Gold Coaster

It wouldn't be hard to find more innovation in the Olympics one to the Simpsons game. Even though they put the Cliches in as a bit of a joke, the whole game just feels too derivative to be enjoyable. (Yes I am)

Hell has frozen over. A game featuring both Mario and Sonic has just come out: Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. It features heroes and villains from both franchises in about 20 events like gymnastics, swimming, track and field, fencing and more...

Gotta say -- your drawings rival Gazza's!!

Champ is just a word he uses all the time, it's not being smarmy...

^^ myk: Oh it's enjoyable but just not in the same way. Let me address some of your points first. The Claw @ Ocean Parade - well, the monster is meant to be attacking a seaside town I think (just look at the noticeboards). I wouldn't have it anywhere else and love the theming (right balance of quality vs financial outlay) I agree about Tiger Island. It should have more of a Bengali type theme... the cafe is pretty generic, the shop could be less commercial looking and more like a jungle village outpost. Perhaps also give the area the tigers are roaming around in some cosmetic touches to show the theme more. TOT: I agree it's a hike to the station but you still need to have queue line capacity. If they improved the AC and installed a few water bubblers, that would make a big difference. But I'm really over this ride and only do it when the line is pretty short. But yeah when the line is long like on Screamworld nights, the collected mass of body heat / odor from some of the Great Unwashed can be really bad. At least turn the air down a few more degrees! Cyclone is ok but taking up space where something much better could go. Might be a tad difficult to remove considering part of it goes over Whitewater World though. With Main Street, I think the buildings should be painted to still look dynamic but not the garish colours that are there at the moment. But it's still a great place to visit but for me I only go for GD, The Claw, Reptar, Wipeout - and on a hot day, the Log Ride. There's the Flowrider too I guess but still haven't been on it [and still kind of wish it was part of WWW instead] Paramount Kings Island kind of reminded me of DW except with a better coaster range. Woodies too which weren't the BEST out of the ones on the TPR trip but were still really neat. The Beast is brilliant at night. So give us a woodie and buy one of those Deja Vu's, DW!

#1 - I didn't mean for them to do anything like Space Mountain. #2 - I said 'Snowy Mountain' (note the capital 's' in the middle of the sentence) as in the Australian mountain range in NSW - eg Mt Kosciuszko - thus fitting the criteria and could have appropriate theming & a whole different ride experience using cutting-edge technology. Wasn't talking about a generic snowy mountain or recreating the Matterhorn. With Angry Beavers Spooty Spin, we already have that sort of mountain anyway in a sense. But one could give some much needed Australiana. Intamin could design some really cutting edge coaster train to travel through it. In 1949-74 the HydroElectric scheme was a major project in Australian construction history. So they could have some things in the queue line related to that, even some 1950s style miner camps etc. So it will also have an educational component (which Dreamworld has always been about too except with conservation/animal life in general). ... "MOUNT KOSCIUSZKO ADVENTURE' When I said Disney-style experience, I meant in terms of quality theming - not the same kind of budgets but for the money it should look really good. I mean look at 'The Claw', the theming on that is really well done. And if they went and sourced some old tools etc to help dress the sets, this wouldn't be expensive. What's not to say they couldn't and would never do this? #3 - With the island idea, I was suggesting something that would be a cheaper option for them to put in that could be themed really well. If you found a good theme you could stick a major attraction in the middle ... how big is the island, anyone know? ... Something that worked with an Australian-ised theme. Although... while it would be nice to have an Australian-type theme, I don't see DW necessarily moving back in that direction as WWW seems the park doing the Oz culture while DW opens things like Flowrider and Mick Doohan (which is named after an Australian motorcycle champion but is ultimately a tribute to bike racing as a whole)... sporty type activities... and I see them either going with generic themes or ones with a commercial strength (ie, some intellectual property). But the Mt Kosciusko attraction could be really good. I mean, I have some pretty 'out there' ideas but you have to be pretty realistic being that DW doesn't seem to want to spend too much on a single attraction. That said, I don't see the harm in reaching a bit.

Have a Tom Sawyer Island type attraction ... fort, caves etc... Would give guests the chance to have a much-needed adventure (and dare I say it, Disney style experience). Alternatively build a forced perspective mountain and having some kind of coaster traveling through it - perhaps a Snowy Mountain theme. This could be a great replacement for Eureka and could feature a runaway mountain train or bobsleds.

I think so. Just do Wet'n'Wild on the weekend, go over to MW and come back - on Saturdays it will be open late for the Dive In Movie anyway (closes after the movie does),

Agreed.

^, 2nd link: Woohoo. Finally a ride I can talk about. Having something like Raging Bull would be brilliant. It was far from the best coaster on the Midwest Trip but had a pretty enjoyable layout. We rode it during the pre-opening ERT session as it was one of the rides made available but I would have happily waited. Something like it would be a great addition to MW. Nice long ride too which is what the park needs. I wouldn't mind something like this; it was pretty fun. The cars spin so you get an unusual sensation which the GP would probably like - - Sierra Sidewinder @ Knott's Berry Farm - http://www.rcdb.com/m/id3704.htm or http://www.rcdb.com/m/id73.htm could work, just pick a good movie theme... it's a ride that can fit inside a small footprint but can be a bit of fun. Far from my #1 pick but I'm trying to go with some realistic ideas here rather than suggest a Top Thrill Dragster clone (as sublime as that would be)

Definitely. I've been waiting for them to do this for awhile. Thanks for the heads-up.

Look, I didn't see the lines as unreasonable but my sole point was opening a bit longer would give people a chance to get a bit more done. And the fact is, having WWF did have a flow-on effect with lines on other attractions. That's all I'm saying. Just something I've noticed from attending both nights last year, the one this year and seeing Ian's photos, the effectiveness of Cast Member distribution seems to vary. Like I did NOT see Freddy Krueger or a few of the other examples. And Leatherface did NOT have his chainsaw when we went through. Were they roving around the park? Because if something is part of a Fright Zone, it should be kept there the whole time.

Try reading the thread.

There are a heap here: http://www.zencoaster.com/moto I did a photo shoot for an article in 'Kirmes & Park Revue', a German theme park magazine. Took a heap so they had plenty to choose from. They're using 9 and so soon I'll be published! Woo.

Wags the Dog Spaceshot, of course!

Churros as Jonah from Summer Heights High - I have one of Main Street, it's still uploading to YouTube so will put that in later. [EDIT: This video doesn't seem to want to upload. Grr. Oh well] The only other videos I shot was one of the Batwing and a really crap one of Superman Escape.

You have to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain too! ...I would give just about anything right now to be able to go there. Particularly for Tatsu.You have to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain too! ...I would give just about anything right now to be able to go there again. Particularly for Tatsu.

Nah to be it didn't seem as good. Went tonight with Churros & his friends. Right from the start, it was a shambles. The booking office screwed up my order and only had a single ticket for me. Fortunately my friend Adam was delayed in getting there so I could tell him not to bother coming. My order was actually for a family ticket so my other two friends missed out. Wild West Falls as said above is a great people-guzzler & it was annoying to have it closed. Lines seemed even longer this year and there just wasn't enough time to do much. Also, is it just me or were the shows on less times this year? Once or twice I think vs 3+ last year? I think the park should have opened an extra hour or two particularly since WWF wasn't operating - thus, surely no real issue with the neighbours would exist? Fright Zone looked really good from the entrance. A cannibal lady with a spear instructed us that if we don't touch the spooks, they wouldn't touch us. We filed under the Chinatown archway which was covered with Tikis, netting etc. Just as you go in, a lady popped her body out like a two-bit hooker in Hell... in such a way she seemed like an audio-animatronic. One of Churros' friends touched her thinking she wasn't real... on a boob. "DON'T TOUCH US AND WE WON'T TOUCH YOU!" she hissed. Elements in the alley included Leatherface without the chainsaw, amid hanging slabs of meat - he hopped from foot to foot in a sad attempt at a lurch... more Cavill Street past 10 than slaughterhouse redneck ghoul .... some random spectres popping across in front of you after a laser projection saying Exit...and that was basically it. A chicken door existed leading to Scooby Doo Spooky Castle but this was such a lame walkthrough that it was false advertising. Main Street was filled with the usual touches to set the "atmosfear" but it really was dreadful without the dread. Spritzers filled large areas of the midway in a very wet and cold mist and a few random creeps were about but not as many as last year & they weren't walking around Superman or other areas. The carnival games area just felt like a small corner of some rural showground, no horror theme (Aragog having been relocated to the alley near Roxy Theatre). Overall, extremely disappointing and instead of being at least a little better than last year, it was in my opinion not quite as good. Hopefully 2008 will bring some true innovation, more nights (for grander scope of theming) ... the Wild West Falls area open and used for a second fright zone / other entertainment (like maybe a horror band or something) and a Dreamworld event to compete with it. 6.5 / 10

Nah. It'll always be pretty fun. I see the lines settling down anyway so the family focus to it won't be as much of a problem! Adding sidecars to each and every row is just going to make waiting time for those wanting the bike experience way longer & Mick Doohan's/MotoGP's connection to the ride more tenuous than it is now (from a speed perspective... I think the theming's great).

Like any time, a park doesn't take responsibility for inclement weather since they can't control it. Fact is, you cannot 100% rely on a forecast so if it rains... it rains. Roll the dice, pick the night you go (if you haven't purchased tickets already) and cross fingers...

Actually, what I meant by my statement is that last night, Tarasai Vushe didn't channel the anger... Ahem. Nah I just meant let's continue to talk about it practically rather than talk about blind hope. Personally, I expect we WILL start to see some great changes, it's just a case of when. I don't think we'll see anything too profound in the near future that's all.

As the old Dreamworld slogan used to go, "Don't say one day, that day will never come!"

The wait for the sidecars was only about 5-10 minutes when I was there. Probably gets longer but *shrugs* I have only been on the coaster on the opening day. Good to experience but there really isn't that much of a thrill. You feel a bit vulnerable in the first part of the ride as you're not so locked down. Consequently those with comfort issues on the bikes would probably prefer it and enjoy it in that sense. But doing that really gives even more of a family coaster feel & if I was a kid, I'd actually prefer to do Runaway Reptar than the sidecar which!) Quite boring really.

^ Gazza, this is off topic but is that water slide video on Youtube or somewhere on the Net? I'd love to see/send people a link to a bigger version.

Unless it's a Top Thrill Dragster clone. 'You Beaut Ute Muster' Nah. In my dreams... but that would be cool. I think Movie World needs a new coaster, of a type not yet seen in Australia (or no longer here), even if it has a compact footprint... but unlike the Motocoaster, make it primarily a THRILL ride... pure and simply that's the best choice they could go with because that will help cement a superior position to Dreamworld.