DaptoFunlandGuy

either that's not really Ed, or you just lost ALL credibility.

I'd really like to hear a little more substance from your comments and statements bella. This scenario does not make sense - either the parks insist on some form of exclusivity clause, which most parks in Aus wouldn't want to pay for, or the manufacturer sells to as many people as they want. If anyone is chucking the tantrum here, its the park\s involved, not the manufacturer.

If the pamphlet was strategically placed, it would cover it entirely, not leave a hint of australia to fuel rumor. Also, it wouldn't be a pamphlet that is handheld hovering in front, more likely it would be taped over to hide the unwanted information while still displaying that which is relevant - i think it more likely that the photographer wanted to include both elements in the photo, and as Australia wasn't high on TPR's list, it didn't matter if that got cut off so long as they got the rest. I'm not saying you're wrong as far as the underselling or whatever, i'm just saying that pamphlet isn't there specifically to hide the australian entry, otherwise it would do a much better job, and perhaps the information on the sign IS incorrect, but wasn't at the time of shooting?

Just to clarify - I never said that Ed didn't exist. I only said that as a registered business he didn't exist. ASIC & ABR have no registrations other than a registered business name - which anyone can get with payment over the counter at a Fair Trading NSW office. I merely suggested the appearance of a lack of preparation \ lack of reliability given the current circumstances. I've been a member almost as long as Ed has (albeit with 10 times the number of posts). I've been wrong about things in the past, and will gladly admit when I am. As I said in my follow up posts to this discussion, confidence in the product \ some sort of safety net was the only thing, in my opinion, that was lacking. But I will argue a point that I believe is valid. To Nathan, as I can only draw a conclusion that you direct the bulk of your comments at me (given nobody else said anything remotely negative), I have - offsite and privately - made my own personal comments to certain people to whom a discussion was ongoing. As to discussion on the site, I do not believe I make anything but valid discussion points about the topic at hand. While we're making topical observations about "certain members", let's not forget the tirade of abuse we underwent from a certain entertainment employee at WBMW who took a long time to get the point, and now sides with the bandwagon, making comments without merit. Back on topic, Ed, I got your PM, but my pm's get fiddly sometimes and I haven't been able to reply. My email address is here: r...@s...m.au

Now, Ed, There's no reason for that kind of tone. I'm not saying it isn't a good idea, but you've got to realise that: We've seen a lot of scams come and go We've seen a lot of concepts dreamed up that never came to fruition We live in a society today where people would sooner spit on you than offer a friendly word You pitched a concept without a lot of substantiation A registered business name is one thing. A physically registered entity, recognisable and accountable for it's actions (such as a company or such) is a bit more reliable. Street cred counts too. Over the years, many members of parkz have handed cash (or even credit cards) over to Richard for merchandise, calendars, and premium membership to the site. He started with tangible items that could be bought through a reputable and established medium (cafepress) and moved on to less tangible items as he built up that trust with the members. Now, i'm not saying don't think big - by all means a big blockbuster event such as this is still a great thing to start with, but a little more security is necessary - for example - since the park would have to be involved with this deal (as it is after hours) maybe a little something from them that could be confirmed as legit. Maybe they would handle the financial transaction aspect (i'm not sure of the logistics but theres got to be something there). Among many other things, I moonlight as an event manager. I know certain things about organising events and the right and wrong way to go about things. Some of you out there know what my day job is, so you also know that I know the legal aspects of things like this. At the end of the day, all I'm saying is come forward with a product that is a bit more tangible, a bit more ready to launch, rather than promising things that may never happen. You've been a member for a little while, so you'd know the issues that were experienced with concepts such as: Dream Nova Underwater Habitats So i'll leave it at that. I look forward to seeing what you can come up with. It would be great to see things organised locally on the scale of TPR or ACE - So don't give it up - and keep us posted on how you get along. If you had a little more consumer confidence, i'd be there in a flash.

It can't hurt to sign up membership for MyFun.com.au either. While it's not 50% off, there are special offers available to myfun members that may make it a little cheaper. It is unfortunate that you'd be hitting the park in a peak period, but the parks do seem to hold their guests well in peak, and particularly for schoolies or school hols, it's likely the parks would be expecting capacity, and plan staffing and operations accordingly. Warner Village parks generally offer a good time even with the queues. Dreamworld - I'd recommend a Q4U\Q-bot if its in peak season, which means you need to get in early. If you're NRMA members\healthfunds\union etc, you can usually get early entry to Dreamworld too. If you'd like to do any experiences (animal adventures at Sea World), check out the bookings asap, as it's likely to be booked well in advance in peak. Don't let the peak periods put you off though, most families still enjoy the parks immensely during peak.

ERT = Exclusive Ride Time (although there are some variations). ERT is something we as members of parkz have been dreaming of at an Australian park. Many parks in the US give ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) ERT just for attending, as they bring lots of people, who spend lots of money on parks each year. I'm sure theres somewhat of an extra fee, But doubt it would be the $135.00 x 70pax ($9450) that this proposal entails. I know MW does hire out their attractions outside of hours as part of a corporate hire\conference thing, and I don't think SE is $9450 for the hour. Factoring in group discounts for 70 pax on an adult one-day general admission of $62.50 - let's say a generous 30% discount = $43.xx per person, so we're left with $97 per person to cover T-Shirts and ERT. T-shirts would be less than $10 in that volume, so we'll knock $700 off as well. We still have over $6000 left to hire out SE for 1 hour. Now I don't know the rates that MW charge. I do recall what WLS charged to hire out their big tickets were about $2000 per hour. Even given the additional staffing (demon could run 1, as could probe, as could beast - SE would usually run at least 4 (two load including grouper, and 1 unload, plus tower), But your staff would cost you an extra $150 at most to come in an hour earlier - tack on say another $300 for maintenance personnel to be on hand an hour earlier to prepare the attraction, and you still have more than $5500 to pay for the running costs, and these people have paid for a days entry out of that anyway! Sorry, i'd rather just use my VIP on a weekday and wait the extra cycle-and-a-half between rides.

And of course, the moore park gondolas got relocated to Wonderland Sydney as Skyrider.

It does check out as registered. Doesn't make it any more or less legit though. A business in the business of making money would want to be out there more than just advertising on parkz forums - i'd be looking for a website \ mailing address \ bank account held in the name of the organisation or corporation. Corporate trust \ Australian private company before I sent money anywhere. Now I just want to point out that while NSW Fair Trading has registrations, the business is not a legally trading australian business according to the australian business register. (www.abr.gov.au) There is no Australian Coaster Club registered on the ABR, nor is there an Ed Dickinson (registered in NSW). So while a registered trading name you have, a legal business, you are not. If I pay you your money, I have a legal obligation to withhold 46.5% of your payment, and forward it to the tax office. This might make it somewhat difficult to organise the event you plan when you only get half the money you ask for.

*Disclaimer: (choose the most appropriate) Only when said fords are computer generated Only when mounted in a stationery position Only when driven by amateurs Except in case of the introduction of plastic bags to the race track The choice of vehicle by certain drivers (or race teams as the case may be) is dependant more on personal preference, or corporate marketing. So statistically, if the better driver chooses consistently to drive the same vehicle, the stats will skew in favour of that vehicle (take a look at Whincup - and then watch next year when 888 goes red). Your final findings only show that more ford fans choose to pay money on a simulator. You will probably find the Holden fans did something smarter with their money - like visiting WVTP instead.

I finally got bothered enough to check the meaning of Ardent. Here's what google's define gave me: Full of ardor; fervent, passionate; Burning; glowing; shining 1. Fervent Leisure? 2. Passionate Leisure? (this is their Adult division) 3. Burning Leisure? (what we'd like to do with some parts of dreamworld) 4. Glowing Leisure? () 5. Shining Leisure? (about the only definition that comes close to what they might have been aiming at....)

How the shit did that get past the language filter - have we relaxed it?

I can't remember the type of slide (WLS Beach and SeaWorld water park both had them years ago - but it was the tall tower, one with an relatively sharp drop, and another that had little bunny hops in them - i think they were free fall, and speed slide. I have experienced stoppage on the speed slide (bunny hops) with a rashie on, and as stated above, it is more about water lubrication rather than pressure. As the rashie is usually a Lycra material, it tends to hold a fair bit of water, which basically stops the water from travelling down (as much) and therefore, you don't travel down either. taking the rashie off is really the only way to enjoy most body slides. As Gazza said, tucking it under your arms right before you go would be the trick, although some parks \ attendants may classify this as a loose article, and insist you cannot take it down with you. As to Wet n Wild - i know from personal experience that twister, and the mountain slides have no issues with a rashie, but they also have launch bars to get you flying at the start too, so - i don't know. Most slides these days are utilising some form of inflatable tube, with eliminates the problem with a rashie anyway.

that would be over here Case closed.

Now, I didn't think it was that long - hmmm... let me just use the SCROLL BAR.... Nope - it's been about a month. I don't recall any comments or complaints about this particular smell before the start of October.

It used to be when we had someone on the boards who didn't make sense, it was because they lacked the ability to construct a proper sentence, or spell properly. Now, everyone's saying it's the iPhone's fault. I'm not going at you specifically Paul (i can see perfectly how it has happened), but its an excuse i'm hearing more and more about how "it wasn't me, it was my iPhone"... If we thought that the spelling and grammar was bad for some of those guys we've seen on the boards in the past, how are we going to look in the future when these people (who can't spell already) start letting iPhone auto correct them? rehfrgbfdsfgnhmjndhf ? No, I meant "chair".

Just quickly Paul - "an walt full of sandwiches" ?

Did you move up in the world Randall - i thought you were selling the other general merch. A police hat? You mean you had the same "costume" as the first fright night?

I searched and searched the forums, and couldn't find a "do the higher ups listen" discussion that Richo discussed - so I thought i'd make one. I can think of some instances where discussions on here have suggested remarkably similar things to what was eventually done by the individual parks, but when I try for specifics, I couldn't think of too much. I'm interested in examples \ quotes or other pieces that have been talked about online. And i'm not talking a rumor turning out to be true, i'm talking about a solid - this is broke - here's my suggestion on how to fix it - that actually got implemented. The only one that comes to mind at the moment is the talk about the plastic doors on HWSD that got replaced with solid ones. Any others?

Ut oh.... Followed shortly thereafter by - Wow - some idiot actually tried this.... Woops.

Not trying to be narky or anything Brissy phil, but that might be a good idea. it's always good to bone up on a topic that is several pages (and threads) long. Otherwise we end up with the same thing said by many people a week or two apart. Other than that, Welcome to the forums, and don't mind Don. He's harmless.

Just to add to this, when obtaining the photo passes, a small slip of paper is handed to you which does advise "terms of entry can be obtained at the gate, and are subject to change." Although the terms as explained to me (in writing) when I purchased my ticket is still what I stand by, as I don't believe the park has a legal standpoint to impose further conditions on me AFTER purchase, without giving me the opportunity to opt out, rather than accept the new conditions. Opting out would mean a forfeiture of my pass, but it would also require a full refund. I can't see many people that would take a refund of a 12 month pass over being permitted to bring in food, but a moral stand could see some reaction... and besides, the terms and conditions on the ticket I purchased does state that no refunds would be given - so another stalemate on the park's behalf. My job on a daily basis is to interpret and apply legislation, so terms and conditions have to be black and white, there cannot be a grey area, and if there has been a grey area left in the conditions, whether intentioned or not, the beneficiary has to get the benefit of the doubt, and it must sway to their favour. The bag search doesn't meet the T&C either way - they still have a right to search to prevent people bringing in commercially prepared \ commercial quantity - however I still intend on pushing it when I attend in a non-hallowe'en capacity. We'll see where it leaves us.

But as to pulling crowds, last saturday was practically a sell out, at 6000 tickets. The overall response from those i've spoken to about it was that the park was jammed full, and couldn't have taken more given the conditions and operating hours, so I'd say that, considering they'd tried the family angle, and decided to go with the more scary adult line, that they're going for something different, and as to pulling the crowds, I don't think they need to be more family oriented. They got enough last week, and there were plenty of families with small kids who were completely ok with what was on offer. They need to ramp it up even more than they are, and Michael Croaker did say that was the plan as they saw what worked and what didn't. 6000 tickets on opening night, and it was still 4 weeks from the actual hallowe'en? I think they'll do just fine. As you said - last year's maze wasn't anything to write home about. This year was certainly good in terms of the dragons lair. It didn't take a lot of effort to put that together, but i tell you what, the experience WAS unnerving. Like has been said already - my feeling is they need more cast, IN CHARACTER just roaming the streets, with free permission to cause a little havoc, without "upsetting" guests. Just giving them a good scare. I developed a habit of walking slowly down the street, waiting until i got a slightly perturbed reaction from someone, and then as they went past me i kept eye contact, turned my head to follow, and then when they were almost out of my line of sight, i'd stop, turn around, and start following them. I got numerous screams, and hundreds of photos taken with people. Most people thought I was employed by the park, and were shocked to find out that I was a paying guest - this is what they expected the park to do. Hell, If Michael Croaker offered me free entry for the rest of the events, i'd come down and do it again, without any rides or shows - walking the street was THAT much fun.

MDMC is viewed as being one of the biggest fails to come out of our parks. It's too slow, too flat, too short, too yawn. Granted, after construction, there isn't much they can do to fix it - but I can't see anything wrong with ramping up the launch a little to improve it somewhat...