The better half of dreamworld

[Slick]

From a weekly basis from now on (thanks to my season pass) I will be visiting dreamworld and will be updating you with news about the lara croft ride (i'll get to that soon). What i'll be doing in these posts is getting a Dreamworld map and marking a number on sections to show you what i'm talking about so get ready as I inspire you into the future (metaphore). (1) ThunderBolt Site Currently, a big painting of the beach (stretching from the entrance to the aftermath shop) has been placed to cover the ThunderBolt's station, which is fully no longer visible. Still no deconstruction on the ThunderBolt other than the track had been oiled to a point where the rails are now black (no joke.) (2)River Rapids The River Rapids have had major, MAJOR retheming to make the ride 100% more wet! Since June, they now have large dinosaurs/lizards 2 metres tall coming out of the water in the tunnels and there are sounds, lighting and other new effects in place to make this ride seriously scary. There was also men later on in the day video taping the River Rapids with Kodak broadcast quality video cameras and TV's etc. for supposedly an air-conditiong ad! This is probably 100% a lie due to the fact that a) River Rapids has no air-conditioning they were just taping the rapids, not tunnels or anything c)one of the only rides to use air-conditioning is the Tower Of Terror. This has Daikin air conditioners in the entrance and in each station up the track. (3)Cyclone maintnence I think the term "Annual maintnence" is just a tad bit over-exagerated, i think it's more lift hill cleaning and repairing rather than maintnence at all. Infact, all that happened was a partial chunk of track (the slope of the first drop) and the pulley brought on to the staircase below. Hope that makes sense (4)Future enjoyment Currently, the entire strip of building (shown below) has a long, tall silver fence around it and has sings saying, Shops being improved for your enjoyment! This looks like to include the whole thing being replaced by something because the whole strip of buildings where stripped. (5)Blue Lagoon is cool, so leave it alone. On my trip through the River Rapids I got immensely wet so to cool off at the end of the day we went to Blue Lagoon to check it out. Now, before any posts another Blue Lagoon enhancement Thread, let me tell you that Dreamworld does not need it. Blue Lagoon currently has maybe 20 10 year-olds riding the waterslides. The only thing dreamworld needs to improve is the bumps along the normal waterslide (not the drop one nor the aqualoop flume ride) as these hurt especially when you go slightly fater than recommended from Kenny in the large sign in the mountain :twisted: (6)The island of the future While this map show that the island is quite incredibly small, let me tell you, it is huge!!!!! If you head on down to scott-ware's dreamworld website (that's the only info i have on that site) and have a look at previous maps, there are even wharfs connecting to the island. Could this be a sign of things to come you ask, i say, if they aren't entitled to keep the island the way it currently is due to the wildlife there, I would 100% think by 2008 there will be something REALLY SPECTACULAR ON THAT ISLAND. Something extra for the kiddies As i was riding the RR, just before we started dropping i noticed (where the sheds are next to Tiger Island) there was a lot of parts to something that looks EXACTLY like a big fibre-optic castle. Anyone for some seriously big Lara Croft action these summer holidays? Cya soon

[GoGoBoy]

Wow, this is the first I've heard about the re-theming on Thunder River. Did anyone else know about this? Congrats to Dreamworld for paying such attention to detail and putting money back into existing rides. Dreamworld's rapids were always well themed (especially when compared to Wonderland) so it's great to hear they have been enhanced even more. Can you give any more specifics about what has been changed? I remember the last time I went on that ride the elephants that shoot water were looking a bit worn out. Have they upgraded the already existing theming also?

[Richard]

Unless they're different dinosaurs (in the first cave, right?), they've been there for over a year now. What they did was stuck a few remaining figures from Creature Cruise in the cave to the sides, and it goes pretty well with the loud noises of growling and galeforce winds and thunder and everything, and strobe lights to add the lightning. Nonetheless, it's a pretty good way to add some more fun to an already pretty decent (and certainly popular) ride. The elephants still look worn out, and the old clunky photography equipment is still decaying over near the elephants (they went digital quite a while back, and now take the photos in the station). Cleaning and repairing I'd say are by all means maintenance. There's no way you can do this effectively (well there is, but we're talking old-school Disney budgets ). Now, pray that they're replacing the wheels on the train while they're at it, and Cyclone might be able to return to some of its former glory (saying that like it's a 20 year old ride that's no longer one of the central attractions). Gum Tree Gully and Rivertown, where the maintenance is going on would have to be my favourite section of the park. I'd love some life to be brought back to some of the old shops, many of which aren't used anymore, but let's hope they don't go overboard and ruin the pleasant feel of the area. There is a series of walkways connection the islands, which is what's seen on the old maps. I'm assuming that they're for staff access etc., as anyone that remembers the old Captain Sturt shows will remember the series of scenes, which would have required the same actors to move very quickly from place to place to keep ahead of the boat. Still, you're very correct in that there is quite a lot of room to spare, but the bridges you see aren't new, and there are some docks etc. that would be used for scenery more than anything. Walk around to the wildlife park some time via Gum Tree Gully (past the Billabong Restaurant), and you'll see the bridges you're talking about.

[Slick]

No, remarkably these are very new dinosaurs, like giant serpents with their heads out of the water, with sound effects that make out they are growling and hissing at you. These are probably 1 metre thick and 2 metres tall, very scary indeed. Also, the old photography (which i was trying to find anxiously) was 100% gone, not a trace left next to the elephants. And as for the elephants, they're the same, worn down elephants. But the were a couple of new crocodile figures with sound effects which is again a very nice touch that will go far for Dreamworld. And just remember everybody, dreamworld is not just for rollercoasters, it's to escape from your usual life into a world of fantasy and, thrill! Make no mistake, DreamWorld, since 1981 and to this day still do this, and with some remarkable results/

[Psycho]

Is it just me or has anyone else thought the theming on Thunder River Rapids is just plain......weird? I mean, elephants, serpents, and dinosaurs in the area of the park themed to colonial Australia.... Wouldn't it have been better to have tin water towers leaking onto riders and things like that?..... Am I missing something here? It just seems so out of place

[SydRider]

I have a question about the Eureka Mine Train ... has the configuration of the track changed? I know that the carriages have ... two single riders behind each other as apposed to the carriages they have now ... but I seem to remember the track a lot darker and a bigger dip than there is now.

[GoGoBoy]

Haha that's so funny psycho and so true! I had never actually thought about that...

[Richard]

The story behind Thunder River makes the theming slightly more logical. I can't elaborate much more than this, simply because I don't remember the exact details, but essentially it's a journey down a magic river that was found by some drunk old fossickers or something along those lines. It's not supposed to be a journey through a mining town or anything, and frankly the rusty roofs and junk has been well and truly overdone. The track on Eureka Mountain is exactly the same as it was when it was first built, and I'm certain that the trains were always two rows of two passengers.

[rappa]

I've been visiting Dreamworld ever since I was a little lad (not that I'm that much bigger now ) back when they first opened (both TRR and EM opened at the same time) and the cars have always had 4 riders per car in two compartments... I do remember how they changed Thunder River though, much prefered the rotating station, same goes for Snowy at WL. I'm glad Sea World kept this system when they did BT.

[Shaun]

So TRR's had a rotating station, neat, I sapose that explains that part of the station to the right I wonder why they got rid of it, needed too many staff? I thought there had always been dinosaurs or something in that first cave? It's really nice to hear DW improving/looking after their themeing. Great post slic, and i agree that the back half of the park map is pretty out of proportion, that island is huge! It's such a nice island though too just go and clear. So the paddle steamer doesn't run anymore? Do you think that if they built on the island DW would start her back up running again? Shaun

[Richard]

The paddleboat does still run, but there's no longer a show, which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole boat ride. I know I haven't ridden it since I think 1999, because of the lack of the show.

[Slick]

Actually, i was talking to one of the staff members (nice guy, kiwi, he was really cool) and there is still a show going, just without the animatronics.

[Richard]

As I know it, they've been simply putting on an audio track of some nature for the ride. If that's what you'd call a show, then yeah, there is still a show. The last show they did was a comedy western stunt show, with real live performers and lots of gunfire. Now, the show before that was the real gem. It to me represents Dreamworld when it was truly at its peak (to me, it's all been downhill since about when Wipeout showed up). It might have been a bit before you, Slick, but they had their "Just for Fun!" campaign of the early 90's, with the TV ads had that classic footage of one guy jumping up with a firestick between his legs which was from the original show. The park's now got nothing more than the Nickelodeon shows left. If it were up to me, I'd at least go about bringing back (obviously in a new, revamped form) the old shows that have died. They've got the one from Captain Sturt, and an empty theatre in Gum Tree Gully. Shows add flavour to a park. As it is, Dreamworld is pretty well flavourless.

[rappa]

Yeah I remember that show back from the 90s when I was little Richard. It was actualy really good and pretty funny in the typical family orientated slapstick way. Captain Sturt used to be a really great attraction...even if it does run on tracks HEHEHE