Bermuda Triangle

[Rick]

Cheap? You think a re theme would be cheap? We'd be talking about many millions of dollars.

Comparatively cheap....

[westical]

Just watched the video on YouTube from back when all the effects worked. Really brings to home how poor it is now.

[Adam]

Yeah Bermuda has really gone downhill. They either need to refurbish the whole ride or replace it. It's currently only a fraction of what it once was.

[Randy23]

If they were to refurbish it, it will cost them lots so you mise well build a new attraction *HINT* stay tuned formore info

[Gazza]

mise well

Might as well?

[Park Addict 93]

I rode today, very disappointing. A few touch up's/fixes were done during downtime but I seriously hope the ride isnt going to stay like this, The ride in it's current form is very poor and I can hear guests comments eg. it used to have fire, the spaceship didnt vanish. The whole park was miserable today, with Skyway, Ray Reef, Ocean Rescue and Jet Rescue all not operating.

[Park Addict 93]

After riding today and being disappointed yet again I have written a detailed blog post. Bermuda Triangle - It needs some TLC ASAP

[MacPark]

Time for a 3rd gen overlay with an all new theme. They obviously dont care about its current state what so ever.

[Original]

Sadly I think it is time for 3rd generation of this ride, I have to agree, as much as it pains me to say, I don't think its due for on and could run for years, but the way SW are leaving it, then it is time for a replacement and maybe thats why SW don't care about it at the moment their in planning for a replacement? I mean other rides that were falling down like SDSC were fixed, but not this one and WVTP usually don't let rides get this bad. But what really gets me, is this is classic ride to the park, its an icon, those 2 volcanos are iconic to the park, just like the Dolphins and like the Ski Show use to, which is now gone, but thats another thread. I remember when I was younger driving along Southport and seeing SW across the Broadwater and what stood out was the white roller coaster and 2 volcanos especially with the fire coming out, You use to see the fire from anywhere in the park and you knew it was BT and it just gave the park that sense of pride and a that little special feeling at the end of day, the one Walt Disney strived for his parks. Now we have seen the job they've done with this new area, its great and show they still have a heart in making the area fit and that the theme does matter, so how about next time instead they put some money away and re-establish an old favourite, bring it back to VRTP standards like Castaway Bay and the bar rides like BT set, fix the boats sound, bring back the uniforms and pre-show and try to hide to big new air-con unit, fire and all other elements on the ride! Its the small things which are adding up to a BIG difference!! People use to be in awe and go "wow how did they do that?" when the UFO would disappear, now the response is "Did it break" these little things just affect the flow of the ride. All of us are complaining, anyone who is riding it gets off and complains its not what they remember... are SW management deaf, blind, stupid or all three? Get the ride back to standards for a smaller amount than what it will cost to re-fit the ride with a new theme which seems to be what they're doing, becuase they don't seem interested in anyone's complaints.

[joz]

I pretty much agree with what has been said here, I just woulk like to add a small thought: The money it would cost to bring Bermuda up to scratch would be huge, I'd say running into the millions (it's not just the effects which need a rebuild), and I honestly don't think that would be money well spent. I do think an overhaul to make it better than it was when it was new, with new themeing added inside, and a reworked loading/unloading area outside, would be a great use of capital. Don't fix the boat audio, throw the boxes out and get new technology, fix the fire and the UFO, and 'plus' the rest, and all of a sudden you can put 'Bermuda Triangle has had a $5million upgrade' in the advertising. Perhaps that way you could get some return, because to get the ride back to normal would be so expensive it wouldn't be worth it. While they think about this, I don't mind if they fix the lights on the UFO and relativly easy things like that

Edited September 15, 2010 by joz

[Park Addict 93]

I agree with what you guys have said, my focus on the blog was small fixups as I doubt Sea World will spend the money required to bring it back to the "Former Glory". I had a bad experience with a ticket booth attendant the other day and I think the response very much speaks to the attitudes of some staff. http://gcguy.net/2010/09/17/follow-up-a-ba...ience%e2%80%a6/

[varekai]

Does anybody know where I can find some images or information on the old ride that was in place before Bermuda? I'm really interested to see what it was like.

[themeparkgc]

Some information is available in the Parkz database: Lassiter's Lost Mine. No images though.

[Spotty]

The only video footage I could find of Lassiters Lost Mine was on this video uploaded by Joz.

There isn't much footage but it's there.

[MacPark]

Does anybody know where I can find some images or information on the old ride that was in place before Bermuda? I'm really interested to see what it was like.

I have a heaps of old Seaworld photos from the 80's and some of the ride somewhere. Give me a day or so and ill find them and scan them all.

[mikk]

to at least fix what is broken on bermuda is quite reasonable. things like lights and the mirror are not expensive. the projector could be hidden better. as for the fire, yes that was certainly one of the most stand out things about seaworld that made it so memorable, and let's say they don't want to replace it, but surely they could do better than a broken neon light. every time i've gone on the ride in recent years, people comment on how rubbish it is. things like "that's so crap compared to what it used to be", "there used to be fire", "that looks broken", and "that was a bit tacky". if that's happening every single time i go on the ride, and i'm thinking the same things, then why isn't anything being done about it to fix the basic obvious flaws that hurt the ride the most? what is wrong with management? i say it's just laziness.

Edited September 25, 2010 by mikk

[GoGoBoy]

Does anybody know where I can find some images or information on the old ride that was in place before Bermuda? I'm really interested to see what it was like.

I used to be absolutely obsessed with Lassiter's Lost Mine Ride as a kid. It was by far my favourite ride at Sea World. The ride track and layout was basically the same that is used for Bermuda, as is the show building. The lift hills and drops and the actual boat channel I believe are basically unchanged from Lassiter's except I think there were some modifications for the 'flood room' in Bermuda where the boat stalls and begins to go backwards etc. The ride had a great atmosphere with some neat sound effects and animatronics of old miners everywhere. Essentially the theme was that the mine was about to blow up and the miners got into more and more of a panic until the final splashdown. I remember visiting the park one day in the early 90's only to find Lassiter's was closed. I remember asking a staff member what was happening and she said the ride was being changed/refurbished for the better and she said I would be very happy with what they were doing with it. As it turns out it was being converted into Bermuda Triangle

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

to at least fix what is broken on bermuda is quite reasonable. things like lights and the mirror are not expensive.

An effect similar to the mirrored UFO is used in Disneys Haunted mansion. Unfortunately, some of these mirrors are so large (and they have to be a single sheet) that replacements are impossible after the ride is completed. The mirror for the ballroom in the haunted mansion received a rather large crack in it at some stage throughout it's life. As it required pulling half the mansion apart to get a new mirror in, they simply hid the crack with fake spiderwebs. (Source - David Koenig's Mouse Tales and More Mouse Tales.)

[rappa]

Not actually a mirror as such, just a really big piece of glass. For one the size of the UFO in Bermuda you're talking tens of thousands of dollars just FYI.

[joz]

Bermuda Triangle is presently closed while we continue to develop new and exciting attractions at Sea World.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Bound to happen eventually. I think we've all whinged enough to finally bring this about...

[Spotty]

... And with that, I'm glad I brought a 99 dollar world pass again and not a QLD VIP pass. I'm sorry but there isn't really an excuse for this happening, unless there was some major mechanical issues that I didn't know about. Bermuda Triangle has always been one of the most popular rides in the park... a massive capacity eater (when ran with the revolving deck etc.) and by far the best themed attraction in Australia! I can not believe WVTP have let the ride get into the state that it got into... and to be honest i'm rather pissed off with this decision. I have not been to a WVTP property (bar Halloween) since early in the year... and right now I don't really plan to go back.

[Park Addict 93]

Bermuda Triangle then opened in 1994 to much fanfare and with state of the art effects, however with the state of the ride as it was before closure something needed to be done, the only question is now what will happen. The worst thing Sea World could do is leave the volcano (and ride) dormant or as it is referred to in the theme park industry “Standing but not operating”. If Sea World leave the ride like this it will become the equivalent of the Eureka Mine Ride as a ride loved and enjoyed by many however left standing leaving guests confused. The iconic icons of Sea World were The Ski Show, Dolphins, The Corkcrew and Bermuda’s Volcanos. The Ski Show is gone due to cost cutting, Corkscrew was rebranded losing the iconic white paint job in the process, and finally the iconic shot of the fire erupting from the Volcano has not bee seen since construction of Jet Rescue when the gas pipe supplying the fire was hit and never replaced.

I am very interested to see what happens with Bermuda, have done a detailed blog post as always

... And with that, I'm glad I brought a 99 dollar world pass again and not a QLD VIP pass. I'm sorry but there isn't really an excuse for this happening, unless there was some major mechanical issues that I didn't know about. Bermuda Triangle has always been one of the most popular rides in the park... a massive capacity eater (when ran with the revolving deck etc.) and by far the best themed attraction in Australia! I can not believe WVTP have let the ride get into the state that it got into... and to be honest i'm rather pissed off with this decision. I have not been to a WVTP property (bar Halloween) since early in the year... and right now I don't really plan to go back.

In WVTP's defence, it does not appear as if this was a planned closure as evidenced by plans originally being maintenance. WVTP have also made solid additions to the parks this year with Castaway Bay, penguins incoming and AquaLoops. In addition to a solid Halloween and upcoming Xmas event. Edited November 22, 2010 by Jordan M

[westical]

Well there you go, looks like my first ride a few months ago could also have been my last ride. Hopefully something positive happens.

[westical]

Come to think of it, the Looney Tunes River Ride is down indefinitely too. Perhaps WVTP have something against dark rides.