DW PR: New V8 Supercars Attraction & Behind the Scenes BLOG

[New display name]

This is going to be Stephen Gregg legacy, the final present that he gives to us from Dreamworld. I believe this blog is a waste of time and I don’t think Dreamworld will take us seriously or even respond to our concerns. The simply reason for this blog is for Dreamworld to advise us on how first-class they are. I would like to know what Dreamworld thinks a thrill ride is. Dreamworlds web site advises us that the big 6 six thrill rides are the BIGGEST. TALLEST AND FASTEST I guess Dreamworld forgot to tell the motocoaster this when it what included in the directory of thrill rides. Management of Dreamworld are turning the park into a shameful Easter show. Have you seen anything more shoddy then popping balloons with darts in a theme park? This up charge item does verbalize it all. It would have cost Dreamworld all off $100.00 to construct. Last year prior to I renewed my family’s annual passes, I was a bit concerned about the direction that Dreamworld was heading, so I contacted you and asked about the mine cart ride and about a few other attractions. I was promised by your staff that the mine cart would be returning and the other problems where getting resolved, so stupid me I went and spent $700.00 on new passes and a week later the mine cart was taken of the map and boarded up. It will be no surprise to me if you scrub out my post and it will also not be a bombshell if you shut down the blog site when you realise the amount of criticism Dreamworld is about to get regarding this attraction. I had not visited Movieworld for many years but I decided to go to Movieworld on the Halloween night and I took the family. The next weekend I did take my family back to Movieworld and purchased annual passes for everyone. I could not believe how much Movieworld had advanced in the five years since I had been there. I know Movieworld has there stupid up charge games as well but at least they are made well and don’t look like an eye saw. People don’t have a great interest in driving pretend cars when they can go to Queensland raceway and do the real thing. Most of your guests have there own game systems these days that already let us race v8 cars so I don’t see adding a vibrating seat of any great benefit. To cut to chase I voted with my wallet this year and did not renew my passes.

Edited November 17, 2008 by skeetafly

[little lefty legend]

We like to think that here at Dreamworld we are innovators in theme park development. We bring new experiences to Australia for the first time, for example Wiggles World, Nickelodeon Central, FlowRider, Tiger Island, Big Brother, The Claw, Mick Doohan’s MotoCoaster etc. The new V8 SuperCars attraction is no different – it will be the first of its kind in Australia!

WVTP have been the leaders in Innovation for theme park development for a long time now. im sure all of us here could list everything that they have bought to australia that set them apart from DW and give them the edge. its been said that DW are a long time between drinks in bringing us new thrill rides and roller coasters. we have Seaworld putting in a new coaster as we speak, WnW have doubled their size, and MW are bringing an new show, and have also added SE and the batwing spaceshot (hope i got the name right) i will hand dreamworld this, that they HAVE on occassion being innovators. lets see tower of terror, giant drop flowrider and MDMC were all aussie firsts. HOWEVER! Wiggles World, Nick Central and tiger island were not. WVTP have been doing this since the 90s... MW had looney Tunes central long before DW had WW or NC, and Seaworld had cartoon network beach before sesame street. not very innovative there. new brand name, same as the others really. Tiger island? Seaworld has been dominating the area of animals for ages, and always will IMO. while i think that yes it was a new idea having tigers, you were just taking someone elses idea and tweaking it to seem like something new. this V8 supercars attraction IS NOT SOMETHING NEW!!! i have ridden these things before. been there done that and once is enough frankly. yes it is realistic, but when i go to a theme park, i go there because i have paid to ride Rollercoasters and thrill rides, not pay extra money for a racing simulator which i could do at a car show or even in my loungeroom at home. granted i dont mind paying the extra for florider, but everything else just seems to make the park look tacky. in the same time as all of that, what has dreamworld done to really bring the crowds further up the highway?

Its important for us to increase the diversity of our attractions and increase experience based offerings, to cater to all demographics (demographics = fancy marketing term for groups of like people).

i agree with whoever said it before, never a good idea to insult a potential customers intelligence i learnt about demographics way back in year 8, its something that is taught in all schools, and i would be surprised if anyone reading that didnt know what demographics was. Edited November 17, 2008 by little lefty legend

[cadboy]

Wow this seems to be more frowned apon than MDMC is today and for good reason too. It seems as if all comments on the blog roll are negative and are in strong opposition to the attraction. I think the ride is poorly suited to Ocean Parade and would do much better alongside MDMC or within that area. I was shocked to see the experience lasted only 6 minutes and costs 10 dollars.

From what I have read the experience will last for 6 minutes, and their are 4 cars going. So at best 40 people per hour can drive (or 80 per hour if you count passengers) Over the course of the parks 7 hour operating day that is a total of 280 people.

I don't see capacity as being a big issue and I will be surprised to see any sort of a line up. Cost IMO will also keep guest numbers down for this attraction as it will mean and extra $30 for a family of four. As Gazza has said Dreamworld still has a long way to go in terms of different coaster types and experiences and stating

Can you imagine how boring it would be if Dreamworld was filled merely with roller coasters and the only difference between them was that some were blue and the others pink? Yep, that’s what I thought…BORING! (But pretty)

is just a lie to decieve the General public. Gazza, cerberus584, little lefty legend, skeetafly and T-bone have pretty much summed it up and it is clear that this is not looked apon in favour. Edited November 17, 2008 by cadboy

[sonic123488]

Okay, we've had enough criticism already. Now what I'm interested to know is how they're going to fit this in, I've seen where this is going. but how much space is it going to take up? I think it's always good when parks add a new attraction, but why should we have to pay extra for it? I was just interested as to why. And one more question, why does DW need a blog for it? It didn't have a blog for the mummy exhibition. Which was probably better. I'm not trying to completely discount this thing of all merit, I just would like to know the answers to these questions. That way I may be able to piece together why DW is getting this attraction.

[cadboy]

Now what I'm interested to know is how they're going to fit this in, I've seen where this is going. but how much space is it going to take up?

Just the space that four cars require, it will be fairly compact. Where in Ocean Parade is it going? I can't think of any space free for four cars to be parked.

And one more question, why does DW need a blog for it? It didn't have a blog for the mummy exhibition. Which was probably better.

Publicity. Edited November 17, 2008 by cadboy

[Gazza]

I don't see capacity as being a big issue and I will be surprised to see any sort of a line up. Cost IMO will also keep guest numbers down for this attraction as it will mean and extra $30 for a family of four.

The main point I was making was that they are spending this money and will inevitably have to advertise it as the latest thing, but it seems kind of pointless if at best 14% of visitors would even be able to use it. Edited November 17, 2008 by Gazza

[sonic123488]

Just the space that four cars require, it will be fairly compact. Where in Ocean Parade is it going? I can't think of any space free for four cars to be parked. Publicity.

It's supposed to be going between the food store and flow rider. And why would they try to publicise something that's so minor? There's just no point.

[Dylaan]

Ah so that's what that mess of construction is...

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Have you seen anything more shoddy then popping balloons with darts in a theme park? This up charge item does verbalize it all. It would have cost Dreamworld all off $100.00 to construct.

Yes - Wonderland actually used this game concept in two locations - one in goldrush outside antique autos, and later on the old speedpitch building. I have seen the game concept work. Families that have kids that can't go on the big rides can go and play games while big brother rides the big ones, etc. Big prizes in a theme park are a status symbol, even if they are a pain in the butt to carry round for the rest of the day, and teen guys will play for hours to win something for their girl. They cost little to run, and the prizes are in fact quite cheap to buy also, and at the end of the day it is something else to do. WL prices were $2.00-$4.00 depending on the game, and prize on offer, and are quite reasonable, because at the end of the day, if you are good enough at it, you get something TANGIBLE to take home. "Experience" upcharges are not, in my opinion, worthwhile, because there is nothing TANGIBLE to take with you. Anyhow, I actually did bother to read the blog, including "Rob" 's latest response. This is my reply.

AlexB | November 17th, 2008 at 9:47 pm said: Rule Number 1: you guys started a blog, and invited open responses from members of the public and enthusiasts alike. Rule Number 2: Deal with the consequences from rule number 1. I fit a diverse demographic (thats fancy talk meaning I fit into many different categories), in that I am both a theme park enthusiast, and a V8 Supercar enthusiast. I can tell you I have ridden the style of wrap-around 180 screen driving simulators that you refer to Rob, and while there is an elemental difference between this and the PS3 screened versions that tour, at the end of the day, 6 minutes for $10 just doesn’t seem to add up. My issues with this are diverse, and to hell with rule number 1, because you invited us here - we’re giving you the feedback you need - whether you want it or not. The first issue is a $70 gate charge, for a park that barely has a “theme” anymore. It isn’t an immersive experience, each ride has it’s individual design, but nothing cohesive. Like many have said, whats with supercars on ocean parade?… unless you’re trying to make it out like its indy? Several years ago, Movie World had the same issue, a huge gate charge, with nothing new since Scooby Doo. Warner Village have come leaps and bounds, and while you have sunk an incredible amount of money into a waterpark, it shouldn’t be funded by your themepark gate charge - that should be put into new attractions, which we haven’t seen of late. I am sure you are all aware of the massively negative reaction to Mick Doohan, so, while we’re all grateful to get any coaster here in Oz, take a look at JetRescue to see how this type of coaster should be. The gate charge is ok, but then if you want to charge extra to “experience” supercars, flowrider, rock climbing wall… these are all experiences, but there is nothing tangible. The only thing you take with you is the memory, or the asian sweatshop merchandise sold in the souvenir shop next to the exit. I mentioned before I fitted a diverse demographic. I have worked at a theme park. I’ve seen what works and what doesnt. At the end of the day, big-ticket attractions are what will get the people through the gates. You aren’t going to entice half a million V8 supercar fans to walk through your gates to pay more to ride it. Its not a destination, its a stopover. If you’re there, you might try it, but you’re not going to book a hotel and fly up tomorrow just to experience it. You can stand on your soap box and talk about how innovative you are, but if you’re going to continue to install upcharge attractions, maybe you should kill the gate charge, and charge-per-ride? Only problem with that is that you would lose money because of incredibly poor capacity. Ally, I mean no offense, but it is scary to think that from a marketing perspective, you don’t want to add more coasters because they are BORING… That is a serious worry over the direction DreamWorld is headed. If you guys take a look at any successful overseas themepark you will see there are an incredible amount of high capacity attractions that eat up the numbers, balanced with a few well placed, well thought out, well implemented and PRICED upcharge attractions for those that want to go a little extra. In my opinion, bad move. Sure, you’re innovators - you built several world record breaking attractions - many years ago. Since then, you’ve built Australia’s first Motorcycle themed coaster, and executed it poorly, a fact proven by Sea World who are designing the same style, much better (and they had a much more restrictive footprint to work with), But what have you done lately? Neglected paintwork and appearance, neglected original theming so that it falls into disrepair, closed popular high capacity attractions, and installed upcharges that are in theory, enticing, but in reality, only to a very small percentage of your audience. You’ve signed a contract with anyone who has a TV show, or celebrity status, to the point of installing a second childrens area because you could, and still had a contract with the provider of your first childrens branding. Your corporate branding efforts might bring the money rolling in - but aside from your shareholders - who actually benefits from it - because out of all the neglect I see in that park, the biggest neglect is to your ticket holders paying to get in. I would just like to have someone from dreamworld speak, and answer questions openly about the park, without the obviously flawed propaganda machine going into overdrive.

[sonic123488]

Alexb, I'm not going to bother trying to quote that behemoth, but I am going to say that I agree completely. However, I don't think Nick central was a bad idea. Dreamworld has to learn that two themed areas(nick central, wiggles world) is just not good enough in a park that's supposed to have 8. But I'm sick of just complaining about it! It really isn't going to get us anywhere. Dreamworld isn't going to change it's mind based on the opinion of the users of one website. I think it's great that we're getting PR people giving us news, but I would much prefer to here some happy news. Also just on what Ally said about diversifying attractions, I hardly count MDMC as a coaster even, and the fact is reptar is better than MDMC! There aren't enough coasters to say that you're park has enough for the time being.

Edited November 17, 2008 by sonic123488

[little lefty legend]

Hi Guys, We obviously need to set a few boundaries for this space and until our computer nerds attach appropriate community guidelines, rule number 1 will be we stick to talking about the V8 Supercars attraction. Rule number 2….refer to rule number 1.

so looks like they are now cracking down on us, and by the looks of it, they have gotten rid of comments in there as well (or im just not seeing right, in which case please excuse me as i just got home from my yr 12 formal) seems like dreamworld really just cant hack the truth from people if you ask me. they ask for comment yet when its not what they want shoot it down and just stop allowing it. i would also like to add that i agree with AlexB on his previous post 100%, and for that matter what others such as Sonic123488, Gazza, cerberus584, skeetafly and T-bone have said as well. it would be nice if Dreamworld could take note of what some of us are saying really. Business management 101, the customer is always right. would be nice if we could hear from higher up management or someone from Dreamworld about their future plans for the park. where they are heading, their visions for the future all that stuff, about where the want the park to go from here, if at all. whether they take the road where the clean the place up, bring its former glory back, put in some new Thrill Rides to bring back the crowds and make it a proper theme park again, or do they go down this road of delapidation, targeting audiences with brand names and the such and more attractions that cost extra money than actual rides.

[Gazza]

Well, they have deleted AlexB's comment, and have disabled further commenting. I would hope that they don't continue to block debate and censor comments. People aren't out to 'get' Dreamworld, and don't just have problems with the park for no reason, or hate everything they do. Stuff like the Claw and Whitewater World received overwhelmingly positive reviews when they opened, they are really good attractions, so it's clear people will give credit where credit is due. And I think that is the key. As theme park enthusiasts, we don't have vested interests. Irrespective of what is built where, if it is good it will receive positive feedback, and if it is bad it will receive negative feedback. I don't think there is any point glossing your opinion over, and if people are saying it in an intelligent way and not being abusive then so be it. So if people are being critical, maybe it is for a reason, we only say it because we care about theme parks and want them to be at their best. This blog, and the fact a member of theme park management is actively posting is a very rare occurence, you don't normally have this sort of dialogue. The average enthusiast's contact with a park would be limited to things like emails to guest relations. Rob and Ally, if you are reading this, please don't go filtering any negative comments, that's not the point of the internet. It would be a bit sad if the blog was limited to stuff like "OMG this ride is sik". And don't be discouraged. Instead, perhaps use it as a means of responding to long running questions/issues. I think there have been some quite good points raised by people that are worthy of response. Edit: Comments are available again.

Edited November 18, 2008 by Gazza

[sonic123488]

Dreamworld isn't the park I visited as a kid. It's the EKKA (RNA show in Queensland) all year round. One thing's for sure you won't find me touching Dreamworld with a ten foot pole any time soon.

[cadboy]

Well it seems as if not everyone is negative about Dreamworlds latest move so I take back what I siad about it all being negative.

Totally friggin rad. Damn I wish I was in Australia for this

This sounds very cool. Like a blend of a motion simulator with a highly realistic arcade-style racing game. I really like the sound of this and I hope it works out well. If I lived in the area i would be very tempted to try it out.

I think these comments are more like the ones Ally wanted on the Blogroll Edited November 18, 2008 by cadboy

[sonic123488]

I agree in some ways with these people, it sounds pretty cool, but it's not something that should be put into Dreamworld, as an up charge attraction.

[pin142]

Whilst I enjoy V8 Supercars I can honestly say this will not get me into the park to "experience" it. I don't go to theme parks for the upcharge attractions, I go for the rides and coasters. If I wanted to experience a V8 ride I would do the real thing. $80 at Dreamworld or $135 to ride in a real V8 just up the road a little. The choice is clear for me. The track might not be Bathurst but something like this cannot replicate the experience of a real car.

[sonic123488]

Here was my comment- I personally have no problem with the V8 simulator itself. I have more a problem with that it is going in Dreamworld, at a time when better attractions are needed. It is also (I believe), being placed in the wrong area. Put it next to Mick Doohan, with the other motoring merchandise. One last thing, I implore anyone who works at dreamworld to go to this site and see what you could be building- http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com I can almost guarantee that business will improve if Dreamworld were to add one of these.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

This sounds very cool. Like a blend of a motion simulator with a highly realistic arcade-style racing game. I really like the sound of this and I hope it works out well. If I lived in the area i would be very tempted to try it out.

This sounds to me like something they've added themselves to put a more positive spin on things. It sounds more like what a reporter would write based on their media release than any GP who would be bothered to comment.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well it seems my post from yesterday IS back up and running - they've introduced moderation so the posts don't appear until approved by the mods. In case mine doesn't make it - here's the latest response.

AlexB | November 18th, 2008 at 9:27 pm said: Your comment is awaiting moderation. Hey Rob, Reading back over some posts, I have to wonder - there is only one coaster in australia that comes close to “gunmetal grey” and that would be Lethal Weapon over at Movie World… something you wanna confess? Klassen - I have to say that while a blog where the general public can come to talk to the behind the scenes bosses is unique, the idea behind a website solely devoted to a new and upcoming attraction, with general public participation was taken by Superman Escape. Reading all the comments, it seems to me that the opinion that management at dreamworld may glean from this is that they’ve got a bunch of Warner park workers on here defending their employer, and mud slinging the opposition. The fact is that is not the case. I am not in any way affiliated with Warner Parks. I have previously worked for another unrelated themepark, and I’ve seen what works. My father has just returned from a trip to the Gold Coast with my two younger step-brothers. He sought my opinion on the parks to go to, and I suggested he go to Dreamworld and WhiteWaterWorld as they had not taken the boys there before. Having taken them to all of the Warner parks over the last 18 months, his feedback to me was quite positive in relation to White Water World. I personally have not had the opportunity to visit WWW yet, so I will have to give it a look over. His feedback on Dreamworld however was not so positive. I want to point out that he is no expert in theme parks. He doesn’t know a Vekoma from an Intamin like a lot of the guys who have posted on here, and over at Parkz.com.au. But his feedback was negative in every aspect, from guest experience, variety, service, food, price… everything. When I quizzed him on the various factors, he always came back to the same argument that the Warner parks simply “did it better”. I know you guys do guest experience surveys to get an impression from visitors. The unfortunate flaw in those surveys come from the fact that some guests that you encounter have not experienced anything else, and don’t know what they should expect from a world class theme park. Others still have not even visited the other parks in the area, and have nothing to compare it to. Instead of glossing over the negative responses you receive here, and saying “rule number 1 - only talk about the new attraction is allowed”, recognise the reaction you are getting from those who have enough experience to KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. Bring the supercars in. flog the hell out of them advertising wise. Rake in the money from the upcharge and the corporate branding - and then do something with it to become a THEME park again. Being likened to a travelling carnival is not an image you want. You’ve lost Big Brother, so there goes a chunk of revenue from ticket sales and production billing, as well as all the free tagline advertising on channel 10. What did you guys do with all the money from BB over the past 7-8 years? Cyclone, Claw and Mick Doohan. Hardly as earth shattering as what Warner Village have done. They’ve recently overhauled the theming on a number of their signature attractions to bring them back up to spec. When was the last time you guys did anything with the theming on your existing attractions - except to shove a bunch of checkerplate steel over the Giant Drop queue? You guys have got the financial backing and the experience to deliver world class. Right now you’re delivering hot pizza within 30 minutes or its free.

By the way - Parkz.com.au now has it's own little link in the blogroll. I think someone over there at dreamworld didn't give this as much thought as was needed, and they've now realised the danger of allowing us free reign to say what we want to say. Edit: sorry for the double post - lost track of posts already made - mods - merge pls? Edited November 18, 2008 by AlexB

[Gazza]

I prefer gunmetal grey at 100* miles an hour plus

here is only one coaster in australia that comes close to “gunmetal grey” and that would be Lethal Weapon over at Movie World… something you wanna confess?

Ride knowledge fail. *100mph = 161km/h

[joz]

Merge posts? Nah can't be bothered. Next time for sure though. As for having free reign, well given the general response if I were from DW then I probably wouldn't want us having free range on the official site either. Just a thought. Given how clear it is just how little interest in this attraction there is from the theme park dorks, is there any chance the blog can focus on the rest of the park to keep us up to date with all the good behind the scenes stuff that does happen at the park on a daily basis? Check out what Holiday World and many of the Cedar Fair parks do with their blogs, as an example of how to do it really well. I'm pretty sure that the only 'Brand' that we care about at Dreamworld, is the 'Dreamworld' brand, so if you post purely about that, I reckon people would be much more receptive. As gazza said, don't be discouraged, the blog was a good idea, its just the attraction itself that is totally unappealing from a theme park fan perspective, and I doubt that the uninspired attraction was your idea. Take some comfort in knowing that regardless of how we found out about it, if members here would still have responded the same. Just on that though, to avoid a backlash you may want to avoid the following topics: Big Brother, how the food at DW is both tastey and good value, how efficient the rides are, why the mine ride closed (we'd love to know, but you might melt the sever with all the angry comments from our members), flowrider, why blue lagoon was replaced with a tent, how carni games have improved gold rush country, Big Brother, 'brand tie-ins' any article that describes MDMC as being in the 'Big 6', any article with the words 'innovative', 'Australian first', 'world class' 'experience' and 'extra charge' in any order, why the wiggles pictures are on farmyard friends, why Dreamworld shouldn't have many coasters and of course Big Brother. Apart from that and maybe one or two exceptions you should be fine.

Edited November 18, 2008 by joz

[New display name]

So funny now, you leave a post on the v8 blog and you get this message. Your comment is awaiting moderation. I thought this was a free country. This reminds me of China deciding what information was coming out about during the Olympics. I invite Dreamworld to come here in this type of format to answer our questions and then we would stick to the guidelines of the v8 attraction blog, like the rule below. “Lastly, while not specifically a rule, we should mention here that if you have general questions/comments about Dreamworld, its policies, pricing, services, strategies, etc then they will not be addressed here. Remember rule no.1! It’s all about the V8 Supercars attraction”

Edited November 19, 2008 by skeetafly

[joz]

... Yes, because a billion people living under an oppressive government with no human rights is just like a public company censoring the publicity website!!1!

Edited November 19, 2008 by joz

[New display name]

lol yes it is exactly the same , right down to the 1,321,851,888 people that live in a dream world.

[stardust]

I completely hate this direction that Dreamworld is taking, and I don't know wether DW have noticed either but all of friends who had passes to the park for years have stopped renewing theirs and I'm not renewing this year because their is just nothing new at the park. People are just sick of the same rides they have been riding for ever and how long it takes to get on rides. Seriously DW has some horrible ride lines. The two water rides are always packed and the lines move so slowly. TOT is always long and breaks down. GD is always long. Cyclone is horrible, all it needs is a second train like WVTP has on their coasters. People are just sick and tired of the same rides they have ridden since 2004, you can't count mick doohan. Everyone who has done it and think's its the worst ride, not just us. Expensive food, its just ridicilous and souveiners and upcharge attractions. The only one that people really pay for is Flowrider. I have family who took their kids with their and remember the good old days and hadn't been since GD opened and said they would never go agian, it was just a rip-off. They said it looked cheap and tacky with the fading bright colours and half of Nick was closed so their kids couldn't go on anything.

"half of nick was closed". 'Sif. If true, very rare occurrence, get over it. Everytime I go, TOT and GD.. 20 mins max. Water rides are packed but, not them. Motocoaster has a very good line. Otherwise I agree.

HOWEVER! Wiggles World, Nick Central and tiger island were not. WVTP have been doing this since the 90s... MW had looney Tunes central long before DW had WW or NC, and Seaworld had cartoon network beach before sesame street. not very innovative there. new brand name, same as the others really. Tiger island? Seaworld has been dominating the area of animals for ages, and always will IMO. while i think that yes it was a new idea having tigers, you were just taking someone elses idea and tweaking it to seem like something new.

I much prefer the birds and crocs and kangaroos etc to Sea worlds animals Also, Nick world is MUCH better than Movie worlds area, whose area is pretty but... crap rides. The nick coaster is fun I'd like to see more of the river town utilised though.

Having said that, if you do a blog, avoid the following topics: Big Brother, how awesome the food is for both value and taste, how efficient the rides are, why the mine ride closed -as much as I'd like to know, our members may melt the sever with angry comments- why Blue Lagoon is better without a pool and with a tent, how carni games have improved goldrush country, how WWW conserves water, Big Brother, flowrider, why the wiggles are on farmyard friends, why there shouldn't be many coasters at DW, as well as any article that includes the words 'innovative' 'australian first' 'world class', 'experience', any article that mentions MDMC as being in the 'Big 6' and of course Big Brother. Apart from that you'll be fine. :-)

Big brother is the main reason I bought my last 2 year passes, it MAKES the park, so that's a plus, not a negative!