The park has been called out for cost cutting and being lazy (same thing sometimes?). Not changing the show I feel is just another example of that.

The flip side, the show still does draw a crowd. 

44 minutes ago, Naazon said:

the show still does draw a crowd. 

But that doesn’t necessarily mean because it’s good or people enjoy it. Other than the parade, it’s the only real main show the park has, so it just adds to the list of things to do during your day, but I don’t think it’s a must see. While I’d argue the first HSD was a must see, and obviously Police Academy was too.

Sure, but Village clearly haven't been caring if things are good. They care if its cheap and draws a crowd.

The show has been significantly neutered now where there is no actual stunts. A video from 2013 of the old HSD had a motorbike doing wheelies, a police car getting split in half, the cars tilting on one side, an explosion setting off a fire in the middle of the track, and a car jumping into a building, setting off an explosion.

Meanwhile, a new video from 2023 of HSD2 shows most of the stunts removed, and replaced by a few cars just drifting around the track for the whole show. No explosions, no fires, just drifting around the whole time.

What about a new show themed to Mad Max? It is Aussie, owned by Village, and it appeals to the same crowd as HSD. Keep the stunt aspect of the show, but change it around to fit the Mad Max IP. Its also not like its a dead IP, as Furiosa is coming out in May and there's a new sequel as well on the way.

Unfortunately I think we are likely to see HSD2 for a few more years but once its time does come I thought that would be a good replacement.

You can't even call that drifting.

Anyone who has ever seen their 'wet weather' version of the show knows just how bad it (the "drifting") can be. 

I'd like to see a return to non-vehicular stunts. high fall. human torch. The split car was both cool, and funny. the big finale building jump rig was an ACTUAL finale. 

it is well past time for the show to be renewed. not just the same set being used for a badly written new story (italian village meets city vs country? wut?)

As soon as Wizard and Scoob are on deck, gut the arena, and do something new. I'm sure the bones are good - the skeleton of the screen, the jump rig are all still good reusable elements (kind of like how AOS always finds an excuse to use the helicopter rig) but reinvent everything else. AOS has shown it can be done without being dumb and cheesy.

anyone who thinks HSD in its current form is in any way good needs their heads examined.

6 hours ago, TBoy said:

What about a new show themed to Mad Max? It is Aussie, owned by Village, and it appeals to the same crowd as HSD. Keep the stunt aspect of the show, but change it around to fit the Mad Max IP. Its also not like its a dead IP, as Furiosa is coming out in May and there's a new sequel as well on the way.

Realistically this is the best option. There’s no reason Mad Max shouldn’t be at movie world, it’s a perfect IP for village to integrate and something they already own. But there’s no logical fit in the park. You could maybe get away with having it next to West but the best option is to have it take up that arena on Main Street. You don’t even need a current ip - Waterworld is a movie that came out in the mid 90’s that the vast majority of people who go to watch the show at universal have probably never heard of let alone watched (throw backdraft in there too when it was open)

I’ve never personally watched stunt driver 2 but I did watch police academy and the original stunt driver and thought it was memorable. Based on what I’ve read it seems the stunt show is in desperate need of change.

Shows have their place in parks, they disperse crowds around, and having a good one can determine the difference between massive lines and not so massive lines (Waterworld or Lion King at Disney come to mind). Gut everything after all the major projects are done and while lantern & doomsday are limping, and build a mad max show, have some explosions, falling stunts (which mad max lends itself well to) and make it memorable.

Edited February 1, 20241 yr by Baconjack

Just gonna put this here

 

 

 

48 minutes ago, Dean Barnett said:

Just gonna put this here

 

 

 

That's shit @Dean Barnettthe seatbelts will slow down the show.  😀

Even with DC fatigue, something like the Batman stunt show from Warner Madrid would also be a good choice:

 

Anything is better than HWSD

the original was boring, 2.0 is an embarrassment 

we’ve all said for years that Mad Max is a perfect IP, but it won’t happen as its costs money and the status quo draws a crowd as people want a shaded seat while they have some snacks. 

Why do we have to steal other parks ideas?   I'm very confident we have enough talent in Australia to make a great show.  MW just has to tap into it.   

22 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

people want a shaded seat while they have some snacks. 

Except in the afternoon because the whole arena is exposed to the western sun 

19 hours ago, TBoy said:

What about a new show themed to Mad Max?

This was apparently the original plan prior to HSD and definitely something I think worthy of revisiting.

The simple reason it’s still running is it’s “good enough” that’s the motto for VRTP right now, as long as guests keep coming through the doors HSD2 is is the level of quality we can expect.

We are on version 2.8 or something by now with all the changes/alterations since it opened.

14 hours ago, Baconjack said:

You don’t even need a current ip - Waterworld is a movie that came out in the mid 90’s that the vast majority of people who go to watch the show at universal have probably never heard of let alone watched (throw backdraft in there too when it was open)

If only someone said this when they were talking about removing police academy. (oh wait, they did).

14 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Just gonna put this here

 

 

 

12 hours ago, New display name said:

Why do we have to steal other parks ideas?   I'm very confident we have enough talent in Australia to make a great show.  MW just has to tap into it.   

Nobody who saw Seal Guardians, Thunder Lake or Hollywood Stunt Driver would say that.

(I'm not a fan of Affinity, either - I preferred the original Imagine, but the animal activism has caused a shift in the animal enrichment programs away from "stunts" and I can't say its a bad thing)

I think the issue is Showtime.  They are a bunch of revheads, and as such everything they do seems to revolve around that.

As long as there is an entertainment manager there just contracting shows out to rev head ekka style motorsports contractors youre gonna have that turd of a show that is there now

It really is a miracle its lasted as long as it has because it truly is awful

I don’t often bother with HWSD2 but decided to give it a go on the weekend to see if it was as terrible as I remembered. 

It was worse. 

The plot never made much sense (Aussie race, Italian town, American cops?) but apart from a few pratfalls the show is now completely devoid of stunts. It has been reduced to five minutes of drifting to break up the cringeworthy script. 

The driving has been watered down to remove any perceived close calls. Your average Westfield carpark probably sees more thrills on a Tuesday morning. There are no “wow” moments that people will remember any more, just some hoons jumping around and almost doing burnouts.

It’s not like other similar sized parks can’t offer anything better either - Mirabilandia has a fantastic Hotwheels-themed stunt show, featuring (gasp) more than two cars, explosions and a freaking loop stunt. If a regional Italian park can put on that kind of show, Movie World has zero excuse for the current mediocre effort.

Edited February 6, 20241 yr by aaronm

33 minutes ago, aaronm said:

Movie World has zero excuse for the current mediocre effort.

Perhaps not an excuse, but VRTP continues to offer a 'mediocre' product offering across all facets of their business, because they have found the optimum quality/effort that generates enough profit to keep all C-Suite employees, owners and shareholders happy.

Edited February 6, 20241 yr by WalleyWorld

Hey guys with all of this poor management going on at Movie world I'm going to say Dreamworld is a much better park its actually way more enjoyable and Its still got way more to come.  

So, I'm just gonna throw out some WB and/or Village Roadshow titles that could lend themselves to a new show:

• Lethal Weapon
• Miss Congeniality
• Rush Hour
• Training Day
• V for Vendetta
• Beetlejuice
• Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie version)
• San Andreas (which was filmed in Brisbane)
• Batman
• Mad Max
• Dune
• The Matrix
• Game of Thrones
• 300
• Pacific Rim
• Mortal Kombat
• Bladerunner
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Police Academy

It's not like there is any shortage of action/adventure/comedy films that they could tap into for inspiration. Films like Lethal Weapon, Miss Congeniality, or Rush Hour wouldn't even require much of a re-theme of the arena and would still fit with the action/comedy style they've had since Police Academy.

I would prefer the idea that the show is a "Stunt Training Course" and can utilise a number of WB/VR owned IPs (or a dodgy, IP free knock off) recreating (training) stunts from each.

That's a great idea. Something similar to 'Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular' but with WB IPs? It could make for a really engaging and dynamic show. 

Some smaller live experiences around the park would really help for capacity as well. The horror make up show at Universal Studios Orlando is a great example of a smaller scale show that can eat crowds and only needs a few performers. 

5 hours ago, Naazon said:

I would prefer the idea that the show is a "Stunt Training Course" and can utilise a number of WB/VR owned IPs (or a dodgy, IP free knock off) recreating (training) stunts from each.

I don't like the idea because the "we are filming stunts for a movie" is the worst part of the current show. 

Edited February 7, 20241 yr by New display name

15 hours ago, wikiverse said:

So, I'm just gonna throw out some WB and/or Village Roadshow titles that could lend themselves to a new show:

• Lethal Weapon
• Miss Congeniality
• Rush Hour
• Training Day
• V for Vendetta
• Beetlejuice
• Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie version)
• San Andreas (which was filmed in Brisbane)
• Batman
• Mad Max
• Dune
• The Matrix
• Game of Thrones
• 300
• Pacific Rim
• Mortal Kombat
• Bladerunner
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Police Academy

It's not like there is any shortage of action/adventure/comedy films that they could tap into for inspiration. Films like Lethal Weapon, Miss Congeniality, or Rush Hour wouldn't even require much of a re-theme of the arena and would still fit with the action/comedy style they've had since Police Academy.

If they did a show based on Dune... they could sell the dune buckets of popcorn