DaptoFunlandGuy

So now we have evidence of exactly how "thrilling" this is going to be.... not very. Look at the overhead shot - not much to see... which means to see the hippos we're all gunna have to crowd downstairs into little viewing booths. Now the viewing areas in Shark Bay are good, they're big, deep, and plenty of them... because there is more in Shark Bay than just 2 Sharks. What else are they going to have in the hippo swamp? The other thing that not many people are looking at is that this is SEA world. Not WATER world. Just because they live in water, doesn't mean they're a great addition to our Sea World. I'd personally prefer a Sea Otter display. They're active, playful, and they look cool. I give the hippos a thumbs down.

Age? nothing. I just would have thought somebody of your age would be able to come up with a more intellectual argument than "woodies suck" The rest of the discussion has been played out so I won't go on any further with this. Needless to say, as an example of how long \ where it is \ what it's made of - Thunderbolt was very long, on the gold coast, and made of steel, in comparison to Superman Escape, which is reasonably short, on the gold coast, and made of steel. I'm sure most would agree that SE was a much better coaster. In regards to a "proper one" I think this has been covered before by others - as above, so theres no need to continue to rehash on it. Lisa, I think you need to read my post a bit more before you post. I know you guys are victorian also. let me cover a few things here: 1) there was no mass generalisation about victorians 2) I did have a very good idea about whether he had ridden woodies or not 3) I also had a very good idea that if his favourite park was dreamworld, chances are he hadn't been overseas, and could only have ridden the woodies as listed above.

The talk of Disney coming to Aus has been bandied around for years. I think one of the main things that has been said, (and I think Richard said it best, though i'm not going to go hunting for the post now) is that the average attendances at all of our GC parks combined doesn't come close to that of a Disney park. Yes it would increase tourism, but I can't see it increasing that much, when most continents in the world have one now, and in some cases two. If someone has the time, can they dig up the post Richard made about attendances at a Disney park? Let's not forget that when WDW was built in Florida, all of the infrastructure support and logistics for the park were built on ground level, and the park built on top, and then the land was graded for a few miles around it. So rising the land around it would not be out of the question. When Disney does something, they don't do it half assed. As far as your prediction of 5 or 10 years, that doesn't mean to say that the rumors of talks now aren't out of the question. If we look at the timeline in the post above, we were talking year 2000 or so when they last spoke SE QLD, and they went with HK instead, and HK opened in around 2005, or 5 years later. So talks now would see the park built in 5 years or so from now... I have to say though, If Disney announce a park here, I don't care how much money I'm making when it happens, im quittin, selling up, and moving to the GC.

This discussion has been done before, with overwhelming statements playing to the majority being woodies rock, but also that those who said straight out "woodies suck" generally hadn't ridden a proper one. Living in melbourne, and with dreamworld as his favourite park, this 34 year old victorian is just talking through his rear end, as usual. Back your statement up with some fact, or shut up.

I'm sorry guys but I've gotta side with Gazza on this one. Most McDonald's are now "made for you" for the simple reason that it cuts down on waste, which means more profits. A lot of people used to go to McDonalds and order the burger without something, like lettuce, or a pickle, to ensure they get it fresh. Mcdonald's learned, when they did their deli choices that they can get away with making you wait a minute or two while waiting for fresh food - and so they expanded their options to include the burgers too. Anything deep fried is pre-prepared, and kept in warmers - McChicken Patties, Nuggets etc. Bacon, Beef Patties, grilled onion etc, is all made as it is ordered. The new grills McDonalds uses cooks the food on both sides at once (well when I say new they've been around for years now), and only takes a minute or two. Anyone heard the little sirens in the background? that tells the grill a new order is in - they check it, chuck the meat on the grill, and while thats cooking (because it opens when it has finished) they build the burger bun and salads - it's already in the box, just take the meat, put it on and close the box - presto. In regards to salads, go and order one - and look on the bottom of the container - you will see a time written there, not a date. Salads are made fresh every day. Lisa, your comments about the nuggets demonstrate that you are basing all of your thoughts and comments on McDonalds around an assumption, and one that is incorrect at that. I have never "worked" at a McDonalds, but years back when I was on radio, I did my turn on the grill for McHappy Day. I realise McDonalds is not the healthiest thing around, but considering when you're travelling, or out for the day without a plan for lunch, it is fast becoming the healthiest thing on the roadside \ in the foodcourt. In regards to Subway, they do prepare their ingredients daily, but yes, sometimes they don't use as much as they expect, however, the ingredients are kept in a refrigerated environment, and kept in cold storage overnight. This is better than most "healthy" sandwich shops that you would most likely purchase from in your local foodcourt instead of going to maccas. Some fast food places do insist that you wear a brightly coloured bandaid. This is mostly your big chains - again like McDonalds or KFC. Small individually franchised stores like subway don't have the policy because they're not as afraid of bad publicity if you found a bandaid in your food. Believe me I can definitely see the headline "Bandaid in BigMac" but maybe not "bandaid in Footlong Sweet Teriyaki on Honey Wheat with all the salads, hold the jalapenos" I've gotta call you on your statement about "hospitality industry" and the bright coloured bandaid. I used to run a catering company. One of my chefs used to work in the finest restaurants in sydney, including some of the big hotels. He detested the bright coloured bandaids because it stood out and made his clients notice it. He preferred a skin coloured bandaid. I recall a TV show about Jamie Oliver where a similar incident happened and one of his kitchen staff came to work with a blue bandaid on and he sacked them on the spot. Big Food Chains, with a lot of exposure to the media are ones who would wear bright bandaids - especially those employing teens. They may not be able to take care to ensure the bandaid doesnt come off, but if it does come off, because it's blue they'll see it right? Nevermind the thought that if it came off, most teen kitchen staff are going to pick out the bandaid and send the rest of the food on its way to the counter. You will never find a bandaid in your food at a place that uses bright colours, because the kids will pick it out first. Back on topic as far as theme park food, I have to agree with Richard and others on this one as far as MW over DW. Typically a trip to movie world entails stopping off at the place on the corner near the bank (can't remember the name, but it does sandiwches and rolls and stuff). We usually have the same thing every time we go and for a group of 4 we probably spend between $35 and $50. When we go to Dreamworld, we try to take our own food. If we can't for whatever reason, then we try to just eat a little, like fries, or a hot dog, until we leave and stop off at a roadhouse on our way home. The last time we had a proper meal at dreamworld, for four people, we spent about $65. The portions were small (like 4 nuggets or something and then loaded up with chips), they tasted like they had been cooked hours ago, and just sat in a warmer, because the skins were hardened, and the fries were soggy, and tasted like they'd been double cooked. For the prices they charge, I can't see why they can't have a "sauce station" where you just self serve your own sauces after you have collected your meal. Buying sauces and such in large bottles has got to be cheaper than the individual portion stuff.

Im sorry if part of this is not hippo. I wrote this during the time the original thread was closed, so have two comments to make and the first comment doesn't relate to any of the new threads. The main reasons why parks let out coin-op style attractions is because of the maintenance involved. Parks employ engineers, electricians and other trade specialists to maintain the high tech equipment necessary in running a park. The coin-op style attractions, for th emost part, have a high maintenance issue with them. Also, owning such attractions means when new options become available, they need to sell off the old, and purchase the new, which is a lot of cap-ex. It is easier to allow another company, with the know-how to repair these units, to install, maintain, and replace them, while the park makes a nice little commission. I have recently been privy to a discussion between CocaCola Amatil and an organisation. This organisation has exclusive rights over a certain area, which is currently shared between Coca Cola Vending Machines, and Smiths SnackVend, which also supplies Pepsico. In order to get exclusive rights to the area, Coca Cola has doubled their commission, which is also double Pepsi. Without disclosing too much, Coke's offer is to install, maintain, refill and remove the money on all of the vending machines, all this organisation has to do is supply power, and keep out the competition, in return for about 20% of the take, not the profit. For the sake of some electricity, and the minor dissatisfaction people would have at not having a competing alternative, you get 20 cents in every dollar. Why wouldn't you? In the case of the the lockers, 1.74 million in the course of a year would make their money back. Or, not buying it back, let's say they have the same commission offer, that means that for absolutely NO expenditure, they get $350,000, without the need to maintain them. This is why most parks outsource their coin-op style attractions - Its easier in the short term to allow someone else to pay a lease on these items, rather than buy it all, and have to maintain it. Long term, if the coin-op units are successful, then it is worthwhile to buy them, provided there will be minimal maintenance issues, and little to none in the way of upgrade requirements - like there would be with arcade games. Personally, in regards to the hippos, murky water, with a few nostrils poking out doesn't excite me. Polar Bears are playful, sharks are exciting and swim in clear water, Dolphins - same again, and seals are comical also, although they do laze about a lot, but all of these animals form more of an experience than just viewing them. There is more of an experience to be had with them, either by performing in a show, or swimming with them. (Although the polar bears less so, they are still entertaining to view in their own exhibit.) I think hippos is a bad way to go.

Gazza, I think more likely that the buyout would be so that they actually make the money from the lockers, rather than let the profits go to the owners of the lockers. I can't see them spending millions on the buyout, only to make it free. I'd rather they spend the money on new attractions, rather than either making them free, or leaving them as they are.

Not that i'm questioning your credibility... but.... well.... ok i'm questioning your credibility. I have to say Pixel that your contributions so far don't allow me to believe that you would have this information before some of our other more reliable sources. Where does this information come from? How reliable is it? Why haven't our other sources close to WVTP come out with this yet? I find it difficult to believe in SEA world that hippos would come before other, more... saltwater? animals. Also, as has been discussed many times before, Sea World has a BIG land shortage. Anything SW installs needs to be a BIG draw card to be worth the money. Shark Bay was worth it. Dolphin Cove was worth it. The Eye was worth it - even if only for the iconic value to point out to more tourists that there was actually a park there. I can't see hippos being a big drawcard. Hippos in captivity have been done. Taronga Zoo has hippos, and to be honest, they're a small backwater attraction, simply because they're... well they're boring. Hippos prefer swamps and lakes, water that doesn't have a high visibility, which is bad for a public attraction, especially since they prefer to spend a lot of their time 98% underwater. As far as police academy, the show still packs them in 3 times (or more) per day. The only reason I could see them getting rid of PA is if it weren't financially viable, and the majority of the expenses on that show (besides staffing) has got to be the pyro, which can't be that much compared to the capacity of the attraction and the price of an entry ticket. People have talked long and hard about replacing PA, but the fact is that even today, the show is still immensely popular. It is rare that i go to the park and don't stop by to see one of the shows, and many people are the same. I know one employee of WVTP who catches the show in his lunchbreak on occasion. If the statement is true, I really hope Movie World rethink the idea, especially if the show is only to be rehashed with new corporate branding that has less and less to do with Movies, it is afterall, MOVIE world. I'd like to see a western stunt show. Universal pull of an incredibly good stunt show with a smaller stage and about the same capacity. I know movie world had something similar in the past but i'd like to see it again. In reality, the stunt shows all rotate around a few simple ideas: Guns, and explosives. Lots of them with big bangs Transport - either horses for a western, or Cars for a more modern version Street Fighting - choreographed action of fake punches, kicks, and aerial maneuvers. Falls - one or more people launching themselves off a building in a simple fall Grand Finale - a very big, impressive, all encompasing closure to the show- movie world has the big helicopter exploding, and the last time I saw Universal, the entire building facade fell down on top of someone. A Hot Wheels themed stunt show will obviously have to revolve more and more around the vehicle stunts. If it is using the same stage, this means that there is very little that the cars can do, short of a few donuts. This also means with more vehicle action, there would be less guns, less street fighting, less falls, and makes for a lower impact as far as a finale goes, if the finale is to revolve around the cars also. The police academy characters also have 7 movies to draw the groundwork from in regards to the plot. Harris is the mean captain, with a bad attitude and ambitions of greatness, lassard is bumbling, but always seems to come out squeeky clean, and proctor is the idiot who makes the jokes and gets the laughs, as well as the one who gets dumped on a lot. This franchise spent a lot of time developing the characters in these movies, and this is part of the reason why the show is still as popular today as it was when it was first released. The familiarity with hot wheels is going to drop, as there is nowhere near the same options for familiar, recognisable characters. If they were to replace the show, other more modern alternatives could include the lethal weapon series, as the characters are well developed, and still reasonably modern. Rush Hour could be an option, or a change to less vehicle related action and go towards one of the more recent Marvel releases - like hulk or fantastic 4. If its going to be replaced, fine. I think its a bad idea at the moment, however retiring something still in its popularity instead of waiting until it has gone stale doesn't seem to be MW's strong point, looking at batman adventure. But if it is replaced, there has got to be a better franchise out there that offers a more solid delivery to the public with a well rounded and balanced show, like PA is now, than a Hot Wheels show that is purely relying on branding to get bums on seats, and definitely won't get the repeat attendance that PA gets now. Maybe Hot Wheels could discuss something with Dreamworld - perhaps they could say its another dedication to australian motorsport and get Dick Johnson to put his name to it for a year or two. IMHO Hot Wheels is something Dreamworld should go for, but not MW.

This is where employees on the boards comes in really handy, and I know that Clint and Ian are going to be helpful. Im only guessing here but I'm thinking JSM is Mr. Menzies. All good points Clint and i'm glad you dropped by. It seems pretty obvious that WBMW and SE are the goers on this one. My big post back there was just to throw Ideas around based on the discussions had on these forums in the past. The count is now at 19, so lets spread the word and get our numbers so we can pick a date already!

Well Pixel, I'm sure if you read between the lines there, you'll find the post is about whether the public got wind of the incident or not. I can't sayI've ever heard the story.

Just a suggestion as far as expressions of interest go Richard, but since many of our "members" are infrequent visitors at best, but obviously those who still share the enthusiasm enough to have joined up, would a mass-mailout to our membership be worth while? Also please bear in mind that the votes only count registered members, not extras. My partner shares the same passions and enthusiasm for parks that I do, but is not an R-C member. Mainly because I do more than enough posting for the both of us, but my vote counts as two - The votes currently on there may count for more than one also, so I think we need something else to keep count, because as you've said at the start as far as family members and what not, depending on the date being set and so on, I could have up to 6 or 7 myself, some local QLDers and others interstaters. But considering its been just over 48 hours since the initial post, 11 members was about what I counted for regular posters... but a mass-mailout is my bet. I'd say advertise it but you'd really need it firmed up with the park before that would happen.

As far as transport, road transport, including 6 days from departure to return would cost less than $45 per person plus fuel. Europcar can do either 8 seater vans (like a tarago) or 12 seater vans (like an extended wheelbase hiace). I can get a trailer for luggage and so on, so we can fill it right up. If we get the people, I'm also considering a 21 person bus, and this would work even better as far as to and from the park as well, as it could be done in two or three trips. I am happy to arrange the hire if we can get the people (another licensed driver to give me a break would be good too). Bear in mind that these rates are standard also, so any discounts we could get would reduce it even more. On another note, my preference time wise is either february or april. March is out for me as my industry is very busy during march. If possible, and not to be pushy here but if we can nail the date down by mid-november, it makes organising leave easier. If we can't make the 8, 12 or 21 people, My wagon seats 5 and I only charge petrol. The QLD run for me is one tank for the 1000 k's...

i was moreso referring to the tag line of "ultimate thrill rides" I did note that it was on at those times but couldn't be bothered opening up and editing the post again so thanks for that.

I think the key to this one Richard is advance planning. I know a lot of our members are in QLD, but there are also a lot of old-hat members from the Wonderland days that are here in NSW. Work commitments are another issue. Saturday is good but for those still working in retail and the like, saturdays are a hard slog to accomplish. I propose the following - in this order: 1. Agree on a park, and confirm that the park is willing to offer everything that has been discussed to avoid disappointment - for example if the ERT cannot be achieved. 2. Confirm numbers tentatively based on what dates are available that can be accomodated by the park. 3. Confirm the best date for everybody wanting to go 4. Lock this in with the park well ahead of schedule 5. Advise all members etc. that this date has been confirmed so that those who need to travel can begin making arrangements - again well ahead of time. My workplace would need a minimum of 10 weeks notice for me to be able to plan it without stuffing people around, as an example, so confirming a date in february would mean advising the date in november would be best. We also need to look into group bookings for accomodation, as this would share the burden around and make it easier on everyone. As far as travel plans, if I am able to go, I am happy to carpool with some other people and split the petrol, or better yet hire a minibus and make it a road trip. Seriously though, I am envious of some of the events that ACE can pull off in the states - those guys have some real pull over there, and I am dismayed that the parks over here don't treat us serious enthusiasts with the same kind of loyalty. We need to show the parks out there that R-C.com.au members are not a small bunch of people, made up of Richard, Flea, Rappa, Bussy, Daniel, Myself, Ian, Paul, Gazza, Adam etc... (i'm naming mainly long term members, and sorry if I forgot any regulars), but off the top of my head, I could think of only 10 long term frequent posters on this site, and two of them are employees of WVTP already. If we can make this a success, derive as much from it as we can, while also giving the parks something in return - online publicity, more attendance, good (and worthwhile) feedback (eg: not just criticism), then all we can hope for in the future is more of the same in return. ACE have been running for a long time, and they enjoy many benefits at almost any park in the US, let's get something similar going on here - lets involve TPR, ACE, and anyone else in a position to get behind this to come along. Richard wants 50. I say we can get 200 if we all pull behind this. At the very least, for 200 people, even if you take into account discounts and annual passes, thats a good $10,000 in the parks turnstiles (@ $50 per ticket) and not likely something that they could ignore. Count me in Richard, but please lets consider timeframes, and if we can get a park to do it - my vote is WBMW. As far as what we can do, if we get WBMW, i'd like to see: A behind the scenes of SDSC (lights on), ERT of SE, or alternatively, SDSC If we have 200, we can always have our QnA in the Police Academy Stunt Show stage. We might have the break lunch up over a period and do it in the restaurant bit by bit - whats the capacity of that place? Depending on numbers, maybe we could even split into groups throughout the day, and rotate around selected things such as: Back of house, Studio Tours, etc. Another option for the park would be to offer the ERT after normal operating hours - to avoid public disappointment, allow us to enjoy the rest of the park knowing that the ERT is coming at the end of the day, so we can skip that ride, and of course, to have just that extra time in the park! (of course, an alternative to lunch in that case could also be to have the sit down meal provided at the end of the day - as a dinner, instead of lunch during operating time!) Another suggestion i'd like to make is that we could also arrange to spend the evening at AoS, which would include dinner, as well as more WVTP entertainment, and Clint can also show off some of the absolutely cool crap he gets to do on a daily basis.

Discovery Science - Foxtel channel 638. Wednesday 10th October @ 3:00am Ultimate Thrill Rides: Terror - We love it! Who are the people that design these wild rides, and what does it take to build a killer thrill? Discover cutting edge design technology that takes your mind and your body for a ride. (and I bet you that the Mick Doohan SlowCoaster won't be on it...)

To say "no maintenance in the next 12 months" would be impossible. All rides have an "ANNUAL maintenance" cycle. Simple rides take hours, or a couple of days, Whereas large rides, like coasters can go down for weeks during maintenance, depending on what problems crop up. I'm not entirely sure of the timeframes, but in my experience, steel coasters without major issues would take about a week, unless they're only a one train coaster, in which case it would take longer because they could not bring it back after the first train was completed. Woodies can take much longer, especially if they should catch fire in the summer sun whilst under maintenance... (ahhhh those were the days). If the parks don't publish the maintenance schedule that far, It can't hurt to ask them. If you explain to them that you're trying to plan your trip around certain rides, I'm sure they will be happy to accomodate you if they can, so you don't go elsewhere. Having said that, remember that unexpected things happen, and even if you have been assured of the ride uptime prior to arrival, if the techs and mechs who inspect it that morning aren't happy with something, its closed. In my personal opinion, I don't like the idea of going in february, simply because if something has been wearing out over the heaviest trade time of the year - Christmas\Summer school holidays, the park will take it out the moment the peak period is over, and february is it.

My post to the moto coaster website - I wonder if they'll use it?

well, since this is an Australian site, and we're part of the metric system, i'm sure it was KM and not MPH. Habing said that, I'm no physics major, but acceleration 33% faster than a car could definitely influence the G forces pulled. Just having looked at that video, it seems from the video that the restraints are very slow moving. Judging by the time the ride takes cycle wise, running two trains isn't really going to speed things up any. Looking at the operators releasing the restraints individually, and then how long it takes to release them, i'd say we're going to end up with a two trained cyclone here.

Firstly - congratulations on the blatant description of you as a family thrill ride. I wish you all the best in your new career as a theme park amusement. Moving along now, you can't just say that I am blanket-wrong... so what am I wrong about? the demographic? I doubt it. My 8 year old niece rides SE, me and my fiance ride SE, my Aunty, who is 51 rides SE, my sister in law is 36 and rides SE, my step father is 62 and rides se..... And I have been in the queue line enough, i've seen those people who are riding... the teenage demographic is totally off the mark. as far as your figures, I was just saying that they seemed a bit convenient and "even". Funny that those results perfectly suited your argument as far as riders go that SE was "about" half that of scooby or WWF. Were you saying I was wrong about the capacities? because thats not right.... lets say WWF runs just 10 boats. each boat seats 11 people - thats 110 per cycle. Each ride takes about 5 minutes, or 12 cycles per hour (there is no downtime because the boats don't stop) so you've got 1320 per hour. Now please remember that I am only working on a hypothetical of 10 boats here. SE holds 20 riders per train. Let's assume MW is running both trains here, and from load to load it takes 4 minutes to cycle one train. thats 40 people per cycle, at 7.5 cycles per hour, or 300 per hour. So of course WWF is going to have a higher ride count - it can PHYSICALLY FIT that many. SE cannot, so it won't ever have the riders that WWF has. Its nothing to do with demographic. If you want to take a look at scooby (and please remember everyone i'm working on rough, hypothetical, rounded figures here) - scooby despatches two cars of 4 people every 40 seconds. thats 12 people per minute or 720 per hour. Capacities on each ride are very different because of the operation of the rides. SE operates a continuous circuit coaster. Scooby is a block sectioned multi-car coaster, WWF is a block sectioned water flume. Apples and oranges. I agree with the pull out of the air. if you were privy to the figures, why would you round them? you'd almost definitely have the exact results if you had access to them at all. P.S. my whole family rides road runner, and reptar, and LT river ride... we also ride SE, Batwing, scooby, wwf, LW, cyclone, claw, wipeout, tot, gd, vintage cars.... in other words we all ride it all. My family ranges in age from 8 to 61 (the 8 year old was riding thrill rides much earlier than that.) Saberon, if you think we're wrong, give me some intelligent answers as to why, instead of saying "you're wrong because you don't know me" - put up or shut up. prove the figures are real... Otherwise stop posting crap - or people will start calling you nightshifter

every time I have ever been in the SE queue line, the queued riders have been from the minimum height pre-teens right up to 50 and 60 year olds. I'm sorry but I cant swallow the "not alot of other age groups" theory. firstly, I sincerely doubt that saberon, unless you work within their operations division. secondly, you're comparing apples with oranges. Superman escape - two train coaster Motocoaster - two train coaster WWF - multiple single cars Scooby - multiple single cars. in the time that it takes to load, despatch, unload, stage, and then load again for superman, you've probably despatched more than that on either WWF or Scooby, so the figures for those rides are bound to be higher as it is a continuous cycle, rather than cycle, wait, cycle, wait. On the SE track at any one time there is about 20 people. on the WWF track at any one time there can be more than double that.

let's not forget tony, this is a reply by dreamworld to movieworld's recent additions - SE and Batman... But yes the competition between them can only be good for us!

Just a quick add on to that extraordinarily good explaination, as I don't think it was quite covered - the lift system is not "synchronised" as it is "connected". You would have an idea about how a normal lift works - lift car attached to a cable which goes up to the winch and then back down to a counterweight. In the case of scooby, the counterweight for the car going up is the car going down. there is one cable, and it is attached to both cars. they could never collide because it is impossible for the cars to be in a position where they could hit at the same time.

Two words - Vekoma Boomerang

Welcome to the forums Superman. I've read a couple of your posts so far and it looks like you have a lot to offer our little community here. One little thing though, and that is please don't post photos from other websites without their permission. Ian is a member of this site also, and i'm sure he wouldn't mind, but you need to be careful, especially with photos of Warner Village, as they don't approve of the use of imagery from the park in a commercial setting without consent. I'm sure Ian doesn't mind on R-C.com.au, but if you were posting his photos elsewhere it would definitely be a breach of copyright.

Considering the park operates 99% of the time in daylight only, the lights would be a bit of a waste, however, if you look at the wide picture of the whole structure (which you would have to see the canvas and the spines) you would notice that there are lightbulbs studded all over the facade.