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How ridiculous. The prize is that you get unlimited entry into 3 major theme parks for an entire year, for a ridiculously low price! Why on earth do they feel the need to give away even more?

Just for fun, let's see how many attractions (past or present) we can find out about which are very similar to rides we have in the Gold Coast, or ones which we used to have in the past. 1. I've mentioned before that my favourite Gold Coast ride ever was Bermuda Triangle at Sea World. This is still open at Movie Park (previously Warner Brothers Movie World) in Germany. http://movieparkgermany.de/en/themepark/attractions/water/bermuda-triangle-alien-encounter As this video shows, it looks almost identical to the one we had here. 2. Superman Escape at Parque Warner (also previously known as Warner Brothers Movie World) in Madrid. http://parquewarner.com/atracciones/superman-la-atraccion-de-acero Ok it's not quite the same as the one here, but it's a coaster with a Superman theme at a Warner Brothers park, so good enough for me! 3. Kids driving school ride at Movie Park Germany http://movieparkgermany.de/en/themepark/attractions/child/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-license-drive This one has a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme, but the ride itself looks the same as the Gold Coast one. 4. Police Academy Stunt Show at Movie Park Germany. http://parquewarner.com/en-el-parque/espectaculos/show/loca-academia-de-policia

Now a resort would make a great deal of sense, and could be a brilliant move. Guests would have easy access to not just Movie World, but also Wet & Wild and Outback Spectacular and Paradise Country. They could include access to all these parks for guests for the duration of their stay at the resort. Sea World has one, and I've often wondered why the other parks don't. Surely it would have been publicised, or information about such plans would have been leaked well before construction actually commenced though, so I doubt it.

I'd love it if they were preparing for a major expansion of Movie World. However I'd be very surprised, especially given how little they're charging people to go into the existing park, and especially considering how much existing space is not being fully utilised. Such an expansion would be the stuff of dreams, but having only just moved to this paradise that we call the Gold Coast, I'm more than content with the 5 wonderful theme parks (and the many other excellent attractions) we've got, and the sizes that they are. I think perhaps it will be a circus, but that's purely a guess.

I was in that theatre in 2011 and it is still in very good condition internally. It's a fully functioning theatre, but I could only assume it is largely disused except for corporate events (which is what I was there for). Would be great to see it either opened to guests for shows each day, or converted into a dark ride or walk through.

Could be just gossip going around the staff, and if so it probably contains SOME truth. The question is, how much truth? Could be that someone overheard a conversation where "pulling down" was mentioned, but that could mean making relatively minor alterations to better ensure safety. Given that it's not very old and would have cost mega $, I am sure they would want to try any possible way to get it back in action before resorting to scrapping it. As you said though, we won't know for sure until an announcement is made, or we see it either being pulled down or (and I think this is much more likely personally) back in operation.

A friend of mine just posted this on facebook! What do you think?

GREAT. Now I find that for an extra $5 I could have got Paradise Country included too (through Groupon)! Oh well. Too late for me. But if anyone else hasn't renewed yet and would like to have unlimited access to Paradise Country as well as SW, MW, and W&W, check here. http://www.groupon.com.au/coupons/tickets/parks

It certainly does. However there's a whole lot more space in all the sound stages which is also very under-utilised (except during Fright Nights). I'd really like to see either a new version of the original studio tour, or some other walk through(s) / dark ride(s) in these.

I've just renewed my VIP pass using the $75 offer. I held off till now because I wasn't sure whether I would be able to upgrade it to include the night events. However the email I received today specifically said that in July all VIP pass holders will be given the opportunity to upgrade to include all 3 night events. No mention of how much this will cost, but I'm hoping it will be no more than what a Discovery Passport would have cost me, as that was what I was thinking of getting. As I always say, I'd be more than happy if they charged quite a lot more for the annual passes, but at the same time if there are cheaper prices available I'm not going to be the fool who pays more unnecessarily (if that makes any sense)!

A great trip report there Oceangirl, and I agree with pretty much all of it. However I don't think much of the driving school myself, given that it replaced a pretty good dark ride.

I have been to the Doctor Who experience in the UK. It's basically a walk through, but there is a small section that is sort of nearly a ride component when you're in the tardis console area and following a brief video message form the doctor, it moves. It only moves a bit, but various lighting and sound effects create the illusion that it's moving a lot (through space and time)! It was absolutely awesome and contained several other great effects which I won't write about here as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't been yet. Have you been to the 3 walk throughs in Surfers Paradise (Infinity, Draculas Haunted House, and Ripleys Believe it or not)? What about Professor Bogglesworths Illusionarium at Aussie World? These are all walk through attractions. Whilst I can see the point some are making about capacity, I certainly don't think any of them are boring!

Surely with the technology used to design coasters these days, non of these things would have been left to chance. It would have all been repeatedly tested and proven safe (with redundancies) long before it was constructed. I would have thought so anyway.

I'd love to see a very well themed and interactive walk through attraction (at any of the parks, but Dreamworld for the purposes of this thread). It could have a small ride component to it as well which transports you through part or all of the experience. Be that a lift (like in Aussie Worlds Illusionarium) or a boat, mine train or whatever. Apart from at Halloween when Movie World has Fright Night mazes, I don't think any of the Gold Coast parks has a single walk through. As for my preferred themes for any new dark ride or walk through, I'd love to see either Doctor Who or The Simpsons.

Agreed, but having been able to spend more time in all the parks now I live here it is clear to me that Movie World is the very clear leader in terms of entertainment (as you would expect given movies are the theme). There's shows going on all day throughout the park, and most of them are pretty good.

We'll have to wait and see! I don't know if there's a limit of 2 new attractions in a year. My feeling is that it isn't going to reopen this year, if ever. If it can't be reopened for whatever reason, I'd still really love it if they opened a new dark ride. To me it's not about the spinning and falling and getting wet. It's about the adventure. The story that a well themed dark ride can immerse you into. It doesn't always have to be a dark ride to do that either, as the brilliant example in this video shows.

I think a lot of 5 year olds would be able to have at least a basic understanding of Professor Bogglesworths Illusionarium.

To me it looks like the fountain is just getting some maintenance. I might be wrong and it might be that they're making changes to it. However if it's just maintenance that's great as far as I'm concerned. It's always good to see things taken good care of.

A few photos I took today. The main Wiggles World sign has gone. Are they going to re-theme that area perhaps?

Ahh. Now I see! I'll have to re-watch Jurassic Park so I can really appreciate that.

What? That makes no sense to me.

They could make a small start by dropping the "buy 3 get 1 free" on VIP passes. It's insane, and I doubt it achieves anything much for the parks.

Coming from Adelaide has given me a very different perspective than someone who's lived here all their lives I suppose. In Adelaide, the closest thing they have to theme parks is the Royal Show, which is only one week a year and very expensive as you have to pay around $20 for entry, then pay anywhere between $8 and $20 for each ride you go on. Considering it's just one "park", and realistically most people only go once a year, that's in stark contrast to what we have here in Queensland (which also includes Ekka of course). Other than that, the only permanent things that remotely resemble a sort of theme park style attraction are: - The Beachouse which is really an amusement arcade with a few simple waterslides, and you pay per ride / game, and - Greenhills Adventure Park, which is a somewhat run-down park with mini-golf, golf, archery, canoes and pedalos, and a maze. Plus there's go-karts and rock climbing if you're willing to pay extra once you're in. Entry costs $35 for a day entry, or $100 or an annual pass. The point I'm making is that maybe a lot of Queenslanders don't really appreciate quite how lucky they are to have such cheap and easy access to so many incredible fun things to do! Hence they may not appreciate that an annual pass to 3 theme parks is worth a lot more than $75!

If it were up to me it would be something like: Single day entry = $45 and Family day entry (2 adults 2 kids / 1 adult 3 kids) = $95 One week unlimited entry to all 3 parks = $100 Annual pass to one 1 park = $100 (upgrades available to convert to either of the below options = $20 more than the price difference) Annual pass to all 3 parks = $300 (can be purchased any time and validity starts on day of purchase) Annual pass upgrade to include night events = $50 per selected night event (maximum price $450 with all 3 night events). Annual pass upgrade to include unlimited buffet lunches = $200 All annual passes would enable the holder to use lockers at Wet & Wild for a $2 fee plus $10 refundable deposit each day. As an additional incentive to get the most expensive $450 pass, it would entitle the holder to 15% off all food, drink, and souvenir purchases, 15% off Australian Outback Spectacular tickets, and 15% off ride photos, fast track tickets, and special experiences such as Sea World helicopters and cruises, interactions with animals, and behind the scenes tours etc.

Wow! They didn't muck about did they? Having really enjoyed Professor Bogglesworths Illusionarium at Aussie World, I was hoping that building might be transformed into something similar! Oh well. It creates more space for new rides, so that's good hopefully.