webslave

I'm not across the design of the control system for it, but one would assume there's some degree of interlocking and redundancy involved. For example; should there be a condition where the gates are closed but the conveyor motor is active? That would be a potential place where you might consider the need for interlocking given the risk of capsize if a raft is propelled into another raft that has not cleared the section (for example because the gates may have stuck). Then again, could you be looking at something like a motor contactor failure where it has failed closed? I'd have thought if that were the case nothing short of an e-stop would have stopped the conveyor.

C'mon guys, you're surely smarter than this. @Hiisi25 is clearly being as tactless as possible in espousing beliefs that are all but guaranteed to rile you up. That ends when you let it end.

Nailed it, Richard. If you're having trouble coping with what people are writing remove yourself from the situation until you can. Some are going to be asking about the future of the park and the ride - these people weren't involved, don't have a connection to the people involved, and and no reasonable way of helping those involved - there's no need to treat them like they have no compassion simply because their only connection with the incident (outside of basic humanity) is with the park and the ride; precisely the things they will be curious about. The folks here are theme park enthusiasts as much as anything else, and this is exactly the place for them to be curious about these matters. Much better here than via phone or email or social to someone at the park who would undoubtedly be feeling the effects of having been much closer to this disaster than most.

I'd be surprised to see it jump. I've not checked based on past incidents, but I would be more inclined to think that incidents like this also hurt other parks resulting from the loss of confidence in the punters who often do not discriminate.

Long term effects on the park are something that's going to have to remain to be seen, however short-term effects are something that will effect people imminently. Because it's been so long since something this awful has happened at an Australian park what's the appropriate protocol for the park? Do they remain closed tomorrow out of respect to the victims? I assume they will close off the TRR area and any area that substantially looks into it for at least the period of investigation, but have no idea how long that would be in this case. How was the Smiler incident handled? I understand that was not fatal, but is it perhaps likely to have parallels in handling by the park here?

Terrible situation. Goes without saying, really, but if I don't spell it out I'm sure someone is sure to get on their wheel about it. An interesting thing at this early stage is the time lag between event and reporting. Who does it look like had it first?

That's because unfortunately that's what the viewers/readers seem to care about. You can see an example of this here - people are actively checking multiple outlets to see who has the information available first. Only we can change this, if there's a wish to do so.

If you're not a party to said contract then I suggest you're unqualified to give advice.

Based on the video that feels... underwhelming. I know the park didn't promise anything much on this part, but it didn't feel as polished/tight as a ride that has just come out of a heavy refurb should.

Yes, these are called concussion pots (you were bloody close).

It's a combination of a few things, and is subject to a number of factors. Humans will certainly notice the difference between 25/50 and 30/60 on many items of content even without training (which is a small part of why we have things like 25p delivered as 50i - humans certainly notice the difference). As you've very rightly identified though there's a lot of other variables to be considered, including shutter speed, monitor refresh rate, overall scene motion, etc.

I feel like this is something we should all get to see. Worst. Pick-up attempt. Ever.

I read 'random' as meaning 'random member of the general public' which for all intents and purposes is probably applicable here. I understand the uncomfortable connotation out of context, though.

@YLFATEEKS thanks for the tip. I do often wonder/worry about this type of thing from attendants, given I'm usually pretty good at looking stuff like that up before I go and would naturally be unhappy to find them making it up as they go. I was actually just checking whether our parks offer 'parent swap' like most in the US seem to. It worked out very well for us at SFMM since we were in a group of four plus the little guy. The thing I found most interesting about it was that in some cases as the first group of us would get off the ride and move to the exit we'd walk the little guy through the coaster car itself to get him to the group now waiting at the exit. It wasn't a problem in the least, but I somehow couldn't have imagined the Aus parks letting us walk him through an area considered part of the ride envelope...

Yeah, you're not wrong! We're hitting the place the week before schoolies, and will do the parks mid-week, so I think that will give us the best chance. Of course, I've just worked out though that it means Tail Spin is going to be down for maintenance. That's a shame, because I was probably most curious about that. That's certainly a good point. I'd not considered that there would probably be taxis at either site that would fairly happily shuttle you between them (short trip, but chances of another fare are high). We're weighing up the pro's and con's of transport at the moment - with me championing the cause of "Let's just grab a GoCard and get on the TX*", and her championing the cause of "Wait, we're getting a hire car aren't we?". Certainly. He will be about to turn two (so the timing is actually more about the last time I'll be able to put him on the plane without buying him a seat to tell you the truth), so he's probably going to be fine on most things so long as he's with me. The Mrs and I to be honest aren't really too concerned with stuff for us (well, I am more than she is - but mostly because of my connection to the industry) in part because we did SFMM just over six months ago, but ordinarily I'd agree with you. I think we're keen to experience stuff with him for the most part, and then when he has his nap in the afternoon for a couple of hours we use the time to pick and choose a few rides that interest us. I think if we are going to hit WnW it will probably end up only being for a half-day since there's not a lot there that's new to me, and given my wife and kid's low enthusiasm for water parks. Who knows? I may go there while they hit up PC since I'll have probably had enough animals by that stage. We're covered on a water play area for the little guy by the resort we're booked at for the most part. In thinking about it, without Tail Spin being up it probably (in terms of stuff I actually want to ride) weights things more heavily to VRTP. Knowing what I now do from you guys with regards to PC I'd think you're right - PC basically evens things up with Dreamworld on its own, with Sea World being an added bonus. Certainly your suggestions and commentary are right-on. Apologies to anyone if I accidentally turned this into a discussion on my trip planning for a bit - my intention was simply to use a real-life example to evaluate the parks themselves against our market.

Probably OT, but I'm curious - is it any good?

I think you're being a bit generous in saying that I need a reason to look like a dick, @YLFATEEKS

Certainly, I like your contribution and don't propose to denigrate your work at all. I understand precisely where you're coming from, and agree that it's your personal call to take photos or not based on whatever criteria you choose - be it arbitrary in the eyes of some, many, all or none. Just as others are free to make the same determination for themselves.

Sorry for the noise, admin-folk!

Ah, of course. In the financial results thread!

My family is currently in the process of planning another trip to the Gold Coast. For demographic purposes you would have us as; Male, 25-35, thrill preference; high, water-park interest; med-high, animal interest; low. Female, 25-35, thrill preference; med-high, water-park interest; med, animal interest; med. Male, 0-3, thrill preference; low, water-park interest; med, animal interest; high. We will probably spend five nights up there. It's enough time to do Sea World/Movie World/Wet n Wild if we want to do that. Pricing It looks like it will set me back $80/park for the VRTP group, or $100 for all three plus something called Paradise Country(?). DW on the other hand looks like it will set me back $95, or $99 to push it to a 3 day ticket with access to SkyPoint included if we wanted to do that. Verdict: VRTP group Time Since we will only have five nights timing becomes a factor to think about. I know that we can get around Dreamworld in a day, most probably including Whitewater World. That's not so bad - it'll save us some time. The VRTP parks are pretty-well single-serving (eg; I don't consider Movie World to be a full day park, but doing WnW and Movie World - particularly without a car - in the same day sounds like a recipe for pain), so that's going to eat a bunch more of our time. Verdict: Dreamworld Rides Starting at the thin end of the wedge I'm interested in working out what my little guy is allowed to go on. He probably comes in on the 90cm mark. At Sea World he can do; the Carousel, Boots' Banana Boogie, Bikini Bottom Crosstown Express, Patrick's Jellyfish Frenzy, (maybe) SpongeBob's Boating School Blast, (maybe) Donatello's Ninja Flyers, Battle Boats, Sky Fortress (best case 8 rides). At Movie World he can do; (maybe) Justice League, (maybe) Junior Driving School, {nb: I'm sure there's more here but they aren't listed on the site (best case 2 rides). At WnW he can do; WnW Junior, Calypso Bay, Wave Pool, Whirlpool Springs (4 areas) which gives us a total of 14 items across 3 parks. At Dreamworld he can do; Dreamworld Express, Mad Jungle Jam, Log Ride, Vintage Cars, (maybe) Big Red Boat Ride, Big Red Car Ride, (maybe) Tea Cup Ride, Dronkey Flyers, Carousel, ABC Kids World Fun Spot, Maze, Pirate Ship, Art Room (best case 13 rides/areas), and at WWW he can do; Wave Pool, Wiggle Bay (2 areas) for a total of 15 rides/areas. The stuff that my wife and I haven't done before and is of interest is; Shockwave (?), Wedgie, Little Rippers, Triple Vortex, HWSW (previously did Cyclone), Buzzsaw, Pandamonium, Tail Spin, Storm Coaster, Jet Rescue, Constrictor, Doomday Destroyer, Justice League. Verdict: Dreamworld has slightly more to do for the little guy, and even better it's in the one park. For us there's probably more we haven't seen at Dreamworld. Shows/Animals Starting at MW there's the yawn-worthy HSD2, which is unlikely to keep the little guy interested (much less mum and dad...). There's the main street parade that he might like and we would tolerate. Looney Tunes 4D exists, although I doubt he's doing to be too keen on the glasses. Doesn't to much for mum and dad, either. At Sea World things are very different - he might like COTD, would like Polar Bear Shores, would like Seal Harbour, would like Affinity, would like the penguins, and would like the sharks/rays. He'd probably also be keen on the jet ski show, and the fish detectives show too. At Dreamworld he will like Tiger Island, like the ABC Kids World stuff, like Corroboree, and like Wiggles World. With Sea World having to do all of the heavy lifting in this regard the question is does Sea World stand alone well enough to get it over the line? For us we'd stick with Dreamworld on the basis that it's in one park, the more akin to what the little guy is interested in. Verdict: Sea World/VRTP. Which park(s) are we going to go to? I have a funny feeling it's going to be Dreamworld. No doubt the wife and I will argue it out a little more. Have I forgotten something? Talked about something that doesn't exist? Got something wrong? Do tell!

https://www.dreamworld.com.au/things-to-do/dwvr Has anyone had a crack at this yet? Surely it can't suck much less than the vanilla ride experience?

So, to summarize; if you feel like the park does or might do something exceptional for you then you're probably going to be more inclined to do what they say as a quid pro quo, in much the same way as many blogs/websites/journalists may choose to run a puff piece on an advertiser/sponsor or turn a blind eye to their transgressions. If, on the other hand, your interest is purely the hobby or the parks don't do anything special for you, then you're more likely to be focused on getting the story/picture since you have no masters to please. Clowns to the left, jokers to the right, please

That's my point - even in an environment where some other attractions are closed Superman is often enough of a carry for people to recommend the park over Dreamworld. There's a lesson to be learned there for our parks, for sure.

It's amazing how much Superman carries Movie World in these types of discussions.