "the ride of your life!" "now you’re in the merciless clutches of The Claw" "perch perilously close to the edge" "the ultimate rush of pure adrenalin" "the most menacing of its kind ever built" "fingernail-biting, spine-tingling, knee-knocking nightmare" If you're looking for a damn good ride that balances Dreamworld's thrill ride collection out nicely, then The Claw is the ride for you. If you're after the things above, then you're probably looking in the wrong place. I suspect that no one from Dreamworld has actually ridden a Gyro Swing. One other thing I found about the press release, it read to me like someone had read a book on poetic imagery, but didn't get passed "alliteration" on page one. It seems like a drastic attempt to make it sound like it flows along.

Very nice stuff. I think it shows the potential our park has, if nothing else. Some of the theming doesn't quite seem to hold up to what we've got, butat least it doesn't seem that Germany has lost touch with the idea of plain old thrill rides, which I think definitely do have a place in a Warner Bros. Movie World park if properly done, and proven with these photos. Our Bermuda Triangle is the original. My guess is that John Menzies had just finished and opened ours, and was so proud of it that he included it in the German park (I believe he was very instrumental in the development of the park, hence so much of the park is identical to ours).

I think you all knew what I meant. Give me a break, I'd just gotten back from Dreamworld and finished sorting out all the construction pictures. Screams happen on any coaster at any time, regardless of how intense or tame the ride is. It's more about 14 year-old girls proving to their friends how loud they can scream more than anything else.

The park emails them out. I suspect that they simply haven't gotten to putting it on their website yet. Strange, I know, but I'd imagine it'll be there by next week.

If the Demon were to be installed at Luna Park, I'd probably join the local residents. That ride does not belong there, in so many ways.

23/07 Construction Update: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/ride.php?rid=45 Expect the ride to be structurally completed probably some time next week if all goes well. Then comes the matter of electrical and electronic work and the secondary construction - queue house, operators booth, theming (fingers crossed) and landscaping etc. I believe official opening date will be around September 18. Press launch will be September 17.

Believe it or not, the press release came from the park.

You're right - I think it'd be a tight squeeze. That stat is relying on a 45 second load/unload, which is dubiously tight. Figures of around 600-650 sound better to me, leaving at least 1:30-2:00 for the load/unload. I'd certainly like to think that the errors of the queue and station systems on Cyclone and Tower of Terror and to a lesser extent Giant Drop have been given a good hard look and we won't see Dreamworld go down that path again. I think this, like Wipeout or Runaway Reptar, will be seen operating close to or at capacity.

Article here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=23 Completed database entry, with ride stats: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/ride.php?rid=45 Press Release: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/release.php?prid=28 Attached is ride logo and artwork.

One thing you're wrong about is that Luna Park isn't meant to be a "permanent carnival". It is a "traditional amusement park". I can assure you that at no stage at the original Luna Park at Coney Island, was there ever much in the way of trailored attractions. Even our Luna Parks 30 years ago weren't the messes of bitumen and portable rides that they are today. I'll give Sydney's park one thing, and that is in terms of rides available, more or less up until you reach Coney Island the rides are fine. However, behind that is just nothing short of cheap, tacky and unfaithful to the original Luna Park idea. We can all ride the exact same Ranger etc. at our respective Royal Shows. No one goes to Luna Park to ride them. If you want any further proof of that, look at the crowd distribution in the place - all the rides up the front half of the park, the "real" half of the park work up lengthy queues no problems. Meanwhile out the back there can walk-ons everywhere. Regarding this interesting plastic covering practice, the simple solution for about every other park I've been to is to house the controls in an operators booth. Let's just hope that what they're doing is only temporary.

RCDB has an anti-hotlinking system in place, similar to Geocities' that stops direct linking. You have to copy and paste the links into the Address box to be able to see. I would, and I'm sure Duane would also appreciate it much more if in future you were to link to the page rather than the images.

That's correct. One thing interesting to note is that they've significantly modified the design since previous versions of the ride. The number of sets of spokes has been reduced from 32 sets of two to around 24 single, thicker spokes, and the ring has also been made from a significantly thicker diameter steel. I think it's still a fair way off from being as nice to look at as Huss' Giant Frisbee, but it'll look a lot less cluttered than previous Intamin versions.

I'd rather if the Whirlpool discussion moved to the Wet'n'Wild forum, but while we're on it, the thinking behind it perhaps focused more on the winter aspect than the summer attraction. At times of the year like this, walking around half-naked can get to you, and the fact that you're in and out of water the whole time doesn't help. Whirlpool is a very welcome attraction for the winter months, and I believe on the whole was a good choice, even if perhaps they've made far too much of it with marketing. They needed a gimick for summer, because hot spas aren't too attractive when it's hotter out than it is in them. The summer aspect definitely didn't hit as they had intended (what good is a 1,000pph capacity if you're barely getting 50 through because of the lack of interest?). Back on topic now. It'll be outward-facing, because that's Intamin's style. I think inwards looks to be a far more exciting ride. There's a much nicer view, and the inverted swings will be emphasised more so than they are on the inward facing versions.

Wouldn't know - I was sent that photo. I'll be out there on Friday. Until then, I'll leave that question for someone else to answer.

Quick Construction Update: Dreamworld Construction: Gyro Swing Tops Out There will be a more extensive gallery this coming Friday.

For more information read this article: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=22 The database can be found here.

Slick, E-ticket is actually quite the opposite of what you've suggested. The E-ticket name was one dating back to the early days of Disneyland where, simply put, rides were separated into five different classes from A to E. A were the smallest or most simply attractions, while E were the major attractions (Matterhorn, Space Mountain etc.). A filler attraction would be the best way to describe what Dreamworld are doing with this new ride, in the same way that Wicked Twister was built for no real reason other than for the park to maintain its attendance etc. until Top Thrill Dragster.

I'm puzzled as to what you mean by "The Claw could be an E-ticket attraction." Care to elaborate for us?

It shouldn't be about satisfying people, it should be about having the basic respect for other members to post something that is properly formed and easy to read. You should know I'm also not too keen on people using this site to advertise their own site.

Powerhouse Museum, Maritime Museum, Sydney Observatory. There's surely more museums around, but that's what I remember from my last tourist holiday to Sydney, in 1993. I personally think that in terms of city attractions, Sydney is one of the better cities out there. Obviously tourist towns (Gold Coast, Orlando, Anaheim etc.) are jam-packed with junk for the tourists to do, but outside of that, Sydney comes to mind as one of the better cities just for things to do. I personally prefer Melbourne, though it's a little more culture-driven. Brisbane isn't much for tourists (I couldn't think of a better city for locals though). Cyclone really is a silent coaster - the only operating sound it really makes is the wheel covers rattling (and that's only happened since Dreamworld got it) - certainly quieter than most everything currently at Luna Park. Outside of noise-reduction systems installed on the trains (sounds like some fun to install, and nice and pricey... I like it), there's not much that can be done that doesn't involve inclosing the track. I believe I've mentioned it here before, but that was some time ago. I'd love to see an Intamin megacoaster in the park. California Screamin' and Xcelerator prove that they can be next to silent to operate. Circumnavigate the park (double it around a la Scenic Railway for some nice length). Where it comes along the cliff-end, enclose or tunnel the track. At the wharf, I'd like to assume that that extra 50m or so does enough to dissipate most of the noise. Intamin lifts are silent, so that normally big problem's also gone. The beauty is, it takes up a fraction of the park - it fits around the Big Top and all current rides and won't use the valuable real estate behind Coney Island. Would an all-expenses paid First-Class-all-the-way trip to Anaheim to hear California Screamin' and Xcelerator in operation for a few of the key anti-Luna Park folks do much to sway them in the right direction?

If you're going to the trouble to mess with Giant Drop, then I think simply getting twice the already poor capacity would be a waste of resources, especially given the scope of these changed - you'd be looking at an entirely new system more or less (it cost $12 million last time). Your cantilever design worries me too. You've got some worrying forces and moments happening with a car that juts out over two metres. The current system has riders backs very close to the rails for this very reason - Giant Drop style rides use a track which doesn't take too kindly to odd forces acting on it. Assume the furthest person is 2m out from the rail. The force equivalent would be twice what it would be if they were at the rails. Then throw in the 3.5Gs during braking, and you've got yourself what is the equivalent of 7x their mass. Someone that weighs 70kg is doing the same as what half a tonne would at the rails. Here's an idea I've been toying with for a few years now. It's as likely to happen as yours (that is to say, never ), but I think it'd get the maximum potential out of the tower. Replace the two independent sides with a 3/4 (or maybe 4/5, 5/8 - whatever the maximum you could with TOT there) Gyro Drop style gondola. Obviously without the spin, but otherwise very similar. You'd be looking at in the area of 50+ riders. Giant Drop would go from one of the lower capacity rides at Dreamworld to perhaps the highest.

My experience with Medieval Times is limited to driving past the one near Knott's Berry Farm, and of course that scene in The Cable Guy ("Hello Clarice, it's good to see you."). I must say, I've never been to a theatre restaurant before. They always strike me as tacky. I'm sure the experience is great and all, and I'll do it some day, but just there's a little too much use of polystyrene and poster paints for my liking.

You know, it is possible to post things as a new thread. I've put your trip report post as its own thread.

Some parts of the park meaning the entire of Maloneys Corner? That area was just a Royal Show, minus the serious overpacking of rides and people, and of course the noise. I think something really does need to be done with that whole area. I'd also say that something involves removing all of the portable rides, replacing them with something/s a little more true to Luna Park. With the vastness of that area, and it's obvious temporary nature, I'd like to think this is what they're suggesting as well.

Yeah, same model as Maelstrom. I think very disappointing, given what they could gave gone for. You just know that ten years ago or so and we'd be looking at the biggest thing money could buy. Having said that, this is just to get our mouths watered. I don't think you'll have to look at a bare patch of land that once held Thunderbolt for too much longer.