Theme Park Girl

Hahaha yeahhhhh nahhhhh.... I love my car too much

Wouldn't be Ant Man or any of the recent new superheroes to hit the big screen, would it? That said, I have no idea if he is DC Comics or not. Just thinking outside the box ? Would be awesome if it was Superman tho ? Yeah, what a mess. Although I reckon that the Reclaim Australia people weren't expecting so much opposal to their complaints... seems nearly every single post of theirs now has a shitfight going on in it ?? There are still new posts being made. Movieworld are remaining professional and appear to just be giving their generic responses and ignoring all the disputes. I'd personally love to see them delete it all, alas I can only imagine the new shitfight with cries of censorship that would cause if they did. Damned if they do and damned if they don't ? ETA: Damn. Was trying to find the comment where some moron was referring to Movieworld numerous times as a cinema instead of a theme park. But it looks like they have deleted it ? Just comes to show that most of these idiots are jumping blindly on the bandwagon and don't even know what they are protesting, let alone who they are protesting it to ?

Yeah. One of the elderly train drivers told us earlier in the year that the paddleboat has since long gone to the chipper.

Totally agree. If they want a natural creek/river look for the park, then they are doing the right thing. If they didn't then they can just get some of those little paddlewheel devices in that Melbourne Zoo uses to keep their pond water chirning. Obviously they are happy with the former! So long as they keep on top of the rubbish removal since guests can be such pigs ?

Doesn't seem so much for it being Muslims only but for its existence in general. Apparently a FB group called "Reclaim Australia" has only just decided to shed light on it after a decade of it being in the park. Now its members are kicking up a stink over it and being encouraged to flood Movieworld's FB wall with opposal/complaints.

Ditto! Flew to Melbourne & back via Tiger a couple of months ago, completely drama free. They were fantastic! In fact it was my sister who flew via Jetstar who had the problems... she was 1min late and they refused to let her board. Had to pay $100 to get on the next flight. Then on the way back they lost her luggage and she lost a morning of work having to sit around at home whilst they got around to delivering it back to her!

Yes, well, we made the mistake of not getting there early enough as my friends took a while getting ready! I actually arrived at her house in Pimpama at 5pm but we didn't leave till around quarter to. Was about 6pm when we took the Helensvale exit off the M1 and by that time traffic was already backed up to the highway itself. By the time we got into the MW carpark the centre area was full and spreading out to the sides... had to settle for a park on the far right, at the very end of a center isle near the entrance road. So yeah, as you can imagine it was probably one of the worst places to get out of at the end of the night ? Not that it stopped the 4WD owners or the numerous people who couldn't care less about scraping/damaging their cars... they were happy to just climb the curb and drive out via the rear gardens.

If you go to Cairns, make sure you do a day trip to Green Island. You can see the reef whilst you are out there. Also Palm Cove & the Skyrail/Kuranda are a must IMO! Cairns is one of my most favourite places to visit. Been up there twice (the first was for a month, accompanying my husband on a working holiday) and absolutely love it ❤ You are also visiting at a better time of year, too. Winter is ideal as temps are a lot milder. It gets very hot and humid in Summer ? Check out Coconuts Resort for the best family accommodation. Can't recommend it enough ???

Official update & confirmation!!!

Lol sure, a wait after a big event is to be expected. But given it was the first time I've done Fright Nights and I wasn't aware that, unlike most other professionally handled events, it was going to be left as a "free for all", I didn't expect it to be that chaotic, let alone that long a wait to get out. Even my friend who has been to FN over previous years said that the carpark has never been *that* bad before :S ETA: Someone posted a video to MW's FB page complaining about the same issue happening at the end of the night on Oct 9th. They were told that the comments would be passed onto management. I think it's safe to say either they weren't, or they didn't listen, given nothing has been done about it :/ https://www.facebook.com/nick.burns.925/videos/10206356250642273/ Seriously, a couple of staff members staying back an extra hour with hi-vis jackets directing traffic is all they really need to significantly help with the current issue....

So my Fright Nights experience on Sat night was absolutely awesome!!!! <3ed it. Here's my review as a "first timer" to the event.... It was very busy (expected as much, given it was Halloween and all) and queues were ridiculously long for rides and mazes, but my friends and I still had a blast. We did the Wolf Creek 2 maze first, which I admit I don't remember a huge amount of as we were rushed through it pretty quick. I do remember some people dressed as bushes jumping out at me, hahaha And also walking through a creepy house with classical music playing. And there was also a chick on the floor hiding around the corner at the end who was doing a good job of startling people who were on their way out and thinking it was all over. A lot of time was spent at the blood transfusion bar by my mates, as one of them had turned 18 this year and wanted to make the most of being able to drink at this event since she wasn't able to at previous ones. I was the designated driver for the evening, so I didn't drink ;p The line for Scooby was not worth the wait (was right out to that outdoor queue area) so we then went down to the other 2 main scare mazes, I opted for the Wyrmwood one as I love Zombie apocalypse flicks and games Loved all the scare actors that were hanging around the queue for that one. At one stage I was watching a video on my phone I had just recorded minutes prior, when all of a sudden I realised I had this creepy looking zombie guy looking over my shoulder watching it as well He was walking through the line and surprising unaware guests who also weren't paying complete attention lol. There also was a dude dressed like Jesus in a group who came out of the exit of the Friday the 13th scare maze who got quite a lot of attention from everyone Omg... the Wyrmwood maze.... now THAT one got me!!! I thought it was heaps more scarier than the Wolf Creek maze. Didn't get rushed through it this time round, in fact a 1/4 way through it, we ran into the group of people ahead of us who were going through at snail pace, so yeah, our epically long line pretty much fell victim to every damn scare actor in there LOL. LOVED the contamination room with the creepy guy in the hazard suit! I also recall Ned Kelly creeping out behind me at one stage and scaring the crap outta me with a loud "BANG BANG BANG" gun lol. Had numerous zombies jump out at me - and I think that was the bit that got me the most, because you'd initially turn away when they appeared, only to turn back and find they are still right there in your face I found the ol' "cover the eyes, duck down and keep walking routine" to be a popular practice of mine The other thing I liked about the scare mazes - which I am sure everyone can relate to - is that you realise that you are constantly trying to see through the dark and the fog and identify any hidden actors before they have a chance to scare you... sometimes you may spot a figure or a shadow that you may think is one, then you creep past just waiting to see if it does anything (and mainly hoping and praying that they don't) LOL I loved the atmosphere around the park, too... all the lights, the music, and omg... the FOG That red walkway leading up to the sound studios was AWESOME. Even randoms were managing to scare other randoms walking in the opposite direction because they couldn't see each other. Even funnier when it was a proper scare actor! Whilst we did have a great night and I do plan to attend again FOR SURE next year, I did have a couple of disappointments/complaints... the first being that some of the rides shut WAY too early! We didn't get to the Superman/Arkham precinct until after 8pm, given we had spent well over an hour alone in the queue for WC2 maze (and a bit more in the bar), and I was shocked and disappointed to find AA closed up. Thinking it had been like that all evening (ie. that it had, for some reason, not been running due to technical issues or something) I then went up to the entrance to SE to see what the queue was like... only to be faced there as well with a "RIDE CLOSED" sign. I asked the nearby attendant what the go was, who informed me that the rides had to be finished up by 9pm due to council regulations. Seriously, are the local residents THAT iffy about noise over a couple of weekends per year that they can't handle an extra couple of hours of crowd/ride noise in the evenings? And on HALLOWEEN of all nights? (don't answer that... I already know the answer. But it still pisses me off ) But it sucked that they closed them even earlier than that, even though I am aware it is so they can process the remaining queue in time Meh. Because of this we missed out on going on any rides. The other issue - and undoubtedly the most major one - was the freaking CAR PARK. Despite leaving MW 20 minutes before close in an attempt to avoid the impending traffic, I was still having to queue my car for a grand total of 1hr 20mins just to get out of the park! I've never seen such chaos before, and omg the amount of road rage. People were honking at each other and cutting each other off. Quite a few close collisions from impatient people all fighting to get out at once. Some cars in the back queue got so fed up that they opted their vehicles drive up the kerb and through the MW gardens in order to get out! Once a couple of people did it, pretty much everyone behind us did... there was a steady line of cars risking their bumper bars just to get home. My drunk friend ended up peeing behind a van (with their bewildered permission, I would imagine) because she was busting had nowhere to go to the loo and we were well and truly stranded in there, the park had since closed up for the night. Now I understand that due to the design of the carpark and also being an exceptionally busy evening, some traffic congestion is to be expected at the end of the night. But that was just ridiculous! At the very least, MW should - like most major events which have a lot of people and cars attend - have some traffic controllers on site to help everyone get out smoothly and with less drama. It completely blew me away that they didn't have anything like that pre-organised, especially since this is hardly the first ever Fright Nights. Does this really happen every year? And they have done nothing about it? It just sucked because we left on such a high note at the end of the evening, only to have a dampener thrown on that because we were so frustrated and bored being stuck in the carpark for so long. Oh, and I also ended up being over an hour late picking my husband up from work afterwards, with no means to contact him as he was working at a gig halfway to Springbrook with no mobile reception :/ So yeah, not happy Movieworld!!! That issue aside though, the rest of the evening was fantastic and we had such a great time ETA: Oh... here's a small compilation of all the videos I recorded that evening! Also some pics I took... (the epically long queue for Wolf Creek 2 maze... and this wasn't even the end of it XD)

I remember riding the Thrillseeker as a kid. Great little wild mouse coaster it was! I miss it ?

Oh really? We haven't seen any activity for a while now, just an empty station each visit. Either it was a one-off on that day or we have just been visiting on the wrong days ?

Yeah. Has been gone for months now dude. We always check every time we visit the park (which is once or twice a fortnight).

Tbh I'm not really surprised. The skyway was old and run down, and they no doubt see the Monorail as a better investment to transport guests up and down the park. It doesn't get affected by rain or wind the way the skyway did, and assumably requires less staff to operate (one driving, as opposed to needing two ie. one at each end of the station) outside of peak periods. Same as Dreamworld, who obviously thought the train would be a good enough substitute for theirs. I don't know how similar systems are going overseas, but they seem to be becoming a thing of the past here with preferences going to more modern technology.

Omg guys, its finally my turn.... my first ever Fright Nights tonight. Excited, but also quietly crapping myself LOL. Mainly because I have never been and only know what to expect from what I have seen/heard! Wish me luck ??? Oh, and PS.... Happy Halloween ??????

Oh yeah. We did go to Luna Park Melbourne this year, but didn't go on anything. Just walked around. Scenic Railway was closed for refurb unfortunately. However I went on it last year so already have it ticked off my bucket list lol ?

Had annual passes to all the GC theme parks this year. Dreamworld ones expire xmas eve but planning to renew them, and the others are 'till July next year (also planning to renew). Definitely got my money's worth out of all of them, and will continue to for years to come! Sadly still no plans to travel overseas, our budget won't stretch that far atm ? But my family and I are hoping to at least make it to Universal Studios Singapore within the next few years, which will be our first ever time abroad, and then eventually aim to save for my dream holiday to the USA after that to to a theme park run.

Omg, so my dream Fright Nights may become a reality afterall!! Look what was announced yesterday... http://m.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/entertainment/lights-camera-action-blockbuster-resident-evil-to-become-next-movie-filmed-on-gold-coast/story-fnj94hgr-1227584638509 ??????

If they keep the original Cyclone queue building/structure, I can totally see it being converted to look like a pile of tyres, or something of the sort. That said, I do hope they ditch the spiral queue path. So annoying. Most people were resorting to using the emergency stairs on the side of the building to go up/down in Cyclone's later days because nobody could be bothered walking it anymore.

I'm in the same boat at Joz. As a former Sea World employee twice over, who has also worked in the animal care department at one stage, I feel I have a valid opinion to contribute. However, tbh, I would only feel like I would be wasting my time in a similar fashion to the way I have with animal activists bombarding their Facebook page. Its obvious such people have such one-sided views and a specific agenda that they don't care about the actual facts or information at hand, and therefore won't listen. Yes, I've watched Blackfish recently on Netflix. Did it change my opinion about the US marine parks overseas? Perhaps. At the very least it did make me think twice about supporting their current practices. Did it change my opinion about our unrelated marine park here? Certainly not. And I am proud to say that, because I know of the fantastic job our Sea World has done over many years with marine animal conservation and rescue. I also know the efforts they go to in order to ensure their own park animals are well taken care of, none of which have been allegedly "stolen" from the ocean as it has been claimed by numerous keyboard warriors, but are either a) been rescued and rehabilitated but unfit to return to the wild, or b ) Are generations of offspring of said animals. Remember what happened to Keiko when they attempted to return him to the ocean after so many years in captivity? Here's an article which may jog your memory: Why freeing Willy was the wrong thing to do. So imagine what would happen to an animal which has been born in captivity and NEVER learnt how to survive in the wild? Animals at our Sea World are NOT ripped away from their parents at any stage. Dolphins and their offspring are usually kept together for many years, as are other animals. In fact, when Henry the Polar Bear was recently sent overseas to live in a conservation park in Canada, I recently witnessed naive comments from people on the SW Facebook page... "poor Henry, being ripped away from his mum" and "I wonder how is mum will feel having her baby ripped away from her" etc etc.... Truth be told, if these people had actually bothered to READ UP on Polar Bear facts instead of just jumping to their own conclusions, they would have learnt that polar bear cubs of Henry's age in the wild (sometimes even younger) are fully weaned from their parent. Their mum either abandons them or chases them away. It would have been more dangerous to keep Henry and Lia together after this time than to have separated them the way they did. Ironically none of them had anything to say in response to my posts pointing this out. Apparently being proven wrong is not what they wanted to read, as their anti-Sea World agenda is more important to them. At the end of the day, you can harp on all you like about how evil a park Sea World Gold Coast is, how we should all boycott them because of the horrible things they do to animals etc. but it could not be further from the truth. Blackfish is essentially about the US marine parks, where both their animals and the way they are obtained, housed and sustained is a lot different to the practices of our local park. Honestly I can't see how they can be compared in any way. Subsequently, I will NOT be boycotting our park because I know better.

The chairlift has been like that for months. I'm starting to question whether they are ever intending to reopen it or just going to scrap it ??

Lol yeah thats the first thing I did when I saw them... walked up to the closest one and attempted to lift it up ???

New shed is coming along nicely....

Sad but true... was sitting down at one of above park benches just minutes ago before leaving the DW lol. However also confirmed that they aren't fixed to the ground in any way, and are therefore easily removable at any time if they decide they want to do something different with that area.