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@AlexB They don't usually let fast-track riders get the front seats (on JetRescue or Superman Escape) so it would only be 18 seat options, but they may give front seats for this ride given the price. I don't really have a problem with Theme Parks charging a bit more for things like VR or Fast-Track either. Fast-Track is usually used by people who only have a day-pass to the park and want to experience everything and usually have a negligible impact on actual wait times for people. In an hour-long queue, it might push you back 1 ride cycle. But just to break down some of the numbers for people complaining, if you assume the ride will be closed for around 1 month/year for maintenance (with 5 other cumulative 'day' closures due to storms etc.)... $10 Backward seating * 2 seats per train * 20 cycles per hour * 8 hours of operation * 330 days = $1,056,000 per year. $15 Fast Track * 20 sales per day * 330 days = $99,000 per year Sure, they won't hit those numbers everyday (although some days they will sell a lot more fast track), but generally speaking the combination of those two things will bring in about $1 Million per year in additional revenue - more than enough to cover maintenance and staffing costs for the ride. Given that most of us have only paid about $100 a year (on average) for our annual passes, I think that these amounts are a fair price to pay for having a ride like this built in Australia. I think the wasteful printing of entry photos at SeaWorld, and charging up to $25 for a photo with a character are more worthy of complaint.

There is a really simple solution to this problem - Movie World should make a better POV video (or several) and release it/them. People want videos of this ride because it is new and scarcity makes the videos more valuable encouraging idiots to do things like this. The best way to prevent people from doing things like this is to provide a better alternative. This is something that Movie World may have planned after (or as part of) the official launch, but the solution is to make the risk greater than the reward. After all, this guy's video is now posted on this forum and will get a lot of views as a result, so the reward will have been worth it for him.

I really don't think it's that.

Hypercoaster as a word was created by Arrow Dynamics for Magnum XL-200 and is the actual industry-wide generic term used to describe coasters with a highest point of 200 - 299 ft. A coaster 300-399 ft is a Gigacoaster, and a coaster 400ft+ is a Stratacoaster. 'Hyper Coaster' as two words is Bolliger & Mabillard's term specifically for their 200ft+ coasters (including ones that would generically be called 'Gigacoasters'). Intamin calls them Mega Coasters, and I think RMC has a name like Hyper-Hybrid Coaster or something. I agree that 'DC Rivals' is sufficient (even just 'Rivals'), but it is definitely a 'hypercoaster' and not a 'Hyper Coaster'.

Because when the axis of rotation is below you, you are forced sideways into your seat. When you only have a lap-bar restraint your body will flex at the lower back during the sudden change in direction. The faster you are going through these elements, the greater the forces placed on your body. You'll notice I specifically didn't mention the S-Bend, because the rotation axis is at chest height. OTSRs absolutely limit the impact of those forces on your body by restricting your range of movement. That is why OTSRs are used - to hold your body in place. On a ride like SE they exist pretty much only for the brake run and they are what prevent you from smashing your face against the seat in front of you during the sudden stop. Excessive forces on a ride don't always make it more fun. Do you have any actual evidence to support this claim? Because it seems to me like the ride was designed for trims to be added in two very specific places, and they have only added them in one of those places. In addition, they haven't slowed the chain on the lift hill, which would instantly reduce the speed across the entire coaster without the need for trims and would also reduce the maintenance costs (on the train, track, chain and motor). It almost seems like they want the coaster going as fast as possible over the top of the lift hill to maximise the speed, which runs counter to your assertion, given that the most wear and tear would occur during high-speed and high-force elements like those situated before the trim brakes on this coaster, but after the other mounting point where trims were not added. And the amount of speed reduction from the trims would have just enough impact to make the ride more comfortable, but a negligible impact on actual ride maintenance costs.

@pazzap You make some valid points about coasters in Aus generally - especially GL. Although I think the slow points on GL make it an excellent candidate for VR addition in the future, because there is time to interact with VR characters. But Rivals was always going to need some trims. The ride features lateral Gs that most other coasters don't - at the top of the loop and Stengel Dive, at the top and bottom of the turn around, and on the camel back. It also doesn't have OTSRs so there is nothing to limit those forces on your body. If you're going too fast through those sections, it's just going to hurt. Maybe not when you're on the ride, but later in the day or the next day your lower back is going to hurt. The compromise is that the last half of the ride will be a bit more sluggish than the start, but this ride isn't about speed - it's about turns, and the last half of the ride is very busy with those kinds of elements, so it should still be an experience that you won't get on any other ride in Aus, and most other coasters in the world.

'Something must be done!! This is something, therefore, it MUST be done.' The government will never miss an opportunity to raise taxes and impose regulations. Accidents happen. Burdensome and expensive regulatory regimes create a situation where businesses will cut corners which will lead to more accidents, not less. And people become complacent trusting that the regulations will prevent all problems from happening - except for the one thing they overlooked. The Airline industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world from baggage handling, to security, to pilot training, to maintenance. All of those people are licensed. Accidents still happen. The cost of Dreamworld having to close for months - and the reduced park attendance when they re-opened - cost them far more than them improving their staff training and maintenance. The financial incentive is already there. No amount of government regulation is going to incentivise them more. This report is a bunch of professional regulators recommending more regulation.

Just a few points: @Skeeta This bill is very broad and gives the government too much power to impose expensive and unnecessary regulations - specifically around licensing. Requiring adequately trained staff is one thing, and being able to produce training logs upon request is perfectly reasonable, but requiring a license - particularly when you're dealing with radically different rides from different manufacturers is just an absurd requirement. The safety requirements for a ride like Arkham Asylum - with VR - is going to be very different to a carousel which has no restraints. As @elemist says, this would require a level of career professionalism and ongoing license training and renewal which is not really necessary. Staff should have training and evacuation drills, but that is very different to licensing operators. Licensing the staff who train operators is a reasonable requirement, but licensing the operators in a theme park setting is not - given the fixed nature of the rides. There is an argument to be made about licensing for traveling ride operators. Theme parks have an incentive not to kill their visitors. Dreamworld has learned their lesson and everyone else has learned from it too. It is not good for business to be slack on safety and maintenance.

I cringed at the entire performance not just the accent. It was unnecessarily melodramatic, and really inconsistent. It just felt really awkward and some of the edits were pretty jarring - especially at the end. It's a bit of a shame, because a video like this could really be used to ramp up the fear/creepy factor with a unique experience like VR. But instead it feels a bit cheap and flat. Watching her performance and the performances of the people on the ride, it makes me feel like VR is a hassle for them, and they're tired and bored of people wanting to do it. I think a lot of that is because of the Script too. Bizarre creative choice in my opinion.

If Dreamworld don't want to spend a lot of money, Intamin make a tilt version of the giant drop. They could update one or both sides of the ride to be be a face-first drop. It definitely wouldn't be enough of a draw-card on its own, but it would be the new 'big thrill' that they could promote while they built some new attractions to replace GoldRush, and it would be much cheaper than a Dive Coaster for the same effect. I would love to see a Hybrid Woody, a new Wild Mouse (to replace Eureka) and a new dark water ride (to replace TRR)... but all of those things are expensive and Ardent are cheap.

I don't think the clearance is to allow turning, I think it is to prevent the headrests from colliding. During tight dips and during the helix the tops of the seats could collide.

The DC Rivals coaster has a lot of sharp turns and rapid banking. Both of these slow a coaster down because they're pushing the coaster into the track instead of letting gravity push the coaster along the track. Flash is much straighter with inversions rather than twists. They may also be using a slightly slower chain speed on the lift hill, or they may be using softer wheels which will give a much smoother ride with all of the twists, but will also slow down the coaster. There are a lot of reasons it could be a longer ride, but it will be the right ride length for this coaster.

Here is some aerial footage of the construction so far. You actually get a sense of the scale of it. Superman looks tiny in the background.

Hyper Coaster 1 looks too intense for me.

A lot of ride manufacturers just use the Allen-Bradley computer systems. They can control everything from theming cues to brakes and safety. Google 'Rockwell Automation'. It makes sense for Manufacturers to use an industry-standard system, because it means the park's in-house maintenance staff can maintain the rides and trouble-shoot any issues because everything is compatible. B&M uses Allen-Bradley PLCs.

Or a squadron of villains that act as heroes, perhaps?

Superman Coaster is closed for 2 months you say?

WTF am I doing? I just wasted 5 minutes watching Village Roadshow logos.

@pushbutton I get where you're coming from, but Grill'd only sell burgers and salads and fries, and Hungry Jacks promote themselves as 'flame grilled'. I think most of us were expecting something different from the various other food places in the park. Personally I think Dreamworld should open up the Billabong restaurant to the public. When they have their 'kids eat free' promotion, it's the best deal in the park.

@themagician But MW theme to the comic versions of the characters, not the movie versions. I'm still predicting a Priscilla coaster. Wait til you see how they tie it in the daily parade!

Having been on this a few times now, I can honestly say that playing with the wristband interactive stuff is more fun than the actual ride.

I think it is an orange version of Kenny: The Down Syndrome Tiger.

@Lightning Also, you left off Priscilla and the obvious choice 'Miss Congeniality'

It depends on the coaster. GL had the Lift Hill as the first thing built, because it sits in the centre of the ride and all the other pieces slot in around it. But it is likely that the lift hill will be one of the last things completed on this coaster because it may need a larger crane (which is more expensive) and it has the chain/drive/sensor components built into it - which require more specialised staff to install. It would likely be more efficient to do that all at once. I may be wrong, but I don't think it has much to do with height, more just about efficiency, and access maneuvering the track/supports/vehicles around the site. Edit: Also, I remember Fury325 and Banshee both had the lift hill built first (after the station).

Her outfit is covering it.