GoGoBoy

That's so cool. I had no idea there was still a theatre left over. The first Scooby queuing room is so large I thought they must have gutted them all. It looks like they actually left most of the theatres in the Van Helsing's Factory conversion of the German Gremlins ride too, judging by this model -

Nice one, Joz. All sorted once and for all. Regarding the low yellow brick wall that some have mentioned, it looks like you can see it in the video of the Gremlins ride Jeffrey posted, it appears to surround the final 'car crash' courtyard at the ride exit. Gremlins was amazing, as the vid shows. So much going on and so much atmosphere. It must have been a massive job to maintain all of the effects and animatronics. I remember the final big room with the Gremlins spraying water, you would actually get a bit wet and the room was just filled with the sound of hundreds of Gremlins cackling. I would have been around 10 or so when I first went on it and I can tell you it was definitely creepy. Not terrifying, but it did get the heart going a bit. Part of that was the sense of panic and urgency when the ushers burst back into the theatre and tried to hurry you onto the ride to 'evacuate' the building. Then going underneath that first Gremlin swinging on the lamp above in the hallway. Really well done.

Yeah I think you're right as there is a line right across the main building where the steel changes colour. They must have cut off the original building at that point and then added the extension from there. Pretty significant modification. Out of interest, the almost identical Gremlins ride at Movie Park in Germany still appears to have the original show building setup to give a clearer idea how it would have been (though it now contains a new ride - Van Helsing's Factory, which looks really good by the way - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KyI_G_f5T0). Here's the Google map of it -

I'm not sure if other people are finding this convo interesting but I am! I love looking for remnants of old rides, and particularly the Gremlins as I absolutely loved it when I was a kid and thinking about it now brings back great memories. I think we may have discussed this ages back -- but I can't remember what the main show building for Gremlins was like? I know sections of it are still there (the queue and movie theatre sections), but was the main scooby coaster section (ie. the largest building there now) there before? Or is it totally new? It looks like it may have been part of Gremlins but given a height extension? I do remember the final Gremlins scene where they all had firefighters hoses being a really large room and quite high.

So if the show stage is all intact on the inside with seats and the setup for the last show that was held there (Looney Tunes), how was there any room for the fright mazes?

Hi Mark. When you've finished making Adventure World amazing, would you please kindly offer your services to one of the parks on the Gold Coast? I think any one of them would benefit from having you around!

Could the building demolition be just for those smaller western-style buildings/facades next to the show stage? I would also be a bit disappointed to see the show stage go, only because I know how much Village likes to re-purpose existing buildings for new indoor/dark rides, rather than go to the expense of building entirely new ones. I understand the show stage is too small for a traditional dark ride, but it could always be extended (as I believe Scooby was when it was converted from Gremlins). Also, it could surely fit a themed compact coaster -- something along the lines of the Dark Knight coaster at Six Flags. As I've said before, this would also solve any noise issues. Regarding any potential new coaster - lift hill please! I am not a fan of the intensity of launches, plus Superman is such a famous launcher already. And Australia needs a massive, suspenseful lift hill!

Channel Seven News have, reasonably, questioned the hour-long queues for slides and lack of value for money at Wet 'n' Wild Sydney in a story the other night: https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/30637381/wet-n-wild-leaves-customers-flustered-in-hour-long-queues/

Well said, Alex! Agree wholeheartedly.

Actually iwerks is right, I remember a woman did indeed fall out of the Dreamworld chairlift, and I believe suffered severe injuries at the very least.

I'd like to see Dreamworld being smashed by the big new attractions arriving at Movie World, and therefore seriously forced to compete in terms of major rides or new precincts.

Mark huge kudos to you and your team. Sounds like you are providing a true theme park experience with an emphasis on the customer. And I LOVE that you have promised that the additional shading will ultimately be themed and you won't just leave the temporary stuff. I am always hugely disappointed when parks invest in theming and then ruin it by putting up some dodgy looking temp structures, signage etc. Keep up the great work and looking forward to what comes next!

I'm pretty obsessive about signage and I've got to say this one is great. They should keep using the contractor that created this.

^ Well said!! They could save themselves the trouble and just hire him!

I think it's fair to say that there are many park enthusiasts, and I count myself as one of them, who care greatly about park aesthetics.

Looks like it's going to be the cheapest refurb ever. And those coloured cars on the old Cyclone, reminds me too much of Motocoaster. As does all the chequered flag 'theming'. So weird to have two separate Motocoaster zones now. I've got a funny feeling Dreamworld is about to be smashed by Movie World in the not too distant future.

Actually, the crowds/queuing were only one of the complaints, by no means all! Part of running a successful operation is keeping customers happy! If you screw up initially, the chances of them coming back are reduced. I understand their first season was a big success, but not sure if the follow-up seasons have been as successful. Regardless, even if the park is not performing as well as it could, by limiting the opening hours it's was always going to seem busy. I assume this is still the case, although I wouldn't know as I haven't been back.

No, it's 100% Village Roadshow - no joint venture or separate structure. So no excuses! Re the operating hours - I think it's ridiculous to have a major water park such as this one only operating between 3.30pm and whatever it is on certain afternoons, especially as one of the biggest problems is the excessive queuing on the full days it is open (ie. weekends and school holidays). I have friends who are shift workers who never want to go back as they can't visit the park on a day during the week when there might otherwise be a chance to get on a slide without queuing up for an hour.

Thanks for this review. I think the points you've made are entirely legitimate and reasonable. The park's operations truly have been a disaster from day one. It should have been such a success story, and I, like many others on here, wanted it to be. But the management decisions all the way along have been abysmal to say the least. I totally agree about the park being sparse - it feels like the Maloney's Corner of waterparks. They sent me a survey asking why I hadn't renewed my annual pass, and the complete lack of atmosphere/landscaping/theming was one of the reasons I put down. Then there are all the other operational issues, some you referred to, such as ridiculous operating hours and practically zero public transport. And yes, on a busy day, it is horrendous. You spend all day standing on the stairs and end up with very little left to talk to your friends about.

Skeetafly - good job! Some of the best contributions I have seen to this forum in ages. Whether or not your predictions turn out to be right is irrelevant. Your obviously strong knowledge of planning is very insightful.

Wow they are doing everything possible to avoid spending capex on a new coaster, aren't they! This will be the THIRD incarnation of this now 20-year-old and not-particularly-special roller coaster. And I agree with others, I have zero interest in a motorsport museum. Looking forward to seeing what Movie World have planned!

It's terrific that the studios are doing so well that they are having to expand. I remember it wasn't that long ago that the studios were sitting there dormant, rarely used for anything. What a change! And this is why I think Movie World should continue to focus on indoor rides (indoor coasters, traditional dark rides etc.). That way the screams are contained, they can continue the show-buildings-as-fake-sound-stages theme, and allow for plenty of theming and atmosphere, in true Movie World style. Also makes for a good all-weather park!

I still think it's crazy that they haven't build Legoland on the Gold Coast yet, or at the very least an indoor Legoland Discovery Centre (which I think was proposed for MW at one stage). I reckon it'd be an absolute hit. Only today I was reading an article in the Sydney Morning Herald about lego exhibitions at a couple of the museums here. They reckon attendance surges massively whenever they hold one.

I'd argue just about every attraction Village Roadshow installs could be considered world class, particularly Movie World. But this certainly sounds above and beyond even their normal standard. I doubt a VRL director would use that term unless there was some substance behind it. Exciting indeed!

Either way Adam C, I reckon this sounds like a perfect trip!