Levithian

The problem with JDS is really one of capacity, it's not able to absorb large amounts of people. The whole licence process went a long way to make the process feel shorter as it was inclusive with the ride and was useful to keep kids entertained while waiting, but now it's gone. In place is just the usual, queue lines that extend outside without drawing people in to the experience. If it's busy you can see 1hr wait times here too. For everything else, it's pretty much designed for parents to take virtually unrestricted (by fencing, walls, etc) photos of their kids having fun driving a car in a pretty cool setting. The set looks pretty, the cars are neat and the majority of kids enjoy themselves. If you look at the cost of implementing a ride like that, vs a complete overhaul/upgrade of the existing ride, even with all the theme/set work which was probably done in house, I wouldn't be surprised if it cost significantly less than keeping LTRR open. Not just in implementation, but in maintenance over the years too. The other half of the building is used for storage, so I reckon it was a win/win situation all round as far as management were concerned and it got the axe. It sucks, but it feels like we are in a phase were the experience about visiting a theme park has been overlooked with more of a focus on profit over recent years.

Are we still working off the assumption there is only going to be a coaster, or have we seen enough information now to believe there is going to be another ride? If so, can we entertain the theory that something like the western games area is more suited to a flat ride and the coaster might go elsewhere? In which case, show stage might not need to be demolished, only the other buildings? Im not sure they could handle demolition of something as large as the show stage and still kept the area open for guests. All the heavy machinery required would have to go somewhere and I'm pretty sure Scooby has emergency exits between the buildings in the western area and the ride. Guess they could take it out the back, but it's all getting pretty close to Wild West isn't it? A couple of small buildings, Boot Hill and that rotunda thing are pretty easy to clear out when compared to the show stage. Besides, it's built into a hill which might influence development opportunities.

I can't remember how far down it went at the first aid end of the grandstand. The other end still has the entrance near the daily planet, which was the same with police academy wasn't it? I'm pretty sure I remember that court yard thing inside where they have drink carts and stuff as you come into the show.

New rides may mean increased total capacity for the park though. So it's more of a case of more people coming through the gates and not actually reducing demand much during the peak periods. i don't think we will ever see behind the scenes type stuff, too risky for people to leave the tour I reckon. If not personal safety, but also the potential for damage to park property. i think the only way to relieve pressure has already been mentioned. Something(s) that take 2000 people off the streets for more than an hour. As already said, rides used to contain pre shows which helped, along with stage shows it could draw a lot of people out of the park, especially if you planned show times around when its busiest. Even the existing stunt show is often full to capacity, so a better show here isn't going to make a lot of difference. They did remove the grand stand closest to the western games area of the arena though. That probably cost a hundred or more seats which makes a difference when people are lined up around the corner past Scooby.

They might be planning a trial (kind of late in the season though), but I heard from staff they are having an employee night this week. Staff and families can go see the Lego movie for free. Sounds like all the equipment had to be setup and installed again, most of it had been removed and wasn't just sitting idle.

No, I replied jokingly to AlexB with three states of "oldness" as I used it, kind of like you would use in conversation about the ride. Old, pretty old, and should have been decommissioned. Then I said it is currently heading towards the "should have been decommissioned" phase with a laugh . Meaning, it's old, tired, rusted and reaching the point when you shut the ride for annual maintenance and find problems in all the wrong places. I have no doubt the ride would have reached a point where it was starting to suffer corrosion and rust problems in structural areas due to water ingress. At some point, someone in maintenance working on it has probably scratched their head thinking something needs major repair. You know, like someone saying it should be decommissioned, not patched up for another year. Your post above about a ride being shut indefinitely while undergoing a major overhaul before being reopened is no doubt something movieworld will probably have to discuss sometime in the future. Extended maintenance periods could point to as much, the age of the ride starting to have an impact. Maybe they found some problems they need to address/fix during the next maintenance shut down and is responsible for closing for 2 1/2 months. Thinking back, I think wild west maintenance period is usually somewhere around 6-7 weeks? At no point did I say it was, or I think it should be removed. You drive capital purchases into the ground until the point it's no longer drawing a crowd and it's more expensive to maintain than replace. However, it is getting pretty old now...

Where did I say anything about it going anywhere? See the word "should"? Im talking age/condition of the ride, not if you like riding it or think it's popular. Think of what happens to steel when being exposed to 17 years worth of water and corrosion. Next time you ride, when you drop down the reverse section, look back up at the underside of the lift hill. There could be a pretty good reason why we are seeing extended maintenance periods for it lately. It's reached the "pretty old" portion of it's life and rust is like a cancer. There's only so much you can treat before you have to start cutting it out.

There's old, pretty old, and should have been decommissioned. Currently heading towards the decommissioned phase

Yeah, lots of little things go into the operation of a park that might seem trivial (or people don't realise), but sometimes get in the way of doing things efficiently or quickly. I reckon queue times would have a lot to do with it too. If queue times are blowing out on most of the bigger rides, they would add another train to help lessen the wait even if it means a bit of moving staff around. In this day and age, I reckon a lot of workforce planning goes into each day to try and limit staff (see, costs) to the minimum needed for operation on that day/week. There are usually staff that are just shift coverage and not assigned a ride, so if they couldn't use them or move a super/cover from shows or the kids area, they'd probably call someone in pretty quickly I guess.

Where does it say they can't? It's just not always a key turn, a couple of button presses and a few minutes of down time. They get, what? maybe 4,4.5hrs time to complete checks, any repairs and get everything open? If the train isn't expected to run, it might not have had time spent on it in the morning and not be a simple process, that's all.

Yes, and my point was, the second train doesn't sit ready to go on the transfer, it would be returned the maintenance area. Running the second train would normally be planned before the day can begin so checks on the train could be completed. If it wasn't being scheduled for running two trains that day, it might not have had the checks completed and/or it could be sitting in the maintenance area in various states of repair/service as it wasn't required to complete the checks. So it probably isn't just a case of send it across the transfer and on to the track straight away, it might require some service/time before it's sent out. A bit of an inconvenience at best and it could probably be added within 20-30 minutes if the checks need to be completed, but may also be impossible sometimes if it simply isn't ready to be run.

Wild west is usually closed for a big portion of the winter period though isn't it? You won't get a coaster built in 2 1/2 months. Sounds more like usual schedule + additional maintenance. They might have found something during the last down time that needs attention. Ride is getting pretty old now. Superman is pretty interesting though.

I imagine it's made more difficult if not already planned and the second train hasn't been checked to run or repaired if in service.

Restrictions and changes in coatings (well, what they contain) no doubt is an issue now days too. Something that provides corrosive resistance, rust protection, is UV stable and weatherproof, without containing something that can kill you or is banned, AND will last 10-15 years in our harsh climate is probably getting difficult to find.

Per year. It might do in foreign visitors now the dollar has dropped. Especially given how invested in media they are in china, so they could hit the tourist mark pretty hard. The company is massive compared to existing interests here in aus. Put it this way, village roadshow, through all their assets, annual turnover is about 1/3rd the after tax profit of wanda. The worry would be how long they are prepared to run at a loss to gather market share and draw people away from other parks. If you are taking on a company that plans billion dollar investments and is banked by a company with 50 billion a year turnover, then if you are any of the parks on the coast you'd probably be losing sleep at any hint of chinese property developers buying land on the north coast. Always a worry of getting too big, too quickly though. Might be why they are taking on a lot of foreign investment, to get away from the chinese property market.

There's enough smoke to set off fire alarms

Pretty sure it's contracted now and run by a production company, not actually movie world anymore. Budget provided, show delivered for the money. Noisy cars and smoke still fills the stands each day. Until it doesn't, probably not going to see a big budget stunt show like police academy any time soon.

when I say good, I was talking about maverick and western action shows. Musical revues?...... not so much.

Can I settle for something simple like another good show being developed for the show stage? used to be good to get out of the sun during the day and cool off for a bit.

Have a look at the development applications and see what looks to be completed in each stage I guess. if you think village has the money to outlay the accommodation at paradise country, the new precinct, a new coaster and a new thrill ride all within the same 3-5 year plan, you might be in for a bit of a let down. Those are some pretty big developments to be occurring at once. we've seen inference of building for a coaster, but any immediate development could simply be first stage tied into changes to the terrain. Guess we will know more when they break ground. If it's within the existing park grounds, might not be for a coaster given the space restrictions. If they start clearing and levelling vast tracks of the swamp and car park, be good idication of something with a larger foot print.

Swing or pendulum type ride, about 1000 per hour, 10-12 million would be my guess. Might fit in western area without pulling down show stage or intencity. Or out over the car park would be kind of cool too. coaster build to come later once cabins and stuff are underway.

Or take it away from the area. Usually it's licenced just for a specific zone, can't walk around the park with a beer, etc.

Seen what looked like drilling equipment in the carparks recently. I doubt they are drilling for water, but maybe it is some sort of sampling going on with whatever the planned alterations to the car park is going to be. Maybe looking for rock or stable ground or something.

Yeah, I thought that too. It's the same font used for "Grid".

Rumours are saying maybe as early as 2017, with work to begin in the new year. Makes sense with DA's submitted and approved I guess.