Mick Doohan Motocoaster construction discussion

[Richard]

The construction delays are moreso from the huge rainfall we got up here last month rather than the last few days of bad weather, though I'm sure that it has contributed to putting things further behind where they'd like to be right now.

[saberon]

So how do they pull the train along the track? eventhough only a couple carriages, it would still be heavy

[zane]

A Crane

[dodge53]

"The Big Six Thrill Rides" is the unconfirmed name incorporating the new Motocoaster that will possibly be used by Dreamworld. This information was found on http://dreamworld.com.au/content/special.asp?name=NYE, the site discussing the events of Dreamworlds "Odyssey 08NYE"

[shock_bus]

Hi To me the layout of MotoCoaster looks like some of intamins other launched coaster layouts - Rita - Queen of speed and Desert Racer -- I have a POV video of Rita at home and it looks fairly fun if not a little short. Has anyone been on these rides do you guys think they are similar.

[varekai]

So is it officially been confirmed that its opening has been delayed?

[saberon]

It's opening date was 'September' non specific because with all constructions, delays are common. Hopefully it will get opened sometime during the september holidays.

[varekai]

Oh ok, Well im going on the 20th untol the 30th Will i miss out on the new slides at WWW and the MotoCoaster?

[zane]

Well there is a high possibility you will miss out but there is still a minority it might just be open, although it should be in full test runs by then so either way you will at least see launching and so on. As for the construction its still looks very un-rideable, the nitrogen storage tanks (no the actual launching accumulators, the tanks which the nitrogen comes in from the chemical supplier) are on site sitting on Crete. So just think of all the work they have to do if they haven't even stared to construct the accumulators (although all the tyre hoses and all are connected they still have to be connected to the accumulators, the list of "to do" thing go's on and on ) there is still the huge water tanks sitting in the middle ? I'm thinking they could be attached to the station building. the pull through carriage is tied up to the track at the first turn out of the launch and there is a wire "safety barrier" attached to the front off it as you can see. the guys were on the boom arm thing (cant think of the name?) inspecting the bolts were the supports join the track all day. So hopefully they get this thing up and running soon. Zane.

Edited September 10, 2007 by zane

[Churros]

Gee I hope they put those water tanks underground, but I am not too sure on the likeliness of it happening. Yeah, I think you will find that this coaster is a little way off being done. More than two weeks at least. At least I hope they take their time and clean the area up and all. While we cannot expect completely attractive from Dreamworld, it usually comes out looking respectable. But they have to finish testing and whatnot before they go grassing it or whatever. Also, are they still having trains with the sidecar? I think I may have read that only a handful of the cars will have them. If this is true has anyone spotted a sidecar in their travels to Dreamworld. I would just be interested to see how the restraints, etc work for that.

[Gazza]

^Yeah, the sidecars will be in the 4th and 5th rows on the right hand side of the train (if the images posted from the media launch on ozcoaster are accurate)

[saberon]

I'd say dreamworld will be fairly desperate to try and have the ride operational during the holidays... in most cases the longer the construction takes to complete the higher the cost Also as far as I am aware it is their intention to reduce congestion on other rides by having this ride so it would be silly for it not to be open at least softly during the holidays which is peak attendance time.

[Gazza]

in most cases the longer the construction takes to complete the higher the cost

I thought it was the other way around, often with large construction projects the contractors can face penalties for failure to meed deadlines. So DW could actually pay less if delays were sever enough. What you are suggesting isn't really correct, are you saying builders could charge people more because they are the ones going slowly? Of course, the contract would probably also have provisions for bad weather or unforseen events.

[GoGoBoy]

Also as far as I am aware it is their intention to reduce congestion on other rides by having this ride

Well if they were so worried about congestion they would fix the mine ride and open it again. Or build something substantial within Dreamworld to replace Blue Lagoon. As far as I'm concerned this motocoaster can not be considered an additional attraction at this stage but merely a replacement. The mine ride was a great fun little coaster and I don't think the motocoaster will be all that different from it in terms of thrills etc. So as I said at the moment it's basically just a replacement ride

[Churros]

^Well, this has been discussed to death already, but Dreamworld still has a little way to go before it can be considered up to the standard it previously was at. Especially when you consider at one point Thunderbolt, TOT, Cyclone and Eureka were all operating at once. As for it reducing conjestion. If anything it will create more conjestion through that little area next to the paddle steamer dock. But before people get me wrong, I think it is a great addition, but eventually they are going to have to do something with the Eureka mountain. I'm not exactly sure what they can do with it though.

[saberon]

Unless specified in a fixed price contract, with each contractor they deal with, construction costs can rise with delays. Which is why construction projects usually have a contingency fund, just incase there are unexpected circumstances, such as weather delays and unforseen events etc. If on the other hand they have a fixed price contract, the contractor is then responsible for any extra costs/ time required to finish the job. Most building and construction contracts do not work under a fixed price contract, they work under the premise that it will be finsihed when it is finished. Contractors are notorious for this.

[kainaussie]

New News It Isnt Ganna Be open Till next Month Due TO Rain And Cant Test

[New display name]

Unless specified in a fixed price contract, with each contractor they deal with, construction costs can rise with delays. Which is why construction projects usually have a contingency fund, just incase there are unexpected circumstances, such as weather delays and unforseen events etc. If on the other hand they have a fixed price contract, the contractor is then responsible for any extra costs/ time required to finish the job. Most building and construction contracts do not work under a fixed price contract, they work under the premise that it will be finsihed when it is finished. Contractors are notorious for this.

Don't know where you got your information from but that is not how the building industry works. A builder cannot clam for rain delays and then charge for the days they are claming for. Edited September 11, 2007 by skeetafly

[stardust]

Kainaussie on sunday I was at DW and the man at the giant drop said it is a end of september opening?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Don't know where you got your information from but that is not how the building industry works. A builder cannot clam for rain delays and then charge for the days they are claming for.

Actually, in many large projects, the building industry works very differently. I saw a few documentaries on Discovery where that actually did happen. They had a construction deadline set by the client. A clause was written into the contract that the construction be completed by a certain day. Each day that the construction was not complete, they received a fine, meaning their profits were less for each day that they did not complete it. From memory this was the new brooklyn bridge in New York. But the basic point is - large constructions have deadlines and not meeting that deadline costs them money, so they charge it to the builders who do not meet that deadline.

[New display name]

Actually, in many large projects, the building industry works very differently. I saw a few documentaries on Discovery where that actually did happen. They had a construction deadline set by the client. A clause was written into the contract that the construction be completed by a certain day. Each day that the construction was not complete, they received a fine, meaning their profits were less for each day that they did not complete it. From memory this was the new brooklyn bridge in New York. But the basic point is - large constructions have deadlines and not meeting that deadline costs them money, so they charge it to the builders who do not meet that deadline.

What does this have to do with what I am talking about? I think you need to reread it.

[Richard]

We've held off on updated here for the past few weeks for reasons that I hope will be understandable to most (more on that below). Following a tour this morning around the constuction site, looking at everything from the inner workings of the ride to the overall site and location of things such as the ride camera, we've now got a 44 photo update available on the site: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=191 (article: A sneak preview of Dreamworld's Motocoaster) I didn't want to add any updates for the past few weeks while this tour was organised so we could minimise the speculation surrounding the ride and focus on the facts. There's been a lot of conflicting information out there in recent times and I decided I didn't want to contribute further unless we could guarantee some level of authenticity because it's gotten to a stage now where the ride's nearing opening, so the only secrets really remaining relate to how various things will be executed and the technical side of things, which really aren't elements suited to aimless speculation etc. That said, I'm sure most remaining questions relating to the Motocoaster are now answered in the above update.

[Gazza]

Wow great update! Was this tour just with R-C? Its nice that DW have decided to allow something like this, I have always thought it was a bit of a shame this sort of stuff has been kept behind closed doors even though there are plenty of people interested. So with the restraints, its like the front end is a huge B&M style clamshell that covers your whole lap. But with the back part, you say that the black thing tilts into place behind you, I keep getting this mental image of people getting knocked in the side of the head by it as it moves 90 degrees. And once everything is down does the L shaped thing then get pushed in to touch your back? I think it is odd though that they decided to have the 2 side cars at the back of the train as that is the most forceful spot (concept art suggested the center 2 seats) I'm also wondering about train maintenance, It looks to be a bit difficult if they were going to do it in that tiny little storage area beside the station.

That said, I'm sure most remaining questions relating to the Motocoaster are now answered in the above update.

Except for wether the theming is any good

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

An excellent update, i'm sure all will agree, and I cannot wait to ride this one during my Xmas trip to brisbane. The pictures give a lot of detail into the construction and overall detail of the rides operation. On a sidenote - Richard - the link at the bottom of the article seems to have failed... Also - is Dreamworld really trying to push the september opening? In the first two sentences of that article, you mention the september opening THREE times!

[Richard]

The black restraint bar likely won't start tilting until after it's cleared the body. Unfortunately it was't able to be shown in action, but I was told it would all happen by itself. It'll lock into place in the lower back to stop riders from sliding backwards. Having the sidecars at the back seems most logical because I think putting them in the middle would confuse everything a bit. This way the queue can split off and easily direct these riders to the correct rows. And of course putting them at the front wouldn't make sense given these rows are generally the most popular. I don't know if I'd call the maintenance area small. Seen in the last photo on the second page, it has ample room to get to either side of the train. Thanks for reminding me AlexB, I noticed that September was mentioned too many times before the article went up but along the way I forgot to change it. Likewise that link is now OK.