Gtmichaels

I myself have Luna Park Sydney as my local park, so the introduction of Boomerang, Big Dipper and Sledgehammer was huge for me. Never thought I would be so close to an Intamin coaster in my life! I think as Aussie enthusiasts, not only is it harder to get to other places in the world to pursue our passion, but it is also harder for other enthusiasts worldwide (for instance 7hrs from London to America, 16-20 hours from London to Australia). I remember other enthusiasts on youtube announcing a trip to Australia because of the recent developments, and the massive curiosity of DC Rivals helped quite a lot, and it sounded like they were talking about taking a trip to Mars with the way they spoke😅 I believe we are just so separated from the world’s best parks compared to say Europe or America. However, this also taught me how powerful just one new big attraction is for our tourism. Saw a lot of American enthusiasts on one of my most recent visits to Movie World! I am happy that parks around Australia are starting to introduce new world-class experiences. Still waiting for a B&M and/or an RMC! But seriously, the world of Oz and Jungle Expedition are really good investments, pushing the overall full-package experiences envelope further than I have seen previously. In my personal opinion, I believe that because we have not been an amusement/theme park-heavy country, the demand, cultural significance, and enthusiasm for such is markedly lower than elsewhere. If I talk to anyone from Europe or America, they instantly light up when talking about their local parks, even when they aren’t enthusiasts. Most people I know in Sydney haven’t been to Luna Park since they were children! I definitely hope that we even see new parks start to pop up in the future, grow a new generation of love for such attractions. Anyways, that’s where my head space has been in recent years on the past, present, and future of Australian parks. Covid really did a number on parks, and I was even a ride operator right before they shut down, definitely a scary time. However, I think the future of Australian parks is brighter than ever with these new investments and expansions!

Another mini update released via Dreamworld’s youtube channel https://youtu.be/k7jQeI5SEIA?si=5wzK4jr_EoyBnKDU

@HyprCoastr19 I was a ride operator at Luna Park Sydney for around a 6 months before I got new opportunities. I was casual, and was able to work the Halloscream event. It was definitely a fun experience, however I have a whole new respect for ride operators around the world now! Depending on what park you work at, i’d say the experience changes drastically. @STRAWSwas correct about the ride’s capabilities, as most rides will not start until all lap bars/restraints/seatbelts are locked and secured, making the job a whole lot easier. However, older rides may not have this type of capability, and may require a more vigil eye. Of course, training is provided in full. I would say it is absolutely worth a shot, and I believe all enthusiasts should try to operate rides at least once in their life. It’s definitely something that made me understand and appreciate more about the industry, so I am very grateful to have had the opportunity!

Can confirm this method works very well. On my previous visit, my wristband was acting up quite a bit, so I decided to try scanning my AP, and worked like a charm. Is very quick as well, and is going to be my go-to choice from now on. Skipping the queue (if any) at the AP desk is a plus too.

Was just there today, got a good view on the Ferris Wheel.

I agree, I actually love S&S shot towers, I don’t get that sickly feeling that I do on other towers. It’s got a nice pop of floater air time at the top, and I could honestly probably fall asleep on all of them, even combo towers! I also loved Tower of Terror at Disney World, I even found it more thrilling that any S&S drop tower i’ve been on. I’ve definitely heard of Lex Luthor being much more tame than other shorter Intamin drop towers. I may crank the nerve for a ride as it does look like it has sick views, and when I return to Florida I was going to try and get on Falcon’s Fury because I’m actually really excited for it! It went down before I was able to get on it whilst I was in line for it last time I visited. I think I would find it much less daunting by facing the ground, and not get that gross stomach feeling. Anyways, fingers crossed I have the nerve😵‍💫

I can’t stand drop towers… Still haven’t been able to get myself on Giant Drop, even Hair Raiser takes me out for the day. Can do any coaster, gigas and hypers around the world have been awesome and hands in the air fun, but those terrifying skinny towers in the air give me the absolute creeps. I remember only going on an upside down ride when I was in early high school, after that I went from always chickening out of Cyclone (when it was still called that) to riding every coaster at Movie World and Dreamworld that year. So yeh, probs gonna skip Lex Luthor when I visit SFMM soonish, however I’m pumped for X2😲

I believe you’re correct, they will probably be using the same system as Six Flags, where you can use a queue device (like the ones used for Dreamworld’s Q4U before switching to mobile) or your mobile phone to book reservations for rides (which is much more likely), and when it is available your device or mobile will notify you. Those queue devices always reminded me of quick-service food buzzers. Like @Park Addict 93stated, the tier system is very similar to The Flash Pass at Six Flags. I’ve had some great success with VQ, especially last December during high crowds, where I was able to get on DC Rivals three times using the free VQ, and the regular queue was up to 2-3 hours almost all day! I am super excited to hopefully be able to experience the unlimited fast pass again, it was a great way to spoil ourselves when heading to the Gold Coast. The compulsory one-shot fast pass system feels like more of a rip off. Although the price will be a little more than doubling for Gold tier, being able to get as many rides in as we can makes it seem much more better value than $80 for 1 ride on the best rides. I remember getting on DC Rivals more than 15 times with unlimited.

Just been following some construction updates from Lake Erie Lifestyles, which recently uploaded a small speculation video regarding one of Tony Clark’s twitter posts. We all know how much Tony loves to tease new attractions through hints and clues, and they even said clues would be coming very soon for TTD in the interview for the new Wild Mouse. Speculations for this number: 4,488,987 [4] Either number of records broken (possible examples shown in the linked video) or number of launches, if it launches spike first. [488] Most agree it must be the spike’s height (ft), making it the world’s tallest coaster once again! [987] Some say it is the length of additional track (ft) being added overall, or even riders per hour, however I agree most with the length speculation myself. I understand it’s all speculation, but I thought it would be worth a look😁

I have never been to AW unfortunately so I have no opinion made about The Plunge, but I had to go with WWF as my vote. It just screams classic, reminds me more of Splash Mountain (ridden) or Timber Mountain Log Ride (haven’t ridden, just going off of POVs) at KBF in terms of atmosphere. The variety and story-telling is classic, but charming, even when not all effects are working. Storm is a graceful and smooth water-coaster, a Mack beauty imo, however it is very short, has mostly repurposed scrap as theming (still looks awesome, but less attention to detail IMO), however I do like the hull of the ship where the drop descends into. It is perfect for what it is aiming to be honestly. What always bothered me though, was why they put the themed and immersive section AFTER the final drop, and not before as a build-up?? I feel that would have made a huge difference to the experience. However, best drop on a water ride in Australia is that awesome air-time popping drop on Storm, you really feel like you are in a typhoon! Not to mention, the mist is quite effective! Proud to have both WWF and Storm in my home country, both are great

Superman’s snappy launch and insane airtime in the back-row is what takes it’s place from ST for me. It’s honestly relentless, short but sweet. ST has a unique triple launch, and it’s definitely better than the other Blue Fire clone in Dubai that I rode (The Velociraptor). However, I find it much tamer of a ride experience, although it does feature imo Australia’s best inversion, man that heart-line roll whips!

Working at Luna Park as a ride op will forever be with me, however unfortunately short it was, I’m blessed to have had other opportunities open up that followed my degree and my dream future career, and that is the only reason I left. I can still feel the thrill of it, and making another person’s day THAT much better meant the world. Highly recommend a job at our wonderful Luna Park Sydney!

Yep pretty much same situation for me. Saw The Ride was pretty good but slightly rough for me, intense in certain sections though. Was Big Dipper III for me as well, really fun experience that I’m glad is in my backyard! Would really like to ride Abyss soon, as it’s one of the only major coasters in Aus I haven’t ridden 😅

Even though I have not ridden any of the new Vekoma suspended family coasters, I can say without a doubt I prefer TNT. KFF was rough and boring when I rode it last December. The new gen Vekoma models look amazingly smooth and quite fun.

The most recent Surfrider coaster to open I believe is Timmy’s Half Pipe Havoc, which has the new lap bar restraints. It has a 48″ or around 122cm height requirement, so getting new restraints for Surfrider would definitely make it more accessible. Hopefully it would also help out with the family-thrill lineup that will be lacking while Scooby-Doo is down🤷🏻‍♂️

Well, looks like he finally got to ride his first Mack Hypercoaster 😁

As much as I would love to see Adventure World get a brand new coaster to add to their very small collection, I feel as though GL and Abyss are a bit similar, with their compact designs, single car trains and beyond 90 degree drops. El Locos are like S&S’s version of a Eurofighter in my opinion. Still, they most probably have the money for that kind of attraction, especially if it’s second-hand, and absolutely they have the space for it. I really love the idea of Gumbuya receiving GL, like you said, it would compliment Project Zero well. Love the direction the park is heading towards!

I had my first ride on Leviathan on the 23rd. I found it absolutely relentless from start to finish. The turns were sharp and wild, the first drop gave me great floater, and the pacing was excellent. My family seemed to find it intense but rough as well, I on the other hand didn’t experience that kind of discomfort. Definitely the top woodie for me, although the only other one that i’ve been on (which even compares) would be Stampida at Portaventura. No competition from Scenic Railway or Wild Mouse here. It’s definitely my favourite ride at Seaworld. Vortex was quite a fun top spin as well, not as intense or as long as the one in IMG that I rode quite a while back during my trip to Dubai. Trident was closed due to “high winds”, but honestly when is the wind calm when you are situated in Main Beach. I also want to point out that the queue’s theming for Levi is incredible, and completely thrashes any queue in Australia. I found it close to a Universal style of theming, and the New Atlantis as a whole reminded me of The Lost Continent at Universal Orlando. Overall, giant win for Seaworld. Definitely have to visit the GC more often now (got a one pass recently so I have to!)

Halloscream was my favourite time to work on the rides. The crowds were mostly 20+ year olds at night, which allowed for quicker ride dispatches and nice convos. As a customer, Halloscream was always my favourite event. I am a huge horror fan, and since we are quite a bit away from Universal Studios, this is the best we have, and it’s not bad at all!

I love ElToroRyan’s videos, and his Problematic Coasters series is great. Just goes to show not all problematic coasters have to be old and/or cheap, new and expensive rides that are pushing boundaries are just as susceptible! I have also taken a liking to his TTD videos, and it seems other large coaster channels have referred to these videos when making their own predictions as to what is coming. He put forward a great argument for the LSM conversion theory, which honestly just seems to be what’s happening at this point 🤷🏻‍♂️ Anyways great recommendation for a youtube series, ElToroRyan is definitely one of the best coaster channels out there!

Didn’t know where else to post this, but I thought y’all should know Sledgehammer’s 360 mode (extreme) is apparently back in operation!

Oh man, that’s unfair to say the least. Seems like a very new thing, maybe to do with Easter crowds? I have no idea as I have never travelled up to Aussie World. For a second there, I thought it was Adventure World being atrocious again since they introduced weight restrictions on all rides. If this really is the deal for Aussie World, I hope it gets removed asap. Like you said, it is false advertising if they claim “unlimited rides”. I have no idea why Australian theme parks have a knack for making it harder to ride things, and we already are on the lower end of the world in terms of available attractions. It’s just insult to injury really.

Wow, when I went on the 16th, I knew it was bad, but I didn’t think it was such a noteworthy period for Movie World in terms of crowds. When we went, Rivals was a 3 hour wait minimum, SE wasn’t accepting people into the queue due to overcrowding and another 3 hour wait, and Wild West Falls broke down on us after waiting 30 min to ride. I knew DD was down for maintenance before coming, but for a family of enthusiasts who were visiting from Sydney, It was a really awful day for us. We did manage to get Green Lantern and Scooby doo, but that was just because we got there early enough to be in GLs line, and a spot opened up in VQ for Scooby. Got lucky to get something in I suppose 🤷🏻‍♂️

We had just visited Movie World yesterday, was only able to get GL quickly, and a virtual queue for Scooby. Superman and Rivals were up to 3 hour waits each, with an attendant at the SE line not allowing anyone else in until crowds lessened. WWF broke down while we were in line as well. And Fast Tracks sold out in less than 4min according to the staff. Horrible day The crowds weren’t managed very well in our opinion, with only one train on Rivals, and after visiting MW for over 16 years, this was a low point. At least the food was good! Also enjoyed the Batman Legacy showcase, pretty impressive.

Just rode ST today, on a trip to the Gold Coast with my fam. I have to say, it was pleasantly surprising. My fav elements were the second/backwards launch and the final corkscrew, it really “whips”! Rivals is better, but that’s honestly to be expected, I would place it behind SE but in front of GL if I’m relating it to the other current Gold Coast coasters, so the third best imo. I might post a trip report soon, going to Movie World tomorrow 👍🏻👍🏻