Jamberoo Fan

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:

That's ok @Roachie. @Skeeta is right in that it opened at DW after the 1989 sale. The Parkz database says it opened around 1990 but according to aerial imagery from the time, it opened sometime between September 1991 & August 1993.

So did the same apply with Gravitron/Vortex?

Another fascinating article @Roachie! It was interesting reading about John Longhurst's post-1989 plans for DW. It's not stated in your article but do you know if Wipeout was one of his ideas too? The only discrepancy being that Wipeout was put in the middle of Country Fair rather than a new area or an existing area that was more related to the ride's theme like Blue Lagoon. It doesn't seem to match John Longhurst's attention to detail. The former Gravitron/Vortex & Skylink Chairlift may have been his ideas too particularly as there are no discrepancies there. Do you know if they were his ideas too? (I know Skylink Chairlift came from the nearby former Magic Mountain theme park but there is a 2 year period between that theme park's closure and Skylink Chairlift's opening at DW (3 months after he sold DW) - maybe during those 2 years he thought that would be a great addition to DW?)

The 11-minute interview can be found here. The interview expires on Saturday the 15th of February 2020 at 8:06pm. The official news article on the interview can be found here. After the interview, 7.30 did a 4-minute story, which @Gold Coast Amusement Force referenced. The story can be found here and will expire on Saturday the 15th of February 2020 at 8:41pm. Using 'Right To Information' documents obtained by 7.30, the story is about the QLD Government's Office Of Industrial Relations (particularly the Workplace Health & Safety Queensland branch of that office) in relation to theme park safety. The official news article on that story can be found here. In the official news article about the interview above, it does say: Dreamworld's acting CEO did release a statement though @Gold Coast Amusement Force (not sure if it's Ardent Leisure's official statement too). Leigh Sales said at the end of the 4-minute story: "The company's full statement" is below: Both the interview and the story can be found as part of the full 7.30 TV episode which can now be found on ABC iView (expiring on Saturday the 15th of September 2018 at 8pm) and features in the first 16 minutes of the 33 minute program. The episode is also repeated tonight at 12:30am on ABC News (The TV channel). Workplace Health & Safety Queensland also released a statement:

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A 30 second preview of the interview can be found here. The 30 second preview of the interview expires on Friday the 14th of February 2020 at 2:35pm. From 7:30's social media:

It is even more interesting when you notice that the photo also shows people starting to leave the IMAX Theatre. It looks like the IMAX Theatre was pretty full for 2 back to back screenings!

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:

They never have had a proper 'rollercoaster'. It is very likely referring to Bobsled as @strop suggested. Anyway, time to 'kill the speculation'. Jamberoo's 2018/2019 season passes went on sale in the past few hours hence a television commercial campaign has begun: Well it wasn't Emu Mountain Rapids but Jamberoo's other two-slide ride. If you haven't figured it out now, in the 1st social media image, the eye was from a creature known as a taipan hence referring to The Taipan (Thought it looked familar!). The taipan's eye was next to an aerial view of the centre of a tornado hence referring to The Perfect Storm. Essentially, there is no 'development' or 'enhancement' this upcoming season. Jamberoo was just promoting their "trilogy of tube slides": This all formed part of their 2018/2019 season pass marketing campaign. No doubt a lot of people are going to be disappointed at the prospect of no new ride this season (especially the hundreds of people on social media who anticipated such a new ride). Whilst the taipan's eye is very similar to the eyes seen on the actual ride, as far as I know, this version (seen in the social media images) has never been used in Jamberoo's marketing before. If I originally knew The Taipan was the ride originally being promoted, I would have expected the cartoon taipan to be used (similar to the funnel web spider and storm scene used in the 2nd social media image). The taipan's eye next to the tornado could also be mistaken for the eye of a bird (like an eagle) hence hinting a possible new ride. Given they didn't promote their "trilogy of tube slides" last season like they are now, could this marketing campaign be signalling the end of development of new tube slides at Jamberoo? Emu Mountain Rapids could have been the last tube slides to be built at Jamberoo (unless Thunder Downunder counts as a "tube slide"?) but the possibility has now returned that it is being replaced by Jamberoo's 'newly proposed $6.5 million large major custom-designed hybrid world-first ride', which hasn't yet been confirmed as a "tube slide" (though a type of hybrid waterslide is highly expected). In the end, this 6 day social media campaign was a brilliant marketing campaign. Jamberoo never directly said that a new ride was coming soon. They built hype, anticipation and speculation & in the end, it was just season passes. And what was "ready"? Well, the park is. Let's just hope there have been some 'enchancements' for the upcoming season! Update: Jamberoo has just announced the 2018/2019 Dive-In Movies schedule: Saturday the 29th of December 2018 - The Jungle Bunch Saturday the 5th of January 2019 - Monster Family Saturday the 12th of January 2019 - Early Man Saturday the 19th of January 2019 - Sherlock Gnomes Saturday the 26th of January 2019 - Tad The Lost Explorer & The Secret Of King Midas

Jamberoo released another 'teaser' on social media yesterday: The image now shows theming from the already opened Funnel Web and The Perfect Storm. This could be a clear indication that the new addition will be part of the Kangaroo Island precinct, which is where those 2 rides are located. The fact that the new theming eclipses the Funnel Web and The Perfect Storm theming in the above image could indicate that whatever is "ready" may be heaps bigger than those 2 rides (maybe even combined?). If this is correct, it would be astounding given both rides are current world-record holders (Funnel Web shares a world record with Adventure World's Kraken for world's longest/largest Tornado). Emu Mountain Rapids would most likely fit the above possibility given it is proposed as 2 different but separate rides (even if it contains a Tantrum Alley, which The Perfect Storm already has). However, in it's current proposed design, as far as I know, it is not world record-breaking. Both of the theming from Funnel Web and The Perfect Storm are also located inside the eye of the creature in the image. I'm unsure if this has any significance though and if it does, it most likely refers to the location and/or the size of the new addition as I mentioned above. Jamberoo also stated they are "feeling ready" and to "#staytuned just a few more days...". Jamberoo's 2018/2019 season passes are due to go on sale in August so an announcement could be due on Wednesday the 1st of August. Exciting times ahead... ...unless all this 'hype' is just for their season passes.

(Hopefully) 2 months of speculation to begin! This is all Jamberoo has released so far as of yesterday on social media (along with a "#comingsoon"): Here are some points based on currently known information: Since Jamberoo is trying to build hype, I'd say this is a 'development' year. Based on the image's theme, it looks like it is a thrill ride. The 'newly proposed $6.5 million large major custom-designed hybrid world-first ride', as far as I know, has not had a new development application submitted for it yet so for now, it seems unlikely to be that ride. This means it is most likely Thunder Downunder or Emu Mountain Rapids being built next out of the proposed Kangaroo Island attractions as they are the only proposed thrill rides left and they do have approved development applications. But which one would it be? Thunder Downunder or Emu Mountain Rapids? The original Kangaroo Island expansion timetable was this (rides operating are bolded): Funnel Web & Banjo's Billabong (2012) Koala Creek & Platypus River (2014) The Perfect Storm & Thunder Downunder (2016) Emu Mountain Rapids (2018) The actual expansion has occurred as follows though: Funnel Web & Banjo's Billabong (2012) The Perfect Storm (2016) Since Koala Creek is unlikely to be the new addition being promoted as it is not a thrill ride, they could be finishing 'Stage 3' (which currently has become 'Stage 2' due to The Perfect Storm opening), which would mean Thunder Downunder would be built next or they could be going straight to 'Stage 4' which is what they originally planned to have opened in 2018 - that being Emu Mountain Rapids. Due to Emu Mountain Rapids consisting of 2 slides (1 with a Tantrum Alley), I meant in that previous quote "...it is very unlikely that at least half of it (hopefully the Tantrum Alley half) will go ahead now...". But without a DA submitted for the 'newly proposed $6.5 million large major custom-designed hybrid world-first ride', Emu Mountain Rapids is less likely now to have the Tantrum Alley removed. Both Thunder Downunder & Emu Mountain Rapids could be rethemed from it's originally designated themes. Based on the image, the theme seems to be based on a creature. A creature's eye can be seen in the lower left corner of the image above. Jamberoo particularly focuses on Australian fauna for theming so that may give an idea of which creature it could be. Due to how much of the image the eye takes up, I'm not 100% sure what the creature is though. Jamberoo's last major addition, The Perfect Storm, was announced very shortly after the first teaser of that ride was released so speculate while you can! So the main questions for now are: Is this an 'enhancement' or a 'development'? If a 'development', which proposed Kangaroo Island attraction is being built - Thunder Downunder or Emu Mountain Rapids? Are they getting rethemed from their original themes? If so, what is the theme?

The 2nd pre-inquest hearing was held today. Again, here's the most interesting quotes I could find: From The Brisbane Times: From The Courier-Mail:

I thought the same too when the website was updated at the beginning of the month. However, I've long suspected that VRTP's long-term strategy was to return SW's focus as a marine park. Recently, I categorised every attraction that SW has opened & made a graph based on the attraction's operational periods/categories and it told a story: As we all know, it was started under the 'park' name of Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens by Keith Williams, who operated a ski show as the sole attraction until 1972. In 1972, the park was renamed Sea World and the focus shifted to marine animals (from 0% in 1972 to 64% of attractions in 1977). This focus lasted until 1977 however, it was the main attraction category until 1982. The major attraction built in this period (1972 to 1977) was the stadium that currently houses Seal Guardians. In 1977, SW noticed a theme park called Dreamworld being built nearby so they started building thrill/family rides and lots of them (from a 8% focus in 1977 to 42% focus in 1983). Thrill/family rides became the park's main attraction category in 1982, the year after DW opened. The major attraction built in this period was the iconic Corkscrew rollercoaster. In 1983, the park was sold by Keith Williams to Pivot Leisure (who later floated it on the ASX & thus owned 67% of the park) and from 1983 to 1991, the park diversified - it was a mix of every category but thrill/family rides was still the top category (averaging 35% of the park's attractions). The major attraction built in this period was the Water Park. Whilst separate from the park (and hence not added in the statistics I used), the Nara Resort also opened in this period too as another example of diversification (half owned by the Nara Group until 2006 when Village Roadshow became full owner of the Resort). In 1992, Pivot Leisure sold it's 67% interest in SW to Village Roadshow & Warner Bros., who have been the main owners ever since (with 100% ownership since 2002 - Warner Bros. left the joint venture in 2006). At the time, they also owned Wet 'n' Wild & MW but Village Roadshow took full ownership in 2006. In the years prior to 1992, the Research & Rescue Foundation was formed. Since 1992, there is an increasing focus on marine animal attractions (from 29% of attractions in 1991 to 43% of attractions in 2017) and has been the park's main focus & attraction category ever since. This is most likely because the owners wanted each of their parks to have it's own distinct identity. However, SW's late 1980's brand image of 'diversity' was never re-positioned to cater for this. The major attraction built in this period is Polar Bear Shores. We've probably only just realised this was their strategy now as the iconic rides of the park from 1977 to 1992 have all but disappeared. Most of those rides disappearing for reasons other than reaching the end of their life span. All that's left is the Carousel. However, that is now aimed towards Nickelodeon's target market - just like nearly every new ride that's opened since 1992. They are not thrill rides but instead aimed towards families (Castaway Bay, Eye, the 4D Theatre, Bermuda Triangle, Storm Coaster & Jet Rescue). The graph also suggests this is the case and that the trend will not change course however, there is enough to suggest that only 1 new thrill ride can fit in at SW still but until someone changes SW's focus again, thrill rides will never be a major part of the park again. A big test will be Viking's Revenge Flume Ride's replacement. All we know is, according to Clark Kirby, is that they "are planning something big and...impressive". The graph I created suggests another animal exhibit or small family ride. It depends on the size of the attraction's footprint. If the 4D Theatre remains open, the graph is most likely correct (unless there is a thrill ride, not at MW or Wet 'N' Wild Gold Coast, that you can fit in such a minimal amount of space?). If the 4D Theatre closes, the possibilities are endless (even more possibilities if it includes the (reclaimed) land near the site of the former Sea Viper rollercoaster/Pirate Ship). I agree with @jjuttp though as SW has always been a marine park at it's core no matter how many rides it features. I've always treated the park as such. When people think of SeaWorld in the USA, they don't think of any of the rides - they mainly think of the marine animals (particularly the killer whales). However, a solid ride line-up is a bonus and always brings in extra visitation. Since Pivot Leisure sold their 67% interest in SW in 1992, the biggest failure on the part of the owners is not re-positioning SW's brand image from the 'diversity' of the late 1980's to the marine park it has been since then. It's only now, 26 years later in 2018, that it seems they begin that re-positioning. But it's too late and SW's visitors & enthusiasts don't like the park as it is.

Here is something extra with Luna Park's participation in Vivid Sydney that wasn't officially announced. I really don't know if this is a good idea (especially the emoji part) as I don't know if the Luna Park face is well-suited for projection mapping of faces? From the Vivid Sydney website's webpage on THE NIGHT. REIMAGINED.: The competition closes in less than 3 hours. And a clear reminder: This installation is at the Sydney Opera House - not Luna Park. The Luna Park face will be lit up with emoji projections but if you want your personalised emoji on the face, you need to go to the Sydney Opera House.

No whispers yet. However: According to the original Kangaroo Island expansion timetable, this year would have been the year the final part of Kangaroo Island would've opened, Emu Mountain Rapids, but due to the inclusion of a Tantrum Alley in The Perfect Storm & a newly proposed $6.5 million large major custom-designed hybrid world-first ride (which currently has no known proposed opening date), it is very unlikely to go ahead now (but with Jamberoo, who knows?). Due to the delays in the Kangaroo Island expansion, the next part of Kangaroo Island to be built according to the original timetable, Koala Creek, could be built this year. Jamberoo has added something new every 2 years since 2012. Apart from 2016's The Perfect Storm, in 2014, they introduced Dive-In Movies (due to the addition of a big screen in Outback Bay). However, to Jamberoo, that was an 'enhancement year' - not a 'development year'. 'Enhancements' could be expected this year but the current trend for 'development' might also mean a new ride will be built this year (In 2012, there was 2 'developments'. 4 years later in 2016, only 1. The 2nd? Maybe 2018 instead of 2020?). In the end, there is no firm confirmation yet on whether or not Jamberoo is building anything new this year.

From SBS: The World Game: I never post international theme park news however, this is an exemption because Australia is currently 'considered' part of Asia in international football. There is a small but very unlikely chance that one of these FC Barcelona 'theme parks' (which sound more like indoor museums) will open in Australia. Clearly, FC Barcelona is capitalising on the current trend of converting declining shopping centres into 'indoor theme parks'. If the concept of converting shopping centres into 'indoor theme parks' ends up working (which I doubt as it will just mean more family entertainment centres like Timezone), shopping centres will be the most direct competitor to traditional theme parks. FC Barcelona must think it's going to work as they've made this a long-term strategy. We've seen this trend already arrive in Australia - the Legoland Discovery Centre in Melbourne being the most high-profile example. The trend is also arriving in the Illawarra region with one of the region's major shopping centres, Wollongong Central, opening a Holey Moley Golf Club soon. I'm unsure if the trend has arrived at the Gold Coast yet. Nevertheless, the trend is already occurring in Australia so what do you think are the chances of a FC Barcelona 'theme park' opening in a shopping centre or "iconic establishment" of Australia?