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wikiverse

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  1. I think that is fair. I visited the park for the first time since 2015 a few weeks ago. It's definitely improved, but there is still a long way to go. The park feels a lot smaller without Gold Rush. I would like to see something substantial take the Thunderbolt plot and have that area integrated back into the park before they cross the $150 mark. It'd be nice to have an 'out of control' feeling coaster like a wild mouse or Raptor, which is definitely missing from the line up, and Kevil Hill needs to come back as the laser tag - even just for peak periods or for Night Markets. Also, as controversial as it might be, in my opinion, Forest Flyer and Gold Coaster need to go. They're really rough and painful rides. The vest restraints on GC felt like they were going to decapitate me, and KFF just hurt. Ideally they could be replaced with other similar rides - potentially Vekoma could do a custom SFC to fit the KFF space, and Gold Coaster could be replaced with something like a Chance Hyper GTX. Committing to killing GC would open up many more possibilities for that end of the park, since the big thrill coaster could go on the Thunderbolt plot and a smaller one - like a Wild Mouse or Raptor in the GC spot. They also need to get rid of GC's queue building. For me, that would essentially make the park feel 'complete'. It would still be missing a solid water ride, but I think we're still a decade away from DW going down that route again. I will say though, despite Tailspin and SS and DF being down for maintenance, I had a really nice day. The park does still feel a bit like a construction zone, and the 'flow' of the park layout is a bit messed up, but BY FAR, the biggest difference to any Village park was the staff. They were genuinely kind and friendly, even at the food outlets they just great to have around. The food offerings are also good. The Fried Chicken was actually a decent sized meal with actual flavour and wasn't too dissimilar to what I would find in any RSL or surf club in both price and quality. If they can maintain that, I think $149 for a year is fair, and hopefully brings in enough money for them to replace some of the older rides.
  2. Wow! I can't wait for this to be the only ride within a ride in the southern hemisphere operating at MW.
  3. Hot PR tip for the person managing the social media account: If you're explaining, you're losing. Everything in that statement prior to the last paragraph should never, ever be said publicly or privately to a paying customer. They do not care about why the rides are closed, planned or not. They care about the fact that they've paid $110 to enter the park to watch HWSD2 while eating $20 chicken nuggets and possibly getting a ride on WWF, if it's open. They care about the disappointment they're experiencing for paying so much money to effectively enter an overpriced, extremely limited shopping mall. Movie World's failures are not the customer's fault - even if scheduled maintenance is listed on the website, people expect the majority of rides to be open, not one ride for part of the day. Acknowledge the unplanned stoppages and then direct people to guest services and tell them that you want to make it right. Don't say that guests are going to be 'well informed and an outcome achieved'. That's effectively code for 'Go F*** Yourself, no refunds'. Just acknowledge the disappointment, acknowledge the unplanned stoppages, acknowledge that this is not how you want guests to experience the park and then direct them to guest services because you want the chance to make it right. That's it. What guest services offer can be tailored to what the guests want, but don't blame the visitor because Movie World can't keep on top of ride maintenance enough to keep even ONE roller coaster operating. Right now, you're taking a bad situation and making it worse.
  4. This is why attractions like the Movie Magic Special Effects Show and the old Batman Simulator rides are important in a park's line up. Even if half the simulators break, or if one effect isn't working, you can still operate the attraction at reduced capacity, or stretch out other parts of the show to fill the time. At this point they should just do a Luna Park, open the park for free and sell wrist bands to kids that want to go on rides, hope that parents spend up on food and merch.
  5. This might be controversial, but I don't think that HWSD2 needs to be replaced with a 'stunt' show. It just needs to be an entertaining show with some big set pieces, if there are a few 'stunts' along the way then that's great. Honestly, if they were to do a Mad Max, Dune or DC themed show, a lot of the 'stunts' could just be fully automated rigs that are completely safe and require little to no human skill, as long as they're built into the story and give the illusion of action and suspense. I think we'd all love to see a high quality stunt show, but if budget is the issue, then rig everything. It wouldn't be difficult to create an exciting and entertaining show using nothing more dangerous or skillful than what HWSD2 offers, and it would be a much more appropriate venue for BMX (or motorcycle) tricks than Seaworld.
  6. At least some of the elevator is getting replaced along with Scooby's track, and the shed and elevator are the same structure, so it is possible that section of the building might be pulled apart for access/installation when the time comes. I doubt they will paint or wrap the entire height of the tower, although if the main entrance is from Superman, it would be a very impressive visual if they did.
  7. Would you guys mind posting some examples of what you think it should look like? Keep in mind, this serves 3 functions: Provide a clear, visible entrance to the ride Provide shade Provide a physical barrier between the Superman track and people because VRTP insurance doesn't allow rides to go over pathways. I'm just keen to see what you would want installed instead, given that this is a relatively minor flat ride.
  8. I might be seeing this differently to others, but... It is perfectly acceptable (and psychologically necessary in many cases) for single-sex events and single-sex venues to exist, but the staffing in those venues and events should be in alignment. Usually when community or religious groups are hosting single-sex events it's so that people can connect and relax and talk about gender specific things (like mental health or relationship issues) without having to moderate what they say lest it offend, or attract judgement from, the opposite sex. Sometimes it's just about forming the connections and the bonds so that those important conversations can happen later. This doesn't mean people have an excuse to harass others, but this is not just isolated to men or Muslims. I've seen the inverse of this multiple times in my life where male staff are harassed at women-only events. In most cases sexually harassed, including physically. I've seen women (often unattractive) groping the genitals of young male staff who are just trying to do their job - sometimes alcohol was involved, but not always. I've also seen men get abused by women from Vulcana Women's Circus because Powerhouse (before Vulcana moved) allowed a production company to rent the space for a day to film some scenes for a documentary - on a day when no circus activities were actually scheduled. Vulcana did not own the space, they were just renting it like anyone else to provide a womens-only circus. The women were verbally aggressive to the men, but also intentionally made a lot of noise while they were filming to ruin their takes (which ironically led to them being there longer). The nature of exclusive events gives people a sense of entitlement and they often behave in ways that reflect this. They are attending a single-sex event or venue and have fairly reasonable expectations around it being single-sex. I don't think having a men's-only event is an issue, nor do I think it would be a problem for the women in the same community to book the park for a women's-only event. But I do think that venue has a responsibility to align their customer facing staff to the nature of the event they've agreed to host - not just for the benefit of staff, but also for the customers whose expectations are for it to be single sex. For example, I wouldn't expect to see male staff at an female only gym, and I would expect some women to behave disrespectfully or even aggressively toward a male staff member. It doesn't make their behaviour ok, but the gym gave the customer expectations of being a single-sex venue and then didn't meet those expectations. People are going to get frustrated or, at the very least, be disappointed. To generalise this and remove the single-sex/religious component to this story, If a venue were hosting an award ceremony for people with disabilities and then installed a stage that was only accessible via stairs, you would expect people to become angry at the staff/venue for not considering the nature of the event and needs or expectations of the attendees. There is room in society for men and women to have their own spaces, even temporarily at events like these. I may be alone in this opinion, but I don't believe the solution is to say 'don't host events like this', I think the solution is for venues to be a little more thoughtful about the events they host - if they're providing staff they're not just a venue, they're also a service provider and need to provide a service that meets the expectation of the customer. The event organisers also need to be more explicit about the nature of the event and what staff would be appropriate on that day to align with the expectations they have raised in the people they've invited.
  9. So, I'm just gonna throw out some WB and/or Village Roadshow titles that could lend themselves to a new show: Lethal Weapon Miss Congeniality Rush Hour Training Day V for Vendetta Beetlejuice Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie version) San Andreas (which was filmed in Brisbane) Batman Mad Max Dune The Matrix Game of Thrones 300 Pacific Rim Mortal Kombat Bladerunner Edge of Tomorrow Police Academy It's not like there is any shortage of action/adventure/comedy films that they could tap into for inspiration. Films like Lethal Weapon, Miss Congeniality, or Rush Hour wouldn't even require much of a re-theme of the arena and would still fit with the action/comedy style they've had since Police Academy.
  10. Sky Voyager is not broken. Only 2 gondolas were operating this morning until about midday, and then all 6 were operating until 5pm. There was no closure and no maintenance occurring. The wait time was roughly the same for both. The park is adjusting the capacity of the ride and the staffing levels to suit the demand throughout the day.
  11. There is no sequel to The Flash and there never will be. It was one of the biggest financial flops in cinematic history, only beaten by The Marvels. DC has one movie in 2024 - The Joker: Folie à Deux which is scheduled for an October 4 theatrical release. Superman Legacy comes out July 11, 2025 - which is the first of the James Gunn re-boots. The Batman Part 2 comes out October 3, 2025, but it (like The Joker) exists in it's own universe that is not connected to a bigger DCU. Those are the only DC movies coming out in cinemas in 24/25. Everything else is Animated and direct-to-streaming.
  12. They really should have called the last update Scooby Doo: Degeneration. Hopefully they go back to more low-tech theming. Physical models with simple movements. mirrors, lights and sound effects to produce jump scares. Get rid of all the screens. Screens are never a good thing on a ride. The less you can see, the more exciting it is.
  13. Not predictions, but a wish list: Motocoaster definitely needs a re-theme and new trains, ideally spinning because normal trains on that layout will basically be Big Red Boat 2. I'd also love to see the Paddle Wheeler return, ideally with the bush ranger show, but it could also come back as a pub - maybe with some on-board performers that also hold-up the train. The performances could just be around holiday periods, but I'd like to see more entertainment in the park, rather than just rides, to go back to the park atmosphere from the 90s. Restoring the Baldwin steam train would be also be nice, especially if bringing back the Paddle Wheeler. A water ride like a log flume is a must and a priority, something well themed - ideally with an actual story, family friendly with a good splashdown, and lots of viewing platforms for photo opportunities. I'd prefer to see a Mondial Avalanche (It's a visually more impressive ride, however tame) alongside a wooden or hybrid coaster - possibly a GG or RMC. I'd put them behind ST in the Blue Lagoon area. An RMC raptor would also be an ideal ride to fill the old Thunderbolt spot. DW has been missing an 'out-of-control feeling' thrill coaster since Eureka closed. They could put in a generic wild mouse, but I think a woody/raptor combo at opposite ends of the park would be a great way to expand in both directions and spread out the crowds. I'd bring back the laser-tag version of Kevil Hill during school holidays, and re-do the facade of SkyVoyager to fit the area. For the Wipeout spot, a high-capacity flat like a classic pirate ship - something families can ride together - themed to fit Ocean Parade.
  14. It was for SkyVoyager, when DW spent a good 6 months announcing the opening date as 'in the coming weeks'. This then became the standard DW unit of time measurement for every DW announcement. Sea World even used it a few times for various Atlantis openings, which always ended up being several months away from the 'coming weeks' announcement. But in regard to @Tricoart saying 'some time in January', I took that to mean in January, not by January. I was expecting footings to be poured and track to arrive about a month from now (late January) or possibly later - hence 'in the coming weeks'.
  15. I think it would be safe to assume that it will happen 'in the coming weeks'.
  16. I also love GD, but just to bring this back on topic, has anyone actually ridden DWF yet? What was your impression? What was your impression of it operating with fountains behind the DW globe, and how do the fountains affect that photo opportunity? Did you end up with trench-foot from the water splashing into the queue line? Is it operating with kebab shop lighting and what are your thoughts on the ride? How is the music? And the fountains? Are they synced? Do the fountains have a single program or multiple programs that run throughout the day? Are there boxes for loose items - including loose shoes? How long is the sequence and is it too long or not long enough? How fast are the operations and could they be improved?
  17. The final design was launched at IAAPA in 2019. https://youtu.be/L8djmUJDJ5c?si=jBtI4cH-vOC5XnNI&t=74 It presumably would have been made available by Mondial to parks inquiring about rides prior to that.
  18. You will almost never see another S&S ride at a VRTP theme park after Green Lantern almost had it's own TRRR moment. A Mondial Avalanche would have been a better choice than a Topspin, and would have given the same effect of swinging over the water, effectively being a combination of pendulum ride and topspin. Also, it is my understanding that VRTP's insurer won't allow them to have a ride swing or pass directly over a walkway without a barrier in place. So you'd end up with an ugly 'shade' structure or a net. But I'd also like to see Sea World bring back some more classic boardwalk style rides and just theme them to Atlantis. A golden Pirate ship, an Intamin Coaster Wheel (which has fixed and coasting gondolas), or something moderately thrilling that families can ride together.
  19. I'd only recommend Ice Skating if you're spending a day at the mall or are otherwise in the Jamsil area. It's a great rink, reasonably priced, large and well maintained, but it is just ice skating. But you could do ice skating, the Lotte World Aquarium, and some time at the mall on the same day. Sometimes if you spend $XXX at Lotte World Mall, you get free tickets to an SM Town Kpop Concert - but the concert is usually in summer. Generally little to no maintenance is done at the parks during Spring or Autumn because it is peak tourism time. Lotte World's indoor section is open all year round, and Everland is open for special winter events. It can get humid (and wet) during summer, so Spring is a great time to go. Re: T-Express, it's an amazing coaster. One of the best woodies in the world, but it was getting rough and needed a re-track, so it's great that they're doing that. Try to plan your trip toward the end of spring to maximise your chance of getting to ride. If you know anyone in Korea, they can get discounts for park entry usually through Credit Card offers or local coupon-style sites. Otherwise you can check sites like Viator and Klook to see if they have any offers. Here's a half(ish)-price Seoulland link: https://www.viator.com/en-AU/tours/South-Korea/Seoulland-Theme-Park-Discount-Tickets-Luna-park/d972-185378P2 Here's a bunch of other packages they offer, some are reasonably priced, some are kind of pricey. The private tours are not really necessary: https://www.viator.com/en-AU/South-Korea-tours/Amusement-Parks-Product-Tickets-and-Passes/d972-tag21779 For accommodation, you can generally find something on Trip Advisor and then check different aggregators for the best price. Qantas Hotels is sometimes cheaper than Agoda or Trivago. AirBnB is common and usually a bit cheaper, but can often be a little further from transport than the hotels and your host may have limited English. There are a few hotels near Everland and they're all similar. It's probably only worth staying down that way if you're doing a couple days at Everland/Carribean Bay/Speedway, otherwise a shuttle bus or train are your best bets. If you take a taxi - don't take a BLACK taxi. They cost a lot more - usually 3x the price. Just use translator on iPhone or google translate to show an address to the driver (who usually have poor English). If you're in Seoul anway, N tower gives a great view of the whole city, and you get a sense of how massive Seoul is. You can take the cable car, or a bus, or if the weather is good, you can take the cable car up and walk down the mountain to Namdaemun or Yongsan. Gongbukgung Palace is pretty. It's mostly just a park with some nice buildings, but you get a sense of the history of the area. For food and restaurants, just get 1 or 2 streets back from the main roads and there will be a bunch of really great restaurants. A lot of restaurants will serve just one meat - usually pork or chicken - sometimes beef or fish. Some will serve a single dish cooked at your table. Also, don't be a vegetarian in Korea. You're gonna have a bad time. They put meat in everything. Like, a salad sandwich is usually a pretty safe bet for a vegetarian, but they will put ham in it. You'll be eating nothing but tteokbokki, kimchi and rice. Also, it's not technically a theme park, but you can go up to DMZ and look into North Korea, and go into the tunnels. It's a good history trip and surprisingly there's a small amusement park up there. It has a pirate ship and a wave swinger and a carousel with some very nervous looking horses for some reason. Plus some other rides like dodgems and the usual amusement park stuff. It's called Pyeonghwa Land. The history of the Korean war is interesting, and the politics of current day Korea is also interesting - especially if you go to North Korea and hear their version of it. This might sound like over-kill but it is actually really helpful. Download this app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/korean-letters-lite/id500641131 It will teach you the Korean Alphabet in a few days. You will learn some food words in it also. It's mostly useful to be able to pronounce words correctly - especially place names - and read a menu or common signs once you learn a few words. You'll also be able to read a lot of the Konglish that exists - English words written in Korean with Korean pronunciation. It's a phonetic alphabet (like English) so each symbol is a sound. You won't learn the whole language which is complicated, but being able to read and pronounce is a huge advantage when trying to get around.
  20. Korea Generally: If you get a hotel close to Line 2 (green line) you can get to pretty much anywhere in Seoul quickly. Download the Jihacheol (지하철) app for subway routes before you go so you can choose a hotel close to the things you want to do. Have cash. Korea doesn't really use tap-to-pay. They still use swipe or chip/pin with signatures, and merchants (especially at Lotte World Mall) will offer to do the currency conversion for you and will sting you 5% - sometimes the staff will just accept this on your behalf and it adds up. If you've got a 28 Degrees Mastercard or something with no foreign fees, it can help. American Express is usually the most limited. Mastercard is usually fine and Visa is ok too. Korea is a very safe country, so you can carry some extra cash without having to worry. Subways are the best way to get around. You will need a T-Money card and can load money onto it at every station if you need to. It also works for local busses if you're brave enough to catch one. You don't need to tap-off with the bus though. The bus is a fixed-fare system, so you tap on and it's the same amount regardless of travel distance. There is a T-Money card for tourists called M-Pass, but only get this if you're going to be travelling by train a LOT during a single day. It's 15,000 Won for one day with up to 20 trips. This can be a saving if you use it, but most people won't use that much. It's better to just get a regular t-Money card from a convenience store for 3.500 Won or at a station and then charge it as much as you think you'll need. From Incheon Airport - The airport is quite far (an hour) from Seoul. If you're staying at any of the major hotels in the city (or near them) don't bother with the train, just get a KAL Limousine bus. You can buy tickets at the airport, or if you fly with KAL you can buy them on the plane from the duty-free catalogue. They will drop you directly at the main hotels, and you can walk to another place nearby if you like. It costs about $12-15 but is worth it. The seats are very wide and comfortable, there is free wifi and aircon, and you don't need to fight for a seat. When returning to Incheon Airport, if you're flying with KAL, Asiana or a few other airlines, you can use the 'City Airport'. It's not really an airport, it's just a check-in desk and immigration at Seoul Station (and possibly Coex Mall, but I think that is closed at the moment). You do the same things as you would at the airport, check/drop bags, get your passport scanned, get boarding passes. Then you buy a Limousine bus ticket and travel to the airport. Your bags will follow you on the bus and will get loaded straight onto the plane. The best part is you get to skip the security line and go through the 'diplomat' line, which has almost no wait. You'll need to be there at least 3.5 hours prior to departure, but you'd need to leave that early to get to the airport anyway. It's very convenient and I don't know why more cities don't have it. Lotte World is at Jamsil (pronounced Jahm-Shill) station on the Green Line. Get there early at opening, plan to stay until closing. It's going to be a massive day, but it's a great park and it's worth it. We were there from 9:30am untill 11pm and there were still things we didn't get to do. There are a lot of hidden areas that are really nicely themed - like the kids area is Disney-level. The lunch-time parade is ok, but the evening light parade is incredible. Better than Disney parks IMO, so don't miss that. It takes place above and around the ice rink. The ice rink is technically not part of Lotte World, but you can go there for a second day if you're just visiting the area. It's not too expensive, you get proper leather lace up skates, and when I went, foreigners got 30% discount - which is roughly equivalent to free skate hire. You need to wear gloves on the ice, but they cost about $1. Get there as soon as the park opens and IMMEDIATELY go to Atlantis. Do not wait, do not look around, do not look at a map. Know where it is and how to get there and go straight from the entrance. This is the best and most popular ride in the park and within 15 minutes of opening it will have a wait of 90 minutes to 2 hours or more. You will have a lot more time to enjoy the park if you're not waiting for Atlantis. The line for Comet Express is deceptive. The outside line is just a queue for the inside line. It's a pretty basic indoor spinning coaster. The Gyro Drop and Gyro swing are fun, but have scream guards to keep the neighbours happy. so don't expect to get wind in your hair. Also, don't vomit. French Revolution now has VR. It sometimes fails so you could get a VR experience or you could get a blindfold. The mystery makes it even more fun. There are a lot of small 4D simulators and shooting theatres that are actually pretty cool and you should check them out. They can be a bit hidden out of the way on the lower levels of the indoor section. Everland is a great park but it's very spread out and there is a lot of walking so be prepared. T-Express is one of the world's greatest wooden coasters. It might even be worth getting a local hotel and getting a multi-day pass. There is a water park and speedway there also, and you can spend a lot of time looking at the animals. It's also quite far from Seoul and depending if you need to get to a station for a shuttle, it can take a couple hours or more. You can get shuttle busses directly from various subway stations including: SOUTH of the river: Sinnonhyeon (line 9 exit 6, Gangnam (line 2 exit 6), Suwon (Line 1 exit 6). The return bus leaves at around 7pm, there is only one. NORTH of the river: Hongik University, Sinchon (don't confuse with Sincheon), Seoul Stationn, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun. There are usually two return busses for some of these stations at around 6:30pm and 8:30pm. You can take the subway. It's a lot of transfers though and if you're not familiar with Korean Subways it can sometimes get confusing, but if you've traveled a lot and understand transfers and can navigate the Jihacheol app, you'll be fine. The shuttle is easiest, but the train allows you to stay later if you want. According to the Jihacheol app you need to go from: Gangnam Station (Line 2, Green) > Jeongja Station (Sinbundang Line, Dark Red) > Giheung Station (Bundang Line, Yellow) > Jeondae Everland Station then take a free shuttle bus. There is parking, so if you're renting a car you can drive there, but good luck driving in Korea. Seoul Land is just outside of Seoul. It was built for the 1988 Olympics and it looks like it. The coasters are old but fun and weave around the forest and the park, but they're hard to squeeze into if you're over 6ft. They're a but like an old arrow or Thunderbolt if it was taken care of. It's a large park with a decent amount to do - especially if you have young kids - built between a couple of mountains in the Seoul Grand Park. Of all the theme parks in Korea, this is in the most beautiful location. It's also fairly cheap and has a lot of great, cheap food options inside. It's about 50,000 Won ($60) for a full day ticket - you can sometimes find discount tickets online for entry after 12pm. I enjoyed the day there, especially some of the dark shooting rides and the double-down log flume. Lines can get long though, so be prepared and have an extra phone battery. This is definitely a park you'll want cash for. You can get there by Subway - take Line 4 to Grand Park and Seoulland station - exit 2. There is an 'elephant' bus that you can pay to drop you at the main gate, but otherwise it's just a pleasant 5 minute walk. Easy to get to, not as well themed as Lotte World and not as big as Everland, but it's a fun and beautiful park. Gyeongju World - this is down near Busan. It's a small local theme park with a standard clone B&M dive coaster. Probably not worth the trek unless you're down that way anyway. Korea is a great place to visit. Not too expensive compared to Japan and much more English Friendly. Lotte World is a great day out, Everland is a hike to get to, but fun and generally more chilled if you don't mind a lot of walking. Seoul Land is a mix of Royal Show and Dreamworld but is worth a visit just to have some fairly classic rides with beautiful scenery.
  21. That's what I remember seeing before the elevator structure. It's been 2 decades, but I definitely remember that wall of the building not being there and I couldn't remember how much of that building was added. I wasn't a regular visitor back then, so I only saw it once.
  22. I may be misremembering, but I believe the two were built concurrently with the final wall of the building (on the elevator side) not being completed until after the ride was substantially complete, with the elevator structure being the last part to be clad. You can see some of the photos from the construction here: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/timeline.php?cid=6
  23. Does Dreamflyer count as shaded seating?
  24. I'm happy with WoO getting it's own land with 3 coasters and hopefully a flat down the line. A dark ride would have been great, but I think having 3 coasters that bridge the gap between kids rides and adult rides is the right way to go. A Dune themed dark ride at some point in the future would be great. I have zero expectation that it will happen, but it has a lot of potential, particularly given that ride technology has come a long way since Gremlins and Justice League. Great story, Great visuals. In my opinion MW need to return to being Movie world and have more rides/attractions/shows themed to movies, rather than 'lands' themed to a single IP. I think even some temporary attractions to tie into current movies like Beetlejuice will really help the park revive that 'movie magic' vibe that it opened with.
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