DaptoFunlandGuy

The grass is always greener. Just because some americans are envious of one coaster here, its unlikely to make most of them travel over here. They've got so much in their own backyard that they'll never ride, why bother - when in another few years someone stateside will build one?

Though it feels like it, you don’t “hang” on giant drop for more than a second. When it nears the top, the winch slows to a crawl and you’re still climbing, albeit very slowly until almost the moment you’re released from the catchcar.

Many times, due to station noise, mic technique or something else, you can't understand the rapid-fire spiels put out by some operators anyway. Guests check their brains at the gate. No matter what you do, you're going to have idiots who do what they aren't supposed to. This is why things are the way they are - you can't rely on people to do the right thing.

I don't have the inside scoop on incidents and stoppages, but i'm sure that 'ability to stop and exit vehicle, walk in front of other vehicles that are completely under the control of untrained guests' would rank as 'possible' on the risk assessment matrix, and being run over by one of these things has at a minimum 'Moderate' chance of hospitalisation or causing disability - ie, broken bones or worse. At a minimum its a moderate risk calling for enhanced control measures, which so far are primarily administrative controls - almost the last line of defence (and something Dreamworld was criticised over during the TRRR inquest). Replacing these vehicles with ones that prevent guests from exiting the vehicle reduces the likelihood from possible to very unlikely (and in addition, its a reasonable assumption that the new system presumably permits a power disconnect to all vehicles, so a trained operator can prevent collision). Even if the potential type of injury doesn't change (though it's highly likely the additional control measures would reduce the severity), the assessment drops to low\very low as the control measures implemented have been eliminated, substituted, or engineered out of the attraction. I am a big fan of nostalgia, and firmly advocate parks respecting their heritage and doing it justice (skyvoyager is an eyesore, and the removal of Police Academy was a travesty). I also know that you've spent a good amount of time with John Longhurst, and this park plays a big part in your life (not intended to be doxxing, this is taken straight from your own published musings) so I understand why you're strongly opposed to the replacement of what is essentially the last 'longhurst' era attraction left at the park. But in this case, despite the nostalgic value, Dreamworld needs to ensure that they never again have an incident occur that can be traced back to 'in house design' or any other sort of negligence as a result of doing things in-house. They simply wouldn't survive it. Reputable companies, with proven attractions and external, independent oversight is a necessary evil in the park's recovery - and in my opinion, it's the only way for the park to survive. I know what you're getting at here as you've discussed it previously, but we've seen incidents where Tigers have injured handlers. And while the experts (of course I mean Pat) say this isn't the best thing for the animals, you're talking about risk appetite - which is what's best for the people. I know - the incidents have generally been said to have been a handler doing something they shouldn't have, but that's still reliant on administrative controls, so taking the handlers out of the enclosure - elimination or engineering control measures are still a "safer" way to mitigate the risks. What this does for the animals - health or behaviour wise - has to be second to people safety. And you can't get bit if you aren't in the same enclosure to begin with.

Thats a bold viewpoint given the existing vintage cars were essentially made 'in house' (not something the park has had a lot of luck with) and retrofitting things hasn't exactly panned out long term either (log ride, shockwave). The train is a perfect example of the park looking ahead to modern technology built by reputable companies with the risk assessments done by third parties not invested in the outcomes. I am confident that the cars will be all-new, probably fully electric, similar to the treasure hunters vehicles in Universal Singapore.

yeah out of the people I know who are enthusiast or enthusiast leaning, Giant Drop is universally the only ride that you couldn't bet everyone in the group had been on - and some still refuse to this day.

*sobs in Tower of Terror* Duane has been the most consistent, reliable source on coaster stats the world over. You weren't even BORN when the site was first launched. I think we'll take you with a grain of salt first.

I mean, arguing with @Gazzaover the specific classification of a rollercoaster is kinda like offering Mike Tyson the first punch in a fight... you're gonna get knocked the fuck out. RCDB classes them all as custom loopers. CoasterPedia classes them all as custom loopers The Arrow Dynamics Wiki also classes Viper and Gold Coaster as the same 'looping coaster' Model. Coasterforce also lists Viper as an example under their Custom Looping Coaster banner While I agree "mega looper" or "Multi Looper" is a term used to refer to coasters with many (generally seems to be 4 or more) loops or inversions - Coasterforce does have a multi looping page, and it does class Viper as an Arrow Multi Looper (but as above still classifies Viper as a custom looper). It isn't a ride model - like a corkscrew or boomerang shuttle coaster, and moreso seems to be a class of coaster - like a hyper, strata, inverted, or in this case, Multi Looper. The ride type is still a custom looper, so you can't claim the title for Gold Coaster (except if you're in the park's marketing department, which as we all know, would be puffery).

Just for the record, Wonderland relocated a lot of their kids rides to other areas of the park when they lost the Hanna Barbera licence. They rethemed the kids rides to generic versions. Dick Dastardly's Flying Circus became The Red Baron and so on. On the other hand, Dreamworld is relocating a bunch of their kids rides to other areas of the park, while retheming them to generic versions. Totally different.

I mean - before they had Jeeps... how do you think they got around? It wasn't all done on horseback you know...

Are you sure? I'm pretty sure this has been covered in detail.

Maybe they could do some animatronics? I know where you can get some animatronic koalas pretty cheap... Then they'd all be facing the wrong way

I mean, this is a Lamborghini vs. a Model T Ford. It's hardly fair now, is it?

I never said it met my standards. I specifically said I don't like what they're doing, but I understand it. I'll wait until they're finished.

It's not the first time the new sign hasn't lived up to someone's standards based on the old sign. See also: Wild West Falls

It is, but it isn't ABC World. It's Kenny and Belinda's Dreamland. It's not a land held together by a single unified theme anymore (Dreamworks) that has contractual standards. It's an internal park-IP using multiple licences from far smaller IP juggernauts that do not command the same attention to detail. This is a de-branding, done to a deadline and a budget. I don't like a lot of the things that are happening to the area, but I do understand it. It's clear it's being done on the cheap and in the parks current situation, i'm entirely ok with that. I'd rather they kept the rides going in a debranded, band-aided state rather than sign-up to some 10 year contractual commitment that would see them pay through the nose to put a sticker on something whilst still delivering essentially the same experience, potentially cleaning out the cupboard before they're back on their feet and turning 'Dreamworld Parkway' into the entrance to a housing estate. Like I said, this is 'fine'

If you thought you were going to get the same level of theme quality with a non-ip overlay, you were kidding yourself from day dot. This is 'fine'. My father always said "never show a fool an incomplete job" Dreamworld don't own a digital sheet metal printer like Movie World does.

It's getting worse - I saw something yesterday talking about a 'Skullet' and... i'll just let you google it.

Morning maintenance checks can reveal all sorts of abnormalities - a ride always has a chance of not opening.

No we are not. All things considered, the current path is the right one. The Swinger, Rivertown, Dreamland, all of it. A water ride while they're still trying to win back confidences is foolish. Once these new installs write the new Dreamworld chapter, the next thing should be that, but not before.

I see kids coming out at (primary) school pickup with a full-blown Warwick Capper level mullet - only to link up with their more-than-warwick-level parent, and I can only wonder about how long these parents have kept the trend going so that their kid will follow in their footsteps. I can't wait for Mohawks and then the boy-band-bleach-blonde tips trend to follow in a few years.

I think though that you need to have some staples in addition to your unusual stuff. A 'swings' ride, a 'pendulum' ride, a 'flume or boat' ride, a 'spinny' ride, a 'dodgems \ drive yourself' ride, a 'all of the family \ carousel' ride. Not necessarily all of these, and not an exhaustive list, but you need to have some of these basics in your roster to round out the park's offering. Or to put it another way, it's to prevent:

^Everything he said. To add - recently some weekends have been quieter than weekdays. If you can only go on the way day, then don't worry about whether times will be bad or good and just go along expecting busier times and be pleasantly surprised if it isnt. Make sure you have the app downloaded and set up properly so you can take advantage of VQ, and - if you absolutely cannot miss out - bring your wallet for one-shots.

given everything else in Main Street still fits the theme, it honestly wouldn't take that much to retrofit the facade if they decided to do it. They're retheming all of Dreamworks including changing a bunch of facades, so it can be done - they just have to WANT to do it. it'd be a complete waste of money - and i'd stand and applaud them for reinstalling something like this.

In a community where everything is "your opinion is wrong because I hold a different opinion" having some stats to illustrate a point isn't a bad idea. Even if they're made to look worse than they are, you'd have to assume the bias would be even so the comparisons would still be fair and reasonable.