Defunctland - The Awful Wiggles Dark ride

[Dean Barnett]

 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The credits are like the Who's Who of Aussie Theme Park media and vloggers

[TBoy]

Just saw it. Good video, goes into depth about the history of the ride and explains things even I didn't know about. Also shows some history of the park which is also good.

 

[biasesumo]

What I’m hoping is that this video opens the floodgates for more videos about defunct Australian attractions.

I never see anybody discuss the old Looney Tunes boat ride or the Bermuda Triangle at Seaworld. Both have such quirky histories, like how there’s a guy on the Gold Coast who pops up on Facebook Marketplace every so often trying to sell one of the alien animatronics from the Bermuda Triangle ride. So strange.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

9 minutes ago, biasesumo said:

What I’m hoping is that this video opens the floodgates for more videos about defunct Australian attractions.

While the Wiggles video has had a lot of help from locals and was put together well, Defunctland's decidedly clickbaity approach to videos leads to false narratives (like his Wonderland video claiming that the native wildlife were simply abandoned and left to starve) that are never redressed.

It has left me to apply a healthy dose of skepticism to any video he publishes - though many of his deep dives - like disney fastpass - are really well put together, the track record always leaves me doubting everything said.

They're good for entertainment purposes, but don't expect everything you see to be factual. This video mentions BRC was the first dark ride in 'nearly 20 years'. If we ignore boat rides like Bermuda (11 years) and LTRR (14 years) we're still left with the likes of Gremlins (also 14 years) which is hardly 'nearly 20'.

It does of course depend on where you draw the line, but every line I could think of fell well short of 20.

[biasesumo]

I suppose the clickbaiting nature (of which I don’t personally see in Defunctland, but to each their own) is an inherent flaw in the Youtube format.

You don’t really have to clickbait a video about The Wiggles Ride because it’s likely to be the only documentary-style video on the topic. I can understand your troubles with some of the facts being relatively loose but getting the timeframe for dark ride installations in Australia off by a few years doesn’t seem like a big deal.

If “clickbaiting” is the only way we’re likely to see Australian theme parks, including defunct attractions, discussed on Youtube, then I’m fine with that. There’s enough to talk about.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yeah you're right in that - it's the Youtube format and an inherent nature of needing to feed the algorithm.

3 hours ago, biasesumo said:

some of the facts being relatively loose

Yeah look - a 30% discrepancy in the timeline isn't anything deal breaking - though it does sound better. But it shows a lack of research into the topic, or, presumably, relying on a single source that isn't fully researched but is nonetheless taken as gospel by the channel.

Claims as I mentioned such as former workers of the Wonderland Wildlife Park having to 'break into' the abandoned park to feed and care for the animals are demonstrably false. Park employees who worked there post closure have confirmed this.

The video has 1.2M views and over 30k likes, with the major theme of the comments relating to the 'neglected animals' despite it being made up. It demonstrates that the made up story was the most engaging part of the video. Engagement - such as comments and likes - drives the algorithm. So all those people commenting about the animals kept showing the video to more people, who also engaged about the poor animals, which benefited the channel.

4 hours ago, biasesumo said:

If “clickbaiting” is the only way we’re likely to see Australian theme parks, including defunct attractions, discussed on Youtube, then I’m fine with that. There’s enough to talk about.

Thankfully, there are many YouTube channels that make videos on Australian theme parks and defunct attractions, and plenty of facebook groups exist to share content about parks past and present. This might well be the only dedicated BRC video we'll get (not sure there's much more of a story you could tell on it - unless The Proper People were to explore the former ride building!) but as far as Australian parks in general - I don't think we should lower our standards just yet.

[Daedra]

Had a good giggle at that intro

 

 

[REGIE]

The pov footage looks so unsettling all grainy and dark.  The abandoned show building must be eerie as hell.

[GoGoBoy]

Was the show building specifically built for BRC or was it repurposed? Thoughts on whether it will be staying or going with Jungle Rush on its way? I still can't imagine how that coaster is going to fit into that plot

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 minutes ago, GoGoBoy said:

Was the show building specifically built for BRC or was it repurposed? Thoughts on whether it will be staying or going with Jungle Rush on its way? I still can't imagine how that coaster is going to fit into that plot

Viewers of the video that is the subject of this post will be aware the BRC show building was previously the Koala animatronic show building.

I'm pretty sure the coaster is likely to be using much more than just the BRC plot.

[GoGoBoy]

2 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Viewers of the video that is the subject of this post will be aware the BRC show building was previously the Koala animatronic show building.

I'm pretty sure the coaster is likely to be using much more than just the BRC plot.

Sorry I wasn't suggesting it will only use the BRC plot, rather that general area. Still interesting how it's going to work though and whether any of those existing buildings will be kept or incorporated. We know our parks don't like to get rid of existing buildings!

Also, from looking at old park maps (and I know this is not a guarantee of accuracy), it looks like the old country jamboree animatronic show was located closer to where the Billabong restaurant is now. So not sure how accurate their call is on that 

Edited May 11, 2023 by GoGoBoy

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

19 minutes ago, GoGoBoy said:

looking at old park maps (and I know this is not a guarantee of accuracy), it looks like the old country jamboree animatronic show was located closer to where the Billabong restaurant is now.

Billabong was there back in the jamboree days, and here are two shots from the video showing the building:

 

This is the best image I can find online to show the distance between them and as you can see, it isn't much:

What it does show though are building elements that wouldn't have been included in a 2005 show building for a kids dark ride (such as the exposed beams, and the 'homestead style' patio railings and other touches) which does show the original building was reused, at least in part.

 

[themagician]

If you go to this area of the park and look up close to this facade, some of the paint has chipped away and you can see the original timber and colour of the building. 
 

In fact, walk through the entire ABC Kids area and compare how the buildings look to original photos of the area and most of it is somewhat still there, it’s just been ruined with paint and plastic.

[GoGoBoy]

7 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Billabong was there back in the jamboree days, and here are two shots from the video showing the building:

 

This is the best image I can find online to show the distance between them and as you can see, it isn't much:

What it does show though are building elements that wouldn't have been included in a 2005 show building for a kids dark ride (such as the exposed beams, and the 'homestead style' patio railings and other touches) which does show the original building was reused, at least in part.

 

Oh wow - that second photo reveals a lot especially! Cheers thanks for the info