Dreamworld Trip 26th

[scott]

I just got back from a day at DW with my friend Matt and my dad.We got to the park at 15 past 10,which wasn't too bad but we still had to wait about 15 minutes to get in.We weren't even in the park yet and we were already in a queue. We'd already had the whole day planned out but my Dad decided that wasn't the way to go so we got on the Claw first. The claw looks amazing.The gardens and the general ride are really good.After about a 20 min wait we got on.There were two ride op's on and the line was moving well.The seats were really comfortable,and so were the restraints,which is good.Athough I'd seen the film clip many times It was still alot more then I expected it to be.It looks like a small ride but when you're on it it's great.Not holding on during the ride feels amazing. After that we headed for TOT.The queue was about 15-20 min long which is pretty good really.The ride is a very simple concept and gets a bit boring after a few times.It's stil fun and exciting but it's always the same thing. Afterwards Dad headed off to central cafe to "relax" while Matt and I went on Wipeout.The queue was about the same as TOT which was good.They were using the fountains but not on our cycle which annoyed me.The ride was good,fun as usual.After that Matt and I did the Claw again (10-15 min wait) before going to central cafe.Matt was starting to feel sick.Dad wasn't there so we checked out the queue for Giant Drop.It was pretty small but because only one side was working and the operator was half-asleep the queue refused to move.So we went back to central cafe and found my dad.We had lunch,(actualy Matt didn't have anything which wasn't wise because we later realised that was why he was feeling sick) and after that I pointed the I-Max theatre to Dad,so we decided to meet him back there three hours later.We went to Eureka Mine Ride,which was fun as usual but quite short.The queue wasn't long which was good. We then went to Blue Lagoon for a while.Only aqua loop was working so we didn't stay all that long.The water there is really murky and I don't want to know what's in it.After that we went on Reptar Runaway.The queue was short and we were soon on.The ride is slow,rough,and short,so it wasn't that great in the end.Afterwards we found my dad at I-MAX and soon we were in the queue.Although the queue wasn't very big the tower only had one side going and honestly,the people DW employ.The ride op (only 1,which is just stupid considering it's the worst capacity ride in the park) was incredibly slow,it was ridiculous.After a 45-60 min wait we eventually got on.I kept telling Matt I hated him for bringing me on the ride.The station looks incredibly tacky,I was amazed.The seats didn't look great either.The winch to the top seems to last forever,I couldn't believe the view,you can see the whole of Surfers Paradise from the top.It's pretty peaceful up there,considering that you know what's about to happen.The annoying thing is how the gondala jolts slightly from time to time.The drop itself is amazing,people say it lasts for a long time but I thought it was quite short really.I thinks it's best described as TOT but down rather then up. After that we went to Eureka again to show my dad.He liked it but didn't think it was great.Then we went over to Cyclone,which we though was going to be the last rid of the day knowing Cyclone.We actually ended up waiting a minute to get on.It felt like compensation for GD's queue.The ride was better then I remembered it(probably because the queue was so short),pretty rough but still fun.We went on again after that and waited about 5 min.Then we raced over to TOT,making it in time to get a ride in the front row.The ride is much better in the front.Matt and I wanted to try and get on GD but dad decided it was time time to go home so we left at about 10 past 5. Rides/Attractions = 8 and a half/10 Atmosphere = 8/10 Theming = 4/10 Service = 5/10 The park is looking fantastic and we had a great day but DW really needs to work on GD,it's there best ride but it's queue is just so slow.Theming wise the park is doing okay,the service was pretty bad,but apart from that everything was good.

[Slick]

Honestly dude, don't comment on rides that have long queues especially when they have signs saying "this ride will be experiencing long queues." I was also there today and the reason the queue was moving so slow is because the west side was down for maintenance, and only one ride-op is needed in that situation. What you said about GD is like taking a survey with a biost sample group. Of course its going to be slow, only one side is working.

I thinks it's best described as TOT but down rather then up.

Why do I feel insulted by this? A few things to point out, the D&D ball is happening at dreamworld as I type, there was alot of tents etc. and stage rigs around dreamworld which looked very nice. There was also some large cargo crates arriving at the Thunderbolt site and part of the parking lot has been fenced off. For those who know, this is a sign of things to come. The park's general themeing, contrary to scott's beliefs about The Claw etc. is actually quite opposite. The entire day we were being imposed into dreamworld's very low regards for themeing. Trash down the bottom of cyclone, TOT is trash along with GD, and reptar's queue (which has been re-adjusted so its not only longer, but looks alot more dodgy) was just pathetic. While I love dreamworld and have full and utmost respect for them, their themeing and capacity is way below par. And I mean, "way" below par. We're talking Nara Dreamland low. Well anyhoo, I'm off to do some relaxing in the bahamas. Slick is watching.

[scott]

I was also there today and the reason the queue was moving so slow is because the west side was down for maintenance, and only one ride-op is needed in that situation. What you said about GD is like taking a survey with a biost sample group. Of course its going to be slow, only one side is working.

Yes,one ride-op is needed,and that means that they shouldn't have another to speed things up does it? And yes,of course it would be slow,but it still could have been alot faster. And I honestly don't care what you think,everyone has their own opinion and mine was that theming was good,I didn't say on all rides.Besides,I don't think theming is incredibly important,only for people who are going for the first time,and families. Qoute Slick=Why am I insulted by this? Seriously,why are you? It's nearly as fast and feels the same except for the directions in which they travel.

[Richard]

And here we were discussing and debating Dreamworld's ride capacity issues when the answer was staring us right in the face. Stick a sign out the front of the ride telling people that it'll have long queues and there we are, everone's happy and case closed! It seems to me that Giant Drop spends more time half operating than it does fully. With waits of an hour or more, I don't know how they can justify keeping half of it closed, maintenance or no maintenance. Standing there for an hour is $8.50 down the drain.

[Slick]

Yes,one ride-op is needed,and that means that they shouldn't have another to speed things up does it? And yes,of course it would be slow,but it still could have been alot faster.

Now honestly, what is this deckhand exactly going to do? Tell the people to wait? It would take the same amount of time for the main ride-op to come out and let people through onto the ride instead of coming out anyway to tell the other ride-op to let people through. It's simply a waste of a ride-op that can be used elsewhere to help with other rides. And would you say the faded colour on Reptar is good themeing? what about its dodgy queue line? Tower Of Terror's broken themeing? Cyclone's trashed queue line? Giant Drop's tagged walkways? Wipeout's delipdated buildings? Gold Rush's broken windows? I could go on and on dude. Dreamworld in my opinion is absolutely scraping it as a "theme park". Ben "read my whole post next time" Roach.

[scott]

Faded colour? The whole thing was looking fine in IMO.The queue has no theming whatsoever but in no way was it looking dodgy.When I say theming I don't mean the sort of theming that MW has,which tells a story ect,but I meant how the gardens are looking,the colours (Reptar and Claw are looking fine in that area)and the overall feel of the park. Slick,compared to an average person how often do you go to DW? Heaps.So of course you're going to notice the same problems and the same things.For people who go every few years they don't notice so much.I don't go very often(although I would if I could) and didn't notice as much.

[Slick]

You reckon Reptar is not faded? Obviously you need your eyes checked boy, as you've got no idea. I agree with Richard (whoa, did I just say that?) that the entire Nick Central area is becoming rundown, and do you call pebbles around the new reptar pathway acceptable "themeing"? And scott, I know I go heaps, its a proven fact afterall; which mean I "must" know what I'm talking about, compared to a coaster-noob like yourself who doesn't go as often. And while the claw looks fine for now, have you atleast noticed the area around you? The yellow queue line floor is now a tacky blackish colour, and the gardens have been ruined around that area by people trodding on the plantation. Also, about that tower of terror thing, you are an idiot. Simple. Go on scott, try and match that. Ben "ahhhhhhh to easy" Roach.

[Gazza]

Well, it cant be that bad, Scott has been to disney, and if after coming from that and seeing DW and thinking it looked good, well it would have to have some degree of quality.

[Slick]

Or maybe he's just a pre-pubescent twelve year old who didn't really take any notice and just presumed as to tick us veterans off. Dude, I've done Disney too not to mention universal studios and all that jazz, but then yet even if its my home park I still reckon the themeing is ****e. I'm sure old scott wouldn't even know how to build decent themeing, let alone a paper bag.

[Whombex]

First of all, I wasn't aware that theme Parks were visited so frequently by R-C members. That makes about 5 of us who have visited DW in Feb alone. Nice. I too felt that my wait for the GD was one of few the bad points in my visit, but I knew (from DW's website) that only one side was running. I made the decision to wait the 80+ minutes anyway. And I enjoyed it! I got to peek at the BB construction site, sitting on the northern most seat. As for general themeing, I think that the Cyclone is the worst. The post ride specifically. (Interesting though, I went on the Tuesday, Scott and Slick the Saturday, and the Thunderbolt's area had no crates at all.) The Giant Drop's holding room interior held a lot of my time (waiting in there for over 45 minutes) and it too is getting very tired. I'd rather see everyone wait in the 'arch' and have another operator running the que and the holding room, but I can perfectly see the realism in needing only one operator. Especially on "one side only" times like this week was. Every time I visit Dreamworld it's like returning to an old home. It's comforting. I don't know if anyone else gets that feeling or not. Because I'm "at home" in the Park, perhaps I don't pay that much attention to the problems Slick has with the Park. Ok, the ToT needs to be redesigned inside... and maybe the internal/external spirals inside Cyclone could be used for those getting on and off... Maybe I'm biased to DW that much I try not to look at the negatives...?

[joz]

Interesting about GD, most days I've been the ops have only admitted say, 4 groups at a time, and left the queue waiting at the door (Due to the increasing vandalism apparently). The problem with this is that with 1 person op, there is one dispatch in 4 (or however many are admitted) that takes close to 5 mins. When you don't load GD that way, you end up staying in that room for extended periods of time, and speaking personally, I don't think its the most conformable environment. A good solution would be to have queue rails inside the building to make the queue narrower, thus not as many guests being able to fit inside, and guests not spending as much time in there Movieworld did this to great success on Scooby. When the ride originally opened the hallway between the main queue and the station didn't have any extra queue rails, and it often took around 10mins to get through that section. Now with the extra queue rails making the line narrower, not as many people can fit in, and you don't spend as much time in the hallway. Doing this at DW would also stop people vandalising the "Exhibits" in the queue for GD, which I hear is an issue...

[GoGoBoy]

That's so true. I remember the last time I was at Dreamworld (years ago) we were stuck in that GD queue room for sooo long. It was hot and cramped and filled with so many bogans. It was really uncomfortable. It also meant you spent a long time looking at the themeing in that area which is very poor. A few keyboards and fake buttons stuck on the wall do not make good theming

[scott]

Also, about that tower of terror thing, you are an idiot. Simple.

I'm an idiot for having my own opinion on how the accelaration on GD feels?

[Whombex]

Doing this at DW would also stop people vandalising the "Exhibits" in the queue for GD, which I hear is an issue...

It's no longer an issue, it's been fully trashed already... Seriously, would it cost that much to put another layer of paint down on the vandalisation every six months? Of course, actual damage to 'props' is a different issue, but three quarters of que vandalisation is paint damage and graffiti. IMO.