joz

I win!

Ok, these announcements have been popping up occasionally for the last couple of years, and now I really need to know, what is the relevance of the parks value? Is it borrowing power, security to the share holders or what? I really don't understand what the parks value has to do with *anything*, and there should be at least one financially savy person on these boards.

Just touching on the carpark story: With the cruise ship terminal the QLD government is looking at selling an area about twice the size of Wild West Falls south of the SW carpark (actually more likley to be just south of the Monorail track, since SW doesn't own the carpark from there back), but that apparently also includes the feild which is used as an overflow carpark over summer. The story is that supposedly the carpark will be pushed back and a water ride will take over the area where HR and Dugong Discovery are currently and extend into what is currently carpark. How much credit to this there is I'm not sure, but the fact that the land is for sale is pretty much confirmed and on the public record. Any more bets on the location?

Well all this may explain why the themeing/dark ride segment didn't get much (ok, any) airplay in the ads.

I agree to some degree, but the shift in the parks has been going on for 30 odd years now, and it seems only very recently that the parks have even acknowledged that they have heritage significance. Also, even back in the early days there were side shows, spin and spews and whatnot, the only difference is the care that has gone into the presentation, and the thing about that is that that’s kind of an everywhere thing. No where really does the ornate intricate presentation (be it theme parks or just in general architecture), and I don’t think modern audiences really care enough for it to be an issue. Not saying I'm a huge fan of lack of attention to detail, but it does seem to be pretty much a fact of life now. Another point I can’t help but agree on though is the lack of a dark ride these days (and for this I am purposly ignoring LPM's haunted house). Something along the lines of the River Caves would be brilliant for either park, and I’m sure it’s possible to design a show building that you can put rides on top of. Having said that, even though neither park is anything like what it started as I still think they’re not as bad as they’re made out to be. The Luna Park’s have kind of “evolved” into what they are today, which I think is perfectly acceptable. If our parks didn’t evolve SW would look more like the (now closed) Cable Ski World, DW would still be a cheap Disneyland rip-off, and MW still wouldn’t have any decent thrill rides. True, perhaps in Luna Park’s case it possibly has gone in the “wrong” direction, but I’m not sure if the whole “escape to another world” thing has the same legs it used too. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to try out the old Luna Parks (as in 1950's or earlier) but I don't think as they are now is that bad.

That, or there is an effort for it not to be late (it is an Intamin ride after all). Besides, marking out a ride is quite different to vertical construction, and I don't think we can expect that to get underway in any dedicated fashion for a few months yet.

goliath: Anyone who wants to know where the ride will go can go to SW and see ground markings

The thing I can't stand about these Luna Park convo's is how much negativity in it. I think you have to accept these parks for what they are, which is small, carnival style parks. These aren't theme parks, these are small parks, with rides packed in more or less where ever they'll fit. Its more like a year round Easter show then a theme park, and I think you need to view the park as that when you go. I think Aussie World is much the same except with a bush setting, and I really like that place, even if it hasn't got the themeing and whatever. Personally I have only been to LPS, and while I'll take a Gold Coast park anyday, I did find it to be a pleasent park with a nice view and more rides then I expected. From what I see of LPM, its more of the same, with a bit less in the scenery department. As for the $7 a ticket thing, well its $34 for an unlimited pass, which isn't quite 5 tickets, and also cheaper then Sydney ($39).

The thing to remember is that SW has a height limit of around 100 feet, so the idea of an impulse is pretty much gone. While there are rumours of a water ride, I think part of that story is somewhat dependent on buying the land out the front of the carpark, which hasn't happened yet, so one of those ultra cool looking Aquatrax rides ain't ganna happen this time around.

I think when you look at what the park has been doing, you'd be hard pushed not to see Rivertown be the next area to get re-done. I mean, in order, its been: Country Fair into Ocean Parade Village Oval/Green into Nick Central Gum Tree Gully into Wiggles World In all honesty, while I hate to see the Rivertown area get re-done, I think after Wiggles World, it now sticks out like a sore thumb, and there's not really much benifit keeping it as is. Its a shame for me at least, the Gum Tree Gully/ Rivertown areas were once my favorite in the park, even without any major attractions. I think the Vintage Cars are on borrowed time (for reasons Richard mentioned above) and even the Captain Sturt must be towards the end of its working life. If it looks a bit more tasteful then Wiggles World, and doesn't make Giant Drop stand out, then its all good by me.

See, I only really have one hope for the new ride, and that is quick painless queueing (Ie, no story, no pre-show, and the 12 or so people for the next ride counted out before the end of the previous). Just make it a painless process, and it'll be a winner as far as I'm concerned. Besides, whats the point of a full story if as soon as it blasts off its irrelevant anyway? Just make it easy to get on and off, theme the surrounding area, and thats about perfect for me.

I think a Waterpark at AussieWorld is a great idea. I really like that place, and I hope that its a great success for them. I'm not sure what sort of scale you'd expect to see there, but unless they've got much busier since I was there last I struggle to see how they're going to pay for it though.

I think the comment that DW is more like a carnival then a theme park has been around for a while, and I don't think Flowrider is something thats going to change that reputation. The question is if that reputation is damaging, personally I don't think it is. Attendance is going good, attractions like the Flowrider can only increase per capita spending, Big Brother was an excellant tie-in no matter how crap the show is. People seem to like those tacky side-show games and they're bringing in the bucks. I don't think we've seen the end of the mega thrill rides at DW (a three pronged attack at the thrill market will motivate Macquarie if nothing else does) but there does seem to be some diversifying going on. As for the experiences, I think there's a place for it. Like Gazza mentioned, SW has had Helicopter Flights, Water Sports & Interactive Animal programs for as long as I can remember, and Movieworld has its "Make your own Hi-5 videos" and the like. I think even though DW is on something of a Per Capita mission, there will be new "Mega rides" in the future. I think we can kiss the "Immersive Themed lands" goodbye, but it will always be a theme park at heart.

Its in the building where Maverick used to be. Been playing since not long after they started work on Superman, and a good move too. Sure its not the best show ever, but it DOES hold onto the crowds better then Superstars: Live in Concert! and it does fill a void in the "young kid entertainment" lineup.

I wouldn't be to harsh on Sanderson. A look here details the work they've done, and really, its quite impressive. A quick look through reveals: Bermuda Triangle (Volcano, props, caverns, UFO sequence, dump scene) Surpent Slayers (Pryo, Surpent, FX) Gremlins (load/unload, "disaster themes" Batman (Inside and Out) Police Acedemy / Western Action show (set) Looney Tunes Village (Whole heap of stuff) White Water Mountain at Wet 'n' Wild So really, they have done a heap of good stuff, just it would seem, not at DW. But in their defense, ToT's queue and GD's queue were quite decent when they were new, its just that they got trashed over time. As for Cyclone itself, well I personally think its a bit rough, but I can still ride it and enjoy it, its not at the thunderbolt stage yet. However, I know a few others who won't ride it again for the roughness.

See, for me the themeing of Cyclone even when it was still "good" to me seemed kinda crap. Spending money to restore that themeing to me would be a waste of money. With Cyclone, talk to S&S arrow, and see if they'll throw another train together for them, and get that queue wait down, as well as a redesign of the exit area. As for themeing the queue, well, I'd just like to seem make it pleasant. None of this loud noises and flashing lights and fog and what ever else people dream up occasionally, since that stuff gets annoying quick (Space Probe queue anyone?). I don't think the whole ride should be replaced, the water park going in around it make it a prime candidate to stay exactly where it is IMHO. Also since I'm on a wish list topic with Cyclone, can we do anything about the roughness?

I don't know, after just opening a $20million expansion, plus new attractions with more on the way, I don't think selling up shop is the next part of Village's game plan. Plus the fact that they are talking about making more parks in Asia seems to imply that they are in it for the long haul. Plus they will continue to use the WB characters seems to say something about them being in it for the long term to me, remember that Wonderland ditched its characters before closing. As for the jobs, its my understanding that its probably going to be the street parade that will go, which itself is no biggie. I mean all that thing does is clog up main street and viewing for the parade is not all that great, so that part of it doesn't worry me. The guys loosing the jobs sucks pretty bad though, and I'm really surprised that they weren't offered other jobs in the company, even if it had to be in other departments. Thats the way this sort of thing normally goes, so its sad to see it not happening here. I don't think this will see a complete deprivation of street theatre like a few years back, but just a scaling back of what was on offer. Fair enough call as far as I'm concerned, just very unfortunate and dissapointing for those involved.

Well, to me the words "up and down" sound kinda like what DW is doing. They were down for Feb and March, and back over expected levels in April. In fact, Feb and March were very quiet across the board, which is a change from the recent trend of holiday periods being not as busy as in the past, but being busy for longer periods. I think if MWs attendance is down, then there's either a negative perseption about the park, or marketing isn't doing their job. Seriously, there are not one, but TWO new attractions drawing the crowds, both appeal to different demographics, both are very good, solid attractions (SE sucks? You gotta be kidding me). If the attendance drops with two new attractions and a third on the way then you have to be wondering what's going on. I think Gazza makes a good point when he mentioned the fact that all you see in the posters and whatnot are the MW logo and one coaster car. Half the ads on TV are given to unrelated images of people of people sky diving or whatever, so that could be something worth looking at. Overall though, I want to see the numbers at the end of the year, and more importantly, the numbers for next year when there will be 3 relativly new attractions, and see whats going on then. As for the customer service side of things, well, maybe the lockers ARE causing alot of bad feelinds on the street, or maybe in hindsight a coaster with a 140cm requirement wasn't the best move to make, but we'll find out how things pan out in the next year or so. Don't jump the gun yet when attendances have been "up and down" everywhere, not just MW.

I've wondered this same thing myself Goboi, and really, $56million is a pretty tight budget for an entire new park (paths, lockers, retail and food & bev outlets etc. Heck, even something as mundane as the uniforms will cost a small fortune) but I'm keen to see what they come out with before dismissing it. I agree that Wet 'n' Wild really is a full day out, and if anything is really under valued by many people. H2o Zone may not be the best looking area in the park, though if you look back through the history of the parks, most new areas took a year or three before all the plant life had matured. Again though, its hard to judge a park before you know anything about it. It may suck, it may blow us all away, we'll just have to wait and see.

You know what, I just swiped my card somewhere and it told me my card expired in 1964. Its not even a year old so that was pretty strange, lucky though :)00

Cheers for the heads up Robb, always some pretty good viewing among these contests. Hopefully I'll get sound on the computer working again soon.

Depends, each ride is different. There are inconsistances between parks, and between rides. Genrally speaking, if you ask to bend the ride the rules, an op who can't for safety reasons will tell you exactly that, and suggest that you enquire with guest services. Of course there will always be some who go around said rules, but I would trust the judgement of any of the ops who I've met and dealt with on the Coast.

What you guys are talking about is pretty much worst case scenario. Realisticly, nothing is going to happen. I agree that on some rides you shouldn't be able to bring loose items on, but a blanket rule for all rides based on one? To me thats silly. Scooby has a no hand held items policy, which is a mystery to me, but on Superman that rule makes total sense. In the case of Corkscrew, well put it this way, if you leave a camera in the seat by itself and send the train around the camera will make it back. The only way your going to loose a camera on Cork is if you throw it from the train, any sort of half decent grip is more then sufficient. Again, in the case of Lethal, different story. Each ride should be judged on its merits, and if the operator says no, then no it is. Goliath: In QLD, you must be at least 18 to operate the rides, but genrally speaking, the youngest ops are around the 20-21 age bracket (with a couple of exceptions). I don't think a 15 year old should really be calling a 20 year old a "pimply kid".

Ah, I seriously think you are all crazy, I'm totally with ya Claw, I got what you were on about Nice Pics

You know, as much as I go on about the capicity requirements of DW, I agree that Wipeout is one ride that gets its requirement V demand pretty much spot on. The capacity of Wipeout is about right for its popularity, and if your thinking of investing capital into a ride like Wipeout to increase its capacity, I seriously think you're looking in the wrong area. Wipeout is fine, leave the poor thing alone. BTW, having been on a Topspin, I can safely say that the Vekoma version really has it all over the HUSS version. Having the arms swing different directions makes a huge difference to the ride, and having the ridged version would be a huge dissapointment IMHO