DaptoFunlandGuy

I'm with you Jobe. It's concerning that Dax Eddy of Jamberoo Action Park isn't thinking "build it and they will come". Surely Dax Eddy of Jamberoo Action Park knows new attractions will bring people back to the park. Dax Eddy of Jamberoo Action Park really needs to ensure he doens't piss off the loyal fans that Jamberoo Action Park has. (Sorry JF - i'm assuming you pasted part of what you wrote and thats why the Dax part was in there twice?) Anyhow - Jamberoo operated just fine for many years alongside Wonderland. Then Wonderland closed and they had a bit of a captive market for a while and it gave them a bit of money to expand. Their expansions have come on slowly (i'm not sure the year but I took a trip down there and took photos of the park at the time), and they've changed it up a bit as technology changed... All round though - it seems like they've knee-jerked a bit too much in response to the losses they copped from WnWS. It was only one season - it's not white-flag-waving time just yet.

i think in it's location, Hair Raiser is a perfect height. The proximity to the water really elevates the thrills IMO. If they'd gone twice as tall, it'd possibly exceed the bridge pylon... and I think that'd be tarnishing the harbour skyline. LPS should always try to maintain the 'seaside pier' type carnival that they're so known for. low-profile coasters - like the mouse are perfect for the atmosphere. I never saw CycloneDipper in situ at LPS (does anyone have any photos taken of LPS from out on the harbour when it was there?), but Looking at it at Dreamworld, the skyline of the park (even against the cliff) I can't imagine it and it just doesn't seem a right fit for it.

See it really depends on how you look at it. Touted as a thrill ride (one of the big 8 no less), but it has the option for lame-mode. It hasn't really proven to be a 'hit' - it's just been absorbed into the general area. It's another spin&spew in a park that is full of them. At the very least, Tail Spin has a point of difference in that it is a 'user controlled' experience - which means unlike Panda - where (as has been said) the thrillseekers groan every time they announce a slow cycle - Tail Spin can have thrillers and lamers on the one cycle... I don't necessarily think there is a particular point I could point to to say 'look, it failed' - it just didn't succeed like it could have...

Oh geez - another 'north of brisbane' waterpark proposal. I wonder which resident or council member will object to this one. Believe it when I see it.

Didn't we say that about Pandamonium as well?

I find that incredibly unlikely since: Tail Spin is a Disney Afternoon series Dreamworld has a contract with competitor DreamWorks Disney don't usually sell or lease their intellectual property and are in fact fiercely protective of it the name is bloody stupid given it's location.

LOL... you hit a nerve Ads. LP is too good a brand for how dreamworld have been going. I've long been a supporter of the 'not a theme park' mantra applied towards dreamworld. I will say however in seeing their latest efforts on Wipeout, that they've either suffered a collective concussion, or someone is driving a turn around. They are improving. Only time will tell. I don't see how "tail spin" will fit within "Ocean Parade" but i've been surprised before. As was said a while back - missed opportunity there to make them manta rays. We shall see how they do with their next 'refurb'

Not sure who said it before, but a Manta Ray theme would go really well with this I think...

My bet is sometime before Christmas holidays....

I don't believe the report is ambiguous. It presents all of the facts. It suggests showing off as a possibility, however the experts make a finding that he would not have attempted a risky maneuver. It also makes a finding that 'showing off' was unlikely. Further, it makes a finding that the pilot was suffering from a heart condition, and that the 'torque turn' was possibly a result of the pilot becoming incapacitated, but all subsequent events were consistent with that. The thing about air crash investigations is that if they cannot be satisfied that their findings are the most likely possibility, they will rule as undetermined. This wasn't ruled undetermined, so my impression of this report is that the investigators were comfortable and confident that the maneuver wasn't intentional, was a result of a medical condition, and the accident was nothing more than a terrible tragedy. The fact that they present 'showing off' as a possibility isn't meant to lead you to draw your own conclusions - it's presented to show you they considered it, and subsequently discounted it.

I'd never heard of this one before... To save everyone the trouble, the 7 deaths were ruled a result of a temporary heart dysfunction - Myocarditis. Nothing was wrong with the chopper, and the pilot did nothing wrong.

BREAKING NEWS It seems the cameras are now operational on Giant Drop ?

Well I mentioned Wonderland... although only a no-fault drowning and a bathroom stabbing. As for ride accidents, I think between Daniel, Bussy, Wazza and several other Wonderland members, the park's accidents have been well documented - highlights include the demon cable snap, the probe cable snap, the skyrider cable snap... i'm seeing a theme here. I wouldn't really class the DW or SW chopper incidents as ride accidents... but they are both interesting incidents to say the least. Somehow I don't think the bloke at SW was going to make it to his intended destination - the chopper didn't have the range for that... As for calculating fuel loads, choppers can't just "fill the tank" so to speak. The pilot (or other authorised person) has to calculate that the fuel weight, passenger and cargo load etc are all within the aircraft's acceptable takeoff limits. This is supposed to be done before every flight - which is a lot of work for joyrider trips. These kinds of flights would probably work with a full tank at the start of the day, but they have to work out approximately how much fuel is used on each flight so as to stay within weight limits for each trip (this is why the joyflights have prescribed routes and durations, as the fuel use is pre-calculated for each of those routes). It sounds onerous, but this all has to be documented prior to each take off, as the paperwork can be examined by CASA after the fact to determine whether the pilot has done his job properly in the case of an incident. It's not just a money saving exercise to 'only fill what you need plus 30 minutes'... the weight of a plane at takeoff is important too. The heavier the plane is, the longer the runway needed to get off the ground (which may be limited). The pilots also need to know how much weight is on board in order to calculate "V1" - which is the point at which it is no longer safe to abort the take-off and they must attempt to lift off. In adverse conditions such as icy or wet runways, pilots want to keep their plane as light as they can, so that they can take off in the shortest possible distance leaving them as much room for error as they can possibly get. Sure - the airline doesn't want to waste money, but in a jetliner that flies pretty well non stop from 6am to 10pm every day, a little extra fuel on landing isn't a problem (a lot is - it's harder on the wheels and brakes), but it's not like the airline is losing money - the fuel will be used eventually... they just need less fuel in the plane to fill up next time.

...and when you're going? Obviously Pottermania is going to keep the Universal side of things busy for a while yet (Mine Train didn't quite get the same reception)... so if you're not going for a while it may quieten down. Having not experienced WDW I can't comment on the comparison, but having been to HKDL, although I loved it, to me, it wasn't the same as Anaheim, and I feel Rappa's view on this would be the same as mine - I don't think you can really compare to the original - I'm for Anaheim too if it's an option.... plus you can do Anaheim quicker than you can do Orlando...

^i've found it's much nicer (and ultimately, much more productive) if members having disputes resolve them in private message, rather than open arguments on the boards. Brad - I have no beef with you - but you do stir the pot on occasion... I also join in my fair share of stirring on occasion, and i've been pulled up on this a couple of times by considerate members who thought to PM me and discuss the issues privately. Note that these issues almost always resolve themselves without involvement from any 'community leaders'. Jacob - Brad's last comment in this thread is over 20 posts and 3 days ago. I think you missed the moment. Not trying to be a 'mod' here - just telling it how it is from my own experience that there are better ways than a drawn out shitstorm inside a thread (which, judging by Brad's reply is probably brewing). (Examples of the issues you're having are usually very helpful to help understand your issue rather than making generalised "antagonistic" or "argumentative" or "arrogant" statements. Hope that helps.

What "room" at MW could accommodate full-size batmobiles and other props? Unless it's in Show Stage, or a SoundStage... I don't see where it could be in the park? (unless we're not talking about full size vehicles in which case Stars Cafe could also be a possibility...) Hell - they could even take over part of Intencity... I wait with bated breath to see whether the park has finally returned to a "movie related" exhibit...

The age old question - it's almost a "VIP pass or World pass" conundrum,but on a grander scale. I've never been to Orlando, but it's certainly on the list. I can't even begin to imagine that I wouldn't have the time (or the money) to do both. I wouldn't go until I had the time and money to do both... but as you don't really have the option heres a couple of things from my perspective... Disney parks - can you point to just one or two parks you want to do? Studios? WDW? Animal Kingdom? Epcot? Or do you want to do all of them? Can you choose? Everything i've read says you need at least a week on Disney property down there (California is 3-4 days), but it depends on if you're ok to cherry pick what you do or whether you want to do and see everything... Many of the advice blogs i've read tend to suggest if you don't have time to do Disney properly you're better off leaving it for a time when you do. Kostya is on the money here if you have limited time or budget. Universal does have some absolutely amazing attractions with less immersion than Disney so you can kind of 'fast forward' on the detail (Although this is different for the WWoHP areas as I hear it). As I said at the start its very much a VIP vs. World Pass. If you had limited time or money - would you do the 3 VRTP parks (Disney) or would you knock out Dreamworld (Universal). They're both great. They both offer different things, and because they're in Orlando they're constantly moving and changing and upgrading. It also depends on the time of year you're going... are you going in the next month (ie: during summer peak period) or are you aiming for an off peak period? Naturally you'll get more done in off peak. My personal opinion i'd want to go to Disney. But thats just me. I'd be torn if I didn't have the time to do all 4 parks, and I probably couldn't choose (and probably just end up doing Studios and WDW), but I guess it depends on what you want out of it. Disney is probably going to be a better fit to try and accommodate a wider demographic, but that doesn't mean Universal is in any way lacking in offerings to suit everyone either... Lastly - what accommodations are you considering? It shouldn't play any part in where you end up deciding on, but if you'd decided to stay on Disney property - you might as well stick with Disney, being the entire property is geared towards keeping you there. In the alternative, if you lean towards Universal, then check out the accomm local to the Universal precinct. If you read my (and everyone else's) opinions in this thread and you still can't decide... flip a coin. Either way you know you'll have to go back to do the stuff you missed this time, so it doesn't really matter which one you do first! Edit: ... and having said that, by the time you go back, there will be lots of new things to see and do at both parks so you'll end up with the same "this one or that one" issue then too.

I know there's confidentiality and contracts and stuff here - but are there any specific ones you'd be allowed to point to? (and no, i'm not talking about cables on top of the sea world no-entry gate!!!)

I only hope that the freeing up of SV's land, they don't try to re-birth WILD along that strip and further subtract land from SW's already small footprint. Yes, but i thought there was a MUCH closer shot?

Don't forget - when Wonderland first opened in 1985 - many of it's rides were second hand from other parks, and many of them lasted almost the park's entire life. It is possible if the ride has been well maintained. Demon hasn't. In other News - Joz was on the money 4 years ago... Posted by joz on 05 March 2010 - 02:26 AM in Theme Park Discussion The thing is that the Corkscrew train was pretty comfortable to sit in, the new trains are not. Even when you're in the station in the new trains the seats have random bits of plastic and metal that randomly jab into your back/side. They're not nice to sit in when you're stationary, the sad thing is that means now when you're going around the track you can now feel the jolts that have always been there but the train didn't pass on. Perhaps next time Kumbak design a new train someone should sit in them, just to see if the seats by themselves are comfortable to sit in, rather then just making sure they look cool*. * I don't think that they do look cool, nor do I consider "Sea Viper" an upgrade or an improvement. I used to think Corkscrew was such a marketing icon it was pretty much untouchable. Now I think that Corkscrew's footprint, combined the plot of land that used to house the Pirate Ship, as well as some of the lake is plenty of room for a BIG new coaster. Sorry to double post - when Viper was first launched, someone posted close-up photos of the step-treads on the train - they were customised rubber treads with the Viper logo on them - can anyone point me to a photo of these?

No - it couldn't. Wild West as an area is entirely closed during night events. The ride is closed, the water levels are up, the idiots are drunk, and the neighbours are trying to sleep. I've thought repeatedly about putting something in behind the gates at the back of the smoking area at WWF - it's a nice big open expanse of bitumen that would be incredibly useful for mazes and such... but the access through Wild West shuts it down. It would add a shitload of extra work for the park to: secure the area light it up theme it

^doesn't mean every ride is for everyone. Height limits do preclude you from some experiences. Epileptics are pretty much out for half of fantasyland... there are exceptions.

TBH - what is stopping them from erecting a marquee? Theres a little bit of space around where they could pop one up and fit a maze into it..

Wonderland had a child drowning in the beach (unattended - parents at fault), and a stabbing on one of their nighttime events that may or may not have died. Our parks are small fry in the realm of ride-deaths. I'm unaware of any ride deaths that were a direct result of poor practices by the park involved EXCEPT the LPS ghost train.

Much as i'd love to see the old girl back on shore, and to ride it - purely for sentimental reasons - It would be a horrible choice for all but the most basic, struggling parks wanting to make a leap into the next level of parks.