Theme Park Girl

I'm a veteran gamer, have been my entire life! I have: a PS4 w/ Dragon Age Inquisition, an Xbox 360 with too many games to list, a PS2, PS1, Dreamcast, N64, 3DS, 2x DSi's (my kids') and a Sega Master System II... all which also have many games. I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Dragon Age, GTA, Resident Evil & Borderlands series and have pretty much all releases of each, spanning over various consoles. I also used to have an Atari 2600 (my first ever console), Megadrive II w/ mega CD add-on, a SNES and an Atari Lynx handheld, but sadly no longer have any of them in my possession. I may have to buy them again one day off of eBay or something to continue my gaming console collection!

Of the mine ride? Or the cyclone?

I witnessed the Cyclone break down this afternoon from the comfort of the WWW wave pool. It got about 1/4 of the way up the chain lift hill, then it just suddenly stopped. Poor peeps could be seen stranded up there in the hot afternoon sun for about 10 minutes, then a DW attendant went up there to talk to each of them before it decided to work again and finish its cycle XD

Interesting. There hasn't been any indication from the outside that they are working on it, at least not over the past 3 days, anyway. The ride mountain is still just sitting there as part of the scenery, with the unused side show underneath. That's not to say that they could currently be doing internal maintenance out of the public's eye, though? For what it's worth, I hated the old mine ride. If you didn't have neck issues before you went on it, you certainly had them afterwards, hahahaha. But if they fixed it up enough to make it smoother and a little less turbulent, I'd definitely up for giving it another chance. Hahaha, funny you mention that, as that's what the ride attendant suggested we do, too. So we ended up going back down that way. HEAPS quicker XD

Dunno if it's been mentioned anywhere yet, but it's been announced that there's a new kiddy coaster and play area opening at SW sometime this year as well. Rumour has it that it's going into the area where the corkscrew and pirate ship used to be.

I have to admit, I have wondered if the recent name change of Dolphin Cove to Dolphin Beach at our Sea World is to disassociate the park in any way to this controversial "Cove" doco that has been giving marine parks a bad rap? And yeah, as a recent seasonal employee of the park, I know all this automatic association to the US Seaworld has been hurting them. Not only is their FB page clearly covered with dozens of slanderous comments & reviews related to blackfish, but I came out to animal welfare activism flyers on my (and everyone else's) car in the SW car park one afternoon after work. They didn't have a very busy Xmas period either, compared to previous years. Attendance numbers were generally lower, the days and days of rain certainly didn't help either.

Huh? We went to DW today and the entry gates didn't open until 9.55am. And this was on a Saturday. So yeah, it's still 10am opening time. On the other hand, the River Rapids WERE open earlier, around 11am, whereas yesterday when my husband and I went (Friday + school day, so therefore a quiet park day) it didn't open until 12pm. We also had issues with the Cyclone. Did the lengthy walk all the way around the outside of the turbine tower (ugh) only to find out that it was closed, as some kid had puked on it and it had to be cleaned. Then he said apon re-opening it needed a minimum 10 people to operate. So we decided to go back later! I agree it does need a bit of TLC, it's still a great coaster but getting a tad turbulent these days. Reminds me of what the Lethal Weapon was like prior to it being refurbished and reopened as the Arkham. On a side note, just bought annual passes, so looking forward to spending a LOT more time at DW & WWW over the months to come! Especially given we've previously been VIP pass holders and a little over the VRTP these days. So very excited to be visiting Dreamworld again for the first time in years

I thought the TMNT offering was just guys in costumes and merchandise sales.

Sheesh, that's one hell of a wait. Better not hold my breath

Just noticed mentioned it in the email they sent out today :-) *noticed it mentioned, even. Oh, and you can go into the draw to win a new car w/ every VIP pass purchased, too ;-)

Had been on the Lethal Weapon a couple of times when it had broken down on the way up. Luckily for not very long though, only a few mins Also, back when I worked at SW 10 years ago, I used to see the Bermuda Triangle break down on an almost weekly basis. Was notorious for it at the time! Guess it was one of the reasons that led to its permanent closure in 2010... it was just old and worn out in the end, and too costly to keep fixing 'cuz of all the electronics

Would be worth it if the coaster was of a decent size I'd certainly be up for the walk... and maybe it might give them the opportunity to add in some decent theming on the way! Excellent suggestion

Yup. And whilst I know this is on a much bigger scale of things, I felt compelled to bring up the recent "Disney Vs. Deadmau5" logo case as well lol.... http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/11/05/47876/trademark-law-why-disney-is-fighting-canadian-dj-d/ Disney do care, and have been known in both past and present to bully smaller businesses and individuals around for having anything remotely (or obviously) similar to any of their own material. Regardless of whether any company would intend to take action or not to protect copyrighted material, I suspect that is the reason - along with safety - behind most "no filming/photographs" rules of theme park rides and shows. Although so many people do it anyway these days, especially when today's technology with mobile phones, go pros etc. makes it so easy and a lot more discreet.

I dare say that the "no cameras on rides" rule, other than being for obvious safety reasons, would also be due to copyright laws. Licensed characters, sounds, music etc. on themed rides. Especially since a lot of people have a tendency to upload their material to the internet, YT etc. which is considered violation of these laws. Sheesh, I wasn't even allowed to photograph or video my daughter singing at her Eisteddfod concert the past couple of years because of these exact same rules They are pretty strict on them no matter where you go... especially at places like theme parks, whom are owned by companies who own the licenses for a lot of this content.

Oh wow, I had no idea they had closed the Jaws ride at US either! Bugger.... never got to go on it Personally I'd like to see more themed dark rides as well - boat ones in particular are fun. Ones like the Bermuda Triangle & Looney Tunes River Ride. And also a LONG rollercoaster.... something more like the length of the Thunderbolt, but not as rough. Seems all the current coasters all the parks have are over within just a few seconds (literally) lol.

Thunderbolt @ Dreamworld (my first ever rollercoaster ride), Thrillseeker @ Seaworld, Corkscrew/SeaViper @ Seaworld. Very sad to see the Corkscrew retired, alas, she had seen her time and all good things come to an end eventually....

https://myfun.com.au/myfun/box-office/combo-passes/vip-pass-renewals.aspx Well, after weeks of eager anticipation, i have to say, I am really let down with the pricing of pass renewals this year. A $10 discount is hardly an "exciting" offer, as per the wording in the email a couple of weeks back. I was expecting something a little more significant... like a 25% off offer (even 50%, though that was obviously a pure pipe dream on my part!) for example. If you renew at the gate, you dont even get a discount at all, since a $10 surcharge applies :/ Seems the only real offer is the "renew 3, get 1 free"... ideal if you are a family of 4 or more, i suppose. I was planning to renew my family's 3 passes (our son is 2, so doesnt need a pass, otherwise the deal above would be more appealling) but probably wont bother, now. We are coming down to the GC next month and planned to visit theme parks during our visit, but will probably just pay for a once-off entry to MW instead! Having 2013 passes would have been great, and enticed us to come down for at least another theme park visit or two over the next 12 months. Oh well.

Speak for yourself, dude. I think something like that is easy to say if you only have yourself to cater for, or are financially better off than most. As a family of four on a tight budget we can't always afford the big price tag that comes with 2 x adult + 2 x child (well over $200 mark) entry into the theme parks when we visit the Gold Coast. These passes have been a saviour for us and others in a similar situation, they have granted us the opportunity to experience and appreciate more of these parks where we wouldn't normally be able to afford it. Had it not been for them, we wouldn't have been able to take our kids to Movieworld AND Seaworld during our visit down there in August, it would have just been the one park. And believe me, they had an absolute ball at both! The smiles on their faces were priceless. I think the VIP passes have been a fantastic option, and I'll personally be very sad to see them go. Hopefully they will still be around for many years to come, given the stressful financial situation that so many families are struggling with in this day and age.

Longest = 1 hour for Cyclone, in its early days. Was freaking hot in that indoor spiral waiting area too, middle of summer. OVER an hour for Terror Canyon at WnW, the night it opened. Shortest = Lethal Weapon. Walked straight on numerous times during the year it opened. Sometimes we'd ride it, then run around to the entrance and get straight back on and ride again

Movieworld already has an indoor roller coaster... Scooby Doo I dunno if they would ever consider adding a second one.

I found this, too.... Very haunting video, but also very well done. Its amazing how many abandoned theme parks there are sitting around the world, just left to rust and rot away over the years Its a total shame that SF New Orleans had to become one of them.

Haha, ok I'll be honest, I admit I personally didn't do it ;p I always wanted to... just for fun of course lol. But my bestie claimed he did it numerous times, so maybe it was possible in the early days?

I got a message from my best friend the other day about the Bermuda Triangle.... I think I'll just quote it word for word and see what you guys think!! Exciting, no? Looking forward to 2012 and seeing what happens, hopefully its true In regards to the other rides, I'd like to see LTRR turned into a Neverending Story rapid ride, similar to the german version but with better, more advanced animatronics. And I'd love to see Batman stay as a motion simulator, whether its an updated version of a Batman adventure, or a completely different theme altogether!!

Had the question been what is the BEST theme park on the Gold Coast, I probably would have voted Dreamworld, based mainly on its size, ride variety, and value for money... the last time we visited DW (about 3-4 years ago) we spent the entire day there and STILL didn't manage to fit everything in. I think its also the best park for overseas tourists, given it has a great range of Australian wildlife on offer. Dreamworld basically is everything (rides, attractions, animals, water park) wrapped up in one ideal package. However, whilst I think Dreamworld is the best park, Movieworld is my favourite park I've been following the park since it first opened (I lived like 10 mins walk away at the time) and had a yearpass there as a teen. A lot of fond memories stuffing around MV every single day of the school holidays... going on Lethal Weapon 5 times in a row. Memorising the words of the Warner Bros Classics outtakes (Gremlins ride) word for word. My bestie and I having a boat to ourselves and ducking all the sensors on the Looney Tunes River Ride, so that nothing actually happens and you spend the entire time just cruising around in the dark lol. Even after going there recently after a massive period of time (way TOO long!!) I was just so excited about revisiting it. I think its because I'm a big movie buff too, I just love the atmosphere and themeing of the place. It may not be in its best state now, and missing most of the rides I grew up enjoying (or still in the process of closing/removing them ) but its still my favourite park overall. I love Movieworld

A friend of mine is saying that MW is supposed to be having 2 new rides in time for the Christmas holidays? Green Lantern is obviously one, but what is the other? I would have initially assumed that the reason Batman was being closed just before the busiest season is to open something new in its place in time. But seriously, closing a ride of that scale (lets face it, it has been used as one of their major drawcards to the park for years) calls for a similar one in its place, not a quick 'rush job' one. So unless they plan to demolish and replace it within, what, a 2 month deadline? Then I agree, it doesn't make sense at all to close it now Unless they are refurbishing and reopening with a new theme.... that might possibly work?