GoGoBoy

Totally agree! Even though I teased you about it I do think a swim-up bar would be a nice addition and give something for the adults. The dark mammoth and 'enhanced' lazy rivers would also be perfect - and considering these were part of their original expansion plans, they were obviously thinking the same thing! I really hope this hasn't been completely shelved. A boomerango would have been a great addition instead of the Wedgie. I think Gazza and I were speculating a few months ago that this might have been the type of slide they were going to add to the tower at the front of the park, before the super loop was confirmed. In regards to the Wedgie, I really think the DW marketing department would have saved themselves a lot of grief by referring to it as 'Australia's first trapdoor-launch waterslide' rather than mentioning anything about a loop

joz I'm starting to think you have an alcohol problem! I agree the point of difference with a new lazy river at WWW could be that it is a BETTER lazy river. By adding a wave channel into the river (as they originally planned to do with their submitted documents) and various theming elements such as waterfalls you instantly have a better and marketable product. I really hope WWW does go back to this plan of seriously expanding the waterpark with some great attractions rather than minor knee-jerk slides that attempt to compete with WnW but then fail

I've been thinking a bit more about the Wedgie and I can't help but think WhiteWater World should have gone for a completely different style of slide once it was confirmed that Wet 'n' Wild 'stole' the looping slide. I've noticed a few comments on facebook and while most people seem to like the Wedgie, there are numerous people referring to the fact that they were disappointed that it doesn't do a full loop and that WnW's will do a full loop. It also doesn't help the fact that Dreamworld marketing has been promoting it as Australia's first looping waterslide. Why would WWW want to cement it's position as the poor man's WnW? I really think that's all they have done with this move. It almost seems like they don't want to compete which is crazy. If they let the Village parks keep getting better versions of DW/WWW rides then it's going to cause big issues for Ardent. First we had motocoaster which was well and truly surpassed by Jet Rescue and now the Wedgie which in the mind of the general public will be surpassed by WnW's 4 new looping slides

I have to say I originally didn't like the idea of 4 looping slides - I felt that it was a bit excessive and wouldn't really fit in. However I really like the graphic they have put together for this comp which shows an 'artists impression' of the slides together. I think the bright neon colours look great and hope this is what they go with

Please build a lazy river WhiteWater World!! A really great themed one with waterfalls and waves. I think it would be the perfect addition to soak up some capacity over summer and to also give people something that takes a little more time rather than being over in 2 seconds

On the other hand AVPX does not fit in with Ocean Parade at all - no matter how hard you stretch it. I personally hate Adrenalin Alley and I hate the fact that Dreamworld allowed one of their theme lands to be destroyed just because they wanted to located all these filler attractions close together

I bet you they wanted to get that billboard up because they want to steal some of the publicity WWW is generating with the Wedgie. They want people to know that they are already planning their own looping/trap door slides... especially considering WWW opened their version first. Interesting that they are going with colours - WnW hasn't really done that before

I can't believe how fast the Wedgie seems to be - totally surprised me! Looking at those official Proslide videos the trapdoor literally drops and then all of a sudden you are flying out at the end. Now I understand what people mean when they say "I didn't even realise what was happening". Definitely a thrill slide. On another note can I just say once again how impressed I am with Dreamworld to actually have posted all of those great construction and then completion photos of the Wedgie. There were actually some really nice photos showing great detail. Especially considering we don't seem to have any users on here uploading construction pics anymore - nice that Dreamworld/WWW have stepped up! In regards to Illuminate - I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. The reality is it is just another filler attraction like AVPX was last April. They add these when there is no major new ride. I think all we need to be concerned about is what happens later in this year with the big ride upgrade and HOPEFULLY a major new ride

Oh my god - totally got me! I was thinking here comes the demise of Movie World! Don't do that to me!

Another article... http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/how-...00331-re8s.html This reporter gives it a rave review and calls it the fastest, most exhilarating water ride he has ever been on

I have to say the Wedgie looks better than I was expecting. It is a nice design and certainly looks like a modern waterslide... if that makes sense. Good to see they have kept consistency with the rest of the park and presented the ride well including decent signage. The drop and loop look like fun and it definitely looks like a thrill slide. Now bring on the lazy river (with waves) and family raft slide!

I totally agree with you joz and it's the first thing I thought too. Especially considering Dreamworld per cap spending has decreased lately you'd think Illuminate would be the perfect opportunity to keep more of the shops open later and get people spending more. I just can't understand the logic. Everyone is going to be just sitting around on benches waiting for the shows. Weird

And this is where, as I have said before, Dreamworld is making a mistake by always trying to introduce attractions that are 'unique' and 'never before seen in Australia'. People want something that is FUN and impressive - it doesn't necessarily have to be never before seen in this country. We don't even have that many rides and attractions as it is, so most new rides are new to this country anyway! This is the 2nd example I can think of where this approach has backfired on Dreamworld in recent years - first was the motocoaster and what a dismal failure that turned out to be (giving Village a chance to learn from DW's mistakes and create a similar but much better ride) and now with Village hijacking DW's attempt to bring over the first slide that goes upside down

I noticed in most of the marketing for the Wedgie the copy states 'Australia's first looping waterslide!'. I think this is fairly questionable. First looping waterslide? I can think of many waterslides in Australia that have loops in them. 'First drop and loop waterslide' might be more acceptable but they only refer to it as this on the official website. Everywhere else I have seen the promos it just refers to the loop. This would make sense if it actually went upside down but we all know that it doesn't. The trap door/drop component is the only part of this slide which is new to this country

The videos would be ok if they actually had content in them. At the moment all they are is just the 2 presenters mucking around and making jokes. They are not actually revealing any inside info or showing you anything to do with the new attractions. There is not much point

The marketing for the Wedgie and Illuminate is really starting to ramp up with more info added to the respective park websites and 2 new commercials being released - http://www.whitewaterworld.com.au/Rides/The-Wedgie.aspx and http://www.dreamworld.com.au/Attractions/I...Illuminate.aspx It's good to see WhiteWater World putting full marketing effort into its new attraction (even if it is only one new waterslide). I also think it's smart of them to incorporate the $59 sale pass into the promo - considering how they have been absolutely hammered by the Village parks discounting recently

I have to say I am really impressed with Dreamworld's Facebook gallery update of the Wedgie's construction. A large number of shots showing different views - seems more like the work of a park fan than an official marketing tool. Very nice work on Dreamworld's part. PS I also like the sign graphic - kids will love it... definitely keeping in with the theme

I think this is an important point. I know you guys all love your cheap tickets but at the end of the day I think price wars hurt the parks. I'd personally prefer to pay more for a quality experience but perhaps the rest of the cheap asses around Australia don't feel the same way

One positive thing I have to say (rare for me I know) is that it is great to see Dreamworld actually releasing these construction photos, especially after we have been advocating for this for years now. Obviously it is something overseas parks do well. It certainly helps to build the excitement and DW probably feel they now have something they can use to facilitate this (ie. facebook). It is interesting to see just how many 'likes' and positive comments they got the moment they posted the photos. Although it has confirmed for me that their attempt to obtain Australia's first looping slide has backfired. There are so many people who are still expecting that this will be a full looping slide, judging by the comments. A lot of people are going to be disappointed when they realise it is just a standard loop and does not go 'upside down'

I agree to some extent. But I have also been disappointed with their roll-out of new Goodlife gyms too. I was hoping they'd have enough centres by now to start really competing with Fitness First. But they don't. They are opening far less new centres than I was hoping for. As an example a friend of mine recently moved to Sydney from Adelaide. He was a member of Goodlife in Adelaide and was hoping to join the Goodlife gym in the city in Martin Place. He went to see them and they said they had no way of looking up his membership in Adelaide. So he decided to leave Goodlife and join Fitness First, along with virtually every other person I know, because they have gyms everywhere. So that's an example of where they are falling down in the gym business too. Coming back to Dreamworld the reason I want to see them spend big money on a new coaster is because I am looking at a longer term view. I know they are expensive but I want to see a new addition that will increase attendance in a big way not just now but over the next few years. Dreamworld is Ardent's biggest asset from a revenue point of view and they need to do something major to stop the revenue declines that have been occurring

Thanks Gazza. But hasn't Supertubes already faded to yellow?

Um... wasn't this ride supposed to be translucent? According to the copy on the WWW website the slide should be clear. And also won't this orange colour make the slide blend in with the Hydrocoaster which it will be passing under? I would have thought they would have wanted to make it stand out and differentiate it from the Hydrocoaster

Warning: The following is a major rant about Dreamworld and Ardent that I needed to get out of my system. Yes I know it is long but I felt the need to vent. So, here goes... It is interesting to note the success of the Village Roadshow parks over the past 6 months compared to the results Ardent/Dreamworld have announced. The Village parks are continuing to report record revenue and attendance while Dreamworld continues to suffer from large revenue declines and a drop in attendance. Even in the month of January DW revenue continued to fall, down 10% while Village has reported another record month and well up on the previous corresponding period. As a shareholder of Ardent Leisure this is obviously really disappointing. The management of Ardent has always been very successful in the past but it appears lately they have really lost their way. Village discounting has obviously hurt them big time. While Ardent has always said they won't reduce prices to compete it now appears they are being forced to do so. And yet their sale campaigns don't appear to be nearly as well though-out or effective as the Village campaigns. They just slap a banner on their website with a link to a discounted world pass with obscure purchase and use-by dates while Village puts together things like the Endless Summer Campaign and Queensland VIP etc. However I do not believe it is just the price discounts that are hurting Dreamworld. I think the fact that the Motocoaster was a very sub-standard ride has meant they did not get much mileage out of it after the first year. If the ride had actually been fun you would have found the attendance boost would have continued somewhat. The Motocoaster is simply not a good enough ride to bring people back (the Vekoma version may have been much more successful with a longer track and a better ride experience including bunny hops etc). So that was essentially a waste of 3 years. In addition I believe the decision to create 'Adrenalin Alley' has not been a success. Management touted the potential for additional revenue from private functions and after dark events using this area. This does not appear to have eventuated as evidenced by the significant revenue declines recently and we know that these 'filler' attractions certainly haven't added to attendance increases. I think DW need to get their marketing sorted to better compete with the Village discounting in a more effective manner. I then think they need to focus on bringing back the true theme park experience and forget about this failed attempt to generate more revenue from filler attractions such as 'Adrenalin Alley'. They need to let go of the idea of only introducing attractions that are cutting edge or never-seen-before in Australia. Look how this backfired with their attempt to be the first park to have an Aqua Loop. What they do need to do is install some major signature rides that are just plain fun and have a large impact (similar to TOT, Giant Drop) and will have an ongoing positive impact on attendance. A single new waterslide and a major ride refurb are both welcome but are minor in the scheme of things and a lot more needs to be done

Seriously Corkscrew was our ONLY SMOOTH COASTER in Australia. Why would you want to change that? I am all for an improved and upgraded ride but make it BETTER not worse

A great article from the Gold Coast bulletin - http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/0...coast-news.html Includes an actual image/schematic of the Wedgie that we haven't seen to date and how it fits in with the Hydrocoaster. Also of note is the reference to the laser show at Dreamworld being a permanent addition. Sea World's upcoming new attraction is also mentioned