Maybe I am special but my version of completely just doesnt include all the light from exit lights emergency light leds track sensors and sun coming in all the holes all over the building

I was hoping for it to more darker

35 minutes ago, Gobbledok said:

Think you might need an eye test I could see just fine please dont ever ride space mountain

I’ve ridden space mountain many times, though that’s entirely irrelevant

I don’t need an eye test, my vision is perfect

You’re just talking shit

4 hours ago, Gobbledok said:

never once have i ridden a roller coaster and thought oh i wish it has more handles or i wish i had more advanced notice of that turn

You've never thought about it because it happens subconsciously

Anticipatory Postural Adjustments (APAs) are unconscious, automatic muscle activities that occur before a voluntary movement to keep you balanced and stable, proactively counteracting the expected shift in your body's centre of mass

1 hour ago, themagician said:

@Gobbledok you must have special vision; because everyone I’ve spoken to or seen comment about the ride have said the disco room is completely dark

If you’re sitting in the front row you can see everything.

I’m glad this ride is back, but oh my goodness… the most over hyped and underwhelming ride reopening in history! What the eff took them so long? Did the CFMEU manage this project or something?

I really want to love Village, but it’s clear taking guest money is priority #1, providing an amazing guest experience is priority #4 or #5.

Here’s a quick comparison of 2 most recent ride openings/reopenings…

DW: wow, wow, incredible, oh look at that detail!

MW: hmm… ok I guess… I mean at least they’ve done it…

I think that’s a bit of a harsh comparison.

Dreamworld have presented their new flat ride is the best possible way. It looks great. But it’s also a flat ride, outside with some static props.

Scooby is a fully immersive dark ride that has had done to it exactly what everyone here asked for, returned to its original state and it looks great.

I also expect a member of Jo public to wonder what takes 3 years. But if you’re calling yourself a theme park enthusiast it’s bit sad if you don’t understand how long it takes to completely gut and replace the entire mechanical and control system of a coaster as complex block wise as Scooby.

We are all also well aware that it shut early for various reasons and a good portion of that time was spent waiting for the Mack order.

Like props to Dreamworld but they build a flat ride. And still took a year.

1 hour ago, rappa said:

I think that’s a bit of a harsh comparison.

Dreamworld have presented their new flat ride is the best possible way. It looks great. But it’s also a flat ride, outside with some static props.

Scooby is a fully immersive dark ride that has had done to it exactly what everyone here asked for, returned to its original state and it looks great.

I also expect a member of Jo public to wonder what takes 3 years. But if you’re calling yourself a theme park enthusiast it’s bit sad if you don’t understand how long it takes to completely gut and replace the entire mechanical and control system of a coaster as complex block wise as Scooby.

We are all also well aware that it shut early for various reasons and a good portion of that time was spent waiting for the Mack order.

Like props to Dreamworld but they build a flat ride. And still took a year.

Is it in its original state without the lighting and smoke effects in the disco room? That was the most iconic part of the ride for me.

4 hours ago, rappa said:

Scooby is a fully immersive dark ride

IMHO I wouldn’t call it a fully immersive dark ride with “Creative choice” of the former disco room currently.

Hopefully the park realises the error of their ways here, a lot of comments online are negative regarding this in particular.

The $$$$$$$ have been spent on the mechanical, and bringing the rest of the ride to the former glory, might as well spend a bit more and bring back this cherished part of the ride.

I didn’t expect them to bring in expensive animatronics or other major theming elements, I knew the plan was to restore the opening standard as I posted back on the first page of this thread, but I also don’t blame the general public not being happy with the current state after almost 3 years.

Edited December 14, 2025Dec 14 by Park Addict 93

7 hours ago, themagician said:

you must have special vision; because everyone I’ve spoken to or seen comment about the ride have said the disco room is completely dark

You can see fine enough to anticipate the hairpin turns and drops with the exception of the backwards drop. The music isn't as loud as it used to be in there and sounds like its coming from one speaker in the center of the room.

4 minutes ago, Park Addict 93 said:

I didn’t expect them to bring in expensive animatronics or other major theming elements, I knew the plan was to restore the opening standard as I posted back on the first page of this thread, but I also don’t blame the general public not being happy with the current state after almost 3 years.

Most effects weren't working today most notable being the swinging axes.

On 12/12/2025 at 10:02 AM, TV15 said:

Will it continue operation into White Christmas or will it close at 5

The ride closed at 4pm today to finish operations by 5, not a good look for your brand new flagship family ride.

Edited December 14, 2025Dec 14 by TV15

I understand the consensus for Next Generation was that it was terrible. That’s hard to rebuke, and rightfully so. However, I do believe it was an admirable attempt at storytelling.  Where the original was linked to the film cosmetically, Next Gen was more direct in its use of the Spooky Island Demons and Scrappy Doo. Further, the basin of souls added to the core of the ‘disco room,’ is a significant placemark in the film. These pieces worked together to create a cohesive space. Alike the film, the castle and caves are a unified complex. In Next Generation, the castle has become overrun with demons ahead of Scrappy Doo’s transformation in the caves. The final show scene also occurs in the caves, with light breaking through, ending the demons, and reenacting the enduring finale of the film itself. Therefore, the space occupied by the disco room reads as traversing through the caves. Likely a semi-immaterial traversal at that, like souls bounding back to their bodies after lasting imprisonment. This is the closest the ride has ever gotten to intentional coherence throughout. On paper, a highly immersive attraction! Unfortunately, the messy actualisation of such looked sad against the original.

With the latest retrofit, I think this desire for storytelling has gone by the wayside – slightly. Or perhaps the creatives let go of the reins too early.  We enter the lift in the caves, and next find ourselves in the Spookapalooza arena during the final show scene. “How do we get from one to the other?” I imagine the creative team asked this question. I don’t feel there is an easy answer to it, perhaps influencing the now ‘disco-room,’ in its painted absence. Despite this, I really appreciate the continued significance of the Spooky Island Demon, now animated on the dolly. Further, the new show scene depicting the Monstrous Dining Hall is directly out of the film. To nitpick, I imagine there are slightly better ways the screen could be integrated, the corner fold is quite disruptive; however, I acknowledge we are on an Australian Theme Park budget (and a GBH Capital one too…).

I am very happy with the direction that has been taken regarding the actualisation of third iteration; it seems those in lighting were up to their necks. Initially I wasn’t too set on the blue hue that has been added throughout many scenes and the queue. I might still prefer the darkness of the previous two iterations solely on nostalgia. However, if I were to put a colour to the 2002 slopsterpiece, it would probably land within the bounds of blue. Blue is a more distinct ambient than black. I believe the dark ride portion will be read as a more effective and coherent place, rather than an absence as previously indicated with the darker palette.  Even more impressive, the fluidity of these lights. The knights come alive in sync with the flicker of lights (I wish the figures reflected this fluidity). The Demon is drenched in strobe like flashes on approach. All seems to be well synchronised with the train. I think it is easy for this to go unnoticed, but if you were to remove these effects and compare, the difference would be dramatic.

I cannot understate how happy I am to see the initial sliding door return. It fills my heart. To be honest the rest could be a slapjob and I would still get joy out of the door. It’s a real haunted house now. And notice, the synchronised lighting with each open and close – marvellous.

What pisses me off about both Next Gen and this third iterations are their exits. The dip unveils walls of foliage and a sign for the Tiki Doll Lounge. Evidently, we are well out of the castle. Turn the corner, and exit the vehicle, suddenly the walls are back to that of the castle. Maybe I take back what I had to say about cohesion. And don’t get me started on the loose articles system!!!!!! That is a slapjob. The giftshop is stylised with a tiki interior. I wish the hall from exit to gift shop linked this. Add some false foliage to the walls (I know it will be ripped off in a day) and sculpt some tree trunks or rocks for textural variance. Darken the lights, give it an ambient evening soundtrack – some crickets and the rustle of palm fronds – and maybe dot some fireflies on the roof. Nice and atmospheric, calm against the ‘scary,’ just encountered. While they’re at it (which will be never), add a small permanent bar kiosk featuring a thatched roof and kitschy Spooky Island paraphernalia somewhere outside the exit. Perfection. Perhaps once Doomsday is gone. Space also exists near the extended queue.  This is the only generational ‘classic,’ I think we’ve got (at present). Scooby is culturally ingrained, and certainly the live action iteration is endearing with local audiences. I would love to see it expand beyond the castle. Also, the absence of Gotham City Café and courtyard would be a resolute win…

I evidently intake and consider these things beyond the reference frame of the public. It's not that serious, I know, I know. But the implementation of more considered lighting in this third iteration will unconsciously dictate a much greater sense of cohesive storytelling for general audiences. Next generation was literal but sloppy. The ‘disco room,’ could obviously use more of this literacy going ahead; absence is not informative. Refinement all-round is certainly needed, but a step has been made in a positive direction. I am sure we would all love to see more Scooby ahead.

 

Sidebar. Discussion here is only getting more bilateral. I don't see it going the other way. It is not overly productive. A consequence of this is the perspectives offered loose nuanced. I know this has always been casual chat and not the high society. The use of "X is worse than Y therefore X is bad," is repetitive. That offers very little. Similarly, making blunt statements is easy, but not informative. Evidently, there are stakes in what is being said, whether that is simply your slight allegiance or as extensive as perks from the parks. Bubbles are evident, and they seem to act as mouthpieces for the parks rather than an enthusiast's voice. My words are not exempt.

3 hours ago, TV15 said:

Most effects weren't working today most notable being the swinging axes.

This I’m pretty surprised to hear. We’ve read about the rotating(or non) guy in the skeleton room. But what other ‘most’ weren’t working?

Genuinely curious as everything else has been running fine without a hitch until this point.

My brain hurts from the last post but surely that was suggesting next gen was good it any way?

I should add a disclaimer, when I said “fully immersive” I of course meant except the ‘discoless room’ because I don’t think that dark horse needs any more beating and I never considered it part of the dark ride.

Obviously I too would like to see lights return to that part.

6 hours ago, rappa said:

I should add a disclaimer, when I said “fully immersive” I of course meant except the ‘discoless room’ because I don’t think that dark horse needs any more beating and I never considered it part of the dark ride.

Its clearly the Dark Ride now.

What I took away from my experience.

MW have this ability to make things worse than what it was before while trying to make it better. It's pure witchcraft.

The new set of doors installed after the swinging axes haven't been in use yet

And they won’t be, unfortunately no good for capacity. But I think the same separation of scenes and reveal is achieved with lighting anyway just fine.

For what it’s worth I rode this morning and didn’t get the swinging axes. Only mentioning it as it was brought up earlier about affects not working. They were working for every other car though.

The spinning guy was also working.

So whilst it sucks, you may get the occasional ride where an effect or two doesn’t work for your particular car, but that is kind of the nature of these things that have so many moving parts, doesn’t necessarily mean none of the effects are working and it’s broken already.

So the axes turn on and off?

I thought that it might be less stress on the machinery to just keep them running since they have a bit of momentum of their own.

Actually no, because the cylinders heat up over time with such a high constant duty cycle.

On 13/12/2025 at 9:55 PM, Ashley Jeffery said:

Gremlins shut 9th of September 2001, Scooby opened 17th of September 2002. So why did it take 2 and 1/2 years to replace some brake sections? If they can build a whole coaster in that short original time frame? The answer is easy PEF dragging out the required funds. Don't talk about access because the shed hasnt changed since the 90's

Because they didn't just replace brake sections. People don't realise but scooby doo was originally designed to be able to be transported. Many parts of the high zone exist on turrets, not fixed to multiple columns like you would expect of an in built track. It's very fluid and moves a staggering amount, as attested to by anyone who has ever worked the high zone with the lights on (especially with the ride in operation!), There are witness marks in many places showing how far it actually moves if you only know where to look. It's like a living, breathing thing every time a car comes through. And thats before you get started on the lift system, not just the cab and track itself, but the winch control and braking systems utilised by it.

The braking system is so much a part of the run environment, each one represents a block after all, that simply removing them requires a complete change to the ride control systems as there is a lot going on within each brake zone. Speed monitoring, brake over/under runs, distance monitoring, plus obviously the block system and safety brakes. The ride is so sensitive to car timing not only through the brake block, but between blocks too that changes in speed monitoring registering in milliseconds can send the ride into safety faults. Think of how different friction brakes perform vs mag brakes, think of the hours upon days, upon weeks of testing you'd have to perform to just account for how the brakes will perform once installed, not to mention when jammed inside a hot tin shed.

It was always due for a ride control system upgrade as part of the safety case put forward after the dreamworld accident. It was one of those rides that was identified as falling within the new 10 year MAJOR inspection and safety upgrades were put forward as part of the upgrade. You saw the first round of similar upgrades at road runner with new trains, new brakes, new ride control, basically, all that was left was the track. How long was the shutdown for it? and thats a system with only 2 trains and 3 block zones! It was a similar story at wild west falls and I don't think people understand just how much of an investment this was by village. Not just in immense cost, but the man hours that went into even getting to the point of rolling out the upgrades, the testing, the changes made, modifications. It's probably easier to roll out a new ride than it is to try and integrate more functionality and different control systems into an existing PLC based ride control system. It essentially meant the death of arkham asylum, it nearly took down road runner too. It shows you how determined village were to see the ride reopened and not replaced.

So, not only were sections of a very unique track design replaced, new cars designed taking them away from the manual, ratchet operation of the restraints, new frictionless brakes installed, along with complete upgrades of the ride control system to actually have all this function, including actually pushing all these upgrades through to the qld government for certification, you go and throw unscheduled downtime into the mix and a ride manufacturer that wasn't expecting to have to develop new sections of track until a later planned shutdown; what do you get? Chaos. You get chaos.

You can be disappointed at the results, but I don't think its fair to downplay the amount of work that went into just keeping this ride open for future generations. I can guarantee you there were discussions surrounding its closure, it could have been a vastly different outcome.

People talking about possibility of injuries riding in the darkness, this was a very real thing when they opened after gutting the ride. Greater levels of darkness experienced then, but it really makes a difference when your body can't brace for intended changes of direction. Certainly saw a rise in complaints for not only things like neck and back pain, but just overall perception of how rough the ride experience was too.

Edited December 15, 2025Dec 15 by Levithian

That is an absolute amazing summary of the entire project.

I feel like we sit here and discuss and focus on the shiny show side of the attraction, but as you say, it can’t be overstated enough just to share amount of work and effort that had to go into upgrading the mechanical and control side.Hell I won’t even say upgrading the control system because it’s completely new. It’s not even an upgrade.

A lot of very passionate people in a hard and rough environment to pull all of that off just to get the same ride back.

It’s not even like you get to go and reuse code and software because of how much has changed.

It’s not even like you get to go and reuse code and software because of how much has changed.

The original ride control system needed three PLC‘s just to keep track of the block zones and check each other. With the development of today’s modern safety rated PLC’s it can run on one.

And then you can’t even use the same parameters for things like speed, etc., because with the new breaking system, the ride performs totally differently.

Big big job

Just migrating previously divorced systems into a single control would be a huge undertaking that could actually completely result in failure, requiring replacement of existing hardware that just isn't compatible or just can't be made to play nice.

Hell, just integrating a Q-SYS core into different rides to give them complete control over sound and lighting/fx was a big enough undertaking, and that really had nothing to do with the actual running environment.

People also need to realise (remember?) that scooby doo has ALWAYS been a victim of changing controls and expectations surrounding things like fire systems and safety. We would all love to see hazers, complex laser lighting and smoke so thick it billows out exit doors any time they are opened, but it's not 2002 anymore, and some things haven't been deemed possible/acceptable for quite some time.

I'd like to see alternatives investigated, especially these days with modern chilled or co2 atmospheric effects in use, but maybe it's not an option either. The cynic in me can't help but feel some part is due to the cost/really do not care enough about this to make a serious effort though. Sometimes I think management fail to realise the experience is not just about a physical ride, but everything else that goes with it too. Goes double for in park entertainment too. If the ride is on a track destined to repeat itself, what makes lasting memories for people? you only needed to spend 10 minutes reading facebook replies to see common themes to guest experiences reliving experiences across decades of operation. Can't really do that now can you? 🤣

It's funny that the company once implemented a "creating memories" campaign with a demonstrated push to focus on guest experience and drive up satisfaction, but it's literally like they learned nothing from the period and it just fell away like many other promises or hype they have come up with over the years.

Edited December 15, 2025Dec 15 by Levithian

3 minutes ago, rappa said:

Like props to Dreamworld but they build a flat ride. And still took a year.

His point still stands though. Compare the reactions for KC to SDSC and it's exactly as Michelangelo described. But it would also be true for Rivertown vs. WoZ, Jane's vs. Star Cafe, Dreamworld Flyer vs. Flash.

There's a clear pattern that has emerged for both Village and Dreamworld over the last few years. One is consistently getting 'meh' and the other is consistently getting 'wow'. Comparisons between the parks are going to be made and are valid. People will choose where to spend their time and their money.

30 minutes ago, Levithian said:

Sometimes I think management fail to realise the experience is not just about a physical ride, but everything else that goes with it too.

Given that SDSC closed early and they had to wait for Mack, that should have given them more time to plan the guest experience, source props/lights at the best prices and spread their cost out across multiple financial years to ensure that the ride wasn't just restored to the original standard, but exceeded people's rose-tinted, nostalgic expectations in a way that genuinely surprised and delighted them. While the upgrades might have been technically difficult to achieve, the general public will never see them and don't care.

The complaints people are making (here and on Socials) aren't dumping on MW for the sake of it. It's because they have seen the quality of what MW can be and they have a deep desire to see it restored to it's former magic and glory. They want MW to succeed and they want to have a great experience at the park. DW is working toward that goal and successfully executing it because the management cares as much as the people on this forum do.

Let’s be real though, are we talking reactions from guests walking off the ride, or reactions from enthusiasts on the internet who have a general default towards negativity for MW in general anyway?

I’m saying “wow that’s a good looking flat ride” but it’s still a flat ride with some props.

Is anyone really thinking and saying “the queue and low level dark ride portion of Scooby is an utter disappointment and they should do better?”

Or are the upset at the lack of something different in the coaster portion and then throwing that brush over the project as a whole?

Because I’d really be shocked to hear a valid argument that the dark ride is not ‘restored to it’s former glory’.

Any negative ‘public’ reaction I’ve read either related to the non disco room or stems from I guess what I say is a lack of expectation that the ride would be the same as before.

I’ve not even read one person on here say what had been done is shit, I’ve only read complaints at what hasn’t been done.

2 things I believe have been done shit.

The disco room has been done shit.

The new loose items boxes have been done shit.

EDIT: I have a third

The music/sounds have been done shit.

Edited December 15, 2025Dec 15 by New display name

Sounds are the same as the original no?

16 hours ago, rappa said:

Actually no, because the cylinders heat up over time with such a high constant duty cycle.

Oh right, I had always assumed it was just a motor with a reciprocating arm.

To clarify,

On 14/12/2025 at 9:38 PM, TV15 said:

The music isn't as loud as it used to be in there and sounds like its coming from one speaker in the center of the room.