GoGoBoy

I'm very sad to hear Speedcoaster will be disappearing... I personally thought it was a really fun slide. I prefer boat/raft slides and this one had some really good momentum. It used to be the old speed slide which they refurbished a few years ago and turned into a new experience. I don't mind the idea of replacing older attractions with newer ones (ie. while expansion is always good sometimes replacing older attractions is more efficient and certainly less costly in the long run for the park) I don't like seeing good attractions being removed. The Terror Canyons and Speedcoaster were my fave slides at the park

I agree that slapping a well known brand on an average or below average attraction does not make it a winner... as we have seen Dreamworld doing recently. They had a lot of success with Big Brother and Nick Central which seems to have led them to the belief that all they need is a brand to bring in the people. However these attractions had a lot behind them and were of high quality, especially Nick Central. The most important thing to people is the quality of the ride or attraction - the branding only adds to the appeal (for some people) but does not in itself create it. This is shown with the attendance decreases Dreamworld has been experiencing over the last couple of years

Fifi said she stabbed herself with her earring on Sea Viper and drew blood! Not a good sign!

That would be very disappointing considering the fact that Corkscrew was previously a very smooth coaster. One of the few smooth coasters in Australia. Nobody likes having their ears/head banged around. It wouldn't make for a very good 'upgrade'

I have to say it really doesn't sound good at all. I mean let's face it - it's just a show. It's not what we all love theme parks for. It is only a very basic filler in terms of entertainment and as you mentioned certainly not a drawcard. Dreamworld is advertising it like it's something major but I guess it's because they've got nothing else this year. I know I'll be looking to the second part of next year and hoping their next major addition is something very worthwhile

So both Terror Canyons have closed now? That's a real shame. I personally think they were the best slides in the park. They were also the only slides with any decent theming... the final splashdown was really well done

That's a good point Gazza. As an example, I noticed there are only 1 or 2 of those close-up shots for the HydroCoaster on the WWW website. That seems crazy to me as surely you would want to show people what the ride actually does. People that haven't been to the park before should be shown that it is a waterslide that actually goes uphill - and not just any ordinary slide

It looks like both Dreamworld and Whitewater World have once again redesigned their websites. It's great to see them keeping their marketing fresh and up to date. I have to say I personally think the sites look really good - very professional with some excellent graphics and very effective images used throughout. What does everybody else think?

Thank for this news Richard. Is it just me or is Wet 'n' Wild turning into the Six Flags of the waterpark world? They seems to be adding new attractions every year - just like Six Flags did for a while - with less emphasis on the quality of the park in general. A few years ago when they only added a new attraction every 2 or 3 years there was more of a focus on the quality and presentation of each new ride and how it fit in with the rest of the park. Now it seems like they just add something every year, no matter what it is, with very little thought to theming and presentation. Whitewater Mountain and Calypso Beach were such well thought-out additions. Then H20 Zone came along and it became a bit of a mess. I personally thing Kamikaze is the ugliest. Anyway it remains to be seen how well these new slides will be integrated... I just think there's got to be a better balance between adding a new attraction every year and ensuring each addition is of the highest quality. Regardless, I'm sure this will go down well and will no doubt apply yet more pressure to WhiteWater World. It's time for them to make their move

Very interesting... thanks for that update. I'm wondering if Ardent Leisure will find the new levies acceptable now. I note they took issue with having to pay what they saw as excessive water and sewerage fees which were both over $1 million each... in the renegotiated decision these have been reduced to around $500,000 each. Hopefully that will be acceptable to WhiteWater World and we will finally see this project happen. At this stage it's looking like 2010 could be a good year (fingers crossed!) and would certainly fit in with my assumed timeline

That ride looks scarily similar to Dreamworld's Mick Doohan motocoaster... although motocoaster probably isn't as much fun

I can't believe they got rid of their only roller coaster. What is a fun park without a coaster? I am also disappointed from a historical point of view as that coaster once resided at Luna Park in Sydney. I had a look at Adventure World's park map and it is looking REALLY sad. Have they removed any other rides recently? I couldn't see the Power Surge etc. on the map

Oh okay that's strange because on the LPS website it states - 'Life-size pirates leer from every corner with canons and cunning crocs posed to strike!'. A bit misleading if it's not true

Does the log ride actually have animatronic pirates placed around the track? Sounds like a very advanced travelling ride

That aerial shot Gazza posted reminds me what a superior ride Jet Rescue is compared to Motocoaster at Dreamworld. The length of the track and the layout is just so much better than Dreamworld's effort

I just noticed the next WhiteWater World on 22nd January is now being advertised on the park website. I am surprised they aren't planning to hold more of them over the summer including some in December as they did when they originally started it. I remember reading a recent Ardent Leisure financial report where they mentioned they would be looking to hold more of these night events in an attempt to increase revenues. I wonder what's made them seemingly change their mind?

I've got to say I much prefer Sea World's upgrade/re-theme and subsequent re-marketing of an attraction as a 'filler' (smaller less expensive attractions added in a year where no major ride is being built) as opposed to Dreamworld's standard fillers like Flowrider, AVPX, Redline etc. I think the park will get better long term benefits out of upgrading an exiting ride as opposed to adding crappy side show style 'interactive attractions'

I was thinking the same thing. 3 weeks is like a lifetime when it comes to adding the theming and finishing touches to rides. In some cases we've seen stuff go up in a matter of days

Well don't forget they did paint the track too! But as Gazza said let's hope they also add some theming to the queue house and ride surrounds

The Sea World website clearly states that the Sea Viper is the old Corkscrew with a makeover and a new ride experience... so it's good to see they are not trying to pass it off as an entirely new ride. I think this will turn out to be quite a positive upgrade and so far I'm liking the marketing for it. As I think I said before - the logo looks awesome

Thanks for that. It wouldn't surprise me if they left the old logo on the roof considering the poor job they have done of theming and signage lately

Does WWW get a lot of school groups too or is it mostly WnW? How busy is WWW during the week?

An Aqua Loop? Hmm I think I'd prefer WhiteWater World stuck with their original expansion plans. I think the park is in much more need of a longer lasting attraction such as a lazy river and mammoth slides as opposed to another over-in-2-seconds slide like an Aqua Tube. The park needs to give people reasons to stay there for longer and make it a full day destination

I'm fairly sure Proslide had Dreamworld listed as a client before DW or WWW officially announced anything. So there certainly seems to be a precedent. I hope it's not an Aqua Tube- those things just look nasty to me. I really wish WWW would go ahead with their initial planned expansion. More than anything the park needs more attractions that take a longer time to complete such as a lazy river and family mammoth

Sorry if I'm missing something but was this article intended to be sarcastic? I'm just wondering whether it is a bit tongue in cheek Richard and what your personal thoughts on this upgrade are?