iwerks

The Pokemon Snap game on the N64 was cool for what it was. It was a lot like a virtual reality boat ride and they judged your photos on their artistic merit, like the composition and size of the subject. The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride is a great example of a pseudo underwater dark ride where you shine a light on different creatures and they react.

Apparently Target and Hot Wheels have a win a VIP trip to Dreamworld competition: http://www.hotwheels.com/en-au/competitions.html

A Melbourne surf park made the news here. They've been pitching to do one here in Perth. http://www.theinertia.com/business-media/melbourne-just-landed-australias-first-ever-wavegarden-surf-park-coming-in-2017/ Those Disneyland comments are tragic.

Unless you're talking about USJ.

Because that's pretty much all there was? Yeah, I remember the boarding and the miniature of the ship. Some people went past the engines and the lucky ones got to the life rafts - and just when you thought a ride was about to begin, they yelled 'cut!'

This doesn't sound good - an accident in Phantom Manor, DLP. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/04/disneyland-paris-worker-found-dead-in-haunted-house/

My Fox Studios Backlot footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVwWnYslgok I also really enjoyed all those VHS tapes that the parks used to sell back in the 90s. I collected a bunch from Disneyland, Disney World, USH, Disneyland Paris and, of course, Movie World.

They sure finished the Flying Dinosaur quickly. They only just started construction in October when I visited. Apparently BTTF is due to close this month, the last one in the world. Yeah, it's fascinating to see how the technology has progressed from BTTF, Transformers/Spiderman to Harry Potter. It's interesting in HP how you don't really see much of anyone else in the whole ride. I think the 3D glasses might have been a bridge too far. It certainly is an immersive ride, although you can normally spot the transition screens between the sets. Loved the Jaws ride - certainly a throwback to the good old days.

I love it on park maps when they just add more trees to the area where something is currently closed. They did that at USS when the Jurassic Park River Adventure was down for three months.

Are we saying his followers are autobots or he advertised his Facebook Page? It's not hard to lose followers if they realise that the page isn't what's promised (like the fact that he can't spell - argee?). I would say quite a few of us here are followers, just to see the construction pics. Hopefully, he would source them correctly. Doesn't the Atventure Facebook page (formerly THrillz) have the most followers of any Theme Park Fan Facebook page in Australia?

Looks like you were right - it has been re-edited without the Dreamworld staff.

There's lots to be said for bragging rights. A lot of people want to be the first to ride the new attraction, like everyone wants to see the latest release movies. I'll be waiting for the GC parks to install some new rides before going back to Queensland. Well themed rides that have a great story are always a pleasure to re-ride. It's always awesome to reacquaint yourself with an old favourite.

^What does that even mean, Pop? I'm with the girls on that one. I think Dreamworld was way out of its depth and was pretty condescending. I thought the girls explained their objections thoughtfully. It seems to be a well put together blog.

Here's another question; are bags or cameras allowed on the chair lift? I've had different responses.

Breaking News: Dinosaurs have invaded Perth Zoo! I visited Perth Zoo's Zoorassic Park exhibit, today, that has 19 animatronic life-size dinosaurs scattered through-out the park. It's a pretty massive show of force that kinda puts past dinosaur island displays to shame. I hope it gets to tour the country, because it's awesome. They're also screening Jurassic Park and Jurassic World in April.

Went to AW late this afternoon and got caught up in the after school crowd. There was a line of people queuing to get in, outside the gift shop door, when one of the young team members had the foresight to reopen one of the ticket boxes - good thinking on her behalf. The water is still pretty warm in the pool and on the slides and there was a good sized number of people in attendance. It wasn't crowded as you could go back up and down the water slides with no waiting. I think we've had a pretty good summer here. Freefall is still in pieces and Abyss was a two minute wait. It was weird as people were letting themselves through the first gate, which I hadn't seen before. A couple of people tried to sneak through from the exit platform to ride again, but thankfully they were told to go back down the stairs and come up again.

Popped into Outback Splash, today, as it ended up being at least 36 degrees. The park's ticket booth was closed and tickets had to be purchased at the Iguana Cafe. There was a new map up that included the proposed next stage of the park, featuring the Proslide Pipeline Wave and three other slides. The park was essentially deserted with two or three team members operating the slides. There was one keeping an eye on the kids' slide and you would approach one of the others and they would open a slide for you by removing a large net from in front of it. The slides were super slow as I'm pretty sure they used to operate them with mats and no longer do. They even have a sign suggesting you remove your rashie and arch your back. I found the enclosed slides to be the best, especially the green one (which is dark for a nice, long time). They've increased the amount of shaded seating they have there and have a range of cabanas that you can rent, including a really big one. There's even some large shaded awnings further up the hill in the direction of their expansion plans. The Hedge Maze seems to be growing back in the right places, although there are still a few gaps they have to plug. The kangaroo wasteland is pretty much where the new gate is supposed to go in. I actually hope they keep the kangaroos there as the tourists would really like that. If they make the entrance just to the north of there it would be a great idea. I'm hoping the expansion will take place this winter. If they can get the new 'Aussie' entrance plaza, the four large slides and the kids waterplay area built they might have the basis of a great water park.

Looks like the new website doesn't have the history of Adventure World page, like the last one did.

Virtual reality *cough* Eureka Mointain Mine Ride.

Yeah @djrappa Adventure World pretty much has that covered. They've got that massive pool, which is the perfect place to cool off on an afternoon and the Kahuna Falls water playground. Next to that is the main cafe area, which is licensed, and has plenty of seating. I wouldn't think many people would take their towels with them. You tend to get a locker, cabana or a patch of grass and base yourself from there. I suppose for me the question is: is the lazy river MI-3 or is it an addition, say with the Kidz Tornado they might get next year? I like the idea of a lazy river - they're family friendly and have a large capacity, but I'd also like to see more dry rides.

A Huss film-based ride in a new castle would be so cool.

Great to hear about Freefall - it's a good ride when it's operating. Some of my friends don't ride Abyss, but Freefall's not a problem at all. Excellent view too. If it does stay another season, I hope it gets a new paint job and some theming attention. I have quoted Mark in the past on Facebook, but if he says not to, I don't. Also, if I have any grievances at the park, I'll only post them here.

A lazy river would be great, Mark, especially considering how popular the rocky mountain rapids are. Something I forgot to comment on the other day was that Freefall was down again and it doesn't appear to be even mentioned in the 'What's On Guide'. I presume it's had its day. I hope the early bird payment option will still be available next year.

RAC and Scoopon often have deals for the parks as well.

Paid a rare weekday trip to the park, today. It was only about 25 degrees when I visited in the early afternoon and I was surprised to find the car park half full. It was great to see that the themed shading was being installed for the Kraken. There also appeared to be some theming where I hadn't seen it before - between the other slides going down the hill. Was pleasantly surprised to see that the kangaroos were closer to the old food trough today, including a couple of joeys. What really amazed me here was that one of the keepers was patting one of the emus, which seemed to really enjoy the attention. Except for some patches of missing grass, the park was looking really good.