Spotty

One of the good things is, there is another identical wheel that travels (Skymaster Wheel) that I'm sure they could use as a reference to manufacture a replacement part / parts for the ride. It's a fairly simple design compared to say a roller-coaster with how it's built and operates. There is no reason as to why they can't / won't fabricate replacement parts for it. It may take some time yes, but it's certainly not going to be as difficult as you would think. Obviously, as others have mentioned if it's due to an incident involving insurance that may cause delays but I'm sure they will want to have it operational by New Years as it's a major drawcard with the fireworks etc.

I did love their work on Bermuda Triangle from way back in the day...

Hopefully the waterslides get a refurb / repaint soon. Honestly, I don't expect huge changes theming wise to be done for this season. I think this year it's going to be very much a transition year. I'd love to see them focus on operations and getting the swing of things first with some minor improvements to begin with. I think with them saying they want to get it done within 14 weeks is a bit ambitious but I think it will do well. I think we should really be watching for the next 2 seasons for all the cosmetic upgrades to be done, and then looking into what new attractions will be added because the line up of slides is pretty solid but just looks bland. Fix what you have, and then making additions will be much easier. I really wish them all the best of luck, and I think the park is in good hands now.

That and Arkham / Lethal Weapon also was a much more intense ride, and would have had a lot more stress on the track as well. But yes, that ride had a lot of issues which was mostly due to the Kumbak "Upgrade" if that's what we really want to call it. Given that there are some Arrow loopers from the 70's and 80's still running strong, I don't really think that Gold Coaster is in any real danger any time soon. When we start to see most of those bigger loopers like Viper, Cedar Point's Corkscrew etc closing I'd be a bit more worried. Overall it's a reliable ride, not taking up much space (that could be used for other things) and still gets riders so why get rid of it?

Will admit... I was expecting it to be around for a little bit longer than this. But either way, I'll be curious to see what happens. I guess it explains why they kind of half assed the theming of the old shop as they likely knew its days were numbered. I guess it's safe to say this will likely be an expansion of Rivertown. What would people like to see in its place? I'd normally say a family coaster but I would say Jungle Rush is a good replacement for it. I'd love to see a dark ride or a water ride in it's place, but I don't really think we will see a water ride based on what Greg recently said in an interview (Unless he was being sneaky and throwing us off the trail!). I'd personally love a dark ride in the style of Danse Macabre like at Efteling (obviously a smaller version to fit Dreamworld, and probably not quite as elaborate) Or even a mad house style ride. Something the whole family can enjoy in this section of the park. Although, a second simulator style ride might be a bit too close to Sky Voyager. Either way, It will be interesting to see.

The original Claw always parked in the same spot as well, visible with a little black line that almost looked like plumbing tape on the motor and the gondola to align it.

Reminds me of the good old village days in the early 2010's. The amount of times that I saw, or personally had Greg and his team (Michelle, who was a park supervisor at the time) jump in to help when needed. One particularly fond memory I have is a crazy xmas period when on Wild West Falls, the ride normally didn't have a sorter and I actually suggested it as an improvement during peak to make sure boats were always full. For anyone who was a loader on West, during the peak period it was often one of the hardest positions in the park. So, the day after I suggested this they actually came down themselves and were sorting groups for me for a few hours while running the numbers to see if it worked. Every single boat was having full rows, and it made a huge difference (I'm talking about an extra 80 - 100 people every 30 minutes). They also did the same with Batwing, as normally the second operator has to group riders after each cycle which adds about a minute per dispatch. They even took ideas on board (single rider line at Batwing...) that was suggested by myself and many other staff. These people really care about the place, and trying to make things better for the staff and guests. They still have work to do on the actual park, but the place is in the best hands it's been in for a very long time. I have many fond memories of all of those managers (Greg, Michelle, Deb, Chantel and a few others) and they really made Movie World what it was back in the day and now Dreamworld. Can't wait to give King Claw (and Jungle Rush) a ride when I next get up there in April.

I think it still has space and is appropriate for Dreamworld for the next 5-10 years at the most. I think they would expand WhiteWater world once more on the Thunderbolt land first, and then when it comes time for another expansion to WhiteWater World that's when it will be replaced. For the most part, it works as a coaster and would be a good stepping stone coaster between something like Jungle Rush and Steel Taipan. My ideal timeline would be: 1-3 years: WhiteWater World Expansion on Thunderbolt / Trolls area 3-5 years: New major thrill coaster - Rocky Hollow space 5 - 7 years: Water Ride / Family Dark Ride - Rivertown stage 2 where Motocoaster is? 7 - 10 years: Replacement for Hot Wheels Sidewinder / new expansion for WhiteWater World It's a fairly simple ride as far as mechanics go, and I actually suspect we might see Motocoaster go before this. So until they actually have a plan for the space, I'd like to see them keep it.

It looks really good, can't wait to go back up there in April and try. Hopefully it's more comfortable, as the old Intamin OTSR's didn't like my broad shoulders... the harness would stop before even touching my stomach but didn't have any issues with the Doomsday harnesses. Curious as to who did the music though, sounds very "IMAscore" to me. I've said it once, and I'll say it again it's great to see just what good management can do to the place with these additions. I think with two more majors ride to Dreamworld's line up (Water ride or Dark Ride and another Thrill coaster) and the park would be pretty much perfect as far as the lineup goes. I really do hope though that they do focus on sprucing up WhiteWater World next though as it really needs some love. I'm sure it will get done, but hopefully in the next off season or the one after. I'm sure something will be done well before the Olympics but hopefully much sooner.

I still have the trauma from the goo... it's everywhere haha

The first thing I was told during my High Zone training "Do NOT touch the handrails" and holy crap they were not wrong. Your hands would look blacker than a chimney sweep within moments. I'd even tell guests during evacuations to avoid holding them and let me guide you haha. It was even worse when the lights came on. Don't even get me started about the smells haha, and as for the purple goo... I blame the concoction of the blue and red frozen cokes and fairy floss for that one lol. As far as the smell goes... it wasn't just guests who might have vomited in that area haha. I know a few staff who were a bit hung over after a xmas party... or other staff party who didn't handle the heat too well haha. So many good memories of that warehouse, and some not so good lol.

As an ex loader... I've seen people trying to cram all sorts of things into those cars and it's caused delays including the "must send" light going off. I'm all for loose item boxes if it's done properly. One way I could maybe see it working is before going up that little ramp to the load station they might have an area to store loose items in the main room. If they re-route the exit path it could end up going into the second half of the main room maybe. We still have no idea on the final layout of the main queue building and it could easily have been implemented. Only time will tell, but I'm curious about it.

Yep, when it was 2 trains with the old ones the supervisor had to stay behind the panel while the train was on the lift (to stop it if needed) but the second the train left the lift, they would leave the panel to allow people to get behind the gates while the operator would check the single lap bar harness. It worked very well TBH. To run it really efficiently with 2 trains now you'd basically need 2 loaders and the supervisor but that won't ever happen.

They would be pretty much the same, except maybe some under the hood things for the LSM launch instead of the chain lift. Maybe a few *minor* tweaks as there's a few years between them but nothing major at all.

100% it would have caused some changes, however to what extent I wouldn't be sure. I'd say right after the incident things would have been very strict for a while before loosening off a little bit. However I feel that the parks are still being a bit over the top, how much of that comes down to corporate (and staff just not caring) or procedures enforced by over-cautious insurance is hard to say. I'd say it's a combination of both, but also possibly due to workplace culture. When you have management that actually cares it shows, because staff want to actually be there if they are being treated well and respected. Something that the Dreamworld management seem to be very good at (And having worked at MW during the time that they were running things, they actually really do care about their staff)