Dreamworld's 30th

[themeparkgc]

Intamins are generally what we've seen in the past for the Australian parks. Tower of Terror, Giant Drop, The Claw, Motocoaster, Thunder River Rapids, Superman Escape, Surfrider and Jet Rescue were all Intamin. I'm sure some of the smaller rides are but they're just the main ones. Also Joz said so

[joz]

^ hey, I'm just repeating what the rumour mill repeated to me. With how much secrecy there is about next year I wouldn't put a double bluff past them

[Bmull19]

What's a double bluff? And I think it'd be an Intamin too. I just can't see the likelihood of a B&M going in any time soon. They probably ordered a bulk package to try and cut costs over the next 3 years.

[joz]

^ Ah yeah, now I think about it, 'single bluff' is probably what I actually meant.

[Linus1995]

I was confused by the double bluff too joz! So from what I'm reading the coaster will hopefully be finished by 2011 (knowing Intamin!). But my question is when do you guys think we will hear anything "official" of this? Also I remember someone mentioning iSpeed at Mirabilandia would be suitable, but then someone said it was too similar to Superman Escape. I was thinking, if they go with a mega-lite, then why not make it faster than SE, but also have inversions. A win-win isn't it?

[Bmull19]

Linus, you can NEVER have a win-win, someone is ALWAYS upset with whatever goes in. :\ If they add a big ride with inversions, some people won't like the inversions. If you add a lot of speed or height, some people might not like that. If they add a big ride, some people might of wanted a smaller ride (what a lot of people are complaining about at the moment is the lack of smaller rides), add a small ride, people like us get angry. Never ever a win for everyone. But I would like something faster than Superman. It still annoys me how... I dunno. Superman is a good ride. It just doesn't pack that big of a punch. Ya' know what I mean?

[Linus1995]

Yeah that's true, but from what's being said they are looking to add a ride to the big 6 THRILL rides. I know there's not one single ride out there that can appeal to thrill seekers and also children/familys. But if it is a THRILL ride, then I think my idea makes sense or not? Off topic: Yes I agree, something more intense. The giant drop is great, I think the TOT is fast but too slow in getting up to speed. SE is a great ride but like you said it packs a punch, but just not enough. Once again... Mega-Lite!!!

[themeparkgc]

I think we'll definitely being seeing several rides in the next three years with something on offer for all age groups and thrill groups if you like (gentle, family, thrill etc). The capital expenditure plan that Ardent announced last year to "strengthen ride inventory and consumer appeal" definitely hints at this. Here's some ideas I've been thinking Dreamworld might pursue in addition to a thrilling Intamin (or B&M ) coaster (a thrilling coaster with inversions is pretty much certain). For Wiggles' World revamped Dora planes (or similar new ride system) to become the Big Red Planes. For Nick Central a Zamperla Disk'O could fit running parallel to Ocean Parade running alongside the carousel where the chalk zone (I think they call it is now) - operate as Avatar Airbender. An Intamin Children's Parachute Tower could fit in the former location of Dora and be themed to Plankton from SpongeBob with the parachutes as Jellyfish - Plankton Plunge. Also if they do expand into another themed area and if they had kept the Vortex (which I think someone said that they did) then I wouldn't be surprised if this ride made a return. (I noticed that the Vortex could also fit in Nick Central where the fountains are, but those fountains have recently become operational again with the Tower of Terror building being opened up - I now can't see it going in there as Jimmy Neutron ride.)

[Linus1995]

When you say B&M, I know this is speculation, but why not a Dive Machine? Something similar to SheiKra maybe... SheiKra cost around US $13 million didn't it? That's not outside of Dreamworlds budget. And its definately something Australia hasn't seen before, as a matter of fact any B&M would be something Australia hasn't seen before!

[themeparkgc]

Dreamworld have taken a leaf out of Disney's book and have filmed a tilt-shift video:

[Linus1995]

Looks awesome! Any particular reason why they did this though?

[ripcurlboy_81]

i was at dreamworld on saturday, althou it was busy for the last weekend of the qld school holidays the wait time for most rides was 15-25mins and 45min for tot2 im really disappointed in the revamped tot, dont get me wrong, the theming in the queue line is much better, there were people in the line scratching their names into the paint on the walls the new pod looks great, the tunnel theming is well done my biggest let down was the actual ride experience, when being checked by the attendant that the harness was locked, the light effects for the turbine started, it gave an impression you would be moved closer to the "turbine" before being shot up the tower, which i fast learnt to be false, the experience of going in reverse was great, then on decent back into the tunnel we started slowing down as soon as we got into the opening of the tunnel which i thought was sad, by the time we got halfway up the tunnel we were at walking pace to the load/unloading bay while i thought this was only a once off, i then went on it another 3 times on saturday, and found this was common practice i used to get excited to ride the old tot, not anymore the giant drop was only using the side that faces the carpark

[ads086]

I went to Dreamworld a little over a week ago, and being School Holidays it was packed, surprise surprise, so huge queue times, nothing major to report on that front. While I was waiting for friends to arrive, I was standing near the front entry by the stairs, and I found it appalling how terrible they have the whole entry system set up. Take Movieworld as an example - you can see where the front gates are because it's clearly the only structure leading into the place. You line up behind a booth which is open, and then proceed through to the turnstiles. This makes sense, and guests don't need to be ushered to where they need to go. Those guests with VIP passes know that they can skip the booth and go straight to the turnstile. Lets compare this to Dreamworld - they have staff at the base of the stairs to direct people, and fences up everywhere. There's another staff member over near the park exit to also direct people. Those with pre-purchased tickets need to go up the ridiculously long ramp to the right. Those who are buying new tickets go up the similarly long ramp to the left. If you have an e-ticket, you go up the stairs, if you're a pass-holder, you go up near the exit gates. What a mess!! Not to mention, confusing for those who bought tickets online, because my initial reaction would be that I have a pre-purchased ticket, not an e-ticket. Also a very labour intensive system. My suggestion is large signage in front of each of the gate areas. Put coloured paint on the concrete to clearly indicate which line is for what (make the signs the same colour). And I would make the staircase really really wide, while still leaving a ramp there for those who require it. I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this.

Edited January 25, 2011 by ads086

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Honestly seems like a no-brainer ads.

[Bmull19]

Everyone knows Im always gonna be bias towards DW's side, but I'll still have a say. :-) I've been to DW quite a bit, so now it's just natural to walk up to the spot where I'm meant to go with a pass, but even for other people, how hard can it be? They need to know one way and one way only. It's not like they need to go into depth about it like ads did, it's more of a 'Employee tells them where to go' -> 'They go that path'. Not hard, is it? Why do they need to think about the other 3 options?? And having it set up this way means that people who have pre-paid tickets don't have to stand in line forever behind people with other tickets and eliminates that fact that it could be a guessing game. If people don't have the knowledge to follow a 50-metre-or-so path WHEN INSTRUCTED TO, then they're either too young to go there unsupervised or heavily intoxicated in some way. As for MW, when I went there, and had a prepaid ticket, it was a guessing game because there were no signs as to what line to go into. We hopped into a line, and ended up waiting 1 - 1.5 hours to get in. :\ Because they did the photos for some of the new passes at the booths and everyone in our line was buying tickets. We noticed the line next to us was going a bit faster, but was now longer. [/endsrant]

[ads086]

My point is that its a very labour-intensive method, particularly when such things could be easily done with appropriate signage

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

In all honesty though, the old "check your brain at the gate" mentality means most people don't read signage...

[aussienetman]

It's true Alex. The amount of people who shut off their brains before they enter a park is ridiculous! I think some guests definitely need to take some responsibility for themselves. Some stupid questions I was asked "what time is the 230 parade?" - guest on main street "does this go upside down?" - guests at wwf What use to annoy the hell out of me was working the entry at Scooby Doo and having parents bring q screaming child to the entry. "can you tell him it's not scary and it's not a rollercoaster?" My response - "well actually sir, some kids do get scared as this is a 'ghost' train ride. And the rollercoaster inside is a pretty intense wild mouse for a kid" Or the clincher - kids who grow an inch or 2 in a few short hours. Again this would happen at Scooby a lot. Parents would fill their kids shoes full of napkins or actually have the kid wear shoeswith a 2-3 inch sole so they can make the height. It's about safety people. I didnt find joy in making ur kid cry cause they were an inch to short, but I'm not Going to risk thier life in an evac or ride proble even if you are willing to. Guest responsibility for themselves should be a priority. if they can't work out a couple of lines at an entrance then it's best they get straight back in that car or bus and head home. For Their own sake, and mine.

In all honesty though, the old "check your brain at the gate" mentality means most people don't read signage...

[www worker]

Big News!! A new arrival yesterday at DW but unfortunately no one but managment and maintenance know's what it it.

[ripcurlboy_81]

sounds interesting indeed

[brissy phil]

Big News!! A new arrival yesterday at DW but unfortunately no one but managment and maintenance know's what it it.

New arrival as in a few boxes of coke and chips or new arrival as in 38 shipping containers? :-)

[aussienetman]

What did the new arrival look like? Big Crate? Numerous Big Crates? Small Crate? Lots of small crates? Did you notice any fur? Long and Narrow? Short and Fat? Was it bought in by a truck? Could it be a new ride? Could it be a Train? Was it growling? Is it Ian Thorpe? Who touched it? Where's it now? How many people have seen it? Was it sneaked in overnight? Could it be for the 30th? Please respond.

New arrival as in a few boxes of coke and chips or new arrival as in 38 shipping containers? :-)

we think alike bp

[rappa]

Big News!! A new arrival yesterday at DW but unfortunately no one but managment and maintenance know's what it it.

Oh wow, you're so cool! Of course if you post what you actually saw I will retract my above statement, otherwise there is very little tollerance for 'I know something you don't know' posts around here.

[themeparkgc]

Lions...?

TWO rare white lions are preparing to call the Gold Coast home. It is understood Dreamworld will babysit the 200kg animals while the National Zoo in Canberra undergoes renovations. Jake and Mishka, who are sister and brother, will be temporarily shifted from their home to the Gold Coast in the coming months. While the logistics are still being sorted and finalised, it is understood the lions will be housed in a temporary enclosure within the park. Dreamworld would not confirm the deal was officially done, but the team at the National Zoo said Jake and Mishka were heading north. "We can confirm that we are currently in planning for a new enclosure here at Dreamworld that would have the capacity to house various animals, including exotic species, and one of those that we are currently looking into is the white lion," said Al Mucci, Dreamworld General Manager of Life Science. It is expected the plan will be completed by the middle to end of February. Dreamworld said they were unable to provide further comment until the move was "100 per cent confirmed". A spokesman for the National Zoo said: "We're doing some building and need the extra space. We have eight white lions here at the zoo." White lions are currently only located within Australia at the National Zoo in Canberra, the Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, the Zoodoo Wildlife Park in Tasmania and Mogo Zoo in New South Wales. They are not albinos but rather have a recessive gene which gives them their white appearance.

[aussienetman]

I totally guessed that the box was growling as well!!!!