Parkz News

Village Roadshow Theme Parks Announces New Attractions Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Australia’s premier theme park operator, is excited to announce an exciting multi-million-dollar investment program of new attractions launching across its Gold Coast properties in the coming months. Click here to continue reading

Management shake-up: Greg Yong appointed Dreamworld chief Ardent Leisure, owners of the Gold Coast's Dreamworld theme park have announced that Greg Yong will take the reins with current chief John Osborne stepping down for 'personal reasons'. Click here to continue reading

Leviathan wooden roller coaster nears completion at Sea World Leviathan is nearing completion at Sea World with most of the ride's complex, twisted layout in place. Click here to continue reading

It's Mack Time - Dreamworld's Steel Taipan roller coaster goes vertical Dreamworld's long awaited new roller coaster has finally "gone vertical". The first pieces of track are now in place on Steel Taipan. Elsewhere in the park, the visiting Brickman Legends Lego exhibit is a much-needed drawcard for guests during the school holidays. Click here to continue reading

Gold Coaster opens, Steel Taipan construction progresses at Dreamworld Works on Steel Taipan steadily move forwards while the third iteration of Dreamworlds double looping coaster opens with little fanfare. Click here to continue reading

Sea World launches Vortex thrill ride as first part of The New Atlantis The New Atlantis is finally becoming a reality at Sea World with the opening of Vortex, a Top Spin from renowned German manufacturer Huss. Click here to continue reading

Spin into Sea World on the all new Vortex Sea World’s newest attraction, the Vortex has opened for the summer holidays and will have guests twisting, turning and spinning like never before. Click here to continue reading

Vortex nears completion, Leviathan towers as The New Atlantis nears opening at Sea World Despite a year of setbacks and delays, Vortex, the first component of Sea World's $50 million expansion is opening soon. Meanwhile the theme park's skyline is evolving dramatically as construction of the neighbouring Leviathan wooden roller coaster continues. Click here to continue reading

Six upcoming roller coasters you can ride without leaving Australia in 2021 With ongoing uncertainty over international travel, Australian theme park fans won't need to venture too far to enjoy an unprecedented number of new roller coasters with six set to debut at Australian parks in 2021. Click here to continue reading

Steel Taipan: Dreamworld's forthcoming roller coaster gets a name as construction moves forward With Dreamworld finally formally announcing the name of Steel Taipan, their upcoming launch coaster, Parkz checks in on progress on the ride, as well as other happenings at Dreamworld. Click here to continue reading

Luna Park Sydney to invest $30 million on major upgrade, new rides Luna Park Sydney unveiled today a $30 million plan to update and refresh one of Australia’s best known and most loved destinations, including the installations of new rides and attractions. Click here to continue reading

First look at Dreamworld's new world-first spinning seats As construction gets underway, test footage has emerged of the new spinning seat feature that will feature on Dreamworld's new thrill ride. Click here to continue reading

Sea World's Vortex thrill ride commences testing ahead of expected December opening Footage has emerged of Sea World's heavily anticipated new ride undergoing testing ahead of its expected opening this summer. Click here to continue reading

Aussie World Introduces New-Look Ride the Night Events The Sunshine Coast’s Aussie World and Banana Bender Pub will be kicking off a series of exclusive themed after dark events with the new-look Ride the Night starting this weekend, complete with a Halloween twist. Click here to continue reading

Ardent apologises unreservedly to the families for their tragic losses and accepts full responsibility for the terrible tragedy that occurred at Dreamworld in 2016 Ardent apologises, unreservedly, for the past circumstances and failures at Dreamworld that resulted in the tragic loss of four lives and for the deep and ongoing impact on so many people: the families and friends of those who passed away, other guests, first responders, emergency services, Dreamworld team members, and the many other people involved who have also been affected. Click here to continue reading

Village Roadshow releases full year results, commits to ride removals and new additions Closure and downturn from COVID-19 led to predictably disappointing financial results for Village Roadshow's theme park division, where 900,000 fewer guests visited. Despite uncertainty the company is pressing head to have the forthcoming Leviathan wooden roller coaster up and running by Easter while also announcing that they will be removing two yet-unnamed rides at their Gold Coast theme parks. Click here to continue reading

Size doesn't matter: Dreamworld makes concrete moves towards a smaller theme park Dreamworld ditches their only competitive advantages – sheer size and diversity of attractions – as they seek to be "comparable" in ride count to their nearest single competitor. Except their nearest competitor is actually four diverse and growing theme parks. Click here to continue reading

Structural changes, funding injection sees Gold Coast theme park future secured Both Ardent Leisure and Village Roadshow have each announced an injection of $70 million to give both operators a degree of certainty, while the latter moves towards taking the company private. Click here to continue reading

Dreamworld pleads guilty over Thunder River Rapids accident Ardent Leisure, owners of Dreamworld, have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the tragic Thunder River Rapids accident in 2016 that killed four guests. Click here to continue reading

Saddle Up as Australian Outback Spectacular Reopens on the Gold Coast Australian Outback Spectacular joins fellow Village Roadshow Theme Parks attractions, Sea World, Paradise Country and Topgolf to reopen under an industry approved COVID Safe plan, with Movie World and Wet’n’Wild reopening on the 15th July. Click here to continue reading

No-go roller coaster: how Dreamworld banked on a hand-to-mouth recovery strategy they could never afford As roller coaster parts arrive via shipping container from Germany, Dreamworld executives reveal a precarious financial position that's more than just concerning in the face of a global pandemic: the numbers simply don't stack up on their costly recovery gamble. Click here to continue reading

Orange roller coaster track arrives at Dreamworld Bright orange roller coaster track arrives for Dreamworld's forthcoming launched roller coaster. Click here to continue reading

New roller coaster parts arrive as Dreamworld sits in lockdown Dreamworld remains closed under lockdown, however work continues on a couple of coaster projects at the park. Click here to continue reading

Gold Coast theme parks shut as COVID-19 restrictions mount Dreamworld, Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World, Wet'n'Wild and WhiteWater World as well as Australian Outack Spectacular, Paradise Country and Top Golf have all shut their doors temporarily as restrictions on businesses increase. Click here to continue reading

Dreamworld and Sea World's new roller coasters thrown into doubt amid coronavirus financial chaos Two major roller coasters were due to open later this year at Sea World and Dreamworld. With the global economy plunged into chaos, neither look likely to go ahead on the originally scheduled timeline with both companies freezing all non-essential capital expenditure. Click here to continue reading