dreamworld trip report

[aussienetman]

So, as you would be aware recently I decided to purchase the Dreamworld annual pass for 2011/2012 and it was with a lot of excitement that we ventured to Dreamworld today for our first visit in many years. I don't think we could have picked a better day to go to Dreamworld. The weather was terribly cold and the lines were short just about everywhere. We were greeted at the front gates by a very enthusiastic girl who pointed us in the right direction for our passes. We decided not to get our annual pass cards until later in the day. 10/10 First to ride, Tower of Terror II . We were first on this ride upon opening and were treated to two shots up the tower. Going backwards on TOT really changes the feel of the ride. The tunnel lighting and sound effects were well done, and all up I think reverse is better. (0 min wait) 8/10 Motocoaster was next. It was fairly disapointing. Even after reading the lackluster reviews about its speed, this ride looks better than what it is. The restraints are uncomfortable, and its simply not thrilling enough to be a thrill ride. Don't judge a book by its cover (5 min wait) 4/10 Giant Drop followed. It is as I remember. (5 min wait) 10/10 We headed into ocean parade and hit The Claw and Wipeout both with no wait times and they havnt changed from last visits. 7/10 and 8/10 respectivly We rode Shockwave and even as a "filler" ride it is boring and not exciting. It was only worth one ride. 3/10 Cyclone was the last of the big 6 and this ride has gotten so rough in the last few years. It's really turned into a head banger and was not enjoyable. (5 min wait ) 3/10 We met up with some friends who were celebrating a small child's birthday so we ended up hitting Big Red Car and the teacups. Big red car is ok and was enjoyed by the Target demo I rode with . Walked down through AWE and fought the tourists to feed a kangaroo and see thr koalas. Took a trip on the vintage cars and headed back to the main food court area near Kid Central. Lunch was a cold hamburger and chips that set two of us back $30. That price is ridiculous and we will not be buying lunch in park anymore. There were 3 food places open today, the pizza shack, the burger place next to it, and the buffet. So in-park options were very limited 3/10 for lunch cost and quality. We watched the "Goldie the clown " show after lunch and the demo loved it. Just a note, Goldie called it the "stupid" clown show about 30 times. The family I was with didn't really like the clowns use of the word and the family in front also commented as we were leaving that they were disapointed with the amount of times it was said. 7/10 We ended up hitting TOTII and motocoaster again. Found some awesomely cheap AFL merchandise in one of the shops and got our passes on the terribly flimsy paper cardboard thing. The new ride looks exciting, and ill try and stay positive about it all until I ride it. All up our visit to Dreamworld was fun and worthwhile. It was the people I went with that made the day fun. Look with a score of 63/100 I'm not going to be heading back simply to jump on the rides. After feeling tonight like I had an amazing day then that's gotta mean something. Im going with dreamworld virgins in a few weeks time, So ill be able to get a perspective from someone who has never been. I can't help but regret the decision to go with Ardent passes, and really feel like I have a better time at VRTP . For me, it becomes an issue of quality over quantity. The VRTP rides and attractions get me going, DW lack of good themed attractions is disapointing. Anyway, like I said ill.be going back in a few weeks time with a new crew, and will get to experience some of the things I didn't today. I'm not writing off these passes just yet Thanks for reading

[Bmull19]

Nice report. I do agree with you on some of the stuff, but some stuff I disagree (we can't agree on everything. ). I agree with the comments on Motocoaster and Shockwave, I think almost everyone does. But I used to think the Cyclone was a head banger, too, but after riding Lethal Weapon with the new head pads, I disagree. I thought I was going to die on Lethal Weapon. Also gotta disagree with the food. I think you just got a bad day with the food because I've never had a bad meal there. And compared to the prices of Village parks, it's pretty good. (Burger & chips with no drink at Movie World was $13!). So yeah, it's not necessarily that I disagree with you, but it's that I disagree with you with the comparison to Village parks. I think I got a bad day at Movie World too when I had my first day there for a while. I got bored of Movie World by 1pm, but I know Movie World can be a good park, just the park was empty so I got on all the rides right away (including Superman). I think if you went to Dreamworld on a partially-busy day, it would be different and you wouldn't need those 'filler' rides.

[sammymoo88]

I think dreamworld is great, i love that there is a fair few adult rides there but i think movieworld has a better feel to it, much better themed rides and just a great feel about the place.. Just think they need a few more thrill rides.., as for the food ive had hit and miss at both parks, depending on time of day how busy the park is etc but i do think dreamworlds prices are a bit more resonable.. Only 6 weeks till i get to revisit looks like ill just be missing out on buzzsaw

[Gazza]

I got bored of Movie World by 1pm, but I know Movie World can be a good park, just the park was empty so I got on all the rides right away (including Superman). I think if you went to Dreamworld on a partially-busy day, it would be different and you wouldn't need those 'filler' rides.

By that definition, Disneys Animal Kingdom must be the worst park in the universe, since I went there in the US winter and arrived at 8am for opening, and had done it all in 2 hours.

[Bmull19]

^ I never said it was a bad park. I said I had a bad day and that I got bored quickly and that it was probably because of the short lines. Again, I never said it was a bad park.

[Gazza]

I said I had a bad day and that I got bored quickly and that it was probably because of the short lines.

But if it's a busy day and the lines are long, you're still bored probably the same amount, except you're bored in between each ride during the wait, compared to a quiet day, where the boredom comes at the end.

[Bmull19]

But the thing is, if the boredom was in between, at least I have something to look forward to. That excitement people have before hoping on Superman or the theming in Scooby Doo. If I'm just bored afterwards, it's just me and my friend going 'What ride do we repeat?'. But Movie World does need a few more key rides. Lethal Weapon is so painful we'd never do it again and Wild West; well it was a very cold day. That leaves only 3 key rides.

[joz]

MW is boring after a couple hours. The stuff it's got is awesome, but there isn't enough of it. DW is a better park to spend a day at, even if most of the stuff is filler or less than stellar. I'd rather go on a couple flat rides than re-ride on Scooby all day, even though Scooby is undoubtedly better than a couple flat rides. From a guest perspective, MW needs more rides, and more re-ridable rides at that, no getting around it. Quality is great, and people really do appreciate it, but without the quantity then it's not a full day out, simple as that. MW's new coaster should help with the situation, and I hope that they continue to add new rides into the future, hopefully not always at the expense of existing attractions, while not compromising on quality. If they do that, they can be a full day park before you know it, but for now, it's a half day/ three quarter day park. As for the joke that is VRTPs F&B department, don't get me started

[Bmull19]

^ Took the words out of my mouth. What Movie World does is of amazing quality, maybe that's why they don't have as many rides. But if they had more at that quality, I'd be there every weekend instead of Dreamworld.

[tolly1804]

Just a quick side note on the passes, know that international parks like universal and Disney only use paper annual passes

[GoGoBoy]

MW is boring after a couple hours. The stuff it's got is awesome, but there isn't enough of it. DW is a better park to spend a day at, even if most of the stuff is filler or less than stellar. I'd rather go on a couple flat rides than re-ride on Scooby all day, even though Scooby is undoubtedly better than a couple flat rides. From a guest perspective, MW needs more rides, and more re-ridable rides at that, no getting around it. Quality is great, and people really do appreciate it, but without the quantity then it's not a full day out, simple as that. MW's new coaster should help with the situation, and I hope that they continue to add new rides into the future, hopefully not always at the expense of existing attractions, while not compromising on quality. If they do that, they can be a full day park before you know it, but for now, it's a half day/ three quarter day park.

Totally agree joz. Movie World would really be responding to public demand by adding a few more rides. They should still add their big, quality blockbuster attractions every few years but maybe with a few smaller or 'filler' rides in between. As long as the filler rides had reasonable theming and some good presentation and signage. I definitely agree with your comment about not adding new stuff at the expense of existing rides. When you have a park that is already too small, the last thing you should be doing is removing or replacing rides. I'm thinking Gremlins and Looney Tunes River Ride here

[CruiseSF]

Just a quick side note on the passes, know that international parks like universal and Disney only use paper annual passes

I have a universal Annual pass. It is made out of paper but its in a little zip lock back attached to a lanyard. I got it on my last trip there as we planned to go there for two days and the annual pass was the same price as a one day pass plus you get 10% discount in stores, so we went for the annual pass even though we can only use it twice since we live on the far side of the world. The same goes with Knott's Berry Farm where I have an annual pass as well. Edited July 19, 2011 by Cruiseshipfan

[Gazza]

I have a universal Annual pass. It is made out of paper but its in a little zip lock back attached to a lanyard.

Worth mentioning the VIP gold pass comes in a plastic pouch on a lanyard similar to what was described above. Anyone else see that there are VIP lanes at the WBMW turnsitles now too?

[MacPark]

Just a quick side note on the passes, know that international parks like universal and Disney only use paper annual passes

My Disney Annual Pass is solid like a credit card. No paper at all.

[S.W24]

Sea World Also has a Gold VIP Pass entry lane