joz

Is it just me or is there a complete lack of strategic vision at Village at the moment? Renew ANY pass you've had in the last 4 years for the renewal pass, regardless of what it was and how long ago you had it? Sell VIP Gold passes for the same price as the regular one, but only to people who bought one last year? Adding perks to the Gold pass that weren't advertised for a ticket that people can't buy? Selling $40 VIP tickets for 2 weeks? Advertising that the VIP would be going away for the start of last year only to keep selling them for a heavily discounted price? The passes year on year are getting cheaper? What the hell, I thought they wanted to make money? It appears to an outsider that their goal is simply to move the passes, and to hell with the profitability of the company. Seriously, tier the passes, make the cheapest nastiest ticket $99 and go from there. Oh and if you're stuck thinking of a perk, how about a reliable discount for higher tiered tickets to encourage spending? The random discounts are OK, but I wonder how much money they'd make if VIP Gold/Platinum passes had a straight up 10% off on everything every visit rather than the random "Buy one bucket of fairy floss get another for 50% off!" type of promotion. Also unlike the extra ride time and exclusive line perks, it doesn't cost anything extra operationally. They almost looked like they were going to start using a strategy at the start of last year, but a couple months in they went back to the normal "Discount like crazy" routine. In effect they've spent the last year or 2 training the public that $90 for a year unlimited entry is not amazing value, even though there is a $9million dark ride coming which even the manufacturer reckons is better than anything else they've ever done. Come on guys, start putting together a plan for next year. You've already stuffed the ticketing and profitability for this year so try and get next year right.

Yeah I'm with POP, everyone stop acting like the world owes anyone a bigger photo. Thank you Good to see them go to the effort to finish it off, goes to show they are a quality little outfit.

Thanks for finding that! I knew I made a post like that ages ago but couldn't for the life of me find it, never thought about looking in a Dreamworld thread. Now if the words 'Original concept by Joz' got worked into the ride then I won't have to take legal action lol

I don't know, I reckon with the recycling of the old building and how small it is, I reckon it'll still come in quite a bit cheaper than Superman. The idea of screens does to me seem like a great way to maximize the room they do have, hopefully it'll have good the 3D sets to match and everybody will be happy. And for FWIW I'm more impressed with the number of people who did know but didnt leak than the fact some people guessed it. Hopefully the people who were complaining about how crap MW were for closing stuff now agree with me that the only questionable thing was the timing, but otherwise they are improving the park.

Original is correct (enough). There is a grassy area between the resort and the Dolphin Cove stadium that was used for a short while as a drop off spot in the half hour leading up to shows. It was only used for a short while, I suspect it was abandoned as a station because it is such a long way down off the train to the grass. The water park station closed when the train carriages had doors installed on the left side, making the water park station on the right side of the train unaccessible. I do agree that a Resort station would be cool, but it does have the disadvantage that the train would either have to cross the service road for a station on the other side of the road, or the carriages would have to be altered and then the guests would have to cross the road. 　 As for the ride corridor, many parts of the track have been concreted over, there are a few fences built over the tracks, and a shed for the Sponge bob floats has been built (mystifyingly) near the seal stadium. The fences and a bit of concrete aren't really the sort of thing that renders a return of the ride impossible, and the fences are again, hardly permanent. The shed to me could (and should) be moved to the front of the park on the Eastern side of the lake since that’s closer to where the show actually happens. It would mean that the floats wouldn’t have to be taken around the park in full view of guests and the techs that drive the floats for an hour and a half everyday could do something useful instead, and as an added aside, it reopens the path for the train.

There was a small amount of talk and the ride is designed with that possibility in mind. I suspect they'd have to go with Vekoma or Kumbak since I haven't heard anything about S&S making arrow trains for many moons now. Spare parts yes but new trains I'm not so sure. I don't know how new trains would go on Cyclone improvement wise but the new Vekoma trains get pretty good reviews, so maybe it could help improve the ride. Personally though I don't find Cyclone too bad, if I were DW I wouldn't be looking at a new set of rolling stock to improve the comfort of the ride. Capacity maybe but the ride itself isn't that bad.

If it makes you feel any better my comments about the audio were more directed to GoGoBoy, and the point about taking a one off report about it being as bad as it used to be with a pinch of salt weren't personal.

Nah, see I'll give you the leg pain, even though I think you're being a sook. But I at least know what you're talking about so fair enough. But to say its rough and you got a headache well that's where I do kinda say well it is a coaster which pulls a significant amount of g's, that's probably what the problem is. I did go on Lethal not long before its demise, and even after adopting a 'safe position' I still hated the experience. Since the transformation I've found I could go on the ride, enjoy it, and go again. I've been on the ride about 10 times now and that was in 2 visits. There's no way you'd have got me on Lethal 5 times in a row. Yes it's forceful, no they haven't ironed out all the kinks, and there is a good deal of tightness around the legs at the end, but even so, to me it's now a good honest thrill ride. I'd genuinly rather go on Arkham than a B&M Batman clone, and you can't get me for brand loyalty because when they do something I disagree with I'll speak my mind. Capacity and audio issues not withstanding, I can't praise the new trains highly enough. To me, they've pretty much got a new ride because all of a sudden there's an inverted coaster at MW I'd queue to go on. After such praise I hope you can see why I've such difficulty with 'me and everyone around me had headaches'. Admittedly I haven't been on it post maintenance, so if I go on it and find its gone to crap, I'll be sure to let you know and I'll eat humble pie. If its still good for me, I'll let you know my findings and we'll just have to disagree about this. Doesn't mean anything bad of course, we'll just disagree on something.

The jolts in the track never went anywhere, it was the rock hard harnesses that your head hit repeatedly during the ride that made it uncomfortable, so forgive me if I take that report with a pinch of salt. As for the audio, yeah it sucks that an advertised feature isn't yet online, but I really could give two shits about that ride having audio TBH. It'll be nice when it shows up but as far as I'm concerned Lethal being turned into a fun re-rideable coaster is concept enough for an upgrade for me.

They aren't really theme parks, more glorified picnic areas. These are the sort of places that would one day like to be as good as Aussie World's kiddie section was 10years ago. To call them theme parks is a bit like calling your local park with swings a "theme park", or calling Jupiter's Casino "World class", it's very misleading.

I thought he was talking about the Gold Coast Bulletin article which (as has been noted earlier) isn't online.

Not to nit pick, but you are aware that there is a roller coaster between Bermuda and Sea Viper yeah?

Given they just spent $10million to put Antarctic animals somewhere else in the park I'd say it's a load of crap.

Cheers for the clarification, that being the case there's nothing really not to like, even if it is debatably a bit uninspired. Kids love Dinosaurs, and if it's executed reasonably well then it can only be a good thing for the park.

One of the best rides Sea World ever had was Lassiter's Lost Mine. Anyone care to draw a link between that and the sea? There were Dinosaurs in the sea (sort of) so it's not a huge stretch for Sea World to do a Dino attraction. As for the attraction itself, well it does nothing for me, but I'm not the target market. If it takes over the 3D theater or goes in a new building I'm all for it though. If this turns out to be Bermuda's replacement then it's an overdue disappointment. On the plus side though it does sound very similar to the up charge attractions at the Cedar Fair parks, and so far their hasn't been talk of making it an upcharge here, well done.

Given the teaser "Superman needs you" and other teasers which seem to feature other DC characters, along with the very credible rumor that Sally is involved (Sally of course famous for their shooting dark rides), I don't think it really takes an Einstein to figure out whats going on in that building.

Yeah but that doesn't really look like a Walrus or Sea Lion egg to me.

I suspect (and would be confident putting a large sum of money on it) that for most international tourists, the parks are something they just do since they're here, and not a motivating factor that brings them here. The only people who come to Australia for the parks in any significant numbers are New Zealanders. Even so last I saw the number of international guests is about 10% which while still significant, isn't a huge number. Also given there are Disney parks in LA, Hong Kong and Japan, and Universal parks in LA Japan and singapore I don't think the international numbers at any Australian Disney or Universal would be that high either. They'd still probably pull 2mil in the first year but I reckon it'd be mostly locals.

^ I think you're right, but I'll just point out that rides and 'movie magic' aren't nessacarly mutually exclusive.

I've had audio on all 4 of my rides, must be lucky

I didn't want to post my thoughts about this in the penguin thread, but I will here: I think the Gold Coast Bulletin has (not surprisingly for them) missed the point a bit. Maintenance happens, it’s the reality of having year round parks instead of seasonal parks, and the Bulletin hasn’t had an issue with this before. Obviously half the rides aren't closed, and why Dreamworld gets a mention at all is a bit of a mystery given everything there is open. This is clearly a Village issue, and I'd say even more precisely, this is a Sea World issue. The reason that people have the perception that the park is closed is because when you visit Sea World there are only 2 'rides' open, Jet Rescue and the Flume. The rest are either transport rides which don't register in people's minds, or rides which mostly appeal to kids. What also hurts is when you see train tracks for a train that (for some reason) doesn't run anymore, a big rusting shell of a ride in the form of Bermuda (not visibly a construction site, just a rotting ride), and a spot in Beach Break Bay where there clearly used to be a ride. When you throw into Corkscrew and Skyway being closed for legitimate reasons (Maintenance and wind respectively) the overall feel is the park is pretty much closed. It's only 2 rides that are closed but it feels like 5 to the first time guest. Returning guests will also notice the absence of Pirate Ship and the Aquarium under guest services that is closed for good so that's 6 attractions gone. They’ve still got the animal exhibits and shows which are great, but they also have a nasty perception that they have a ton of closed attractions. That needs work. There is talk that things are finally happening with Bermuda but it’s been sitting there closed for 2 years now, people notice these things. 　 There's a reason that when we do a parkz update we include photos of shuttered attractions and facilities; It's not just nit-picking, it's something which changes the perception of the park for guests, and we point it out to say "We've noticed, other guests will notice". All these little cues add together and make for a park that feels like it's sad and rundown. Over at Movie World the problem isn't nearly as bad, people whinge about Movie World more on here though because they don't visit Sea World often and don't know what a park that's been in decline for 4 years really looks like. The Looney Tunes Show building blights the landscape sure, but to the first time guest it doesn't scream out "closed ride", and TBH I’d be surprised if most guests noticed it. It's certainly not even approaching the same level as Bermuda. Marvin's Rocket Ride has been pretty well hidden, and there are only a couple small clues that give away a ride was ever there, and Bat Ride is closed but they’re building something new there, that when it opens I reckon will well and truly ‘fix’ any lingering negative perception MW has. Also just to add to that; People don't complain when they see construction, they complain when they see closed rides and for the most part you don't see that at MW. As for staff cutting at WnW, they got called out for being cheap and so they should. It's the service industry they're in, and the park is basically empty but cut staff so much it resulted in long lines. Do they not want the guests they have to not come back next year either? Whirlpool springs being closed is pretty piss-poor and the Terror Canyon slides are still there, that perception of things being closed is therefor also there. Ultimately it’s not for us to say how they should run their parks, but consumers are allowed their opinion, and when there is a ton of negative opinion out there, I’d suggest that something should be done differently. Open the train at SW, drop the water park fee permanently (I’m sure they could give the water park to resort guests and theme park guests for free, one does not rule out the other), and doing something with Bermuda are all good places to start for SW.

The theft is alleged to have taken place overnight, and I'll just say that the perpetrators are lucky they managed to avoid the dogs that patrol the park at night. I also think it's a bit unfair to bemoan the fact that the penguins aren't more heavily guarded. I mean who steals a penguin? Who'd have thought that was even something that had to be guarded against? It's fantastic news that 'Dirk' has been found safe and sound, but it's more than a little disappointing to learn we live in a world where someone would steal a penguin. I'd expect that Sea World will have learnt that lesson from this, and you'd have to be more than a little foolish to try something like this in the future. No the cynical part of me doesn't think that someone protecting the penguins from theft was a foreseeable problem which should have been guarded against. The cynical part of me is reading all the positive messages on the Queensland Police Services page and thinking "I bet they're liking this story more than the story that was on the front page of the bulletin over the weekend" Coast theme parks tagged as Giant Flops". At the end of the day the important thing is that Dirk is safe, which no matter what cynical way you slice it, is good news.

It's open regularly now in any case.

I don't really see the point, nothing at Sea World gets a queue for the whole day, apart from the Flume on really busy days and most of the time the queue is still less than 20mins. I think if they were thinking about it they'd be better served taking the money they might've spent on fast track redesigning the top break to allow more fully loaded boats through the ride and to decrease downtime.

OK there's already an active topic for this, just look down the page. "Bermuda Triangle. no more?" thread is now no more