jhunt2

I couldn't see the images for some reason, but I think conflating Sea World's ability to demolish an entire monorail system with the NSW Government's is inherently flawed to begin with. And last I checked, the Sydney monorail still isn't completely removed 11 years later, so my point stands. Removing the whole thing is a stage-by-stage process, and the two outcomes I see happening are either it sits there being an eyesore, or SW finds enough funding to justify renovating it. I'm hoping for the latter.

See, here's my worry. With such an extensive layout literally circumnavigating the entire park, it's not a cheap demolition operation to get rid of the monorail. It'd be a technically complex process involving working around ride maintenance schedules and slowly tearing it apart section by section. To employ workers to do that, SW are going to have to invest quite a sum. Which means they won't do it until they're 1) in a financially secure enough position to invest that money, and 2) absolutely certain that it's the right decision, and that money wouldn't be better invested in renovating or replacing it. That means, in my mind, it's safe as long as the benefit of reopening it outweighs that rather tedious process of removing it. But what worries me is the third option, which Aussie parks are incredibly prone to: investing in neither, leaving it there and not talking about it. And that's what I think is looking most likely unfortunately. I hope it reopens, the benefit to the park is tremendous, but if it doesn't, I worry it's just going to sit around being an eyesore for years to come.

I didn't say anyone had. I said I can't see any reason why it wouldn't. I'm really not appreciating your choice to be argumentative with the point that you think I'm making instead of discussing my contributions on how they could add a new station or how it's sad to see it in its current state. Anyway, something that interests me about these photos is that there's still a bottle of sunscreen left there by the drivers, as well as what appears to be paperwork. The control panel is locked down but things seem to have been left with the expectation of operating again in the not-too-distant future. Which kinda makes me sad actually, they parked the monorail, expecting it to be down for just a little while during Atlantis construction, probably not knowing it would be years before anyone got back in that drivers' seat

Valid point when it comes to why it isn't in operation now, but I said I don't understand why they wouldn't bring it back, not why they haven't. I completely understand the reasons behind the current closure. Whether bringing it back entails a complete replacement, or new trains on the same track, or a different form of transport ride, or just a minor renovation, I can't see any reason that demolishing a full circuit of monorail track would be more financially viable in the medium-term than spending a bit of money on getting it operating again. It's obviously not a drawcard attraction in itself, but it does make the entire resort function much more effectively.

I really don't understand why they wouldn't bring it back. It links the resort and the rest of the park nicely, it's a good ride to get a scenic view of the park. They could maybe add another station around New Atlantis and that would bring the whole thing together as a brilliant transport ride. It's sad to see it in this state but the fact that it's still there gives me hope that they've got plans.

So, these popped up on RCDB at the start of the month All designed by a guy named Grant Telfer, who apparently also designed the human-powered coaster at Green Valley Farm. RCDB suggests there's one still operating in Keith SA, and one SBNO in Murray Bridge. Anyone know anything more about these?

August 2022 to January 2024 is still not 2+ years.

How is Summer 2024 two years away? That could either mean Jan-Feb 2024, which is six months away, or Dec 2024, which is 18 months.

I've heard this a lot with Mack PowerSplash being put forward too, but I really don't agree. I've been on a PowerSplash and while I wouldn't describe it as intense, it's definitely a thrill ride. They're big, fast, and intimidating to look at for younger riders. What Dreamworld lost with TRRR and RHLR is two great family water rides. Those were the two really brilliant rides that every family went on together, from the adults down to the kids. I don't think they have a ride like that currently, and I'd even say Jungle Rush might be a bit too much on the family-thrill end for families with smaller kids to do together. The closest I'd say they have currently to a "whole family ride" is Sky Voyager, but even that doesn't quite fit the bill. For me, yes, they need a new water ride, but it needs to refill that family ride gap. There are so many better thrill coasters they could build than a PowerSplash or Intamin Shuttle Water Coaster, they don't need the water ride excuse for that if they want a new big coaster. They need a flume or a shoot-the-chute, preferably well-themed, to be the new ride that every family flocks to together on a hot summer's day.

I went back in January - bad timing because of a number of coaster closures, but here are the parks I went to. - Lotte World: probably the park I'd recommend the most. This place is jaw-dropping. As Ogre already mentioned, it's Disney-esque in its level of detail and theming. Features Atlantis Adventure, which is a great coaster and really well-themed; French Revolution, possibly the best-themed Vekoma MK-1200 in the world; and don't sleep on Comet Express, one of the world's only Intamin Twist and Turns and actually a fun little coaster. This place had me dazzled all day, it's breathtaking in its scale and brilliance. It's very accessible from the Seoul Metro. - Everland: the obvious drawcard here is T Express, but this park is quite large and very beautiful with a good selection of rides. Also, don't miss the zoo and gardens, which are changed to a different theme every season. But of course, T Express is one of the most sought-after credits in the world, so it's worth the trip for that alone. About a 30-40 minute bus ride from Seoul. - Gyeongju World: a bit of a trek from anywhere you're likely to be visiting for any other reason, but it features a B&M Invert and a Dive Coaster. A pretty good-looking park as well, although I found it was by far the worst in Korea for its operations and upkeep. Gyeongju has a high-speed rail station, but it's another half hour or so by bus from the station to the park. Still, Phaethon and Draken would be worth the trip from Busan. - Lotte World Adventure Busan: a brand spanking new park by Lotte, opened in 2022. It features a Blue Fire clone and a PowerSplash. The park looks fantastic and definitely has the potential to live up to its sister park in Seoul, but it's a little sparse for the time being, which is forgivable since it only just opened. I'm sure it will expand gradually. Busan is a great city, and the park is a train ride from the city, so worth a stopover if you're there. - Seoul Land: the coasters here are awful (a couple of head-banging loopers, an abomination of a Wild Mouse that is baffling in its very existence, a Zamperla twin helix and a wacky worm), but the park itself is really very beautiful and has a large collection of rides and attractions. Entry is cheap and it's accessible from Seoul Metro, plus the location around it is absolutely picturesque, so it's worth a visit if you're looking for things to do. I also went to Grand Children's Park for the Vekoma SFC credit, but I would not recommend that for anything more than the credit. It's poorly maintained and runs rough.

RCDB is wrong on this. Hopkins & Pearce made 3 units - the one at LPS, and then two currently operating at parks in East Java in Indonesia. Aussie World's model was imported from the US, which is where Hopkins & Pearce first saw the Wild Mouse operating and bought the blueprints to build their own. So essentially, identical model, built by different manufacturers. All three of the Hopkins & Pearce clones still exist, although it's hard to know much about their current operating status with them being in Indonesia.

Sounds like a similar thing then, they basically work so well because each rider is actually boarding one at a time, and therefore attendants can just address issues to their face instead of hoping they listened to a general announcement. Obviously you're still going to have riders who struggle to board due to size, stature, mobility, nervousness, etc etc. It happens a lot. Did you happen to witness what the procedure is in this case? From an operator's perspective, that would be my only worry with a constantly moving load station and loading one by one - that my efficiency for the entire train gets derailed the moment someone needs a little extra help through no fault of their own. At least when you're loading all 7 seats on Dipper, if someone needs a bit of extra attention, you can let the other 6 riders sit themselves down while your attendants assist, and in theory you don't lose as much time.

From an efficiency standpoint, Dipper's pre-recorded spiels are actually not very effective. I say this having worked on BD for almost a year now. The entry spiel in particular is rather long-winded and wastes its time on the world-first claims before getting to any important information. Guests are often seated before the actually important stuff starts. Also, both the entry and exit spiels miss several of the most important aspects such as glasses not being permitted, asking guests not to do their own lapbars, direction of exit, and the whole "crossing your arms" thing. All of those have been causes of frustrating delays in my experiences at Dipper, and the pre-recorded spiels don't even mention them. It's probably the product of the spiels being recorded before the ride was complete or open to the public, meaning those issues weren't foreseen. The saving graces that make Dipper so efficient in my experience are the low capacity, meaning the attendants can basically address those issues face-to-face since they have so few riders to worry about per train, and the microphone. Some operators do their own spiels and don't ever use the pre-recorded ones, and even many of the operators who do use the recorded ones will still have to resort to either using the microphone or asking their attendants to address a particular guest issue. Ultimately, the pre-recorded spiels do very little for Dipper's actual efficiency and are often all but ignored by most riders. Especially with such a short ride time meaning the spiels are on repeat almost every 90 seconds, they basically become background noise to anyone who is within earshot of the station for more than 3 cycles. I'm personally a microphone spiel kind of guy, but I'd give more credit for efficiency to the attendants who proactively tackle the issue head-on. You can say "put your phone in the locker" a million times to someone over a speaker, but guests will be having their own conversations and generally not paying attention. Or just being idiots in some cases. Nothing quite works as effectively as a staff member telling them what to do to their face, which unfortunately is just not realistic on any ride with a capacity higher than the abnormally (and ironically) small Dipper.

^^ Can we stop being inflammatory over nothing now? I'd like to go back to talking pleasantly about well-known enthusiasts touring Australia thanks. Speaking of, they went to see Orphan Rocker yesterday. I didn't know it was that well-known outside of Australia, but it seems they were keen to check out Scenic World and the remains of OR.

Okay. 🤷‍♂️