Slick

Didn't AFR take "inspiration" from some Parkz articles too recently? Or was that just me? When it comes to Australian theme park news, it usually originates here.

Interesting given that's exactly how it was for quite a few years before Gold Rush County came along. This ride is definitely cactus now, which is sad given how much ongoing interest it's had over the past 18 months. Provided the Log Ride is also likely to close up permanantly, that's a huge parcel of land that's ripe for a major redevelopment. So many cool things you could build while creating a new, more cohesive theme that integrates Giant Drop and Buzzsaw more eloquently in the process.

There was a redic amount of snow this year, particularly in the parade. I should know, every single time they "made it rain" I had to cover the front of my gear. Here's the proof: (fair warning, totally sappy Christmas video that involves listening to an enthusiast mumble on about the holidays)

It's like you think i'm some sort of theme park nerd or something... ...Yeah I heard it was a pump issue. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I was out at the park over the weekend. It was a really heartwarming vibe to be back at Dreamworld - a lot of legitimately genuine smiles on the faces of both staff and guests which was great to photograph. Here's a few early shots, more to come i'm sure.

This guy's making a lot of sense, folks.

I'll be there officially on Saturday now. Expect to see some lovely shots from the re-opening.

Please no. There's enough weeeeee loop-dee-loop in this world already.

Judging by the footings it'll be quite different.

Exactly that. If you've got an hour, I welcome you to comb through the some of the construction threads.

For those of you who didn't get to go and wanted to peak inside the mazes, here's something you might find interesting.

I think it's worth recapping for the newcomers that parks in Australia have an unhealthy relationship (compared to the rest of the industry globally) with Apple-like secrecy for major projects. For all intents and purposes, those who know all the facts aren't going to risk their careers and working relationships just to be the first with the scoop. It's not like it's a big industry with alternate career possibilities for whistleblowers either, if you burn one bridge chances are you'll burn most of them in the process. Here's a hot tip - if a community leader calls bullshit, well, it most probably is. In saying that, it's not like fun little hints aren't dropped all the time that immediately go over people's heads. TLDR - pay attention to the folks who have been around here for a while.

Having done Arkham VR I can confidently say there was literally no issues with getting sick, head-bumping, whiplash etc. etc. etc. That's in part because Movie World went and spent big money going via companies who know what they're doing and the sync between experience and screen is second to none. Compare that to the reports of Dreamworld's version and it's night and day. in fact i'd go so far as to say it made the coaster infinitely better - you definitely know where you're at in the ride (up to a certain point) so it's not like you're just flailing about hopelessly. And even if you were a new rider, I still don't think you'd be knocked about as much as folks think. I do hope they suss out whatever tech issue they have for the summer season, this is one of the few experiences where i'd say don't knock it until you try it because everyone who does try it (specifically Arkham's VR) loves the crap out of it, myself included.

I freakin' love that "Jingeri" is one of the biggest and most prominent welcomes at the front entrance (it means greetings in the local Yugambeh language for those of you playing at home) and that they've dedicated a huge banner to DWF. Can't wait to checkout what other changes the park has made.

For a second there I thought they were dismantling the waterslide tower.

http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/search/?&q=disney&type=forums_topic&search_in=titles I'm just going to leave that there. TLDR, this topic has been done to death, resurrected, shot, killed, burried again, resurrected again ad nauseum. Here are the cliffnotes: They've tried many times in many different places and different state governments haven't given Disney the subsidies on land or tax they need to make it work They've tried to create smaller resorts and precincts but we just don't have the population or the spend to support something small, let alone a full blown magic kingdom We're not printing money like China is right now Did I mention the population? Because we don't have the population for it. At this point, given I could spend $300 on a budget airline and be at one of THREE magic kingdoms within 8 hours, it's neither here or there for most people in terms of location anymore. For most local and interstate tourists, the market tends to corroborate that they're not willing to spend Disney money in Australia right now. Disney overseas as part of a bigger holiday? Yes. Here? No. Basically, we need to become a smarter nation with more focus in services to have more spend on longer recreation & leisure, and we need a lot more of us to do that AND we need a government with a strong focus on tourism who's willing to make long term concessions just to get the ball rolling, and even then it needs to make fiscal sense, which I still think it won't, and you'll find data from the likes of @Richard @joz in about a dozen other threads who will support this.

I'd take the best parts of USJ & DisneySea and build a large new theme park resort out at near Caloundra. Build it around a large man-made lake that you can do shows and events from, integrate the resort and shopping directly into the front of the park Mira-Costa style, have multiple lands around the lake, some Australian, some more world themed or IP-themed, and most importantly of all i'd have a few multi-purpose showstages that could also have outside access so that small sections of the park can be used at night for entertainment independantly of the park (think having multiple gates to a park that also serve as hubs for things like Top Golf, Main Event, showstages for Cirque Du Soleil etc.). Without a doubt i'd have a Gerstlauer Eurofighter or something new from Intamin or Mack. The drop tower that BGT has that faces the ground? Definitely on the list. If S&S ever get around to refining their 4th dimension product, i'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Given the people behind it this is the first project I think that'll actually develop into something tangible. I'm not sure where they're at in terms of cost analysis with the "fairground" aspect, but I think it's fair to say when they realise the cost of having a few rides in there, even temporary ones, it'll end up being more the "vibe" of a fairground and less something we'd all like to see (actual, cool kickass attractions). Would love to be proven wrong however.

New flagship outlet selling new premium, niche gear from a 3rd party. To me it's not surprising. Maybe down the track it'll change once when they've identified buying behaviour and trends at the store.

@joz summed this thread perfectly - I think if I can add anything to it is that given the Commonwealth Games, given our population increase, given the rate our dollar exchanges at now that the mining boom is over and the US are strong again, given the Chinese middle class are spending more money travelling... need I go on? There's more than enough reasoning right now to support the idea the parks will flourish in the coming years and in a lot of cases are very much on the right track.

Funny you mention that, I wrote an article about this very thing over at OurWorlds this morning - i've wanted to see something like that happen for a long while. It's a ballsy move for sure, and I think now's the perfect time to do anything pro-customer that may not see a direct return on investment in a fiscal sense. I certainly don't see any shareholder backlash while the company's theme park division find its feet again, and if this works over the summer period i'd love to see it extended and have the parks properly amalgamated and developed (i.e. adding in a lazy river etc.)

There's a saying in the industry, "i'll believe when I see it." I wish I could be optimistic about this but these proposals seem to constantly come and go before coming close to fruition.

I haven't seen anything that carefully worded in about a month.

Great link, cheers for that.

All I read was "i'm no expert, but here's how am i'm an expert." Seriously though, 100% agreed, TLDR, right before summer season, the busiest time of the year, and you want to give people a reason to save their pennies until next year?