Dreamworld announces Wave Swinger, Dreamland (DreamWorks retheme) and new coasters

[New display name]

The Dreamworld Flyer attraction will also offer an additional pay-per-play offering to the park’s Night Market.

[franky]

1 minute ago, Rivals said:

The only thing i wish was that MDMC was being rethemed to fit in more, but besides that i can’t wait for all of these projects to be open by the end of 2024.

Nothing to say it won't happen in the future. This is only 2 years worth of announcements, and they said they have plans for the next 5.

Loving the fact that Vintage Motors are moving (sort of) back where they used to be, they're so far out of the way at the moment.

Jungle Rush looks like its going to the right of the Billabong Restaurant building - so right where big red car / TOT station is now. Will be nice to see this area refreshed. Curious to see what is to happen with Tiger Island too as it looks like it will encroach on this area too. Unfortunately construction in the area will probably mean the train will close again.

Good to see some Parkz members nailing some of the speculation - DreamWorks retheming, having a ride open for the markets (I mean its not ST or Claw, but close enough!)

[Gazza]

Quote

 Yes Sea World had one 

Sea World has never had a waveswinger.

 

****

As for the tilted turntable, is that how it could do the forwards and backwards aspect? 

Train comes onto an inclined section of track and is held (Like on a classic boomerang) turntable spins to align with next section. Train released and you roll by gravity off it again.

Could be a cool moment if there is a bit of theming you come face to face with before rotating away.

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Gazza

[Moderator]

Let's keep this discussion for discussing today's announcement and the overall direction Dreamworld is headed.

If folks want to get into any specifics about the individual attractions, then please start new topics. As an example: if you've got questions about both Dreamworld Flyer and Jungle Rush, then take two minutes to start a new topic to ask pose each question separately.

We'll remove posts and/or close this one fairly quickly if it starts to get out of hand.

[GoGoBoy]

The kids themed areas right next to the river never made sense to me, so this consolidation seems right. I like that they have obviously put a lot of thought into the various lands and how it can all be reworked in a more cohesive way

[Jobe]

I seriously hope they consider adding water elements to the Wave Swinger! Just like the unit at Phantasialand in Germany. This would be absolutely brilliant and would also help smooth out somewhat the loss of any water attraction at Dreamworld in those hot summer Gold Coast days. This would be a great interim measure before they add a new water ride- which is sorely needed!

Having this at the entrance to the park is a winner as it provides instant kinetic energy. If the theming is as per below in any way, this could be a real showstopper and arguably the best opening view of any Aussie theme park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Jobe

[joz]

It's ticking a few boxes of mine, I've long been vocal about how I think ABC kids clashes with the area it's in, so moving it and using it to fill out a bigger kiddie area is a good move to me. One thing as well, by announcing the new kiddie area before the Dreamworks licence goes away, they've got themselves in front. It comes across like it was the plan all along, rather than a reaction which I think is really clever move of them in an industry where puic perception matters. I've spoken about the themes of K&B and Jungle Rush when I thought it was fan fic so won't go over that again, except to say unless they plan to plant a jungle I'd say it's worth having a serious think if Jungle Rush is the best name.

 

For me the really interesting one will be the wave swinger. I'm nostalgic for the fountain, but I actually am totally on board with getting rid of it for a wave swinger. It would be awesome if you could place it in such a way that it's right in front of you when you enter, and also looks straight down the street at Claw, kind of a double weenie (Or triple if you come up the hill). Aside from that, just throw all the charm you have at it. Like Iron railings, brick paved queue, hedges, topiary, the whole lot. Go to town making the thing stupidly charming. If that means moving the globe somewhere else in the park, so be it (I'd bin it personally but I accept other people like it, and it IS a rather good photo op). Dreamworld used to have a real charm when you walked in, as much I'm nostalgic for the fountain, I'm way more nostalgic for that charm, there's a real chance to bring that back.

 

Rivertown I'm keen on seeing having some charm again too, but for now I don't understand how any of that will work so I'll leave my thoughts there. Overall, rather good. 👍🏻

[New display name]

1 minute ago, joz said:

Jungle Rush when I thought it was fan fic so won't go over that again, except to say unless they plan to plant a jungle I'd say it's worth having a serious think if Jungle Rush is the best name.

Jungle Rush isn't my first thought when I think of Dreamworld's River Town either.

[joz]

It made sense as a generic retheme of Madagascar but not as sure about that one. It's interesting because the concept looks vaugely Adventure Land, where as Rivertown was originally more Frontier Land. But yeah there is a difference between Jungle and Bush. For all I know though they may well be intending to plant lush trees all the way from Tiger Island to the back of the shops so who knows.

[Gazza]

Yeah thats what im thinking, Murrisippi Motors sounds 'bush', Jungle Rush is obviously 'jungle' so curious as to what the vibe of the area will be.

[Jobe]

Yeah but Bush Rush as a name brings about connotations that the park would'nt really like to deal with.......... it would have been problematic on so many levels! Jungle Rush certainly isn't accurate but its not too bad IMHO.

[joz]

Bush Basher? I dunno even Wonderland managed to take American concepts and adapt them for the local market lol

 

I didn't mean for this to be a big talking point, just that 'Jungle' doesn't match the landscape and will never match what's on the island.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

1 hour ago, Vidgamer said:

Most of it has a under 24 month timeline too. Mostly finished by the end of 2024.

I hate to be the cynic, but Atlantis was supposed to be about 24 months too. Sure, covid, but that wasn't the only delay to the project. Either way, its a great suite of investments and even if it takes 3 years, i'm glad they're doing it.

1 hour ago, TBoy said:

 

• Big Red Boat 

I unfortunately think BIP Maze, Gingy's Gliders, PIB Sword Swing and Dronkey Fliers will be retired. The fact most of them will become less popular due to the DreamWorld Flier as well as the decreased room will probably mean some wont make the cut.

I'm not sure the rockin tug will stay in it's current form given the BRB Coaster, and I feel as though Dronkey Fliers is going to have the fibreglass moulding replaced to create BR Planes

4 minutes ago, New display name said:

Jungle Rush isn't my first thought when I think of Dreamworld's River Town either.

Bush Rush just didn't feel right...

5 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

I havent seen mention of it here, but have on FB, that Tiger Island will also be getting a refurb/remodelling as the park moves away from keeper interaction with the tigers - i.e no longer doing presentations etc.

If that is the case, and its basically set to be become a zoo exhibit, then for mine they may as well get rid of it. Tiger Island since day one was about the interaction between tigers and handlers visible to the public, about understanding their natural instincts and behaviours in the wild (as much as possible in a controlled setting). 

If what we are getting is just a couple of tigers sitting in a smaller location than what is current, i'd be done with it and use the land for better purpose  -  and thats coming from someone who LOVES tigers.

I don't disagree with you, but when I read this, my impression was:

They've just lost Patrick, and without his level of experience, they need time to rework things. Without the Alpha (patrick) maybe the other trainers were less confident \ having issues with the ongoing interactions, and they've pared back their offering to a straight up exhibit to minimise the risk of potential incidents while they re-group.

[Cactus_Matt]

Maybe I'm not the best judge on what the general public wants from a theme park but looking at this line-up this ain't it. I don't think there's anything wrong with any of these additions, I just don't think any of these things is going to help the park with their lagging attendance. The coaster seems reactionary to the Wizard of Oz precinct's coasters rather than evaluating what's missing in their park, "Movie World is getting a themed family coaster(s), well then we'll do that too but with better themeing!" Again, not saying I hate any of this I just don't think the choice of coaster in particular is the right move at this particular time.

[Gazza]

For the Big Red Boat, notice that the track has a bar in the middle. Does anyone else think it could be powered?

And is this supposed to be a drive wheel?

Edited November 24, 2022 by Gazza

[SuperV]

Where are they going to be relocating and building the new rides in Dreamland? Dreamworks already seems packed in, unless they're using some of the TOT land, I have no clue where they're fitting a kids coaster and a couple more flats from ABC Kids World?

[themagician]

My understanding is some of the existing attractions may be going, but it’s likely the area will be expanded. The Kung Fun Panda area will be given to Ocean Parade and there will be a splash zone (which I think is replacing the area that the cub kindy/food area was)

[joz]

6 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

Maybe I'm not the best judge on what the general public wants from a theme park but looking at this line-up this ain't it.

I think the thing is a lot of this has to do with the Dreamworks licence. Getting around that was always going to be a huge effort. What I do really like about what they've done is rather than say 'How do we patch the area together' they said 'How to we patch the area together, and how does it fit into the broader park?'. It might seem like a small difference, but honestly it really makes a difference.

 

Moving ABC kids from a financial perspective might not make the most sense, but it makes a lot of sense from a 'How do all the elements of the park fit together' perspective. Adding a new ride as a sweetener to that? Yeah cool. As I've said previously, it's a kiddie ride so I don't care, but hopefully the target market will get a kick out of it.

 

Redoing that area of the park with a bushland pioneer theme makes sense because:

A. The bushland is already there, and 

B. Because what was there just got moved.

 

Much like the new coasters at MW, it seems to me that what they've done is add genuine family rides, not kiddie rides that adults can also go on. A decently long family coaster running a few trains (I'm projecting that onto it 😆) makes sense. A ride that literally everyone can go on, makes sense (just throwing it out there you don't even need to get rid of the actual Model Ts).

 

Having a wave swinger at the front also makes a statement about how DW is new. It's not what you remember. But if that ride is done well, the statement it makes is 'It's new, it's different, and you'll like it'.

 

If all this comes in at $50million, I think the return will be a better return than if you built a $50million new coaster (see ST). It comes down to 3 new rides, but it's the reshuffle and new life that I think will be the most compelling part of it, not the new rides.

 

Now $50million isn't much to play with to do all these things, there will be an element of expectation V reality. But if they can stay largely true to it, then they're set up well for 4 years from now when they decide to add a Raptor to the RHLR plot.

[themagician]

They stated the $50 million is the minimum. Jungle Rush is $35 million and the Dreamland project is $15 million. That doesn’t include the new vintage cars, Dreamworld Flyer, splash zone and other works. They also announced 2000 solar panels will be installed. So it could be at least $60 million. But all of this I see as money very well spent. Everything announced is exactly what the park needs, it’s a great direction to head them in, refresh so much of the park. If you look at the park map, these works are for the majority of the parks footprint. And allows for another expansion where the log ride was later in the decade. 

I also like that we’ll get the Dreamworld Flyer in the first half of next year and Dreamland will be by Christmas next year. I’d say ABC kids world will remain untouched for most of next year while they work on the other kids area. And then later in the year ABC will close so they can begin the works on the new Rivertown. 

[mssveattck]

47 minutes ago, Gazza said:

For the Big Red Boat, notice that the track has a bar in the middle. Does anyone else think it could be powered?

And is this supposed to be a drive wheel?

I’d say it’s likely a Mack powered coaster, I believe someone on here saw Mack staff walking around the now Dreamworks area a few weeks ago - so it would make sense. 

[New display name]

Was it mentioned on what will be replacing the Madagascar Live Show?

That brings me to another point.  What will DW do with the removal of the Dreamworks characters?

[Cactus_Matt]

7 minutes ago, New display name said:

That brings me to another point.  What will DW do with the removal of the Dreamworks characters?

If it's anything like what happened with the Garfield ride at Kennywood in the US the company that holds the license for the characters might force them to destroy everything IP associated and even film them doing so to make sure they're not used/sold to anyone else.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

54 minutes ago, Cactus_Matt said:

If it's anything like what happened with the Garfield ride at Kennywood in the US the company that holds the license for the characters might force them to destroy everything IP associated and even film them doing so to make sure they're not used/sold to anyone else.

Hanna Barbera's loss at Wonderland was quite the opposite - they had a firesale on merch, used plushies as skill game prizes - I even have a photo somewhere of the head of the flintstones dog Dino gaffa taped to the ski pole on the back of a jetski as they towed stunt skiers around the lake. 

A lot of stuff survived in storage in the park's maintenance area and boneyard, with even the fibreglass heads from the long since closed paddleboats getting flogged off (or outright flogged) with some appearing on Ebay a few years ago.

It will come down to what is written into the terms of the original contract. they can't make them burn\destroy things if the contract didn't require it.

[franky]

Nine News Videos - Interviews with Greg

https://fb.watch/g-3ro6BzFo/
https://fb.watch/g-3xQ1BdXv/

Couple of snippets from the segments in the Jungle Rush thread, but these are the full segments going over everything happening (inc Tiger Island).

Of interest to me, the spend is now $60 million

[Bloxay]

7 hours ago, New display name said:

Was it mentioned on what will be replacing the Madagascar Live Show?

I wonder what'll happen to entertainment and character meet and greets as DreamWorks is such a major part of that.