Dreamworld Main Street emporium update

[REGIE]

Not sure if this has been coved elsewhere but the Main Street emporium had a color change and new sign put up

[aaronm]

Looks great. One day they'll have some capex to redo the Sky Voyager facade and there will be much rejoicing from enthusiasts.

[New display name]

20 minutes ago, aaronm said:

Looks great. One day they'll have some capex to redo the Sky Voyager facade and there will be much rejoicing from enthusiasts.

SV changes are for than a facade.   The whole queue would have to change.

[red dragin]

So, it's complained about frequently (and rightly so). 

So what are people's 'slap of paint and a new sign' level treatments for the Sky Voyager facade, to better suit the Main St theme? No big budget. 

I've tried to come up with an idea, but got nothing. Aside from the stark white needs to go. 

[REGIE]

2 hours ago, red dragin said:

So, it's complained about frequently (and rightly so). 

So what are people's 'slap of paint and a new sign' level treatments for the Sky Voyager facade, to better suit the Main St theme? No big budget. 

I've tried to come up with an idea, but got nothing. Aside from the stark white needs to go. 

Maybe they could make it look like a curvy Artdeco façade. The curves are already there. It would require a few extra add ons. If I have some spare time I'll try to draw something up

Edited April 24 by REGIE

[ShakeShack]

Perhaps they should spend more time and effort on this, and less on the worst marketing campaign I've ever seen from our theme parks...

[Baconjack]

Why do people on here complain about the sky voyager facade so much lol it fits the theme of what the ride is about. Art deco respectfully does not scream to the average guest of a flight around australia. When it’s one of your key attractions that’s not what you want.

I get that it’s jarring but the most you could do is repaint the white a different colour (perhaps grey) and change the sign. 

[Tricoart]

6 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Why do people on here complain about the sky voyager facade so much lol it fits the theme of what the ride is about. Art deco respectfully does not scream to the average guest of a flight around australia. When it’s one of your key attractions that’s not what you want.

I get that it’s jarring but the most you could do is repaint the white a different colour (perhaps grey) and change the sign. 

No, they’re right, Dreamworld needs to change Sky Voyager’s facade. Maybe they could take some inspo from the masters like Disney… 

Seriously, though, the fact that all people have to complain about regarding Dreamworld is the style of a facade (that’s mostly blocked by DF in any angle that matters anyways) not being one they’d personally like, and a recent marketing campaign that’s slightly corny, (though getting increasingly repetitive) could be seen as a good thing.

Edited April 26 by Tricoart

[themagician]

6 hours ago, Baconjack said:

complain about the sky voyager facade so much

Because it’s not a well considered design. It may look ‘modern’ and ‘interesting’, but if you properly look at how it’s been executed I think it fails. Design is very subjective, so if you like it, that’s okay, but just considering how it fits within the context of its location. 

6 hours ago, Baconjack said:

it fits the theme of what the ride is about

I can’t argue with that logic, but why not change the theme then to make it work. The old cinema building was designed with the original parks asthetic and it was perfect for Main Street, while this modern design of SV ruined that. And yes, move on with the times, etc etc, but this a theme park, where continuity in the design and themes of lands/streets/area is key and SV is very jarring. 

6 hours ago, Baconjack said:

the most you could do is repaint the white a different colour

Or demolish it and rebuild something more suitable and adjust the theme of SV to suit. Changing the colour and sign of what’s there wouldn’t help and probably make things worse. If they’re going to keep a modern design, no point investing money into changing it to something that would be better or repainting it because that doesn’t solve the bigger issue of it just doesn’t suit Main Street.

[wikiverse]

11 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Why do people on here complain about the sky voyager facade so much lol it fits the theme of what the ride is about. Art deco respectfully does not scream to the average guest of a flight around australia. When it’s one of your key attractions that’s not what you want.

I get that it’s jarring but the most you could do is repaint the white a different colour (perhaps grey) and change the sign. 

It doesn't fit the theme of the ride at all.  It was supposed to look like an airport terminal, and instead it looks like it belongs in an industrial park.

I've detailed extensively why at the time of its construction AND given some of the history of aviation in Queensland which could have been used to build a story around the ride and the building, in this post:

And I provided examples of what could have been done here - based on actual airports from around the world:

The facade of the building is just aluminium cladding hanging on a steel frame.  It would be incredibly easy to replace it with moulded fibreglass (Scooby/JL/Jungle Rush) or traditional cladding like the other buildings.  The shade structure over the exterior queue would need to be torn down and replaced with something more traditional, which is easily achievable.

The glass towers around the stairs would ideally be removed. There is plenty of space inside the building's original footprint to redesign the stairs so the glass protrusions are not needed, alternatively, they could get the same facade treatment as the rest of the building.  Is this costly?  Yes.  But fixing the terrible decisions of the previous management have been and will continue to be extremely costly.  But the long term viability and profitability of the park are going to depend on it.

Aesthetics matter.  Especially at a 'theme' park.  It is why ToT was removed and the tower redesigned.  It could have stayed as it was, but the new management saw value in the aesthetic improvement.  Imagine if Disney put the SV building on Main St. or if Universal put it in Wizarding World.  People wouldn't say 'but it matches the theme of the ride', they would call it what it is - a lumpy, bulbous hemorrhoid of a building that doesn't belong in any theme park, anywhere.

 

[Spotty]

It wouldn't surprise me given current management if it's on the very large "to do" list for the park. It might not be the highest priority right now, but I'd say it will be on the list. I think for the list of priorities it would be for me (obviously after Rivertown is open)

1) Add a new attraction to where the trolls / AVPX arena is (1-3 years)

2) Re-theme or replace Motocoaster (3-5 years)

3) Replace the sky voyager facades (5 years)

I think those first 2 are much more important IMO. Once those 3 major things are done, I'd say it would be time for a new major thrill coaster to probably take the place of Gold Coaster as I reckon it's probably got maybe 10 years left in it's life. As much as I'd love to see the facades updated, I don't think it's the highest priority right now.

[TBoy]

I personally do not see a point in replacing the facade. Why spend all that money with no gain? Nobody would go just because of a new facade. You would also need to retheme the entire queue which would cost a lot of money.

[themagician]

1 hour ago, TBoy said:

Why spend all that money with no gain?

Why repaint Main Street Emporium then?

Why repaint and retheme Gold Coaster?

Why add some extra theming to Shockwave?

Why repaint every attraction in WhiteWater World

Sometimes you got to spend money to make everything look good again and make things feel more cohesive. If you take a look at DW between 2014 and 2019 it did not look good, but they’ve a lot of money to make it look good again and haven’t necessarily got any return from it 

[REGIE]

Agreed. Was gonna say the same thing. You could even argue the train's new carriages are like that too. No they don't probably bring more people in but keeping the people in, is part of that too.

Edited April 27 by REGIE

[franky]

It doesn't make sense financially to me that they would immediately rip down a facade that is only 5 years old because a couple of thoosies don't think it fits the vibe.

Buildings do need maintenance and repainting, when was the last time Emporium had a repaint? Was it longer than SV being built?

Gold coaster was a licencing thing, this is well established.

Shockwave, honestly no idea, maybe as its an attaction rather than a backdrop it made sense to plus it up a bit.

WWW - weren't they all faded and looking poorly?

I think it's important to remember that DW really have an optics problem they'll be fighting with for years to come; if the GP sees the park is run down or in bad condition they'll reattribute that to pre TRRR days and assume DW is poised to kill someone again. SV, despite it not matching the theme of main street, looks modern and fresh (ie not run down).

I feel what DW are doing well lately is that once they set something aside for a freshen up, they don't just slap the same coloured coat of paint on it and call it done, they are at least trying to reestablish the theme. When the time comes I'm sure they'll address SV, now is just too soon into it's life span imo.

[themagician]

6 hours ago, franky said:

It doesn't make sense financially to me that they would immediately rip down a facade that is only 5 years old because a couple of thoosies don't think it fits the vibe.

I’ve spoken to a few staff members and people in the management team and they’ve agreed that they want to replace the SV facade and reinstate something that’s more fitting with Main Street, but it isn’t high up on the list in comparison to other things throughout the park. Because as you say, it doesn’t make financial sense right now.

[Spotty]

On 27/4/2024 at 1:18 PM, TBoy said:

I personally do not see a point in replacing the facade. Why spend all that money with no gain? Nobody would go just because of a new facade. You would also need to retheme the entire queue which would cost a lot of money.

Well, if you went on the timeline that I proposed... that's close to 10 years since SV opened. Which is when most rides have a major overhaul anyway. Could potentially do a retheme at the same time as the new facade and re-launch it I guess. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 27/04/2024 at 12:42 AM, Baconjack said:

Why do people on here complain about the sky voyager facade so much lol it fits the theme of what the ride is about.

How about a GP motorbike coaster in Rivertown, or a bunch of motorsport \ car themed attractions in 'Ocean Parade' ?

The building facade may fit the ride, but it doesn't fit the surrounds, the land, or the park

On 27/04/2024 at 1:18 PM, TBoy said:

I personally do not see a point in replacing the facade. Why spend all that money with no gain? Nobody would go just because of a new facade. You would also need to retheme the entire queue which would cost a lot of money.

Not everything a park spends its money on should drive more guest visitation on billboards. Sometimes, it's just to enhance the park, and make it a more pleasant experience for the guests who have already paid to get in.

21 hours ago, franky said:

It doesn't make sense financially to me that they would immediately rip down a facade that is only 5 years old because a couple of thoosies don't think it fits the vibe.

Buildings do need maintenance and repainting, when was the last time Emporium had a repaint? Was it longer than SV being built?

<snip>

SV, despite it not matching the theme of main street, looks modern and fresh (ie not run down).
 

I can assure you its way more than just a couple of thoosies. 

The main reason Emporium got a repaint was not because it was due (ie, not run down), or because of a "licencing thing". It got a repaint because it was ghastly, and did not match the theme of the area. It has been restored to more traditional 'main street' colour scheme so that it compliments the surrounding areas... sound familiar?

[themagician]

10 hours ago, Spotty said:

Could potentially do a retheme at the same time as the new facade and re-launch it I guess. 

Which means they could market it as a ‘new’ or reimagined attraction. 

40 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Not everything a park spends its money on should drive more guest visitation on billboards

And therefore could drive more guests 

[Gobbledok]

Sky Voyager building was such an awful move by past management 

But the emporium repaint looks really nice

One thing the current management really do get is that the place has to look nice and appealing to get the guests in and they are doing this really well