Spotty

If you want a good burger on the Gold Coast, try Brooklyn Depot at the coach terminal. Amazing food at a great price. I went to Dreamworld yesterday and tried the fried chicken from "The Grid", it wasn't bad but overall it wasn't the best i've had and honestly KFC is better. However, I had the loaded fries from them and they were WELL worth the $9.50 I paid for them. I got a boat sized serving of chips like they serve the meals in with a heap of cheese, salsa and pulled pork in it. Easily enough to be considered a meal. Much better than the McDonalds offering, and about the same price too! Wouldn't mind trying one of the burgers from them one day.

No... I didn't mean every half hour sadly. With 1 train and full staff they will dispatch approx 6 - 7 trains every 30 minutes. When they cut the unloader it drops down to about 4 maybe 5 every 30 minutes. This is because the 2nd loader has to wait until the train has gone around the first corner into the dark ride before leaving the load dock, then has to go straight to unload (if they are on the ball they CAN sort the groups in the line before moving to unload, but needs to be done quickly - 30 seconds or so). Then they have to go to unload, wait for the train to come back in and wait for everyone to leave the train. Send it through to the load dock, then wait for the doors at the shop to fully close before heading back to sort the next group. It's a painful process and trust me, the staff hated it as much as the guests did. Loading would take approx 2 minutes including sorting, unloading about the same depending on guests. Waiting for the train to run the ride is another 2 minutes so it's very easy to see how it can take 7 - 10 minutes to do a full cycle. Horrible, horrible procedures that I hope never see the light of day again.

The 5 staff setup would normally only be used if they have had sick calls and have had to move the 6th staff member to another attraction to cover breaks or something else. Generally it's not done but sometimes it's required. Just hope you never see them cut the unloader with 1 train operation... you will maybe see them dispatch 8 trains a hour, 9 if your really lucky.

Not to mention the ride requires extra staff as well to run a 2nd train... not something that can be added at the drop of a hat. Superman requires an extra 2 staff to run a 2nd train compared to 1 train. 1 train requires: Load 1, Load 2 - Unload, Entry, Supervisor 2 trains requires: Load 1, Load 2, Sorter, Unload, Entry, Supervisor. It's not as easy as just deciding to add on the 2nd train. It's determined on previous years attendance, weather forecasts and other things as well and rosters are often done 2 - 3 weeks in advance for a ride.

Not to mention the staff required to run it... Arkham can run with 2 staff (Supervisor + Loader) Whereas Superman requires a entry host, 2 loaders, unloader and a supervisor at bare minimum (or if they really wanna mess with capacity in a horrendous way they can run with no unloader and have the 2nd loader unloading as well, which results in a staggering 5 trains sent every 30 minutes with 1 train running...)

Superman has got quite a long maintenance period. Heres hoping they repaint the track this year as they repainted the supports recently.

Seatbelt's have been removed

What, every 15 minutes?

Batwing SpaceShot did the same thing too... opened for a few weeks. Then shut down again to be commissioned if i'm not mistaken. That ride had quite a few issues when it first opened though... I'm sure there is a thread somewhere burred in the forums about it.

I wouldn't have any idea what kind of modifications or changes were made to the ride. I'm an ex employee who still knows many staff that work within the park. Even if I did know anything else I wouldn't be saying anything as I wouldn't want to risk anyones jobs. However as far as my own personal opinion goes there will likely be no noticeable changes to the way the ride runs. It might run a bit slower or faster at first until the new wheels wear in. And a few operational procedures might be changed but I doubt it is anything too drastic.

Could just be bad timing on your part. I have been made aware that staff training has indeed begun on the attraction leading up to it's opening. I would say by now it's likely just waiting to be re-commissioned and training finished before being able to open.

That's a new sign, it used to be a a-frame but it seems they have installed permanent signage.

Given I know who this person is, I will say I'm a lot less skeptical now. I'll still believe it when I see it but at least there is some credibility behind the person who's running this.

It would be training for staff as every operator who was signed off to run the attraction would have to be retrained. Unless it's changed from when I worked in attractions if you had not worked on a ride for 3 months you would have to be "recapped" before you could operate it again (spend a day with a buddy). I would say if they are training staff it will be a matter of days until the ride operates again. Green Lantern's training was only 2 buddy days in total per batch of staff (4-5 staff each batch) and they would ideally want several batches of staff trained up before peak season really kicks in.

And your not so big... ...Life is unfair

Or on even rarer occurrences they will run 4... 11:00am, 12:00pm 1:50pm and 4:15pm...

If DjRappa himself is blown away by it, then i'm going to assume it's going to be something extraordinary. Village Roadshow have proven in the past that they can produce world class attractions (Superman, Scooby Doo and Wild West Falls and even Bermuda Triangle in the past). I would also trust him as a source, and I will honestly say I am very excited to see just what they do. The park's in general in Australia right now are going the right way for improvements, even with a few things being taken out I'm fairly sure the parks all have a grand scheme for the next few years and it will be interesting to see what happens. I know you couldn't say what it is for obvious reasons, but are you able to at least tell us if they have an ETA on when they might be making the announcement at least, provided of course you have that information and it's not going to cause you issues in your workplace.

Skyway operated with 1 person per station with the one near the main entrance being the "master" control panel. As far as control panels go the secondary operator only had a "bell" button which was used to signal that their station was fully loaded and all clear to depart and then the main operator would start the attraction.

I went last week and got to try Mystery Manor out. It's a well done attraction but was pretty short compared to say Nightmares at Dreamworld or similar attractions. It was over in about 2 - 3 minutes once you actually get into the maze. There is also a pre-show inside there that goes for a few minutes as well that is shown to each group of 4 that enters. As far as physical size goes it fits into 3 shipping containers that house the attraction so it's pretty top notch for the amount of space they have but IMO I feel as though it's lacking (once again due to the size) but overall it's a solid attraction. On another note, holy crap Hair Raiser hurts your butt when it comes to a stop! It was honestly the most terrifying freefall ride i've been on and the sheer force when it drops you is pretty full on. Obviously it doesn't have the same height factor as the Giant Drop but damn it's a good free-fall ride!

That looks so much nicer than the old Churro stand they had at the exit to the park. Is it just me or is Dreamworld actually becoming quite classy compared to where they were 3 - 4 years ago? I'm actually pretty impressed with the general direction they are heading.

The loader is responsible for evacuating the loading dock, and the dark ride through to the bottom of the lift. The lift attendant is responsible for evacuating the 3 cars at the lift (Could sometimes have no cars up there, or sometimes 3) High Zone is responsible for the 3 at the Turntable (same as lift) and then the two attendants up there work their way to each of the hairpin sections evacuating any car they come to until they meet in the middle. Unload is responsible for evacuating the exit platform, shutting the roller door at the shops and any of the cars from behind unload, though the ring of fire and the last sets of brakes in the roller-coaster section. Entry is responsible for clearing the queue house and reporting back to the supervisor when all staff are back from their evacuation. In peak times, load 2 and the sorter will sometimes go and assist where needed, which is generally whichever zone has the most cars (example, they might be told to go straight to the bottom lift car so that the loader doesn't have to worry about those ones) or to assist the entry host who always gets swamped with angry customers

Glad to see they have finally replaced it! It was falling apart back in 2011 when I worked there haha.

The whole dark ride portion of the coaster has walkways which you can be evacuated from. That and any area that has brakes on it has a catwalk to enable evacuation in the event of a ride stop so you wouldn't just be stuck there. If the ride goes into a e-stop they will under NO circumstances restart the ride without a full evacuation.

Generally with Scooby if it stacks up to the hairpins it tends to fault. Most of the time the ride can be reset, but occasionally it can't be reset causing an evacuation. Movie World has 2 voiceovers for each major attraction (Superman, Scooby, Justice League, Green Lantern and Wild West). You have a female one which is generally played first which alerts staff to prepare for a potential evacuation and the lights come on. "Ladies and Gentlemen, It is necessary to stop the ride temporarily, please remain seated and the ride will continue shortly." This also signals to the entry host to stop allowing people to enter the line in case of an evacuation. After a pre-determined amount of time most of the rides will go into an e-stop if they fault can't be rectified. Or in scooby's case, one fault might be fixed and then another fault will happen causing a "cascade stop" This is then followed by a Male voiceover instructing riders what is happening. "May I have your attention please, it is necessary to stop the ride. An attendant will be on hand shortly to assist you from the ride. When exiting the ride, please leave via the exit doors marked by exit lights, follow the directional lines to the marshalling area situated at the front entrance of the ride. Once again, someone will be on hand shortly to assist you. Thank you" And this keeps repeating. Still kinda sad that nearly 3 years later and I still remember everything like clockwork. Could probably even go back there and remember how to operate everything haha. A fun fact though, the most common locations for a fault to occur on Scooby is the Lift, Turntable and the block section around the corner from the unload station. Also, in regards to what Flea is asking, Scooby is ran fully automatic from the control panel. The control relief supervisor actually has no role during normal operation apart from observing the cameras and the load station. The ride is physically operated by the attendants at the load platform and unload platform and there are 5 e-stops on the ride (Load, Unload, Lift, High Zone and MOCC) When the ride faults the ride kicks into semi manual mode which is when the supervisor comes into play, where he can attempt to reset certain faults. However if it's a lift or turntable fault the ride will be e-stopped as cars can not be moved on the turntable or lift with passengers in it. Also I think it's 90 seconds with any cars stopped in high zone that the ride goes into e-stop if i'm not mistaken. Most rides at Movie World have minimal actual operation by the supervisors except for initial startup. Wild West for example if all goes well the supervisor will only have to hit the station stop button throughout the day and the e-stop at the end of the night.

The ride had a new control system put in over the old Vekoma software for the trains. This would be due to the seat unlocking mechanisms mostly more than anything though. Compared to the Lethal days where they would have to unlock the whole train and then re-check they can unlock individual seats from the touch panel on the OCC. I am also fairly sure now that the ride is unable to run 2 trains due to the way the brakes are set up. If you recall when it was Lethal the train would come to a complete stop on the first set of brakes before coming into the second brakes before the transfer track. This is also where a train would be held whilst another was transferring in or out of the maintenance bay. Now with the Eddy Current brakes the train doesn't actually fully stop, it glides to a very slow pace before continuing around the corner towards the station. I know they were talking about adding a second train possibly in the future depending on how popular the ride became. As they were not sure if the new trains would rid Arkham of it's shocking reputation before hand. Obviously Village Roadshow have determined not to invest in a second train for various reasons, most likely a financial standpoint as they would have to buy a whole new train (bogies and all) compared to the lower cost of refitting an old train. The only way I could potentially see them ever getting a 2nd train is if a SLC goes up for sale and they manage to buy a used train and convert it, but I very much doubt that now. FYI the red and blue trains were cannibalised in early 2010 and the last time that the ride ran 2 trains was xmas holidays 2009 - 2010