downunder196

It was pretty good, got nothing much else to share.

Out of curiosity, what extra training would have been required for 2 train operation? Doesn't the computer do everything for you?

There are young people working in the states (younger than some operators here) who work on almost a third of the wages who seem to enjoy their jobs a hell of a lot more and work a LOT more faster. I'm talking parks like SFMM and that has nothing to do with budgets. You can have a tiny family owned park with a lot more efficient operations than a multi billion dollar resort. I have personally never worked at a park but I can only assume operators shouldn't be chatting about their weekend over a roller coaster car while everyone is waiting to be dispatched. I honestly don't see the need for all the sarcasm. Our parks can do better and their is no reason they can't. They shouldn't be stepping up their game for busy events like Fright Nights, they should be efficient all year round no matter what the crowds are like.

Tomorrow is opening night! Is there anything else you guys would like me to ask in the Q&A tomorrow night?

Not sure if anyone remembers but when it first opened they would run an extended cycle if you asked and there wasn't a long line. Then they got complaints and now they aren't allowed to run them under any circumstances. The extended cycle definitely made the ride better from a length sense anyway.

When you have a '15 minutes from this point' sign 2 metres from the front of the line (where they admit riders to gates) you know there is something wrong with the capacity. There is literally nothing else to say about it. If you want to talk about single riders at WBMW then look at SE. When they have 2 trains running they call for single riders at least once every train so you can ride within 10 minutes. In a 40 minutes queue I rode 3 times in 45 minutes...

Nope, they're free spinning. X2 and Eejanaika on the other hand are controlled (not by magnets though).

Spinning coasters, zac spins, bobsled coasters, flying turns all provide different experiences each time if they count?

Well if they were worried about giving anything away they could always set up a TV in the VIP lounge. I know I'd rather watch people get scared while sitting down with food rather than being huddled in a dark corner.

Especially with an unlimited front of the line pass why would you watch from outside when you could walk through continuously anyway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk

Thought this would be an interesting topic for discussion... If you could pick your top five (in any order) rides that any theme park should always have, totally opinion based, what would they be? Restricted to rides, not shows or food or anything else. I'll give an example: 1. Carousel 2. Looping steel coaster 3. Any water ride (rapids > log ride) 4. Extreme flat ride (spin n spew) 5. Dark ride

When you look at the mazes from above the show stage is a really awkward shape unlike the sound stages which are giant rectangles. This makes it hard for larger scenes to be included like the caravan park from Walking Dead last year. I personally thought the hillbilly maze last year was really well done, I don't understand what issues people have with it.

I think you'd be surprised how many people wouldn't be interested in an annual pass yet aren't interested in spending $90+ for 1 day.

I still think you all need to be patient and wait until the summer of 2017/18.... With the Commonwealth Games coming to the Gold Coast what better time than to make a large investment to take away the potential visitors from the competition just down the street. I think we'll get something big, not a B&M but not a skyloop.

As much as all of our rides have pathetically slow operations I do think MW do a very good job in peak periods. Just visit Fright Nights and go on SE and GL to see how quickly they churn through guests. It's just a shame they don't do it all year around. But in saying this, I have never seen anyone get close to the operations of California Screamin' in DCA, even on the quietest days they are ridiculously quick (and still would be without the 2nd platform). Also, with the ticket prices I honestly think they would be more successful if the lowered entry prices for a single day to around 50-60 dollars and made VIP passes closer to $150. It's obviously not what we'd like to see but I think they'd get a lot more local visitors because $90+ for 1 day is pretty steep.

We begin just after where the walkway crosses the rapids ride... The walkway hasn't been touched up to the point where the stairs go to ground level just in front of the GD. The rest of the walkway looks better though. All the way to Rocky Hollow. Back over at the rapids and the fence has been completely finished. You now get a much better view of the ride, and can also get wet much more easily. If you would like to see the photos in their full resolution check out the link in my signature.

I think there's going to be a stunt show again.

I can't confirm as such but the area in that photo is from the walk way near the train station so I think it has always been there under the ride. Through there, they wouldn't have had gates that big backing onto the ride.

Last night at Screamworld there were 2 power outages which forced Tailspin, Skadoosh and The Claw to close for a small period of time (although Tailspin didn't open again). Maybe there was another power outage which caused them to stop. EDIT: Just realised the date.... still a possibility though

Stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland Paris when I was 3, what a joyful experience...

For some reason, I don't think a maze will be behind WWF... On the other hand, I saw this at Scooby during HSD2. That could mean 1 of 2 things, I'm sure you could figure them out. But no I didn't go inside and have a look sadly. These were taken yesterday morning for anyone asking. You can see the full resolution photos through the link in my signature.

Here is part one of the photos which I took yesterday for you guys. Lets have a look at how out favourite SBNO ride is going! Pretty well from an income point of view... They've really gone all out with the theming. Well, at least they tried. It's a sad sight. They didn't even bother with the controls. But it is being used for something... So don't piss it off. Not much else to see. Headed over to MDMC but unfortunately the line was down the bottom of the ramp and I wasn't interested in waiting so no pictures of the queue for you guys. Nothing else has changed though so nothing else to report on. All there is to know is that one you get to the top of the ramp you can access the sidecar/parents queue on the left or continue through the general line which goes to the right. Then it eventually splits off with the general queue being in the old pole position line and single riders being in the centre aisle. Sorry again for not getting a picture of this. On a side note, the Fun Police was at Screamworld and due to it being uncharacteristically quiet he was very noticeable and quiet obnoxious. Went past him once through the day but he didn't seem too bad. I guess having a flashing light on his head and flicking lights down the Segway didn't help the cause. Also saw Kenny and Belinda dancing on the back of a buggy thing to some music which was pretty cool. It only lasted a few minutes as they only did a loop of the fountain and Ocean Parade then left, didn't even stop for photos (to my knowledge). Anyway, I'll try to get some photos up soon from the GD walkways and the Rapids ride's fence but I have been busy lately so I may not get a chance till tomorrow. As always, check the link in my signature if you would like to see the full resolution photos.

There was nothing much to darkness last year, just a bunch of wooden walls and a few curtains put up. It could easily be done, just look at the HHN's clown maze. It's not too extravagant with theming but it gets the job done. Don't be surprised if it is used.