themagician

It’s a miracle!

They probably want that too, but considering at a higher level they decided to change the park to only be operational seasonally, it doesn't make sense to have someone who is purely in charge on running WWW. Yes, they could change the park back to being open all year round, but right now for Coast Entertainment it doesn't really make sense to have it open during the Winter. They wouldn't be running the park at a profit if that was the case. I would argue it should definitely be open more than it is, but closing after Easter and reopening in September makes sense (just look how quiet WnW can be during the Winter). As said in the interview, WWW's time will come, but right now it just isn't the focus. Yes the focus can be split accordingly, but to Dapto's point...

This has since been updated so it is a part of Main Street

It’ll be likely be for weight purposes. The new track isn’t flat, there’s slight up and downs and so the weight will ensure that the vehicles can make its way through the whole circuit without troubles

In a photo shared by DW Golden Years you can see at the front of the car they’ve changed the bonnet as it used to be the solid green colour to match the rest of the car

Late January*

They do. It’s under the maintenance schedule page. https://movieworld.com.au/park-info/maintenance-schedule In February we usually see Superman Escape and the Batwing Spaceshot close.

But with a roof and theming like they had originally shown in the concept artwork for the ride?

That’s a good thing! You don’t want to see a smoke machine. If you look closely there are a couple of pipes a few hundred millimetres above the floor in the tunnel that could house the machines

The ride is in testing, so if there is smoke they probably wouldn’t bother turning it on for testing.

Nope!

I think he’s saying because Summer has now started, it should be open everyday from today Which I 100% agree with!

Because there is only one on the track, they could be using it to test out the guide track while construction is still happening so they don’t get damaged. A potential way to help speed up the process so they can meet the 2024 deadline.

Not exactly. They are a fail safe if somehow the harnesses unlock during the ride, the seatbelt will keep it in place so the rider doesn’t get injured/killed. Nearly every coaster in the country has one and has always been the case. I doubt removing seatbelts would make that much difference, ops in Australia are just slow.

Jaggs Journeys has just shared an update on their socials and it's very impressive how quickly it's changed this week alone. Guard track for motors is in and external theming for the land looks to be almost done.

And it still does, they just need to spend the money! The proposed action/adventure river ride was going to the cost the company so much to build and then to operate it would've cost even more. It was never a good idea, especially in a time when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. But a traditional lazy river would do the park wonders and if they design it right, they can minimise the amount of life guards required because that's probably the driver for having not already building one.

A couple days ago when the new website launched, the map didn't include the coloured sections and the park map page doesn't show this either https://www.dreamworld.com.au/park-information/park-map For now! Considering the ride and attraction page lists Motocoaster as being a part of Main Street, but the map on the home page shows its part of Rivertown, I think its safe to assume it will be rethemed and become part of Rivertown at some stage (which we mostly assumed would be happening anyways). It's much easier to change that land label for the ride than it is to change it on a map.

It's already 5 years old! To summaries the timeline of the parks new additions: WhiteWater World: 2006 Little Rippers: 2007 The Wedgie: Opens in 2010, Closes in 2021 (Officially Closes in 2023) Triple Vortex: 2014, Closes in 2021 (Officially Closes/Reopening TBC) Fully 6: 2019, Slides 2 & 3 Close in 2021 (Reopening TBC) So since the park officially opened they have gained two attractions and one of them is only half open.

I get the feeling it’s just not been their priority and they’ve really just put all their efforts into DW. Which doesn’t mean they should just let it operate with no effort to improve or make people want to visit. I really hope the company starts to focus on WWW after (before would be great) King Claw opens because it turns 20 into 2026 and it really hasn’t changed that much during that time.

With the Dreamworld website refresh, it's made WWW even less obvious that it exists. On the home page, there's no obvious mention of the park (except for a small logo at the very bottom). It has been listed as a 'world' and they have the slides within 'rides and attractions', but you have to go looking for them. And it's own park map has now been removed. It certainly comes across that they don't want people to visit because it's hardly open and they aren't trying to sell it to make people want to visit. This confuses me too because they could at least open from lunch time until 5 or even 6 so people can go after school. The park will be open every day from Dec 15, but most private schools are already on holidays and the senior year levels at public schools have mostly finished too. Having closed Wedgie, Triple Vortex hasn't operated for several years and Fully 6 is still Fully 4. I get they have been focusing on getting DW right, but they've really left WWW behind since they repainted all of the slides (which was 100% worth it, but that's not enough).

This does look like it's an AI generated image that might have been used internally as part of developing the concept/story for the land/ride. Which is probably why it wasn't ever released and the fact it's hidden deep within the website means it's probably not to be looked into/judged too deeply.

They could at least open the park at 9am and keep WWW open until 7pm. Or just not have the markets for that week after Christmas and have the park until 9am to 7pm to handle the busiest week of the year for the parks. It’s pretty disappointing they don’t.

I think this is the most exciting part of the article.

Honestly, that’s pretty good. Some people go to uni for 5+ years and are on less (for the first few years of their career)

From friendly staff service to lush landscaping to shiny new attractions, there is an atmosphere of pride and excitement at this Gold Coast icon. Maybe it’s the impending opening of a new $55 million precinct at the theme park, now just weeks away, with crews busily working behind the scenes to bring the new state-of-the-art rollercoaster and vintage car ride to completion. Or maybe it’s actual Magic. On this weekday morning, the Coomera park is playing host to Disney guru Randy Garfield, as he brings his Magic Kingdom touch to our own Dreamworld. The former president of the Walt Disney Travel Company and executive vice president for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products played a significant role in creating the largest period of expansion in the history of the Disney Theme Parks and Resorts segment, which grew from $4.5B to $14.1B during his 20-year tenure. Mr Garfield helped launch the Disney Cruise Line, opened five Disney theme parks and 27 new resorts, as well as spending seven years as a top executive with Universal Studios where he opened theme parks and resort destinations in California and Florida. And now he’s on the board of directors for Dreamworld’s parent company Coast Entertainment Holdings (formerly Ardent Leisure). Back on the Gold Coast for his first visit in almost five years, Mr Garfield is thrilled with what he’s seen. But then, the 72-year-old has always believed in the promise of Dreamworld. “I retired from Disney in 2014 and I joined the Ardent board in 2017,” said Mr Garfield, who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York and is based between the US and Canada. “I’ve been asked to be on plenty of boards since my retirement but I’m very selective about what I do these days. I’m here because I believe in it. I believe in (CEO) Greg Yong and (Coast Entertainment chairman) Gary Weiss and their teams. They are passionate about this. “Not only are they creating great guest experiences but they’re really doing it for their employees as well, they are creating an incredible company culture, which means they deliver an incredible guest experience. “No matter how well something is built or how great something looks, at the end of the day it’s delivered by people “Rides and shows are a major element but if it’s not being delivered by caring cast members engaging with great guest service orientation, you don’t optimise the product.” Mr Garfield said he was well aware of Dreamworld’s tragic history, when four guests were killed after a malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016. However, he said the challenge of overcoming that tragedy, while still paying respect to the victims, family and community, was part of what attracted him to work with the theme park. “When I was asked whether I would like to be considered as a board member, I knew this awful event had occurred that emotionally touched the heartstrings of the community because this is a product that people grew up with, this has been their kids’ playground. “But I like a challenge, so I came down here (to Australia) to take a look and I thought, my God, what a great portfolio. “Dreamworld is not the only holding but it is the heart and soul, but it needed what I would call a spit and polish. Still, the bones were great. “I looked at the source markets and thought, hey, I can add some value. “I came into this position with the mindset to restore Dreamworld to its greatness, to invest, to build new product, to make sure it’s timeless and recapture the heart and soul that people love, but that was interrupted and injured by tragedy.” Based in North America, where he is also on the board of directors for Destination Canada, the US Travel Association and the Rocky Mountaineer luxury rail line, Mr Garfield said he had not been back at Dreamworld since the pandemic. He said what had been achieved in those years exceeded his expectations. “The new product here is incredible, and I can feel it with the vibe of the staff – people are energised and excited. This is the restoration of the company they love,” he said. “The issue has been, without diminishing the emotional trauma of staff and residents, it takes a long time to move beyond that but the progress made has been outstanding and each achievement creates a little more distance and healing. “Now we have a new product opening in the next month or so and it is just unbelievable. With the quality of the theming, the attention to detail, the physical site and the ride itself, it’s different from anything Disney has but just as good. And I mean that. “Nothing in this country comes close to what you’re about to see.” In fact, navigating obstacles is part of Mr Garfield’s skillset, something he proved resoundingly during his career. He said one of the greatest challenges he faced was during his time working for Universal Studio as it launched its Florida theme park. “When we launched Universal in Orlando, that was operating in enemy territory because Disney World was everything, no one wanted to hear about you,” he said. “But I’m pretty adept at guerrilla warfare. “I knew we couldn’t compete with Disney’s source markets because they had hotels and resorts, all I had was one theme park. So I decided instead of trying to generate demand to the market, I would let Disney and the Florida tourism boards do that, and I’d try to carve a day out from those markets for Universal. “Disney was the host, I was the parasite. “I bought up all the outdoor ads, giant billboards, which Disney never touched so that the tourists coming into town would see what we had to offer. “Then I went to the publisher of the in-flight magazine for Delta Airlines, which was Disney’s official airline, to buy an ad – but I knew I couldn’t go to a representative in Florida or California, they wouldn’t take Universal dollars, so I found one in Arizona who had no idea and I bought three years’ worth of ads. “When I joined Disney later, I found out that when their executives first got on a Delta flight and saw that inside cover double-page ad for Universal they almost had a heart attack. But there was nothing they could do because I had a contract. “I have a philosophy when it comes to business – get comfortable with change. Either get comfortable with being uncomfortable, or get comfortable with being irrelevant.” Mr Garfield said the last 25 years have seen plenty of ‘uncomfortable’ moments for tourism operators, from the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the pandemic, and those who could change were the survivors. However, he said a thriving industry was incredibly important, not just for businesses, but the world itself. “We’ve seen a remarkable bounce back from events like 9/11 and the pandemic, and part of that was those events have been a reminder it’s reminded us to take the time to make memories with family,” he said. “I’ve always believed that tourism is a force for world peace. I’ve felt that way ever since, as a young man, I went to Tijuana, Mexico. It had been described to me as a place of poverty and debauchery, but I got there and realised people there were just like me – they want a better life for their kids, safety and security. Then I went to China in 1980s and it was the same thing. “Tourism teaches you to base your perceptions on reality, not the media and politics, and it can change the world. Look at South Africa before and after apartheid, tourism changed the face of that country positively and it helps create a push for change. “Tourism is what can unite us all.” For Randy Garfield, it really is a dream world.