12 hours ago, Baconjack said:

Control systems are not a cheap upgrade (from what I understand Movie World didn't see the value in replacing Arkham's one that was life expired and opted to pull the whole thing down instead, among a whole bunch of other issues).

That and Arkham / Lethal Weapon also was a much more intense ride, and would have had a lot more stress on the track as well. But yes, that ride had a lot of issues which was mostly due to the Kumbak "Upgrade" if that's what we really want to call it.

Given that there are some Arrow loopers from the 70's and 80's still running strong, I don't really think that Gold Coaster is in any real danger any time soon. When we start to see most of those bigger loopers like Viper, Cedar Point's Corkscrew etc closing I'd be a bit more worried.

Overall it's a reliable ride, not taking up much space (that could be used for other things) and still gets riders so why get rid of it?

It looks like maybe we are going to see something more than just a refurbishment for those who thought it may just be a refurbishment.

“Last chance to experience this iconic launch” would suggest that this next ride will be using a completely different ride system then Motocoaster…

From what I remember of other closures such as TOT2, as much as the community speculated a retheme, when DW said something was closing, it's gone.

According to this video from Jaggs Journeys, he was sent an email directly from the park that said the ride was “closing to get ready for its next chapter”, suggesting a retheme rather than a removal (he talks about it at 4:04 and 4:52).

2 hours ago, Noll_57 said:

"closing to get ready for its next chapter”

This could also mean it has been sold and will move to a different park. We really don't know.

15 hours ago, wikiverse said:

This could also mean it has been sold and will move to a different park. We really don't know.

Maybe, but I’m not sure the park would make a statement like that if the ride was truly leaving, as parks tend to not mention when rides are sold and moved to other parks (I don’t think Dreamworld has ever publicly acknowledged that Buzzsaw was moved down to Gumbuya World for example). At least it seems the ride will live on in some form whatever happens.

As much as I’d love to see a new water ride or dark ride built, I think the most likely outcome is that Motocoaster will be reworked in some way (likely with new trains and possible tweaks to the ride layout) to improve it and allow it to integrate better into Rivertown. We’ll see what happens though.

Announcing a re-theme after saying it was closing permanently would be the first major faux pas under Greg Yong’s leadership at DW.

The park has rebuilt its reputation on transparency and good will - under their current leadership I struggle to see how/why they would make that call now. It’s not like they are hoping announcing the closure is going to drive attendance. It was peak holiday period anyways, and it’s hardly a major drawcard like TOT was.

Agreed, announcing a closure, but the. Retheming it would be the first bad move Dreamworld has done as of late.

They are ticking boxes left right and centre at the moment with Rivertown and King Claw. Retheming a very average ride would make no sense.

Maybe we should just take a moment on all this breathe in, out, etc..

Seriously, calm the fuck down everyone! Has Dreamworld management given you many reasons for concern over their creative direction of late? NO???

no.

Let's not go jumping the gun here pp!? Hold your fire, maybe, can we just take our time, wait & see before unloading judgement....? Yuh?!😁

My guess is JJ asked Guest Services for the inside word, and Dreamworld rolled out the usual line: “MC is closing as we prepare for a new chapter.”

And “a new chapter” is park-speak for absolutely anything. A re-theme, a new ride, or a freshly mown patch of grass with big dreams.

Would like to see a continuation of the Rivertown theme. My bet if it is a coaster it'll be Vekoma. A STC, Wildcat or multi-launch would be cool with forest green track and burnt orange supports and rustic Australian theming.

^ nice idea but this beauty looks a good 20m + Id hazard a guess , the real budget would be less than half that figure. Maybe close to 20m if you want to include a river boat cruise and another lesser attraction to Rivertown, but Yuh, just nuh.

By "that" & "next chapter" , surely they're hinting at something a little closer to home. An easy retheme, - immersive queue, spinning cars, even a 2nd launch? Tbh, this Coaster has far more potential than just pulling it down. Guess I'll be standing by to eat my word soup, but in the meantime I guess we'll just have to wait and see 😋

Today they had Mick Doohan doing a couple laps on the ride filming an on ride POV/reaction with the social team.

Got my final rides on Motocoaster, pretty surreal to see it finally closing after so long but whatever comes to replace it will be better in every way. RIP Motocoaster, made sure to get my final on ride photo.

I also went for one last lap on Motocoaster today. It’s definitely strange to think it’ll no longer be around, but I can’t wait to see what happens to the site.

Also, the car park was completely full again which was great to see!

Popped in with my son for a final ride too, she’d had her time but had some good memories

Apparently Motocoaster was running without riders today.

It's just stretching it's legs, something you could never do as a rider. /s

Edited February 3Feb 3 by New display name

Most references to Motocoaster have now been removed from the website aside from the park maps.

It has been removed from the park maps in the park though

Curious to see how long until demolition begins for Motocoaster. I suspect it might stay standing for a little bit since we don’t have a replacement announced which could mean it’ll be a little while until we get the replacement.

Edited February 6Feb 6 by Smol bean

14 hours ago, Smol bean said:

Curious to see how long until demolition begins for Motocoaster. I suspect it might stay standing for a little bit since we don’t have a replacement announced which could mean it’ll be a little while until we get the replacement.

If there’s no immediate plan to remove, then why close it?

12 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

If there’s no immediate plan to remove, then why close it?

Possible reasons:

• it may have reached max cycle counts before major maintenance/upgrades. Better to just get rid of it now than spend the money limping along when you're going to ditch it anyway

• it may have been sold based on its current condition/cycles. It will take time to arrange removal/shipping to a new park.

• there may be a replacement ride in the works that is delayed, but closing it now is still the best option financially.

• there may be other upgrades/surveys the park wants to make to drainage/electrical in that area for future rides/development and the current ride needs to be closed so that can happen, quietly closing it for this kind of 'maintenance' and then just removing it would have prevented DW from giving it the send-off they did (in a peak holiday period).

The important thing is that they've announce it's retirement and given it a farewell. People accept that the park is in a transition and that old rides will go. But now they've got people speculating about its replacement, which is word-of-mouth marketing that they don't need to pay for.

my assumption is the ride has been sold to some park, especially since the ride was testing for a couple days after it closed to the public. i’m not sure if a replacement will open by the end of this year but i think the replacement will definitely be under construction by the end of this year.

Shutting the torture chamber while the ride count’s still on the low side, feels like removing seats from a lifeboat. Very strange.