Official Kamikaze Thread

[rappa]

We have a media call tomorrow at 11am so I will be riding then. Will let you all know how the ride goes.

[Gazza]

I was going to be going down tomorrow anyway given the 1st was the opening date, I'll get pics etc.

[GoGoBoy]

Yeah the pics worked, thanks Gazza. I've gotta say I think it's an ugly attraction and I don't like the way Wet 'n' Wild has been presenting their slides recently. Calypso Beach was the last attraction with decent presentation standards in my opinion. I really feel like these Kamakaze slides are in a way a step backwards. They are old waterpark technology which have since been superseded. I'm surprised to see WnW putting it in

[rappa]

well it may be old technology but we just finished riding and that slide rocks! Great ride experience and just good fun. Better than tornado in my opinion. Did you ride it gazza?

[cadboy]

Did you get any pics of the ride operation? Glad you had fun, were there heaps of people at the park today for the opening? and finally were the rafts heavy to carry and how were lines? Sorry for the flood of questions Cheers,

[rappa]

No, no cameras allowed, unless they are carried by big american accent camera type dudes. Not really, park seemed pretty quiet, the opening is not being advertised so... although it would appear a large vessel landed nearby direct from scandinavia as we were leaving. The rafts are solid but not really hard to carry, unless you are a Olympian BMX rider in which case they seemed too much trouble to carry yourself and it appeared easier to have someone else carry the tube up and then just take theirs. Was there anyone else form this site on the media call?

Edited October 1, 2008 by djrappa

[cadboy]

No, no cameras allowed, unless they are carried by big american accent camera type dudes.

Why not? I mean it is open now isn't it, are they still trying to hide it from the public? Does anyone else think it is interresting that W'n'W's last three major attractions Tornado, Surfrider and Kamikaze all offer sort of the same ride experience. Up, down, Up, down half pipe sort of rides, anyhow. Cheers,

[Troy81]

The opening was advertised on the Brisbane radio this morning.

[rappa]

No cameras on the slide! And I wasn't walking all the way back to my bag to get a photo that you will see tons of in the next few days I'm sure. And putting an announcement in the news section of the radio is harldy going to make a whole bunch (and I mean thousands not tens) change their plans for the day just to go to Wet N Wild. If anything it would probably make them NOT go, as it would make you think it would be busy.

[Swanny]

Does anyone else think it is interresting that W'n'W's last three major attractions Tornado, Surfrider and Kamikaze all offer sort of the same ride experience. Up, down, Up, down half pipe sort of rides, anyhow.

A few people have mentioned the similarity. I'm sure some would have considered it as interesting.

I still think that Kamikaze looks as though it's basically just half of the Tornado funnel. So would this ride similar to the Tornado minus the small drop at the end? An OK ride from experience, though it seems pretty similar to what tornado does Also as many have stated it would deliver roughly the same eperience as tornado. the Sidewinder design seems almost identical to the Tornado and I don't see how the experiences on either ride would be different. I would be majorly disappointed if they added the Sidewinder slide too. It really is a poor man's Tornado I guess the dual installation is a point of difference to Tornado I haven't yet seen how this ride would be much different experience from the tornado ...it does just seem like a smaller and less impressive version of the Tornado.

Also as many have stated it would deliver roughly the same eperience as tornado.

[cadboy]

Wow, thanks for the correction Swanny Greater minds think alike

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Looking at the pics, it would seem very similar to the tornado without a roof? Clint - what did you mean by large vessel landed direct from scandinavia - do tell - sounds like something we would like to know about...

[Gazza]

well it may be old technology but we just finished riding and that slide rocks! Great ride experience and just good fun. Better than tornado in my opinion. Did you ride it gazza?

Yeah, I did, I'm writing an article now.

[rappa]

Why didn't we see you there? You should have said hi... you weren't riding were you? Nothing Alex, just as we were exiting about 30 blonde bombshells in bikinis decended on the area, it was quite a sight! The ride experience is much more intense and I guess almost more violent (but in a good way) than tornado.

[Gazza]

^Really, I thought it was the other way around. Or maybe we are talking about different aspects of the ride. In any case, be on the look out for the TV commercial, it will feature one or both of the below. A)Lots of people running towards the ride, hands in the air cheering B)Lots of people standing on the exit platform watching the ride, hands in the air cheering

[BNErider]

Was the media call and annual pass holder preview incorporated into the same event? In any case, did Parkz get an invite?

[Gazza]

In the morning they were filming the TV ad, then they had the media call, then those people who won tickets to WnW got to go on first, then there was lots of faffing, then it opened. The passholder morning and breakfast is not until next week. I don't think parkz was invited, but the place was crawling with WVTP management types anyway and they were happy to chat.

Edited October 1, 2008 by Gazza

[BNErider]

Ah ok - Isn't it damn silly that WVTP don't invite websites. Do big sites like GoldCoast.com.au get invites, does anyone know?

[Gazza]

^That site is just the online portal for the GC Bulletin, so you'd hope so.

[BNErider]

Ah ok then. How long are the ride cycles? Do the lines go down pretty quickly?

[rappa]

Internet was welcome, Renee even said so, they just perhaps didn't so an INVITE for parkz... or maybe Richard was just busy today. Joz and I could have represented but I guess we were too busy having fun. It's pretty hard with a slide, not much to review, just go ride it. From what I understand the collection of boy and girl hotties were hired models to add some eye candy when they completed the tv commercial this afternoon. Did you ride Gazza? It's certainly steeper and more sudden than tornato and in my opinion more re-ridable. I dunno, I just couldn't help smiling and laughing the whole time. You feel a lot less safer than on tornado in my opinion.

[Gazza]

The ride experience is much more intense and I guess almost more violent (but in a good way) than tornado.

What I was getting at though is that you get swamped with water less, and the 'bump' of water at the bottom is a bit weaker, so you just keep going back and forth more. The drop and steepness is a bit freaky (yay tagline), so it is more intense in that regard. For those of you visiting, when you are at the top go check out the safety sign, in particular the point about keeping your chin down. There seems to be a funny mix up with the pictogram.

[joz]

As the parkz.com.au representative, I demand more bottled water and better breakfast platter! The cake platter can only go so far. Special props must go to WnW for getting rid of said cakes before the 30 blonde bombshells got there. While they may need to eat, they don't need cake. Perhaps a small side salad without the dressing and a glass of water? Truthfully though, the slide was much, much better then I thought it would be. The first drop into the slide is insane, and as normally is the case, it looks heaps steaper once you're up the top looking down. Also unlike Tornado, the build up of water at the bottom of the slide does little if anything to slow you down, and you get a very long way up the sides. Plus even the small kids seemed to get a long way up the slide as well, so everyone should get a real thrill out of it. I guess if I had to sum it up in a word, I'd say its "fun". Its not the biggest thing or scariest thing at WnW, its not the most advanced ride there by a long shot, but its a scream out loud, laugh your head off, go again, sort of good time. As for lines, well I'd suggest they'll be able to put through 200 - 250pph, so the queue should be moving a little bit quicker then Cyclone, but still not overly quickly. Get there early, get there first would be my advice.

[Richard]

I think the mystique and hype around media events in the enthusiast community is bizarre... kinda makes sense in the US where they often use enthusiast groups as TV camera fodder, but here it's a bit different. You know the last time I think I asked for an invite to anything was back when Shrek opened. They obliged but I don't think we were able to make it anyway. These days if I find an invite in my inbox, it's relevant (e.g. not a haunted house) and I can arrange coverage (myself or others to attend) we might cover it but that's about the extent of effort/time I'm willing and able to put into sorting these things out. The parks know who we are and what we do, so the rest is up to them if they want the coverage.

[Gazza]

I think the mystique and hype around media events in the enthusiast community is bizarre

I guess it's the whole idea of people wanting to get in first, since rides are anticipated for months. I guess it's the same thing that makes people camp out for days to get an iPhone or whatever when it launches, or queue for hours to see an anticipated film, or bid $$ to be the first riders on Led Zeppelin....You know it's always going to be there, but people still do it for whatever reasons. Blah blah standard joke about ACE members wanting to go due the catering that is typically provided at media events. I've sort of see media coverage by theme park sites as being a bit more self serving, since all it really does is satisfy the interests of a group rather than promote the ride. I guess its just a goodwill gesture "to a group that in theory spend a good proportion of their disposable income on visiting theme parks". I just went down to WnW because I could, and reasoned (correctly) that the place would be full of management types willing to have a chat, plus given ride openings are probably the most interesting thing that happen in the Australian theme park scene, and people like reading reviews I thought people would appreciate it. On a related note I actually got to ask Mr Menzies a few further questions, and had every intention of working it into the article, unfortunately at the chance I got to speak to him my diary and phone was back in my locker, so this is all sort of paraphrased (poorly ) from memory, and probably couldn't be worked in. When you compare water parks to theme parks, one characteristic is that the range of attractions available from manufacturers tends to be more limited. Year by year does it gradually become more and more difficult to find unique attractions like Kamikaze? It does become difficult, we try to look for popular rides, however you still have to balance with what what provides a good return on investment, you cant always just go for something for the sole reason of it being nice to have....One example he singled out was a Master Blaster, he said it would cost about 3 times as much as Kamikaze, but with one up at Whitewater World anyway you have to ask what you would gain. Do you see water parks as a bit of an untapped market in Australia? Well, not entirely untapped, but there are burgeoning markets out there with potential. He said that Water Parks are a growth area as people look for ways to escape the monotony of indoor lifestyles (Eg office jobs, indoor activities like TV etc) Where do you see Wet n Wild in the future? Well, just growing even more, becoming bigger and better. He mentioned that the park at its essence is very family oriented, but that also there still had to be enough so older kids didn't get bored. One other thing he mentioned was the desire for WnW to sort of be a 'cool' place to go...I think he used the analogy of a school kid telling their friends that he/she had been/was going to wet n wild..."Oh thats awesome" Edited October 2, 2008 by Gazza