Batwing Experiences

[ads086]

Since the ride is now open, I think the "BATWING OPENS TOMORROW" thread is not the best place to be posting our experiences of the Batwing Spaceshot. I went to Movieworld today, and rode Batwing 3 times between 1:30pm and 5:00pm. The most I had to wait was 4 cycles, or approximately 20 minutes. On a side note, Superman ran 2 trains the whole time I was there. Lethal Weapon was running 2 when I first arrived, but when I went back later the blue train had been put in the hold. The red train seemed smoother anyway. On one ride we had an E-Stop so that the operator could get a pair of thongs off one of the riders behind me. The girls infront of me were really worried. Also, on my second ride of Superman, it was really slow approaching the catch car, and we seemed to make a grinding sound as we rolled over it. I got a few photos using my mobile phone camera. I'm posting them on here for you guys. I also got a video of the ride in action. I'll post that or a link to that once I convert it to a reasonable size for internet viewing. It feels awesome to leave your stomach on the ground, have it fly up to hit you as you start flying towards the ground. The staff all seemed really happy and helpful. There seems to be occasional problems with the harnesses. Every couple of cycles they had to loosen one or all of them, and then re-lock them. Don't know why. The smoke effect is cool to watch, but I think it would work better to use a smoke machine rather than the misting water idea. Billowing smoke around the car would look better from on the ride IMO. For those worried about the Superman lockers idea, worry no more. There are boxes for you to put your stuff in. They do ask you to empty all your pockets and to leave thongs underneath the boxes before riding. Hope you all enjoy the pics, and enjoy riding when you get the chance!!

Edited December 21, 2006 by ads086

[tom]

It feels awesome to leave your stomach on the ground, have it fly up to hit you as you start flying towards the ground. The staff all seemed really happy and helpful. There seems to be occasional problems with the harnesses. Every couple of cycles they had to loosen one or all of them, and then re-lock them. Don't know why. The smoke effect is cool to watch, but I think it would work better to use a smoke machine rather than the misting water idea. Billowing smoke around the car would look better from on the ride IMO.

I think the water effect is a lot cheaper to maintain then a true smoke machine. Fog juice is not so cheap when you would be going through liters upon liters of it. Although, it would create a much better effect, I agree. Sounds like the ride is awesome. The pics are wicked! I can't wait to get up there in March and give it a go. I love that stomach out of your body feeling...

[ads086]

Here's the video I took today guys. Enjoy!

[GoGoBoy]

The 'theming' from what I can see is pathetic. A small garden bed with a couple of batmobile type things scattered around randomly, a grey fence and the archway with the plain signage at the top of it. And then there's the non existant 'smoke'? I couldn't even see the effect in that video. Also I hope whoever did that voiceover for the countdown didn't get paid - it is really amatuer. It should have been a Batman style voice or at least with an American accent. I just think it's a really average attempt on Movie World's behalf. But I'm assuming no one will give a damn as we have all come to the realisation the Aussie public wants quantity not quality unfortunately

[ads086]

That may not be it for the theming as yet. This ride went up mighty fast and opened really quickly after construction. Maybe its still minimalist for the moment. They may need to re-coup some funds to spend on theming it yet. But yes, I agree, it looks very bare at this stage.

[WalleyWorld]

I totally agree with the 2 posts above me. The area looks half done, I was really over-estimatting what the area was going to look like . And the really crappy attempt to have smoke come out of the car is really bad. Why couldn't the've just attached a couple of smoke machines or mist makers onto the carrige to make it look more reallistic. Anyway, this is a pretty bad effort from Movieworld, but I hope they still have stuff to add to the area. CoasterBoy6 P.S: It would be good if we could get some answers from Ian.

[tom]

The 'theming' from what I can see is pathetic. A small garden bed with a couple of batmobile type things scattered around randomly, a grey fence and the archway with the plain signage at the top of it. And then there's the non existant 'smoke'? I couldn't even see the effect in that video. Also I hope whoever did that voiceover for the countdown didn't get paid - it is really amatuer. It should have been a Batman style voice or at least with an American accent. I just think it's a really average attempt on Movie World's behalf. But I'm assuming no one will give a damn as we have all come to the realization the Aussie public wants quantity not quality unfortunately

These rides aren't the easiest of rides to theme. Even with Dr Dooms Fearfall at IOA, it doesn't really have any story line to it. No pre-show or movie, you just walk through a building to board the ride and thats pretty much it. Some cool lights within the building and what not. I understand that, that in fact is theming, but still, it doesn't add anything extra to the ride. I think we should just be happy that Movie World are installing new rides, regardless of their degree of theming. Sure, a great themed ride adds a lot of extra excitement to the ride, but maybe in this case they thought it was better to keep it simple. The ride is still effective regardless of what surrounds it. Being able to see the riders faces before launch is a great idea! Rather then them being hidden behind a wall of some sort. The fact that onlookers can see their faces, and potentially see how scared they are adds to the suspense of people in the queue line or just watching, giving the ride that added edge of fear.

[qldtaw]

Whinge Whinge Whinge - this site is fast ecoming a bore to keep up with. I always beleive you should be thankful for what you are given. I would much rather a 4 million dollar attraction given a 4 million dollar attractions worth of theming and keep the massive 'pre-show' and in Supermans case 'dark ride' story section for the rides that are acutally worth builidng all that for.

[Swanny]

Whinge Whinge Whinge - this site is fast ecoming a bore to keep up with. I always beleive you should be thankful for what you are given. I would much rather a 4 million dollar attraction given a 4 million dollar attractions worth of theming and keep the massive 'pre-show' and in Supermans case 'dark ride' story section for the rides that are acutally worth builidng all that for.

Look, I see where you're coming from, but MW didn't put much effort into planning this, they could have planned it better.

[bern1992]

I like the sign that says Batwing Spaceshot but I don't really like the grey arch sign, I think that sign is a bit bare.

[aidan]

Also the Batmoblies around the ride arent even the ones from the new movies but I think everything else looks good enough.

[D.C.]

I thought the arch looked pretty damn iconic!

[mickey_079]

Question about the "fog"; Does it use the same system as the Superman Escape were they heat the water up (it sucks when you get to movie world early and there doing test runs and on the first run the filth water falls on you) or is the pressured water hitting a pin making it look like mist?

[GoGoBoy]

I have no problem with Movie World choosing to go with simpler theming and presentation for this ride. They have a number of heavily themed attractions so it would make sense that they take a step back and not go too over the top with this style of ride. The ride itself is a very good choice and is a way for MW to build up their base of flat rides which we all felt was needed. HOWEVER the big problem here is I don't think MW has even attempted the simple theming well. To be honest I think even Dreamworld would have done it better. That archway is a good idea but seriously why didn't they make the signage on it 3 dimensional at least? And what happened to this idea that they were going to turn the area into a whole new Gotham city theme that people were talking about? Obviously didn't eventuate

[Gazza]

Im sort of inclined to agree with these sentiments, as GoGoBoy has said, people have hyped it as having "awesome gotham city theming" when there has been nothing really of the sort apart from the new sign. I was sort of expecting a more industrial look, something like an actual launch pad with line markings on the ground, one of those smaller towers (like what is beside the space shuttle at launch), orange lights in the ground around the launch zone, a liquefied fuel tank (similar to what you see before entering the pods in Batman Adventure) and of course being batwing spaceshot and all a full scale replica of the batwing would have been cool. The fencing seems a bit bland too, sort of just looks like the type of fences a lot of houses have these days, i think a better approach could have been cable fences a couple of meters high. They are easy to see through, and could have had "Restricted Area" signs attached considering it is supposed to be a take off zone. Its sort of frustrating when they miss these little details considering they would only make up a fraction of the total cost and they have done them in the past. Its funny though, the Claw at DW has better theming than this. On the plus side the queue with mature trees looks nice, the capacity sounds good, and the launch countdown sounds fine to me (Reminds me of the start of each round in that "Gladiators" show that used to be on) And of course the ride by all accounts sounds awesome, which is the main thing.

Edited December 22, 2006 by Gazza

[myk]

Are you complaining about this ride? Because it looks so good. I can't believe you are acting like it's a big deal that the themeing is minimal! On a space shot, what themeing can you do, especially in that confined area? You should all be greatful MW actually has a new ride! GEEEEEEEEEEZ.

[Gazza]

Are you complaining about this ride? Because it looks so good.

Nah, its more along the lines of constructive criticisim, Complaining is saying something like "it looks crap", constructive criticisim is saying what needs improving, and how it could be done.

I can't believe you are acting like it's a big deal that the themeing is minimal!

Well, when our best park falls below DW standards then something is wrong. They are called "theme parks" so you sort of expect "theming"

On a space shot, what themeing can you do, especially in that confined area?

You asked for it...

You should all be greatful MW actually has a new ride! GEEEEEEEEEEZ.

I never complained about the ride, its the theming where it falls flat.

I would much rather a 4 million dollar attraction given a 4 million dollar attractions worth of theming and keep the massive 'pre-show' and in Supermans case 'dark ride' story section for the rides that are acutally worth builidng all that for.

Sorry, i never realised theming was a limited resource you could save for a limited few rides.

Whinge Whinge Whinge - this site is fast ecoming a bore to keep up with.

Ill be sure to not have an opinion in the future, or at least keep it completley agreeing with the affirmitive aspect.

[rappa]

I mean at the end of the day you are always going to be able to do better. I could write pages on how the theming of WWF, Scooby and certainly Superman could all be improved but you have to give the park the point that they do damn well with the money and visitation they have to work with. It's not like we are talking a Universal or Disney US park here with money coming out of their ears. That drawing you posted looks damn good, I urge you to send any similar concepts you have in the future to WVTP because they DO listen. But the ride IS nicely presented, it may not reek of theming but it looks nice, does not detract from the park and is a long way in front of what could have been simply done with the ride. As for the smoke, Tom is right, water vapour is much cheaper and more maintenance free than using fog machines. You would need to use chilled CO2 fog for the effect you want here and that stuff is expensive. Trust me, I have 8 machines to do that at work and we use 10s of thousands of dollars a year in fluid to run them. Plus you can't attach anything to the cars themselves as they would interfear with the ride system. Also this ride is outdoors, fog machines aint waterproof so you can't install them out in the elements. I don't believe the water is being heated, it's simply under pressure, and with the small amount of water actually being used, I doubt you are getting covered in 'filth' stagnent water at Superman.

[myk]

Gazza, have you actually seen the size of the spot? It's small. That concept (which is excellent btw) would never fit in the spot that Batwing is in. The point I'm trying to bring across here is that before we just jump on the criticism wagon and point out the faults in Batwing, we should be thankful that it's there in the first place. Movie World have put in an effort to increase the amount of thrill rides in the park. Space Shots are never "major" rides - if you look at examples from overseas you will see that they are usually just to create an atmosphere or add to the park's features. This does change Movie World, like it or not. Something at the bottom wouldn't change the experience on the ride. You are going to experience the same amount of G Force whether there is a few vehicles at the bottom or a massive building.

[Gazza]

Well, i guess that you and me are different people, i know that it doesnt change the ride sensations, but it does look nice to all the people watching it and spruces it up a bit. Im someome who likes things to look good and i have an interest in design so this is why im seeing it the way i am. As for being thankful that we are getting a ride, well we were all like that months ago when we found out we were getting one, and these feelings continued during construction. But now the ride is finished so it is natural people are going to comment etc. Also, i thought my design would fit in, but i havent been in person so its sort of hard, in any case i would keep the same elements, but fit them in, or scale them down as necessary in order to make it work. Just a request to whoever visits next, i wouldn't mind seeing some shots taken from futher back, and from the queue area side of the ride, and a vid taken say from the car park. These up close ones are good for the details (thanks ads086), but i wouldnt mind getting an overall view, thanks

Edited December 22, 2006 by Gazza

[saberon]

Hey guys was at movieworld today, I am quite sure you guys a being a little harsh. It is a flat ride, and generally a flatride doesn't have to have a huge amount of themeing, it is already in a very batman area. In a themepark where land is at a premium, minimalism can be quite useful, less structures, also gives visitors a better view of the ride. It is more than suffient for a small footrpint ride. I was quite happy with it. Also when you see it in person you will see it produces a bit more fog than you think. If that really is your main concern...

[saberon]

Hey guys was at movieworld today, I am quite sure you guys a being a little harsh. It is a flat ride, and generally a flatride doesn't have to have a huge amount of themeing, it is already in a very batman area. In a themepark where land is at a premium, minimalism can be quite useful, less structures, also gives visitors a better view of the ride. It is more than suffient for a small footrpint ride. I was quite happy with it. Also when you see it in person you will see it produces a bit more fog than you think. If that really is your main concern...

[PattieBoi]

saberon.....You used a Nokia 6230i to take them pictures didn't you?

[GoGoBoy]

I swear some of you guys either don't read posts properly or else you are just not listening. We ARE happy with the ride. Extremely happy. We have said this over and over again. It is a great choice on Movie World's part and a much needed addition to the park. We are complaining about the theming - which is NOT up to standard. Then someone else mentioned again "but it is a flat ride and generally a flat ride doesn't have to have a huge amount of theming". Again not listening to our comments. We have all agreed that flat rides do not have to have a huge amount of theming. However the theming they do have should be effective especially when it is being put together by Movie World. We used examples like the Claw and Wipeout which are flat rides with minimal but very effective theming. I think even less of the presentation now after seeing those latest shots with the white shade umbrella stuck in front of the ride

[Swanny]

Warner Bros. Movie World presents it's latest attraction.... The White Umbrella ride... It looks like it's an outdoor cafe or something. If they wanted shade they should've built an enclosed walkway. That umbrella doesn't even look very shade effective anyway.

Edited December 23, 2006 by Swanny