BNErider

I think each to their own. I personally hate the riding wooden coasters, so don't really want to see one here. I don't know whether the overall general public in Australia would get used to (and enjoy) the experience, either. They'd probably see it as old or outdated, helped form that opinion by certain media outlets.

Did you manage to get any photos of the new Sandwich Bar? I'm absolutely loving the new food focus on at Dreamworld, plus they seem to be trying hard to improve the visuals of the park.

I wouldn't mind seeing MW and DW areas which have been refreshed/painted? Perhaps also the Coffee Shop at Dreamworld (I never saw photos of it finished from the outside). Thanks!

I went to Aussie World last night for their first ever Halloween "FestEVIL" event. My thoughts are below. The scary maze (Maze of Evil) was situated near the bumper cars. It started off quite lame (temporary fencing with tarps and actors near the darkly lit edges) but got better. I liked how they got an old car and put some flashing red/blue lights on it, and then had zombies nearby trying to jump at guests. There was also a chainsaw man with a girl in a chair trying to get out. Those two scenes were the only two things that "saved" an otherwise boring and lifeless maze. Theming in the maze was obviously NOWHERE NEAR anything you'd see at current day Movie World. It was a bit more like Movie World's first mazes, with just fencing covered with tarps and actors hiding wherever they could. Some actors needed more things to do than just go "ARHHHH" though. In saying that, some definitely tried hard and it paid off towards the end (with the two said scenes above). Not really scary, though... it just needed more atmosphere/theming to really make you feel like you weren't at Aussie World in-between some temporary fencing. Others (girls, kids) were scared though. So perhaps it severed its purpose? The less scary maze was called the Enchanted Forest. It featured some well known storybook characters who would randomly sing/talk/yell at (or scare) those that walked past. It wasn't dark and there was little theming. The actors tried hard with their accents and acting here though. Well done. And although it wasn't scary, the actors yelling did manage to startle unexpected guests. The actual park had little bits of theming around. For example, there was a graveyard with fog and a dead Elvis roaming within. He looked SUPER bored though. Of course, the thing about this event was that it wasn't really aimed at people like me. It was aimed at families, especially with the kids' disco and dress contests. It was a bit like Movie World's first few "Halloween Family Fun Night" events -- they had little in the way of budgets and they didn't try too hard to SCARE. I think for a park like Aussie World, this is not such a bad thing. Both nights sold out and people were spending big on the food. But going forward, will they aim to stick at this or go for the teenage/mature market? Time will tell. Either way, the park will need to invest more in the way of crowd control and queueing. Budgets will hopefully grow and the park can decide what they want to do - create something actually scary or something that's aimed at family fun? Do it properly and pick either Disney Halloween family fun or Universal scary. Because something in the middle just doesn't feel right.

^ On that note, the $19.99 Halloween all-you-can-eat/drink deal with skull cup is amazing value as well! I was impressed.

I haven't done this year's Fright Nights but I did do Universal Studio Florida's version a few nights ago. While their mazes have HUGE waits as well, the park opens until AT LEAST midnight. Is this something Movie World could do as well? Obviously the outdoor rides would need to shut earlier, but I swear the park used to be open later in the earlier years of the event? I think just having the mazes, Scooby, JL3D and a few shows in the front of the park running until 11pm/midnight would be a HUGE help in getting everyone through the mazes and helping people feel like they got their money's worth.

I went to Carivale tonight and was absolutely blown away by the general atmosphere and the street parade. Only downside was Superman running 1 train. I didn't bother to ride anything bar Justice League (wanted to show the parents the ride). The floats were amazing and the general lighting/soundtracks were fantastically produced. The food wasn't bad, and while not cheap, I didn't think it was crazy expensive either (it's a theme park after all). I would prefer small portions and cheaper prices though as I prefer to try different things and not everyone wants to share the same things. For next year, I don't feel much needs to be done. Perhaps an updated parade and a nice big show would be nice. Also an adults only section could be made somewhere with a similar vibe but with a bar/dance floor (perhaps in the courtyard near Rick's). Overall: 8/10

True, I shouldn't assume. Let's hope there are some rides. In saying that, I like the idea of a more grown up atmosphere. Let's hope they can find the right mix.

Looks interesting -- no rides though. It seems to be targeting the older crowds, but no doubt families will come and complain that there are no rides for the kids.

Any guesses as to what the in-ground speakers and lights are worth?

Here's a more-complete list from the years gone by at Movie World.

I think the worst thing about this ride is that it has NO change of direction/speed built into the ride cycle. Not even some spinning, which could really help to build excitement. For example, that last bit with the explosion, you just think... WTF, too slow. It's such a shame, because it has amazing themeing.

The sign still says "technical rehearsal" -- which I take for a soft opening. There's not even a sign for the ride when you enter the little area near the DC Comics store. If it's 'properly' open, huge fail.

This ride hasn't officially launched yet, right? So it makes sense that they don't 'promote' the ride until it has been launched to the public.

I rode this the other day and thought that while the themeing was fantastic, it had a few issues issues that unfortunately took away from the overall experience. While I have ridden Transformers in SIN and Men in Black and Buzz Lightyear, I understand this ride was never built to the same caliber as these rides. Here were my running thoughts: - The entrance looks really good. The first room looks great, although the walls are starting to chip in places already. - The second room (main queue switchback) room looks quite average. Not a huge fan of the Lego blocks. The projection of Batman is no where near loud enough though. - The overall ride themeing was great, but the static props were a little strange. Not used to seeing that on a ride of this scale. But still, I didn't let that take away from the overall experience. - I found that shooting the targets was a little hit and miss. Some targets made the gun vibrate and some didn't (perhaps the screen targets aren't meant to), as well as some hits didn't turn the targets 'off'. - The 3D screen targets were WAY too fast. - The projector over the doors between rooms looks weird. You can see the edge of the projection. I'd rather see pitch black. - The sync issues really need to be sorted out (which I assume is being worked on). The fog machines also need to be resynced. - I hate it when I see the screens turn on/off in front of me. - The sound needs to be worked on. It's not loud enough.

This ride sounds SOOOO AWESOME. I can't wait. I am going to try and get down there on Friday and see what's happening. Let's hope they soft open it just before school holidays start!

This area looks fantastic! Seriously, FANTASTIC! If it looks half as good as it does on screen, I'll be happy! Seems that Dreamworld/works had their heads screwed on right for this one! No more of this crappy "it only looks good from this angle" themeing! Yes, it's not Disney or Universal standard, but I do get a huge Disney vibe when I scroll through the photos. It's more tacky than say, Animal Kingdom/Disneyland/TMK, but the atmosphere really does give off that vibe (to me, anyway). Far better than what Movie World is throwing at them... Photoshopped facades, simple repaint and a few billboards tacked on the side of the ride stage. Oh, and a train that may or may not help improve the ride's awful design.

I must admit I am very pleased with how well this ride looks. Even the front fences are in theme. The ride might be a smaller thrill ride, but at least it is a complete package. Well done, Dreamworld. Let's hope this ride pulls in the crowds and is a lead in for bigger and better thrill rides.

I just hope there's some decent theming with a proper storyline!

Does anyone know if there's a pre-show or some actual theming? Or is it just a fancy shed?

Do guests access the studios via the gate near SE/LW? Is it a long walk? And are there just fences either side of the roadway?

By launching these cheap annual pass promotions, guests can return as many times as they want for no extra charge. They could literally visit everyday for 12 months and not spend a cent extra, yet are purchasing these annual passes for less than what two day passes cost. I think these results show that these passes are not a viable long-term business practice, as an increase in guests without an increase in spending shrinks profit margins, which may bring on cost cutting (which we have seen in the years gone by), eroding the value of a full day's ticket even further. But can the parks revert back now? I mean, who'd pay $60-70 for a day pass, when they could purchase an annual pass for just $30 more. I do think the parks are slowly trying to increase the cost of their annual passes, but I would like to see the cost of a daily ticket lowered to push guests back to purchasing one-day passes. Of course, they'd still need to be cheap enough to entice locals to visit more than once. A yearly pass for $150 still presents great value in my opinion. Of course, these changes can't happen overnight.

Managed to ride one of their coasters in Orlando (Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit). Didn't like it. It was pretty rough for a newish coaster and felt that it didn't really achieve anything (in terms of airtime, g forces etc.), but it had a few 'WTF' moments (which work well for advertisement campaigns). Keep in mind, however, that I rode this after 2 TPR trips and a week in LA, so I was comparing it to A LOT of coasters. We will obviously have to wait and see what model this ends up being, but I can't see it being anything amazing on a world scale. I can see Superman remaining as my Aussie #1 coaster. But hey, it's finally a new ride for the park, so that's good.

I heard that they weren't selling enough tickets to warrant them showing feature films anymore. It's not a big loss, and certainly the average guest won't even notice the change.

They're not scary. A mega isn't really "big". They're quite a slowish ride IMO, and a step down from The Claw, Wipeout and other true thrill rides. It'd be on a par with the Angry Beavers Spooty Spin ride. A good (filler) attraction but I would hope for some theming/plantation, not just a random concrete slab and a fence. And Brad, have you actually been on a "mega" disk'o? :/