DaptoFunlandGuy

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! ...And people taking a photo of me steals my soul...

I agree that a traditional woodie - the likes of Bush Beast, or Scenic Railway wouldn't turn heads (which is wrong, as they arewere both awesome coasters in their own right) - however most of the park going public likes a coaster that has inversions. A new-school woodie with inversions would hold the appeal in my opinion, or something with a 'participation' element, such as high-five, or a twin racer such as Colossus used to be. Even with that said, a nice little GCI woodie - like Apocalypse - does look impressive, and it holds it's own. I don't think the majority of the general public would agree with you Ash. I appreciate you don't enjoy them - and each to their own... but I think media outlets would trumpet "brand new ride at dreamworld" rather than "crappy death trap opens at dreamworld"... Apocalypse:

Yep definitely was, and i'm pretty sure the Eye was the reason for the shift... it really should go out to SW though.

Apart from the countless topics that have been created here over the years answering that very question... they are two different experiences... Steel coasters are intended to be smooth, high speed, inversions, twists etc... Wooden coasters move - wood flexes - so the sensation is more about being out of control - big dips, headchoppers. Standing in the stationhouse when the train hits the final brake run and feeling the whole station shudder under your feet as the train's force pushed against it.

Given that single park general admission to MW and SW is $93, and WnW is $69 unlimited entry until 28 February, but the Super Pass is only $99.99 (28 days unlimited to all 3), or the VIP magic pass (until June 30) is only $109.99... I don't think there's any merit to that. Clearly those "sad touring coaster enthusiasts" would see the value in one of the 3 park passes (as it's cheaper than a separate ticket to MW and SW) which would include admission to WnW. Yes there is a 'per cap' revenue to be made if they actually set foot in the park - but if those STCE's are only visiting for the credit, chances are they'll walk in, ride it, and walk straight back out anyway... especially since it didn't cost them any more to attend the park... so how much benefit is there for the park really, for that particular market? Also I think Gazza (who has made many long distance cross country treks across numerous countries just to obtain a ride on a particular coaster in a particular park) would take issue to being called "sad"... Aren't we all coaster enthusiasts here? (or at least theme parks)... wouldn't any of us take a slight detour if there was a park to visit on the way? Does that make us all sad? Aren't you the one looking for travelling fairs in February that have coasters you could ride?

They should really move it out to Sea World and operate it properly. Whilst they have integrated it well, it just isn't right for WnW. The old pirate ship site at SW would be a good spot, a great filler until they're ready to do something else, and round out the park for attractions since the loss of CorkViperSeaScrew.

For once, BigKev, I agree with you. Parks overseas can profit from the big blockbusters because they have the diversity in the market - families to bring in the holiday bucks, and thrillseekers who will travel the country just to ride it. Our amusement industry can't sustain on thrillseekers alone - mainly because they're too whiny and fussy about what they get, and always under-appreciate what they are given. The one thing I think they could pull off on a reasonable budget would be a off-the-shelf woodie. None of them currently have the space for it (Dreamworld could if they fiddled things a little) - the main reason being that it is manufactured on-site so local materials could potentially save on things like shipping. Buy the plans from a known brand, and build it locally. Trains would be the only major import.

^same. I found it was too hard to sort through everything I wanted to read and separate it from all the guff I wasn't really interested in. Robb's a nice guy - but when people piss him off it usually ends in a verbal brawl that drags on for pages. I do follow their Facebook feed and find that keeps me up enough with things happening in TPR land.

So what you're referring to is just SE QLD not getting cool coasters? So would you call these "cool" ? If not - what do you consider cool, on a budget of 10-20 mil? A world record setter for tallest and fastest? The best themed Intamin Accelerator coaster in the world World's steepest drop? World's first SLC with a boomerang helix? Ok - several of you just choked on your cheerios - but let's remember in 1995 - that was cool. It's very hard to do "cool" on a budget, unless the "cool" factor is a one-trick pony... like BuzzSaw. I think our parks have done alright, and consider the introduction of Abyss to be "upping the ante" in Australia and will encourage our GC parks to follow suit. If you're expecting Milennium Force or Tatsu or the Smiler... you're gunna need a plane ticket.

They need something that isn't short, you think Cyclone is "in-between" and you suggest a Eurofighter... Yet Abyss (oddly enough - a EuroFighter) - has a ride time of +/- 1:45. (RCDB lists it as 2:00, however a TPR vid - from dispatch to brake run has it at about 1:45 which includes ~5 seconds sitting at the bottom of the lift hill before the chain lift starts). If you take the same measure - from dispatch to brake run, Cyclone has the EXACT SAME run time of +/- 1:45. Taking a TPR vid of Karacho - the ride time (thanks to the launch, as opposed to a chain lift) goes for only 1:20 from dispatch to brake run. Even Typhoon in Bobbejaadland (a Eurofighter 670/8) only runs for 1:30. Even the old Colossus at SFMM only ran for 2:30... so what sort of run time are you looking for? Ummmmm... bladex - Abyss is a EuroFighter... "we" already got one.

You started it.

Yep! The Florida State Fair is on the first two weeks of February.

The Dolphin Show IS an attraction. a Renewed show should receive some fanfare - much the same as Dreamworld trumpeted the end of the Tiger Island show and the introduction of the Tiger Pre-School (or whatever it was called). From what i've heard - the rebranding of Imagine has some really cool elements to it, and i'm looking forward to seeing it. Re: the TMNT - sure they aren't a new ride - but they are still an attraction. We've already agreed it isn't a MAJOR attraction as stated in the press release - but over the school holidays, the meet-n-greet would be quite popular, and warrants the term 'exciting new attraction' at the least. I remember when Shrek was introduced to Wonderland. 3 Appearances a day, 20 minutes each were not enough. Queues formed outside the photo area 30 minutes in advance of the appearance time... and people had to be turned away. TMNT may not be your cup of tea, but clearly there is a perceived demand for it otherwise the park wouldn't have brought it in.

In my opinion, Cyclone has some life left in it. It isn't going anywhere soon. Don't use SeaScrewCorkViper as a yard stick - the two are very different for a number of reasons, not least of which is the corrosive sea-air atmosphere that SeaWorld provides. TBH (puts on flame retardant suit) I think MDMC would get tossed before they remove Cyclone - unless of course it gets hit by lightning or something. Trust me - you'd notice if the air conditioning WASN'T switched on in the ToT queue - tin shed and all - but the problem is the air con units are intended for office residential use, and can't cope with a room that is filled wall-to-wall with people. Re the Go-Pro video - what you're saying is that your sister violated park rules to film on-ride? I'm no moderator, but I dare say none of the Parkz crew would support you posting videos that were obtained against park rules. I wouldn't suggest posting it here, as i'm sure Richard would prefer to keep Parkz' good name with Dreamworld, rather than see some jittery amateur recording of something most of us have seen, or can see numerous times already on youtube.

they* would* Australia* scrapper* endeavour* I don't really think AW has the room for Antique Autos - they do have the old go kart track down behind the giant slide though. Not sure what you mean by Pirate's Revenge - do you mean Bounty's Revenge??? AW strikes me as the first level of RCT - bouncy castle, giant slide, swings, simulator, tilt a whirl, kiddie coaster.... ok - maybe level 4 because of wild mouse... I don't think Bounty's would have gone down well - it's a large footprint and high thrill in a park where space is at a premium, and almost every ride is family friendly (can't think of any that aren't suitable for almost any age except toddler). Even if they were in this position 10 years ago, I don't think any of the Wonderland rides (that were salvageable) would have suited the park in it's current growth level.

One of these days Yoshi - you'll learn to just go "oh ok, woops - my bad"... then we wouldn't have to do things like this: There was not one reference to power surge in that part of the thread. Not even when you said The entire conversation was about the Freak Out. You even quoted AUSTHEMEPARKS comment when he said 'this one is meant to stay permanent' he was quoting Ranger Dude when he said "this is the same temp travelling Freak Out..." Jesus kid - just roll with it instead of trying to make excuses all the time.

Mount Me Harry is the tallest mountain in WA? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

They are saying it's the first time the turtles have appeared in an Australian Theme Park. I have a photo of me and my brothers with them at Wonderland many years ago - so that's not correct (although it would be the first in the nickelodeon stable) I had to re-read the article as the one-liner doesn't call it a "major" attraction... it does in the body of the release, and it's a bit rough to call it that, but for parents with kids who love TMNT, it would be a big draw. That said - slapping a new coat of paint and a new theme on an old kids land with the same rides is a bit of a stretch too - but Dreamworld did it successfully with Nick Central Dreamworks... It is what it is... at least it isn't a kids ride being marketed as a thrill ride *cough* MDMC *cough*

My thoughts exactly Liz

Any factual basis for that view? Or are you just speculating again?

It's better than the Dreamworld efforts of laminated A4 pages...

Ok - this came through whilst writing my last post so I want to take you to task on a few things... So firstly as to your statement that unlike Sea World Australia - the other parks only priority is money. So explain to me what things like the Sea World and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund ( http://swbg-conservationfund.org/ ) is about? What about seaworldcares.org? Or the Virgin Pledge? As to the dental claims - you state this is to prevent the whales from biting trainers. I call bullshit. Firstly - the jaw of an orca is more than capable of grabbing and holding a trainer by sheer force with or without teeth. Most articles discussing the drilling of the teeth isn't to remove teeth, but rather to perform a 'pulpotamy' which is drilling a hole in the tooth. This is done to relieve pressure tooth aches, which are caused (based on the book that was published making the claims in the first place) by the whales using aggression displays or dominance displays to challenge or dominate other whales by biting metal pen-gates or the corners of performance stages and platforms. The drill is similar to a dental apparatus, and according to the first 5-6 pages on google (which are in themselves slamming the practice) are done for dental reasons as many as three times a day, to prevent infection caused by rotting fish remaining in the cavity. As for the 'facts' behind your study: The mortality figures span more than 50 years. Without factoring in the ages of the orcas at the time of capture, it is impossible for this to be considered an accurate statistic. As stated in on of my previous posts - females AVERAGE 50 years in the wild, and males even less so - so clearly, when you're looking at figures over more than 50 years, many of them are going to die. The average lifespan in captivity can also be skewed. the early years where studies on captive whales didn't yet understand many of the needs of an orca, there is going to be more deaths earlier on and less deaths later. Further - there is no information on whether the captives were housed in a pod, or kept alone (as stated previously - elephants do not usually survive on their own either) "Most Captives" - do you refer only to those that are wild caught, or are you including captive born? Females CAN live until 80... but the accepted average is closer to 50. The human life expectancy is 67.2 in 2010, whereas Japan's life expectancy is around 83, whilst the oldest verified human lived to 122 years of age in France. Orca mortality in the wild is also affected by predation - they may be a top predator, but the young are still weak and can suffer the same fate. Your stats are clearly outdated, as Keiko died in 2003, whilst trying to be released back into the wild. They also don't agree with your first 'fact' that states at least 134 orca were captured since 1961, with 106 now deceased, yet only 26 captive survive today - 106 + 26 = 132 so there are two missing from that fact, calling one or the other into question. The birth mortality rates are out of date also, but given the other info, i'll accept that the figures are old. Currently (according to orcapod.wikia) the stats are as follows: So the success rate currently stands at over 50%. Given that your stats are at least 10 years old (my info was found in a google search taking only a few seconds), clearly - the breeding programs have come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. It is also clear that whilst these "Statistics" don't sound great, the same info source clearly points out that there are no wild figures to compare them to, and for all we know - the same statistics could be present in the wild. Lastly you point to the Orca being responsible for 70% of the USA parks income, and given that they are the star attraction, that is to be expected. You could take away the orca, refocus the park to dolphins as the GC park is, and then point to a similar figure being the responsibility of the dolphin. Our Sea World uses the Dolphin as it's logo - the USA parks use the Orca. The same way that Disney uses the Mouse... you don't run with an Otter to market a marine park... it's just common sense. You point at Brad as being ignorant without any knowledge of his background. You suggest people "aren't doing some good" if they don't volunteer at a marine park. Given we only have Sea World - i think they'd have to get to a point where they said "no more volunteers please, we're full" - so those turned away would be ignorant too? I think you are the one that needs to educate yourself. You've gotten yourself a soapbox based on the fact that YOU volunteer to help marine wildlife, so YOU must know more than others. You're relying on media articles that cannot be said to be accurate (we've seen only recently that information from media is often sensationalised and frequently wrong - just look at media associated with the Martin Place Siege in Sydney). Blackfish isn't fact. It's opinion. You are entitled to have one also. But it doesn't make you 'morally' right - and it certainly doesn't give you the right to tread on anyone else's - especially when you yourself are ignorant of important facts that either contradict or flat out disprove your claim.

Welcome to Parkz Terri, and thanks for dredging up a long since finalised discussion. I can only assume, since your 'greed moral' comments come directly after a quoted post of mine that you are directing your acid tongue in my direction. In the further post of mine that you quoted in ad nauseam, you would have read a very objective opinion of my take on the film. I don't support the captivity of Orca, but i'm a realist when I say that the whales in captivity cannot possibly be released into the wild at this stage, both for their health, and also the popularity of the parks that house them. With a view to the future, the parks could slowly phase things out and replace them with other attractions. Our gold coast park is proof that a Sea World can survive without them, but given the long-standing tradition of Orcas within the USA parks, if they were suddenly to lose them rather than some sort of 'staggered withdrawal' the park would not recover. The health argument goes hand in hand with the financial viability issue, and as I've explained several times in this thread - it isn't viable to release these animals fpr their own health and safety. The breeding program isn't just a money spinner either - again as i've mentioned already - because these animals are pod animals and yearn for company of their own kind... very similar to elephants in circuses (note: i'm not condoning that either) where the circus has been prevented from acquiring more elephants, once the second last one dies, the last one generally doesn't survive. I think it's wonderful you have names to drop. Trevor is a nice guy and very passionate about the rescue and rehabilitation of sea life. He wouldn't have the job title he does if he wasn't (nor would he hold the many positions on trusts and boards that he does). You should bear in mind that there are several people on this site that are closely associated with Village Roadshow, and many park employees (and higher-ups) do pay attention to what goes on here. Although I don't drop names, I have made it plain in the past that I am also acquainted with a member of the Sea World team that works closely with Trevor, and the animals within the park. I'm not ignorant to what goes on behind the scenes, and I can assure you that i'm not one to sit there and selfishly demand an animal perform for my own amusement, nor would I consider myself 'self centered' because of the views I hold. Note that since 1973, Trevor has been instrumental in the acquisition of most of Sea World's animals, and whilst the park today is all about spreading the conservation message, it wasn't always that way. The USA parks can change, but it has to be a gradual change both for the health of the animals, and the financial viability of the parks to continue their own marine rescue efforts. If you've got a flag to wave and a message to put across, you're welcome to do so. If you're going to blindly follow a "crock-umentary" that is clearly biased, one sided and deliberately inflammatory whilst remaining ignorant to key facts easily obtained online (as detailed in the post of mine that you quoted) then there will be no reasoning with you and you may as well just leave. I'm quite happy to have a civil discussion about the merits or otherwise of the points made in this film - but there is no need for name calling and slanderous behavior simply because you disagree with someone else's point of view.

^plus don't forget they had all the Scenic Railway trains refurbished by MACK...

I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say AUSTHEMEPARKS... Are you suggesting that LPS is somehow deficient because they didn't install a permanent ride this year? Apart from having installed the Hair Raiser last year, and plans for further attractions already in the pipeline (that we know of) - I'm not seeing a deficiency, given LPM has opened a permanent attraction this season, their last install was in 2010 according to my information (which could be wrong) - so thats a space of 4 years between new permanent rides for a park that is 102 years old (almost continuously operating). Given the issues with LPS - residents, restrictions, court cases, infrastructure development... and the fact that it has had several closedowns that have hampered both it's popularity and it's infrastructure... the fact that they've just installed one ride and are already planning their next one - i don't think there is any deficiency... so i'm curious what you're saying???