DaptoFunlandGuy

yeah while the train parts below the rolling stock were cannibalised and mixed, there are two sets of the bogies themselves.

There's been a lot of backlash towards dreamworld over this move. I can understand people feel like they've been done a disservice, but they need to understand that not everything lasts forever, and at the end of the day, the park is a business, in it to make money. By the sounds of things, the membership price hadn't increased for a while, so the 2014-15 prices were a little outdated. I had a bit of a think on this the other day, and the whiners and whingers just don't make sense to me... Most of those complaining are saying they can't afford to pay for the passes in one hit - and several of them have said that they would have preferred a small increase in the price over canning them entirely... By my calculations: They’ve offered 50% off a season pass, so it’s around $69 adult and $59 child So $256 for a family of four. Afterpay makes it $64 a fortnight, which doesn’t need to be started until mid September when the current memberships will run out. A family of four would currently pay $48 a month or thereabouts. Afterpay would see you pay it off by mid November at $64 per fortnight. (Sept15-Nov15 Approx) Between August 1 and mid November, that same family would have paid $192 on memberships... So they’ve only gotta come up with an extra $64... which is one extra fortnight (which from now until mid November is probably something they could stretch, especially since they know about it an extra fortnight in advance) Given many are saying they’d have been ok with a slight increase - it’s only another $8 per fortnight from now to mid November - which works out to be only an extra $2 per person - which isn't much different to the 'small increase' What this relies on is for those families to have the self control and budgetary restraint to bank that money away now, to be used later. From mid-november until the expiry of the pass in June, there's 16 fortnights. If those families were able to put away their $56 (48+8) per month from December to June, they'd have $392 saved for next year's renewal. Ok - so that isn't quite enough to buy the next annual pass, so ok, they miss out on two months in 2019... BUT - but at $56 a month, they could have it by the end of August (if they don't just use their tax refunds) or they could use afterpay, to get their passes on July 1 - and by the end of August, they'd have it all paid off without missing any time in the park.... Assuming the park is still operating then - saving their $56 per month from September gives them $560 in 2020, enough for the family of four at current prices, but with an extra $60 wiggle room in case of price increases... at which point they end up with a surplus in the following years if they keep going down the same path as they will be able to save from July 1 for next year's passes - $672 in the following year means they can splurge! Bottom line - those self entitled brats who think the park owes them something because they've kept their membership for a few years, and now want to cry and say they can't afford to go to the park because they can't afford to pay the huge lump sum ticket prices - either suck it up and deal with it that not everything can be served to you on a silver platter - or sit down with a calculator (take off your shoes and socks if you need to) and do the math to realise that the park has given you a fucking good deal that is almost on par with what you had, albeit not spread out across the year, its barely costing you any extra. And if they don't have the control to bank that money away, or if they find themselves having to spend it on bills and urgent repairs (or concert tickets, flights, hotel rooms and cocktails), then they only have themselves to blame when their pass expires and they can't visit their favourite park anymore. It isn't the parks fault... it's theirs.

Well, not to have a bog standard Freestyler track - but the channel does have some other interesting tidbits collected from the parks. My favourite would be the imagine soundtrack... track.

Has anyone been past RNA recently though? It looks like a second tent the size of the showbag pavilion was being constructed across a fair chunk of the ride precinct... could be the reason for the smaller list?

That's pretty good though - they've given people basically two months notice on the end of the deal, and despite ending payments on 1/8 they're still giving every member access to 15 September (some will benefit - eg: those who paid on July 2 get 1.5 months free, whereas those who pay on August 1 will only get 2 weeks free, it's still pretty good - plus everyone has two months to decide whether they want to upgrade their pass, and save up the money for it if that's what they decide to do. No doubt, there will still be those out there that think just because they've been paying monthly for a service for a year or two, that somehow entitles them to special treatment, or the right to continue to pay it off that way regardless of whether the park is making a profit out of it. Those people are likely the people who staunchly stand by the park with words, but not with actions. Those people know who they are.

It does sound like a decent idea. I'm not against it at all. I'm not sure passholders should be free access - (I assume you mean VIP \ Onepass \ Membership \ Whatever its called now?) primarily because like most night events you'd see a lot of passholders taking advantage without Village making any money off them. I'm not sure the math figures out though. Just as a comparison - 16 years ago, Wonderland would hire it's rides as part of night corporate events, and the price charged ranged from $500-600 for flats, and I think somewhere between $900 and $1200 for the big coasters and Space Probe... (that's per hour) Rivals would run with at least 3 operators, plus you'd need someone taking money - whereas in the wonderland days most everything was set up to run with a single operator. In 2013, I was quoted $1800 for Sea Viper for an hour (with one operator)... so let's assume Rivals comes in at $2500 per hour just for shits and giggles... I've found it difficult to locate either a complete cycle time, or a PPH figure, so I've spitballed a little... 10 Rows x 2 for 20 pax per ride, and add 1 to average out the sometimes full sometimes empty backwards row - so 21 pax. Assuming a 5 minute turnaround (12 cycles per hour) we're looking at a 252 per hour capacity. $10 per ride, assuming every seat is full on every ride for the full hour, and you've got yourself a profit of $20. Add another $60 for the additional charge on backwards seats - and that's without giving freebies to passholders! Hardly worth it - especially since you'd need to add additional gate security, and security to prevent people sneaking into other parts of the park. I feel like you need to double the current costings to really make it worthwhile... Don't get me wrong I don't mean to shit on the idea - I think its a fantastic cross promotion which (TBH) they were stupid not to do from day one... - I just think the costings need to be adjusted a little more - and then - is it worth it? would people pay $20 to ride something they can ride for free when they visit fright nights \ white Christmas? Oh wow really? Did you think Brad meant they'd walk you through the ride envelope?

I share similar sentiments. I've only been on one 'travel agent organised' holiday in my life, and whilst the package put together was nice and it was good to have so many things organised and you just provided a voucher on the day (which also let you budget things better as most things were already paid for), at the end of the day, every other trip I've ever done, I've been able to plan things myself and get them far cheaper than anything a travel agent has offered me - which then offset any sweeteners or incentives they could offer like free breakfast (in some cases, I've rung the hotel and asked if they would comp it because that's what the competitor was offering, and they just did, so hardly a TA exclusive deal). I don't want to start a TA bashing discussion - and clearly one or more respondents are favourable to travel agents, or possibly are travel agents - so let me make it clear, there are benefits to using an agent - those are usually convenience, budgeting in advance to do the things you want to do, and not having to stress or worry about the details. However, and this is just for me and my own opinion, if your primary concern is cost, then you can save more by doing your own legwork - especially since most travel agents work on a commission - so at the very least you can save that much, if not more. I will usually contact 1 or 2 agents when I'm planning a trip, and ask them to put together a few quotes for options on what they'd recommend. Invariably, I can get closer to what I'm looking for, for a cheaper price. The day a travel agent can offer a better deal than I can get myself, i'll book with them - but as I said - I've only been on one in my life (and I wasn't the one paying the bill).

How? It'd be great, if you - you know - backed up your claims with evidence or explanation rather than a single short phrase... https://www.parkz.com.au/about/guidelines

3 parks, or 3 days? If you only have 3 days (which is more likely) then it is probably best to avoid Disney. As has been said countless times you do need 3 days there as a minimum. If you do that, you miss out on a lot of variety, whereas in the same time you could smash Knott's, Universal, and the majority of SFMM (or all of it, with a flash pass) - I think the diversity wins in this argument, but it all depends on whether you're after Quantity or Quality. By the looks of the parks you suggested (MM, DK and Knott's) it seems like you may be more interested in 'just rides' rather than experience and quality - and if that's the case, then probably the parks you've chosen are the way to go. If you're keen to see what a park with a proper attraction budget can do, then switch out one for Universal so you can see what 'quality' actually is. If Universal impresses you, and makes you wish you went with Quality - then its time to plan a revisit to do Disney justice. If you weren't impressed by Universal - then keep returning to Six Flags... it keeps the lines shorter at Disney for us!

it depends. if you thought they had a good chance of recovery, now might be the perfect time to pick some shares up.

my 'not an attraction' statement was quoting you, calling TOT drive sheds 'not an attraction' and other similar things - I never said they were. I said the train was. I said the monorail was. And note - I've used attraction and ride independently, but I use them with the same definitions for these purposes. Again - I haven't said the monorail isn't transport, just that it IS also an attraction \ ride. The fact it DOES go outside the park doesn't negate that - as I've used it in an exclusionary, not inclusionary sense. (ie: not leaving the park hardly qualifies solely as transport. Leaving the park is more indicative that it is, but that doesn't mean its all or nothing)

"not an attraction" - I never said it was - I said it was something you could only see whilst on that ride that you can't see if you walked... which was brad's definition, not mine.

Sea World's monorail takes you over the quarantine pools on the eastern side of the main entrance (behind the ski boat docks) where you can see animals in rehabilitation. It's a stretch, but honestly - it's not efficient enough (it's neither fast, nor frequent) to be considered transportation. I've seen many people trek up the ramps to wait for the monorail only to trek it back down and walk back to the front gate because of how long between trips it is. I would argue that 90% of passengers riding do so for a place to sit down, and ride around for a few minutes in their day to get away from the crowd, and take the kids up high for the novelty of riding a monorail, whilst travelling at near walking pace around the park. Going off Brads definition of seeing \ experiencing things you wouldn't if you'd walked - the tour of the train sheds, big brother backlot, blue lagoon sneak peak, rocky hollow lagoon, the aboriginal rock art behind billabong, the different perspective of the birdlife in the wildlife experience, the TOT drive sheds... there are still things you get to see on the train that you otherwise wouldn't. Likewise, the fact that it only does a circuit once every half hour and then sits at main street for 10-15 minutes, its not really ideal for a 'I don't feel like walking, let's hop the train'. it is not the most efficient method of getting to another part of the park - especially since it has such a roundabout circuit surrounding blue lagoon to get up the grade. I'll say again - it can be both transport, and a ride, but its a stretch to consider almost any closed circuit attraction within a theme park as 'purely transport' unless it got you into or out of the park... I'm not arguing that these things aren't transport, just that they are rides \ attractions

Sorry - I don't have anything to share that would help you, but my, that prop is rather phallic, don't you think?

There's lots of good advice here, but I'm sure it isn't really helping the OP much since many of them directly contradict the rest! First let me state that I (like others) have only done the west coast run, so I cannot comment on the east coast. Second let me say that Disney is as much about the 'old school characters' as Movie World is about Bugs Bunny. Sure - he's there, and its part of the park fabric, but there is SO MUCH MORE about them than just the old school characters... especially if you've never done a Disney park before - I assure you it is not to be missed, regardless of which coast you do. Now, it's been a while, but I was almost in your kid's positions over 20 years ago. It was my first overseas trip, we did the west coast, and hit Universal, Knott's, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland and Sea World San Diego (amongst other things). I was 14, whilst my brother was 17. I can still remember every single thing we did on that trip, and it was quite the memorable one. Of course, I am biased - but here's what I'd suggest: West Coast will be just as amazing, and offer so many things the kids haven't come close to at our local parks etc. It really comes down to your budget, but you can travel to the west coast cheaper, and accommodation can be cheaper too. Whilst staying "on property" (eg:Disney Hotel) is pretty cool - the mouse does charge a premium. There's a reason for it, the little things that almost go unnoticed that are pretty cool when you notice \ realise, but at the end of the day its a matter of weighing up whether you want to spend the money on a 'nicer bedroom' or a 'better experience'. If you think it'd be a nice touch, maybe plan to spend just a day or two at Disney (and do it at the end of your trip so you finish on a high) but make sure you do your research on what perks are available to you so you can take full advantage of them! As pointed out in @Skeeta's post above - there are plenty of Non-Disney hotels surrounding the park and many are quite affordable. Check out hotels that offer the ART bus - as that's really all you'll need for most of your stay. Don't discount the mouse. Disney is way more than just Mickey Mouse, and you won't regret a visit. Many say 5 days are needed. I'd suggest the minimum would be 3 depending on crowds - with 4 being a good middle ground (remember there are two full parks to visit!). Knott's is just up the road, and whilst not as 'big' as say, Universal's brand, the park is definitely worth a full day of your time. Universal Hollywood is unique with it's backlot and working studios, as well as being home to the animal actors schools - whilst they aren't as big as the universal properties on the east, I think Hollywood has a little something extra - like Disneyland - about being the original. Six Flags Magic Mountain is also worth a trip. Without paying for a premium queue jumper pass, you won't do it all in a day, but I'd be honest - I've never felt like doing a second day. This one has the most coasters of any park in the world and is definitely an easy way to experience a dozen different styles of coaster in one day, in one place... but the place is huge, and it's packed!!! That alone is 7 out of ten days. for the length of the trip and your interest in parks, keep the other days for other things, but from a park perspective that'd be my go to list. plan some rest time in there, and also plan some shopping time. that should leave you with a little time to hit up some other non-parky stuff that the area is known for, or just doing other fun things that don't have rollercoasters attached (if such a thing even exists!)

Was it several? or was it just the same thing, repeated? I'm not quite sure I had marbles to begin with, but even so, the fact he says it doesn't make it true. And a train, or a monorail is not really much different to many of the other attractions I pointed to - so he can think I'm wrong, likewise, I can think he is.

He does. There is. We just don't tell you about it because the usual winner has normally insulted you. He does. There is. We just don't tell you about it because the usual winner has normally insulted you.

^Dick. Why can't it be both? What can't it be regarded as a ride, and a mode of transportation around the park? If that's all they were, then why do parks devote additional resources and expense to certain themed elements - bushranger \ bandit robberies, dioramas, etc? I'm not suggesting these sorts of rides aren't a form of transport (arguably, all roller coasters are also a form of transport if you really want to be pedantic), but they are also a ride. Wet N Wild Buggy is also a form of transport. Wild West Falls is also a form of transport Rocky Hollow Log Ride is also a form of transport. "The Green Room" is also a form of transport

I don't hate the batman crossover idea - the ride is right next to Gotham City Hall after all. I'd just hate for it to degrade into some cheap spinoff without the recognition. I'm happy to stick with the original film as the theme of the ride - I just hope they do something different with the queueline video...

In the vein of 'mode of transport not a ride'... sorry Brad but *in my opinion* you're incorrect. Knott's has the Butterfield Stagecoach, the Calico Railroad, even the Grand Sierra Railroad! Disney also lists their Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail as 'attractions' (they don't use the term 'ride') - as well as the Main Street transportation - double decker bus, horse and carriage etc. Let's be honest, few people ride those 'transport vehicles' purely because they can't be bothered walking... A few years ago I took a pacific islands cruise. One of the shore tours we did was a 'mud buggy'. Far from any beach or sand, these buggies (which were a more rudimentary version of what WnWB was) tore up the tracks, and sprayed mud everywhere - as a matter of fact - the clothes we wore are still to this day covered in marks from the mud stains that could not be gotten out no matter what the onboard laundry team tried. Yes, to put it in a water park is weird, but the bush \ dirt trails available behind the park weren't completely unsuited to the experience. I never tried it, but I wonder if they hosed you off when you were done or whether you just went and jumped in the wave pool...

...Sounds like Radiator Springs, doesn't it?

Interesting to note that they still include '& Water Park' in the Sea World Resort logo. They can't seriously be referring to the water play and pool within the resort grounds, can they? (I'm thinking they've just used an outdated logo). other things that strike me: Large capital investment required Addition of lower cost new attractions to enhance guest appeal Cue @Roachie's opinion on 'new creative marketing campaigns'... so long as they don't bring back that e-serve guy... a little concerning about evaluating the top golf opportunity - as if they are going to move away from building any more of them after such an effort... As for the DCR lease, I'm quite perplexed and keen to hear more...

I swear I heard about this the other day - I'm somewhat surprised that it wasn't on Parkz. My understanding is the contract hasn't been renewed. no idea of the reason why. (Of course, for those who didn't know, WnWB was an external contractor supplying services in the park - it wasn't owned by VRTP)

I fluctuate between a 107 and a 117. I've got a bit of a belly but I do just fine. If you're worried, go along with someone who you know will fit, get them to wait until you're seated, and then get them to shove the harness down until its able to be buckled in and you should be fine. the ops will give it a shove if it doesn't quite make it, but I never need op assistance myself. Scooby could be your only worry depending on where you hold it exactly, but worst case, lift the belly and pull the bar under it and you should do fine.

Yeah - we didn't see a trading halt prior to the sale of WnWS, so I doubt this is an indication of a park sale, so what Skeet says is highly likely. As for whether they're losing money, I don't think the VRTP parks are suddenly super un profitable - I think its more a case of getting caught with their pants down with Rivals and Top Golf when the TRRR incident happened, and they had laid themselves thin to win, and the risk is coming back to bite them because they had a much smaller buffer than normal right when they needed it the most. I've noticed many cost cutting efforts happening everywhere lately, and this is probably as good a reason why as any.