Mick Doohan Motocoaster construction discussion

[BNErider]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but what type of launch will it be?

[T-bone]

My Guess would be that it will be the cable launch system that Superman uses.

[Gazza]

Well, with regards to height, you would expect that while it probably isn't going to reach massive heights, it probably won't be completely flat. Just look at Furious Baco, it is flat as but takes up a huge area. There are two things to be considered here. One, is the way in which Intamin uses its retractable breaking system. This thing will have to launch to an area higher than the station to have a backup plan for short shots.

Not necessarily, with Furius Baco the track actually goes downhill directly after the launch into a trench, not to a higher point. In fact, the ride was built without the retracing brake system as seen on other accelerators because of this: I think the way they got around this was to just design the track so it could be completed well below launch speed. I saw a vid of it being launched at 100km/h (35km/h below the normal speed) , and it still flies through the circuit.

Looking at the two vekoma booster bikes on you tube they look quite good- well fun at least. I wonder if intamin will put a crest hill at the end of our launch.

I bet it will go straight into a turn after the launch in a similiar manner to Rita and Desert Race.

[rappa]

All I know is the Booster Bike I rode lacked major height or extreme speeds yet it was still an incredibly fun and good ride... now with that being made by Vekoma, I am sure anything we see here from Intamin will be equally as great.

[Dreamworld Ride Op]

A new attraction is planned for sure, as the vintage cars have already been relocated so that construction can begin. What I'm not so confident about is that it will be a Motorcycle Accelerator coaster. If it is though, it will be a slower version of the ride, as we have already been told that it will suit younger riders. So don't get hopes up for any big thrill rides!!

[rosscoe]

S...t. Whoops can i say that. ( it would seem like no! ) But than again not to say i don't believe you, but till i see something put out by Dreamworld. Everything will be taken with a grain of salt.

Edited July 8, 2007 by rosscoe

[Dreamworld Ride Op]

S...t. Whoops can i say that. ( it would seem like no! ) But than again not to say i don't believe you, but till i see something put out by Dreamworld. Everything will be taken with a grain of salt.

I admire your independence and I admire your hopes that Dreamworld is in fact bringing out this ride as a thrill ride. I'm not going to stop you having your hopes, however, the ride will be having a sidecar to suit younger passengers, and it won't be very tall at all. How do I know this? It would probably be that I work at Dreamworld and therefore I should be getting told these things HOWEVER; it's not. Just Google the ride and you will find that it is usually not a thrill ride anyway, it's just that Dreamworld's management have further requested that the ride be more catering to a younger generation (being childen between about 8 and 12). Press releases are on the way, however, you only need to take a look at the construction site or the ride details and I don't think you'll need any further proof that this won't be a thrill ride. I do admire your loyalty to the park though, thankyou. Edited July 8, 2007 by Dreamworld Ride Op

[saberon]

Dreamworld Ride Op - without meaning to offendI'd really like to know your source, yes you work for dreamworld which is great, but you aren't management and I know that MLT and maq bank like to keep things a little secret. Also please note that intamin has never manafactured a rollercoaster of this type before - nor do they have any public specifications for it out as far as i am aware appart from the fact that its an accellerator with motorcycles and sidecar. I have been keeping a keen eye on it and unless its a really slow launch its still going to pull some forces and maintain a highspeed due to its low profile... probably a family thrill ride as richard was mentioning and i'd say it'd be quite fun.

[BNErider]

Yeah. As a ride op, I hardly think you would know all that Dreamworld are doing with their parks. Yes you would know more then the public, but nothing too secret. But it's still great to have someone on the forum that's an insider!

[Churros]

^I guess I will have to ask the same question. From what I have heard they are saying this thing is going to be a thrill ride - nomatter how mild it is - and that Dreamworld will be talking Big 6. It really depends on what you would consider a 'thrill ride'. Just look at their current Big 5: Tower of Terror: Fast (apparently), but not thrilling, no way. Cyclone: A good ride, but after you go on it once it really isn't a huge deal. Wipeout: More of a puke machine than a thrill ride. Claw: Great ride, but I find it to be more of what it is - a giant swing. A lot of fun, but not excessively thrilling. Giant Drop: Yeah, this is pack your dacks stuff, but the only really 'thrilling' ride amongst the bunch. Don't get me wrong, I think they are all great rides. My favourite out of the bunch would be the Claw, and that isn't because it is thrilling, but because you get a bit of enjoyment out of it. All I am saying is that when you look at them, not many of them are excessively thrilling, but that doesn't in anyway detract from the ride. If they genuinely wanted a kiddy coaster, they wouldn't have bothered with a launched coaster. And if they wanted to accumulate some more funds to install a 'proper' coaster than they would have found another really compact and cost effective installation as they have done for the past couple of years.

[Gazza]

Come on people, cut the guy some slack, in the HS article I posted they were talking of a September holidays opening, which means we are less than 3 months out from opening. To put into perspective at my work we were told we were getting major new system at work 5 months before it was actually implemented. I'm positive DW ride op (and all the other operations folk) would be pretty well in the know at this late stage. I mean, he is in a better position to know the go than everyone else here since management would be more likely to divulge facts to employees than the media (which is where we get a lot of our information from, on a side note there is a general feeling that Mac Leisure is particularly secretive with the media, but who is to say that they are this way with employees too, for all we know it could be very open within the company) . And lets face it, what he is saying is plausible.

Also please note that intamin has never manafactured a rollercoaster of this type before - nor do they have any public specifications for it out as far as i am aware appart from the fact that its an accellerator with motorcycles and sidecar.

That doesn't mean anything, Intamin already has got one of their ZacSpin's (Ball Coaster) in operation, and another under construction, but still nothing on the company website.

Yeah. As a ride op, I hardly think you would know all that Dreamworld are doing with their parks.

You cant be serious.

I guess I will have to ask the same question. From what I have heard they are saying this thing is going to be a thrill ride - nomatter how mild it is - and that Dreamworld will be talking Big 6. It really depends on what you would consider a 'thrill ride'. Just look at their current Big 5:

Hmmm, from what you have heard....So DW Ride op has heard it from management, and you? Where all this confusion is coming from is how the ride is marketed versus what the ride actually is. Make sure you see a distinction. Obviously from the size most coaster enthusiasts would see it as a family ride. However the park could market it any way they wanted, and at current its all just hearsay to say if they are going to go one way or the other. There could be merit in saying its a "big six" ride as it makes the parks lineup seem more impressive, but there is also merit in marketing it in a non threatening manner so more people (eg families, 8-12 year olds) are willing to try it. Edited July 8, 2007 by Gazza

[BNErider]

Yeah. As a ride op, I hardly think you would know all that Dreamworld are doing with their parks.

You cant be serious.

I said he can't know everything that Dreamworld are doing with their park. He's not management. I am serious. ---------------- As I said, he does know more then you and me, but he doesn't know all that Dreamworld are doing. Edited July 8, 2007 by ash.1111

[Gazza]

Well, obviously not all the nuts and bolts, but in this context you were using it to say he wouldn't know a terrible lot about the new ride. In other words you were dismissing what he had posted, even though this would be something he did know

Edited July 8, 2007 by Gazza

[dvs-626]

I think the Dreamworld staff know whats going on by now, i went to Dreamworld less than 1 month ago and noticed all the construction work going on, asked the lady in the photoshop after getting off the big drop and she was trying to keep it secret, until my cousin said to her that its gonna be a motorcycle ride and then she started asking who our sources were....so they definitely know whats going up...they may not know if its a thrill ride or a family ride but its not that long to wait now. Cant wait...looks like i need to plan another trip to QLD.

[Dreamworld Ride Op]

I would like to ask you all one question: Being in the later stages of construction for this ride, how do you expect ride operators to be, and it's quite possible, put onstand to operate the ride if we don't know how it functions, how it operates, and various other things such as speed and force? I think the most suiting answer would be that we are told. How is a theme park ride op supposed to operate rides if we don't know how it works? And when this ride comes out, if we get put onstand (in the control booth), we can't just guess how the ride operates. As far as not knowing all that happens in the park? The management tells us all. How can we work in a park if we don't know what's going on? What kind of well-informed workers would we be if we were walking around and someone overheard us saying, "Oh, what's that? I've never seen that before. I wonder when they did that?" It just wouldn't happen. We know what happens in Dreamworld.

[Chaos-Maniac]

You may know more than us, but please. Stop acting like you know everything and we know nothing. Your a Ride Op. not a member of the management team. Sorry if you think you not acting like this, but this is the vibe I'm getting from you. Plus, if Dreamworld management knew you were giving away secrets/information about a new attraction.. wouldn't you get into major trouble.. possibly even sacked?

[Gazza]

I dont think he is acting like that at all, he is just saying what he can and I think some people have got a bit of tall poppy syndrome happening, here we have a member who is knowledgeable and people are cutting him down. Actually, I think it is the opposite, people are acting as if he knows nothing just because he isn't in management. I mean how many times have we heard about other members who work at parks telling us about stuff that has been stuck up in the staff room, in newsletters etc. Just because parks are secretive toward the public and media doesn't mean they would be the same way toward staff.

Stop acting like you know everything and we know nothing.

But the funny thing in all this is that we pretty much do no nothing except for what Richo has been able to gather and put in articles, we are all just speculating. Whereas DW ride op has first-hand sources.... I think this stems from the fact that a lot of members here are young and don't understand the way workplaces operate simply because they have never worked in one before. They arent all autocratic monsters. IMO it is really stupid to say that Management would be the only ones to know about the new ride at this late stage. Yeah maybe this would have been the case a few months back when nothing was happening, but the thing is half built so of course they would have to answer staff questions, tell them changes etc etc. Edited July 9, 2007 by Gazza

[Churros]

Chaos Maniac makes a very good point. I think while yes it is good to have you giving us information on here, the only question I have of the validity of your statements is the question of what would compel you to come on a board and spill a whole bunch of secrets when yes, it could see you sacked. I look at it from two different perspectives. The first is, would someone who actually works at Dreamworld, knowing that divulging this information could jeopordise their employment come on to a message board as "Dreamworld Ride Op" (knowing too well that Dreamworld management, etc reads these boards) and gives away top secret information about various aspects of Dreamworld's development and operations? It all seems rather strange to me. The second, is from a shareholder's point of view, that if I were to have money invested in a company, I wouldn't like to discover that employees, who are trusted with such information go and spill intellectual capital all of the net. Furthermore, not even trying to do it subtly.

Hmmm, from what you have heard....So DW Ride op has heard it from management, and you?

Thank you for questioning my source, critical literacy has come along way in this country. However, as much as I would like to tell you where I heard this, I am going to chose to not tell you for my confidentiality moreso than the people who told me. Let me clarify that this was not one of those stealthy attempts by me to uncover some top secret information, or an annoying harrasment of ride ops or securtiy guards or whoever else works at Dreamworld. The people told me well within the limitations of their employment, and for this I feel it isn't necissary to put them on a chopping block and analyise the validity of what they were saying. All that was said was: A new thrill ride was in construction, once it is finished Dreamworld won't be talking Big 5 anymore, they will more than likely be talking Big 6, and anything else told would see this person lose their job. But they did go on to say that this particular website had many of the details about the ride correct, but they were not going to confirm which aspects or actually say anything about the rides themselves. Yeah, these people might not have as strong an understanding of what is going on as Dreamworld Ride Op, but I would personally trust them more because a: they knew the limitations of their employment and respected them and b: I knew the capacity they worked in.

Where all this confusion is coming from is how the ride is marketed versus what the ride actually is. Make sure you see a distinction. Obviously from the size most coaster enthusiasts would see it as a family ride. However the park could market it any way they wanted, and at current its all just hearsay to say if they are going to go one way or the other. There could be merit in saying its a "big six" ride as it makes the parks lineup seem more impressive, but there is also merit in marketing it in a non threatening manner so more people (eg families, 8-12 year olds) are willing to try it.

Yes but from a consumer perspective and a shareholder perspective, I would like to think that Dreamworld markets this thing as what it is. The only point I would like to make about this is the fact that if they are going to market it out of a Big 6 umbrella it suggests that it isn't worthy of comparing it to some of the other attractions that already exist. And I find it odd that people suggest that children aged 8 - 12 will be more inclined to try a less threatening ride. Dreamworld already has plenty of rides for youngsters, or those who like their rides a little tamer, but once people reach this 8 - 12 mark they wanna try the big stuff. They are not much different from many of us. EDIT: and in response to Gazza's last post. Yeah, all of the Dreamworld staff will know exactly what is going on regardless of what capacity they work in, but as I said, the reason we don't have all of them on here telling us what is going on is because the conditions of employment dictate that such an act is a no-no. Edited July 9, 2007 by Churros

[Gazza]

Ah, but DW has hundreds of employees, how could they pin down one?

[New display name]

Gazza he did tell us when he was working on T.O.T. So it would not be very hard to work out who he was. I think this is a person trying to talk up there position within a company. We already know that the ride is not going to be the next superman. I have never seen a person join this site and add so many posts so quick. I think he just wants us to know what he does for a job. Dreamworld Ride Op we welcome you.

[Churros]

Figureing out who it is Dreamworld's business. All I know is that if my conditions of employment had a confidentiality clause, I wouldn't put it to the test. What I am trying to say is that I am happy to have "Dreamworld Ride Op" around these boards, but he/she should be careful not to divulge too much, too quickly. Dreamworld will get wind of it and if they can't pinpoint one employee, they could very well look suspiciously on everyone. Just be careful where that could lead. By no means don't feel that you can't let us in on stuff, but don't go all out champ.

[rappa]

Yeah I'll second that warning... you'd be surprised, WVTP have a lot more employees than Dreamworld and the person giving our group induction on my first day of work there was able to identify me from this site... They are a lot smarter than we sometimes thing

[Gazza]

But then again your profile has a link to your businesses website which makes things a bit easier in identifying you. Still, if somebody had a strong desire to spill the beans on stuff they could do it if they gave nothing away...but I guess then people wouldn't take them seriously then

Edited July 11, 2007 by Gazza

[rappa]

Oh well see that's another thing, I will never take anyone seriously that doesn't have enough credibility to actually back their posts up with their name!

[Gazza]

Was that aimed at me? I dont have my personal name in my forum account, but I use my real name for when I submit galleries here etc.