DaptoFunlandGuy

I swear one of these pops up at least twice a year. This one is in pretty good condition all things considered. What most of these folk don't consider is the cost to transport something this big and heavy.

Agree, I can't imagine they'll go vertical in the next 4 weeks. A lot of construction tends to wind down around christmas. I think we'll see track builds start early next year - though i'm happy to be wrong if they decide they want to start earlier!

Here's an (almost) one year on comparison:

Nearmap's latest flyover was only 10 days ago and is now live. The last shot, which was mid-september, was pretty flat - the scenery has now changed significantly, and you can start to see quite a bit coming together! (And just as a comparison, here is what it looked like right before Arkham Demolition in June 2022)

Yeah I'm not going to get torn up about the use of pool fence on a ramp railing. I know they could do better but they're not working with unlimited money cheats turned on so if they're putting their money into the things that actually do make a big difference, then i'm here for it. I've seen a lot of positive steps from the park in the past 12 or so months. I don't think they're getting it all right yet, but my opinion of them has been helped by the contrasting experience down the road. I'm keen to see what their next move is, once Jungle Rush opens.

The "Train" did not "allow" access. The Caboose (I believe many called it the Motza Wagon due to it's italian colour scheme) was a 1980's attempt at not discriminating, and while wheelchairs users could 'ride the train' they could not do so freely with their group. You were being semantic over Magician's choice of phrase. I'm just doing the same over yours. If you really want to be specific... The new carriages DO allow for wheelchairs. Previously they did not. The raising of the station platforms, and Carriages that allow for wheelchairs.

There is a difference, I think, between the train having a ramshackle, limited space caboose tacked onto the back of the train, and having every seating row able to accommodate wheelchair users so that they can sit with their own group rather than be segregated into a box, assuming you're the only wheelchair user in the park, because if there's too many wheelchairs, we can't fit you all in... Accommodations in 1980 = we've built a separate side entrance with a ramp for wheelchair users. Accommodations in 2023 = we've ensured our main entrance is accessible for everyone.

that photo doesn't show any track has been put back...

Just to spell it out absolutely clearly - this isn't a marketing guff or silly PR piece. This is entirely about assisting those with disabilities, including non visible disabilities. So before anyone criticises this (because I feel that is sometimes inevitable here), this just might not be a product directed at you. Kudos Dreamworld - this is great to see.

Thats a damn weird analogy. but I get what you're trying to say. Counterpoint - there's always that one luddite that thinks technology peaked in 2006 and is still carrying their old motorola and they're stubbornly refusing to upgrade it. With the recent news that telcos were shutting down the 3G band, this has brought them to table-thumping outrage, and shouts of conspiracy. So to continue your analogy, I would suggest that although most of society has moved on, there are a few oddities out there that will persist with their outdated equipment (and theme) until they are dragged into the new age by something outside of their control. In a Dreamworld Context - neither of those attractions will be rethemed or otherwise upgraded until it's necessary. And that necessity in this context is going to be either a relocation of the ride (unlikely) a retheme of the land\area it sits on (unlikely for ocean parade given the new investment, and unlikely for MDMC purely because it doesn't really sit in a land), a large-scale refurbishment where the attraction is likely to be closed for several months, and the park decides "well why not while we're at it", or at the end of the attraction's current expected lifespan - where the tax depreciation has been exhausted, leading to an optimal time to inject some capital to improve and modernise it. Of all of those options above, the last two are the most likely to happen, but they're also the least likely to occur 'any time soon'.

I don't see anything wrong with Shockwave or Motocoaster's bridge \ entryway. Don't get me wrong, i think MDMC's entire theme is garbage, and it doesn't belong where it is, and it needs to change and hopefully after rivertown they find a way to do that, but as it is - the theme is exactly what they're trying for. The style is what you'd see by the track on race day. I've spent years at racetracks, as pit crew, punter and race official, and the aesthetic is usually a fastfold marquee in varying colours and sponsorships (the original queue themeing) and the bridge borrows from that - bigger teams would have archways or inflatable advertising, generally with flags (with MDMC has space for on the bridge, just not being used in the photo above). As for shockwave, it's ocean parade. the ride is a turbulent spinning attraction that was (at launch) somewhat turbine themed (as was the rest of the park). While a lot of the turbine theme is gone now, wave \ ocean can still work well enough that a retheme isn't essential. It would be nice to tighten up the link, but what are they gonna do - name it VORTEX? It's not the best themed ride in the park, but it's also a legacy attraction without an IP which makes it not a priority. I give it a pass. it's "FINE".

You're already overqualified.

That sounds very likely. It's actually quite a surprise that the park has held onto stuff like this for that long - especially given the firesale they had on bermuda aliens... so the licensing seems the most logical explanation. I'd love to see them incorporate these guys into something new - i'm sure the tech to operate them is still possible... just needs the courage to do so!

Village Marketing has no meaning anymore.

untechnically, you're wrong. We still have no idea what this is supposed to mean.

You talk about theme parks being a passion. The trouble with working at a theme park is you see what goes on behind the scenes to make things happen. So some of the magic is lost. If you enjoy creating magic for others, then that's not a loss - but if you don't, and you enjoy being immersed in a world of make believe - its going to hit you like a tonne of bricks. The reality of working in a theme park is they generally don't pay well. Guests on the whole are going to be rude, obnoxious and entitled. Management are either going to be awesome cool people to work with or absolute bastards. You're going to hear\see things that you aren't allowed to share. Some of those things will be good - like knowing a new ride is coming - and some of those things won't be - like knowing the specific details of what is wrong with a ride. You're going to have days where something special happens that you get to be a part of, and it makes your day. But you're going to have even more days where some entitled parent shrieks at you because their kid isn't tall enough to ride and they want you to endanger their kid's life for their own desires. You're gonna have days where the park is slammed with guests and you barely stop to think all day, collapsing at home exhausted at the end of it, and you're gonna have days midweek off season where its dead and you'll feel like its been hours and you only opened 30 minutes ago. As a ride operator - you're going to have people's lives in your hands. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring everyone both on, and around your ride are kept safe at all times. While many modern rides today have interlocks that prevent dispatch if a safety system isn't secured, there are still plenty of rides where this isn't the case, and people can get hurt if you mess up. You do need to be very confident to be an attractions operator. You're going to be speaking to guests all day and they're going to see you as in charge, whether you know the right answer or not.

Maybe outdoor steel coaster painted red and yellow inside of another outdoor steel coaster painted red and blue?

I'm not even sure that would qualify as a first... though I can't immediately think of one.

What then about speedy beetle and Scenic Railway at LPM?

Maybe they mean a coaster within a coaster?

You're not gonna bring in heavy lift equipment and remove track sections unless it's necessary. You're not doing that just on pretence. My guess is either they've discovered an issue with the construction, or the manufacturer has required them to take it down for some other reason. Remember all the rumours we've heard so far is the delay is the need to recommission the ride and the manufacturer wasn't available to do it. What i've heard is only the upper sections have been removed - the lower (mostly red) sections remain, so either it's halfway done if they're pulling it all out, or the issues are only with the top sections.

It's been pointed out to me elsewhere that the city of whittlesea has published a building approval for demolition of the go karts to accommodate a proposed lazy river and dodgem cars. application was submitted 19/5 and approved 18/7.

I have no inside knowledge, but looking at that park map, my thoughts would be to see a slide tower of some sort go in that gap, rather than flats.

Since when? There's a lot of issues with comparisons of late. When folks make comparisons "year on year" about things they don't account for the fact that two years ago nobody was going anywhere much. So the comparisons are made "to pre-covid" but the issue there is the economy was completely different. it's not a fair comparison - it's apples and helicopters. Domestic visitation to the gold coast on a 2019 to 2022 year comparison - there were about 3 million less (about 20%) in 2022. Considering 50% are drive-in visitors, the other 50% being transit riders is going to bash a pretty big hole in ridership. I'll accept your personal experience in your neighbourhood. Its a shame that they've reduced bus services, but by all accounts (including the Mayor's) the buses were also seeing low ridership (naturally, you're not getting pissed as a mute every night of the week to singlehandedly keep the bus services afloat). And you can always get a taxi or an uber, rather than driving home drunk. I'm not a big uber user, but have found their services very useful on the gold coast, and reasonably cheap (all things considered) when we're there for the weekend \ for a night out. (And this is potentially another explanation for low ridership of public transport services).

Do Coomera and Ormeau stations not exist now? So, the facts show usage of light rail is higher than the buses they replaced, and you're saying this is because more tourists are using light rail to get to where they need to go... but what were the tourists using before? I usually drive when i'm on the coast, because i have a car. I stayed down there a few months ago and elected to take G link on a few occasions. In every case I found them to be efficient, and easy to use. On a couple of occasions we chose to wait for a tram even though we were only going a short distance, while others in our group decided to walk. The walkers did beat us back to our stop, but it was at a time when the nightlife was "getting interesting" and we felt alot more comfortable (with kids in tow) being on the tram. So i'm not a frequent user, and i'm also probably not the target market for this or any extension to the service, but i've used it, and i've got friends who rely on it, and nobody i've spoken to has said it is worse than the alternative.