Everything posted by Spotty
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Superman Escape Maintenance Blog
At any time a train is moving in or out of the load station, Load 2 (the person on the door side) must be at their control panel in case they need to e-stop. Once a train rounds the first corner they are free to leave their position. If a train is coming in from unload they need to also be at their control panel for the same reason. There is no real way superman can run efficiently with 2 trains unless you have the sorter. When I was there it was also mandatory to have a sorter with 2 trains for evacuation purposes either. The 2 loaders were responsible for evacuating a train from the load platform through to the launch and the unloader and sorter were responsible for the 2nd train and entry host for the queue line. Curious as to how they would do that with no sorter now. But yeah, peak operations would be having the sorter. As soon as the doors close and the harnesses go down on the train in the load platform the next group is sorted. Having a good entry host is also vital, because nothing slows down the dispatches more than when the train is ready to go and the loaders spot loose items...
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Superman Escape Maintenance Blog
Both the loaders on the platform AND the lead operator in the upstairs control room all need to hit the button at the same time to dispatch. For the train to be sent from unload the operator hits their button and then the main operator hits a button to bring it into load. Once the unload station is clear, the launch cycle immediately beings if a train is already parked on the launch section (Fins drop etc) the audio is triggered as the train approaches the launch. My knowledge is from 10 years ago so it is possible that due to age they are holding the trains longer between dispatches but back then that was the reason for it. I'd also say a fair bit could be due to staff motivation. I remember one day I had a crew of entirely Parkz members working on the load dock with me and holy crap we were flying through it (We had a competition going with Arkham for a fright nights event). We only had the 1 train on the track due to tech issues but we somehow managed 8 dispatches every 30 mins (Arkham just beat us with 9). I miss those days TBH. a good crew, and good supervisors who actually motivate their staff make all the difference.
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Superman Escape Maintenance Blog
No, the system only needs a minimum of 1 minute between dispatches (well it was when I worked there). It was because the ride experience would be crap when the launch audio would play and then the train may be sitting there for 20-30 seconds before launching as it can't launch until the unload station is fully clear and the next train is parked in Load.
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Superman Escape Maintenance Blog
As an ex operator of Superman. With 1 train running and 2 loaders + unloader it's normally 5-6 dispatches every 30 mins (11 a hour normally) with 2 trains running and having a sorter you would dispatch approx 12 trains every 30 mins. The record that I did was 32 trains in a hour with 2 trains running and that was with 2 loaders, a sorter, entry and unload. We did pretty much sprint down the load platform each time checking the harnesses. We then had to slow down as the train would sit at the launch track too long... we then were told we had to basically wait until the 2nd train came into unload before dispatching. With decent crew, and 2 trains running superman CAN actually be a capacity monster (well for a Gold Coast park anyway) but hasn't been for close to 10 years now.
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Sea World Monorail trains to be destroyed
The monorail has also been removed off the Attraction Maintenance page as well... but still on the rides page. Interesting
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Will the Ricks Cafe buffet return to Movie World?
I used to love Bazaar pre-covid times. I went there around 2015 and it was amazing. Went back a few weeks ago and was very disappointed. I tend to like the "experience" buffet style more. I'd highly recommend Brazilian Flame if your on the Gold Coast (it's in surfers) or Navala if your in Brisbane. You may go into a meat coma though, but overall I tend to agree most buffets these days are not that good anymore. For me it's always Dirty Harry if I'm having a meal at Movie World
- Movie world Maintenance 2022
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Sea World Monorail trains to be destroyed
I have also heard on the grapevine from a few reliable sources that the Monorail has had it's last run. Also, it's not uncommon for people to be multi trained in the parks. So just because this person currently states they work in GS, doesn't mean they don't work in attractions as well. I was personally hired originally in Food and Beverage at Movie World and was then transferred to operations but still did casual shifts in F+B when needed as well as being trained in Guest Services. It's actually very common at Village for it, and I was also trained in outlets at Wet n Wild and Sea World too.
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Movie world Maintenance 2022
I still get PTSD from Speedy's Taxis... nearly 10 years later haha. As far as the Zamperla catalogue of kids rides goes (Sam Train, Tweety, Taz Cars and Marvin) They opened in 1997 when the name was changed from Looney Tunes Land to Looney Tunes Village. The Carousel and Pounce and Bounce were added in 2007 when it was changed to Kids WB. Tweety had it's name changed from "Sylvester and Tweety Carousel" to "Sylvester and Tweety Cages" in 2009. This was done to ease confusion between this and the Carousel ride. The name on the control panel for Tweety reflects this.
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Dreamworld's New Look Train
While it's not the original green color which I think was the best color scheme, I am honestly really digging this new color choice. I am really glad that the current management are going back to basics a bit with the color schemes. It looks so much classier and less tacky than the in your face bright colors. I'd love to see the rest of the main street buildings get a similar treatment in the near future. It's really good to see the park spending the money on little things like this that make a big difference in the overall experience.
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The New Atlantis - Construction Updates
How about 2032 in time for the Olympics?
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Movie world Maintenance 2022
Scooby at a minimum requires the following staff: 1x Entry Host 1x Load 1x Unload 1x High Zone 1x Lift 1x Supervisor 1 or 2 to cover breaks. West used to require 5 staff before they got rid of the lift attendant at the top of lift 1. Not sure about now 1x Supervisor 1x Load 1x Unload 1x Lift attendant at turntable 1 (recently removed) There was never an attendant for both lifts during the time that I worked there, but I know before the refurb they had an attendant at the bottom of lift 2 (not sure how long that was a thing for). There was only ever a "monitor" for when a guest with a disability was on the ride. That way in the event of a ride evac that staff member could attend to that boat straight away to not delay an evac (same as Scooby). Also Scooby traditionally was one of the last rides a staff member would learn, due to the complex nature of the ride evacuations. Operations wise though it was honestly one of the easier rides. So I can see how staffing issues could very quickly cause issues if not everyone is trained on it. It was fairly common place for a roster to be 4 days scooby, and 1 day on another ride just to shake things up.
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Dreamworld Maintenance 2021
This... I got some serious Moulin Rouge vibes of that show. While I don't think the current one is perfect (it is a bit depressing if you ask me) it's technologically much better than all the others. If they can get the story that little bit better but keep the upgrades we could be onto a big winner with the next show.
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Theme Park Food
I have recently had the fried chicken and chips, comparable to the new fried chicken that Red Rooster offers. You get 2x big bits of chicken and chips + sauce. Honestly, good on the parks for finally selling some halfway decent food.
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Dreamworld Maintenance 2022
A lot of the work could be done off site, and could be as simple as basically uploading a new video / sequence to the control system. I'm not sure how SV works exactly, but a company with as many rides built as Brogent would probably want to make it somewhat easy to do. I don't think it was down for very long at all when it was converted to Sky Voyager USA.
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Dreamworld Maintenance 2021
Thats what happens when you take most of the good high up operations supervisors from Village and put them at Dreamworld. Glad that the park has a competent team running the operations department finally. And it's really starting to show with their operations and staff morale as well.
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Movie world Maintenance 2021
At least if I ever work there again I don't have to worry about a huntsman falling on my head and accidentally bashing the e-stop when trying to get the spider off my head haha
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Dreamworld’s BuzzSaw is Retiring
Hmmm... I wonder why
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Steel Taipan - Reviews
Finally got to ride Steel Taipan today, walk on all day with 1 train operations (spinner). The ride really packs a punch, although I did notice a jolt when going into the backwards spike over the swtich track. I didn't try the spinning seat, but I rode in row 1, 8 and 3. Personally I found the back of the train to be more intense than the front and it's my prefered seat. I can't decide if I prefer DC Rivals or Steel Taipan more, as they are both very different in what they offer. I think I would -just- give the edge to Taipan due to the variety of elements the ride offers. I will admit, getting airtime in an inversion was certainly a strange feeling though. That barrel roll at the end is certainly a holy crap moment when your legs are slammed into the harness with quite a bit of force. It's truly a ride that Dreamworld needed, and I can't wait to ride again.
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Steel Taipan Construction - Dreamworld Mack launched roller coaster
#Triggered I still have PTSD from the abuse from my days of being a Superman entry host (Not really PTSD... but some of the crap you copped... honestly, one of the easiest and hardest roles in the park for a ride operator was that. It's probably a lot better now the lockers are free though...)
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Steel Taipan opening day bet
I also put down the 15th Looking forward to riding, sadly I'll be at work that day
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Dreamworld’s BuzzSaw is Retiring
One of my sources (who has always been very reliable for the last 15 years) has confirmed to me that the Ride will be going to Gumbaya world, and will be undergoing an extensive refurb before a xmas 2022 debut. An official announcement will likely be made soon by the park though.
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Steel Taipan opening day bet
I'm going with the 15th as well, to tie in with the 40th Birthday
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HMS Endeavour (Wonderland)
I have heard from a few sources that have stated that the ride was actually built by Meshio (same as the Thunderbolt) but this is not 100% confirmed
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Dreamworld Maintenance 2021
Least it's not Comic Sans or Papyrus