joz

Is it just me or does Dreamworld really seem to be going about this in a really strange manner? I mean the phrasing implies the ride is unsafe, which is something you probably don't want to put on your website, regardless of how much "We inspect our rides everyday" talk you have around it. I'm much more interested in finding out what the story is with the ride is now then I ever was before I found out the ride was "Unsafe". Besides, when it does re-open, all the peeps will be thinking "I'm not going on Eureka Mountain Mine Ride 1 - It isn't safe"

Had a quick look on IMDB.com for upcoming movies, and a Harry Potter license should be right up on the list of things to get a hold of. Failing that, I have listed a few other Warner Movies which present a few options (some better then others of course ): Warcraft - Due 2008 - Based on the video game series, would probably translate quite well into a theme park ride, and you'd probably bet on the movie being something of a success. Maybe a shoot 'em up where guests could either play for the alliance or the hoard, and shoot at each other. Guests could even create their own character and spend many months at the park trying to get to level 60. Fools Gold - Due 2007 - Don't know much about the movie, except it claims to be an Adventure/Romance movie, and Adventure stuff tends to play well for rides. The only other reason you might want to do a ride for it is that it was filmed on the Gold Coast. Get Smart - Due 2008 - Steve Carrell is playing the title role of Maxwell Smart, and since he's one of the funniest guys doing the rounds at the moment I suspect this movie will do well. As far as theme park applications go, how about a new street show? Where the wild things are - Due 2008 - A beloved children's book, with the very appealing genre titles of Adventure, Drama, Family and Fantasy. If the book can stand up to time so well, maybe the movie will have some longevity. A passive dark ride where you enter into the kids fantasy and see all the monsters could be cool. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Due 2007 - I dunno, just felt I have to point out that there's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming out. Theme park connections are up to you. The Invasion - Due 2007 - Its an alien sci-fi horror movie. Maybe a good walk through attraction for next Halloween? The last - and quite possibly my favorite -Speed Racer - Due 2008 - This looks to be a remake of an old Japanese cartoon, and if the movie is anything like the cartoon, we're in for something special here folks. A brief search on Youtube reveals the opener, and wow, what a gem. Even if they don't build the ride, they could just play that theme song all through the park . That's some of the titles that caught my eye, feel free to look over the list here.

I don't have anything to say except The Pirates Of The Caribean was a ride first. Anyone else can feel free to jump in with a real reply here.

Read again: The sarcasm in Richard's post makes it a top candidate for post of the year.

Thats probably a better idea, trust me as a Gold Coast local, taxi's are a nightmare on NYE. Last year I (like many) walked home from Surfers, which is about a 4hour hike. Thing is I'm pretty sure it was quicker then catching a cab.

I'm sure everyone would agree that Ozcoaster is a good site, Ian does great updates on Australian stuff (the Rock my world is well worth a look if you haven't already) as well as looking at overseas parks. Plus Ian does his own thing, comes up with his own ideas and doesn't just rip off this site, he's got a different site with a different feel to it.

Thats true, and one quote on the subject that I happen to adore:

That reminds me, you're a top suspect man.

^ Now the fifth person who thinks I'm behind that site. Should've left the "Not a writer for AAL" title up a bit longer. Its not me, got a few suspicions on who it might be, though not sure. Even so, It does make for a fun read.

Australian designed from the same people who brought you Orphan Rocker! I agree with the consensus though, an actual ride manufacture would probably have been the way to go, but whatever, I'm sure it'll come up tops. Plus for the most part Australian designs have come out pretty good without a real ride company invovled, (Eureka, Bermuda, Vikings and Looney Tunes come to mind) so there is hope there. Good luck to them, they've been something of a staple of the Gold Coast for a while now, so its good to see them expanding.

Wow, both nights sold out and talk of more events next year. Hope the guest feedback is positive, because this sounds like a great success, and you'd think possibly the start of something huge.

Hard to tell, $10 would probably cover it, or at least damm close to covering it.

You know what, I've been wondering the same thing myself. The thing is I know the entire spit has a 3 story height restriction, and considering the height was alleged to have been one of the reasons the water park tower wasn't demolished a couple of years back (and that's from people who supposedly 'know') I got no idea. Maybe the Gold Coast City Council realise all of a sudden how much the parks do for the area, or because its temporary it doesn't count? I dunno, but I don't care, its too good a ride.

Well, last summer I went to the park on a couple of days, and for each day I was told the attendance was around 7000 (probably higher because of the way the ticketing was working last summer), and the only line in the park longer then 15-20min was 1 hour each for Scooby and Wild West. Having said that, I think 6000 might prove to be a bit oversold, particularly if Wild West doesn't open. Still the crowd of 6000 is easily enough to justify a second train on Superman, Road Runner and Lethal (3500 is the number the park normally goes by), so as long as the trains aren't sitting out the back in pieces then those rides should be operating well. Plus the scare zone in China Town should take a chunk of the crowds out the rest of the park (though surprised Blazin' Saddles isn't being used, that area seems prime for a scare zone to me, for crowd distribution as much as anything else. That whole area just seems wasted) IMHO). Hopefully though the guests will love it and the 6000 plus another possible 6000 will be enough to bring back the event bigger and better next year. The mind boggles with ways an entertainment savvy park like Movieworld could do Halloween. How about some scary shows in the Maverick building or Police Academy stadium? How about making Wild West Falls into a scare zone in itself. Or how about closing Matrix, turning it into a haunted maze, and never opening Matrix again?

Then the other 3 cables would hold the car. How anti-climatic.

Play a game of "wait and see' with regards to how long its there for. Supposedly the decision on whether to keep it permanently hasn't been made, and it depends on the popularity of the ride. Still, if its going to succeed in any park its Seaworld, since its the only Gold Coast park with any real views to show off. Good move, its the right ride for the right park. Plus the 1000 or so people per hour capacity will be very welcome given the high number of yearly passes floating around at the moment.

Well isn't it? It is a roller-coaster, that scares the snot out of many. Just because its themed doesn't mean its not a thrill ride. If that gets classed as a family ride before it gets classed as a coaster then I'm not on this planet. I mean come on, since when has a backward drop not been thrilling? Or am I missing something here?

Forgive me for being lazy and not looking this up myself (hey normally I do it for everyone else), but "Turbo Tunnel"?

Hey, there has been controversy around every major addition to SW since Dolphin Cove, so I guess public outcry has just been worked into the marketing campaign.

The great thing about that is the restraints are completely redundant. There isn't a snowflakes chance in hell in falling out of that ride even with no restraints. Having said that, they aren't completely without merit; they stops people from jumping out of the ride when they shouldn't be, which has happened on Splash Mountain, and more recently on the flume ride at Liesberg.

Because the likelihood of a shoe flying off and hitting someone in the head is much more likely, (and more damaging) then stepping on a splinter on a cherry picker. Same with Claw, GD and pretty much any ride with no floor. Besides that, the guest is also likely to loose said shoes on the rides, requiring a person to retrieve them, wasting time and possibly causing an operational delay.

In trying to find the name of the makers of the buckets, I came across another company that make them a nearly identical product, though seemingly more flexible in design, Koala Play group (as you can imagine with a name like that, the company is based out of the USA :? ). They have a couple interesting concepts, like adding the smaller tipping objects to water slides and lazy rivers. Worth a look for sure.

A super yeah pass would be a pretty good idea, though difficult to price. I mean once you start getting into the $200 range people would probably start turning off the idea, and since the price is around the $150 mark that doesn't leave much to work with. As for when the new tickets come in, well as someone who has no idea, I'd like to put a hefty sum of money on December 1st being the date all the changes take place. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the price of the Super Pass, as the way it currently stands 2 weeks unlimited entry costs about $11 a day, which is a steal really. Plus I'll be keen to see if the if there's an option to add-on AOS, Paradise Country or helicopter flights to the ticket line-up.

I bet that guy was shivering in his shoes when you told him you weren't impressed. Seriously, the park is running 2 trains on LW and RR, then you can rest assured there's probably a very good reason why the second train was out of service. Trains require maintenance, and even with the best maintenance around unforeseen problems will arise. Thankfully SM has two trains, and a great advantage of having two trains is greater reliability, when one breaks you can still operate the ride. Lucky you, you still got to ride, wouldn't be the same at DW or SW if the one train on one of those coasters went down. I'm not saying its great or ideal that you had to wait (at gunpoint?) in a 45min line (which was advertised as being a 45 min line), but at the same time, sometimes it happens, and you just have to grit your teeth and go along with it, and I certaintly wouldn't say that MW is a joke because of it.

Twas me. I figure the post belongs here, and if nothing else, this topic deserves to be revisited since MW's recent additions have really changed allot from what was in the feature article.