DW - first trip after 6 years

[Whombex]

I notice that AlexB has also posted a visit, but I have not read it yet. Will be interesting to compare after.

I got an Annual Pass for Xmas, but I wasn't planning on going back until another new attraction would open after SV and ST.
But, a welcome gift regardless. 
It must be very different for someone who's not a Park enthusiast (ie on Forums or Social Media pages) going back the first time after 2016. 

For me, I've been here the whole time so I know what's changed (mostly) since I was last a passholder here (I instead had VRTP passes mainly because of DCR, but I digress).

I arrived at 10:30 on Sunday and made sure to check out the skyline from the carpark with Buzzsaw gone. 

For me, I was still surprised that the top part of ToT's track is still there. I guess leaving it is easier than removing it (sounds familiar regarding our Parks...). I guess though unless you look for it you won't notice it. ST's MCBR looks a lot longer to the eye, but it does have to fit the whole train. The trains roll onto and along it pretty quickly anyway so it isn't that important, but it does stand out when looking at the skyline. The spike and loop, however, are much more eye catching. 

The entry staff were all very polite and helpful, with the one on my gate taking a moment to explain the Apple Wallet feature of the Annual Pass (I got it as a gift so didn't read the welcome email). Thinking back, Sky Voyager's building did not stick out like a sore thumb, although again I'm quite familiar with the changes over the last few years. It's possibly because of the lack of bright colours, despite the fancy architecture. The eye is still drawn to the Globe, Candy Shop and weenies of ST and GD. 

Naturally I went straight to Steel Taipan. 

The precinct was nicer than I was expecting. When the greenery grows in a bit more I think it'll do fine. I went to take a few pics and the gate to the former Buzzsaw was open. 

This area must not be getting any love from the grounds people. Could certainly do with a tidy-up. The old entry to the Buzzsaw gift show (behind the wood fence in the pics) just has a speaker and sound system on wheels plonked down in the doorway. Could do with another look at that area, DW, even if it's now blocked off by the old timey photos stall. 

Going by comments I've seen around, I thought that this view of the launch plant rooms was going to be a big detractor to the ride, but it really isn't. The view up from the carpark looks over the top of these, and unless you're going out of your way to be in this spot (down an obvious dead-end path), you'll never see these buildings as ST's launch and queue fence block the view of these buildings.

Being a single rider, ST was a walk-on. With two trains running, standard queue barely had to wait 15 minutes to ride... and this was the first sunny day after many of bad weather. In school holidays. Hmm. Anyway, good for me. I posted about my rides on ST in the reviews thread. Very enjoyable ride. Staff are in the honeymoon phase with it and it's going great. Their enthusiasm helps make the ride experience great, even the one in the control booth / on the PA. 
I hung around in the ride area to watch a few cycles. Cool to feel the rumble under you when you're under the first hill when the 3rd launch makes it over. Nobody was in the Tail Whip seats that I saw for 3-4 cycles. 
I then moved over to Sky Voyager. Having never experienced the original videos, I can only comment on the current ones. The short one in the main queue room with the luggage was fine, and the advertising that has the changing colours certainly works in getting your attention away from your phone. Whoever came up with it, kudos. The indigenous welcome video is a nice idea, however it does need subtitles. The main ride info video isn't too long, which is good. Funny enough, too. Reminds me of some of the classic Virgin Australia / Air NZ safety videos. My first ride was upstairs centre, as sorted by the rideop.
The ride appeared to be run by only 3 staff - one upstairs, one downstairs, and one operator. Ride Cycles felt slow, I wondered how much faster it was in earlier days with more staff on the load/unload part, especially if people weren't filling the middle seats.
I really enjoyed it, having long forgotten about the mentions here of water spray and smells, they were a nice addition and compliment the video. Surprised that DW itself doesn't make an appearance, but I think that's been spoken about here before?
I exited the ride and made my way over the the train station to check out Baldwin. On the way, the barbershop quartet were singing happy birthday to a woman in a wheelchair. They really made her smile, which was nice. I missed them over the years. Goldie less so (for me, YMMV), but he always had a crowd.
Next I made my way along the path towards Giant Drop, past some kids throwing rocks around under ST's Twister Horseshoe section (really, DW - grey walls and rock gardens?), and up onto spaghetti junction.

Now that the train no longer comes this way, nature is healing...

This area offers a good view of the ride, no wonder the construction thread posts and social media channels had photos from here a lot.

My plan was to ride the oldies on another visit, and I wanted to get rides of ST/SV this visit, and get a feel for the park. I wandered down the ramps instead of the stairs, and found the RHLR area in this state:

...certainly not the most scenic part of this theme park. Oof. Also, I wonder what's living in that hole? The new owner of this part of the park that's been sold off? j/k
DW need to either hide this are better, plant new trees like they've done closer to Corroboree, or put in a new attraction quickly. Otherwise, this area of the park is a major detraction.

Rocky Hollow Train Station must go. As should spaghetti junction. The GD queue could easily be re-done on the western side of the ride. 

Corroboree was pretty much as it was all those years ago. The nocturnal animal exhibit was always a favourite of mine on a warmer day, and I'm a bit disappointed that it's closed. If it's a health concern I will understand, but if it's because they have chosen to discontinue it, I'll be disappointed to learn that. 
Without many international tourists this part of the park is very quiet. The Koala photos area had nobody there apart from staff, who were happy to chat with the occasional guest who wandered in. Corroboree feels a little overgrown at the moment, but I guess it does need shade for animals and guests. The Cassowary area is always nice to walk though, and its obvious rainforest setting offers a respite from the sun. 

The area from the barnyard animals, past the Billabong Train Stop and the Restaurant itself, is a dead part of the park (apart from the many turtles that want to come say hi if you get anywhere near the railing). 

I didn't know that Big Red Car had closed. It certainly needs replacing if so. 

I know that the ABC Kids area is very important to families visiting the park, but I'm of the vintage that fondly remembers old Rivertown.
Tiger Island's bamboo-walled walkway under the train line tries to hide the ToT building looming behind it, but without luck.
That should come down. Broken record time - I guess leaving it there is cheaper than removing it. 
Pulling it down would open up some much needed room for a Dreamworks expansion down the line.

This said, I guess the path to Tiger Island already has mushroom to grow. 
Ahem.
Kittys being kittys in hot weather, were doing all they could to keep cool.

I made my way over towards the Gold Coaster, as this part of the Park always used to feel unsettled to me. The area that had trolls / Kevil / Flowrider / WW internal entry - and Google Maps show Thunderbolt's station still there?
I think it needs opening up completely, maybe a dark ride could replace all of this area? This said, workshops still operate in the old Thunderbolt footprint. Speaking of...

What is this blue vehicle? Is it a diesel tug for Perry/Baldwin?

Shockwave feels like it's hidden away now, I'm not sure what has changed in that area since I was last a pass holder. Also strange to be in Ocean Parade and not hear wipeout. Um, nice seating area?

By this stage it was getting very warm and humid - and the apparent respites were the magic show (which doesn't interest me) or Sky Voyager. So I joined the 30 minute queue in the luggage room. Guess that's a good thing about less staff on the ride - you get to cool down while waiting.
I managed to make it onto centre lower level this time, and the ride was much better. Upstairs the top of the screen is much more noticeable. Something I did on this ride was to look at the gondolas alongside ours - the view is pretty cool.

I then rode Steel Taipan in row 10 on the non-Tailwhip train (incredible!), and had to wait a bit for to decide if I wanted another go so soon. Hmm - maybe I'm not the coaster head I used to be, or maybe that row really packs a (good) punch? At least there were riders doing Tailwhip at this part of the day.
 

Sat down for a B1 at the Ice Cream shop to decide if I wanted to re-ride ST. Considering how filling they are, the answer was certainly 'no'.

By this stage it was almost 4pm, and I had planned to try and beat the weekend traffic returning to Brisbane. Turns out that there was no weekend traffic returning to Brisbane. Ahh, school holidays.

I found myself thinking on two occasions (when at ex-Rocky Hollow and when near Billabong) that DW should select people at random and tag along with them with a clipboard (tablet) to get a guest's perspective. Do any parks do that around the world?

 

Anyway, if you want to ask a question of someone who hasn't been since before that thing in 2016, fire away.

[Slick]

Cheers for posting that mate. Enjoyed reading the perspective of someone who hasn’t been in a long while. 
 

Out of curiosity, was there a period of era of Dreamworld you identify with the most? (E.g. Early 2000’s) And based off that, how do you rate Dreamworld today? Was it better or worse?

[Whombex]

Hmm, I'll have to get back to you on that @Slick. Right now, what I think I might be fond of/identify with, is a combination of many years of memories from the late 90s through to the early 10s. 

Because I have a pair of rose-coloured glasses to look through, I can say "it was better". People who are only getting to experience DW for the first time now, might in the future say better (or worse).

But, being a member of a forum such as this exposes you to a lot of negatives at the parks (or even just nit-picks) from other peoples' points of view, not your own. But, you bring them with you when you visit, and you may not have even noticed them had you not read about it beforehand.

An example, the re-do of the Ice Cream Shop. Had I of not known that the renovations would change the building from this to this (last pic in that article), I'd really have not noticed due to the time gap between visits.


Something I'll add to my visit report - I was surprised that the "garden" near RHLR, on the way to Corroboree, was fenced off. I thought it was accessible, and to me would have served as a nice place to pause to remember those lost (or affected by the accident) back in 2016.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Whombex

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

8 hours ago, Whombex said:

Is it a diesel tug for Perry/Baldwin?

Bang on got it in one mate.

8 hours ago, Slick said:

Cheers for posting that mate. Enjoyed reading the perspective of someone who hasn’t been in a long while. 
 

Out of curiosity, was there a period of era of Dreamworld you identify with the most? (E.g. Early 2000’s) And based off that, how do you rate Dreamworld today? Was it better or worse?

I know It wasn't directed at me, but I identify most with 2004'ish post-Claw dreamworld. Yes, it had lost some of it's early day 'sparkle' but for me that was peak DW (and i still remember the bus-stop 'adverts'...)

[Naazon]

1 hour ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I know It wasn't directed at me, but I identify most with 2004'ish post-Claw dreamworld. Yes, it had lost some of it's early day 'sparkle' but for me that was peak DW (and i still remember the bus-stop 'adverts'...)

FWIW, thats my time also. I haven't been to DW since probably 2012ish and probably won't attend for a while longer.