DaptoFunlandGuy

i've always been in camp "sea world" when it comes to Surfrider, but Joz's view is something I hadn't considered, and he's right - at 140cm its an extreme thrill, and it just doesn't fit Sea World's demo. it'd be closed just as often over there purely for lack of ridership. Sea World needs something SIMILAR to surfrider, and it needs to go next to JR. It needs to be mid-level thrill, low enough height requirement that the slightly younger kids can go on it - as a step above Nick land, just like the rumored MW triple coasters are a step above WB Kids. But i'm changing my position - Surfrider at SW would occupy valuable real estate that sea world should be using for rides that have a lower barrier to entry, more suited to the wider family group.

I know there's a few threads around touching various topics here, but I didn't feel like posting snippets to half a dozen different threads so here's a trip report. Took my wife and 5 year old to Dreamworld on the weekend to catch the fireworks, Cosentino and get a ride on Taipan. We arrived after lunch, as due to the park's late operating schedule, we didn't feel rushed to get there early. It was overcast and drizzling from time to time, which kept a lot of the crowds away, but fined up in time to catch the fireworks at the end of the night. We started out heading for MDMC - Master Five is bold enough now to try riding sidecar, so we gave it a go. We noticed the ride operator was spieling quite often that the MDMC harnesses are 'quite restrictive' - something i've never noticed before - and after half an hour in queue, I couldn't get the harness down far enough - something i've never had issue with before - despite previously having had issues with Claw and GIant Drop - MDMC has never been an issue for me. The operator's offered no more than an apology - and while I didn't expect anything else - We've previously experienced operators at Village not only recommending alternate rides, but also calling ahead to the ride allowing us to use fast track entrances and not have to wait again - so while as I said - I didn't expect anything, because of our prior experiences with Village this felt like a bit of a negative. We then headed up to catch the Cosentino show. It was the first time i've seen him perform anywhere, and after experiencing Millennium Magic several hundred times, and being a big fan of magic and illusions both on TV and on stage, I must admit my expectations were high (although tempered by the fact that it was a temporary, not resident show). Honestly, I shouldn't have bothered. The cattle pens they've put together to hold people waiting for the show are entirely out of place. I found myself wishing for the fluoro green tape of movie world compared to these. Once inside, seating was crammed together. There was no effort made to even appear to be socially distancing the crowd, or to wear masks, although someone at the door was confirming people had 'checked in' to the venue using the QLD covid safe app. The venue was packed out. Folks were standing in the aisles, and instead of perhaps a PA announcer or pre-recorded announcement about keeping aisles clear, staying seated etc like any other theme park show in the world, a supervisor with a walkie talkie walked along the back row literally BELLOWING at everyone still standing that they needed to sit down immediately. (Sidenote - for show venues, Ushers\Hosts should have earpieces so the loud walkie talkie noises don't distract from the show.) As for the show itself - honestly, there was no pacing. Cosentino doesn't really have the stage presence to keep my attention and after the first act I was ready to leave. I did stay, thinking perhaps it was a one-off but nothing changed my opinion the rest of the show. Very disjointed, the transitions just didn't flow. There were times he just stood silent on stage, and based on the fact he cracked a joke immediately afterwards, the impression I got is he was stopping to think of something to say. The stage had two giant screens, which I thought might be used for close-up video shots of the illusion for the benefit of the crowds seated towards the rear (especially since the seating was not elevated, and my 5 year old had to basically stand on his chair to see anything) but alas, the screens were mostly used to put static colourful imagery on display similar to the stage lighting, save for the final act where it was used to play a video to introduce the illusion and attempt to make people think it was a really super dangerous stunt. For me - if you have to resort to a pre-recorded intro piece to present your headline illusion instead of doing it on stage and in person, give up. Safe to say I was not a fan of the Cosentino show. This wasn't helped by the fact that post-show, he and his entourage headed out into the park going on the rides. Now sure, VIPs get the treatment, and its one of the perks of being a 'celebrity' and every park the world over does it - but this guy had about 12 people doing the rounds with him, and they were being front-lined on every attraction - including attractions he wasn't even riding on. I absolutely acknowledge the park's right to do this for a VIP and it likely is just a case of sour grapes and having a sook, but thats my feelings on it and i'm just expressing them - it isn't really much different to Ride Express in a way, so... *shrug*... maybe we just lucked out following the same route his entourage did. It rained a fair bit between about 3-5. We got a few kids rides in and wandered the park, stopped at the tigers and everything was fairly pleasant. I saw a staff member - pretty clearly and executive \ supervisor walking the park stop and pick up a fair bit of trash around tiger island, and it occurred to me that it was a fairly rare thing to see, in my experience, so Kudos to them for leading from the front. Taipan went down for a short while - not sure if it was just the rain or whether they were having other problems, and they did have a maintenance guy on station with a ladder, but i don't know. I finally got to ride it later on, getting somewhere around the middle of the train. The harness system was interesting - needing the RFID tag to confirm the seatbelt insert was new to me, but despite the seat being practically the same as Rivals, it was a far more comfortable harness fit. Operations were efficient, but not with any particular urgency - I did notice and enjoy the fact that the load gates seemed to be opened earlier while folks were still unloading, and for me this small efficiency sped things up for the cycle time which I appreciated. I've never done a blue fire clone. The first launch was calm, the reverse launch was quite something to make you sit up and take notice and the final launch topped it off nicely. The ride experience was enjoyable, but didn't feel 'balls to the wall stupidly intense' like on Rivals. the first half was just "fun" with the second half increasing the intensity with the last roll before the brake run hitting the peak thrills right at the end. I honestly would have loved to have seen about another 50% more circuit after that final roll, but for what it is, it was a really nice, fun ride, that doesn't require you to take a few moments at the end to concentrate on trying to breathe again and i'd give it a solid 7/10 every day. I did another two cycles that afternoon - both spinning, first with a friend and second by myself. With a friend, the spinning seat is an upgrade (as you'd expect) and elevates a fun moderate thrill into a fun high thrill. Definitely have a weight difference between riders to experience this the best though as I watched another group of riders who were all fairly evenly matched not get much spin at all as they were too close to evenly weighted. I'd give spinning with a friend a solid 9/10 Going solo however, that is the real experience. Solo spin hands down is for me the most insane thrill on the coast. Compared to my first spinner, the mid-course platform was chalk and cheese - a couple of slow rotations as the train passed over it versus Zipper-Ride-level intense spins and the amount of spin you get through some elements was just crazy. I'd put solo-spin in my top 5, but I don't think it tops the likes of Tatsu or X2, and my favourite all time is still gonna be Space Mountain - but i'll give it a 9+/10. We didn't do much else because of the weather. Tried the fried chicken pieces at kenny's (had wanted the schnitzel, but stupidly the menu confused us and we ended up with pieces) and they weren't bad. Not KFC flavour, but definitely less greasy. Red Rooster does fried chicken now and i'd rate it above their efforts, so somewhere between RR and KFC isn't a bad place to be. We didn't finish the serving, which was generous, but I would have liked something fresh - like the coleslaw that comes with the schnitty - to be on the plate with the pieces just to help cut the grease a bit. Service was fast and blessedly clear of the flies that always plagued the pizzas. Beer was cold and wet and that's a good start. We hung around for the fireworks. Taking the opportunity just before 7 I joined the Taipan line while we waited. The crew started spieling at about 7:10 that the ride must be shut down by 7:30 for fireworks safety, which is understandable if you're in the fallout zone, but considering the exit ramp for the ride is the closest to the exclusion zone and people were standing there to watch the show, I feel like they could have done this better to permit rides to continue to operate like other parks i've seen do. (Giant Drop during the fireworks would have been lit.) Putting that aside, If it wasn't possible to operate during the show, I feel like there could have been a better system to manage the queue (or the queue should have been clearly signposted as closing at 7pm, and a staff member posted at the entrance to enforce this) - Had they done so, they would have cleared their queues with time to spare and not had to disappoint a load of folks who had entered the queue more than 30 minutes before 'closing time'. Most parks i've been to keep rides running until the queues are cleared. Even if they couldn't run during the fireworks, it would have been good guest relations to guarantee everyone in the queue a ride, and run it a few times post-fireworks to clear it out. For a lot of people there, including someone I saw who had a Tailwhip wristband sold to them who was unable to use it (and based on the shop being closed post-fireworks, i'm not sure if they were able to get it refunded), it was a poor ending to a wet but otherwise enjoyable afternoon. It possibly might have contributed in some small way to reducing the congestion at the carpark as the entire park emptied out in one go. I thought the fireworks were a nice touch. Little dude got to see his first big fireworks display in the flesh and loved it. The old-school dreamworld Jingle was an awesome touch and the accompanying music plussed the show instead of just 'boom, bang, ooh ahh'. I'd love to see the park do this more often, but with better thought put into how they manage rides and queues, exclusion zones and the like. We didn't do a lot - as I said at the start, mainly it was for fireworks, cosentino and taipan, and I feel overall like we had a good day. Room for improvement, certainly, but it was a much nicer experience than on my last visit more than a year ago. We bought the experienceOZ passes when they were on special a while back, and while we're glad we bought them, and enjoyed our day, we probably - even in retrospect - wouldn't have paid full price for passes at this stage, but can definitely see the park's trajectory has reversed and things are looking up. I'm keen to see what they make of this in the next 12-18 months, and really hope they don't rest on their laurels.

Do they have any Koalas?

Carrara Tuts is a bucket of shit.

As a 39 year old that has a kid - let me just say - "goes upside down" is a huge barrier to entry. I get it, its a nice mid-step between kiddie and full thrill, but inversions are a huge chasm for people already unsure about riding... just something to consider.

^Despite my comments above on them, i'm always wary of google reviews. I've always found most people don't care to leave a review unless: They have a problem \ complaint and want to publicly call out the seller They've been incentivised (ie: leave us 5 stars for your next XXX free!) Most people don't go out of their way to leave positive feedback - although like most everything there are exceptions. End result is you tend to get a negatively slanted perspective on what is offered.

*LPS has entered the chat*

Just like the GC parks are a poor mans version? Shifting the hours still lets you get more done in a day - you can visit both parks in one day and not feel rushed. Something someone with your travel mentality would probably find very useful. Also - current Disney hours in Anaheim don't reflect it, but on my last visit, the park with EMH also closed early, and the park that didn't have EMH was the one that traded late. When you're trying to keep costs down whilst still offering a point of difference, why not take the poor man's version and see how it works out? nothing said it has to be permanent. see... this I can get behind. This is a fair point that actually makes sense. I still think there's merit in doing it for all the reasons mentioned, but the dumb-guest argument does carry a lot of weight. That said, we saw waterparks move to seasonal operating schedules, weekend only and all that - so if we can work through those changes, surely putting opening hours into the app and conditioning people to check them wouldn't be too hard?

When you're buying custom coasters designed to fit the specific spot you're going to put it, sure. When you're buying off the shelf models and making them fit, no.

I visited dough bros on several occasions because of how many people raved about them. On every visit, there were flies buzzing around the hotbox and there didn't seem to be any effort to control them or keep them off the food. Best meal I've had from there came out of a glass bottle.

benefits? like i said - a lot of other things to consider nighttime at movie world can have parades, WNW has movies, Sea World has light shows in the lake - you could offer these on alternate days to encourage repeat visitation (I know we hopped between DLC and DCA on alternate days to catch the early opens \ late closes \ alternating nighttime entertainment) In our summer, many folks would prefer the cooler evening to visit rather than the heat of the day. it potentially captures people who wouldn't have otherwise visited. (I know we personally would visit the parks during summer if they had late opens - as a matter of fact the last time i visited between Xmas and Australia Day was for a WnW movie night) You can sell flashy crap because its dark. If you lose the second day visitor to the night time visit, then thats capacity for the park on other days, but you haven't 'lost' anything if they've done two in one day and bought meals at both. This isn't adding labour, work hours or anything else other than minor considerations for nighttime operations, its just moving the workday to a different slot. Doesn't have to be permanent, and every park can share the load and take turns on it. Doesn't even have to be every day - can just be 'select days'.. Finally because why not?

The parks are trading their standard hours right now. Dreamworld is even opening later. All I suggested was shifting the start and finish times of those days to permit later trade. If you look at the example hours I gave, Sea World 9-4 is equal to 10-5. Movieworld 12-8 is much the same as 9:30-5:30. Results in net-zero change to working hours (although shifts beyond a certain time might attract penalty rates, i'm not considering this), it uses the same staff they're using now, but also allows them to balance their back of house staff as maintenance crews could be shared between the parks for morning startup checks, and lunch-break staff for Sea World could then be sent to MW to relieve lunch breaks at MW for a one-person full shift instead of two person half-shift. Potential park-hopping for guests might capture the valuable dinner period too. Yes, there'd be some training involved and a lot of other things to consider, but its not a bad suggestion.

They could literally bulldoze the old buildings that are in the way, and build brand new station and queue buildings and still have space for transfer tracks and second trains. You're not making any sense. Simply demolishing the outdoor ramp queue area out front of the old pre-show cinema would free up enough space for a decent flat in addition to the entire AA ride envelope still being available.

They also said DW had a full carpark and 2-3 hour waits. They only said 1 train on taipan when it was quiet. Perhaps MW is jammed because they only have one train all day due to maintenance problems and seats locked out, and so they can't clear the queue to get a quiet afternoon because they don't have spare capacity whereas Dreamworld does have spare capacity? We can spitball all we want. It ISN'T as busy as a usual summer. Covid AND weather are playing that part.

honestly its not a horrible plan around the holiday periods. All the Disney parks vary their hours by the day, and usually the sister parks alternate - Disneyland and California Adventure for example each take turns. We've long discussed how the coast parks lack a full day experience so why not open say - Sea World at 9 and run until 4, open Movie World at 12 and run until say 8? Run some shuttle buses between the parks, or do something similar with MW and WnW - open MW early, close early and party on at WnW during the hot summer period, with dive in movies and all slides operating into the night? Does THAT sound like a well thought out plan?

I haven't been in a while (and we're getting a bit off topic here but need to ask) - is the show that's running the same one they launched that had Mark Mitchell as frontman? The big appeal of that show (for me) was to see Mr Fish, Con and so much more on the big stage one more time (I never got the chance to though) and then he parted ways and the show kept on without the star power?

I dunno... seems pretty hot.

The other half of JDS is used as maintenance storage, and since LTRR was removed the park has aquired a load of new assets that don't like the weather so much. I don't see them losing that space to attractions unless a big shed gets built elsewhere on the property.... and why bother? You don't think they can reduce operations requirements to run on less staff during the quiet times? Rollercoasters designed for 3-5 operators can technically function on 1-3 with the right doubling of duties and bypasses of enabling consoles. Any park the world over who has had unexpected maintenance issues right before or in the middle of their peak trade sometimes has no other option. We've seen the trains in maintenance bays in pieces for months. We saw rivals cobbled together before christmas with numerous rows out of service. Somethings up in maintenance land and I get the impression they've tried to service as many seats as they can, but it wasn't enough. Don't the capacitors get charged every time they enter the station though? And wouldn't the maintenance bay have similar charging facilities?

What's wrong with Vekoma? It's not the brand, mate - its how you use it!

I know. But the wheels of government move slowly. Mentioning this when everyone was visibly under strain, as a 'when we can open again, we'd like to do this' to get those wheels turning... is what I meant. Trading hours are governed by councils and state governments. There needs to be an act of government to change them. Acts of government are usually slow to reach their conclusion...

honestly (and especially because it would take that long through council \ state gov) that was an argument to make in July 2020. I think the ship has sailed on that as an excuse.

The new fall protection netting over main street and taipan is gonna be awesome with the night lighting package. Yeah, GD just needs a simple set of stairs up, and a doubled-back ramp down to function as both exit and wheelchair access and rip the rest out.

I mean, Clark was chairman of VRTP since 2015 (and COO of Village since 2012) - so even if he wasn't CEO of the parks, he's been involved in some capacity for a while.

I have family about to depart on essential travel who will need a RAT to return home as the current rules stand. Couldn't find anyone that had them in-stock, but asked at the counter and they produced one from underneath. Shopkeeper said their corporate office had told them to remove them from display and only sell singles when asked as those buying bulk for profit are unlikely to ask, and if they do, will baulk at requesting more than one anyway. Smart fricking business in a shortage - They could have sold boxes to the first joe-bloggs with enough cash but instead recognised the need to limit supply in a time of desperation, and for that, we'll remember their willingness to not cash in for profit and to limit supplies for the needy - they're a few minutes extra to drive from our local big-box, but we'll now make the effort to do so even if they are a few cents\dollars extra for most items.

Those things are physical pieces of shaped metal bolted to the tower underneath the drop track. Removing them is really an unlikely option. They could paint over them, but they'd have to paint the entire tower for it to not look like garbage. I'm calling it unlikely at best.