Gazza

That's just the same video as the one you linked to before.

I was there last night, I'll just dot point the whole lot since a play by play report is too much work. -They did get it right in terms of filling the place up with smoke, but the coloured lights around seemed a bit random. -I'd agree with what people have said with respect to lack of actors..There were actors in 2 out of 3 mazes, but in terms of ones out and about in the park there weren't that many, and they didn't really do much (In a couple of cases they were just standing guard at maze entrances). I dunno whether it was their intention to just have it as a sort of event where its just a place for guests to go and play halloween dress ups (And indeed there were a few guests who had gone to great effort) but I reckon next time around they just need actors going around the park whose sole job is to scare people. -I do however give them credit for giving the staff torn uniforms (Even cleaners!) -In terms of rides, we did SE x2, SDSC, WWF, Dodgems...We made no special effort to get on rides really since we stopped of at Dirty Harrys a couple of times, but the crowds weren't too heavy so if you were desperate you could do do all the rides. Regardless, queues weren't bad at all. Superman was the highlight, I think after 10 hours of operation the wheels must warm up, so it speeds over the hills a fair bit. Probably the best ride on it I have done. Scooby was also running well, tons of smoke and lasers, (bar the lack of a final drop laser). I hope they keep it in this state! -I made two attempts to get this witty onride photo I had planned to work (Tried on SDSC and WWF), and failed twice, so I gave up. -Just on SDSC, the queue set up was hillarious. Bedlam manor was built on the right hand side of hall, but the queue was on the left. The SDSC indoor switchbacks were on the open left hand side of the hall, but the queue was on the right -As for the mazes, they were all a bit bleh. Again, it came down to there not being enough actors, so there was a fair bit of time just zigzagging around walls with nobody around. -Wild West Falls seemed like a missed opportunity...The western town part of the ride could have had extra actors about. I dunno if they were just reluctant to do it because it was only running for 3 hours. -The Fun House was probably the 'best', since it had the most going on. The big vagina type thing you squeeze through and the bubble machine were all a bit wtf. Unfortunately I didn't catch Ian in there. -Bedlam Manor probably had the most in terms of props, so it did sort of feel like the rooms of a manor. There were a few actors around doing the whole creepy stares thing. -Dragon Alley had no actors. I didn't encounter any live snakes, but I did get tapped in the nuts a few times by rubber things that were attached to the walls. The grand finale was a hallway of palm trees...sooo many palm treees! Just wierd really, I can't remember who made this suggestion, but I reckon they need to replace the palm trees with guys holding axes. -Somehow, we managed to miss all the shows, bar the end of Thriller...next time I guess. -Overall, it was good to be able to visit the park at night, and indeed $40 for the whole affair is still pretty good value (Especially if you made a better effort to go on everything) I reckon it would be worthwhile them having a series of summer nights, not necessarily themed, but just a chance to hit the rides in the dark. Hopefully with future halloween events they can go over and get some ideas from Universal in terms of scare actors, and beef that aspect of the night up a bit. -They all died

For this very reason I deactivated the auto correct feature on my touch....It seemed to interrupt more often then it made useful suggestions.

Well, the water park has gotten up, and was approved 7-4 in a council vote. http://www.cairnsblog.net/2009/10/cochrane...g-some-fun.html http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/10/2...local-news.html

I think the water coaster proposed was lacklustre....Essentially all it did was have a lift, a helix drop and a splashdown. Personally, I'd do something where it starts off as a dark boat ride, before being lifted up vertically to the high point (Similar to this ride http://www.rcdb.com/3029.htm?p=15413 ) , emerging from the darkness and then doing the coastery stuff over the roof of the dark ride section. At least that way it gets fleshed out into a proper experience, rather than just a shoot the chutes with a curving drop, and it becomes less of a waste of space since the ground area is actually being used for something. For the record, I do think a water coaster can be a decent ride, (I think the issue with JTA at SWO is that the only time bothers to do some coastery stuff is for a few seconds right at the end)

You shouldn't have any problems. Hotel slides are usually designed for smaller kids, so they have shallower gradients (It's not so much to do with water pressure) But the body slides at WnW have fairly steep gradients, so you go pretty fast, and the rashie won't cause you to get stuck. Though, if you want some extra thrill, I'd recommend taking the rashie off just before you are about to go down, holding it under your crossed arms, and putting it on again at the bottom, since you'll go faster that way.

Reminds me of what DjRappa was saying about smoking the place out . I think if it is making you feel uneasy about not being able to see far in front then they are doing their job perfectly in terms of creating atmosphere. It would only be dangerous if you were doing something stupid like running, plus its not as if mazes have a lot of visibility either. Whose fault is that? If I went to Sizzler and paid for the Salad Bar, and I chose not to take full advantage of the food on offer, is it my fault or Sizzlers?

Something that struck me whilst I was at the Dominos at Helensvale*, they've got these new 'classic taste pizzas', which are basically just pizzas with very few toppings. They seem very desperate to keep the prices below the $10 barrier, which is why they are selling these smaller pizzas with less on them. I wonder if Dominos management realise that there still is actually a market out there for people who want something filling rather than cheap, and do actually like having a giant pizza like they used to be. I would gladly pay more for a bigger pizza. Why cant they offer an extra large? The situation they have now where there is only one size, and its tiny, quite frankly sucks. *(Haha, a funny side note on that, without fail they always misspell my name, putting as 'Gaven' on the screen, probably due to the fact the suburb next to Helensvale is Gaven.

^It's always pained me that you cant build a top spin for $580 in real life.

Just looking at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandusky,_Ohio#Climate The average maximum temperatures in the closed months: November: 9 C December: 3 C January: 0 C February: 2 C March 7: C April 13: C Barely any people would go because its too cold, a bunch of stuff like the water rides wouldn't operate, they'd need extra staff to clear snow off the pathways, and the lubricants on coaster wheels tends to seize up a bit so there is the risk of stalling.

The park map and the full line-up of attractions have now been released: http://www.rwsentosa.com/USS_map_Eng/en_map-uss.html Hollywood -Pantages Hollywood Theatre. The parks main venue with 1500 seats. Will have the Universal Monsters Rock and Roll show from Universal Japan. Madagascar -Madagascar: a Crate Adventure. A kids indoor boat ride (With a short outdoor section), I guess it would be comparable to the Looney Tunes River Ride. -King Juliens Beach Party Go Round. A carousel with African animals. Far Far Away -Shrek 4D -Enchanted Airways. A Vekoma Rollerskater with a train themed to look like 'Dragon' (Does Donkeys girlfriend actually have a proper name?). -Donkey Live: A show where you can talk to Donkey. From memory this is at USH, and is just a animatronic with an operator that cracks jokes etc. -Magic Potion Spin: A mini ferris wheel themed to be a machine in a potion factory. The Lost World -Waterworld Show -Amber Rock Climb. I'm presuming this is an upcharge. -Dino Soarin'. A hub and spoke type ride like Astro Orbitor, Dumbo etc. -Canopy Flyer. A suspended single rail coaster similar to Pteranadon Flyers at IOA. -Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Similar to the Jurrasic Park rides at the other Universal parks, but its a rapids instead of a flume ride. Ancient Egypt -Revenge of the Mummy. Indoor coaster....I'm wondering wether it will take after the Hollywood version or the Orlando version, or something else all together. -Treasure Hunters. A vintage car ride through ancient ruins. Sci Fi City -Battlestar Galactica Human. A Vekoma sitdown, without inversions. -Battlestar Galactica Cylon: A vekoma SLC, with inversions. -Accelerator: Teacups Ride, similar to Storm Force Acceleratron at IOA -Transformers. A Spiderman style 4D dark ride. Bugger, this one wont open till 2011...I think I may well just hold off until then. New York -Lights, Camera, Action. Hosted by Steven Speilberg. I think this is just their Earthquake/Twister equivalent. You see a Hurricane hit New York. -Stage 28. Seems to be a museum showing how stuff is done, as well as holding film memorabilia.

Gerstlauer Boblsed? Coasters like G'sengte Sau, Heiße Fahrt, Thors Hammer etc. Or failing that, a Mack E-Motion coaster, like Tulireki Either way, I'd agree that it would be too similar to Scooby Doo. In a park with as few coasters at MW, I think it is better to have each coaster broadly different to the rest (Which is evident at the moment in the park)

Are you sure about them not disclosing? This is what it says on the website. Which is all the rides that close at 9pm. If the train held 80 people it would be 20 cars long. But it's only 8 cars, so 32 per train: http://www.parkz.com.au/photo/US/Orlando/I...ero_G_Roll.html I think the issue though is that for day to day operation, 3 train operation and those sorts of capacities are simply not needed. Disneyland needs high capacity stuff like Indiana Jones that because they get 14,000,000 guests per year, which is over 10 times what MW gets. But I mean, with Superman for instance, everyone knows it's perhaps the fastest moving thrill ride queue on the coast, and possible to ride as much as you want, even on busy summer days (When they decide to run both trains that is), so the choices they have made are adequate. But it probably isn't worth the extra cost in construction and ongoing maintenance to have 3rd trains etc that only get used on 6 or so nights of the year. If they could get permission to run everything till 11pm, then that would be the simplest solution, and would spread ride crowds across the whole night. The other thing to do is to have more mazes. That's actually a really good idea. I hope for next year (Or next week if they are ambitious) they could at least figure out a way of running the effects in manual mode (So someone up in the projection room could set off effects at will)

I'm almost playing the devils advocate here, but I think the residents may well have been there before the park, but only just. If you go on street view on the streets around the park the housing stock is clearly late 80s/early 90s. That said, they should be able to negotiate some sort of agreement to have at least a few nights per year with later trading than is currently allowed.

I don't know how interested you are in water parks, but going back to Wet 'n' Wild to see the rest of the place is definitely a worthwhile exercise. However, you will be visiting on some of the busiest days of the year. My suggesting would be to get an after 5pm ticket ($24.95). The park will still be open till 9pm, and will be quieter, and you wont have to worry about sunburn. Oh, and the water jets are gone on Surfrider too, so that might be a positive or negative depending on your viewpoint. Haha, if that's not an endorsement of WBMW, I don't know what is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWVj3ypAObg

No doubt the prices are too high, but its not a plain hot dog, since it has cheese and onion. Superman was definitely running 2 trains, I think though the issue is that at the end of the day it still has THC of 820, (And in reality is probably closer to 600), which as people probably know is decent for day to day operations, but at an event like Halloween you have a situation where virtually all the attendance would be people above the height limit and wanting to ride, and unfortunately having to do this in the space of 3 hours.

Bear in mind Melbourne does NYE fireworks too, but I guess they don't have the prestige of the Sydney ones. In Brisbane -Yeah, defintley go up to the Mt Coot-tha Summit And defintley have a look at South Bank. You can sort of do it in a loop and take it all in. Start at the Goodwill Bridge, and head up through the parklands, you'll pass the 'Streets beach' and a section with a number of cafes etc, keep heading up and you'll pass the wheel of Brisbane. You'll then reach the Cultural Center (Which has the Queensland Museum, Sciencenter, Qld Art Gallery, and the Gallery of Modern Art (All free bar the Sciencenter). Once you reach the very end you can cross back to the CBD side of the river via the new (And quite spectacular) Kurlipa Bridge ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurilpa_Bridge,_Brisbane ) -Jump on one of the CityCat ferries which run up and down the Brisbane river, with stops scattered between Uni of Queensland at St Lucia, the CBD and Hamilton. They run every 15 minutes. If you have a public transport ticket it is valid on CityCats.... $5.80 for a river cruise, bargain! http://download.translink.com.au/timetable...427_citycat.pdf http://download.translink.com.au/maps/080804_ferry.pdf -I guess its a simple one, but go to the Beach on the gold coast, they are nicer than the ones in Europe ...Shouldn't be too hard though, there is one across the road from Sea World. If you have a hire car, perhaps go for a drive up through the Gold coast hinterland, up to Tamborine etc. In Melbourne -If you do want to do more theme parky stuff, there is a large Wiegand alpine slide/toboggan run/sommarrodellbahnen at Funfields, which is 35Km north of the CBD. http://www.funfields.com.au/ -Eureka Tower is worth going up: http://www.eurekaskydeck.com.au/ , the best views of Greater Melbourne, if you want to pay extra there is this thing called 'The Edge' where you go in a box made of electric glass, and it gets extended out the side of the building, and then suddenly switched from opaque to transparent, so you are basically 300m in the air with only glass beneath you. -Spend some time just wandering the CBD, its a really nice place. In particular, Federation Square is a pretty interesting place, sort of the heart of the CBD since it was built (Though geographically not) There's also the whole Docklands precinct , which connects to the CBD. -Melbourne Museum in Carlton is worthwhile, it actually has a really nice rainforest section where you can see animals etc, so its not 100% indoors. museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/ Admission is rather quite cheap too -Just on Carlton, Lygon St is probably Melbournes main cafe district. -If you want to see an interesting natural sigh, then the Organ Pipes, 23km NW of the CDB are worth a look: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=167 It's pretty easy to get to, since its on the Calder Freeway.

I think Funfields in Victoria may have bought it, and are naming it Blackbeards Fury: http://www.funfields.com.au/

To be clear, I wasn't trying to have a go at you specifically (And indeed you said, it was other people asking you about your count in the first place)...But these days, to me it seems like a number of enthusiasts seem to have gotten into this habit of just going around and dipping into parks to 'get the credits' , which to me seems very far removed from the reasons why you'd normally go to theme parks in the first place. Of course, its their choice to do this, but it's still lame I mean, when you see people paying kids to go on kiddy coasters it's seems stupid, and clearly only to boost their count up (They don't go paying them to go on the non-coaster kids rides do they?) I know...But I've lost count of the number of times I've see topics on forums like "Is Hydro at Oakwood a roller coaster?" and the like. I prefer coaster in all cases because it's proper English I can vouch for the quality of this site...if you want to know what basically any park anywhere is like, Richard has a report from it.

I'd hope they can strap a new train to the tracks in the space of a over a month!...Half the re-theme is already done since they repainted the ride earlier in the year. Boxing day is the 'D-Day' for our parks, so that tends to be the absolute latest anything opens by, I cant imagine it coming to that though.

Here's a cool video for all the Disneyphiles on here...A tilt shift video of a day in the life of Magic Kingdom.

To the best of my knowledge I don't think there are any new coasters you haven't ridden (I don't like using the 'c' word ) on the travelling circuit at that time...Spotty, can you help? Picking up the rest of the coasters in Australia might actually be a bit of a challenge for you now...The Adelaide show has a Pinfari single looper (Big Dipper), but that is only rideable in early-mid September when that is on. The wooden mouse that used to be in Adelaide now has a home at Newcastle Show (26-28th of March) Over in Western Australia there is a Dragon Wagon and another Pinfari Looper (Python Loop), but they only appear over there (Best bet is the Royal Perth Show 26th September to the 3rd October. On the plus side, I'm presuming you will be visiting South East Queensland again, and it being the height of the school holidays means everything will be open, so riding Wild Mouse, Runaway Reptar, Jet Rescue and Sea Viper (Corkscrew is getting new trains and a retheme) should be easy,

I do think (And hope!) next year will see larger stuff at all the parks... DW is going to have to do something to combat falling attendances, and they are sort of due for a bigger ride next year if GoGoBoys 3 year rule ends up holding true. I'm not sure if it would be a thrill ride (Who knows what they are thinking really?) but it probably would be a bit substantial. WhiteWater World I'm unsure about. The previously submitted plans to council would be virtually out the window because AVPX is now standing where the mammoth slides were proposed to go. Attendance is going up by itself, and is pretty much just fuelled by world pass sales. I guess if they are happy for this to be how they operate (As an add on rather than an attraction unto itself) then I don't see any major rate of expansion. Wet 'n' Wild, yeah I can see something going in....There's really not a lot left in the manufacturer catalogues for them to pick from (And fortunately, its mostly only good stuff). The dark mammoth slide is actually something I myself have considered for as logical replacement for Terror Canyon since it would fit in well, and all the infrastructure is already there. 4 person cloverleaf's on a single slide would match the capacity of double rafts across two slides as Terror Canyon. Though I have stated in the past, I think a Bowling Alley, or a Tantrum Alley would be perfect to build in that location. Movie World & Sea World (I'm listing these two together as it always seems as if one park or the other is the main focus in a given year)....I'm hoping for a new ride at one or the other (since both parks have gotten/are getting major shows). I'm also expecting something good...I mean when you get down to it, Have WVTP opened a bad ride in recent years? Of course, all of this is just personal speculation.

I too really want to see the soarin' clone get up...If there were some way to work around the height limit I reckon SW would be the best place, since flying over Australian landscapes (Preferably coastal landscapes in this case) isn't specifically movie related, but is more related to the type of park SW is (A place that celebrates the natural world) Just relating to this, but in addition to Intamin, Vekoma now offer one of these type of attractions, under the name of "i-ride". http://www.vekoma.com/index.php?option=com...9&Itemid=57