DaptoFunlandGuy

Rideop - I too was an employee of a theme park, most of you know which, and what I did there. I did not op rides (well officially anyway, but there was the odd occasion when..... nevermind) however a lot of my friends were ride ops, and I have to take issue with a couple of things you've said there. First of all - get sacked, see if I care - you know what you should and shouldn't do and leave it at that, HOWEVER: 1) yes, you are only a ride operator, and theres some things that ride ops shouldn't know, or, should know but shouldn't say. 2) a good park management SHOULD inform their staff of the goings on in the park, but not always, and not everything 3) you make a good point there about press releases. Usually when a park is ready for information to go public, they issue a press release. If the release details information about the ride, but you know a little more about it - by all means share it - but if the issue in the release is not yet released, you should not be sharing it. Not only can you lose your job but you can also be prosecuted for breach of disclosure - which is bad. 4) as far as what you tell the public - for example where you talk about something being wrong with GD - this is the issue. You aren't maintenance personnel, so you cannot make more than a slightly educated guess about the ride's problem. How many people will have confidence in the ride, and their own safety, if you tell them its not open today because the brakes failed? this is not something that should be shared with the general public... because next time, they won't want to ride in case the brakes fail while they're on it. It undermines the public confidence. You know, and I know, and the other members know, that if something like that happens, there are always failsafes in place, typically, the worst that could happen is maybe a little whiplash if you hit the other train in front... but the public doesnt know this. All they know about brakes is what's on their car, and they know if those brakes fail, they're gunna crash. Its the same with airliners. You aren't delayed because the engine had a fire, you are delayed because of technical difficulties. If dreamworld want the issue of a ride's malfunction made public, they would display that at the front gates. DEAR DREAMWORLD GUESTS: UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO CATASTROPHIC BRAKE FAILURE ON TOWER OF TERROR, IT WILL NOT BE OPERATING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. BUT REST ASSURED ALL OF OUR OTHER RIDES ARE UP TO SCRATCH, SO PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO RIDE THOSE ONES. Would you pay $$$? to enter a park with a sign like that out the front? I don't think so. Which is why dreamworld just say "closed for maintenance" or refurbishment, or whatever.

Well.... if they make it out of wood, I certainly hope they plane it. I too have seen the double layout plans, theres no secret about it, all I was saying is the last time I spoke with Jamberoo it wasn't set in concrete. And the watermark on that particular image was because at the time I released it, I wasn't prepared to distribute the image freely. It gives you the ability to see whats on it without me risking unauthorised distribution.

The last discussions I had with Jamberoo Management, which was a fair while ago, the Mammoth was only pencilled. Essentially the idea is to release the original mammoth, and depending on IF it is too popular for its capacity, and IF they get approval, and IF they have the money, and IF it works, a second mammoth will be built, on the opposite side - hence the original mammoth never crosses the centre line of the raft conveyor. Its on the cards, but from what I have it is not set to go ahead as yet. Remember that these slides are all designed to conform to the land around it - so no ugly supports, they're all kept relatively close to the ground. I am unaware as yet if they have decided to go ahead with the second mammoth or not, but its a possibility. This won't affect any of the other constructions, it would seem that they are already approved and the only alteration being the second mammoth does not affect any of the other construction

and as usual, i always get the tv alert just after the program has ended. I need a 9+2 for IQ

Am I correct in saying that the old seal show - quest for the golden seal - was choreographed and written by Michael Croaker - all those years ago before he went to wonderland? I must say I'm happy to see that go, and even more excited to see what new blood can do for the exhibit\show. I never liked Quest myself, found it all a bit too corny, and geared well towards the "asian tourist" kind of market. I do remember the old show before that - can't remember what it was called but I think it was something like friends of the sea. A clean white set, instead of the mottled fake stone, I think that was back in about 1994 that i last remember. I look forward to the new show and hope that it is moreso set around the animals like the show in '94, than loosely gelled around a pathetic storyline in a weak attempt at a stage play.

I was thinking the same thing myself. They'd make more than that from ONE airing of the KFC twister ad.

Doesn't go fast enough.... now let me see if i've got this right... 1) they make it faster. 2) small children don't want to go on it 3) families have less and less that their small children can enjoy during a day at movie world 4) families don't come to movie world - they go to dreamworld instead 5) movie world loses quite a lot of their revenue - yes, asian tourists make a high percentage - but its the families with kids that buy food, drink, merchandise, photos..... not to mention that the families would be more likely to visit more than one park - and those who leave to go to Dreamworld wouldn't be coming back for wet n wild now would they? 6) movie world closes down, and Sea World and Wet N Wild - without movie world to support them financially go broke as well. AOS closes, Dreamworld has no competition. Now - do you really think we should turn a good family ride into a thrill ride?

Sunrise this morning spoke to Dreamworld regarding this - one point to note is that GD uses a winch drum system, whereas the models in the US use a counter weighted system, so two different elevation systems. I agree with Rich that they could have taken it down during the quiet period for a couple of days to appease the media, but one thing about that is that then it appears to the public that it "may" not be safe....?

Well, Jamberoo is no LPS, it certainly isn't DW, and definitely isn't WVTP. I have interviewed Dax Eddy in the past, as well as spent a full day shooting the park. The story and subsequent photography sold, and then was promptly squashed by the purchaser for reasons unbeknownst to me. I have copies of the 10 year plan, with full details on placement, layout and schematics.

Hate to say that I don't really have the interests or the time to maintain a site, not to mention that blogspot is definitely a site that takes a lot of time to maintain. But if you are referring to the blog of AAL, rather than blogspot itself... then no. First off it would be quite egotistical for me to start plugging myself on it... but besides the fact, whomever owns the site does quite a good job on their own... but on that note, its quite funny that they don't need their own site to poke fun at morons - when they poke fun at themselves...

.....and the truth shall set you free....

Happy Birthday R-C!!!

It's been a while since I checked out AAL, so I wandered over there and what a shocker - I have to say that with that lifetime goal achieved, the rest is all downhill from here... I made the news in Brief.... Go Me... http://australianamusementlowdown.blogspot.com/

To clarify Bussy, The reason it is subject to change is because this is stretched over a ten year plan. Dax and the gang have scouted out the best out there "at the moment" However after the first one or two have been built, there may be something better instead of one of the others, so If there is something better, and its cost effective to do so, they may change them. If nothing better comes along, they will stay with what they have... so that list is the minimum you can expect, but there could be more down the track should our manufacturer's come up with something better.

See now theres something about this extremely long thread that I just don't get... Its a steel coaster, and yet, it would seem to be made of wood... Why else would Intamin PLANE it?

except logistically, Disney would never in their right mind settle on a parcel of land as small as that is - there is very little parking, very little back of house areas for operations, and Cal Screamin - even a mini one, would run from the bridge to maloneys point without ever gaining altitude. Nup - Disney learnt from the original Disneyland - own the land - all of it - everywhere - that way when you need more of it - you already own it.

It is not dangerous at all. The park, like WnW, maintains a "dead zone" at the end near the generator. This would be the only place you would be in danger, and even then, it would not be very much. Personally if Jamberoo Fan considers himself a good swimmer, he has a bad misconception, because I consider myself an average swimmer, and yet I spent over an hour in the wave pool.

If you can't find a lab to do it for you, get in touch with these guys: DigitalMax 26 Punch Street Artarmon NSW

I am yet to experience WWW, however I have been to both the pools at Jamberoo and WnW. I can honestly say that the jamberoo pool is the better IMHO. The generator outputs at a very narrow point. The pool itself extends ten metres from the generator to double the width of the pool in one hit. I found this gave waves that were unpredictable, and came out from any direction, whereas I have found that WnW's wave pool is more of an "out and back" style - it starts at the back and comes to the front. I can't speak for WWW yet, but Jamberoo is my pick.

Sarah, A better option would be to take the negative (which is actually a positive or slide in this case) to a pro-photo dealer. Most Camera House stores should have the facility. (I don't know where you live otherwise I could be more specific) The positive is from memory a 110 film, so any digital lab that has the ability to print 110 should be able to provide you with a print, CD Burn, or even gift media... I'm sure this would be a better option than to get the eyespy which is probably slim to none.

I don't think the yellow seats will be back anytime soon. From what I remember of Space Probe, yellow seats tended to show all the dirt and crap left on the seats by guests, as well as from the elements. The yellow ones didnt last long, and the red ones obviously last longer simply because they don't "seem" to be as dirty as the yellow ones. I rode Claw not long after opening and the yellow seats were already showing signs of "dirty"-ness.

I have just returned from an epic drive up to QLD, (im only at coffs now, pit stopping on my way back down) and I will say that despite the QLD holidays finishing, the park was reasonably busy, however MW was prepared for this. Lethal was running both trains, as was SE, although lethal had one removed about lunchtime, so all in all queue times for most of the park were small to non-existent. I did keep this thread in mind when I rode scooby, and having ridden several times throughout the day, and being both in the front of the lift, and the back, I will say that it has to be loading delays in the station. I have never seen Scooby's station with four cars waiting at load point at all times. Usually in the past, as the two at load are having lap bars checked, the doors opened to admit the next two, but this time they were quite literally trailing bumper to bumper, which means that all the station blocks are occupied 95% of the time, a total of 6 cars, and 7 cars just after despatch (while the first car goes through the door, and the second one waits just in front of the load bay) Unload were managing very efficiently, but there were still times where we waited in the brakes run behind the unload section until they could enter the load bay and let us unload. To me the logic is simple. Running Max trains on the track, and having max trains in the station, the final block sections (from hairpins onwards) are going to be trimming the speed of the cars to space them out a bit more. The ghost train section was trouble free (although this raises another point - Scooby ghost train theming is SHOT to pieces - the blades at the camera aren't working, some of the animatronic voices aren't there, the spiel in the lift works only sometimes, and half of the other ghost animatronics have no sound, or lighting, and their timing is EXTREMELY off where it should be) I noticed that on 3 of the brake sections in the wild mouse area that the brakes grabbed the cars. Not to a stop, but to bleed some speed off the trains (I have a habit of moving with the car to throw my weight out on the corners, to try and get a little more speed out of it) but overall, for somebody not mad-crazy about coasters - such as ourselves - the brake trimming would appear normal, and no noticeable difference would be there for someone who doesn't ride it three times a week... so with so many trains on the track, and a slow loading zone, things aren't going to run as fast or as smooth as they usually do in the off peak, but for the general public, it keeps the queue line short, and thats the bottom line for most holidaymakers who won't ride it again for another few years. On the wild mouse theming that has been discussed previously, green lasers in the main room, along with a coloured laser at the lift end appear ok, but the mirrors don't appear to be there anymore. The room is also not as foggy as in the past, but the lasers are still visible. The final laser at the exit point is a disappointment. there is no fog, and just a red light which does not hide the drop at all. I spoke to an unloader in the few short seconds I had and the explaination for the red laser, that I was told was because a green laser in that setup causes more problems for epileptics than a red one. true or not? I don't know. and now for the 7 hour drive home...... see y'all later.

I don't see an issue with this type of thread, however, if this is the second time he has asked for vouchers for the same trip, then it should have been kept in the original thread. Perhaps If I could suggest something to Richard and the gang- what if we had a noticeboard\swapmeet that could only be accessed by members (eg: not those just googling for it) where anyone who comes across discounts or free passes or the like, that aren't going to use them can put them up here on offer. Be it just as a giveaway or at minimal cost for postage etc?

Well nev, it depends on your projection angle. A few conferences that I have done in the past were quite restrictive in terms of using moving mirrors. The biggest problem we experienced were because the mirrors couldnt be fixed above the banquet tables, and had to be mounted on the side of the room. The tables on the sides of the room were fine, but to pinspot the tables in the centre of the room gave quite an acute angle, and the "circle" of the light was quite oval shaped. For night clubs and such, the shape distortion doesn't matter, but when a gobo, or special effect is required, the distortion you get from an acute angle can ruin the desired result.

One of the tour circuits most popular moving head units - the Martin 2000 Performance weighs approximately 39Kgs. Of this weight, it is primarily in the fixed base section, rather than the head. Power supply, ballasts, control circuitry, etc etc. Inside the moving head there is very little weight. As it is a moving head, the head is built as lightly as possible to allow the control motors ease of function. Inside the head, besides your focal lenses, you have cooling units, the luminaire, gobo wheel, and glass filters to mix the CMYK colouring, all of which are reasonably light in comparison to the base unit. The control motors that drive the head are three phase motors. They have the power to weight ratio to move the head as fast if not faster than a moving mirror. The mirror motors generally (and taken from my own moving mirror units) are small servo motors. They are used because they dont have to turn much weight, and reading against the specs of the MAC 2000, do not turn on either axis as fast as the mac does.