DaptoFunlandGuy

^must admit its one of the nicer lazy rivers i've been through.

What do you mean "another crappy kid ride" ? The only kiddie ride they've installed in recent memory was Sylvester's Pounce N Bounce, and to be quite honest - I find that to be of a far higher standard than say - Sword Swing, Big Red Boat or Gingy's Gliders... I don't think you get to use the word 'Another', and as far as the ride is concerned - they're still building the frickin thing - how about we wait and see how it turns out before we write it off? Especially if you're going to make comparisons to Dreamworld. If Dreamworlds kids rides are better than this attraction, i'll eat my hat.

"in the last two years" Viper has been up for quite a lot of that time - you may just have bad timing. Viper went down for major maintenance in the 2012-13 period after extensive issues were discovered by (what I understand) X-raying the track. The necessary rectification occurred, and it reopened and operated for most of 2013. It went down again for maintenance, and although we have no other information, it's safe to assume that they have again discovered issues that require rectifying. Although it's old news, the last "official whisper" I got from a reliable source inside the park is that management were of the view to 'do whatever it takes' to save Viper. That was easily over a year ago. The reports had been that it was 'too expensive to fix' and yet management decided to do it. Things may have changed, things may have gotten worse. It may now cost too much and Viper may be going... or they're negotiating with a manufacturer to come in and rescue the old girl. We aren't getting any more info at present because they may not yet know what they're going to do. They may be waiting for an assessment, a quote, a part, a tool, or a specialised worker. I haven't been out there in a little while, but from all reports the ride being covered with scaff, and tarps is not an indication that the ride is gone - it's an indication that they're trying everything they can to save it. They've poured tonnes of money into this ride recently, from new trains, a complete paint job, all the repair works, (and the costly diagnosis by X-ray), they aren't just going to throw their hands up now until they've exhausted every possible option. Don't write it off just yet. I'm sure theres other things to try before she goes. When Viper silently disappears off the park map, and cranes start pulling the track apart.... thats when we can mourn her and look to the next big thing on the spit.

However - prior to giving away the gate, my recollection of pass pricing on the gold coast was somewhere along these lines: ~$69 for a one day ticket. ~$299 for an annual pass for one park. Thats four days entry to cover the price. Disney is currently 7 days. And this was back in an era where the VRTPs didn't have massive upsell opportunities (except the animal adventures) Sure these days the VRTP discovery passport at $149.99 is far cheaper, and the VIP passes even moreso (at only $10 more than a day ticket) but I think thats their aim - thats their strategy - to give away the gate and work harder inside the park to up the percap spend... and by all means you can do that where you have the facilities to increase it - like animal adventures, or stunt driver rides, or flying fox and surfrider bookings. If you're not making a profit then - it's your own fault for not milking the guest hard enough. AW doesn't have that at present. They're a traditional park. They currently get by very well without offering an annual pass, charging a single day admission price, and it does them well. Their 'special online price' of $28 for a day ticket means multiple visits in the summer for locals isn't THAT bad - and still cheaper than a VIP (and travelling 2 hours), but the suggestion was should it be introduced. I'm fine for them to bring it in but i don't agree that they should give away the gate as easily as the big parks with the massive upsell opportunities. Look at the whiners who complained about WnWS' pass pricing, but look at how full they were EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They 'followed that formula' - but they bloody well shouldn't have. It is obvious the demand was there, they probably could have charged more - but instead they panicked and offered B3GOF, and free parking and all sorts of rubbish. What a debacle that was. We all sat back and criticised WnWS for making their pricepoints too low and selling too many passes. AW needs to be careful if they dip their toe into the annual pass pool, as they run the risk of doing damage to the brand as they try to evolve. By all means when they start putting in $10M attractions like Abyss where people will flock from across the country, then they're playing with the big boys and will need to play by those rules, but right now, they've got a captive market, and have survived well without it. For those that want it - they'll pay the extra... AND they'll use it. Or better yet - don't offer annual passes, and stick with the current formula which is obviously doing them just fine.

I totally get the market wouldn't accept it - but when you consider the current pricing for a family (of 4) pass as a day ticket - its $100 online. We're talking 7 trips in a year for value - locals would smash that over summer holidays. And of course they're not Disney - I'm talking $700 for a family of four. Disney charges $700 PER PERSON for their premium annual passport (which is really the only TRUE annual passport in their annual pass offering)... Considering they charge $90-100 per person for a day ticket, the pricing is relative. Just because they don't have the same offering, doesn't mean they have to charge a comparable ticket price to the offering... Disney can do that because of quantity... AW NEEDS to charge more per person to survive. If they make an AP too cheap, they WILL be overrun by locals which will reduce their per cap spend. They will (as said above) become the local babysitter during school holidays. I know the market doesn't agree with me (and thats mainly because of VRTP and Ardent giving away their own gates) but I stand by a price point of $150-200, and a family pass of $700ish (600 minimum).

Didn't AW confirm it was a Pinfari a while back?

I think it's safe to say wild is buried. I'll be interested in seeing what happens with Viper though.

I'm really not sure of the orientation of the hole in the wall, but if this is the way that faces main street - then that wall is too close to be the side of the building - in which case, they have divided it in half. (And if they've done that, then this hole in the wall is probably the 'front entrance' of the ride.) If they're reserving the other half of the building, they may just be using it for storage as previous, or they may have other plans for a completely different ride on the other side of the wall at a later date....

I'm of the exact two minds that you predict. I think Annual Passes are in quite a demand for the little park. I can't say i'd buy one, but there'd be plenty of Sunny Coast residents who would... But as you say - would that then kill the 'no queue' charm it has? If they're going to expand in these leaps and bounds, they may get away with it - more attractions means they can handle more people... the trick is that they need to set the pass at the right price point - too high and people will call them a rip off, too low and every tom, dick and VIP passholder will be in like flynn. The problem is the big parks have conditioned everyone to a $99 price point. I think AW needs a higher point, and in my opinion, they'd probably justify $150, but i think they really need it to be closer to $200-250 for it to have the right effect (or maybe like $700 for a family of 4)... the problem is - would people pay it?

If Jamberoo doesn't count, then I don't think WWW gets to be counted either.

Hardly a 'guess' when the last 5 posts have been discussing whether it was possible.

Yeah my thoughts were coloured water.

I don't know what the issues are, but if it is as you describe - ie: the chain is slowing right down at the top, it sounds like it is part of the ride's normal operations, wherein the lift chain acts as a block section, and it stops the boat from entering the next section until the appropriate safety gap is attained. We need a lot more info about where, and how it is 'breaking down'

I had literally just suggested an Alley in the update - but my question is - will it fit?

Source? I had to look a few times at the Murrisippi - the first photo of the river just made it look like a golf course... it was hard to believe that was water. They need to put some agitators in - a few water fountains or something wouldn't cost much. Looking at the wipeout queue, it looks like the 'loose items house' has had a new door put in - is that right? The WWW shot (after the half-painted Claw) really highlights how faded all the slide pieces are... this new slide is really going to highlight how badly WWW colours have faded. Anyone have any ideas for the WWW slide... "triple the fun" and what it might mean (maybe an Alley?... is there room?) - sure it could have three elements... or it could just be that its a third 'little ripper'? (unlikely but the triple could mean just that)...

:whoosh: I don't get it.

Yep - Joz is right... the height comment was related to the star flyer suggestion...

Precisely. A gravity fed coaster (take for example Cyclone or Sea Viper) has a sensor at the station exit, and another on the lift hill. The system is programmed to expect the train will reliably take a certain time to travel from one sensor to another. Where water is involved, many things (including riders rocking the boat) can impact on how long it takes the boat to travel from one spot to the next. If a boat is getting stuck up on the outdoor track, this doesn't mean that it is that outdoor portion of track causing the issue - it can just be boats stacking indoors, causing the occupied blocks to lock out the previous blocks and prevent further boats entering the splashdown until it is cleared. Just a theory on my part anyhow.

looks like (in the foreground) that that is the fountain of stars...

Precisely - Storm is barely six months old. If it's an inherent problem that keeps happening, Mack will be obliged to fix it, or redesign it and replace the faulty part with the redesign. If it were a custom design, with custom components that were dictated by sea world, then it would be their problem - but it's a stock coaster... they all have problems, but if it's a faulty product, it will be warrantied.

Naturally if it is a reprofiling of course they will. I simply said 'i'd be happy if...' - in other words, I don't care for any gimmicks like high fives, or inversions... I just want a nice traditional woodie brought back to life.

No. Just no. Colossus is a seat divider away from being an ACE coaster classic. Apart from that - high five requires the trains to come head to head - whereas colossus is a racer. I'll be happy if they bring back the camel humps and get rid of the block brake in that spot. I'd love to see the trains return to PTC style carriages as well.

lolman, it's all speculation. If you want to go - go. If you hold off going to parks on days you think will have crowds - you'll never go. Go with 'medium' It is a long weekend, and it is one of the last weekends before many VIP passes expire. If the weather does eventuate, then it is possible the crowds may drop a little... but they may not.

Wasn't there a problem with Aqua Drop? Wasn't that why they pulled it out? Also - the 'WnW JR is for kids who can't ride the adult versions... i doubt the AquaDrop would be suitable for that age group...

i'm not sure, but my recollection is that it got the arse after the spat between WNWAW and the golf course mob. Doesn't mean it won't come back later....