themagician

Looks like the lighting is actually begin replaced entirely and will be much more suitable for the ride and the park as a whole. I think it should’ve been like this from the beginning, but great to see they’ve made the change.

And for the first few years of operations Rivals never really had an issue with just two trains. In peak periods they operate both and in off-peak they operate with one. The dispatches were efficient which meant the queue would move quickly and there wouldn’t be stacking (or at least it would be minimal). Throwing more money at the ride to get a third train ain’t going to make things any better. Dispatches won’t be any quicker than either two trains. And yes having a third train will mean they always have at least two trains available, but what the park needs to do is have better management with their maintenance to ensure they always have the spare parts required and to never have the second train unavailable during those peak periods. Village threw more money at Wizard of Oz to try make it better ($100 million if anyone needs reminding) and look how that’s turned out. Throwing money at things ain’t always the answer… take Dreamworld over the past 4 years for example.

@Sammus77 was this above issue still present?

The event is back again on May 10 and is passholder exclusive for $10. https://www.dreamworld.com.au/events/after-dark/

An industry expert says the aviation watchdog should have identified the faulty radio that contributed to a fatal mid-air helicopter crash at Sea World on the Gold Coast. In a report released on Wednesday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found a litany of safety issues led to the joy-flight collision, which claimed the lives of four people and injured nine others on the Southport Broadwater in 2023. Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ashley Jenkinson, New South Wales woman Vanessa Tadros, and UK couple Diane and Ron Hughes died when the two choppers crashed into each other as one took off and the other came in to land. Three passengers — including two children — were critically injured in the tragedy. The ATSB report found a faulty radio antenna in part led to the crash, along with the placement of a new helipad, which created a "conflict point" for the aircraft. Investigators found it was likely Mr Jenkinson made a taxiing radio call to incoming pilot Mr James but it was unclear if it was ever received. The report found the radio system in the helicopter being flown by Mr Jenkinson had "defects that limited transmission range", and "it is almost certain that a taxi call was not successfully broadcast". The report said pilots largely relied on a "see-and-avoid" strategy to judge the distance between the helicopters. 'Shouldn't have operated with faulty radio' Neil Hansford, who is an international aviation consultant, said issues with the radio transmission should have been enough to ground the operation. Neil Hansford says radios should always be sending and receiving signals.(ABC News) "It's a motherhood issue that the radios are sending and receiving, let alone in a tight, high-volume, short turn-around operation like this," he said. "If anything should have been working with a full function, it's the radios and if the radios aren't working, it shouldn't have operated." According to the ATSB report, Sea World Helicopters ran high-frequency, low-duration flights. In the two weeks prior to the accident, the route where the collision occurred was traversed more than 200 times, the report said. Mr Hansford said issues with the radio should have been identified by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in routine inspections of the joy-flight operator. "CASA has an absolute responsibility, at law and by regulation, that all of its operators throughout Australia operate to the approved operating procedures," he said. "In the end, CASA allowed this operation. They had a responsibility to supervise it and there was an activity that was not compliant because the radio calling was deficient." In a statement, Sea World Helicopters said the accident was a "devastating tragedy". "Our deepest sympathies rest with the victims, their families, and our staff who have been profoundly impacted by it," the operator said. The company acknowledged the ATSB's recommendations and said it would "respond within the allocated time frame". "The accident occurred within a compliant and professionally-managed organisation, which exceeded the minimum regulatory requirements of the general aviation sector," the statement said. "Our company maintains robust safety systems, dedicated support staff and rigorous oversight protocols to uphold the highest standards of aviation safety." It said the operator remained "committed to consistently evolving our safety measures". CASA regularly audits Sea World A CASA spokesperson said in a statement it welcomed the ATSB report and "will review it in detail for potential safety improvements that can be adopted in addition to action we've already taken". It said action already taken included regulatory, oversight and compliance monitoring of Sea World Helicopters. "As part of that oversight, CASA conducts routine operational surveillance to ensure the company is complying with regulatory requirements and company procedures, the last audit being completed in October 2024," the spokesperson said. "CASA is satisfied Sea World Helicopters is complying with relevant regulations to conduct passenger flights." CASA also conducted a review of the airspace around Southport following the tragedy, which "found it was appropriate and safe". There has also been an update to passenger safety information regarding the fitting of multi-point restraints when fitted with constant wear life jackets, the CASA spokesperson said. https://amp.abc.net.au/article/105157454

There wasn’t and I’m in the two minds about the app. Yes it’s helpful at Village because it’s one app for 4 parks, while for DW it would just be for 2 (and one of them isn’t open half the year). I find their new website very mobile friendly and easy to use and is almost just as easy to access as an app. If they weren’t going to have an app, I think having the wait times on the screens throughout the park would be the way to go (like many parks across the world do). They’ve already got a screen on Main Street, just add another in Ocean Parade, near Giant Drop and maybe somewhere at the back of the park. This screen can then also show showtimes and character meet-n-greets. It doesn’t even need to be as big as the Main Street one, just a larger vertical TV presented nicely.

They already need to start rethinking

Superman Escape has now reopened. It’s interesting that they still haven’t made the changes to the lockers and queue setup. Have they either backflipped on this idea or will we see the ride close for a major refurb and they’ll complete the works then…

I remember the days when they did this! I think it was in the early 2010s they would open the park 30-45 minutes early for passholders and they generally opened BuzzSaw, The Claw, Shockwave and maybe a couple of the Dreamworks rides. This would be great to see them bring back.

Village Roadshow’s COO Bikash Randhawa has resigned after 30 years with the company. There’s a paywall, so if anyone can access and share the full article please and thanks! https://www.themercury.com.au/news/gold-coast/village-roadshow-theme-parks-chief-operating-officer-bikash-randhawa-departs/news-story/deff894777c9475689674d50b0835dbe

The track didn’t arrive until around Easter 2023, almost two years after the track arrived at Gumbuya for TNT

It seems like they only operate both trains in peak season and maybe busy weekends.

There was paint peeling after only 3 days, but indeed after 3 months it’s gotten much worse

I’d say they have a timeframe, but they’d rather not publicly say what it was because it could change. I think they’re wanting to finish everything off with Rivertown first before reinstating the train track. As we know, the laid asphalt behind the restaurant to make it level for pedestrian and vehicle access. So the reason they can’t provide a timeframe is because the timeframe for finishing Rivertown is unknown because things are still be delivered for install.

Sea World “We’re closing down Trident for all of 2024 to improve its reliability” Sea World in 2025 - extends Trident maintenance schedule by a month

It appears the only attractions impacted by the Cyclone are Calypso Beach, Constrictor and River Rapids at WnW. Jet Rescue at Sea World is also temporarily closed, but not sure if that’s because of the cyclone or not.

Paradise Country and Farmstay will now be opening Wednesday

Dreamworld will also reopen on Wednesday

All Village properties will be reopening on Wednesday, however Paradise Country will remain closed until further notice as they continue the clean up.

Village parks have delayed their reopening until Wednesday

Dreamworld have also confirmed they’ll be closed this weekend and will make an announcement on Sunday about when they’ll reopen

For everyone's reference, these are the tie down points