downunder

Here's hoping, I'll be over in May, might even be there opening day - though I'm hoping there might be a soft open before May 27. I'm more curious about what they will do to keep the ride in shape, and what it will be like in 5-10 years. Because what they were doing in the past didn't work, and I've ridden Ghostrider when it was awesome like around 2001, and then by the next time I rode it in 2007 it was unspeakable.

From what I've seen, they close Ghostrider for about a month around September in normal maintenance mode. I go to Knott's Haunt every year after it re-opens and it was always still horrible. If I recall correctly they closed Ghostrider in Sept last year (no getting beat up at Haunt) for a complete revamp by GCI and it's re-opening May 27 this year. I can't comment on Roar at Discovery Kingdom, haven't ridden it, though I should note SFDK isn't open every day (or thereabouts) of the year like Knotts or Busch, even in May it's only open Fri-Sun. And the RMC guys have certainly been there: turning Roar a steel coaster. I guess what I was trying to get at is how many big parks (i.e. their coasters are doing a lot of laps fairly constantly) with 365 days or thereabouts operations - how well have their wood coasters fared in the long run? My personal experience: Gwazi and Ghostrider, not so good. No other examples spring to mind personally straight away that fit that bill.

I'd say some but not all and there are numerous examples, especially in the united states. I really think it comes down to level of maintenance, and the degree of difficulty is much increased with year round operation, especially in parks that have a lot of coasters and other rides to upkeep. The real challenge with Ghostrider will be are they going up the level of ongoing maintenance so it doesn't turn into a pile of crap again.

^^Thanks for the photos, rebar enthusiasts rejoice!

^I hear you, Ghostrider has been in the "please make it stop" category for a while. Hopefully the complete re-work by GCI will do the trick. Yeah Gwazi was a total POS. It seems open every day (or thereabouts), year round operations and woodies don't work out so well. Even with a month off for Ghostrider each year for maintenance, it was still terrible. Hopefully if ever there was any new woodies with year round operations in Australia they would fare better.

I'm thinking the hole will need to be filled by something big. They should give Wet and Wild an extra slide and move the half-pipe coaster over. If this whole thing entails extra churro outlets, then it's a win.

I wonder if there'll be a lot of wood needed in construction?

Fave: Outlaw Run - Silver Dollar City Honourable Mentions - El Toro (Great Adventure), Expedition GeForce, Balder, Maverick, SFNE Superman, Phoenix (Knoebels). Most Hated: Hades - Mt Olympus - this used to be a fantastic coaster, but went on it the year they added the inversion. Asides from the inversion, it was the most brutal I've been on. Truly was hell. Dishonourable Mentions: Wildcat - Lake Compounce, any Zamperla Volare, Goudurix.

I thought you went on Grindr if you were In-ta-min (and a guy, not that there's anything wrong with that). Hopefully they get a couple of other carnie rides to complement the main carnie ride, make it a threesome.

^I agree, it's probably for footers and they'd have to go quite deep and get right in there.

That would be cool if movie world puts their new carnival ride in sort of a trench. Maybe they could put it right underground and put a decent ride on top of it LOL. Or enclose it so Push gets his dark ride (sorry Push, just stirring). I think we need to start speculating if those Intamin guys will be hanging around after October to build something we might care about a little more.

Kind of Meh about the flat, I heard Intamin and thought it may be a resurrection of the doomsday tower, but wost likely it will be glorified pirate ships. At least there'll be some life in that area. Hopefully Intamin will be involved with the coaster as well. I like how they say the annual passes are almost sold out, yeah right, or maybe they are changing their model on APs - a zillion twelvsies with no in-park spend will do that.

That sounds way too logical - announce the next lot of capital expenditure. It will be interesting to see what the bottom line looks like (churros sales soared in the last half!), and get confirmation of the 600 foot Intamin hyper out the front of Movie World. Hopefully some press releases will come my way while I'm sleep walking tonight.

Behind the curtain, all the churro goodness that you could possible desire. More on the reality front, has there been any rumblings about possible announcement dates?

Movie World for me, I prefer quality over quantity. I've only been to Wet and Wild, so I can't make a comparison on the waterpark front.

I agree, I think the most logical place for a large coaster would be out front. Especially if it was a hyper with a narrow footprint i.e. the out and back track are almost side by side. I notice some pipes on site in the latest photos, can we start some outlandish speculation about what they are - on your marks...

^^I went on Friday after work. They might doing some restoration as well. The tumble bug entry has been re-routed via the Dodgem Cars entrance. Did a couple of laps of Mystery Manor, as always I was impressed and they were fogging it up, which I haven't seen in there before on previous visits. Important note for visitors, Mystery Manor is not open the entire time the park is open on some days. For example on Friday, it was open 12-3pm and then from 6pm to 10pm. Hair Raiser doesn't smash you at the bottom like it used to. I noticed this last time I was there, and thought it might have been an anomaly, but it does seem smoother.

Press release while sleepwalking: Warner Bros Movie World in a world's first, a coaster constructed entirely of Lego. In all seriousness, a Lego theme would be good for an interactive attraction. I wonder if the driving school is just populating the old Looney Tunes site until they do something serious there - maybe a Lego themed boat ride might work. Not sure who the IP sits with there. I'm still thinking an Intamin Spinning Star first up and then a coaster, which will be a thrill ride, but maybe not as big or good as we are hoping for.

Hote Wheels has such a mediocre layout, it's gone from boring with a headache, to boring with less of a beating. I did read somewhere that when the State Govt in NSW re-opened Luna Park, they considered a coaster that was twice as big. That would have been awesome, you could reach out and steal a snag off one of the neighbours barbies. Frankly I find the museum a puzzling addition, I think Dreamworld should be seeing less of their crack dealer.

I was kind of taking the piss, it's not too bad. Dracula's is fun.

"That thing will jerk you around more than an epileptic prostitute" I hope she didn't hurt you dude. I'm really non-plussed by the exhibit and the Hot Wheels re-invention of the Arrow coaster, like icing on a dog turd really.

The Ghost Train at Dracula's.

^Maybe they prefer Mick Doohan LOL. The only reason we went in there was because it was pouring.

^Yep that would work. Keep in mind Van Helsing is very low to the ground though a bit big at 8 metres, though the rest of the coaster is much lower. I still find it a surprising addition to an amusement park, but who know people my like it.

^I can't remember how high the ceiling was it seemed much higher where the cars were, but I wasn't paying that much attention. My bad. I'd be interested to know what the guest feedback has been like.