Eureka Mountain Mine Ride Maintenance

[Drewboy]

Just checked the Dreamworld website and I saw the following under ride attraction maintenance.... Eureka Mountain Mine Ride, Gold Rush Country Date closed: 07th November - until further notice. Anyone know what the go with it is? Seems odd that there is no date that it is expected to re-open.

[T-bone]

I can't see it closing permanently, it's too popular. Maybe they could be renovating some area's aswell as some new trains? As man those trains they have on it are so squishy.

[dreamworld_rulz]

What happended to post 3 and 4?

Edited November 6, 2006 by Richard

[Adam]

Perhaps they might be seen as offensive to some people on the forums? Perhaps it doesn't really relate to the important topic of whether or not Dreamworld will finally replace Eureka's ride system with something more efficient and thrilling? I'd say it's most likely some sort of unexpected technical failure.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Adam

[pin142]

Dammit, another decent attraction closed when I go there later this month! First time going to the park in over 3 years and to find out that the Drop and now Eureka is closed makes me even more disappointed.

[Dylaan]

Damn! I know it definately isn't the best ride at Dreamworld but sure, it was fun, at least some people will agree. What could they put there if they choose not re-open it? Being a wild mouse, it wouldn't take up that much space would it? I can see a nice flat ride fitting in somewhere maybe...

[Richard]

If they were closing the ride permanently then they would say that so I wouldn't be too worried. If they only updated the website with that information yesterday then it's possible they found something wrong with the ride (such as cracking in the track) which required its immediate closure. Obviously if this were the case then there's no way they'd know when it's going to reopen. I'm sure we'll get the full picture in the next few days, but until then it's a bit premature to be worrying about the future of the coaster.

[OzCoasterFreek]

I certainly hope they aren't closing Eureka permanently! It's a Dreamworld classic and, I think, a REALLY GREAT ride! Sure it's a little rough but it somehow, now matter how many times I ride it, is ALWAYS fun. Maybe I'm being nostalgic as it's the first ever 'coaster' I went on, my buil-dup to Thunderbolt, but I really hope it stays. Admittedly thought it could do with a bit of a re-vamp.

[matty_o_911]

From Max Action newsletter:

Temporary Closure of Mine Ride At Dreamworld guest safety is our number one priority. All rides and attractions undergo daily testing through annual maintenance and regular safety audits and inspections. As part of this process the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride will close temporarily for all Dreamworld guests. The ride will only reopen when Dreamworld’s operational team are completely satisfied that any potential upgrades and improvements undertaken proactively address hazards identified. Dreamworld takes a proactive approach to safety and environmental sustainability and hope that this temporary ride closure does not cause any inconvenience to you and your family.

Edited November 9, 2006 by matty_o_911

[joz]

Is it just me or does Dreamworld really seem to be going about this in a really strange manner? I mean the phrasing implies the ride is unsafe, which is something you probably don't want to put on your website, regardless of how much "We inspect our rides everyday" talk you have around it. I'm much more interested in finding out what the story is with the ride is now then I ever was before I found out the ride was "Unsafe". Besides, when it does re-open, all the peeps will be thinking "I'm not going on Eureka Mountain Mine Ride 1 - It isn't safe"

Edited November 9, 2006 by joz

[Spotty]

And that means... less lines

[Richard]

Besides, when it does re-open, all the peeps will be thinking "I'm not going on Eureka Mountain Mine Ride 1 - It isn't safe"

But everyone knows if you rename it and paint the ride a different colour the guests forget all about it. Seems strange that they've taken a more defensive tone in there instead of the usual "this ride will be down for annual maintenance" kind of thing. That newsletter tends to agree with what I suggested earlier in that it's definitely unscheduled and they probably did find something that was or could turn out to be bad. Our parks do have rigorous maintenance and inspection programmes in place and it's most likely a testament to this that there was no apparent incident that led to this temporary closure.

[lisalila]

Aw nuts love screaming my head off on that ride. I really hope they don't close it for good..it's a damn good ride and is just as popular as the claw, especially with all the asian tourists! It's also nice they say it's unsafe lol..getting customers the Dreamworld way..

[myk]

Yeah I agree about guests thinking its unsafe. Like when I went to DL and went on the thunder mountain rollercoaster thing I was like OMG ITS GONNA CRASH AND IM GONNA DIE like that dude who died on it lol.

[Coaster Boy 6]

I really hope they don't take it down for good. Really, one of my first coasters. And yes, I was s*&@!#g myself, I was only 7. Espescially when we got to the top of the lift hill, thought we were going to do a massive drop, but the train took a gentle left! Lol Anyway, what ever this problem is, I'm sure Dreamworld will fix it. As Richard said, it's probably just cracking in the track. CoasterBoy6

[andrewm]

I rode Eureka the first time I went to Dreamworld in 2000 and me and my friend who I rode it with still laugh histerically about that experience to this day. Firstly it took us about 5 minutes to assume sitting positions in that tiny little cart with a huge backpack on our laps, and then the attendant asked if we had our seatbelts on, and we just lost it! We both had to stand up again, find the seatbelts and wriggle back down into the seats again. The guys in the front of the cart were getting very annoyed at this stage but we were laughing so hard. Then the ride starts, and we are both very tall, so we spent the whole ride with our heads in our laps with our eyes closed for fear of decapitation! Oh the memories. Anyway, now I am heading up to Dreamworld next week and there will be THREE rides closed! I was actually going to do the drop for the first time ever this trip, but now I won't get the chance. I'm very concerned with 3 closures the lines of everything else are going to be huge. If the BB house is closed my trip is ruined!

[dreamworld_rulz]

The BB house usally closes on Boxing Day. But with 3 rides closed you could be waiting a while for rides.

[Jamberoo Fan]

Anyway, now I am heading up to Dreamworld next week and there will be THREE rides closed! I was actually going to do the drop for the first time ever this trip, but now I won't get the chance. I'm very concerned with 3 closures the lines of everything else are going to be huge. If the BB house is closed my trip is ruined!

The BB house usally closes on Boxing Day. But with 3 rides closed you could be waiting a while for rides.

Here is the full list of Ride and Attraction Maintenance from the Dreamworld website: Eureka Mountain Mine Ride, Gold Rush Country Date closed: 07th November - until further notice. The Big Brother House, Dreamworld Studios Date Closed: 14th January 2007 - until further notice. Please note: Notification of any unscheduled ride closures will appear on the notice board outside the main entry gate. A link to the Whitewater World website has been made on the Dreamworld website. But it leads to another website known as www.whitewaterworld.com/ Edited November 17, 2006 by Jamberoo Fan

[GoGoBoy]

Anyway, now I am heading up to Dreamworld next week and there will be THREE rides closed! I was actually going to do the drop for the first time ever this trip, but now I won't get the chance. I'm very concerned with 3 closures the lines of everything else are going to be huge. If the BB house is closed my trip is ruined!

Um I have a simple suggestion for you. Do NOT go to Dreamworld. I do not understand why anyone would want to still visit with those 3 rides closed... it's ridiculous. If they had some new amazing coaster open then maybe it would be worth the visit but they don't, it's just the same old Dreamworld with 3 of their best rides closed. Go to Movie World Edited November 10, 2006 by GoGoBoy

[Adam]

An often-used measure of guest satisfaction at Disney parks around the globe is the 'Ridership Per Capita' figure. Basically, it is calculated by adding up all the turnstile counts and dividing it by the number of guests in the park to give the number of rides the average person went on. I think recently this figure has been up very high for Disneyland (past 10.0) which is why they've cut back their operating times in the peak season. According to guest behaviour theory this shouldn't reduce guest satisfaction (based on statistical analysis of past rider trends and customer feedback). It would be interesting to find out how many rides an average person goes on in our parks. Obviously during November this figure will drop for Dreamworld but would it be below Movie World? Superman Escape and Scooby-Doo certainly would've had a dramatic effect on this figure for Movie World. Andrew, visit Movie World. Seriously. It's the new thrill park.

[andrewm]

Um I have a simple suggestion for you. Do NOT go to Dreamworld. I do not understand why anyone would want to still visit with those 3 rides closed... it's ridiculous. If they had some new amazing coaster open then maybe it would be worth the visit but they don't, it's just the same old Dreamworld with 3 of their best rides closed. Go to Movie World

Unfortunately the purpose of the trip up north is the annual BB house visit, so pretty much have to go to DW. Didn't know all those rides would be closed when we booked the dates, and we have bought the theme park tickets already. And since we will only be there 3 days and also have to fit in Outback Spectacular, Australia Zoo, and SeaWorld, there's not much room to move things around. I don't understand why they schedule maintenance on more that one ride at a time! I would love to go to MW again-- it is such a good day there--but was there only in July when I went up for a BB eviction show. Haven't been to Sea World since 2004, so it was next in line. My friend's parents went to Dreamworld in August and apparently all the family-friendly rides (River Rapids, Rocky Hollow, etc) were closed that day, and none were listed as closed on the website or the front gate. It's a bit poor for them to do this to guests.

[rappa]

It seems a very strange time of year for DW to do Annual Maint. on two of it's big rides (Wipeout and GD) at the same time. I mean attendance is just starting to build up for Christmas and whilst you have MW down the road going hell for leather to try and get a additional thrill ride open for the crowds dreamworld is closing them! Work on these rides would make much more sense back in the final quater or first quater of the financial years. Not much will have changed (if anything really) at Seaworld, but I'm glad to see you're going, definately the most pleasant park to spend a day at. The new Ski Show is worth a look. And certainly glad to see you're doing Outback, keeps my wages paid

[Gazza]

Not much will have changed (if anything really) at Seaworld

What about the wheel? Edited November 11, 2006 by Gazza

[Richard]

As Richard said, it's probably just cracking in the track.

Just thought I'd clarify that I didn't say it was probably cracking in the track - this was merely a suggestion of a possible situation. The issue could be anything.

[T-bone]

Who knows, it could be something as small as a Blown lift hill motor, or again as Richard did mention, it could be something as bad as Track Corrosion.