joz

I wanted to comment on the old ad theme of this thread, but in a related video I noticed this old gem: So who wants to explain where the croc in this bit of footage comes from?

It's not quite the right place, but on the other hand if you get to where he circled and can't find them, shoot yourself for the good of the species

Agreed

Don't worry about moving the posts Gazza, I got this I think Djrappa's observation is about the most interesting one that can be made; The fact they change CEOs every 2 years means there is no apparent strategic vision. In contrast, Village Roadshow Theme Parks have had 3 CEO's in 55 years. They'll be opening their 9th park shortly.

To be fair, it is a bit early to judge how its going to look when it's finished.

lolman123; we love having you here, we love having new any new members. Having said that, please don't just post unless you have something to contribute to the conversation. If you have an opinion, express it and explain why you think something. We like hearing what people have to say but we're not interested in every little thought you have; no one wants to read your internal monologue.

Except that Sea World has thrill rides, Movie World has family rides and a ton of shows with a solid theme, and Dreamworld doesn't have a water park. I mean if you're counting White Water World as part of Dreamworld, then WnW and PC both count as part of Movie World. Not really sure what this has to do with the discussion, there's just a part of me that felt it had to interject

This is just a small one but I thought some might find it interesting; a mansion built by Keith Williams (founder of the Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens/Sea World) is on the market for $3.1million. As well as Keith Williams, another of the mansion's former tenants is Dreamworld founder John Longhurst. Just thought I'd mention it, since the house has a history so connected with the Gold Coast theme parks. If anyone wants to spring the cash and donate it to Parkz so it can be our HQ please get in touch http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/06/14/453098_gold-coast-news.html

Don't let the rose coloured glasses fool you, Thunderbolt was a piece of crap. Rough as guts, with a dull layout after the loops. You wouldnt say the train negotiated corners, rather it slammed into the bend in the track until it was facing the right direction. Add to that it was run down and basically a relic, it is no shock, loss or surprise it's not around anymore.

Village Roadshow are quite good at this it seems

It's at night and in the middle of winter. Damn straight WWF will be closed, who on Earth would want to go on it? Also just in response to the previous commenter - I haven't seen any of the new Spongebob stuff, but it does seen more suited to a theatre than the Spongebob ride film that's in there now. A few 4D effects and a new movie with random elements? Yes please!

If you follow all the game plan guides out there and go on a mission first thing in the morning then park hop, it's possible to tick off a majority of major rides at two Disney parks, and maybe get a bit done at a 3rd on the other day, and you could probably skip Magic Kingdom quite happily if you've been at Disneyland recently. It just comes down to if you can enjoy visiting a theme park without any spontaneity and having your day being a quest to be as efficient as possible. I think there's a time and place for it, but to be honest if you think it's likely you'll return then just go to Busch Gardens and save Disney till you can spend time to do it properly. If you're not coming back, and you don't mind visiting theme parks like a soldier on a mission then try and get as much as you can done at the non Magic Kingdom parks. Depending on the crowds you'll have a good chance of knocking out most of the 'E-Ticket' rides.

As for the topic at hand I'd say it's not Movie World that's hurting Dreamworld, it's Dreamworld's inability to compete with the VIP pass. They so far haven't come up with a coherent plan to beat the VIP pass. That combined with sky rocketing land prices around the park make it easy to speculate about the park's demise. On the flip side though, according to all the reports the park is still profitable, and they are still investing in the park, what people on this site think about those investments is another matter entirely. If I could say one thing to Dreamworld management though it'd be that Dreamworld holds a special place in the hearts of many people. If they look after the place, invest in it wisely and don't treat it with contempt, it'll stay profitable forever. EDIT: The disscussion of the idea for DreamWorks to buy Dreamworld has been moved here.

Still too soon?

Oh Jesus stop this. Oh wait, I can close topics, thanks Jesus!

If you stay on Habout Blvd or anywhere around there you're pretty much going to be OK, they're all pretty good hotels and only a short walk from the park. In that context I'd also like to say that te Marriott across the road is also good. Plus there's a McDonalds between you and the front gate.

Except Scooby is in the way. Saying the show stage is next to Arkham is like saying Intencity is next to WB Kids

A few things to comment on here so I'm just going to take on the subjects in random order: * Yeah the height of the building was increased for the coaster section, the rest stayed unchanged. In fact here's a nerdy thing to do next time you're in the main queue room; look at the roof. You'll notice the roof slopes, that's because the the main queue room is where all the individual theaters used to be. * I hate to break it to you but the ride buildings are not built to the same standards as the studio. If you want proof of that just stand by the old entrance to Arkham, where the sound from inside the Scooby Doo building is clearly audible. Same thing was true of the Toons building, you could easily hear what was going on inside if you stood nearby. The Sound Stage numbers on the buildings are just for themeing purposes only. In a nuanced touch, they started counting at 9, as there are 8 sound stages at the studio and they are built in the same style, but that's really all the buildings have in common. It's also mentioned how you can get big things into those buildings, you'll notice when ever something gets built in those buildings a massive hole torn through the side tends to be the most popular entry point for heavy equipment. * What's up rock would be better performed in WB Kids. Or better yet, a new Looney Tunes show in WB Kids would be nice. I mean lets face it What's up rock is a pretty old show by now, it's getting on in years and Mack isn't going to refurb it any time soon. * Sure they could put a ride in the show stage. The back of house in that building is surprisingly big, and if they really wanted to they could put an indoor flat ride behind the stage and still use the current stage for shows. As for leveling the seating, I'm sure they could level most of it without too much drama. The question is how cost effective is it, and I suspect doing earth moving works inside would be quite an expensive option. FWIW I like the Show Stage as a venue, and I think it'd be great if they found a proper use for it. * Marvin being demolished isn't really a shock. The ride hasn't been open for a couple of years now, and given there's attention being given to that corner of the park it makes sense to redevelop that area as well. * Now that there's a decent kiddie car ride coming to the park can we finally kill Speedy's?

If I were a betting man I'd say it's that version, with indoor load/unload and a short Dark Ride/specual effects finale.

I'm pretty sure river ride had a similar distinction back when it was around, and Road Runner is also in its own section separate from WB Kids.

Question to all you people who take backpacks: what do you have in them?

Depends what sort of state Sydney's trains are in. Supposedly not too great, and since the trains are not in production there is an element of simply delaying the inevitable. Having said that though if they can get a good price and the bits they need are in good working order then absolutely it's worth doing.

As has been said, there are 3 trains on site, but one has been canabilised for parts. There's two obvious things about the monorail: it's an important ride for the park. It used to be considered more important to have two trains running than it was to have all the kids rides open, and I agree with that assesmet. Not only is the monorail important for transportation around the park but for the resort as well. I'd wager that if the Monorail were to go there'd be a measureable decrease in occupancy rates at the resort. The other thing though is it's nearly 30 years old. When the park did have 3 trains at least one was always in a state of rebuilding, with new electronics, new parts and just a general fit out, with 3 only ever being available for the Xmas holidays. Now it's down to running one on any given day, and that one train runs significantly slower than they used too. How much of it is a maintenance issue and how much is not wanting to pay a second driver is up for debate. No matter how you slice it though, it's an old system, and in need of a major overhaul. I think given how important a ride it is, that they should give Intamin or Roland Busink a call and prepare to spend a bunch of cash on new trains. With Air conditioning. I reckon they probably could advertise new trains to reasonably well affect, but overall it's just something that needs to happen eventually. And while I'm thinking about it, am I the only one thinking it's really time for those Nickelodeon wraps to go?

It's a job for Richard to mention how long the ignore list is, and that might be private anyway. I do however, feel I can make a public comment in regards to his complaint of disrespect: Lol. Sincerely, the mods.

I'd be pretty shocked if it were animatronic animals. Sea World is a park which features real animals, I very much doubt that they'd get fake versions of modern day animals. To me it seems like it will be animal exhibits, which FWIW I'm not really a fan of it since for me it strays too far from "The Sea" theme. Looking forward to the explanation that "All life evolved in the Sea, these are their land dwelling descendants"