aaronm

I don't think WWF needs to go anywhere - although it would certainly benefit from a long-term refurb to refresh the theming. Movie World could certainly expand into that land next to WWF and behind Arkham and Scooby. There are a few buildings there, but I think they are mostly maintenance and support buildings at the moment. The park definitely needs another family ride, something along the lines of, I don't know, a boat ride themed to Looney Tunes perhaps?

If the kids are into thrills, you can get a lot done in the Pennsylvania/Virginia/New Jersey area - plenty of good quality parks within driving distance of each other (Knoebels, Hersheypark, Great Adventure, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens). Plenty to see outside of theme parks in that area too.

^From memory that survey had a non-disclosure agreement attached to it. Would hate for VRTP to stop sharing these concepts with us because they end up just posted on forums.

Basically I'm hanging out for an updated version of the Police Academy stunt show. I know, dreaming. But if they're going to go ahead with another quasi-ripoff of Lights, Motors, Action hopefully it'll have a bit more content and less filler.

Motorsport area? As if Dreamworld didn't attract enough bogans already...

A spinning mouse might work, could even go with a custom layout and keep the gold mine theme. Or a "high thrill" spinner like Bakken's Tornado, which I hear is quite intense.

Well, there's a first time for everything, and a five month rehab for a Top Spin seems a very long time. Dreamworld's staggered daily ride openings and closings suggests they are looking for cost savings wherever they can at the moment. I hope it's not the case and they're using the time to re-fit or fix the water effects that were present at the ride's debut. Would be great to see the ride looking like new again.

Wipeout looks more like it's down for cost savings than maintenance.

^Maybe (and it's a big maybe) Disney would put an Aulani-type resort somewhere further north, but short of them buying Hamilton Island I seriously doubt it.

Knowing Dreamworld, they'd probably buy some old Togo trains and convert Cyclone into a standup on the cheap.

Also - three weeks for the frog hopper? What's up with that?

This is what I was getting at - there is a general assumption in the theme park industry that the Asian public prefer mild thrills and shows over more extreme rides. I'm not saying it's necessarily true, just putting it out there as a reason why Dreamworld would add experiences rather than rides.

Dæmonen was the one that sprung to my mind as well. Put it in the carpark for all I care. Honestly think a new theme park in Melbourne or Sydney is more likely than a big full-circuit coaster at Dreamworld anytime soon. Dreamworld are clearly targeting the Asian market with their Aussie animal and Aboriginal culture experiences, and apparently Asians don't care much for thrill rides.

Yes, it could be any number of things that wouldn't be part of the usual annual maintenance - repainting the track/supports, replacing the launch cable, fixing the dark ride portion, for example.

^I'd replace Magic Mountain with Cedar Point and Disneyland Paris with Busch Gardens Williamsburg, but otherwise that looks like a pretty good list. Dreamworld should be nowhere near the top 50.

^Good point. And the numbers are even more in favour of the local parks when you consider the cost of an annual pass relative to wages, rather than a one-day ticket. Florida minimum wage is currently $7.80 an hour, WDW annual pass is $550. So over 70 hours' wage, whereas a MW/WnW/SW VIP Pass would only be about six hours' wage for a worker on the Australian minimum wage.

^Teenagers, right? I thought the minimum wage for adults was closer to $16.

^Wages would be a huge factor. I remember looking at a job application form for Waldameer last year, their starting rate was something like $6.50/hour. Granted this is probably OK if you're just a kid earning some extra pocket money, but it's not a living wage by any means, and probably close to a third of what an adult staff member would earn at an Aussie park.

The parks could save a lot of money by closing on Tuesday/Wednesdays in the off season and open longer hours on Friday/Saturday nights. Village could even bump their crowds around a little more strategically by closing Movie World on Tuesday, Sea World on Wednesday, Wet n Wild on Thursday etc. Basically would give them a day each week for minor maintenance and a regular day off for the full timers.

Geez. As if Dreamworld need another reason to pat themselves on the back for doing a mediocre job...

^I think that's a pretty standard disclaimer these days, have seen it on a few coasters.

So this 'best theme parks list' doesn't include Tokyo Disneyland, and wedges Dreamworld in between WDW and Europa Park. And Wisconsin Dells? Seriously? Umm...

I notice they even had some at California Adventure last time I was there! I think most guests just ignore the carny games. Of course, if Sea World went all out and really made the games look like they belonged in the park, put some theming around them etc, it would be a different matter. But kind of annoying that the park is paying people to staff those booths when just one extra ride op on Jet Rescue or Sea Viper would make a huge difference to wait times.

155k passes at ~$110 each (rough average of Gold & Silver price) equals $17m in annual pass revenue. Not bad for a park that only cost $120m. And that's before daily tickets, food, parking, fastpass sales, merch etc. They are raking it in! Operational issues are disappointing, not much that can be done about staircase configuration right now but perhaps in the off-season they can do whatever construction is necessary to sort this out. Most park fans would know that the first season was always going to have issues, not sure if the general public will be very forgiving.

Assume it's kept shut to funnel people through the food court. Seriously that park is like a maze.