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Hi All Was at Movieworld yesterday, and besides it being overly busy, one thing I noticed was a few small changes to the theming on some rides. It appeared that WWF had more water in it than normal, or perhaps that was just the time of day and all sorts of other variables. However, Scooby Doo had been changed. The green 'false floor' effect created by the laser and smoke machine had been changed to a red laser, and it appeared the smoke wasn't working. Not sure if the smoke was removed or just not working that day. Any thoughts here? Also, on Superman Escape (when it was working) there was a new blast of air aimed at your ankles which either was new or I hadn't noticed before. Lethal Weapon (only running Blue train), however the train appeared to either be brand new or have alot of work done to it. The wheels looked quite new, the seats looked in incredibly good condition, as did the plastic on the back of the seats. It also felt alot smoother than normal, and the first part that appeared would hurt you is now after the sidewinder near the station. I also noticed on the helix the full effect of the G-Forces for the first time. However, just a quick question: has anybody ever seen the line back outside the cinema building? One other thing I noticed was that Batwing now has a phone in the operators section, which means it can now be loaded and unloaded by only one operator.

If you are a resident of QLD (or NSW Postcode 2460-2490) or any of your guests are, you can use the Shop-A-Docket offers from Woolworths, which is $20 off Per Person, making Adults only $44. Hope that helps

The only reason I can think of to retro-fit Tower of Terror with a Hydraulic Launch would be if Macquarie Leisure Trust were aiming to go Carbon Neutral, and reducing emmissions. Reducing the amount of electrical energy required to launch the car would reduce the amount of energy they are purchasing, thus reducing costs, whilst increasing environmental sustainability

Public Transport in South East Queensland operates under TransLink. Using their website, you'll find the following: Take the Gold Coast train from Central/Roma St Station. You need to purchase a ticket to travel from your station to "Coomera" From Coomera, you need to catch the Surfside Buslines Route TX5. This runs from Coomera station to Dreamworld. This trip is included in your Translink ticket purchased at your departing train station. Single Adult Fare $6.40, Concession Fare $3.20 Double for Return or, if travelling on Public Holidays or Weekends, use the "Off-Peak Day" ticket. Adults $9.60, Concession $4.80 For those interested, Dreamworld is classified as Translink Zone 10.

Pretty sure the Big Brother house is a bit out of the way. And whats the point? You couldn't run it when the house is filming, and theres nothing to see besides a giant shed and wire mesh fence.

Even if you can't change the ride program, I'd love to see a bit more efficiency from the ground crew. Maybe putting the exit on the opposite side of the ride from the entrance, or even two exits would help here, as they don't let the new people into the ground area until the old people are out. And then they help people into their seats, then each of the two attendants go around the ride to check the harnesses. Following this, they thumbs-up and the ride launches. Maybe getting the new people ready sooner would be good. Just something to speed things up a bit

I agree. Having ridden Batwing a number of times, and most of these times ending up looking at the queue line, I can tell you that you shoot up over the top of the trees that cover the queue line, but you never fall below the top of the canopy. I'm sure they could drop the gondola further. Also, I don't see why they couldn't "hoist" the gondola to the top for a drop also. The gondola is lowered down to the ground at the end of the ride, so why couldn't it be raised to the top mid-ride? It's just a matter of constant air-flow into the pneumatic cylinder to get it to rise. Maybe instead of a shot and then a drop, they could have multiple shots. So after the 4th bounce of the current ride program, start lowering only to suddenly be launched to the top again. Just a few ideas there.

just get the police academy guys to run the ride. they're already in uniform

Saw on TV they are advertising that Batwing is now open. They have footage of the ride on the ad also. Perhaps theres a media release from Movieworld around somewhere?

I thought mag-lev was what the trains in Japan used. I'm pretty sure you couldn't use that on a waterslide

Next time I'm down there, if no1 has taken a picture of it by then, I will take a picture

The white umbrella covers the small section where an operator stands and hits the ignition button. It seems they've spent more on the ignition button as far as theming goes. It has a large metal guard around the button, like you sometimes see missile fire buttons in planes in the movies. And whats with the light on top of the control booth? I've never seen it turned on yet

My vote goes to Gazza to join the new ride crew as theming designer

I think a small building around the edges instead of the fencing would be nice. Have perspex wall sections so you can see into the launch area. Keep the water vapour on the tower like it is and have another set at the same level around this building. Let this be the height of the building, so the car is above the roofline before launch. Having the water vapour shooting out from the tower and toward to tower would give the smoke effect better. I'd also have video cameras installed that capture the riders faces before it shoots to the sky. You could use this for the on-ride photo, and also stream video footage onto the Superscreen in the park, with the countdown overlay, and then the launch. As far as a story goes, you could do something like the Batman Adventure ride, in that you are applying to become a pilot for Batman's new fleet of Batwings. The spaceshot is your final test to see if you can handle the gravitational forces applied to your body during a vertical launch of the Batwing. Story reminiscent (sp?) of the centrifuge that astronauts have to go on [see Armageddon for example] After you leave the ride, you then get led into another area and get told, in true job interivew/testing style, that they'll call you back. As far as implementing this theming, I would think perhaps modify some of the Adventure Ride pre-show rooms, and use some of the space in that building. Any time I've ever ridden that ride, the room is never full.

That may not be it for the theming as yet. This ride went up mighty fast and opened really quickly after construction. Maybe its still minimalist for the moment. They may need to re-coup some funds to spend on theming it yet. But yes, I agree, it looks very bare at this stage.

Here's the video I took today guys. Enjoy!

Since the ride is now open, I think the "BATWING OPENS TOMORROW" thread is not the best place to be posting our experiences of the Batwing Spaceshot. I went to Movieworld today, and rode Batwing 3 times between 1:30pm and 5:00pm. The most I had to wait was 4 cycles, or approximately 20 minutes. On a side note, Superman ran 2 trains the whole time I was there. Lethal Weapon was running 2 when I first arrived, but when I went back later the blue train had been put in the hold. The red train seemed smoother anyway. On one ride we had an E-Stop so that the operator could get a pair of thongs off one of the riders behind me. The girls infront of me were really worried. Also, on my second ride of Superman, it was really slow approaching the catch car, and we seemed to make a grinding sound as we rolled over it. I got a few photos using my mobile phone camera. I'm posting them on here for you guys. I also got a video of the ride in action. I'll post that or a link to that once I convert it to a reasonable size for internet viewing. It feels awesome to leave your stomach on the ground, have it fly up to hit you as you start flying towards the ground. The staff all seemed really happy and helpful. There seems to be occasional problems with the harnesses. Every couple of cycles they had to loosen one or all of them, and then re-lock them. Don't know why. The smoke effect is cool to watch, but I think it would work better to use a smoke machine rather than the misting water idea. Billowing smoke around the car would look better from on the ride IMO. For those worried about the Superman lockers idea, worry no more. There are boxes for you to put your stuff in. They do ask you to empty all your pockets and to leave thongs underneath the boxes before riding. Hope you all enjoy the pics, and enjoy riding when you get the chance!!

The news clip showed lots of different people going on it. Including some footy stars. They said "don't hold on, once you ride it you'll know why". I'm going tomorrow to see what it's like and I can't wait

Well if you were stuck to China Town theming, what attractions would you install there?? Perhaps they'll just be using the theming of this area and building stores and small attractions to take up a few people. What could go in such a small area that could be themed to a China Town style? The only things that come to mind are hanging lanterns and dragons

How does one go about becoming a Ride Op?

That's partly what I'm wondering

I was watching back thru the YouTube videos and watched Sunrise at Movie World for the opening of Superman:Escape. In the video they mention that it was part of a $65 million expansion of the park. The said Superman came in at $16million. Watching the Channel Ten news today I saw their piece on Batwing Spaceshot (which looks awesome) and they describe it as costing $5 or $6 million (I don't recall which). Thats only $21 or $22 million of $65. Thats $44 or $45 million to spend on future expansions. From reading on this forum we can guess that there is a new attraction going in where the outdoor queue line for Lethal Weapon is. That attraction surely wouldn't cost $45million, so where is the rest going to go?

We don't know, but the actors who voiced Happy Feet may have clauses in their contracts that require their services for future endeavours, such as promotions, toys, and other things, such as featurettes for special features on DVDs and even things like attractions based on the movie.

It sounds about as thrilling as my job (Checkout Operator). Is there any special requirements to be a ride operator? And what, if any, is the career path available to a good op?

Just a general question here. What exactly does a ride operator do?? Obviously theres the check restraints and launch the ride out of the station, but what else is there?? What is the pay like?? Are there many perks to the job?? Anything else you feel like mentioning?? Thanks guys -Adam