Stage 3 is go go go

[joz]

You could always substitute staff with surveillance - one operator to watch the entire course - and nobody can say thats a safety issue because they did it on snowy - where the waters were much more turbulent. As for insulating the pools to minimise heat loss - i've seen something somewhere where you chuck it in the water, and it spreads a non-toxic film across the surface of the water, and it acts like a pool blanket - that would be a feasibile option for a lazy river, would it not?

There's a big difference between Snowy and a lazy river. If someone falls into the water at Snowy the only thing you can do is press the e-stop and see where the body, er, guest ends up. With a lazy river if a guest needs attention you can't just e-stop and leave your post if someone needs help, since there's still guests in the attraction and there's still the chance more could happen while attending to the first guest. I doubt that cameras would be as good at making the guests behave. I also would doubt wether the chemical you suggested (and the levels required) would be a cost effective fix considering the cost of the chemicals, what the could do to the filters and labour to administer Edited April 10, 2010 by joz

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well it was only a suggestion. As to the surveillance, i didn't mean one person for the whole attraction... One person in the surveillance room, and one person able to attend spots of trouble (you can get anywhere at calypso in about 15 seconds) If further assistance was required (which would not be constant), your security or guest relations staff could attend.

[themeparkgc]

I can't see WWW relying predominately on surveillance. The Cave of Waves features surveillance above and below the water but they still have several staff (probably somewhere between 3 and 5) no matter what time of the year it is. I understand that a wave pool is different from a lazy river but I believe the same principle still applies. This would be especially the case if the lazy river featured a wave channel.

[joz]

To be fair, I think a lazy river would make a great addition to WWW, and is right up there on my wish-list for the park along with a Dark Mammoth slide and a Swim up bar. I also think advertising that the park has a lazy river thats open over winter might even be something of a draw card. It would also allow them to go after WnW in a way they might actually win.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Win? all WnW would have to do is open Calypso over winter - few hours in the middle of the day to advertise the same thing... WWW need to do something to stand out - not imitate. I like the lazy river idea - it will certainly soak up guests and increase capacity - but they need a point of difference right now - i do like the idea of a swim up bar, but i can't see that it is feasible. the logistics would be a nightmare.

[joz]

A swim up bar heads my personal wish list, I know it's possible since some biggish water parks have them (Oceans of fun comes instantly to mind) but I don't see it ever happening. If it did happen I'd buy a pass, but I know it never will. As for the whole 'win' thing (and I don't want to get bogged down here in one of those arguments that goes in circles) what I was more getting at is that WWW at least have a chance of a positive point of difference with the year round lazy river thing, rather than like with the Wedgee, where they know full well what they just added will be totally overshadowed before they get any sort of return on it. And hey, if WWW just make their Lazy River better then there's a point of difference right there.

[GoGoBoy]

A swim up bar heads my personal wish list, I know it's possible since some biggish water parks have them (Oceans of fun comes instantly to mind) but I don't see it ever happening. If it did happen I'd buy a pass, but I know it never will.

joz I'm starting to think you have an alcohol problem! I agree the point of difference with a new lazy river at WWW could be that it is a BETTER lazy river. By adding a wave channel into the river (as they originally planned to do with their submitted documents) and various theming elements such as waterfalls you instantly have a better and marketable product. I really hope WWW does go back to this plan of seriously expanding the waterpark with some great attractions rather than minor knee-jerk slides that attempt to compete with WnW but then fail

[joz]

I don't have a problem with alcohol, I love it! But yeah, I think we're pretty much all thinking the same thing, add something that will have either some impact or have a positive point of difference with WnW, hence my suggestion of dark mammoth, swim up bar and a (better than Calypso) lazy river. Of the stuff from the stage 3 plans, I will say that given the park already has three bowl slides and a Tornado I t think a tornado alley or a similar duel slide would not make the best addition to the park at this stage, but any of the attractions I've listed (and indeed many, many more that aren't listed, Boomerango for example) would be the better direction to go.

[GoGoBoy]

I don't have a problem with alcohol, I love it! But yeah, I think we're pretty much all thinking the same thing, add something that will have either some impact or have a positive point of difference with WnW, hence my suggestion of dark mammoth, swim up bar and a (better than Calypso) lazy river. Of the stuff from the stage 3 plans, I will say that given the park already has three bowl slides and a Tornado I t think a tornado alley or a similar duel slide would not make the best addition to the park at this stage, but any of the attractions I've listed (and indeed many, many more that aren't listed, Boomerango for example) would be the better direction to go.

Totally agree! Even though I teased you about it I do think a swim-up bar would be a nice addition and give something for the adults. The dark mammoth and 'enhanced' lazy rivers would also be perfect - and considering these were part of their original expansion plans, they were obviously thinking the same thing! I really hope this hasn't been completely shelved. A boomerango would have been a great addition instead of the Wedgie. I think Gazza and I were speculating a few months ago that this might have been the type of slide they were going to add to the tower at the front of the park, before the super loop was confirmed. In regards to the Wedgie, I really think the DW marketing department would have saved themselves a lot of grief by referring to it as 'Australia's first trapdoor-launch waterslide' rather than mentioning anything about a loop