Mick Doohan Motocoaster construction discussion

[rappa]

Well no I think you've been around here well long enough for us all to know who you are Gazza.

[TheMightyBoosh]

Hmm.. there are actually a few dreamworld ride ops that read this forum for inside information on what might be going on in the park because 'Management' do not usually disseminate secret information to ride operators unless a press release is imminent, or there is a lot of misinformation floating around. The only time a ride op REALLY knows the ins and outs of an attraction is when they are trained on it.. But I really doubt that any senior figure at dreamworld would appreciate any staff member boasting about all the up and coming attractions, especially when that information may only be half true. Releasing information on forums like this to 'test' the market is best suited to senior staff who have been briefed with up to date information on any new attraction. Those of us who work at the park know that it would probably mean our jobs if we broke any sensational (but secret) news before the press releases went out.. take the tiger cubs for example! A lot of staff knew what was happening but it was kept relatively secret so the press could use the story for maximum exposure. For those of us that work in the park it is exciting to know about a lot of the new features and attractions while we watch the rest of you grab bits and pieces of news and work it out for yourselves (and you guys are very good at it!) - Kind of the 'we know something you don't know!' school yard stuff ;-) So I don't really know what pleasure this 'dreamworld ride op' is getting from releasing this information or their reason for it.. hope they don't reveal themselves and lose their job - its hard enough to retain Ride Ops! Either way.. no one REALLY knows about a new ride until they have ridden it themselves! TMB

Edited July 13, 2007 by TheMightyBoosh

[Richard]

To get this back on topic, the latest construction update is now on the main site: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=184 In the past week there's been little progress on the actual construction of the ride. They needed to get the launch/station/brake track in first because it'd be difficult later on due to other construction taking place on the site. For the time being they're concentrating on the buildings around the ride etc.

[GoGoBoy]

Thank you for keeping us updated with these great pics Richard. Thanks to everyone else who has contributed photos recently aswell - the forums really seem to be back alive again! I gotta say so far this would have to be one of the ugliest and strangest looking coasters I have seen. But at the same time it really intrigues me because it is quite different from anything we've seen over here before. Can't wait to see and ride the finished product

[Churros]

I'm not a gooroo on all this stuff, but I reckon they put the final parts of the track in first so they could get started on the construction of the buildings and stuff as soon as possible. It looks like the loading area might be built in also? Do you think that the bulk of that building that is at the entrance of the ride is for the ride's shop etc, or something else? I just popped in today and most of the walls for that entrance building are up. From the amount of track, etc around the area, it looks as though this is going to be quite a long track considering some of the talk going around about it. It is going to pass near that initial turn three times from the looks of it. Here are my pics from today:

[dreamworld_rulz]

Thanks Richard, Churros and everyone else for the updates. I agree with GoGoBoy about the site. Lately it's been dead as a Dodo. But now things are picking up.

Edited July 17, 2007 by dreamworld_rulz

[Chaos-Maniac]

The new photos look great!

I'm not a gooroo on all this stuff, but I reckon they put the final parts of the track in first so they could get started on the construction of the buildings and stuff as soon as possible. <B>It looks like the loading area might be built in also? Do you think that the bulk of that building that is at the entrance of the ride is for the ride's shop etc, or something else?<B> I just popped in today and most of the walls for that entrance building are up. From the amount of track, etc around the area, it looks as though this is going to be quite a long track considering some of the talk going around about it. It is going to pass near that initial turn three times from the looks of it.

I hope that the loading are is built in like Cyclone, Tower of Terror and so on. I also hope that they extensively theme it. I personally feel the best themed ride up on the Gold Coast is Bermuda Triangle [sea World], Scooby Doo [Movie World] and The Claw [Dreamworld]. I'd really like to see them sorta 'copy' the loading area idea that they used with Bermuda Triangle at Sea World. With how you go into a pre-briefing about the ride. I'd love to see that, depending on the theme of the ride. I also hope there is a ride's shop, it'll be excellent.

[Dylaan]

I hope that the loading are is built in like Cyclone, Tower of Terror and so on. I also hope that they extensively theme it.

Well I have to agree with you there, Cyclone's theming really sucks but the loading area is kinda cool. Theming would be nice, but I don't really want, and I'm not expecting anything over the top. To me it just doesn't seem fitting, mind you anything IS possible. Just be smooth, fun, and half-decent looking and it's a winner for me...

[Gazza]

Well IMO for the station, I just want something efficient, I would have it so the queue would split, with one leading to the front row, and another to the rest of the rows. A grouper would fill the other rows as IMO that leads to better capacity than just letting people enter when the gates open as you end up getting people unwilling to fill seats due to wanting to stay in groups. I think SE at MW and Disney rides do so well with capacity because of this approach, whereas at say SFMM the parallel queue method tends to lead to a lot of empty seats. I wouldn't expect a pre show though, this being DW and all.

I hope that the loading are is built in like Cyclone

LOL, no you dont, Cyclone has a terrible queue and station set up. The gates are too far from the queue, and people cant see what happens in the station when they arrive at the gates because they aren't see through, so when they get in there they aren't familiar with the flow of the station. I mean there are all these little one percenters that slow things down, like people forgetting to do the buckle before pulling down the restraint, people putting items in the wrong spot etc that can be prevented if people just knew what to do. SE of course gets around this by having that instructional video.

I also hope there is a ride's shop, it'll be excellent.

A ride shop is basically a given, why would DW pass up an opportunity to further drive in park spending. Edited July 17, 2007 by Gazza

[saberon]

Wouldn't be all surprised if the theming is done by atomix, they seem to have built up quite a relationship with dreamworld.

[Churros]

I'm not sure that this ride will have too much extensive theming story wise. I would say that Dreamworld will do their best to create a visually appealing ride with some kind of scenic elements in the queue area. Maybe a couple of screens etc similar to Superman Escape. I honestly believe that this will be one of Dreamworld's better rides in terms of capacity. I know nothing really beats the Wipeout, but comparing this to things such as Cyclone and Tower or Terror, it will probably pump people through a lot quicker - particularly if it has two trains running. I'm not sure how they will set up the entrance and exit, but expect it to be efficient. I will say, that in terms of design, they have done extremely well with the space they have been allocated. You can tell that a lot of thought and extensive design has gone into it. It will essentially use all of the area between the river and Tower of Terror, and will utilise the slope of the land as well. And they will do well to fit an entrance and exit through that tight section under the track also - knowing that they couldn't put these things on any other side of the attraction because of the trainline. I am going to have to say that I like the way that Cyclone works. It is similar to Superman Escape because you really don't know what to expect when you are about to load. It makes things more interesting. The reason Cyclone's capacity is low really doesn't have a lot to do with people making mistakes, etc when loading. It contributes a little, but it isn't the main reason. If people were loading while another train was going around the circuit, it would eleminate this as a problem.

[MickeyD]

^ I can't believe you have compared Cyclone in any way, shape or form to Superman Escape lol

[Churros]

^Ok, let's get it back on track. Perhaps the Dreamworld CEO and engineers that toured the US looking for ideas saw how some of these rides operated and will implement these strategies on this new installation. Things are still early just yet, but you really don't know how this cycle coaster will run in terms of theming and queuing, etc. All that you can tell is that the entrance starts near the path adjacent to the Paddle Steamer dock and will eventually end up where the station is.

[Richard]

OK, the discussion relating to station design etc. has been moved to General Thrills to enable a more general non ride specific discussion. http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/in...amp;#entry44805 Let's continue with Dreamworld's new coaster here.

[Damo33]

Looking at Churros pics...the track is very low to the ground ! The workers are standing leaning against it........obviously fencing etc SHOULD keep people out from there.....but personally, it looks a risk. Does anyone know anything further re an open date ? Im hoping for a Sept school holiday open, as we are up from Syd. then.... D

[Gazza]

he track is very low to the ground ! The workers are standing leaning against it........obviously fencing etc SHOULD keep people out from there.....but personally, it looks a risk.

I guess MW shouldn't have done this then http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.p...125&image=4

Does anyone know anything further re an open date ? Im hoping for a Sept school holiday open, as we are up from Syd. then....

The best indication is from an article that appeared in Melbourne's Herald Sun. They apparently hope to have it open by the September holidays so you could be in luck. See http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/in...ost&p=44383 Edited July 20, 2007 by Gazza

[Churros]

Looking at Churros pics...the track is very low to the ground ! The workers are standing leaning against it........obviously fencing etc SHOULD keep people out from there.....but personally, it looks a risk.

Well, if they enter from the western side they will be jumping a wooden fence, the train track and running under Tower of Terror I think they will probably invest in a fence. As for the low nature of the track, it is probably going to be its strongest feature. Something that I didn't realise until I actually visited the park was that the initial curve and rise only climbs roughly 5 - 10 metres higher than the launch track, but with the slope of the land it is almost 10 - 15 metres above the ground at that point. They havn't finished building those supports so it may go higher, but most of the turns and features will more than likely exist below this height, in the area on the lower side of the slope. As I was saying earlier, expect it to be a very smartly, and custom designed track for the area given. I just cannot wait to see construction progress. I will be going next Tuesday, so will try and grab some more pics. EDIT: Stopped in quickly today. Got a pic of the footings near the river and the building that is going up next to the paddle steamer que area. Edited July 21, 2007 by Churros

[Richard]

Another week, another update: http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/gallery.php?gid=185 Again, little progress in terms of actual track due to the fact that the buildings needed to be largely completed while they still have access to the area, but the site as a whole has moved forward considerably this week. The layout should also become abundantly clear after reading this update for those who aren't yet familiar.

[BNErider]

Wow. The new coaster does look good! I take my perverse comments back... "this coaster looks crap"

[deims161]

I heard today from an inside source who actually managed to get a quick peek at the plans for the new rollercoaster. Gazza you're right, it is going to be built around the vintage cars area (an area I have also suggested previously would be perfect for a new coaster). My source reckoned it looked pretty wussy though, a relatively small layout with only 3 'circles'. That's all the info I could get. I am certainly pleased that Dreamworld is finally adding a new ride. However I don't think a small motorbike coaster is enough after a 3 year absence of any new ride. We should be seeing a hyper coaster being built in this area and going out over the lake. I don't know a lot about these motorbike coasters but I don't really understand why people get so excited about them. They just look so damn small and unimpressive. To me it is the sort of ride Dreamworld should be adding AFTER they have already added a significant number of other larger coasters and are running out of ideas

Wat do u mean finaly they just built a 65 million doller water park and they build a new ride every year. how do i know this I WORK THERE!! not beeing mean but before u go and say finaly you should look at wat they just built

[Gazza]

You're missing the point though. Yes they just spent $65 mil on a water park, but that isn't included with admission to DW so its not a new ride at Dreamworld. It would be like saying Superman Escape is a new ride at Wet 'n' Wild. How does White Water World being next door make your day at Dreamworld more fun? It doesn't since it is a separate theme park. (WWW is still great though) And what GoGoBoy meant by "finally" is that this is the first big ride in a while to be built at Dreamworld, the last one was the Claw. Nobody has really cared about Wiggles world since we're all a bit old for that. Also, what he meant by "finally" was because down the road at Movie World they have been putting in big rides like Superman and Batwing, and it has taken till now for Dreamworld to "fight back" and build something decent.

how do i know this I WORK THERE!!

You dont need to work at DW to know that they have put in new attraction. Oh, and Richo, great shots...good thinking in "seeing the light" that the Paddle Steamer might give a good vantage point I can basically guess the layout since I have pretty much thought it would be a double figure 8 type thing, but the middle section of the site is a bit of a grey area as it is hard to work out which line of footers matches up with which, any chance of posting up a MS paint doodle of how it all comes together? And geeze, its bigger than what I thought it would be, this should be a pretty nice ride. Edited July 23, 2007 by Gazza

[BNErider]

Yeah Gazza, It's bigger then I thought it would be too. The whole area looks great and I think this is going to be Dreamworld's "Big 6 Thrill Rides"

[T-bone]

TV Commercial to come soon - "... Now open at Dreamworld, The only place where you can get your BIG 6 Thrill Fix"

[Richard]

Oh, and Richo, great shots...good thinking in "seeing the light" that the Paddle Steamer might give a good vantage point

I've been meaning to get shots from that angle since the very beginning, but it only runs twice a day and I only drop in for about 20 minutes as it's on my way to where I'm going (or sometimes vaguely on the way), so in the past I've always missed it. Definitely the best angles of the ride, and I was lucky that I timed it right this week. Why they only run it twice a day is beyond me. It'll never be hugely popular, nor should it be, but of course people aren't going to ride it if they have to schedule their day around its two runs.

[T-bone]

In my humble opinion, as long as Vince is on that boat strutting his stuff, it is worth a trip on.