Locke

Show me a quote where VRTP say they are not going to invest in MW for a long time. That's just speculation from arm-chair CEOs.

I wouldn't rule out big announcements or moves for a long time at all.

Arkham Asylum and Hotwheels are precisely the type of rides I don't like - they're head-ache makers. So if someone likes AA over DCR then that tells me all I need to know.

From juzzyD over at Ozscrapers:

It's just a way to free up some cash, it doesn't have any bearing on the park itself. The lease-back would no doubt have the option for further renewals past the 30 years. I think it's good, allows them to get debt down which is important for the bottom line and it makes it easier to invest in more attractions in the future.

I'm counting it to the top of the Joker Head, theming is all part of the attraction!

Gotta say the park is looking so great from inside and out with these various coasters towering over things, and it's not even at full height yet. Goes to show that if you invest, great things happen!

No idea, I think it's too small though overall. It's a preliminary DA, it's pretty much conceptual at this point.

It's early days in this process and I think council were right to push back on those heights, if a developer wants those sorts of relaxations they need to propose something special.

They just need to invest, build it and they will come. It's a good park but you can just sense how some investment would really give it a lift.

Out of interest about Wanda from today's paper (not necessarily who AP was talking to): Wanda launched charter flights between Wuhan, China, and the Gold Coast in 2015, and there were reports it was planning to build a theme park at Coomera. However, it has pared back its activity recently, canning the flights last year, while any move to establish a new theme park appears to have stalled. http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/wanda-wont-be-selling-precious-jewel/news-story/0e4e711618d8f984ba58e37a40593c6f

If you look to the left of that aerial you get a good view of the Top Golf construction.

Damn this is one impressive looking coaster, it's definitely got the wow factor covered. Next level stuff for our local parks, I mean even globally, this is as good as it gets for 2017.

I think developing with the idea of connecting into Westfield Coomera would be really clever, especially as Stage 2 of Westfield Coomera is quite entertainment focused so they can expand that through and get people to Dreamworld. There's also the integrated resort on the other side so you could make one really long connected entertainment and dining precinct. The catchment area of Coomera/Pimpama is the fastest growing in the country and the Northern Gold Coast is set to be a major hub going into the future so now is the time to plan ahead and get the plans right. There is so much potential with DW if they have the vision and the will and if they just take a chance and invest big in the park, they're in exactly the right spot but you need some leadership with vision, Ardent are too conservative atm, build it and they will come.

Wanda is selling a fair few of its existing parks in China, but not the new ones it has planned and is trying to adjust their books a fair bit to be asset light so they don't seem super likely as a candidate, but you never know, they're a hard one to read. Songcheng have their cultural park in Nerang that has a DA in, but they are also in due diligence to buy the land at Norwell, which is a mega-deal and that was mooted to include a big theme park, but they don't really have experience in big parks. It could just be a meeting to discuss the park in Nerang and if so then that's a disappointing bit of political theatre by the premier to deflect from what happened at the Spit (or didn't happen to be more precise). I mean Chinese parks overall suffer from an IP issue so unless they partner with a US partner I think they will struggle, China just doesn't not have a great history of home grown IP. Wanda hasn't really taken down Disneyland in China at all, quite the opposite. Still, their Jewel project on the coast is pretty nice. Disney are a long shot but never say never, that would blow everyone's mind if it happened. Everyone knows the reasons why it's not likely but then lots of things aren't likely till they happen. A different studio like Paramount or someone? Uber-longshot but nice.

Disney please! If they can get Disney I will consider it a massive coup. It could be Wanda though or anyone, but well, here's hoping something cool!

At least stuff gets proposed. ALP have no ideas, they're like a care-taker government.

Terrible decision. I can't stand AP. Hope it gets reversed next election and the ALP gets kicked to the curb.

I think they need to invest a lot more. Ariadne are right, Ardent have under-invested in DW over the last 10 years. I mean when I look at what MovieWorld has bought online vs Dreamworld in that time period then it's pretty clear who has been pouring the money in and who hasn't. I really think DW need like 3 big new attractions to give them back that WOW factor, maybe make use of the lake in the centre of the park again. I think they should also focus on theming, the spruce up of old buildings etc, it all goes a long way in creating a great atmosphere.

I like it, it adds height and by virtue of that curb appeal to the park. Bigger is better in my books!

Looks neat. In general though, I think it's shame when attractions get substituted, I'd much prefer to just add them as new attractions so the overall count goes up.

Pic I took on Friday, which is pretty much exactly the same as everyone elses:P

Yeah I mean driving up and parking, you get out of the car and with the addition of DC Rivals, MW has this real big park look to it now, it's great to see a local park getting world class stuff like this, really is pushing it into another level. Place was pumping yesterday as well, great vibe.

Saw this in person yesterday and thought it was really looking impressive, pictures don't do it justice. l mean it makes Superman Escape look tiny and extends the visual footprint of the park so much, really a terrific addition. MW just going from strength to strength.

My issue is more making the skiing facilities bigger. The ski slope is said to be around 5 200 sqm, now Ski Dubai is 22 500 sqm and most decent size slopes are in that range. SnowWorld (Landgraaf) is 35 000 sqm and the new Wanda one in China is going to be double that. So 5200 sqm is not going to cut it! That's piccolo! There's no point doing 5 things half-baked when you can do 1 or 2 really well. Just take the sqm from the mini-Uluru which sounds daft and add it to the ski facility. Honestly, who wouldn't want to go to a major skiing facility?