Sea World ski stars sunk by pirates

[kieron5379]

There was a report in the Bulletin that it has been postponed for now, due to the overwhelming disappointment of the dress rehearsals. It said the show will be reworked, or if they are not happy enough with it, cancled

What a complete waste of time, effort and money. Especially because we've already hit the holiday period and it's not ready, and also considering they didn't seem to be in a hurry to start construction and rehersals as soon as the ski show was regrettably cancelled. I hope they do cancel it, just so they can see an error in their ways. I might go this week and see if its going yet

[Reanimated35]

little update from seaworld... Sea World - Gold Coast, Australia wrote: Preparations are still underway for the launch of Sea World’s new show “Pirates Unleashed”. This new show will continue the Sea World tradition of high quality live entertainment, and will feature acts of physical endurance, acrobatics, precision cutlass play and much more. Due to the highly technical nature of the action sequences in the show and the high expectations of our guests we have decided to extend the opening date to provide the cast and crew additional time to rehearse and hone their skills. This will ensure that, once opened, our show will amaze and delight all who witness it! More details on Sea Viper coming soon.

[kieron5379]

little update from seaworld... Sea World - Gold Coast, Australia wrote: Preparations are still underway for the launch of Sea World’s new show “Pirates Unleashed”. This new show will continue the Sea World tradition of high quality live entertainment, and will feature acts of physical endurance, acrobatics, precision cutlass play and much more. Due to the highly technical nature of the action sequences in the show and the high expectations of our guests we have decided to extend the opening date to provide the cast and crew additional time to rehearse and hone their skills. This will ensure that, once opened, our show will amaze and delight all who witness it! More details on Sea Viper coming soon.

So, what they mean is..."the show really isn't that good and when we showed the public they said so. So, we better put back the opening so we can make it a third or possibly second class show that the can be passable for now" Man, WVTP are making not just bad decisions, but terrible ones.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Personally, I think pulling the opening of a show so that it can be improved, because it wasn't up to the standard that your guests expect to be an absolutely brilliant decision. So, what they mean is..."we aren't about to continue to offer a substandard offering where we recognise it can be improved. We're going to improve it, rather than leave it as a substandard product" (MDMC anyone?)

[kieron5379]

But my gripe is that they took out a show that was above excellent, to put in a show that was late to start construction, was substandard to begin with (and it wasn't until the public saw it that they realised), and will now be late to open. I just have a hard time accepting the fact that this is all for the better because i don't think that it has been the right decision. I haven't heard if the show is over/under budget so it would be interesting to find that out. also Alex, what exactly was so substandard about MDMC? I'm interested to find out, and not in any sort of argumentative way

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

MDMC is viewed as being one of the biggest fails to come out of our parks. It's too slow, too flat, too short, too yawn. Granted, after construction, there isn't much they can do to fix it - but I can't see anything wrong with ramping up the launch a little to improve it somewhat...

[S.W24]

In my opinion this is one of the smartest moves WVTP has done lately when it comes to the Shows and Entertainment side of things, Yesterday i watched some of the show rehearsals with Micheal Crocker at Sea World until the bad weather came over and ended it for the day. But from what he has said the product it's self isn't going to be put on show when its not the FULL product. He used HWSD as a example, it being a lesson learn't by himself and the company. The audience is going to react badly to it which causes a silent customer. Silent customer being the type that effected HWSD in its opening months. A silent customer is the type who will not complain to the company about the product but to family and friends creating a word of mouth impression which creates a negative input towards the show. Also he said Pirates Unleashed and HWSD are both in the same position were they have shoes to fill. Big ones at that he said. Which is true the Water ski Wipeout was a show of class, First class. Police Academy was a show of class, First class. This new generation of entertainment needs to live upto that class and standard and it gets harder and harder everytime to do that. All we can do is wait till the final product is complete and see how it goes. From what i have seen so far i have been impressed based on my thoughts originally.

[joz]

Its a sad state of affairs when the nicest thing that's been said about the parks lately is that they decided not to run with a really bad show. It's also sad to hear that they only just learnt people don't like being given a half finished product. All I can say is if company has learnt about the importance of not creating 'silent customers', then they may want to rethink the food policy, the closure of attractions, the declining standards in those which remain, cutting the operating hours and the reduction of front line staff. I'll give this new show a shot, hopefully the people rewriting the show can throw something good together. If not, hopefully a ski show comes back sooner rather then later. No sense in being stubborn about getting rid of 51 years of tradition for crap show.

[Reanimated35]

watching the rehearsal atm and they have a long trampoline on the stage they are practicing on. still looks like they have a long way to go yet and I still haven't seen anyone go near the endeavor ship over the past couple of days. one guy I know has a friend in the show who says it only a few weeks away though.

[Reanimated35]

*it wasnt my intention to double post but i couldnt edit the last one. (the video is of some rehearsals btw) Edited October 17, 2009 by reanimated35

[MickeyD]

^no offence but from what I've seen so far the new show looks SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!! Sorry Seaworld but surely your guests are not THAT STUPID to realise it when something stinks THAT BAD!!!

Edited October 17, 2009 by MickeyD

[kieron5379]

WOO! A flip! Man, this show is going to blow the audience away! What a joke. I still can't see the logic behind bringing this show in. It's already late, and by the look of it, its nowhere near ready to open anyway. Unless they're hiding anything good about the show from the public, this show is already a negative for the park. I agree with Mickey, how can Seaworld not notice that this is so dodgy!! I won't be in a hurry to see this i don't think.

[Gazza]

watching the rehearsal atm and they have a long trampoline on the stage they are practicing on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWVj3ypAObg

[kieron5379]

i know, but how much more impressive is a flip off a ski ramp? That's one of the things that the Ski Show had over this new show. The fact that not everyone can jump behind a speedboat, find a ski lake with a jump and start doing flips and tricks and stunts that require skill and talent. Looking at that tape, if I wanted to be a star in the new show, i could go out, but a trampoline, practice my flips etc and then be able to do exactly the same thing. I obviously can't speak for the rest of the show, but it still seems like crap

[kieron5379]

I don't mean to double post, but on my random stumblings through flickr i found this today http://www.flickr.com/photos/87791108@N00/...57594161832772/ talk about a heritage. Sure, they had added an extra tier but that's a piece of history that should be definitely kept...

[joz]

That's a brilliant find there mate! Really love the old school photos, and there's a few in that gallery well worth a look. Since we're doing a bit of the nostalgia thing here, please enjoy the full promo (WITH SONG!!!)for the Pirate's of Paradise waterski show,

This is a segment from from an old souvenir video, and the Surprise! Surprise! ad is included at the end. Also included within the ad is a small dose of irony, when the lines "We're hotter then hot, never ganna stop!' are sung over video of the ski show.

[Reanimated35]

Just did a quick comparison from that video to the latest image on google earth...... Inside the castle is now the theater isn't it? Also, where was the Wild Wave or whatever it was called? And in the video, what was the seating area they had to watch the divers with the sharks? ~1990 2007/08 And on to present day park.... what was where the bull sharks are now?

[joz]

1. Yes, the inside of the castle is where the theater is. 2. The Wild Wave / Thrillseeker was located between the Flume Ride and what is now Shark Bay and Polar Bear Shores. On the middle pic, it's to the top left of the castle 3. World of the Sea Theater. It began life as a dive show called Shark Encounter, where divers would enter the tank with all sorts of old diving gear (cane snorkel, air bladder, hard hat) with feeding towards the end. A later incarnation of the show also had a 5min slide show about sharks at the start. It later became Reef Discovery, an educational display about the reef, which, sadly, they neglected to make interesting. Despite last min reworking, the show wasn't well received and didn't last too long before it was replaced with Dugong Discovery. As part of the the change to house the Dugongs, the seats were removed and replaced with museum like Exhibits. At the moment, the building is used for a holiday day care/ educational program, and if the plans for the water coaster mentioned here are still current, then the building will be demolished soon. 4. Nothing / Grass.

[tolly1804]

Sea World of 1990 looks to be of better quality then it is now

[Reanimated35]

4. Nothing / Grass.

no i meant what was in the building just a few months ago before they had the bull sharks? was it just an empty staff building?

[joz]

Huh, never mind me, it turns out the answer to question 3 and 4 are the same.

[kieron5379]

Thought these might be of interest to you guys as well. The speedboats look like they're getting more use but it all still seems empty

[Richard]

Great pics! You're more than welcome to upload them to the main site if you'd like: http://www.parkz.com.au/content.php?add=photo

[joz]

Well may as well take advantage and embed some of this old school goodness:

Edited November 25, 2009 by joz

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Good find Joz. I'd never seen Lasseter in it's original form - my first visit was during the lassester's tear down. Oh My God, was Jackie McDonald in just EVERYTHING in the 80's? "Many of them are very rare - like this little fellow" (it's a clown fish.... the most popular damn fish in aquariums these days...)