Wizard of Oz - Movie World Arkham Asylum Replacement

[aaronm]

Industry-leading immersive theming doesn’t come cheap I guess.

Edited February 7 by aaronm

[Levi]

i will say operations did seem to approve a but for FOTWW this afternoon (4:15pm onwards) with dispatches being around 3mins apart… if that was the average all day it’s gone from about 160 pph to around 400 pph.

i wish the turn out of the station and start of the lift hill were enclosed with screens to block the view of the studio, maybe you could have flying monkeys taking off with you… its sad cause some parts of the area are so well done or you can see the potential but it just wasn’t unlocked.

Row 10 FOTWW is a great ride though.

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, Levi said:

i will say operations did seem to approve a but for FOTWW this afternoon (4:15pm onwards) with dispatches being around 3mins apart… if that was the average all day it’s gone from about 160 pph to around 400 pph.

i wish the turn out of the station and start of the lift hill were enclosed with screens to block the view of the studio, maybe you could have flying monkeys taking off with you… its sad cause some parts of the area are so well done or you can see the potential but it just wasn’t unlocked.

Row 10 FOTWW is a great ride though.

It was down between about 12:30 and 1pm when we tried to ride it. Not sure when it went down, or when it re-opened as we left the area 

[themagician]

6 hours ago, Levi said:

4:15pm onwards) with dispatches being around 3mins apart

It’s funny how when it’s bearing the end of the ride ops shift they suddenly find this extra pace to get everyone through the queue so they don’t have to stay back (obviously this might not be the reason, but a funny thought)

[Coasterjoe]

Finally made my way today, and while it was nice to see village put some effort into an IP other than DC i feel it overall falls short of expectations. 
 

Theming is subpar, there are a few elements that are ‘good’ but I don’t really see a 100million investment here. They did a far superior job with leviathan. It really is just more a glorified ride que than an actual precinct. A shop, maybe a restaurant and more walk through elements would have dramatically lifted it. 
 

I do like the choice of rides, they fill a much needed void in the lineup for something between roadrunner and scooby. I think both rides are great for the demographic. I love the wicked witch coaster but the theming was underwhelming, the que area needs shade and the operations were horrendus. I was averaging 5 minute dispaches today. 
 

Overall its good, the park needed it. But it could have been done so much better 

[aaronm]

6 hours ago, Coasterjoe said:

Overall its good, the park needed it. But it could have been done so much better 

I think this is a good summary. It feels incomplete - two things stand out:

- the transition from highly themed indoor queue to a maze of cyclone fencing is jarring, even more so given the general lack of useful shade.

- the courtyard desperately needs a small shop or F&B outlet, something to give it some energy and movement. The character meet and greets are nice but not enough to make the area seem complete. More shade would also be welcome here.

[Noll_57]

I visited Movie World today and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” has already stopped playing along the entrance to OZ. Now there’s just dead silence. Same in the FOTWW queue, no audio or atmosphere whatsoever. The majority of the greenery that was in the Emerald City plaza on opening day has been ripped out and the fake flowers in the water feature have decayed even more. Although the park was relatively busy, OZ was absolutely dead with very few people in the plaza area the entire time I was there. Despite this however, FOTWW still managed to get a 50min queue. This was mainly due to the ridiculously slow operations (the time between dispatches passed 10 minutes while I was timing it)! Speaking of terrible operations, Green Lantern was dispatching one train roughly every 7 minutes! I thought it was closed at first due to the lack of trains going around.

What a disaster this park has become. I know I tend to criticise Movie World and VRTP quite a lot and I really don’t want to be overly negative, but it truly is unbelievable how far this park I loved so much has fallen. Remember, this is a park that offered the same level of quality as Universal back in the day and it truly was world class. Now all the magic it once had is long gone. All my criticism comes from my long held respect for the park. It still has so much potential and could be turned around with just a little more effort and care. 

[Levi]

it’s insane my visit the other day had around 3 min dispatches for FOTWW towards the end of the day, i really though dispatches had approved but it must’ve been so they could go home. 

it’s sad seeing them dig themselves into a bigger hole while Dreamworld is on the verge of being completely out of the hole old management dug. I really hope Movie World can have a turn around period after this and improve everything to be back to their old standards, let’s cancel that corporate hotel and spend that money on the park. 

[themagician]

4 hours ago, Levi said:

I really hope Movie World can have a turn around period after this and improve everything to be back to their old standards, let’s cancel that corporate hotel and spend that money on the park. 

I hope so too, but while they’re owned by the current parent company and the current management is in charge, we ain’t going to see anything good come from this park.

[Levi]

2 hours ago, themagician said:

I hope so too, but while they’re owned by the current parent company and the current management is in charge, we ain’t going to see anything good come from this park.

i agree, it makes me a bit concerned for the Scooby refurb.

[WalleyWorld]

1 hour ago, Levi said:

i agree, it makes me a bit concerned for the Scooby refurb.

I would prepare for the worst, and lower your expectations. Then you have a chance to be pleasantly surprised.

[Ashley Jeffery]

On 07/02/2025 at 10:36 PM, aaronm said:

Industry-leading immersive theming doesn’t come cheap I guess.

Don't you remember all the safety bunting in the film?

1 hour ago, Levi said:

i agree, it makes me a bit concerned for the Scooby refurb.

After next-gen my expectations can't be any lower.

[downunder]

As others have observed, I'm puzzled how they spent $100 million on this. Some of it looks great, the rides are good but stock models (correct me if I'm wrong) - attractive for families I guess. I haven't been yet, but from videos it looks like there is space to add attractions - that dark ride we've been dreaming of perhaps - dream on lol.

Would it be fair to say Dreamworld won the summer over Movieworld lol?

[themagician]

10 minutes ago, downunder said:

Would it be fair to say Dreamworld won the summer over Movieworld

More than fair

[New display name]

If DW won the summer why is MW trading 10am to 5pm today and DW is trading 10:30 to 4:00pm?

I don't get people.  People are non-stop complaining about MW but continue to hand over cash. 

Nothing is going to change while people do this.

Edited February 12 by New display name

[downunder]

@New display name I don't know who won personally (just asking people's opinions) as I didn't go to either park in 2024 or so far in 2025 and probably none of us are privy to attendance figures (or could disclose if they did). If I look at it purely from a customer trust perspective (as in me, a prospective customer), Dreamworld did a lot to win me over, and if I had to choose one park, it wouldn't be as simple as it would have been in the past. 

[Levi]

39 minutes ago, New display name said:

If DW won the summer why is MW trading 10am to 5pm today and DW is trading 10:30 to 4:00pm?

I don't get people.  People are non-stop complaining about MW but continue to hand over cash. 

what does trading hours have to do with “who won summer?”

both parks are quiet now as school has gone back, reduced hours are fine when both parks are getting a very little crowd through the gate, it’s called running a business.

trading hours ≠ better park. If it did, Wizard of Oz wouldn’t be the mess it currently is.

[WalleyWorld]

1 hour ago, New display name said:

If DW won the summer why is MW trading 10am to 5pm today and DW is trading 10:30 to 4:00pm?

Could you clarify the reasoning behind your statement? Are you suggesting that the current trading hours strongly correlate with Dreamworld's success, or failure, during the peak summer period?

 

1 hour ago, New display name said:

I don't get people.  People are non-stop complaining about MW but continue to hand over cash. 

^I partially agree with this statement. The old 'vote with your wallet' saying. Unfortunately, it's much easier said than done. There is only a small group of passionate, 'non-stop complaining' enthusiasts and general visitors who still visit VRTP parks/attractions. Even if this minority chose to stop purchasing passes or visiting VRTP attractions, the financial impact would likely be too small to drive significant change.

Edited February 12 by WalleyWorld

[Brad2912]

Movieworld needs to be open longer due to their horrendous operation and cycle times… 

that extra 1.5 hours of trading time means guests can fit in 1 extra ride….

[New display name]

2 hours ago, Levi said:

what does trading hours have to do with “who won summer?”

both parks are quiet now as school has gone back, reduced hours are fine when both parks are getting a very little crowd through the gate, it’s called running a business.

trading hours ≠ better park. If it did, Wizard of Oz wouldn’t be the mess it currently is.

Isn't winning how many guest you get through the gate?  I'm close to certain, DW numbers still suck. 

Example: 1

DW couldn't sell out an Afterdark 

 

Example: 2

DW now runs as a night market, to make money.

 

MW will continue to win until people start voting with their wallets, but it isn't happening. 

Example:  3

34 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Movieworld needs to be open longer due to their horrendous operation and cycle times… 

that extra 1.5 hours of trading time means guests can fit in 1 extra ride….

Complains all the time about MW but continuous to shell out money to MW.

 

[Brad2912]

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

DW couldn't sell out an Afterdark

To be fair, it was a pass holder only event so the GP couldn’t buy tickets… 

 

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

Complains all the time about MW but continuous to shell out money to MW.

Movieworld gets very little of my money. I buy a one-pass each year, sure, but I never buy meals at Movieworld as I see no benefit to spending an entire day there with their operations so I’ll take my son early for a couple of rides on opening, or late for a couple on closing. With the exception of the white Christmas buffet, MW hasn’t got a cent from me outside of the initial upfront on the annual pass in about 3 years. 
 

I’ll do full days at SW and WnW however, and that’s more so for the reason I purchase an annual pass 

[Levi]

9 minutes ago, New display name said:

Example: 1

DW couldn't sell out an Afterdark 

 

it was a pass holder only event, every night event they’ve had recently has sold out. even though the pass holder events weren’t sold out, Steel Taipan had a line outside of its queue most of the night with two trains, Jungle Rush (even with its fast operations) had a queue spanning outside its entrance, Janes had a queue nearly reaching Jungle Rush’s entrance by the middle of the night, even Sky Voyager was using its extended queue. it was definitely busy… they just know how to manage their park better.

[New display name]

ST had a line outside the queue because it broke down for a while and JR stopped a couple of times.  I never said it wasn't a busy night but considering the amount of guest who are pass holders, the gate should sell out.

It's easier to manage your park when there are less guest in it.

 

 

 

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, New display name said:

It's easier to manage your park when there are less guest in it

Who said there were less people in it? Dreamworlds “sold out” capacity could very well be larger than Seaworld or Movieworlds 

[Coppertine]

Plus, a lot of their rides at dreamworld on after dark (takes 1 and 2) had people lining up for for long periods, even Tailwhip (iirc, it was an average of 40-50 minutes) that being with 2 trains in operation.