joz

Richard is right, (great use of statistics too) Based on my maths, Thunder Mountain has a rough capacity of near 1900 an hour. Presume that the ride operates for an average 10 hours a day, then that's 19000 per day. 365 days in a year make 6,916,000 per year. The ride has been open since 1979, (23 years) which makes roughly (very roughly) 159,068,000 riders overall. Therefor: The odds of dying on BTMRR are 1 in 159 million. Not bad odds if you ask me. Having said that, I do think Disney needs to get on top of its maintenance before something happens on Matterhorn.

Missed me by just over a week :| I'll be interested to hear how this one plays out, but from the early signs, it doesn't look good for Disney. I feel sorry for the guy and his family though, it must be a really hard way to loose a family member.

I think with the troubles Village Roadshow have had, Matrix Reloaded was a bit of an obvious choice for them, after all, it was the thing that made all their money during the winter, which is why they are so desperate to flog it off at their theme parks. Looking forward to Whirlpool, if nothing else, it gets rid of whirlpool (hot) springs, which was afterall, a bit piss-weak. It should fit nicely in the park which doesn't have the fastest or the tallest, but does have some of the most pure fun rides ever (Terror Canyon's, Mammoth Falls).

The great thing about it is though, Indiana, Splash Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder are within about 5 -10 mins of each other, so before you board the ride, you can eaisily find time to go get another one. :mrgreen:

Agreed about the way they manage they allocation and the way they merge the lines. As an example for those Aussies who don't know how the lines merge (Which, lets face it, is nearly everyone), lets say Scooby Doo had fastpass: The queue on the right hand side which never gets used would be given over to fastpass (even though there'd never be anyone waiting there), and would probably join with the regular queue just as you leave the main queue hall. DJ, just one the Jungle Cruise skipper, no he didn't sing the tune to Hustle, but when passing the Monkeys did point them out by saying "Hey Hey its the Monkeys, I hear they like to monkey around...."

I doubt it'd be a problem, the tigers these days are trained to not be distracted by the noise of the park. This is why its possible to take the tigers for walks around the park during hours. How the tigers react to noise is something Dreamworld is rather thoughtful of. Imagine if when taking the tigers through the park, one became distracted or stressed by the noise of Tower of Terror? Not only could it run away, it could also attack, and, more realistically, become distressed. For this reason, the tigers are desensitised from the noise as much as possible, so therefor, I dare say that the tigers would be ok with a coaster nearby. As its been said, Thunderbolt was pretty well heard at Tiger Island anyway, plus the sound of Wipeout & Cyclone, so I wouldn't worry about the effect of a new coaster on the tigers. I'd be more worried about the effect of a new coaster on the parks neighbours....

Couldn't agree more with you Richard. At SW, we haven't really got many major rides, so if one of them was closed, there'd be a pretty sizeable sign out the front of the park to go along with the regular information board, as well the info being posted on the website. Plus the LCD Screen above the entrance; in short, you'd know about it long before you entered. Not having the info on the website is pretty deceptfull; MW, WnW, and even DW manage to have that information there. Maybe Wonderland should have a section on their website where the information can be made public?

Yeah, it didn't seem that busy. Even so the wait for Indy got to around an hour or so during the day, but through what I thought was smart use of the fastpass system, we managed not to wait more then 5mins for anything, even on Indy. I give allot of credit for seeing the as much as we did to Fastpass, which gave us the chance to do 3 rides in the time it took to line up, and go on 1. One thing I really had to wonder, when there's fastpass' avalible, why were the people queued up? Quite often the queue for a ride would be 40 mins, and the fastpass' given out would be valid in 35, and yet people stil queued up. Weird stuff I thought, but it made my life much easier

Exactly, why would Wonderland want us to go Wonderland when we can go to Wet "n" Wild instead. I do agree though, there isn't much choice in that lot. I do tend to think that Water Ride may have more to do with the old rumour of a WWF style ride coming to Wonderland. Food for thought anyway.

Well, the 4 days in Cali didn't go as well as I'd hoped. For starters I was sick for 3 of the four days, so was unable to see SFMM and KBF. I did however, have the good fortune to come across a 1 day hopper pass, so I was able to have the chance to do DCA and DL on one jam packed day with my sister. So, with some day plans in tow, I started the day, at 9am, at DL. Here's how it went. Headed staight for Splash Mountain, to relive the music from the "Songs of the South", a film, I've never seen, and after going on this ride, doubt I will. Great ride, themeing was excellant, and the drops were fun. Not the tallest or the steepest, but they were fun drops. The ride was shorter then reviews would have you believe, but still long, and unlike WWF, the ride time wasn't half made up by the chain up the hill. 9/10 The next on our agenda was Haunted Mansion. Some fun effects, mixed with an aging, jerky people mover, made this a rather scary ride. 8/10 After we picked up a fast pass for Indana, we did the Jungle Cruise, which is now, one of my favorite rides. They say that the guide you get can make or break this ride, well, we got one of the best. Think Tim Ferguson with an American accent, and possibly gay, and you've got out guide. I'll just throw in one line "Hey Lady with the video camera, look over there, between those two trees, and you can see NOTHING!!" 9/10 After taking in the sights of Fronteirland, we headed over to Indana Jones ride, to use our fastpasses. There is nothing I can say to do this ride justice, the dart rooms, the suspended bridge, the final plunge, everything about it was out of this world. We need something like this in Australia now!!!! 10/10 Next we headed cross park, to tommorrow land home to such rides as the subs, the people mover, and the chairlift to fantisyland, and space mountain. Sadly, most of these rides had been closed for years, or in refurbisment, leaving the whole area of the park looking a bit sad. Innoventions was next. This walk through was really just a big advertisment, and was rather un-impressive. Air conditioning was nice though 3/10 Honey I shrunk the Audience: I'd only heard good things about this 3d Movie, so I was really looking forward to it. Sadly, it was no where near as entertaining as one would think. The effects were great, the film was boring 5/10 We took the train to fantisyland (for a chance to sit down), and had lunch at 'Village something' (name escapes me for the moment) and bought some cold chips, two small hot dogs (by small, I mean no longer then 3 inches) and a small drink. Cheap and nasty food, but I didn't care enough to argue, and we went to get our fastpass for Big Thunder Mountain. While waiting for our fastpass, we went on Casey Jr. Circus train, a fun little ride, with heaps of nostalgic value for me, which makes it 8/10. Don't be surprised when your ratings on that one are different. After Casey JR, we went on the scariest, most sickening, gut crunching ride ever created: It's a small world. The Simpsons do a good job of mimicking it in the "Duff Gardens" episode. Save yourself, theres air-con else where in the park where you don't have to listen to the song 2/10 Time had ticked over rather quickly, and our fastpass was already valid, so we boarded Big Thunder Mountain, a Vekoma masterpeice. We don't have this ride type in Australia, and this full sized well themed version really makes me want one. One problem with this ride though, the ride had a couple of lifts, which in my opinion, is worse then a mid course brake. 7/10 Next was Pirates, a huge boat ride cleverly hiden under a restaraunt. Probably Compareable to the old lassiter's lost mine ride at SW, although much better. 8/10 We next went on a fastpass frenzy, and were able to get re-rides on Indiana, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, plus seeing Tarzan's Treehouse (also known as "Stairs" 1/10). We then left the park and headed for Cali. Adventure. We headed for Grizley River Run, the only ride in the park my sister wanted to go on, and endured a 15min queue (Longest of the day). The area around the ride is very well done, great themeing. The ride itself? Excellant, in every way. Great drops, wet rapids, and a relativly fun lift. Easily the best rapids ride I've been on (although the only other two I've been on are Snowy and Thunder Rivers) and possibly the best ride in the park. 9/10 I said my goodbyes to my sister, and was dismayed to discover that the last fast pass for soarin' had already been given out by 7pm (when the park closed at 9). Since the ride was comanding a rather respectable 45 min wait, I thought I'd try and come back to it. Sadly it wasn't to be, and I would miss one of the parls only "Must do" attractions. So instead, I went to Paradise Peir, home of the Cali Screaming. A fun launch, followed by a very fast ride around paradise peir, with pops of airtime, and a shaky vertical loop. Great Intamin ride, with a great capaticy... how come we don't get them in Australia? 9/10 Next, I tried my first SS Tower ride, Maliboomer, a great ride, but somehow not as fun as Giant Drop. 7/10 To give Mulholland Madness (MACK Mouse) the grace of a review would be just wrong. 5/10. A few re-rides later, I found myself gavatating towards the front of the park, but found myself with half an hour to kill before the parade. Soarin' now had a 20 min queue, which would have made me miss part of the parade, and It's tough to be a bug was too far away, so I just sat on a bench, mesmorised by the lack of atmosphere, even with all the people gathered around. The crowd didn't start really 'buzzing' until around 5 mins before parade time, but I'll tell you something for nothing, the impact of that thing starting, is unreal. Its a rare thing to find me with nothing to say, but this parade does. An instant 10, and my favorite attraction out of the two parks. After the parade, the park closed, and I went back to DL for two more hours. I had a quick go on Star Tours, where I found the queue to be almost as fun as the ride itself. Much older, and much better then Batman 1&2 put together. 9/10 I then had the chance to do some history, the first steel roller coaster, Matterhorn. I sadly only got to do one side (don't know which) but I think that the ride is seriously under rated. Great speed, and surprisingly forceful. 8/10 I then had the chance to see Fantasmic, a great blend of a few nighttime show effects (Water Screens, Lazers & Fire mostly). I enjoyed the show, but I would rate it slightly below the old Surpent Slayer show at SW. Still allot better then Superstars live in Concert. 8/10 After the show, I was lucky enough to get one of the last rides of the day on Indiana (walk on), and by midnight, was back at my hotel. A great day had by all, particually me.

Cool, I've started a fight 8) Thing is, I'm not a thrill person, and I'm normally the first to reccomend seeing the shows, sideshows and the like. Perhaps it was because it was eating into my time at DL, but nothing at DCA seemed to shout out to me. As for those who defend the park by saying its young: I didn't pay full price to find the park not finished. I will however praise the park on a few things to show I'm not completly one sided on this. 1. Most of the rides are of a very high capaticy. I've never seen a roller coaster queue move so fast as on Cali. Screaming. 2. The park is in areas, quite well themed. 3. The park was clean, the staff were friendly, and the food which I had was ok. 4. The Electric Light Parade (ripped from Disney Land) was probably the highlight of the trip. It was true Disney Magic at its best, and certaintly, was worth the time to wait for a good spot. Like I say, the park wasn't all bad, but weighing it all up, in my opinion (and remember, it is my opinion), I didn't like the park. It was ok, but I found myself wanting to go back to DL as soon as I could.

Richard, I was fortunate enough to get a one day hopper ticket (from a cast member) which allowed one day access to both parks. I spent all of an hour and a half in the park, and was able to get 2 rides one Cali. Screaming (Good ride I might add), a few on Maliboomer (SS tower Ride), a few on their MACK Mouse and a ride on Grissly River. The only reason I spent that much time in the park was to wait around for the electric light parade. The park was poor, very poor. Movieworld beats it for quality, and probably on quantity as well. If you really wanna see what I mean, take this random but excellant example; compare Scooby Doo too Muholland Madness. DCA has some problems, and its not just the hard to please Disney fans like I might have thought.

I still think that an Impulse, while being a good ride, wouldn't be the best way to use the last bit of land the park has. I wouldn't mind seeing them build a ride and slot an impulse underneath it (could work well with a coaster), but as the parks major, signiture, ride? Think we could do better

Well, tomorrow I fly off for an epic expedition to the UK. 2 months of thrills, chills (even with the heat wave) and spills. Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and a number of smaller attractions make up part of my planned list. Before that, I have a whirlwind tour of Sourthen Cali, 4 days on the ground, in which I will be tackling SFMM, KBF, DL and DCA. In two months I'll be back with photos, vids TRs and the like. In the meantime, I doubt I'll be posting much. I'll stop by whenever I can, and let you know how things are going. See you all in two months, look after the place! :arrow:

Currently, I'm not aware of any coaster rumours. There has been some talk of an impulse (haven't heard anything about this in the park mind you). There is also a in park survey which askes guests to nominate what they would like to see at the park in the future, and one of the options is a roller coaster. At the moment, my understanding is that there will be a new major ride after Shark Bay, Seal Rocks, and the possible expansion of cartoon beach (possibly a costume character stage show). The current thinking is that a new ride will be built between Corkscrew and Bermuda. However, this probably won't happen for 3 or 4 years yet. ZZ, good to hear you enjoyed going to the park! I'll probably see you at some point during the year

I don't think it'll be missed though. I mean, its not as if it was enjoyable listening to the coaster screech around the corners. The ride sounded like a shopping trolley crashing into one of those trolley returns. It looked nice, but I for one won't miss the pain. Anyone who does has serious problems.

Fact: Infected eye caused by commercial fishing Fact: RSPCA has no problem with the sharks Fact: The people still appearing in the media to condemn Seaworld are those who have not yet made an inspection of the park. Don't know if the park really has to "get out" of this one really. I'm looking forward to this new 3D movie. Steve Peet has been talking it up as if its the best 3D film ever (not surprising), even going so far as to say it will be an "Absolute Sensation". So I'm keen to see it out of morbid curiosity more then anything else.

Coasterfreak, thats just mean :twisted:

It seems some things are more news worthy then others. The RSPCA has said that the sharks don't appear stressed and were in a good condition. The RSPCA has not given Seaworld any flack about the condition of the sharks, even after making first hand inspections. Don't forget as well, these sharks are still recovering from injuries they received when they were caught by a commercial fisherman. Without Seaworld, these sharks would have killed, finned & filleted and would have become someone's dinner. The thing you have to remember is that this current controversy comes from the same people who before Dolphin Cove was built, said that the exhibit was not fit for Dolphins as the land was 'unsuitable'. Since then the Dolphins who call Dolphin Cove home have been conformable enough to breed, and Dolphin Cove has been proven as an excellent enclosure. These are also the same people who said that it was inhuman to bring Polar Bears to the Gold Coast. Since then adult bears Ping Ping and Kanook are the happiest, and in the best condition they've been in, and cubs Lia and Lutik are healthy, and show no behavioural problems. Greenies love having a go at Seaworld. Back in the early 90's there was a huge protest against Seaworld keeping animals in captivity, and Ray Martin was there, joining in with the protests against Seaworld. Months later, he went for a swim with the dolphins on TV and said it was wonderful and encouraged everyone to come to do it.

I don't know how you can call that a flame slick, it was a pretty fair enough post, and I tend to agree with Richard. I quite like inversions, but the collective number of inversions found in the park doesn't phase me. BTW, what's the go with saying the parks getting "Crap Flats"? Yes Thunderbolt was a piece of history, but lets face it: The ride was rusty and, painful to ride. I don't know about anyone else, but I am baffled as to how Dreamworld can be condemned for getting rid of a ride that was constantly the source of complaint, especially when the closure is purely to introduce new attractions into the park.

Yeah, I'd like the bit of the Thunderbolt that didn't have any rust on it :shock: I tend to agree that a good (note that the show must be good) show would do the park well. Both SW and MW have shows that can fit literally 1000's of people, and that helps experientially with crowd control. Its no mistake that at SW, the first major show is right down the far end and the last major show is close to the exit. At the moment, Dreamworld only has the Imax theatre, a couple of kids shows on Nick Central and some wildlife displays, which, while being good in their own right (although "Thrillride - Science of Fun!" is getting kinda old) don't attract the sort of crowds that can take the pressure off the rides. I'm am however, going to stop short of saying that they should do things like a tombraider stunt show. I really think that Dreamworld should work on its own theme, its own show, based on the area of the park its in, and movies should not be a part of the parks scenery. That's my opinion anyway.

I'll stop by the park and pick up some photos either tomorrow or the day after. It is a big shock, but I must say, it was a good move on the part of the park. The ride had what can only be described as a piss-poor capacity, was a pain to ride, and towards the end, was made almost entirely out of rust. Just a thought, do you think this has made Dreamworlds public liability insurance much cheaper?

And just when I thought Dreamworld could do nothing right :shock: There was a bit of talk that the area of that side of the park was going to be expanded, with 'low impact' attractions (Apparently to keep favour with the parks neighbours and to help the approval process). So rather then building a big new coaster, I get the feeling this had more to do with freeing the land up.

Ok, I'm not normally one to comment on the content of a different website, but Australian Amusement Fanatics has one piece of info that is just to juicy not to go for. Read under August 10, and you'll see Breaking News - The Thunderbolt at Dreamworld took its final journey on Friday 8 August 2003, to make way for a new attraction opening in December 2003. (Quote from AAF). Interestingly, Dreamworld's website still lists the ride as operating, and Macquarie have announced no new major capital expenditure for this year. Anyone able to confirm this news as true or false?

In that case, what would you like to see? :twisted: I was going to agree with the previous posters, but I quite like that response, so I'll stay out of that part of the convo :|