Richard

OK, explain the process by which this supervisor released herself from the restraint. I'm interested to hear, and spare no detail - I know enough about how these trains work to understand anything technical you want to get into.

I can't see myself realistically getting out there again for a few more weeks. I'll try and get down there again soon, but I can't make any promises.

Boomerang was hardly "one of the first produced" - it was the eleventh, and built six years after the first. You'll find that it differs very little, if at all, structurally - the only advancements would have been in the technology driving the ride, and even standard Boomerangs built today frequently experience the exact same problems you're mentioning Demon had. Cables shearing, restraints breaking or not working are maintenance issues. Cables always have an operation life span that is specified by the manufacturer and are always very conservative estimates. If that did occur, it's a maintenance issue, not a ride issue. Similarly with restraints - mechanically the system that operates the restraints is absolutely sound - it has been in use for nearly thirty years and is still in daily use on hundreds of rides around the world. Not locking is a maintenance issue, not an inherent design problem in Demon. As for restraints being able to be unlocked by riders - I see it as being in no way physically possible for riders onboard and locked in to release their own restraints. You're doing well if you've got your hand to eye level, let alone over the side of the car and to the lever a metre away. Of course anyone with a foot not on the ride can release or lock the restraints. As above, it's the exact same design on hundreds of other rides around the world and has been in use since the 1970's - including two coasters with identical trains on the Gold Coast. Gaffer tape, cable ties, control panel modifications, coat hanger wire, phones not working etc. - again, all maintenance issues. Not problems directly associated with the design of Demon that would hence hinder efforts to reopen the coaster elsewhere. Now, I see no immediate need to bring back Demon at another park because plain and simple, it's not a very good ride. It doesn't need to be a deathtrap for me to cross it off the list.

There's also two new shirts that just became available today. One of which is only USD$12.00 - around AUD$17.00, which is a very good price for a t-shirt. Remember to get your two or more item order in by next Tuesday for your choice of a 2004 calendar or a Total Thrills t-shirt absolutely free.

Our parks have more or less peaked in attendance. Attendance will continue to increase, but you'll see the figures closely follow Australian population growth rate figures. Let's say Dreamworld installs a ride with an operating capacity of 1000pph. This single ride over the course of a year would in theory be able to cater for over 2.5 million guests. A new medium to high capacity ride installed at Dreamworld will only take away from queues on other rides, making average queue times on all rides less, not more. Of course there will be more people in the park for the period where the ride is considered "new", and will result in bigger queues for the peak periods for that year, but after the ride's novelty has worn off, queues will be shorter on all rides, not longer.

Arrow have significantly weaker track than B&M. Arrow used this to their advantage in that their support structures would absorb a lot more force through the way that the track is able to bend/wobble so as to distribute the force over a large length of track, not just the direct point where the train is located. At lower heights they'll use tubular steel of varying diameters, which also bend to absorb the force. Long story short, without using engineering jargon to explain it, the reason they don't go high with tubular steel is that a single tubular steel support will do two things at large heights - firstly, it'll be far heavier and not provide as much strength as a truss style support at such heights and secondly, it will act like a lever on the footer, where at great heights it'll have great "mechanical advantage" (allowed to use that one because it's a grade nine or ten science term), which will want to break up the footers. I could have said that in one line with the use of engineering terms, but then I guess it'd just ask more questions than it answered for most people. B&M have a far stronger track. The track is far less (or not at all) flexible. The force of the train will be directed directly down through the supports, with little or no wobble or bend. In terms of strength, at heights you can't go past the truss. You'll notice that Millennium Force, Steel Dragon 2000, Superman: the Escape and even Top Thrill Dragster all more or less use a truss design, keeping clear of single or double beams because they're useless at great heights. You'll see with Silver Star, B&M's tallest coaster to date, they've started to add cross bracing, which is just a very basic truss design. I think if they ever break 300ft or more, you'll see, though nothing to the extent of your average arrow coaster, a less "minimalist" structure. In terms of my preference, nothing beats Arrow's track and supports. Either the old, square style track (seen on Corkscrew and Cyclone), or their later curved bracing (seen on Tennessee Tornado), I personally think it's a much nicer looking structure than anything else out there.

See this shot, how the track and supports around the curve on the first drop are cantilevered from out beyond the rest of the support structure? What they did a number of years ago was take the curvature of the track further out, making it a smoother and more graduated transition, i.e. a less tight curve so it wouldn't yank riders quite as much. It used to follow the profile of the main support structure, so you can clearly see that they've extended it further to the right (when looking at it as seen in that photo), and up a bit higher. Apparently it's still quite an intense piece of track, though not nearly as good as it previously was.

There are now several more posters available, including Journey to Atlantis (SeaWorld Orlando) and Xcelerator (Knott's) - both work out to around AUD$24 + shipping each. Also, there are now seven Disney framed prints available. They work out to about AUD$70 + shipping each, so I know it's fairly steep but I'd personally say they're probably worth every penny if you're into Disney parks and rides. Remember that if you're after the shirt/calendar deal, you've only got about a week to get orders in. I've gotten a few orders, but you still get your choice of a shirt or poster. Please if you do order, contact me, so I can get in touch with you about your choice for a freebie and your postal address (it's done entirely independent of CafePress).

Slapping a Heritage Order on Bush Beast would be incredibly narrow-minded and foolish to say the least. In terms of actual historical value, Beastie is a far more fitting ride for such titles, given that it was an ACE Classic, and consequently displayed all the necessary operation traits to be deemed a "historically significant" roller coaster, and even it isn't worthy of such protection. Bush Beast is a badly designed coaster, with no real heritage about it. It's not unique - there are 167 currently in operation around the world. They are still widely produced and available, by several manufacturers with far more skill at designing coasters than PTC had in the 1970's. Luna Park's (Melbourne) Big Dipper, now there's a ride that was worthy of Heritage Order. It did have one actually, but you can see how far that went.

Nightshifter, when placing rides over pathways etc., it would be a bit absurd to think that they're thinking about people throwing things at rides. I think it's safe to say that people are as likely to chuck a rock at a coaster train as they are to chuck them at complete strangers on the street. I don't know if it would never hapen, because it does happen. All I do know is that it will never happen when it's something of mine, on a ride that allows loose objects. I can't speak for other riders, and I can say that if the ride doesn't allow cameras, then I won't be there with a camera (and I very, very rarely actually take a camera on a ride which does allow them). I'm sure in the situation of a ride being situated largely over open areas such as footpaths or other rides, the park would have a no items policy. I'm happy, you're happy and finally at last those poor pedestrians under the ride are finally relieved of the terror of this seemingly endless flow of cameras and phones from the ride as they literally pour from the hands and pockets of guests onboard. Daniel, those issues you mentioned are very common with almost all Vekoma Boomerangs, and hardly a sign of a ride on the brink of collapsing everytime a butterfly lands on it. As for "coat hanger wire" being used - well that's not too hard to fix, is it? So long as it's not replacing a resistor or similar, I see no electrical reason that that could cause faults - resistance might be a bit higher than intended, but you're not going to start a fire or electrocute anyone. I don't think Demon is worth keeping, but because it's not a great ride. You've also got to think of the viability of keeping old Wonderland rides. Sydney's been riding that thing for 13 years - they'll need a few more reasons to come to this place, and Bush Beast's not on that list either. Come to think of it, Eastern Creek's probably also not found on that list anywhere either.

Daniel, not sure, but I'm thinking you missed the "it's sick" comment Nightshifter made directly after the "freaks and gay people everywhere" comment.

So the people are nice, and give good service, and you can happily ask for help from anyone without fear of anything happening, yet they're clearly worse. I wouldn't know, but that sounds better to me than the driveby shootings, gang violence and the like occuring "out west" that was mentioned in a thread in the Wonderland forum. Then again, what would I know , I'm just an up-myself Old Boy of Brisbane Grammar School.

Umm, the money to cover the cost (and then some) of food supplies, toys and stuffed animals comes from the absurd prices you pay for these items. I assure you that Wonderland would have closed several years sooner than it did, had they not been turning suitable profits. Contrary to final releases, I think there's very little doubt that Wonderland was operating at decent profits, both annually, and throughout the seven years or so Wonderland was owned by Sunway. Let's move this discussion to the Wonderland forum if you wish to continue it. This isn't the place for it.

I'm a paying customer to theme parks. It is my right as a paying customer to expect nothing but the best, otherwise I take my business elsewhere. I shouldn't be grateful to parks - they should consider themselves grateful to be getting my, and other guests' patronage. I personally think it'd be a bit boring if, just because I consider myself an enthusiast or fan of theme parks, I went along with a big smile and thumbs-upped everything they did, regardless of how good or bad it is. Regarding your bizarre point about Wonderland and new rides. No, they wouldn't pull the money out of their behind, they'd pull it out of a bank account. Where do you think other parks get their money, and what makes you think Wonderland didn't have access to money? You know, there's a reason that before you get into a park you have to hand them a sum of money.

Fair enough on getting the smaller version. I don't doubt that it'll be a great ride - my experience tells me it will. Having said that though, the larger version would without doubt been a far more exciting ride, more "thrilling" or "extreme" if you will. What does annoy me is that this ride will be considered a major attraction and marketed as one. Meanwhile Knott's Berry Farm, a park not that much larger in size and a very very similar park to Dreamworld, gets the same thing with little if any fanfare. I know the comparisons with USA parks are probably getting tired (still have a few articles to release doing just that on the main site though!), but it goes to show that Dreamworld really, despite claims that they are renowned for biggest rides (TOT and Giant Drop are two rides out of a few dozen, which have since been well and truly surpassed by superior products), really aren't. Not everything has to be the biggest, and maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit, but Dreamworld will market it as such, "Tallest Gyro Swing in the Southern Hemisphere!", which is my ownly real gripe at this stage, and obviously it wouldn't be an issue until after the ride's marketing kicks off. Tony Braxton-Smith will be giving a seminar at the AALARA Conference 2004 down at the Gold Coast this year, on the topic of "Geting More Out of Your Rides - Marketing Techniques & Tips", July 28 (in case you're interested WVTP's Steve Peet is also giving a seminar the same day on what went wrong in the jet ski incident at Sea World back a few years ago, entitled "Accidents Do Happen!"). A safe bet is the ride would be announced by this stage.

No, that's only a problem when there's inadequate staffing on the ride. Staff Cyclone properly, as I mentioned above, and you'll get. Cyclone's situation was quite different - you couldn't get a Bush Beast style queuing system for it because of space constraints if you tried. I'm not saying Cyclone has a good system either, I too think it's downright terrible, but it can and has been easily worked around with adequate staffing. Furthermore, where's this idea that the Operations Department had nothing to do with it come from? It's an assumption you've made. I really fail to see how you could possibly think that in the year or more design process that a new attraction would typically undergo, that at no stage is the Operations Department consulted with. Even so, with a single operator, there is absolutely no excuse for 15 minute dispatches as Cyclone does achieve. Five minutes is pushing it, but Cyclone regularly (i.e. offpeak weekdays year-round) operates with 15 minute dispatches. This is where the issue lies, we can ignore the bad queue systems for a minute because that's only responsible for a fraction of the problems, and can very easily be accommodated for. Let's concentrate on the fact that there's something wrong in the Operations Deparment that causes shockingly bad dispatches, even for single-operator.

Well, on that same token, Walt Disney also had a few other things going for him. His name was a household name, synonymous with entertainment and family values, he had a brother, Roy, who knew how to make dreams a reality, and more importantly knew how to sweet-talk the bank managers in New York. I also think trying to link the claim that there will be any rise in crime rates etc. is no less than absurd.

But you're saying that suggesting that Operations Department have no input into the design of queue or loading systems. Nonetheless, you said that they have to find the best possible way to cater for guests. That's precisely right. Why then does Cyclone operate at about a quarter of its attainable capacity (at the best of times)? Or Giant Drop at close to a tenth of the capacity they claim it can operate at? I can assure you right now that these two issues have absolutely nothing to do with queue design.

Well, that was Warner Bros. Movie World for the first four or so years of its life. It survived though that period of a serious lack of attractions and is what it is today. Had Fox Studios investors given the place perhaps a few years of capital, I have some no doubts that it would probably still be around today. Hey, Zord, I guarantee you now that I'll be at the front of the queue outside the front gate on opening day when it opens. That's when it opens.

Well, we're just trying to be realistic. Just like the bank managers were when Walt approached them - you know how that turned out. The only thing I'll add is that I think you'll need a little more than the inability to let go of the fragmented remains of a not-so-great theme park.

Okay, around four weeks during the summer, a week at easter, two weeks in both June and September. That's nine weeks. That's about two thirds of the USA summer vacation period. Then the UK holiday times play a huge role in the Orlando parks attendance (to the extent where the parks are jam packed with no one but Brittish holidayers). Spring Break, Christmas, absolutely enormous "three day weekends" (Memorial Day and whatnot), and you're probably looking at around at the very least three times the length of peak periods. Let's get back to the basics. Disney presumably installed the system because they were getting complaints that the parks were too difficult to "complete" within a given holiday period. A family will spend three days at Disneyland alone and likely only barely get everything ridden, FastPasses left, right and centre. Meanwhile, how often do you hear people saying during the peak season they didn't get everything done at one of the Gold Coast parks? And of them, how many do you think weren't because five year old son loved Road Runner so much he had to ride it 40 times in the day? I'm guessing very few.

A few more should be released over the weekend.

Shipping costs are unfortunately a bit steep. It'll work out to around $10 for a single item, then about $5.50 for each further item. Delivery will take probably a week. They say 10-14 days for international, but even 10 days is a bit of an overestimate based on my experience.

But do you really think that the Operations Department are anything but heavily involved in the design process for new attractions? I mean, you're trying to suggest that the rides are built with absolutely no input from the Operations Department, that bad designs are just thrust upon them to be sorted out? I think not. Cyclone's queue isn't great, but that ride can operate absolutely seamlessly at the highest possible capacity dictated by the ride's design given three operators who are out to do a decent job. I've witnessed it only once ever - around September of 2002 - and boy was I impressed.

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