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Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have announced they’re opening a new permanent nighttime experience called “Astra Lumina”. It’s essentially a walkthrough multimedia show with various lighting installations and projections around the property. It will open on Wednesday the 5th of March and run every Wednesday to Saturday night from 6pm. https://astra.currumbinsanctuary.com.au/?_gl=1*pr2cj1*_gcl_au*MTk1NTE4OTQwMy4xNzQwNzIxNzc3*_ga*MTIyODQ0MDI0MS4xNzQwNzIxNzc3*_ga_K4ZMNQNL77*MTc0MDcyMTc3Ny4xLjAuMTc0MDcyMTc3Ny42MC4wLjA.*_ga_0BG99XZ1LD*MTc0MDcyMTc3Ny4xLjAuMTc0MDcyMTc3Ny42MC4wLjA.&_ga=2.134048008.744302085.1740721777-1228440241.1740721777 I was at the park today and noticed them testing some of the new installations.

I really hope so. It would definitely be a positive thing if they are. Though most of the AV techs/electricians the park currently employ seem to mostly just focus on shows and events rather than maintaining the smaller systems around the park such as those within rides, the background music systems etc. The park used to make an effort to maintain those things, but again, not since BGH started running the show unfortunately. Anyway, getting back to the topic, VRTP put up ads for attraction maintenance technicians fairly often. There’s actually a couple of positions for “Mechanical Fitters” at Sea World and Movie World listed at the moment. Both roles involve ride maintenance and the ad states that all potential candidates require a Cert III in Engineering - Mechanical Trade, while also mentioning that someone with hydraulics qualifications would be very desirable. https://careers.villageroadshow.com.au/en/job/501694/mechanical-fitter-sea-world https://careers.villageroadshow.com.au/en/job/502246/mechanical-fitter-day-shift

I’m pleased to hear the park is interested in bringing back the animatronic Bunyip. It was an iconic part of the Big Banana and I’ve seen quite a lot of interest and discussion about it online. I do wonder if the original Bunyip is still sitting in that lake? Last time I was there, I noticed what appeared to be the old control hut for it still standing beside the lake, along with a bunch of pipes and wires running into the water.

I’m pretty sure those audio visual systems haven’t been touched at all since BGH took over, considering how many don’t currently work (and haven’t for years).

I noticed the old Claw feet are currently sitting behind WWW, so I’m guessing they might be reused as part of King Claw’s theming.

Dreamworld have just sent out an email explaining the lore and backstory for Rivertown in detail.

I heard from a staff member (working on the Dreamworld Express) the other day that they’re hoping to have the full circuit reopened by May.

I visited Movie World today and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” has already stopped playing along the entrance to OZ. Now there’s just dead silence. Same in the FOTWW queue, no audio or atmosphere whatsoever. The majority of the greenery that was in the Emerald City plaza on opening day has been ripped out and the fake flowers in the water feature have decayed even more. Although the park was relatively busy, OZ was absolutely dead with very few people in the plaza area the entire time I was there. Despite this however, FOTWW still managed to get a 50min queue. This was mainly due to the ridiculously slow operations (the time between dispatches passed 10 minutes while I was timing it)! Speaking of terrible operations, Green Lantern was dispatching one train roughly every 7 minutes! I thought it was closed at first due to the lack of trains going around. What a disaster this park has become. I know I tend to criticise Movie World and VRTP quite a lot and I really don’t want to be overly negative, but it truly is unbelievable how far this park I loved so much has fallen. Remember, this is a park that offered the same level of quality as Universal back in the day and it truly was world class. Now all the magic it once had is long gone. All my criticism comes from my long held respect for the park. It still has so much potential and could be turned around with just a little more effort and care.

I love all the custom themed oil cans hidden around the Murrissippi Motors station with references to Kenny and Belinda as well as other Dreamworld attractions.

That’s brilliant! It looks as though they’ve painted some of the interior walls too.

When I was at the park a few days ago, I noticed what looked to be additional theming for Rivertown/Jungle Rush sitting in the former Rocky Hollow area, including what appeared to be themed rubbish bins.

Some photos from today…

That’s already been gone for a while. They removed it about a year ago.

Was at Dreamworld today and while they were still only running one train on Jungle Rush (with the longer ride cycle), the ops were fantastic and despite being very busy, the wait time never went over 30mins. Must have just been a bad day yesterday.

There’s no way any park would want it given its terrible reputation. It has proven to be extremely unreliable and even on the few occasions where it did operate correctly, the ride experience was average at best. Though the ride itself is a lemon, the theming surrounding it is very good and I really hope Movie World can keep at least some of it when a new replacement attraction goes in (hopefully with the effects fixed up and working too). It’s a shame such a nice precinct was completely wasted on a dud ride.

I thought the same thing at first, but Gumbuya already has The Rebel which is one of the most intense flat rides in the country. The park doesn’t need two big swing rides and as great as The Claw is, replacing Rebel with it would be a big downgrade IMHO. It definitely wouldn’t fit in LPM and Funfields already have The Voodoo, so if it was to end up in a Victorian park, I think Adventure Park Geelong would benefit from it the most. APG needs a standout attraction and this would absolutely fit the bill. Plus there’s plenty of room for it as the park has a lot of excess land. Though I’m not sure how feasible this is, it would be great to continue the tradition of Victoria’s parks being the dumping ground for the GC’s old rides.

Best Food - Jane’s Rivertown Restaurant Best Guest Experience - Funfields Best Park Operations - Dreamworld Best Coaster - DC Rivals Best Family Coaster - Jungle Rush Best Flat Ride - The Claw Best Themed Area - Rivertown Best Show - Sea World Aqua Light Show Best Kids’ Area - Nickelodeon Land Best new attraction for 2024 - Murrissippi Motors Best Amusement Park - Dreamworld

I’m down in Melbourne again at the moment and I’ve made it to Funfields for the opening day of Lava Lagoon and the Cyber Drift Bumper Cars. The area is very nicely presented and will look even better after the trees and plants grow (I believe there is more theming to be added later on too). There are cabanas on the island and alongside sections of the river that can be hired out as well as a large “beach” area with free seating (on a first come, first served basis). Cyber Drift Bumper Cars really impressed me. I wasn’t expecting much in terms of theming, but what the park delivered definitely exceeded my expectations. It may not come across the best in these photos, but the entire roof is pixel mapped and the 3D signs and neon lights around the outside of the arena are all synchronised to create a pretty neat light show during the ride. All in all, these are definitely both nice additions to the park.

I agree, the Tornado house is definitely one of the highlights of the land and is very well executed. It’s just a shame that level of theming couldn’t be extended throughout the rest of the area. From what I remember, the shade sails and fans weren’t there on day one, but were installed not long after opening. Hopefully the same thing happens for the queue lines in OZ.

Jungle Rush still hasn’t opened. But the ride has just started testing without riders. Murrissippi Motors is being tested by staff too.

Some more photos… (spoilers ahead) Flight of the Wicked Witch queue: As you can see, the first section of the queue is very well themed. Unfortunately though, all of the immersion disappears as soon as you walk through the haunted forest and are presented with a bland hallway and a direct view of the studio’s BOH areas. The rest of the area is nicely presented, but definitely not “immersive” as the BOH areas are visible at pretty much all times and no effort has been made to block them out (or at least make them less noticeable). One thing to note is that there is a lot of permanent lighting all through the land, so I’m betting it should look pretty spectacular at night (though I do wish some of the lighting fixtures were more “themed” into the land. Modern suburban street lights do not belong in OZ). Kansas Twister queue: At one point in the queue, you walk through Dorothy’s house. There are a number of effects (such as video screens in the windows showing debris flying past and lights that swing back and forth from the ceiling) that help support the idea that the twister is approaching. You then make your way out to the barn and the ride itself. Overall, I think the rides themselves are good additions to the park and definitely help boost the park’s family attraction lineup. However, the OZ precinct is far from the immersive experience that was promised. Though it’s very nicely presented and there are elements that are quite well done, the overall product sadly feels a little cheap and tacky IMHO.

It’s open!

Spotted this at White Christmas. I guess the mystery is solved.

The Gold Coast Bulletin has published an article about Randy Garfield (who previously worked at Disney and Universal) and his involvement with Dreamworld.

Yeah, Funfields is a very underrated park IMHO. They do so many things extremely well (especially for a family run operation). You can tell there’s a genuine effort from management to make the guest experience the best it can be and as you mentioned, there’s a real noticeable focus on things that I feel have been neglected at some of the GC parks recently (such as audio, theming, friendliness of the staff and overall park presentation). The only thing they need is a coaster! The thing to remember about Movie World is that the park is pretty small and space is limited, so there isn’t really much else they can do. As others have pointed out, you can get away with having multiple lands and attractions in close proximity to each other at MW because they’re all tied together with the overarching “movie studio backlot” theme. I actually think the park has done a fairly good job of separating Wizard of Oz from Superman Escape despite them being right next to each other (seeing as though a lot of WOO will be hidden away within the AA courtyard and pre-show building). I thought the same thing. This is definitely an early render since it has a completely different name and doesn’t feature any of the volcanic theming the park has decided to go with.