Jamberoo Fan

The coronial inquest into the Thunder River Rapids incident resumes in Southport on Monday the 8th of October. It will be held everyday (presumably excluding weekends), starting at 10am, until Friday the 19th of October where it will presumably adjourn again until the 12th of November. The Australian Associated Press via 7 News reported today:

Ardent Leisure Group today announced their "alternative structure". Key quotes can be found below:

It's not confusing for me either and I didn't say all of your analogies were incorrect.

@AlexB, I know it's confusing and due to it's confusing state, I'd agree we will disagree so yeah, let's leave it at that. Some of your analogies are incorrect though by the way.

@AlexB, I didn't miss your point and my comparison wasn't with ski resorts but just with the activity of skiing. Like you said, my argument is based on people wanting to ride them. Seasonality is a factor that affects whether a person would go on a ride even though they wished they could at that point in time. That's why there is a statistical method called seasonal adjustment, which if used in this case would remove the factor of seasonality & would show Thunder River Rapids and Rocky Hollow Log Ride as the most popular attractions in DW's history. When counting the number of people wanting to ride a ride at a given point in time, to sum up the universality/popularity of a ride, it's probably best to just adjust the statistics to take into account any objective ride factors (like the weather/seasons) that are causing someone to currently not ride the ride. Otherwise, you would never get agreement on what is the ride most people want to ride as there are infinite possibilities of subjective factors influencing people's decisions to ride a ride at any given point in time.

Well, at least the show's title is still relevant then! However, based on @red dragin's & @themagician's posts, it seems whether the show has or hasn't got any stunts anymore (particularly driving stunts) is still up for debate.

Whilst I understand what you're saying, in the end, you still wanted to ride Thunder River Rapids & Rocky Hollow Log Ride. The rides themselves were fine but external non-ride factors made you decide to postpone your participation. Think of it the opposite way around using skiing as the example. People want to go skiing but they can only do that in the winter. Skiing is still popular and universal but it has low statistics due to it only being possible for roughly 3 months a year. So whilst the statistics show that, in 1 year, not many people went skiing compared to say playing basketball, skiing is still a universal activity. Again, that's why the level of 'ridership' shouldn't be used as an indicator of popularity. The other 2 'indicators' I was arguing against - capacity & queue length - can be illustrated again using the skiing example: Closing long skiing runs doesn't mean skiing is less popular - maybe they couldn't afford chairlift maintenance? Short queues to chairlifts doesn't mean skiing isn't popular - maybe they are high capacity chairlifts? And back to the 'ridership' indicator, no one at a ski resort doesn't mean skiing isn't popular, maybe there is no snow? You note the "low or non-existent" restrictions are more of the reason why Thunder River Rapids & Rocky Hollow Log Ride are popular but that is exactly the first criteria in determining a ride's universality: How much of the market can ride this? The ride's quality (perceived entertainment value) then narrows that universality down followed by the experience (perceived intensity), which narrows it down even further if it is high intensity. Then you have the amount of the market who want to ride this. Clearly, the latter 2 requirements could change after your 1st ride. Using that methodology, you can see how Thunder River Rapids & Rocky Hollow Log Ride are the most 'universal' whilst Tower Of Terror II isn't. I agree with everything else you said though but i-Ride, which I agree would have been the perfect Thunder River Rapids replacement for DW, isn't that in my opinion anymore because of it's proposed exterior and future expansion around Australia & New Zealand. A lot of the non-Gold Coast Australia/New Zealand market would not visit Dreamworld for the i-Ride if it becomes available in their nearest capital city and it's exterior doesn't help you feel like you're on a holiday. It reminds you of your daily visits to a shopping centre and walks around a bustling city on a work day to business conventions. It does everything to make you forget you are on a holiday.

Wow. Is there, at least, still a character who is a 'stunt driver' though, @pushbutton?

The FAQ's does refer to a commentary being done. Whether it contains commentary about DC Rivals HyperCoaster is anyone's guess so far: I noticed they've changed it to every morning between the 23rd September to the 14th October and the attraction's webpage refers to it operating on "selected days" so if it was initially only Saturday mornings all-year round, maybe they have changed their mind due to the reaction to the price and made it only during peak periods, where they assume, due to the larger attendance/interest, demand will increase? However, they have, as a result, increased supply. This is evident as they went from 48 available climbs (that is, per person) to 168 available climbs with 6 (13%) & 7 (4%) sold respectively. 6 of these (for both amounts of supply) were for the opening day climb, which is just over 3 days away. If they changed the days of operation due to the lack of demand, increasing supply certainly isn't a good solution to the pricing problem particularly as pricing hasn't changed. The main problem is that there is low 'value for money' - not that there is less than expected demand for a DC Rivals HyperCoaster climb regardless of how good it is. Their misdiagnosis of the problem is why the demand hasn't increased despite any higher interest/attendance. As already mentioned, adding 'behind the scenes' opportunities is a good way to increase it's 'value for money'. It has been proven to work with the Star Tour - Access All Areas experience (with it's Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy lift hill climb & MW 'behind the scenes' tour). A DC Rivals HyperCoaster version could be worth it even if it is heaps shorter in duration. Any 'behind the scenes' opportunities should include a focus on the safety aspects of the HyperCoaster which would be a good way to promote the safety of theme parks during the post-Thunder River Rapids incident era particularly as the HyperCoaster is one of the Gold Coast's most intense rides. If the commentary mentioned above includes commentary about DC Rivals HyperCoaster, they should promote it more. The fact you get a photo during the climb isn't promoted well either. The photo could be of you on the HyperCoaster lift hill in front of MW's iconic rides - Superman Escape, Batwing Spaceshot, Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy & Wild West Falls. Other ways to increase 'value for money' could be to add a meet & greet of DC Comics characters, get the opportunity to ride DC Rivals HyperCoaster forwards or backwards once each when the ride is ready to open & a free ride-on photo and video of you on the ride. Due to the lack of demand as a result of the low 'value for money', the fact they mentioned it will operate on "selected days" & have already adjusted the days of operation once already may indicate that they may, in the future, reduce it's operation to just Saturday-mornings only during peak periods so demand roughly meets supply. However, given the current trend is to increase supply, who knows? They also mentioned on the attraction's webpage that "More climbs may be added", which, in the Climb's current form, I highly doubt as they are struggling to get demand with the amount of climbs originally offered. Then again, they've already added more climbs once already... Personally, the price doesn't bother me - mainly because I like theme parks & rarely visit the Gold Coast so the next time I visit, if it's on offer, I may consider it. A photo atop DC Rivals HyperCoaster with possibly MW in the background might be a great memento. I do understand why many people think it's low 'value for money' though.

Adding on to what @pin142 said about queues, all rides have a capacity so the level of ridership is finite. This means you can't compare rides' popularity based on the number of people who rode it in 1 day. Another factor affecting that method is the amount of people who 're-ride' the ride. You know, those who hop off the ride and immediately re-join the queue. That would cause the data to be exaggerated. A ride's popularity is probably best defined as the amount of people who want to ride it. This is why, apart from the safety concerns, the closure of Thunder River Rapids has & will have such a negative effect on Dreamworld. Unless most people were visiting for a new attraction, that ride was the main reason people visited Dreamworld because they wanted to ride Thunder River Rapids. It was a universal ride. Dreamworld consistently stated prior to 2016, Thunder River Rapids was it's most popular ride (and that opened in 1986!). Rocky Hollow Log Ride was always in 2nd place (and that opened in 1981!) but now clearly takes 1st place. It says a lot about the park that only 1 other ride since 1981 has opened that has proven to be more popular/universal than one of the opening day attractions. Usually, the more universal a ride is, the more popular it is. Simply, theme parks that cater for all with an attraction line-up that aligns with the diversity of their audience is successful. Tower Of Terror II is a high thrill ride so the people who would ride this are usually thrill-seekers, a portion of the market. In short, Tower Of Terror II is not a universal ride as there are a lot of people who would not want to queue for this ride. Tower Of Terror II not being the most popular/universal ride in the park is not a good reason to close it. However, in regards to using Tower Of Terror II's queue length as justification for a future closure, since it's carriage can hold 14 people, if the queue is less than 14 people long when they are loading the ride, then the ride at that point in time isn't currently sustainable to operate. That is, the ride does have “low ridership”. The ride should operate at times when they know there will be at least 14 people in the queue when they load the ride. If there are always fewer than 14 people in the queue when they load the ride then it is definitely time to stop the turbine. However, it would be fine to keep operating it if it became an upcharge and/or with less seating and/or operating at certain hours of the day...or year. So how many people still want to ride Tower Of Terror II?

To theme park enthusiasts, it is obvious. However, the entrance is tucked into the corner and reminds me of an emergency exit or staff entrance so it is possible some visitors may be unsure particularly with a really obvious jellyfish-themed shop next to it. I was just suggesting they should just add either the word 'Entrance' or 'Entry' above the attraction's entrance's doorway or under the Sea Jellies Illuminated sign or on the other wall next to the door (the latter two having an arrow pointing to the door) to emphasise that is the attraction's entrance. Well if there are always people in the laboratory then I think people will care. And even more so since there are also interactive screens and signs stating what is happening.

I haven't seen Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 (but I have seen Hollywood Stunt Driver so I knew the sequel was also not an entertaining show) but are you saying for a show that has the words 'stunt driver' in it's title, they have removed the driving stunts since the sequel started in 2014?

In regards to what people have said about the choice of an airport theme, the airport theme could have worked if they put a bit more thought into it. Being in Main Street, Dreamworld, Queensland, I would've themed the 'terminal' by using the design of the 1940's-built (but 1930's-designed) administration building of Brisbane's Archerfield Airport, the main QLD airport in the 1930's, as inspiration. On the outside of the DW version though would be 1930's-styled advertisements (from a fictional airline called Dreamworld Airways) saying 'See Australia from the air!' etc with each advertisement having a different picture of an Australian landmark seen on the ride. The cylindrical part of the building would be on the corner of Main Street with the rest of the building 'being folded' so to head north and east respectively. Towering over the corner of Main Street would also be an air traffic control tower, inspired by the one which used to be on top of the Archerfield Airport administration building (1940's-built but 1930's-designed). It can also be seen in this photo, which gives an idea of how it would look in Main Street with people wandering around. You walk into the building, under the air traffic control tower, into a room which contains the queue line & access to a souvenir shop. The queue's theming would be inspired by the interior look of the Archerfield Airport administration building (again built in the 1940's but designed in the 1930's), which is rather plain. The staff members would have uniforms inspired by 1930's fashion. At the end of the queue, you are directed to your seat (which may require staircases to access). When you reach your seat, rather than seeing a blank screen, the first frame of the film is already shown - the runways and taxiways of an airport (The real 1940's-built/1930's-designed Archerfield Airport administration building literally is right next to the taxiway - and still is). The film opens with you lining up on a CGI runway and taking off. The flight then begins, with a change of locations occurring when you fly through clouds. The first set of clouds appearing a few seconds after take off transporting you to the Gold Coast skyline. After more Australian landmarks, the film concludes with the plane landing at Dreamworld (again, on a CGI runway) & parking outside the 'northern side' of the 'administration building' (though you can't see it when you actually hop off the ride as you are again facing the taxiways on the screen - it is the same thing you see when you hop on the ride). The 'adminstration building' briefly seen whilst taxiing after landing is CGI too. You then exit the ride (taking the staircases if needed. There are both entry & exit staircases to increase capacity) via the souvenir shop, which also contains tourist brochures for the landmarks featured in the ride.

I still believe it is because waterslides are becoming cheaper and thus opening at more locations. The audience for individual water parks are thus becoming more local and smaller particularly for Wet 'n' Wild Gold Coast, who is used to lots of out-of-town visitation. But, similar to what @Skeeta said above, if your whole audience for water parks are now local, reliance on season passes (particular a multi-park season pass) is not good. Multi-park annual passes doesn't guarantee visitation at Wet 'n' Wild and for any type of annual pass at the current prices, whatever the level of actual visitation is at the park, the park is really relying on food and beverage & upcharges for revenue. If your audience is only locals and they all have annual passes, if they don't spend on food and beverage & upcharges, that's a lot of lost revenue. Wet 'n' Wild Sydney's decline was due to a similar situation even though poor park design was also a role in why it declined. Whilst Wet 'n' Wild Gold Coast's decline may seem to be linked to the decline of the Sydney park (which is heaps worse), it probably is due to mismanagement of both parks rather than just Sydney. That is, the overselling of season passes at both parks. Wet 'n' Wild Sydney has a new owner so they may stop the reliance on season passes there but Wet 'n' Wild Gold Coast still has the same owner - could they do the same? Remember Whitewater World's proposed lazy river is completely different to Calypso Beach. It includes a wave machine. Jamberoo's Rapid River is Australia's only themed lazy river with a wave machine and I can say it makes a whirl of difference. I'd ride Rapid River instead of Calypso Beach any day. For starters, it actually makes it a ride rather than just a relaxing form of transportation. The first half of Rapid River is a typical lazy river - slow and meandering. You travel past some fountains shooting over you, you go under a bridge and then travel over some bubblers. You then travel past a gentle but long waterfall & you enter a cave, where the 2nd half of the ride begins. A hole in the centre of the cave's roof has a waterfall dropping from one side into the centre of the River. The cave is covered in Aboriginal art works. A wave machine generates 1.5m high waves that push you back to the exit, which is about 100 metres away - the waves only last about half that distance though. 60 metres after the wave machine, you then travel under Surf Hill, which has it's own waterfalls falling from under the ride, to another bridge. From the cave to this bridge, short but heavy waterfalls fall down an artificial cliff on the northern side. After the bridge, you arrive back at the start. Unlike Calypso Beach which has 3 entrance/exit points, Rapid River has only 1. I might be wrong but originally Rapid River was built as a 'hop on/off as you please'-type ride (like Calypso Beach) but it turned out to be so popular, that the entrance/exit was divided so there is now an official queue line and lifeguards now have instructions that they have to tell you to hop off after 1 circuit. You cannot do laps (unless, of course, the ride's queue is short enough to justify allowing laps). Once you finish 1 circuit, you must hop off and re-join the queue (unless the current of the water forces you past the exit then you get a lucky extra ride). The queue easily gets long but doesn't extend far from the start of the 'official' queue line. Imagine how long the queue would get if the lifeguards didn't have to ask people to get off after 1 circuit! If Ardent put in a decent effort with this lazy river, it would provide some serious unexpected competition for Wet 'n' Wild Gold Coast. But knowing Ardent, they would most likely do what Village Roadshow did with Wet 'n' Wild Sydney - Boomerang Bay (a generic lazy river now called Dinosaur Lagoon as they added dinosaur statues around the ride a couple of years ago) - and that will not do much (even with just adding a wave machine) in re-generating some competition between the 2 Gold Coast parks. You might as well go back to Cave Of Waves (unless you really need to relax). It depends on what the newer attraction is though. If it doesn't appeal to you, then there is still every possibility you would visit the other park with older attractions.

I preferred the original exterior design but the one they went with in the end is alright in my opinion. The actual entrance though needs an entry sign or arrow (unless it's just not visible in @themagician's photos) otherwise The Jelly Box looks like the main attraction due to it's larger entrance. The buildings next to Sea Jellies Illuminated's entrance need to be 'activated' though otherwise all that blue paint stands out too much. If those buildings aren't going to be used in the long-term, paint some more jelly fish on there so it is more aesthetic. I agree with @djrappa regarding the 2nd question but regarding the 1st question, if for most of the time it operates it is like what you see in @themagician's photos (no one in the laboratory), I don't think many people will care. If SW visibly promotes when the laboratories are being used, it will get the attention of people more. In the end though, people might still not care if they do not what research they are doing. Yes, they are researching jellyfish but what are they particularly researching about jellyfish? That would get people interested - even more so, if SW explains how the research is being conducted. Does any of that happen there @themagician?

You have to remember that even though the CEO and COO revealed some changes, they clearly made it obviously that they have more plans that are still confidential. These are just small 'teasers'. Just like the future movie exhibit, the CEO made it clear his intention was to re-incorporate 'movie magic' back into MW and this was just the first step. In regards to that future movie exhibit, the CEO mentioned exhibits will be at MW "on a regular/almost rotational basis", which would indicate to me that this is more of an exhibition space for temporary exhibitions. I wouldn't be surprised if @Brad2912 is correct in that Aquaman or the DC Extended Universe will be the first of these temporary exhibitions. It could be one mega exhibition for the DC Extended Universe or maybe separate annual exhibitions for each DC Comics character. For example, Aquaman then Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman 1984 is scheduled for release in December 2019). These temporary exhibitions, if done well, can cost a lot and fit perfectly into a movie-themed park. Take Harry Potter: The Exhibition (a mega version of MW's former Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience) - that was held only in Australia at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. It increased visitation at the Museum by about 60% (and it was an upcharge exhibition too! - an extra $20) with 40% of visitors to the exhibition from outside of NSW. There was also a $30.91 spend per capita just for the exhibition. Just check out the gallery on the exhibition's website to see how even a well-themed temporary exhibition is perfect for MW. That exhibition was also about 30% bigger than MW's 2002-2003 attraction, taking an hour or two to travel through. However, the Harry Potter film (and especially, the book) franchise was iconic and at the time, the film series was just concluding. As a temporary exhibition, I doubt the current DC Extended Universe film franchise can be as successful compared to say The Dark Knight Trilogy. A temporary exhibition will only work if the franchise is chosen because the franchise was iconic & still current/relevant and not just great at the box office. Anyway, I thought the interview was great until the end, when the CEO said: He then mentioned that this is emphasised through their event calendar (such as Fright Nights, White Christmas and Carnivale) and that they shouldn't have to rely on massive capital expenditure to ensure the attendance doesn't drop. Now I agree with the latter - the parks can make the overall experience better without massive capital expenditure and this would increase loyalty and ensure regular visitation particularly from the local market if it gains good publicity. However, I disagree with the other 2 points (events & increased local visitation). Now, I don't mind if events are held outside of normal operating hours (This suits the local market) but if it effects the operation of the parks during normal operating hours, then I do mind as out-of-town visitors travel hundreds or thousands of kilometres to see the traditional MW (that park just chosen as an example)– not one with unused Christmas lights dangling everywhere or a giant Christmas tree placed over the iconic Fountain Of Fame or a Fright Nights sign taking over the iconic Grand Archway etc. They should design events that have no effect on the park's normal operation. Taking the events aspect out of the picture, if every Gold Coast local could just decide 'Let's go have lunch at SW' or 'Let's hang out at MW today', it would reduce the theme park's quality to out-of-town visitors. Car parking spaces would become harder to find (assuming lots of locals arrived before 10am), park capacity could be reached faster or more often & queues would become longer for rides. Now, imagine spending all morning at MW and then heading to have lunch to find long queues because lots of locals decide the food is so good they will just park their car, run in the park for half an hour for lunch (due to their season pass and associated benefits) and leave. It essentially becomes a shopping centre. Souviner shops though may suffer, thus reducing revenue, as locals have less reason to purchase souvenirs unless, of course, there is a new type of ride-on photo to purchase. The parks could also end up being taken for granted by the locals. We’ve already seen the effect season pass discounting has on local markets. Complaints could also increase about insignificant things (for theme parks) because they visit so often. An example of such a complaint - 'Change the film in the Roxy Theatre already'. Theme park theatres are not mutliplexes - those have a new film every Thursday whilst theme park theatres are meant to have a new exclusive film every 5+ years. If out-of-town visitors have to encounter scenarios such as those above despite pre-purchasing tickets, word of mouth would spread that the theme parks aren't worth going to (let alone purchasing tickets for) because there is a very good chance you would either not find a parking space, enter the park or reach the end of the queue. Correct me if I'm wrong but any solutions to these problems will be complicated or controversial. There is also the long-term potential of the strategy completely backfiring - locals visiting so often that they stop visiting as the parks lose their entertainment value (A similar effect happens to theme park shows). If out-of-town visitation has already dropped, you've then lost all your attendance as a result. Theme park quality problems caused by focusing on the local market will effect out-of-town visitation and thus, the future of the parks. I understand the CEO's imagined future of the theme parks but visiting a theme park should be kept as rare and special as possible regardless of how important the theme park is to locals. If you want locals to visit a theme park more regularly, build an entertainment/retail precinct outside the park – not inside the park. TopGolf should be the start of such a strategy and for the people who really like the parks (i.e. theme park enthusiasts), season passes mean more to them so prices for them should reflect that (that is, expensive). Driving stunts are still stunts. Nevertheless, I agree that Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 is not an entertaining show.

The "What else is in the pipeline" response is likely to be an standard social media response and that questioner definitely wasn't being positive about DW. I thought I'd just post about it as DW might have been indicating that lots of new attractions will be revealed, via social media, over the next year. After all, the dark ride and the Whitewater World expansion have been confirmed as future attractions yet DW didn't tell them that. The 'possible Main Street update'-response though, to me, stood out as they didn't rule it out completely for the near future despite the question easily being one that they could have responded 'No' to. If they answered 'No', in the short term, it should have prevented any update to Main Street to match the i-Ride. The question didn't even indicate whether the questioner was writing with a positive or negative tone. To me, the answer they decided to give sounded like "Yes, that's right. However, we can't announce this yet. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for the official announcement when we're ready to make it". It may be a standard social media response for all I know but given an update of Main Street to match the i-Ride (and/or the Lego Store) will likely be controversial, they may have decided to give a vague response in the meantime particularly as the i-Ride artist impression has already really divided opinion. DW, in September 2016, also ruled out on social media a new rollercoaster as one of their future plans at the time. I think they meant if the Woolshed is being replaced, it won't be replaced by another animal exhibit or show.

Believe it or not, Ardent Leisure may be finally doing something good at Dreamworld! We know a Whitewater World expansion is on the cards which will include, at a minimum, a lazy river with a wave machine - something only seen in Australia at Jamberoo Action Park with their Rapid River. A dark ride is hinted at, possibly to be located next to the future i-Ride. Now... Someone on Facebook commented on Dreamworld's i-Ride artist impression, which was posted to Dreamworld's Facebook page on Sunday: Dreamworld responded: For those who don't know: "the proper jamboree" refers to Country Jamboree, a computerised animatronic show. The show was simply a 15 minute concert of Australian music hosted and performed by Australian fauna. Formerly called Koala Country (Music) Show, it was held in Gum Tree Gully Hall, located in the Gum Tree Gully area. This building now houses Wiggles World's Big Red Car Ride. Opening in 1982 (though originally planned to be an opening day attraction in 1981), it was at some point renamed, possibly after 1983 when a new area called Koala Country (now Dreamworld Corroboree) was opened in the north-eastern corner of Dreamworld. Given the show had a couple of versions until it closed around 2001, it can't be certain which version the Facebook commentator (or potentially DW) was referring to (but for the Facebook commentator, they were likely referring to the original 1982 version). "the paddle steamer" refers to Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler, a former ride located on the Murrisippi River, an artificial river inside Dreamworld. The ride's main entrance was located in the Rivertown area. The ride's main entrance has since been replaced by ABC Kids World's Bananas In Pjyamas Fun Maze & Play School Wheel. It operated for about 31 years from opening day in 1981 until 2012. The ride was a 30-45 minute trip, held at set times during the day, on a 250-person capacity paddlewheeler along the Murrisippi River (in a clockwise direction), which surrounds Castaway Island (the main artificial island). The river and paddlewheeler were themed as a hybrid Mississippi/Murray River paddlewheeler/river. After leaving Rivertown, the Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler went past Settler's Cottage then 2 smaller islands east of Castaway Island. The 1st small island had a wooden wharf (which I'm unsure if it was ever (designed to be) used). This wharf led to a Fort and a bridge that connected to the 2nd small island. A bridge from the 2nd small island to Castaway Island then led to a Lookout Tower. Originally, the eastern half of the river was themed to the Wild West of the USA. However, this only lasted less than a year. Opposite to the 2 smaller islands, to the east, originally was an Indian Camp. After 1982, this was replaced by Australian structures themed to the 1850's era. More of these structures were added over time. They were all removed in the early 2000's for new entrances to the Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler which were added opposite the 2 smaller islands for access to/from the expanded Koala Country area, which was renamed as the Australian Wildlife Experience (now Dreamworld Corroboree). After those 2 smaller islands, the Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler travelled past a Waterfall, which was turned off and demolished in recent years. The water from a pool above the Waterfall also travelled down an aqueduct to Harper's Oat Mill. This element was removed in 1994 to be replaced by the current-day Billabong Buffet Restaurant and a new railway station for the Dreamworld Express. The ride then finished back at Rivertown. "the bush ranger show" refers to The Dreamworld Bushrangers Show, a stunt show element of the Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler ride. The Settler's Cottage and the Australian structures of the 1850's era opposite the 2 smaller islands were the sets of the stunt show themed around bushrangers (called the Dreamworld Bushrangers). There were, at least, 2 versions of the show. The show was removed in the early 2000's due to the expansion of the Koala Country area, which was renamed as the Australian Wildlife Experience (now Dreamworld Corroboree). So which one is Dreamworld thinking of re-introducing? The Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler is very possible given the Murrisippi River is still there. The entrance could be near the Woolshed where the last entrance of the ride was built. Using this location will provide more reason for visitors to head towards Dreamworld Corroboree. All they need is a new paddlewheeler that can run along the track hidden in the Murrisippi River (assuming the track hasn't been removed or doesn't need replacing). Also, they need to add something that you can only see from or during the ride. The Dreamworld Bushrangers Show could be re-introduced as a stand-alone show - maybe incorporating the former Big Brother Studios? A well-produced show with amazing special effects, even if it only operated after-hours as a night show, could become a 'must-see' attraction on the Gold Coast that increases much-needed revenue. The vacant land north of Dreamworld surrounding the former Big Brother Studios could easily be utilised as theming for little to no cost. A brilliant show could easily end up rivalling MW's Hollywood Stunt Driver 2 as the main stunt show of the Gold Coast. However, a simple twice-a-day daytime show held in a small new venue inside Dreamworld could work if the effort on theming & special effects makes it just worthy of seeing. Country Jamboree could be re-introduced in a small building (maybe in the former Big Brother Cafe or somewhere in Dreamworld Corroboree?). Technological changes have allowed animatronics to become interactive and utilise artificial intelligence but whether musical animatronic shows (even to include the technological upgrades) will increase attendance nowadays is up for debate. This attraction may have limited target markets nowadays such as the international tourist market. It could be updated to include more modern iconic Australian music such as AC/DC. Or will the future dark ride incorporate one of those past attractions? Another Facebook commentator wrote (referring to the i-Ride artist impression): Dreamworld gave a very cryptic and vague response in return: Dreamworld gave a similar response when someone else asked on Facebook "What else is in the pipeline". Well it seems we got so far: i-Ride (late December 2018) Whitewater World expansion including, at a minimum, a lazy river with a wave machine Dark ride and/or Country Jamboree or Captain Sturt Paddle Wheeler and/or The Dreamworld Bushrangers Show Main Street update Dreamworld also confirmed on Facebook that they will be posting "sneak previews" of the i-Ride "Closer to the launch": I feel pretty confident that despite us feeling Ardent has no firm plans for Dreamworld, they actually do have plans and they will reveal them over the next year. This financial year may be interesting in regards to Dreamworld's future. However, whether these future plans are up to a theme park standard, is another question altogether.

Need I say more? This artist impression of Dreamworld's i-Ride came from an article in The Courier-Mail, which also mentions "a multimillion-dollar adventure river ride is also being planned for Dreamworld’s sister park WhiteWater World". Also, back in early June, Ardent Leisure & Brogent Technologies made a press conference at the IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo. It was reported in IAAPA's Funworld Magazine: That's right: i-Ride isn't just for Dreamworld. The expansion will include cities such as Sydney, Melbourne & Auckland. Their flying theatres are targeted towards international tourists and essentially is the same experience you will get at DW. This information comes from the quote below which is based off a Google Translate translation of a Chinese article: It was also reported by Parkworld Online on June 26, which also mentioned former DW CEO, Craig Davidson, was in attendance at that IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo press conference:

From 2GB (Click this link to listen to the full 3.5 minute interview with Luna Park Sydney's Managing Director): From Australian Associated Press:

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure they revealed some more new information. The reporter, Alex Cullen, said that the raft got stuck about a minute before they reached the end of the conveyor belt and Kim Dorsett described the CCTV footage, which was played in a closed court: The raft didn't immediately flip but hit the raft in front about 3 times before flipping - that sounds like, to me, a long time. The reporter's quote is below: Kim Dorsett's quote, describing the CCTV footage, is below: The story can be found as part of the full Sunday Night TV episode which can now be found on 7plus and starts at the 19:57 mark. The story runs for about 24 minutes.

Some interesting points from the results presentation: This was written in the 'Cost Reduction' section of the 'FY19 Outlook'. Could this mean less operational time of the rides in financial year 2018/2019? Also, TopGolf's attendance is stated as 25,000 people in the last financial year. TopGolf was only open for 19 days last financial year so it's average attendance is 1316 people per day so far. Based on the current attendance and revenue, each TopGolf visitor spends $36 per visit. TopGolf's maximum capacity is 540 (90 bays of 6 people) and since bays are booked hourly (over, assuming, a 10 hour period - 9am to 7pm), that means it's maximum daily capacity is 5400. Minimum capacities are 90 (hourly) & 900 (10 hours). People are very likely to be attending as groups as based on the capacities and attendance statistics, if everyone occupied the bays by themselves, TopGolf would be operating over capacity! The larger the groups, the more bays available. It's most likely people attend TopGolf with just 1 other person - in this situation, they are more likely to spend on food and beverage/souvenirs on weekdays, whilst extremely unlikely on Friday/weekends (This is because 1 hour of TopGolf costs more than the $36 cost of an average visit for each person). The larger the group, the more likely you are to spend on food and beverage/souvenirs. If the group is at least 3 people in size, purchasing food & beverage/souvenirs will very likely happen but decreases in likelihood on Fridays/weekends particularly after 2pm (This is, again, because TopGolf's hourly rate increases). In their results presentation, for TopGolf, they mentioned their desire to: Wet 'n' Wild Sydney made it's first loss ever - $1,000,000 - whilst attendance drops again by 21,000 people to 463,000 people per season (approximately 4000 people per day on average). People on average spend 30 cents more at Wet 'n' Wild Sydney than at TopGolf Gold Coast. Let's hope the new owners can fix that park! Gold Coast theme parks' attendance dropped by 378,000 people to 4,582,000 people per year (approximately 12,600 people per day on average). VRTP spent and earned more than last financial year on these theme parks but their profit decreased by $10.1 million. On average, people spent $59.25 per visit to the VRTPs on average. I'm expecting VRTP to be financially recovered around the same time DW also is. This graph is also interesting: However, this is concerning (especially in regards to next year's Viking's Revenge Flume Ride replacement) (from the 'Theme Parks - Outlook' section): In short, don't expect anything extravagant in the next 12 months. Australian Outback Spectacular's "New exciting low capital expenditure..." show to open this financial year: Also, in their preliminary annual report (mainly the media release section): Just my opinion but if your most important ticket category is the season pass, I'd expect the theme park's quality to decline. Another "new low cost" attraction, HyperCoast Walk, is mentioned & is hoped it will increase season pass sales. In the 'Theme Parks Performance Summary' section, TopGolf Gold Coast is mentioned again: It also mentions TopGolf had $2.2 million in one-off pre-opening expenses, which could mean it theoretically only made a profit so far of $100,000 but I wouldn't read too much into that figure yet as it only was open for 19 days last financial year. This may please regular visitors to the parks (from the 'Theme Parks - Outlook' section): Also, this, in how they choose new attractions: Page 29 mentions Village Roadshow's ownership in the Australian TopGolf sites has increased from 66.67% to 96.3% since the 13th of August 2018. The penultimate page mentions the final annual report is released on the 22nd of October 2018 with the annual meeting held on the 23rd of November 2018.

From Sunday Night (Click this link for a 41 second preview of the story):

Thanks @GoGoBoy. I did find this diagram (below) from their 2017 results presentation earlier and it has Dreamworld separate from Main Event. So, just to clarify, based on the diagram below, that quote still can't imply Ardent may be thinking of selling DW + SkyPoint?

"around Dreamworld"? Does that mean their Downtown Disney-like plans for the northern side of DW are progressing? Well, in the annual report, it does say (again - it was in last year's report too): Also: What does this mean? I feel it means 'Is it best owning DW + Skypoint with Main Event or should we sell one of them?'. I'm assuming 'stapled structure' refers to the joint ownership of DW + Skypoint with Main Event. I don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere from the annual report: The report also stated that the fair value of 'property, plant & equipment (1)' as $113,644,000. The (1) note just says 'Land and buildings of the Australian theme parks'. Another (1) note on page 59 of the report says 'A 10% reduction in attendance levels would result in the fair value declining to the stand alone land valuation of $60.0 million'. According to the annual report, Dreamworld's excess land is still valued by the directors as $3.6 million & for all of Ardent's investment properties, the current use is still determined as the highest and best use. In good news, the attendance reduction since the Thunder River Rapids incident has all but stopped as growth in attendance is now -0.3% (compared to -34.3% last year) so there is a chance that people will begin to return to DW this financial year (assuming the Coronial Inquest doesn't reverse this trend). Assuming the trend continues, DW could be back at pre-incident levels in 2019/2020. However, Ardent's valuer has a different view, which is just as likely to be accurate as attendance levels from now on may stagnate: Based on the valuer's FY19 attendance estimate, attendance could actually be back at pre-incident levels in 2023/2024 - 6 years not 8 years (2025/2026). The valuer's attendance estimate for FY18 (from last year) was wrong by about 400,000 people (extra). They also increased their recovery period estimate from their original estimate of 4 years, which is still possible to be accurate even though the possibility of it being wrong is just as likely. I sometimes wonder about the attendance figures because it isn't made clear if it takes into account repeat visits from passholders. The presentation slides stated that DW + SkyPoint have 250,000 passholders: Based on the current attendance figures, if only passholders visit DW + Skypoint, they would visit on average 6 or 7 times per year. So, do passholders actually visit 6 or 7 times per year? And if they do and the attendance figure does take into account repeat visits from passholders, then that means only 250,000 people visit DW + Skypoint per year and they likely only visit from the Gold Coast-Tweed Heads region. If all passholders are from the Gold Coast-Tweed Heads region, then that means 40% of the Gold Coast-Tweed Heads population has a DW + SkyPoint pass. The park's capacity is 10,000 and based on the attendance figures in FY16, they get around 6600 people per day on average. Now they get around 4540 people per day on average. Is that reflected with the amount of people actually seen in the park? Because if it is really 250,000 people per year currently, that is equal to 685 people per day on average (likely to be 1020 people per day on average prior to the incident). Also: