MickeyD

There are a few objections our Aussie Parks face with going down the Dark ride path: 1. The average dumb Aussie punter simply doesn't appreciate a good Dark ride. Their idea of a Great ride is a huge Coaster or Giant Spin'n'Spew.. The very same people go to Disneyland and leave after a couple of hours thinking the place is "shit for Adults and just for kids". Ask these same people which rides they experienced? Guaranteed it will be only the one's they can see (ie Dumbo, teacups, maybe Matterhorn) and they probably strolled by the best attractions and because they couldn't see what's inside thought "why should I wait half an hour for some shit Dark ride that I can't see....? Answer=Tossers 2. Ongoing maintenance/ upkeep. Too many moving parts with animatronics figures, sets, lighting, fog, audio, on-board fx, motion synchronisation, motion base upkeep, water pumps, steam machines, 3D projection, hydraulics, cooling towers, PLC and all other BOH functions.. the list goes on and of course it depends on the complexity of the ride. Bottom line is these kinds of rides need A LOT of TLC. Ongoing ROI often often necessitates downgrading the quality and presentation of the 'show' over time (see WWF, LT, BT, BA.... Scooby-Doo?) 3. For a Dark ride to be shit hot and appeal to a wider Audience (including the said 'dumb' Aussie) our Park's would have to invest megabucks on a ride system and dynamic show experience to have serious wow factor. With ongoing upkeep in mind, if our Parks are after a new Dark ride / experience they would be wise to consider screens over AA together with the big BOOM FX that put similes on faces together with a fast and unpredictable motion for a thrilling, yet more inclusive experience. Surveys and Market research consistently finds that majority of visitors want more Coasters and thrill rides. Look at the reviews. Rivals is the most sensible and ostentatious investment for MW at this time. The next Big thing for SW should be a said family/thrill/dark ride experience and compete more directly with DW. I don't see such a ride coming to MW for a very long time.

Congratulations on such an awesome addition MW! Can't wait to ride myself. For those who have today I'm keen to hear about it's intensity! Looking at the queue, themeing looks great however it looks like more shade is needed.

Lightning rods.

Looks awesome but I wanna see that bad ass bitch at the top's Lasso extending outside the frame

That's so impressive! Can't wait to see how it all looks in person at FNs😃

I'd like to hear more from you @Evie, you seem to know what's going on

fantastic read - thanks for putting things so clearly because now I have an understanding of why and it seems like a very sensible decision on part of VTP's. DW take note!

Absolutely bizarre..

While I am looking forward to visiting (as I do pretty much every year), gotta say that the line up of Mazes this year is underwhelming.. - Conjuring2. Best part of it last year was the line once you got inside the cool of the show building. The sounds and lighting of the queue inside set a mood that wasn't delivered once inside the actual maze. Take the existing Maze and upgrade it to feature "Annabelle" along with the Nun Demon to put more variety/elements into the Maze and make for one of the Park's Headline acts for this season rather than the same old thing as last year. Annabelle Creation is so far the most profitable Horror flick of 2017, I would have thought it would have been a no-brainer - DusktillDawn. Loved this Maze last year however hope for it to be even just a little different this time around, having already done it a couple of times before. Still this was the stand out from last year for me. - SAW. Creepy and disturbing themes and possibly one of the best Tales to be played out for a Scare Maze but with so many other great new Horror flicks out/coming out, I see this as a secondary attraction and not a main draw. Still, if we didn't have two mazes coming back essentially the same from last year then this wouldn't have been so much of an issue for me. Halloween/Mike Myers. Meh.. What about Pennywise from IT? Seriously, this sounds like it will play out like the Jason Maze from last year and I wouldn't be at all surprised if much of the setting is the same. Mind you I LOVED the Jason Maze from last year with all the Caves and Woods areas. I felt that it had the strongest sets/landscaping of all of them

Exactly what I was thinking @AlexB. How interesting that Mr Weiss appears to be backing down on his said 'commitments' prior to securing a couple of spots 'inside the tent'. hmm...

The Bruce has seemingly forever been a bit of a mess - not only for the Sunshine Coast/Brisbane region but all the way up the State. There continues to be a lot of roadworks from beyond North Lakes and whenever it's a long weekend or start of a Holiday Period the Traffic flow going up is shocking from Brisbane and again when the tide flows back the other way before the working week starts again. I would hate to be living on the Sunny Coast and working in Brisbane but it seems many People are! It's been this way for about as long as I can remember. The area of road around the Redcliffe turn off is just about finished now and it's looking like much of the stretch back to the Gateway motorway will be wrapped up by the end of the year The plan is for 3 lanes either side and here is a snip of the Media release from May this year: Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports and Minister for Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply The Honourable Mark Bailey Thursday, May 18, 2017 Works begin on transforming the Bruce from Caloundra to Sunshine Motorway First sod turned on the $929.3 million Caloundra to Sunshine Motorway upgrade Over 40,000 motorists estimated to use the Sunshine Motorway interchange and the Caloundra Road interchange daily Upgrade will feature Australia’s first Diamond Interchange Major construction has officially commenced on the $929.3 million Bruce Highway Upgrade – Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway project, which will increase safety and ease congestion for around 40,000 motorists who use the route daily. Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester and State Main Roads and Road Safety Minister Mark Bailey were on the Sunshine Coast today to turn the first sod for this much-needed highway upgrade. Mr Chester said the project was part of the Australian Government’s record $75 billion commitment to essential airport, road, and rail infrastructure projects. “Upgrading the Bruce Highway is a priority project of the Australian Government’s infrastructure roll out, evidenced by the $844 million allocated in this year’s budget for new projects,” Mr Chester said. “This upgrade will provide nearly 700 direct jobs, and project works will include transforming the Caloundra Road Interchange to a Diverging Diamond Interchange – a first for Australia.

The Studio Commissarie building opposite the Department store is ideal for UTT. It's well positioned and possibly a large enough area to play host to a Maze. The fact that it already has kitchen facilities makes it an ideal choice for VIP upcharges that feature dining experiences. The Roxy theatre area could also make for a great maze location in the future. They already have an awesome sound system and air con for the area + The space is large enough for the Theatre to continue operating daily with front-half seating seperated by a wall. Enter a maze via the alley between Roxy and the cafe, via a line around the back of the Roxy preshow and entering the new maze via the emergency exit doors closest the Theatre and then through the last couple of rows of pre-show-to-Theatre entry doors.

^ what he said

MW should think about getting one of these (theme and all). They have a perfect spot for it between AA and SDSC. Reopen the old LW shop space and link back the corridor toward Main Street and the whole area could open right up nicely.

Indy hasn't been a 100% for years. I wish they could get the effect of the multiple entries working at the start of the ride. The lighting changes in the room that were implemented a few years back isn't nearly as effective. @AlexB go to miceage.com. the last couple of Disneyland updates have covered quite a bit on Splash. I get that the ride needed to be operating throughout the Summer but surely much of the aesthetic issues could be tended to during closing. The majority of issues appear to be lighting but the ride has needed a serious update of it's AA for a long while, so the poor lighting could also be to cover up a lot of broken scenes. Pics from Miceage.com A few weeks ago we showed you that Splash Moutain has been having some major lighting problems. Both exterior and interior lighting is out all over the attraction and some of the Animatronic figures are also nonfunctional. So let’s take a ride through this week to see just how dark this “dark ride” is getting.

Has anyone seen the state of Splash Mountain at Disneyland lately? It kinda throws all of this out the window..

Or maybe even this?

Just drove passed for the 1st time since the track has been completed. Wow that first drop is INSANE! Seeing it for the first time in person you really get to appreciate the incredible scale of how huge this thing really is. Pictures don't do it justice. So yeah, I'm super excited!!

In light of all this how can we possibly expect to see DW bringing back their precious Mine Ride now?

Wait your turn in line. Attention will already be greater for this ride, not to mention no FT will already be a better PR face for the Park. Leaving FT as is will also help balance the crowd flow throughout the rest of the Park. Particularly during the Holidays. I am sure MW management have a pretty good idea on how introducing FT to DCHC will improve sales already. We really don't need to tell them ways to 'make a killing' at the greater inconvenience of the majority!

They wouldn't spend tens of millions on a new ride to accidently wreck it on a 1st test! Gotta say I was surprised too but the very fact that actual people rode it later that same day suggests overwhelming confidence in the safety and performance of the ride's design and construction.

Wow that is a surprise to see! I would have thought a slow pull through would have come first? Great to see it in action though! Can't believe it's only a month to go😃

Like @Skeeta said maybe the lighting package isn't yet fully activated? Management spent a lot of time tinkering around with them before rolling out across the Pillars. Penty of time to get the look right. What's even more interesting is 5 pages discussing the Park's new Fence and more importantly, what's on them.

Woah the anticipation to that 1st drop - great find thanks😃

I still think a Kmart would be a better use of the land.