Jobe

Depends on the marketing. It would certainly make Seaworld that much more of an attractive proposition and lets face it- who other than enthusiasts actually knew it was at WNW? Of course thats when it was opening and oeprating as well. I think it would be a positive move for Seaworld to acquire.

100% agree here. They are totally different in ride experience and even to a casual punter, they would never be compared to being similar. Again, 100% agree. The height factor and being blwon around by wind forces make rides like Trident actually more thrilling than they appear. I think the term Family friendly needs to be underlined in regards to this attraction. I kind of get what you are getting here, but given the previous history of where Seaworld has had a perfect mix of rides and attractions to currently having a dearth of available rides, surely having Surfrider be installed would not be a detraction? The very nature of the ride and its small footprint means that this could be installed virtually anywhere in the park with minimal issues. 140cm is 4 feet 6 inches- this is not an OVERLY tall restriction and in my mind, still very accessible for the target audience. Small to mid teens would fit this quite comfortably and since families are not exclusively made up of parents and toddlers, this allows for a very broad based appeal. I just think that it would be a win win to follow the original plan and have Surfrider installed back into a park that certainly needs more attractions to give a full day experience. It would only add to the flavour of the park. Please note that I do not think it would happen but I think that the idea has much more merit than what it is being given. Of course, I certainly agree that a new Flume ride and an observation attraction would be ideal for the park and should be a priority. However, relocating Surfrider would still be an attractive option, even under the umberella of requirements that we have just outlined. I actually agree here- this would not be a bad option at all. Surely the likes of Gumbuya, Funfields and even Luna Park Melbourne would be extremely interested if this ride was put to market. I think you will find that the majority of the issues found with Surfrider at WNW are to do with trying to make it a mixed dry/water attraction with misters and water being involved in its daily operation. I do not think that a different location such as SeaWorld would affect the ride in an overly negative way.

Yeah agree 100% here. This is not the finished product, they have obviously had delays and I think they have got it to the point that its able to open to the public. This will be huge for them. The theming and presentation still needs some work and like @DaptoFunlandGuy, I am confident that they will deliver. Remember that the awesome Funnel Web Spider was installed a full season after the slide actually opened, so there is definitely precedence here for the park. Bring it on- its going to be an excellent attraction for Jamberoo and its hould give them the sprongboard for a very busy season!

Ah. Fair enough but whilst I think Jet Rescue has its moments , for mine , it just falls under the “fun” category. I think Leviathan will certainly have its thrilling moments as well but think itI will also be intensely fun but not overly extreme. Top Spins are a different beast IMHO It all depends on the cycle. I have been on some Top Spins overseas where the cycle can only be described as insane. Sure Vortex is run fairly placidly but the ride type certainly has the capacity to be run very extreme. But as stated before, I think that neither is not a reason for not having Vortex nor Surfrider for that matter, in the ride line up at SeaWorld. It’s ride offering has required deepening for years and the addition of Surfrider would be a very positive step. IF it happens which unfortunately it more than likely won’t. But it should in my opinion. It would be best for both SW and WNW and would correct an experiment that was deeply flawed and ultimately a fail, in my eyes.

Sorry I disagree entirely with this opinion. Adding in Surfrider would only round out SeaWorld's ride offering, NOT limit it. This park is a broad based family destination but this does not mean that adding in thrill rides would limit or blunt its attractiveness as a family destination. The park has an excellent kid section that is hand on heart, a better offering than what is down the road at MW for the same demographic currently. Leviathan is being marketed as being a family thrill coaster and it should be accessible to the majority of the families its being appointed to, with the excpetion of the under 8 age bracket. Vortex , I will admit , was an interesting choice of a flat ride for Seaworld, however, its installation should not be questioned just because of its thrill factor. The ride is definitely more intense than what Leviathan will be. Adding Surfrider in to the mix adds another compact coaster which most family demographics can and will ride. It would give Seaworld a boost to the attractiveness of visitation to the park for families who may only be wanting to visit one park and are having to choose between either Dreamworld or Movieworld. Seaworld offers excellent animal attractions, newere thrill attractions and also great kiddie attractions. Its inclusion would be for a far more alluring and compelling offer for families. Finally, Surfrider at Seaworld makes far more sense than having the ride at WNW. Having a coaster like this as a token dry ( essentially) ride in a park that is entirely populated by slides and wet attractions did not and still doesnt make sense to me. I think we can all agree that the experiment of having it in WNW has been overall, a failed concept. Moving it to Seaworld now has so many pros attached to it, to not do it now that with the removal of Vikings, and the land that this frees up, would be another epic fail, for mine. All of the above. And Surfrider reimagined. 🙂👍

Its funny how many enthusiasts are visiting the same park for vlogs at virtually the same time. Just recently watched Theme Park Worldwide visit here for the first time as well as Coaster Studios. Both were extremely informative vlogs and they conveyed a good sense of the park. Great trip report Gazza. This and the aforementioned vlogs has definitely put this park on my radar for a visit.

Jamberoo has officially confirmed that the new attraction Velocity Falls will open with the new season in 6 weeks time!! This is fantastic news for the park and it should be a huge winner with the punters!! I can see Jamberoo having an excellent season !! Looking forward to visiting in February to check out the new installs.

Maybe not in Sydney but you really can if you cover all of NSW. NSW has as its major parks Jamberoo Action Park, Raging Waters Water Park and Luna Park Sydney. Victoria can include Funfields, Gumbuya World, Adventure Park and Luna Park Melbourne. Its certainly more than NSW but only by one and the existing NSW parks can compare reasonably well to their Melbourne counterparts. NSW certainly needs a new theme/amusement park ala Wonderland and at the moment we are outnumbered but certainly not beaten yet. We could also add in the very small NSW parks such as The Big Banana Fun Park ( which is adding to their water park + Australia's first ever Alpine Coaster) and also Merimbula's Magic Mountain ( which has a perfect good coaster credit in the Sapphire Speedster Coaster). Hopefully these parks will continue their consistent investment which could see them one day take a more major role in the Australian amusement park industry. Outnumbered we may be but we are definitely not outgunned just yet!!

Luna Park Sydney has appointed a new CEO , replacing retiring co- CEO's Warwick Doughty and Peter Hearne. At 37 years of age, John Hughes is the youngest CEO in the park's history and has come to this position after managing FOX studios in Sydney. As long as he respects the important history and uniqueness that is Luna Park and he strives to preserve its legacy as effective as Warwick Doughty and the previous team, then I am all good. Hopefully the place is in safe hands. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/studio-boss-who-brought-thor-to-sydney-will-run-luna-park-20220727-p5b52w.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1o9HD9U40Q5x1gF3CBzG2S0AHd02l1IyeEtbL1_giPacbmUdfZCddg7dk#Echobox=1659224458

Pretty sure it was $30 million in total. Definitely not a trivial amount. The most expensive part was the 2 coasters- one being the prototype first ever single rail launched coaster in the world. You would think that would generate hype anywhere. If it was in Queensland it would have been extensively covered. It will be interesting to see how much coverage the 2 coasters at Gumbuya actually receive. Did the preview booth at Gumbuya give any indication of when these attractions will be opened for anyone that has visited?

So….not a lot happening at the moment. Hopefully this gets kickstarted to begin in earnest soon!! It’s WELL overdue and would be a great addition to the Sunshine Coast attractions!!

Hmm. Surely the bad optics is being driven from the sensationalist media articles that are identifying this as a point to drive traffic to their websites? If the sensation was taken out of the headline and an article that just reported on the situation without any hyperbole would somewhat mute those bad optics surely.

Ok interesting. Can you explain the timeline further? From my understanding the announcement was in March of 2019? COVID hit pretty hard soon after that? We have had 2 and half years of lockdowns, border closures and disruptions since then?

This is an interesting situation. Being based in NSW , I am neither biased towards either Village or Dreamworld. From a measure of outside looking in, my take on the situation is that Dreamworld had in place a grant that was approved to build a Koala research centre for a specified sum. This was a government grant and from the looks of it , was approved and planned pre-pandemic. Then along came COVID, the priorities of the park shifted (along with revenue and patronage during this time). DW obviously decided that they needed to alter their plans and saw they had a pool of money for a planned koala research centre. Given that they found that they required help to build a bright, shiny , expensive new coaster , they asked the government if these funds could be diverted towards the new coaster , which will help the park survive in these times and lead the park through the pandemic and give people a reason to return to the park post pandemic. Given that DW is a massive part of the GC tourist landsacpe, the government not unreasonably , saw this request for what it was , a diversion of already approved funds , to help a struggling entertainment entity deliver a new atraction that would aid in their post pandemic recovery , thereby aiding in keeping what is arguably one of the states most important tourist attractions and areas solvent and viable. The government approved this and it was all above board. From my perspective, it certainly passes the "pub test" . I think we can all agree that the presentation of the Steel taipan coaster and the success and influence it has had on DW has been very positive. My overall feeling on this situation is that things change and priorities shift. To me this , what DW have done here is not something that I feel is in any way morally corrupt or illegal. I think it shows good business sense and use of available funds to aid in an unprecedented situation in order to help the business survive.

Relevant question. How many kids of the age and demographic they would be targeting are actually overly familar with the Wizard Of OZ IP? Potentially this will have more nostalgia for the parents?

Here is some offride footage from the coaster from Coasterforce. This Sartori Energizer coaster opened on 27. June, 2008 and closed on 5. July, 2008 after the front car derailed and crashing to the ground injuring four people. It remained closed to repair the damage and construction flaws until 29. May, 2009 and has operated flawlessly ever since- until today. It is a one of a kind installation.

Yeah fixed yours for you as well, so no good deed is left unturned.🙂 I have plenty of non enthusiasts friends who will visit Movieworld and see the removal of AA being replaced with a family SFC and 2 family boomerangs as being a bit of a letdown. ( Glad we sorted out it was 3 coasters as well😆) IMHO, a good proportion of the paying public will compare the removal of a 27 year old iconic coaster to what it is being replaced with. Sure it will be a nice shiny new attraction, and there will be plenty ( and rightly so) who will mention that AA was a rough coaster and ride. BUT they will still compare and in this case, my bet is that there will be a fair distribution that will say " Yeah thats a great new attraction but gee it doesnt really hold up to Lethal Weapon" or " Wow I like the new coasters but its nowehere near as intense as the good old Lethal Weapon......" or " Gee remember when the previous coaster that was here?? Now that was an intense ride.." The ride has had 27 years to burn in the consciousness of the public that have visited MW when they were young and now visit with family's of their own. To say that the majority will blithely accept the new additions in an overly positive light probably downgrades most non enthusiasts ability to make a value judgement. I concede that there will be people will who see what is being installed as a great new attraction ( especially those with young families) but to blanket every non enthusiast in this way is a tad disingenous, for mine. See I get what you are saying here and agree in principle but I feel its not as simple or as clear cut as that. Yeah there will be families who will look at this as a win but then you have to look at the segments within the family base. Your statement is true only for those families within a certain age bracket- ie kiddie to say up to maybe 12 year olds. What about the families who visit that have early to young teens who ARE looking for thrills? A thrill coaster will serve their needs just as well if not better as 3 family coasters- some would even be looking for the thrills condition over the family aspect. That doesnt mean they are enthusiasts just that they love a thrill coaster. A big large looping coaster burns more brightly in the consciousness of any person and most of the paying public are very familar with US based theme parks and what they offer. To not have a ride like AA as an option or see it removed and replaced with what is akin to being seen as family coasters would be IMHO, be seen as a bit of a disppointment for that family segment- especially when they compare our parks to their US counterparts. Thats just human nature. We have already ascertained that Rivals was never meant to be a direct replacement for AA with the timegap between their installation/removal too large.The paying public would never see Rivals in any other way than the excellent new addition it was, which is an important designation as opposed to classifying it as a replacement. So in summary do I feel that the 3 new family coasters will be a good addition? Absolutely!! As plenty of posters have pointed out , if these do go ahead, then they will be a strong asset for the park and fill an important gap in the parks offering- which is capacity. However, because we are all enthusiasts here we can see that this argument will hold true. Do I think that most of the paying public will view the coaster in that light? No I do not think so. We cannot put forward an argument from an enthusiasts point of view ( in this case that the new attractions are great for the park from a capacity point of view) to one where we say that only enthusiasts will mourn the fact that we are replacing a thrill coaster with 3 family coasters. That simply is not the clear cut case in this instance. Do I think that MW should replace AA with a STC and a family Boomerang? Once again a resounding absolutely- but I do concede that is the enthusiast in me talking. Do I feel that MW replacing AA with 3 family coasters will be good for the park and fill a much needed gap in their lineup- ie family attractions and capacity soaker? Yep- repeatedly- absolutely but once again- this is an enthusiast argument and opinion. I just dont think that we can blanket either of these views over the entire non enthusiast paying public. What ever the park decides to install I do look forward keenly to see the final product.

100% accurate. Its not like for like. DC Rivals was never meant as a replacement for AA anyway and the all the public will see ( rightly so) is a suspended looping coaster being torn down and potentially being replaced with an inferior ride ( in thrills in this case). Its not apples for apples. Also DC Rivals has been open for 4 years. It can hardly be viewed as any potential replacement for a coaster that has stood side by side for that length of time- albeit mostly in a SBNO state.

Yeah they are a bunch of flogs on that site . I am hearing you.. Had the exact same problem. You cannot say anything remotely true if it’s negative.towards MW. The admin group are ruled by the crazy lady and her paramour friend-a moronic messenger if ever there was one. They aren’t all bad of course. There are a couple of them that are decent- they just let the main 🛎 ends influence their decisions.. Incidentally, most of them post on this forum, which is ironic given that they freely feel the need to block people from their site for dubious reasons and yet they want to be part of every other forum. Weird. Best to stay away and apart. They are mostly irrelevant.

Or late for dinner.....

Quick update since I was in Coffs for work. The Zamperla Demolition Derby is completed and appears to now be open. It’s a well presented little ride- if a little odd as a stand-alone attraction. However the new slide structure building seems to have stalled- there does not appear to be much progress to have been made since Gaza’s visit. I am sure the park are still hopeful of a Summer opening - possibly Xmas- and this date is still achievable, however they will need to pull their finger out. Also no sign of any work on the planned Alpine Coaster as of yet , unfortunately.

Just wondering is this article from the official media release? Firstly isn’t the tagline incorrect? It’s hardly the Sunshine Coast’s first roller coaster- the now defunct Wild Mouse surely would have that claim. This headline is very misleading. I guess it must have some elements of a media release as from previous experience this is the gateway to getting an article on Parkz for a new opening coaster (Cough Big Cough Dipper) This will be an exiting new attraction for Aussie World and is the continuation of an excellent expansion plan by the park. Looking forward to what else this park has in store over the next couple of years given that their master plan was released several years ago. This is the right attraction for this time and should prove very popular. Good job Aussie World!!

Yeah. It definitely looks in house but its a toboggan and thats why it was included in my post above with every other toboggan listed in Australia still operating. Not sure when it changed from a more traditional toboggan to its current format though- I suspect it may have been sometime in the last decade. Happy for anyone to post more accurate info on this! Thanks for the links and yeah there was no forgetting- just to clarify the email stated that the Alpine Coaster was not part of any current or future development applications. This does not mean that it was not part of a DA previous to Velocity Falls and then withdrawn- this happens all the time. The fact that the park had detailed planning and obvious advanced stages for the attraction makes me believe that a DA must have been applied for at some stage. The park has obviously decided to prioritise on their slide attractions but did not rule out looking at this later down the line- if at all.

Could be! Aussie World, like Seaworld, certainly know how to stretch out a ride opening these days…….