DWP

I'm guessing not but are there any videos out there on the interwebs of rides not in their "usual state" ie the lights on Scooby video or rides breaking down on camera etc.?

Thanks once again on the insights guys. Really interesting stuff. Was wondering how a walk through of a coaster like SE would work? The indoor bits to check would be straight forward i'm guessing but what about the outdoor bits of the track? Do they only usually get checked for cracks etc during maintenance times?

Thanks Spotty for your answers and your insights into the life of a ride op/theme park employee. From the sound of things VRTP and Ardent are like most giant corporations with questionable management decisions and things that could be run better and generally unworkable budget/wage demands (cut costs, increase profits etc etc) and filled with great people to work with and the ones you can't stand to be around Many times I've dreamt after having a particulary bad day at work, how cool it would be to work at a theme park but the reality is that just about every job has it's up's and down's and parts of the job that are unbearable to perform and the moments of joy that can happen every now and then. Another question is do they train new ride ops before/after hours on the ins and outs of the ride or is it all done 'on the job' as it were?

Completely understand that you can't talk about incidents that have happened at MW Spotty but have there being incidents where the media didn't pick up on/find out about that would have had management saying "whew! we dodged a bullet there" And back to things you can talk about in regards to Superman Escape are there differing speed levels that the ride can be launched at or is it always the same set speed everytime?

Totally agree Alex as the 'behind the scenes' info is fascinating. Spotty's info combined with that lights on POV Scooby video gives that ride a fresh perspective

Thanks Jobe for that very interesting info on the Luna Park noise amendment act which I was unaware of. As you said LPS could put anything they want in but trying to keep the peace with the residents is likely a very smart move on their part and that Maurer Sohne Spinner ride you mentioned looks fantastic and would fit in very well in the Tumble Bug spot. Only question would be is how expensive a MS Spinner would cost LPS. Any one have any idea how much they typically cost?

Just watched a video of the GL at Magic Mountain and i'd imagine there'd be 0% chance of getting a ride like that in the Tumble Bug spot at LPS, not because of the ride footprint of it but from both the height of the ride as that area is right next to the apartments and the noise from screams would also count against the ride much like how the Big Dipper's fate was sealed. My guess is only flat rides could be in that spot to keep the residents happy

Was there today and got food from the Wild West Roadhouse I believe it's called and much preferred it to the Gotham Cafe food selection. And yeah you'll have no problem getting through all the rides as did the full circuit of rides in about an hour and a half and then went for several more rounds on my favourites as was practically walk up on certain rides during the day

Ah I see. I must have been unlucky my last time then

Was at Dreamworld today and was surprised that both the Vintage cars and the "steam" train were running as I thought they were weekend only attractions but perhaps with the $30 for 30 days promotion they're keeping everything open. And it looks like that promotion was doing ok as there was quite a few people for a weekday (certainly more than the last time I was there in September) and from what I saw every ride and section was still open until closing time (apart from Giant Drop which closed as advertised at 4) Although they really need to have more people serving at the (pretty much only place open) food place as the 2 staff there were painfully slow and several people walking off in anger at the wait Lastly was sad seeing a few times Reef Diver just sitting there empty waiting for people to ride it while every other ride regularly busy. Guess it was justified in getting rid of it

Agreed as last year when I was a Theme park 'virgin' well when it came to the Gold Coast parks at least, I was excited to see MDMC as it was a unique style of ride but was underwhelmed by it after riding it. Was skeptical of Jet Rescue at SW when I saw it thinking it was going to be more of the same but that thing blew away MDMC. I agree that MDMC isn't a bad ride but it's just missing that something to push it over the top

The log flume was a holiday only ride of about 2 years ago I believe and long gone now. In that space now is a small kids kinda version of Shockwave (kinda not really but the closest example i can think of) and they had the Freak Out in that same area for it's holiday run which ended recently, so there's def space there for a permanent ride but as always at Luna Park hard to do much with the apartments right next to it all. On a side note was at a concert at the Big Top last week and they opened up the Tumblebug area for people to smoke/drink which was a nice touch but obviously the Bug wasn't running

When i made the trip to Dreamworld I have to admit the only turbine I noticed was when I was exiting Cyclone and thought to myself "why the bloody hell is there a giant turbine thing here?"

It was interesting as I made my first ever theme park trip to the Gold Coast last year and going into it I had a pre conceived notion that Dreamworld was the no 1 theme park to go to but by the end of my trip and after doing all 4 parks I realised that Movie World was in fact the better one even though my pre conceived notion of that park was it was a bit too "kiddie" but I was pleasantly proved wrong. In saying that I enjoyed Dreamworld a lot and liked the rides but was left feeling a tad underwhelmed by the place and that was even before I knew of this site and subsequently then reading about the various things that had gone or were SBNO at the place as it really seems a lot of the original charm of the park has gone

Cheers for the info Spotty. On that note does anyone know who owns or is in control of Dino Island that's leaving Sea World and seemingly going to the Easter Show?

Not sure who owns the Freak Out as doesn't appear to be a Goldenway one according to their website but I do know it's made by KMG. And judging by the picture on their website I think the Speed 2 ride was at the recent Aviici concert in Sydney

Hello Parkz forum. Long time lurker of this forum and thought I'd jump in and join the fun I received an email the other day promoting this year's Sydney Royal Easter Show and I noticed that 2 of the new attractions for this year's show are the "Freak Out" ride that had just finished it's holiday run at Luna Park which is a great ride BTW and should be a permanent fixture at the park but that's another issue but more interestingly it seems that when Dinosaur Island closes at the end of this month at Sea World, it'll be transported down to Sydney for the show. Not sure that the entire exhibit is coming but I'm suprised that the organisers are seemingly going to spend a fair bit of cash to bring these in for a 2 week and a bit show as it doesn't sound terribly cost effective as prople will be going to the show regardless if these attractions are there or not but it's nice to see them thinking outside the box a little