Guest 239

The copyright and legal status of the Wizard of Oz is interesting. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that the film entered the public domain in Australia in 2009 (publication year + 70 years), and that it will do the same in the US in 2035 (95 years under U.S. copyright law). Considering most theme park attractions have a theoretical lifespan of 30 years, it’s fascinating that roughly two-thirds of The Wizard of Oz's lifespan in the park will coincide with its public domain status. That said, nearly all of the trademarks associated with the property—such as ride names and the logo—are registered under Turner Entertainment Co., not Village Roadshow. Since this land was the first of its kind and these elements were non-existent prior to 2023, doesn’t this mean Village effectively funded the creation and trademarking of these elements, which Turner now gets to benefit from? I get that licensing protects against others using the same branding, why wouldn’t names like "Kansas Twister" and "Flight of the Wicked Witch" be registered under Village instead? Paying licensing fees to a third-party company for something so generic seems unnecessarily restrictive. It’s interesting to consider how Village may have enabled Turner and Warner Bros. to maintain a stranglehold over a property that is already in the public domain in Australia and will soon be in the public domain in the U.S., with no significant long-term benefit for Village aside from the initial right to build the land. With the rise in popularity of Wicked under Universal and Disney’s past involvement in the property (Oz: The Great and Powerful), this may have been Turner’s opportunity to solidify control over the property and its branding ahead of broader public domain access.

Correct.

This isn't just an Australian thing. Amusement parks internationally get constant negative attention and I doubt most people overseas even remember or know about the DW incident. I'd imagine it's because most people think rides and coasters are death traps. We know they aren't, but check the comments of any park emergency and there is always some boomer arguing to close them down. Maybe the DW incident stoked the flames a bit more here, but the same fearmongering headlines and news reports can be seen globally.

I haven't seen this before. More information here: https://earthstory.com.au/portfolio-dreamworld-jungle-rush.html

That sounds about right. They had a lot of operational problems whilst we were there from rides randomly going down to a park wide fire alarm that halted everything for like 30 minutes.

Genting SkyWorlds is an excellent park and it looks like you visited on a beautiful day! When we went it alternated between rain and cloud every 20 minutes which seemed fairly normal talking to the staff. That's a shame. Considering the height, theming, and a little surprise before the launch, the Spaceshot is one of the best I've ever experienced.

That's a great idea. Something similar to 'Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular' but with WB IPs? It could make for a really engaging and dynamic show. Some smaller live experiences around the park would really help for capacity as well. The horror make up show at Universal Studios Orlando is a great example of a smaller scale show that can eat crowds and only needs a few performers.

If you've gone so far to go to Orlando my recommendation would be to at least try to get to all the parks even if only for a little while. If you plan it well you can do a majority of the attractions and night time spectaculars across WDW over three days. Disney and Universal just do things differently and it's something worth experiencing at least once.

If it was anymore complicated then its opening would be delayed for a year.

The guest feedback wins again with Australia replacing yet another attraction with shaded seating.

Not sure when it was changed but the website has been updated to simply say 'Coming Soon' instead of 'April, 2024'. Village projects are cursed.

Dreamworld showcasing the fountains on their socials. They go HIGH.

No. But I'm hoping the fountains look nice.

It's a giant rotating parasol with seats suspended from it. It's not just shaded seating; it's THE shaded seating.

Friends only limit your coaster count potential.