MickeyD

@Tim Dasco as I said, history has shown with the construction time line of many new rides at our Parks. I was not referring to waitlists and time taken ordering rides in etc. As @Brad2912 mentioned a new flats can be bought off the shelf and installed quickly (as DW has done countless times historically). Looking at the current Hypercoaster project at MW, months of it's installation have been spent on surveying, levelling and reconfiguring the existing landscape. If it wasn't for this need the whole project time frame could have been likely halved, as was the case of LW which was a stock standard Vekoma suspended coaster with the exception of the Horizontal loop - a first for the brand. In the case of Lethal, the levelling of the land was also far simpler. It was originally a gentle slope from the Studio Commissary down to the now Superman show building. You will all have no doubt seen the hill cut away between the Canteen and the first drop. So customising the ride as well as the land to accommodate it can and does have a dramatic affect on the time line. Eliminating these issues by ordering off the shelf as well as having available land ready to go (SW) and you can most definately install in a few short months. Not years.

Historically, there have been many occasions when major new attractions have been knocked up well within one year. Some examples include Lethal Weapon, Wild West falls and everything at Dreamworld which has built and opened new rides in under 6 months. It can be done as history has shown. Unfortunately in the case of VR I don't believe there is a current budget for it's replacement. I just hope that SW intend to add something on the old Corkscrew and adjacent reclaimed land in the meantime as waiting another 3 years is ridiculous

Short answer: NO.

Who.. ? Me ???

It's a shame WnW don't do Dive in movies anymore with rides etc till when the movie finished, like they used to.. Would certainly help soak up the crowds

^ wow that's CRAZY. Seriously though are you insane?!??! Even if you did get in there you'd be lucky to get in the Wave pool - I'd be heading down to WWW. You might actually get on a slide?

A few pics I took with my phone camera the other night. Note the Audience at the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd ones?

^ hahahahahahahahaha nice one smartarse?

Haha yes true however wouldn't you somewhat expect the buggies would do that from time to time? The track does look pretty wild in parts leaving a lot open to random possibility of loosing control and crashing, irrespective of duel control because Human reaction time ain't that fast no matter how good you are! I would think the purchase price of the Adventure includes plenty of extra insurance cover, especially given it all takes place on private property

Guest Services contacted me yesterday regarding my complaint. They advised that during it's recent downtime, there were a number of issues surrounding the Ghost Train section of the ride. One thing lead to another and given the ride's age of 15 years, these things couldn't wait any longer and needed to be addressed by way of removing everything and starting all over again with a clean slate. The time frame would only allow for removing everything and unfortunately not the dark ride scenes. A fairly last minute decision was to reopen the ride for the school holidays to help with crowd capacity and give people the opportunity to experience the roller-coaster. The ride will remain open in it's current form until the Crowd levels subside. My guess until the end of January. They added that they understand how immensely popular with visitors and it's for this reason that it get's the chance for a new lease on life. I really hope this is true because Scooby-Doo is still a very marketable and valuable franchise to the MW brand. I gave my feedback to GS to pass on regarding the lack of communication to Park goers and that a clear expectation needs to be set for would-be riders (including foreign visitors) so they know and understand what to expect, especially after waiting two+ hours... yikes! I asked for Ride Attendants to be more vocal about this which they said they would pass on. After reviewing the opinions of all and speaking to them directly, I'm willing to give MW the benefit of the doubt and look forward to seeing an improved rebuild of the ride using today's show technology.

The Park was quiet yesterday but far from deserted. Rides were between walk-on up to about 10 minutes. WWW seemed quite busy, noticing a lot of wet people trapsing half naked and bare foot through the Park.. On that note, are there not a sufficient number of lockers over at WWW? As the walking area of DW is larger than the other Parks and coupled with various rides not open it was too difficult to tell the number of people there. At the Fire Machine I would say around 2000 watched and lots of people were coming and going through the day. Between WWW and DW park spread over the day, maybe around 4-5000 all up Standout winner for me. I enjoyed this more than any one of MW Fright Nights mazes- it goes to show a permanent scare maze definately can work in an Aussie Park

Just got home from a great visit to DW.. Highlights for me: - Staff friendliness. DW are winning with smiles and running rings around the competition as of now. Sure, this is essential in the Parks healing, still I was really pleased at the attitude of Staff 'wanting' to be there. I really wanted to be there too and so did everyone else! - Park appearance/aesthetics. Overall the Place is looking great with gardens in fine shape, Main Street area has never looked better, DreamWorks, wildlife and naturally, Tiger Island. I love the new shop and unique dining as well as the vast seating - great to stop and get off your feet for a while! - the obvious areas needing visual attention are the old Murrissippi river and surrounding shore (once again looking more like a stagnant pond!) and the vast area of land occupied by SBNO Log Ride, TRRR, Mine, Blue Lagoon, BB house and former Amphitheatre area... This is a LOT of land and certainly enough to bring some amazing things to DW in the coming years. Whilst it's a big blemish on the Park at the moment it also gives hope to making for plenty of room for the future! - Other entertainment today. I was really pleased to see live performances, characters, singing and dancing around the Park. The kids also love getting their faces painted in the Coroboree area. And for no charge!!! - Zombie Evilution was a fantastic surprise! Having never been through it before I was really impressed. I loved the layout inside and setting as well as the energy of the Actors (about 5 working in there plus tell 2 greeting staff). - Fire Machine show was a great finale to a great day. Just a bunch of Lasers, pyros, smoke, light, fire and music.. Very entertaining. Pictures don't really do the show justice, you have to be there in person. Sorry @POP I guess that means you miss out. - Amenities throughout the Park are in great condition and maintained well, along with the rest of the grounds. - I am loving the food variety and with recent Tiger Island additions it's just getting better. I love how pass holders get a good discount off all purchases in Park. I think around 10%? Again staff all very friendly. - can't comment on www as we didn't go in however from the outside it's definately looking in need of some tlc. Such a great day overall and despite only a handful of the big rides operating we didn't get bored with all the other entertainment available. I am just so pleased to see DW doing everything they can in positively restoring their image. Moving forward I really hope they keep this up with consistency and future success is guaranteed?

Given DW are generously offering additional hours of trading for their Nightime show, perhaps people are visiting later in the day? It was always expected that Visitor numbers would be very low while the Park still keeps many thrill rides closed. Visiting DW, that's what I am doing later today. I'm looking forward to spending time with the animals, enjoying a meal and seeing the show later tonight. Can't wait!!!!

@KyleShepherd thanks very much for sharing your insightful opinion. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you (or someone very close to you) is an influential Employee of WBMW?? Hmmm... Be that as it may, Kyle you have raised some very valid and important details here regarding the Park taking all precautions to ensure Guest safety. What I am so confused about is the reported fact that the Park passed it's Safety audit quickly and with flying colours? The foam walls in the themed area of the ride were coated in a fire retardant chemical with all necessary smoke detectors and other safety equipment dotted along the track. If there was any risk of fire, it would be from collection of dust throughout the back of house areas over time, effectively masking the flame retardant coat - Surely after months of closure a thorough clean of the area would have sufficed in which to reopen the ride in time for the busy Xmas Season? After that, sure, shut the ride down at the end of January for a full strip and rebuild If all this is not possible, keep the damn thing shut and offer guests something else in way of extra street entertainment, shows etc or God forbid, lower the admission price. I fear as @djrappa has eluded this may be the beginning of the end for SDSC as we know it. Why spend millions re-doing the 'show' of a ride only to bring it back the same? Would that return anything on their investment?

I just messaged MW via Facebook: I'm shocked and horrified with what's been done with the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster. This was a ride that sat at the top of Theme Park goers favourite Aussie Theme Park attraction ever, today after months of closure it reopened as nothing short of a total embarrassment. Rather than deal with an ongoing fallout of deserved complaints I strongly suggest that MW close the doors of this great ride immediately and reopen it only with dignity once it is back to scratch again.

^Indeed!!! Look, at the end of the day the Park is named Wet'n'Wild - it's been plenty 'Wet' for years, maybe it's time for a little more 'Wild'?

Today the World was shocked by the loss of another Musical Legend. Early tonight I find two minutes to relax, only to find Australia's favourite Dark ride Rollercoaster has been Raped and left to live on in a pathetic shadow of it's former self.? Right now I could fill paragraphs with frustration on the matter, what will that do? Sadly, about as much as pissed off Park goers I guess. Nonetheless I am still in shock from this. Presently MW is on top with no competition. What really fucks me off is the way they are responding to that fact.

Tomorrow, December 26 will mark the first of the 'Really busy' days for the GC Parks. Historically a time for wild success and letting the good times roll. Well, at least until this year... Attendance at our Parks would typically exceed 3 to 5 times the norm when gates reopen tomorrow and remain consistently extreme through the first week into the new year. Such a time where it can also be expected a brand new multi million dollar attraction would officially open, perhaps together along with another major Holiday event to help draw in Punters. It's typically a very exciting time for the Coast and our Parks. But sadly not this year. Every Park has it's challenges to face this Summer of 2016, a side effect of the terrible tragedies faced by DW, no doubt. Still, I cannot help but feel utter disappointment in the way that our other Parks (namely MW and SW) have managed and prepared themselves with offering fewer attractions and the most lacklustre Holiday effort I have ever seen. It's like they are not even bothering to try. At least DW are offering heavily reduced admission, extended trading and a kick arse night show right? I look forward to hearing the opinions of others and if you think our Parks are doing everything possible to win back the trust or if this year they're merely sailing by on the wings of apathy, hoping to bury it with the rest of 2016 Thoughts?

^ that's just it.. The synic in me says that's not exactly the reason, think about it..

Well this is unexpected.. I don't want to sound too synical but given the current state of DW and SW, sadly MW doesn't appear to feel the need to put their best foot forward this Holiday season either? I feel very sorry for the thousands of Holidaymakers about to hit the Coast that will get a pretty ho-hum experience from our Parks this Season? Let's face it, DD could be better but honestly, is right now the time to keep it shut? I think not. Poor form MW. They have had months already to get this Carnival ride going. There really should be no excuses not to have it operating by Boxing Day. I sincerely hope this is an error with the website? The ride has been testing afterall the past week? It all just seems so awfully inconvenient to have it return to Operation once the Holidays have finished. What. The. Fuck..

Ok.. so can we assume the Floats are stationary for SW Carnivale? Hmmm... Right. Trying to accept that idea as now. . .. . ... ........ OK fine!! Cough, cough and... Pill swallowed,,, check! And then what.. ? Will the Floats/ Scenes come alive as the night progresses? ? ? So.. instead of a typical Parade where the Audience watches everything roll by, can we expect the Audience to essentially be the 'Parade' to keep this Carnivale going??? Ummmmmm ?

Merry Christmas @totta3 , it's just so lovely to see you and your other pals @POP and @SunshineTom sharing the love and cheer this time of year!! I sincerely hope that 2017 brings you much Love and Happiness to you and all your own in 2017.. Bless..

Thanks for letting me know @MaxxTheMonster - when you see so many people standing around the entrance I am sure the Lamen would not even know to ask. If the exit wasn't guarded the way it is and a simple sign pointing toward 'Observation deck, Caution you may get wet!' I am sure a lot of people would rush to get out of the Sun and take a closer look. The pathways are perfectly safe I am honestly unsure what the big deal is?

I would like to see the exit walkway opened up to the general public, allowing people to go inside and stand by the splash down for a bit of fun. It's a wasted opportunity as it is

There was the "Serpent Slayers" event in the early 90's. It was largely a Laser Light and Pyrotechnics Extravaganza that also featured a Giant puppet fire breathing Serpent and a lot of water and jetski stunts. - EXTREMELY reminiscent of Disneyland's Fantasmic! and no doubt inspired by it. The show was held after nightfall over the Ski Lake the Summer before Bermuda opened I recall (BT opened Easter the following year) I just tried to search Google for more on this one with no luck.. @joz perhaps you have memories of it? It was a great show for it's day and was extremely well received by the Crowds who seem to happily wait behind an extra hour or so after the rides had closed for the day. -No doubt they spent truckloads of moula on Popcorn and Postmix whilst waiting for the night to fall..