Lotl_90

Lair is undergoing a little bit of a facelift, with all the rain recently it was turning into a bit of a mud pit. I'm sure it will be open again soon.

I wholly agree with Slicks's comments above. Knowing very well how much time, work, passion and energy the TI team put into everything they do, and seeing the outcomes of their work on a daily basis leaves room for nothing but the highest respect for them and the work that they do. Anyone who discredits them for their practices either has no idea how the majority of facilities around the world work, or is blissfully ignorant of the needs and requirements of Tigers in captivity. Each of those cages are 30m2, and contain large den boxes, which, considering the Tigers sleep 16-18 hours a day, and tend to sleep most of the night away is more than enough room for them. There are also a number of day yards and other enclosures which now include the lair which are available for the cats to be rotated in and out of throughout the day. Not many other facilities can provide this sort of enrichment for their animals. Hitting the Cat 6-7 times seems a little excessive but some of the younger cats require a lot of discipline at times. Its the consistent discipline from all members of the Tiger Island team that make all the difference, and mean that more events like this bite don't happen. Having the cats know that biting and scratching the handlers will recieve discipline is a really critical part of the hand-raising process, and with the exception of kato, no other adult cats have any real issues with handlers and are very aware of acceptable behaviours. Did you see the period of time before the cat was hit several times? Was it the first time he/she had attempted the behaviour in a period of time, or was it a repetitive display of bad behaviour? Different situations call for different levels of discipline, and I'm sorry if this sounds rude and it is by no means any form of personal comment to anyone, but unless you're an expert in hand-rearing large animals i'm going to run with the skills and knowledge of the experienced handlers to make the call on what is and what is not appropriate discipline. /twocents.

Has been going most of the day today for various media bits and pieces. Seems to be a hit so far. It was open tonight only for the competition winners who were 'staying the night' as well as the various media groups. Also interesting to know that the ride cycle is capable of being extended to do one extra full loop after the first one, but must be extended by the operator in the first few seconds of the cycle. Will be interesting to see if and when this feature is used and how much it kills capacity.

Personally knowing some of the actors and their previous scare experience (which includes dealing with a lot of these situations) and taking into account the importance of guest safety and customer service to the park, I would think it's a pretty safe bet that if somebody was suffering from an anxiety attack inside the attraction, the staff would be able to provide adequate assistance. Seeing the amount of effort that's being put in to continually improving the evenings only makes me more excited, i'm looking forward to making it over to at least one.

Im sure you'll be pleased to hear that as of this afternoon the ride was catching during testing.

As in, just recently before it was toned down? I'd have to question this as I know for a fact that Wipeout has been run in program 4 pretty religiously for at least the last 3-4 years.

That, or depending on how early this photo was taken, the ground may still have been wet from the high pressure water cleaners that are used every morning by the cleaners.

Can confirm that this is definitely the Engineering Centre.

Re-floored, All new signage on the inside. Guest Services/Upgrade Counter is still being rebuilt. Looks much cleaner, and a little brighter.

Still seems to be a few people around, but the weather has definitely had an effect on the attendance so far. The truly busy period though doesnt really start until this weekend when NSW goes on holidays as well. Will be interesting to see if the weather gets any better, and how much of an impact it has had on attendance.

Spot on. Also, The yellow fence has been there for quite some time. Its just a gate to prevent people heading into that area of the park while there's nothing happening down there. Looks a little bit nicer than the dodgy temporary fencing that was there before.

Ive never seen it used, but my understanding of the Claw E-stop is that it works pretty rapidly, much so in the fashion that Alex described above. Using the E-stop locks everything out though (floors wont rise and harnesses wont release on stop etc. as the ride hasnt referenced back to its Point of Origin). Autostop is the other stop, which is a much better option for those general stops (Loose items on ride etc.) Just finishes the cycle early and brings the ride to a normal stop.

The belt was replaced last year from memory but not the whole conveyor. And the drop will be exactly the same, no steeper. It's using the same supports as the old drop so it had to stay the same.

The old lift was in desperate need of replacement, and was the cause of most of the rides operational issues. So that's what's happening now, it is being replaced with a brand new conveyor and drop.

A lot of weather sensing systems are completely seperate to ride systems, and require the operator to periodically check them, immeadiately ceasing operation if things such as wind speed breach an acceptable limit. Personally, Ive never really seen a weather monitoring system actually affect the ride systems operation, except for Giant Drop at Dreamworld with it's wind alarm.