TR - Dreamworld

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

ok so after a couple of days off we decided to head out for dreamworld on tuesday the 21st. We got there about 10am, and joined the queue for tickets. DW appeared to have ticket booths in the front building, however they were using these tacky porta-structures laid out next to the carpark. with a queue that was at least 300 metres long, we weren't going anywhere for a while. ( we bought at the gate because we had membership discounts that we could only get at the gate) so about 10:45 we made it inside, grabbed a bite to eat at the bakery and decided to jump on the train for a bit of the tour. on our way down to rivertown station, we checked out the Claw and it was definitely impressive. (DW's maps are already updated with the claw, i have a map but at the moment no scanner). While we were waiting at the station I was telling my group a bit about ToT. it was running about once every minute, and then all of a sudden it stopped. As we waited, a number of cast who appeared to be supervisors headed off with a rather quick walk towards ToT. 15 minutes later ToT sent out a riderless test run and was back in action almost immediately. the train arrived and we headed off. We got off at Rocky Hollow, and jumped onto the log ride. the queue was reasonable, even with one operator and 10 minutes later we were enjoying a fairly mediocre flume ride. we headed back towards ocean parade, and stopped off at the river rapids. we had probably a 25 minute queue line, before experiencing an enjoyable rapids ride, at least with a little more theming than snowy river at wonderland. the theming was a little old, but the ride was enjoyable none the less. the photo was a little disappointing as they have stopped doing the "image overlay" of the palm trees and stuff, so it just looks like a photo taken at the station. no biggie. We bypassed the mine train, as the queue was huge, all the way out into the pathway. We headed over to ocean parade, and i was very surprised to see that DW has installed some "side shows" since I was last there. they looked like a very tacky way to try and make more money. The claw's queue line was empty, with a few people queued up outside the gates in the overflow section. all three ride ops were out the front, and 3 techs were up on the top working on something.... yep... the claw had broken down. we grabbed a bite to eat, and jumped into the Cyclone queue. we were in for a long wait. I estimated about 45 minutes for us to get to the top of the queue, but as we waited, people ran up the other pathway past us. the first group of three, i didn't say anything, the second group of 4, we and the people around us grumbled a bit between ourselves. when the last group of 5 walked on past us, i decided it was time to say something... so i did... i said to them "how about next time you try queueing up like everyone else?" to which they replied "we're not going on the ride"... so ok, that was fine, until they walked into the ride entrance and we saw them get off the train as we were about to get on. i wasn't very happy... 1 hour 10 minutes for one ride... So we made it onto the Cyclone, caught our video from the back car only and decided it wasn't worth another lineup. disappointing to note that the theming for cyclone has deteriorated severely... the "cyclone tunnel" doesn't do much at all... the turbine doesnt spin, theres no wind coming out the top, and with the amount of garbage, paper planes made of park maps, food scraps etc chucked all over the place, it just didnt really look any good. The ride itself was enjoyable, but because everytime im at dreamworld, Cyclones queue is wayyyyy too big, i only ever ride it once at a time. Chalk up on big red X on dreamworld's check sheet. SO we head for vortex, decided against it, and jump on a no-queue reef diver. then one of the guys wanted to ride wipeout. the queue looked big but with wipeout's capacity, it was bound to move pretty quickly.wipeout's queue was reasonable, the behaviour of the staff was not, lacking the pizazz and the "disneyesque" one expects from themepark cast, i'd describe them more like "country fair ride ops" than anything else. It was time... the claw was operating again and it was time to ride. we hopped into the queue and by this time it was about 3:30. 5 minutes into the queue line, a girl in front of us started screaming out to a friend down by wipeout. this was right in my ear and I told her to shut up. i was about to be mega-annoyed, as it turned out the friend she was screaming at was invited to join the ride... along with her 7 friends.... well i had had enough... and i made it known... loudly... that i wasn't impressed. there was now 11 in their group and they were all carrying on like 6 year olds at a mc donalds birthday party. she asked me what my problem was, i told her i'd been putting up with idiots and queuejumpers like her all day. her response? if you dont like it don't come to a theme park... yeah ok... so a few of them decided they had forgotten something, and headed back out of the queue... well i wasn't letting them back in and stood firmly across the queue line. i didn't pay $50 to get into a park to put up with teeny-bopper brats who've been brought up like absolute turds. Ok so its ten minutes later and we're on the claw. excitement and adrenalin was all i could feel. i cannot begin to describe the ride so needless to say, it has been worth the wait, and was an unbelieveable experience. RIDE IT NOW We got off and worked out what we still wanted to do... the other guys wanted to go to the big brother house, we decided we still had an hour and ten minutes to do rides... so we headed for ToT. the queue was moving reasonably fast until we got up to the corner just before the stairs and the lifts.... and there we stopped. it was 4:10pm. 5 minutes later an operator made an announcement that they were experiencing an "operational failure" that should be rectified shortly. hmm... now to me - operational failure = broken ride... not a good start. So an operator came walking down the queue line to see how long exactly it was. On his way back I asked him whether they would endeavour to clear their queue lines and continue to operate, even after 5... he assured me that if we were in the queue before 5, we would be admitted... so now the race was on... to get through ToT and over to GD queue line before 5... and at 4:40 we got a break..... ToT was back up and running again and we were on almost straight away. at 157kPh it was worth it. we went down the lifts and at 4:50 we bolted across to GD.... made it just in time to get a ride on the western side. a reasonably short queueline on GD made sure we were only 5 minutes late for the bus ride back to surfers. i did notice however that the western tower does indeed rise slower at the top, and doesnt go as high as the eastern tower. the consensus on the bus ride home (yet another ride - we got a flat tyre) was unanimous in regards to which one we liked best and how we ranked them. Dreamworld definitely came in last. So how did Dreamworld fare? Quality of Rides, Shows and Attractions: 7/10 Quantity of Rides, Shows and Attractions: 7/10 Cast Service: 4/10 Capacity and Staffing Levels: 0/10 Overall: 4/10 Comments: I got nothing more to say about dreamworld.... a complete disappointment in my books. it won't be on my "must do" list of queensland until they seriously improve their service, capacity, and overall just their level of professionalism. i apologise if you work there, but please realise that I am commenting on the park as a whole experience and not your individual effort. i felt the same at wonderland, because i made such an effort to get into it and a lot of others did not... Cheers, Alex.

[scott]

Well,Dreamworld ismy favourite park and I'm veryunhappy to see it deterioate like this.The capacity issues at Dreamworld have simply gotten worse and worse,and DW needs to do something about it.Although I probably would have given a slightly higher rating than that. So your sure east side went higher?Because alot on the people on the forum think otherwise.I always though it did.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

in regards to the scoring, i was ranking them together. compared to Movie World, Dreamworld was a 4.... it was a combination of everything. they all started as a 10. good stuff did nothing to the score, but bad stuff brought it down... simple...

[mikrowave]

Wow, sounds like a pretty disappointing day. I'll definitely be thinking twice about making the trip north to visit Dreamworld any time soon...

[joz]

Ok, every trip report both here and on other websites read the same, "Poor capacity, had a dissapointing day". Do people still think I'm trying to make an issue out of one that doesn't exsist? Sorry to hear about to hear about your time at DW, least Claw was good for ya, even if it did break down (Can't blame Dreamworld for that, It is Intamin afterall. Same goes for ToT) Don't worry though, those of us over at Warner Village will be happy to have you back again. :-)

[kennykoala]

No matter how slack the service is at dreamworld, just deal with it. Dreamworld has given australia World Record Holder rides, more than I can say for movieworld, and sea world. (not that i have anything against theses parks, As i go to Movieworld everytime I go to dreamworld.) But dreamworld dose have lots more rides than both seaworld and movieworld put together. Themeing may not be like movieworld, but dreamworlds rides are great-not just a standard ride. E.g they have wild west falls -just a log ride *but i do admit it is better than a log ride. Batman- just a simulator Dreamworld on the other hand has unique rides e.g wipeout, tot, the claw, GD, Just my opinion- but like I said I like all the parks.

[joz]

No matter how slack the service is at dreamworld, just deal with it.

What a great way to spend $58. Really though, what's the point of world record rides if your not having fun? One more thing too, if Wild West is just a Log Flume, then please consider: Giant Drop is "Just another drop ride", or Wipeout to be "Just another top spin" or the Claw to be "just another Pendulum ride". Plus while Dreamworld has such unique rides as the Enterprise, Vortex, Angry Beavers & Chairlift then don't preach to me about Dreamworld unique rides. I'll give you ToT, but according to the way you look at things nothing else there is much different from rides you can find elsewhere.

[GoGoBoy]

I would think it to be a big mistake to visit Dreamworld during any school holiday period - especially the Queensland school holiday period. I believe Alex visited the park during this time. That is something I wouldn't even contemplate as I know it would be a total nightmare. Visit during off peak and the TR may be slightly different

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Don't go to Dreamworld during school holidays... now - here are a few comparitive statements: dont go to the beach in the summer time dont go to thredbo in the winter time dont go to sydney during new years eve dont go to athens in august 2004 I have seen Dreamworld in both a peak and off peak time. now... i was impressed with the park during my off peak visit, but its capacity on ToT, GD and Cyclone were STILL CRAP. Yes, the TR might be a bit different in the off peak, im sure it would be... but PEAK SEASON is what a theme park is all about and thats when they make their money... i think being judged based on how a park handles its PEAK performance, shows a lot more about a parks capabilities than being judged on how it copes when the park is dead... and Kenny Koala... dont get me started - DEAL WITH IT?? If a theme park said to its potential guests "we know our queues are long. we know our staff aren't up to theme park standards, we know we have huge problems with unruly behaviour in our park, but we have world record holding rides, so deal with it. you may not be able to ride all of our record holding rides, because our capacity and staffing levels are reduced to save us money, and the ones you do queue up for, bear in mind that half the park will jump the queue ahead of you, but we dont care, we have the best rides in queensland... so deal with it. I would much prefer queue for scooby doo for an hour, or wait 25 minutes for Wild West, queue up halfway down the ramp for corkscrew, or stand for an hour on the side of a hill waiting for a 30 second waterslide than to put up with an attitude such as DEAL WITH IT from a supposedly world class theme park that holds more records than the other three combined. no thanks... Dreamworld says: "Deal With It" Alex says: "Shove it"

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

But dreamworld dose have lots more rides than both seaworld and movieworld put together.  

Well.. sorry kenny but you have got me started now... i just re-read your post and thought i'd provide some evidence for your comparison: now - in doing this i have not counted any shows, animal attractions or water park attractions... just mechanical RIDES Sea World: 1. CorkScrew 2. Pirate Ship 3. Vikings Revenge Log Flum 4. Bermuda Triangle 5. Sea World Monorail 6. Sea World SkyHigh SkyWay 7. Sea World Train 8. Carousel 9. Airborne Barrel Brigade 10. Air See Rescue 11. Toon Point Lighthouse 12. Woodys Beachtrucks Movie World: 13. Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster 14. Batman 2 15. Lethal Weapon 16. Wild West Falls 17. Road Runner Roller Coaster 18. Looney Tunes River Ride 19. Yosemite Sam Railroad 20. Tweety and Sylvester Carousel 21. Taz's Hollywood Cars 22. Marvin the Martian's Rocket Ride Dreamworld: 1. Cyclone 2. Giant Drop 3. Tower of Terror 4. Wipeout 5. Eureka Mountain Mine Ride 5. The Claw 6. Vortex 7. Reptar 8. Bumper Beach 9. Spooty Spin 10. Rocky Hollow Log Ride 11. Thunder River Rapids 12. Stingray 13. Reef Diver 14. Nick-O-Round 15. Swinger Zinger 16. Blues Skidoo 17. Dora Seaplanes 18. Avis Vintage Cars 19. Kodak Skylink Chairlift 20. Dreamworld Railway So Kenny- now that your theory has been disproven by the fact that Movie World and Seaworld Combined have TWO MORE rides than Dreamworld... please be shut up.

[willsy]

Yes we know DW has bad capicty for rides, But insted of coming on here and complaining about it every friggn time why dont you complain to DW its self, I'm pretty sure DW arnt going to come on these forums and read it. Otherwise like kenny said Deal with it. Theres nothing you can do about it, complaining on forums wont help, Go to the source of where its happing.

[GoGoBoy]

I think it's great that Alex and other people share their experiences, good or bad, on these forums. That's what it's all about. I'm sick of all the fan boys on here who only want to hear "Dreamworld is the best park ever with the coolest rides ever" all the time because it's just not realistic. We want to have real discussions. In saying that, I agree that theme park managements rarely (if ever) read these forums so it would be a good idea to send in feedback to the parks in addition to posting here. Alex - I agree that judging a theme park in its peak season is probably fair but I just think you are crazy for putting yourself through it. All those thousands of school age kids and their families that flock to the parks during the hols... even if the park has good systems in place it's still going to be a nightmare. Ofcourse some will be worse than others as you have pointed out. But I have never been a fan of huge crowds - especially theme park peak season crowds (shudder). Regarding queue jumping - it is a common problem at most parks around the world. Any suggestions to help stop it? Do the Disney parks have a way around this? Only thing I can think of is giving the rude kids and their ignorant parents theme park etiquette lessons

[joz]

Wilsy, whats it got to do with you if I or anyone else wants to post our thoughts on the matter on the internet? Your were happy to read the thread knowing it was going to contain an opinion of the park, but then start having a cry when its not the opinion you want to hear? And your sitting there telling us to deal with it. Whatever man. Alex, you mentioned you went back to Seaworld after you went to Dreamworld (ie, later on in the holidays), how did we handle the crowds on that day? I'm curious about how we went on that day? Disney don't seem to have a problem with line jumping (and from the one day I was there I'm fully qualified to judge ). Apart from Fastpass and having the queue move the whole time, I got the feeling that the lines also weren't wide enough for the average American person to be able to push past.

[Nebuchanezzar]

Or perhaps have queue guarders everywhere, It'd be a low paying job, but whenever they see someone jump the queue, they can make a lot of noise, and attempt to pull em out. If they're bad mannered disobediant teenagers, they can have a nightstick and beat the people that disobey their orders. Or something of that nature anyway.

[Obstructure]

Alex, sorry to hear about your criticisms, but there are some problems in your abuse towards Dreamworld. First of all: Queue jumping. What would you like the staff to do? You are complaining that it takes so long to actually get to the ride, would you like them to spend more time monitoring the queue line at the same time? If people have jumped the queue, perhaps you should take some responsibility and actually TELL someone. In my experiences, the ride attendants don't tolerate queue jumping and will deal with it appropriately. They are only human and can only use the resources offered to them. I don't feel sorry for you with people jumping the queue, maybe if you used your voice and told the right people then something could have been done. That leads to my next point: How can you judge their employees, and whether or not they are up to "theme park standards." The staff members there work as hard as they can, it isn't their fault if the park is (as people on this board claim) understaffed. I think you are pointing the finger at the wrong people in that case. And when does kennykoala speak on behalf of Dreamworld by saying "deal with it?" It is their own individual opinion and as far as I know, they are not an employee, but they hold a season pass there. In fact, I would listen to their perspective in relation to the park more than someone who has been there once, in peak time, seeing they have seen the park on many more occasions, and have an opportunity. You have missed at least two rides which are at Dreamworld, Captain Sturt and Wild Thornberrys - both of which are "rides." That would make it 22 all. You go to Dreamworld during peak times and you should expect long lines for the popular rides. In fact, I believe that Dreamworld goes as far as offering a very accurate estimation of queue times for that particular day. They are shown very clearly outside the entrance to the park, warning people that there could be long periods of time spent in lines. At that stage, you could have turned away and gone to one of your beloved Warner Parks, where you see the same recycled shows from 15 years ago, and ride children's rides and monorails. Joz I knew you would jump on board here, any chance to take cheap shots at a non-Warner park, when in reality they're in no great position themselves. The Police Academy Stunt Show is a good show, but after about the 50th time seeing it, it does get a bit stale and doesn't rate as an attraction. You would think it would change a thing or two after so many years, but maybe that is too much to ask, seeing they're busy letting other elements in their park deteriorate such as the Lethal Weapon, the Looney Tunes ride, Wild West Falls, the 'other' show, the batman 'ride' (lol), and the recycling of the studio tour/sound stage, even though it had a fire. The park generates little to no upgrades, changes or new attractions. Furthermore, the disgraceful conditions guests have to endure to watch the Police Academy show during the summer suggests to me, stuff the guest, we have their money. It is hot, uncomfortable, and you find yourself being turned away during the peak times, from seeing the show. At least Sea World looks to upgrade its features, and I wouldn't even bother comparing Sea World and Dreamworld because they offer completely different things. Dreamworld - a thrill park, Sea World - a marine education park. Over the last 10 years, take a look at which of the 4 Theme Parks on the Gold Coast (Dreamworld, Movie World, Sea World, Wet n Wild) has grown the most. The answer is Dreamworld, by a long shot. It has continued to change, upgrade, and offer new exciting attractions. It is a known fact to any investor that Village is an unattractive company to invest in. They don't offer much, whereas Macquarie Leisure (DW) has continued to rise and strengthen their grip on the market, reporting good profits and rewarding investors. Now in my opinion, that suggests who is doing the right thing and who is doing the wrong. Why would Dreamworld want to change their ways if what they are doing is providing strong profits? I see time and time again people go on and on about what ride they would like to see at Dreamworld, and the truth is, experiencing anything which is comparable to those on a world scale, is only possible at Dreamworld. They are the park more likely to offer something along those lines.

What a great way to spend $58. Really though, what's the point of world record rides if your not having fun?

One more thing too, if Wild West is just a Log Flume, then please consider: Giant Drop is "Just another drop ride", or Wipeout to be "Just another top spin" or the Claw to be "just another Pendulum ride". Plus while Dreamworld has such unique rides as the Enterprise, Vortex, Angry Beavers & Chairlift then don't preach to me about Dreamworld unique rides. I'll give you ToT, but according to the way you look at things nothing else there is much different from rides you can find elsewhere.

Great points.................. lol. Why wouldn't you be having fun? Because you are lining up? I'm sure Dreamworld is sooooooooooooooo sorry their attractions which they spend millions of dollars on are popular. The second point about "just another ride" is untrue - way off the mark. Giant Drop just another drop ride? Please point me in the direction of somewhere nearby that I can ride a drop ride, I'm dying to know! Just another top spin? Again, point me in the direction of another top spin nearby with the callibre of the Wipeout. Likewise with the Claw. What a rediculous point to make. You are kidding yourself if you think rides like the Vortex or a Chairlift are the ones that bring in the crowds. The only part which anyone really has hit the nail on is that there could be more staff on, mainly during peak periods. That would definitely improve the situation, but again, during Christmas time with thousands of people, you can staff as many as you want, but that won't make the queue time less than an hour or two. Throw in ride breakdowns (which are of no fault of those operating or running the park), and there will be long waits. The only other thing which could be suggested is putting a cap on the park entrance for the day, in an attempt to reduce queue times. I think it is a rediculous idea, and definitely one which would either reduce profits, or raise ticket prices, however it would keep quiet about 10 people on this board... lol Until of course they complain because Dreamworld has gone broke, or the ticket price is too high. Can't win either way.

[willsy]

Wilsy, whats it got to do with you if I or anyone else wants to post our thoughts on the matter on the internet? Your were happy to read the thread knowing it was going to contain an opinion of the park, but then start having a cry when its not the opinion you want to hear? And your sitting there telling us to deal with it. Whatever man. QUOTE] I like reading trip reports, But reading the same thing over and over about ride capicty is just bull****. People complain about it on here to other members and anyone thats reads it. I was saying insted of saying it a heaps of times on the forums how bout use them and complain to dreamworld. whatever man

[willsy]

Wilsy, whats it got to do with you if I or anyone else wants to post our thoughts on the matter on the internet? Your were happy to read the thread knowing it was going to contain an opinion of the park, but then start having a cry when its not the opinion you want to hear? And your sitting there telling us to deal with it. Whatever man. QUOTE] I like reading trip reports, But reading the same thing over and over about ride capicty is just bull****. People complain about it on here to other members and anyone thats reads it. I was saying insted of saying it a heaps of times on the forums how bout use them and complain to dreamworld. Yeah i am telling you to deal with it, complaining on here wont do anything about it.

[scott]

Geese Obstructure,that was a long post,I couldn't have been bothered writing something like that. Look guys,don't start another crapy forum.People have different opinions,and you can't critisize them for that.So what you think,but don't attack other people. I'd say Dreamworld does have serious capacity issues,but they have a great lot of rides that don't brake down nearly as much as Wonderland's rides.Despite capacity Dreamworld does a good job,and there's no way I wouldn't go if given the oppurtunity.

[joz]

Wow, what a load of crap :eek: First off, if Thornbury's is a ride, then so is Matrix. Dreamworld still doesn't have enough. Also, direct the irrelevant, illogical little rant of yours here. Don't think you can just change the subject. I'm also going to skip your rambling's about Village Roadshow, since that's got nothing to do at all with the topic. Feel free to create one though. Now, heres the thing: I don't know about you, but queuing for an hour isn't fun, hence the comment about not having fun. I'm not for one second the rides are not fun, I'm saying if your doing nothing but queuing, then your overall impression will be negative despite the good rides. The next thing I said was in response to Kenny's comment:

they have wild west falls -just a log ride *but i do admit it is better than a log ride. Batman- just a simulator Dreamworld on the other hand has unique rides

Obviously, I don't think Wipeout is "Just a topspin" etc, but was pointing out the flaw in the logic. Giant Drop is an excellent example of the ride style, and I wouldn't call it "Just another", I'd call it the best. You won't get me arguing that. The point I was making is if you call Batman "Just a simulator" then anyone else can say the same thing for Dreamworld's rides. I don't agree with those points, and I'm sorry if you don't understand. Next we come to my only cheap shot, which was a cheap shot at Intamin, not Dreamworld. Intamin make fun rides, but some of their rides aren't as reliable as they should be. It was a sarcastic cheap shot. So what? Pretty much all I've said in this thread is that its not just me noticing these things and I'm not making bad stuff up to take a cheap shot. The only thing you guys have productively mentioned is that more staff are needed over the holidays. You half heartily put the idea of limiting the number of guests that can come into the park. Both you and I know that's a silly idea, and I'm not all that sure why you put that idea forward in the first place. Like I say, I've got nothing against the park (if I go, I go off-peak so everything's bearable), just there are some issues with how the park deals with a crowd.

[kennykoala]

Thankyou OBSTRUCTURE, This is the second time you have come to my defence when being attacked.lol. Now when i said deal with it, I didnt mean it that harshly. However, my other points on unique rides stands! Like obstructure agrees, yes wipeout is a top spin ride(correct,but are u going to ride such a ride in australia NO!. So it is a unique ride experience. About wild west, i did put in brackets that it was better than a log flume, because it is. wild west is a great ride, but it is a flume ride, now where can i ride one of those.........hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm...i know dreamworld log ride and sea worlds viking one. Thats all i was saying about unique. And as obs also said, ppl on here always saying what should we get next, its most always in the dreamworld forum, because we do get THE HIGH THRILL RIDES!!! AND YES WORLD RECORD RIDES YEAH!!!! remeber i have a pass to movieworld too i also do really like movieworld ok!

[mandajk13]

I went with Alex to Dreamworld (it was my first time there) and I have to agree with him that the queues were a little disappointing...I exepected queues considering it was school holidays but it seemed to take a long time to move to the front. The staff overall (with the exception of the lady in the ticket booth) didn't seem overly friendly or willing to help, this was in stark contrast to the staff at the other parks we visited who were enthusiastic. The characters in costumes also seemed unfriendly - their "minders" were dragging them around with scowls on their faces so I wasn't game enough to approach them for a photo. My BF isn't a fan of rides (and I wasn't up for the TOT or the giant drop or the claw) so we enjoyed the steam train ride and the log ride, then the rapids ride. The rapids ride was good but after queuing up for so long I was expecting a longer ride... I really enjoyed the Reef Diver ride - BF was left holding the bags and camera as the other 3 of us rode it. I also enjoyed Wipeout but for me that was the limit of the "thrill" rating I could tolerate. I started to queue up for Cyclone but didn't have the energy to stand in line for over an hour so after about 15 minutes I snaked my way back outside. After that ( and after the others had ridden The Claw) we split off and my BF and I visited the Big Brother house. It was a nice way to end the day. I would have liked to go on the chair lift but we arrived too late and it was closed. I don't think I'll be rushing back to DW in a hurry - The cost vs ride ratio (based on how many rides I was able to fit in on the day) was pretty high (about $9 a ride) and that's including the BB house and the steam train ride. Out of all the parks we visited, this was my least favourite.

[joz]

...... I'm not saying anything Thanks for the report, feel free to keep us informed about how you felt of the other parks. Say hi to Alex for me too

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

ok where do i start... Joz - we went to Sea World the day after our trip to DreamWorld. in comparison, Sea World's staffing levels were superior. Sea World handled it a lot better than Dreamworld did. Now - above i read the following points - Dreamworld is the profitable park, the one making money. Dreamworld is the one suffering understaffing, and its not the cast's fault that the capacity was too low. If Dreamworld is the profitable one, why is it money-grubbing the profits rather than spending some more money on staff to operate at higher capacity? Queue Guarders? i hardly think that job is worth having in australia. the problem exists with the queue design. too wide, and too far away from any operators in a position to do something about potential violators. onto the next point - captain sturt i didnt count as a ride as i've never seen the damn thing move from the dock. wild thornberrys is a playhouse style attraction isnt it? big nets with heaps of balls inside it? i didnt count it because its not a mechanical attraction. if i've got the names wrong, sorry, but whichever one the big net and ball thing is, i didnt count.

[Obstructure]

ok where do i start... Joz - we went to Sea World the day after our trip to DreamWorld. in comparison, Sea World's staffing levels were superior. Sea World handled it a lot better than Dreamworld did. Now - above i read the following points - Dreamworld is the profitable park, the one making money. Dreamworld is the one suffering understaffing, and its not the cast's fault that the capacity was too low. If Dreamworld is the profitable one, why is it money-grubbing the profits rather than spending some more money on staff to operate at higher capacity? Queue Guarders? i hardly think that job is worth having in australia. the problem exists with the queue design. too wide, and too far away from any operators in a position to do something about potential violators. onto the next point - captain sturt i didnt count as a ride as i've never seen the damn thing move from the dock. wild thornberrys is a playhouse style attraction isnt it? big nets with heaps of balls inside it? i didnt count it because its not a mechanical attraction. if i've got the names wrong, sorry, but whichever one the big net and ball thing is, i didnt count.

Wild Thornberrys does have mechanical components, and I wouldn't compare it to the Matrix Exhibit at Movie World....... As for the queue jumpers, why didn't you actually say something to one of the operators? You didn't even try, yet you bag them out that they didn't know anything about it. If you approach them when entering the ride and tell them people jumped the queue, and others around you are aware, then they will kick them off, without even questioning those which are being accused. Dreamworld may be the most profitable one, and it may seem like it is understaffed, but it is VERY obvious where all of their profits are going - right back into the park! They are constantly upgrading the park by adding or renewing attractions. Just this year there has been Big Brother 4 (not entirely DW), Farmyard Friends, Blue's Skidoo and The Claw, as well as Tomb Raider which opened December 2003. ALL of those attractions cost a lot of money, add on the top of that advertising and you can see where the profits are going. Already that is more attractions than all 3 Warner Parks have added this year, and then some. Add to that the ongoing costs of maintaining the rides, getting new parts and so on, and you've got yourself quite a costly scenario. For example, the log ride had a lot of work done a few months back. Another example, if The Claw cost $6million to purchase, then it doesn't take a genius to work out how many people need to enter the park and pay full admission, so they can save enough money to buy it. Joz, I wasn't changing the subject, I was purely comparing the points made about DW to those made about Warner. Village is very much relevant to this topic because part of running a successful theme park is generating profits and upgrading/creating attractions, something which Warner rarely does in comparison to DW. Furthermore, when they do make the upgrades, they are only a freckle on what DW has done and will continue to do. If Dreamworld don't look after their guests and offer endless long line ups, resulting in a lack of satisfaction then why are they continuing to grow and perform at such a high level? Why is their company looking more and more attractive as the years march on? Lining up for an hour for the draw card rides may not exactly be your cup of tea, but what are DW going to do about it? As I said, more staff isn't necessarily the answer because in peak times, it won't make a huge difference. Parts of the ride cycles take time, things such as guests removing loose items, checking their belts/harness, actually experiencing the ride, then exiting. How is more staff going to speed that process? Yet still give you that enthusiastic interaction which people seem to be craving for? It comes to a point when there is going to be a long wait, no matter what. The point about putting a cap on their attendance was very tongue in cheek, but what possible solution is there to reduce queue line times? How can you get it so that even when DW has 5000-10000 people in the park, that you only have to wait 15-20 minutes (maximum) to get onto any ride? It isn't possible, sorry, but it isn't. Long queues on popular attractions are here to stay. The advantage Movie World and Sea World have in regards to queue times, is that: 1. People aren't at those parks for the rides 2. The ongoing shows attract large amounts of guests at a time, reducing the amount of people wanting to go on rides 3. The rides they do have don't have the popularity in comparison to those at Dreamworld Kenny, no need to thank me I totally agree with you. Dreamworld offers the best rides in Australia, without a doubt, therefore large line ups. What part of popular don't people understand? And Mandajk are you trying to tell me that you went on 6 rides all day? 4 if you take away the train and the bb house? I wouldn't blame the lack of rides on long queues, I would blame it on walking around and wasting time too much. I could go in tomorrow and within the first hour go on at least 4 rides, and I dare say it would be the popular ones. Maybe you didn't seem to get your moneys worth because the person you went with doesn't like going on rides. If you don't enjoy going on rides, and don't go on rides, then DW is not the place to go.

[Richard]

I commend Dreamworld for the frequency of new attractions. I always have and as they continue to add rides, I always will. I would also commend them, on the whole for the rides they choose and the way they are executed. I wish other Australian parks could follow Dreamworld's lead in this aspect of theme park development. I think everyone has a right to express their opinions about park experiences, and this site is certainly the place. The fact that in this case, all of the Gold Coast parks were visited during the same peak holiday period and were reported on based on their strengths and weaknesses on this visit alone makes this a pretty solid argument. Alex, I'm curious to know what park you were most looking forward to on this trip. Would I be off if I said Dreamworld? All of the Gold Coast parks have their problems. Walt Disney World has its problems. If you, Obstructure, or anyone else, don't want to discuss this without saying in every other paragraph that people must be biased to have these opinions about Dreamworld, then don't bother posting. I mean, seriously, how many people here have posted similar sorts of things about the park? I respect your affiliation and consequent patriotism for Dreamworld, but really, not everyone who posts something bad about Dreamworld needs to be insulted or accused of anything. If anyone does have a bad day or think something could be improved, get out a pen and paper or open Word and get writing. Find out the park's address from their respective websites. The Dreamworld CEO is named Stephen Gregg, WVTP's is John Menzies (or Chief Operating Officer is Steve Peet). Address it to them and write it as you would any business letter leaving your own contact details. Let us know how it goes.