Gazza

AllegroCrab gets it. Would you travel 8 hours to go Go Karting? Would you travel 8 hours to go to the zoo? Would you travel 8 hours to go to the cinema? Would you travel 8 hours for a day at the beach? Point is, these are all comparable legit activities you might do on a Sunday or whatever, yet you seem to think its reasonable, and that people en masse will have water park annual passes in Melbourne and will regularly fork out for airfares (or two tanks of fuel and 16 hours total driving return) and at least one night of accommodation just to go to a water park. We're all theme park enthusiasts here, but I doubt even among a group like hours you'd have people doing what you describe. If that were true, where were all the Wonderpass holders in Melbourne going up to WL Sydney each weekend? I think you're misunderstanding where water parks should sit on the entertainment heirachy...Why should it have anything to do with going on holidays? By all means, WnW and WWW will continue to do well because of their location at a holiday resort region. Why can't it be an activity whereby someone sees that the weekend weather is going to be sunny, they can head out, have some fun, and be back in home time for master chef? This is what I'm getting at. An annual pass for a water park might be $80 or so, you can barely even get the airfare for that. If Australia were a 'clean slate' and you were a theme park operator looking to maximise your income, which would net you more money? A ) A water park in one single location (Eg the Gold Coast), with everyone travelling to it. B ) A water park in each city, each with its own pool of annual passholders and locals making regular visits. I reckon B ) would be far more sucessful. With Wet n Wild Sydney opening, the Gold Coast park will probably lose most of its Sydney basin visitors, but to make up for it the Sydney basin as a whole will probably be waterparking 10 times as much as it used to, because it's less of an effort. This is called expanding the market. Adventure park is cool and all, but it's in a really bad location for much of Melbourne/ requires a ferry crossing for people on the eastern side of the bay....It's like saying WnW Sydney isn't needed because Jamberoo is down the road at Wooloongong.

For this daytrip you supposedly did, If it takes 10 hours on a bus are you saying you spent 10 hours on the way up, 4 hours in Sydney and 10 hours on the way home (24 hours in total)?

I think the point you are ignoring is that Melbournians wanting a water park experience will have to drive 8 hours to Sydney and fork out for overnight accommodation. Seems bizzare that you expect that sort of commitment from regular families and bored teens on a regular basis. This completely misses the situation where a family can just have an annual pass and pop on down a few weekends per year when the weather is nice,, as occurs in SEQ, Perth, the Illawarra etc. The strong performance and attendance figures VRTP have been getting seems to suggest getting locals to visit lots works (Rather than rely on the whims of holiday makers) I don't think having "another type of park" really matters...Water parks and theme parks are complimentary, which is why so many theme parks build waterparks next door. Elsewhere in the world, water parks seem very much a local form of entertainment....Australia is the odd one out in playing them as something you plan a holiday for.

Melbourne doesn't have any water parks. They've got a few aquatic centers with waterslides and wave pools, and a couple of small parks with water slides within daytrip distance. But then again so does Sydney. But that isn't stopping the largest water park in the country being built....I think the experience you get from a water park is different to a public swimming pool, and more "complete" than the likes of Funfields etc could offer.

^No, I think what he meant is that if Wet n Wild Sydney does well, then a theme park in Sydney could become viable again too, perhaps as a sister park. Melbourne was never mentioned at all.

The proposal/approval of a water park in Hervey Bay with a sub $30 mil price tag (Despite the relativley small size of the place, and lower tourist numbers compared to elsewhere) has got me thinking....where else in Australia do people think water parks could pop up? Here are my thoughts. Adelaide This is one market I think would genuinely be sucessful. Very little in the way of local entertainment options, and I hate using this word to describe it, but I think the locals are "bogan" enough for a water park to be appealing....No high culture needed! The Beachouse is really all they've got, but it shoots itself in the foot by really only being appealing to those under 14 or so. Their proposal to put in a water play structure was knocked back, so they're basically stuck as they are for now. Newcastle Yeah, WnW Sydney is coming, but I think Newy and the Central Coast and the Hunter is separate enough that a medium sized water park catering to the catchment of 500,000 or so could do well. Darwin On the other hand, this is one place I wouldn't go near. It would be tough for a private operator to compete with the two free government run waterparks in the suburbs....Why would families pay for something they can get for free, and how would a private operator sell the fact their slides are 'better' in the first place? Perth Probably another difficult market to get into...Adventure World can just kick into gear and put in more diverse water slides. Along with that Outback Splash place being built at that Maze in North East Perth the city is going to be pretty well covered for the time being. Melbourne Adventure Park down in Geelong is chugging along nicely, as is Funfields, which have recently put a new water play structure and a couple of raft slides. I don't think the argument really washes that Melbourne is too cold for a seasonal outdoor water park, when you can find outdoor water parks in cold countries like Denmark http://goo.gl/maps/pqsiO and Canada http://goo.gl/maps/8Pd3L Townsville No water slides at all in this city! The largest city in FNQ with a decent local population that is rapidly growing. Cairns It kinda seems like Adventure Waters is dead in the water (excuse the pun) I still reckon one could do well. Sugar World suffers from the same problem as the Beachouse in Adelaide...Too much focus on younger local kids, and completley ignores the passing tourist population. I reckon an investor would be better served to just purcase the place and the adjoining land, and expand it. Coffs Harbour A possibility? Might be a few years down the track though...I reckon you'd want a regional population of 100,000k to support it. Finally I reckon the Cowabunga Bay type concept would be a good one to start off with in smaller markets. http://goo.gl/maps/DoXV6 Basically just a small locally oriented place, anchored by a lazy river and a huge water play structure...Great visual impact and the low construction cost keeps the admission price low. I personally would be inclined to add in at least one conventional slide complex in with it too just to round if off a bit more and make it more appealing to a wider audience. Thoughts?

So it has http://seaworld.com.au/rides-and-attractions/rides/storm-coaster.aspx

Side point, can you cite me an example of where a particular group has actually done this? Seems to be a typical redneck cry that "They are changing our culture!" The only instances I can think of is when preschools decide to ban stanta of their own voliton. I've never actually heard of a case of someone being forced to do it by an immigrant? Have you got a link to an article or something?

Why do people pay for something that can be obtained for free from a drinking fountain?

Yep....that will be for a section with translucent bands of light. Look up "magic eye waterslide" on YouTube to see what it will be like.

They are a proslide tantrum alley...There is one at watermarc banyule in Melbourne. ..they can be either open ended or enclosed. Imagine them like a minature version of the tornado, and you slide down several in a row. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaUL_u7CEC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

On the other hand, DW have run several mazes in the past.

Did you have unfortunate timing with a French public holiday or something? 4 rides in a day must've been frustrating!

Disneyland isn't really an "Animal Park" though, is it?

I don't think anyone reasonably thought they were going to be animatronics anyway? An extinct animal is one thing, you have no choice, but what reason would there be to have an animaltronic hippo, gorilla or croc?

^Agreed, it's not like Bermuda Triangle had some conservation/animal related theme, did it?

An alternative acceptable answer would have been: "There are new pics on XYZs Facebook page!!!" [proceeds to submit post without giving a link].

The rules have changed since 6 months ago.

For those interested, it seems the plans on this page are more reflective of how the park is going to be laid out (The final versions in other words) http://www.e-architect.co.uk/sydney/wet_n_wild_water_park.htm

I've seen backpacks on the floor beneath the items boxes, so I guess you can.

You can get change at the photo centre, or the DC Superheroes store.

DW need to close down Motocoaster and put the vintage cars back in their place. That will solve all of DWs problems

Cool video, now I get why there were sections of white colored track....to blend in with the waterfall on the airtime hill. Are they extending the Vikings Revenge ride too?

After seeing it in person, one thing that struck me is the way the track was built....It didn't seem very substantial....The way the bracing is done between the spine and rails with the flattened tube and weld remands me a bit of how monkey bars are done: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/819837/thumbs/r-MONKEY-BARS-DANGEROUS-large570.jpg?6 Just struck me as pretty flimsy compared to how even kiddy coaster track looks: To be honest, I reckon they would be better off just ripping the whole thing up and getting a proper coaster manufacturer in rather than throwing any money at it. http://rcdb.com/4346.htm?p=36644

Seems like for a big shed? An enclosed station and first section like SAW, Takabisha, The Smiler Etc?