Dragon's Flight Rehab

[Flea]

Hi guys, My trip on Sunday was an interesting one. Dragon's Flight (chairswings) were listed on the "rides closed today" sign, so I had to check out what was going on. The ride's been dismantled. Everything has been placed next to the ride's motor - the only remaining part of the ride. This is probally just annual maintenance, but I don't see why Wonderland had to rush into things and do it during summer. Here's a few pictures.. Liam

[willsy]

hey, yeah i seen that when i was there in januray and november it was closed, i think the ride has **** its self, y would you dismantal a ride in the parks busyest time??? What other rides where closed when you went?? both the time i went the snowy river rapids where closed. thanks

[Flea]

Snowy River Rampage was probally closed because of a pipe malfunction. I've heard the ride manages to get six breakdowns a day! As for the Dragon's Flight being closed on both your visits, I can't remember any time in November or in January (early Jan) that it was closed. It might've been a one-off thing, or you may have caught the ride just after a breakdown. No other rides were closed except for the expected closure, Tasmanian Devil. Liam

[willsy]

Yeah it might have just been closed for a day in november, But in jan it was like in your photos, It most prob would have been about 2weeks ago i went, middle of jan. Oh well lucky it wasnt the demon or space probe. cya

[Gazza]

What was tasmanian devil? Was it a good ride and where was it located? I have tried to find pics but I cant. My guess is that it was some kind of spinning ride.

[Flea]

Tasmanian Devil was located in Goldrush, next to HMS Endeavour. The cars would swing freely as the ride spun at a high speed. I believe it's almost identical to Angry Beavers Spooty Spin at Dreamworld. It's hard to explain how the ride works, so I'll let an old picture of mine do the explaining. Here's a page with a few photographs and a decription of a similar ride to Tasmanian Devil. Liam

[Richard]

Similar in concept to Spooty Spin (I never understood that name... and I'm quite familiar with Angry Beavers, so does it actually mean anything?), but Spooty Spin's arms are on free hinges in the centre and rest on a flat steel rail that dictates the vertical motion. Tasmanian Devil is a fixed wheel which tilts from central hydraulics (unless it's powered by a motor, I really don't know). Tasmanian Devil, for this reason can really give a much more intense ride. Here's a picture of the same ride at Luna Park in Melbourne. It's a traveling version and it's really really cranked up - by far one of the most intense flat rides I've been on.

[Slick]

I'd have to say that the one at Luna Park is by far more intense than the Spooty Spin.... jeese that's a pathetic name. Like Richo, i know the acts of the angry beavers quite well and still don't get..... well there's another question for DW administration....

[Richard]

Actually, come to think of it, Norb always did have a habit of using particularly "interesting" words. For those unfamiliar with the show (though, I haven't seen it in like five or more years, which come to think of it is a bit of a shame), I'd describe it as Brady Bunch style superlatives (you know, groovy, super etc. etc.), only they were always made-up words to describe made-up things. Now, doing some research here and there, the ever-faithful UrbanDictionary.com has for one listing that the word spooty was used in Angry Beavers "as a adjective that implies distaste and repulsion." I guess there's our answer - I never really thought about it in the typically unusual Angry Beaver fashion which did really hold the answer, just that it was an odd name. Now here's a discussion you never think you'd have.

[screammachine]

I'v been on one very similar to the one at DW. It was at the Eastershow. I think it was called SpaceRanger or something, but i'm not 100% sure. It went soooooooo fast!!!! It was really crazy!! After it went forwards it went backwards even faster. And I think what contributed to the ride was the fact it went in and out of a tunnel, and it was at night time. OH yeah, And what is it with that Spooty Spin name anyway! lol Screammachine

[Gazza]

Oh, one of those, (Light bulb goes of in head) Its like that trasnsportable ride, The Mattehorn. They are a pretty fun ride.

[Flea]

The area has been blocked off now (guess they didn't want me to take any more pictures! ) by a fence. However, I managed to take a picture between some trees to get a view of the rehab. It appears now that the motor is slowly being pulled apart. Liam

[pyro_man]

Do you think they are going to put a new ride there.

[Flea]

Well, I'd hate to see it go. To my eye, there's no reason to why it should be removed. It's still quite a popular ride (not as much as Space Probe or Demon, but you still get people lining up for it), and is one of the "better" attractions at Wonderland. Unless I'm not seeing anything behind the scenes (it could be suffering major problems, who knows?), it seems like a reliable ride. I personally think it's going through an extensive rehab. Liam

[Richard]

I'm pretty sure the ride is a Zamperla model, which are still in production today, so even if there were any significant issues, servicings or replacement parts are certainly not a problem. I'll go with the extensive rehab (perhaps they have sent off for replacement parts?), because I don't think Wonderland can really afford to loose any more rides... though it is Wonderland we're talking about.

[joz]

Hasn't Wonderland been doing a few extensive rehabs recently? Demon Train a year or two back, Snowy River, Zodiac, Bush Beast's trains and the Beach last year. Plus I'd guess that most of the rides relocated from HBL were overhauled. Now Dragon's Flight? Sounds like more of the same.

[Bussy]

I have heard through the rumour mill that when Dragons's Flight re-opens it will have a Spiderman theme to it and may possibly be called something like Spiderman's Web Spinner. Don't know about the name but it will be a good start for Wonderland if they do this and make some more from the Marvel contract. "The Bus is now leaving for Spider Island, Western Australia"

[GoGoBoy]

I don't know if you would be able to call that a good start. If you ask me it would be just another CHEAP Wonderland attempt to try and incorporate their Marvel relationship more. If they are going to do that it should be with new rides or else re-theme the entire Transylvania area to Marvel (not just select sections of it). I hope that does not happen though as I like Transylvania as it is - it has some of the best theming in the park in my opinion. Also, they should save the 'Spiderman' name for one of the bigger and better rides. They would also need to remove all the current theming around the actual wave swinger (dragon's flight) gondola as it is very flowery and old fashioned... not so suitable for Spiderman

[Bussy]

As I said it was just a rumour and the name was my suggestion not anything I have heard from the park, it could also be themed around Storm, which I think could work well, you know Storm -> cyclone -> spinning ride. As for having to remove all the bits off the ride to re-theme them, that wouldn't be such a big problem as the ride is completely stripped down at the moment and the center up-right which was horizontal in a picture by Flea recently, has now been removed. All it takes is a week or so for the airbrush artists to do their work. What do you expect GoBoi? To go into the park two weekends from now and have an area completely re-themed? It has to start somewhere and this might be the start of it. "The Bus is now leaving for Gilt Dragon Reef, Western Australia"