WalleyWorld

I'm heading over to the USA in a couple weeks time, and visiting the parks in California and Florida. I've got 1 day at Magic Mountain, and the plan is to hit the park on a Saturday (off season). On top of being a Saturday, apparently there is going to be a junior cheer leading meet at the park on that day :/ So I'm seriously considering a Flash Pass. Has anyone had experience with the Flash Passes at SFMM? Is the Gold Pass good enough, or should I seriously consider buying a Platinum pass to make the most of my day? Other than that, are there any general tips/tricks/thoughts on how to tackle the park when I get there? Unmissable rides, other than X2?

Hate to burst your bubble guys, but it's not unfortunately. The Huntik 3D shooting dark ride at Rainbow Magicland (Italy) seems to be exactly what JL will be; 3D screens with both moving video targets and physical targets. It looks like it has a moving motion base as well, simpler than spider man/transformers though.

The Screamscape post was made on the 16/8, whereas the post by RichardWilliamCollins was on the 25/8. Couldn't have been from this thread. And yes that website is mainly user submissions, understandably there could be some people that send in crap. But what I really meant was, overall scremscape is a reputable website for themepark news.

Interesting that you say that. Because according to Screamscape, " (8/16/12) Dreamworld is said to have removed their Avalanche ride (Bertazzon Matterhorn) to make way for a new ride in the Kung Fu Panda area of the Dreamworks Experience. Rumor says it may be a Gerstlauer Sky Fly attraction." - http://screamscape.com/html/dreamworld.htm Screamscape rumours are pretty accurate, so look out for this particular ride or something similar for summer. From the TMNT vid, it seems like a load of fun, especially for the market that the ride is aimed at. Plus it'll complement the other rides in that area well. I would have liked the dreamworks re-theme and the new ride to have opened at the same time. But then again, it is smart how they used/are going to use the Dreamworks re-theme for both Easter holiday period and the coming Summer school holiday period.

Is this legit??! I don't think anybody saw this one coming.... I don't know...Those arched pieces with the double spine also have a channel down the middle of them, similar to Skyrush over at Hersheypark and Intimidator 305. Looks like there could be a cable chain lift involved. Why have a cable lift for a 'kiddy coaster' ?

Here is a new press release from Sally Corp outlining new details about the ride (coppied straight from Screamscape): Sounds incredible!

Yep, watched it this morning, they are there all week. This morning and tomorrow they'll be at Disneyland, then Wednesday and Thursday they'll be at California Adventure, and Friday is all about Carsland. This mornings coverage was really good. Quite impressed with all the detail they went into with the history of the park; giving away your standard trivia about Walt Disney and how the park came to be. Much better than any travel show that has been to Disneyland *cough* getaway *cough*. Some really nice footage of mainstreet and the rides. Plus today they did the Matterhorn (got a look at the new cars), Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, the kids coaster in Toon Town (and all of toon town).

^ Even the projected mouths on the later cars look amazing! My jaw hit the floor when Matter moved backwards in sync with the forward moving ride vehicle. Gives the impression that he's actually moving on the track in front of you. Then the small details like the bushes rustling, and then he comes out the other side. Visual storytelling at it's best!

Well I know I don't want that either, but the general public don't mind. And that's all that matters. To most of the GP, Dreamworld is known as the 'balls to the wall' thrill park on the coast. Management have marketed the park this way, ever since they made the shift years ago, with the first 'big 5 thrill rides' adverts. People don't care about the classic attractions such as the paddle wheeler, goldie the clown or an animatronic show anymore. That's why they have all disappeared. I thought Dreamworld were going in the right direction with the success of the Dreamworks re-theme. But then they go and close down the paddle wheeler for good, and sack the clown. It's so hard to keep faith when things like that happen :/

I don't think that Buzzsaw is a total failure of a ride. It's too short to be considered a rollercoaster imo, so if you consider it a flat ride....it works. Being upside down at such a height with ONLY a lap bar is pretty intense. And a lot of the general public still believe it's the 'scariest ride' ever....so it definitely made an impact. Yes, it's a one trick pony, but I think it does that one trick well. As with all gimmicks though, they become boring. And to me, Buzzsaw got old very quickly. But as Gazza said, most people would only make a trip to the themeparks maybe once a year, if that. So buying a thrill ride on the cheap in order to capture the market for that one year is probably worth it in managements eyes. I know we say it all the time, but here's hoping that whatever Dreamworld builds next should be something of quality and substance; just like the recent renovation of nick central.

Could be anything that's stopping them from opening it. Sometimes the maintenance crews come across problems when trying to fix problems. Hopefully during this maintenance period, they've got someone from S&S to come down and resolve the inconsistency with the on-board audio? I know it's nothing major, but I'd be pretty annoyed if my new multi-million dollar roller coaster has had faulty audio since opening day.

Just came across the advert for Arkham on youtube. They call it the 'Arkham Asylum Coaster' during the ad....

Yeah.... agreed. As much as I wanted the park to go ahead, at the time there were A LOT of other issues and projects that needed to be seen before they funded a themepark project. The public transport network at the time was pretty bad (still isn't the perfect now...but it is much better), and most of the public were up in arms about their Tax being spent on an 'amusement park'. Zoo's Victoria were another unhappy camper; being well and truly against the whole merger of animals and rollercoasters. And thus the project was dumped.....Unfortunately, Melbourne is a state that is more concerned about culture, music, sport. The lack of themed entertainment/amusement parks doesn't phase the general public much. Luna Park, Adventure park, Funfields and the show seems to do it for most people down here :\

Yeah...for safety reasons I agree with leaving the railing. But why not get rid of the concrete ramps for good....and level the area out. Obviously MW still wants to use that theatre for something, and that's why they have left the ramps and the theatre mostly untouched....whether it be for another attraction or corporate events. Or maybe it's just there because they haven't removed it yet? That concrete would not be easy to demolish, and no doubt a costly exercise.

I was thinking along the same lines...except you never come out of the building, and the loading and exiting would be done in the same way as Lethal. All the queueing (well majority) would be in the old outdoor lethal switchbacks, which then leads into the new side entrance and into the maze. After the maze, you then come out into the regular queue with the ramps that lead to the loading area (board on the same side as lethal did). Then exit opposite side and pass through the old lethal shop; which I hope will be renovated, and back in use.

Soft opening. But considering that it's not an entirely new rollercoaster, the chances of it braking down for long periods (like Green Lantern did) are much smaller. Maybe problems with the new train and the brake run....can't think of anything else that might stop it tomorrow. Maybe effects like audio on the trains, and also if there is queue line themeing, it might be out of action...that's what soft openings are for. According to Thrill Zone's fb page, that is where the entrance will be staying. Seems a little strange though that the china town area and old lethal entrance is going to be re themed completely; lots of time and money spent. Yet there is no need to go through it, because the entrance is right next to Superman Although....just had a thought. If Thrill Zone is also correct about the cinema being changed into a 'walk though' of sorts, maybe the line will be mostly outside because you could only have a small group go through the 'walkthrough' queue each time. Similar to how Lethal Weapon first operated; queue outside, let a group of people into the pre-show cinema and then onto the ride. If this is the case, then the queue would have to swing around the corner and into the existing switchbacks. Hmm I hope it does work like this somehow. Maybe they are recycling last years Arkham Asylum haunt maze for the queue??! An attraction in an attraction effectively.

Could this green release button be an alternative to pulling the harness in towards you before they fully release? IMO that 'pull in to release' action is confusing to the first time guest (heck...to most people), which in turn slows down load times. Having that one button to press is a much simpler action, and not as uncomfortable as pulling a harness even closer towards you, when it's already considerably tight. Another thought; maybe the new harnesses sit tighter on your thighs. So now there's no more physical space for harness to be pushed closer.

I thought this might be the case. But unlike the existing Intamin and Vekoma chest hugging restraint designs, these seem very thin. In fact they almost mimic a car seat belt material, or a full body harness used when parachuting. It probably won't cause 'neck cutting', but still I wonder if this will be comfortable? Maybe One Day Holiday can describe those vest type restraints, considering he's seen the train I think the themeing choice and name is pretty creative! The idea of themeing the trains to electric chairs with the handles and the electrified head caps is brilliant. loving the little details like that! Expectations so far have been met, let's just hope Movieworld follows up this announcement with some great themeing and storyline as per the website.

This park looks stunning! Thanks for the pics Gazza. Probably not the perfect selection of rides, but everything looks like it's themed well. I love the New York/Hollywood street sections of the park. Just because of the attention to detail within the buildings and shops. Not specific to just USS, but what are your thoughts on the Waterworld stunt show? I've looked at some utube vids and I love what I see. Great use of special effects everywhere....Especially the water plane launching over the wall. Anybody know how they reset that effect?

agreed. single rider spots can also be very useful when you're with someone. Once on Batwing, my bro and I were in the third switchback of the queue and we both told each other that if they called for single riders, we would take the opportunity (we were fine with not riding with each other, or on different cycles). But to our luck, on the next cycle they called for two single riders; we both put our hands up. They picked both of us, and we ended up sitting on the edges of two different rows. But we could see each other, so it felt like we were riding together anyway lol plus we saved a good 15-20 mins of queueing. The people in the queue didn't understand what was going on and you could sense a couple people were angry, as we waltzed to the front.....someone even called out: "they aren't single riders, that's not fair!". Stupid people, it was very fair

hmmm might not be the best idea. This coaster is 24 years old now, plus it's been relocated twice (and it'll happen again if it's brought back to aus). Might be great for nostalgia purposes, but ride experience wise.....it'll probably be a very rough ride.

Yeah exactly what I thought when I read the brief. Open the constraints for the dark ride a little please Maybe just say 'the dark ride must suit the DC comics area'.

I agree. The addition of several DC comics themed rides has drifted away from movieworld’s core feeling of being inside a movie park; a movie set, where you experience the excitement of movies/film ect. It is a bit overpowered by DC rides. Having said that, it’s not the worst decision MW could have made. I don’t hate the DC comics world they’ve built over the years. All solid rides, plus it’s a smart decision by MW. The DC comics branding is a winner on many fronts: - DC Superheroes appeal to such a broad age group (children, teens, adults) because of how long it has existed in pop-culture. Come on, who doesn't know about Superman. - It has a longer lasting appeal than many other movie related tie-ins (that movieworld could use). - Giving Lethal a Batman re-theme is a very smart decision as the new movie is coming out mid-year. - Merchandise wise, DC brings in the big $$$. Why would they build a whole new store just for DC stuff? Obviously there is a demand. When lethal is re-launched and a new DC themed dark ride replaces the Bat-ride, I hope that Movieworld steps away from the DC comics area and focuses on other areas of the park. Which leads onto the next thing….more dark rides. Agree 100% Alex. To create that feeling, you need to immerse people into an environment, put them onto the ‘movie set’. The best way is to use a dark ride system. It’s the attractions with storylines and immersive themeing that made you feel like you were part of a real Western (WWF), or in a looney tunes cartoon (LTRR). Mw does need them….and management know this. I believe that once LW has been re-themed, we will see the return of the dark rides. It seems the most logical thing to do, as the park is lacking family attractions. Work is already being done in the bat-ride building; the simulators have been scrapped (pics I saw on The Outsiders fb page). I’m betting on two new major dark ride additions in 2 years. The first being a new ride in the bat-ride building (most likely DC, it is locked in an area surrounded by other DC rides), followed by a replacement for Looney Tunes in the coming year. It needs to happen. After that, I’d love to see a generic “how the movies are made” style attraction. Very similar to the ‘lights, camera, action' attraction at Universal Singapore. Something like that would really bring back that core movie park theme that Movieworld has slightly forgotten. *sigh* I shouldn’t be dreaming too big, Movieworld realistically doesn’t have a budget of the universal parks.

I think this is just a mistake. How can you possibly bring Lethal Weapon's intensity down to be on par with WWF or Road Runner in 8 weeks (both are listed as moderate on their site) ?? That would need some major track replacement.

yep this works. With Superman, when you reach the top of the queue, just ask the grouper politely "can I wait for the next train?" That way the ride attendant will let everyone behind you through and you become the top of the queue for the next train. It's worked all the time for me With Lethal, it's easy to pick which seat you want. They let through a load of people from the queue and then your allowed to choose which air gate to line up behind. Although it did get a bit messy sometimes. I wonder if the queueing style will change when lethal re-opens hmm Not sure if GL is the same as these rides. How does Green Lantern's queueing work, is it similar to Lethal?