Mick Doohan Motocoaster construction discussion

[kennykoala]

COMING SOON The construction of Dreamworld's brand new thrill ride is on track for its official opening in September. So get ready to get behind the handle bars of this scream machine, designed specifically for the whole family to enjoy. New additions to WhiteWater World are also coming along swimmingly so stay tuned for more details. Thats whats in the max action update, sent via email. I dont like the: (designed specifically for the whole family to enjoy.) but ohh well:P but in previous sentence states NEXT SCREAM MACHINE and THRILL.

[Gazza]

I dont like the: (designed specifically for the whole family to enjoy.) but ohh well:P

So basically, what you are saying is that for the ride to be any good, every other age group should not find it enjoyable Edited July 24, 2007 by Gazza

[kennykoala]

So basically, what you are saying is that for the ride to be any good, every other age group should not find it enjoyable

nope, thats not what I was saying, I didnt mention it wasnt going to be any good. However for a large audience to cater for, it has to be alot tamer than a proper THRILL ride. I already said the booster bikes from vekoma on youtube look great, and if it ends up like those (speed etc it will be fine.) Anyway the part I dont like about it will cater for all is the fact that everyone knows: That is, movieworld has kicked dreamworlds ass for 2 years running. Dreamworld should have gone big to compete. Because all we have had as of recent years is kids zones, and kids rides since the claw. On top of this, were the hell are they going to put a big coaster now even if they wanted 2. the model T area was about the only place they coulda used that was reasonbly large for a coaster. Thunderbolt area is out due to www. The other side of park were australian wildlife park is, is out of the question because of the animals. Finally untill big brother leaves any thing over that way is out too. Dont miss quote me, im looking forward to the new coaster, i just wish it was a big one as do alot of other members on this site. Gazza are you telling me you would rather a booster bike aimed at the family than for the thrill seekers? thas what I was getting at. Or go even further and have a proper accelarator in the park rather than a family coaster?.

[Gazza]

However for a large audience to cater for, it has to be alot tamer than a proper THRILL ride.

But kids and mums ride the thrill rides anyway at DW so it doesnt make a difference.

On top of this, were the hell are they going to put a big coaster now even if they wanted 2. the model T area was about the only place they coulda used that was reasonbly large for a coaster.

This has been discussed to death, if they really wanted to build a big coaster there would be nothing stopping them, Blue Lagoon would be a good starting point though...I wont get into this topic here, but it is entirely possible.

Gazza are you telling me you would rather a booster bike aimed at the family than for the thrill seekers? thas what I was getting at. Or go even further and have a proper accelarator in the park rather than a family coaster?.

I just want a ride that is good, it doesn't have to be aimed at kids or thrill seekers whatever, just an actual decent ride. Being intense is not a be all and end all to me. Its just that your post before made it sound as if you thought because it is aimed at familes it automatically wont be that good. I actually think of a "family ride" in the same context as a "family restaurant". Family restaurants arent just for children, but for everyone, and careful positioning in the market means it caters well to all and are generally quite popular. Edited July 24, 2007 by Gazza

[saberon]

Does anyone happen to know which contruction companies are responsible for the rides installation?

[Churros]

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)

Yeah, but at one point the plan was to create the waterpark as a revamped blue lagoon, rather than a seperate park. As time went on and the development plans continued it was seen as a better business move to open it as a seperate park. Yeah, you don't get more for your admission fee to Dreamworld, but over the last ten years the admission price as not increased, but the cost of running the place has. I am sure that if they opened WhiteWaterWorld as a part of Dreamworld you have found that you would pay a cost that covers both parks, which people would kick up a stink about. Besides, while the additions such as Wiggles World, etc seem small to us, to many families these are the areas that stand out to them. And I am not talking parents with early teenagers, but parents with kids in strollers or around the age of 5-8. Come peak seasons, areas such as Wiggles World are as packed as the rest of the park. In the meantime we are making comparisons with Movieworld, but remember that Movieworld's boom has only occured in the last four or five years, whereas before that, while Dreamworld were making a series of installations, Movieworld were seemingly sitting on their hands. Dreamworld will wait for their moment, as will Movieworld in the coming years. I think I would be with everyone else in saying that it would be great for them to install something 'big', but something unique would be just as good in my opinion.

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.

The layout can be pretty well seen at this point, but the heights, etc will become more clear when more supports are put in. I have tried to figure it out, but it is just too difficult at this time. I will have to say that that was my reaction when I saw the number of footings, etc. It is going to be fairly long for the area they are working in.

[Gazza]

but over the last ten years the admission price as not increased, but the cost of running the place has.

Adult Prices: 98- $44 99- $44 00- $49.80 01- $* 02- $* 03- $* 04- $* 05-$60 06-$62 07-$64 *Not in Web Archive PS, I couldn't be bothered trawling through ABS website for CPI data for each year to compare with that. Main point of what I saying is that people often counter the statement "DW never builds anything big" by saying "They just built WWW!" even though the two parks are separate entities. Edited July 24, 2007 by Gazza

[Richard]

Based on inflation rates, tickets costs are marginally increasing from year to year such that you are paying more to enter now than you did in the past. Similarly operating costs have actually decreased very significantly with Dreamworld in the decade or so that Macquarie Leisure has owned the park. While ticket prices go up 5% or so each year, operating costs are decreasing by about the same amount, so the net position is Dreamworld are well ahead. Of course, operating costs can't just keep decreasing, and I expect that they won't much from here on out, but ticket costs are going up faster than inflation, which can very easily be justified by new attractions. On that note, Movie World has spent much, much more over its life than Dreamworld has on new thrill rides. Looking at thrill rides alone: Wipeout + Tower of Terror + Giant Drop + Cyclone + The Claw = $4 + $16 + $4 + $5.5 + $6 = $35.5 million Lethal Weapon + Wild West Falls + Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster + Superman Escape + Batwing Spaceshot = $16 + $18 + $13 + $16 + $5 = $68 million Movie World have spent nearly twice what Dreamworld have on new major attractions. Nick Central + Wiggles World don't decrease that gap by all that much either when you consider that Movie World has invested heavily in Looney Tunes Village and a whole host of short-run attractions like shows and walkthroughs.

[kennykoala]

no worries gazza. i wasnt tryin to satrt a fight

[Dylaan]

Thats whats in the max action update, sent via email...

Well that sucks... I didn't get any email and I'm on Max Action Platinum... *insert large amount of whinging here* I wrote my email address down when I got it... or is there something else I have to do...? Great news that it'll be open for September, I didn't think it'd open until around Boxing Day! Should be especially good for end-of-year school trip!

[kennykoala]

wnw rocks, dont worry u should still get the email. sometimes ppl on here post things from it and ill recive the email a few days or up to a week later. you would think they would all get sent together, but i dont think they do.

[djsupersleuth]

I wouldn't place to much cred into the parks quoted costs for rides. It is not uncommon for parks to boast and "inflate" the prices on what their attractions cost, Wonderland were not backwards in coming forwards by promoting that Space Probe cost 10 million when official documentation stated a lesser figure. Early 90's and 16 and 18 million for Movieworld attractions, come off it Movieworld no way they could have cost that much.

[Churros]

Ok Gazza and Richard, you guys are right. My bad. I guess the point I was trying to make was that for $64 for a day's entry - which really, when you consider the possibilites of re-entry tickets, adults at children's prices offers, two world or annual pass upgrades may rarely never be $64 per day - there really is a lot to do to get your money's worth. Personally, I would rather see something much larger, etc, but I really don't think we can complain about this just yet. Also, just in response to one of the statements made about it being launched by magnets (maybe in another forum). Correct me if I am wrong, but are there not guides for the cable under the bottom of the launch track? And secondly, don't you think Dreamworld would have learned its lesson with using magnetic propulsion with the Tower of Terror? Haha... the second one was a joke. PS - Wnw Rocks... I got my maxaction platinum the same day as you remember and I didn't get any email either.

[Richard]

Early 90's and 16 and 18 million for Movieworld attractions, come off it Movieworld no way they could have cost that much.

Lethal Weapon's $16 million pricetag in 1995 was very much in-line with that of other SLC coasters of the 1990s, especially considering Australia's weak dollar at that time, the fact that it was fabricated overseas and that it was the first of its design and one of the first SLCs in the world. Likewise Wild West Falls remains to date Australia's biggest theme park attraction and its construction also included the single largest expansion of the park since opening. Considering WBMW was and still is owned by a publicly listed company, I have little doubt about the accuracy of the listed figures considering they dotted financial releases at the time. At any rate, it's pretty irrelevent seeing as you could comfortably shave off 95% of the cost of those two rides and Movie World would still be ahead in terms of expenditure over the years.

I guess the point I was trying to make was that for $64 for a day's entry - which really, when you consider the possibilites of re-entry tickets, adults at children's prices offers, two world or annual pass upgrades may rarely never be $64 per day - there really is a lot to do to get your money's worth.

I agree with all that to some extent. I think all our parks are overpriced in comparison to equivalent international parks, for the simple reason that it's very easy for the Gold Coast parks to band together in terms of pricing without any outside pressure from parks in other regions which would provide much more consumer-oriented competition than the confined Gold Coast competition we currently see. That said I don't think they're necessarily bad value, just definitely making the most of the duopoly situation.

[Troy81]

just heard an article on the radio saying that dreamworld is launching their new "Mick Doohan Motor Coaster" today. supposedly it is going to bank 18 times into corners which means that by the pictures we have there should be alot more track to be built yet.

[Damo33]

----full size replica 500cc bikes . Opening is timed perfectly around peek motor sport time in Aust. The only problem I can see with this, making the assumption that the bikes will be race themed...Tobacco sponsorship will prevent them from being 100% accurate. Doohan's Rothmanns Honda was very distinctively coloured..including the big Rothmanns logo....

[Shaunernator]

Some theming is yet to be completed, however due to legal reasons, of course it is clearly impossible to display logos and/or advertisements showing any part of a cigarette company or cigarettes themselves. Therefore, no, the ride won't be completely accurate, but keep in mind that ultimately, the ride is about the ride and not about the painting, the paint only makes it look better ; )

[Gazza]

just heard an article on the radio saying that dreamworld is launching their new "Mick Doohan Motor Coaster" today. supposedly it is going to bank 18 times into corners which means that by the pictures we have there should be alot more track to be built yet.

Was this story on one of those breakfast shows or was it part of a proper news bulletin. Even though this sounds completely unbelievable, it would be pretty funny if this was the actual theme.

[Troy81]

heard it on the news bulliten on b105 in brisbane

[Shaunernator]

No, the bulletin was correct. The ride will be named the Mick Doohan Motor Coaster.

[djsupersleuth]

Poor Wayne Gardner, wonder if there was consideration between the two.

[Damo33]

Mick Doohan is a GC local, Wayne Garnder from Wollongong....not a bike expert but I think Doohan won more titles than Gardner....

Edited July 27, 2007 by Damo33

[djsupersleuth]

Good point Damo, and you are correct Doohan was more a successful racer than Gardner.

[saberon]

I don't know whether you agree but i think it might make more sense if it were Mick Doohan Moto Coaster (MotoGP). Not to say that i know a lot about motorbike racing more a car fan.

[Psycho]

Am I the only one that hates that name? While the name needs to be linked to the whole theme of a motorcycle coaster, I'd much rather have some sort of generic name than one with a particular person's name in it. That being said, I also hated the name "Tony Hawk's Big Spin" for a coaster