WBMW: New 2007 attraction

[MickeyD]

Thought it was time to start a topic on the Park's new attraction(s) planned for 2007. As far as I'm aware, there are no new rides planned for MW in 2007 - fine with me given how well they have done with new additions lately. I have heard persisting rumours that Police Academy (in it's current form) will play it's last show this year and make way for a new show attraction. Can anyone confirm or deny this rumour?? If so will this be a totally new show or just a completely revamped and updated Police Academy show? I suspect the Australian Idol attraction planned for the old Maverick venue will be a filler whilst the PA show would be closed. It would not suprise me at all if Matrix also goes this year and makes way for something new. I would love to see another Harry Potter Attraction return in it's place. Your thoughts?

[dreamworld_rulz]

Can't see them closing PA. Harry Potter I'd like to see the Matrix go as it's run it's course. Dunno what should replace it though.

[D.C.]

A Warner Bros film museum might be decent. Instead of focusing on one movie they could have sets and props and etc from a few. I wouldn't mind seeing a new 'movie magic' type show somewhere as well.

Edited February 27, 2007 by D.C.

[T-bone]

2 Personal comments regarding this if Matrix & or PA are closing this year. As long as either Matrix & PA close down & something new opens before June (Highly unlikely) I will be happy or as long as Matrix & PA close after June, I will be indeed happy. Basically going in June for the second time in almost 8 years, never seen Matrix before so I want to experience it (just so I can) and I want to experience PA or something simular. But getting more or so onto topic, if PA does close down, what does everybody think of a "Dukes of Hazzards" show? It's a Warner Bros. Film isn't it? And Dukes would fill as a replacment for PA nicely.

[Swanny]

A Warner Bros film musuem might be decent. Instead of focusing on one movie they have sets and props and etc from a few. I wouldn't mind seeing a new 'movie magic' type show somewhere as well.

I think this would be great. After all, Warner Bros. has been so vital to the film industry; with the invention of the vitaphone, which allowed "talking pictures" and also brought colour to films. Although this would be great, it is a theme park and people wil probably want to do something more thrilling or exciting, especially younger people and families on holidays. What T-Bone has suggested below is a great idea of how the could replace PA. Although, I would not like to see it go in the first place, since it is one of the only 2 attractions remaining from the park's intial open, one of the longest running stunt shows with almost 17000 shows performed- and it's hilarious!

2 Personal comments regarding this if Matrix & or PA are closing this year. As long as either Matrix & PA close down & something new opens before June (Highly unlikely) I will be happy or as long as Matrix & PA close after June, I will be indeed happy. Basically going in June for the second time in almost 8 years, never seen Matrix before so I want to experience it (just so I can) and I want to experience PA or something simular. But getting more or so onto topic, if PA does close down, what does everybody think of a "Dukes of Hazzards" show? It's a Warner Bros. Film isn't it? And Dukes would fill as a replacment for PA nicely.

[Richard]

Museum and behind-the-scenes type attractions are some of the most popular at parks like Universal Studios and Disney-MGM Studios and make up a significant percentage of the total attractions. To me there's no doubt that they convert these parks from being half-day to a full day experience. Sea World and Dreamworld both have a wide array of non-ride attractions - in both cases animal exhibits. There are very few people in the scheme of things who want to just queue and ride all day and this style of self-paced attraction creates an opportunity to rest and do something different while still being very much a part of the theme park experience. I think there's no denying that there's a lack of this type of attraction at WBMW. They've made massive strives in recent years by introducing rides that continually set the standard for Australian theme parks and have done a lot to make the park better recognised as a serious theme park on par with Sea World and Dreamworld, but they still have a bit to go in my view before they're truly recognised as a full 1+ day park. Reintroducing a revised special effects show would be one of a handful of things that could be done to inject this element.

[Gazza]

I have thought about something like that too, nowadays I don't think the Matrix movies have enough of the hype factor to really make it strong enough as a standalone attraction, but I think a whole exhibit of various WB movies could do the trick. Along with the usual memorabilia, It could be made more appealing to children if they introduced some interactive exhibits centered around the production of special effects. Think of something along the lines of Questacon or the Science Center in Brisbane city, but with exhibits explaining how special effects work rather than scientific principles. It would sort of be reviving the old special effects tour, but instead people would be free to try out the ones they felt like and a CM would supervise/explain. There could be things such as a bullet time room, where you hit a button on a touch screen, then move into the area where you can jump around and look cool, before watching the results on a projector screen. There could be all the usual Green wall stuff too. Another idea could be a revival of the sound effects thing, but have little stations with the noise making devices chained on, and lights that gives each person a cue. Maybe they could do something to do with the Ant Bully or Happy Feet where you read off an auto cue, and then your voices are dubbed over a scene from the movie to give an idea of what it is like to be a voice actor. The possibilites are huge. If they built an exhibit like this, It could also be popular with school groups (for example those doing media subjects) This sort of addition would be a nice for a year when no major rides were planned.

[WalleyWorld]

Museum and behind-the-scenes type attractions are some of the most popular at parks like Universal Studios and Disney-MGM Studios and make up a significant percentage of the total attractions.

Unfortunately, I didn't end up going to the old special effects show at Movieworld, but I would really like there to be one. Something like the Backlot Tour at Universal Studios would be a great addition to the park. They could include something like Catastrophy Canyon and Disney MGM Studios and you could also go through a fake set. Like in Universal studios when you go through the city streets, which are really sets and props. The things you see on the tour could also be changed every now and then, so that it keeps up with the latest movies.

Think of something along the lines of Questacon or the Science Center in Brisbane city, but with exhibits explaining how special effects work rather than scientific principles.

I love this idea as well, it would really appeal to the little ones and junior school kids, but then again high school students studying film etc. would get a kick out of it. I really like this idea because there is a hands-on approach to the attraction. Most of Movieworlds attractions are rides, and there is no real interactivity in the attractions; this would fill the gap nicely. Hopefully, Movieworld adds one of theses types of attractions to their line-up of activities. As Richard said, it would make MW a full-day park and add some flavor to the park. CoasterBoy8 Edited February 27, 2007 by Coaster Boy 8

[MickeyD]

I really like everyone's thoughts on the Park adding a Museum Movie Magic style attraction. I think a Museum style self paced attraction that is highly interactive is the key - Think Disney's Innoventions only with a Movie based focus. The attraction could have various sponsors so as to keep evolving and featuring exhibits based on new feature films and technologies - that way the attraction could remain timeless and never get stale. This was a major problem for Movie magic and for this reason i don't think a Movie magic show is what the place needs. They have already been down that road. A Movie Innoventions if done right (and done big enough to keep you entertained for long enough) would be a fabulous addition, not to mention a welcome relief from the hot QLD sun in the middle of summer!

[Churros]

The Policy Academy show is still very popular even though it has been running for years. If they do change it, the replacement show should keep the same style in my opinion, maybe with a focus on a newer release movie? If they add something new this year it might be pretty small, I wouldn't be surprised if they change the Matrix exhibit. The Harry Potter thing they had wasn't around for very long. This seems to be their most updated and updatable attraction. That being said though, I think that it would be good if they introduce new attractions rather than replace old ones. I'm sure they have little spots they could add a few smaller attractions just to keep things fresh until they maybe do something really big in a couple of years or whatever. ...and I'm all for a Behind the Scenes/The Magic of Cinema type attraction, but not sure in what capacity. Just something to give the park the same Movie Magic feel they use to have with the Gremlins, Studio Tour and Special Effects show. Would really give it a good balance with Thrill Rides they have added.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I think a studio backlot tour, like Universal L.A. would be great. It would be costly to set up - obviously not as costly as setting up a proper building, but this would benefit the park in more ways than one - setting up a backlot provides on-set places to film future movies, and the theming of this area is easily changed, as shown by Universal. An attraction like this would also make the park a full-day attraction, as the backlot could take up quite a bit of time. This would also utilise the space at the back of the park which to-date cannot be used because of the neighbours over the back fence and the noise concerns. The water tank published in the paper which was constructed for fools gold could also feature in this backlot set tour. Chuck in a couple of animatronic buildings or characters from previous WB or VR movies and there you have it. Its not something you would do to save money in an off-season while you're not building rides, because it would cost more than most smaller rides they would want to put in, but it would: increase the park's capacity tremendously keep people in the park for longer open up new expansion areas bring in new theming possibilities, not to mention the merchandise to go with those new themes make filming of certain movies a lot easier - for example instead of shooting superman returns on the fox backlot, it could be shot on WB\VR's closed set backlot, custom designed to fit... not to mention that as opposed to Fox, where the facades had to be torn down at the end of the movie, it could be just another addition to the backlot tour at WBMW!

[Churros]

Yeah, I'll have a backlot tour, thanks. Also, does anybody think that they might create a larger Happy Feet attraction now that it has won an Oscar? A report in the local paper up here today said that it has already brought in a lot of money for Village Roadshow and DVD sales are expected to sell higher than initially thought. You would assume that if Movieworld was to open a new attraction that wasn't related to well known Warner franchises like DC Heroes or Looney Tunes they would want it to be a fairly recent, and well received film. It would also have the potential to be fairly family orientated, because let's face it, they probably won't install a Happy Feet thrill ride. I am not sure though what sort of ideas they could go with, just an idea. The only thing though is that they have already had a Happy Feet feature.

[MickeyD]

A great idea but they won't do it. they have already tried a Studio Tour and at one stage years ago, even considered the idea of adding a "Disaster Town" feature attraction to the studio tour. New rides and attractions in the park took priority at this time and the studio tour died a slow death. Rather than add another attraction themed to a specific Film, a WB's Museum could showcase the genre, the industry's advancements and always keep evolving with new feature attractions, updates and additions. It could take over the existing MATRIX building space and even perhaps be built out into the surrounding western area that could be re-sculpted to fit this larger, more impressive attraction. As for Police Academy, there is no argument it is a great show. But it could always be better and surely could benefit greatly from newer advancements in show FX and technology. It could even remain themed to Police Academy as it has proven to be such a popular theme over time. My Blue sky vision - I'd like to see them knock down the arena all together and put an impressive WB's Museum style attraction in that space (the neighbours have always hated the noise from the show anyway) and relocate the stunt show in a bigger, better and more fanciful venue over next to LW and behind Scooby.

[thunder001]

The rumor mill is running overboard with what will happen at the park this year. If you put stock in the rumors, then PA will be closed and the land used for a new family attraction....OR, the stage will be revamped for a weekly show, with Australian Idol being mentioned alot. The third of the most common rumors is that the park will be investing in two new rides, with one to be a family attraction and the other to be a thrill ride of the Flat ride style..... Please remember these are all only RUMORS.....put what stock in them that you will.....

[WalleyWorld]

The third of the most common rumors is that the park will be investing in two new rides, with one to be a family attraction and the other to be a thrill ride of the Flat ride style.....

This is what I'm hopeing for!! . But where would they install them?? Looney Tunes Village is about packed to the top with flat rides, so I don't think they would be puttin the kiddy one in there. The thrill ride (flat ride) could go into the Wild West area, mostly because the only attraction down there is the WWF. OR ,as some forum members have been saying, they could take out the Lethal Weapon show building and install a flat ride there. If they did install two new flat rides, mabey the kiddy one could be a traffic Jam flat ride (THE PIC IS ATTACHED DOWN THE BOTTOM) apparently it got the best family attraction award in 06 when on show at IAAPA. As you said thunder001, Rumors are getting placed nearlly everywhere on this forum and you can put as much trust into them as you want. Therefore, my trust goes to your "Thrid Most Common Rummor" because I like the idea of installing more flat rides, even though it would be nice for MW to have a unique Studio Tour. p.s: IT WAS MY BITHDAY YESTERDAY - TURNED 14, YAY!!!! cOAsTERbOY8

[BNErider]

I think a backlot tour would be very cool. Or, something along those lines.

[Spotty]

Ah... the SBF Visa Traffic Jam... from the videos i've seen the one with the lifting arms (shown) is the best out of the 3 designs. You have a single car, the 2 car design, and the one with the lifting sweeps. I think this ride would go well where the Tweety Bird Cage ride is, and could be themed to the Tazmanian Devil spinning out of control.

[WalleyWorld]

I think this ride would go well where the Tweety Bird Cage ride is, and could be themed to the Tazmanian Devil spinning out of control.

It is a great idea, except the tweety bird ride is pretty popular ride in Looney Tunes Village. Mabey they could take out the Splash Zone (with all the water fountains) and place it there. That should be enough space for the 2 car design. I wonder what they would use for a "thrill" flat ride. They can't go for a gyro swing or a Space shot. I know!!!, what about a Screamin' Swing by S&S. It could be placed in the Wild West area and "The Whip" OR "Gunslinger". What do you think about this Idea guys? Anyway, Spotty, could post up the website/s were you found the other models and were I can find videos for it. It seems more a family ride than a little kiddy ride. CoasterBoy8