This Ride Ruined Movie World.

[Dean Barnett]

Pretty knarly stuff from 30 mins onwards 👀

[New display name]

I'll sum it up.  50mins of hating on MW because he misses the Studio Tour.  Funny how things seem so much better than the really were, 20 years latter.  The truth is MW struggled against DW because the lack of rides.

MW has it's problems but MW is ruined.   🤣🤣

[LoZza]

I'm curious as to what allegations he left out

Tbh if that were me I don't care if I create a stink or drama, if staff and customer safety is in jeopardy I would just tell all. That Dreamworld incident wasn't that long ago so it's just insane that Movie World sucks with safety 

[westical]

Junior Driving School ruined Movie World. 

[New display name]

Bugs was a better ride.

Crazy how people, who have so much to say about MW's decline, nether mention the part where some of MW's problems, stems from the deaths of four people at DW, which to this day has caused irreparable damage to the theme park's image on the GC.

 

10 hours ago, LoZza said:

I'm curious as to what allegations he left out

Tbh if that were me I don't care if I create a stink or drama, if staff and customer safety is in jeopardy I would just tell all. That Dreamworld incident wasn't that long ago so it's just insane that Movie World sucks with safety 

If i knew MW was unsafe, I wouldn't be dancing around it.  

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

16 minutes ago, New display name said:

nether mention the part where some of MW's problems, stems from the deaths of four people at DW, which to this day has caused irreparable damage to the theme park's image on the GC.

Nobody mentions how easily it could have been MW who killed 4 people. 

Oh I know. It was all S&S' fault right? 🤐

 

I don't think Village is suffering an image problem stemming from TRRR. They went gangbusters post-TRRR and pre-covid. Village's image problem is down to their contempt for guests, and their disregard for the guest experience. It has long ago been about making money, not memories. THAT is the fucking image problem at village.

[TV15]

For the workplace environment claims that are made, these are 100% true. Sometime last month, Movie World collaborated with Getahead, a mobile job app, and the claims made about the work environment at VRTP couldn’t be further from the truth. With the help of @Coppertine, here are a few screenshots from the post that have since been deleted.

 

[New display name]

@Tv15 MW has many problems, but do you think MW is ruined?  

The video is all about generating clicks.  (I got so many views on my last video on MW, I had to cash in on a second video)

For some reason I feel I like I need to repeat my thoughts, and make it clear.

MW has it's problems but MW isn't ruined. 

[Jobe]

1 hour ago, New display name said:

@Tv15 MW has many problems, but do you think MW is ruined?  

The video is all about generating clicks.  (I got so many views on my last video on MW, I had to cash in on a second video)

For some reason I feel I like I need to repeat my thoughts, and make it clear.

MW has it's problems but MW isn't ruined. 

100%. That particular Youtuber has a history of clickbait titles that are only generated for one thing- viewership and monetisation with a particular focus on exaggerations and amplifying small issues into big ones to try and support his arguments. They are usually nothing but his own wild speculation and can be very damaging to the park in question. Please note how he toots his own horn in the video- several times- about how good his last MW rant video went and it garnered 75k views. He certainly sees this as some sort of validation when in all honesty its just people reacting to the click bait titles. He started a failed "coaster odyssey" where he was traveling the world and riding the best coaster in every country. Ambitious and it was laid out with much fanfare but he had some health issues and came home with his tail between his legs. His prior videos were ok- he has stolen and mined a LOT of material from a lot of different sources and he is quite mercenary in this.His video ideas seem to be lifted almost entirely by airtime thrills...best manufacturers coaster etc. He does not like anyone at all giving him criticism , be it soft, hard or genuine, and he is known to block anyone from commenting on his videos if they do. The video he did for Luna Park Sydney with the title of "Is Luna Park Sydney going to close forever?" did it for me. It was a wildly speculative opiniontated video that was very tenuous in its information and delivery and was made on the back when LPS had announced that the park was for sale. In short it was head shakingly terrible. 

I would avoid at all costs.

Edited March 21 by Jobe

[Baconjack]

I watched the video last night

Saying the decision to move towards rides was what ruined movie world is silly. They needed to gravitate to being a dreamworld competitor - sea world couldn’t do that because it had no space back then and it’s pointless to pay a licensing fee for recognisable IP without making good use of it (cue the why are there so many superhero rides at movie world people). It worked lol - the average punter likes that superman ride which goes really fast as opposed to learning about how movie effects are made.

criticising the leadership is a legitimate take away. Have said this on many occasions. When Greg left village and took a bunch of senior people with him the people they got in his place clearly aren’t up to the task of running a park, creating a good environment for staff or looking after their customers. 

i wouldn’t point to superman or rapids as the cause - movie worlds practices were reasonable until Covid and they did very well with attendance. Between insurance brokers making decisions on safety practices, senior people leaving with inferior replacements and private equity owners who put dollars above customer satisfaction, there’s a lot of moving parts but it’s not necessarily ruined. just needs improvement which will come as more people realise that they’ve been ripped off on their visit and don’t come back. 

Edited March 21 by Baconjack

[TV15]

3 hours ago, New display name said:

@TV15MW has many problems, but do you think MW is ruined?  

I think the work environment is ruined and has been for a long time, nothing new there. I don't agree with his new ride proposals/revamp of the park nor what he thinks a movie theme park is, but I do support the work environment changes, it starts from the top. 

1 hour ago, Jobe said:

The video he did for Luna Park Sydney with the title of "Is Luna Park Sydney going to close forever?" did it for me.

I feel the same about this, for a while it was just day after day of clickbait titles.

32 minutes ago, Baconjack said:

Saying the decision to move towards rides was what ruined movie world is silly. They needed to gravitate to being a dreamworld competitor - sea world couldn’t do that because it had no space back then and it’s pointless to pay a licensing fee for recognisable IP without making good use of it (cue the why are there so many superhero rides at movie world people). It worked lol - the average punter likes that superman ride which goes really fast as opposed to learning about how movie effects are made.

Superman escape aligns with the movie theme, it puts us into the story immersively. Batwing worked with Wayne manor beside it as it was an immersive mini land prior to the addition of GL & DC Rivals. Wild West Falls is timeless, despite it being the largest ride in the park and eventually the time will come to replace it. WB Kids worked with the looney tunes ride, but now its showing its age. Green Lantern is essentially a Six Flags ride, DC rivals is similar but the ride experience makes up for it.

We've come full circle now Movie World doesn't have any space left without removing existing attractions.

32 minutes ago, Baconjack said:

criticising the leadership is a legitimate take away. Have said this on many occasions. When Greg left village and took a bunch of senior people with him the people they got in his place clearly aren’t up to the task of running a park, creating a good environment for staff or looking after their customers. 

This is very true. I don't think Movie World understands the value of their annual pass holders as much as Dreamworld does. We visit the parks off peak and deal with the BS maintenance closures, we spend our money there, we are the backbone of the park during this time. The least they could do is give us some useful perks to show their appreciation. A discount on food/beverages and upchange experiences would be appreciated even if limited to eg, 4 uses per month. Similar to the Dreamworld events, give us after dark events that may come at a small cost on top of the ones already included in our passes. Movie World having extended hours in winter would be perfect. Park doesn't have to be open that late for everyone to get night rides.

Renewing my pass is entirely dependent on when Scooby opens & the if the wait was worth it. I have no issues with taking my business up the road.

Edited March 21 by TV15

[jhunt2]

2 hours ago, Jobe said:

He started a failed "coaster odyssey" where he was traveling the world and riding the best coaster in every country. Ambitious and it was laid out with much fanfare but he had some health issues and came home with his tail between his legs.

Hi, clickbait YouTuber in question here.

I don't normally respond to much on this forum, as I find it gets a little heated a lot of the time - as you correctly pointed out, I prefer to block that sort of thing out and allow commenters to enjoy their own echo chamber, since my channel is a hobby and I do it for happiness and a creative outlet, and I often find people tend to go for the jugular which leaves me feeling defeated and demotivated. I'm a roller coaster channel, not a platform for free speech, and I'm not obligated to give anyone's insults, or even rudely-phrased criticisms, any oxygen. But you've successfully baited me with this statement.

I thank everyone for their feedback on my content. I genuinely enjoy taking on board feedback from those who do like my videos and those who don't. I appreciate that there are plenty of people who will disagree very strongly with my opinions on the current state of Movie World, or the way I approach video essays, or the way I run my channel in general. I've enjoyed reading your own takes on Movie World's current situation, and I actually agree with some of you. You've made some interesting points. I see no ill-intent in any of your feedback, and while I stand by my statements and my approach towards criticizing Movie World after my latest visit, I respect you all for voicing your own thoughts on it. I'm not sure when my next Movie World-related video will be, but I have genuine hopes that it will be a more positive one, and I hope some of you may even give the channel a second chance and enjoy it

 

This statement right here, though, is why some commenters in particular are removed from my comments sections. This is not the first time that particular people have crossed the line from criticizing my content into drawing my personal issues into it and insulting me, and failing to see how there's a difference.

Yes, I came home from my initial attempt at Coaster Odyssey due to health issues. I have a chronic illness. I spoke candidly on my channel about how it left me in hospital on the other side of the world, which was a terrifying experience, and also led me down a very dark path in terms of my mental health. I openly discussed how I spiraled into a depression badly during that time. I worked my backside off in casual jobs to save to start that journey, and I was still working casual jobs overseas to keep the journey a reality. Even putting YouTube aside, it was a dream of mine for a long time to travel and work long-term, and to pursue theme parks around the world. It hurt to have to come to the decision that I needed to go home so soon.

And I've since been working my butt off yet again to make sure I'm recovering, getting the medical help I need, and will be continuing the series in July.

I appreciate and respect that you have your objections to my content, and that's fine. But belittling my health issues and mockingly saying that I had my "tail between my legs" during what was objectively one of the most rattling, scary, painful and gut-wrenching experiences of my life is a stretch too far.

Again, I was in a hospital, on the other side of the world from everyone I know and love, in a significant amount of pain, unsure what my insurance would cover and if I could even afford the healthcare, let alone the flight home that I eventually painfully realized I needed to book. And once I did get those airfares paid, I spent every night lying awake, still in pain, feeling like everything I'd worked so hard for over the past 2 years had gone up in smoke. I am so, so lucky that I have a wonderful support network because frankly, that trip was my reason to get out of bed a lot of days.

So thanks for your input Jobe, but kindly leave my health issues out of your criticisms, please and thank you. We all have our struggles to cope with and I'd appreciate it if you could have the decency to separate your critiques of the content I create as a hobby from direct attacks on my health and suggestions that I'm cowardly for being forced to make decisions for my own health. Cheers mate.

Edited March 21 by jhunt2

[Oofy]

6 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Nobody mentions how easily it could have been MW who killed 4 people. 

Bit of a silly comparison when Green Lantern isn’t capable of killing people all by itself from dangerous design… 
 

In regards to customer experience, I’ve had positive experiences, especially with their guest services so it’s really just down to everyone’s individual experience as it’s different to everyone. It can be bad and good. I’ve had both

[Naazon]

2 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Between insurance brokers making decisions on safety practices

nit picking, but Insurance Underwriters in this instance.

[Baconjack]

51 minutes ago, Oofy said:

Bit of a silly comparison when Green Lantern isn’t capable of killing people all by itself from dangerous design… 

Didn’t the investigation find that the wheel assembly failed from a design flaw?

[Oofy]

23 minutes ago, Baconjack said:

Didn’t the investigation find that the wheel assembly failed from a design flaw?

Yes but the rides safety features automatically prevented anything further from happening after the failure. TRRR didn’t have that, from memory, an emergency stop button had to be pressed by a ride operator but it was isolated and the operators were told not to use it

Edited March 21 by Oofy

[aussienetman]

Aging myself here... I look back on my employment with Movieworld with extremely happy memories. The team when I was there was fantastic... working the Special Effects Show was definitely a highlight. It's closure marked rhe end of my employment there as the company shifted away from scripted attractions and I wasn't interested in pushing buttons on rides anymore. 

For me, it was the shift away from scripted attractions that I believe marked the different direction for MW.  The OG batman simulator and v2. The River Ride, even to an extent working the Harry Potter or Matrix walk throughs with its interactive scripted elements. 

I can truly say back then there was zero issues for me personally with anyone working there... (although the head male park supervisor was a bit of a cranky ass sometimes 🤣)

[BNErider]

Fwiw, Movie World's Google ranking now is 4 out of 5. Lowest of all major parks in the country. 

Also, I have let my annual pass lapse for VRTP - first time in about 9 years. 

Movie World is no longer a positive place to be. It's a shopping mall with rides. 

[Jobe]

7 hours ago, jhunt2 said:

Hi, clickbait YouTuber in question here.

I don't normally respond to much on this forum, as I find it gets a little heated a lot of the time - as you correctly pointed out, I prefer to block that sort of thing out and allow commenters to enjoy their own echo chamber, since my channel is a hobby and I do it for happiness and a creative outlet, and I often find people tend to go for the jugular which leaves me feeling defeated and demotivated. I'm a roller coaster channel, not a platform for free speech, and I'm not obligated to give anyone's insults, or even rudely-phrased criticisms, any oxygen. But you've successfully baited me with this statement.

I thank everyone for their feedback on my content. I genuinely enjoy taking on board feedback from those who do like my videos and those who don't. I appreciate that there are plenty of people who will disagree very strongly with my opinions on the current state of Movie World, or the way I approach video essays, or the way I run my channel in general. I've enjoyed reading your own takes on Movie World's current situation, and I actually agree with some of you. You've made some interesting points. I see no ill-intent in any of your feedback, and while I stand by my statements and my approach towards criticizing Movie World after my latest visit, I respect you all for voicing your own thoughts on it. I'm not sure when my next Movie World-related video will be, but I have genuine hopes that it will be a more positive one, and I hope some of you may even give the channel a second chance and enjoy it

 

This statement right here, though, is why some commenters in particular are removed from my comments sections. This is not the first time that particular people have crossed the line from criticizing my content into drawing my personal issues into it and insulting me, and failing to see how there's a difference.

Yes, I came home from my initial attempt at Coaster Odyssey due to health issues. I have a chronic illness. I spoke candidly on my channel about how it left me in hospital on the other side of the world, which was a terrifying experience, and also led me down a very dark path in terms of my mental health. I openly discussed how I spiraled into a depression badly during that time. I worked my backside off in casual jobs to save to start that journey, and I was still working casual jobs overseas to keep the journey a reality. Even putting YouTube aside, it was a dream of mine for a long time to travel and work long-term, and to pursue theme parks around the world. It hurt to have to come to the decision that I needed to go home so soon.

And I've since been working my butt off yet again to make sure I'm recovering, getting the medical help I need, and will be continuing the series in July.

I appreciate and respect that you have your objections to my content, and that's fine. But belittling my health issues and mockingly saying that I had my "tail between my legs" during what was objectively one of the most rattling, scary, painful and gut-wrenching experiences of my life is a stretch too far.

Again, I was in a hospital, on the other side of the world from everyone I know and love, in a significant amount of pain, unsure what my insurance would cover and if I could even afford the healthcare, let alone the flight home that I eventually painfully realized I needed to book. And once I did get those airfares paid, I spent every night lying awake, still in pain, feeling like everything I'd worked so hard for over the past 2 years had gone up in smoke. I am so, so lucky that I have a wonderful support network because frankly, that trip was my reason to get out of bed a lot of days.

So thanks for your input Jobe, but kindly leave my health issues out of your criticisms, please and thank you. We all have our struggles to cope with and I'd appreciate it if you could have the decency to separate your critiques of the content I create as a hobby from direct attacks on my health and suggestions that I'm cowardly for being forced to make decisions for my own health. Cheers mate.

 

@jhunt2 I absolutely owe you an apology. My intention was not firstly to bully but merely comment on what occured. When I have re-read my phrasing I can definitely appreciate that it was 100% the wrong way to illustrate my view. In no way , shape or form did I wish to belittle you because of your illness ( or belittle you in general!), or attempt to mock you because of it. I can however, see , unreservedly, how you arrived at the conclusion that you did. I 100% agree with you on this and I feel very aggrieved that I have caused you such pain in how you have interpreted my poor choice of phrasing. That was never , ever my intent. I can see and empathise with you how you have arrived at this and I can feel and hear the pain in your voice in the video you have posted since. Again, I offer my humblest and sincere apologies. Please feel free to PM me as I would welcome the opportunity to clear the air further in an offline situation. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Noll_57]

6 hours ago, Baconjack said:

i wouldn’t point to superman or rapids as the cause - movie worlds practices were reasonable until Covid and they did very well with attendance. Between insurance brokers making decisions on safety practices, senior people leaving with inferior replacements and private equity owners who put dollars above customer satisfaction, there’s a lot of moving parts but it’s not necessarily ruined. just needs improvement which will come as more people realise that they’ve been ripped off on their visit and don’t come back. 

I agree. For me, Movie World still had some magic left in it in 2019, well after many of the thrill ride additions and the transition away from the behind the scenes “movie magic” theme. I just saw it as a shift in focus, rather than a downfall. MW was still fairly well run and maintained for the most part in my opinion (or at least the public facing side of things were). The park’s decline is a more recent phenomenon and didn’t really start until BGH took over and staff like Greg left. In my view, it was a sudden, sharp decline that really became noticeable in late 2021. Many of the big problems the park faces today started popping up around that time. I do agree with several points made in the video and I too do miss old school Movie World. But to suggest the downfall started all the way back in 2005 is quite ridiculous IMHO. I also wouldn’t say the park is ruined, it’s just going through a rough time at the moment. All the foundations of a good park are still there, it just needs better staff and management to turn it around. It can easily be done with the right people. 

 

[Park Addict 93]

On 21/03/2025 at 8:05 AM, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I don't think Village is suffering an image problem stemming from TRRR. They went gangbusters post-TRRR and pre-covid. Village's image problem is down to their contempt for guests, and their disregard for the guest experience. It has long ago been about making money, not memories. THAT is the fucking image problem at village.

20 hours ago, TV15 said:

I think the work environment is ruined and has been for a long time, nothing new there. I don't agree with his new ride proposals/revamp of the park nor what he thinks a movie theme park is, but I do support the work environment changes, it starts from the top. 

Very much this, happy and valued staff make a huge difference. I have heard an absurd amount of stories from staff former and current about a toxic workplace culture and have witnessed firsthand management make threats. 

12 hours ago, Noll_57 said:

I agree. For me, Movie World still had some magic left in it in 2019, well after many of the thrill ride additions and the transition away from the behind the scenes “movie magic” theme. I just saw it as a shift in focus, rather than a downfall. MW was still fairly well run and maintained for the most part in my opinion (or at least the public facing side of things were). The park’s decline is a more recent phenomenon and didn’t really start until BGH took over and staff like Greg left. In my view, it was a sudden, sharp decline that really became noticeable in late 2021. Many of the big problems the park faces today started popping up around that time. I do agree with several points made in the video and I too do miss old school Movie World. But to suggest the downfall started all the way back in 2005 is quite ridiculous IMHO. I also wouldn’t say the park is ruined, it’s just going through a rough time at the moment. All the foundations of a good park are still there, it just needs better staff and management to turn it around. It can easily be done with the right people. 

Very much agree with this, Greg leaving and BGH Capitol takeover marked a sharp decline and it's by no means irreversible. I think the response to the initial video speaks to the general reviews, and peoples experience over the past few years that in my opinion has caused reputational damage to VRTP.

I have held an annual/membership since 2006, and I visit much less than I used to due to the declining standards across various aspects of the business and increasingly poor guest experience.

[Levithian]

23 hours ago, Baconjack said:

criticising the leadership is a legitimate take away. Have said this on many occasions. When Greg left village and took a bunch of senior people with him the people they got in his place clearly aren’t up to the task of running a park, creating a good environment for staff or looking after their customers. 

He was pushed out because some of those people were promoted AHEAD of him, not in his place after he left. 
 

19 hours ago, Oofy said:

Yes but the rides safety features automatically prevented anything further from happening after the failure. TRRR didn’t have that, from memory, an emergency stop button had to be pressed by a ride operator but it was isolated and the operators were told not to use it

Heh. What safety features do you think stopped the car? 

I'll give you a hint, it hit the cross ties in multiple places and ground along the track rails until it stopped.  

People complaining about shifts based on original opening attractions have absolutely no idea what was happening behind the scenes. Rides like LTRR were closed because 1) the attendance had dropped to levels questioning its viability 2) it was exceedingly expensive, and even quite complicated and border line unsafe to maintain. Think, lots of mechanical components, very, VERY poor access. These two major issues run true for just about every attraction closed by village.  There comes a point where if it was to even continue operation it would need to be completely overhauled. Sometimes the requirements to bring it forward to current standards aren't even possible. Youd have to destroy the ride to do it and it's just not worth it financially. They literally crunch the numbers and look at the boost in attendance new attractions bring.

There is absolutely an expectation from the public that new rides are frequently developed. Every time you get complaints on social media its almost an even split between those complaining about the good old days and demanding they bring back old rides they loved the last time they visited 15 years ago; and those complaining they still have the same old rides and they should build something new (frequently heard even when they literally are building new rides). 

Everyone going on and on and ON about the lack of anything relating to studios/movie magic, etc, just have to face the reality it is never going to happen again. There is NO relationship with the studios next door, they are separate entities, they are booked out by production companies who manage their own site presence and demand control over site access. Members of the public even existing within a working production facility is a risk. Not just to the privacy and all the shit you have to put up with when members of the public try to break onto set and take photos of back of house stuff, but it's a huge safety risk too. 

I jumped ahead to recommendations and this dude has cherry picked every, single suggestion raised by people on this site previously. Problem is, over half of his demands are already done or have been done by current management and none of it improves the employee experience. You know what will see the biggest boost in morale and quickly reduce apathy? Start paying them properly. They have used enterprise agreements to criminally underpay staff for exceedingly long periods of time. It's a big part of the reason why they have issues retaining experienced operations staff. Few now see it as a career choice, and lots move on once they finish their studies at uni or tafe, or go on to start families and never return once they have had kids. It's a job that often works for people based on the varied shifts on offer, especially weekend work. It's not somewhere filled with a lot of career progression, especially if you aren't part of the in crowd and all the little cliques that go on within different management teams. 

When he jumps forward to saying guests should be able to experience a minimum of 8 rides per day based on throughput, i switched off. Just couldn't listen to the ramblings anymore. For someone apparently so well traveled, he acts like he has never experienced the 2-3 hour waits for attractions are parks overseas. Where Australian parks let people down is in the queue line experience vs those same 2-3 hr waits overseas. There is nothing to keep them comfortable and ABSOLUTELY nothing interesting to try and keep people amused. 

Pretty much every suggestion surrounding the visual look, and especially things like merchandising and characters throughout the park is seemingly made with no understanding that even something like a person looking like a director walking around with a bullhorn can be a licenced image. All the seasonal theming, all the specific imagery used in events like fright nights and white christmas exist because of a large number of licencing and production agreements. You can't just build a water tower and stick a WB logo on it. Even without the WB logo, the water tower itself is likely iconic and has a trademark based on its image. Thats the level of detail you start to get into when some of the imagery experienced has been in use for decades. 

I have to pull him up though on suggesting staff are unsafe or your safety is at risk based on apparent attitudes though. Thats absolute BS and you should be ashamed for saying things like this, especially since you know the park are never going to respond publicly to bullshit like this. It's a pity people feel like they can say and do anything they want, because it would be great for the parks to fact check so many of the mistruths people spread on social media. 

It's all well and good to make demands costing hundreds of millions of dollars, but where does the operational budget come from? Every time parks even look at rising their entry fees or passes they are crucified by everyone. If they try to maximise attendance numbers during peak season or during events, they are crucified by people for allowing too many people within the park. 

You have to get the money from somewhere, and not enough people actually seem to understand this. The figures were publicly available in every end of year report while the company was still listed on the stock exchange. You could literally see where the budgets go, how much turnover the parks generate and how little actual profit this results in. Any suggestions to change in direction, change of operation and complete overhauls to attractions and facilities has to keep in mind the realities of what can actually be accomplished. Especially in very, very short periods of time. 

Edited March 22 by Levithian

[Levithian]

People blaming the takeover as the catalyst for change in management styles and the focus of the business really need to look closer at what was going on behind the scenes between John and Robert Kirby, and John Kirby and Graeme Burke too. It started long before talks of potential buy outs, before the sale of assets and the change in management. The accident at Dreamworld and the huge dive experienced by Ardent was just the final straw. 

Edited March 22 by Levithian

[BNErider]

Here's some things that would cost Village almost nothing.

- Performance manage and support GOOD staff. Yes, they don't pay a lot. But you do have good people there. Managers need to do their job. That even includes greeting and saying goodbye to guests at the entrance. Be a leader!

- Get some people in that know how to be creative. The Wizard of Oz alley could easily be made to look like a backlot leading to the Wizard of Oz area, or something generic. It doesn't have to be the way it is. Plant some greenery between GL and the carpark, we don't want to see the carpark as we're lining up. Have some shows or meet and greets AROUND the park, even though Main Street is your money maker.

- Back on the staffing point of view, have ride supervisors talk to guests over a microphone. No-one wants to be shouted at in line. I would argue the staff don't enjoy that either.

- Focus on safely pushing throughput. Have managers trained like Greg Yong was who were trained ride operators, to SUPPORT and LEAD staff.

- Shade and water FFS. Guests need to feel respected. Turn on the mist fans in lines. It is not hard!

- Stop pretending your shit don't stink and listen to all complaints. Dreamworld has respect for the guest. Village on the other hand seems to forget that. It comes from the top.

- Don't bring in brands that cheapen the experience. Or at the very least, make sure they theme their food vans (I'm looking at you, Boost Juice).

- The whole comms team need a kick up the ass. Scooby Doo isn't closed for maintenance, so why it is listed as such. Remove it from the ride closures page and create a dedicated website to its new 2025/2026 launch. In park, share some teasers to make it look like it's worth coming back for. That castle should be fenced up or covered in new artwork. Hollywood Stunt Show not showing any more shows that day? I don't remember the wording, but it it's very much along the lines of 'CLOSED'. Say something like "All shows for today have taken place". You need the place feeling ALIVE, not barely alive. Villains Unleashed... you can do SOMETHING there to make it not feel like a ghost town. It is not good enough to leave it barely alive.

Key points:

- Guest experience

- Energy and excitement

- Presentation standards that don't cost $$$$

- Leading from the top to keep GOOD staff, and remove poor performers

- Listen to all feedback

- Improve your comms to build that energy and excitement

Edited March 22 by BNErider
Word

[Levithian]

They had pretty much all of this and drove the staff actually delivering on these ideals away over the last decade. 

Few people, unless working within a corporate environment and exposed to the decision making process understand just how much EVERY management decision is influenced by financial considerations. EVERYTHING you do, especially in this climate, comes back to cost. 

Want better scenery? want more immersive interactive elements? sure. You double the cost of the ride being developed. You also increase the maintenance budget to keep it running. Want an example of what happens when you put money into elements but don't step up the operational budget to keep things running? Look at pretty much every single ride or attraction at village roadshow over the last 20 years. I cannot think of any ride addition over the last 15 years that didn't have its budget amended prior to the build process being completed. Everything that was costed and agreed upon when approval to start the build ends up being reviewed and costs were reduced, usually at the expense of things they can control. Theming, visuals, operational stuff. Basically things they know will have an impact on guest satisfaction but don't rate the result high enough vs the cost savings. It's probably the single biggest reason why a wall doesn't exist, ruining any immersion left. Not because someone didn't raise it, or because it wasn't factored into it during the design or build process, but because someone likely said no. It's ok to see through to back of house or into nearby buildings. 

Same goes for shade and water. Someone, somewhere has decided it isn't cost effective, and it hasn't been implemented. I can imagine the pivot to this would have been to maximise retail options for people to purchase drinks instead. 

This is what drives the talented people away more than just wages. A lack of growth, a lack of improvements and basically just reducing everything to a budgetary consideration, results in those people leaving because their job satisfaction has taken a massive hit. Essentially, people just give up on the ideal of the business.

Problem is, since covid, village parks have been having problems getting ANY staff, leading to major shortages across pretty much all departments. You can't get rid of people you consider underperformers if you trouble attracting anyone. I can tell you with 100% accuracy, that following the reopening period after COVID, a number of ride closures experienced had absolutely nothing to do with maintenance issues and everything to do with not having enough trained, experienced staff to open attractions. I would not be at all surprised if this is still going on today, operational decisions to reduce ride capacity based on cost reduction or staffing levels, not purely because of maintenance issues. 
 

Edited March 22 by Levithian