Back visiting NZ and visited Rainbows End today for the first time since I was a kid and honestly not much has changed but I wanted to give some thoughts anyway. 
 

atmosphere and operations: Surprisingly good wait times, they have capped numbers to the park and it was never overly busy in any one area. Ride OPs did not muck about and checked harnesses very hastily, which made operations run well and  some of the bigger rides feel a little more ominous. The park was severely lacking in performers and entertainers and the general theming around the park is tidy but pretty uninspiring. 
 

Rides: Some family favourites still hold up, like the Log Flume, they have put a lot of energy into this ride to keep it fresh and added animatronics to more sections of the ride making it more unique and enjoyable, its actually one of the better flume rides if you discount how uninspiring the final drop is. Gold Rush is also a fun little mine train ride that has aged well and just as enjoyable as I remember it as a kid. The corkscrew was actually running very well, miles better than Viper was in its final years at SW and for an old arrow Corkscrew it is running much better than expected. Outside of this they have a small drop tower (about 205ft), a Zamperla power surge, and a 360 pendulum disc similar to SX360 at Aussie World. The area I think Rainbows End really shines in is the kids area, which I rate better than all the kids areas at the GC Parks. 
 

They had upgraded the old screen ride with a new 4D dark ride which was pretty underwhelming but not bad for little old NZ. And of course Rainbows End has some unique family favourites like Bumper Boats which is a reason in itself to visit the park, with a very healthy run time of about 10 minutes. 
 

All in all a great little park and I was happy to see they are still attempting to keep things fresh despite having virtually no competition in NZ. Would really love to see them get one flagship ride to take the park to the next level but its pretty landlocked and good for what it is. 
 

 

... not to mention the Corkscrew has gone down for just one day of maintenance this year. Their maintenance schedules are phenomenally organised (they do only open for 4 days a week, though).

It's a nice little park isn't it? I went for the first time a couple years ago and was pleasantly surprised. It does need a modern coaster of some kind though. A family Vekoma (similar to Gumbuya's) would be a great fit.

On 24/9/2022 at 4:04 PM, themeparkaddict said:

... not to mention the Corkscrew has gone down for just one day of maintenance this year. Their maintenance schedules are phenomenally organised (they do only open for 4 days a week, though).

Yea I must admit visiting  on an off season Friday I expected a dead park with nothing open but not one ride was down which is incredible! Gold Rush closed for about an hour and that was about it, and with rides and operations running as expected the lines were short and you really got your moneys worth, I was super impressed! 
 

Cant blame them for closing midweek, you just don't get the numbers needed to make the park profitable. They do operate 7 days over school holidays, for the size of the park the model makes a lot of sense.

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They had upgraded the old screen ride with a new 4D dark ride which was pretty underwhelming but not bad for little old NZ

Curious about this one.

On 25/9/2022 at 10:50 PM, Gazza said:

Curious about this one.

It’s a triotech dark ride system similar to the ones they have In shopping centres. They have two films - a ninja one and a Wild West themed one. Spent the day in the park on Friday (during the school holidays). The longest wait was 30 minutes. Stayed in the Proximity Apartments nearby (it was a ten minute walk through the Westfield shopping centre). Got tickets for the twilight session as well (4.30-8.30). The place was deserted. Rode Goldrush 5 times in a row. It’s a cute little park with a mix of quirky theming. The arrow looper is smoother than any other one I have ridden. Managed to get a front row ride. Love the way the mine coaster and the log flume interact with each other. The drop tower has a low capacity, but that didn’t really matter. It’s not that tall, but is quite forceful. They have just redone the log flume’s theming. It’s a bizarre mix of pixies, unicorns and pirates. Went to Crystal Mountain the following day.

On 24/09/2022 at 7:54 PM, Ogre said:

It's a nice little park isn't it? I went for the first time a couple years ago and was pleasantly surprised. It does need a modern coaster of some kind though. A family Vekoma (similar to Gumbuya's) would be a great fit.

What about a wild mouse

I did flying visit there before heading to the footy at Eden Park a few years ago. I was really impressed by the flume and the mine train coaster - the theming was really good and they had a lot of charm. Very easy to get to from Auckland CBD, worth a visit.

Edited October 10, 20224 yr by downunder