DaptoFunlandGuy

in regards to there being a failsafe, what would be the better choice in regards to an outage of power or other such event? hydraulic or pneumatic?

being that it's now monday... where are they?

Calling all Queenslanders! Im making my way up to the Gold Coast this september and will be making visits to all 4 Major Parks while i am there. No Dates are firm yet but it will be between the 14th and the 22nd of September, excluding the 18th. I realise this cuts out the weekend so it might not work out, but anyone interested in meeting up between these dates, let me know!

Calling all Queenslanders! Im making my way up to the Gold Coast this september and will be making visits to all 4 Major Parks while i am there. No Dates are firm yet but it will be between the 14th and the 22nd of September, excluding the 18th. I realise this cuts out the weekend so it might not work out, but anyone interested in meeting up between these dates, let me know!

RCT - i believe you're talking about the shuttle version coaster it has ready-made? i think going by what i remember of the game, the shuttle uses LIM or some other high speed propulsion, whereas demon uses only gravity. You've got to remember that (excluding the ups and downs) demon is in a constant state of slowing down the moment it leaves lift 1. it makes it halfway up lift 2 after performing a full circuit, and it comes to a complete stop before going back the other way. so it has half the time to gain speed again as it drops backwards... it wouldnt make it through the first loop without being lifted higher up lift 2 for the run back.

gazza the boarding gaps on the rafts on SRR were spaced so that as one entry point was out of reach of the station the next one was within reach, so as the raft spun, you could load the separate sections of the raft, rather than stepping across the raft itself. they wouldnt go to the right hand side of the channel as there were still guide rails as there are today. the spinning cone was there originally when the turntable was operating, basically to suck the raft off the turntable and throw it into the rapids, giving it a bit of a spin on the way, and to stop it from hitting the concrete wall on the opposite side. the cone originally did have wooden planks bolted to it but they disappeared over time.

SNRR used to have its station as a turntable yes, but it was considered that capacity could be increased and risk minimised if they made it stationary and just stopped the rafts. it also meant that more (or less) rafts could be run as the queue would flow as fast as the loaders could run it, rather than try and load in time with the arriving and departing boats. i have never seen DW's rapids until last june, so i dont know if it would turn or not but looking at other similar rides (such as the one at Knotts i think it was) it would be safe to assume it did once rotate. as with SNRR, the dam in DW would indeed be used to store the water overnight, as running the pumps 24/7 would be murder mechanically. Wonderland chose to hide the dam by theming a dock wall over it, but it could still be seen from Bush Beast. For those that have ridden it, SNRR used to offload BEFORE the conveyor belt on the wooden station opposite the dam, but it fell into disrepair once they stopped the turntable. it was also a little dangerous as the lower parts of the dismount station, which were made from wood were submerged NIGHTLY in the dam water and as such became slippery and rotten.

i never said there was anything wrong with OzCoaster. i dont know about regularity... in this case he had some up before r-c.com.au, but what i am saying is that Richard generally offers a full screen image linked from a thumbnail, whereas ozCoaster - its WYSIWYG... you can't view the image larger unless you request it directly.

can't wait Richard. hopefully a better quality higher detail that what ozcoaster has. looking forward to it

not too sure tails, but this latest pic (i haven't seen any this far into construction on R-C.com.au yet) shows the claw construction has been completed - the landscaping etc is all that is left... http://ozcoaster.net/ozupdates/dw1308/page11308.htm

definitely richard, Duane, and Richard indeed go to a lot of effort, im sure particularly in regards to not having crappy pop ups and banner ads plastered all over their sites like scream scape does... at least do them the credit of linking to the site itself, rather than just stealing the image off of their server as in this situation.

yeah Andy thats called HOME.... or i suppose you could also try AWE... theres also the parking lot if you dont mind the occasional helicopter......

Actually Joz, its build a path, be my GUIDE. check out the full lyrics here at the ORIGINAL wonderland music thread: http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/sh...hread.php?t=214

yeah we found this back in april may, thanks to Flea. give us something we dont already know...

Paul i don't think they can have a coaster based on the island if the only method of transport to the island is a boat. what if it breaks down? the lose a coaster as well as a transport ride. they would need to bridge it, or do it the way Disney does in LA - they have small "log rafts" with inboard boat motors underneath. Now a bridge doesnt require any cast members to attend it, which means a more free-flowing traffic to the island. a floating transport system is slower, and not as reliable as a plain old bridge. i think if they redeveloped the island, kept its outward appearance to suit rivertown and sturt, but inside - create a whole new world... have the coaster as the main draw card but also set up concessions, and a few other flats or (as has been discussed lately) a simulator ride or something. what do you think?

1. dont cover up TOT. its good as it is, isn't feasible to do so, and wouldnt work anyway. 2. add wipeout to blue lagoon, retheme and stir vigorously. 3. keep model T, but move it to AWE and reuse the land it currently occupies to retheme the area to suit TOT and GD 4. add some new special effects to the log flume. 5. RETHEME the non-ride areas of the park, as Mickey D says, it has become somewhat dilapidated, and the theme is lost. DW is not an amusement park, it is a THEME park so get some THEME 6. spend the money to add another train to Cyclone. capacity issues would be severely reduced. for those who say that it would close the ride if one of the trains broke down... what if the train breaks now? CLOSED... i have been on many dual-trained coasters in my time, and experience tells me its better with two than one. if one train is broken, you can lift the cars off overnight and still have your ride functioning at reduced capacity while you fix the other one. it would also reduce wear on the trains, as you can cycle them (like with bush beast) where you would run one train for say... a week, and then switch them. of course having a switchback or storage area for the second train would be a help but it wouldn't be necessary... a brake in the straightaway before the turnaround would be sufficient. i personally think that DW could benefit in the future from a fully enclosed dark coaster.... something like SDSC or space mountain from WDL but the theming would need to be WAYYYYYYYY disney in skill and ability. SDSC is a great ride but its theming doesnt compare to WDL's space mountain.

ok so the loops are gone, but i think it would have been nice to have the loops mounted in the fountain pool lake area near the imax, obviously with a bit of WD-40 and a new paint job though..... and who knows, maybe mount the train in it too...?

*deposits 2 cents* Ok. ive only been to SW once (another planned in september) but i will back Richard up that the capacities are shocking. On to this Review from the overseas visitor - his statements are ringing true to my ears, but i think some things he may have overlooked, or considered differently when compared to parks in germany. On to the topic of ride restraints, while i was there - there were at the time, 3 ops on TOT including the queue loader, 3 ops on GD, 1 on cyclone and one on thunderbolt. my restraints were not checked on thunderbolt. cyclone, the op walked past and tapped each restraint, but did not grip it or attempt to lift it up. TOT - no checking at all, and GD had sufficient checks. I also noted that Reptar had 2 ops, and neither checked the restraints. the funniest thing in regards to restraints that i noted was that on the mine train ride (whatever its called) you practically needed a shoehorn to get us all into the carriages, however they would not despatch until the seatbelts were done up... i mean you could not have gotten out of the car unless you physically made an effort to do so, and yet... the only coaster where there were sufficient safety checks. While they didnt check our bars, i made sure ours were locked in well enough so i had no problems with it... but anyway... Slick i hear what you're saying about the mandatory checks but i think laziness, particularly on a quiet day is becoming more and more apparent in all theme parks.

1) Where was the Graveyard? The graveyard was over the back of Beastie, behind the helipad and trees. it could be seen from Zodiac, Skyrider and Beastie 2) Why did it close? it was second hand already and very rusty. the inside of the structure required massive reinforcements... not to mention it was a crap ride. 3) Has the ride opened at Flycoaster yet? not that i know of. 4) If so has anyone got Pictures? i have pictures of the demolition of the ride at the WL site. contact me for copies 5) Has anyone seen the ride in Construction Stages at Flycoaster? no

Im planning to move soon, and i was going through all that old junk everyone has sitting around their house. I came across some work books I had when i was at wonderland putting together training materials for the retail games attendants. Those who truly believe this, made wonderland what it should have been...: "i own other shirts, but when i put on this shirt, when i don the Wonderland Badge, the badge that has my name on it, and of Wonderland, the place where i work, when i wear the Wonderland Insignia, i become part of the magic, part of the dream. Im not an Employee, im a cast member, with a script to play a part, in the greatest show on earth. it is a Child's Wonderland, it is an Adult's wonderland. To me it was once Australia's Wonderland, to us now, Wonderland Sydney. but only the name has changed. I will always remember my first visit, and my next, and each one after that, every time dreaming that some day i would work there - no, not work, but be cast as a Magician. for every person at Wonderland is a Magician, in any way big or small, they help create the magic. You too are part of the dream, as are we all. Remember as you walk on stage, that it is you the people have come to see. without you, Wonderland is a graveyard, a wilderness, lost and forlorn. You are the dream, You are the magic, You are a Cast Member of Wonderland Sydney." Anonymous, Circa 1999 And it is true too.... without the cast - the park is just a graveyard. *sigh*

ok so im no expert in the operations side. the info i have, (from Roderick - if you know him) was that the WLX (while it did at one stage make the trek to HB) could not handle the strain of powering up the hill to HB every 20 minutes. Those of you who were involved with its operation know how often the WLX was out of action. >>> Coming soon - photos of HBLLWL after the closure as well as a stroll into the memories that were. 6 ROLLS OF FILM PROCESSING THIS WEEK

Demon HAS been stuck in the boomerang Demon HAS sheared a train coupling Demon HAS injured an operator after the cable snapped an operations SUPERVISOR has sat in the rear seat of demon and released herself from the restraints. Im not going to get into a whinge argument here. these are facts. they are not hearsay. i AM an ex employee of the park, and have WITNESSED some of these incidents in its lifetime. those incidents that i did not myself WITNESS, i have seen the INCIDENT REPORTS of such, or visited the MAINTENANCE SHED after the fact and seen the resultant damage myself. Richard in regards to your comments, i never said anything was bad in the DESIGN of the coaster by VEKOMA, as i said above- i said lets look at what has happened to it since it was put into operation I knew that can of worms was itching to open. Anyone else with 2 Cents?

Sean you're not talking about El Caballo Blanco are you?

okay so we have lots of people saying lots of different things about demon. some good, some bad. so i thought i would create this thread so we can end it once and for all. (and so the ops can have their say too) so - here we go: The Vekoma Boomerang design is a pretty old, but popular design in production coasters. its a ready-made design, that any park could purchase off the shelf. there are over 20 copies of the boomerang around the world. Demon - AKA Titan @ Expo '88 was one of the first produced by Vekoma, and as such was one that Vekoma learnt from. later editions of the boomerang included trim brakes in the boomerang section, and a number of other small corrections... So - yes its a popular design. yes its a lot of fun and one that you can ride again and again. its easy to operate. with correct staffing it is extremely fast to load and unload, and its capacity, while not excellent, is acceptable for its ride time. But... for this particular version of the boomerang - lets look at a few things it has experienced during its operation: Frequent stopping (61Charlie) on the second lift hill. second lift hill dropping too soon, causing the train to charlie INSIDE the boomerang section. Shearing the lift cable, causing the train to drop down the first lift hill, with the dolly jack STILL ATTACHED to the back of the train. the resultant 3 sections of brakes that were ripped out of the station section, 7 wheels that were thrown, and injury to the operator took over a month to get her back in operation. Guests able to release THEMSELVES from the train - resulting in the dismissal (unfairly) of more than 5 operators inside a year. in its operation at Wonderland, the demon's train sheared 2 couplings between carriages. OTS Restraints that came loose, didn't lock in, or CAME OFF entirely DURING the operation of the ride. Ok and thats just what i know of. lets talk Maintenance... a COATHANGER used as a conductor in the engine room. WARNING LIGHTS and indicators DISCONNECTED from the operator's console because they wouldn't stop beeping flashing an alert. in particular the oil warning light, as the machine room was CONSTANTLY leaking oil into the surrounding area. (and lets not forget what the area under the lift hill looked like from all the oil used on the first lift hill. CABLE TIES used to hold fibreglass mouldings on the train. GAFFA TAPE used for the same purpose operator's phone not working - so they ran a cord from demon manor, and used their phone... which didnt reach the OP booth, so they put it on the exit ramp. not exactly easy to get to in an emergency. other than this - the ride was rough as guts through the boomerang. operators were issued earplugs because the noise the train made through the station was too much... I agree, yes its a great ride. and i agree i would love to see the ride continue operation elsewhere, but i have to admit, even though i dont want to see it go, it is poorly maintained, in a great state of disrepair, and i have no doubt that other persons whom are intimate with the Demon (eg: ex-ops) will have more to add than i already have. So the field is open... batter up! hehehe

Wait a minute..... a very reliable source of Shifty's told me they will be directly employing 6 million people after the site is completed, and that we have had contact from the nearby Crab Nebula, where the emporor of the Planet WZuschek would like to build an interstellar superhighway to offer a commute for approximately 1.7 million WZuschekians to come and work at the site too...