joz

Odly enough, I had a customer today with a 3 park super pass who came back to SW. When asked about what he thought of the other parks, he said that he came back to SW because MW is too commercial, and SW handles the crowd better. I asked him what day he went to MW, and he said he went on Monday (same day as Richard). So Richard does make a very valid point about expanding the park. Personally, I think Movieworld with 4 major attractions (Lethal Weapon, Wild West Falls, Scooby Doo & I guess you can count Batman as well) already has enough major, especially considering Dreamworld only has 4 major attractions (Giant Drop, Cyclone, Tower of Terror & Wipeout), and Seaworld has a grand total of 2 (Bermuda Triangle & Corkscrew). No, the problem with Movieworld is just that its too small, and the layout is appalling, to say the least. The 'T' shape of the park is an example of a nice sounding idea not working well in the real world. The best solution right now from my point of view, would be to put the entrance to their next attraction behind the stunt show. Make paths to the ride from both the Wild West section and the Looney Tunes Village, that way there'd be heaps of room to add food shops, a few flat rides (something that I think Movieworld really needs some more of) some more toilets, and perhaps a quiet area of the park, and you've got yourself a whole new area of the park to explore. What ever they do, they'd better get on with it; I know of at least one customer from today who'll only be going out to SW and DW next time they come up to the Gold Coast.

Wonderland Op: You have no idea how theme park chains work do you? Movieworld Seaworld and Wet 'n' Wild are owned by Village Roadshow. But the theme parks are still a separate company (Warner Village Theme Parks). Wonderland is owned by Sunway and Worldwide Holdings, and is under a separate company called International Theme Parks. Its exactly the same sort of set up. If Wonderland went bust, then International theme parks would be charged. Your theory that if Wonderland went bust it would be like Ansett is also misguided. If Sunway went bust it would be like Ansett, because then there'd be no company to go back to. But if Wonderland went bust, Sunway would still have to pay up, (through International theme parks, but Sunway would still be left with the bill). And finally, one thing I really don't get; You seem convinced that Wonderland attendance is going down, and there are going to close their doors unless there is an improvement, so why are you trying to convince people not to go? You were really quick to say that Bush Beast was closed, but you never told us when the ride opened again. Your telling us not to buy season passes, and that Wonderland is hardly worth a visit any more. What do you want to achieve by this? Personally, if my work was going under, and my job was at risk, I'd be trying to get as many people as I could to go. What's this about management telling staff about new rides and not delivering? Another point about theme parks when it comes to new attractions: They change there mind very easily. Half of the new attractions I hear about from management at the park I work at are never built. I've even heard management talk about 1 attraction only to come out a few months later and announce a different attraction for the same bit of land. Just think, Dolphin Cove opened in 1997 and was announced to staff as a new attraction for 1994. Get over it man, if Wonderland said that the grass is green, you'd probably take that as a hint that the park is looking at the land so they can close Wonderland.

I might be able to help you out with that, I took some photos of the station with a camera that cost about $4 (so priced because someone had taken it out of the bag and took a photo with it ) If it works, I might have a photo of that which I could scan and send to ya. I doubt I'll put it on the website, I'm sure that there is some copyright issues there :shock:

Ok, I went out to Movieworld last night, and tried Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster for the first time, and… wow! What can I say; this IS the best ride of any type on the Gold Coast Starting by looking at the queue area, easily the best themed in Australia. The strange thing is, that the main room in which the queue is based, is oddly pleasant to be in, especially with the video playing. It is generally interesting, and almost makes you want to stay in there and watch the whole thing. This isn’t really much of an option with the capacity of this ride, as the queue moves incredibly fast. The first time I went on it, there were probably 300 people in front of me. If I was going on Cyclone, and there were 300 people in front of me, I'd be stuck queuing for probably the better part of an hour (on a good day). More over, I would be, for quite some time while queuing, be in direct sunshine, and would be driven quite insane by constantly repeating sound effects. Scooby Doo on the other hand, got through 300 people in less then 15 mins, but because the queue is always moving, the time flew by, and it felt like I was queued for 5 mins tops. Once you’re on, the haunted house part of the ride begins. While I haven't been on a haunted house for some time, I'm as good as certain that very few would match the quality of Scooby Doo. Never mind the thrilling dives, which the haunted House section of Scooby Doo impossibly abounds. At the end of the haunted house, you come to the end of the track. Even if you know the vertical lift is on the way, its a surprise to see how it handles; even though you've been told that the lift leans to the side while going up, its a shock (to say the least) to find out the angle at which the elevator tilts. Scooby Doo contains one of the greatest oddities that you'll ever find on a coaster: Its that 2 cars are sent out within a short time of each other, and the car that is sent out second, comes into the station first. This was made apparent when I turned around on my first ride to wave to people in the car behind as I left the station. When the ride had finished, I exited to find those people whom I had turned around to wave too greeting me in the station. At first it made no sense, but on subsequent trips, the reason for this became apparent: As the first car enters the lift, it waits briefly for a second car to join it in its ascent to the top. Once there, the second car leaves the elevator backwards, with the first car following soon after. What’s this I hear you say? That’s right, backwards, down a fairly sizeable hill, the car plummets backwards into darkness, before it crests a hill, is stopped and turned around. While the car is stopped, it becomes apparent that the room that your now in is actually quite big, and other cars are making there way around a semi-visible track. As you notice the theme music to Scooby Doo in the background, and quite a few laser beams, your car is shot forward, and here you go through the 'normal' wild mouse coaster layout. Once you've left a series of switchbacks, you come to what is in my opinion, the best part of the ride, a very fast, very steep, very tall dip, which if your not paying attention, will give you quite a shock, as the amount of 'air' you get is insane to say the least. As you round a bend, it becomes painfully clear that the ride is almost over, but not before a quick dip under a wall, and a tight turn. When exiting, you walk out a dimly lit hall, reminiscent of the queue area. Upon exiting, you discover that your not too far from the entrance, and promptly run back to ride again. No other ride at Movieworld (or quite possibly on the Gold Coast) is as re-rideable. I get the feeling that Lethal Weapon and Wild Wild West are going to be near walk on for a long time, now that Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster, quite possibly the best ride in Australia, is open.

Its funny you should say that. When I found out I was going to be riding at night I got a bit excited untill it dawned on me that the whole ride is indoors, so it probably won't matter. Still, should be good to see all the lighting effects and the outdoor spooky themeing in the dark. Also, just on the cars, they'll probably be parked somewhere near administration or security.

Haven't ridden it yet, ganna head out next Thurs. night for a function, and hopefully ganna give this one a ride. From all accounts its a great ride. On a side note: all the Village Warner Theme Parks company cars are now themed to 'The Mystery Machine', which although being a touch corny, is pretty cool 8)