What is next for our parks?

[Spotty]

22 hours ago, TV15 said:

I could definitely see something happening to Superman Escape, like removing the hydraulic launch and replacing it with LSMs, as the ride is approaching 20 years. 

 

This will not be happening, no need to fix something that isn't broken. Apart from the minor hiccup the ride had earlier in the year with it's launch system (and TBH it was actually fixed pretty quickly all things considered) the ride has been pretty reliable for the most part. I'd say Superman would have another 10 or so years left in her before we'd be looking at a replacement or major change to the ride system. It's clear that Village have no plans to remove it given they are about to invest in a new station design etc for the ride. I especially would hope that they wouldn't go with Zamperla given all the issues that Top Thrill 2 has had since it "Opened" 

If anything is going to ever be done to the launch, they would be stupid to go with anyone other than Intamin anyway.

As far as new rides go, I don't want to see Movie World get a new roller coaster for a while now. The ride lineup is very coaster heavy and I think they have all demographics covered (Kid's coaster: Road Runner. Family: Scooby, Kansas Twister, Wicked Witch. Thrill: Flash, Superman, Rivals and GL)

The park really needs 2 or 3 new flat rides to boost overall capacity, and not dud's like Doomsday. I personally would have loved to have a star flyer kind of attraction for the park, but with Trident now I don't think that's the best idea. Once they get a few decent capacity flat rides, I'd love to see them focus on the WBK area of the park and replace the nearly 30 year old Zamperla rides (Sam Train and Tweety) and give that whole part of the kids area a overhaul. That's what I'd be spending the next 5 or so years on for MW (Oh and please, a decent quality show to replace the train wreck that is HSD 2). Once that's done, maybe a replacement for Justice League depending on how they keep up with the ride maintenance etc. 

For Dreamworld, I think the next area they will focus on is the Motocoaster after Rivertown opens. The ride stands out like a sore thumb as it is, and once Rivertown opens it will be even more of an eyesore. I'd say this ride has maybe 5 years left before it's replaced. The only other ride I can MAYBE see that closes before it would be Gold Coaster, but given it's a pretty simple design without any major issues it might last a while longer.

I think for 2025 though we will see more of the park cleaned up, which I think is really needed and the park is certainly on the right track for it. I'd like to see for 2026 an expansion to White Water World (Can we finally get the Lazy River?!) and maybe a flat ride for Dreamworld and then in 2027 I'd say we would be due for another major thrill coaster or hopefully a water ride of some description.

I think for WnW we will see a replacement hopefully for the Aqua Loop but I don't predict anything major as their line up is already pretty full. Sea World I'd like to see another Flat Ride for the park (one that is reliable) but probably not as thrilling as Vortex. A family thrill on the scale of a Zamperla Nebulaz or similar. I don't see them getting another coaster for the next several years.

Edited August 1 by Spotty

[Narra]

1 hour ago, Spotty said:

The only other ride I can MAYBE see that closes before it would be Gold Coaster

Surely not after getting the new Vekoma trains and just recently moving the operators panel over to the other side of the station

[Spotty]

2 minutes ago, Narra said:

Surely not after getting the new Vekoma trains and just recently moving the operators panel over to the other side of the station

The Vekoma trains are nearly 10 years old now, and the ride has been in operation for nearly 25 years now. Arkham was 25 years old and had new trains (Well half new trains, and not very good ones...) and was removed so I wouldn't say it's 100% safe from removal. I do think Motocoaster would get removed before Gold Coaster however, purely based on location as it's in a prime spot and Gold Coaster would be a pain in the ass to remove due to it's proximity to White Water World and many back of house areas. I still firmly think it only has 10 or so years left in operation as the Arrow and even Vekoma loopers of this generation are slowly closing down.

[Naazon]

Gold Coaster would be easy to remove if its being scrapped. WWW shuts down for half a year. All the time in the world to get in and get it out.

[HarryHeHe8]

I should definitely not expect Dreamworld to remove the Gold Coaster. This may be personal but it is one of the best rides in the park and one of only two major coaster DW has. If anything, i feel they will continue to maintain it for at least ten to fifteen years. However they do need adequate signage as not many tourists know it is in DW and not WWW, as the lines are much emptier than they used to be. 

[themagician]

15 minutes ago, HarryHeHe8 said:

However they do need adequate signage as not many tourists know it is in DW and not WWW

I don’t it’s that people are confused which park it’s in. I think it’s more that there’s nothing else in that corner of the park and its entrance sign is easily missed. Once you get to Tailspin it just looks like a dead end. When it was Cyclone they didn’t have this issue because of the other rides in that area and Flowrider attracted people to that corner. 
 

I do agree that a directional sign near Tailspin letting guests know Gold Coaster entrance is down there might help.

But also, the park’s demographic has changed in the last decade. It used to be the place to go for teenagers/thrill seekers, while the park is now more tailored towards families.

[HarryHeHe8]

6 minutes ago, themagician said:

When it was Cyclone they didn’t have this issue because of the other rides in that area and Flowrider attracted people to that corner. 
 

 

That is true. I'm not sure how many people know this, but Flowrider is actually still there. It's weird that they've kept it, unless there's plans to move it to WWW or re open it when the park becomes year round. It would make sense to reopen that entrance when the park opens year round. I do agree that they need to add more rides in that area. Maybe a redevelopment of the old Lazer tag building and Trolls village would bring guests to that side of the park again. There is really no need to close rides to make way for new attractions when they have so much unused space in the park.

[themagician]

36 minutes ago, HarryHeHe8 said:

Flowrider is actually still there

It's shell is still there, but I don't think they could just simply turn back on. As far as I'm aware it would need a lot of work to bring it back online and I don't think the park has any plans to do so. WnW has had enough issues trying to find an operator and to get their's back online and it still has issues, so from DW management's perspective, it probably won't be worth it.

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, themagician said:

It's shell is still there, but I don't think they could just simply turn back on. As far as I'm aware it would need a lot of work to bring it back online and I don't think the park has any plans to do so. WnW has had enough issues trying to find an operator and to get their's back online and it still has issues, so from DW management's perspective, it probably won't be worth it.

I 100% agree, sadly I don't think anything will be done with this area until they decide to redevelop that area. I really do think they need to either reopen the gate when WhiteWater World is open, or even reopen the shop in the old Thunderbolt station in the summer months and use that as the gate. I'd love to see another flat ride in the location of the flow rider / trolls area to open that part of the park again and hopefully draw some more crowds down to the Gold Coaster area. Once this is done, you could easily open up the shop again with the new (well old as it was used in the past) gate to WhiteWater World in the summer months. This would honestly go perfect if WhiteWater World expands onto the old Thunderbolt site as originally planned.

For when it comes time to removing Gold Coaster though, it's not just the waterpark that is in the way but a large amount of Back of House areas are directly underneath which would make it slightly more challenging too. But I really hope this section of the park is the next area to be looked at either before or after something is done with Motocoaster. I have 100% faith that the current management will do something, it's not a matter of if but a matter of when.

[Gazza]

Quote

or even reopen the shop in the old Thunderbolt station in the summer months and use that as the gate

It's interesting how long that old Thunderbolt station has held on!

[HarryHeHe8]

1 hour ago, Gazza said:

It's interesting how long that old Thunderbolt station has held on!

For Sure! First a station for the longest roller coaster in Australia at the time, then it sat for a while, then it was an entrance to one of the largest water parks in the country, now its just some toilets. It definitely deserves better, and I feel like they could use it for so much!

Edited August 2 by HarryHeHe8

[Spotty]

Is it now the last remaining attraction from the opening years? lol

[HarryHeHe8]

47 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Is it now the last remaining attraction from the opening years? lol

Almost. It’s probably one of the oldest, but not quite opening year, which is a shame. I do not count Dreamworld express as it is a shell of its former self.

[Tricoart]

55 minutes ago, HarryHeHe8 said:

I do not count Dreamworld express as it is a shell of its former self.

tbf, if anything’s a shell of it’s former self, it’s a ride building turned toilet block

[Baconjack]

Gold coaster is a very simple ride mechanically. Dreamworld can run it for as long as they want it to until it is time for a replacement. It is also pretty forceless, which helps with track maintenance, so metal fatigue probably won't be an issue as it was with Arkham.

The romance of a new Thunderbolt on Thunderbolt's site and Gold coaster's land instead being used for WWW expansion is very appealing to me. Given that bringing back old names (Rivertown) and characters (Kenny & Belinda) are the trend for the current management I think it would be a slam dunk.

[Spotty]

11 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Gold coaster is a very simple ride mechanically. Dreamworld can run it for as long as they want it to until it is time for a replacement. It is also pretty forceless, which helps with track maintenance, so metal fatigue probably won't be an issue as it was with Arkham.

The romance of a new Thunderbolt on Thunderbolt's site and Gold coaster's land instead being used for WWW expansion is very appealing to me. Given that bringing back old names (Rivertown) and characters (Kenny & Belinda) are the trend for the current management I think it would be a slam dunk.

I honestly would hate to see that space used for anything but a WhiteWater World expansion. There are other areas that Dreamworld can expand if they really want to but there is no where else for the water park. The ride actually does pull some pretty decent forces as well (in particular the helix and the final vertical loop). Even if it's a simple ride mechanically the ride still only has a limited lifetime. Look at other Arrow / Vekoma loopers from the 80's / 90's that have had track replacements done to it. 

I do hope when that time comes though, that they maybe look at something else for that area but who knows. I don't think we would see a new "Thunderbolt" though. As much as I love the nostalgia they are doing, I don't think they need to re-imagine every last thing that Dreamworld has done.

[red dragin]

Parkz - where we panned Dreamworld for modifying old rides (log flume) rather than replacing them, or shoe horning rides into existing buildings (DV), and now we want them to modify old rides or shoe horn new ones in again 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

Edited August 3 by red dragin

[sammypanda]

Meanwhile that 'Epic Universe' thing is happening in Orlando, U.S.

It's funny to think that Movie World used to be to the same standard as some of the better parks in the world.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

On 03/08/2024 at 11:22 AM, Spotty said:

There are other areas that Dreamworld can expand if they really want to but there is no where else for the water park.

I mean, WWW was built out of a lot of carpark - it wouldn't be too difficult to expand into the bottom end of the carpark next to Hydrocoaster if they really wanted to, but I do agree with your sentiments - the Thunderbolt land should be reserved for WWW.

 

[themagician]

I’m still not opposed to them revising their original expansion master plan they developed well over a decade ago. The introduction of a lazy river another slide tower (with at least two solid new attractions) and a simple kids zone would do the park nicely. 

The issue with a lazy river (and maybe this is why we haven’t yet seen the park build one) is that it requires a more life guards compared to a slide attraction. And if the park doesn’t get the crowds that it needs to warrant the amount of life guards required, the park may not see it as a worthwhile investment.

However, I’d disagree with that argument, as I’m sure having one would help boost attendance. I’m certain a lot of people will visit WnW over WWW because of the lazy river. 

[RobMac]

Re the BIG three

DW - New Log Ride (couple more quality carnival type rides, to affordably boost overall park appeal)

SW - New Vikings Revenge  (maybe a couple more quality "carnival" type rides in their Atlantis area - affordably boost the offering of the area)

MW - look at an old LA street car type ride circumnavigating the park - it's gone heavyish into rides at the more thrill end of the spectrum, this would help bring a little more balance to ride force of the park

[Tricoart]

25 minutes ago, RobMac said:

SW - New Vikings Revenge  (maybe a couple more quality "carnival" type rides in their Atlantis area - affordably boost the offering of the area)

Am I the only one that doesn’t think Sea World needs another water ride? Storm replaces Vikings Revenge’s experience well enough, and if kids are too small for it, they’ve got the Splash Battle. They need a better way to transport guests to that end of the park, and/or more reasons for them to be there rather than crowding around the core when there isn’t a Dolphin show going on (cough cough monorail). Also, I’d love to see a nicely designed, quaint indoor aquarium of some sort, but all locations suited for that are either in the air (Vikings Revenge castle) or have recently become something else (pathway & lawn out the front).

25 minutes ago, RobMac said:

MW - look at an old LA street car type ride circumnavigating the park - it's gone heavyish into rides at the more thrill end of the spectrum, this would help bring a little more balance to ride force of the park

As for MW, I’d sooner put it’s inclusion in this “Big 3” as a well themed, ‘classic’ IP-based dark ride (‘classic’ basically meaning ‘not DC’), then followed by a reliable, people-pleasing family/thrill flat outside of Kids WB, before a third car ride. Also. the process of planning out any transport/scenic ride that circumnavigates the park as is would be met with many challenges (routing around Wild West Falls, Main Street, & DC Rivals, all in a budget-friendly manner & whilst still maintaining each section’s respective photogenic aspects would be the chief of them, with expected ridership & capacity for a similar system coming shortly after).

Edited August 6 by Tricoart

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

14 hours ago, Tricoart said:

Also. the process of planning out any transport/scenic ride that circumnavigates the park as is would be met with many challenges (routing around Wild West Falls, Main Street, & DC Rivals, all in a budget-friendly manner & whilst still maintaining each section’s respective photogenic aspects would be the chief of them, with expected ridership & capacity for a similar system coming shortly after).

I think you're overthinking it. DCA runs the red car trolley through California Adventure park, and while they have at least two, i've seen them run only one on some busy days. Capacity isn't a huge concern as it is self-controlling - if people queue up at a trolley stop and it's full or there's already too many people waiting, they continue on to the next attraction. If its empty, or its a quieter day, its a great opportunity to tour the park from a different vantage point and rest those weary legs.

The park is already set up with a parade route with vehicle clearances, and they've brought vehicles in from both Western and Tunes ends for shows and the like. You'd have to check clearances but I reckon you could run this circuit pretty easily with a trolley vehicle or similar. (The WB Kids tree is my main concern, but you could easily just circle the grass at Ricks to have a "WB Kids" stop if you really wanted to)

 

And the best part is - they've already got the vehicle!

(Though I would like to see them add a few other "main street vehicles" for this purpose.)

[Narra]

36 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

The park is already set up with a parade route with vehicle clearances

But they also have to move guests off the street to do the parade, they would need to have extra team members to walk in front of the vehicle to make sure guests don't get hit and for such a low capacity vehicle I just can't see village doing it

[themagician]

I think something simple like this would be great for MW, but knowing VRTP, they’d probably charge for it (If it was only $5 pp then I wouldn’t have an issue with it). 

Sea World needs it more though because that park is in desperate need of some kind of transport option. The parks layout and inclines probably means it wouldn’t work, but come on Village, you need to do something.

But I also think a trolley would be awesome to see at DW. Would suit the park really nicely and chime in to that nostalgia.