DaptoFunlandGuy

All they would need to do is reopen Chinatown Alley, and suddenly Gotham Cafe could be linked to Arkham, to SE, to JL and GL. Chinatown Alley could be rethemed to something Gotham - that way you're walking through Gotham from Gotham City Hall to the Arkham Asylum... not that hard. I totally agree with everyone that a repaint would have been nice, and solidified the new theme well (no matter what colour they went with). Orange (i'm sure Sea World has some left over from SeaScrew) would have worked well as many hot wheels track sets are orange... what i'm trying to say though is that few people (if any) complained about the paint job prior to the Hot Wheels announcement. The only complaints were theme, train and queue - and we know they've changed 2, and it waits to be seen whether the third is done also - put simply - they've fixed everything that we on here have complained about - and instead of going 'awesome - they fixed all those things we complained about' - we simply move onto something else to complain about? Perhaps there is a repaint in the works - but perhaps with the weather (it is storm season) and the approaching summer season, they didn't have the time. Maybe they're repainting after the Xmas holidays, and we'll see a new colour rise up in February? I think Rappa is right (over on the DH discussion) that many of us can never be pleased and must always have something to complain about. Right now i'm just keen to see what a new train can do to the old girl - and hopefully it gives the coaster a new lease on life for years to come.

They may very well have had more staff rostered, but people called in sick, and they weren't able to replace them in time. The park does get a reputation for poor staffing levels, and these are things they should focus on - especially with night events, but all the rostering in the world can't help you if your staff don't come in.

^but that's just it. If you go over discussion threads on Cyclone in the past, discussion always surrounding the pathetic theme, the lack of upkeep on the theme etc. I don't think anybody has said the paint job on cyclone was crap, and it's only with the re-theme that anyone suggested that a re-paint was necessary. Now that we've figured out that they won't have the time to do it - many are crying that they didn't repaint it.. the question is was it necessary to do so in order for the theme to work? Now - if it were a V8SC theme, or some other 'actual' racecar story, i'd say yes. but hot wheels track isn't black with white lines. it's colourful. Is it the colour of the cyclone track - no. but does it really matter? One could argue that my hot wheels track was yellow, with blue supports, and consequently the two yellow 'rails' of the track fit perfectly with the hot wheels theme. (granted the supports aren't the same blue but it wouldn't be hard to fix) My main point is - if a re-paint was Soooooo necessary because it looked filthy and was really affecting the aesthetics of the park - where were all the fanboy complaints before the refurb was announced? My searches revealed this topic: http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/topic/6863-cyclone-beginning-of-the-end/#comment-109042 and most people say all it needed was fixing the theme, fixing the queue, and replacing the train. I believe Dreamworld are in the process of doing that - although it waits to be seen what fixes they can do with the queueline...

Moving \ Removing MDMC is not exactly a 'new' idea though...

...and it was good!

something in me doesn't feel right - AndrewH = ThemeTendo? just my thoughts...

Wasn't he the middle child in Hanson?

Its so cute how you think you know more than others.

I'm aware of Wendy's (Ice Cream) and Brumbys (Bakery) but since when are they "fast food"? Neither of them generally supplies anything you could consider a fast meal - which i'd consider would be a "main" a "side" and a "drink", with dessert a possible option... so burger, chips, drink, or noodle box, prawn crackers, drink, or burrito, chips, drink. I realise Wendy's do hot dogs, but I don't see that as their core business. I also realise Brumbys do savoury food items, but again - it's not their core business. As for Wokinabox - there are 19 stores in SA (which means they're bigger than ben hur down there)... but there are none in NSW or VIC, and according to their website - there are only two in QLD - Broadbeach and Mackay-Mt Pleasant. WA has 12. That is hardly what i'd call 'well known'... especially when the vast majority of the Australian Population resides on the eastern coast - which has just two stores. That means they're as qualified to be called 'well known' as the Burrito Bar that currently has 12 locations across Brisbane (i have one less than a kilometre from my house. I still don't consider them well known). As for Mad Mex - well - QLD has 5 locations, one of which must have just opened next to my office this year - but as one is inside the BNE international airport, i don't really think that counts. They've certainly got a presence in greater metro Sydney - they have 3 airport stores, and over 20 across the Sydney basin, as well as 10 in VIC, 7 in WA, 2 in ACT and 1 in SA. Out of all of them on the list, this is the only one i'd concede is a 'well known fast food brand' - just one i wasn't aware of.

^Milk Crate. How can you see loose item storage, but not the train? Where were you standing?

Seems AndrewH didn't learn his lesson after all.

Well known fast food brands? Mad Mex? Wokinabox? Wendys? Brumbys? Since when are ANY of these 'well known fast food brands' ?

Why does everyone keep talking about ridiculous operating hours? I haven't seen anything yet to support that argument except for 'it's not open when I want it to be'. Their operating schedules make sense. everything inside the park doesn't - but the schedule does.

Pirates needs the drops at the start to get below the berm and out into the show building. Kids or no kids - you should have at least 3 days at Disneyland\California Adventure - always... Otherwise you miss things - a lot of things. Six Flags you're pretty well on the money - going in winter obviously helped with queues though - and anyone who only has one day at that park should always invest in a flash pass. Knott's - no ghostrider? no mystery lodge? Knott's is an awesome 'little' park and being just down the road from Disney - it's a no brainer for anyone staying in Anaheim. Sounds like you had a great time, and whilst i realise your review isn't a blow-by-blow, it sounds like you were trying to squeeze a lot in, and - consequently missed a lot of thing little things that make many of these parks great... in the end though - that just makes you want to go back and do it all over again! thanks for the report!

^but thats the problem - chain offerings inside of theme parks are more expensive than their food court counterparts. the rest of your statement regarding the food offering is I think what some of the others (Rappa) are getting at. By all accounts, the new outlet offers a premium offering. It can be compared to a low grade fast food offering because they are both the same product name (burrito) - however I know I am happy to pay a premium price for a burger at Sydney's "Quay" restaurant by Peter Gilmore, whilst McDonald's does $1.50 cheeseburgers at the other end of the Quay. The fact that DH's serves mexican fare doesn't mean they are comparable to Guzman Y Gomez or Montezuma's - especially when so far - nobody has actually tried it.

Sounds like a smart one to me. Working at Wonderland it was plain to see the 'dead zone' from around 1:30-3:30, where all the asian tour buses had left, as had the school excursion kids, and nothing picked up until after 3:30 when the afternoon passholder crowd dropped in for a couple of hours. rather than open 10-5, when most people are at work, opening 3:30-8pm in the summertime in western sydney is the best way to maximise profits by being open at a time when people really want to come to a waterpark. its a no brainer in my view.

@Levithian, you now have several people, some of which are either current or former employees of theme parks telling you that what i'm saying is correct. Most major attractions open Boxing day. they run for January, and go down in february once everyone is back in school. In the case of september openings, they do the same thing between Schoolies and Xmas. I don't have dates and facts, but i've worked in a theme park, and i've watched our GC parks for many years and this is ALWAYS the case. As for your argument: If the parks always did the annual inspections precisely a year after they were installed, everything would close on boxing day. the parks already have a maintenance schedule in their calendar for every attraction in the park. The manufacturer can't dictate WHEN the park does annual inspection, only that it is done every year - it is up to the park to decide where in it's current maintenance schedule it will fit. Of course that doesn't mean the park can do away with an inspection in the first 12-18 months until they can find a slot to fit the ride into, but a new ride won't settle into a 'regular' spot for its maintenance in the first year or two. There are threads on this forum that will also prove my point - go back through the construction topics for Green Lantern, Storm Coaster, Buzzsaw etc - there will be discussions that tell you when the ride opened. now fast forward into the next quiet period, and I guarantee you will find discussions of it going down for maintenance.

Something else that needs to fit into the equation: A park operated outlet can be staffed or stocked based on park anticipated demand. the park can choose to close certain outlets on quiet days, redeploy staff elsewhere etc. When you're dealing with an external - they run their own ship their own way - meaning they may choose to open on a quieter day forcing competition between the food outlets the park does operate instead of funnelling everyone towards the one or two open options. Their costs would also be higher as they would need to recruit and train staff separately, and those staff couldn't work at other outlets to suit demand. it's a lack of flexibility. The external would need to be able to charge more on their food simply to cover these increased costs - so you'd have to give up on one side or the other of yourplan. let em stick with what they have. They can't do any worse than 'food court' externals.

But carousel isn't listed as annual maintenance, so why should it be closed? As the coaster is a brand new attraction, it doesn't yet HAVE a schedule for annual maintenance. I've said it twice now, and i'm going a third time, but i promise this will be the last. EVERY. NEW. RIDE. DOES. THIS.

#DippinDots

It's funny you referred to Guzman Y Gomez - since they are the 'makers' of the first burrito pictured above. mmmmm.... Appetising.

NFI - although according to the Wiki they use a Cessna with a hyperpod attached. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NearMap

This is a burrito This is a burrito We also still don't know how many tortillas you get for that price... so if it's more than one, it's more than generous - but as Rappa mentioned, for the quality and standard of the offering - even if it is one, it's still reasonable given the setting. Pretty much anything can be made fancy enough to suit a restaurant setting... although they're more difficult to eat with cutlery so you're still eating with your hands. I'd say it qualifies. One day you'll understand...

Every major ride installed by every park on the coast generally opens for a peak holiday season as the premiere. it runs for that season, and then goes down for maintenance. every. single. time.

Given the proximity to AOS, I do hope that they apply something to the wall facing the highway so that it fits with the theme of AOS, or at least promotional materials, billboards or something other than a big concrete wall. It'll also affect the airflow around that end of the AOS arena where everyone gathers before the show - thankfully it's eastern facing so it shouldn't emit too much heat before showtime.