The Claw: questions answered

[Richard]

I was given the opportunity on Friday to attend a preview of The Claw. Though the ride as yet is not able to take passengers, we were given a wonderful opportunity to see the attraction in "full swing" and see the surroundings take shape. The Theming There has been a lot of discussion about the theming of this attraction. How will they fit it in with Ocean Parade? What do claws have to do with the ocean? What is with that mural? The ride was interestingly left purposely ambiguous in its theme. The ideas were discussed - is The Claw medieval, is it science fiction, or is a whole host of things? The result that they came back with was to leave it up to riders, creating a further sense of mystery, and also creating the ride. The Claw has landed itself at Dreamworld, as the ads are suggesting, and torn up the place. A clever touch is a Kingswood with one of the supports (decked out with a claw facade) stuck straight through the middle - one of the many things about the ride I like to call a "Dreamworld touch". The surroundings are still landscaped to Ocean Parade. On close inspection the mural is of a beach, not a jungle as has been suggested. One thing I will add is the footpaths look fantastic. They are painted in wonderful contrasting colours of yellows, greys and browns and it all looks very modern. The gardens will look nice and are filled with many "beachy" plants and trees. The control booths have been further themed, with roofs matching those in Ocean Parade. The Ride The ride is amazing to watch up-close. Stay tuned for video footage of the ride up close. I'm even more pleased with the ride selection having spoken to Dreamworld representatives about it. The thinking is that with rides like Cyclone, Tower of Terror, Giant Drop and Wipeout eliminating much of Dreamworld's market, simply because of their daunting appearance, this ride will slot in somewhere below these. Obviously it is still a thrill ride, and I'm sure those 120º swings will get more than a few people thinking twice about it, but I certainly think it will open itself up to a much larger portion of Dreamworld's attendance than most of their existing rides (the two water rides are the only others I can think of in this market). Photographs Of course, a construction update from Friday can be seen here.

[HussRainbow]

Fantastic pictures Rich, the claws look amazing, and I love how its gone right through the car. Has a sign been put on the top? and I also really like the artwork on the main arm!

[Richard]

There's currently no sign at the top. The entrance sign was nearly ready to be installed by the end of yesterday. Someone mentioned minigolf earlier and I can confirm this. There's a small putting golf green built at the Wipeout end of the area. It will be a "skill game", similar to the many others scattered around the park. I see no problems with this - whatever brings us a few dollars closer to the next coaster I say. Video footage from yesterday can now be seen here. It features a few words from Dreamworld CEO Stephen Gregg and around a minute of footage of the ride in action from a variety of different angles.

[HussRainbow]

OMG! Thanks sooo much Rich. That video was fantastic, and I lovvve the sound that the ride makes. Also the swing is very fast, definetly will turn some riders away, but will be soo popular on the other hand! its going to do soo well!

[Andy_q69]

Ooh that first photo scared me.. Looked like a giant rooster at first...

[GoGoBoy]

Yeah thanks for the brilliant update Rich. I really enjoyed it. You're a legend

[screammachine]

Thanks for the Photo's Rich. They look Awesome! I absolutely love the Themeing they chose for the ride. I dig that claw over the old Kingswood!!! Screammachine

[dr_teeth]

hey rich any video footage of floor under the riders seats? id be interested to see how that works is all

[Richard]

Take a look at this. It shows the floor tilting from up nice and close. It's a Quicktime (.mov) video.

[Nebuchanezzar]

I love the way the Claw has smashed through the car, but the thing is, that looks like a real car thats been smashed for that. Is it?

[Slick]

Two things, one the first movie doesn't work and a thing that I have noticed on here and and totalthrills that when you load up a photo, it says loadink....

[Gazza]

I have seen the gallery and it looks really cool, they have done a really good job of the themeing, but how did they get the station wagon into the middle of the support? was it cut in half and put back together? I dont really like their explanation of why they didn't make it fit in with ocean parade, but I can live with it. BTW, with the shots in the gallery, is there a way to get the to open in another IE window?

[T-bone]

The Video does work if you copy the link into Quicktime and then open a URL in a new player, it works fine that way.

[Richard]

The first video most definitely works. I was watching it just moments ago. I've been meaning to fix the title problem for a while but haven't gotten around to it. It should be good now. The Kingswood was cut in half and stuck back together around the support. It was a real car.

[Slick]

I downloaded it and it gets to a certain point before stuffing up.

[Gazza]

It wors for me, It looks rather cool just seeing the floor drop away like that. do you know why the ride can be ridden yet? the restrain looked like itwas working and testing looked fine.

[willsy]

Must be your computer . The video works fine, I have downloaded it onto my desktop computer and onto my laptop and it works fine both times.

[joz]

Probably not the whole answer, but before the day Richard went they were spending allot of time looking at the restraints as well as having the ride not rotate. Probably just the sort of restraint testing you'd expect to see on a new ride.

[Richard]

The ride is in a fully operational state and it has taken passengers (look closely in the video from September 3 - there is an mechanic/engineer/construction worker riding it solo), however there would be many reasons as to why it cannot yet take "public" passengers. There'd be insurance issues, which would relate to certification of the ride, which probably require a set number of test runs being performed and maybe even a few simulations of "emergencies". I'm sure The Claw has to complete a set number of successful test runs before being certified. As joz suggested, there's a lot of going over with a fine-toothed comb to be done. Bolts will probably be checked and rechecked, restraints will be locked and unlocked and tested again and again. Spinning and swinging will be going all week leading up to the opening. If there is a problem, it's much better to get it worked out and fixed before the ride opens to the public.

[mattcrombie]

undefinedundefinedThe claw was awesome! I first walked in and lined up in the cue, where there were not that many people, just fellow staff. While the ride is in action there are cameras watching it from the top of the Mine Ride, and the painted wall in front of it, you can watch it on moniters while you wait. You then go through the gates and you can put your items in little red boxes, and take a seat. The has to be pulled down yourself and put the belt it. Then the floorsinks down and it starts to spin and swing little by little untill next minute your up in the air upside down at some point...... :eek: ITS SUCH a Heart Rasing ride :eek: ....makes you feel like you going to fly off....then it suddently goes back to the exact area it started from, and the floor then goes back to place. :eek: :eek:

[Slick]

Okay, now I see why you were banned. I'm just dieing to find your fourth post. It's nice to hear that you went on the claw, but there's no need to post the same thing about 3 times. Get over it. I posted once.

[mark]

Yea, mattcrombie is a twat, Richard can you ban him again please...

[Nebuchanezzar]

Whoa, hey, thats harsh. Hes not a bad guy, just because he triple posted or whatever. Its reasonable to be excited about your first ride on the (Fake) Claw, right?

[Slick]

Just a quick update about the sign on the top like Maelstrom's two, is currently standing in the Cyclone area just under the first turn and hasn't been put in yet due to ride errors.

[GoGoBoy]

Aah thanks Slick, I was wondering about that. Thought they must have decided not to put a sign there. I bet they're annoyed they couldn't have it up and ready to go by opening day