The Off Topic Topic

[iwerks]

I'm in Japan at the moment and think I've spotted the lift hill for the new Jurassic coaster. I'm visiting the park on Monday.

[Tim Dasco]

I really won't to go on this once its built. A new B&M world record flyer. What could go wrong???

[iwerks]

Yeah, I was watching the Hollywood Dreams coaster doing the rounds of the park - that looks insane.

[Theme Park Girl]

So my mum recently gave me a suitcase full of my old photos, school reports etc. in it. Had 2 home VHS tapes in it. One of them happened to be a family day trip to Dreamworld in 1996!

I watched through it today, sadly not much footage of the Eureka as we didn't film the walk through Gold Rush (although you can see a mine cart whizzing past through Eureka mountain at one stage whilst filming from the vintage cars) but there is lots of the old Ocean Parade, Thunderbolt, old River Rapids (with the T-Rex and the elephants) and Wipeout. Also the Kodak Skychairs and Blue Lagoon water park. 

Will record it to USB at some stage today, edit it, and upload it to the net if anyone is interested in seeing it? 

[JeffreyMoore]

yes please

So my mum recently gave me a suitcase full of my old photos, school reports etc. in it. Had 2 home VHS tapes in it. One of them happened to be a family day trip to Dreamworld in 1996!

I watched through it today, sadly not much footage of the Eureka as we didn't film the walk through Gold Rush (although you can see a mine cart whizzing past through Eureka mountain at one stage whilst filming from the vintage cars) but there is lots of the old Ocean Parade, Thunderbolt, old River Rapids (with the T-Rex and the elephants) and Wipeout. Also the Kodak Skychairs and Blue Lagoon water park. 

Will record it to USB at some stage today, edit it, and upload it to the net if anyone is interested in seeing it? 

yes please

its a shame you also didn't get the australian country jamborie in the old gum tree gully area - i use to love it as a kid

[Santa07]

So my mum recently gave me a suitcase full of my old photos, school reports etc. in it. Had 2 home VHS tapes in it. One of them happened to be a family day trip to Dreamworld in 1996!

I watched through it today, sadly not much footage of the Eureka as we didn't film the walk through Gold Rush (although you can see a mine cart whizzing past through Eureka mountain at one stage whilst filming from the vintage cars) but there is lots of the old Ocean Parade, Thunderbolt, old River Rapids (with the T-Rex and the elephants) and Wipeout. Also the Kodak Skychairs and Blue Lagoon water park. 

Will record it to USB at some stage today, edit it, and upload it to the net if anyone is interested in seeing it? 

Oh yes, I'd love to.

[iwerks]

More shots of the construction of the new coaster. USJ was extremely busy with their Halloween celebrations. Still managed to ride Harry Potter in 3D, Jaws and see the Terminator 2 show.

[Theme Park Girl]

3 hour wait for a ride!?!?!? Holy crap!!! And I thought waiting times here were long during Xmas holidays  Geez, with wait times like that I'd imagine you'd only get on one, maybe two rides during your entire day visit.

Remind me to aim for off-peak periods when I eventually venture overseas & check some of these other parks out

[grrofunger]

fast/express etc- passes are critical 

[iwerks]

Yeah, Disney wasn't so bad, but people were going nuts for the whole Halloween thing at USJ. They must have 3 parades a day at these parks. The whole Harry Potter Wizarding World was great and there are always those little shows and street performances to watch.  The wait times are always less than the advertised amount, but the Japanese are professional queuers. They're also incredibly polite.

[Theme Park Girl]

Say what??? I never knew that Whirlpool Springs at WnW did this O_o I've only ever seen it in its current state with numerous little spas inside the big cement donut, although I always did question its terrible cosmetic design (even once asked a lifeguard why the park hadn't considered putting a garden or something in the middle bit to make it more visually appealing lol). Now it makes more sense to find out it actually used to function as one big whirlpool.

When did they stop doing this and why, does anyone know??  It's not really all that old, is it?? ?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

TBH i enjoyed the whirlpool far more than the spas, and yes, it looks horrible as a collection of spas. They stopped converting it well over 5 years ago, but i think it was quite a bit longer than that.

the green shapes in the ring are where the spas are - the entire area would be covered in what i'll call playground grip padding, with jets similar to Calypso.

it's older than you might think.

[themagician]

Based off the info on Wikipedia, it originally opened in 2002. And at the end of 2009 it remained as the spas. I do remember going on the original ride there, and it was almost just like going on the lazy river, but instead, t was just in a circle. Wasn't anything special, and would much prefer to go to Calypso Beach. I do think this space is wasted now. Another slide, retail and/or food outlet would be a much better use of the space.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

the forces were more intense than a lazy river - you did go a bit faster, but I agree - it's current usage as a set of spas is wasted.

[Theme Park Girl]

I agree. Especially when they aren't even all that hot in winter. I've stayed at hotels where their outdoor spas are twice the temp of the ones at WnW ??? 

It's an eyesore in its current state too. I figured it couldn't have been much different to Calipso Beach when it was originally working. Same concept on a smaller scale.

The park must be kicking themselves over that wasted investment. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

13 years on - it's getting on in years. This should be the location of the next major installation at WnW - which has been quite neglected of late - it's time for whirlpool springs to go and be replaced by something better.

[BigKev]

Ahhhh, explains why the spas are so bloody difficult to get into. 

 

Looks a much better option than the little bacteria ponds they have now.

[Zanstabar]

Seeing how a lot of us think that the Whirlpool is in dire need of redevelopment or removal, what do you guys suggest to replace it? 

I can't really think of any decent attractions that could fit within that small footprint. Perhaps they could use it as retail, as per TheMagician's suggestion?

[Cooper Olsen]

I had the Idea that they could put either the Splashtacular's 360Rush or the DoubleBowlseye slides

http://www.splashtacular.com/product/signature-attractions/

[BNErider]

Has anyone been to Movie World lately and took a photo of the construction at the Dirty Harry bar?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Retail? No. Just no. WnW has quite enough retail.

They also have quite enough F&B, IMO.

They are not going to impact on their competition up the road with a new hot dog stand or dog tag machine. what they need is a new groundbreaking slide \ water attraction. Triple Vortex has so far gone unanswered by WnWGC - and that sees them lagging behind.

[joz]

Or they could give MACK a call and build what that location is crying out for...

 

http://www.mack-rides.com/en/products/spin-rides/twist-n-splash/sr-ts-video/index.html

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

^agreed

[downunder196]

How insane is this?

 

Imagine if that happened here... Just imagine.

[Reanimated35]

^ Oh how I wish I lived in America but on an Australian salary