DaptoFunlandGuy

You see failure. I see success. Its all about perspective...

I have my residency. I'm afraid that would be a conflict.

traffic purple.....

Fuschia. Traffic Orange. Annoying Orange orange. Taipan Orange Terry's.

Yes! We absolutely must have our own thread for colour bets!

20+? It won't even reach 20 until the end of this year. Have we confirmed the colour yet?

Yeah sure, alright mate. 👍

This forum has existed for more than 16 years, and for most of the time (excepting Mark Shaw's involvement) there was very little 'official' representation to be had - and only occasionally a clandestine (belinda brown) profile might appear, but it wouldn't last very long. We have long called for park execs to join us here. Bikash certainly got off to a rocky start, but his honest and straightforward answers are refreshing (although the descriptive marketing fluff will never be completely absent). I notice that Bikash is sporting a new 'verified' tag this morning and I had wondered how long it would take for that to appear - I do hope that this open and respectful dialog from both sides leads to more of our park executives joining us here on the forums to speak directly to those who are their most loyal fans. It is important though to remember this isn't a press conference. Execs won't always be able to reveal every detail, but likewise, they shouldn't try to spin their marketing phrases on enthusiasts who see right through it. In addition to the /s sarcasm tags i've called to be added previously, i'm wondering if we can have /spin or /fluff tags to call out those high-reaching phrases like 'world class' and 'most _____ever seen'

Can confirm, based on nearmap images - they remained in place with no work apparent as at 18 March 2020.

Quoted for truth.

So, that’s a yes.

Fair play mate, and I appreciate your words there. Likewise I don't think your perspective speaks to the majority either, but it all comes from our own personal experiences - so without creating a nationwide referendum on the topic its hard to judge.. and neither of us are wrong about our opinions. I do apologise that my earlier statements weren't getting across what i was trying to say properly though and i think what i had meant was that tying the rake to the parks is probably trying to take advantage of the nostalgia of both markets to drive visitation. Notwithstanding the 'disney corporate' example you give, I do hope the strategy benefits them in whatever way it can, to support them through this. I'll agree with you on this one. We still have the green 'stamp card' showing the dates we visited all three parks before choosing our 'bonus day' to go back to Sea World (my how times have changed) back in 1994. Like I said back at the start, i'm no big fan of the Rake in terms of theme park branding, so i'm happy to sit back and see how it works out for them. I do hope that whatever they're looking for out of the cross promotion does work, and it drives more from the domestic market to visit.

regardless of history or personal taste, your continued interactions can only be a positive thing for this forum. Thanks Bikash for sharing.

It's amusing to me that while I shared an opinion different to Joz, I didn't minimise his perspective on things. Its quite arguable that your statement is no more than a 'couple of argumentative experiences on a select forum' too. I have friends who have no interest in theme parks. They holiday on the gold coast regularly, and come here for the beaches and a wealth of other things the gold coast has to offer. The parks are an integral part of the gold coast, but not for everybody - and admittedly, while I made a fairly general statement that the broader community outside SEQ would associate more than just the parks, so did you. Great! You were lucky to holiday on the GC and go to parks. As I said I didn't visit until I finished primary school, and that was once until I was an adult. We had one other big holiday and that was mid-high school to Disneyland. The remainder of our holidays was elsewhere... but, the rainy day plan when we were holidaying at some small holiday town was always the local Village Cinemas. But - I'm not talking about a VHS tape. Or a video logo. Or even a cinema chain. I'm talking about the ident that fronted many of the big movies of the 80's and 90's. I actually raised the topic with a few of my friends the other day and many associated the rake with the movies, and with particular films they remember seeing growing up. Ok, people don't necessarily identify VIllage as the operators of theme parks. But maybe thats what they're trying to change? That ad clearly shows the parks, and ends it with the rake. Considering the fence out front of rivals, and the staff polos and name badges have crossed over - maybe this is the next step in the branding to bring all the parks together under the one umbrella and identify the nostalgic trip to the drive-in or cinema with the parks of today to attract the non-park going audience? As you and Joz say - you associate the park logos. Cool. They've got that market covered. Why not expand the market by triggering those childhood movie memories with a physical place they can visit? This ad is about trying to bring people back to the parks and show that its a family environment that is safe. And without the international market, drawing others in from a domestic market who otherwise wouldn't come to the parks, by using a brand they would associate with other things they remember isn't a dumb idea. You aren't wrong about the image and brand of the parks. That is your perspective, and i'm sure many share it. I do also agree the park logo brands are recognisable, and important, so I certainly won't presume to sit here high and mighty and say you're in the minority - and you're wrong. Instead, I choose to respect your viewpoint, but express my disagreement with it because of my perspective. What I do know is that when I saw that ad, i recognised many scenes (mainly because much of the footage was recycled), and I knew it was for the parks. But the slash-Rake ending for me immediately conjured the image of the village idents of years gone by - including this one (which actually uses a map of Australia in the background to dismiss those 'american company' theories) https://youtu.be/LDjlBgCN_g0 And I don't think marketing all their properties under a unified banner is a bad thing. While people might know the parks, they may not necessarily know which ones are accessible under the same ticket or pass. Marketing that those properties as part of the village group may help holidaymakers decide which parks to visit with limited time and money... i mean, it could be worse - they could rename every park to include the parent brand... Or - you know, they can keep spewing a mess of logos over every advertisement, confusing the viewer and having them not know where to look for the 3 seconds at the end of the ad that is supposed to cement the brand image in them and make them want to look further into the product they just saw... Respectfully, I think we're going to have to agree to disagree.

No need to get your knickers in a twist. I've asked at least twice just for some sort of confirmation. You're asking us to take you at your word. That's fine. But so is Jay Jay. I've heard what Jay Jay is saying elsewhere too, and Rappa has heard what you're saying elsewhere. So i'm well within reasonable to be hedging bets on which story is correct - as there is nothing i've seen official from a park source or otherwise that confirms it one way or the other. You don't need to get cut up that someone on the internet doubts you

I look forward to NOT reading the rest of this thread when it mysteriously disappears overnight.

Is that the only source of this? your friend told you? no screenshots or anything like that? so we're telling Jay Jay - who also heard it from a friend of reliable repute that he's wrong, based on your friend of reliable repute? Appreciate the info, and keen to see where it all lands, but what we don't have is the park quoted saying 2/3 of the track is still in germany, and two items of hearsay that differ in their detail. I'm still on the fence. Neither has been proven right or wrong.

yeah ok, plus the summer nights at the drive in, or at the workers club, watching 'new' movies like crocodile dundee - that 'whooshing' sound. the village rake. I have far more associations with that logo as a kid than I do the parks. Sure, your associations are with the park directly, but the broader community outside of SEQ would have more association with Village Roadshow from movies, cinemas, and other ventures across the country, than just the parks. I'm not saying your perspective is wrong - just that it's different to mine (and it would seem, some others who have similar associations)

I visited the GC parks for the first time when I was 12. I didn't visit again until I was an adult. My association with the park brands comes primarily from the home video market advertising the Wild Wild West Adventure Ride. But you know what nostalgic imagery and sounds conjures up vivid memories of a childhood spent at home on a quiet, cold winter's night watching the latest family movie? - This:

Look, I think the rake promotion is a poor choice, and the parks are definitely a better brand to market. This came across to me as a shareholder presentation for the new buyers than something to encourage people to come back to the parks - BUT - Putting Clark at the front of the campaign is probably the best part of that ad. Sure, Average Joe doesn't know who he is, but if they persist with this marketing strategy (remember, he's fronted the media recently for soundbytes instead of Bikash) he starts to become the human face of the company, which is a far better image than a faceless rake. (I also don't think it's Clark who does the voiceover). The Kirby name founded Movie World and the Village company, and while definitely not of the same calibre, has hints of the days where Roy Disney fronted the cameras on behalf of the Disney company. By all accounts Clark will continue to lead in some capacity with any new owner, and marketing him now (albeit probably a bit later than it should have been) is a great step at showing that it's "business as usual" when the new owners come on board. No doubt the company will take a direction that is different to what we have come to expect from Village (one can hope!) but having Clark at the helm, AND as the face is the kind of thing Eisner did when he rose to the top at Disney. While my personal opinion of Clark isn't that high (an impression taken mostly from his posted antics on social media), it isn't horrible. I'm sure others would hold a negative opinion of him for different (and probably better positioned) reasons than mine - but as you say - quite a lot of people don't know who he is - but perhaps this is the start of Clark's "face of the company" debut, with more to come. If i'm wrong about that, then I wholeheartedly agree, its a poor choice for him to face the campaign, but if i'm right, its a great foundation for them to build him a public image that would well suit a family suite of theme parks.

You mean an internal email, that someone without a contact at the park could be forgiven for not knowing? Gotcha.

That doesn't confirm they're in Germany. There could be 60 'freight boxes' sitting on the brisbane dock. Or hanging precariously over the side of a battered container ship. It only says 60 are "yet to be delivered" - not 'yet to be despatched'. Those 60 could be LITERALLY anywhere except Germany. I'm asking where is the park quoted saying 2/3 of the ride is still in Germany. Can anyone tell me where that quote is?

I did like the rainbow serpent also, but a bit of a shame its so claustrophobic feeling...

Mate, that horse is dead. stop beating it. I'm not doubting the statement - but can someone point me to the source of this? I haven't seen this from the park at all? (and may well just be my head in the sand)...

Thanks mate! Nice clear numbers on the track pieces there too. Wish Skeet was around - As we know Rivals track numbering started from the station point and moved forward - I wonder how this one is numbered, given the reverse spike launch at the start, which one is 1 (probably station) but then how do the numbers go for the reverse spike section?