Richard

They'd be crazy not to have the wildlife aspect to Dreamworld - it's essentially the only thing that brings in Asian tourists in the numbers that they do. Do you ever wonder why you see four or five coaches (more on a good day) unloading hundreds of tourists in the morning, but never see theme in queues? They're all out back at the Australian Wildlife Experience, experiencing Australian wildlife. This petting zoo will be more as a follow-up to Nick Central rather than an expansion of the Australian Wildlife Experience.

Just the land alone is what I'm angling towards - no rides, no heritage listed buildings, just an empty, waterfront block of land.

The way I see it, the area you've explained, the new petting zoo area at the back of the park is quite close to where Tomb Raider is. There was some misunderstanding and they though you were talking about the already completed Tomb Raider area.

I'm not following. They're moving the attraction, despite its contract finishing in April? I don't really think Dreamworld would extend it, because I'd imagine it would be expensive, such that only the peak season would justify such an attraction. I certainly can't see it being made a permanent fixture at the park, and even so, why would they move it? Then they'd just have an empty theatre in a deserted area of the park.

Uhh, Tomb Raider has been open since December 26 last year and known about here since August. Thanks for the cutting-edge news though - be sure to keep us updated on Cyclone's construction!

Just a few confirmations from the park for everyone. There will also be access to the area from a new bridge over the railway, on top of the paddle steamer. I guess this just helps to keep everything flowing, and I can't imagine what they'd do if the boat were to break down or require extended maintenance. It is set to open Easter.

I guess the grass is always greener. I know for one thing my body would explode from overexposure to mediocrity if I were to go to Dreamworld any more than I do, which might be once a month at best, unless there's some dirt piles to watch and snap pictures of, which i somehow more of an attraction to me than the sum total of all their rides.

Very interesting spin on the fire - and I don't doubt it for one second. I'd be surprised if the land Luna Park is on is worth anything less than $200 million (I'd go for more even) - Melbourne's near water-front St. Kilda location I believe is worth upwards of $150m. That's some seriously sweet land, worth every penny if you could get your hands on it.

I by far prefer Sydney's version - and my only experience of it recently was looking at a ripped up, fenced off construction site. Melbourne's is just a miserably bitumen area with pretty badly looked after rides, most of which nasty carnival things. Scenic Railway, as historic as it is, is just painfully rough, which isn't a bad feat given its biggest drop is all of about 10m. It's obvious that unlike Melbourne's, Sydney's owners are in it for the long haul, not just a cheap fix so that they can get more back on their investment when they sold it a few years later as happened in Melbourne.

BD= "The Ride Formerly Known As Big Dipper" I was TTD as well... I wanted Thunder Dolphin - of the rides on the list, it was the only which actually interests me. I want rides with substance!

I'm pretty sure the ride is a Zamperla model, which are still in production today, so even if there were any significant issues, servicings or replacement parts are certainly not a problem. I'll go with the extensive rehab (perhaps they have sent off for replacement parts?), because I don't think Wonderland can really afford to loose any more rides... though it is Wonderland we're talking about.

Construction is going ahead nicely on Dreamworld's next attraction, going in the back half of the park, near the waterfall tunnel that the train heads through. The frame is up already, and they're working on the fence that will suround the area. There's been lots of earthmoving going on, but it's good to see they're now into the vertical construction, meaning it might be here as soon as Easter. The unique thing about this attraction is, because it is located on the "wrong side of the tracks", instead of having foot access, it will give the paddle steamer a genuine purpose. It'll be good, because the time it takes the boat to do the loop, as well as load/unload at the main stop in Rivertown, it'll give everyone a chance to see everything and get on the next boat. The first picture shows the construction of the frame, with two dudes sawing some pine for the fence they were working on. It was hot enough for me just walking around the park leisurely, I'd hate to have been these guys today . The second one shows where the dock will be for loading and unloading. They'll more than likely rebuild the dock to something that actually complies with even basic workplace health and safety. Did I mention that what they're building is a petting zoo (leaving it to the end to spill that one for everyone to be pleasantly disappointed)? Stay tuned for more exciting developments in coming weeks!

You didn't miss much that summer, unless six hours plus queues (Giant Drop's initial summer period) are your cup of tea. I really don't know how they managed it - that's attrocious even for Dreamworld - but they did. A flat ride takes only a matter of weeks to construct. The reason they open new rides on Boxing Day is because technically it is the start of the new season. Remember that this is only the official opening date. The rides more often than not operate in the days and even weeks leading up to the opening date. Of course I'm not telling you to make travel plans based on the slight chance of getting on a ride before it opens . If that gets you, try coming mid-year or even off-peak. Not only is the weather nicer, but the crowds are only a fraction of the size, and I don't need to mention that hotels are also cheaper. It would have next to no effect on attendance, summers are pretty well consistently packed anyway. The real increase in attendance from a new ride comes later in the year.

I flew ten times on that trip, all economy, and there's no getting used to it, for me, anyway. I'll gladly fly anywhere under three hours or so in economy, but I'll gladly cough up the extra money in future for business class. Did I also mention that the current plan also has me staying at the Grand Californian at Disneyland, Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World and within both the Paris and Toyko resorts? Let's watch the luxury of this trip go down over the next 18 months as reality sets in.

Well, reports generally say Vekoma's Dutchman is a rough ride, but it's also the more forceful of the two, but this is because neither of the B&M versions were designed really with extreme forces in mind. If they were given a brief to design something like Six Flags' Batman - the Ride, I have no doubt that, as their track record has proven time and time again, they would be perfectly capable of making the most intense yet smooth ride possible. Vekoma have tried so many different things to try and make their coasters smoother, but there hasn't been too much success in it all, so I don't give them much hope to create a new ride that isn't at least somewhat rough. Being fair, the smoothest coaster I've ever ridden (Disney-MGM's Rock'n Rollercoaster) was a Vekoma, but I'd have to say almost entirely thanks to Disney's efforts.

I flew Air Pacific to LA, which was three hours to Nadi in Fiji, six hour layover in Fiji which was spent sleeping and hacky sacking in the terminal (at first it was just the two of us - but later we were joined by a Yank who was heading back home and a Kiwi couple, which occupied the remaining hours until our plain boarded). The next flight to LA (eleven hours I think) was barely half full, so we got a row of four seats for the two of us. It still didn't do much to help me get any sleep (on the flight home, direct LA to Auckland even sleeping pills I picked up in a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere in Arizona didn't do much to help, and I had used them before and managed to sleep right through a day in Texas ).

The Gyro Swing is a Ride Trade product, a division of Intamin (still very much the same company) who build various towers, Ferris Wheels and simulators. kennykoala, there's no need to get all worked up about it. If that's how it's going to be, then it's also worth mentioning that Dreamworld's getting neither a Huss ride nor a Delirium.

Let me assure you that the new thrill ride's location has been well and truly chosen, surveys done and soil samples taken and foundation plans well and truly finished. This was all done some time last year. The location will be known when construction begins and the park officially announces the ride later this year.

Sorry, I perhaps didn't elaborate enough. When I say train, I'm referring to something that runs on two parallel rails, not a modified golf buggy parading patrons around the park in tiny cages. It's a bit late now for that sort of action - my point was that when they were faced with concerns about the size of the park, they had the choice of either making it possible to get around the park easily without walking or making the place smaller. They chose, and Hanna-Babera Land (Little Wonders Land) went. I read a bit about the changes while I was gone and saw the positive effect they were having. Disneyland was before they made the change, and it was nothing short of a joke. Walt Disney World was after and it was really quite an improvement. It's still far from perfect, but it's certainly better now. I'm with you in making one member of the party queue while the others wait, in some designated waiting area.

You know, Busch Gardens and SeaWorlds in America don't serve drink tops or straws because of the animals, but we learnt after San Diego and brought our own "equipment" in Florida. It's always good to plan ahead. Now, onto Hanna-Babera Land's closure. Wonderland Sydney is a big park, huge in fact, especially when the rides are as spread out as they are. I don't doubt for one second that 79% of the guests they surveyed commented that it was too big. But their solution, to simply shut off a large section of the park (one which had a very high proportion of the park's attractions) is just weak to say the least. The park has, from day one lacked a nice high-capacity people mover. Chairlifts/cable cars don't cut it because they're far from high capacity (no one wants to wait 15 minutes in line to get to the other end of the park). Any park that had any pride in what they were doing would have had a train system at the least - even something simple that just does a loop around the back of the park with stops in the three key locations would have done the park wonders, rather than shutting off the key area that brings in the families and citing the 79% as the reason. Don't mention wheelchairs. It went just plain crazy at Disney parks. Because anyone in one and their party gets front-of-line access, it's become like a premium FastPass that never runs out. You actually see families, where the kids are fighting over who gets the "next go".

Yeah, I was thinking of Galleon's Graveyard, which was the only Hanna-Babera Land ride in that area on my last visit. I remember the fountain, so I guess I'm now up to scratch on it all.

This was Wizard's Fury's spot if I'm not mistake (am I? It's been nearly two years since my last visit), a Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve. I don't have any photos on me (without digging into old stuff), but it was best described as a powered coaster on a really tight circular track.

This is presumably the first time the ride has actually gone down for maintenance since it was built, which means it's been running solidly for some 400 days without significant work. Routine maintenance doesn't allow for more drastic maintenance such as disassembling of whole cars to clean and replace less accessible parts, which is vital to the safety and longevity of the ride. The ride also doesn't have a separate maintenance area like every other ride at Dreamworld, where work can be done without really worrying about mess or clutter. This would limit what they can and can't do before park hours, and mean there are more things to do when the ride goes down for annual maintenance.

Myself, essentially. I found out about the 2004 ride in early August I think it was through my own research, starting with stock market announcements and from there a few Google searches and asking the right questions to the right people. All the Gold Coast parks are public companies, and ASX guidelines are pretty strict with regards to leaking of information. "Those that know don't tell and those that don't know tell," is how it'd be put over at CoasterBuzz. The "Dippin' Dots Guy" (a euphemism for the general park employee who knows all, for those who never understood the term) hears things through the grapevine, and they may occasionally be true, and pestering public relations officers for information will get you nothing until a press release is issued.

A Gyro Swing has a footprint of about 50x50m, it'd take some squeezing to fit one into the roundabout area at Dreamworld. http://www.lotteworld.com/eng/magic/img/im...ma01_big04c.gif