iwerks

Or museums..

Singapore school holidays have just begun. Lots of interesting things happening there, like a visit by the Japanese Prime Minister. Dejiki noted the work being done on Battlestar Galactica. The scaffold appears to be growing. http://dejiki.com/2014/06/uss-update-2014jun/

Great points Alex - this is depressing news indeed. They have taken out a family ride and put in one that looks like it has come straight out of Legoland. What gets me is that they say that the big kids are taken care of in their promotional material. If they mean adults or teenagers, they might be right, but if they actually mean older children, they couldn't be more wrong. It just seems like some kind of cheap filler idea that will make few people happy. They would be better off getting go-karts in there. Sadly, it reminds me of the original Disneyland Autopia, but without the cool cars with fins.

It doesn't have to be another attraction, but a little misdirection away from their misadventures would be a good move. It could be a new level of season pass (something which they would announce soon anyway), or perhaps a new kids ride? Oh wait.. someone's already doing that.

An animatronic Yarli, perhaps? That could give them something to punch when Adventure World changes its mind.

The two parks I went to yesterday were open and whilst Outback Splash closed today, The Great Escape is apparently open every weekend.

Indeed it is a holiday. And yes, just a little bitter aftertaste. I made pretty good use of my season pass, but hadn't take up the 50% off option for up to 8 friends as I was saving that for Sunday. When I called my friends on Friday, none of them had heard that the season had been cancelled. I wonder what happened to those people who had bought tickets online and now they can't be used? But the person I really feel sorry for is the poor security guard who got posted outside the park having to tell families that the season was cancelled, because we all know what happens when the Wagon Queen Family Truckster pulls up.. Perhaps they could have tempered this bad news with some good news, like what's happening next at the park.

It is a long weekend in Perth, this weekend. Despite an early shower, the weather was a lot warmer than yesterday. As certain other parks were closed, I decided to visit The Maze. First up, it's a very pretty little park and the Outback Splash water playground has settled in really well in the setting they have provided. The water was off when I took the pictures, but they were still open and the water came on a short time afterwards, when people wanted to use the slides. The timber maze was fun, but it's looking a little worse for wear. A larger hedge maze is also a part of their expansion plans. They have plenty of room for their expansion and they've already started to cannibalise their old Frisbee golf course (including what looks like a cabin in the woods - theme for a water slide perhaps?). The theming for the water playground seems a little at odds with the name - Outback Splash. More like Aztec Splash, with its Mexican and South American images. From the Adobe coloured change room to its iguanas and pyramids, the name Outback Splash only really describes the location of this isolated property. The future plans look really exciting and the staff member I talked to thinks that stage two might be ready by the next season. On the way home, I also visited Hilary's Boat Harbour, the home of AQWA and The Great Escape fun park. Their waterslides were operating and happy screams could be heard emanating from within.

Yeah, they used to have more of those themed pubs around too. Ironically, there is still one in the town I work in.

It looks like work has begun. http://lukeandthetempleoffun.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/this-week-in-uss-3-what-is-going-on.html#more

It was pretty cold today, not exactly water park weather, but no rain or storms. They're getting some flack on their Facebook page for closing the season early.

I hope it's not a Zamperla Convoy.

I would have prefered it if they had waited until the night before instead of just saying 'season cancelled'.

And think where they were up to on the Abyss last year - the foundations were already in. Don't forget you're counting kids' rides in there as well. Chances are they're not going to say or do anything before this season closes. They have the insurance money to spend, but we're getting mixed signals as to whether they're going to spend it on the castle or not. If they're going to build another slide you would think it would be around the back of the Shotgun, but last I checked they seem to be planting trees there. They could have a walk through attraction, like Prison Break, but the building they conducted that in got demolished for the Abyss. Whilst I agree with the title change, I don't seem the harm in spitballing - it's not like it happens in any other thread.

The weather has been really dismal - rain and really high winds. Everyone I talked to said that they understood why Adventure World closed. There's not many places you can take cover in the park. Perhaps they should build a dry ride or attraction.

They'll need something new to promote, but they won't have a lot of time to do it in (presuming they haven't already started the process).

Wait a second.. did a post go missing here? I have seen the Scooby video with the lights on, but I thought this backstage tour of The Mummy at USH was pretty cool. It certainly is smaller than the other versions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGhD9Rpc1vA

I've seen the Jurassic Park Raft Adventure fill a few times at USS - that's pretty cool. I think the footage you want would have to include those large cylinder tubes that the water goes over. I'm pretty sure there was footage of that happening at the Snowy River Rampage too - but not in that clip. So does that mean that Wonderland gets the credit? How much credit do they need in order to reopen?

Snowy River Rampage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad17DJLKbI4

Apparently the weather in Perth is getting worse. Adventure World was closed yesterday and posted this an hour ago: It has been the wettest May in some time. https://www.facebook.com/AdventureWorldOfficialPage

Missed seeing these Santa pics before. Oh, and 7 days left in this water park's season.. http://multimedia.aapnewswire.com.au/Search.aspx?search=%22ROLLERCOASTER%22&viewtype=slideshow

Yeah, after the financial results in February and snarky reports, like this one from Perth Now: http://www.perthnow.com.au/travel/travel-news/splash-out-or-lash-out-at-wetnwild-if-you-thought-queuing-for-a-slide-was-bad-try-waiting-to-get-your-phone-call-answered/story-fnjjv9zm-1226806114876 it all gets pretty quiet. The first few reports on TripAdvisor (those being the last posted) seem pretty positive. Thanks Gazza for the documentary footage of WnWS in December. I was going to go with these pictures originally..

I was hoping for a little more detail than that - a late season TR or financial results perhaps? How did people who bought season passes feel - were they good value for such a short season? And on the last day, before they locked their little padlock, did it look more like picture A or B?

I hadn't even realised they had closed for the season until I checked their website the other day. Does anyone know how the season ended?

This news is also being discussed on skyscraper city.com. It looks like Eric Pearson from InspireWA has confirmed that the theme park is still in the pipeline, but it looks like they are searching for a different plot of land now. The restaurants could end up in Fremantle (or on the coast), Perth City or even in the Swan Valley. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=114066484