Richard

To answer that last one, Whirlpool's trying to be a way to take 1000 people an hour away from the other attractions that split at the seams during the holidays. Unfortunately, the problem is that it's not too often that there's 1000 people in a given hour willing to waste their time on that thing. One thing's for sure, the winter version is truly a welcome addition to the park. It's just that the main, summer attraction was a bit of a fizzer.

I remember reading the memos from the discussions about Demon's inspection. There were some very stupid arguments put forward about Demon's safety, most of which were thankfully dismissed. You are entitled to your own opinions, but I think it is immature to spend time sending harassing emails. Voice your opinions by all means, but do so in a proper way. What you do is your own business, but at the very least, don't come here and encourage others to follow in your lead. It's sad that Wonderland is closing, but harassing emails, which presumably will just get tossed anyway, won't solve anything.

The thread where you discussed Wonderland's closure was here - no posts have been ever deleted, modified or moved unless they were spam or somehow offensive. I just looked through all the deleted posts and none of them have your name on them, so you haven't been bad either. Remember that most of that discussion took place at ThemeParkInsider, before shifting over here. The way I see it, you told us that the park was closing, gave us a date. It didn't happen, so you can't really blame people for jumping all over you - in fact you can really expect it.

It's great to see so many people eager to meet up at the park. Those that are coming in from a long way, I'd recommend the Rooty Hill RSL's Holiday Inn. I've stayed there twice before, it's pretty decent and I believe the closest hotel to the park. Being in the RSL complex, you've also got easy access to pokies and Keno. Total Thrills' Wonderland Farewell Attendees: Flea coasterfreak (2) willsy (?) DJKostya muke Andy_q69 joz stdragon03 (2) screammachine (3) djrappa Richard Jaggie mx5_boy (5) This is the list so far. Please let me know if I've missed you out. If you've got a (?) beside your name, it'd be great if before then you could give us a definite yes/no. If you're not on the list but would like to come, let us know, or just rock up on the day, though it would be good to let us know so that we don't leave anyone behind. If you want to bring more people (which is fine), also let us know how many are coming. Just post in this thread if you want to be added to the list, confirm or just have questions about it. It's gonna be great! We'll have to do this every time a park closes.

The leaks on the towers at the front (Super 8, Speed Coaster and Twister) are just the best example of a lack of maintenance. Though, to be fair, even Disney's Blizzard Beach had some leaks on their tube slides out the back, but the park was due for an extended maintenance period shortly after my visit - I'd be very surprised if the same leaks still exist. But it's not as if it's a small drip or anything - it is almost constant streams of water. I'd say that Double Screamer's done it'd duty full stop. It's a good ride, but it really shows its age, and ain't much in the capacity department. As for Whirlpool's peeling rubber, the summber it debuted (as a bunch of motel spas in the ground) it was the same. I was thinking this was just a "new ride" thing, but at the attraction's media launch at Easter last year (a great function by the way, complete with buffet full breakfast, live music and the highlight - Blair McDonough ), the rubber was still peeling. When it's Whirlpool Springs, because you're walking on the floor of Whirlpool, you're picking this stuff up on your feet, and so the bottom of the spas is pretty much loose "blue stuff" and when you leave, you take it with you on your feet. For those wondering what the heck the stuff is, it's essentially tiny rubber shavings that they stick down with glue, essentially the same as athletics track tartan. It's still a fun place to spend the day, but I'm with you in that they really need to do some work on the place.

The tower (The Skyneedle) is now at South Brisbane. You probably all know the chain of hairdressers known as Stefans. The owner of the chain, amazingly with the name Sefan Ackerie, has always had a hobby of buying up old Brisbane icons. He purchased the Skyneedle and moved it to his hairdresser's academy and head office. Last time I actually drove past it, which was about six or so years ago, it was just surrounded by a vacant block of land, but I don't know if it has changed since. The thing is in quite reasonable condition. It is still lit up with its bright neon lights every night. It's really one of those icons that has not really come to be known as an icon. For what it's worth, a few years ago when the Milton Tennis Centre closed down, he purchased the giant racket sculpture that was fixed at the top of the stadium, he stuck his own name/logo on the thing and donated it as a sculpture for the front QEII sporting complex out at Mr Gravatt. Let's not stray too far from the topic at hand.

I'd like to think people would have a bit more maturity than to send rude, perhaps harassing emails to the corporation. And Slick, really, don't you think what you said is a bit harsh? Wonderland Sydney is closing. They're not selling nuclear weapons to terrorists, they're shutting down a theme park, presumably because the land has the potential to be used for much more lucrative things. It's one thing to be sad or annoyed, but don't do or say something that you might regret later, because it just makes you look childish and silly. All I ask is you at least think about what you say, and be as rational as you can.

I agree with your sister. They by far had the best gardens and just general nice feeling throughout the park. The park is nice and big, easy to navigate and incredibly open. Compared to Dreamworld or Sea World the place is very open (I didn't bother with Movie World, because that place is just plain hopeless in terms of layout and scale). I just really hope that as many of the rides as possible find new homes in Australia, not internationally or at a scrap-heap.

Here's an article from a Malaysia newspaper. It says there mid-year, so maybe we have a bit longer than Wonderland suggested. What you must understand is the conditions that Wonderland's management were working under. As wonderbus suggested, they had next to no resources available. Sunway refused to give them any budget. Given the condition of the park, certainly up until the beginning of 2003, I think it was amazing how well they kept the place looking. I always thought Wonderland was a far better presented park than the Gold Coast parks. Stephen Galbraith should be praised for his efforts. To me he was not far off from being a miracle worker. You can't blame the management team for the closure. Sunway are closing the park. This is a decision from their board of directors and nothing Wonderland's management could change. Considering up until last year they were repainting much of the park and they're still running competitions right now (which don't expire until mid-year), I think this was sprung upon Wonderland's management as abruptly as it was to employees. I don't believe the "persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions" excuse. The park has been turning reasonable profits, and the market is only as difficult as their non-existant attraction budget made it. The truth - the unfortunate reality of it - is that the price they'd get for the land the park is on is what the park makes in profits every ten years. It's the same with the Gold Coast parks (Dreamworld's selling off just about everything that's not for the park), so Wonderland's not alone. A tip: if you want to get rich, theme parks isn't the business for you - real estate and development is what you want to me in. This is what Sunway are doing.

Try reading the whole thread - not just the title and you'll know the answer to that question.

I've merged the two threads together given that they were about the exact same thing and posted five minutes apart. Have fun!

That's truly one of the oddest things I've ever heard anyone say here. Thunderbolt's trains are by far the worst I've ever been in. The padding might be softer, but because it's softer, it's also worn down to nothing in the places it touches you. The thing with Thunderbolt's restraints is they have a lower axis point. Rather than locking you in from the front of the upper chest, they lock you from the points on the shoulders. The taller you are, the higher your "lock-in" point is on your shoulders (shorter people are locked in from the front of the shoulders, and as you get taller, this point gets pushed back towards the back of the shoulders), which means the taller you are, the tighter you'll be locked in to be safe, which means pain when it comes to the roughness. You said that you find Cyclone's press down on your collar bone. That's odd - with Cyclone's restraints, they're designed to be restraining you without pressing down at all. Next time you ride, instead of jamming it down as far as you can, try leaving it "just comfortably down". I'm not by any means saying do anything stupid, I'm just saying use them how they were designed to get the best ride possible. Where Thunderbolt's restraints NEED to be pressing hard on you for you to be properly locked in, Cyclone's are designed to lock you in to be secure and still give you a bit of freedom. I must say, it probably is just you - I'm 183cm, and as I've said, I find it to be essentially the same. I suppose different people are accustomed to different things. As for good restraints, you can't go wrong with B&M restraints and seats. I've never "used" one of their lapbars (which are said to be the best), but their OTSR are great - they're not terribly soft (quite hard), but they don't at all press awkwardly on your body at all, leaving you quite free while secure. The only problems I had were at the Six Flags, and it's not to do with B&M, just that the average SF park-goer perhaps doesn't have the same cleanliness and hygiene as over here. Combine that with probably minimal cleaning, and you've got a nice slimey, greasy restraint.

I don't think "person higher up than the "front desk"" would appreciate their email address being posted here. If the emails don't seem to have gone anywhere, the phone will always get you started.

This thread is as good here as anywhere else. Drinking has its thrills after all, says me who's came home this evening with a headache and a bloated gut that's not having the time of its life (yet I'm actually sitting here thinking and trying to post, instead of calling it a night).

I can't tell you what to do with your own time and money, but calling up European companies isn't going to make anything happen quicker or better. As I was was hinting in my last post, most of these companies have confidentiality agreements with all clients - whether they have purchased rides or are "just lookiing". It is unprofessional and in many cases illegal for them to answer questions about clients, just as it is in any industry. If you worked for a company and you got a call from some guy asking about one of your clients - information you're not allowed to release, what would you say? "We can't comment on that..." - probably not, that just opens a whole barrel of further questions. You'll usually get "Please ask the park for this information..." or more likely "We have no knowledge of any new rides for the park." The beauty of it is they can lie to you because they aren't breaking any rules doing so, and it'll get rid of people fast.

I'd have to say Sea World by a long shot. Movie World has some good ones, but there are some who I have to say are next to clueless (Lethal Weapon one-train operation tends to attract them I've found). Dreamworld is utterly hopeless - I can't believe they've bee voted for. Wonderland Sydney's were reasonably efficient, but I found quite a few of them were there pressing the buttons and nothing more - no interaction whatsoever, not even a smile on their face (Knott's Berry Farm reminded me a lot of Wonderland). And Luna Park's are pretty hopeless, and I've seen them act downright rude to guests (not politely telling a man that his camera isn't allowed on the ride, even just to photograph his two kids in the seat in front while the train was still loading, but screaming in his face that he is breaking the rules and will be kicked out). Sea World's staff are very efficient (Corkscrew must be the best capacity, single train ride in Australia), courteous and just plain happy. As for Wet'n'Wild, well all they do is stand around all day and look pretty (it was funny at Wet 'n Wild Orlando - the uniform for the guys was nothing but a tiny pair of black shorts, the sort of thing you'd see on Baywatch). I've zapped this over to General Thrills, where it is better suited.

Well, I'm sure enough to actually post it here. As I've said before, I don't play the "rumour game". With me it's about reporting on the industry. If I overhear two operators discussing a new whopping great ride, I'm not going to go around and spread the word. I use stock exchange reports, council and government documents and the first-hand words of park officials. The ride has been confirmed for me by two of the above sources. As far back as August last year and as recently as a few weeks back. With Nick Central, they finished their four year plan to strengthen their position in their three key demographics - teen (thrill rides - Giant Drop and Cyclone), foreign (wildlife - Australian Wildlife Experience) and family (childrens area - Nickelodeon Central). I'd not think for a second that Dreamworld, now that Tomb Raider proved to be the success that it apparently was, would shift away from thrill rides. I remember Dreamworld's CEO, Tony Braxton-Smith being quoted in a number of articles and whatnot saying that Cyclone was not the end in terms of thrill rides and the future direction for the park would still remain on thrill rides. In short, this year will be a year for one of these new thrill rides.

I don't think anyone really has to prove themselves. If you read over the thread, the every person with their own "ideas" about the ride has clearly stated their source. Most manufacturers won't respond to emails sent enquiring about rides that parks have purchased. It's not their job to answer questions, and for reasons of confidentiality and competition or whatnot, they more than likely won't divulge information.

During the 80's and 90's, to reduce their costs they outsourced their steel fabrication. Big Dipper was built in Newcastle as you said, as well as Melbourne, under Arrow Dynamics' former structure, which was changed a few years later to bring it back in-house. The quality of the end product wasn't what they would have liked, so in around 1996 or 1997 they went back in-house. Rides like their Mad Mouse or Tennessee Tornado were some of the first ones to be truly built by Arrow again. Arrow was of course (unfortunately) purchased by S&S last year. S&S do their own manufacturing as well, so there's no confusion there.

The construction going on at Dreamworld right now is for a petting zoo, due for opening at Easter. Construction for other attractions later in the year won't begin for some time yet.

Remember, thanks to Geocities stupid rules, you've got to copy and paste the link to get it to work (feel free to upload it here though - . You've got to love those old photos of Dreamworld. It reminds you once upon a time the park was actually this fantastic "dream world". I can't help but think that the place doesn't have that same impact on today's kids as it did for us. I just think that the place has lost its sole. Anyway, where were we before I started drifting off?

It's amazing what Dreamworld did to the offending tree. This was a big gum tree, and they didn't just trim it so that there's no chance of anything like this happening again. They've essentially, for lack of a better word, neutered the tree. I know it's nothing really, but I almost see it as some sort of sick, action movie payback type situation, where Dreamworld have finally got the bad guy and killed him in a big gory battle to the death. Too far? Anyway, here's a shot of the tree (to use the term loosely), it was the tree at the rear that was actually the one involved, but I guess they got his partner in crime while they were at it. I don't have any clear before shots, but you can see the two trees in the distance of this shot (behind the roof, near the chimney).

It's fully integrated with the theme park - there's no separate entrance or whatnot, which I think is the better way of doing it in terms of revenue raising. As joz said, they're generally buying a set holiday from a tour group who get all sorts of deals and discounts because of the numbers they buy. I'd have to say that Dreamworld has the better wildlife park. They are similar, but Dreamworld did really well when they turned it into the "Australian Wildlife Experience", which is essentially three separate areas themed to different Australian areas (on top of the Koala Country area with koalas, kangaroos and the reptile house and whatnot), with accompanying wildlife. It's really quite a nice and picturesque section of the park - one of the nicest areas of any Australian theme parks. It's not an expansion of Nick Central, but rather a continuation of Dreamworld's efforts to give families and particularly younger children more to do at the park, as was started with Nick Central. It's being built at the rear of the park, beside the waterfall which the train passes under (see this shot - the petting zoo will be in the land directly beside it, where you can see a small hill and plenty of trees).

I can't speak for Movie or Sea World, but Dreamworld's fairly light at the moment. Of course, be aware that Dreamworld is at minimum staffing because of how quiet it is, and Dreamworld's staff are hardly the most efficient out there. Cyclone, Tower of Terror and Giant Drop in particular will have 15 minute queues, even with only a load or so in the queue in front of you because of the quite low throughput.

I've seen no official document with the name as anything other than Dreamworld. Here's the "proper" names of the major Australian parks, for what it's worth: Dreamworld Sea World Warner Bros. Movie World Wet'n'Wild Water World Wonderland Sydney