Slick

Haha, perhaps for clarity, I think enjoying a fresh paint job is up there with many classic “manly” stereotypes (like enjoying a freshly mowed lawn or looking at pressure washing porn) but then there’s also travelling out of my way to the local BP, taking photos of the daily progress, and posting the content online to “petrol stationz”. 😄 In that regard theme parks are quite unique.

Often I kind of think that tracking paint-jobs is a bit whacky, partly because it'd be seen as mental if anyone had that same level of enthusiasm for their local Bunnings getting a paint-job. That said, I must admit this will be really interesting from an execution standpoint. Sounds like they're making a custom rig to get around the entire circumference of the tower which will be cool to see play out. Doubly so for how they actually get the track off the tower and if it's using the same custom rig. This is also worth a mention, came up in another thread but it's worth mentioning here too: This is Steel Taipan's current operating hours. With that in mind, will be interesting to see how much these works impact the pathway to Giant Drop that neighbours Steel Taipan. Does that also mean work will only happen in the mornings? (Might explain the extended period it's down for). I'm also placing some bets that the "TOWER OF TERROR" letters will be painted over - pretty sure they're welded in place from the factory.

Apologies mate, made some additions to my post while you were writing that post. To be fair, they're a publicly listed company with a leadership board well known to their most fanatic customers so it wouldn’t be unusual to use names within certain contexts. Speaking in broad strokes, leadership (specifically C-suite) have legal responsibilities here in Australia to ensure stakeholder interests are upheld. To that end, furthering my Facebook analogy from above, i'd be posting the same thoughts about a marketing company that refused to put ads on Facebook because a leader got their knickers in a knot over a negative post on Facebook. In any case - I think it's fair to talk about any theme park that reduces their hours of their flagship ride in its first year of operation.

Are you suggesting that you know that Richard's editorials have personally burnt Dreamworld's current leadership? News to me if so. The alternative is that you're assuming Dreamworld's management aren't tech-savvy enough to distinguish Parkz from the forums' members, which is akin to thinking that Facebook's members represent Facebook the company (which is pretty mental).

Why?

Dreamworld's whole vibe these days seems to be "Parkz: can't live with them, can't live without them!"

And people were rightfully critical of Movie World for it, as folks should be equally critical/curious about why this is the case.

I wonder if we'll see Sea World's trains make an appearance? https://www.9news.com.au/national/iconic-big-banana-train-and-gold-coasts-monorail-to-be-sold-at-auction/

Cheers for the update. I wonder what those new cables are for?

Huh. I did a quick Google - it was called Topiaries on Beaumont but it was sold off during at the start of the pandemic and not sure what's come of it. 😕

Did a quick morning Google on the Samford one (Samford's the area I grew up in so to hear that there was a bobsled in town is really neat). Jumping on QImagery, it looks like it didn't last all that long, maybe less than a decade (it's clear as day in the 1992 & 1987 images, not visible prior to 1983 in a completed form and then basically gone by the 1994 images). FYI, that site is now a cafe/wedding venue with a really lovely view of a part of Samford Valley that's now soccer grounds and parklands (was formerly a CSIRO research site). 1992 Images from Queensland Imagery: 1997-ish Images from Queensland Imagery: And some footage from a recent-ish 7news Flashback:

Why did they do this right when brick facades are becoming really popular again? If anything they should go back to covering that facade with bougainvilleas.

Could be down to the windy weather. Has anyone reached out to the park yet to ask why it's been turned back off?

I'll have a presumptive stab in the dark on this one - we know the trains were on their last legs for years, and simultaneously they’ve gone to great lengths/expenses to maintain the track and build a wooden coaster around it. Therefore, it's a safe bet to assume that what @Bikash Randhawahas said in the past is likely still true. Perhaps someone can reach out to the park and ask? Is Penguin Encounters or the Jelly exhibit thing wasted space because it's indoors?

FYI. 🍻

Yeah maybe decrease the diameter of the hole is the way to go and add in some thick brushes around the inner edge to deter anything entering? Yeah, and it’ll be sad if something like that does happen. I think we’ve genuinely reached the point of over bubble-wrapping every theme park ride in australia.

I couldn't resist.

Appreciate you reaching out to the park to find the clarification there. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Has anyone tried asking the park directly about it or this conjecture?

Thanks for letting us know. The previous wrought iron fence had quite a few dozen layers of paint on it, so here's hoping they've taken that away to be properly looked after and like you said, it's not instead replaced by a standard pool fence (or worse yet, chain link).

@themagicianare the train station’s fences gone?

The current CEO is on the same LTI as the former CEO.

Maybe, but the load-bearing assumption you've made there is that Ardent is actually interested in a future. At this point, if a stock-broker suggested Ardent for its long-term viability, despite the chairman being a well-known corporate raider, the restructuring of the US arm from the AU arm, the sale of the marinas, bowling centres, gyms and now Main Event, and despite the fact that the park's CEO role has a sale incentive in the contract, well.... i'd suggest finding yourself a different stock-broker.

Probably depends on when you bought shares.

Yeah look it's important to consider opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one. Honestly though no stress though, the irony in being annoyed about that post is noted.