Slick

I really, really do hope that no one has been killed today.

Get nicked - you love hearing my voice... eight times a day.

He's become quite the celeb GM, huh.

Why didn't Motocoaster get an award though?

Ahhhh the age old Movie World vs Dreamworld argument. Look, i've worked at both parks now, and they both possess some great pros and cons on both sides of the highway. Looking at it as a purely family experience, Dreamworld has this unique proposition where you can go do a lot of great fun things as a family within walking distance. Tigers, solid kids areas, decent food, waterpark etc. etc. etc. All in a nice contained experience. Where Dreamworld goes awry is their finesse - i'm not sure if it's that Macquarie Leisure Trust methodology of treating the operation as a bank creeping in, but you only have to look at the queue lines for rides like Tower of Terror and Giant Drop to understand that some of the experiences become undone very quickly at a lack of care in some key areas, specifically showmanship for sure. And instead of looking after things and constantly improving, bean counters in the last decade have stripped the park, trains, boats, mine rides and all the characteristics that make us so nostalgic for what was. The good news is they're working on bringing that all back - Tiger Island looks incredible, i'm sure Lego will be great, and all the improvements they're doing add up, but is it enough? Is it stalling for time and keeping shareholders happy while they find someone who wants to buy it? I'm not sure. It's clear they're very interested in Main Events in the US, and that's become priority one, and unfortunately unlike Main Events the theme park industry is a long term investment game and without adequate consideration for this hard fact the capital needed to ensure guest expectations and experiences are met suffers. When you look ahead at Oxenford, they're not just working hard, they're steaming ahead at great pace and closing any and all gaps the competition has on not only Movie World, but VRTP as a whole. Totally from a personal perspective, but in the next year or two, if Movie World improved WB Kids and developed it into a much larger, immersive experience with a few new attractions, VRTP's combined offering from all their parks will have Ardent completely licked. What i'd like to see then is a Dreamworld that responds instead of a Dreamworld that's happy playing second fiddle, because if they keep the blinkers on for too much longer and pretend they can respond to perfect market conditions and a competitor that's burning money by dabbling in non-major experiences (referring to Lego) i'd dare say that's what will happen. VRTP are investing some serious dollars on building new things and improving on what's already there, and I don't see Ardent doing the same, and that actually makes me a little sad, because it's a small enough town with how few parks we have without one giving up and being comfortable that their signature roller-coaster is a Sydney hand me down, and that their signature thrill ride that they still use on the billboards to this day is a ride that's coming up next month on 18 years old. EIGHTEEN. Giant Drop will be 18 next month. If that doesn't say "we need a new big ride asap" i don't know what does.

...Exciting, it's almost like they knew we wanted more info...

And i'd love it if Dreamworld had something similar that wasn't nearly two decades old at this point.

This is going to be great. I'm really happy about this update finally happening, I think whatever Dreamworld can do to support the Tiger Island team and their efforts to educate more people about wildlife conservation is a big win and giving them a bigger and better space to do just that makes me very happy.

Thanks for the photos @Theme Park Girl - I remember a time when there was a lot of negative feedback about the state of that area, and now it's getting a new lease on life. I really dig it when the parks are on the same page as the fans. I think the monorail poking through on its journey will be a cool touch, hopefully they've given the Monorail extra height clearance should they ever decide to throw air-con on the top.

If you're short on time, want to get a photo with a koala, see some native Australian wildlife and enjoy some rides with friends, Dreamworld is definitely the most well rounded experience. You'll be able to tick a lot of boxes in one day without it being a mission. If you love roller-coasters, then Superman Escape alone will give just about everything in Japan a run for its money and thus Movie World becomes a great choice. If you're a fan of parks like USJ or DisneySea then Movie World is much more your thing. If you have a few days, i'd genuinely do both, these days Movie World & Dreamworld compliment each other more then they do compete in my mind. Both have great rides that each other doesn't have. If you're short on time and if you have a bit of money to spend on Ride Express and Fast Track (that's the names for each park's queue skipping system) then you could do both in one day too. Ultimately, in any scenario you'll have a great time. Keep us posted - send us some pictures of your time in Australia.

Superman's looking great. Can't wait for that to re-open and take some new stills.

TLDR, avoid the bathrooms at the front of Movie World, especially in the afternoon. Vote 1 for Dirty Harry Bathrooms. (I'm sure there's a joke there somewhere but i'm going to let someone else have it).

There's a website called AbandonedKansai that has great coverage of Nara Dreamland along with a host of other abandoned places right through Japan. Abandoned Kansai - Nara Dreamland – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Abandoned ... Funnily enough, Chippewa Lake Park is one abandoned park that kickstarted my interest to theme parks as a whole (that and Rollercoaster Tycoon). Chippewa Lake Park - http://www.forgottenoh.com/Chippewa/chippewa.html Nearby Nara Dreamland there's also Expoland that's also worth a look. Six Flags New Orleans is the goto now for cliche abandoned theme parks, certainly one of the most modern examples of a large scale theme park becoming desolate.

I think we all knew this coming but it's still sad to see yet another piece of Dreamworld opening history be gutted. It would've been nice for them to atleast attempt to maintain and incorporate some of the original charm into the new design but let's face it, with the amount of changes, hacks and modifications that half of the Dreamworld entrance has gone through it was on its last legs. Instead of getting tied up in nostalgia, I do hope that this project follows in the foot steps of the Green Bean and the Ice Cream Parlour in that it has a real genuine, honest & well thought out aesthetic that brings a sense of quality & value to the guest experience. Shame we haven't seen any renderings or information released about it yet. It's 2016 folks, every large international brand of theme parks, from Merlin, Disney & Busch all know the value in drip-feeding content and generating hype that trumps keeping fans in the dark on projects like this. Do we still have to play the secrets game because of the fear generated by the Village/Ardent rivalry?

Wow. They're not cocking about on this one.

While we're on the topic, what is everyone's favourite theme park website? Official or otherwise? And what do they love to see the most in terms of content? I love what Aussie World's done with their new website (http://www.aussieworld.com.au), and despite not being a massive fan of the current marketing campaign, overall it's a fantastic UX that's laden with content. Me rikey. I don't mind Dreamworld's at all, I really dig the big emphasis on imagery, but it's very, very heavy to load. For me personally, I think the big missing is offering more beyond a few hero shots and a blurb for your attractions. I'd love to see more attractions pages like Dollywood's where you can scroll through an endless supply of photos or videos. On the flipside of things, to me it's interesting how many websites aren't up to date and integrate modern UI/UX practices (responsive design, etc.) into their main portals. Disney, Merlin & Village all still have sites in some capacity or another that have remained unchanged for quite a while. I'm interested, does this alter your experience to the point where you'd rather go elsewhere to research prior to buying tickets (or as google call it, ZMOT)? I know Richard takes a ridiculous amount of pride in custom-coding what's gotta be literally the best theme park website out there in terms of the systems in place - you only have to look at Theme Park Review to realise the light and day difference. I also really, really love what Busch Gardens does in terms of webisodes and additional content (like above), as does Disney & other brands, but maybe that's just me. With OurWorlds i'd love to have more time to craft together park guides, psuedo Vlog meets Top Gear style pieces that are gorgeous, funny and informative, but that right now remains a pipe dream until I get ontop of projects again.

I remember hearing a lot of people just a few years back actively hating on it and saying it was the worst of the Disney Tower of Terror rides. Change is good. Can confirm DisneySea's version is utterly superb from head to toe and is visually spectacular at night when it's operating.

"If I don't put it in a position where both guys are painting, then only one of us is painting" - spoken like a true philosopher.

Graphic.

This sounds about right. I wouldn't get too bogged down on it, it's not like you're going to miss out on anything.

If true I think it's a shame. I certainly think Sydney is overdue for a new theme park to take Wonderland's place.

Where's someone who works at VRTP when you need it.

It's worth noting that the original Von Roll tower design that Intamin uses had changed since Space Probe - basically Dreamworld Tower has steep stairs whereas the Space Probe had a lot of ladders.

Here's a comparison for those saying it's too expensive: Thorpe Park, one of the only other places in the world that offer a Coaster Climb, is over $600 AUD. Looking at Disney, their backstage tour is just under $360 AUD, it's longer, but the groups aren't capped. Alternatively, you could go for a VIP guide, which comes in at $2400 AUD (minimum of six hours.) Then there's Universal Studios, their backstage tour is nearly $480 AUD. And to top it off, there's Dreamworld, where you add a one to the front of the Star Tours price and get $1295 per adult AUD. That's not to say Dreamworld's product is overpriced straight off the bat. Ultimately i'd say these products fall into one of two fields, backstage experiences or more exclusive escorted VIP experiences. Given the size of our parks, I think Star Tours strikes a nice balance between the two, because the reality is I just don't think you need someone walking you to Superman Escape for the 5th time in a row when ultimately a Fast Track wristband does the same thing. If it was Disneyland though, where the crowds are constantly insane and you'd be lucky to squeeze everything in on a good day, then there's some value I think.