Jobe

Have to say I see both sides of the coin here in regards to this argument. In the one corner , I am greatful that LPS has survived the many rigours and challenges that has befallen it over the years. The fact that it survives so well to this day is due to the diversification of its revenue streams. As much as I dont like it, it had to do so in order to survive. However there is a balance to these things. The place is still an amusement park and it certainly needs to up its game in these stakes. The rides it currently has are at the end of life and the whle park is in need of a renewal of its attraction base. When they annouced a couple of years ago that they had a 5 year plan of $20 millio dollar renewal, it was music to my ears. Here was an opportunity for the park to get rid of the old and usher in new , quality attractions. So far from these plans, we have only seen Volare surface but we can all agree that it is a well presented and excellent appointed ride. The coaster question is another matter. Many know on these boards that i firmly believe that LPS needs a 2nd coaster- nothing in the realms of the 2nd Big Dipper- those days are long gone and so is the space for it- but there are definitly a number of options that the park could and should look at. The Maurer SC2000 has long been rumoured to have been looked at and as we know, Pitt and Sherry had stated on their website in having done works on one for the park. What has happened to these plans is anyone's guess. As Slick has pointed out, a coaster similar to Iron Shark at Galveston Pier or even Rage at Adventure Island in the UK would also be ideal. Neither of these options would be out of place for LPS and would certainly satisfy the public's hunger for new attractions and another coaster. LPS themselves recognise the need for a signature coaster as the rumours of the Maurer spinner show. Room of course is the issue but here is where they need to get creative. Grona Lund in Sweden has shown that they can have a serious boardwalk park with numerous attractions whilst fitting many into small footprints. LPS needs a unified plan that uses its available space to the utmost- something that the park currently does not do. This is why the park feels disjointed and with minimal visble effort. A well thought out , new attraction scheme that makes use of every available space well with some attempt at theming is what the park desperately needs. Playing on nostalgia and its wonderful history is what LPS does best. Updating its attractions to reflect this history is certainly the way to go. New rides should hearken back to what was before , so therefore any new attraction must be chosen carefully. What is ideal is something that is new, unique or even rare in Australia and then theme it to one of the old loved rides from the past. Keep the names of Spider, Tumblebug, Wild Cat, Whirler, Big Dipper, Flying Saucer. New ones like Volare and Hair Raiser have been presented well and fit into the overall "feeling" of the park. Whatever the park does- it is certainly in the best shape legally to do so. They now have the strong backing of legislation that allows them to make these additions as long as they conform to the parameters set out in said legislation. This would include any new coaster of the size that we have speculated about. If they wanted to , then they certainly could move ahead with these plans. There may be some opposition and grumbling, but as long as it is by the book, thats all that it will remain- grumbling. Absolutely agree with Ray here. The old theming like this can and SHOULD be reinstated. This would not be beyond the realms of what can be achieved to put into place- either financially or realistically. I am just glad that LPS is still standing so that I can take my kids to the place. A trip to LPS for them happens every year without fail and they love the place as much as I do. They certainly know the difference between what LPS stands for and parks on the Gold Coast. There is nothing better than looking down the Midway of LPS on a Saturday night looking at the rides and attractions all lit up. The GC parks just cant compete with this atmosphere or aesthetic- nor should they. They are entirely different in range and scope. LPS , for mine is at a crossroads. The need for renewal is urgent and they have the opportunity to make long lasting improvements to the park that will last for decades. Management need to recognise the importance of the amusement side of the park and act accordingly to enhance the experience. Unfortunately COVID has hit the park plans pretty hard, like throughout the theme park industry. We will just have to wait a little longer to see these plans come to fruition. Fingers crossed that they are desrving of the history that they intend to represent.

There is still some speculation surrounding that...fingers crossed that something positive on that front occurs..

Yeah the Mystery Manor has been confirmed as being permanently removed for a while now. Its removal is what started the speculation about a new attraction to replace it- couple that with the markings that were spotted in Maloney's Corner at the start of March and we can hopefully see some more expansion plans come to fruition!!!

Interesting. Moon Ranger has been up for sale now for a number of years. The wording of that is interesting though. Will not return in its current form.....what does that mean? Is your source accurate and in the know or is this just speculation on behalf of the source?

Cheers mate. The only way forward is to have civil discussion like this. We can all have differing views as long as we are all respectful of each other. Its called being human and using innate intelligence to move forward. At the end of the day we are all themepark enthusiasts here and thats why we all come together. The fact that we can include sensitive discussions such as this in a civil and respectful way I think speaks volumes about every member in this community and the way that Richard and the mods have carefully crafted and maintained these boards. Kudos to all I think.

Yeah I reckon you are right here it just comes down to the timing of the announcement I guess.

Ah that makes much more sense. Just to be clear I am not calling the Black Lives Matter movement a trend- i fully support that 100%. I was referring to the trends that have come as a result of that worthy movement which has been linked to cancel culture. Some I agree with and some i definitely do not. I am just saying that I do not believe that in this instance, this ride represents racism and which is why I have namechecked Cancel Culture. The retheme is interesting- the Princess and the Frog hit 267 million worldwide and Tangled a year later hit 592 million.....not sure they have gone with the right IP to retheme to be honest. All good thanks for the discussion mate.

Was Tower of Terror rethemed though? It was changed to Tower of Terror II and the car reversed but that is not on the same level as a total retheme on this scale. Potentially you are right and this re-theme has been on the cards for quite a while. But the point of my post is HOW does this ride propagate racsim , other than its links to the film?. If you didnt know the movie , you would not find this ride racist ( and as we have both already agreed-that is a very tenous link indeed). Once you realise that, then you have to turn to the view that a) if this ride was on the cards to be re-themed, then Disney are now using current events and cancel culture views as a reason for expediting this retheme or b) they are REALLY reacting to the current trends and have acknowledged accordingly with announcing the retheme. So either way its a reaction to the current sensitive view on cancel culture. Thats not extreme to say that.

Just to be clear here and for clarity's sake- is this your opinion?

Probably true but to use this as the reason for the re-theme is exactly that- making a political statement and pandering to opinions of the day. The link to racism and this ride is tenuous at best despite what the propaganda will have you think. This is a knee jerk reaction from a company that doesnt want to be seen to be tarnished with anything negative at all - especially if its not wholesome and family orientated. The problem is, the target audience for this ride would not have a clue what "alleged" racial issues are with the theming on this ride. Hell, the majority of adults would see any linking this ride to racism as a massive stretch. Yes the original film had racial stereotypes and it was always a tender point for Disney in their history ( to the point where this movie is largely ignored in Disneys film canon) but the only link to anything racist is that this ride is themed to the characters of the film? Where is the racist undertones other that the linkage? Its sadly for mine another example of the extreme cancel culture that is inhabiting the world right now. That view may not be popular and others may disagree but it certainly bears further discussion.

They need to install the Alpine Coaster that they have had plans for and filed a DA for. This would be an Australian first and would be a very welcome addtion to Jamberoo's lineup!! The park's future is well assured - we have been visiting every year for the past 7 years and have never had a bad experience. Great park!!

Yeah it looks good. Its very similar to the one at Volcano Bay. I would say that the the Fearless River at Volcano Bay seems to flow a bit faster? Not sure but thats how it looked to me. The lift hill at the end is interesting- and it a bit of a let down in some ways. I thought it was going to lead to a downward slide of some decsription that would splash back down into the river but it seemed a bit anti-climatic. Nice example though.

Thanks Tim- I did not realise that!! Thats excellent- it appears that this type of slide just is not popular with water parks any more! It could be capacity- they do not look like they have a huge hour throughput but they certainly do look like lots of fun and they are very different from you bog standard tube slide or standard body slide. Any regional park like Jamberoo , Adventure Park , Gumbuya World or Funfields would do well in adding a well themed example like this to their attraction line up!! Just another reason to get to Perth to visit Adventure World!

So hilariously cheap? I think that is a bit of a misnomer. They certainly do not skimp on attractions- I dont think anyone would look at the ride line up at Six Flags Magic Mountain and call it "cheap". What they do miss out on is general theming and immersiveness that chains such as Disney and Universal prize so highly. Even SeaWorld Parks and Cedar Fair , overall , has general attention to detail and theming greater than most Six Flags. Its never been their strongpoint or even their purview. Thats not to say that they CANNOT produce highly themed attractions however, the quality of their rides is clearly undisputed. They certainly cannot be described as "hilariously cheap" IMHO.

Better yet an Action River would be the superior option. TeAwa the Fearless River at Volcano Bay in Orlando is a fantastic attraction. This thing MOVES. We stayed on for about an hour , just going around and around- it is so much more than a lazy river. Would love to see this option at WWW. I would just love a water park in Australia to bring back one of these Mountain Cascade style water slides- this would be a unique and i think very popular slide. There used to be several examples of this type of slide in Australia, most notably at the Waterworks in Mt Druit and at Dreamworlds Blue Lagoon. If not WWW, then Jamberoo , Gubuaya World or Funfields would be an excellent option for this slide in mind. Here is a great example from Quebec in Canada.

Get a high quality , immersive ride from a reputable manufacturer like Intamin and the public would soon lose its fear of rapids rides. However, it needs to be another park that actually installs it. Too many memories and the inevitable comparison to TRR would not be the publicity that Dreamworld would want. Plus it would not be a good look on behalf of the four families that lost loved ones on the TRR tragedy. If not Dreamworld then what park? It certainly doesn't leave a lot of candidates. Seaworld would be the obvious choice but does it have the land to support one? Movieworld would also be a good option but would need a major shift in footprint in order to fit one in. Other than that the list draws very short indeed. Adventure World in Perth would appear to be an excellent choice for an installation. Similarly Funfields could also be an option in the future. Beyond that , its highly unlikely. Dreamworld, as has been stated before on the boards, should concentrate on either a new immersive family Log Flume or a Shoot the Chutes style ride. However, if ANY park was to install a similar attraction as Infinity Falls at Seaworld Orlando then I am so there. This thing looks unbelievable!!

No roasting but they have had their day. There are far better , newer options out there that would make far more sense than a Vekoma Boomerang. However, one of their newer family shuttles would be just the thing. Something like this duelling family shuttle would be a viable option for a great family ride.

Interesting.......Source?

In other breaking and related news- Dreamworld have announced a new swing ride to finally replace Wipeout. It should be installed by Boxing Day...Check out the video of it below!!! 😋

Noted!!!!!!

Spot on Spotty!!!!!😊

I was thinking the same thing but if the native wildlife have moved in and its become such a sanctuary then I guess its hard to refute. Its crazy to think that Dreamworld would have any restrictions placed on them on what they wanted to do with land inside their own boundaries- but this is the world we live in currently. A return of some river cruise or boat ride would be a welcome return and a good family attraction- surely it would not be that expensive to do? Thrill rides are all well and good but the River Cruise is a much loved and lamented attraction and a return of it would be an excellent move by Dreamworld management. Along with a brand new Flume or water ride- these 2 attractions should be on top of Dreamworld's shopping list after the installation of the new coaster.

Showing your age there mate......😅

That would be up to the government of the day to decide as it is crown land. Its possible and if it coincided with the advent of the HighLine, then it would probably be a good compromise. I didnt say it would happen but you can bet your bottom dollar that LPS would be looking at that as a way of increasing their footprint. And seriously , given the land in question and what could be looked at, I definitely think that it would be a attractive compromise. Agree that there would be resident actions against it, but you cannot rule it out and LPS would be absolutely silly not to look at it.

Apparently in the comments, Expedition Theme Park explained that he wanted to focus this video on the creation of the park and would do another linking video that concerns the TRR incident and the later years. This then makes the title of the video that much more of a misnomer- given that there were very few troubles in its early years and up to the late 1990"s, early 2000's , it was arguably seen as the industry leader on the Gold Coast. *Edit* I messaged him on the channel with the same query and Expedition Theme Park has now changed the title , removing the "Troubled History" from the title. That seems like a very realistic change and far better suits this video. If he does a later video focusing on the TRR incident, i would have no issues using "troubled" in the title. Kudos to him for listening to public feedback.