WalleyWorld

What do you think IS masterclass about the mini-land's execution? I'm interested to know why you disagree. I should be more specific with my opinions. I think the story, theme and name of the mini land is fantastic. Conceptually it had so much potential, but the overall execution of it was terrible: 1. The land was placed in the wrong location. Movieworld had a perfect area ready and waiting for this concept - the Arkham courtyard. This is where the land should have gone. It would have complemented the existing unofficial DC land, and Arkham Asylum theme perfectly (Joker has broken the villains out of Arkham and are reeking havoc). The old lethal gift shop could have been re-opened to sell the upcharge experience. Furthermore, the old lethal theatre could have been used for an indoor themed portion of the land (similar to the Knockturn alley mini-land at USO's Diagon Alley). Yes the available area is a lot smaller, but I think this compactness would have added a lot of atmosphere to the land (again similar to Diagon Alley at USO). The old boot hill graveyard and show stage should have been used for an expansion of the wild west area. 2. The Intamin Twin Hammer was a poor ride choice for MW and the land: Unpopular model that had a bad maintenance record with previous installations. Despite being a staple/classic amusement ride type, Intamin had only built 1 of these before (Space Attack) - which permanently closed in 2015 (1 year prior to doomsday opening). Richard wrote an article on the ride's downtime during 2015. This alone should have been enough red flags to find another manufacturer for this ride type, or a different flat ride altogether. Doomsday has been a maintenance nightmare since opening and has had a lot of downtime over the last 7 years. The themed land was designed for families, yet the anchor ride does not suit this demographic. Inverting rides scare off a lot of people, and a min. height requirement of 130cm prevents kids/tweens from riding. Movieworld didn't need another thrilling ride. It needed, and still needs, a reliable, high capacity, family-thrill flat ride with a 90-120cm min. height requirement. The ride system is unremarkable in the aus amusement/themepark landscape, and delivers underwhelming physical sensations. It's quite a dull experience for a "max thrill level" ride (as described on the MW website). The travelling Hangover delivers a more thrilling ride. Yes Doomsday is a "filler" attraction, but that doesn't mean the ride experience should be mediocre. 3. The upcharge experience is mediocre - and the negative influence it had on the land's design is not proportional to the experience it delivers. The decision to place the gift shop at the front of the land was made by bean counters (late in the project) to encourage sales of the wristbands. Because of this the spectacular Doomsday figure and sign is hidden from most guests, the land's entrance is a guest flow pinch point, and the shop obscures the view of Doomsday from the midway. All to upsell an upcharge that is dull, repetitive, not maintained regularly and not enticing for all ages. Originally a paid upcharge, turned into a free one, and now out of order. The upcharge didn't sell because the product was lacklustre. 4. The land doesn't blend in with surrounding areas. The transition between scooby - villains unleased - wild west is jarring and harsh. There is no graceful fade. It makes the mini land feel like a standalone experience that could have a separate admission fee.

Just remove the kinect games already. That whole area is a masterclass of how NOT to design a theme park land. The #1 worst decision execs made was swap the position of the gift shop and the Doomsday ride entrance - for the sole reason of forcing entry through a gift shop, in order to sell more upcharge wristbands. They hid arguably Australia's best ride entrance sign (also a very instagramable photo op) at the back of the land. And instead built a lacklustre faux brick gift shop as the land's entrance portal. This shop with the tall themed billboards obscures the 'reveal' of Doomsday from the midway (as you walk towards WWF) - making the ride look smaller and thus less grand/intimidating. Upcharge experiences should compliment an existing experience. Yet in this case, all it did was ruin any positive potential the land had. And now you can't even use the games! 0/10. Put the land and Doomsday in the bin.

Reviews on the Movieworld official Facebook, Trip Advisor and Google Reviews pages are scathing. I'm not sure if I have ever seen such a surge/large volume of negative reviews during a peak school holiday period? Or is this just a normal occurrence during these times, and I just haven't paid attention? Other than an influx of interstate visitors, and the pent-up demand caused by Covid, what else could be contributing to these issues? It surely can't just be because "it's busy because it's school holidays, duh!". Snapshot of today's wait times:

hmm I'm getting some strong mixed messages from VRTP. Price board picture was taken today.

Here is a perfect example of the arrogant VRTP culture that is bred from the top down and permeates every department within their business. Why fix your problems when you can just blame the customer! Australia’s #1 theme park (if you stop coming).

^Agreed! This is exactly how the execs need to be thinking. But unfortunately this thought process is far too considered and logical for VRTP. It is unequivocally evident that MW has significant capacity and operational efficiency issues. And has had for years. Yet their best solution to this problem is to build 3x family coasters, that can only run 1 train each. logic?! Furthermore, they just went and ruined the capacity of their only people eater family attraction (WWF). Surely they could have appeased the insurance companies, without reducing the ride's capacity? After all, this is "Australia's #1 theme park".....how about the execs start making design, operational and maintenance decisions that support this marketing. MW and it's operational staff deserve better.

Looks like Altair at Cinceitta World to me. https://rcdb.com/11082.htm

https://www.hussrides.com/en/classic-rides/top-spin-suspended I think you were looking at the wrong ride model. The TOP SPIN® CLASSIC has 40 seats. TOP SPIN® SUSPENDED has 38 as stated on the manufacturers website.

Which website?

Serious theme: Steel Python Bright green track repaint. Keep brown support structure. Track Looks like a green tree python (a native Australian animal) coiling itself around a tree. Suits Gumbuya World's overall park theme of the Australian outback and wildlife. Tounge-in-cheek theme: Killer Python *presented by ALLEN'S* Do a corporate partnership/ride sponsorship deal with Allen's Lollies. Originally an Australian company (suits the Aussie theme going on at Gumbuya). Lends itself to a perfect gift shop exit experience - the official certified Allen's lolly shop. "Brave the python. Eat the python!"

That's actually the back of the train. Looks like the leviathan tail.

lol sure....Translation: "This allows us to install the planned themeing as intended"...not ADD additional themeing.

7NEWS Sunshine Coast did a small special on the new Dingo Racer coaster. They are aiming for an Easter opening. https://fb.watch/b34Q6P0GoW/

Excuse me....It's actually the 'big 5' !

If this 3x Vekoma off-the-shelf family coaster stunner deal is correct, it'll be interesting to see how they attempt to theme them. VRTP can't even theme 1 ride well these days. How will they ever theme 3 new coasters all at once? My guess is we'll see nicely presented shed-like stations, similar to Green Lantern or Rivals, with 2.5D cutouts of characters and flat graphic prints on the station roof/walls. I wonder if they'll create a new themed land precinct for the coasters?

A next gen Vekoma Flying Coaster (see F.L.Y. @ Phantasialand) would have been a slam dunk replacement for Lethal/Arkham. 1) It's a step up/evolution of what it's replacing. 2) Very unique and easy to market to the GP; would easily capture people's attention/imagination. 3) Fills the multi-looper thrill coaster gap in MWs coaster line-up. 4) Ride system suits a Batman theme; so VRTP can keep milking that DC license and triple their bat cape sales.

So only the company operating the wheel went into liquidation. Interesting. What does that mean in terms of the 'liquidation' of the company? Considering they don't own the wheel, what remaining assets can they sell to pay creditors and shareholders?? I'm assuming MB Star Properties Pty Ltd was paying Robu Group some sort of fee to have the operation rights? Or is it the other way around (Robu paying MB Star to operate it)?

No carnival rides, but they are bringing in show bags and carnival games. Looks like a nice wholesome family event. It's a clever way to capitalise on the EKKA (and the other major agricultural shows) being cancelled. All those show bags that have been produced for the major shows have got to go somewhere!

Looks like they have updated the times and the dates. Only the last Saturday in August has the 9.30-5pm operating time.

I don't think it would ruin anything for observers. In fact it would build anticipation and excitement for non-riders, as they can hear when a launch is about to happen. Some examples of what I was thinking off: Incredicoaster/California Screamin' uses speakers nearby to do the launch countdown. Mako and Manta at SeaWorld Orlando use speakers on the lift hill to deliver custom build up audio. Probably the most perfect example is Taron at Phantasialand. As it's a launch coaster that starts off with a u-turn, pauses and then launches (most similar to ST). The speakers nearby play a riser build up score. Here's a video that you can hear it on.

For Steel Taipan, a custom audio track from dispatch till first launch would be perfect. Don't bother with on-board audio. Just install some high quality outdoor speakers in the station and along the u-turn and where the train will pause before the launch. Whilst your at it, put speakers along the break run. It will help build a lot of atmosphere, suspense and theme. Similarly, I think this type of 'nearby on ride audio' would be a great addition to DC Rivals. Up the lift hill and potentially when you hit the break run.

@Rabbit2014 What did you think of the ride? How does it compare to the Claw?

^These comments sum up my take on the program. There were some good bits, narrative was all over the place, and some facts were not represented truthfully.

Nice find! Looks like the Big Dipper will use a tire propulsion launch system (rather than an LSM launch). Similar to Jet Rescue & MDMC. Notice the large slots in the launch track ready for the tires to be installed.

Will this 80m funtime skyflyer to be a travelling version that does all the major east coast royal shows?